My New Zealand Jobs

Queenstown, Part 2

Back to Queenstown, a place fit for the Queen of England, or so early explorers thought. One first task upon my return was to acquire a frisbee golf disc and get a course map. The local disc selection was very disappointing. What they offered was a cheap imation that doesn’t fly the same as a real disc golf disc. However, it says New Zealand on it, and I vaunted off to Queenstown Gardens. After awhile, I found the first tee, and then the first tree. You see, this course uses a mixture of trees, wood poles, and basket poles for holes. It’s the most hodge podge course I have ever seen, and after searching nearly in vain for tees and holes (even with a map), I just went to the basket poles and shot there. Hey, it felt good to just play. Then it got cold though, so I went back the hostel with my souvenir. After getting settled with my room, I went back to town and took photos, and took some throughout the day. Also finished my souvenir shopping. It’s been a challenge to buy gifts, as I keep thinking of more people to buy for, but I’m done now, I think. Without question, Queenstown is the place to buy souvenirs, as they have the best prices and selection I have seen.

Decided to have a cultural experience, and went, well, to McCafe. What is McCafe you say? It’s McDonald’s attempt to make real lattes and cappacinos, and tap into the coffee market. Prices were reasonable, atmosphere was so-so, coffee was average. It didn’t taste bad, but I don’t plan on going back. Finished the night by hanging out with a few people at a local bar, then chatting back at the hostel. I planned on doing a hike or possibly an adrenaline activity the next day. The next day arrived, and upon walking out the door, those thoughts were quickly vanquished. IT WAS COLD! The coldest weather I’ve experienced here, actually. It actually got warmer as the day progressed. Chatted awhile with a new Australian friend and bought a delicious Pizza Hut pizza for dinner. Wow, that hit the hollowed spot. If you can believe it then, I went to the adventure capital of the world and didn’t venture. That’s OK. My eyes are opened to the possibilities now, and at some point some of these are on my list. I have had many great once-in-a-lifetime experiences here, and am quite happy with many of the photos I’m taking with me. Tomorrow morning I leave here, but I may just be back.

Doubtful Sound

The Doubtful Sound trip was a good bargain for the price (got a winter rate), as it was a 9 hour journey. Doubtful Sound was originally called Doubtful Harbor by early NZ explorer John Cook, who thought it doubtful that he could successfully sail in and out of there due to weather conditions. Some later explorers went in and realized it wasn’t a harbor, and renamed it Doubtful Sound, which of course wasn’t totally right either, since it’s a fiord.

Our trip began with a van picking us up from our accomodation and taking us to the next town, Manapouri. From there, we boarded a small boat and crossed Lake Manapouri, which took over an hour. It was raining at that time, as the forecast called for rain. Te Anau receives about 1 meter of rain a year, and Doubtful Sound 7-8 meters. After crossing the lake, we spent a few minutes at the Visitor Centre before boarding a bus and venturing down into the depths of the Manapouri Power Station. It was at the visitor centre that I learned that this is the first hydro power station to generate power while leaving the nearby lakes (Manapouri and Te Anau) at their natural levels. The debate over this power station a few decades ago raised New Zealand’s consciousness about their environment on a national scale. The people of New Zealand have created many ecological problems over the years, and they have been quite serious in taking care of their country in recent times. Seeing the power generators made me feel like I was in a James Bond movie. Maybe I was.

We again boarded the bus and went up the road mountain pass. The road was created to haul equipment in and out of the area, and looked to be the least costly and quickest way to accomplish that. Instead, it took several years and is the most expensive road per foot in NZ. From the top, we got our first rainy glimpse of Doubtful Sound. After our descent, we boarded a larger boat and began our 3 hour tour, and yes, the weather was a bit rough. We stopped short of the Tasman Sea though, lest we end up on some uncharted desert isle (though Seth’s Isle does have a ring to it). Doubtful Sound is much larger than Milford Sound, with greener mountains and rougher water. It is less touristy though, feeling more like a wilderness. The sun peaked through the rain at one point, creating a nice rainbow that I captured on light-sensitive film. The rain then stopped, and I went to the top deck to observe. It remained cloudy, and so wasn’t very photo worthy, but was still very scenic, especially with all the rain-created waterfalls. We enjoyed a mostly rain free cruise, and were able to dine on tea and biscuits at one point. Once back to shore, we bussed back to the visitor centre, then boated back across Lake Manapouri, which was dark and rainy. Lastly, we hopped back on the shuttle bus back to our hostels. I feel very fortunate to have cruised Milford and Doubtful Sounds, and to not feel rushed when I did so. It’s a real privilege.

Te Anau

Te Anau is the gateway city to Fiordland, and is quite scenic itself, with Lake Te Anau nearby and lots of mountains in the background. I planned to stay three days there, and ended up extending it to five when I realized that housing in Queenstown would be hard to find (it’s ski season). After relaxing my first night at the YHA, I started the next day in search of a point-and-shoot zoom camera, which would be a compromise, as the quality wouldn’t suit my remaining slide film as well, but I couldn’t afford an SLR replacement. There weren’t too many options in town, and I checked out both of them. In the end, Te Anau Pharmacy won out. They had a few point-and-shoot, none of which impressed me too much, especially for the price, plus the fact that I didn’t really want them. It turned out they had a few, well, three SLR cameras in stock, one digital and two film. Well, they wanted to sell the display model, and I ended up buying it, saving myself a few hundred dollars. It cost more than it would in the US, as is the case with all electronics here, but, I got the kind of camera I wanted. The only negative is that it acquired some dust from being a display model.

\r\n\r\nI enjoyed my stay at the YHA. The next day I ventured out for 6 hours on the Kepler Track, which would take 3-4 days if I hiked it in full. Relaxed the next day, which included watching a movie or two. The last day I decided I needed to get out, and booked a cruise for Doubtful Sound.

Milford Sound

They say Milford Sound is one of the most scenic places in the world. I left Queenstown early in the morning to find out. Unlike most people, I stayed overnight in Milford Lodge, the only traveler’s accomodation in Milford. On the way, our bus passed some incredible alpine scenery, complete with lakes and green rolling hills in the foreground. The Mirror Lakes on the side of the road reflected the mountains beautifully. After a cold night, I took the morning cruise.

First of all, a few things need explained. Milford Sound, and the other “sounds” in Fiordland National Park are actually fiords, not sounds. A fiord in a waterway that opens into the ocean created by a glacier. Because of the glaciers, the mountains are steep as they climb out of the water. The other thing you need to know, Milford gets 6 meters of rain a year. My bus ride there was sunny.

I set out for my cruise on Friday morning, on a sunny day with few clouds and a bright blue sky. It was a photographer’s dream. Snow-capped mountain peaks reflecting out of the crystal clear still water. Cool wind blew across the bow as we sailed past the waterfalls. Met a Spanish couple that I chatted with quite a bit. I will forever remember the girl’s eyes, as they were the most incredibly stunning eyes I have ever seen. Oh, I was talking about Milford Sound, right. Anyway, it was great, as my slides will confirm. There is a sad part of the story though. About 2/3 through the journey, I realized the shutter on my camera broke, and that it’s likely the roll of film didn’t take. It was a painful blow, with photography being my main goal on this trip, and the weather at Milford is not often so wonderful. It really made me think a lot about how I would cope, and that I would find a way to creatively solve the dilemna.

Queenstown, Part 1

Queenstown is the tourist mecca of New Zealand, and the self-proclaimed adventure capital of the world. We are in the middle of their Winter Festival, which makes it busier than usual, though lots of people come hear to ski anyway. I wasn’t too excited about Queenstown, and am only here one night on my way to Milford Sound. So far though, I really like Queenstown. It has a vibrant feel, some cool cafes, and a disc golf course on the lake! Did I mention that the town is scenic? It’s like walking into a postcard. This has to be one of the most beautiful locations for a city in the world. Must spend a few days more here, and get a round of golf in!’

Wanaka

The road to Wanaka is laced with snow-capped peaks and beautiful lakes. Our bus driver was kind enough to stop a few times for photo opportunities. Upon arriving in town, I checked into The Purple Cow Backpackers, which has it’s flaws, but has a nice alpine feel. After getting sorted, I walked out the front door, and lost my breath. It’s just unbelievable to see a clear blue lake a few hundred feet away surrounded by the Southern Alps. The view is stunning. So, after catching my breath, I walked 2k to Stuart’s Puzzling Word Maze, which is a life-size maze along with an illusion gallery. Both were pretty cool. Illusions included rooms with forced perspective, tilted rooms, and one where the faces watch you! Later that night, I went to Cinema Paradiso to watch NZ film Perfect Strangers. I spent a few hours in the cafe portion drinking a Flat White and writing in my journal. The place has atmosphere, with movie posters everywhere. When the movie was about to start, we went in and sat down in their makeshift theatre. The seating included various types of couches and chairs, and even a car! The screen was about 20’ feet wide or so, and the sound was pretty good. Though the movie was strange, it was a great film experience.
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\r\nThe next day I ran some errands, then hiked up Mt. Iron with this Irish girl I met at the cinema. We got views of both lakes, and a good panaramic view of the region. It’s only about 1.5k too, so not a hard walk. The rest of the day was fairly quiet, but good.