A PUZZLING WORLD

Friday, January 15, 2010

Idalis:

New Zealand is a young country, its present shape less than 10,000 years old. Having broken off from Gondwanaland (which included Africa, Australia, South America, and Antarctica) about 130 million years ago, its endured ice ages, volcanic activity, and erosion. This makes for fantastic scenery and sometimes horrible weather. We've seen it all, it seems: snow capped mountains, glaciers, rainforest, and the most puzzling sight of all, Kiwi “Westie” fashion. Add to the mix a proud Maori culture, superb food and wine, and an adventurous spirit and you have a place that, even after 16 months of travel, has managed to puzzle, confound, delight, awe, and entertain us.

Lucky for us two vagabonds in an old beat up van, there are now roads in former Gondwanaland. They're sometimes bad, often winding, and always full of sheep, but we've been able to experience some amazing, jaw-dropping landscapes that have left us dumbfounded. As has been the case here, the detours have been just as impressive (if not more) than the things we've planned for. Following is a random cornucopia of recent kiwiana that has made us laugh, cry, gape, smile, and scratch our heads (and other body parts):


Puzzle World – Set in the beautiful town of Wanaka, which overlooks a lake, this museum started this whole theme. It has a 3-D maze, a room full of optical illusions enough to make you (at least me) tumble to the ground, and mind-bending puzzles Kevin could solve but I didn't have the patience for. Worse than Sudoku!











Rob Roy Glacier Walk – One of our favorite tramps yet. Although an hour out of Wanaka on a bad corrugated road (bump! bump! bump!), it was well worth the pounding headaches we both got. Beautiful views along the way included brown hills that reminded me of the cocoa-powdered truffles I loved getting at Costco. Yum! The four-hour hike took in glaciers, waterfalls, and a swing bridge, not to mention four thundering avalanches we saw from the safety of our lunch spot!















Sandflies – These devils with wings are everywhere! The sandfly is an ugly black fly that uses our blood to fertilize its eggs and lay them under swift-moving water. How dare they! Only the females bite, which means there are twice as many around. They get into every crevice in the van, and the tiny little spot you forgot to apply repellent to will surely have a welt tomorrow. Kevin even installed screens in the windows, but they somehow find their way in. The bites hurt, and they leave marks that last for weeks. Every night before going to bed, we go on Sandfly Duty and kill as many of the little buggers as we can. To date, the record has been the extermination of 42 sandflies in 12 minutes. I've gotten three bites just writing these few paragraphs!











Driftwood art – Something you and I might do to make the time pass on the beach seems to be a national art form here. Driving along the coast on our way to the glaciers, Kevin and I saw these weird rock and wood formations on Bruce Bay. We stop to marvel at the hundreds of wood sculptures and cairns that have been built, scattered around the beach. We add our own and find out later many seaside towns hold summer competitions for the best ones. Eco-friendly art!












Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers – A “must see” on the west coast of the South Island. Some years they advance, some years they recede, at a rate of up to five meters a day! The early Maori knew Franz Josef as Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Tears of the Avalanche Girl). Legend says a girl lost her lover when he fell from the local peaks, and her flood of tears froze into the glacier. We learned that the blue ice we see on the glacier's peak is actually old snow so compacted that the oxygen is squeezed out, leaving the azure tinge. Our views of Fox Glacier were quite good, but the day we arrived at Franz Josef, the access road was closed at first. Torrential rains had caused poor visibility and swollen rivers. One DOC worker told us they had built a bridge to cross one of the rivers, which only lasted 23 hours before being washed out. Kevin approached one of the swift rivers and caught a piece of glacier ice, which he put in the cooler to keep our chicken cold. I get to marry this genius!


















New Zealand weather – Upon first arriving, we were told by locals that, “Here in New Zealand, you can experience all four seasons in one day.” We had no idea how true the statement was. Clouds. Rain. Hail. Wind. Sunshine. Repeat. You're never sure what to wear in the morning, but know to keep your rain jacket close by.






Kiwi fashion – Some of the guys look like they've stepped out of that bad movie with Emilio Estevez (I think) from the early '90's, Men At Work: mullet haircuts, short rugby shorts, and gum boots. Sexy! Another fashion oddity is going into the supermarket or mall and seeing people walking around barefoot. Where are their gum boots?

Kiwi vocabulary – We speak English, but we're just starting to learn Kiwi. A traditional greeting is “Kia ora, bro.” People eat “fush and chups” and put “Steinies” in the “chillie bin.” Flip flops are “jandals” and the “wopwops” is where you don't want to live. Yesterday, when we asked the nice parking attendant if it was okay to park on the street, she replied “Good as gold.” So we told her that was great news to us by saying, “Sweet as.”

Punakaiki (Pancake) Rocks – On the west coast, another puzzling stopover. Through a layering-weathering process that scientists aren't sure about, limestone has formed into what resembles stacks of thick pancakes. When the tide is just right, the sea surges into caverns and booms through blowholes, causing everyone in the vicinity to be drenched in cold water and be reminded of the awesome power of Mother Nature.











Kiwi friendliness and hospitality – This one has us stumped, and we love it. Kiwis are extremely friendly and love to chat. They think nothing of striking up a conversation with a complete stranger and then inviting them over for dinner, which is exactly what happened to us. We met Joy and Di (Aussie expats) several weeks ago on one of our hikes in the Mount Cook area. They told us to look them up when we came to Nelson, which we did, hoping to meet up for the day. Joy and her husband Mark were excellent hosts. They invited us into their beautiful home, let us take hot showers, fed us yummy veggie lasagna, gave us a comfy bed, and introduced us to their lovely family. Thank you all for your warm hospitality and generous helpings of pumpkin salad!


Sauvignon Blanc – Being a red wine kind of girl, I was a bit skeptical to try the white wine Joy generously poured for us before dinner. But, OMG! Hard to describe, but it has a zingy, fresh, fruity, and almost herbal quality to it. Unbeknown to us cheap-red-wine-in-a-box drinkers, Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand is world-famous. It tastes kind of like champagne without all the bubbles. I've found a new favorite!

Harwood's Hole – Joy and Di, always the adventure buffs, took us on a beautiful hike to this spot near their home. The fern- and moss-filled walk to the southern hemisphere's largest cave made up for the bone-cracking bumpy ride. Harwood's Hole is 400 meters deep and 70 meters wide, with a 183 meter drop. I stayed a safe distance away from the precipice so I could enjoy our picnic lunch.











Abel Tasman National Park – I know we keep saying this about everywhere we go, but it was so beautiful! We were extremely lucky finding a spot at the DOC campsite, which people book for now starting in July. Dumb luck! The five-hour-return coastal walk we did to Separation Point passed stunning bays and coves, and we could smell the fur seals way before seeing them! One of the bays houses Navigator Rock, which the Maori say is the point where they were guided to the South Island hundreds of years ago.















Pupu Springs – Pronounced “poo poo,” it's not the name we would give to the clearest water in the world. Te Waikoropupu Springs are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand, and reputedly the cleanest, rivaled only by melting glacier ice in Antarctica. It's a very holy place for the Maori, so touching the water is a big no no.











Wharariki Beach – Taking Joy's advice, we visited this remote, desolate beach in Golden Bay to watch the sunset. You have to go through farmland to get to it, and the views are stunning: mighty dune formations, looming rock islets offshore, and a seal colony that we almost bumped into. Jaw-dropping!







As you can see, the last couple of weeks have been mystifying, in a good way. Tomorrow morning we get on a ferry in Picton and will arrive in the North Island three hours later. I'm sure it will keep us amazed as well, with an active Maori culture, volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers.

Choice, eh?