Hey All!
We just got off the Kepler Track... 4 days, 3 nights, 500 mm of rain! Seriously!
It rained, it stormed, it hailed... and the wind bitch slapped us in the face all day... BUT IT WAS AMAZING!!! 60 km of tramping, that's like 36 miles!
We're going out for a well deserved burger in Queenstown right now, but we'll post more stories tonight!
LOVING NZ!
Jill (with 16 blisters)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
"This is the first time it's rained all summer!"
WE MADE IT! We are here safely, you can calm down parents! After traveling for 35 hours of inital travel, plus another day of driving, we made it to Queenstown last night after an amazing night at Braemer station near Lake Takepo (read: Lake Take-a-poo, at least that's how we liked to pronounce it). Our 6 hour layover in LA was awesome, with dinner on the beach, a pyramid picture in the sand, and Adam and Kyle even managing to take a dip in our first body of water. The flight over the pond wasn't too bad. We managed to watch 4 movies each, drink 90 mimosas (hey- we're on vacation) and play tetris for hours on end. Flying Air New Zealand was all it was cracked up to be, and everyone on board was SO nice.
Once we made it to Christchurch, we picked up our 10 person van with gear trailer, which is hilarious, and started the adventure of driving on the wrong side of the road in the passengers seat. Brian, who was the first brave one to drive kept hitting the windshield wipers when trying to turn on the turn signal, and we all kept yelling at Kyle who was in the 'passengers seat' to put his hands on the steering wheel.
After 3 hours in the car and a long drive down a dirt road, we pulled up to Braemer Station - a sheep farm right on the Lake, which was turquoise blue. This place was so great! Kitchen, beds, sheep and cows out the window, and so old and cozy. We cooked up a great dinner there, and fell asleep early, after such a long commute.
The next morning we braved some rain, and took a walk around the lake AND of course a dip in the lake! Let's just say it wasn't that warm.
We gathered up our stuff and hit the road again, heading to Queenstown in the rain. We stopped in a town called "Twizzle" (please just imagine the SnoopDog references we keep coming up with) for a beer and some brunch and while talking to a local woman, asked about the weather forecast. She said: "Oh man, this is the first time we've gotten rain in the past couple of months- We love it!"... go figure! We kept on trucking to Queenstown, and when we arrived in this great little town found out the Routeburn Track, the main "tramp" we planned to do the next day (today!) had been flooded out, and hikers had been evacuated from the huts the night before because the water was up to their belly buttons. Guess it doesn't matter after all if my boots are waterproof or not!
We checked into our hotel, and stumbled across the perfect dinner spot "The Cow", an old-school pizza and pasta restaurant which had coincidentally been recommended to us by a VR co-worker. Still tired from all the traveling, we grabbed a beer (NZ has GREAT beer!) and headed back to form a plan of attach for the next couple of days.
Our original plan had been to hit the Routeburn today, but currently the guys are talking with the DOC (Department of Transportation) to see what we should plan with this weather that's currently on the South Island. When we first got here with all the rain, we threw out a couple ideas like catching a flight to Tahiti or Australia to lay on the beach, but then we remembered that we are in NZ, NOT at work, it's beautiful rain or shine and have 12 days to feel out. So David, if you're reading this, the Routeburn might happen while you're out here!!! We're meeting in just a minute to nail down some plans for today that might include bungee jumping or jet boats.... TBD!
So there it is: the first blog post in New Zealand.... We're here.. we're safe, and we LOVE IT!
Miss you all!
Jill
From Kyle "BAM!"
Once we made it to Christchurch, we picked up our 10 person van with gear trailer, which is hilarious, and started the adventure of driving on the wrong side of the road in the passengers seat. Brian, who was the first brave one to drive kept hitting the windshield wipers when trying to turn on the turn signal, and we all kept yelling at Kyle who was in the 'passengers seat' to put his hands on the steering wheel.
After 3 hours in the car and a long drive down a dirt road, we pulled up to Braemer Station - a sheep farm right on the Lake, which was turquoise blue. This place was so great! Kitchen, beds, sheep and cows out the window, and so old and cozy. We cooked up a great dinner there, and fell asleep early, after such a long commute.
The next morning we braved some rain, and took a walk around the lake AND of course a dip in the lake! Let's just say it wasn't that warm.
We gathered up our stuff and hit the road again, heading to Queenstown in the rain. We stopped in a town called "Twizzle" (please just imagine the SnoopDog references we keep coming up with) for a beer and some brunch and while talking to a local woman, asked about the weather forecast. She said: "Oh man, this is the first time we've gotten rain in the past couple of months- We love it!"... go figure! We kept on trucking to Queenstown, and when we arrived in this great little town found out the Routeburn Track, the main "tramp" we planned to do the next day (today!) had been flooded out, and hikers had been evacuated from the huts the night before because the water was up to their belly buttons. Guess it doesn't matter after all if my boots are waterproof or not!
We checked into our hotel, and stumbled across the perfect dinner spot "The Cow", an old-school pizza and pasta restaurant which had coincidentally been recommended to us by a VR co-worker. Still tired from all the traveling, we grabbed a beer (NZ has GREAT beer!) and headed back to form a plan of attach for the next couple of days.Our original plan had been to hit the Routeburn today, but currently the guys are talking with the DOC (Department of Transportation) to see what we should plan with this weather that's currently on the South Island. When we first got here with all the rain, we threw out a couple ideas like catching a flight to Tahiti or Australia to lay on the beach, but then we remembered that we are in NZ, NOT at work, it's beautiful rain or shine and have 12 days to feel out. So David, if you're reading this, the Routeburn might happen while you're out here!!! We're meeting in just a minute to nail down some plans for today that might include bungee jumping or jet boats.... TBD!
So there it is: the first blog post in New Zealand.... We're here.. we're safe, and we LOVE IT!
Miss you all!
Jill
From Kyle "BAM!"
Thursday, April 22, 2010
OH MY GOSH WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!
Whoa, where has the time gone! I feel like just yesterday we were setting up our site and the countdown read: 200 days until New Zealand. Now we're down to ONE. We'll head to DIA tomorrow around noon for a solid 30 hours of travel time, landing us in Christchurch around 10:20 AM on the 25th. Sorry 2010, we're not going to experience April 24th.....
Kellyn, Sara, and I were debating about whether or not we should wear jeans or yoga pants on the plane, however we definitely landed on yoga pants! Heather and Amber, if you girls wear one of these cute "travel dresses" we keep hearing about, you're in trouble!
For those of you who haven't seen the itinerary, it looks something like this:
25th: Land in Christchurch to pick up our smelly 11 person van and gear trailer. Stay overnight in sheep shearer's quarters (I'm thinking that's kind of like the Marriott)
26th: Drive to Queenstown while gaping out the windows like some of the best Breckenridge tourists
27th: Hit the Routeburn Track for 3 days!
29th: Go to Milford Sound for the night after our hike
30th: Back to Queenstown to do some crazy adventure stuff for a couple of days and pick up David!
2nd - 8th: This is our PIBE week (Play It By Ear). Here are the things we KNOW we are doing at some point or another:
- Staying at a Schoolhouse hostel in Okarito
- Driving up north and hiking/exploring along the way. Maybe sleep on the beach?
- See some whales and dolphins, drink some wine, hike and play, etc
- Stay at our RIDICULOUS beach house in Picton the 5th-8th (http://www.tigersden.co.nz/ - get a life, this place is unreal!) This place is walking distance to wineries, too...
So that's what our next two weeks look like, and it all starts tomorrow. We'll have a laptop along and will be stopping to update our adventures along the way, so stay tuned.
Adam got this picture yesterday from the guys at Trippin' for Trout (oh yeah, we're meeting up with them too!) and it looks like the sunsets in Queenstown aren't that great... yeah right.
Kellyn, Sara, and I were debating about whether or not we should wear jeans or yoga pants on the plane, however we definitely landed on yoga pants! Heather and Amber, if you girls wear one of these cute "travel dresses" we keep hearing about, you're in trouble!
For those of you who haven't seen the itinerary, it looks something like this:
25th: Land in Christchurch to pick up our smelly 11 person van and gear trailer. Stay overnight in sheep shearer's quarters (I'm thinking that's kind of like the Marriott)
26th: Drive to Queenstown while gaping out the windows like some of the best Breckenridge tourists
27th: Hit the Routeburn Track for 3 days!
29th: Go to Milford Sound for the night after our hike
30th: Back to Queenstown to do some crazy adventure stuff for a couple of days and pick up David!
2nd - 8th: This is our PIBE week (Play It By Ear). Here are the things we KNOW we are doing at some point or another:
- Staying at a Schoolhouse hostel in Okarito
- Driving up north and hiking/exploring along the way. Maybe sleep on the beach?
- See some whales and dolphins, drink some wine, hike and play, etc
- Stay at our RIDICULOUS beach house in Picton the 5th-8th (http://www.tigersden.co.nz/ - get a life, this place is unreal!) This place is walking distance to wineries, too...
So that's what our next two weeks look like, and it all starts tomorrow. We'll have a laptop along and will be stopping to update our adventures along the way, so stay tuned.
Adam got this picture yesterday from the guys at Trippin' for Trout (oh yeah, we're meeting up with them too!) and it looks like the sunsets in Queenstown aren't that great... yeah right.
Anyways, wish us luck. We can't wait to jump on that plane tomorrow and get away from it all: moving, work, brains, bills, stress... see ya later!
Love you all! Can't wait to share our adventures!
~Jill
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