The Glacier in the Rainforest and Bungy Jumping

the pancake rocks

The last few days have been a little busy and packed with some crazy adventures! After leaving Punakaiki, a small town known for the pancake rocks, we headed to Franz Josef a tiny touristy town at the base of the Franz Josef glacier. We spent two nights in this little town to ensure that we had one full day to do one of the main attractions, the glacier hike.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the weather on the west coast of New Zealand our hike got cancelled at the last minute (something, the guide informed us, that happens 60% of the time). We even got as far as standing in all our gear outside at the helicopter pad when the pilot decided that the clouds had dropped too low and it was no longer safe to fly. Luckily the next morning we were able to get on the first hike up and the weather managed to hold out for us, although already by midday the clouds had completely covered the sky that had been completely clear just hours earlier.

from this... 

There are two things that set Franz Josef Glacier apart from any other, first off it is the fastest moving glacier in the world and is expected to completely disappear in the next 20-30 years and secondly, it is the only glacier that is found in the middle of a rainforest. It was cool just to be able to see it but actually being able to hike on the glacier itself was amazing. We got a helicopter flight to the base and began hiking up, around and through the glacier.

..to this

After Franz Josef we had an incredibly long bus ride to Wanaka, a smaller, less touristy town a couple hours from Queenstown. The long bus ride was made just barely bearable by the amazing scenery outside. As we approached Wanaka there were snow capped mountains and huge green hills all around us, not to mention the pure blue lake we were driving along. Since some of us on the bus had done our glacier hike that morning we didn’t get into Wanaka until 6 in the evening.  

The next morning we got back on the bus and headed to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. Queenstown literally has every single adventure activity you can think of, from canyoning and skydiving, to parasailing and of course the world famous Bungy Jumping. I figured that I might as well make the most of being here so I signed up for the Nevis bungy jump, a 134m bungy jump over a canyon.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life, and I was seriously unsure about whether I would be able to physically make myself jump off the ledge. But I had already paid the money AND I’m no chicken. So after getting all strapped in, myself along with 6 others from the bus, were brought to the platform via cable car.

Once you’re all strapped in they help you shuffle to this little tiny ledge overlooking the canyon. Just like that your ready, and they count down... I...2.... 3.... BUNGY. At which point you are expected to dive HEAD FIRST into the canyon.

The feeling was completely unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and contrary to what I though there was absolutely none of that feeling in your stomach you get when your on a roller coaster. It is just purely free fall. It was so cool and despite being absolutely terrified before hand I am so glad I did it.

After these crazy past few days I’m hoping to spend a little time just exploring Queenstown, taking a break from all the crazy, not to mention a break from all the spending.

Thanks for reading!

Rachel

Some More From Abel Tasman

turquoise water

sunrise day 2

                                  

                                              view from the coastal track

                                  

                                               overnight stop #2 - it was just like a big slumber party

Ready to kayak

cool rocks 

weird looking birds

and again

Te Pukatae bay

The Koru

 

the coastal track 

A Roller Coaster Ride In Abel Tasman

After spending a few days in Nelson, the sunniest place in New Zealand, Laura and I headed to Abel Tasman National Park. On Sunday (Nov 10^th) we started a 3 day overnight kayak along the coast of the National Park.

out in the kayak - day 1

Sunday morning we were picked up by the sea kayak company we were renting from. After a very quick briefing on how to pack our kayaks, where to stop, how to read the map and what to do if we tipped we were sent off into the sea completely on our own.

I have to admit it was a bit scary. The sea is massive... I felt so exposed! But thankfully it was a beautiful and calm day. I don’t think we realized at the time how lucky we were to have such nice weather.

We headed off in the kayak and had a leisurely paddle along the coastline. It was absolutely amazing. There were so many beaches all along the coast and the water was an amazing color turquoise.

only ones on the beach for lunch

After about an hour and a half of paddling we pulled up on one of the beaches for a lunch break. We had the beach to ourselves and it was so nice and sunny so we took our time and explored the beach a bit before getting back in the kayak and heading to our first overnight stop, Anchorage Hut.

One of the many beaches along the way

We got into Anchorage around 2:30 in the afternoon. The weather was so warm it felt like summer! We went swimming and hung out on the beach all afternoon.

feels like summer

While having the sun out was amazing, unfortunately for me my brain wasn’t working this first day and I didn’t stop to think about how strong the sun was... so I may have gotten a fairly bad sunburn (sorry mom). But I had definitely learnt my lesson and will now be applying sunscreen regularly.

Another mistake that both Laura and I made was thinking that our entire day would be filled with so much to do that there was no need to bring a book or anything. So come the evening we were both sitting at a picnic table twiddling our thumbs unsure of what to do. Luckily there was a short walk to another bay, so we set out to do that. Once again the view was stunning.

Day 2

morning sunrise

I was awake extremely early, which probably had to do with the fact that since we had nothing to do the night before I went to bed extremely early. Anyways seeing as I was awake I thought I may as well get up. So I set out for a walk along the beach (I was the only one on the beach) and was lucky enough to see the last little bit of the sunrise. At 7 in the morning it was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. However this changed drastically by the time Laura was up and we ate, packed up and were ready to go. By this time it was almost 10 and the sun was hiding behind the clouds and the wind was picking up.

As we headed out further into the open sea the waves got bigger and bigger. I have to admit I was feeling a little seasick. But we made it to our next overnight stop, Bark Bay, and just in time too. Just after we had pulled our kayak up onto the beach it started raining. So we went to the hut and tried to get warm, although we were very unsuccessful and it ended up being an extremely cold 24hrs.

Day 3

Despite the cold weather of the previous day we woke up feeling hopeful. The sun was shining and we were confident we would have a good last day out on the water. But we were mistaken. As we made our way from the hut to the beach we could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore getting louder and louder. By the time we got to the beach we realized it wasn’t going to be a relaxing day like our first. Trying not to think about the paddle that lay ahead we got our kayak ready and were about to get in when we realized that the waves were coming in so strong that there was no way we could make it out on our own. Thankfully there was a man on the beach who came over to give us a push out. While we did get completely soaked we at least managed to get out off the shore.

this picture doesn't properly capture the size of the waves

For a very brief moment we felt relief, however that feeling soon vanished when we realized just how big the waves were. I don’t think I can stress it enough. They were so big that on the way down from each wave I got that feeling in my stomach that you get on rollercoasters.

Once we got out of the bay, both of us already feeling the seasickness and with the waves still getting bigger we noticed two groups of rocks looming ahead. Being in the back I was seriously worried that I wouldn’t be able to steer us around or through the rocks because the waves were pushing us so much. Not knowing if we’d be able to make it past the rocks we made a quick decision to turn around and head back to Bark Bay.

Coming into shore wasn’t quite as easy as we had anticipated because even though we were now moving with the waves we had been warned that this is generally when tipping occurs. Luckily we managed to beach the kayak right before the waves pushed us over on our side.

Coincidentally at the exact same time that we came in another kayak came in as well. Like us they had made the same decision to not continue due to weather. After speaking with the ranger to figure out how to arrange a water taxi back to where we had begun our journey he mentioned we had made the right decision as the weather was just getting rougher as the day went on.

Safely back on the beach

We thought the worst of the waves were over however our ride back in the water taxi was far from calm. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, bouncing over all the massive waves. Along the way our driver actually pointed out a bird in the water, which he said was a penguin. Turns out our first day I had seen a bird that I said looked like a penguin ... but we didn’t know at the time that it actually was one!

Finally after a few days of being back on solid land I have managed to get rid of the swaying feeling that I was left after being in the kayak for a few days.

But despite the far from ideal weather on days 2 and 3 of our trip it was an absolutely unbelievable experience!

The Naked Yoga Man

So let me tell you about Michael, the wwoof host who’s add on the website just sounded so appealing to Laura and I.

However there was a lot more to Michael’s life than what he advertised.  

The moment we met Michael, Laura and I both had a funny feeling. The way he was speaking to us, looking at us and asking us questions was just very strange.

When we walked into his house I was caught a little off guard. The place was a pig sty! It was so cluttered and there was stuff everywhere. Michael informed us that the house hadn’t been cleaned since April, when his last wwoofer was there.

What kind of person NEVER cleans their house?!

Next he brought us out onto the porch to discuss things such as the jobs we would be expected to do. He also gave us an overview of his daily schedule which included sunbathing and doing yoga naked on his back porch, an activity that he welcomed us to join in on. And from this comment he will be forever known as the naked yoga guy by Laura and I. He also asked us whether we were a lesbian couple because the caravan ...our new accommodation... was quite small.

Before heading down to the caravan he asked us how we felt about ants.

Why did he ask this?

Well he casually informed us that there has been an ant infestation in the caravan we would be staying in. As if this information wasn’t bad enough he felt the need to explain that when he walked in yesterday the walls were black with all the ants.

just a quick glimpse of the ants

ANTS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! For those of you who know me well you know that I can’t stand ants. Its irrational I know, they are for the most part harmless, but I just can’t stand them.

On our way down to the caravan he gave us a tour first of the tiny sauna.. which he  emphasized gets VERY HOT with lots of people in it. Next was the massage room, a little cabin with nothing but a double bed and a TV in it. I personally do not want to know what goes on in there.

THE CARAVAN

Trying to keep an open mind we walked down to the caravan with some cleaning supplies. Our first job was to clean out the caravan. Our spirits were quickly plummeting as we started to clean and realized that he hadn’t been kidding when he had said that there were ants everywhere. All the drawers and window areas were covered but the worst of it were the ants crawling in and around the beds, blankets and pillows.

Laura and I made a quick decision and booked it out of there. It was just too weird and uncomfortable... and the presence of those damn ants was just the icing on the cake.

We arrived back in Wellington City later that afternoon and booked the ferry to Picton (the South Island) for the next day.

Having arrived in the South Island Laura and I are feeling extremely relieved and very happy that we haven’t spent the last few days in an ant infested caravan! 

Bed #1

Bed #2

 

The Last Supper

After two weeks of wwoofing at Belmont Park Retreat Laura and I have moved on and thankfully so. It was all great until the second week, when we started noticing that the place we were in definitely wasn’t normal.

The woman who was hosting us is a herbalist and has her own business. She managed to share with us on numerous occasions things like how she can read people and know what they are feeling and how she just knows what will be on her kids exams so she just tells them what to study. How drinking pasteurized milk is one of the worst things you can do and that drinking two raw eggs a day is really healthy.

I also had to sit through an hour of her and her business partner swearing that the only way to cure thyroid problems is to eat ground up pig thyroid then a lecture on all the benefits of bone broth. After that I was questioned as to why my mother never fed me bone broth, or why she herself hadn’t been brought up on it.

Homemade yoghurt

This is not normal!

Things just kept getting weirder and weirder. The number of patronizing comments that were directed at us was ridiculous. But somehow despite all these things I managed to stick it out (for two whole weeks!). By the time the weekend came we thought we had made it, after all we only had two days left. But boy were we wrong!

Saturday morning she set us to work collecting and transporting bark from one side of the property to the other as well as raking, collecting and transporting wet leaves to use as mulch. Let me tell you wheelbarrows are difficult to maneuver up and down steep hills and steps. Once we had finished we went in to make some lunch. Mid way through our lunch she came storming in and started yelling at us for not pulling up the weeds properly and for not putting them in the proper places in the yard.

Basically we could do NOTHING right in the garden. Which she made very clear Sunday morning when she told us that she wanted us to do housework because we’d probably be better at that and anyways, she told us, she had found two guys that were going to come to do some “proper” garden work. Just a slightly sexist comment to make.

Naturally by that night we were feeling very frustrated at how incompetent she was making us feel. However this wasn’t even close to being the worst of it. Sunday night, our last supper, feeling relieved that our work had been done we thought that getting through dinner couldn’t be bad at all compared to what we had endured. But once again we were very, very wrong!

Taking a few steps back for a second, when we first arrived at her house I mentioned that I was vegan to which she replied “I don’t like vegans” and she told me that I may be required to make some of my own meals which I told her right away that I had absolutely no problem doing.

Anyways back to Sunday night, as we sat down to dinner, which was a nut loaf with egg, not exactly a vegan friendly meal. I politely asked for the salad and passed up having some of the nut loaf. When she realized that I wasn’t planning on eating it she lost it. She said to me (in a VERY vicious tone) “ Are you seriously not going to eat that? You are going to be very limited in life and miss out on so many things if you continue on this diet. Your behavior is socially unacceptable and anyways those eggs aren’t even fertilized.”

First off what do the eggs being fertilized have anything to do with it?

Also thank you for telling me what my life will be like.

Ironically later on in the meal the topic of fluoride in water was brought up by her son and she immediately emphasized that fluoride should be removed from all water because “EVERY PERSON SHOULD HAVE A CHOICE OF WHAT GOES INTO THEIR BODY”

Hmmm ya don’t say?

She ignored me for the rest of the night as well as the next morning on the drive into the city.

All in all she was extremely close minded, a bully and a very inconsiderate person (even Laura agrees and she is a psychologist).

So Monday morning we left.. on our way to the next wwoofing place.. the infamous Michael, a wwoof host that both Laura and I have had our eye on for weeks. He runs a raw juice bar and distributes superfoods. He’s interested in running and swimming and runs a yoga and massage place. Sounds ideal right? Well apparently there was a lot he wasn’t telling us... Stay tuned for our slightly interesting but VERY uncomfortable visit to Paraparaumu. 

The top of the Belmont Trig hike

Shoveling out the compost bins

The sheep watching you everywhere you go