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I thought I should post this journal entry, though so delayed, as an ode to my sister, Andrea; without whom I would never have experienced some of the coolest highlights of my New Zealand adventure. Not only was my older sister more energetic and organized than I, she also enabled me to a world beyond the world of WWOOFer/ backpacker. This is a travel world I have not known...... since childhood. I owe her much gratitude for helping fund major travel highlights, flying across the world to join me for three weeks and for not letting me jump out of a plane....alone. Many of you have already heard some of these stories or seen evidence on the ever extensive facebook album, but I will share my account of what it is like to travel with your sister extensively for the first time in over 20 years. :)
I met Andrea in Auckland on the morning of her arrival. She was jet lagged and I was, well, some kind of lagged, as I had spent the previous day sampling wine and seafood delights at the Keri Keri Food and Wine Festival! Despite my state, I made my 7:30am bus and met her at our hostel. Andrea had the keen ability to look as if we needed an upgrade (to a private room) in locations, so most places upgraded we sisters for free! We didn't explore Auckland aside from Indian food and cafes. Though in my previous experience I had deemed it not worthy of tons of urban discovery. So we set off on our bus South the next day. Our first few days were spent and spend happy tourists. We went to a Hangi (traditional Maori earth oven meal) and performance our first night in Rotorura and also sprung for the geothermal tour, which was cool, but nothing compared to the scenery we would be taking in, as I assured her. From there we traveled only slightly South to Taupo. This center of the North Island offers some good views and the largest lake in New Zealand, which really isn't very grand. However, when you jump out of a plane on a clear day- that lake appears awfully vast, massive and death defying!
The decision to skydive was mine, only made possible by Andrea. Skydiving has been a goal of mine and was on the top of my Top 30 Before I
Turn 30 List- as was coming to New Zealand in the first place!
In any case, the decision was made on a whim 24 hours prior. Contrary to my usual inquisition, I didn't ask for the worst-case scenario stories until after we survived. While we suited up and vaguely watched an instructional video, I think I lost touch with what I was about to do. Andrea was elected to jump out of the plane first. She will blame me for convincing her to do this, but truth be told, I never expected she would want to come with me. I offered her multiple outs, but big sisters don't like to be shown up by their cooler, younger counterparts;) In any case, Andrea in all her shakiness lept from the plane first on leap year- with a much cuter tandem instructor than I. I, on the other hand, was about the sixth person to leap from our tiny prop plane and didn't get petrified until the door was open and I was asked to simply hang my legs over the side of the plane while my instructor held us against the exit with his foot. Naturally, I rambled the entire ascent to 12,000 feet and was likely the only person in the plane making small talk. However, when I held out my hand it wasn’t even unsteady. There is something oddly calming about putting your life in a strangers hands. One of the last thoughts I had before jumping was, I can’t believe my grandfather did this in WWII on D-Day with a medic bag. Buck up! All went according to plan except that the 40-second free fall felt like 900 minutes to me before the chute opened. All I said was expletive#*$& expletive the whole way down, but had my eyes open enough to enjoy it! You are supposed to keep your head back and your legs tucked (imagine your body as a backwards banana on another person), but I failed in that regard because I flailed my legs. As if I expected them to find gravity to stabilize myself in mid-air. I flailed until the chute opened and we were traveling vertically as opposed to horizontally through clouds. The experience is indescribable. There is a feeling of immortality, fierce fearlessness and insanity that combines to create a major surge of “I can do anything” endorphins afterwards. So in true Cosby fashion we celebrated with a delicious meal before catching out bus later that afternoon!
We arrived in Wellington a la casa Jeannette and enjoyed the free access to Internet, laundry and planning time. Jeannette’s house that she shares with her flat mate outside of Welly has been my home away from home and base for me in New Zealand. It has been glorious to be able to leave a finished book or unwanted clothing and have my own room in NZ! Andrea and I spent a long day sorting out our plans for the rest of the trip. This involved planes, buses, rentals, reservations, cancellations etc. She was the brains, or the financier, and I was the brawn, or the spokesperson/ negotiator, in this business we call travel. In the end, there were limited hiccups and we pulled off the rest of our co-travel with only minor hitches. But what is travel without a rainy day, an almost busted tire and a parking ticket to make you appreciate it all? Or in our case, help you justify retail therapy and ice cream!
We left Wellington to pick up our rental van in Christchurch. Then, we hightailed it in our purple and green home to Nelson where we would enter the Abel Tasman National Park. After a day and a half of hiking and kayaking on the breathtaking coastal track we made our way down the west coast of the South Island, stopping for the phenomenal views. The roads were windy and slick. Often, you can go hours without seeing another car. This can be a pretty handy thing while you acclimate to driving on the left side of the car on the left side of the road into one-lane bridges that decorate New Zealand highways.
We slept next to moonlit beaches, we found organic cafes with gluten free delights and we won’t discuss the sand flies that haunted us throughout.
When we got to the Franz Josef Glacier we discovered a touristy town ready with cyclists, mountaineers, ice heli-hikers and beyond. Andrea and I took the less intense route of “run to the glacier in the pouring rain long enough to enjoy the view and snap the photos.” We also took in the kiwi exhibit and enjoyed overpaying to see the nocturnal, endangered, pre-historic wonder that symbolizes New Zealand.
Beyond the glacier, we found dry solace in a cute little resort town called Wanaka. It provides a beautiful lake view and some tiny vineyard tracks. In the winter this turns into a ski destination for the kiwi elite. Again, we sorted ourselves out with cafes, Internet and planning for the remainder of the trip. All the while we are sleeping and carrying all of our worldly possessions in our blessed camper van, which really wasn’t that uncomfortable to sleep in! It came equipped with a stove and mini-fridge.
From Wanaka we traveled to the tiny town of Manapouri, which was the only location we encountered some issues with “freedom camping” and ended up parked outside a residential culdesac /park. All went well as we departed early to meet our small cruise boat for an overnight adventure in the Doubtful Sound. But that adventure, is a story all it’s own!
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