"Baldwin Street", "Norwegian National Day", "The Second Great NZ Road Trip", "Ice Ice Baby"

Hello again! Lots to fill you in on, so here we go!

1) Day 1: Norwegian National Day and First Day of Traveling
We are blessed to have two fun loving Norwegians in our complex, so naturally on the 17th of May we helped them celebrate Norwegian National Day.  This consists of a "champagne breakfast", as well as a ton of good company and even a little anthem singing.  We combined this holiday with our flatmate Anthony's birthday, and surprised him with a breakfast of champions (meaning everyone brought something), so it was a big morning!  At around 12:30, Jerry, Jane, Sara, Helen and I set off in our rental car (named Crystal, as we were keen to see the glaciers) bound for adventure.  Little did we know what funny mishaps this day had in store for us!
We drove and drove and drove stopping at beautiful lookouts along the way, just taking in the beauty of the South Island.  Here's a sneak peak to what was whizzing by our windows:

Now, ridiculous story number one: As we were driving through Mt. Aspiring National Park, we saw another car on the side of the road with it's emergency flashers on.  It was pitch black and we hadn't seen another car in a very long time, so we pulled over to see what was going on.  Beside the car were four frightened Asian tourists who had run out of gas in the middle of the mountain.  They barely spoke English and none of us spoke Chinese, but through much repetition and hand signals we figured out a plan.  We took one of them over the pass with us, 40 kilometers to the next gas station.  We then took him 40 back, trading stories as best we could for a good two hours.  We dropped him off with a gallon of gas, and he gave us $100 - who says good karma isn't re"paid"? All things came out even - he generously gave us gas money to get to the glacier, we rescued him and his friends from the side of a mountain pass.  All is well...Or was it?!
Ridiculous story number two: We rolled into "Chateau Franz" (our backpackers) at around midnight, so relieved to have made it!  Reception was closed, but had put our keys for us on the table.  We crept in, nabbed our keys, and headed to our room.  Surprise for you! We opened up the door to find three people already sleeping there.  What?!  Sadly, there were no more rooms and no one available to help, so we headed down to the couches in the common room and took up residence.  It was a unanimous decision that we open the beer, so we did just that and cuddled up on the couches to fix everything in the morning.  Looking back, it was a pretty funny night!

Day 2: Ice, Ice Baby!
We awoke from our nests we had made in the couches to a bright sunny day destined to be full of glacier exploration! We worked out our housing situation: turns out the people in our room had read their keys as "6" and not "9"...whoops!  Lucky for us, we were upgraded to a cabin and not charged for the first night.  With this good news, we drove to Fox glacier and hiked the beautiful trail until we were only 40 or so feet away (for safety reasons).  As we walked, we sang "Ice, ice baby" multiple times in preparation for seeing the glacier.
After exploring Fox, we drove back and went to Franz Joseph, my personal favorite.  While enjoying a peaceful walk through the woods, then over rocks and near waterfalls, we meandered closer and closer until - boom!  There it was!

Franz Joseph in all its glory! (I didn't actually take this one, but can attest that this is what it did indeed look like)

With two glaciers packed in one day, we drove back to our backpackers feeling content and fulfilled.  A beautiful day with incredible views and good company, what more can you ask for? Once back at the backpackers, we got the idea in our heads to drive to the coast of the Tasman sea for sunset.  We piled back in the car and drove to the edge of the Tasman sea.  With mountains in the back turning pink as the sun set on the sea, it was a magnificent sight all around.

After a gorgeous sunset and a wild sea raging around our ankles, we made our way back to our cabin.  There was a tiny hot tub in a wooden shack in the middle of the backpackers, so we warmed up in there and met people from all over the world.  After our core temperatures were back up, we cooked up some spaghetti and the community kitchen, shared fun stories, and fell asleep.

Day 3: Hokitika Gorge, Arthur's Pass, and Cheeky Birds
Rise and shine!  We woke to another lovely sunny day and set off to find Hokitika gorge, a scenic spot with baby blue/green water and great woods.  We thought we knew where we were going, but got all turned around in the mountains of NZ.  At one point, an Australian sheep dog herded our car into someone's driveway, and the lady was kind enough to give us correct directions.  Once there, we packed our picnic supplies and started up the path, crossed a swinging bridge, and settled onto the rocks of the gorge.

As you can see, it was worth the getting lost!  Jon even smeagled (yes, that's become a verb in lotr territory) his way across the rocks and jumped into the freezing water.  We did a little hiking, and then went into the town of Hokitika to explore the beach and the local ice cream (mmm!) and then were back on the road bound for Christchurch.  

To reach Christchurch, we drove through Arthur's pass, an incredible and somewhat precarious road through the mountains.  On the top of the ridge, there were tons of Kea (a NZ bird) which came right up to us to say hello.

At the top of Arthur's Pass!

Cheeky bird - they are so curious! This one tried to peel the rubber off our rental car

While in Arthur's pass, we had just enough sunlight for two walks - one to "Devil's Punchbowl", a huge, rushing waterfall, and another walk called "Millennium".  We walked back to the car just as the last rays of the sun were hitting the tops of the Southern Alps.  On the drive to Christchurch, we stopped multiple times to get out of the car and look at the ever clearing stars - glowing brighter by the second.  Once we reached Christchurch, we settled into our hostel and went out for Thai - a good ending to a great day!

Day 4: Christchurch, Surprise

Our last day of travel! We started off our day in Christchurch with a bang.  Well, rather, a shake - we experienced a short 4.1 earthquake over breakfast.  Apparently it is still a common experience in Christchurch to feel small earthquakes.  The city itself is a wonderful city - it has charm, spirit, and a good feel to it.  The juxtaposition, however, was very strange.  We walked through Re-start (the outdoor mall built from shipping containers) and had a picnic in the sun listening to musicians playing around the corner.  On one hand you had that scene, but if you turned your head you'd see the red zone, the part of the city still destroyed and unsafe and therefore blocked off.  My hope is that Christchurch is able to rebuild soon, I can only guess that it was a thriving city before the earthquake.  After exploring, we headed back to Dunedin, with a nighttime stop at the Moeraki boulders along the way.  Upon arrival at forth Street, one of our flatmates surprised us with spaghetti and meatballs! LMF.  Love my flatmates.

Overall, it was a quick yet wonderful trip.  Next on the huge adventure list is Milford Sound, set for June 2nd to June 4th!

Other Assorted Adventures!

1) Baldwin Street 

The steepest street in the entire world is right here in my hometown of Dunedin.  So, naturally, we climbed it! We got a bit lost up in the hills of Dunedin, but eventually made it all the way to the top and could look out over the whole town.  Whoever lives on this hill must have leg muscles of steel! 

2) Signal Hill

I have found a new favorite nighttime place in Dunedin - Signal hill.  It's a scenic lookout over the harbor and the peninsula, about 15 minutes up the road.  When you go at night, you can see all the city lights, Logan field, the University, and all familiar sights.  The way it's built collects the wind, which makes the lights blink and spark as the wind blows around you and through the trees nearby.  I almost forgot!  Not only can you see the layout of the city, but tilt your head up and you can see the milky way.  It is one of the most peaceful places I have been.  I don't have a picture for this one, but please do use your very best imagination!

Until next time!

Love always,

Christina