New Zealand 2012 - Day #12

Wednesday, October 31st

It's Halloween.  I'm in a foreign country.  What can I do to make the day a little bit more scary?  Answer: Stand on top of a 142ft platform overlooking the Kawarau River and jump off.

Ahhhh-hah!!!!!!

This day ranks as one of the most ballistic days of my life.  (You're gonna do what???  Just stay on my wing Cougar --- let me tell you the story)

So, although I would consider myself fairly conservative, I also have a bit of a wild side that enjoys an adrenaline rush or two.  With this in mind, 5 of us today took a 25 minute nerve-racking bus ride to the site of the original bungee jump -- The Kawarua Bridge.  This is where bungee jumping got its commercial beginning  (That's right Ice Man -- 'pat on the shoulder' ---  I AM a little dangerous).

Our bus was scheduled to depart at 11:30am.  We walked into town from our hotel a couple hours early to grab some breakfast.  I was freaking out upon wake-up this morning.  For some reason, this whole "jump off a bridge thing" hasn't been sitting well in my stomach. 

No worries mate.  It definitely helped that 5 of us went together.  We walked over to the booking location when we got into town.  There was a big board stating:  "Free pictures (otherwise $50) of your bungee jump when wearing a Halloween costume".  We learned of this information about 1 hr prior to departure.  What do you do? Answer:  You go buy a $10 pirate custom (complete with hat, eye patch, vest, and hook) and proceed to jump 143ft over water in costume.  (At that speed and distance, sounds a little bit too aggressive -----  Yeah, I guess when I see something I really want - I go right after it)

I will say I have no affinity to dressing as a pirate -- it just happened to be the cheapest costume in the discount store across the street from our pickup spot.  Actually - even while writing this - I can't believe I jumped with a pirates hat and eye patch on (and it didn't come off).

So, we get to the place, sign some things I preferred not to read, weighed ourselves twice (once for confirmation), and were led to the middle of the Kawarua Bridge.  There just happened to be a couple dudes bungying naked upon our arrival.  What???  This sport tends to attract the wilder side of life.  I said I had a wild side -- just not that wild.  After not watching, but watching what was going on, we were each handed a harness based on our weight.  1 was number 4 of 5 from our group.  I got to see my buddies make the leap before me -- this helped with the confidence level a bit.  They sit you down on this platform and wrap towels around your ankles and secure your attachment to the bungee.  Your feet are completely bundled together and you cannot walk -- only scoot. 

Next - the moment of truth.  They help you to your feet and ask you to "scoot" up to the edge.  I have one hand on the edge of the bridge as I'm doing this.  I get to within about 6 inches of the edge with the toes of my shoes (I'm thinking this is about far enough).  They say --- "keep scooting out".  I continue another 3 inches.  They tell me again --- "keep scooting out".  (I'm thinking this is no longer a good idea - try putting your feet together and effectively moving your whole body to within the absolute lip of a 142ft drop).  I continue to scoot out and my toes are now slightly over the edge.  I see the river below -- my hand still death-gripped to the bridge.

Then, they tell me to release my hand from the bridge and turn to the right (You gotta let go man - you gotta let it go) --- they want to take my picture (OK -- whatever -- this "picture" is not that important --- so I half-heartily looked to my right).  Then, they tell me to look straight ahead and raise my arms above my head.  (seriously - just writing this right now is making my stomach turn).  With my arms fully extended above my head and my gaze straight-forward, they count backwards 3  --  2 ---  1 --- JUMP.

WHHHOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! I let out some guttural noises as I plummeted my way downward. The water is getting closer, closer -- then WOW -- I'm going upwards again. Then, another rush towards the water. Then up again, then a shorter surge to the water. I DID IT. I was hanging upside down about 20 ft or so from the water. I figured if I fell out of the harness -- I'd still make it. The blood is rushing to my head -- but the feeling is o-so-good. They lower me down to a raft on the river and plunge into the boat. They ask me to look up for my final photo. All I can think
 about at this moment is: "That was AWESOME"

 

My "not so efficient" look to the right

 

 

Yahtzee!

 

HEELLLPPPP MEEEEE!

 

Nice form

 

I'm free falling

 

Wow - I'm still alive

 

Let me off this thing

 

SOLID

So, if bungee jumping was not enough, upon arrival back into Queenstown - we had a couple beers and then met up with our jet boat excursion at 3:30pm.  The Shot Over Jet is the most aggressive jet boat ride in the world --- we would make this happen today as well. 

I wasn't nervous for this - just excited.  We caught a 15 minute bus out to the canyons where the excursion would begin.  Awesome.  We were going at speeds up to 80km/hr at times - coming within inches of sheer rock cliffs.  We would do 360 turns in the middle of the canyon -- it was unbelievable.  This is another "must do" in New Zealand. 

I could go on -- but need to get some shut-eye.  Just know it was about 30 minutes of the most aggressive boating one could ever encounter. 

ALL GOOD from the Land of the Kiwi.

 

Shotover jet team

 

Excellent!

 

Not a bad Halloween

New Zealand 2012 - Day #11

Tuesday, October 30th

Today was one of the best days on the trip thus far.  We took a tour bus to the Milford Sound.  This is a "must-do" if ever coming to New Zealand.  The Milford Sound is actually a fjord -  a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.  Our trip today involved a bus ride to/from Milford Sound - and a 2.5 hour boat cruise in the middle.  (Just like the Norwegian fjords I saw in Europe)

Our tour bus picked us up at our hotel at 6:30am.  We joined a number of runners from the marathon group on the tour.  It was around a 4 hour bus ride to/from the cruise location -- but there was incredible sites all along the way.  We had several stops where we could take pictures and get a coffee/tea.

In addition to the incredible natural sites, we saw dolphin, fur seals, and penguin.  The weather offered tremendous photo opportunities ---- I hope the pictures below tell the story. 

 

Mirror Lake

 

Drive to Milford Sound

 

Drive to Milford Sound

 

 

First views of the fjord

 

Vertical cliffs - tiny boat

 

 

Perfect clouds

 

Out on the boat deck

 

Fur Seals

 

Unreal scenery

 

Off the back of the boat

 

Must see in NZ

New Zealand 2012 - Day #10

Monday, October 29th

Today, we enter Phase #3 (the final phase) of our trip.  We have toured the North Island for a week, experienced Auckland for a couple days/ran a marathon, and now, we head to the South Island for a week.  I’m currently writing aboard an Air New Zealand flight set for Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand.  We had a 12:05pm flight out of Auckland.  It’s been a relaxing morning.  Got up and packed, and took a shuttle to the airport. 

Upon arrival into Queenstown, we got a shuttle to our hotel (Heritage Queenstown). First thoughts -- unbelievable place. Mountains circle this small ski town sitting on a huge lake (Lake Wakatipu). We met up with our friend Cindy and walked into the main city center. We grabbed some lunch, then rented some kayaks, and hit the lake for an hour. Wow - what a great perspective from the lake. Perfect scenery today. After kayaking, we walked around the town a little more, made some plans for the week, and called it a great first day on the South Island. 

I’m just catching up a bit.  I haven’t been able to write much so far, as there's not been a ton of down time.  I wanted to include some general thoughts today – some of which help to define this land. 

(1)     New Zealand is an expensive country.  Food and drink are certainly eye-openers.  This has surprised me.  We had met up with a couple from Switzerland on a hike near Lake Taupo.  When they said prices were very comparible to Switzerland – this said a lot.  As Switzerland is one of the most costly places in the world.  Also, after talking with the New Zealand couple on the plane from LAX to Auckland, and they stated that food was “really cheap” in the US (and proceeded to tell me they spent most of their time in New York City and LA) – I knew we had troubles. 

(2)  New Zealand is very friendly and really accepts their tourism industry.  Example - on most of our hotel stays, we have been escorted to our room, the hotel staff made certain everything was acceptable for us, they made sure the room temperature met our needs, gave us some milk for breakfast, and proactively offered information on restaurants and "things to do".

(3)  The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was filmed all over New Zealand.  3 more movies - the Hobbit -- are currently being filmed and the first one is set for release in about a month.  We've travelled through a number of areas where scenes have been filmed.

(4)  No Tipping.  There's no tipping in New Zealand.  The price stated is the price paid.  Taxes are already in the price displayed.

(5)  There are no snakes, predatory animals, are deadly critters of any kind in New Zealand.  This one is remarkable to me.  Australia - just a short flight away, is probably the deadliest country on earth with respect to deadly creatures. 

(6)  New Zealand is part of a fiery rim of volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean.  Craters have filled to create lakes. Example:  Lake Taupo (where we caught our rainbow trout) is a filled volcanic crater.

(7)  New Zealand has no native mammals.  What's present today has all been introduced.  They have 33 introduced species of mammals, 34 species of birds, 14 species of freshwater fish, and at least 1000 species of insects.  Originally birds were the only species.  They had no predators, so they got lazy and eventually evolved to become flightless - ex:  kiwi bird (with some species without wings)

(8)  New Zealand has early Maori settlement.  The country was first charted by Captain James Cook from England in 1768.

(9)  There are around 44 million sheep in New Zealand - roughly 11 times more sheep than humans.  There are around 20 million dairy cattle - roughly 5 times more cattle than humans.

(10)  Forestry, horticulture, fishing, tourism and manufacturing are the leading industries.  A significant portion of export income comes from meat, wool, and dairy products.  It's amazing to see how impressive the logging industry appears to be as we navigate through the country.

(11) Food.  Alot of emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables.  Main courses are based around beef, lamb, chicken, and fish.  McDonalds has lamb on the menu.  Huge numbers of ethnic restaurants.

 

Overlooking the Southern Alps on plane

 

View from our hotel

 

 

A walk around the lake

 

kayaks on the lake

 

A relaxing day

 

More views of Queenstown

 

Clear waters

 

 

 

New Zealand 2012 - Day #9

Sunday, October 28th

Marathon Success!!!!  6 continents marathoned - 1 to go (Africa).  Back at the hotel resting.  Really good day today.  No rain.  Temperatures started at 50 degrees and peaked around 68 degrees.  Little wind --- pretty ideal conditions.

Everything went off as planned this morning.  We met up with some of our friends around 4:15am and walked together to the ferry.  We caught the first boat to the island of Davenport - just across the harbor from Auckland.  This is where the marathon started.

The first 13 miles were fairly hilly.  The highlight was running over the Harbor Bridge back into Auckland around Mile #10.  The second half of the marathon was really flat.  The course followed right along the coastline.  It was splendid viewing.  (I say splendid because all day we where continually told the phrases "Splendid work mate"  "Good on ya mate"  "Your almost there mate - bloody splendid work")

My finish was less than spectacular - 5:10.  Earlier this year I did the Pikes Peak Marathon in Colorado.  I was so focused on this and had trained really hard for the hills, etc.  Once this race had finished -- I trained for Auckland --- just not great training.  I actually was really pleased with my finish today.  It hurt - but it was rewarding.

Greg was solid with a 4:21 and the others in our running group also did well.
We just got back from lunch and some beers.  It's rest time again.

Good day from a tired, sore, very satisfied runner.

 

50 yards from the start

 

Our friend Cindy posing on Harbor Bridge

 

Greg - in front of Sky Tower after race

 

Pre-race shot

 

Running Group (Karen, Steve, Greg, Cindy, KB, Clyde)

 

 

New Zealand 2012 - Day #8

Saturday, October 27th

I can't believe marathon day is tomorrow.  I haven't been thinking about it much.  Today -- it's real again.  First morning in Auckland.  Pretty low key agenda for the day.  We walked down to the habor front and went to the race expo.  We got our gear bag/number and walked though the exhibits for about 30 minutes. 

After grabbing some breakfast/lunch, we decided to tour the Sky Tower.  It's the iconic sysmbol of Auckland - just as the Space Needle is the symbol of Seattle.  Great views atop the viewing platform.  We took in the scenery - watching people as they bungy jumped off the top.  (More about bungy jumping in the coming days --- my stomach flip-flops when thinking about it)

Back to the Harbor Front for some pasta and then back to the hotel for an early bedtime.  Race starts at 6:10am in the morning on Sunday (28th).  We have to take a ferry across the bay to the start.  The ferry starts running at 4:30am.  Therefore, our wakeup is 3:30am - with departure from the room being 4:20am.  Our hotel is perfectly placed.  It's within a 10 minute walk of both the ferry and the finish line. 

Predictions are for rain thorughout the day, temperatures between 50-70 degrees.  The course is relatively flat.  If the wind stays down, the rain shouldn't be too bad.  I'm planning to gear check some clothes so I can stay warm in the morning before the start. 

Here's to finding that inner strength to make it happen tomorrow.  Here's to believing in yourself.  Here's to a good day "Down Under".

Keep the faith!  See you in 26.2.

 

Auckland - Harbor View

 

View from Sky Tower

 

In the window of Sky Tower

 

Sky Tower View

 

Victoria Park - finish line

 

Jumping from Sky Tower - random person

New Zealand 2012 - Day #7

Friday, October 26th

Coming to you live from the 7th floor of the Auckland Heritage Hotel in downtown Auckland, New Zealand.  Today we finished Phase #1 of our trip by completing our tour of the north island. 

We started the day in Whangarei - just about halfway between Auckland and the very tip of the north island.  We took a 2 hour drive up the coast to the Bay of Islands.  We started in Paihia - the central point of the region.  Incredible.  Small, tiny islands off the eastern coastline.  Endless activites - hiking, helicopter rides, jetboating, ferrying between islands -- all good stuff.

We took a short drive over to Haruru Falls and then onto Mount Bledsoe.  I hope the pictures can tell the story below.  We then worked our way back to Auckland for late afternoon arrival.  The city reminds me alot of Sydney, Australia.  There is a Harbor Bridge into the main town.  You can also climb the bridge - as you can (and we did) in Sydney. 

We walked down to the main harbor for dinner.  Again, very similar to Sydney.  Outside restaurants lined the horseshoe-shaped Viaduct Basin.  We met up with some running friends of ours (Cindy & Tom) from the Antartica trip.  We had a great dinner together catching up. 

I feel really good about the North Island and what we were able to see in 5 days.  From the geysers in Rotorua, rainbow trout fishing in Taupo, the unique town of Napier, the loop around the Coromandel Region, and then the great small towns of Northland. 

It's on to Auckland for a couple days.  Keep the faith!

 

Paihia Harbor

 

Paihia

 

Haruru Falls

 

Overlooking Mount Bledsoe

 

Bay of Islands

 

Auckland from the Harbor Bridge

 

Viaduct Harbor

New Zealand 2012 - Day #6

Thursday, October 25th

Sitting in a hotel room in Whangarei, New Zealand.  Fourth night in the country - 4 different towns at nightfall (Rotorua, Tapou, Tauranga).  We'll be heading to Auckland late tomorrow and will be staying put for 3 days.

Today we started the day in Tauranga - a great little town on the eastern coast of the north island.  After checking out of the hotel, we walked down to the beach and grabbed some breakfast. 
Tauranga is one of New Zealand's main centers for business, international trade, culture and fashion.  The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest port in terms of gross export tonnage.

Our travel plans today included a drive up the eastern coast to explore the Coromandel Region.  We started in a town called Waihi.  We were able to view a working gold and silver mine.  I'm not sure my picture below can show the true size of this hole in the ground.  Crazy - and right in the middle of the town.

We next headed north to our 2nd destination - Hot Water Beach.  This is a famous beach in the Coromandel Region.  There is a setion of the beach where you can dig into the sand and hot water will flow from the ground.  People will dig holes and create their own hot-tubs.  Unfortunately, upon arrival, we learned that the area where the hot water can be located is only accessible 2 hours before/after low tide. It was a really neat place to see however.  It's listed as a Top 10 beach in the world by Lonely Planet.

We continued on making a counterclockwise circle around the Coromandel Region.  The clouds were overcast today - so the scenery didn't pop like it did the past couple days.  The roads in this area were unbelievably curvy.  Great quality - but nothing in a straight line.  Great area and known as the summer holiday location for locals -- but it's definitely good to know that you're not getting anywhere quickly in this region.

We next headed straight north through Auckland into the Northland Region of the North Island.  That's where we are tonight.  Tomorrow we'll explore this area and get back to Auckland by Friday evening.  We have a marathon coming up on Sunday.  Another exploring day - and then we have to get serious for about 48 hours.

Here's to my favorite phrase used in these parts - "Good on ya". Good night and Good on Ya. 

 

Gold mining

 

Hot Water Beach

 

Overlooking Coromandel

 

Coromandel Region

 

True New Zealand

 

Top 10 Beach in World