NEW ZEALAND (S.) - CORONET PEAK

Another dream come true… (I’m realizing that I have long been awaiting my time in New Zealand!).... was to snowboard in New Zealand. My original plan was Treble Cone… but since its opening date wouldn’t be until my final day in Queenstown, I figured I’d have a little more ride-time at a closer, more snow-endowed peak… Coronet (which a few of my local friends recommended over Remarkables)… so there I was… A bus (with chains) ride later… excited to strap-in and get riding. The excitement was enhanced, as I was able to create a new playlist on my I-pod during the long bus journey the day before… energizing tunes, relatively decent snow and warm enough weather… only 1 thing missing… VISIBILITY! Minor detail, right?!

After a run from the central lift that left me unable to see anything – even with my goggles OFF – I decided to take a little break in the lodge below. As I wandered over to the cappuccino bar I noticed a guy sitting along with a “brasileiro” hat on… Jack(son), from Florianopolis, and I began chatting and then his friends & cousin joined us… we all had lunch together, and I returned to the snowy slopes with Stan, Weronica, and Steph for some fun on the easy riders.

I took a few more runs on my own after they left the mountain, caught the shuttle down, and we reunited a couple hours later for a fantastic Indian meal at Bombay – a restaurant tucked in off one of the main roads in Queenstown. We meandered around the city in the ultra-chill afterwards found a little gelato café to re-warm ourselves, before making a quick visit by a bar with a fabulous fire circle inside… and then calling it a night!

(I have no pictures from this day as the weather was too difficult!!!- bummer!)

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - GOING for the PASS!!! - Round up the convoy!

A little bit of “Magic” and a few “Kiwis”… 6 backpacker buses (containing the pack of us that accumulated in Franz Josef & Fox Glacier) took off in hope that the pass would be open by the time we arrived… and so we ventured. It was quite the coordination on Dave & Rachael’s part to organize all of us according to where we were going and make sure that nobody was on a toilet run when the bus was ready to roll… kudos to them! We had a few brief stops – Fox Glacier (backpacker ‘rescue’,) Haast Township (for snacks and much-needed toilet runs,) and Thunder Creek Falls (to simply enjoy a gorgeous waterfall and few steps under the lush trees lining the path to get there!... and to allow the other bus companies to go ahead!)… then – the ICY/SNOWY roads…

It was a slow, and enjoyable journey (well, for us as passengers that is – I certainly wouldn’t want to be driving the roads we were presented with!) We made a pass by the bus that had been stuck on the pass for a couple days, but other than that – things were calm and the weather was absolutely beautiful!

We arrived into Queenstown so late that we could see the snowcat lights slowly streaming across the top of Coronet Peak… gaining excitement… wishing the bungy bridge (1st commercial bungy operation in the world) was still open! Each of us ditched our things in our respective lodges and raced into the center of town to line up our activities for the following day… it’s adrenaline central in Queenstown!

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - Climbing Alex Knob w/Rachael…while “trapped in paradise”

(For some wonderful reason I have a habit of being “trapped in paradise” anytime a storm or event occurs that causes me to be ‘stuck’ somewhere longer than anticipated. J )

Ahhhhhhhh, fresh mountain air! Gimme some lovin’! The brightest of sunshine, the softest of snowflakes, the climb…. Up and up, til we were higher than how high we actually stood!

Unexpectedly re-united after our brief chance to chat and share our love of the outdoors and passion for adventure during our short road-trip from Picton to Nelson about 5 days earlier, I was stoked to find out that Rachael’s bus was still in Franz Josef when we arrived. At this moment I had all-fingers crossed that we may be able to take off to the mountains together for some sort of activity… “be careful what you wish for”… you may just get it!

“Trapped” in paradise (due to the largest snowfall the area’s seen in 8 years, & the closing of Haas Pass, left us faced with very important decisions… which trek should we venture to on this LOVELY day?! Rachael’s recommendation – Alex Knob… a small looking peak that sat snow-dusted in the foreground of the larger snow-capped peaks that line the sides of Franz Josef Glacier. A quick little day-hike – so-to-speak… 6 hours on trail… 7 round-trip from the township of Franz Josef… trail-runners would be our choice shoe (especially considering my much-loved trekking boot selection is sitting in a nice row in my attic in NY – how convenient!!!)… bivy sacs (emergency wraps), headlamps, water, matches, utility knife, loads of yummy snacks, and extra socks & mittens… decked out in our thermals and wind/rain shells… so ready to go have a little fun and enjoy our unexpected extra day in Franz Josef! The climb up was consistently… a climb! We enjoyed some lookouts that were just spectacular – they overlooked the glacier in its entirety... the fern palms (I already forgot their kiwi name) were drooped covered in heavy, snow clumps… the path was wet from the melting snow on its lower sections, and as we gained elevation (and grander vistas!) we found ourselves stepping into deeper and deeper snow… until we were post-holing (stepping in w/shoes/boots, not snowshoes) up to just above our knees… and mid-thigh a number of times too – which had us catching ourselves as we sank on both the uphill & downhill… and also had us laughing & giggling like little kids with all the fun we were having! To top it off, we had the mountain/hill (whatever you choose to call it!) to ourselves for the entire day! Once we reached the summit… we had a 360degree view of the approaching storm clouds, glacier from an apparently equal heli-height, and views of the town of Franz Josef way below… so high that the bridge we crossed looked like a short line pretty much! It was cold – so, so cold, as we stood exposed to the wind – and it was gorgeous with the golden grasses of the tundra-like bush and wavy-shaped snowdrifts that had accumulated along the narrow trail. A few spots offered a long drop down if we didn’t care for our steps, which just added to the excitement… and reinforced my inner desire to skydive again! With very wet feet, pants and mittens, we happily returned to the warmth of showers and heated rooms just before darkness settled in. The Blue Ice Bar would await us an hour later for some tasty, warm pizza with our friends (who had taken to other activities around and on the glacier for the day,) before we all crashed for the night… missing the All Blacks Rugby game v. S. Africa & the America’s Cup too… as we were well into our dreams by 1am!

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - FRANZ JOSEF...Glacier Trek Turn-around

It was another rainy, cool and windy day of travel, but much shorter. We arrived in Franz Josef mid-day and quickly dropped our bags, made day-packs, and took off for a ½ day glacier trek. This would be yet another attempt at actually getting onto a glacier… after taking a 3-hour nap at the foot of the glacier in Bolivia last year, due to altitude sickness, and other challenges prior to that . We hiked about 1 hour in to the foot of the Franz Josef Glacier – enduring rain, sleet, snow and a thunderstorm (a new experience to have thunder & lightning at the same time as it was snowing!) along the entire journey. We froze our fingers strapping on our cramp-ons, while on a flat surface just in front of a very cool ice cave. We began our journey up the ice walls, clinging to loop-knotted rope lines along the way… and wouldn’t you know – less than a minute into being on top of the first part of the glacier, base called all of us back due to the crazy winter storm heightening. I couldn’t do anything but laugh – I am just not meant to trek on the tops of glaciers, I suppose! We had a very hurried rush back to meet the buses at the trailhead, before getting snowed in, so we ducked our way under the heavily snow-coated branches that now drooped over the simple trail we had just come from an hour earlier! It was wild! We got rid of all our wet gear and filled ourselves with some warm hot chocolate… ‘sunshine’ on a cloudy-grey day!

Anna, Emily and I raced back to Chateau Franz (our hostel) to snag spots in the 4-man hot tub before the 6:00 soup hour! Hot tubs, hot showers, hot soup and a fabulous room heater – all was good! …and entertaining, as our 3 Malaysian dorm-mates were on a different time schedule from us!

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - Entering the “West Coast”… GREYMOUTH & Monteith’s Brewery

Shortly after crossing over the mountains, we began our venture down the west coast… right along it! Talk about a PCH-like (Cali’s Route 1, that is) experience! Rugged coastline, some black beach sand, drift wood, random rocks, and crazy sets of very wind-blown waves crashing alongside. It was rainy and chilly, so it made for some very brief and wet stops along the way. I could easily see why locals encourage people to travel the west coast of New Zealand’s south island… it’s basically one postcard shot after another!

Greymouth - a smaller, sleepier town that has faced flood after flood and now boasts a lengthy floodwall that lines one of their main streets, actually has a bit of charm. The history and passion behind Monteith’s Brewery was very interesting to learn about (taking a tour seems to be the ONLY activity in the area when confronted with the weather conditions present)… and the sampling was beyond my brew capacity – so the guys I was traveling with were thrilled to be treated to extra pints!

The weather remained horrid during my 1-night stopover. All of us piled into one room, in one hostel and crowded around the fire to keep warm. The kitchen was filled with smoke… from the strength of the wind blowing the wood stove door open… I was thankful to move on the next day… it was good while it lasted, but I had my fill.

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - NELSON wrap-up...

South Island S-weetness! Only a few minutes into being here I was already ‘sold’! Mountain ranges, Tasman Bay, adorable houses in the rolling hills leading back to the foot of the mountains… beaches, kayaking, hiking, biking, coffee kiosks and gear shops – what more could you want?! (well, other than for all of my friends to be here with me!)

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and managed to enjoy the town a bit, catch up on errands and other tasks, and visit with a few new friends I met at Accents. On my final night in town, Nick (new friend from the U.K. – kinda living in Nelson) and I went to the House of Ales to enjoy a wonderful meal, scrumptious desserts, and a conversation that kept us there well past closing!

NEW ZEALAND (S.) - ABEL TASMAN – an entire day of ½ day hiking

Thankfully, I met a fellow “Rammie” (CSU Ram,) Lindsay, at Accents on the Park (as she’s working there!) in Nelson. Not only was it wonderful to meet a fellow alum, it was also great to find out that the bus picking us up for Abel Tasman at 7:20am doesn’t actually leave the town of Nelson until 8am from the bus terminal… so Julie (friend from Ireland) and I walked to the bus station at 7:45 and allowed ourselves more time to chill in the morning! ;) …always a good thing to have the ‘inside scoop’ on things that you do!

Cruising past vineyards, shortly after sunrise… the Tasman Bay absolutely still in the early morning… picking up a few school kids and local workers to transport them to Motueka with us - love it! Motueka is a cute town filled with many more backpackers and cafes than I ever imagined. This is a spot I will look forward to spending time in during a future visit back to the area… when it’s warm enough to enjoy kayaking along the coast of Abel Tasman.

Marahau – the entrance town to Abel Tasman National park is extremely tiny. Big tractors pull trailers with kayaks and boats (filled with all of us!) through the streets and down the boat ramps into the shallow tidal waters. Most day-trippers take a little speed boat up to one of the coves along the coast and then walk back to town – along the famed Abel Tasman track. The track is actually the flattest, most well-kept hiking spot I’ve ever encountered… it was no wonder that a local guy went trail-running by us around hour 2! The trail winds in & out at each little inlet of beach and water and maintains a pretty steady, and very easy traverse along the coast. In the shade, the cool temps kept us moving. Julie and I managed to find a little overlook spot (due to a “green room run”) that was off-trail and also enjoy our packed lunches sitting in the beach sand at Apple Tree Bay, alongside some kayakers and seagulls. The crazy part – the shaded sections of the beach were covered in a snowy frost… talk about “cool” …literally!

The highlight of returning to Marahau was purchasing a hot beverage, from the local artist’s gallery, and stretching in the glass-sheltered open-air entrance at the trail-head. Our bus showed up shortly thereafter and we endured an insane bus ride back to Nelson, as our driver had some sort of speed-demon mission within him – had those of us in the front relatively on the edge of our seats!