Halfway Home

Today I reached the halfway point of my trip. I'm having an amazing time, no question about that. I mentioned in my last post that I am avoiding too much reflection or introspection about the trip while on the trip. My reasoning for this is simple- I'm spending my time looking at the rest of the trip so I continue to maximize every day I have. I also am afraid of becoming overwhelmed with all I've seen and done.


The last trip I actually kept a journal on was my Australia trip in 2001. I wrote in it every night and today provides a valuable record of what I was thinking at the time. I haven't felt the need to keep a journal since I got a digital camera. I take so many pictures, that I can usually just look at them and remember what I was feeling at the time. On this trip, I've started an audio-journal, using my US Android phone to record my thoughts. I usually do this right after I get in the car after leaving a place. Whether or not this will even be listenable later, who know, but it's worth the effort. (And I still have the pictures if not- boy, do I have pictures....)

The rainy drive on Thursday

Yesterday (Friday, May 24th) was an awesome day. Before I left, I had thought about this single day more than any other on the trip. I was staying in the town of Franz Josef Glacier on the West Coast hoping to get in both a scenic flight over the two glaciers (Fox Glacier being the other) and also a hike up to and on Fox Glacier. I had driven to Franz Josef the day before from Queenstown, and had spent most of the day in a torrential rain. 


When I started planning this trip, I slotted 3 days in this area, rolling the dice that I would get one decent one to get the hike and flight in. I was even willing to add a fourth day, cutting something else I wanted to see from the itinerary if need be. Those of you who know how I travel know how hard it would have been for me to sit in one spot waiting out weather- that's how much these activities meant to me, especially the flight.

Franz Joseph Glacier

When I woke up yesterday, it didn't look promising. It wasn't raining at first, just foggy and overcast, but it did start pouring as soon as I started my hike to the point at which I could overlook the Franz Josef Glacer. My heart sank, as I prepared myself mentally for the possibility of spending the day either hiking in the rain or holed up in the hostel. Then, to my surprise, the rain stopped and a little bit of blue sky began to appear. Thirty minutes later, it was mostly sunny under almost completely blue skies.

Snow landing at 11,000 feet (Mount Tasman in the background, New Zealand's second highest peak)

Looking down the Franz Josef Glacier

I'll get into more specifics later, when I do the posts for everyday of this trip (that will be months upon months of work when I get home), but needless to say, I got both my scenic flight, complete with snow landing at 11,000 feet, right in front of Mount Tasman, and my half day hike on Fox Glacier. Both experiences were great, but the flight defied description. After leaving the flight company's office, I almost floated back to the hostel. For someone who is a serious as I am most of the time, these moments is life are very rare.

The Pancake Rocks

Today, the adrenaline had worn off a bit, and I wasn't too productive. I got a later start than usual (the first time on the trip I wasn't up before 7AM) and I did a minimal amount of sightseeing. I instead took care of a couple shopping errands, took a long lunch at a picnic area overlooking the Tasman Sea, and sat in my car in Greymouth waiting out a steady rain for about half an hour. Tonight I'm in just outside the small village of Punakaiki, in a 'rustic' cabin in the rainforest. This should be the last night for a while I need a bed indoors, as the temperature is getting much warmer as I head north, and I can go back to camping most nights.

Afternoon Hike on the Fox Glacier

So that brings me to the rest of the trip. I'll be honest about it- I can't imagine it topping what I've seen and done already, but I'm going to give it a go. I spent a lot more time in my pre-trip planning on the first 14 days. I have a plan for the next two weeks, but I'm not nearly as well-read or well-prepared. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I also have nothing booked other than the flight to the US on June 9th and my ferry over to the North Island coming up this Wednesday (May 30th), so I do have some flexibility. 

A few people messaged me in various ways yesterday asking if I was ok after they heard on the news that Christchurch had another earthquake, this one a 5.1 that caused a little damage to many of the already condemned buildings in the CBD. More than that, I'm sure, it frayed the nerves of the residents, who continue to be traumatized by the big quake and the subsequent damage in February 2011. I was on the other side of the island, but we did notice some debris falling down the mountainsides while we were hiking on Fox Glacier, but we didn't know what had caused it. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Christchurch- it was the first place I visited when I arrived, and the people there were super (as they have been pretty much everywhere I've been so far). I'll have a longer post about Christchurch when I get back, but I have been asked about the city by a number of people, both travellers and locals, as I've progressed along on my journey, and I can only summarize Christchurch this way- Broken. 

That brings this post (that is much longer that I had intended) to a close. I've been asked if I miss home quite a few times by people on Facebook, Twitter and in emails, and the truth is yes. I miss my wife, my dogs, the rest of my family, my employees and co-workers, and my friends. I wouldn't refer to myself as homesick, although I do believe I will get to that point in the not too distant future. As much as I do miss home, and all of those things I mentioned (and the many things I didn't), I'm having a great time and looking forward to the next 15 days. When I get home, I'll be glad to be there, but for now, there is more wandering to do.

Photo of the Day- Porcupine Mountains State Park, Michigan

Postcard Friday- Hebron, West Bank

Photo of the Day- Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio

Onward to New Zealand's Wild & Rainy We(s)t Coast

Greetings from a soggy Franz Josef Glacier, a town on New Zealand's West Coast. The West Coast, or the 'Wet Coast' as I've been told the Kiwis call it, is living up to it's name so far. More on that later.

As I mentioned yesterday on Facebook, I did finally get my scenic flight. I'd wanted to fly over Milford or Doubtful Sound, but the weather back in Fiordland wasn't participating, so I took the only option I could find available, that being a flight over Queenstown and a snow landing above 12,000 feet from the company The Helicopter Line. I had a nice Australian couple with me, and the highlight for them was the snow landing, since Aussies rarely see snow. Being from Michigan, I believe I've seen enough of the white stuff to last a lifetime (although thankfully not much this odd winter).

The highlight of the 25 minute flight for me was the sweeping views over the mountains and the city of Queenstown. I still hope to do one more scenic flight here in Franz Josef, over the glaciers and Mount Cook-- weather permitting.

After my flight I had a chance to stop by the original bungy jumping site at Kawarau Bridge. They had a visitor center that screened and intro film about the history of bungy jumping and some nice viewing platforms. I can honestly say this is not something I ever thought about doing- not that I'm particularly scared by it, I just don't understand the appeal. It's just too expensive (jumps are over $100NZ) to 'give it a try'.

Being a history junkie as opposed to an adrenaline junkie, I chose to drive about an hour outside Queenstown to the ruins of a Central Otago gold rush town known as Bendigo. Queenstown and the area surrounding it saw many boom towns pop up in the late 1800s due to the gold rush. While Queenstown and Wanaka made it, places like Bendigo were abandoned once the gold ran out. Today the site is nothing more than a few stone ruins overlooking Lake Dunstan.

Knowing I had a long drive ahead of me, I left my hostel bright and early this morning. I was, for the second day in a row, greeted by a magnificent sunrise over Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

I headed toward the west coast via Wanaka and the Crown Point/Cardona Valley Road, the highest paved road in either Australia or New Zealand. The first 5 miles were quite twisty as the road climbed above 10,000 feet.

It wasn't long after heading north out of the town of Wanaka, that I noticed the dark clouds rolling in over Lake Wanaka. I could tell that I was going to get wet...

I didn't just get wet- I got soaked to the bone. I wasn't going to let the rain deter me- I still went on the three short hikes I had planned, but I paid for that with soggy shoes (I only brought two pairs, and my sketchers don't go out in the rain) and all three suitable tops I have for rain soaked through, including my actual rain jacket. As with my washout at Tekapo early in the trip, it wasn't the being soggy that bothered me, it was missing out on the scenery that I was passing through that was obscured by the driving rain and the low clouds. I have a feeling the Haast River Valley is gorgeous, but all I saw is the picture above.

As with most of the schizophrenic New Zealand weather, I had just started to head north along the West Coast when I had about a half hour of clearing. I got a little sun, a patch of blue sky, and the opportunity to take some pictures of the Tasman Sea, the volatile body of water that causes most of this crazy weather.

I have a glacier hike scheduled for tomorrow in the afternoon. I also tentatively scheduled the flight I have been dreaming about for months. The people here say it's supposed to clear- the weather site referred to me, metservice.com.nz, says otherwise. It's also still raining hard, as it has been for the last 6 hours straight. Anyway, I don't really have to move on from here for a day and a half- I hope I can continue my long streak of luck and get my flight in. Stay Tuned....

Photo of the Day- Fountain Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Complicated Queenstown

I finally managed to tear myself away from Fiordland today, and headed to Queenstown. The drive was beautiful, and I got the above photo which is kind of iconic for New Zealand- Mountains & Sheep...

As with most things on this trip, I'll have a much longer post about Queenstown, but I was surprised to see rampant commercialism- the first time I have seen it on this trip and I was shocked/appalled/saddened by it. I have tried to avoid too much introspection about what I'm seeing on this trip- I'm in sensory overload mode right now and trying to grasp it all might make my head explode, but I did not expect Queenstown, especially the central downtown area, to look this way.

It sure is in a beautiful area, though, as this view from my hostel room proves. It's probably the days of near isolation in the fiords that had me so wholly unprepared for the madness of Queenstown.

Feeding my obsession with elevated viewpoints, I took the Skyline Gondola up to overlook Queenstown.

The views of the town, it's suburbs and those mountains (appropriately named The Remarkables) were pretty awesome. I warmed toward Queenstown a little, especially from this distance.

Activities available at the top of the mountain include tandem paragliding, bungy jumping & a luge. I did not avail myself of the adrenaline activities, but I did see the Kiwi Haka show. I knew going in this would be touristy, but it was one of those things you just do in New Zealand. I'm going to do it right, however, as I have a few things I am going to do & see on this trip to delve deeper into the complicated history of the Maori. 

The other thing I chose to do on top of the mountain was indulge in Skyline's six course buffet dinner, which was ambitiously priced, but the food and the views made it worth it. The food really was amazing and I proceeded to try a little of everything and left comprehensively gorged. I made sure I photographed everything I tried, and I'll do a post on it to prove that this picky eater got a little adventurous tonight. 

After dinner, I spent some time using the tripod to try and capture the lights of Queenstown at night, which I think I did. Not in the above photo, but I'm saving the good ones for a little later.


I have been running a day ahead of schedule so far, and I'm going to use it tomorrow here in Queenstown. I was originally only going to stay and day and a half and leave tomorrow afternoon, but I'm going to stay another night, and try again to find that scenic flight I so desperately want. I called about 10 places today and they either weren't flying at all because the weather in the sounds was not cooperating, or they didn't get the minimum numbers needed. I'm going to try again tomorrow, as I fear this might be my last chance. The awesome weather I've had is supposed to change tomorrow afternoon and I could be looking at a few days of rain in a row. Who knows with this country's crazy weather- although it's winter here and my luck with the weather has to run out eventually, right?

Photo of the Day- Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Photo of the Day- Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, Netherlands

A "Sound" Couple of Days

I'll have longer posts on all of these experiences, but for now a quick update on where I've been the last 3 incredible days. 

Small Boat Excursion on Doubtful Sound's First Arm inlet

 On Saturday the 19th, I boarded took a overnight cruise with the company Real Journeys on Doubtful Sound. The sound was so named when Captain James Cook first visited the South Island of New Zealand in 1770 because he was 'doubtful' he would be able to sail out of it if he sailed in.

Brooding Ambiance on Doubtful Sound

Saturday, we had brilliant blue skies and Sunday morning we had overcast and rainy. It was great being able to see the sound in both types of weather. The scenery was beyond description (as I am finding a lot here, especially in Fiordland National Park). 

Looking in to the Hollyford Valley along the Milford Sound Road

Sunday afternoon, I headed toward Milford Sound on the world famous Milford Sound Road. I had been warned by a number of Kiwis to take extra caution driving this road, and while it was incredibly scenic, it was no more a difficult drive than Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park or the Tioga Road in Yosemite. Just like those roads, the trip took me more than double what it should have since I stopped so often to take picture and admire the views. 

Sterling Waterfall, Milford Sound

 Just as with Doubtful Sound, I was able to see this area in both cloudy/rainy and sunny conditions, as Sunday afternoon on the drive in it was overcast and began to rain as soon as I passed through the Homer Tunnel, and Monday was brilliantly sunny, but with some low lying fog to create ambiance on my Milford Sound Cruise. 


I said on my Facebook status tonight that I could spend my whole trip here. I am intrigued by Dusky Sound, south of Doubtful Sound, as it is a almost completely untouched area, but that will have to wait for another trip. It's time to move on to Queenstown, New Zealand's adventure capital. Don't expect to see any photos of me bungy jumping or sky diving, however, but I am hoping to take a couple of scenic flights over the next few days, weather permitting (as always in New Zealand).

New Zealand Cute- Cozy Nook

New Zealand abounds in cute, kitchy names. I was driving on the Southern Scenic Route west of Invercargill, and I saw another one of those names, Cozy Nook.

Photo of the Day- Canyonlands National Park, Utah