Dunedin Done Right

 Sunday November 27, 2011

We slept in-until 8 am -- our last day before we started the long trip home. We lunched at Mash & had mediterranean chicken & a fish po' boy. Tracy was all fueled up & ready to shop. Vic was looking nervous. First stop- Seriously Twisted, the store not Vic. It sold merino & possum goods. Tracy found a new best friend in Jo the clerk. It was like a whirl wind fashion event. Gloves, scarves, hats, wraps, shawls & a bunch of stuff I don't even know what it was came out & got tried on for size, color, quality & wow & giggle factors.

After seriously reducing the store's inventory we moved onto Champions, the All Blacks sponsored sporting good store. Shirts & hats in white, gold & mainly black were tried on. Oh, the All Blacks just won the World Cup of Rugby & are from NZ. Outside the cafes were busy, a bandstand was set up & a local band comprised of guys over 60 played rock & roll. After soaking up some Dunedin music culture we walked to the Railway station. It is a fantastic structure built in a Victorian style. Vic took lots of photos, old style & art deco & than stumbled upon an Art Exhibition.

We had to rush or we would be late for our 4PM appointment for the Speight's Brewery. For a change Vic bought a piece of art that shall remain a secret until Christmas. We hustled up & down streets & got to the brewery only several minutes late. Our beer guide walked us thru the brewery & we finally got to the place we had all been waiting for-the tasting room. She explained they produced about 160,000 liters/day & had increased production significantly to help for the short fall in beer that had been made in Christchurch before the earthquake. She poured us the Gold Medal brew, Summit-that just won a big award in Asia & then she turned the taps over to us. The Germans almost knocked people over to get to the free flowing beer. You could tell there would have been bedlam if she hadn't stopped the tasting after a half hour or so. You would have thought some of those people hadn't had any beer since prohibition.

We walked back to the hotel, picked up the car & drove to Baldwin Street-the steepest street in the world. Of course some health nut was running up it. I'd just done several 12 ounce curls so I didn't want to exert myself or show off. Tracy however felt the urge to compete & walked to the top.

We placed a white stone we had brought w/ us from Bruce's Bay in a flower box for all to enjoy on their walk up & down the hill. We wrote a limerick which you can read in one of the photos for today. Doing all that walking made us hungry & we grabbed our bottle of '07 Quartz Reef Vintage champagne & went to The Reef. The seafood was to die for. We had entrees of salt & pepper calamari, smoked salmon, ceviche & scallops. We split a main of grilled sole. A very nice meal & wine for our last full evening in NZ. 

Escape, Surfs Rising & the Rarest Penguin in the World

Saturday November 26, 2011

Tracy was up with the birds which meant I was up by association. In fact, I was asked the time about every half hour beginning at 4:30AM. She was concerned we might miss the ferry. Supposedly there were only 30 knot winds, but the trailing seas were going to be rough. We edged towards the front of the line & got in seats on the back right side of the ferry. The boat was crowded. Tracy was anxious. We got under way & the waves were about 8 ft. so not too bad. They got progressively worse as we got closer to Bluff as we ran into the tide & rough seas left over from yesterday. As the swells got to be 10 to 12 ft. a lot of people's stomachs or minds lost the battle. Tracy's Sea Legs pill got her thru the ride, but she was a pretty shade of green by the time we landed. The car park payment machine was broken in Bluff, but that was OK as the gate was broken too. No worries just drive around it. The wind was blowing like crazy.

We found a Post Office & mailed Tracy's new treasure. We next visited the world famous "Henry". He's the oldest living Tuatara in the world about 150 years old. Tuataras happen to be the oldest living lizards in the world as they are unchanged from the dinosaur age about 250 million years ago. Henry used to be very aggressive & cranky until he had a cancerous growth removed from his tail. He waited about 8 years to recuperate, mated & became a Daddy at the young age of 80.

We left the teeming metro area & headed for the Caitlins. The coast was rough w/ violent waves & the wind was howling. Tree breaks were planted to protect fields & animals, but most trees were knarled & were leaning significantly. We made our way to Porpoise Bay-no porpoise, but the waves broke furiously on the rocks. It was hard to hold your position & take a photo. Tracy thought I'd been blown over the edge several hundred feet down. No such luck as I am persistent too. They have a surfing school there. Good Luck coming back alive.

 At Curio Bay we struck gold or should I say yellow-eyed penguin. As we looked down from the viewing platform to the beach we saw a single one emerge. They are the rarest in the world & are in their nesting mode in the Spring. We watched for awhile & moved onto Nugget Bay where we saw two more yellow eyed penguins-one exiting the rough sea to the delight of his mate. A very large sea lion lolled on the beach observing all this action as several college students from Minnesota took pictures of the wild life w/ iPhones from approximately 100 yards!



At 8pm we stopped in Balclutha for dinner as many places close early. About an hour later we pulled up to our hotel in Dunedin. Our key was in an envelope taped to the lobby's front door. Welcome back to civilization.

Meditation, Culture, Supervision & Exploration

Friday November 25, 2011

Daylight howled in with a fury & drenched us with its wet caress. The TV station announced that the winds raged all over NZ. Stewart Island was experiencing gusts of 100 knots while other parts of the South Island were being hit w/ 130 knot gusts. Tracy leaned into the wind down hill twice in the morning to see if the ferry would be attempting a crossing. By 10AM they canceled it for the day.

The Muffin led his two man crew of Wayne & Daniel out to the work site in the driving rain.  At the urging of the Muffin we visited the work site where Wayne & Daniel we're toiling away in the driving rain. They were literally working in a swamp. If you stepped off the boards where they were putting in posts you could go up to the knee in mud & lose your boot. If the rain stopped & the wind died down the sand flies converged within 10 seconds for a tasty meal. The Muffin of course was sitting under an umbrella all snugly in his new possum fur jacket supervising his poor mates. We got out of there before they put us to work.

We decided to meditate w/ our eyes closed for several hours. We cleaned up our left overs from last night's dinner & decided to venture out. Cabin fever I guess. We had tried to use the lodge van , but there was no power. Mona, the manager showed up & explained they had taken the dead battery out & had just replaced it.  Luckily Vic had only made Tracy try to push start the van for about  a mile in an attempt to use it. That may have contributed to Tracy's heavy meditation & although I thought it might have been a chant it was probably snoring I heard. We decided to visit the Ocean View Art Gallery & we found some very unique oil dab paintings of the local area. We purchased one to ship home. Showings & wine tastings will take place at our home location beginning in December. We tooled around the island & figured we could only get lost a little bit. After all they only have 20KM of roads. Over 95% of the island is national park w/ miles of trails & many huts for backpackers. We found several nice beaches, black swans & more wind & rain, but at least we were driving into it rather than by it. We crested one hill & found the height of technology-an old fashioned phone tacked up to a tree trunk. It apparently works as a local wired it back to his house across the road where he would sit on his front porch, wait for unsuspecting tourists to use the phone & then he would yell at them to get off his private line. Good sport on Stewart Island.  We finished off the two bottles of wine we had started the previous night & went to dinner at our favorite restaurant & had a delicious fish pie & roasted capsicum soup w/ prawns. Back at the lodge we swiftly hit the sack as our adventuresome day had worn us out. 

Stranded

Thursday November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving! The closest we are going to get turkey here is one of the native Kaka birds. We won't be eating any of these birds. First they are protected, secondly who would want to eat anything called Kaka. We awoke to rain & heavy winds. Apparently normal weather for the island. We waited until noon & ate our left overs from last night. Outside several native birds showed up to eat the peanuts we left out on the picnic benches. We took some pics & a Kaka showed up. Tracy went outside & it took peanuts from her hand.

We went to catch the 3:30PM ferry, if it was going. Tracy took a sea legs pill for sea sickness just in case we were able to leave. We hauled our bags down to the wharf in the rain & wind. The average was 51 w/gusts up to 65. They finally canceled so we will be sampling more fine food from the South Sea Hotel & Pub. Perhaps Tracy can have a spirited conversation w/ the locals at the Pub. The boys came back to the lodge for the evening after fighting the wind & rain. Early this morning the Muffin decided he liked the island & he went off to work w/ them. They outfitted him w/ some muddy boots & some Plastic wrap to keep him from getting soggy.

Of course he came back all crusted over w/ mud. He said it wasn't anything a good cup of tea couldn't wash away. On the way back to the lodge he stopped off at the Pub & picked up two friendly bottles of wine to snuggle w/ for the evening. In the mean time the Sea Legs medicine kicked in & Tracy caught some extra winks on the couch. The boys ate their dinner & we broke out the wine the Muffin had picked up. Lively conversation ensued including more stories from Tracy & the Muffin. After a few drinks the Muffin announced that he & the T-Shirt had formed an international conglomerate including a major construction company on Stewart Island. Wayne & Dan have been placed in charge of the redesigned hotel which is going to be 30 stories & it is rumored Donald Trump is interested in adding a casino. We went to the South Sea Hotel for dinner & had some more Bluff oysters-natural & beer battered, blue cod & chips & a large salad. We washed down this feast w/ a glass of '10 Mt. Rosa Dry Riesling & '09 Virginie Taunt Sauvignon Blanc. We then retired to the Pub where we posted another NZ travel log episode. The Muffin was playing pool, flirting w/ the young ladies & winning drinking contests against the locals. We closed down the Pub & retired back to the lodge to listen to the wind & rain. The winds are supposed to be strong all over the country tomorrow so we may be stranded here another day. Unfortunately we have a room booked in Dunedin tomorrow evening & they aren't running any tours on Stewart Island because of the weather.

Stewart Island Public Telephone Booth

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving from the land of the kiwis, jet boats, canyon swings, fiords and remote islands with high winds!!!! V and T

The Ups & Downs of Travel

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

We got up on the boat in the morning to more rain & low clouds & a proper English brekkie of eggs, toast, mushrooms, tomato, bacon & bangers. We motored back to the harbor & marveled at all of the crashing waterfalls. We had 330ml of rain in the past 12 hrs. or just under 6 inches or a little less than a half bottle of wine. We said goodbye at the dock, boarded our bus to return to our boat to cross Lake Manapouri. Once in Manapouri, we headed towards Bluff, the southern most point on the South Island and the point where you catch the Ferry to Stewart Island. We drove through more rolling countryside filled with sheep and cows. We decided to take the 5 pm ferry. The ferry is named the Stewart "Experience." And it was quite an "experience" and not for the faint-hearted. Also, to be correct, our boat was not a typical ferry. It does not take cars, only people and was a large catamaran, not a typical ferry boat. The seas are normally a bit rough for the crossing, (emphasis on rough), but the winds were only at 25-30 knots. This is considered good? Thank God the ride is only 1 hour. For the first 20 minutes we bounced over 8 foot swells which felt like a roller coaster ride leaving butterflies in the pits of our stomachs. Vic laid down and fell asleep. Tracy gripped the seat and focused intently on the horizon. Apparently, it's best to stand up near the back of the boat, but no one told us that. So, we sat in the front where all the empty seats were located. Our clue should have been that all of the locals were sitting in the back of the boat & were waiting for the bar to open! It felt like we were in an episode of the "Deadliest Catch." At some point, they opened the beverage bar in the back that served hot coffee, tea and other drinks. This was quite laughable, as no one could possibly walk back there and manage to keep their coffee in a cup! In what seemed like an eternity, but was probably more like 30 minutes, we could see the outline of Stewart Island on the horizon, which gave Tracy some much needed positive reinforcement. We pulled into the Wharf in Stewart Island shortly thereafter and wobbled off the boat. We were greeted by our host, Kath who whisked us off to the Rakiura Retreat. Mona the manager had been on the ferry & apologized profusely for not introducing herself. She had good reason to be distracted as she was returning from a funeral in Bluff. Two friendly fellows were staying at the lodge already. They were on the island building small hotel units for Kath. Wayne & Dan were eating dinner & drinking wine after working in the rain all day. We headed down to the only place to eat & drink in Oban, the South Sea Hotel & Pub. We had a great seafood chowder, spaghetti carbonara & some world famous raw Bluff oysters. Excellent. Since neither of us were feeling in tip top shape we took a lot home. We then crossed over into the bar area where some local fisherman were drinking, cussing & telling stories. Tracy wanted to go over to talk to them but she sometimes causes fights in bars so I made her behave. We instead got on the Internet & sent out several days of posts. Back at the lodge Wayne was still sipping wine & he & Tracy had a spirited discussion about the years he lived in Wyoming & sheared sheep for a living. Finally off to bed. Our Kiwi Spotting tour was canceled because of the wind. We decided to leave a day early because a really big blow was coming in. They don't run the ferry when the winds average over 50 knots. They were predicting an average greater than 60 w/ gusts over 75. Tracy was already turning green & it wasn't envy.

No Doubt About It

Tuesday November 22, 2011
We left early in the morning from our motel in Te Anau & headed out on Hwy 95 to Manapouri to catch our boat across Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound. Shortly after boarding the boat & enjoying a ubiquitous cup of tea several magical rainbows appeared off the port side of the boat. We skimmed across the water listening to our pilot provide historical facts about the area & lake. 50 minutes later we disembarked at West Arm & quickly boarded a bus where our driver & Nature Guide, Lloyd provided commentary on the fauna & flora of the area. 45 minutes later over a gravel mountain road we disembarked to board our Fiordland Expeditions boat, the Tutoko II. It was small & there were only 14 of us for the trip. Our captain, Shaun, & the mates, Anna & Maria quickly got things rolling w/ - safety briefing-"Be Safe" & a glass of champagne. We knew we were going to like this boat. We were assigned to the Pent House, which meant we were sleeping on the top of the boat in a bunkhouse w/ two other couples-each person in their own bunk bed. The loo was so small that it was tough to turn around & the only shower on board was strategically placed about the toilet to save space. Just as we started Anna brought big bowls of hot mac & cheese to warm us up. We set sail w/Shaun pointing out the sights including waterfalls & the amount of rain they received (a lot!). We soon found several fur seals basking on the rocks & shortly thereafter we came across our first crested penguin. More started popping out of the forest on the rocky shore & soon we had sighted about 6. Until 2 years ago there weren't any of the second rarest penguin in the world in Doubtful Sound but they have been busy & are multiplying. We continued to motor towards the Tasman Sea & reached a spot where Shaun had placed several crayfish pots. They are really spiny lobsters, but nobody wanted to eat them under that name. We hauled in the first pot & it contained 12 keepers, best haul of the season. We all got a chance to hold them (too spiky to pet & they will grab you w/ their claws if you're not careful) & have our picture taken w/ them. I don't think anyone had a chance to name one though. We set off for the next pot & got 5 more keepers. A nice days' work & the makings of a nice meal. Further on we stopped to fish for more of our meal. We pulled in a few ocean perch, a barracuda, a blue cod & then Vic caught the largest fish, a Taranikihi, also good as sashimi. It rained off & on but we still went up on the deck & took pics of the beautiful scenery. The crew took volunteers for kayaking. It was getting near supper time so we started our happy hour. It was perfectly fine to bring booze on this boat & every one was prepared. Three young ladies, originally from Iowa, brought on 3 bottles. We were conservative & only brought 2 1/2 bottles for the two of us. The chef brought us veggie soup soon followed by by our crayfish. Priceless! What a great meal. Oops, too early to quit. Large dishes heaped with potatoes, salad & 3 different kinds of fish. All the while the wine flowed. Dessert was a caramel drenched chocolate muffin. We found out later that our trip had been organized by our very own Muffin. It was his idea to start the festivities w/ the bubbly when we boarded. Everyone sat around & traded stories. Of course Tracy wanted to know who snored since we had 6 people in our Pent House. This caused much merriment & tattling on each others partner. We retired first for the evening as Vic was feeling achy. We snuggled in & listened to the non stop rain. Sometime after mid night Liz & James came up. It turns out James was the snorer.

Pictures From Saturday, November 19th

The Remakables, Stu's Orgasmic World Famous Fly Shop, and the Glow Worms

The Muffin Unveiled

Tuesday November 22, 2011

We had mentioned in an earlier blog from Picton that we would explain the origin of the the muffin story. Our hosts in Picton, Ian & Paula wanted a way to stay connected each week & have some together time scheduled so their busy lives didn't overwhelm them. They decided to schedule a two hour period each week on the same day in the afternoon to catch up. There was a cafe in town that served the best muffins so they decided to meet there. They soon told a few friends & others thought it was such a good idea that they started showing up too. This went on for about ten years & the couple that ran the cafe grew older. One day Ian & Paula showed up and the restaurant was closed. The owners had decided to reduce their hours do they would only be open for dinner. But, not wanting to break up Ian & Paula's tradition, the owners invited them to continue to come for muffins even when the restaurant was closed in the afternoon. This continued for another 5 years until the owners retired and sold the restaurant and the new owners didn't make muffins. Paula and Ian still kept their tradition going by making the muffins at home and having their muffin date once a week. When they opened their B&B in Picton they decided to make muffins for their guests. They gave them out fresh each morning when the guests headed out for tramping, boating, traveling. One guest decided to send them an email explaining where they ate the muffins and how far they travelled. They now have volumes of books with pictures and stories of the muffins from their guests. Many muffins are consumed in NZ, but many others show up in other countries, scuba diving, mountain climbing, bungy jumping & sky diving to name a few. Our "muffin" seems to be very adventurous and has done alot since leaving Picton. It has alot of half baked ideas that will surely lead him into a number of adventures & lots of trouble. Next up the muffin becomes cruise director on an overnight trip to Doubtful Sound.

Finally Some Sun; a Good Hike to Key Summit & We Found the Mountains

Monday November 21, 2011
We had an early brekkie on board the Wanderer and sailed out to the Tasman Sea where we saw several dolphins, & lots more waterfalls. They average between 7 & 16 meters of rain in the area. That's over 500 inches of rain in some spots. Apparently most of the waterfalls dry up when it's not raining. We saw some more seals & penguins & headed for the dock. We started back & it was still raining, but not so hard. We finally saw some sunlight & a few of those mountains we had missed. After passing thru the Homer tunnel again we finally decided to try a trek on the Key Summit track. We trekked up the mountain by roaring waterfalls, moss covered trees & lots of dripping trees. It took us about 1 1/2 hrs. to make it to the top before we headed down. The valley views were awesome. We stopped at a number of pull outs including the Chasm with its roaring waters, Lake Mirror with its diving ducks & many other places for shots of the mountains & trees. A very nice ride. After checking into our room we headed to the Fat Duck Restaurant for dinner where we shared tomato & basil soup, green lipped mussels & venison kabobs. We were both tired & retired to the room. Vic wrote up the blog & Tracy blissfully snored while probably dreaming of rain, waterfalls & swigging wine in a rental car in the parking lot.
BTW, there was a sighting of the muffin today. By way of catching up right after we left Picton & Ian & Paula's the muffin snuck out of our car. We had no idea where he'd gotten off to, but we did catch up with him at the Salmon Farm Cafe several days later. He apparently had met a fresh little French croissant that he had runoff with. He said she was sweet on him & called him her "Little Stud Muffin". She eventually dunked him in a cup of hot coffee because he had called a cute donut he'd met "Honey". On his own & needing some bread to travel with he met a crusty old Bagel & they thru in together working a breakfast bar. After getting in hot water a few times & being disgusted that the Bagel was only giving him a few crumbs of their daily wages he decide to skip town & head for the Southland. We saw him in the Fat Duck where he was advertising himself as the new & improved "Muffin Man". Tracy invited him out to the car where they both swigged wine from the bottle. More later about the adventures of the "Muffin".

The Land of a Thousand Waterfalls -- Milford Sound & Fiordland National Park

Sunday November 20, 2011
Note -- sorry we haven't been able to post for several days. We have been in remote areas and on boats out int the sounds. We will catch up!

Rain,rain everywhere. We got up to rain in the morning & it rained all the way to Milford Sound. It rained at Milford Sound. It rained on the overnight cruise. It was all good. The scenery on the world famous Milford Road was spectacular. It started out with a scenic ride alongside Lake Te Anau, a very big lake ringed by towering mountains. There were lots of low hanging clouds so the visibility was not always the greatest. In fact we probably missed a lot of great mountain shots. There were still fields of sheep, deer & cattle looking very post card like. As we got closer to Milford Sound (BTW, it's not really a sound as it was formed by glaciers rather than river erosion) we passed by various sights that just didn't look all that inviting as it was continuously raining. We did take a side road to Gunn's Camp Site & Museum. It was recreated with the huts & various parts of the camps manned by the workers responsible for hand digging the tunnel thru to Homer. It is amazing to think they dug a 40' diameter tunnel that is 2.18KM long thru solid rock just using picks & shovels. We pulled into the parking lot & Tracy found the owner wandering around the property & he let us roam thru the one room museum. It is named after Davy Gunn, a legend that settled in the area in the 1930's. He died attempting to cross a rushing river while carrying a 12 year old boy with him on the back of a horse. We got back on the Milford Road & stopped at several pullouts to try & see the surrounding mountains. Sometimes we could see them & sometimes not. At each of the pullouts we were accosted by the only Alpine parrot into the world, the Kea. They would hop on the car top & rear view mirror looking for handouts. There are signs urging people not to feed them. They are very aggressive & try to sneak into your car if you're not careful. What we did see a lot of were all the waterfalls, small ones, long ones, thunderous ones. We would turn a corner & there would be up to 50 on a mountainside from all the rain. It was stunning. We finally passed thru the Homer tunnel & made our way to Milford Sound where we had a 4:30 cruise on the Milford Wanderer to catch. But first we sat in the car in the rain & drank a half bottle of Bald Hills Rose by swigging it out of the bottle as we didn't have any glasses. They told us we could not bring our own wine on the cruise so naturally Tracy shoved a bottle of '09 Terrace Edge Syrah from Nelson in my overnight bag. Only 15 people boarded for the trip. They gave us some very good minestrone soup to make sure we were warmed up as the boat left the dock. We motored our way to Harrison Cove about 10KM thru the fjords towards the Tasman Sea. We saw many more waterfalls cascading down the sheer walls of the fjords. They then sent us out onto the water. Some people choose kayaks including Tracy. Vic choose the luxury of tender to search for seals, dolphins & penguins. Of course it rained the whole time. We did see several seals & maybe a penguin or two. Back on the boat we waited for the kayakers to return. Tracy did a neat little backup maneuver with the kayak that had the crew members shaking their heads. We dried off & sat down to a very nice dinner of bacon wrapped blue cod w/ accompanying veggies & salad. Of course we sneaked down to the room for a few quick sips, actually more like gulps of Syrah. Soon it was time for bed although Tracy did trade some funny stories & jokes w/ a few of our fellow travelers. It turns out that the naturalist on board traps the bush tail possum when he's not on the boat. He told us he trapped about 20/day & almost 600 under the gondola in Queenstown alone. They do appear to be a problem w/ no natural enemies. We had an early departure in the morning so we hit rack early.

The Remarkables, Stu's Orgasmic World's Famous Fly Fishing Shop & Gliw Worms

Saturday November 19, 2011
We left Queenstown and headed towards Te Anau, the entry point to Fjordland National Park (Milford and Doubtful Sound). The Remarkables Mountains flanked the road for miles w/millions (at least it seemed like that many) of sheep, deer & cattle on their slopes. The scenery was outstanding again, but how many photos can you take of mountains, lakes & animals? Apparently a lot by reviewing our pics each day. We pulled into Kingston to check out the 1878 Kingston Flyer steam engine train. Luckily it pulled into the station & we watched it belch white & dark clouds of smoke into the air. Vic had a cappuccino that was pretty close to jet fuel strength. 3 sugars did little to take the edge off the coffee. We saw a half dozen dead possums on the road as we headed to Lumsden for lunch. First though we saw some great advertising for a fly fishing shop. A bright yellow & black jeep announced Stu's Orgasmic World Famous Fly Shop. Various signs explained what would happen to thieves/shop lifters-(...will have to make their own way to the hospital), people who trespassed (Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again) & the reason to be in business (Driven by passion & living the dream). Tracy traded some fishing stories w/Stu & before Vic got shot we left the shop. We pulled into Lumsden after bypassing "Five Rivers Road". We ate a quick lunch of Chicken & Chips while Vic drank a Mountain Dew orange "Live Wire". Hey once you've jumped off a cliff, not once but twice you need a little boost to keep going. About an hour later we pulled into Te Anau & checked into our hotel. We booked a trip to see the Glow Worms-small larvae that glow in a pitch black under ground cave to lure bugs to them for their dinner. Apparently the bugs think they are flying into the sky & get caught up in some sticky strands that are produced by the Glow Worms. It was like looking into a star filled sky as we gazed at the cave ceiling. Fortunately for us we shared a bottle of '11 Bald Hills Friends & Lovers Pinot Noir Rose before going to dinner at The Moose before we went to see the Glow Worms. Back in the room we were out done again by the Internet & will try to get this posted tomorrow.
Our Internet connection is not letting us upload pictures today. We will try again tomorrow.

Queenstown Adrenalin Rush

Friday November 18, 2011
The day dawned bright, chilly and full of electricity. Neither Tracy nor I slept very well last night. Not sure why, but maybe it had to do with the fact we were anticipating today. We walked down to the i Site & Vic signed up for the Shotover Canyon Swing & we both signed up for the Shotover River Jet Boat. They call Queenstown the "adrenalin" capitol of NZ. They are not kidding. There are any number of ways to throw yourself off a cliff or a bridge with a bungy cord. You can ride fast in a jet boat on a rocky river through narrow canyons at 80 km. If it's not enough to go mountain biking, you can go "Heli-biking." In fact, you can combine any sports activity -- hiking, biking, skiing, climbing -- with a helicopter. Amazing. These people can't seem to go fast enough or high enough. Vic opted to throw himself off a cliff into a canyon over the Shotover River -- not once, but twice. There are a number of ways you can throw yourself off the cliff. The launching point is a platform. Once you step off the platform you drop the first 60 meters before you swing out 300 feet over the canyon above the Shotover River. We boarded the bus & drove about 10 minutes to the site of the event. We had a Swedish family with us & Andreas & Vic were both going to jump. Emory the driver told us the most scary part would be the last mile of the gravel road to the jump site. He wasn't kidding. Vic was feeling a little nervous, but amazingly pretty calm. Vic decided to jump jump first. In his words - they explained how this would work & wanted to know what way I would like to take the leap. Being a conservative type of guy, Vic opted for the "cut away" method. They strapped him into his harness & he was gently pushed out off the platform where he hung for a few moments before they pulled a strap to let him go. But, before all of that, you get to pick your own music for your trip down. He picked BTO's Taking Care Of Business. He stepped into the harness, double checked each hook & strap. They clipped him onto the line & walked him over to the end of the platform & then explained how he would take his first canyon swing. He looked up into the camera, leaned out over the edge waved at Tracy and stepped to the edge. He hung there for several seconds & then said bye-bye & pulled the strap.
"I felt nothing below me. It went mind blanking fast. In 3 seconds you've dropped 60 meters & reached a speed of 150KM. What a blast. It was so quick, smooth, easy. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It was so good I decided to jump a second time." This time, backwards off the platform. I picked Staying Alive by the Bee Gees for the second jump.". We will post the video on "You Tube" and send out the link in a separate post.

After Vic got his adrenalin rush, we went on to our "Shotover Canyon" jet boat ride. Jet boating began in NZ in 1955. They only need about 4" of water to ram thru the intake valves that power the boat at very fast speeds. In fact you really can't go slow (very similar in principle to Tracy's luge skills). We loaded our boat & Quinn our captain took off up the river (it really doesn't matter which way you go if you only need 4" of water). He then deftly did a 360 & sped back down the river. We careened at high speeds (Tracy immediately said she wanted a jet boat) as he pointed the boat now traveling 80KM/hr. at outcroppings of rock, sheer walls, tree trunks immersed in the river, thru narrow channels & over mere ripples of water only to violently jerk the wheel at the last instant sending us shooting in another direction. Just to add a little variety he would twirl one hand over his head signifying we were about to pull another 360 at break neck speed. All of this dangerous action caused everyone to smile widely, laugh uncontrollably & get very wet. All the time Tracy kept imploring him to pick up the pace a bit. I forgot to mention we were fashionably outfitted in a long black trench coat like rain gear, red life jackets (a lot of good they would have done us if we had hit any of the structures we barely missed) & no helmets. After 45 minutes of spins, near crashes & hysterical laughing we finished w/another 360 before we all broke into a cheer & clapping (maybe for Quinn or just getting back in one piece). Tracy wanted to drive the next trip on thru the canyon.

Having survived the jet boat ride, we headed back into town to take the skyline gondola to the top of a mountain overlooking the town. If you are the mayor of Queentown, apparently it's not enough to put in a skyline gondola. You also need to build mountain biking trails down the mountain so people can get their rush of adrenalin and then ride the gondola back to the top and do it again. You also need to build a luge track ( for carts that are sort of like a plastic low-to-the-ground go-kart) on the upper half of the mountain, so that folks can careen down paved tracks from the top. Pretty cool! We decided to try the luge. It turns out that Tracy is quite the speed demon, and beat Vic to the bottom on all her runs. We have awesome pics of luging for our Christmas card!

Having had enough adrenalin rushes for the day, we went back to our hotel and then to dinner. All in all a great day!