Surfing in Raglan

We've enjoyed 3 days in the chilled out surf town of Raglan, which is a bit like Rhosneigr on Anglesey which is dotted with trendy surf shops and cafes, only with Raglan it has internationally recognised surf (best left hand break in the World, apparently) nice warm beaches, with black volcanic sand.

The plan had only been to spend one night and a day in the area, but three days later we we're still in town slipping in to "surf time". We hung out at the local cafes, ate the best scrambled eggs at "the shack", watched the rad surfers at Manu Bay then attempted to surf ourselves at Ngarunui Beach.

As we we're staying at the campsite at the home of the local surf school, we booked ourselves in to a lesson and got lucky with a private lesson for just the two of  us.   After learning the basics indoors, it was time to put on the wetsuits and hit the beach.

 I was feeling apprehensive about heading in to the waves, despite being taught a simple 4 step process to standing up I seem to lack the simple function of remembering simple sequences!  Rob however had it mastered and as soon as the first wave was behind him, he was standing up and surfing right away.  It took me a few attempts, but after comparing the moves to yoga - think cobra, then warrior, I caught my first wave and surfed to the shore.   Catching that first wave, standing up and gliding towards the beach is the best feeling in the world.   Forget bungee jumping or jet boat trips if you're in NZ...surfing is where it's at!

New Plymouth to Waitomo

It was long 400km drive to Taranaki, travelling through suburban towns and villages from Wellington to Stratford, the closest town to the heart of Tarankai National Park (and a weird glockenspiel)

After being bombarded with information from the very knowledgable, but annoyingly talkative lady, we realised the forecast wasn't in our favour to appreciate any views from or around Taranaki, let alone hike to the 2518m summit,  so we decided to head up towards New Plymouth.

The city of New Plymouth took us  both by surprise with it's fancy architecture, great coastal views and even treated us to some sunshine.  We took a walk along the coastal path to a nice restaurant - Bach on Breakwater - enjoyed a delicious dinner and watched the sunset from our campsite overlooking the beach.

The followed day Mount Taranaki popped out her snowcapped crater from above the clouds whilst we we're eating breakfast, but it wasn't enough for us to tempt us from a day exploring the caves at Waitomo.   We set off on our way, heading further up North, driving through the lush green pastures and volcanic hills, stopping at PioPio for lunch - a cute little town and filming location for Lord of the Rings.   After arriving in Waitomo, we enjoyed a fun afternoon in the Waitomo caves, jumping in to waterfalls, floating in total darkness and learning that the beautiful glow worms that lit some of the dark caves is nothing more than shiny maggot poo!

Kayaking adventures in Abel Tasman

It really is the life of extremes in  New Zealand! Within a 2 hours drive of Nelson lakes after our hike to the Angelus Hut and spending two days up to knees in snow, we now find ourselves wearing shorts and t shirt and slapping on the factor 30 suncream!

It was great to be back in Abel Tasman and we got in to the holiday mode, sipping beers on the deck of the local bar having booked our 2 day Kayak trip.  This would be our last stop in the South Island before we got back on the Interislander and meandered our way North before our flight home from Auckland.

We took at water taxi from Kaiteriteri further up the coast where we were launched on to a beach with our Kayaks. After a safety briefing, we set off and paddled along the coast lines, getting swept up in to remote lagoons and having the lovely company of baby seal pups swimming alongside us.

We stopped along the way at remote sandy islands, enjoying a picnic lunch with the rest of our group, before being left behind at Anchorage bay where Rob and I would spend the night aboard the floating "aqua packers"

We left our kayaks on the beach and played with some baby ducklings whilst we waited for a lift to our floating hotel for the night.

Whilst we were there we bumped in to Casey from Cardrona who was casually walking across the beach! The last time we saw him was on the west coast when the van broke down!

We had a great night with our host Chris who ran the aqua packers, along with Andrea who was a German Graphic Designer and had just spent 4 months in Bali.

It was a perfect end to our time in the South Island, sipping red wine, sharing stories, watching the stars on the deck of the boat.

Robert Ridge & The Angelus Hut, Nelson Lakes

 What an adventure it was to the remote Angelus Hut,  a mountain cabin that is perched high on the mountain range between lakes Roititi and Lake Rotorua.

We set off on a blue sky sunny day, bags packed with ice axes and crampons and not a glimpse of snow in sight. But with a 12.5km hike ahead, ascending up to 1650m and having seen a guy walk down in ski boots, we knew that what lay ahead of us would be very different to the summer scene at the car park.

Each bend in the ridge offered us a breathtaking view, along with it's own challenges including crossing steep scree fields filled with snow, soft slush, post holes, exposed ridge lines and icy patches.  As we ventured further and further towards our destination, we drunk in the total remoteness of where we were.  There was no phone signal, no-one else up on the mountain range and should have anything of happened, the best chance of us being rescued would have been by helicopter.

After a long 6 hours of carrying our packs full of water, food and warmth for the night, our last ridge afforded us views of a long frozen lakes, where, at the end, the Angelus Hut was perched with it's sweeping balcony and views across the lake and mountains.

We had the place to ourselves, along with a stack of logs and enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine drying out our wet socks, cooking dinner and setting up our beds next to the fire, with views out to the panoramic windows and a planetarium view of the stars.

The following day, we took an easier decent route down the Speargrass route, and nearly came head to head with a shotgun. Luckily the hunter was out to catch Chamois and not travellers, we then later came across a guy tracking the rare Kiwi bird!

Our Tranz Alpine rail journey

We had great weather for our Tranz Alpine train journey and enjoyed some spectacular scenery.  Leaving the coast with the Tasman sea we travelled through the Grey river valley, surrounded by the podocarp forest and passing beside the pretty lake Brunner.  

We gained 737m of elevation travelling upwards through the mountains to our highest point at Arthurs Pass, enjoying great views of the mountains and forests along the way.   As we decended from the pass we crossed a labyrinth of gorges over a high viaducts and decended from the foothills of the Alps in to the Canturbury Plains. The whole journey was like travelling in our own documentary, as we listened to the on-board commentary with lots of geolocial and sociological facts.  It was a great way to see the huge range of mountains from coast to coast, from the comfort of the train.  

Once we arrived in Christchurch we headed out to meet some of our friends from Cardrona who were also in town for a couple of days before carrying on their own adventures.  

We finished the evening with cocktails and mexican Mexicano's and a good nights sleep in jail, before taking our return trip back to the West Coast the following morning.

The West Coast

So we left Wanaka for good this morning which left a big lump in my throat and big fat tears rolling down my cheeks.  Whilst we've been looking forward to travelling again, it's still hard saying goodbye to somewhere we've called home and friends that have felt like family.

Within an hour we had reached the Haast Past, which took us over the Southern Alps and towards the Coast.  The road wound itself through a lucious rainforest which had every shade of green you could imagine.  The recent rainfall had created some spectacular waterfalls and there were wisps of clouds hugging the tops of the valley, creating a very atmospehric view.   Arriving in Haast,  we stopped off for lunch and decided to try out the local delicacy - White Bait. 

We had no idea what a white bait was, but keen to try the local fayre I ordered anyway.  I later read that you eat the entire fish including head, fins, bones, and guts. I didn't know this when the waiter served us what looked like two omelette's on a piece of brown bread with a side of lemon.  Had I known I was about to eat an eggy fish, i probably would have ordered a toasty! Not the best food we've had - but we will remember it as the most expensive and least satisfying lunch we've had to date! 

Onwards we drove towards Fox glacier, stopping off on the way at Knights Point and Munro Beach.  It was so nice to smell the salty sea air once again and see the ocean.   The walk to Munro was a real treat through another rain forest, it smelt so fresh after the recent rain and we popped out from the canopy of the trees to a beautiful windswept beach, which is one of many homes for the Fiordland Crested Penguins. We were lucky enough to see one on the beach, which is the third time in New Zealand we have seen penguins in the wild. 

As we arrived at Fox Glacier the clouds lifted long enough for us to gasp at the towering snow capped Alps which was just spectacular to have the ocean to our left and dense rain forest with glaciated high mountains peaks  towering above the bush line to our right.    

After dinner in Fox, we spotted Gaby our Italian friend who we worked with at Cardrona and took a twilight walk through the trees and spot glow worms.  We didn't have to go too far, before we saw the glow worms illuminating the trees like fairy lights. 

We camped out under the stars at Gillespie's beach and fell asleep as a Lunar Eclipse illuminated the moon a bright red.   

Rob Roy Glacier, Matukutiki Valley

On our last day full day in Wanaka we we're treated to a day filled with sunshine, beautiful walks and delicious ice cream.

We took a trip out to Rob Roy Glacier, which involves crossing 7 fords and driving 30km down a gravel track to reach.   The Matukituki valley road follows huge glaciated plaines with deer, cattle and sheep grazing on the vast land, surrounded by alpine bush and snow capped peaks,   It really is like a scene from a postcard that depicts the real New Zealand. 

The walk to the glacier follows a narrow track beside a gorge with crystal clear water, whilst up ahead a huge white bright glacier dominates the head of the valley.  Just before sitting down to eat our lunch, we heard a loud noise and looked up to see a huge pile of ice fall off the edge of the glacier, which looked like a huge waterfall cascading off the side of the cliff edge. 

Walking back down the valley after lunch, we stopped to fill up our water bottle with ice cold glaciated water and enjoyed listening to the Tui's and Bell Birds singing in the trees.

Returning back to town, we stopped off at Relishes Cafe to tick off the last cafe in our coffee shop tour of the town.  Since arriving in Wanaka we have attempted to visit all the coffee shops, bars and eateries in town. So when we've not been skiing or had a "close day", we've mainly been eating and drinking our way around town!   It has added a few pounds to my waistline and made  a dint in the bank account, but has been great fun to explore all the new places.

Queenstown

After a couple of days in the wildnerness, we went to enjoy some action packed days in the adrenaline fuelled town of Queenstown.  We picked up a hitchhiker,  watched people jumping of ledges with elastic tied to their feet, I went flying down a gorge on a jet boat, Rob went to fly off a mountain with a paraglider (but ironically there was too much wind for that), we ate huge burgers, drank cocktails out of tea pots, took the gondola to the top of the mountain, went on a ski lift in a blizzard (and no jacket!), raced each other on the Luge and got free entry for an international ski film premier.

The following day we ate delicious french food in the pretty village of Arrowtown and watched people panning for gold, before heading back to Wanaka for our final few days of BBQ's and farewell parties.

The Kepler Track

We just completed one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" - The Kepler Track which was a 60km track taking  3 days to complete.  The walk started off leaving the touristy town of Te Anau following the shores of the Lake, which felt like being beside a pretty beachside with it's white sands and turquoise waters.  Once past the end of the lake, the track weaved through a beech forest gaining 600m of elevation, before emerging above the tree line in to an amazing alpine landscape.

 Over the three days we walked up and over an expansive mountain ridge line, sheltered from gale force winds in the quaint emergency huts, witnessed the chaos following a tree avalanches and finished off walking through a remote rain forest. We felt like we had the whole mountain range to ourselves, only ever meeting other people once we arrived at our hut for the night.

The accomodation along the way was excellent.  The Luxmore Hut which we stayed at the first night had great panaromic views across to Te Anau and the surrounding mountain ranges.  We met a few guys from Israel and spent the evening chatting with them, sharing stories of travels and trying to learn each other's language (Welsh and Hebru).   The second night at the Iris Burn Hut, was as equally comfortable, (despite the pesky sandflies) and we spent the evening in the company of Luke from Holland, who had walked our 2 day trip in just one day! 

The following day we walked out through a dense rainforest back towards Te Anau, where Rob hitch hiked with an electrician back to get the van and then picked up Luke and I for a much deserved drink and shower back in Te Anau.  Later that evening we met up with Gaby, our Italian friend from Cardrona, and had an incredible and entertaining evening at La Dolce Vita in Te Anau - highly recommended, not just for the food, but for the entertaining owner! 

Doubtful Sound

Named Doubtful Sound by Captain Cook who didn't enter the inlet of the Fjords, as he was doubtful if he would ever get out, we were doubtful if we would ever arrive! It was a frosty but clear morning when we set off for our overnight cruise.  Despite getting an emergency jump start in Frankton and paying the wrong fuel bill at the petrol station, we arrived in the fresh and pristine Manapouris just in time to board the boat.  It was a smooth crossing across lake manapouri and great to look at the mountains that are home to the Kepler track that we're walking later in teh week.

We hopped ashore at the other side of Lake Manapouri and boarded a bus that took us over the Wilmot Pass, which is the most expensive road in New Zealand.

After 45 minutes travelling over the steep, widing pass in the the far south west corner of New Zealand, we arrived in Deep Cove and our home for the next 2 days - The Navigator was moored up waiting for us.

We boarded and set sail on our wildness cruise and had an educational afternoon from Carol, the nature guide (and a former colleague at Cardrona) who pointed out the various wildlife along the way, including dolphins, seals, fjordland crested penguins and the huge array of birdlife.

We got the opportunity to go Kayaking and we enjoyed paddling around the still teal coloured waters,  witnessing tree avalanches and feeling very insignificant as we were surrounded by the steep sided mountains and rainforest. 

It was a magical and peaceful trip, which highlighted real and raw beauty. It was so nice to see a part of the world that is totally untouched by humans (despite us passing through the waters), a feeling of total remoteness and peace.

One thing that stood out most for me and i'll try and take away with me when I'm back at work and away from all this, is the magical feeling of the sound of silence, something we experienced at the end of the "Hall Arm" fjord.

As we sailed through the mist, we came to a halt and the boat turned off it's engine,.  Everyone was asked to turn off their phones and just enjoy the moment. The water was still with a perfect reflection of the rainforest to our right, we could hear waterfalls cascading down through the trees to our left and all around us we can just hear the bird song of a Bell Bird.  Ahead of us we see a white mist hanging in the valley, floating gracefully through trees. It was a scene of tranquil and solitude and pure natural beauty.  I felt very so very content, happiness and love for having had the opportunity to experience a magical moment with Rob by my side. It was certainly a feeling of being in the "now", enjoying the the present moment and being in a very happy place at a very happy time. Something I know I will need to practice once we're back in the "real" World!

Cross County Skiing to Bob Lee Hut

We've just back after a fun weekend Cross Country Skiing at Snow Farm which is a Cross Country Ski facility located just outside Wanaka.   I heard about Snow Farm when we first arrived as they we're advertising a full moon fondue.  It sounded like a romantic evening where you could go and ski under the moonlight then enjoy wine and fondue back at the lodge.   I originally booked it for Rob's birthday, but gale force winds meant we had to postpone to the next full moon,  however on that occasion we had too much snow and they had to close the road.  So when we saw the forecast for clear skies and sunshine, we decided to book a weekend adventure without a full moon or fondue, but instead to do a 14km ski circuit, staying at a little mountain lodge overnight.

Arriving on sunny Saturday morning the place was full of activity.  The annual Dog Sled festival was just wrapping up so we got to meet a few of the husky dogs who had been racing for a week and the winter kite festival was just beginning.  (It's like kite surfing, but with a snowboard instead of a surf board).

Once we got fitted for our ski boots and nordic ski's, we perused the trail map and set off on our way. As we looked around we felt like we had been taken back in time, we were surrounded by more mature folk in their 60's and 70's in neon and retro lycra pants and wooly jumpers it was like an advert from ski mag from the 1980's.  We falsely assumed this would be an easy sport to pick up if people in their 70s we're still at it!

As we lined up our ski's in to the neatly cut grooves of the trail, we pushed off in a gliding motion along the snow. It was as easy along the flat, then came the steep downhill parts when the smooth gliding sensation was quickly transformed in to what felt like being slotted in to a Scalextric car track.  Picking up speed, getting faster and faster downhill we both quickly lost control.  We crashed in to fences, fell down ditches, went headfirst down the snow all awhile the old folk continued to glide smoothly down hill and run circles round us!

Whilst we normally love racing down hill on our normal ski's, the difference with nordic ski's is that they're so much thinner with no edges, so it is very hard to turn or stop.  After several comedy style falls, crashes and one incident where the track split so Rob had one ski on one track and one ski on the other, we finally arrived 6km later at the Bob Lee Hut.

Perched on top of the brow of the hill with awe inspiring views of Mount Aspiring and the Southern Alps we clipped off our skis and sat on the deck with a sense of pride that we had made it to our destination.   We were joined at the hut by several other visitors that day who also stayed the night, including a couple from Tasmania who had met Rob's old land lady from Llanberis, a guy Neil from Manchester, a foreign exchange student from Montreal and a group of people from New Zealand and America. It was a fun night sharing stories from around the world, listening to music and star gazing.

Looking back across the valley under a billion stars towards Cardona we could see the headlights of the night groomers busy smoothing out the slopes for the next day's skiing.

Next morning we found ourselves stranded in a remote hut with only our comedy skis to get us back. After a slow start to avoid calamity, we got into the swing and the glide and returned along the grooves to the snowfarm HQ in full spring sunshine.

Lunched at the old cardrona hotel, which looks like a wild-west saloon, but was of course built in that same era of gold rush and pioneering colonies.


                                     

Roy's Peak

Since arriving in Wanaka Rob and I have had a few hikes we wanted to tick off, one of them being Roy's Peak which is perched at the end of the Skyline Ridge above Wanaka.

So on a sunny Sunday morning after a hearty breakfast, we set off down the road towards Glendhu bay.  There are some days, today being one of them, that the beauty of Wanaka really hits you.  This morning in particular was just stunning. You could see the sun burn off the early morning cloud which was hanging above the lake creating these amazing sun beam across the water.  With the snow capped peaks of the high mountains glistening in the sun against the beautiful pale blue sky and the lake looking so still and a pristine, I felt so lucky that we have had the opportunity to live in such a beautiful place.

It was just as well the views we're enjoyable, because the walk would have been pretty dull otherwise.  Three hours of walking up a zigzags via a steep gravel track can become pretty monotonous, but it was worth ever step.  As we stopped for a bite to eat half way up, we got to witness a 1940's Tiger moth on a flight over the lake, doing some aerobatic skills, the pilot looked like he was having was good fun, i'm not sure about the passengers!

At the top we were rewarded with the most spectacular scenery with great views of Mount Aspiring, the Southern Alps, Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea.

We finished the day off with a well deserved beer and chips at The Trout on the lakefront, before heading home and curling up beside the fire with a film.

Life on the Mountain

We've been living in Wanaka for a few months now and have settled in to working on a snow capped mountain at 1800m with ease.  It took a few weeks to adjust to the early starts, but when you get to work in the mountains, meet people from all over the world and get the opporutnity to ski everyday its hard not to smile, even when you're up before the crack of dawn. . 

Each morning sees us getting out of bed before the sun has risen and take the free staff transport to work.  The first 14km is a smooth drive up the Cardrona valley road followed by a bumpy 16km spiral gravel road that snakes up the mountain side, which sometimes involves us getting out half way to fit snow chains.  A day  in the Ticket office follow a pretty regular pattern - count the float, set up your till and sell lift passes, ski lesson and rental gear until there are no more customers to sell to.  Everyday is different of course, with customers, enquiries, the amount of people and who you are working with, but it's always good fun, stress free and enjoyable.

The day seems to fly by, with the mornings being the busiest.  Working in the Ticket office, everyone is keen to get the first chair lift and ski the freshly groomed runs, and occasional soft fluffy powder.  Rob always beats them to it though and gets to ski to his office before anyone else is on the slopes.

Rob's role is a lot more physical than it is back at home, mainly because he is working at Captains Cafe which is on the other side of the mountain,  with the only access being by skidoo, groomer or by skiing. Everyday, Rob works with the Groomer team to make sure the day's cafe supplies arrive, then he ski's over with the rest of the staff to set up the cafe for the day.  Depending on the conditions, this can involve skiing freshly groomed corduroy slopes, fluffy powder, or ice all in sunny, windy, or blizzard conditions!

We're well looked after by the resort, we get the benefit of free ski lessons (which we have both taken advantage of) Rob is now skiing black shutes and tearing up in the little bucks park, as well as discounts in local stores, activities and bars.    As we're only here for a short time I decided I wanted to get a bit more out of just working in the ticket office so I've also been working in the Events Department. I recently got to work on NZ Free Ski open mingling with world champion skiers and will be involved in a few more events before the end of the season.  It a glamorous life being given free North Face jackets, having breakfast delivered by skidoo and sipping coffee whilst the best skiiers in the world perform their best tricks beside me.  However, the not so glamorous side involves getting picked up for work at 05:00am,  putting up fencing in the dark and quickly mastering how to ski carrying 50 plastic poles in the dark!

Overall, Cardrona is an amazing place to work and we're lucky to have secured a job with one of the best ski fields in the area.  We've met some brilliant people and It's definitely going to be back to work with a bump when we get back to our real jobs in the UK.

Mapping our route

We have added a page, showing the route we have taken so far around New Zealand.

We'll keep it updated as we keep exploring

See our route here: The Route

Happy Birthday, Captain!

The Captain & the Navigator

The Captain and the Navigator flew across the sea
Landed in an upside down world where they could ski
They travelled in a white Wonderbus all over the land
With smiles on their faces but no route planned. 

Their adventures took them to the furthest point north
Long windy roads that went back and forth
At the top they saw sand dunes and big trees 
By which point the Captain said "give me a straight road, please!"

They went North to head South
Where the Navigator laid a kiss upon the captain's mouth
“I love you” she said and looked at the map
"This way captain, we're on the right track"

They continued their journey and climbed Mount Doom
Which was unique with steaming volcanic fumes
More driving took them to a hunter's cabin
In a dark sleepy forest where stories happen...

They left Lower Hutt and arrived in Wellington, 
Listened to Blues then continued to Nelson
The following day the Captain led the way up St Arnaud's track
Then they ate stag chilli in a wooden shack.

It didn't matter that it was cold and dark
It was a beautiful evening in a star filled National Park

They wrapped themselves up toasty and warm

For that was the coldest night of them all.

Onwards they travelled beside the Pacific sea
Eating crayfish and chips for their tea
The Captain felt sick when surfing the waves
And more so when the clutch failed and van misbehaved.

A Mechanic called Dicko fitted a new shiny clutch
And off they went to a city that shakes too much
The Captain had his first ever Mexican meal
Full of flavour and spice that had a yummy appeal.

Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook and Queenstown they saw
Before arriving in Wanaka with its lake at it’s core
The Mountains looked bare without any snow
And they pondered where all the skiers and snowboarders go?

Winter arrived and they assumed their roles
The Captain running the cafe serving pies and rolls
The Navigator selling lift passes and lessons
Whilst marking maps of cafés with their delicatessens .

They watched the sunrise each morning in the mountains,
Then later visited the Water Bar with it’s beer fountains,
On their days off they explored some more
Sometimes flying fifteen thousand feet to the floor!

The Navigator feels so lucky to have a Captain like you
Who makes her smile and laugh a lot too
I hope your birthday is as special as you
I can't wait to see where our next adventures takes us too...

Happy Birthday to you. 
01.08.2014 

A few pics from Rob's Birthday adventures...

We spent the night at the cosy Glenorchy Hotel

Took a boat trip to Walter Peak Farm for a lakeside BBQ lunch

Blustery cruise on Lake Wakatipu

On board the TSS Earnslaw 

Finished with Cocktails in the Ice Bar before a Taco Dinner
& chocolate brownie Birthday cake back in Wanaka