Fickle in Love

I've fallen in and out of love with the campervan a dozen times, but I've loved all the places it has taken us. The weather has been unpredictable and it has rained quite a bit, but it doesn't seem to stop the good times.

After we left the group of school kids, we explored the Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach, with a rock tunnel. It's so stunning, it was featured in the Narnia movies, to depict going from one world to the next. It felt that way. It was our first sunny ocean day. Rob took one look at the rolling waves and ran for the water, Mia right behind. After a week in the mountains, they were anxious for the ocean.

We spent the afternoon lounging on the beach there and back near HaHei, the closest town. The town reminded us of small hippy towns in coastal California - Stinson beach on a sunny day or Leucadia 20 years ago.

Locals tell us the Coremandal Peninisula was almost empty 30 years ago, except for a few hippies growing pot and living off the land. You can see remnants of it in HaHei, Inbetween the luxury homes. But the area was far too beautiful to avoid human encroachment for too long. It's now dotted with surf and sailing towns up and down the rugged coastline. It feels like rainforest meeting rocky cliffs and white beaches (without any poisonous snakes or bugs - I love this country).

We debated spending the night again or heading south an hour to break-up the drive. We decided to leave paradise for the next adventure.

Campervan

I'm writing on our second evening in the campervan. The kids and Rob are outside. We pulled into a holiday camp a few meters from the beach in a huge grassy area surrounded by tropical forest. It's occupied largely by a school group of ten year olds and parents. They welcomed our kids into the fold with a game of rugby. They are now all outside playing flashlight tag. The dads are dairy framers and have invited us to visit their dairy farm on the way to Raglan. These guys are the nicest people in the world.

Before pulling into the holiday park, I was debating with Rob whether to "freedom camp," meaning pull over somewhere on our own, which I wanted to do because I was feeling frugal, or pull into a holiday park for $50, where they have communal areas of kitchens, showers and bbq's, which is what Rob wanted to do. It's more luxurious, though we are self contained with all of the above, except the BBQ.

Had we freedom camped, we would not have met new friends, learned rugby, or been invited anywhere. I am learning there are more ways to open to this experience than I had imagined.

Bring your life jackets

I'm now writing this, sitting in our camper-van, waiting out the rain, in my running shorts.

It is a far cry from our three bedroom penthouse. The kids couldn't be happier. I am already nostalgic for the first half of the trip.

That said, we are 10 steps from the beach. Rob went surfing last night while the kids and I played in the pool at the Holiday park.

It feels almost tropical here. This half of the trip is going to be a whole different experience.

The Doubtful Sound

We had a ton of recommendations to visit the Milford Sound, but we got scared. We didn't want to overnight near there, which meant a windy, five hour drive each way with children that catch motion sickness just looking at a car. Rob and I decided we weren't that brave.

As we explored other options, the Doubtful Sound was heralded as the wilder, more remote cousin to the Milford Sound, with much less traffic and grander views. More importantly, Doubtful Sound was only a two hour drive. Sold!!

We arrived at the starting point the next morning, taking a boat across a glacial lake that looked like it was part of a fjord. It was gorgeous. We were the only family with children. Most folks were empty nesters. It's the same group that lines up 30-60 minutes ahead of schedule to ensure the best seating possible, wherever they go. Needless to say, we were usually the last ones onboard the variety of vessels, lugging our huge cooler amid stares. At $25 per person for a boxed lunch, I personally think they were stares of envy.

Our ferry ride was followed by a 45 minute bus ride (last ones on board) through a temperate rain forest. It was the only road within hundreds of miles. It was also the most expensive road ever built in New Zealand, costing $5 an inch and taking two years to build. The foliage surrounding the road was dense and ancient. The guide said some of the trees were up to 1,000 years old.

We arrived at the start of the Doubtful Sound and boarded another ferry. Yep, last ones on again. It was a breathtaking three hour journey out to the Tasman sea. The pictures do not do it justice.

At one point, we entered a cove, cut the engines and sat in silence for ten minutes. We got to experience the peace and quiet of such a remote place. We could hear all sorts of birds and trees rustling. It was magical and my personal highlight.

The kids did not appreciate the majesty of the tour in quite the same way. As we rounded an island by the Tasman sea, signaling the halfway mark of our tour, Kai came out to the bow with a petulant look. He had been inside at a table for most of the trip, eating, sleeping and bugging his sister. With the best quote of the day, he looked at me and demanded, " When are we going to get to the Doubtful Sound and start the tour?" He demanded. Classic.

The tour finished with a pod of dolphins and a penguin sighting. The penguin looked like a duck. Then back to the bus for a ...power station tour? We didn't realize we had booked a tour of a power station. The kids slept in our laps as the bus drove a mile underground through a dark tunnel to the "viewing station". We piled out of the bus in the damp tunnel to look at.... I'm not quite sure. It was loud. We basically looked at a chamber out of a James bond movie for 10 min, then got back on the bus. The most exciting bit of the tour was watching the bus driver make a 10 point turn in a tunnel a mile underground to get us in the right direction. He had less than an in on either side. It was remarkable.

We arrived home around 8 in the evening, exhausted. Rob and I thought it well worth the effort, the kids much less enthusiastic.

We decided to skip the glaciers and stay in Queenstown for the rest of our stay.

Photos of the Doubtful sound and the power station.

We Should Travel this Journey Together

"We should travel this journey together"

Rob and I hiked up the Queenstown hill this morning.  I was struck by this quote, translated from the local Maowri tribe.  It felt like what I want to pass to my kids.  Traveling through the journey of life together.  Rob then reminded me that the Maowri's killed and literally ate the previous inhabitants of the area when they arrived, so the quote took on a whole new meaning. 

Down Time

In between all the adrenaline rushes, we have managed a bit of down time.  We did have a day of kicking it around Queenstown, and touring the local attractions, including the kiwi bird sanctuary, the candy shop and the knick-knack fair.  We learned some interesting facts.

1.  Prior to European arrival, there were no mammals in New Zealand.  The Kiwi bird was the closest they had.  So once rats, weasels, stoats and dogs arrived, entire populations of birds and other wildlife that had no natural predators soon became extinct, with the Kiwi on the verge.

2.  Jade is found all around Queenstown and has been sought after for centuries.  You can buy it all over the knick-knack fair.

3.  Mia likes butterscotch candies.  Rob likes Mia's butterscotch candies too.  Mia doesn't like to share.

Boating and Bungy Part II

Here are some pictures from the Shotover boat.  It was a thrilling experience.

Also, Rob gave me WAY too much credit on the bungy.  It was the scariest thing I've ever done.  I knew I couldn't look down from the ledge or I would never jump, so I kept my chin up.  I was then told to do a swan dive off the ledge.  I looked back at the instructor like he was mad. 

All I could think was "I'm paying money to throw myself off a bridge???"

In the end, I'd like to think I did a swan dive, but I saw the video after and it was more of a chicken dive.  As I dove, mentally I patted myself on the back. Then I realized I was still falling.  I choked out a chicken squawk.  It's amazing how many thoughts can go through your head in a 5-8 second free fall.  My train of thoughts went something like this:

"Why did I jump off a perfectly good bridge?" 
"I take it back!"
"What the )(#%&$*!!!" 
"350 feet is really really far down!"
"Wow, that water is blue." 
"Holy Mother of God!"
"I may poop myself"
"I'm still falling??!!!"

I was still shaking from the adrenaline surge 10 minutes after they scooped me out of the river.