Arrival at Home

I've spent the last 24 hours either in airports or on planes between airports. Everything went smoothly and I'm now back at home in Waterloo. It feels good to be back home. I'm so excited to see family and friends that I have not seen in 4 months. I'm heading up to the cottage for the next week to relax and finish my work term report before heading back to Grebel for frosh week.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog and following my adventures in New Zealand. This will probably be the last post I make unless something really reflective and poignant comes to mind (ha!). Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed.

Heading Home

My flight leaves this afternoon and I'm pretty much packed. I have a few loose ends to tie up at the bank and some other errands to run but I'm all set to go. Now I must kill some time until the bank opens.

See you on the other side of the world.

Endings

This is the final week of my stay here in New Zealand and it is oh so bittersweet. Today was the last basketball game I will play with a great group of people. I've formed some great friendships out of that group and it is sad to see it come to an end. Over the term, the quality of the game has improved immensely and I've really enjoyed watching everyone improve. Similarly, tomorrow will be the final lunchtime soccer game.

Also today, 'M' 'JW' and I gave a presentation about the work we'd done this term. New co-op students have arrived and it was partially for their benefit and partially to cap off the term. This presentation is in some ways the ultimate act of jobs here. All that is left is to wrap up some loose ends and pass on as much information as possible to the new co-op students as they begin their work at Trimble.

Speaking of the new co-op students, they arrived this weekend and we did some stuff with them. In particular we went out to the Fox & Fiddle (a pub...) to watch the Rugby game between the Wallabies & the All-Blacks. It was tons of fun sitting there with a big group to watch the game. I thoroughly enjoyed this most kiwi of experiences. The game came down to the wire with the All-Blacks pulling out a 19-18 win in the final 5 minutes with a penalty goal. It was a fitting ending to my time here.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

A Request

Dear readers,

Throughout the last 4 months, you have learned much about what I have been doing while here in New Zealand and I have learned very little about you. I realize this is generally how blogs work but I'm very curious to find out who has found their way to reading this. I know who some of you are through comments and our conversations through other mediums but I would guess there are others who I have no idea are reading.

So, here is my request to you whether you have been a regular reader or simply an occasional visitor. If you are willing, please leave a comment on this post indicating who you are (the more creative you get with identifying yourself the the more fun it is to try to figure out who you are, so feel free to be arcane). If you are uncomfortable with such publicity an email to daniel.da.johnson+blog@gmail.com would work just as well.

Yours Sincerely,
A very curious Dan

Coming Home - Some Details

A bunch of people have been asking me lately about when I'm coming back to Canada so I thought that I would put an answer up here so that at least some of them will already know the answer before asking.

My first flight leaves from Christchurch on Aug. 29 at 4:30pm. I fly to Auckland, then to San Francisco, and then finally to Toronto, arriving around 11pm on the 29th.
The most fun part of this is that I leave Auckland at 7:30pm and arrive in San Francisco at 12:45pm, 6 hours and 45 minutes before I left.

After I get home, I'll be heading up to Manitoulin Island for a week before coming back to Waterloo on the Sept. 4.

Springtime in Christchurch

Just as we begin to prepare to leave, Christchurch turns to spring. This morning as I walked to work with the sun rising over the hills (it's great just to get a chance to walk to work in the light)I saw a small bunch of daffodils along the edge of the road in full yellow bloom. This splash of colour was wonderfully refreshing.

Further along the road there was a flowering tree in full bloom. I have no idea what sort of tree this was, but it was beautiful. I'm thinking I should visit the botanical gardens this weekend before I leave.

It is a little depressing that I will be soon leaving the new birth of spring and returning to a place where we are slowly sliding towards winter. Nevertheless, I am definitely looking forward to coming home. [For those that don't know, my flight home is on the 29th].

From the Mountains to the Sky Act 19: Aoraki

Today, we rented a car and drove to Aoraki (better known as Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in NZ) for the afternoon. It was a bit of a ridiculous thing to do as the proportion of time spent driving to time at destination was ab out 2:1. It will probably be the last trip outside of Christchurch for me until I leave for home. Next weekend will probably be devoted to wrapping up loose ends and preparing for home.

Anyways, back to today's trip. We left, heading south out of Christchurch for the first time in a while back along the road towards Queenstown and Te Anau (trips 3 & 4). It was foggy and looked like rain but we weren't about to let that dampen our spirits. By the time we reached the mountains in Burke's Pass the skies had cleared a little and there were some spectacular views of snow-capped mountains near the road. We passed by Lake Tekapo (brilliant blue) and turned North up the road towards Aoraki.

We arrived at our destination, Hooker Valley, around 1pm and started walking up the valley, crossing a couple swing bridges and fording a stream. After crossing the second bridge, Mt Cook was supposed to be seen to be "dominating the valley," instead there was a large ball of cloud and fog "dominating" the scene. A little less spectacular than I imagined but the surrounding mountains were still quite beautiful. The landscape was littered with glacial features and I had quite a good time finding and naming various types of features in my head (erratics, moraines, kettles etc.).

Just when we reached the terminus of the hike and were about to turn around (the rest of the track was closed due to avalanche risk) it began to rain. We got quite wet on the way back but it didn't really hamper the fun. Instead of following the trail, we clambered among the rocks beside the glacial river and lake, enjoying finding our own paths and skipping many rocks on the water. I fell quite a few times among the rocks, but I was already wet enough that it didn't really matter.

After returning to the car, we drove home.

From the Mountains to the Sky: Act 18 - Auckland

The final day of our North Island journey was the least interesting. From Rotorua, we drove to Auckland via the Coastal Scenic Road, about a 3.5 hour drive. Here is a map of the entire route for the whole trip.

View Larger Map
We arrived in Auckland around noon and started walking around the city to get a feel for the place. We followed the walking tour outlined in Lonely Planet. It wasn't the most exciting thing to do but it did give us a nice overview of the city. We saw the Sky Tower, the University, the harbourfront, and the main shopping/touristy areas. Auckland really feels like another big city, with all of the trappings. After visiting the city centre, we drove out over the Auckland harbour bridge for a skyline view.

We returned our rental car, and caught our plane back to Christchurch. It was a very satisfying trip.

From the Mountains to the Sky: Act 17 - Tourism's Tacky Delights

Day three of our trip happened in and around the city of Rotorua, about an hour north of Taupo. Rotorua is the adventure capital of the north island and has much to offer in the way of tacky tourist attractions. We took full advantage.

Our day began at the Agrodome, a farm/adventure tourism zone. Here, one can find such activities as a Freefall simulator, the Shwoop (a giant swing a la Canada's Wonderland SkyFlyer), the AgroJet (fastest Jet boat in the world), Rotorua Bungee, and the Shweeb. The Shweeb was the reason that I came to the Agrodome thanks to a tip from a friend (thanks J).

A little about the Shweeb. The Shweeb is a recumbent bicycle attached to the underside of a monorail. It allows the rider to travel very quickly around a 200m 'track' with minimal effort. The inventor of the Shweeb hopes that it will catch on as a mass commuting device but personally I'm skeptical. While I would enjoy it immensely, I don't think it would be everyone's favourite method of transportation.
My first run on the Shweeb, I clocked in at 1:01.7 over the 600m track. They keep records and it was the 11th best time by a Canadian in the past 2 years (since it opened). I decided to come back later in the day and try again. After the Shweeb, we wandered around the farm for a while and saw some lambs. They looked very fuzzy.

After wandering around the farm, we came back past the Shweeb on our way back to the car. There was a crew there with cameras. I guess since I was walking past, the operators asked me if I wanted to ride again (for free) so that some pictures could be taken for Arrival magazine (some NZ tourism rag). How could I refuse such an offer? I got 5 free laps to get a feel for the gears and such before coming back later in the day.

The next tacky tourist activity was Zorbing, a chance to fulfill all of one's hamster ball fantasies. You climb to the top of a hill, get inside a giant plastic ball filled with a little water, and roll down. Quite fun! And very hilarious.


After zorbing, we went back to the Shweeb where I was going to try to post a world record time. I didn't expect to have much luck, but I thought it would be fun to try. The world record is 57.1 seconds to complete the track. My second timed attempt was 59.4s. A very respectable time. Only about 100 people have broken the 1 minute barrier according to the host/leader guy. I ended up having the 2nd fastest time of Canadians and the 21st fastest of males under 25. Definitely an enjoyable thing to do.

Next, we had a break for lunch and then off to tacky tourist item number 3, luging down the hillside above Rotorua. You ride the gondola up over the town and then ride back down on a little cart with basic steering and brakes. Like soap-box racing. It was surprisingly fun. I didn't expect much but it was really great. The tracks were fairly long and you got a decent amount of speed riding down the hill.

In the evening, we went to a Maori cultural show and meal, the biggest tacky tourist activity of them all. While I did learn some interesting things about Maori history and how they are struggling to keep their culture alive, the whole thing felt VERY artificial with way too many people with cameras flashing filming the whole thing. It was quite entertaining and the meal was delicious, cooked in a traditional hangi with wonderful savoury flavours.

From the Mountains to the Sky Act 16: Getting into Hot Water in Taupo

On Friday, we spent the day in Taupo and the surrounding area. Lake Taupo, the centerpiece of the region, is the caldera of a volcano that erupted about 2000 years ago. It is fed by 20 different rivers and streams and drains through one river, the Waikato. The city of Taupo is located where the Waikato R leaves the lake. From Taupo, one can view the triple peaks of the Tongariro National Park one of which, Mt. Ngauruhoe starred in a recent film as Mt. Doom. There is a hike that passes through this park which unfortunately we did not have time to do. Here is a view of the Tongariro peaks over the city of Taupo.


Friday morning, we woke up and set out for our first destination, Huka Falls, a waterfall on the Waikato River just outside of Taupo. It was nice, but nothing too special as waterfalls go. From there, we headed to NZ River Jet for a ride in a Hamilton Jet Boat. The Hamilton Jet is essentially a very large Seadoo, which is capable or running in very shallow water and doesn't get tangled in weeds and such. Also, it is able to do some fun stunts like 360s and running over the shore for brief periods. The River Jet tour consisted of three parts. First a slow cruise up the Waikato River with stops along the way to explain the local flora, fauna, and history. This is a very beautiful area that reminded me a lot of the Grand River in Waterloo.

After the sedate boat cruise, we arrived at Orakei Korako, one of many thermal areas in the region. We spent about 1.5 hours there, wandering through the steaming vents, mud pools, hot springs and silica terraces of the park. It was pretty nice but similar areas at Yellowstone National Park are much more spectacular. There were also a couple geysers in the park but we were not lucky enough to see them go off. The highlight of the park for me was learning about the significance of geothermal power to historical Maori people. They used geothermal vents to provide central heating for their houses and to cook their food. This made Orakei Korako a much fought over territory.

The final leg of the trip was a speedy and daring ride back down the river to where we began. Our guide, Adam, put the Hamilton jet through its paces, pulling off a number of 360 spins and jetting through the shallows of the Waikato. It was quite a bit of fun.

Following the jet boat tour, we went to the Aratiatia Rapids for lunch and to watch the release of water from the dam. The Waikato is an entirely controlled river that is used to generate 65% of the North Island's electricity needs through a series of 8 hydro plants and dams. The Aratiatia dam is the first of these. Twice a day, water is released from the dam and you can view the rapids as they were before human intervention happened. The transformation from this:

to this in a few short minutes was quite remarkable.

Our final stop in Taupo was a swim in a thermal stream, pretty much a natural hot tub. I'm not a big fan of hot tubs usually but I did enjoy this thoroughly. The natural environment with little waterfalls really set a nice tone and it was great fun to jump back and forth between the main Waikato River (10 degrees) and the stream. Also, it was fun to climb up the waterfalls and explore the interesting ways in which the hot and cold water interact at the junction of the stream and the river.


After another event-filled day, we drove to Rotorua and checked into our hostel there. Here, we met a young British couple who had been traveling since April, starting in Thailand and making their way through many nations to New Zealand. It was nice to just relax and chat with them for a while before heading to bed to prepare for the next day.

From the Mountains to the Sky Act 15: Spelunking

This past weekend, I went on a trip with 'M' to the North Island. We took Thursday and Friday off of work and went on a 4 day trip from Auckland south through the central region of the North Island.

We left Christchurch Wednesday evening, traveling by a combination of bus & taxi to the airport (nearly missing the flight), and arriving in Auckland around 8:30pm. We picked up our rental car and were off South towards our first destination, Waikato. Arriving at the hostel at 11:45pm, we discovered that while the door to the hostel (Juno Hall Backpackers) was open, as promised, there were no keys for any rooms left out for us. We had no idea where we were supposed to sleep, or how we could possibly find out. We wandered through the hostel trying doors hoping to find a room with beds that looked like they were supposed to be for us. In the end, we ended up just picking a random room and falling asleep, hoping to sort things out in the morning. It wasn't our room, but the manager was quite understanding as they had forgotten to leave our keys out.

Thursday, our only activity for the day was the Black Abyss tour of the Waikato caves, run by the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. This was my highlight of the entire trip. The experience was completely novel and I really enjoyed it. I've never before been deep inside a cave and it was incredible. Our tour guides (Doug and Jah) were friendly, helpful, and tons of fun. The tour had 6 people on it, 'M' and I along with two absolutely huge 20-something males, an old Kiwi man, and a tourist from England.

The tour begins with an abseiling lesson. For those who don't know, abseiling is the art of lowering oneself on a rope either down a cliff or into a cave. You control your speed by changing the angle of a rope passing through a rack of metal tines as well as by the tightness of your grip on the rope. The lesson lasted about 20 minutes before we were all set to try out our new-found skills by lowering ourselves 30m into the cave. The abseil lasts 2-5 minutes and you have to negotiate a narrow opening on the way down. This was the first of many occasions I was very glad to be wearing my helmet on the expedition.

Reaching the bottom, we went for a short walk through some damp, but mostly dry, tunnels: looking at a variety of rock formations and using our spelunking helmets to look around. It was great fun. Following this wander, there was a short trip down a zip line into a pitch dark cavern lit only by the steady but minuscule glow of hundreds of glowworms. We stopped for a quick glass of hot chocolate and a small snack before the tour continued. While eating this snack, the guides had us sit on the edge of a ledge with our feet dangling. It was very difficult to tell what was at the bottom of the small cliff. It was quite unnerving.

From here, we grabbed some innertubes and leaped off the cliff into a stream that runs through the caves. The water was very cold, hence the wet-suits you've seen in the pictures so far. We floated along the stream, stopping to take a good look at the glow worms on the ceiling and examine the rocks along the way. Glowworms are actually not worms, but maggots, the larva of flies. They live in damp places and catch prey by dangling spiderweb-like threads down and lighting up their behinds to attract small animals. After pupation, they live for only a short time before perishing (they have no stomachs in this form). On the ceiling of a dark cave, they look a bit like the night sky, little pricks of starlight shining through. Quite a sight to see. We floated back up the stream to where we had been before, left our innertubes for the next group and started walking (through the stream).

After a while, our walk became not so much a walk, but a swim/crawl/shimmy through some deep water, small gaps, and narrow spaces. For a while, I was at the front of the group. It felt a bit like I was leading a spelunking expedition, wandering through caves looking for the way out.

Next, we ended up at the top of a small waterfall. We were given the opportunity to jump off this waterfall and this was very enjoyable. Landing in a deep pool beyond the falls before clambering back up the way we had came. There was also a way to crawl beneath the falls and emerge on the other side. I tried a few times to do this, but was always caught by the falls along the way and swept off down into the pool below.

Our trip concluded with a climb up the "Twin Waterfalls of Doom." This name was perhaps a little melodramatic but, at first glance, the waterfalls were quite intimidating to climb. Fortunately we had the help of our trusty guides and everyone was able to clamber out without too much trouble. I emerged onto the dry surface, wet, weary, a little cold, but deeply satisfied with experiencing something very new that I had not seen before and probably won't see again.

Following the tour, we were given hot showers, bagels, and soup. A very welcome luxury.
Around 4pm, we left Waitomo and drove to Taupo, the next stop on the north Island adventure.

[These pictures are a little blurry. My apologies. But as an excuse, they were taken underground in very dark conditions.]

From the Mountains to the Sky At 14 - 'Windy Welly'

This weekend, we flew to Wellington for a weekend in the city. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand but, like Ottawa, is not the biggest city. It is the third biggest behind Auckland and Christchurch.
Friday night, we flew from Christchurch to Wellington, arriving at 9:30. That evening we headed out into the city and visited a couple bars and such. We also wandered around the docks and saw some artwork and the New Zealand stock exchange.
Saturday morning, we went to Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's national museum like the British Museum in London. It was a great museum. There were tons of exhibits about New Zealand's history, geography, art, culture, nature and more. I could have spent the whole day there but there were lots of other things that we also wanted to do in the city. We left in the early afternoon to continue our tour of Wellington.

Next, we went up to the Botanical Gardens by Cable car. Despite it being winter, there were still a large number of flowers and plants in the gardens and since they were up on the hill, it provided a good viewpoint overlooking the city. There was a pleasant leisurely walk down from the Botanical Gardens to the government area which we took. It was all downhill and quite nice.

We got to the Beehive too late for the tours (security kicked us out immediately when we walked into the building), but still got to see the outside and the surrounding buildings. It was an interesting architectural thing to see.

Saturday evening, we went to the Karori Bird Sanctuary, an interesting project in the middle of the city. This is a place where an environmental group has removed all of the of the invasive predators brought by Europeans and put up a big fence to keep them from coming back in. The fence itself is quite a feat, including a close mesh (to keep animals from going through), a top shield (to keep animals from going over), and deep roots (to keep animals from burrowing under). We went to this reserve mainly to try to see the Kiwi. Unfortuanately, we didn't get to see a kiwi but we did hear them and saw some other animals including tuataras and kakas.

On Sunday morning, we climbed up Mt. Victoria beside Wellington. From the top, there were good views of Wellington harbour and the surrounding areas. 'M' and I had our flight home scheduled for 12:30 so we walked to the airport from Mt. Victoria. Along the way, it got really windy. And I mean really windy. When we got to the airport, we wandered along the coast and saw something quite amusing. Instead of the waves coming towards the shore, they were going away because the wind was so strong coming over the shore. Windy Welly certainly deserved its nickname here.



[I feel like this is not the most coherent post I've ever written, but I'm putting it up anyways. I would like to think that I'll come back and edit it later, but I probably won't]