New Zealand Part 6

And the journey continues.....in baby steps! :-) Enjoy!!!

Sunday January 21st

… We settled back into the Pulsar and set ourselves up for the drive back to Queenstown. Yet again, I didn’t really judge the gas situation very well from Te Anau on the way in, and found ourselves in a precarious situation where we might end up stalled out in the middle of the rainforest with the poor old girl sputtering for air. The next gas stop wasn’t until Te Anau, 144 miles away. CURSES! With no option but to drive on, we did just that; why fret what you can’t control… we hit the road and just enjoyed the scenery on the ride back hoping for the best! The fog was a little lower in the early part up to the Homer Tunnel, so we really felt like we were driving in another world. The rainforest on the western side of the tunnel was dense in places and we stopped off at the Chasm about 15 minutes up the road from the sound. The Chasm is a natural “bottomless pit” that the Claddau River has carved out over thousands of years. The falls are set back from the road but can be reached easily by a wonderful 10 minute walk from the car park. The open air of the car park disappears quickly, and you are immersed immediately in lush dense temperate rain forest. A small network of boardwalks and bridges leads you to the falls. A subtle mist hung in the air that morning, blurring the distances, making it easy for us to lose ourselves in the moment. Glistening drops of water clung to every leaf and branch and the only sounds we could hear were the singing of birds and the constant subtle roar of rushing water in the distance. A wooden bridge takes you right over the crest of the falls, and even standing over them, it is difficult to appreciate how far they fall since they are lost quickly in the narrow chasm of rock they created. It was beautiful. We were the only people there, so we spent a few minutes enjoying the solitude.

We strolled back through the forest to the car and continued on. Going back east through the tunnel was interesting because it just didn’t seem quite as steep on the way down! On the other side, we found ourselves back in the granite bowl with the “three amigos” still reeking havoc with the tourists. One of the three had perched itself on the driver side mirror of a large tour bus. The Japanese tourists on the bus were loving every minute of it! As we slowly passed the crowd, we noticed some of them staring at us… before we panicked, we heard the sharp clicking of metal on our roof, and realized one of the Keas was freeloading on the roof of our car. Phil got out quickly and snapped a picture. With nothing for it to tear at and play with though, as the brilliant minds at Nissan that designed the performance Pulsar opted for the sleek aerodynamic shell you see in the pictures, the Kea got bored quickly and flew off.

The pace back was much more leisurely, and we got to savor the views more than we had on the way in. At one point, we were passing the Earl Mountains on our right and a striking splash of purple and pink caught our eye. We turned on to a small gravel road and found ourselves driving through a meadow of gorgeous tall lupines.

The road winded leisurely through the flowers towards a creek that cut through the valley floor. The field was a densely covered with the flowers and we decided to get out and stretch our legs again. The air was crisp and clean and a subtle sweet smell filled our nostrils. We walked off the beaten path through the flowers, which were up to our chests in some places. It was amazing to be surrounded by so much natural beauty and be the only 2 people around! We had fun taking pictures and relaxing, and after feeling refreshed, we finished our looping drive through the meadow.

We got back on the main road and drove a little further to the Mirror lakes. The mirrors are a small series of connected lakes that hug the road as you head back towards Knob’s Flat. Though small, they are remarkable because they create an amazing reflection of the mountain range across the valley floor. Sadly the sun did not peak through for us this time around, and the subtle persistent breeze did not allow the water to settle completely, so our reflections were not as dramatic as they could have been! It was a stunning effect nonetheless.


Our drive took us back past the Flat south towards Te Anau, at which point I gathered up some steam to make sure we had enough forward momentum to coast in to town if we got into trouble with the gas situation!

Te Anau is a tiny little town at the sound end of the lake that bears its name, so we weren’t expecting to find anything too exciting for food. We were starving though, and were willing to eat no matter what we found…I mean, we did spend a week stuffing our faces with meat pies… we weren't exactly picky! Nevertheless, we were oh so pleasantly surprised to find a very modern and chic restaurant called the Fat Duck. It had a very modern scacious interior with a large handsome bar at the far end and dark wood trim and deep blue lighting artfully placed throughout the space. The menu was a fun mix of flavors, and we opted for a giant sampler platter of various meats, cheeses, fish, and vegetables. It was delicious! Thank you Fat Duck for filling our bellies!! We filled the tank, and sped out of town for the remaining 2 hours or so to Queenstown.

We arrived back in town in the early afternoon and went straight to the Gondola to make arrangements for dinner and a Maori cultural show at the Skyline Restaurant overlooking the city. Once set, we decided to explore the Kiwi Birdlife Park which was sitting at the base of the Gondola. We figured we probably weren’t going to see a Kiwi in the wild, so we had to see one live before we left the country! The park entrance is misleading, as it is actually set much further down the hill, so we found ourselves walking down a steep path down a hill from the car park.

The park is very cute and well landscaped. It is also on the small side, so it is easy to walk through in an hour or so. They have several Kiwi houses and a number enclosures with many of the threatened and endangered bird species found in the country. The Kiwi was our focus though, and we got to see it! It is a rather remarkable thing, the Kiwi. It looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, with a rounded furry looking brown body which tapers up to a small head with a long narrow tan curving beak. It is flightless, as you probably all know, and it moves much more quickly on land than I imagined. Because there were no indigenous land predators during the evolution of New Zealand, many of the local birds, including the Kiwi, lost their ability fly. The nights and days have been reversed in the houses, so the birds are active during the daylight hours that visitors normally attend. The houses are lit with subtle red overhead lighting to which allows you to view them once your eyes adjust. They are funny critters, and we had a fun time watching 2 of them chase each other around one of the pens. After a quick spin through the park, we headed back to the waterfront to get settled in the hostel. Brumbles Backpackers is pretty nice as far as hostels go, and you can’t beat the location. We had a lakefront view from a balcony off the bedroom, and we were a 5 minute walk to the center of town! After unloading our gear, we took a relaxing and well deserved hot shower!!

As I mentioned before, the center of Queenstown sits in an L shape on the waterfront and is a charming gridwork of streets lined with shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars. We strolled down the streets holding hands comfortably along the way. It was perfect! We hit up the Wharf Casino: http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/information/product/?product=the-wharf-casino to pick up our lucky chip. The casino sits on the waterfront and is part of a waterfront complex. Downstairs from the casino we found the Minus 5 Bar: http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/information/Product/index.cfm?productID=34966 and decided to head in! The bar and all of its appointments are made out of 18 tons of ice! Even the glasses you drink out of! It is totally cheesy, but a fun novelty experience you have to do! They provide warm parkas and wool gloves to help keep you warm inside the bar. The entrance fee gives you 30 minutes in the bar and one cocktail. You can drink as much as you want, but we chose to keep it sane since we hadn’t had anything to eat yet. Inside, we were introduced to our Australian bartender, who’s name escapes me! He was very friendly and funny, and totally supported and encouraged silly behavior.

He let us behind the bar to pose for shots, and encouraged ice sculpture “interactions”! I’m sorry for some of the pictures! Um… yeah… so we laughed and drank for the allotted time and concluded our stay with the traditional smashing of the glass in the trash bin before you leave… Phil had no problems, but I had to be difficult and put a little too much butch in the toss! I put my whole body into the wind up, and threw full force into the EDGE of the bin, not the body, so the glass proceeded to shatter itself all over the floor of the bar! Oops! It’s a good thing it was empty and we were on our way out! It’s hard being this strong all the time! Ha ha…ha…. Um… so moving along…


After the bar, we head over to the After the bar, we head over to the Skyline Gondola: http://www.skyline.co.nz/
to head up for the Kiwi Huka Maori cultural show and dinner. The Restaurant is stunning, sitting at an elevation of 2500 feet, over 1200 feet above the lake. The Gondola takes a few minutes to go up and is allegedly the steepest gondola in the southern hemisphere… who knows! We took a minute to clean the camera lenses with the 2nd lens cloth of our trip (the first one got lost somewhere, somehow on the north island) and prepared to capture the views as we came out above the trees.

Just beyond and above the Restaurant complex is a twisting collection of alpine slide tracks that were closed due to the weather. We had some time to kill though, so we walked up along the paths anyway to enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views of the lake. After about a half an hour, we head back down to take in the show. The show was a basic introduction to the Maori Culture. We were greeted at the entrance by a somewhat heavy set smiling Maori woman in dramatic black face paint reminiscent of Henna tattoos. She greeted the group and asked for a volunteer to be group chief. The chief was meant to introduce the group, and accept the Maori tribe’s offering of peace so that the show could proceed… well poor unsuspecting Phil had made a bee-line for the lieu and came back just after she finished her question, and offered to help not realizing what she was asking for!! So Phil became our tribe’s Chief! He was met at the bottom of the theater by a lean half-naked Maori man with full face paint shouting, stomping, and wielding a spear. Oh my!! He was walked through the traditional greeting by our friendly hostess, accepted the young man’s offering, and made it possible for the rest of us to see the show without being killed! Thanks baby!! The show was entertaining and informative. It is an interesting culture to be sure, and not something I will even attempt to write about… except for the poi episode. The poi is an exercise of sorts that both Maori men and women do to improve coordination and flexibility. It utilizes a foam ball at the end of a rope that is whirled around and deflected off the opposite hand and other body parts. This was another group participation kind of thing, and our man Phil got picked again! He was placed in the center of the line of tourists, and twirled and spun like a natural!!

After the show, we proceeded back upstairs to the main dining room. It was a massive 3 tiered room with high ceilings and walls made entirely of glass giving every patron a spectacular view of the natural surrounds. We were placed at a cozy table on the east end of the room with views of the southern extent of the lake, the town below, and the mountains behind us… not bad at all! The dinner was buffet style and truthfully, was only average, but the view and the company more than made up for any shortfalls in the meal! Average schmaverage though, we still stuffed ourselves silly!! As our meal was winding down and the sun was finally setting, we started taking pictures, and that lead us to conversations with our neighbors. I was bummed to find however, that somehow I managed to lose the damn lens cloth between the journey up the gondola and dinner, so I was sans cleaner again! SHITE! But I digress… sitting behind us was an older couple from England. They were very friendly, and were talking about their travel plans. It turns out they were headed to L.A. and they were looking for advice on the quick and dirty tour of the city! Phil, being the native, offered up some suggestions and we wished them well! To our right, was a newlywed lesbian couple from Tasmania, Rachael and Fizz. The couple looked very happy and shared with us their travel plans and a little about their lives in Tasmania. It turns out they were musicians and music teachers, and very much on the same page as Mr. Zipkin. It was a hoot. Yet another connection to Phil… We laughed a lot, and suddenly realized that the place was closing down! We said our goodnights and before leaving invited us to stay with them if we ever made it back down under. We thanked them, wished them well, and offered a space in Queens if they ever made it to the Big Apple.
On the way back down, a freaky thing happened, we stepped into the gondola and as we were sitting and chatting, Phil looked over his shoulder and found the lens cloth we had left behind! What are the odds that we would leave it in the gondola and get right back into the same one on the way down!! Spooky!! Anyway…

We held hands as we made our way back through the center of town towards the hostel. The town was such a cosmopolitan mix of people, we felt completely at ease. Before retiring, we settled down on a quiet bench on the lakefront beach across the street from the hostel. We opened a bottle of wine and had nightcap. We sipped quietly as we sat listening to the calming sounds of the water breaking on the shoreline. Phil leaned against me and with my arm around his shoulder pulled him in tight… what a night! What a trip!