I am the Burgerfan!

We are currently deep in the South Pacific.  I am guessing that this may be as far south as I will ever be on this planet, but at least we saw….

Penguins

The town of Oamaru was a major economic centre of 8,000 people in New Zealand in the mid to late 1800’s (current population 13,000).  Many of the same buildings still stand strong today, and are a reminder of the town’s Victorian-era developments.

In and around this town are some penguin colonies, and this is a definite must-see!  We had the priviledge of encountering two different kinds of penguins.  The first was a Yellow-Eyed Penguin.  There are 5000 remaining in existance, and this particular colony has 25 of them.  We got the good fortune to see 5 swim up to land and waddle into the brush just before dawn.  This was very exciting, as one of the things I wanted to see while in New Zealand was penguins.  These guys are about 70cm tall.  Next, and just after dawn, we went over to a blue penguin colony, and watched about 25 of these little guys (they are little — about 20-30 cm tall!) swim ashore and head up the rocks to their nests.  The blue penguins are interesting because they have a light blue coating on their backs.  They usually stick together in groups, so between 5 and 10 all went up in a pretty tight group!  (Check out more info at http://penguins.co.nz/ )

Christou and the Chololate Factory

Dunedin is home to the worlds steepest road (Baldwin Street, at a 37% grade), and is as far south as we will venture.  This town is home to a Cadbury Chocolate Factory, and they offer tours, complete with free samples!  Hey!  Who were we to argue?  So for two days prior, this was all we were talking about.  It was pretty interesting, and even outside on the street beside the factory it smells like chocolate.  Here is some of the neat things we were told:

• 10,000 (regular size) chocolate bars are created and packaged per hour
• New Zealand’s "energy" chocolate bar called Morro is consumed at a rate of one bar every 2-4 seconds
• Easter chocolate is produced between the months of June-January.  It is a major portion of their business!
• http://www.cadbury.co.nz/cadburyworld/visit.html

Having seen Penguins, I will have at least one item checked off on my list (Penguins, Kiwis, Rugby).  We never got to see any Kiwi birds.  This flightless nocturnal creature, I am beginning to think, is a New Zealand legend that is used to fool tourists.

Observations: You know how your grandma’s house has those awkward sinks with separate faucets for the hot and cold water, and they are rammed right up by the edge of the sink, so that you cannot fit your hands under the water?  Every sink in this country is like that!!!

We have spent a few days around Wellington, New Zealand. Not doing too much, but we did go to the National Museum (Te Papa Museum – http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/Tepapa/English ) which is six floors of various and interesting displays. The neat thing is that the museum is free! Good stuff…

The other thing we saw was the Wellington Zoo. They have some interesting animals from Africa there, but sadly (and humorously for me) the pinnacle of that afternoon was when Tiffany and I saw a giraffe smelling another giraffe’s bum, and we were standing there laughing like idiots. But whatever, it was funny to us.

Tomorrow we head down to the South Island on what is supposed to be a very scenic ferry ride.

The Waitomo Caves Area is well known for its Blackwater Rafting, and caves.  The land in the area is mostly limestone, and when streams cross it, they naturally cut into it.  Over time, this cycle creates underground caves of impressive magnitude.

This was a very enjoyable experience, and a must-see in New Zealand.  You are suited up with a dry-suit, and an inner tube, and then you walk out to an innocent enough creek, which then runs down into a cave entrance.  Then you float through the caves on your innertube.  The water is very slow running, so there is nothing strenuous about it.  The underground cave network is very impressive, and ranges from crawl-through spaces to cathedral size openness.  Once immersed in total silence and darkness, you float along and are revealed the other reason for going on this activity — along the top of the cave walls are thousands of luminescant green dots.  These caves are the famous Glow Worm caves!  A specific insect is capable of generating a glowing substance (without lighting effects) in order to attract other bugs as food.  But the result to us humans is a very cool sight!  Collectively, there are enough worms that you are able to derive the cave ceiling contours.

This area is more of an outpost than a small village, so having done the caves, we were then off to Rotorua.  This region is home to about 67,000 people, and is known as the Maori Cultural capital.  A great deal of Native culture and activities can be found here.

However, before doing anything else, it was time for the one thing I have wanted to do since hearing about it from Tiffany’s 1999/2000 trip… The Zorb!  Imagine getting in a big plastic ball, with a bucket’s worth of water, and then rolling down a hill, and there you have it!  This was super fun, and I am now a Zorbonaut. [ http://www.zorb.com ]

After tumbling up an appetite, it was time for a dose of culture.  The Maori people came to New Zealand in about 1350, and have since been able to retain their culture, stories, and family history.  We spent the evening at a Maori performance that showcased territorial greetings, peace declarations, songs and dances, and battle preparations.  Afterwards there was a hangi, a traditional meal cooked over hot rocks underground.  I don’t think I ever had chicken so tender!

Cost Around New Zealand:
Blackwater Rafting: The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. [ http://www.blackwaterrafting.co.nz/ ], NZ$85 per person.
Maori Evening: NZ$75 per person.

We are now in transit over 700 km to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand (I wrote this up on the bus ride, earlier today).  While an 8 hour bus ride would be boring in most places near home, I have spent most of it watching out the window at the impressive scenery.  From a lakeside view, to a sandy desert plain, to the sheep-clad hillside scenery that covers most of this North Island, New Zealand thus far has presented an enjoyable backdrop.  Much of it actually resembles crosses between our foothills, and the Okanagan.

Auckland is a nice place.  I think it would be neat to live here.

I have one heck of a time with foreign city names.  I think a lot of the locations in New Zealand stem from the Native (Maori) language, and because of this, I will hear a town name, and them promptly forget again ("I want to get a ticket to Wai…whatnow?")  The same thing happened in Costa Rica.

So we’ve spent a few days wandering around Auckland.  Most of the hostels are in the central/trendy region of town, and Auckland is a fairly spread out city, so we haven’t actually seen a great deal of it.  But the main area (along Queen Street) is very nice.

We went up the Sky Tower http://www.skytower.co.nz/ , which is the largest structre in the Southern Hemisphere, and boasts an amazing view.  There are some photos from the tower, and our first few days in town, under one of the photo galleries.

Observations: Pedestrian crosswalks operate a little differently than at home.  The traffic goes in both directions first, and then all traffic stops.  Pedestrians then have the all-clear to cross in all directions, including diagonal at most intersections.  They have to hurry though — usually in a few sections, the flashing hand appears.  It means there is a little more of a wait to cross the road (unless you make a run for it, which is also common), and it also means there is a mass of people on the road all at once, making you wonder where they came from.

Tomorrow morning we head out to Waitomo ("Why-toe-moe") to start our journey southward.  Even though this is just the first of many stops, I will definately miss Auckland.

Cost Around Town:
Hostel: Auckland Central Backpackers, NZ$25 per person per night for a 4-6 person dorm room.
Food: Groceries.  Dinner for 2 is under NZ$10.
Sky Tower: NZ$18 per person, and $3 extra to go to an observation deck 34 metres higher.

Stay tuned for some distinctly New Zealand activities, coming in a few days.

It is currently 4:17PM on Tuesday March 8, 2005, in Auckland New Zealand, and the Transit Marathon to get this journey started is now complete.

After leaving for Calgary on Saturdy, and getting no sleep in the hotel, we were up at the ripe time of 4am Sunday morning (March 6) to prepare for our 6:30am flight out.  After a 3 hour trip to Dallas (yes Dallas), and another 3 hour trip to Los Angeles, we kicked around for a few hours, before leaving Sunday night at 8:30pm.  We then crossed the Date Line, and arrived at 6:00am on Tuesday March 8!  Therefore, March 7 never existed for me.

The total transit time was 28 hours, and starting that stretch off on no sleep is even worse.  But the 12 hour flight across the Pacific was actually the best part of the trek.  Flying Qantas apparently meant that we were fed well, and every seat had its own tv to watch movies, listen to music, or play games.  Pretty neat.  I got the added bonus of the seat beside me cancelling last minute, and having some room to stretch out and sleep.

Arriving into town so early, the best thing to do is stay awake and adjust to the new timezone as soon as possible.  The abundance of warmth and sunshine is making this very easy, and as far as I am concerned, Winter is now dead.

Auckland is a pretty neat place so far.  We have walked around a little, and the style is rather ecclectic.  There are older buildings, which are in good condition, and there are newer buildings, which are very well-fashioned.  And as for adjusting to the timezone, I will have to wait and see tomorrow how well that worked for me.

I hope its better to be overpacked than underpacked.  The main problem is that it is much heavier.  So right off the top, I wonder how much stuff I will shed after the first little while on the road.  And speaking of important questions, how resilient will the Tilley hat be this time?  It held up so well in Costa Rica, that Tiffany decided to get one for this trip!

I’m looking forward to this trip.  After being occupied with work for quite the last while, I will now get to spend a considerable amount of time with my wife.  I’m sure we’ll start with formal introductions on the airplane, and maybe by New Zealand, we will be holding hands.

With the Taxes filed, and the packing done, all that’s left is to wait for the 28-hour travelling marathon that is our journey to New Zealand.  So starts this next Chapter, an experience to remember.  How much familiarity will I find in unfamiliar places?  How will life on the home front go without the presence of the Christou?  What’s the one key thing I forgot to pack, and how long before I discover it?  Stay tuned…