Leaving Wellington, we spent 3 hours crossing very rough waters to Picton via the Interisland Ferry. Thank god for the "anti" drugs --- which Ann eagerly gulped. The ferry itself was quite impressive with its several desks, two full-feature movie theatres, games rooms, restaurants, lounges etc.
Highlights on route from Picton to Nelson: Havelock (green shelled mussel captial of the world) and village where the atom-splitter guy went to school. We've stayed in Kaikoura, Napier, Christchurch, Franz Joseph and Queenstown. In Christchurch we spent an evening of fun and laughs with a delightful "kiwi" couple (Brian and Kay), whom Brenda T. and I met on a previous trip to Prague, Budapest and Vienna.
Trip highlights: Fiordland National Park --- the place where Lord of the Rings was filmed: rainforests, Southern Alps, crystal clear rivers and streams (which Debbie drank from), wildlife i.e. Kea bird - who climbed into the bus cargo hold trying to break into a box of Chardonnay! We did a cruise in Milford Sound and out into the Tasman Sea. The wildlife amazed us: dolphins swimming up to the boat, penguins and seal on the shore etc. We also trekked up Franz Joseph glacier and saw spectacular views of both western and eastern coastal scenery. Incredibly, neither of us needed med-evac from the ice formation --- although it was touch and go for a while. NEVER will we have the courage to repeat this athletic challenge.
Queenstown (named so because it was considered "...fit for Queen Victoria") is in full tourist mode with skiers and snowboarders visiting en masse. The town reminds us of Banff! We've been walking through the Botanical Garden and War Memorial pathways / trails.
As 44 and 50 year old backpackers our travel experience is unfolding quite differently than the way it is unfolding for the "youth" we are encountering. In view of the coordination required of this trip (8 flights between / within NZ and Australia, numerous destinations etc.) Ann has organized us in the most sophisticated way: colour coded Excel spread sheets outlining daily destinations, hotel accommodations, flight / bus information, expenses etc. She has produced a lamentated card outlining the currency exchange rates for each of the countries we will be visiting. Among her packsack contents, she has multi-coloured highlighters, gel pens, paper clips, calendars, etc. Essentially, we are a portable travel agency, office and e-bank. Oh, did I mention the memory stick to hold all the information? Ann adds / subtracts from the Excel sheet in 'real time' to ensure that all is in order! And what of the postcard checklists to ensure that friends receive updates on a regular basis?
We forgot to mention in our previous blog entry some other "survival" items in our packsacks: mess kit (cutlery, plastic food storage containers, coffee mug, wine glass (for the princess!), and the handy/dandy Swiss army knife), mosquito netting for our sejours in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos), micro fibre towels, and hostel bed sheets. Surprisingly, we managed to keep our carrying weight down to 12kg each!
New Zealand has been AMAZING. August 12 sees us off to Australia (Melbourne). We look forward to updating you about the next phase of our adventures.
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