Days 154 & 155

Day 154

We (Andrea) woke up early to check the Mt. Hutt ski report. She came back to the room to report that the mountain was on hold (road closed - wind) with an update to be sent around 8am. So we got up, got dressed and packed up our car. We made some breakfast and waited for the next report. Finally the ski report came...road to open at 10am!!!! AWESOME. It was still pretty early, so we headed to town to get a good cup of coffee and wait a few minutes before heading up to the mountain.













We left at about 9:20 and hit the line waiting to go up the mountain at 9:45. We ended up waiting in line for over an hour to get some chains fitted to our Ford Focus and start our journey up to the ski resort. Man was it a journey!! The road was narrow, snowy, icy, windy and had huge drops off the edges.













We crept our way up the mountain...seriously crept. We forgot to turn off the traction control and the car was going crazy not knowing what to do with the chains on the tires. It went something like...spin...catch...spin...catch...spin...catch. Just to get the full idea!













We finally got things figured out and made it up to Mt. Hutt! I was stressed to the max by the time we made it to the resort. My hands wouldn't stop shaking and my heart was racing. I need to hit the slopes!













We got parked, got on our boots and purchased some lift tickets. On the mountain at 12 noon!















We ripped down the mountain tearing through the fresh powder...well not really, we slowly worked our way down the slopes not having skied in a year and a half and getting used to our rental equipment. Making it down to the lodge we stopped for a couple of minutes to make some adjustments to our boots. After making things a little more comfortable we headed back to the top.














With things adjusted and one run under our belts we proceeded to tear up the mountain.














The snow was awesome, the scenery was incredible and the company was magnificent!














We made turn after turn and run after run down the sweet slopes of Mt. Hutt














After hundreds of runs (or 10...or less) we ended our day with a quick picture at the base. Then we shuffled our way back to our car to head down. Man your legs get sore when you haven't telemarked in over a year.



















After an uneventful (good!) trip down the mountain we got our chains removed and headed back to Big Al's to return our ski equipment.













Then we made our way back to Christchurch to return our rental car. After dropping off our car we walked (wobbled) down to our hostel to do some laundry, take a shower, have some food and watch a little TV before hitting the sack. Of course the laundry had to be a couple of stories up and the only way to get there was by stairs, shaky legs! It was an awesome day. One more of our must dos complete.

Day 155

We woke up early, had a little breakfast, and packed our bags. We caught the super shuttle at about 6am and headed to the airport. We decided to fly to Wellington instead of driving up to Picton and taking the ferry. It was $5 cheaper per ticket and we didn't have to drive for another day. The flight was nice and quick and we flew over Kaikoura, so we got to see it from above, very cool. Once in Wellington we picked up our rental car and headed north toward Napier. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was even more beautiful.













We made our way up to Napier stopping along the way to have some lunch and enjoy the beautiful rolling hills. When we arrived in Napier we checked into our backpacker then headed out to walk around town. The town was very quiet and most of the stores were closed, so we headed to the grocery store to get some food then went back to our hostel to make some dinner. After a nice dinner we watched a little tele before hitting the sack. Another day with beautiful New Zealand scenery.

Days 152 & 153

Day 152,

We slept in a little bit to get ready for our big day. After some breakfast, a little computer work and a quick stop at the coffee shop we headed north and then west toward Aoraki (a.k.a. Mt. Cook). Aoraki/Mt. Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand at just over 3,750 meters. The drive was incredible.













We cruised along in our Focus admiring the scenery as we passed through forest,













and along the reservoir.













The weather was still a little windy and wet at times, but that didn't dampen our spirits as we drove through some of the most impressive mountain scenery we have ever seen.













We were on our way to Mt. Cook Village in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park to visit the...













The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is a very cool information center that has all kinds of information about Sir Ed, his adventures and his philanthropy, information about Aoraki/Mt. Cook (both Maori and European), Mt. Cook Village, New Zealand aplinists, and a theater/planetarium. We spent many hours looking through the exhibits and watching the videos. We also watched a movie about the Maori legend of Aoraki in the theater and watched a couple of shows about the stars and the universe in the planetarium.

After a quick picnic lunch we headed back east toward the town of Lake Tekapo. Along the way we took a few (thousand) additional pictures of the awesome scenery.













Once we reached Lake Tekapo we checked into the hostel then headed down to the lake to check out the view.













As you can see the view is pretty amazing. We spent a few minutes enjoying the view and taking a few pictures of the lake and the beautiful little church located right on the edge of the lake.













The Church of the Good Shepherd is still regularly used by a few different faiths. After our visit to the lake we walked back to the town and sat down for a beer and an awesome pizza at the local pizza joint. After dinner we headed home to watch a little T.V., work on the computer, and get some sleep.

Day 153,

We woke up, got cleaned up, got packed, and loaded up the car. Then we ate some breakfast and made some picnic lunches before heading down to town to get a coffee and do some computer work (free internet at the cafe). After we finished our coffees we headed out to work our way toward Methven (closest town to Mt. Hutt ski area). Along the way we stopped to have some lunch and enjoy the view.













We continued along the road enjoying the view all the way.













Once we reached Methven we stopped by the hostel, but our room wasn't ready yet, so we headed into town to find some telemark rental skis and check out the town. We found some skis, so we headed back to the hostel to get our car then headed back to the ski shop to pick up our boards. Back at the hostel we got into our room, unpacked, and made some dinner. While eating dinner we learned that Mt. Hutt opened this afternoon for the first time in 3 or 4 days and the snow was excellent. So, excited for the day tomorrow we went to room to prepare and get some sleep.

Days 150 & 151

Day 150,

We woke up, took a shower and had a little breakfast. We found out that the party last evening was completely crazy (fights, harassment, stolen/lost credit cards) so we were glad we didn't attend. After breakfast we walked down to the beach, and along the way Andrea saw this..



















We walked along the beach and took a few photos.



















It was a little misty, but it was nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful sea.













We headed back up to the hostel to pack and get back on the bus (today is our last day on the bus, yippie!!) The bus was great and served its purpose, but we were so happy to be done with it. Well, it took a little longer than normal to load the bus due to all the drama last night. We got a little nervous because we had a train to catch.

We needed to get down to Greymouth to catch the TranzAlpine train. The TranzAlpine is supposed to be one of the most beautiful scenic train rides in the world. It travels from Greymouth on the west coast to Christchurch on the east coast going through the Southern Alps. Well, we made it to the train (train was about 30 minutes late) and found our seats. The ride was amazing. The scenery was incredible.













We had a few snacks while enjoying the views. We stopped at Arthurs Pass for a few minutes to breath some crisp, fresh mountain air.













Further along the journey we got our picture taken...













A little helicopter came along and was taking pictures of the train as it passed through the picturesque mountains. We (Andrea) also took some pictures of the train as it passed through the mountains.













The trip was amazing; we saw some amazing rivers, mountains and gorges, we traveled through some amazing tunnels and plains. The sun was setting as we were heading through the Cantebury Plains toward Christchurch and it made for an awesome ending to this incredible train ride.













Back in Christchurch we checked into our hostel and headed out to grab a bite to eat at a local Thai restuarant. The food was great. After dinner we went back to the hostel to watch a little T.V. and get some rest.

Day 151,

We got up early to get cleaned up, pack up, get some breakfast and go get our rental car. We rented a car to spend a few days traveling around to some of the places we really wanted to spend time in throughout the Southern Alps. So off we went in our pretty little...













It reminded me of my little red Ford Focus back in MN. (sigh!) We headed south along the coast because all the ski resorts were closed due to high winds and snow.













After spending a couple of hours heading south we turned west and headed toward the Alps. We stopped for a quick bite to eat at a little cafe then spent several hours heading toward Twizel, winding over the rivers on the one lane bridges and meandering through the foothills and mountains.













We arrived in Twizel and found a room at a motel/hostel. We settled into our room, made some dinner and did some planning for next day. We finished off the day doing a little work on the computer before heading to bed after our first day with a car (driving on the left hand side of the road without any incidents).

Days 148 & 149

Day 148,

We're back! So I hate to admit this, but this blog post was started on 7/22/2009 and today is 9/23/2009...where have we been? (I will explain in future blog posts).

Today was another beautiful day in paradise. We are back in Abel Tasman National Park for the second time. Last time we were here we did a two day kayak trip and a scenic flight over the park in an ultralight (you know that hang glider with a lawn mover engine). So this time we decided to see the park from land. We loaded up our daypacks and headed down to the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. It is one of New Zealand's Great Walks. It typically takes 3 to 5 days to complete, but we decided to run the whole thing in 1 day...NO WAY, did you actually believe me? We decided to walk a portion of the first section of the track.

We walked the beach on the way to the track and searched for cool seashells and admired the awesome patterns in the sand.













We had to do a little wading to make it from the beach to the trail head, but we made it.













We took a few pictures at the trail head then headed West into the park.













We hiked for a couple of hours enjoying this incredible park from land. Along the way way we admired the amazing vistas.













We stopped at Apple Tree Bay to have a little lunch and soak in the scenery.













After lunch we turned around and headed back toward the park entrance. We took some more time on the way back to enjoy the views and take some photos, like this...













and this... (last time we were here we kayaked next to that island)













and this.













After making it out of the park we headed back to our little cabin to get cleaned up, have some dinner and relax. We enjoyed a quiet evening and a beautiful sunset.













Day 149,

We woke up early to make some breakfast and get packed up. After a quick bite we headed down to the main road near the water to wait for the bus. Luckily the bus stopped and we loaded up to make our way back down to the west coast. Along the way to Barrytown we stopped to get some coffee then some lunch then we took a few pictures. The weather was pretty poor so we didn't head out to the pancake rocks this time around. Eventually we made it to Barrytown and got settled into our room. We weren't interested in partying and doing the dress-up night, so we just had a little pasta and played some computer games in our room. We went to sleep early after our long day of traveling.

Days 146 & 147

Day 146 - Leaving Kaikoura!

Today is a big day, we are leaving Kaikoura where we have been living for the past 3 months! We woke up early to finish packing and do some final cleaning before leaving our house. With our packs on our backs again we headed down to meet the Stray bus to continue our journey. John has been working on getting Andrea to be early for things... so we got to the bus at 8:15am and it didn't leave until 9:30am! Ok, so the bus was scheduled to leave at 8:30am ;).














Along the drive we stopped by the waterfall just outside of town to see the baby seals. We have been here before to see the seals, but it was fun to see them again. They are too cute!














As we continued along our drive north towards Picton, we passed a large crayfish... so while John mourned the death of Michael Jackson and protected himself from swine flu, he posed for a picture. Many New Zealand towns have their "claim to fame" and then make a very large sculpture of that. Naturally, just outside of Kaikoura there is a large crayfish, you might have seen some of the other large objects in previous posts.














Then we arrived in Picton and checked into our backpackers before heading out on a walk along the harbour. It was a beautiful day so we were out enjoying it.














Andrea made some friends...




















then we headed to the grocery store and went back to our backpackers to take a nap, it has been a long day!

We got up and went in the spa pool, had some dinner and free hot chocolate pudding and ice cream, YUM! Then relaxed a bit more and went back to bed.

Day 147

The morning started off slowly as it was raining outside and we had the morning to ourselves before meeting the next bus. After cleaning up we headed out to the spot we were meeting the next Stray bus. While watching them pull up, we were a bit worried about the state of the bus we were traveling in as it jerked forward and was making a lot of noise. We drove a little bit down the street and then had to unload the bus and go get some lunch while we waited for another bus to come and pick us up.

We were in Picton hanging out for another couple of hours before the bus came to get us and we headed west towards Abel Tasman National Park. It was nice to get moving again.

We stopped in Motueka to go to the grocery store, and then finally arrived in Marahau (just outside Abel Tasman National Park). We cooked some pasta and played cribbage before heading to bed.

Days 143-145

Day 143, Another Big Day
Andrea woke up early to head into her Monday morning meeting. Andrea came home and woke me up to have some breakfast. After breakfast we did some work on the computer and got a package ready to send home. After lunch Andrea headed to work and I went down to the post shop to send the package, then to the movie store to return some movies and close our account and the grocery store to get a few items. On the way home I stopped by Hislops Cafe to get a coffee then went and chilled on the couch. Andrea worked till 9:03 pm then she was done, done, done. No more working for her. She came home and we celebrated her last day and watched a movie.

Day 144,
Today we did two things in Kaikoura we have been meaning to do for a long time. So, after a little breakfast, some computer work, cleaning and a chat with our friend Fran we headed down to town. On the way we stopped by the Kaikoura Museum (1st thing). We pass by the museum every time we go into town and have been talking about stopping for a long time now.




















There is not a lot in the museum, but we did find out the meaning of Kaikoura (actually we already knew that)...














And we got a picture with one of the old timers...














After exploring the museum for at least half an hour we headed down to the fish store. At the fish store we picked up dinner (more on this later). Next we went over to the internet cafe to upload some pictures and then to a shop to get a couple of gifts. We headed home to relax before making our dinner of this...














New Zealand green lippped mussels and this...














crayfish (rock lobster). This is the second thing we have been meaning to do; eat crayfish in the "crayfish food" town. We cooked up our seafood and enjoyed every bite. After pigging out on the awesome food we relaxed, watched a movie and took a bath.

Day 145, Last day in Kaikoura!
We slept in a little this morning before a nice breakfast and some laundry! Fran came by to pick us up to head out to the local Irish restaurant/hotel.















We had a great lunch at the Donegal House and walked around their grounds a little before heading back into town. We stopped and had a coffee and cake on way back home from lunch. It was great to hang out with Fran for a little while.

Back at home we did some cleaning, packing and organizing in order to get ready for our last two crazy weeks in New Zealand. Later in the evening we met up with Cally to go check out her new place and then headed over to Dusky Lodge to get some pizza and hang out with some good friends. After pizza, a few beers and some good conversation we headed down to the local pub to meet some more friends and have another beer. It was great to see everyone and sad to say goodbye to our new friends. We will miss our friends and this neat little town, but are excited to get moving again.