Fiordland

today we ventured into fiordland, deep in the southeastern corner of NZ. where do i even begin?? we woke up super early, before the sun was up to beat all the tour busses up the mt. road...there are SO many tour busses!! it was very foggy and rainy, but still very beautiful as we ascended into the moutains. as we began to climb up, green green moutnains shot up from the vally floor and sparkling lakes lined the road. we passed through a tunnel (homer tunnel) that was carved out of the rock in the 1800's and has no electricity. it is one way and DARK. water squirts out of the cracks in the wall and it's foggy inside. crazy!! on the other side we found ourselves in another world. low hanging clouds were caught in the beech forests and there were waterfalls everywhere! no, i mean everywhere!! at the top of the pass we reached the famous milford sound (a fiord). can't even explain...please see picture for evidence. although the sun was not out (it only comes out about twice a week there) it was truely amazing. the mountains shoot right up out of the water...since it leads out to the ocean, it is salt water, but on top of the salt water is about 40 meters of fresh water that is rich in natural tannins. because of the tannins the water underneath satys dark, creating a natural habitat for deep sea life that can usually only exist at very deep points in the ocean.

after taking in milford sound, we headed back down the mountain road...we stopped off to see a chasm where the river has carved smooth designs and caves into the rocks. then we headed for lake marion...the jewel of our day. it was about an hour and a half tramp to the top of the trail. we ventured up through the beech forests...moss everywhere and a rushing river beside us. at the top we were rewarded as the trail opened into a spectacular hanging valley with lake marion right in front of us. the lake was the most amazing color green (not the color of our car, a different green) and three waterfalls poured into the water at every corner of the lake. we sat on the rocks and ate lunch, smelled the air and soaked up some sun (but we are still pale). it was a moment. we also met some other VERMONTERS!! when we walked into the clearing at the lake a group of trampers yelled "are you from VT?" having noticed my tattoo (see i knew i got it for a reason). turns out they were from middlebury college. the world is so small, even on the other side of it!

now we are at rest in a hostel in queenstown...zach almost nailed an escapee sheep on the way here, but with a near miss and another FANTASTIC drive here we are. more soon! we miss everyone and we hear it's snowing in VT so get out there and ski everyone!!!!

(we have heard there is sometimes confusion as to who is writing...nina wrote about the penguins, the rest you'll have to figure out yourselves!!)

First big adventures.

A lot has happened over the last two days. We arrived at Arthur's Pass this past Tuesday planning on a couple of days of hiking. After our quick trip that afternoon, we set camp about 7K south of the town (basically a store and a hostel). We had the first minor dissapointment of the trip after our stove wouldn't light that evening (hopefully fixed now) and enjoyed PB and J for dinner as well as lunch that day. The weather turned for the worse as the night went on, and by morning we woke fairly wet....and surprisingly cold. Our sense of cold was explained an hour after we woke up as Arthur's Pass was suddenly dumped on with snow. Serious snow. We high-tailed it out before they closed the roads and set out for Oamaru.
The drive was simply the most amazing we've ever had. We left the sealed road and pulled up to a sign telling us we'd have to ford a river or five on our route. After the shortest moment of hesitation, we kept going. Nina and I were rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views on Earth. There's only one picture posted now because no camera could come close to capturing what we saw. Rolling hills, snow covered (southern) alps, emerald green lakes, amazing tree life, and sheep (obvi). After the drive, we landed oursleves on television in New Zealand. We both starred in Empire Backpacker's Hostel new television ad campaign. Now we're regular celebrities over here. After gaining our newfound fame, we hiked across and out of town to view yellow eyed penguins-amazing sights just 5 or 6 K form our hostel.
That brings us to this morning. We packed up in the car and drove about 30K south to Moeraki in search of the most amazing boulders. They're sixty million years old and shaped about as perfectly round as can be. Not far down the road we heard about a lighthouse that was far out of the way, but worth pursuing. This was our big reward of the day. We arrived to find a nice cosy viewing hide that looked over a number of seals and sea lions laying on the beach. After twenty minutes or so, we turned back toward the car. We took one last detour to check out a Maori Pa site-mostly because we couldn't figure out what "Pa" meant. As we walked along the ocean, all of the sudden, we had another penguin standing next to us. It was a very different experience from last night where were on removed platforms. Today we had hiked beyond the posted fence. It was entirely an end of the earth experience. We were surrounded by seals and sea lions, and everywhere we looked another penguin seemed to arrive. The wind almost blew Nina into the Pacific (check out the waist straps on my backpack in that first pic). We ended up there for an hour or so, with the greatest feeling of connectedness and childlike amazment for our surroundings. I easily shot off a hundred photos there.
Now we're back at the hostel, cooking up some pasta, and enjoying the best sense of just feeling great, like everything could go wrong and it couldn't begin to ruin our moods or attitudes. I really can't remember the last time I've felt this good.

I NEED A PENGUIN!!

we are here in oamaru...commonly known for being home to the northernmost penguin colony in the world. we have seen penguins (and seals and sea lions) twice now...once last night, here in oamaru, and again today, in moeraki. today we walked out onto a crazy windy peninsula where we found ourselves surrounded by seals, sea lions and yellow eyed penguins. i was in heaven. i am now totally obsessed with penguins and seals...i decided that the penguins love me (one stood next to me for 20 minutes...and crossed the fence that keeps people out and penguins in to be closer to me) and that i have to have one for my new york city apartment. i also want a seal, but i think they are too large to keep in the city. i have been contemplating how i will get my penguin home...more importantly, how i will get it past the flora and fauna check point at the airport. i think carry-on luggage would be most appropriate. wish me luck, and please view the penguin photos...

Rembrandt

So I'm almost used to driving on the left side of the road now. We have a comically colored toothpaste green car named Rembrandt to live out of for the next twenty days. We left Hoon Hay this morning and arrived at Arthur's Pass a few hours ago. It was the most beautiful drive I've ever had. The Ninster was a little nervous, wanted to slow down a few times. Oddly enough, I've never been passed so many times in my life. Hopefully our car will make it till the 31st. A couple of those mountain passes wouldn't have happened without first gear. Anyways, a few minutes ago we returned from the quick hike up to Devil's Punchbowl and happened upon an honor system internet cafe-so here we are trying to upload our photos from the beginning of the trip. They're posting at a rate of about one every fifteen minutes, so you may have to wait until we find faster access to see the rest of ther good ones. Til then, Cheers

we made it!!!

well, we finally made it...the journey was long, but since we slept through most of it, it actually wasn't that bad! shout out to natalie...my feet got SO swollen, and so did zach's! it was like braxton hicks of the feet. does anyone know why that happens?? anyway, they are back to regular size again after excellent sleep.

so we have just spent out first day hanging around in christchurch. we are staying with melissa (she is a friend of ethan's-zach's cousin) at her house in a suburb of the city. she rocks and we got to cook her dinner last night with veggies that she grew in her rocking garden. it was the perfect place to be on our first night in NZ...a little bit vermont, a little bit NZ. today we are exploring the city of christchurch...we went to the botanical gardens....beautiful; the aquarium...super cool. at the aquarium we also got to see kiwi's...(ian that's the bird, not the fruit) they are very fast and very hairy(feathery?). Also checked out an exhibit on Antarctica in the Cantebury Art Museum. Can any Minots remind me which expedition great grandad Gross was on? The Byrd Expedition?

we have learned some great new kiwi vocab thus far...most importantly, how to order coffee! black coffee is called a "long black" and with milk is "flat white." first time i was asked i thought she was inquiring on my eggs...very confusing! we have also determined that in NZ zach is what's called a "petrol head," that means he likes cars a lot. and finally, when you say "that" it's customary to add "then." ex. "do you like that then?"

speaking of petrol heads...we are off to pick up our car now...wish us luck as we learn to drive on the other side of the road!

we'll put up pictures from today in a bit.
ciao!

Brief New York Appearance for Us

And after a three hour delay....we made it to New York! And we had some amazing food at Blue Ribbon. The trip hasn't even begun yet, but being in the city has made me excited to move here when we return. It's busy everywhere here, a serious contrast with life in VT (though the last couple weeks up there don't count). It's 2:45 AM right now. We've just got back to Hunter's apartment in the west village. We have to get a taxi to JFK in an hour. Hope that makes for some killer sleep on our Los Angeles flight. Ha! I suppose that the all-nighter should be easier here in NYC than anywhere else in the world. OK, time for a quick shower before our quick exit. We'll be back in touch when we land in New Zealand. Cheers

welcome to new york

we tried to start the trip about an hour ago....we took the #8 (good luck) benways van to BTV whereupon we found out we are delayed into newark....air traffic in NYC. we will attempt to start the trip again in a few hours....wish us luck!!