So, as most of you know, I am about half way through my travels in the land(s) down under, and thought I'd take a minute to say hello to all of you and brag a little about my fun adventures! If you didn't know I was in Australia and New Zealand, now you do and I hope you enjoy reading along.
Right off the bat, let me just say these countries are AMAZING. I particularly recommend visiting the southern hemisphere if you are in dire need of a confidence builder or a reaffirmation that life truly is sweet. You will hear "cheers," "lovely," and "cool" in almost every exchange you have with an aussie or kiwi (native New Zealander), and you are always somebody's "mate," anything you try (even if you fail miserably) is "good on you" and "no worries" seems to be the slogan of the lands down under. In fact, Australia and New Zealand are currently in a long running battle over which country is nicer. Such a nice change of pace from the French (or native New Yorkers for that matter :) )
As well, terrorism, discord in the middle east, crime, homelessness, and other depravities actually feel 13,000 miles away. Australia and New Zealand seem to exist in their own world, where nobody outside knows much of what's going on with them, and vice versa. Case in point: the actual leading story on the 5 pm news one day in New Zealand was, " man survives attack by angry swarm of bees." This is a place where the sun almost always shines, people are in sincerely good moods, and the biggest battle is centered around whether the Allblacks or the Wallabies will reign supreme in Rugby Union Football. Once you have found a way to adjust to the non-type A personality that defines these places, it is a fantastic break from the "real" world and I highly recommend a jaunt down here if time and money affords. In fact, the only thing that seems to be missing are oyster crackers. Yes, you read that right. For some bizarre reason, despite excellent food and soup choices, the aussies and kiwis seem to be against serving any type of bread or cracker with their soups. In fact, they hardly serve bread at all with any meal. Maybe I have just been in the carb dependent States too long, but I think oyster crackers might actually take this cheery group to even higher heights. Otherwise, I have no complaints. A few highlights:
The scenery: it is SPECTACULAR. Now mind you, we only traveled in about half of the southern island of New Zealand, so I cannot speak to what the northern island is all about. But what I did see, I can't compare to any place I've been before. Around every corner loomed another mammoth and gorgeous mountain range, every dusk saw an amazing sunset (the ones where the sun actually looks like it just disappears into the water), every night you could see the milky way clearly, and the scale of all if it would blow you way. Think glacier National Park - but bigger. Think Yosemite - but prettier. This place has alps, glaciers, rainforests, volcanoes, 100s of lakes (some 60 miles long), fiordlands with sheer cliffs rising 6,000 feet straight up, wildlife you can't see anywhere else, and miles and miles of coastline with no development in sight - and it's all in the same place. Consider this: The South Island consists almost entirely of tectonic plates and glaciers, while the North Island boasts over 100 volcanoes. Two places in one country separated by very little space, but created by entirely different geological processes. Now that's pretty cool.
On one of our drives if you looked to the right, you saw mountains as far as the eye could see, and if you looked left all you saw was the pacific ocean. In fact, it got to the point where I thought I might OD on natural beauty. In the beginning of the trip, you are tempted to snap photographs all the time. Coming from the states, you think the beauty will end, only to be replaced with hotels, casinos, resorts, private developments, etc. Not true, here. It just keeps going. The whole island is one big postcard. You find yourself saying" wow, look at that - another awesome mountain" or "gosh that's a pretty beach....yeah, got that 30 km back". Once you finish off about 10 rolls of film, you decide it's time to become more selective because it isn't going to disappear. Beware of the drive, though. While the windy roads and daunting one lane bridges seem to be the real threats on the outside (yes, virtually every bridge in Southern New Zealand is one lane, and some so long that you can't see if a car or train - you share the one lane with train tracks - is coming the other way. But, you do know that every one lane bridge means ending up with a view of a gorge, creek, or open ocean that you only usually see in the movies, so you decide to risk it), underneath you discover that New Zealand has a total of 2 working radio stations, and they seem to be caught in the cheesy 80s of American music. While you don't get much repeat of songs (well done), almost every song is reminiscent of what you would hear on an infomercial trying to sell some cd entitled "lost in love" (yes, I own it), or something along those lines. That is unless you're Brittany Spears, and then you get played a lot. Will we ever use our power for good rather than evil? I recommend bringing CDs.
The 2 true beauty highlights thus far have been: the fiordlands and hiking on one of the last remaining stable glaciers. They are my "must see" adventures if I had to pick. Simply put, you can't see both of them in the same place at virtually the same time anywhere else in the world. We got lucky, too. We visited the fiordlands during a storm which meant all waterfalls were in full working order, and we landed on the glacier when there was an actual ice fall. It was crazy enough to land via helicopter on a sheet of ice, and even more trippy to hear a very lound cracking noise above you, feel the glacier shift just a bit, and then realize what you're seeing and hearing is ice boulders coming down the mountain (you're still a good 1000 feet away, so no worries). And, after seeing the ice formations on the glacier, I now know why they call it "ice blue." Good stuff. And, I can't even give justice to the fiordlands. You just have to go - or rent Lord of the Rings and realize the backdrops on their journeys in the boat aren't computer enhanced, they're the Fiordlands. A few fun facts, though: Milford Sound in the fiordlands gets 350 inches of rain a year, has 6,000 foot cliffs, and is one intimidating looking place when it's covered in fog and rain. Oh, and if the views weren't enough, just for fun, a dolphin decided to surface 2 or 3 times at the end of the journey to remind us again of the magic found all over New Zealand.
While there are lots of other things worthy of mention and sure not to disappoint, these two trips stand above the rest. They are both excellent returns for your investment. Although, I must admit, stumbling upon a random beach on the West Coast called "Ship's Creek" comes in a close third. It had dunes bigger than the beaches on the Cape, and the coastline went on uninterrupted for miles. Plus, there was a total of 6 of us on the beach, plus 1 screaming with excitement little boy who I'm sure had just discovered waves for the very first time.
Which brings me to another key observation: New Zealand gives new meaning to the term "low population density." Consider this: New Zealand is roughly 100,000 square miles (about 2/3 the size of California). But, it only has 4,000,000 residents, as compared to 10,000,000 alone in Los Angeles County. It's biggest city (Auckland on the North Island) rings in at 1,000,000 people - just about the number of people who commute into work in New York City everyday. And we weren't even near the urban areas found mostly on the North Island. At one point in the trip, we passed 3 towns in a row big enough and beautiful enough to be highlighted in our guidebook as "must see" places, and the total population of the 3 was about 750. Some places I stayed made Ashburnham look like a booming metropolis. Needless to say, teaching with technology hasn't quite infiltrated the bottom half of the South Island, yet. But, it sure was nice to travel in. No people to mess up all the pretty stuff :)
And, I have to give New Zealanders credit. Despite their low numbers, they sure know how to have fun. If you are an adrenaline junky, this is the place to visit. From blackwater rafting, to jet boats, to paragliding, to luging, to glacier hikes, etc, etc, etc, this country has devised a way for anyone with a pulse to have a good time. My favorite remark was by a man after a bungee jump who described it as "better than sex." Now, I am initially inclined to think maybe this guy isn't doing it quite right, but hey, who am I to judge. And, if it is true, than I plan on lobbying the Cush to put one in straight away :) Anything to help some of our wayward angels. While I myself ran out of time to try to the orgasmic bungy dive, I did manage to go on a few adventures, and none of them disappointed. My favorite was a jet boat ride through canyons - 60 miles an hour on 8 inches of water with 360 degree spin outs on rapids. Definitely fun stuff.
And, for all the golfers reading along, bring your clubs. The courses are beautiful and you don't have to fork over your life savings for a round. But, I suggest lots of extra golf balls. The only course I really could see was built on a peninsula with staggering views, but many, many water hazards. And, I don't think you want to go diving into these waters. Lake Wakatipu doesn't get much warmer than 50 degrees, and in the 4 days I spent in Queenstown, I saw one boat and one person in that water - and I am convinced it was the guy who would rather bungy jump to his potential death 400 feet down than sleep with a pretty girl.
So, that's about it from here. While I didn't give Sydney much mention, it's only because I will have more time to explore it later in my journey. At first galnce, though, it is equally wonderful for different reasons. It seems to be a prettier and happier version of San Francisco. I head off tomorrow for the great barrier reef which should be very cool. I will do my best to avoid the plethora of potentially lethal creatures that inhabit the area, and instead will just look for cute clown fish. A word of caution: if you are at all like me, don't watch Jaws before coming to Australia. Flipper or Free Willy might be a better bet :)
I look forward to seeing most of you when I return to the States, and for the rest, I hope you are all doing well in your own respective travels and journeys. If you're ever looking for a great time, hop a plane down under. All you need is a smile, sense of adventure, and plenty of time to explore. Oh yeah, and plenty of oyster crackers.
Much love to you all.
Cheers,
