So where was I?
So Marv & I had a bit of a blog strop when all our photos of the Abel Tasman and the glacier got munched by a 'puter in Nelson and I couldn't bring myself to write anything until now. Have cheered up decidedly, especially since we've decided to stay in one place for the remainder of our time in NZ. The place is Raglan. It's a lowkey surf town on the west coast of the north island. There's a fair few nice looking cafes, a beach, and not much else. And reeelax. But a wee catch-up first...
The Franz Josef glacier walk was excellent. We got much more 'into' the glacier than we did in Argentina. As a glacier it's much steeper than the Argentinian ones (the valley it runs down is steep and narrow), but smaller. But the height meant we could walk readily through crevasses, and the like, and even used ice axes as well as crampons. We remembered our lunch this time, which is always a bonus. The weather was glorious so the ice shone in a 'are you sure it's not really melting?' sort of a way. Occasional booms in the distance had us all a little disconcerted. Our guide gleefully told us the first time that it could be an earthquake. Ha ha. Not what you want when you're stuck between 2 twenty metre walls of ice and below you is a hundred metres of ice, and then a lake of cold water and then rock. The crevasses are so narrow you can't actually walk through with both your feet parallel so the tendency for claustrophobia is quite high...anyway, it wasn't, of course, earthquakes, but ice falls, and we were fine. And a kea ate the guide's peanut butter sandwich so I feel revenged.
We then headed up to the Abel Tasman National Park on the north of the South Island. It was GORGEOUS. As were the photos we took of it (boo!) but I digress. Granite rock eroded into golden sand, lapped by blue blue sea and meets lush jungle/forest. We walked the Coastal Path for a couple of days - relatively easy walk in comparison to some of the other walks we've done. Camped, walked 20 kilometres through the bush, then stayed in paradise for the night. After a night of camping and noodles, we took our opportunity to indulge on the food and drink front...gin and tonics, a fine Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Nelson seafood chowder, red snapper, pear and almond tart. And a room with a balcony overlooking the bush and a king size bed and a bath! Hurrah! Oh yes, and we saw dolphins. Bottle-nose this time. Playing in the bay. I've started a checklist now - I don't know how many more species there are to see but I'm on the case. They're my new favourite animal.
Got the Cook Strait ferry over the North Island the following day after an awesome speed boat ride out of the park. Saw fur seals looking very pleased with themselves in the sunshine on Tonga Island. To be frank, I would be pretty pleased with myself if I lived in the Abel Tasman too. Stayed in Okahune, near Mount Rapaheu, the tallest volcano in NZ. We passed through this sweet little town on our way down and saw absolutely nada (Spanish lapsing somewhat you may have noticed...trying to practice before we head to Buenos Aires next weekend...) of the volcano. Didn't see much last night either except a beer and bed. But this morning was a whole different kettle of dolphins. The weather was PERFECT. We saw Mt R. and its vents, which look pretty much like volcanoes to novices like me. We actually climbed about halfway up Mt R - on the way up saw Mount Egmont in the distance. ME is a much more volcano like volcano (i.e. it's symmetrical - kinda Fuji like.) MR is ENORMOUS. And, maybe it's just me being a scaredy cat, but it's very odd standing halfway up a live volcano. I mean, it could erupt, right? Like, unexpectedly?
Anyway, it didn't. And now we're in Raglan, and are going to do nothing for five days. Except, maybe, some power-kiting. ANd, just maybe, some surfing. And then it's back to Auckland for dinner with a friend there who works for NZ public tv on the internet side of things. Then a flight to Buenos Aires. 2 nights there - maybe I'll get Marv to do some tango! Then home...this is the year I turn 30 and a good chunk of our friends have babies (some of them imminently: GOOD LUCK TOM AND VICKY AND ZOE AND CHARLIE AND HITHA AND JACK AND PHIL AND KATE!!!!) so I'm expecting a good year...
Two final points: I may try to get some photos up here before we leave. Second, what am I supposed to do with this blog on my return? I'm thinking of reprising pomespennyeach and incorporating the blog somehow...
xx
So Marv & I had a bit of a blog strop when all our photos of the Abel Tasman and the glacier got munched by a 'puter in Nelson and I couldn't bring myself to write anything until now. Have cheered up decidedly, especially since we've decided to stay in one place for the remainder of our time in NZ. The place is Raglan. It's a lowkey surf town on the west coast of the north island. There's a fair few nice looking cafes, a beach, and not much else. And reeelax. But a wee catch-up first...
The Franz Josef glacier walk was excellent. We got much more 'into' the glacier than we did in Argentina. As a glacier it's much steeper than the Argentinian ones (the valley it runs down is steep and narrow), but smaller. But the height meant we could walk readily through crevasses, and the like, and even used ice axes as well as crampons. We remembered our lunch this time, which is always a bonus. The weather was glorious so the ice shone in a 'are you sure it's not really melting?' sort of a way. Occasional booms in the distance had us all a little disconcerted. Our guide gleefully told us the first time that it could be an earthquake. Ha ha. Not what you want when you're stuck between 2 twenty metre walls of ice and below you is a hundred metres of ice, and then a lake of cold water and then rock. The crevasses are so narrow you can't actually walk through with both your feet parallel so the tendency for claustrophobia is quite high...anyway, it wasn't, of course, earthquakes, but ice falls, and we were fine. And a kea ate the guide's peanut butter sandwich so I feel revenged.
We then headed up to the Abel Tasman National Park on the north of the South Island. It was GORGEOUS. As were the photos we took of it (boo!) but I digress. Granite rock eroded into golden sand, lapped by blue blue sea and meets lush jungle/forest. We walked the Coastal Path for a couple of days - relatively easy walk in comparison to some of the other walks we've done. Camped, walked 20 kilometres through the bush, then stayed in paradise for the night. After a night of camping and noodles, we took our opportunity to indulge on the food and drink front...gin and tonics, a fine Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Nelson seafood chowder, red snapper, pear and almond tart. And a room with a balcony overlooking the bush and a king size bed and a bath! Hurrah! Oh yes, and we saw dolphins. Bottle-nose this time. Playing in the bay. I've started a checklist now - I don't know how many more species there are to see but I'm on the case. They're my new favourite animal.
Got the Cook Strait ferry over the North Island the following day after an awesome speed boat ride out of the park. Saw fur seals looking very pleased with themselves in the sunshine on Tonga Island. To be frank, I would be pretty pleased with myself if I lived in the Abel Tasman too. Stayed in Okahune, near Mount Rapaheu, the tallest volcano in NZ. We passed through this sweet little town on our way down and saw absolutely nada (Spanish lapsing somewhat you may have noticed...trying to practice before we head to Buenos Aires next weekend...) of the volcano. Didn't see much last night either except a beer and bed. But this morning was a whole different kettle of dolphins. The weather was PERFECT. We saw Mt R. and its vents, which look pretty much like volcanoes to novices like me. We actually climbed about halfway up Mt R - on the way up saw Mount Egmont in the distance. ME is a much more volcano like volcano (i.e. it's symmetrical - kinda Fuji like.) MR is ENORMOUS. And, maybe it's just me being a scaredy cat, but it's very odd standing halfway up a live volcano. I mean, it could erupt, right? Like, unexpectedly?
Anyway, it didn't. And now we're in Raglan, and are going to do nothing for five days. Except, maybe, some power-kiting. ANd, just maybe, some surfing. And then it's back to Auckland for dinner with a friend there who works for NZ public tv on the internet side of things. Then a flight to Buenos Aires. 2 nights there - maybe I'll get Marv to do some tango! Then home...this is the year I turn 30 and a good chunk of our friends have babies (some of them imminently: GOOD LUCK TOM AND VICKY AND ZOE AND CHARLIE AND HITHA AND JACK AND PHIL AND KATE!!!!) so I'm expecting a good year...
Two final points: I may try to get some photos up here before we leave. Second, what am I supposed to do with this blog on my return? I'm thinking of reprising pomespennyeach and incorporating the blog somehow...
xx
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