Backpacking Through Abel Tasman

Tuesday I woke up to some birds singing outside our hut. The sounds were beautiful which made me less annoyed to be woken up early. I decided to get out of bed and do some exploring while everyone else slept. Last night Erika had told me about some salt water caves near our site and so I walked down by the water to find them. The water was so calm and peaceful especially in comparison to yesterday's kayak adventure. I walked down along the shore and found the caves which were more like little inlets in the rocks. The rocks were covered in names I assume from the visitors who passed through. I found one cool carving dating back to the 1930s. After about 45 minutes of exploring I headed back just in case people starting waking up and saw that I was gone.

We had a nice hot breakfast of milo and oatmeal and then prepared for our backpack into more of the park. This park was really good at marking the trail and telling you how much further you had to hike. We followed the up hill trail for about an hour over to a place called Cleopatra's Pool. The water was crystal clear and pretty chilly but it felt so good! There was even a natural water slide along the rock that was super fun to go down. I took the liberty of washing my hair in one of the waterfalls since we didn't have the chance to shower yesterday and my hair was coated with salt from the sea water.

After a bit we pushed on along the trail for about 2 hours. We were in the shade of the jungle for most of the hike, following along the coastline. Along the way we were privileged with some absolutely stunning views of the beautiful blue ocean and sandy beaches. We finally reached our destination of Barks Bay and dropped our packs in the sand. We were able to cool off in the nice bay water. Again the water was such a beautiful clear green blue color. The cool water felt so nice on our sore back and shoulders.

We didn't rest for long because our water taxi arrived about 20 minutes later. The water taxi is really nothing more than a motor boat. They really know how to pack people in those boats. We had about 20 people and a giant kayak hooked on back. It took us about half hour to get back to our original starting point where we first picked up our kayaks.

James was back at that same backpackers house we stayed at on Sunday night. He was wonderful because he had made a huge dinner for us full of bread, salad, and BBQ chicken/sausage. We took turns taking hot showers and after our delicious meal we crashed. It was still early so we turned on the Hunger Games, which made us feel even more hard core. :) After the movie it didn't take me long to fall asleep. What a day!!

Sea Kayaking

So Sunday evening we arrived at a backpackers cabin just on the edge of Abel Tasman right along the coast. It was pretty nice with a kitchen, and three separate rooms (one for James, one for Erika and her cousin, and one with tons of bunk beds for the rest of us). The front lawn was full of tents from other campers. We spent the evening preparing for the next few days. Monday we would be sea kayaking up the coast and Tuesday we would be backpacking back out. So we divided up the food we would need, picked out our one outfit, and attached our sleeping bags to our backpacks. We were set and ready to go.

Monday were up by 7 to gather any final items and to make our last preparations. James kindly volunteered to watch the rest of our stuff that we wouldn't be able to pack in and out. So we loaded up the van with the rest of our stuff and waved goodbye to James. He has no trouble making friends or finding places to sleep so we weren't worried.

Our kayak rental hook up was just across the street from our cabin. The look on our guide's face was priceless as he realized all 11 of us girls were going on this trip and only a select few we're actually excited about the all day excursion (not that we all didn't want to be there it's just that not all of the girls are as ambitious as Erika when it comes to the great outdoors). His name was Iaho (I-ho) but we renamed him Thor since he carried such a striking resemblance with his tan skin and blond pony tail. Thor wasn't actually going to kayak with us. His main job was to prepare us and teach us a few safety maneuvers and send us on our way. We spent the next hour with him learning how to steer and paddle. We also learned and practiced what to do in case our kayak flipped over on open water (meaning with no shore close by).

After suiting up in our orange windbreakers, life jackets, and black kayak skirts (it protects your legs from getting wet and keeps you secure in the kayak) we were ready. The weather was a bit overcast and windy but it promised to clear up later in the day, which it did. We walked across the street to the beach while a giant tractor pulled our trailer full of kayaks to our launch.

So our first challenge of the day: launching the kayaks with both people fully secure. Sounds easy right? Try adding mini waves to the mix (yes it is hard even though the word mini wave doesn't make it seem so). Jannette (Erika's cousin) and I did a pretty good job. We only both got wet from the waves but we didn't tip over :).

Ok so confession time... There are few things in this world that I am afraid of but the ocean is one of them. It's more like a love hate relationship because I love the beach and body surfing in the waves but I hate the undertow and the amount of dangerous sea life living in the water. It's a combination of watching shark week one time too many as well as not knowing what could be swimming under, around, or next to you.

There I said it and with that confession we'll move on to the rest of our adventure. The water was pretty calm and beautiful. The overcast sky made it appear really grey. An interesting part of kayaking is that you are right along the water. So every time the wind would pick up it would splash salt water up on us. That didn't happen too frequently but enough to keep me wet. I was nervous starting out but once I got the hang of paddling that took my mind off the fact that we were in the ocean and I quite enjoyed taking in the scenery around me.

We paddled for about an hour around the coastline and between two decent sized islands before breaking for lunch. The beach that we stopped on looked like it came right out of a magazine. The water was such a beautiful clear blue color and the sand a carmel yellow. It was incredible! The sun finally broke through the clouds and that just added to the overall beauty.

We continued paddling in and out of little inlets along the bay for the next two hours. We didn't see any wild life except for a few bird along the water. Although it would have been really cool I was kind of glad just because you realize how small and insignificant you really are when you're on the ocean and having a whale or even a seal appear nearby well it would have been exciting and a bit nerve racking at the same time.

Anyway after those two hours we stopped at another beach. Some of the girls were ready to be done and decided to hike the rest of the way into our camp site. The rest of us decided we wanted to keep going so we hopped in and continued our journey. Now when Thor was briefing us about our trip he specifically took care to inform us about this next section. On the map it was coded with a bright red circle and exclamation points. He said that its known as the mad mans mile and that it is doable but to be very wary of the weather and water conditions since it can get dangerous pretty quickly. Taking that into consideration I decided to take the challenge and press onward with those who wanted to keep going despite my fear of the water. I thought maybe this trip could help me conquer that fear.

It wasn't too bad at the start. But as we rounded the coast and left the protection of the bay I realized that maybe this adventure was a bit over my head. To make things even more exciting we had switched partners since Jannette wanted to hike instead of continue on. That put me in the position of kayak steerer. The key to smooth kayak operation is to hit the waves head on at a perpendicular angle. If you stay parallel to the waves you are more likely to tip over because the rocking motion makes you less stable. Sure it seems simple enough and it was until we rounded that corner. The wind picked up and the waves began hitting us from all directions. These were no longer mini waves but instead turned into swells that were two to three feet high. The kayak would go up and come straight down. Remember I'm trying to steer here so that we don't tip plus paddling against the current and waves as well as not freak out because by this point I was very much outside of my comfort zone. Oh and did I mention the nice sharp rocky coastline to our left? Yeah I didn't want to hit that either. A few times the waves actually came over our kayak. I could tell that my partner Andrea was just as nervous so I started shouting (you had to shout to hear each other over the wind and waves) random questions at her to keep her mind off of the fact that our arms hurt, that we were paddling through big waves in a little plastic kayak, and that our only coast was full if sharp rocks. After paddling for an hour we hit another bay. This wasn't our final destination but we decided it would be since the water was so rough and because we were exhausted. The hardest part was pulling into the bay because we had to turn the kayak inland and put our backs to the waves. Meaning we didn't know when one would hit us. I cannot tell you how happy I was to step on dry ground :).

We pulled the kayaks up and informed one of the water taxis (a boat that shuttles people around the park) that we had 4 kayaks ready for pick up. We met the rest of our group at our site. Thankfully they had decided to hike because they were able to secure enough beds for us at or cabin. We were spending the night in a giant community hut with a kitchen and two giant bunk beds with 8 mattresses across top and bottom. We ended up sharing our beds with a nice German couple. Basically everyone just slept in their sleeping bag on a "mattress" right next to each other. Welcome to communal living :).

Before bed we had a feast of roman noodles and canned chicken. That night we enjoyed some nice warm milo and timtams on the beach. We had the chance to watch the sunset and see the stars. Even with the bright half moon we still could see the Milky Way. It was incredible!!

Today was definitely a crazy adventure. If we ever get a chance to see a video of our life I really want to rewatch the sea kayak craziness. I'll probably sea kayak again but I'll be sure to stick to the calm waters.

Westport and Abel Tasman

We had to leave our awesome cabin in the jungle. Sad day because I would have loved to stay there for at least a few more days. Surprisingly we hit the road again and this time just about a 45 minute drive to a town called Westport. James had called ahead because surprise surprise he knew someone in this branch. In fact he made a deal with the branch that if we spoke and presented a musical number for sacrament meeting then they would provide us with lunch after church. So two girl- Kylie and Brittany both spoke and Erika gave her testimony. Our whole group sang Nearer My God to Thee. The branch of Westport is super small. Only about 15 people total meaning that our group of 12 pretty much doubled their congregation. It was a really awesome experience to be there. The branch members were SO excited to have us visiting. And reminded us multiple times :). Sara and I also went to the investigator class instead of the regular Sunday school. It was awesome because they had two investigators at church brought by the senior couple (the only missionaries within a three hour radius). Cool experience :)

True to their word, we were given lunch after church. Yummy sandwiches and banana cake for dessert. We stayed and socialized for a bit before hitting the road again.

This time we were in the road for about 4 hoursish until we got to Able Tasman. It's a national park on the west coast. Tonight we are staying right along the coast in a backpackers lodge. Because there are so many of us we have the whole place to ourselves. All of us girls are in one giant room (there are 4 bunk beds and one bed on the floor). We spent the rest of the day preparing for out adventure tomorrow. We're going on an all day kayak trip up he west coast and then camping at some hits and hiking back Tuesday. It's going to be awesome!!!

Before bed I went on a little walk along the beach. The tide had gone out so far it was crazy! Perfect for collecting shells and watching the sunset. It was so beautiful with the mountains right against the beach and feeling the sand between my toes :). Beaches and mountains. What more do you need in life? I'm super excited for tomorrow! It's going to be sweet :)

Pancake and Blowhole Rocks

Friday we got to sleep in!! We didn't leave until 9:30. We drove about 2 hours to a town named hokatiku where we stopped for a bit to have lunch and to window shop. It was a nice day and easy going. After a bit we piled back into the van and headed to our destination which was the pancake rocks!

It was only about an hour drive. We stopped first at our hostel to drop of our stuff and settle in since high tide wasn't until 4. This is the coolest place I have ever stayed in!! After driving into the bush and finding the reception desk in the middle of nowhere we then proceeded to find our hostel. Because of the size of our group Erika rented out the whole house (there were mini houses instead of rooms like a hotel). So our directions were drive about five more minutes into the bush and then park the car at the car park (it as a gravel road/carpark). Then take the trail through the bush, over the bridge and around until you come to the hostel. So we unloaded the car and packed in all of our stuff. The hike in wasn't too bad just about 5 minutes or so. But we are definitely in the middle of the jungle.

It is so cool!! Our house is basically like a log cabin. After dropping of our stuff we drove the few minutes back to the pancake rocks visitors center. We got there just at high tide. So basically it's a place where you can go to see these rocks that look like giant stacks of pancakes. They also call it the blowhole rocks too because since we are right along the cost the ocean surges up against the rocks and it creates a blowhole effect. It reminded me a lot of the Oregon coast. There were so many caves and holes in the rocks that helped to create the water splashing up. One of the holes was called the chimney pot because the ocean waves would come up and pound against the rock and then spray would come through a hole on top that went through the rock. It was pretty cool. Funny, there was also a wedding about to happen on the rocks as we were leaving.

We came back to our house and got some dinner. We had salad and bread. So yum! After dinner we took another trail through the bush to the beach. We hoped to see the sunset but a storm front was moving in and it started to sprinkle on us. We still enjoyed some time at the beach. It was super fun to explore and climb over rocks. The water kept hitting up and making huge splashes against the rocks. It looked so cool! At one part of the beach there was a rock that looked like mud but it was rock. It's just because of the way that the sea water eroded away parts of the rock. The pools were small tide pools full of snails and mussels. It was really cool and fun to explore.

The rest of the night was pretty chill. We had some milo when we got home and we watched the 3rd LOTR since Sara hasn't seen it before. It's fun to pick out some of the sights in the movie that we've been to. Tomorrow we'll be putting on sacrament meeting and the ward promised to feed us lunch afterwards :). A fair exchange I'd say.

Licking a Glacier

Sadly Friday we had to leave Queenstown. When I come back to visit NZ (note the when not if) I'm heading back to Queenstown. There's just so much to see and to do. It's not overly crowded and it has great shopping. Plus the scenery is absolutely beautiful! I would love to come back and camp for a few days just to take it all in.

So we left by 6:30 and drove for about 6 hours. This begins our excursion up the west coast. I gave in and I fell asleep for a few hours but I woke up with a few hours of the drive left to enjoy the scenery. You're probably getting tired of hearing me say this but we saw some of the most incredible places! Pictures and words are no where near adequate enough to describe what we saw. We were in the temperate rainforests of New Zealand driving through mountain passes coated with the famous NZ silver fern on both sides. Huge green mountains rose up on either side, with their majestic peaks being lost in the mist and clouds. Snow covered peaks would poke up through the green here and there.

Since NZ doesn't really have highways or interstates like we do in the US most of our travel has been on two lane back roads. We don't really have to worry about big semi trucks because the country is so small. The only thing I really don't like is the passing on the bridges. Most of their bridges are super small, just over small streams and rivers but they are only one lane wide. So they have give way (yield) signs and you have to make sure no cars are coming from the other direction before venturing across the bridge. It sounds simple enough but a lot of the roads are pretty windy and it's not always easy to tell if another car is coming or not. Just part of the adventure I guess.

Anyway we arrived at our destination around 12, which was enough time to eat lunch and check in to our hostel. We stayed in a place called the glow worm cottage- a pretty sweet hostel if you ask me. The guy at the desk was from England and he was super nice. It was funny though because he asked us where we were going to go for drinks later that night and we told him that the party life wasn't really our thing. :)

We regrouped and met back up at 2 for our next adventure which was the Frans Josef Glacier. There were so many options for us from helicopter rides to ice hikes to a hike up to the glacier. We opted just for the hike up to the glacier due to lack of time and funds. So we put on our wrist bands, hard core hiking boots, and rain jackets provided by the company. We had two tour guides one kiwi guy and the other was a guy from England. The kiwi was nice but he was a bit full of himself. The other guy actually graduated in the study of glaciers and he's been in many different countries studying the movement and flow of glaciers. He had a lot of cool things to tell us.

We hiked through the bush for a bit and then we were able to hike around parts of the glacier. It was really cool! The part that we hiked on was called dead ice meaning it used to be a part of the glacier as recently as a few months ago but the glacier is retreating back up the canyon. The glacier ends in a decent sized water fall. The Maori called the place frozen tears of a goddess who lost her one love when he fell down a mountain to his death. She was so heartbroken that she sat on top of the mountain and cried and cried for years on end. As a tribute to her the gods froze her tears and created the glacier. It was so beautiful! One of the guides uncovered some of the glacier and and we got to lick it. It tasted like cold water. I know what a surprise! :).

On our hike back we passed by a part of the glacier and heard a crack and then a sound like a gunshot. It was so crazy because you would have thought that a whole section of the glacier had fallen off. But no it was only a small piece. The ice is just so densely packed together and that is what makes it so loud when it falls. Our guide (the good one) told us that he once heard a huge section of the glacier break and fall and it sounded like lightening. Don't worry we were far away from the piece that fell down. We were in no danger.

That night we returned back to the hostel. We had some of their free soup (not bad) and bread and we had a chance to do some laundry. Along with our hike we could use our wristbands to enter the glacier pools. They were thermal pools that heated up the glacier water and that were extremely warm and perfect after a long day in the car and hiking. There were three different pools and each one was a few degrees warmer than the last. It felt amazing!

After a nice shower we had no trouble falling asleep on the soft comfy beds. :)

LOTR and Shopping

Thursday wasn't too horribly exciting. We were allowed to sleep in!! But we were still on our way by 9 :). James knew a few spots where LOTR scenes were filmed as well as the Wolverine movie with Hugh Jackman. So we drove off to a place called Glenorchy and also Paradise. There we saw Isenguard and Lothlorien. Isenguard was just plain weird because you are so used to seeing the giant pit creating the orcs and the tower. But no it's just a wide open space. The forest was also really pretty. I love trees so very much! The green contrast was amazing! There was also a green carpet of moss coating the floor. It's weird though because the forests are pretty empty besides a few lizards and birds and insects. I keep thinking I'll see a deer or moose or something but no. They do have deer here but they've been imported in and domesticated. Weird right? But for real you'll see herds of deer acting just like cattle behind fences and everything. It's definitely different.

We got back in time for some girls to go do a zip line but I was so tired that I opted to stay back (I was so proud of myself since I wasn't all that sore from yesterday's rafting adventure). I ended up doing a little bit of shopping and then I ate
dinner with some of the girls from the group. We got Indian food and it was so delicious! Pretty much the rest of the evening was pack for tomorrow (the plan was to leave by 6), shower (yes I know finally right?), and sleep.

Oh and as part of our valentines day we each drew the name of one of the girls in our group to buy a small gift for. I received a delicious chocolate cupcake from one of the nearby shops from one of the girls. Speaking of celebrations you should have seen the party the hostel had going on... The best part was the guy dressed in a sheet holding a suction cup arrow obviously playing the role of Cupid. They don't allow any alcohol in the rooms so they do random room checks where they just burst in to make sure you don't have any alcohol. We must have looked pretty pathetic or maybe just the non alcoholic type (hopefully the latter) because they only checked our room once- thankfully!!

Another valentines day bites the dust :)

Shot Over Jet and White Water Rafting

Wednesday was incredible! It was another early day. We were at the booking place by 8 so we could catch the bus to the shot over jet place. It was so cool! We arrived and got suited up in giant black raincoats and bright red life jackets. We all piled into a jet boat with a river guide and suddenly we were off. It was the most insane boat ride ever! Because the boats run on jet motors that suck up the water and shoot it out to propel the boat forward they could travel across up to a few centimeters of water. Our guide said that all we need is 5 to 7 cm to go. Isn't that crazy? We wove in and out of the canyon walls coming within in inches of each wall at speeds of about 80 to 90kph (40 to 45mph!). I'm pretty sure it's just because our guide enjoyed listening to us scream. :) The best part was when we did 360 spins on the water. It was awesome!!

We got back around 9:30. Just in time to book out next adventure. 6 of the girls made reservations to go bungee jumping and to ride a giant swing through a canyon. Call me a wimp or a chicken or whatever else but I have never experienced even an inkling of a desire to tie myself to a rope and jump off a 200 ft bridge. No i like to defy death using more practical methods. Such as rafting down level 4 rapids.

Erika, our program director, is a river guide during some of the summer months. She guides in both the Grand Canyon and Moab. So while the other girls looked up bungee prices we looked up rafting down the river. Just fyi the rapids are judged based on an international scale of 1-6. 1 being the most calm and easiest to navigate and 6 being insane. So our level 4 rapids were boarding on insane but mostly just they just remained in the awesome fun zone.

We met at the station at 1 to check in. Shortly after that we were loaded up on a bus and taken to the changing station. This is where we picked up our gear. We had our togs (bathing suites) on and then put on a layer of wetsuit with wetsuit footies and a wetsuit jacket. They also equipped us with a bright yellow life jacket and matching helmet. So after changing we were off! Meaning we boarded another bus that was pulling the boats behind it.

Allow me to paint a picture of the road we travelled on to our launch site. For starters it used to be an old mining trail that led from the mountains to our river. We can say that we rafted down one of New Zealand's wealthiest rivers due to its high concentration of gold. Even today it is still possible to find gold flakes and such. Only they are a bit more few and far between than in years past. Anyway back to our dirt road. This road snaked its way down the valley hovering very near the cliff edge most of the trip. There were no barriers or fences to prevent a fall and I could see the straight shot down to the bottom a few hundred feet below most of the time from the window. There was even one part of the road that we had to drive quickly over because the road was a bit unstable. We were told afterwards that that specific road is the 13th most dangerous road in the world... No worries though I made it!

So we made it down the dangerous road and out of the bus. There were a few buses that followed behind us making our group big enough to fit in 8 rafts comfortably. Each boat was equipped with its own guide and had enough space for about 8 people (our group was 5 eith 2 people from Britain who joined our party). We were set and all we had to do was supply the manpower :). Our fearless leader was a man named Esteban from Argentina. Yes I spoke to him in Spanish- a rare opportunity in this country.

It was amazing being on the river! The water was so beautiful! You know the kool-aid flavor that is icy blue? That is what the water looked like and felt like as well. I'm so glad that we had wetsuits because the water was only about 40 degrees F. After a few safety instructions we hopped into our assigned vessels and were off! They had a safety kayak following the boats just in case extra assistance was required.

The first part of the river was pretty calm and the scenery was so beautiful! We even were privileged to see a few wild goats left here by the minors. Our guide used the quiet water to practice drills with us and prepare us for the rapids. Oh yes this was no leisurely paddle down a river. It was like a mini boot camp with Esteban giving commands and us attempting to follow. :) Once he found out that Erika was also a river guide he used her and asked her advice as we headed down the river. There was one point where he came up front and let Erika guide us through some mini rapids. I also got to go for a quick swim during a calm water section just for fun. Again I was grateful for the wetsuit.

The craziest part was the second half of the journey. Each set of rapids had its own name from jaws to minors revenge to oh s***. There were a few more but I can't remember their names. It was amazing to experience mother natures power and to see how weak mankind really is. Whoever had the idiot idea to get in a rubber raft and float through raging rapids? Well it was quit the thrill. We made it through each rapid without a single tip over. One of the rafts wasn't so lucky and we ended up having to transport a girl so she could get back into her original raft.

During our final stretch we rafted through an old mining cave. The longest rafting tunnel in the world- about 100 feet long. Our final rapid was a huge surprise. Esteban asked us to pull in our paddles and to get down in the middle of the raft with our heads down. Next thing I know we are going down this mini waterfall with water coming at us on all sides. We were drenched! It was so crazy! That final adrenalin rush brought us to the end of our adventure. After stripping off our wetsuits (those things are hard to take off) we were treated to a nice warm sauna. Oh it felt so good!!

And finally, in case that wasn't enough to end a perfect day we had Hell's pizza for dinner. Man I ate so much food! I was starving from paddling for 3 hours. It was a great ending to such an adventurous day!

Erika took most of the photos of our raft trip so I'll update the blog with those as soon as I get them. These other two pictures are of the jet boat.