026 – South Island (Queenstown, Omarama, Mt Cook, Lake Tekapo), New Zealand – Adrenaline Junkies

After a beautiful drive up the shores of Lake Wakatipu, 

 We arrived in Queenstown, “The Adventure Capital of the World”.

 Birthplace of bungee jumping and home to all manner of adrenaline-pumping adventure activity;

skydiving, paragliding, hang gliding, ziplining, river surfing, canyoning, white water rafting, jetboating, mountain climbing, heliskiing, etc. (all very “baby-friendly”)

We wasted no time getting started with a hair-raising trip up the gondola to the top of Bob’s Peak.

 So we could ride the death-defying “Luge”.

 We burned so much rubber they had to put up signs about us.

 Unfortunately, Britt’s hang gliding session was cancelled due to too much wind, and my whitewater canyoning river trip was cancelled due to too much water.   We’re now lobbying to have the motto changed to “ The Adventure Capital of the World, Weather Permitting”.

Ciel still managed to get in her fair share extreme activities.

She schooled a few punks at the skate park,

 And mastered zorbing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zorbing).

 Adventuring was at a standstill on Christmas Day, so we made up our own extreme activities in the park.

After three nights in Queenstown we headed north, stopping by the Roaring Meg, 

 Where the secret behind Ciel Copperfield’s lunchtime Vanishing Cucumber Slice Trick, was finally revealed…2-hours later.

 Next we passed through Central Otago.

 Shortly after, it started raining. And it hasn’t stopped since. That was three days ago.

Despite the less-than-ideal conditions we made the trek up to the foothills of Aoraki (Mt Cook), tallest peak in all of Australasia and training ground of Sir Edmund Hillary.  The torrential rains made the view slightly less than optimal, so I’ve done a minor digital enhancement to bring out its true majesty…

 We did get a much better look at it in the 3D movie at the Hermitage Alpine Centre...when Ciel wasn’t hoarding all the glasses.

The rains lifted just long enough in Lake Tekapo to get a shot of the brilliant turquoise waters.

Now we’re back in Christchurch for our final night in our beloved RV.  Tomorrow we turn it in (after flipping over all the cushions to hide Ciel’s puke stains), and head to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grampa Bearss for their two-and-a-half-week visit.  Hope everyone has their tickets…it’s gonna be a shit show.

025 – Miracle on Caravan Site #34

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the RV,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a kiwi;

 

Ciel’s stocking was hung by the air vent with care,

 

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there
…

 Despite being 14 000 km from home we still managed to get into the Christmas spirit.

Our RV has been festively adorned with lights and a (not-so) real live Christmas tree!

 Notwithstanding the constraints of our humble abode (and spurred by several glasses of mulled wine),

 We crafted a Christmas turkey dinner worthy of Aunt Lorna.

 Well, maybe not my Aunt Lorna, but someone’s …

Ciel tried to weasel her way out of the bad books by turning her charm onto some of Santa’s crew.

It must’ve worked, because come Christmas morning there were a couple things under the tree after all.

 Hope everyone at home is having fun. Our Christmas cards didn’t quite make it out this year, so this will have to do…

024 – South Island (The Catlins), New Zealand – Thar She Blows

 The Catlins refers to the less travelled region along the southeast coast that consists of more spectacular coastal views, nature hikes, beautiful rolling grassy mountains and valleys…

…and winds akin to the wash from a jet engine.  

 So much so, that everything in the region grows on a 45-degree angle due to the constant gale force winds.

 The gusts pushed the sleek aerodynamic styling of our Backpacker Quattro RV to the limit.  No big deal, we were only blown into the ditch four times and into oncoming traffic twice.  Fortunately for us “oncoming traffic” in the Catlins is pretty light. Over the 209km I think we passed one pickup truck, two campervans and half a dozen tractors. Well... I suppose that’s a bit of an underestimate, as it doesn’t include the stampeding cattle herd that had us fearing for our lives…

Aside from the views, there are some big name tourist attractions as well.  We were lucky to find a caravan park in Owaka, just around the corner from two of them.

“Dolly World”…

 Complete with eerie old lady peering out the window from her rocker (not shown).

And right next door, the equally mind-blowing “Teapotland”.

 You just can’t make this shit up.

Of course, if you’re ever in the Catlins be sure to stop by the self-serve shop at the Invercargill Brewery.  It’s where locals just stroll in with whatever empty vessel they happen to have on hand (2-litre pop bottles, milk jugs, Dixie cups, etc.) and fill them up at the spigots.

 Be sure to pick up a loyalty card (“buy 10 get one free”) on your way out.

All things considered Ciel gives the up and coming Catlins her Qualmark tourism seal of approval.

023 – South Island (Dunedin), New Zealand – Done and Dunedin

Dunedin is a cool little town on the southeast coast. The fourth largest city in New Zealand, its geography is like a giant salad bowl.  From the centre of downtown (“the Octagon”) every street slopes steeply upward all around, 

Which makes for great views…and some interesting driving in a fully loaded RV.

We hit some light fog pulling into town,

But it cleared enough for us to make our run at Baldwin St., the steepest residential street in the world.

Ciel and I were too tired to walk back down, so we went with an alternate plan.

Unfortunately, we only made it half a revolution, and then someone suckered someone else (I’m not gonna say who) into carrying her the rest of the way.

 Ciel even got an “official” certificate (for the nominal fee of $2) from some guy on the street who turned his living room into a gift shop so he could fleece dim-witted tourists with ten cents worth of coloured paper and an inkjet printer.

 After that it was back to the trailer park to set up camp for the night. Ciel went with the cushion fort shelter. It’s a classic.

 We quickly learned that having the steepest street isn’t Dunedin’s only random claim to fame. They also proudly boast, “the most photographed building in New Zealand” (the Dunedin Railway Station),

 Speights Ale House (“Pride of the South”),

 And the world’s third-largest Cadbury Chocolate factory.

 We signed on for a tour of the factory with visions of chocolate waterfalls and Oompah Loompahs in our heads.  Unfortunately, it was less “Willy Wonka”, and more “old-lady-factory-worker” showing us around white-walled hallways and talking about where the employees go for their smoke breaks. We’re reasonably sure the random candy bars she handed out (i.e. chocolate covered marshmallow fish, pink marshmallow bars, etc.) were all the dregs they couldn’t sell in the gift shop.

The tour pretty much peaked five minutes in when they gave us the bouffants.

 We made up for the disappointment by heading to another brewery.

 Ciel has definitely inherited her mother’s appetite.   She will indiscriminately devour anything we put in front of her. 

 Of course, she will also brush her hair and pick her nose with it…so maybe she’s a little like her father, too.

On our way out of town we swung past the Otago Peninsula to see Larnach Castle, which overlooks Victoria Channel and Dunedin Harbour.  Some rich guy built it to impress his wife, but she didn’t like it much, and then she ended up shacking up with his son. The grounds were nice, all the same.

 Just as you leave Dunedin there is the amazing “Tunnel Beach Walk” through a farmer’s field,

 And down a steep trail to the shore,

 Where there are amazing cliffs and rock formations,

 And a tunnel to a gorgeous beach.

Ridiculous.