One Adventure to Rule them All part III

Wellington and Nelson, 6 December 2014

I woke up early for the Weta tour. L. and I got a donut on the way to the tourist centre where we waited for the bus driver. He was super friendly! We were the only ones on his minivan (because we took the earliest slot I guess) so we got a bit of a private tour as he drove us to the Weta cave. Once there we saw some collectibles, a full-sized Uruk-hai, Rohan armour and Nazgul armour- and the three “big-atures” trolls in the front yard. We got to see a 30 minute movie about how Weta was founded in a tiny theatre. On the walls were Gimli’s axes, the hobbits’ swords and the swords from all the bad guys. I splurged again a bit and bought a shirt that says “be creative and make cool stuff” and the Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
After that, we got a bit of a tour in the wetacave itself. (Only one room with props for tourists, not the actual workshop itself. But it was still super awesome) Lots of weaponry again, and puppets, costumes, and we also saw two girls working on a miniature set for Thunderbirds.
When the tour was over- and since we were the only two on his bus- our tour guide drove around a bit more, and showed us where Stone street Studios was (I could see the green screen from the street!) and we drove to Wellington airport, where we got out real quick to see the giant eagles and a moving Smaug that they had put up inside.

When we got back to the hotel, we said goodbye to our bus driver for the North Island, and we took the ferry south, to Nelson.

Nelson, 7 December 2014

Today we went to the Abel Tasman National Park. You can do various activities there, like kayaking, but I took the ferry along the shoreline for a hike in the jungle-like shoreline. The beach sand is granite, which is why the shores have warm yellow amber sand- and the water is so pure blue (heavy sand doesn’t murk the water)- I felt like I was in a Bounty commercial. I saw some seals, too. On the boat we got some information about the park- there were several bungalows, no bigger than a small apartment, no heating, running water or electricity, but they still sold for millions of dollars. Insane.
The hike I did was beautiful, but there was a sign at a certain point that said you could take a short cut if the tide was out. Long story short, the tide wasn’t completely out yet and I got wet up to the pockets of my jeans. It was funny though.
I got sunburnt again, but in my defence, who thinks about rubbing in the underside of your arms?
Dinner was at a pirate-themed restaurant next to our hotel. Fish and chips, yarrr!

Greymouth, 8 December 2014

Looooooong drive to Greymouth today. On the first part of our drive the air-conditioning broke on the bus so I felt like I wasn’t getting enough air. Luckily we did a walk along the beach after a few hours. I saw seals again, and wekas (some type of bird). Then a long and zig-zagging road next to the coastline, so I got very nauseous.
We checked into a hotel in Greymouth, where the Queen supposedly once stayed a night. It was old, with lots of corners and half-steps in the middle of hallways so I never really got a sense of the layout. It reminded me of the Shining a lot.
I did some half-assed laundry and decided to stay in for the night with my nausea.
Oh, and we also stopped on the way to see the Pancake rocks, that was neat.

Fox Glacier, 9 December 2014

Today we drove to Fox Glacier. I was really looking forward to flying in a helicopter and a three-hour walk on a glacier, but the clouds were too low, so the helicopter flight wasn’t possible and there was no other way to get there. Instead we walked to the mouth of the glacier (so I still got my first peek at a real glacier!) with a guide, who explained how glaciers work and how you can recognise where one has been by the traces it leaves in the landscape.



On the way here we stopped at a workshop where they figurines and jewellery out of greenstone (aka green jade). Didn’t buy anything, sorta regretting that now.

Fox Glacier and Queenstown, 10 December 2014

I did it! I was in a helicopter! WEEEEE!
Didn’t do the three-hour tour because there wasn’t much time, but we did have time to fly up there and stand on top of the glacier, in the snow. It was super exhilarating. We flew up the Frans Joseph glacier, landed near the summit of Fox glacier, and then flew down following its course.
It was awesome.
When we’d done that we had to hurry back to the bus, because we left to Queenstown- known for a lot of scenes in Lord of the Rings. I can literally see where they filmed the Warg scene in The Two Towers from our hotel room, and the Remarkables (a breathtaking mountain range which they used for footage of the Misty Mountains).
And I’m going to the midnight viewing of Battle of the Five Armies in a few hours! Eeeeee eeee eeee!*

Queenstown, 11 December 2014

… And then I woke up 4 hours later, because I’d booked a 4x4drive hobbit tour. Worth it!
First the guide brought us to a little riverside hill just outside of town, where we could see the plateau where they filmed the Warg scene more clearly. Then we drove to where they filmed the rabbit stew scene (what’s taters is, precious?). After that we did some off-road driving (I squealed like a nine-year-old) and then we drove to the forest where they filmed Boromir’s death. We had some hot chocolate at that point, and the guide brought out some swords and cloaks for us to play with. A bit further lay Paradise (it really is a place, and it deserves its name) where they had filmed Fangorn forest, Isengard, and Beorn’s cabin.

Pretty good day for a Ringer, huh? (Because that’s apparently what Lord of the Rings fans are called)

So in the afternoon I went paragliding. It’s probably the only time ever that someone asked me to run off a cliff and I actually did. It felt amazing, I felt like a dandelion seed pocket. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
L. trumped me, of course, because she did the highest bungee jump in the world- 143 metres. She showed pictures: it looks terrifying, and I admire that she did it. (I really shouldn’t be jealous).

Queenstown and Te Anau, 12 December 2014

I’m going to miss opening my curtains to see the Remarkables and the warg hills.
We passed a little gold rush village on our way to Te Anau, where people from Asia had migrated to and had to live in very poor conditions. The sun was coming out and it was one of my fellow traveller’s birthday, so we had a picnic (our guide had bought a gigantic chocolate cake) and she handed out keychains. On our way out of the valley that was Queenstown we passed the bridge where they invented bungee jumping (no I didn’t jump, but sort of wanted to) and we saw a couple of people jump into the water below.
And then we were in Te Anau. It’s tiny, since most of it is built for tourists who want to visit the fjords (called Milford Sounds and Doubtful Sounds). But, since I already blew a lot of money and since I have already seen Fjords in Norway, I’m going to do something else tomorrow. It was a quiet day, especially compared to yesterday; I just explored the town a bit, shared a muffin with some seagulls and played Uno on the porch of our cabin. Let it be known that even in the ozon-heat of New Zealand I can’t manage to tan my pasty white legs. Didn’t even burn.

Te Anau, 13 December 2014

I could sleep out for once- it feels like this has been one of the only days I’ve been able to do that this trip. I saw some cartoons, showered, caught up on some reading. I finished my 52^nd book today, so I have officially finished my book-a-week challenge today. I celebrated it by starting on my 53^rd – Name of the Wind, which I have already read but it’s a really enjoyable read. It’s still very sunny, unusual for the rainiest part of New Zealand, but you won’t catch me complaining.
In the afternoon I went on a tour to a glow worm cave. It was half an hour by boat, and we got some information about how the glow worms live once we got on the island. It was amazing inside: roaring water flowing at 300 litres a second, and hundreds upon hundreds of little, tiny blue lights in the pitch-black. It was one of a kind, especially if you think about how every tiny light is alive.
Then once we got out of the cave we got some more explanations, tea to drive away the coldness of the caves, and then back to our cabins. I bought another book on the way: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Te Anau and Christchurch, 14 December 2014

We drove 12 hours to Christchurch today: a long trip, and we didn’t get out the bus very often. We did stretch our legs near Lake Tekapo with Mount Cook in the background. I climbed the boulders on the beach and dropped my camera a few times, because I’m an absolute klutz. Still works though!
We also stopped in Salmon’s Tail (or saehmen’s tail, as they pronounce it here) where – omg- they had a large statue of a salmon.
Christchurch is a town that suffered from an earthquake only a few years ago, smack in the centre, and it is still healing. It’s partly abandoned: only a small number of people got killed in the earthquake if you consider how bad it was, but many people left as the aftershocks would bring up panic attacks. Nowadays it seems mostly populated by traffic cones.

Christchurch, 15 December 2014

Last day before we leave New Zealand… I’m a bit sad, but I made sure to make it a memorable day. At nine I was picked up in a 4x4 jeep, and we drove to Mount Sunday, better known as Edoras. There were little screens in the jeep so the long drive there was filled with documentaries, anecdotes, Easter eggs and music. There was an American couple joining us who might have been just as fanatic as me.
Mount Sunday was just… breathtaking. Awesome. And a bit covered in poo and flies, since cows and sheep graze there. But to stand where the set has been, snow-capped mountain ranges all around, and you look back and see- there’s Erewhon, where they filmed Helm’s Deep! I took loads of pictures, and we played with swords again. Afterwards we picnicked with fizzy wine and sandwiches. By the end I was elated and very much sunburnt.

In the evening our group dined together for the last time, and we gave a card and money to our guide (and hugs and speeches). It was a bit emotional, after all, I’ve been travelling with these people for three weeks now.

Christchurch, and beyond…. 16 December 2014

I was awake at six and couldn’t fall back asleep, because I knew we were leaving. I went to the container shopping mall (containers, because of the earthquake) and spent all my New Zealand dollars on souvenirs. When I got back, all the suitcases had already been packed and were stacked in our motel room (we were sleeping in room 1). I had a long, good talk with our guide, and I gave him a thermos can as a goodbye gift. He seemed really happy with it.
At 2 pm two shuttle busses picked us up, and drove us to the airport in Christchurch. Then to Sydney (it was sad to see New Zealand glide away below me – plains of grass, mountains, jungles, golden shores and then nothing but the sea), then to Bangkok, to Dubai, then to Schiphol.

I’m a bit sad it’s over now. I saw Tangled on the flight (it’s one of my favourite Disney movies) and there’s the whole thing that Rapunzel has a dream, and that once she has done her thing she finds a new dream, and I was tired and sad and I kept thinking how I didn’t know what my new dream would be.

Things I’ll miss about New Zealand:
- one lane bridges
- sparrows and finches coming crazy close
- mountains in the background wherever you are
- R2D2 birds (apparently called tuis)
- tree ferns
- the hospitality
- their love for old-timers and personalised license plates
- the Maori culture, and the greenstone
- ridiculous yoghurt slogans (“Is it weird to have a crush on yoghurt?” Yes. Yes it is.)
- Misty Mountains
- Seeing the Remarkables ànd a lotr set from my bedroom
- smell of sulphur
- moss
- lamb meat and fish & chips
- having L. as a roommate
- needing to look right first when crossing the street
- bagpipers and Christmas decorations in summer
- the sound you hear when you can cross the street
- fields of lupin flowers
- the way New Zealand is the perfect mix of America and England (metric system, driving left, tea, perfect hamburgers,…)