Up the East Coast

Andy and I have finally left Christchurch and have made our way north along the east coast towards Nelson. About halfway in between, we stopped by the small town of Kaikoura, which might just be my new favorite small town in New Zealand so far (with Paihia as a close second).

I LOVE Kaikoura!

I've never seen such a diverse landscape in so small an area. With the ocean on one side, a snow-covered mountain range on the other, and beautiful green hills covered in tropical-looking trees in between, it is no wonder this place gets a million visitors a year. The area looks like some strange mix between Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park. The drive to and from town had some of the most amazing coastal scenery I've seen (even though a young local couple we met at an earlier campsite told us that there's nothing special about the east coast and that the west coast is where it's at. Really? It gets better?!).

But herein lies the tragedy. Our camera battery died that afternoon so we couldn't get any pictures of the coast north of town so you'll just have to trust me on this. It's beautiful.

Here are some pictures we did get of some of the coastal areas around town:

The next day, armed with a freshly charged battery in our camera, we took some time to explore more of the town. It had a cute city center, several nice parks, a boardwalk, and many interesting trails. Unfortunately, it was a dark and dreary day and our pictures just don't do the town justice:

In addition to its unique landscape, Kaikoura is also known for its marine life, with many companies available to arrange whale watching tours and dolphin encounters. There are also penguins, albatross, and seals that can be seen most days of the year. We saw many seals while we were there:

Andy and I stayed in Kaikoura for a couple of days before continuing north, freedom camping along the way.

Views from the road

Robin Hood Bay

We have now made it to sunny Nelson! Once we get situated, we will update you all on our new city...

Christchurch Earthquake Damage

As you may already know, Christchurch was hit by two large earthquakes about a week apart from each other. Now, a little over a year and a half later, much of the city center is still in the process of being torn down before reconstruction can begin in those areas. It is strange to see tall cranes in the city skyline being used to move around rubble rather than being used for construction. On almost every major street there is at least one building that has been condemned due to earthquake damage. Even after most of the streets had been repaired, it is still very moving to see after all this time. Both the Canterbury Museum here in town and the Te Papa Museum in Wellington have large earthquake exhibits so you can see the extent of the destruction before the reconstruction effort began.

The roof on the ground in these pictures is from the building in the background of the right picture.

The roads in the surrounding areas that have been repaired or are under construction create a bit of a maze at times. Some streets through downtown are open but many side streets are closed. The other day I was trying to find the bank and was told by my GPS to turn right when there was a 'no right turn' sign. Recalculating... After some rerouting, I arrived at my destination only to find that the building I arrived at is now a Japanese restaurant. The next branch I tried to find had also moved but had a poster with an up-to-date map and addresses of nearby branches. A number of restaurants and attractions have been closed as well, including the main art gallery.
  

The state of a modern city being half repaired and half demolished has left quite an impression on me. I have always heard of major disasters around the world and have seen footage of the destruction. The news runs headline stories for the next week or so about acts of heroism and courage. But it feels like you never see many follow-up stories unless there is some controversy. It makes me wonder how the people in Japan, Indonesia, Haiti, and those that have suffered from Hurricane Katrina are managing after the global attention has moved on.
 

If you have been a part of a major natural disaster I would like to hear in a comment below about the rebuilding process and about how long it took before things were (as much as they could be) back to 'normal'.

Christchurch and the Banks Peninsula

The Garden City

For over a week, Andy and I have just been exploring Christchurch and its surrounding areas. We took a few days to camp around the Banks Peninsula, just southeast of Christchurch, and visit a couple of the small towns there, including Lyttelton and Akaroa.

Akaroa is a historic little village located within a harbour of the same name. We spent a day walking around town and visiting all the little shops (including a fudge shop!).

A war memorial

We also wandered along the waterfront. I cannot get over the color of the water here:

Back in Christchurch, we decided to visit the Botanic Gardens in Hagley Park, which our couch surfing host Paul recommended. It was huge!

Here are just a few of the many gardens there:

Rock garden:

Rose garden:

(unfortunately the roses were not in bloom)

New Zealand garden:

Water garden:

They even had a free museum:

Canterbury Museum

The museum had an impressive exhibit on the early Maori, as well as exhibits on earthquakes and native species (including rare and extinct birds like the moa). My favorite was on Canterbury's heritage detailing the first European settlers and the establishment of Christchurch as the first city in New Zealand.

A reenactment of a street in early Christchurch

We spent quite a bit of time there before heading out and wandering around the city center of Christchurch. The aftermath of the earthquake last year is so evident and we plan to follow up with a post about it soon.

Our first week on the South Island

Sorry for the minor hiatus. Ever since Andy and I flew into Christchurch on the South Island a week ago, we have slowed our pace considerably and have been spending much of our time researching, as well as resting and recharging our batteries after 3.5 weeks of nonstop travel. We have also tried couch surfing for the first time! For those who don't know, couchsurfing.org is a network that connects travelers with willing locals with a room or couch to spare. It is a great way for both host and traveler to meet new people from around the world. Our host, Paul, was gracious enough to allow us to stay with him for five days. During that time, we also met other surfers from England, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.

Paul's house

We had a good experience there and Paul was a great host. He was also kind enough to help us in purchasing our own car! In New Zealand, it is fairly common, as well as economical, for travelers who intend to stay longer than a month or two to buy a cheap/used car and sell it before they go. This is far more cost efficient than renting or taking public transportation and is obviously more convenient, as it removes the time constraints and allows you to go at your own pace. Andy and I had planned to buy one in Christchurch before continuing our travels. On our third day in Christchurch, Paul helped us find one for a fair price on trademe.co.nz (kind of like a New Zealand version of Craigslist). He also helped us negotiate the price down further so we ended up getting a pretty good deal out of it!

With our transportation needs taken care of, we set our sights on accommodation. Campervaning was fun on the North Island, but this time around we decided to try good old fashioned tent camping, much to Andy's delight. So in addition to buying a car, we also invested in buying camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, etc.) Most were on sale, including our tent, which we bought for a 1/3 of the original price. With the cost of hostels in New Zealand, we figured we would more than make up for this expense within 2-3 weeks.

Our new (used) car with our new tent on Lake Ellesmere

On the subject of saving money, here are just a couple more personal tips from our month spent in New Zealand so far:

1. Domestic flights can be cheaper than the Interisland ferry (especially if you are crossing with a vehicle).
2. Of the three main grocery stores we have found (Countdown, New World, and Pak n Save), Pak n Save seems to be the cheapest in general and they market themselves so. They also have Thrifty Thursday deals (which we discovered by chance) where many of their items go for a fraction of price. Take advantage of these!

Back to our trip :)

Since buying our car and our camping gear, we have been staying at free/cheap campsites in the areas around Christchurch. It is quite a bit colder here on the South Island, but we expect it will warm up in the next month or two as summer approaches and we slowly work our way north towards Nelson. It is there that we hope to find jobs and a place to live so please keep us in your prayers as we embark on this new endeavor!

Picture of the Day: Gollum Rock

 We saw this rock on the hike to Mount Doom, and thought it looked like a 

troll from Lord of the Rings. Or maybe Gollum hunched over the ring.

Back to Auckland

So far on our tour of the North Island, Andy and I have only ever seen Auckland in passing while on the highway getting from one place to the next. Since we were headed back there to drop off our camper near the airport, we thought it would be worthwhile to explore New Zealand's largest city for a bit before flying out.

The "City of Sails" viewed from its highest point, Mt. Eden

Our visit was very brief, as we only had a couple of hours before we needed to catch our flight. But we did manage to drive through the city center and see Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere:

 

Like the Space Needle, you can go up and eat at the restaurant at the top with great views of the city. Unlike the Needle, you can also jump off the top for an insane bungee experience.

We continued through the city, stopping by the waterfront for a quick lunch before heading to the airport. Our opinion, as is with most big cities in New Zealand, is that it reminds us of Seattle. We were not terribly impressed, but we expected that from what we've heard and read online; the general consensus being that Auckland is not really a highlight in New Zealand and is in fact an unfortunate starting point for those wanting to see the beauty of the country.

We have since left the North Island and have taken our flight out to the South!

We feel so blessed and grateful for the time that we've been able to spend on the North Island. The past 3.5 weeks have flown by so fast and have been a whirlwind of incredible scenery and great activities. From what we've seen so far, New Zealand is truly a remarkable country and unmatched in natural beauty. But even before we left for New Zealand, we'd heard that the South Island is where its at. If that's true, we can't imagine it being anything short of AMAZING.

So here's to the second phase of our journey: the South Island!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Mt. Doom

The drive to Mt. Doom

A couple of days ago, Andy and I decided to hike to Mt. Doom (and we are still sore).  The only way to see Mt. Doom was by hiking through the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which runs between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom).

About to start our trek

This Crossing has been called the best one-day walk in New Zealand and we can see why.  The scenery is stunning and screams "Lord of the Rings."  Throughout the hike, we kept making comments like "That looks like Rohan," or "This looks like where Gollum tried to catch a fish" or "Can't you just picture Gandalf riding over that hill on a white horse?" We half expected an orc to jump out at us from behind a boulder. (note: listening to The Two Towers soundtrack on the way over might have had a part to play in all this.)

As we got higher and higher, we had to hike through mud and snow, but the scenery made it totally worth it.

Mt. Doom

Dead marshes?

Parts of the crossing were closed to the public because of the eruption on Mt. Tongariro last month (the first in over a century), but we only made it up to Soda Springs anyway before deciding to head back. It was at this point we realized we were not dressed appropriately to go any further (we were trekking through the snow in tennis shoes while passing tour groups and other hikers in boots with clamp-on cleats). Our entire hike there and back took us about 4.5 hours (probably because we kept stopping to take pictures). Great day!

We are now headed back to Auckland to return our camper, which will conclude our time on the North Island. If time permits, we hope to explore the city a bit before flying out. Will write more when we can!