We got to Wanaka two weeks ago now, and it's been a whirlwind ever since. It's been a whirlwind of a very different sort to traveling though- we're finally settling down and settling in for a couple of months, before we pick up stakes again. Before I talk about what we've been doing the past two weeks though, I realized that I forgot to tell a pretty hilarious story from before we got to Wanaka.
Here were are in Wanaka! And we're finally catching the blog back up to real-time. Success!
We got to Wanaka two weeks ago now, and it's been a whirlwind ever since. It's been a whirlwind of a very different sort to traveling though- we're finally settling down and settling in for a couple of months, before we pick up stakes again. Before I talk about what we've been doing the past two weeks though, I realized that I forgot to tell a pretty hilarious story from before we got to Wanaka.
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I said that I'd write some posts about my thoughts-when-traveling, and here we go!
There's a lot to say about New Zealanders, and I'll probably just have to create a series talking about the different amazing personalities that we meet. As a general rule, New Zealanders are the friendliest, most generous, welcoming, and do-it-yourself people in the world. However, right now, we're meeting a lot of really interesting people at hostels, only a few of whom are Kiwis. As we go further South on the South Island, we're starting to meet some really intense backpackers. I started thinking about writing this post because of a few conversations with travelers today that made me very thoughtful. Kara and I rolled into Bluff Lodge around 11AM and we had the hostel to ourselves for a few hours, to the point where we weren't sure if anyone else was coming. Around 5 though, we had a few folks show up. The people we met at Bluff were pretty different to the people we've met at hostels before! We met Ron and Gabriella, who had just come on the ferry from Stewart Island. They had (separately) spent the past 10/12 days hiking on the more rugged parts of the island! Then Stanley and Wendy and Bethany came from the North, like us. Ron is older and from British Columbia. He sold his house, and was traveling with a bike and a canoe. He traveled thousands of kilometers north in Canada, to about 100k south of the the polar lakes. I think he might be just walking in New Zealand though... He's buried some food stores in five places higher on the island, and is going to walk from Bluff all the way to the highest north point, at Cape Reigna. Gabriella is a New Yorker, and she used to be a really intense ballerina. After Sandy, she started to work like crazy and save her money. She also got really into rock climbing. She sold everything she owns and has been traveling the past 8 months, through Southeast Asia and New Zealand, and I think next she's going next to the Himalayas and after that to walk the El Camino from Austria to Spain. She isn't planning to return to the US any time soon! Stanley and Wendy, from Hong Kong, just finished doing the opposite of what Ron is going to do. It's called the Te Araroa trail, and it goes from Cape Reigna to Bluff. It takes like four months. You walk it!!! Bethany is from New Hampshire, but has been living in NZ for four years as a zookeeper. She primarily works with kiwis. We've also met Lex, who is older and who runs the backpackers. He was a teacher, from what I understand, and I'm not sure how he got into running the hostel. He said that at first he was quite shy and hermity, a lot like me, but that this job has opened him up a lot. He enjoys taking travelers to a big world map he keeps on the wall and having them point out where they're from- he's learning quite a bit about geography! We've met travelers similar to this all along, but the ones from Bluff seem a bit more all-out. Kara and I are traveling with big suitcases and a car, and of course we're both very new to tramping. I keep putting myself in their position and wondering what it would be like to do something like what they've done. To Ron and Gabriella, it's completely normal (and perhaps weird that we don't?). Could I just pick up and completely leave my life, selling everything and just going, like Ron and Gabriella? Could I permanently move to another country, like Bethany? I think I could but I don't think I'd end up liking it. Gabriella said that she's never felt more free. She can carry everything she owns on her back. It must be amazing to experience that kind of freedom, but I think that I'm the type of person that likes being a little tied down... I think I'm finding that about myself. Well, I think I already knew. What's strange is that I'm jealous of her, even as at the same time I know I could never enjoy it the way she does. Maybe I'm jealous of her for being the type of person who CAN enjoy it. Isn't it funny? Back home, I always used to be jealous of people who traveled, and now I'm jealous of people who travel more. Oh, self. But in the end, I think what Lex has done is more my style. I think that it must get very lonely, doing what Gabriella and Ron have done. But what's important is something that Gabriella pointed out. You might think there are things you can't do, but that's not really true. You can do anything, if you just actually do it. A point upon which to muse. But I knew it already- after all, I'm here!
(Originally from January 7th-12th)
After we left Slope Point and the Catlins, we drove straight to Bluff. Bluff is not New Zealand's southernmost point, but it's pretty close- and it IS New Zealand's southernmost town. Bluff is a small port town, and while most of New Zealand's towns are small, Bluff really felt small. I said to Kara that I thought it was like a populated ghost town, but it's likely just because of when we came- Bluff is known for it's oysters, but oyster season isn't until March. We went to Bluff because it's the point where you can catch the ferry to Stewart Island (Rakiura in Maori), which is where the Rakiura Track is! We decided to spend the night to give ourselves some time to prepare. We went straight to our hostel, which was a cavernous building that used to be the post office. It had a lot of character, as did the proprietor, Lex, who we loved. (More on Lex in our next entry!) We got settled and decided to see the town a bit before packing our hiking bags for the tramp. We went out to Stirling Point, which is the end of the road- namely, Route 1, which travels the entire length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff. At the end of the road is a signpost that offers a new beginning of the road- it's distances to some of the great cities!
(Originally from the January 2-7th)
Our travels continue! After we left Oamaru, we drove straight to beautiful and hilly Dunedin. Dunedin is a fabulous city, which actually reminded us a lot of Chicago in certain ways. It's fitting therefore that this is where Kara and I both had our first real pangs of homesickness. Ah, to be able to sleep in our own beds! Ah, to be able to afford to go out to eat! (SOB. SOOOOB.) We stayed at an absolutely adorable Harry Potter themed hostel called Hogwartz. It had TONS of space and comfortable beds, so it was a nice place from which to explore the city. Dunedin is all hills and Hogwartz was right at the top of one, so we got our exercise! The hostel was very crowded, and yet again we made some friends and got some great advice for our continuing travels. :) There was a very comfortable reading loft too, which I especially enjoyed! (We had to contend with a slightly younger crowd this time around though... Oh, younguns on a Saturday night.) Dunedin is laid out so that the main center of the city is the Octagon, which Hogwartz was just a few minutes walk from. We spent the majority of our time in the city wandering around this area and visiting some of the awesome free museums. One of the interesting things about New Zealand, though, is that businesses close during the holidays for a much longer time. We were in Dunedin from the 2nd-5th, and a lot of places were closed through the 6th!
(Originally from December 31th - January 2nd)
Oamaru is amazing. It was a major port town back in the 1870s (they are very proud of the fact that at the time, they were bigger than LA!), and so it has a very large and preserved Victorian District. The District- and what we've seen of the town itself- is extremely creative and bookish. It's also very old fashioned, in a way- used books are more prevalent then new, and there is a (real, awesome, amazing) bookbinder and even an amazing model train. We picked up a booklet of classes offered this summer in Sustainable Skills, like making bread and cheese, keeping chickens and cows, knitting, leather crafting, and using renewable energy, etc. Generally this follows the “can-do” attitude of all New Zealanders, but it seems particularly predominant here. I've counted 5 used bookstores so far, which is huge for a town of this size. Many other stores will sell books too. There are really interesting galleries and local artists everywhere. There are cafes every second shop. It's actual heaven and if our plans for Wanaka don't work out, I'll definitely want to come back here to work for the summer! The other thing Oamaru is known for is Little Blue Penguins. They head out to sea in the morning, and come on shore at night to go back to the their colony, Noemie, Martin, Kara and I have been staying at an adorable backpackers called the Empire Hotel Backpackers. They're so friendly here, and while you can pay lots of money to see the Little Blue Penguin colony, the staff at the hostel told us exactly where you can go to see them for free. Which we did on our first night! (Originally from December 27th-30th!)
Every day in New Zealand is more beautiful and interesting than the day before, to the point where it's almost overwhelming. After we left Duvacuhelle (sob!) we drove to Fairlie, which is near Lake Tekapo in the center of the South Island. We had wanted to spend the night on Lake Tekapo, but because of the holiday weekend every single room in the town was booked well in advance. We got the last room in Fairlie, which is about a half-hour drive away. The Fairlie hotel was actually quite fun; it's on top of a bar, like inns back in the old days. It had tiny and adorable little rooms, and the town was cute. Lake Tekapo was BEAUTIFUL. The lake itself is a truly stunning color, because glaciers melt into it and the particles from them show up as an incredibly vivid blue. However, it is particularly known for having beautiful views of the stars, because the weather is almost always clear and cloudless there. The weather turns out to be just as perfect as we were led to believe; it was cloudy and raining in Fairlie, but we turned a corner on our drive and had arrayed before us a beautiful plain, completely clear of clouds, with a mountain range in the background. I regret not stopping for a picture then, but here is a picture we took the next day with the mountains somewhat obscured by clouds. Sorry for the radio silence, everyone! I have been writing up a storm and we've both been going crazy with photos, but internet access has been very limited and we haven't actually been able to upload them. I have four entries written and ready to post when we can add the pictures, but we're heading off to Stewart Island tomorrow to do the Rakiura Great Walk! It will be three days in the wilderness, so expect the posts to start going up after that, when we're in Wanaka. :)
The great news is that we've both found great living situations in Wanaka. I will be the night receptionist at a backpackers, and Kara will be doing a help exchange. In exchange for a few hours work we'll get free accommodation, and it'll leave us time to find paying jobs too. (Cross your fingers for us.) Expect a lot of updates in a few days. Miss you all! |
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October 2015
AuthorsLizzy, Kara, and Jordan are spending a year traveling and working in New Zealand. Share our adventures and keep in touch! Categories
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