New Zealand Slang

Thought we'd share some of the local lingo with everyone...

Flat - Apartment
Mate - Friend
Jersey - Sweater
Jandals - Flip Flops
Togs - Bathing Suit
Gumboot - Rubber Boots
Ute - Truck
Boot - Car Trunk
Petrol - Gas/Fuel
Tea - Dinner
Lollies - Candy
Chips - French Fries
American HotDog - Corn Dog
Barbie - Grill
Chilly Bin - Cooler
Judder Bars - Speed Bump
Piss - Alcohol
Bubbly - Champagne
Partner - Girlfriend/Boyfriend

Pictures from the end of our Road Trip

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Back to the Bay of Islands

5 weeks, 7400 kilometers (4600 miles), 18 different accommodations, and 25 pounds weight gain between the two of us... we have made it safely back from our road trip! We left Wellington at 4:30am Thursday morning and drove just over 11 hours straight north, back to our apartment in the Bay of Islands. Dave got this great sunrise picture from the roadside on our way. We had an amazing trip with so many great experiences and so many amazing places, but we are worn out and glad to be back to our apartment. Be sure to check out our facebook pages for GoPro videos we filmed while we were gone. Dave is super anxious to start marlin fishing this weekend, as 2 nice 500 pound blue marlins were caught in the last couple of weeks! It is going to be an exciting last couple of months on the water for us here.

Sailing the Abel Tasman

Tuesday we went sailing on a 35 foot catamaran from Kaiteriteri Beach in the Tasman Sea along the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. There were 12 passengers, which was very comfortable on the boat, and we had a nice time getting to know some of the others during our 7 hours together. We were able to relax, enjoy the sunshine, help with the sailing, and take in the sights. It was a bit chilly with the sea breeze, but the day was perfect with not a single cloud in the sky. There were so many beautiful bays with inviting sandy beaches. Most of the beaches are accessible by hiking thru the park, but the boat was our preferred method. We stopped on

Anchorage Beach for an hour to eat lunch and explore the area. We also saw a fur seal colony, with a few new pups. One of the popular sights in the area is Split Apple Rock, which we sailed by on our way out and on our way in. Dave even got to fish a bit while we were sailing back. He caught a kawai on a cuban yoyo, which was fun for everyone to watch. There were a couple little blue penguins swimming near us also, which was really cool. We enjoyed being out on the water and had a fantastic last day in the south island. Wednesday we headed toward Picton to catch the Ferry back to the north island. We stopped along the way in Havelock to eat green lipped mussels at a very popular well known restaurant, The Mussel Pot. After lunch we continued on and checked in at the ferry terminal. We crossed the cook straight and arrived in Wellington where we checked in to our hotel for our last night on the road.

Nelson and Mapua

We stayed in Nelson Saturday and Sunday night within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. On Sunday we went to the World of Wearable Art and Classic Cars Museum (WOW Museum). It is a weird pair of collections to have together, but they were both interesting. All the garments on display have been part of the Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art Awards, and they were all very interesting creations. The cars on display were awesome. There was a wide range from old vintage classic cars to very modern luxury cars. Our favorite was the Maybach

made by Mercedes! On Monday we went west of Nelson toward the Abel Tasman on a sickening mountainous road. We Stopped off at Ngarua Caves and did a short tour were we saw bones from the extinct Moa bird, cave coral, remnants from early explorers, and many different chambers in the cave. After the caves, we went into the town of Takaka in Golden Bay to the Anatoki Salmon Farm. This small freshwater salmon farm serves as a tourist attraction and a supplier to local restaurants and markets. They allow you to fish for free and you just pay for what you catch.

Since we both love salmon sushi so much, we stayed for a couple of hours and caught seven fish around four pounds each. They do provide free rods to use, but Dave wanted to use his own fly rod for a little extra fun. The fun we were having on the fly rod ended when Dave broke the five weight rod while reeling in a four pound salmon. Dave couldn't have been happier about the break, there is just something satisfying about pushing the limits, even though that size of fish should never have stressed the rod. Luckily the rod is under warranty so there will be no loss of value.

We had the salmon cleaned and packaged. After the salmon farm we tried to go see a waterfall along a beautiful coastal road, but due to the recent rain in the area the road was closed because of landslides. We actually drove past the closed sign on accident, but after driving by a few bad collapses on the road we decided to turn around. Once we drove back thru we realized we had driven right by a guard stopping people. Ooops! Jill drove on the way back to our hotel in Mapua so she wouldn't get so sick (Dave had to pull over a couple times on the way there). Of course we ate salmon sashimi for dinner, which was delicious!

Glacier Country

We spent 2 nights in Fox Glacier and unfortunately the weather was terrible. We should have been able to see the mountain tops and glaciers, but it was just to rainy. It was rainy, cloudy, hazy, and chilly. We were scheduled to go on an ice climb, but we decided against it in the weather. Some of the groups still went out, but we just weren't up for being cold and wet all day. If you look closely at the picture you can see a couple groups of people on the glacier. After all it was so cloudy you couldn't really see the extent of the glacier. We went to the town of Franz Joseph Glacier one day

to go to the wildlife center. We saw the Rowi kiwi, which is the most endangered of the kiwi's.
Saturday we left Fox Glacier, but stopped on our way out of town to get as close as we could to the ice. There was a wild Kea in the parking lot, just walking around checking everyone out. He was so funny. When we were leaving he was flowing Dave all the way to the car door. We would have loved to take him with us. Even though the weather wasn't ideal in Fox Glacier, we still had a great time. Maybe we can go back one day and see the beauty that was hidden by the weather. We got on the road and headed north up the west coast of the south island. With no reservations for accommodation, we decided we would stop in some of the towns and when we were tired of driving we would stop. We ended up stopping in a couple towns and drove all the way up to Nelson about 500 kilometers. We had a nice day on the road, stopping to taste/buy fresh goat cheese from a farm, stopping to shop, and enjoying the reserves we drove thru.

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It's just a hot dog...

After Fiordland, we drove to Haast, which is a small town on the western coast of New Zealand. Being on the edge of the Southwest World Heritage Area and Mount Aspiring National Park, it is the perfect place for hiking and fishing in the back country. We arrived on Tuesday the 10th, where we checked in and had a few issues. We woke up Wednesday and drove inland to look for a good fly fishing spot. We found a suitable place, parked, and got our gear ready. We hiked thru the young valley, waded over the Makarora River, and headed up the gorge along the young river. We hiked upstream, fished for a bit, then hiked back. Even though we didn't catch any fish, Dave was able to get a huge 8 pound rainbow to take his fly. He broke it off after the strike, but it was still quite satisfying. The 5 mile hike itself was beautiful and we really enjoyed our day out in the wilderness. We headed back to the hotel, but stopped at the mini grocery to find something for dinner. We opted for hotdogs because we figured they would be easy to grill and we had all the extras in our cooler. Once we got to the hotel we inquired about the advertised BBQ area. We were told they would bring the grill to us. Then we got a call from the receptionist that she was unable to bring the grill because the manager said it was not allowed. After complaining and asking to speak to the manager, she called back to say they would cook our hot dogs in the kitchen. The manager never called (he must have been scared), so we brought the dogs to the kitchen. After an hour of waiting, Jill went to the front desk to see what was taking so long. They apparently were busy and hadn't gotten to the hot dogs, so we were promised a bottle of wine to make up for it. 30 minutes later we got our hotdogs, and never received any wine. Needless to say, we were quite irritated by the time we got our dinner after 9:00pm. After all, they are just hot dogs... it's not like we asked them to cook steaks. So along with the hot dog issue, an internet issue, a sand fly issue, and a movie issue, we checked out 2 days earlier then planned and moved on. We just couldn't take any more. Once we left the hotel, we stopped to get gas and the clerk didn't want to take Dave's credit card. She said it didn't look like his signature, so he showed his id and she said it didn't look like him. Geeeezzzz... can we catch a break. We have voted Haast, New Zealand the worst place in the whole country! Now we are in Fox Glacier, which has started off as a much better experience!

Fiordland

Sunday morning we left Queenstown at 5:30am and drove to Milford Sound to go on a scenic boat cruise. The drive was phenomenal through Fiordland, which is a national park in the southwest corner of the south island in New Zealand, covering over 3 million acres. We drove thru the amazing Homer Tunnel and around and over beautiful mountains. Once we reached Milford, we boarded a boat to take in the scenery from the water. The fiords are remarkable, having been carved out from glaciers many many years ago. As the glaciers slid down the mountains, they pushed away all the soft rock, leaving sheer cliff faces behind and allowing the sea water to move into the troughs that were created. Because the cliffs are so huge they really dwarf the size of everything around them. We saw several waterfalls that were 400, 500, even 600 feet high, but

they looked very normal compared to the size of the cliffs. We were just a small speck in a very large Fiordland. After our 3 hour boat tour, we got back on the road to our hotel in Te Anau. On Monday we drove just a little south from Te Anau to Manapouri to experience Doubtful Sound. Like Milford, Doubtful is also a fiord, but it is much harder to reach from the mainland. We took a boat across Lake Manapouri, which took almost an hour. Then we boarded a bus to travel through Wilmot Pass over to Doubtful Sound, on a road that is completely isolated from any other road in New Zealand. Once we reached the edge of Doubtful Sound, we boarded another boat to cruise around

for 3 hours taking in the sites. Doubtful Sound is much bigger than Milford Sound with 10 times more surface area and 3 times longer. After our boat tour we drove back over to the lake where we took a tour of the Manapouri Power Station. The hydroelectric power station is underground in a mountain beside the lake in solid granite rock. Water from the lake is used to create electricity for parts of New Zealand. After the power station tour we traveled back across the lake, where we ended our journey for the day. The last to days in Fiordland have been really amazing. The photos and descriptions will never be able to explain this amazing untouched area of New Zealand. It is spectacular!

Day 2 of 2 featuring pure adrenaline

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for a fun filled day of adrenaline. We drove down to the town center and hopped on a bus to go to the Nevis Bungy. Dave was preparing for the jump of a lifetime, at 440 feet high. Jill went along as a spectator, which was just as scary as jumping. Once we reached the mountain top, we had to board a high wire shuttle to get us out to the pod which you jump from. That part was quite terrifying itself because you are just on a cable system and the pod is dangling loosely in the air shifting about with the wind and movement of people. There was a huge American college group with us, so it was fun to experience it with them as well. Some people backed out once they saw the extreme jump. When it was Dave's turn, there was no hesitation. He must have jumped before the countdown was even over. Better to get it over with I guess, then stand on the edge thinking about it. He did let out quite an interesting scream. Once it was all said and done, he was super happy he made the jump. He actually wished it was longer, if you can believe that!

Once we got back into town, we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, and then it was off to the next adventure... Paragliding. We hopped on another bus and went about 20 minutes outside of the town to a nice mountain area to launch the shutes. We flew tandem with experienced pilots from Coronet Peak, which is over 5,000 feet high. The set-up and take-off were pretty easy, just catching the wind and proceeding off the mountain top. Dave

was really brave and did some crazy spins and turns on the way down. Jill was pretty conservative with her flight, taking the easy smooth way down. It was quite an experience to be so high up in the sky with just your guide to rely on. We both had a really good time. It was a bit scary at times, but worth it. Once we were done with paragliding, we went back to the hotel for a quick break and then went straight back to it. Next on the agenda was the canyon swing, which is a 197 foot free fall that goes into a swing farther across the canyon totaling 256 feet. There are 70 different positions you can jump in. We jumped tandem in the gimp goes to hollywood position, which is head down, feet up, where they release the cord for you. Jill was absolutely horrified. Tears, screams, and clinging to Dave she managed to do it! Dave went a second time by himself doing a backflip off the edge. It was quite intense, but he loved it. We both had a great time even though there were moments of complete panic and fear. The staff were really fun and they got a good laugh out of watching Jill. No matter the hesitation and fear, we completed the jump! We have certainly covered the adrenaline junkie part of this trip! Be sure to check out our facebook pages for the videos!

Day 1 of 2 featuring pure adrenaline

Friday Jan 6th we went for a rock climbing adventure in Queenstown. We did the Via Ferrata, which is a climbing style with fixed rungs and a cable system. It was only the two of us with the guide, so we went along comfortably at our own pace. We hiked up a little and then started our climb. We climbed three sections of rock face, each with different challenges. Once we made it to the top, we took a rest, and then we abseiled down two sections. It was a perfect experience, because it was not to hard since there were easily accessible rungs, but it was still challenging and high enough of a climb to scare you a bit. After about three hours we made it back to the bottom. After rock climbing we took the Skyline gondola up to the mountain top from 1115 above sea level in Queenstown to 2591 feet above sea level. Once we made it to the top, we went on the skyline luge. We not only went once, we did it 5 times. To do the luge we took another lift just a little farther up, got into the carts, and raced down. We really enjoyed ourselves and got quite cracked up at each other and the other people on the track. While Dave was a bit rough and almost threw himself out a couple of times, we ended the 5 rides safe and sound. We better rest up for Saturday because there is a lot on the agenda!

An Amazing Place to Fly Fish

Wednesday we drove to Queenstown, which was only a couple hours west. We had a beautiful drive around Lake Wakatipu between the mountains and into Queenstown. On Thursday Jan 5th, we went fly fishing with Jeff Jones. We left right out of Queenstown on his boat to get to a secluded fishing spot. The boat sheds are really interesting here. The boat is stored in a garage like shed right on the lake edge. The boat sits on a trailer with rail wheels which is on a train track. The boat is then slowly wheeled down the rails and into the lake using a generator. It's kind of like a coal cart. Once you arrive back, the boat is just driven back onto the trailer and then the cart is pulled into the shed. We thought it was really

clever. So we drove the boat about 30 minutes across the lake to a farmers private property. From the boat we got into an old Range Rover probably from the 70s, and drove up river about 30 more minutes. The property was amazing. It was really secluded from society. The farm was between several 5,000 foot mountains right on the lake with a river running thru it. The only way to the farm was by boat. Even the cattle and sheep were transported by boat. There were so many huge pastures with grazing merino, cows with their spring babies nursing, bulky bulls ready to charge, and lots of trout waiting to be caught. It would be heaven for Jill's mom! We took the Range Rover through the pastures, up really steep hills, and even crossed

the river. It was like we were on a 4x4 safari. Once we got up the Lochy river far from any human we started to fish the river by spotting trout and working upstream. Dave had a great time with the challenge of casting in the perfect spot to intice the trout to take the fly. He caught 9 fish and lost 1. Jill fished a bit in the beginning, but she was having such a good time helping Jeff (the guide) spot fish and enjoying the wilderness, that she stopped after a short time. It was such a beautiful place to spend the day. We wished we could have camped out for a few days and enjoyed the mountains and forest. The only complaint we had was the sand flies. They were awful to say the least. We were mostly covered in clothes from head to toe, but

the few bits of skin that were exposed were in danger. We loaded on the repellant so we didn't get to many bites, but they were just plain annoying flying in and around your eyes and face. It was such an amazing place that we dealt with the sand flies and didn't complain a bit. After fishing the day away, we drove back thru the forest, over the river, and to the lake. Then we got on the boat and drove back across the lake. We really had a great day. Even though Dave had a few challenges, it was one of the best days we have had in New Zealand.

Fly Fishing in Gore

Tuesday was a fantastic fly fishing day in Gore. We went out with our guide Barry to the Mataura River which was only a short drive from the B&B he and his wife Diane own. Dave caught a couple of fish right off the bat. We did really well all day only covering a short span of the river. Dave ended the day with around 25 hook-ups, landing a total of 17 brown trout. Jill hooked up 6 fish and landed 2. Three of Jill's hook-ups were so close to landing. One was even just about to go into the net and the hook broke. This makes Jill's second and third trout on fly, which is pretty exciting for her. Dave is getting to be very well at casting and is becoming quite an incredible fly fisherman. He was thrilled to have caught so many fish in one day. This was certainly the best fly fishing day we have had yet!

A Waterfall Day

On Monday Jan 2nd we left Dunedin and got back on the road heading south. We took the Southern Scenic Route along the coast of the southern part of the south island. The route took us thru the Catlins, Invercargil, and Bluff, then up to Gore to our accommodations. We stopped at

several places along the way, including two beautiful waterfalls. We first sopped at the Golden Nuggets, which is a group of boulders that apparently look like golden nuggets. They were a bit golden in color, but not exactly what we expected. We did have fun stopping there though, because it was a nice drive out to the point and we enjoyed the excessive amount of wind we encountered. The gust could nearly knock you over. We did get to see some spoonbills, but they were so far away you couldn't really see their huge bills. Purakaunui Falls was our next stop. It was a

very short walk to the incredible falls. Our next stop was the McLeans Falls, which were a bit of a walk, but well worth every step. There were so many levels of the falls. It was gorgeous! The sides of the river weren't to steep, so we were able to maneuver all around the many parts of the falls. Dave really got some amazing photos! He climbed really far down into the falls to try and fit ever bit into the pictures. There were quite a few other people there taking pictures and enjoying the area. There was a group of girls who got into the freezing water and went under the highest fall. We

stayed well out of the flow of water, because it was way to cold for us. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the area though. After we left McLeans, we decided to go to the Niagara Falls of New Zealand, because the name sounded so enticing. It's a good thing we didn't go to far out of our way though because it was actually a small fall named by an architect in the town of Niagara as a joke. It was about a 3 inch decent of water over a few rocks. Dave did not think it was very funny! Once we got back on the road, we drove down to Sterling Point in Bluff, which is the southernmost point on the mainland of New Zealand. It was a beautiful spot right on the edge of the ocean. It is also the end of State Highway 1. In Key West we lived at the end/beginning of US1, so it was only natural for us to go to the start/finish of 1 in New Zealand. We drove thru Invercargill on our way back up toward Gore. Once we made it to Gore, we checked into our bed and breakfast and got to know our hosts. The owner Barry will be taking us out fly fishing tomorrow for brown trout. Hopefully we will catch some good fish Tuesday and Wednesday before we leave the area. We are certainly excited to get fishing!

Hello 2012

We rang the New Year in at the Octagon in Dunedin, which is a central area in the city with restaurants, bars, and shops. They blocked the streets off and had live music. We had a great time celebrating and enjoyed the fireworks show afterward. New Years Day was packed full of activities. First we went to Cadbury World, to see the production of chocolate bars. The factory was very warm and smelled delicious. We saw one ton of chocolate being poured thru a vat, we sampled several different bars, and then bought some to take home. After chocolate overload, we went to the Dunedin Chinese Garden. While it might sound strange, we really enjoyed

the garden. It is one of only three authentic Chinese Gardens outside of China. Most of the garden was actually pre-built in Shanghai, dismantled, shipped, and reassembled in New Zealand. The garden certainly gave us a feeling of relaxation and peace. After the garden, we drove east to the Otago Peninsula for a dose of nature. The Royal Albatross Centre is located at the tip of the peninsula in the world's only mainland breeding colony. We went on a guided tour to view the giant bird which can have a wingspan of up to 10 feet. We saw an albatross nesting about 20 yards from where we were in the viewing center. We also saw two of the huge birds flying in from the sea. It is incredible how large these birds are. We wished we

could have seen a big fluffy chick, but this time of year is a bit to early for that. After the Albatross, we went to a private conservation reserve to see the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguins in their natural environment. We went along with a guide into covered trenches to see these cute little animals, without them knowing we were there. We saw several chicks, a couple pairs, and some juvenile's finding their way onto the beach. The chicks grow quickly and are already the size of their parents at 6 weeks, but with fluffy feathers instead of waterproof feathers. We enjoyed the tour and were really happy to have gotten so close to these wild creatures.

The end of 2011

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