Shawn & Scott’s New Zealand Blog
Experiencing New ZealandThe Majesty of Milford…Take Two
Thursday, February 14th
As Shawn mentioned a couple of posts ago, Milford Sound has been wrongfully dubbed a sound when in reality it is a Fiord (also spelled Fjord, giving credit to its Scandinavian roots). Many travelers that we have spoken to confirmed that their primary reason for coming to New Zealand was to see Milford Sound, so our anticipation grew with each conversation. There are a few combinations of how to get to and from Milford Sound which include bus, plane, boat, and helicopter. Shawn and I chose to bus it there and back, which is the longest of the options (12 hour day trip) and also holds a significance that I will reveal later.
You begin to enjoy Milford and the surrounding Fiordlands long before you even catch a glimpse of the cruise boats waiting to escort you around the sound. The single road which links the small town of Te Anau to Milford, also winds through the mountainside as you approach Milford Sound. The bus stopped several times in the Fiordland National Park for us to take pictures of the amazing landscape. We were briefed on the likelihood of avalanches during the winter months and intrigued at the number of waterfalls descending from the mountaintops around every turn. At one of our stops Shawn and I drank from a stream that is tested to be 99.8% pure and were thoroughly impressed. Upon our arrival at Milford Sound, we jumped aboard a large cruise boat and began our tour of this majestic place. Milford Sound is truly remarkable in every way possible. The views and the dramatic landscape are difficult to put into words (hopefully the pictures will do it justice), but are simply extraordinary.
The cruise lasted about an hour and a half and we were soon off the boat and back onto our bus, which is where the real fun was about to begin. For those that read our previous post about me messing up our previous Milford Sound day trip, you will be reminded of the bus breaking down… TAKE TWO.
We returned to our bus to in embark on our trip back to Queenstown, which would have gotten us back around 7:30 pm and just in time for Shawn’s farewell dinner sponsored by Edward Jones; however God had other plans for us. Our driver started up our bus and was unable to get the poor old bugger out of reverse. Everyone was ushered out of the bus and were split up to head back to Queenstown on other tour buses headed back. With a sigh of relief, we took our seats on our new bus and began our noteworthy journey back to Queenstown. After 5 minutes of puttering up and down the mountainous roads, we realized that the tour company had sent a boy to do a man’s job. It must have been our bus driver’s first day driving a bus. It was horrible. We were getting passed by multiple tour buses at the same time and barely managing to make it up some hills. I believe that at one point a man on a bicycle passed us by. I remember thinking that our chances to make it to dinner on time were diminishing each minute. After a while our bus driver began picking up the pace and rays of optimism began to peak through the clouds of despair. A storm front blew in and one of our back-right inside tire blew out.
The flapping noise was a benchmark indicator that we had a flat, but rookie bus driver of the year ignored it like Monday morning’s alarm clock. I looked over at Shawn to make sure I was not imagining a noisy flapping coming from the undercarriage of the bus and proceeded to cry out, “Hey man, you’ve got a flat.”
Luckily for us there was a 50 person town about 2 miles up the road and our driver safely puttered to a nearby gas station to solicit some help. The assistance that we received was further confirmation that we would be spending a good 3-4 hours to wait for the bus company to send out a team to fix the tire. With the bus repair in queue, Shawn and I flashed back to the 1970’s and embraced the opportunity to hitchhike our way back to Queenstown. With our “deer in headlights” faces on, we stuck our thumbs out and hoped for the best. After about an hour of work, we retired and decided to rest our bones at the only motel/restaurant/pub in the town. Our bus was repaired by about 10:30 pm and we arrived back at our hotel just after midnight (a 16 hour day) suffice to say, we missed dinner.
Since we were famished from not eating and it was our last night in Queenstown, we decided to take a trip to the town centre and grab a burger at Fergburger (renowned in Queenstown for their burgers). I opted for the Fergburger Classic with cheese; however Shawn’s motto was, ‘go big or go home.’ His choice was the BIG AL equipped with two all beef patties, two eggs, BBQ sauce, lettuce, beetroot, blu cheese, onion, and 3 kinds of cheese all on a home-made bun. He should have been awarded a plaque and had his signed picture on the wall for everyone to admire. It reminded me of John Candy eating the Great 96′er in the 1980’s classic, The Great Outdoors.
Too Easy,
Scott
Next up: Season opener of the Super 14 rugby season, Crusaders vs. Brumbies!!
XXtreme Adrenaline Junkies… just add water
Scott: Our day started much earlier than expected when the entire hotel was evacuated at 2:24 am because the fire alarm had been triggered. Reluctant to awake from our slumber there was a moment when I considered trying to ignore the piercing alarm, but was unsuccessful. Outside the hotel a few women on the Edward Jones trip gossiped that they, “swore they saw smoke” needless to say there was no smoke and we were back in bed within 20 minutes. (We later found out that someone on the first floor pulled the alarm.)
At 8:00 am we were on our way to the highest bungy jump in New Zealand (3rdhighest in the world, or so they say), named the AJ Hackett Nevis Bungy. The jump site is suspended between two large rock faces that tower over a shallow river and enclosed in a box-shaped shelter where each person takes the plunge. It was quite a daunting view and it did not take long for the butterflies to set in. Shawn jumped first (heaviest to lightest) and I followed soon after. The 4-5 seconds of initial free fall were a gentile reminder that we were alive and the primal scream that accompanied was a stress-relieving perk.
The mates at the Bungy location barbied us up some nice sausages for lunch and then it was off to NZONE for some sky diving dessert. When we arrived Shawn and I met our tandem sky-diving partners, stepped into our jump suits and harnesses, and after a 2 minute lesson on positioning in the sky we were on our way. We boarded our single engine plane with another tandem and a camera woman and began our ascent to 12,000 feet. The view from above Queenstown was breathtaking, but even more breathtaking was the exhilaration of jumping out of a plane. The exit strategy was to put my legs outside the plane and hook my heals under the step and wait for my instructor to release us into the wild blue yonder. The ensuing 45 seconds are indescribable. We tumbled through the air for a few seconds and experienced the free falling sensation before we assumed the traditional free falling position. It took about 8 seconds before we hit terminal velocity and then everything was at a stand-still (I was quickly reminded of the skydiving scene with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Point Break). The wind was rushing at an unreal rate and with a slight change in arm position, Mira (my instructor) spun us around in a flat spin (Top Gun reference) to give the 360 degree view. After our parachute opened Mira spun us around on our side a few times and a few minutes later we landed safely.
Our day beckons the age old question which is more extreme, bungy jumping or sky diving? My vote goes to sky diving due to length of time in the air, view, and acrobatic style ability all providing a more satisfying overall experience. I suggest everyone try it and find out for yourself. Just grip it and rip it.
Does anyone know of any RISKY activities to try? Suggestions welcome.
Too easy,
Scott
Next up: Milford Sound, Mulligan
Milford Mix-up and River Surf Rampage
Tuesday, February 12
Shawn: Scott and I had some serious convo last night which left us a little sleepy for our 630 am wake-up. We got onto the bus at 7am, but ended up back at the garage after the bus blew a belt, definitely a setback. Scott got off to get some food, and wouldn’t you know, the bus was quickly repaired and we ended up leaving without him!! By the time I could gather up our belongings and tell the driver we were a man short, we were a mile down the road so I disembarked and went back to reclaim my brother-in-law. So that was the trip to Milford Sound. To salvage the day, we decided to do a river surfing tour down the Kawarau River. It was a lot of leisure and thrills mixed together as we made our way down the river about 8 km through various rapids to get the heart pumping again. Scott ended up surfing a particular wave the majority of the group failed to engage, and he did it in fantastic form. For about 2 minutes he made that wave his bitch and was the envy of the whole group, especially myself, as I stood a better chance catching a bus at that point. The sun was out all day, it was gorgeous.
Scott: As Shawn described I was the nincompoop of the day. Please allow for me to explain to provide a bit more awareness of my inadvertent diversion of our plans for the day. Because our coach bus ride was scheduled to be 4 hours to our Milford Sound destination, I felt motivated by a fervent hunger to grab a quick breakfast sandwich (simply called rolls in NZ). Upon my return to the bus’s original location, I found myself with two ’sandwiches in hand and no bus or Shawn to speak of.
The river surfing was good fun and an equally substantial workout to boot. It was much better to navigate the turquoise river on a boogie board rather than admire it from the road. The rapids were exciting. On a boogie board you have much more control than simply on an inner tube; however we were much closer to the action and in some cases the rapids had their way with us. The second to last set of rapids was the one where we had the opportunity to surf. It is quite different from what most people imagine surfing to be. Instead of riding with the direction of the wave/current, we were riding against it in order to surf. The current was at such a high rate in the rapid that when positioned correctly the boarder surfed against the current and remained in place (despite small repositioning). I was fortunate enough to catch the wave and it definitely required a vice grip to stay in there. The last rapid was 800 meters in length and was the most exhilarating because of it’s size (level 4 rapid), speed, and drop offs. There were a few areas where we went over a hump were met by a drop off, which resulted in what the Kiwi instructors call a ‘washing machine.’
Overall it was a fun activity but for those of you who have been canyoning, this pales in comparison.
Too easy,
Shawn and Scott
Stay tuned for an xscream day loaded with a 134 meter (440 foot) high wire bungee jump with a 12000 ft. sky dive chaser.
Keep on Rockin’ in the Jones World
Monday, February 12
Shawn: Today I had to go to the only meeting on the whole trip, it was really the only chance I’d have to screw things up, get fired or have to pay for the trip, and it was a not success, so I’m still employed. Meetings were short and sweet and I got the chance to embarrass Scott in front of the group a bit, which was a rare opportunity since we’ve made it a point to avoid sustained exposure to any Jones people for any period of time. There’s a guy named Chip here from San Diego, total tool, always making uncomfortable comments. Those are the kinds that we’re looking to avoid. We went for a run and then swam in Lake Wakatipu, which is about 4 degrees warmer this time of year than in winter, about 53 Degrees Ferenheit if my math serves me well. We Hittman’s call this “refreshing” in WI. Then it was off to Arrowtown, a little (and I mean little) burg 20 minutes away. With a population of a couple hundred, and only 1 road through it, the Jones clan came in and instantly doubled the count. We had an excellent meal followed by one of the best rock ‘n roll cover performances Scott or I had ever heard. The town’s 75-year-old minister and judge also happened to be a maverick on the electric guitar and quite the vocalist as well, and his supporting cast were all family members. The set list was inclusive of, but not limited to, classics the likes of: “Johnny Be Good”, Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”, summed up with a face-melting rendition of “Sultans of Swing,” and yes, they do Encores in Arrowtown, which was a crowd favorite, “Hey Jude.” “Bohemian Rhapsody” was also featured and will soon be added to the Blog as Scott and I along with two other dudes got in front of God and everyone and performed the Wayne’s World car scene almost to a tee, stay posted for this addition, it will not disappoint. The Jones crowd was quickly rendered from a bunch of old fogies into a rock ‘n roll frenzy of nostalgic bliss, sporting ear-to-ear grins around the hall. Truly a remarkable scene and atmosphere, unlike anything I’d ever or will ever see from a Jones crowd, everyone including us regressed to our twenties for about an hour. Tomorrow we’re set to go West to Milford Sound, which is a deceptive name: it’s actually a fjord.
New Zealand’s Biggest Lugers
(pronounced Luush-ers)
Sunday, February 10th
After a normal night sleep, some much needed rest, and a quick bite at a local cafe’ Shawn and I trekked to Bowen Peak via the Ben Lomond track (elevation 1748 m) with a new Irish friend and a psychiatrist from Berkley, California that we met along the trail. The original idea was to take the gondola to the summit; however after the awareness of a tail that led to the top, we decided to test our fitness a bit. It was steep hike with loads of rocky terrain, but totally worth it. After claiming victory over Bowen Peak, we made our way to the Skyline Luge and quickly purchased 5 rides.
The Luge was massively fantastic and it’s excitement was only exceeded by its beautiful view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the surrounding mountain ranges. The Luge can be best described as a ‘choose your own adventure,’ go kart-type race course, commandeered atop of a wide-bodied skate-board with handlebars. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Shawn to set the tone and it was race time!
The Skyline Luge’s slogan is “Once is never enough!” This could not be more true. After our first pass, we boarded the chairlift and engineered our way through the advanced course full of sharp embanked turns and drop off areas which leave you airborne at times. After our 5 passes and no injuries (thankfully) we enjoyed the sunny 75 degree weather and watched the other adrenaline enthusiast bungee jump and paraglide.
Overall an awesome day in Queenstown.
Cheers,
Scott
Welcome to New Zealand!
Saturday, February 9th 2008
We arrived safe and sound in Auckland around 7:15 am and took a 2 hour connector to Queenstown and arrived around Noon. Queenstown is a beautiful town about the size of Oconomowoc, WI (15,000 pop.) nestled between jagged mountains and right off Lake Wakatipu (83 km in circumference). It is really remarkable to look out of our window to see such a dramatic landscape. In fact, the mountain range to the west of us was called the Remarkables, definitely not just a clever name. The entire community is built around the Lake and consequently carved into the mountainside, which makes for very hilly walks into and out of town.
After checking into the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown and going for a quick run, we showered up and made our way into town in search of some authentic New Zealand cuisine. What we found left much to be desired.
The remainder of our afternoon consisted of scoping out what activities we were going to fill out time with while visiting Queenstown. So far on the list includes: rafting, river surfing, and jet boating. Another attractive option includes going at one of these mountainside trails on our own. We’ll keep you posted on what we decide.
Note: The sun in the Southern Hemisphere is markedly more intense than any solar experience we know of in the North. We haven’t been enlightened fully on the cause of this. Aboriginals maintain that a meteor caused it centuries ago, but they’re still painting their faces, killing their food, and dancing around to bring rain, much like Wikipedia, they’re hardly a credible source. But it really is no joke, even at average temps, one can burn quite easily here.
Cheers,
Scott & Shawn
Shortest day ever
Friday, February 8th 2008
Strangely enough our Friday (as we experienced it) only lasted about 2 hours. Since we traveled from Los Angeles to New Zealand (westward), we traveled across the International Date Line and pretty much missed Friday all together. It’s OK though because we get to double up on Saturday on the way back to the States.
Buses, Planes, and Automobiles
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Shawn and I rendezvoused in the illustriously busy O’Hare airport in Chicago on Thursday afternoon after each of us caught the first leg of our trips (his from Milwaukee and mine from Baltimore). The first notable story of the trip came midway through our flight from Chicago to Los Angeles (total flight time of 4 hours and 28 minutes). We were aboard one of the long 757’s with close to 60 rows and sitting in coach.
This being our first leg of the trip, we were infused with excitement and not thinking about sleep (yet). Shawn brought multiple DVD’s of Kung-Faux, which if you’re unfamiliar (like I was), imagine multiple 30 minute excerpts of old school Kung-Fu movies edited into episodes, but instead of the flapping lips and the poorly dubbed English – insert gangster’s voices. It’s called “dubtitled” and it’s all the rage. While we are passing the time with Kung-Faux, there is a guy sitting directly behind me totally sawing logs (snoring) with his mouth open and everything. The snoring continued for sometime and when we were finished with watching Kung-Faux, Shawn took the initiative to recline and relax. I followed suit confident that nothing was going to wake up the snoring Frankenstein behind me because the lauder you snore the deeper you are asleep, right? Wrong! Frankenstein immediately delivered a double stiff-arm to the back of my seat, while simultaneously moaning, (in his deepest Frankenstein voice) ‘there’s not enough room.’ I was shocked and was astonished at the brevity of Frankenstein’s exit from hibernation.
After a moment of reflection, I looked over at Shawn to see if he had witnessed the travesty that had just ensued. [For those of you who don't know, Shawn loves joking around, regardless of the situation.] His immediate idea was to take a picture of Frankenstein while he was snoring, in effort to illustrate the awkward David and Goliath transaction.
I quickly retrieved my cell phone and switched it to stealth mode so that Frankenstein did not know what shenanigans we were up to (despite his immediate return to a boisterous slumber). After a few attempts, Shawn captured a Pulitzer Prize winning photo of Frankenstein in all his glory.
Because it was taken with my camera phone, I was not able to include it with this post; however please check back upon our return and re-read this post (photo and all).
Cheers,
Scott
Rugby Match – Crusaders vs. Brumbies
After our time in Queenstown, Shawn and I will be flying to Christchurch to experience the northern portion of the South Island. Christchurch is known as The Garden City and is located on the East Coast of the South Island. To learn more about Christchurch and its beauty visit: http://www.christchurch.org.nz/.
Why Christchurch? Rugby. Not many Americans understand the sport, but (to save time in explanation) imagine a playground game of ‘kill the man with the ball’ and add a few rules and you have rugby. The Kiwis and the Aussies live and breathe rugby much like Americans idolize football or baseball. Our agenda is to go to AMI Stadium and get tickets to the Super 14 week 1 match-up: Crusaders vs. Brumbies.
AMI Stadium has just undergone lots of renovations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup (http://www.amistadium.co.nz/ami_stadium/home.)
For you Rugby enthusiasts, feel free to visit the Crusaders web page: http://www.crfu.co.nz/main/index.cfm/1,111,html.
The match is on Friday, February 15th at 7:35 PM (1:35 AM Eastern, 12:35 AM Central).
19,075 miles & 40 hours and 57 minutes
Shawn and I will be spending 9 days on the South Island of New Zealand (Queenstown and Christchurch) and 5 days on the North Island (Auckland).
Departure to New Zealand:Baltimore, MD – Queenstown, New Zealand
Leave: 11:34 am on Thursday, February 7th
Arrive: 11:50 am on Saturday, February 9th
Total plane time: 21 hours 14 minutes
Total miles traveled: 9,516
Arrival to US: Auckland, New Zealand – Baltimore, MD
Leave: 7:15 pm on Saturday, February 23rd
Arrive: 11:43 pm on Saturday, February 23rd.
Total plane time: 17 hours and 38 minutes
Total miles traveled: 8,879
Cheers,Scott
