It's been a while since I've had internet access. We've been in some pretty rural areas, and it was awesome. Since I was in Nelson, we drove north to Motueka, where we stayed for 2 days. We kayaked and hiked in the Abel Tasman national park. It was really awesome. We learned about some of the trees there, including the Kahikatea and the Totara. I also bought a book on NZ geology while I was there.
I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but we saw LOTS of baby seals in Kaikoura. I have some video!
After Motueka we headed down the west coast. Our first stop was in St. Arnaud, which has a population of 80 people. A group of people went and hiked a really intense trail (I went on the easier track). They were out past dark, and it was really dark there. We almost had to send out a search crew.
We then went to Hokitika, where we had a lecture on the beach. It is the best place to buy pounamu, which is the Maori jewelery made out of greenstone (serpentine in geology terms).
Our next stop was Fox Glacier, where we stayed for 2 nights. We hiked up 700 stairs to get to the glacier, where we hiked even more stairs with crampons (spikes) tied to our shoes. Hiking on the glacier was the neatest thing ever. It was "sweet as" (that's kiwi lingo).
Today we drove 5 hours in the rain to Queenstown. There is a big weather system coming through. They're supposed to get 25 centimeters in 2.5 days. And that's nothing. One area got 17 centimeters in one hour last week. It washed out a couple roads and caused a landslide. We drove through some of the areas where they filmed The Lord of the Rings and 10,000 BC.
We are now in Queenstown, which is a big skiing place June-August. They are just now getting the first snow, so it might be a wee while before anyone can ski. Four girls bungy jumped today, and 10 other people are bungy jumping tomorrow. I'm hiking part of the Routeburn Track tomorrow. It's normally a 3 day hike, so I'm ok only doing part of it. We get to stay in Queenstown for 3 nights, and that's a real luxury. Some places we've only been staying for one night.
I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but we saw LOTS of baby seals in Kaikoura. I have some video!
After Motueka we headed down the west coast. Our first stop was in St. Arnaud, which has a population of 80 people. A group of people went and hiked a really intense trail (I went on the easier track). They were out past dark, and it was really dark there. We almost had to send out a search crew.
We then went to Hokitika, where we had a lecture on the beach. It is the best place to buy pounamu, which is the Maori jewelery made out of greenstone (serpentine in geology terms).
Our next stop was Fox Glacier, where we stayed for 2 nights. We hiked up 700 stairs to get to the glacier, where we hiked even more stairs with crampons (spikes) tied to our shoes. Hiking on the glacier was the neatest thing ever. It was "sweet as" (that's kiwi lingo).
Today we drove 5 hours in the rain to Queenstown. There is a big weather system coming through. They're supposed to get 25 centimeters in 2.5 days. And that's nothing. One area got 17 centimeters in one hour last week. It washed out a couple roads and caused a landslide. We drove through some of the areas where they filmed The Lord of the Rings and 10,000 BC.
We are now in Queenstown, which is a big skiing place June-August. They are just now getting the first snow, so it might be a wee while before anyone can ski. Four girls bungy jumped today, and 10 other people are bungy jumping tomorrow. I'm hiking part of the Routeburn Track tomorrow. It's normally a 3 day hike, so I'm ok only doing part of it. We get to stay in Queenstown for 3 nights, and that's a real luxury. Some places we've only been staying for one night.
2 comments:
Dude, trees+baby seals+serpentine jewelery+lots o' hikes[<3]+ LOTR!!!! Sounds like the perfect recipe for fun! :)
did you tuts the baby seals' barrehs? I hope you did. even if you didn't it's still awesome you got to see where they filmed those movies...and i wish i could have class on the beach!! glad you're having fun!
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