Kiwi Kicks

I just returned from a vacation in New Zealand with my parents and had an excellent excellent time! Picture snowcapped mountains that create a magnificent backdrop to rolling green picturesque farmland (home to many many sheep).

Luckily, we arrived just before the major tourist season so there were few people on the roads. My dad enjoyed roundabouts, driving the winding roads, and one-lane bridges. This included a few long bridges where cars straddled train tracks with no way of knowing whether or not a train was on its way. Signs simply warned that cars should give way to trains (no kidding). I have no idea what a car was supposed to do if it was in the middle of the bridge and a train arrived :)

Unfortunately, to cover all of the areas we wanted to see we ended up doing a lot of driving and had little time to hike. We usually stayed away from the cities and I was impressed by the cleanliness of the country. Also very pleased to find few billboard advertisements on the roadsides and many undeveloped areas. Shocked to see people walking in stores, restaurants with bare feet.

The country is a wonderful mix of mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, fiords, lakes, rivers, geothermal areas, and thousands of waterfalls amongst the rugged landscape. We had a few nights of constant rain which made for roaring waterfalls everywhere. It was extremely interesting to see almost every major ecosystem represented in one form or another! 

We spent most of our time on the South Island and one area was more beautiful than the next. One of my favorite towns, Kaikoura, is on the west coast where the mountains are in close proximity to the sea (and a prime whale-watching area). Simply an awesome coastline and a cute touristy town with buildings covered in bright maritime murals. Unfortunately, the day we were there the whales were too far out to reach in a boat or even by helicopter.

One of my favorite days was spent kayaking between sand beaches and granite formations in the northern part of the South Island, in Abel Tasman national park. We saw seals, star fish, and many sea birds at close range. Another interesting area was Fiordland. We took a day-long boat trip in the Doubtful Sound fiord which was gorgeous despite misty, gloomy weather. I was amazed at the rainforest vegetation, especially the abundance and size of ferns. Spotted the rare Fiordland crested penguin. And, it was here that we saw the Kea -- a parrot that inhabits mountain areas. The birds are curious and are often seen destroying the rubber on parked cars and tents!