Back in the Big Apple

I landed at JFK airport at 10pm (EST) last night. It felt like time had stopped because I left NZ on Feb 9 and arrived in NYC on the same date. Yay, that means I have today to recuperate before going back to work on Monday. Well, not really. It's more about getting back into things by paying bills, doing laundry and groceries, retroactively updating this blog, uploading photos. I'll try to get as much done as possible.

Going through security at the Christchurch airport was quick and easy! No lines. Especially since there was an incident there the night before. There was an attempted hijacking of a plane that was landing in Christchurch (it was a domestic flight). The hijacker, a woman, had somehow brought a knife on board. A few people were cut but the suspect was eventually overpowered and arrested. I flew domestic to Auckland, where I caught my flight to LA. Once in Auckland, I had to pay a $25 NZ airport fee before I could go through customs and security. Customs and security in NZ is so fast because there are less people...it's great!

The flight out of Auckland was delayed due to mechanical problems. Thankfully, they caught it before we flew 12 hrs over the ocean! We were put onto another airplane, to my relief. There were many crying children going onto this lonnng flight. They are such annoying little buggers. One mother said she always brings a few earplugs with her for passengers sitting nearby in case her kid pipes up but she's "never needed them". Meanwhile, the kid (toddler) had been wailing for the last 10 min and "he's usually never like this". Sure, lady. I think airplanes should have a special area for families with small children. Like First Class, but in a sound-proof room.

Leaving a Happy Place

It is past noon on Saturday, Feb 9 in Christchurch, NZ. My flight leaves at 4:30pm for the long journey back to New York. Sigh...I really don't want to go back to the noise, smell, and chaos. I love where I am now where there are clean waters, fresh air, and relaxed atmosphere. Although, I will not miss the sun here -- the UV index is at 11 today (that's the 2nd highest on the scale). This is what you have to deal with when the ozone layer over you is depleted.

I haven't had the chance to update the blog in the last few days but I might do so when I get back home. I wonder if that's possible so that the updates will show the appropriate dates?

Last night, we arrived to Christchurch and went around town looking for a place to stay. There weren't any campsites so we settled on a motel. The nice Indian woman behind the counter said she had one more room left that we could have for $99 NZ. So $25 per person was quite the deal. She makes a phone call to someone and tells us we could look at the room first. We go off to the side of the building and go up a narrow metal staircase which led up to a metal roof. The roof had random clothes either hanging on clotheline or on the ground. We walked across the roof slowly in single file since the pathway for walking was also narrow. There was a glass sliding door to the room. When we entered, we were astounded to see 2 beds that looked like someone had recently rolled out of them (Alice said she should've checked to see if it was still warm). One of them had crumbs on it and the carpets on the floor consisted of several pieces laid down haphazardly. We thought we were entering through her house (it wasn't). But nooo, we continued on through to another room with 2 more beds in the same state. This second room had a kitchenette. Around the corner was a very nice, clean bathroom with a nice shower. Yep, this was our room. Of course, we asked the lady if she was going to clean it first and vacuum. Her reply: "yes yes. 2 minutes!". Oh boy, that was dodgy (sketchy) but we took it. We were hoping she wasn't going to just make the beds and leave it as that. Good thing is when we came back after supper, we noticed she did indeed change the sheets and everything looked presentable. If only we did not see it's initial state. Hahahaha.

One thing I will miss about NZ is that tipping is NOT done here. No tipping waiters and yet they are still friendly. How about that, eh? Whatever the price is written, that is how much you pay (No taxes added in the end like back home. Everything is included already). The unfortunate thing though, is there is a 15% surcharge on services during public holidays. How unlucky for us to hit very town holiday while traveling through. I was also amazed at the cleanliness of the campsite facilities and public toilets!

New Zealand is truly a wonderful country and I had a blast here. It sure was mighty expensive but I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

See you all soon.

Last leg of the trip

We woke up early today for the long drive north from Lake Wanaka to Christchurch. Christchurch is where we will be flying out to go back home. Along the way, we stopped at a McDonald's for some food. I decided to try the Kiwi burger and no, it is not made with Kiwi meat. The Kiwi burger is made with a beef patty, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and red beet root. How interesting...but very good!

There was one point where we were very low on gas. It was a scary situation because the gas indicator needle was at "E" for a while and there was no gas station in sight! The gas stations are very far and few in between along the highways of NZ. It is not like back home. We stopped off to ask for the nearest gas station and we were told that there was one 15 minutes away. We were worried we wouldn't make it but luckily, we made it and it really was 15 minutes away!

A lazy day at the Lake

We spent the day at Lake Wanaka today by bringing with us some crackers, mussels, cheese, nachos, salsa, hummus, and wine. It was difficult to eat in peace without a gang of ducks approaching to beg for food. These ducks are so used to humans that they are not afraid to come close. One poor little girl was feeding a duck when it nipped at her.

I went into the lake with Alice where she taught me how to float on my tummy. I still get nervous in the water. It is so wonderful to just relax by the water watching dogs run happily along the beach and swim in the water. There were many ducks and seagulls just hanging out by the shore.

In the evening, we went for some take-away fish n' chips and brought it back to the lake to eat. I love how the fish n' chips are wrapped in newspaper the old fashioned way. Mmm, so delicious!

Attack of the Keas

Early this morning, we were woken up by thumping and cooing noises on top of the van. We were visited by large brown birds the size of birds of prey. I reckon these were the Kea birds that signs around the campsite had warned us against feeding. There were four of them rocking the van. I peeked out the window and saw that two of them were pecking at one of the girls' backpacks. One of them was trying very hard to pull a towel out of the backpack. I didn't know whether to go out and save the bag or stay inside the safety of the vehicle. I decided to tap on the window to get their attention. It worked. They stopped what they were doing, stared at me then one of them started screeching. I was afraid he was calling for backup. To my relief, they flew away 1 minute later.

We drove from Fox Glacier to Lake Wanaka today. Along the way, we found a salmon farm and bought some salmon pate, sandwiches, chowder. Yummy!

We will be staying at Lake Wanaka for 2 nights. We will do some swimming and relaxing!

Greymouth, Fox Glacier, Goats

To our great surprise in the morning, our tents remained intact from the winds. We continued on to Greymouth, where we had breakfast at a cafe. After breakfast, we were on the road again going towards Fox Glacier. Along the way, Alice and Magda went looking for pounamu by the river. Pounamu (NZ greenstone) is a dark jade-like stone found along the west coast of the South Island. This stone is so hard that diamond cutters are used to shape them and the Maori used them in tools and weapons. The Maori consider the pounamu a treasure and it is popular as jewelry.

We camped our van at the gravel campgrounds of Fox Glacier. We met a young British girl traveling by herself in a van. She is going to University in Auckland but she's traveling the country for 6 months. She told us a creepy story that could've been from a B type horror movie. One day, her van had broken down in the middle of nowhere. She was met by a group of goats who chased her down the road for 3 km! With every swing of her handbag, the goats would retreat a little and then descend on her again. Eventually, they left her alone. Goats are creepy with those eyes of theirs. We had met a goat earlier today chained up on the side of the road. Alice cautiously tried to give it a carrot but he wouldn't take it. He then threatened to charge at us and that was when we said "goodbye".

NZ on Horseback

Early this morning, I went horseback riding. The place to pay for it was at "Old McDonald's Farm" -- it is actually owned by a Mr. McDonald! Since I am not an experienced rider, I was given an old horse named Romper. Romper likes to eat a lot and she tends to do that to annoy novice riders. We went through the forest, a Kiwi fruit orchard, the beach, and crossed creeks. The other 3 riders in the group were more experienced, so they were able to make their horses run through the orchard and around the beach. I was perfectly content staying put with Romper and watching the others.

On the way to Greymouth, we decided to camp overnight on the side of the road next to the ocean. On one side of the road was forest on a cliff going up and the other side was a resting area next to the water. The view was spectacular with the sun setting over the crashing waves. The waves were incredibly powerful and never ending. Furthermore, it was extremely windy and cold! This made cooking very hard since the wind always blew out our fire on the stove. The bedding from the tent was flying out and we actually lost one pillow! The four of us went searching in the darkness with 2 flashlights and eventually, it was found. Sleeping was chilly and windy. The howling winds kept us up because we feared being blown onto the road.

Abel Tasman National Park

We departed Nelson for our next destination: Abel Tasman National Park. On our way there, we saw a Kiwi fruit orchard. The Kiwi fruits here are HUGE!

At the Abel Tasman, we took a water taxi from Marahau to Anchorage so that we can tramp (hike) our way back. The boat ride was fun and it reminded me of western Canada. Along the way, we saw Split Apple Rock -- which looks like...yep, a split apple. The hike back took about 4 hours and the beginning of it was especially hard due to the inclines and burning sun. Later on, the trail became much more bearable due to the shade provided by the various foliage.

Tonight, we are camping our van next to some horses. I will be going horseback riding tomorrow with one of the girls.

I noticed some interesting blue birds with red beaks hanging around near the horses. They are the pukeko bird (aka. Purple Swamp Hen). They are about the size of chickens and they have long gangly legs.

A huge jump into 30!

YES! We got to go up and skydive today! Alice and I were lucky enough to jump together! Alice went first, then I followed. We had photography and videos done. Our jump was at 13,000 ft with a free-fall of 9,000 ft. (approx. 50 sec). I was a bit nervous but also excited at the same time. Alice was fearless. I was ok until we had to step out of the plane...I was thinking "what the ... am I doing?!". But then we did it and it was all good. I guess it also helped that I only saw clouds beneath me. I did not feel like we were falling at all -- it was like being steady but with a lot of wind on me. I screamed when we jumped but I didn't hear anything. Hmm, either nothing came out or maybe the sound dissipated. When he opened the parachute, I felt like we shot up into the air. But in reality, we just stopped falling. Funny, eh?

After falling through the clouds, I saw the ground below. It was so beautiful and everything was so surreal. What an amazing experience! I would definitely do it again! So, who's turning 30 next...hmmm? ;D

Addendum:

Later that evening, Alice and I were "surprised" by our birthday Pavlovas with '3' and '0' candles. Thanks Magda and Kim!

Jumping out of a plane

It is 1pm on Feb 2 in NZ (but still technically my bday back home). I am waiting at the skydiving place for the skies to clear up. Funny thing is, Nelson is supposed to be the sunniest spot in NZ where the skies are clear 95% of the time. Except today. I really hope I get to do this on my birthday (and Alice too, whose bday is actually today!)

We went to the beach yesterday - it was gorgeous. The sands clean, water clear and turquoise blue, people para-sailing, and plenty of happy doggies playing. The Pacific Ocean was nice and warm.

After the beach, we went out for a nice seafood dinner by the water. All was scrumptious and the scenery breathtaking.

They are going to take a test run right now to see if the skies are good enough for the jumps. I'm crossing my fingers! Alice, Magda and I are going to skydive. Alice says "hi" to everyone!