A Bad Day Camping Is Better Than A Good Day At Work

The Hut

May 14th, 2009

Our next adventure came pretty quickly. Biddy and Colin lent our services to their neighbor Bridget down the road in exchange for a night at The Hut. The Hut is exactly what it sounds like–a small hut that Bridget built and rents out to backpackers, travelers, and whoever else wants to spend the night in an amazing spot overlooking the mountains and hills of the Mt. Bruce area. What a spot! A short but steep hike brings you up to The Hut and I imagine that if you have any troubles you feel like you leave them all behind when you get there. It’s a beautifully constructed place with everything you need–wood stove, outdoor bath, comfy bed, coffee, bottle of wine, steak, etc. Oh wait, we brought the wine and steak, but this place is so great it feels as if the wine and steak came with it! We had to mention The Hut here because it’s such an awesome place and anyone passing through the area should check it out. And, we really enjoyed the short bit of time that we spent working with Bridget. And the venison sausage was great! Thanks Bridget!

Tags: hike, WWOOFing
Posted in New Zealand North Island | 2 Comments »

Cwmglyn Farm

May 14th, 2009

One of the things that we wanted to do during our trip to New Zealand was learn how to make cheese. We couldn’t have picked a better place than Cwmglyn Farm under the care of Biddy and Colin Fraser-Davies. Simply put, this is cheesemaking at its finest. Each wheel of cheese is made from one cow and a cheese connoisseur is sure to have their favorite cow. Molly and Emily, the two winter milking cows, are treated to Huggie wipes of their udders, and a snack of molases while Biddy and Colin tended to the milking each morning. The care that they took for their cows was evident in the quality of milk, cheese, and butter that Biddy produced. As Biddy assured us, healthy well cared for brown cows will produce delicious cheeses and she is right. We consumed more delicious dairy in the last week than we have in the last 4 months! On the morning that we helped with cheese making we were very excited to learn that as Biddy would say “the cheese almost makes itself”. Needless to say with the ease of the process now evident, (although I’m sure Biddy’s skill and experience made this process seem easier than we will find it!) we are excited to try this out when we have a home and kitchen- hmmm?. For the details on cheese making Biddy and Colin’s website is a great place to start complete with step by step directions.

Another exciting part of Cwmglyn Farm is the model railway that Colin has created. We thought we had an idea of what playing with trains was all about when Jackson was in his train phase a few years ago, but this takes it to a whole new level! Colin has created and assembled one of the largest model train layouts in New Zealand–you’ve got to see the pictures to really understand what that means, and even then the pictures don’t capture it all. The sprawling tracks and surrounding towns of the layout take up a 16 meter by 10 meter shed–built specifically to house the railway. Once a month, Colin and 5 or 6 of his friends actually run the trains on a timetable and we were lucky enough to witness the railway in action.

In addition to learning a bit about the cheese making process and experiencing the model railway, we were happy to have the company of such great people. We need to say a huge thank you to Biddy and Colin for welcoming us, teaching us, bearing with us when the quiche we made for dinner was not done until 7pm, and giving us a cozy little space to stay in complete with a woodstove and my absolute new favorite thing, an electric blanket. If you’ve never owned an electric blanket it should certainly be the first item on your birthday or Christmas list. Sadly, we left the electric blanket and farm behind in search of more adventures.

Tags: farm, food, WWOOFing
Posted in New Zealand North Island | 3 Comments »

Castlepoint

May 14th, 2009

The list of our favorite places in NZ is long, but one of the best days we’ve had here has to be the one we spent exploring Castlepoint. Castlepoint is a bit out of the way from most everywhere else but is well worth the trip. In a small area you get a little bit of everything from steep climbs, bashing waves, a picturesque lighthouse, a scary sea cave, cliffs, and stinky seals. It’s amazing how many places there are to explore in what is a pretty small area. Everything about the scenery here is dramatic, and we spent enough time to enjoy it at both high and low tides.

We arrived at high tide and walked up the trail to the lighthouse and then out and around on the reef rocks. The waves crashing along the reef cliff were incredible and we often found ourselves dodging the sea spray. Unlike Pancake Rocks on the South Island, you can get close to the edge here and really experience it! We then made our way south along the reef and then up Castlepoint Rock which dramatically drops straight down to the ocean below. However, the pinnacle of our experience at Castlepoint has to be the sea cave which passes below the lighthouse.

The sea cave is only accessible at low tide, and the trip out to it felt like some Greek Myth filled with challenges and tests along the way. First we had to navigate the reef rocks, waves (we didn’t really wait for low tide) and the slippery clay along the shore. Then, just when we thought we were almost to the cave entrance, we found seven seals guarding the path in. They did not want to move, and we didn’t want to move them. After several attempts to get them to step aside, we decided to just climb the rocks above them and see if that would work. Luckily, after gaining the upper ground they decided to move on which was especially fortunate because if we had to smell them for one more second we would have gone the way of Aegeus. After climbing up and over the seven seals we finally found the cave entrance. Stepping into the black hole we were blasted by a mighty wind (not from the seals or whoever was in front at the time). This cave has some lungs! If you aren’t careful you could get knocked over walking into the cave. Once inside, we realized that you can see the other cave opening on the ocean side of the reef. And you can also see the massive waves come bashing through and sometimes closing off the opening. And best of all, the sound of the waves is so loud that we were convinced we would be swept away or thrashed on the rocks–fodder for the giant octopus that legend says lives inside the cave. Inside, there are tons of little pools, eyes that look up at you from below, and stalactites hanging from above. We’ve never seen or experienced anything like it. Luckily, we survived it all, made it out past the seala again and lived to tell the tale. However, we did see a signpost for all of the “Lost Soles” that we can only imagine perished in the cave and fattened up that giant octopus inside.

Tags: caves, coast, lighthouse
Posted in New Zealand North Island | 1 Comment »

Return to the North

May 14th, 2009

Hey folks! We’re back on the North Island and once again have lots of catching up to do here. As usual we’ve been pretty busy since the last update, so we’ll do our best to pick out the highlights. After a rainy ferry ride back to the North Island, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spend a day or two in our favorite NZ city–Wellington. Wellington is big enough to have all the things you want from a city, but not too big to make it feel, well, too big. In two short days we managed to eat at Sweet Mother’s Kitchen twice, met Gollum at the Weta Cave, saw some more cool museum holograms at the City of Wellington Museum (NZ has the absolute best museums), and took a tour of the Beehive. From there it was a quick jaunt over the hills and one the road toward Eketehuna and our next WWOOFing site…but not before a detour to Castlepoint.

Tags: city, food
Posted in New Zealand North Island | No Comments »

And the Winners Are…

April 30th, 2009

Tiff, John, Adi, and Rye! They correctly answered the Fiordland question and will be receiving a prize in the mail shortly (a few weeks probably)! Nice job!

Posted in New Zealand South Island | 2 Comments »

The Old Man

April 29th, 2009

With May 3rd just around the corner and the marking of 6 years sans Old Man in New Hampshire, I thought the Granite Staters back home might appreciate seeing the “Old Man Rock” we came across on the way out to Wharariki. Not quite the same as the Great Stone Face that used to grace Cannon, but this old man probably hasn’t had any face lifts…and he is still standing.

Posted in New Zealand South Island | No Comments »

Freedom Camping and the Worst of New Zealand

April 26th, 2009

At 1:42am, the air stuffy inside AGY, the rain bucketing outside, and after several attempts to find a comfortable position in the front seat of AGY, I started to compose this blog in my head. Freedom camping- we had no idea what this meant when we arrived in NZ all revved up and ready to buy a used car. Of course, we found AGY, but never even considered a campervan, probably the most useful vehicle for NZ.

Freedom camping is allowed almost anywhere. Just pull off the road or into a car park, cook your meal on the stove inside, and then curl up on the mattress in back. Even after a few nights of rain and lengthy drives searching for a DOC campsite or paying $30 to stay in a Holiday Park, we’re actually still glad that we chose AGY. We bought a tarp for the rainy days and setting it up had become a topic for discussion and critical thinking. The lack of trees in campgrounds found us tying the tarp to the back of the car, perfect for staying dry when you need something from the boot (kiwi speak for trunk). Not so perfect on really windy nights! On more than one occasion we’ve crawled out in the rain to dismantle the tarp so the constant flapping did not keep us awake.

The rain has been somewhat frequent recently and without a campsite near by, last night we decided to try AGY out on the freedom camping scene. Simple- pull into pupu springs car park, open up a can of Wattie’s (NZ’s Heinz) Hot Chili Beans, eat them cold, recline the front seat and presto, a self contained freedom camping vehicle. After a long night of tossing and not turning, morning arrives and you’re already at your first destination for the day- Waikoropupu Springs, the cleanest springs in the world.

Although the thought of cold beans and unfomfortable nights makes me yearn for a campervan, I can assure you it would not be a Wicked Camper, one of the many rental campervans available in NZ. I will include a picture which almost says it all. Each rental is unique, complete with different but equally terrible and repulsive sentences pained on the back. Driving by the hundreds we’ve seen I often find myself wondering who would rent one of those things- maybe they got a super internet special and did not realize their van would offend everyone they drove by. I’d much rather be in a Spaceship with the back open and a tent assembled to provide extra space or a Juicy recongized by its bright green color. Tonight it’s back to the tent for some much needed rest in the horizontal position.

the-worst-of-new-zealand-04-25-2009-6-02-50-pm

Posted in New Zealand South Island | 2 Comments »

The Week or Two in Review

April 26th, 2009

It’s been another busy week or so since we last updated A Bad Day Camping…, and we’ve come a long way during that time. Since we left Wanaka and the wonders of Puzzling World behind, we’ve been heading up the West Coast. The West Coast is a spectacular part of the country. In case we needed any help understanding how special this part of the country is, when we were staying at Welcome Flats Hut someone happened to leave behind a West Coast booklet explaining exactly why it’s so great here. Why anyone would hike 10 miles or so with a regional development booklet in their backpack is beyond me, but it gave us something to read as we ate our dinner at the hut. Of course, it talked about the beautiful mountains and glaciers, the wonderful and honest people of the region, the promising energy industry…and on and on and on. Amazingly, there was no mention of the most dominating force of this region–the infamous sandfly, or blackfly.

The West Coast is one of, if not the most unpopulated part of the country and the reason must be the healthy population of these blood thirsty biters. West Coast blackflies make New England’s blackfly population seem like it is on the brink of extinction. As long as you’re moving they aren’t much of a bother, but the moment you stand still a black cloud descends upon you. We got quite good at jumping in and out of the car as quickly as possible and skilled at killing the ones that managed to get into the tent or car with us. As a result, Agy is in desperate need of some cleaning (not too different from her owners), and we probably can’t donate blood for another 56 days. Since our surf guide for New Zealand says, “…West Coast surfing is a spooky experience. Firstly, the swell is nearly always big, in fact you’re almost always waiting for it to drop and clean up before heading out. You will also be sharing the breaks with a wide range of marine life–many of which have big sharp teeth! Combine this with extremely cold and often murky water, and you have a true Kiwi hardcore surf destination.” We figured the blackflies provided enough bloodletting so we stuck to the mountains.

That said, we’re not actually sure that the blackflies were the worst thing we encountered. Following an overnight trip to Welcome Flats Hut-a fantastic hike up to some hot pools and mountain views) we headed to Fox and Franz Glaciers. The glaciers themselves are magnificent, and we really enjoyed the moments of sunshine that we had at Fox glacier. At Franz, however, we took a short hike up to Sentinel Rock which gives a nice view of the glacier and valley. We got to the viewpoint and not long after a bus load of tourists struggled up one by one, each huffing and puffing and saying almost exactly the same thing upon arrival, “I thought this was supposed to be a short hike.” Now, I don’t know if this is common for people on bus tours as a way to cope with being so close to 25 other people, but after their passing the trail smelled like the very worst part of a department store. You probably know what that means–the perfume section. The part of the store where in order to pass through with the same number of brain cells you had at the start you have to hold your breath for the duration. I think these folks were suffering from perfume induced asthma. We quickly ran for the car once again and continued north.

Next up was Pancake Rocks–another unique coastal rock formation with shows of crashing waves and blowholes. Check out the pictures on Flickr. We continued north to Nelson Lakes National Park–a place we wish we had more time and more sun to explore in. And finally, we made it up to Wharariki Beach at the northwest tip of the south island. The weather wasn’t great while we were there, but it’s a remarkable and rugged beach. We owe Pete a huge thanks for the recommendation on Wharariki and Glenorchy as well. Thanks Pete! Your map and advice have been really helpful!

Currently, we’re in Nelson figuring what to do next, but it won’t be long before we leave the South Island behind and head back North to, hopefully, warmer weather. We’re both ready to spend some more time exporing the North Island’s beaches, caves, lighthouses, surf spots, waterfalls, and whatever else we find on our way. Next WWOOF site is a cheese farm in Eketehuna!

Tags: backpacking, mountains, National Park
Posted in New Zealand South Island | 1 Comment »

Puzzling World

April 16th, 2009

Maze Contest

Tim 1

Joanie 0

Tags: museums
Posted in New Zealand South Island | No Comments »

Coffee Talk

April 16th, 2009

Joanie here for my first blog attempt! We’ve barely had time to write about what we’ve been up to, let alone New Zealand culture. It may come as no surprises that New Zealand culture shares most things in common with that of the US. One thing we have come to understand though is that Kiwi’s get their Vitamin D a bit differently- not from the sun, but from the coffee they consume. Coffee- Vitamin D? Yup. There seems to be a plethora of cafes (1/NZ resident I think) serving various types of milky, espresso coffees from flat whites and short blacks to lattes and mochas. There is, however, no such thing as a regular cup of coffee which we have come to find out is referred to as filter coffee and seems to only be available for brewing at home.

While coffee beans are readily available at any New World, Pak’ N’ Save, or Countdown, they are nowhere to be seen in the multitude of cafes. In fact, if you walk into a cafe and want a regular black coffee you may well get instant. Yup- instant. Seems there is no in between- no plain old filter coffee and no half and half either. If you ask for half and half you will get a questioning stare.

Back to the grocery store- Kiwi’s have their fair share of caffeinated products to choose from, including coffee with milk in a squeeze tube- just add water, available in a canned variety as well. Sorry to say we have not had the opportunity to test out this Nestle product yet.

Speaking of dairy, what’s up with Kiwi ice cream? So many cows and so little quality ice cream. Yes, they’ve got Hokey Pokey and as a lover of honey I can appreciate the honeycomb chunks, but where is the ooey gooey chocolaty, caramel, nutty yumminess we find at the Granite State Candy shop in NH or the Dairy Bar in MI? One thing is certain, we will miss the fancy coffees (which we indulged in daily during our stay at The Pailion), and we are craving a massive (Kiwi’s love that word) waffle cone served up New England style from Goldenrod.