Glaciers, Pudding, and Bones- Jan 9th-15th

Warning- this is a long blog- a weeks worth of activity! But we hope you enjoy!

Glacier Walk- January 9th, 2012

After a good nights rest we hiked to the Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier is located on the West Coast of New Zealand within the Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The glacier is roughly 12km long and as of 2007 was known as one of the only glaciers in New Zealand to still be growing but in 2010 it began to recede and still is today. Being thrifty travellers we did not choose to hike up the glacier on a tour but we did get pretty close and enjoyed the great view! There were also quite a few waterfalls surrounding the area as well.

Veronica: "SNOW" haha

On our way towards Nelson (heading North) we stopped at the Pancake Rocks..as seen below. There are several blow holes located within the rocks, but due to timing (the tide) we didn't catch any in action...but it was quite neat to see them!!

Pancake Rocks

Can you see all the animal faces in these rocks?? (Hint..see the seal right in the middle..looks like he is balancing a hat on his head?) 

Chocolate Pudding - January 10th, 2012

Arrived in Nelson today at Tasman Bay Backpackers..and guess what..they had FREE Chocolate pudding and ice cream every night dessert! Tasman Bay was one of the nicest hostels we have stayed at thus far. We have stayed in some good hostels..each with their pros and cons, but this one was very enjoyable to stay at...how could it not be with the free pudding! We shared a 4 bed dorm with a woman from France and another from Scotland.

Beach Bums- January 11th, 2012

Taking a day off to relax, today we hung out at the beach and watched the windsurfers. I lounged and Mark tried to do some fishing off the dock..but had no luck. Going with the relation theme we decided to catch a flick at the movie theatre this night as well.

Maori Carvings- January 12th, 2011

We have done lots of exciting activities since being in New Zealand but today I was taking part of Bone carving and was one of my favorite activities thus far!  Mark was going fishing today so I, along with 5 others headed to a downtown studio which taught how to make traditional Maori bone carved necklaces.Using cow bone we each sketched, cut, sanded, and grinded our bone pieces to create our necklace pendants. It took us a whole day (9-3) but was well worth it and was lots of fun! The steps you can see in the pictures. The pendant I made is in the shape of a fish hook and a twist which represents two ferns coming together (ever lasting friendship) and the fish hook represents luck and safety in a journey and journeys ahead.

We left for Picton(where you cross to the South Island) after bone carving and spent the night at Atlantis Backpackers (one of the worst backpackers thus far)



Journey Across the Sea- January 13th, 2012

Today we boarded the ferry across to North Island..took about 4 hours...little bit of sea sickness but we made it to Wellington, the capital of NZ! We stayed at Base Backpackers, directly downtown, were we toured around first then later that night we went to bar with fellow Canadians that we met at dinner.

Free Day- January 14th 2012

Took a visit to the Te Papa Museum today, which was surprisingly free! It had wonderful displays and exhibits all celebrating NZ culture and heritage. There was also a wedding dress exhibition which was really neat to see!  We also took a walk through downtown called the Beehive Walk (since one of the parliament buildings looks like a beehive) We took the cable car up to the botanical gardens and toured through until heading home.

Relaxation- January 15th-

Before leaving Wellington we went to Weta Caves. Weta Caves is a company that develops costumes, miniatures, makeup, and special effects for movies, especially NZ films, particularly Lord of the Rings!  It was very interesting to hear and see all the stuff they created for Lord of the Rings and the process that they go through just to create a scene. We then drove four hours to Taupo and stayed at Tiki Lodge Resort Backpacers, had a hot tub, did some reading- Night!

Queenstown Adventures Jan 6th-7th

Discs and Luge- Jan 6th 2012

Today we decided we would adventure around Queenstown a little more as the night before was an early night for the two of us. We woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and decided to go play some frisbee golf. I had never played frisbee golf before and although Mark has tried it before we do not plan on playing frisbee golf professionally any time soon..we might have even skipped a few holes. But it was a great FREE..(when travelling it is also a good idea to look out for anything with the word Free on it ) We toured around town for a bit and did some window shopping. After cooking lunch back at the hostel we rode the scenic gondola up to where we went "luging", which was tonnes of fun! We then hiked the rest of the mountain( to the point where the paragliders take off) and thought, "hey, hurling yourself off a mountain seems like it might be fun!". So, with that thought in our minds we decided to book a flying time for that evening but because of high winds we had to rebook a time for the next morning- 8 am!

Flying High- Jan 7th 2012

Want to know one great way to get your endorphins going in the morning? Jump off the side of a mountain and glide through the air over forests and mountain ranges! Mark was very keen for this trip, as I was too, but I am not going to say that I wasn't just a little bit nervous, especially after being told that I was to run towards the cliff and leap! Mark was strapped to Becca, and I was strapped to Cane, two flyers from Montana. Once in the air Mark and I had the time of our lives! It was a 20 minute trip down to the bottom and it was one of the best things we could experience! I even got to spot some mountain goats! We both did some "airobactics" which consisted of swift spins and turns. Great morning!

That afternoon Mark and I went out on a boat to go fishing on one of the fresh water lakes- very blue water! Here we caught only two fish- both Salmon- however, the fish I caught was bigger : ) These Salmon were cleaned and gutted by our skipper, which we then brought to a local restaurant called Finz, in Queenstown, and they cooked our caught fish for us for dinner! It was very yummy and very filling!

Goodbye Queenstown- Jan 8th 2012

Today we were leaving Queenstown to head to Franz Josef- which was a beautiful drive! Franz Josef is situated on the West Coast of the South Island and is quite close to many of the sights where they shot Lord of the Rings Scenes (most of the Lord of the Rings what shot in the South Island actually). We arrived in Franz Josef around dinner time, at Glow Worm backpackers and relaxed for the night with free soup and a free movie! : )

Queenstown and the crown ranges in the background

up, up, up

The gondola view of the town 

A hike to the top

The view from where we leapt off the mountain

Reelin'er in!

First Catch

Second catch!

Finished product! Doesn't look the most appealing but it was delicious!

Falls on the way to Franz Josef

First sight of snow! haha

The pargliding pictures are on a disc, and Marks computer unfortunately does not have a disc drive...so those you'll have to wait on..sorry  : )

Peaks,Mazes, and Farm Country Jan 5th 2012

After our night in Timaru we were on our way to Queenstown (the adventure city) and but along the way we completed a 4 hour hike to Peak Isthmus near lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. The view was spectacular but it got tougher and tougher as we got higher and higher. We were encountered by mountain sheep (and lots of them) and high winds and we neared the top. Nearly 1300 meters above sea level we decided to turn back around as the winds were picking up. We were both pretty exhausted by this point but proud of our feat!

With some hiking complete for the day we kept on driving and nearing Queenstown we came across a small amusement park called puzzling world, which has fun mirrors, a two story maze, mind puzzles etc. Mark really enjoyed trying out how to do all the hand puzzles and figuring out the maze! We arrived in Queenstown around 9pm at Bumbles (a hostel overlooking the mountains) and hit the hay! Queenstown in wonderfully beautiful by the way!

Oh and we saw some Pioneer signs along the way!!! ; ) Ben, can you figure out the varieties?

Thumbs up for Pioneer!

They were harvesting oats with a combine head

These faces look like they are sticking out but they are actually sunken inwards

Finally taller than Mark!

I dont look like I am far up but here we are almost at the peak of Mt Isthmus

The mountain we climbed...in the picture before this I am halfway up this mountain. Mark and I made it  just past the grey  triangle shape on the mountain (see it just above the patch of trees on the left)