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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sydney!!
We arrived to Sydney on Friday afternoon. Jacob's friend Khang picked us up and took us for coffee, cakes and later on a great dinner. From that on we have really been spoiled with good food, nice non-touristy sights, great homy feeling (very welcomed after long time in the Camper-van).
Saturday was public holiday here in Sydney, which let us wander around on the streets without cars. Of course we went for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera house which was surreal since you only have seen those structures on post cards before...
Saturday was public holiday here in Sydney, which let us wander around on the streets without cars. Of course we went for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera house which was surreal since you only have seen those structures on post cards before...
We walked through Hyde park and saw Chinatown where we got some good Bimbimbap (korean rice-dish).
Sunday we went for the Blue Mountains, which got their names from the bluey glow from Eucalyptus trees, where we went for a fantastic bush-walk through the damp forrest (kind of a jungle...).
Then we spent the night in a nice forrest-cabin with a fireplace and had a relaxing evening. The wind was blowing hard and it was quite cold... but the fire kept us warm! We introduced "Turn eight" to Khang and realized we need another english name for it... somebody has a suggestion?? On the morning, we got to feed the native birds.
Tonight back in Parramatta (city close to Sydney where Khang lives) we have got nice german food (Flammkuchen and Pretzels) in an old church (turned into a resto, really cool!) and are now heading for bed. Tomorrow we will continue to explore Sydney, can't wait ...
Take care!
Tonight back in Parramatta (city close to Sydney where Khang lives) we have got nice german food (Flammkuchen and Pretzels) in an old church (turned into a resto, really cool!) and are now heading for bed. Tomorrow we will continue to explore Sydney, can't wait ...
Take care!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sceneries and adventures
Sorry for not having posted anything for more than a week ... We have been busy doing all kind of adventures and enjoying the amazing scenery on the southwest part of NZ's south island.
Last Tuesday, we drove from Greymouth down to Franz Josef, the small mountain village next to the stunning glacier with the same name. We wanted to do a walking-tour on the glacier itself, and had read that they took of at around 1 PM. Therefore, we left Greymouth pretty early and arrived in FJ at 12.30, well in time (we thought). Unfortunately, all tours were full and they adviced us to wait until next day. However, after some great begging from my side, we were allowed to tag along right away. And I really mean right away, we got 5 minutes to go back to the car to change clothes and bring water och food. A bit stressy ... but we made it! As usual, it was a beautiful day weather-wise. After a 2 km walk along a river, we arrived at the glacier. It was kind of grayish at the bottom, but once we got up on it the colors turned to blue and turqoise. It streched 12 km up the mountain, and we walked at most half a km up of it, but it was still a great experience! Quite a feeling, standing on a 120 m thick chunk of ice!
The next day, we stopped to have a look (from a distance) at the other large glacie in the area - Fox. It's even longer, 15 km, but we only saw about a 5th of it ... Still, awesome products of nature! Too bad they are all slowly melting away due to global warming ... We also did a 1,5 hour walk around Lake Matheson. After having seen post cards of it (and the Alps in the background), I just had to go there.
And it was just a nice as we had expected! But I think I snapped just a few photos too much ... Tina got a bit tired at the end ;=)
We then drove a couple of hours before stopping at the camp site just after the Haast pass, stopped by both the darkness but also heavy rain. That night, it rained a lot and it felt like the winds should turned the van, but made it through the night. We got off early (couldn't sleep anyway) and avoided some fallen trees (or more like branches) on the road on the first miles. After a relaxed breakfast stop in Wanaka, we continued to Queenstown, the no 1 adventure city (or town) on the south island. We had heard that it was quite touristy and didn't have that high expextations. But we were pleasently surprised! A pitoresk little town next to a beatiful lake and some impressive mountain peaks (for ex. The Remarkables).
We wanted to do another adventure - sledging. It's like rafting except with sledging you're actually in the water instead sitting in a raft. With the help on a floating pad under your arms, you're are guided down the roaring river. Since we hadn't booked it in advance, there were no spaces left for the next day. Therefore, we decided to drive out to Milford Sound (fjord land, think Norway) and to take the sledging on the way back through Queenstown.
The drive from QT to Milford Sounds is 300 km and was expected to take around 5 hours (that is, if you don't do any stops). We drove the first 200 km to Te Anau pretty fast (not much to see) but then enjoyed the scenic drive from Te Anau out to Milford Sound with plenty of stops on the way. For ex., we slept at a camp site next to a stunning river
and did a superb 3 hour hike up to Key Summit with the amazingly beautiful Alpine Walk on top of the mountain.
We had absolutely superb weather and you got see for miles and miles in all directions!!! Probably my best hike ever!
Well in Milford Sound, we went out on a boat cruise in the fjords (the ONLY thing to do here). Awesome feeling to be on the water next to these huge mountains! You feel pretty tiny! After checking out some seals, we turned back along the fjord and admired some great water falls at the end.
The next day, we drove back to QT and finally did the sledging. Another day with great weather, but that didn't helped much when we first dipped our toes in the river - freezing!!! But after a few minutes in the water, it wasn't that bad anymore. After a few warnings and instructions from the guide, we were off down the river (or at least all but Tina). She didn't really made it out of the Eddie (calm, rotating water next to the river main flow), but after some help from the "back" guide, she were out as well! We went down a 5 km stretch of the river called Roaring Meg. However, this time a year, she didn't roar. But it was more than enough for us!
We did the 5 km twice, and the first run was more of a practice run in order to enjoy it a little bit more on the second run. And you really needed a practice run, it took some time to learn how to manover in the river. The first run was a bit scary, since it was more like being flushed down the river than actually floating down it (under control). The second run was much better, and then we also got to try to ride a standing wave. Not that easy I must say ... ;=) But we really enjoyed it all, although a warm shower at the would have been nice. Now we ended up a little bit cold, smelling rubber ...
The last couple of days, we've hanged around the great, turquise lakes of Pukaki and Tekapo. Unbelievable scenery in this region!!! Today, we're heading for Christchurch in order to catch the flight to Sydney on Friday! We are now started to feel a little bit tired of NZ (and especially the camper van!) and we really can't wait to get to Australia, where a new country and new adventures awaits!
Take care, all!!! See you!
Last Tuesday, we drove from Greymouth down to Franz Josef, the small mountain village next to the stunning glacier with the same name. We wanted to do a walking-tour on the glacier itself, and had read that they took of at around 1 PM. Therefore, we left Greymouth pretty early and arrived in FJ at 12.30, well in time (we thought). Unfortunately, all tours were full and they adviced us to wait until next day. However, after some great begging from my side, we were allowed to tag along right away. And I really mean right away, we got 5 minutes to go back to the car to change clothes and bring water och food. A bit stressy ... but we made it! As usual, it was a beautiful day weather-wise. After a 2 km walk along a river, we arrived at the glacier. It was kind of grayish at the bottom, but once we got up on it the colors turned to blue and turqoise. It streched 12 km up the mountain, and we walked at most half a km up of it, but it was still a great experience! Quite a feeling, standing on a 120 m thick chunk of ice!
The next day, we stopped to have a look (from a distance) at the other large glacie in the area - Fox. It's even longer, 15 km, but we only saw about a 5th of it ... Still, awesome products of nature! Too bad they are all slowly melting away due to global warming ... We also did a 1,5 hour walk around Lake Matheson. After having seen post cards of it (and the Alps in the background), I just had to go there.
And it was just a nice as we had expected! But I think I snapped just a few photos too much ... Tina got a bit tired at the end ;=)
We then drove a couple of hours before stopping at the camp site just after the Haast pass, stopped by both the darkness but also heavy rain. That night, it rained a lot and it felt like the winds should turned the van, but made it through the night. We got off early (couldn't sleep anyway) and avoided some fallen trees (or more like branches) on the road on the first miles. After a relaxed breakfast stop in Wanaka, we continued to Queenstown, the no 1 adventure city (or town) on the south island. We had heard that it was quite touristy and didn't have that high expextations. But we were pleasently surprised! A pitoresk little town next to a beatiful lake and some impressive mountain peaks (for ex. The Remarkables).
We wanted to do another adventure - sledging. It's like rafting except with sledging you're actually in the water instead sitting in a raft. With the help on a floating pad under your arms, you're are guided down the roaring river. Since we hadn't booked it in advance, there were no spaces left for the next day. Therefore, we decided to drive out to Milford Sound (fjord land, think Norway) and to take the sledging on the way back through Queenstown.
The drive from QT to Milford Sounds is 300 km and was expected to take around 5 hours (that is, if you don't do any stops). We drove the first 200 km to Te Anau pretty fast (not much to see) but then enjoyed the scenic drive from Te Anau out to Milford Sound with plenty of stops on the way. For ex., we slept at a camp site next to a stunning river
and did a superb 3 hour hike up to Key Summit with the amazingly beautiful Alpine Walk on top of the mountain.
We had absolutely superb weather and you got see for miles and miles in all directions!!! Probably my best hike ever!
Well in Milford Sound, we went out on a boat cruise in the fjords (the ONLY thing to do here). Awesome feeling to be on the water next to these huge mountains! You feel pretty tiny! After checking out some seals, we turned back along the fjord and admired some great water falls at the end.
The next day, we drove back to QT and finally did the sledging. Another day with great weather, but that didn't helped much when we first dipped our toes in the river - freezing!!! But after a few minutes in the water, it wasn't that bad anymore. After a few warnings and instructions from the guide, we were off down the river (or at least all but Tina). She didn't really made it out of the Eddie (calm, rotating water next to the river main flow), but after some help from the "back" guide, she were out as well! We went down a 5 km stretch of the river called Roaring Meg. However, this time a year, she didn't roar. But it was more than enough for us!
We did the 5 km twice, and the first run was more of a practice run in order to enjoy it a little bit more on the second run. And you really needed a practice run, it took some time to learn how to manover in the river. The first run was a bit scary, since it was more like being flushed down the river than actually floating down it (under control). The second run was much better, and then we also got to try to ride a standing wave. Not that easy I must say ... ;=) But we really enjoyed it all, although a warm shower at the would have been nice. Now we ended up a little bit cold, smelling rubber ...
The last couple of days, we've hanged around the great, turquise lakes of Pukaki and Tekapo. Unbelievable scenery in this region!!! Today, we're heading for Christchurch in order to catch the flight to Sydney on Friday! We are now started to feel a little bit tired of NZ (and especially the camper van!) and we really can't wait to get to Australia, where a new country and new adventures awaits!
Take care, all!!! See you!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Moving on to the South Island
Yes, we are now on the South Island.
After leaving Taupo we headed for Wanganiu by the Wanganui River coast way... It was a lot of gravel and about 40 km/hour for 64 km. But Jacob did a great job behind the wheels. The road followed the river and the scenery was lovely. When we hit Wanganui town it was quite dead... but the nice lady at the information centre helped us book the ferry to the south island. Since easter was heading.. it was quite booked already. But she got us in on the Thursday morning ferry. So, with that in mind we decided to head for Wellington as fast as we could.
Wednesday morning we got to Wellington and got informed that campsites are not to be found in the city... ok.. hostel it is! We found one with ok parking price and then went for a stroll in the city. Also visiting the amazong Te Papa museum. That got us tired and hungry and we found a nice little restaurant round the corner, Sweet Mothers Kitchen and got some food before the movie started. Yup, "Gran Torino" was shown and that movie was absolutely great... see it if you get the chance!!
The ferry to Picton(on the south island) was a bit rough... I was told it would be rough... and it was not pleasant but not as rough as I thought. When we left Wellington the rain was pooring down but when we got to Picton the sun was shining on us again.
Jacob had found this vineyard that served food and that was a very good idea to start the South Island adventures... some mussel soup and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in the sun... perfect!
The day after we went to Nelson, but since it was easter everything was closed... we found a little cafe and we got something to eat. Although it was nice to have one day "off" just relaxing.
On the saturday it was Jacobs birthday and he got served a nice breakfast by the sea at 6.15 in the morning. By 8 we were in Kaiteriteri heading for a Kayak day-trip. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. In the shade it was a bit cold but on the water in the sun... it was amazing. And the scenery a long the cost of Abel Tasman National Park was stunning.
The day included food and we got a nice pic-nic on a small beach. Of course we needed to plunge in to the water.. it was about 17 degrees...
The day ended with a nice dinner in the van with our Chilean wine!
We headed south west to Nelson Lakes National Park and went on an hour long walk along the lake. Beautiful scenery and lots of kiwis on their easter holiday.
Yesterday we got our first rain and visited Pancake rocks with our rain-coats on. Then we got to Greymouth were we took a tour on the local beer brewery, Monteiths.
Now we are going further south to the glaciers and are stretching the time we have left.
See ya!
After leaving Taupo we headed for Wanganiu by the Wanganui River coast way... It was a lot of gravel and about 40 km/hour for 64 km. But Jacob did a great job behind the wheels. The road followed the river and the scenery was lovely. When we hit Wanganui town it was quite dead... but the nice lady at the information centre helped us book the ferry to the south island. Since easter was heading.. it was quite booked already. But she got us in on the Thursday morning ferry. So, with that in mind we decided to head for Wellington as fast as we could.
Wednesday morning we got to Wellington and got informed that campsites are not to be found in the city... ok.. hostel it is! We found one with ok parking price and then went for a stroll in the city. Also visiting the amazong Te Papa museum. That got us tired and hungry and we found a nice little restaurant round the corner, Sweet Mothers Kitchen and got some food before the movie started. Yup, "Gran Torino" was shown and that movie was absolutely great... see it if you get the chance!!
The ferry to Picton(on the south island) was a bit rough... I was told it would be rough... and it was not pleasant but not as rough as I thought. When we left Wellington the rain was pooring down but when we got to Picton the sun was shining on us again.
Jacob had found this vineyard that served food and that was a very good idea to start the South Island adventures... some mussel soup and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in the sun... perfect!
The day after we went to Nelson, but since it was easter everything was closed... we found a little cafe and we got something to eat. Although it was nice to have one day "off" just relaxing.
On the saturday it was Jacobs birthday and he got served a nice breakfast by the sea at 6.15 in the morning. By 8 we were in Kaiteriteri heading for a Kayak day-trip. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. In the shade it was a bit cold but on the water in the sun... it was amazing. And the scenery a long the cost of Abel Tasman National Park was stunning.
The day included food and we got a nice pic-nic on a small beach. Of course we needed to plunge in to the water.. it was about 17 degrees...
The day ended with a nice dinner in the van with our Chilean wine!
We headed south west to Nelson Lakes National Park and went on an hour long walk along the lake. Beautiful scenery and lots of kiwis on their easter holiday.
Yesterday we got our first rain and visited Pancake rocks with our rain-coats on. Then we got to Greymouth were we took a tour on the local beer brewery, Monteiths.
Now we are going further south to the glaciers and are stretching the time we have left.
See ya!
Monday, April 06, 2009
Lake Taupo
Well, now we are campers all the way!! But since the clock here is turned back one hour (their winter is starting) the sun now sets at 18.00.. which means that our evenings are "Turneight" (card game) in the light of the head-lamp until at least 20.00 when we are dead tired and tuck in...
Friday night we headed for Taupo region and stopped by a nice campsite by Mohaka riverside. Here we met the greatest locals inviting us for some beer by the fire. It was so nice sitting by the fire, sipping on some beers chatting with them. We woke up by the nice river and soon the sun came through the fog... what a place to stay!!
After some coffee and southern island tips by our new friends we headed northwest to Taupo town.
Today we woke up by the Lake Taupo at a riverside campsite. A bit sour in legs and feet after a 6 hours/19 kms walk through/over/around a couple of volcanos yesterday, but a nice breakfast and we were ready to go Skydiving!!!
Before the plane actually lifted I was very calm... I mean.. what can happen... how hard can it be??
Miss Conehead and Jacob
The plane lifted and we were heading for 12000 feet(4000 meters). On the way up I felt a little sick in my stomach... but during those 20 minutes, I got plenty of time to calm down. I was the second person that would go out of the plane... when we were buckled up to our tandem-master the adrenaline started to rush!!
The feeling of just have your legs dingling outside an airplane is crazy... and weird... I can not even explain it. And to even try to explain the free-fall when the tandem-master just pulled us out of the plane... it is undescribeable...
We were told that the freefall should last 45 seconds... and these 45 seconds were the longest seconds of my life. I mean... as soon as I got "back" to my sense (after5 seconds of chock) I just screamed and realized I was falling through the sky. Oh my god what a rush!!!!!!
Then the parachute opened and the tandem-master loosen up the straps and we just sailed through the sky for like 4 minutes. He also did some loops and I just screamed... I mean it was absolutely amazing. And the view!!! Blue sky and the Lake Taupo and the volcano in the back... it was, once again, amazing. Our landing was perfect... on the feet and perfectly standing!!
So... with that rush first thing of the day... what else to do??
Jacob was also amazed by the view and the experience, but since he is a hang-glider pilot he kind of know the thrilling feeling of being in the air...
We are now looking for some lunch and then checking out the water falls nearby. After that we are going further south and looking at taking the ferry to the south island on friday.
We are so much enjoying New Zealand and the weather is still great... 20 degrees during daytime and around 8 during night. Just hoping it will not be much colder on the south island.
See you all soon!!
Friday night we headed for Taupo region and stopped by a nice campsite by Mohaka riverside. Here we met the greatest locals inviting us for some beer by the fire. It was so nice sitting by the fire, sipping on some beers chatting with them. We woke up by the nice river and soon the sun came through the fog... what a place to stay!!
After some coffee and southern island tips by our new friends we headed northwest to Taupo town.
Today we woke up by the Lake Taupo at a riverside campsite. A bit sour in legs and feet after a 6 hours/19 kms walk through/over/around a couple of volcanos yesterday, but a nice breakfast and we were ready to go Skydiving!!!
Before the plane actually lifted I was very calm... I mean.. what can happen... how hard can it be??
Miss Conehead and JacobThe plane lifted and we were heading for 12000 feet(4000 meters). On the way up I felt a little sick in my stomach... but during those 20 minutes, I got plenty of time to calm down. I was the second person that would go out of the plane... when we were buckled up to our tandem-master the adrenaline started to rush!!
The feeling of just have your legs dingling outside an airplane is crazy... and weird... I can not even explain it. And to even try to explain the free-fall when the tandem-master just pulled us out of the plane... it is undescribeable...
We were told that the freefall should last 45 seconds... and these 45 seconds were the longest seconds of my life. I mean... as soon as I got "back" to my sense (after5 seconds of chock) I just screamed and realized I was falling through the sky. Oh my god what a rush!!!!!!
Then the parachute opened and the tandem-master loosen up the straps and we just sailed through the sky for like 4 minutes. He also did some loops and I just screamed... I mean it was absolutely amazing. And the view!!! Blue sky and the Lake Taupo and the volcano in the back... it was, once again, amazing. Our landing was perfect... on the feet and perfectly standing!!
So... with that rush first thing of the day... what else to do??
Jacob was also amazed by the view and the experience, but since he is a hang-glider pilot he kind of know the thrilling feeling of being in the air...
We are now looking for some lunch and then checking out the water falls nearby. After that we are going further south and looking at taking the ferry to the south island on friday.
We are so much enjoying New Zealand and the weather is still great... 20 degrees during daytime and around 8 during night. Just hoping it will not be much colder on the south island.
See you all soon!!
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