Cave Fam

Our final major adventure stop in NZ was at Waitomo Caves. With limestone rock formations peppered throughout cattle and sheep pasture, one could drive through and do little more than comment on the seemingly random hilly terrain. However, to those who know caves – this region is a playground boasting over 300 caves! With many companies vying for the popular tourist dollar, we did some research prior to booking. There is a large company which takes groups of over 30 into one of the larger caves, however, we chose to go with Spellbound Tours, a small company based out of the general store in Waitomo. Rather than an hour long tour, surrounded by many, we enjoyed over 3 hours in and around the caves with a group of 12. Our tour guide had a great sense of humour and we very much appreciated his interest in getting to know the people in the group and building our love for the caves we were entering. This was Science curriculum at it’s best. Stalagmites, stalactites, columns, glowworms…it was outstanding!

We entered two separate caves – the first was via a path down to a dinghy where we were enthralled by the seemingly bright lights of the glowworms. Glowworms: such a cuddly sounding term. Really, they are fungus gnats which glow during their larval stage. Catching food with delicate silk threads hanging down, it is quite the feat of nature to see millions of these throughout the cave. As we floated down the stream within the cave in complete darkness, the gentle ‘kerplop’ of water droplets combined with the glittering ceiling, it felt as though we were being transported into a totally different world.

The second cave was much different in that we were able to observe many distinct limestone formations due to various entry points of sunlight beaming down, exposing crystallized formations. We enjoyed a traditional Maori song sung by three young girls from Wellington – the acoustics in the cave were beautiful. The boys were not as eager to continue on in song, but managed to hum a few sounds. If you’re headed to Waitomo – we would highly recommend booking with Spellbound Tours!

With our time in NZ quickly coming to an end, we spent one day in Auckland and confirmed that while Auckland is a lovely spot, one does not visit NZ for the cities. We thoroughly enjoyed all parts of our visit to this great country (okay, Wellington wasn’t really a highlight). If you’re planning a trip here – it had better be more than 2 weeks and even at that, be sure that you understand you will only skim the surface of all NZ has to offer! The sites, the outdoor activity, the people…all combine to create an ultimate travel experience! Next for us: South East Asia!

Saying Goodbye

Road Hippies Part II

Arriving in Rotorua, we were again faced with myriad activity choices. Anderson REALLY wanted to go zorbing and so we showed up at OGO ready to go for a family zorb. For those of you unfamiliar with zorbing, it was featured on the Amazing Race during one of the New Zealand legs. In essence, it’s gigantic plastic ball surrounding a smaller plastic ball which also contains water. To enter, you “superman dive’ into the smaller chamber and literally get rolling….down the hill. As far as activities go, this one was more about the ‘nifty’ factor than true adventure. The boys enjoyed both the Sidewinder run and the Straight run. Kelly and I signed up for a tandem Sidewinder run and this is where nifty gets thrown out the window, and we (specifically me), exhibited spectacularly poor thinking skills. Feel free to laugh at my expense – Kelly sure did!

Earlier I mentioned the “superman dive’ where you run towards the small tunnel opening of the Zorb and dive into the water filled inner chamber. Sound like fun? It is! Kelly and I reasonably assessed that he should dive in first given his larger height and weight and I would follow. So far so good. BUT…being that I believe in doing all things full out, I didn’t take into account Kelly slipping in the water and me throwing myself head first into his knee. As I’m in the foetal position clutching my head and groaning, Kelly is first of all trying to right himself in the slippery ball, and secondly laughing so hard he could hardly move. Staying true to sheer stupidity (yes, I went there), when the the concerned attendant asked if I was okay to head down the Sidewinder Track, I responded in the affirmative and my throbbing face and soon to be aching shoulder slipped, rolled, and careened down the hill. A few lessons here:

Don’t do a full on head first dive into a confined and slippery space containing potentially harmful body parts no matter how cool the idea may seem at the time. Zorbing is fun. Is it worth the cash? Maybe not, but the story sure is!

I did end up having to access healthcare to check out my shoulder and certainly received my fair share of double takes due to my black eye. It should be noted that accessing a doctor here is a totally different story – I waited a total of 5 minutes to get in to the doctor at a walk in clinic!!! Thankfully, my shoulder is slowly mending. My pride…well that may take a little more time.

Going off a recommendation from a university friend, Kelly and the boys had a blast touring the seemingly endless number of incredible mountain biking trails on quality bikes from Planet Bike, an unassuming bike rental company set up in an old industrial building. Their bikes are top end and they provided well suited recommendations for trails both days. This is a must do activity in Rotorua and given how much fun they all had, is worth a 2 or 3 day trip with biking being a part of each day. Given my gimpy shoulder, I entertained myself with the other fantastic activity in the area, hiking. Completing an 8 km loop in the Redwood Forest park one day and a 5 km loop with Anderson the next day, the variation in terrain and trails makes for interesting hiking.

Biking, hiking, zorbing, mini golf, thermal wonders, and so much more, Rotorua is a great family spot and we could have entertained ourselves for much longer in the area had we had time to do so.

 

Road Hippies

We said good bye to Bailey on February 11th as she returned to Ontario for her final grade 12 semester – it was so great to share our travels with her and truly a blessing to spend time together as a whole family. February 13th, saw us saying another farewell to Kelly’s extended family and Arrowtown, embarking on a 14 hour travel day up the west coast of the South Island. Despite traveling a mere 860 km, the winding roads definitely required a slower speed. This was fitting given our rather uninspired rental, a Nissan Wingroad station wagon. The boys enjoyed making fun of everyone we were able to pass as this vehicle was short a few gerbils under the hood!

We made two key stops along the way: The Fox Glacier and the Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes at Punakaiki. Both sites are well worth the stop and fascinating geological learning opportunities. The Fox Glacier, far different from our Alberta Columbia Icefields, was fascinating with tropical plant life interspersed amongst the grey glacial till.

A primary highlight was the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes: breathtaking coastline and wave action combined with spectacular rock formations in the shape of…you guessed it – stacks of pancakes. Although it was raining heavily during part of our time, this area is magnificent in sunny or inclement weather.

Travel tip: given our reliance on wifi for planning and booking further travel, I would totally recommend purchasing a wireless transportable router that allows for different SIM cards in each country. This little piece of equipment allowed us much more flexibility as while on the road, I would access wifi and book rooms depending on how travel was going.

We decided on a little place called the Linkwater Motel 30 minutes from Picton where our ferry departed from the next day. This place was a gem and given the beauty of the area, we were sorry not to be staying longer. When we went into Picton to catch our ferry to the North Island the next day, our decided reflection on the area was: “Picton…who knew?”

The ferry ride over allowed for more beautiful scenery and as we arrived in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, we realized that although these two islands are part of the same country, there are some definite differences. We didn’t feel compelled to spend any more time than necessary in Wellington and after one night continued up the road to the Lake Taupo Region. Having travelled for 3 straight days we decided against taking in all of the sites of Taupo and the boys had a great time swimming in the pool, a family game of mini golf, and a quiet view over the valley from our Top 10 Holiday Park Cabin.

Heading up Hwy 5, the Thermal Highway, we were struck by the views of volcanoes and desert like conditions. Science curriculum at its finest, we stopped at the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland. This isn’t an outlet store for long underwear for all frozen Canadians given the poor winter you’ve been experiencing…though if you dipped your toe into any of the mud pools, the heat would certainly be overwhelming.

We arrived 30 minutes prior to the magical 10:15 eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser. Surrounding it is an interesting mix of geothermal pools and forests first planted by prisoners from the nearby jail in the late 1880s. As it has been rather dry in the area, the eruption was not as lengthy following rainy periods (can last up to 20 minutes), but was still great to watch. The multi coloured pools and steam make for stunning photographs – we may have a challenge in determining which shot will be on our wall when we get home! The boys found the area fascinating, but their sensitive nasal passages resulted in some interesting faces and the odd cry of “Hurry up and take the photo Dad!”

Before the eruption…

During…

Jaws

Determining the title for this post was the easiest thing I have had to do thus far on this trip. Love that movie. This Bucket List thing thing though….  To be honest, I’m not sure I like the idea of a bucket list.  Maybe I’m channeling Langston Hughes and going all A Dream Deferred on you, depends on interpretation, but I really believe that whatever you do,  you do it to the best of your ability, and enjoy it.  Dreams and goals are great, but I would make two observations: 1) Don’t lament the dreams that don’t come true.  They serve a valuable purpose.  2) When you do have a chance to fulfill a dream, without harming others or self, go for it!  Such was the opportunity to dive with Great White Sharks.  I had hoped to go on a charter in Australia with Rodney Fox, sort of a personal hero of mine (look him up…seriously) but time and cost prevented it.  However, I turned my attention to south New Zealand, a relative newcomer to the shark diving family.  The cost was affordable and it suited our travel plans, so with the click of a button, I was booked!

I have been fascinated and terrified of sharks since I could read.  This terror and fascination has not diminished, and in fact has increased over the years.  I  read and watch anything I can get my hands on about them.  And I become positive that I’m slated to become dinner as soon as I set foot in the surf…until I set foot in the surf.  Then my fascination takes over.  Although I must admit, this experience ran counter to conventional wisdom.  In my previous diving, swimming, snorkeling and surfing experiences, the idea is to minimize the chance of a shark encounter.  No bleeding wounds?  Check.  Other people around? Check. Avoid murky water? Check.  No obvious shark prey around?  Check.  On this dive, it was different.  Big bag of chum? Check.  Abundant shark prey? Check.  Big tasty tuna floating in front of the cage? Check.  Large great white sharks circling boat? Check.  And I couldn’t wait to get in the water.

The experience was incredible.  I was able to spend as much time in the water as I wanted.  It was very cold, but I really didn’t notice with the sharks around, and they were around for over 5 hours.  The guides were knowledgeable and really care about these animals and take care not to feed them which might alter their natural behavior and feeding habits. One of those habits is that the sharks ‘test’ the cage from time to time to see if it is edible, but it is not a frenzy.  It is a deliberate, cautious approach, and somehow that makes it just slightly more unsettling!  Here I think the pictures tell the story best.

The south coast of New Zealand is a paradise for nature lovers.  Minimum people and maximum fauna.  The Catlins coastline has penguins (including the rarest of them all, the yellow eyed variety) albatross, dolphins (including the Hectors dolphin) seals, sealions…and Whitey. Two days after we departed Porpoise Bay, a spectacular, isolated area where the kids had a great time swimming and playing in the surf and watching the wildlife, a young man was attacked by a great white while surfing.  Thankfully he is doing well.  Food for thought.

Tales of New Zealand

I’m skipping over our 5 days in Sydney and leaving it for a later post as our time in New Zealand must be chronicled in ‘live’ time so as not to lose any of its incredible luster! We flew into Queenstown (on the south island of NZ), on January 17th and headed to nearby Arrowtown. Kelly’s youngest sister, Erin, has lived in Arrowtown for over 20 years and aside from two visits when she has come over to Canada, this was our first visit on what has become her ‘home’ turf. I often hear people comment on their reticence to travel to see family in various locations – New Zealand is not one of those places!

Foggy morning on Lake Wakatipu

Lake Hays (near Arrowtown)

Looking back over the valley

Imagine a less crowded Banff National Park which in and of itself is beautiful; however, add to that also being in the midst of beautiful wine country with lovely vineyards and within 2 hours of driving, being able to see rare sea life such as the Yellow Eyed Penguin and Hector Dolphin. Further to that, this area is adventure central. If you want to try something new in the great outdoors – this is the place to do it! Just be prepared to pay…with cold, hard cash. Aside from hiking which is free, it should be noted that while there are any number of things one can do here, they all cost a significant amount of cash and with the 5 of us (Bailey has been able to join us here!), we have had to hold ourselves back a bit. If you take a different perspective, that’s a sign of how many great things there are to do. Our list of successful adventures are as follows: go-karting on a fabulous outdoor track, hiking, luging on 1 of 3 concrete luge tracks (the sleds have wheels) in the world, hiking, cruising Milford Sound, paragliding, bungee jumping, hiking, and diving with Great White Sharks. I really feel that last one deserves it’s own theme song…wait a second, it already has one!

Now, not all of us participated in each activity; however, we have all enjoyed watching or participating. We used www.bookme.co.nz as a way of booking a number of activities and if you watch carefully you can head to many of the events with a significant discount (as in 20-70% off!!!). One is easily overwhelmed by the incredible number of ways to book your activities here as every corner in Queenstown has some sort of agency. We found it easiest to book through the above website or direct with the company. There are many discounts to be had by booking multiple activities; however, none of those fit our family so I can’t speak to their value. Please avoid thinking about the writing style of this particular post – parts are more like a report/review, but the storyline of our travels still carries the main thread.

The go-karting track outside of Cromwell is part of a gigantic raceway and so we had high hopes for it given our incredible experience with karting in France. However, despite the glitz, the karts in no way stack up to the speed and challenge of France. If it’s your first time karting – this is a great place to go and fairly priced, but if you’ve got some experience behind you, consider saving your shekels for one of the high speed rides on the ‘big’ track!

Zooming around the track!

Further on the speed end, we took the Skyline gondola and luge having received some free passes from a friend of Erin’s. There are three luge parks like this one in the world: Queenstown, Colorado, and Singapore. No snow for us, but we sure enjoyed feeling like Olympians speeding around on the course down the side of a mountain! This one was well worth the money and resulted in many smiles for all of us.

Ethan was uber focused!

As one of our ‘out-trips’ we planned a trip to Milford Sound which is approximately a 4 1/2 hour drive from Arrowtown. As mentioned earlier, the terrain and climate in NZ differ within short distances and driving out to Milford Sound, we saw everything from delicate grass fields filled with sheep, to desert-like rolling hills, followed by imposing mountain ranges and crashing river valleys.    We even managed to see one of the renowned Kia birds which can cause quite a bit of damage to vehicles eating anything that might contain a hint of plastic – true story! The Milford Sound cruise was picturesque and enjoyable however, gone are the days of a solitary boat moving through the sound. Given the beauty of the area, it felt as though it was somewhat over run with 8 different cruises heading out one after the other. Nonetheless, it is a necessary area to see for its natural beauty and we all took pleasure in the opportunity. We arranged to spend the night in Te Anau and booked in at the lovely Fiordland Great Views Holiday Park. These types of parks are all over NZ and are set up for campers or for those who are looking for small self contained cabins. This one stood out as Holly and I really enjoyed the rose gardens throughout the property – it didn’t feel anything like a Canadian campground for sure.

Along the way…

We took a Jucy Cruise – this was the boat coming in.

Good thing we love to spend time together!

Homer Tunnel goes THROUGH this mountain.

All of us had opportunity to try something new on this leg of our trip and for me it was paragliding. For those of you who know me, I love to push myself to the limit and take risks in fitness, sports, and in my career. What I generally don’t do, is run off a cliff as fast as possible with a gigantic kite attached to my back. However, my interest in paragliding started when we were in Chamonix, France – a popular area for paragliders. It always looked like the most serene endeavor as it isn’t about free falling or diving out of planes, nothing I feel even remotely the need to do. So as I considered the possibilities and knew that I had an opportunity to go with one of Simon and Erin’s friends at Coronet Peak, it was time to fly! It was also great to be able to arrange for our Bailey, Jerry (father in-law), and Brenna (niece), to go as well.

 

All of us keen to head out!

This was me – tough to get a good view of how high up we were.

Bailey coming in to land.

I was the first person to go from our group and as the ‘pilot’ gave me a few basic instructions, I was surprised to find that I was not in the least bit nervous and when he said “Run off that cliff and keep running till you run out of ground,” I was happy to do so! The sensation of weightlessness and wonder combined to make for a most memorable experience. Looking over the central Otago valley, the lakes, the incredible mountain scenery in total silence-it cannot be beaten. I must admit I did enjoy the brief free falls  and the swirling sequences through the air, but my favourite part was the opportunity to move through the air and watch the tips of sunlight touch the edges of the mountains around. This is a sport I would most love to do were we to live in an area where it was readily accessible! All in our group truly enjoyed themselves and Brenna, who was the last to come down, got the longest time in the air of us all – lucky girl! Kelly and the boys, along with Holly enjoyed a lovely snack and drink at the Flight Centre Cafe which was remarkably good and you certainly can’t complain about the view. This is a great place to spend a morning or afternoon even if you aren’t participating as the joy on the faces of many landing contagious!

On to the free falling fun of bungee jumping! Originally, Kelly and I were also going to attempt this feat as Kelly had done it 20 years earlier from the same bridge; however, the cost was prohibitive (it would have been over $500 for Bailey, Kelly, and I to all jump). Bailey and Brenna had bungee jumping on their bucket lists, so we all went to watch them take the plunge off the Kawaru Bridge. First of all the setting and the set up at the AJ Hackett Bungee centre is outstanding! Even if you aren’t jumping, there’s much to see and watch. The girls decided on a tandem jump and the looks on their faces as they inched out to the edge of the platform readying for their 40 meter dive into the river were priceless! They were absolutely thrilled with the entire experience and if they had had additional funds – I have no doubt we would have seen them jumping numerous times! Ethan indicated that he would be interested as well, but maybe at a later date in his life…no doubt he will return as a young man and jump off the same bridge!

A little apprehensive!

Sheer joy!

As an extended family, we did many amazing hikes almost daily. Stepping out our front door, we had a 5 minute walk to a beautiful trail head along the Arrow River which connects to many other hikes as well. A highlight was our Mount Crichton loop hike which lasted 3 hours in length and during one of our ‘explorations’ off the path, we found some hidden waterfalls and felt as though we were in a scene from the Lord of the Rings…or a beer commercial. This is not at all far fetched as we actually did come out of one of our hikes only to find an entire company readying to shoot a commercial for a Japanese beer! I should also note that Anderson sustained a rather large gash to his knee due to an unfortunate fall. With large amounts of blood oozing down his leg, he made it down successfully with having still an hour to go. In reviewing photos recently, we came to realize that we have done an excellent job photographing Anderson’s many scrapes and falls in each country – these alone could be a blog entry! He is a trooper though, and given the fact that he has already outgrown three pairs of shoes on this trip, it’s no surprise that coordination might present a challenge!

 

The whole crew outside of Glenorchy.

Mt. Crichton Loop

View of Lake Wakatipu

The hidden waterfall on the Mt. Crichton Loop

Beautiful Beech tree forests.

By this point, you might be wondering where the details are on Kelly’s dive with Great White Sharks. That will be a separate entry as it was an experience which must be described firsthand. We were all relieved to see that he had all of his digits following the dive where he spent hours underwater with these powerful fish! I also need to share our trip out to the Catlins as well – but that will have to wait. Here’s a teaser shot…

Throughout all of these activities we have so enjoyed being with family again. Regular life of coffee together, family dinners, playing tennis, going for walks…daily life is good. Official school work has been an on and off event over the past number of weeks. The boys continue to enjoy reading a variety of books and Ethan is working on an epic newsletter to send to his classmates – he’s titled it “Ethan’s World.” Part of these travels have certainly created a sense of continual opportunity for our family. All three of our children will be world travelers in their own rights even following the conclusion of this trip. We were sad to say goodbye to Bailey today as she returns to Ontario to finish her final high school semester. She is such an outstanding traveller and it was a blessing to share parts of New Zealand with her. We are now waiting to see if we can change our departure date in Auckland allowing us to spend more time on the north island. It will be a busy few days of booking accommodations and planning routes. This entry is epic in length, and I promise not to have such a stretch of silence between entries!

Natural beauty everywhere! New trails outside of Arrowtown.