micahandmeghan

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vipassana meditation 10 day retreat auckland goenka silence christianity

May 24

Vipassana

It’s May 2nd and I’m sitting cross-legged with a taupe fleece blanket covering my head, my feet, and my identity. From the outside, I am a chess-piece, wooden and lifeless. Inside, my knees ache from hours of acute angles and rigid posturing, my back upright and still, chin lifted and eyes closed. In the dimly-lit hall, 70 other pawns silently sit on a chess board of blue mats, legs crossed and identities equally shawled. There are enough people in the room to field 7 baseball teams, yet the only audible sound is the muted inhale and exhale from an indiscriminate few. I open my eyes for an instant and glance around the room. It’s more oil painting than reality, surreal beyond a sunny day in Northern Auckland, and my heart is racing with anxiety.

A token Indian voice comes on the speaker and tells me to ‘reemain avhare, avhare’ of the breaths entering and exiting my nostrils as we finish out the session. ‘Patiently and persistently,’ he whispers, ‘and you are(d) bound to be successful, bound to be successful.’

After nearly 300 miles trekking, 17,000 miles in the air, and 8,000 on the pavement, we needed a break. We traveled to 8 countries in 9 months and toured New Zealand from top to bottom. We have learned organic farming and gardening techniques. We’ve juiced. We’ve watched sheep being sheered. In a few weeks, the United States would beckon in the all the ways we love and hate, by way of that wonderful catch-all of civilization: LA. So when we caught word of a 10-day silent retreat in northern Auckland, we jumped on it. It would be a perfect way to still our minds before Lady Liberty tips her torch in our faces to test our grit on the world’s stage.

We heard about Vipassana meditation from a friend of ours in Lake Hawea, near Wanaka. It was founded by an Indian named SN Goenka, who has been teaching the technique since the 60s. He is now world-famous and does teaching in all parts of the globe.

Vipassana is meant to be ‘non-sectarian,’ universal in utility, and grounded in nothing more than the individual and reality itself. We are Christians, so a 10-day retreat that isn’t based on God’s word sounded unusual, if not heretical. Even so, we prayed on it, talked about it, and even read reviews from other Christians expressing their thoughts and feelings on the practice. After all was said and done, we decided to go for it. It would be ten days to pray, to listen, to quiet our minds, and hopefully learn something new.

The retreat is set in locations all around the world, and is supposedly run completely on donations. Their conference building near Auckland is set in a beautiful little valley and is quite modern and clean with extremely good facilities for being 100% reliant on the generosity of past students.

Each student who attends the course gets their own private room, which is basic, but clean. During the course, one must follow a very strict policy of no talking, reading, or writing of any kind. For ten days, students must be silent, austere, and practice up to 10 hours of mediation per day, starting with a 4:00am wake up call for first session at 4:30am, finishing in a 9:30pm session in the evening.

In accordance with the rules, Meghan and I were disallowed from talking with one another, and we also had to refrain from eye contact of any kind. I wink at Meghan like twice a day, so this was, at the bare minimum, a challenge of self-control. The point of the retreat is a complete disconnect from society, for 10 days, to renew the mind through nothing more than heightened awareness.

We lasted two full days. It turned out that the techniques taught were extremely useful in quieting my mind, but completely against the belief that I have in Christ as my savior. Buddhism is about reaching enlightenment by practicing goodwill, being gentle, and working to ‘know thyself’ through hours and hours of meditation and self-reflection. The methods we were taught in the two days are not intrinsically wrong, but their ultimate goal is. The goal is to eventually become your own Buddha, to find heaven within yourself, to save yourself from the world.

From the beginning, we were determined to test our mettle and stick out the 10 days, but by the end of the second, Meghan and I made the decision, separately, to leave. Neither Meghan nor myself returned for the final session on the evening of day two because we were both so convicted about what exactly we were doing there. So we told our ‘managers’ and sat down together in a small room to discuss with a more enlightened middle-aged male who was a Goenka trainee and leader at the Auckland Vipassana. Without speaking or winking, Meghan and I had both made the decision to leave, and were going to tell the other as soon as we could. Yet we ended up being in the same room, and told the guy that our faith was in Christ, not in ourselves, and that we need not save ourselves from the world when we have faith in God.

Knees aching, we lifted ourselves up and drove away with no place to go but away. We ended up sleeping in Colin the Concerto that night, but despite the tough sleeping arrangement digs, we slept peacefully knowing we made the right decision to cut short our days at Vipassana. Reflecting on the previous two days, I firmly believe that Vipassana can only truly be for Buddhists. People of other faiths have something to learn, but will struggle keeping everything in line.

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mt cook new Zealand dolphins kaikoura swimming with dolphins Christchurch tekapo autumn

May 01

Milford to Nelson

The Milford was the beginning of an end for Micah and I in the South Island of NZ. It’s a bit sad really. We have grown attached to the ever changing scenery that has enchanted us the past few months and the people that go with it. A week and a half from departing Milford Sound we knew we would be boarding the Interislander with the unknown of when we might return to the South Island.

For one short night we recovered from our tramp and in true Heather Wilkins form we were welcomed with lasagna fresh out of the oven. (tea “just happened” to be ready over an hour after the usual dinner time this night). Just in time for Steve’s birthday we were privileged to participate in a small birthday breakfast and the talk surrounding his new, old Ford truck just in from the Sunshine State. For the first time in NZ we had to say “goodbye,” not “see you later.” It was hard to walk away knowing we may not see them again. Heather was our mom away from home…her intuitive, observant and kind soul took care of us with conversation, hot drinks and delicious dinners. Steve was no less like a father helping Micah change the oil in our car and offering tips for resale. They took in two weary American travelers and the depths our thanks they may never know.

With quivering lips we headed towards New Zealand’s largest mountain: Mt. Cook. As much as Micah would have loved to climbed all 3,754 meters of it we were forced to continue driving, but snapped enough pictures to make one believe we spent hours there. The drive was markedly one of the most beautiful we have had. Nothing but blue skies with still lakes mirroring the ever changing colors of the fall trees—-it was breathtaking.

After a long night at Lake Tekapo being kept awake by ridiculously loud male-gendered individuals we grabbed a coffee and set off puffy eyed for the shaken city of Christchurch. We were grateful to be staying with two sets of Denver couples-Bryan & Erin and Noah & Kate. Both couples worked at a camp that Micah also worked at one summer called Eagle Lake. Funny part is none of them knew each other back in Denver…I’m telling you, New Zealand is a SMALL country! We learned a lot about the 2011 earthquakes in the two days we were there. We meandered through the streets once jiving with live music, good eateries and young ins, now barackaded, shattered and on sinking ground-literally. It was so sad to see how much of the city has been shut down, torn down or is awaiting its turn. Houses still hang off the sides of cliffs and flat roads have been turned into rolling hills. We even attempted to explore some museums that survived the shakes but learned that they too have been closed after their last inspection…deemed unstable. The glory is in the people who have stayed to fight the good fight and rebuild the city- even if it takes three decades. The man who people wondered if they would ever see singing outside the cathedral again has relocated and his voice is still heard. You see, people are resilient and these moments tear apart but they also unite those who remain. Unfortunately the other thing that remains are the aftershocks. We felt a 3.9 quake late at night as we were looking at pictures of the rubbish with Noah and Kate. It was enough to make my heart race but such a small shake for locals. An earthquake is a terrifying event and the aftershakes are terrifying, constant reminders of that tragic day.

Next stop was Kaikoura. The not-to-be-missed part of the south island that we saved for last stop. This is the place where we get to swim with the Dusky Dolphins. I have to say there was a lot of build up to this event. It’s not easy to save your “splurge” for 5 months into your holiday and there were many times I debated giving up on the dolphins to indulge in other things but that would have been a BIG mistake. This is the highlight of our trip and quite possibly one of the highlights of my life…yes, it was that great. This is no ordinary get in the pool with trained dolphins event. We were dropped off the back of a boat in the ocean where hundreds of dolphins choose to live because of the abnormally deep coves with lots of good eats close to the shore. Once we entered the water in our scuba suits and snorkel masks we were responsible for the amount of interaction we had with the dolphins. They are wild, they are not fed and they just might not want to be your friend. Fortunately, Micah and I are pretty fun folk and the dolphins enjoyed our singing. Hundreds of them- flipping, diving and playing all around us. At times they would engage eye contact and mimic your behavior. We were not allowed to touch them but so many of them rubbed bellies with, swam circles with me and at one point even had a bit of a staring contest! Absolutely. Unbelievable. We enjoyed this for over three hours and to be honest I could do it everyday. Cold ocean water is not nearly as daunting when there are dolphins to play with.

With smiles plastered on our faces like small children at Christmas we headed to Hanmer Springs for some adult r&r in the natural hot springs. A relaxing last stop before we rolled into our old residence. We will spend our last couple of days in Nelson catching up with “old” friends before we say goodbye to the South Island.

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Milford track new Zealand trekking mitre peak south island

May 01

The Milford Track

Milford Sound is one of those odd places in the world that everyone has heard of, without actually knowing anything about. I always wanted to go there, and actually didn’t understand why. Same with space. And the great wall. And Stonehenge. Yet Meghan and I were determined to do what I had heard was ‘the finest walk in the world’ from the very beginning of the trip.

The Milford Track covers about 55km of terrain over four (three full) days through varied terrain. It was called the ‘finest walk in the world’ by a journalist from the UK in the early 1900s who had never even been, yet produced some truly excellent yellow journalism-turned-marketing heroics for NZ. And it has stuck. NZ still uses the tagline on their brochures, marketing efforts, and informational guidebooks.

All that to say, we had high expectations for the Milford on day one. We knew that the Fiordland area receives well over 300 days of rain per year, so we were prepared to walk through the rain, but were hoping for sunshine. We did the Routeburn track almost completely soaked, and it was incredible…once.

The track starts by crossing lake Te Anau, NZ’s largest (by water volume) freshwater lake. So fresh, in fact, that boat driver told us we could just fill up our water bottles from the lake after exiting. From the lake. Without filtering. This is when NZ feels like 10000 BC, without the giant Moas.

After crossing the lake, it was a short jaunt to the first hut, where we unloaded a had a snack. We met a few people that first night who became friends—-a couple from Australia, a girl from San Diego, and others from New York, Ireland, and Germany. The cool thug about the track is that you have to go one direction, so the people you are there with on the first day are also there with you on the last.

That night, a cousin of TreeBeard and the local ranger took us on a flora and fauna walk near the hut. Hugely informational, this ex-truck driver was well versed on everything from fungus to birds to moss and groundcover.

The next day was a relatively easy walk of about 5 hours, without much elevation gain, to the next hut. The forest was gorgeous and, in classic Milford style, was lush, green, and mossy beyond belief.

The third day was the longest and most memorable of the four. We started out hiking in thick fog, a depressing sign considering this would be the most beautiful of all days. We were freezing cold at the top shelter and hung out for about 1hr hoping the weather would clear. The other 35 people decided to move on over the pass, and within 20 minutes the sky cleared like a Sigur Ros video, clouds dancing past the pass in a flurry of emotion. It was stunning.

After taking photos, we went down the pass with our crew and made it to Southerland Falls, the 5th highest in the world. The third day ended up being about 10 hours, but it was a perfect combination of low-key and breathtaking.

On the fourth day, we headed out for about 5 hours to the final boat to Milford from sandfly point. The boat was only about 15 minutes, but it passed by some of milford’s most glorious sights. We finished with a beer from the dock, and threw up a toast for one of the worlds finest walks. And decidedly so.

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South island GoldRush new Zealand Otago Multi-sport

Apr 30

GoldRush

We said our farewells to the Wilkens family, the sheep, and the farmland of Athol and headed north to Wanaka after a week of WWOOFing on the farm. We had scheduled another WWOOFing in a few days but were going to hang out with our friend Kate to watch a multi sport race in the Central Otago region called the Goldrush.

Kate had wwoofed for the Donovan family who, along with a friend from Nelson, were going to tackle the three-day event with their two hilarious young boys—-their biggest supporters.

We were their ‘support crew’ which meant we rode with them as they passed through their various events, watched the kids as they passed jerseys, carried kayaks out of the water, and drank wine on our downtime. It was our first taste of the Central Otago region and we loved it—-vast blue Montana-esque skies, golden hillsides lined with the colors of a hundred autumn cypress trees, plenty of warm sunshine, and a backdrop of heroic snow covered mountains.

We spent three days on support with Kate, making our way all around the Otago region—-from Alexandra to Ophir to the poolburn reservoir, through Cromwell, Clyde, Luggate, and Albert Town. The race was a success and so much fun to watch—everyone had a blast and it definitely pumped Meghan and I up to do races in Colorado when we return.

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Recipes New Zealand Pikelets delicious

Apr 21

If you spent any weekends at the Kerr household growing up you would remember that like clockwork we ate pancakes on Saturday mornings. It was one of my favorite traditions and occasionally we still get Charlie K in the kitchen to cook for his grown girls when we are home. Here in NZ we have missed home cooked breakfast but recently discovered the NZ version of pancakes. Dad, maybe I’ll treat you to breakfast (or brunch) when I get home :)

Pikelets:

1c flour
1t baking powder
1/4t salt
1 egg
1/4c sugar
3/4c milk

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
In another bowl beat egg and sugar until thick.
Add with milk to sifted ingredients.
Mix until combined.
On a hot, lightly greased griddle or non stick pan drop 1 T of mixture. Turn when bubbles start to burst- cook other side to golden brown.

Serve with jam and freshly beaten cream
**whip cream is not common on this sided of the world…pour cream or whole milk into a bowl and cream using a hand mixer in high to make a healthier version of whip cream :)

Recipe makes 8-10 pikelets

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Curio Bay New Zealand South island The Catlins Camping Moeraki boulders dunedin

Apr 21

Camping, Curio Bay and the Concerto

After two weeks at The Nook indulging in freshly harvested organic meals we headed off towards the south east coast of New Zealand… with pb&j and canned soup served hot from the hatch of the Concerto back on the menu. Our first stop was the Moeraki Boulders. Large spherical stones that formed a few 60 million years ago in ancient sea floor sediment and have been revealed as the cliffs along the shoreline have eroded. Resembling…

Further down the Otago Coast we landed in Dunedin, the City flooded with uni students and buildings that are told to resemble Edinburgh. It was far from Edinburgh but does have some charm of its own. The old rail station building in the center of town is the most photographed building in NZ (we are proud to be part of that statistic now) and the cafe culture always wins us over. The better part of our time in this area was spent on the Otago Peninsula hoping to spot a Royal Albatross. Unfortunately, we saw no 40 year old fuzzy white bird spreading all 9 meters of it’s wingspan overhead but grew in appreciation of their rarity all the same.

We ended our time near Dunedin at Tunnel Beach. A steep and fairly long walk through a paddock, open to the public only out of lambing season, leads to the tunnel that granted this beach it’s name. In the 1870’s a local politician commissioned a small tunnel that leads from the top of the cliff down to the shoreline for his family. On this day we reaped the benefits having access to a crisp golden beach surrounded by huge limestone cliffs.

The highlight of this trip for us was when the canned soup came in to play. It was during this time we road tripped through the very southern part of the south island called The Catlins. The scenic drive entails endless views of rolling green paddocks covered in sheep or large white cliff faces extending upward from white capped ocean water depending on which part of the hill you’re driving. We braved the cold autumn air for two nights at our now favorite NZ campsites: Purakaunui Bay and Curio Bay. Purakaunui is located fifteen minutes down a dirt road that ends in a quiet little bay with waves that lap against the shore and a clear sky for stargazing. This was the first campsite we have been able to have a fire and we took advantage. The following day we traveled further south to Curio Bay to camp along a more abrasive shoreline. Here we explored a petrified forest and met our first penguins! The yellow eyed penguins are the rarest in the world and just happen to nest 400 meters from where we set up camp. Showing no fear of humans one of the penguins put on a bit of a show for us flapping his wings in what seemed to be a pose for our camera. We left the area feeling quite satisfied, ready to shower and nearly ready to head to Milford Sound for “the finest walk in the world!”

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WWOOF WWOOF NZ WWOOFing Lake hawea Nook Road Wanaka warbirds over Wanaka

Apr 21

Lake Hawea is situated just northeast of Lake Wanaka, and is a smaller, sleepier, and more mellow version of it’s bigger brother to the south. Lake Wanaka is fast becoming an international adventure destination to the likes of Queenstown, as it is situated just below Mt Aspiring national park and surrounded by the all the rugged beauty of the central Otago landscape. See Outside article here: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/australia-pacific/new-zealand/Best-New-Adventure-Hub.html

Lake Hawea, however, is 15-20 minutes of the beaten path, but is possibly more stunning, despite the diminutive size of the township. We had made arrangements to Wwoof here at lake Hawea at a little place simply called ‘The Nook.’

The Nook is, in actuality, a nursery, run by the Urqhart family. I knew little to very little, bordering on nothing, of nurseries besides the mother goose kind. This was the plant kind, a nursery dedicated to dishing out the best in native bush—-flowers, fruit trees, decoratives, even your odd fig tree—-to the surrounding landscaping professionals and green thumbers of the Wanaka region.

We putted our Honda Concerto up the dirt drive and were happily greeted by Anna and her 11 month old daughter, Matilda, hanging out in a carry backpack and welcoming us with a mouthful (and bib full) of toothed apple pieces. They invited us inside to sit down for the first of many home cooked, vegetarian, nearly all-organic meals. It was a classic Indian vegetarian dish, served with yogurt and papdums. Anna has one of those smiles that makes a person feel instantly comfortable and at-ease, and as Meghan and I chowed down, we felt home.

We learned that evening, sitting in the two-story house designed and built by Anna’s husband Lochy, about the Nook. Started in the 70s by Lochy’s parents, Vicky and Jaime, the nook is a converted hunting and tour lodge turned nursery, now housing four generations of Urqharts including wee little Matilda. It sounded strange to me at first to have so much family around, but the dynamic they have at the nook is pretty incredible. They all live in separate, self-contained buildings on the property and all have their own little herb and Vegie gardens. Almost all the food we ate was straight out of these gardens—fresh apples, pears, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, corn, beets, onions, pumpkin, and yellow squash. Anna is a musician, and a wonderful one at that, and has played shows and toured around Australia. Lochy, her husband, is a builder by trade, keen on using recycled material whenever possible. For a few years they both lived and worked in Australia, moving back when they heard of issues with Matilda.

Matilda was born with her gut organs (intestines, stomach, liver) outside of her body, a condition called omphalocele. Doctors in nz did an amazing job with her, using pig skin as a graft, they put everything back in it’s place. We came to find out that many kids in their region of Australia were born with this condition, and it was loosely tied with a pesticide, which really drove them to live a more organic lifestyle. That night, as we ate our dinner, was our first lesson on the benefits of eating organic, or, in this case, straight from the garden.

Lochy was away on a deer huntin trip when we arrived, so Anna showed us the ropes. We stayed in an old piky-esque caravan, like Brad Pitt on Snatch. No heat inside—-just a heap of blankets to keep out the chill of the autumn NZ air. A perfect compliment to our lifestyle the next two weeks.

The next morning we awoke to sunshine, a common theme of the following month, and met Anna for breakfast in the house. She had made an apple/pear/apricot crumble and served it piping hot from the oven alongside drag organic yogurt. Crumble for breakfast was absolutely revolutionary, with oats, fruit, and seeds it is good for you too. Meghan decided this would be all she ever needed for breakfast and learned the recipe by day 3.

We went out into the property that morning and harvested pears, apples, fed the pet dairy cow, and worked a bit on the gardens. With Matilda smiling from the backpack, we went around the property and looked at what jobs we would be doing during our stay.

For the next two weeks, we worked alongside Anna, Lochy and Matilda doing everything from moving dirt to mowing the lawns to cutting and preserving pears. We learned tons about sustainable living, and after eating two weeks without the white death of sugar and flour, we actually felt noticeably healthier.

Lochy returned later in the week and took us rabbit hunting, which we shot in the valley nearby. Each of us snagged one, skinned one, gutted one, and ate one in a fine Indian curry dish a couple days later. Lochy, like his dad who made elderberry wine, also showed us how to make alcoholic cider, which i hope to bring home with me to sunny Denver.

Our time at the Nook was good—-so good in fact that we hung around an extra week to take in more of the fresh Hawea air before we left for a trip south. It was an unforgettable two weeks, and we learned so much about making small changes to better our habits and met lifelong friends. That is what WWOOFing should be—-learning, making connections, working hard, and discovering something new from each side—- a perfect exchange.

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WWOOF New Zealand Lake hawea Wanaka Caravans

Apr 21

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recipes

Apr 21

Mango Lassi

This is such an easy drink to make. So delicious you might find it replacing your daily smoothie or summer milkshake. Lassi’s originating in India to help people eat spicy food but Micah and I have enjoyed them as a sweet treat. Try them for yourself and feel free to alter as desired!

2c Greek yogurt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c canned mango pulp. OR 1c fresh mango stoned and sliced
1T sugar (to taste)
Blend and enjoy!
Makes approx 4 servings

Add ginger for flavor, ice for texture, ground nuts for health and any garnish that suits your fancy.
Happy summer!

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Honey Bee keeping Athol WWOOF New Zealand

Apr 12

Keeping bees in Athol

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New zealand Sheep shearing Athol Pet deer Sheep WWOOF

Apr 12

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wwoof wwoof nz new zealand sheep farming gardening

Apr 08

WWOOFing in Athol with the Wilkens

Sunlight is analogous to happiness and the absence to the opposite, but it’s mostly a frame of mind. For Coloradans, a day without sunshine is more memorable than a day with, and expecting days of rain is usually unusual. Normally, I take sun. Meghan and I thrive in sunshine. So it has been a shock on this trip to have rain follow us around the world—-from Scotland to Ireland to Italy to Thailand to New Zealand.

But this week we had sunshine. And we were WWOOFing for some of the best people New Zealand has to offer. Like Elvis and a hip shake, it was a perfect combination.

The wee tiny village we stayed was just south of Queenstown, in a place called Athol (it does sound like that). We had passed it coming back from Doubtful Sound with my parents, but I didn’t remember anything about it. I must’ve blinked, or yawned, which would’ve been enough to blow 20k passed—-it’s about five houses and a few thousand sheep.

We stayed with a family on 5,000 acre farm called Athol Valley Meats. They do venison and sheep farming, as well as harvesting crops like wheat, kale, and beets. They have three girls, two of which are still home. They were so well behaved, so sweet, so gentle and mature it was like hanging out with all adults around the dinner table.

We had our own little cottage on one end of the farm, about a half mile walk to the homestead. It is fully furnished, with the most comfortable bed we’ve slept in since Denver. Just outside the window sheep grazed and slept.

The first day on the farm, Heather and Steve toured us around the farm, which proved completely massive, set in a beautiful valley with rolling green hills and even some views of the Remarkables over Queenstown. As we entered one particular paddock with deer swarming around like fish, one deer walked up to the car, unafraid of our humanity. This was Fawnie, the family’s pet deer. She was raised by them when she lost her mother, even taking road trips in their car like a pet terrier. Now she lives with the others in the field, but is visited often by the family. Easily the sweetest deer I’ve met.

We also had a chance to watch sheep shearing firsthand. I can honestly say I’ve never thought about the wooling process until living in NZ. But here it is: They pack all the sheep into pens, separating the sheep with white wool from those that are more splotchy. Then they pack them into little cages, filing them up for the shear. When we watched, the sheerers were majority ethnically Maori (the indigenous people group of NZ) save one really white guy with a goatee. The sheerers would pluck the sheep from the cage, set it up on it’s rump, bend over and sheer using long motions, then boot the helpless creatures to a slide that puts them back outside. The best guys can do one in 45 seconds. Seriously impressive, difficult work that can last for days of bending over. Many of the best can’t do it beyond 40 years of age because the process is so hard on the body.

Most of our time woofing was spent in the garden, and using our vast knowledge of horticulture, we made it look pretty impressive.

Heather and Steve are entrepreneurs—-and taught us so much about creative business in NZ. They have a shop on their property called the Vege shed where they sell their delicious meats, vegies, and cool products produced locally by kiwis—-everything from little knit wool sweaters, to chutneys and BBQ sauce. We spent much of our days talking with heather and Steve at the shed and sharing thoughts on business ideas, america, and farming in NZ. Another fantastic WWOOFing experience, a perfect exchange of work, knowledge, and delicious food.

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doubtful sound new zealand dolphins queenstown

Mar 30

The day after the routeburn we split ways with Kate and headed with my parents to the Doubtful Sound. Being lesser known than Milord Sound, and more remote, the area has fewer visitors and feels a bit wilder and more extreme. After coffee, the four us drove to Manapouri from Te Anau and piled onto a boat to cross the lake, then a bus to cross the pass, ending at our Fiordland Navigator. We decided to make the most of our time there and we spent the night on the boat with 70 others from around the world.

The mini cruise took us 20 hours through the fiord, down the different arms where bottle nose dolphins played and swam, and up to the end to a massive colony of NZ fur seals, happily bathing in the sun. The boat also stopped for some kayaking and a cold swim, where my parents happily participated and jumped in like teenagers. The tour was exceptional and had wonderful food, a great staff, and was hugely informative about the natural landscape and conservation efforts going to preserve their native birds, plants, fish and waters. It was one of the best things we have done since leaving home in September, without a shred of doubt…big thanks to Lance and Colleen!

The final days were relaxing and fulfilled one of my moms life long goals to see a sheep being sheared. We crossed Lake Wakitipu (near Queenstown) on an early 20th century steamship, one of the few orginals that still are in operation in the world. Fantastic memories with the padres!

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routeburn new zealand tramping hiking rainbow

Mar 26

We left the morning after Queenstown for Glenorchy, where we began the Routeburn Track. The Lord of the Rings-ish drive finished at the butt-end of a long and winding dirt road with a sign marking the beginning of the trek. It began in a temperate rainforest, weaving through mossy jungles and following a turquoise stream up the hill. Kate, Meghan, my parents and I hiked about 2 hours up to a raging, picturesque waterfall wherein (the first time I’ve ever used ‘wherein’) my folks headed back down to do their own adventure for a couple days. A well deserved vacation indeed!

Kate, Meghan, and I continued on our way up to Routeburn Flats—-Meg and I camped and Kate stayed in the hut. The campground was gorgeous and pristine, surrounded by jagged Milford-looking peaks and engulfed in a waving field of soft brown tussock (Kansas prairie?). The air filled with moisture in the evening and the rain began to fall as the three of us set up camp. Since we arrived with plenty of daylight, we decided to head to the south through the tussock field for a little side trip. Upon our return the rain started to really come down, providing us with a wetness that didn’t let up for nearly two straight days. What happiness water giveth, it can taketh quickly away. We slept fairly soundly that night and proceeded up the hill after some morning oatmeal and hot tea. Day 2 was magnificent, starting with a massive, surging waterfall after about 45 minutes climbing. We spent the majority of the day hiking up a path that became a stream as the rain pushed on. Although wet and a bit cold, the views on the second day were some of the most unusual, amazing views I have ever witnessed. The water gave the surroundings a completely organic feel and water poured down the mountain sides in all directions, entropy dominating both the landscape and my thoughts. There were, quite literally, too many waterfalls to count. It was New Zealand’s circulatory system. And it was alive.

The hiked lasted about 6 hours on day 2, culminating in a biblical rainbow over Lake Mckenzie from our vantage point about 500 feet above. Noah himself couldn’t have seen a more spectacular rainbow than the one we saw, filled with more than one’s daily dose of indigo. We set up camp in light drizzle, giving way to heavier rain as the evening progressed. We played cards with Kate, who provided wonderful company and memories on the trek the entire time. The next day we awoke to finish the trek, doing a side trip up to a lookout that proved stunning and worthwhile. The last day was the least intense, but still thrilling passing under the massive earnslaw falls and through a forest older than Treebeard himself. Its odd hiking through a forest that seems like it would be teeming with snakes, panthers, and flesh eating spiders, yet it is as harmless as a wet kiwi bird in the daytime. There’s nothing like hiking through N ew Zealand forest——truly sublime—without the anxiety of bites or bugs, the pleasure of unbeatable nature in every footprint and every photograph.

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Kaiteriteri Kate dodt new Zealand vineyard

Mar 22

Near the beginning of February, my parents emailed and mentioned they had thought of coming to New Zealand. My parents aren’t ones to “simply mention.” If it was said at all it had already progressed to the stage of near-certainty, and, in due form, they touched down on the 4th of March, nearly the time when Meghan and I were set to leave sunny Nelson for Southland.

We finished our last shift at Lonestar and spent the 5th and the 6th together in and around Nelson exploring beautiful vineyards like Woolaston Estate, going for a walk at Kaiteriteri beach, and drinking copious cups of café. My mom hadn’t been out of the country in 38 years, so she was due a free glass of champagne and an international flight. She has been on a couple cruises to Hawaii and Alaska, but still doesn’t count as outside the 50 nifty united states. My pops has been nearly everywhere on earth excluding new Zealand, so he was also due in his own right. Our good friend Kate Dodt (www.http://travelingdaybyday.wordpress.com/) is here in NZ with us as well, and we had planned on road tripping with her down the west coast and onto the Routeburn Track on the 10th of March. She bought a Subaru just days before leaving on the 7th, and we headed down together, caravan-style, from Nelson. The first day we made it to Punakaiki (aka the pancake rocks) and stayed at a beautiful little cottage called Te Nikau. That night the sky lit up so unbelievably bright orange and red above the ocean that I thought surely i would spot Jesus riding his white stallion over the Tasman sea. Even JM Naramore could’ve seen the colors it shown so brightly above. It was magnificent.

We explored the pancake rocks at high tide then set out for franz josef glacier, cruising along the wild, rugged west coast. The drive is a mix of Into the Wild-esque characters, Dr Suess scenery, and a roadway that I would’ve designed for my Matchbox racers—-winding, ridiculous, and winding. After about 4 hours along the coast and into native temperate rainforest, we settled into our campsite for the night about 15k north of Franz Josef and piled into one car headed for Lake Matheson. We arrived in time to see Mt Tasman and Mt Cook in the Alpenglow from across the lake for a postcard perfect photo and up to Fox Glacier to see the ice up close. The final road trip day was to Queenstown, where we would stay and stock up our packs and supplies for Routeburn Track. The Routeburn is one of the world’s great treks, albeit relatively short. It starts near the famed small town of Glenorchy (think LOTR) to the Divide, near Milford Sound along the Milford Highway. We spent the evening gathering supplies and eating homemade Fish Tacos with mom, dad, and Kate and anxiously awaited the next day.