There's a land far, far away with verdant fields and towering mountains. A land that's home to lucky sheep and lucky people. A land of rainforests and glaciers. A land that serves the world's best hamburger ...
Are you ready to visit a land WAY down under? Yes?
Well, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and cozy up in a sheepskin blanket for a journey far, far away.
Presented in the forever popular picture-n-caption format ...
It's time to go to New Zealand!
Let's begin ... shall we?
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| Banks Peninsula Just over the hill from the hustle and bustle of Christchurch, Banks Peninsula was a perfect landing spot for us to start the adventure. Above, Natalie surveys Lyttleton bay, a shield volcano caldera. The port of Lyttleton in the foreground and Diamond Harbour—where we stayed—across the bay. This caldera, and the larger Akaroa caldera, form Banks Peninsula. Today, the area is less explosive and would be a pretty nice place to live. |
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| The Finger of God (and single-track roads) Prepping for a trip inevitably involves searching the Interwebs for fun and unique places to visit—places that aren't overwhelmed by other adventure seekers or much worse ... Instagram posers! Simon (we took our son along this time) found an attraction on Google Maps named The Finger of God. We navigated our way along a single-track road and there it was. Yep, you're looking at it—a tree stump slightly resembling a finger pointing up. You're welcome! Is there a lesson here? Yes. Find weird things, then name and pin them on Google Maps. It's fun for everyone. Fun fact: For a period of time, a very large pool of water formed at a WinCo grocery store's parking lot here in Boise when it rained heavily. Someone pinned it on Google Maps ... and "Lake WinCo" was born. Google later removed it because the people at Google are no fun. So, get out there and show Google who's boss ... or at least harass them. Later in the day we took another single-track "shortcut" over a very, very large and tall hill. We met one other car on the track, luckily at a switchback corner that allowed us to maneuver past one another without having to back up. The track was super narrow and steep—even losing traction and spinning wheels a few times. Natalie thought it was fun. Natalie was not driving. |
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| Christchurch We had two days in Christchurch. On the first day, there was a wind-swept misty rain soaking everything in its path ... including us. The second day was much better. Christchurch (metro pop. 550,000) is the largest city on the South Island and second largest in New Zealand overall next to Auckland. We had a much better time on the sunny day with plenty of things to see and good things to eat suiting almost any taste. It's very metropolitan. It's easy to visit the Christchurch and forget that, since 2010, it has endured two powerful earthquakes, two large wildfires at the city's edges, and a horrible mass shooting at two mosques that killed scores. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but this city has had a rough go of it. It's clear that the people of Christchurch boast resilience. |
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| Mt. Cook Because I'm not an early riser, Natalie and Simon doubted I could achieve my goal of leaving Twizel by 7:00 a.m. to beat the crowds to Mt. Cook's parking lot, about an hour's drive if you don't stop to take photos. Well, we did leave at 7:00, and I did stop to take photos! By 9:30, we arrived, actually beating most of the crowd. But what a day for hikes in the Mt. Cook area! We took on four hikes and celebrated our success with a coffee and snack at the Mt. Cook Lodge. It was here that Natalie ordered an iced tea. She was rewarded with a cup of hot tea ... and a cup of ice. Apparently, it was make your own iced tea day at Mt. Cook Lodge. Nice! On blue sky days like this one, the companies running sightseeing planes and helicopters go crazy shuttling people up and around the mountain for a view. We thought, "Hey, let's do this; we only live once. Right?" We stopped at the airstrip and inquired. A 25-minute flight was $350 per person. Then we thought, "Hey, let's not do this. Right?" Still, it was a spectacular day at Mt. Cook. |
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| Hello to you too Down the east coast of the South Island, we stopped at Shag Point where, as advertised, there were fur seals! The seals spend time lounging on the rocks, sleeping and otherwise resting. The seal pictured here provided hilarious entertainment for the 6th-grader in all of us: It moved from its slumber spot, wiggled its butt over the edge, pooped, and moved back to the slumber spot. How does a plate of "Today's fresh catch" sound now? Another animal that you won't easily see are the kiwi ... unless you're willing to submit to the kiwis' terms, like going to the right locations, looking for them at dusk or dawn, and being very quiet. Sheesh, New Zealand picked the wrong mascot! But you can purchase all sorts of kiwi-related trinkets in stores. I think that counts as seeing one. So, yes, we saw hundreds of kiwi. The other bird that's endemic to New Zealand is the moa. Ostrich-like, standing up to 10 feet tall and weighing as much as 550 pounds, the moa is really difficult to see in the wild. This is primarily because humans killed them all by 1445 or so. Go humans! |
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| Waterfall tramping Further down the east coast is a series of waterfalls. Pictured here (look closely on the right), Simon and Natalie strike appropriate poses at McLean Falls. We had a bit of a hike to reach each of the falls. Note that hiking here is called "tramping" and trails are called "tracks." So, you tramp on tracks. And, after having reached a certain level of tramping competency, you receive a tramp stamp. We have yet to receive our tramp stamps, but apparently—when it happens—its customary to have the tramp stamp tattooed on your lower back. We can't wait! |
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| Moeraki Boulders The Moeraki Boulders—about an hour north of Dunedin on the east coast—are spherical boulders of mud, fine silt, and clay cemented together by calcite ... up to seven feet in diameter. They're pretty amazing to see up close. What's also amazing is that there are only 50 of these boulders in various states of being buried in sand ... and how many you see is at the whim of the surf. About 20 were up for a view when we visited. What's even more amazing is that there's a large visitor center/store/restaurant built to serve the masses of tourists coming to see the boulders. Being tourists ourselves, we didn't mind so much. After boulder watching, we enjoyed a snack at the restaurant. I don't remember what Simon had, but Natalie had a hokey pokey ... and she liked it! Hey, get your mind out of the gutter ... hokey pokey's an ice cream! I had a chocolate milkshake. This is when I found out that a chocolate shake down under has little to do with ice cream. From what I could tell, it's chocolate milk ... shaken up! Back home on the Interwebs, I learned that, if you want it made with ice cream, you should ask. C'mon, New Zealand! ALWAYS use ice cream! Oh well. Next time, I'll go in for a good ol' hokey pokey with Natalie! |
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| Baldwin Street Some odd things come along on a trip, like this one: Welcome to Baldwin Street in Dunedin, the world's steepest street. Not that long ago, the people of Dunedin had to defend the street's steepness status, but they prevailed, and with the Guinness World Records' nod, it remains the steepest! Getting to the top of Baldwin Street is a hike, and tourist cars are not permitted to drive up and down it. However, such restrictions don't stop people from doing other things, like:
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| Milford Sound: Fat lip and a stick tip! There's probably nothing more iconic in New Zealand than the image of Mitre Peak at Milford Sound in Fiordland. Looming 5,500 feet above the sea lapping at its base, it's a big mountain. Like our day at Mt. Cook, we enjoyed unbelievably good weather, especially considering I had booked our Milford Sound day cruise months in advance. We learned before our trip began that sandflies love to hang out at the sound and bite people, so we came prepared with the appropriate repellant. We parked, climbed out of the car, and before I could finish applying repellant, my upper lip began to swell. "Curse you, you stupid ugly sandfly!" Fat lip and all, we had time before the cruise to walk about and take photos. At one point, I veered off to take a photo and said, "I'll be right back." At that moment I stepped on a long stick that flipped up, with its tip running ... with some vigor ... up my outer right thigh. I tumbled to the ground while simultaneous shouting, "Fliberty-flu-darn it all to gosh!" There's no recording of my exclamation, but I'm pretty sure that's what I said. I got over it—and my fat lip did recede—before our cruise. It was only later that my injury showed its true colors, six inches of angry crimson stripes running up my thigh, surrounded by an oval of purple and yellow bruising. "Curse you, you stupid beach stick!" |
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| Milford Sound The cruise? It was a blast! The scenery of the fiords (Kiwis spell it "fiord") was really something to see on a sunny afternoon after the rains the day before. The smaller boat we booked was able to get up close and personal with the towering rock walls and waterfalls, and along the way, we saw fur seals and a Fiordland crested penguin! (yep, just one penguin) Fun fact: Milford Sound has served as a backdrop for a number of movies including Mission: Impossible - Fallout, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Willow, and of course, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. |
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| You gotta get a Fergburger!!! Have you noticed that there are people who post pictures suggesting what you must see AND eat when visiting any location you can think of? And then there are people who see these pictures and make great effort to see and eat what the picture-posters suggested! Losers! I'm glad I don't fall victim to that manipulation. So, I was researching what to see and eat in New Zealand, and I noted multiple references to Fergburger in Queenstown. These references warned of long lines but insisted the burgers were worth the effort. Fergburger in downtown Queenstown opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes at 2:30 a.m. As you can see, there's a very long line, but it moved pretty quickly. And OMG! The burgers really are that good! |
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| Fergburger Don't let the fresh, crispy leaf lettuce fool you! The shy but delicious Fergburger, all dressed up in special sauce and melted cheese, is ready to come out and jump in your belly! I think you should book a flight to Queenstown right now and enjoy a Fergburger immediately upon landing! There's a good chance they'll be open! Fun fact: Tipping is not a thing in New Zealand (neither is using cash). This makes a huge difference when trying local cuisine. Our three deluxe burgers—with a large order of fries to share—was US$40! The current exchange rate helped a lot in this calculation, but still ... go get a Fergburger!* *As of this writing, neither Todd Chavez nor his representatives have received compensation for promotional references to Fergburger. But change is within your grasp. With just two minutes of your time, you can contact the wonderful people at Fergburger and tell them that Todd is their greatest champion in the Americas and that they should sponsor his TourAlongWithTodd travel blog! |
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| Surprise! We were in Queenstown for one day. After enjoying Fergburgers, we headed to Skyline Queenstown! At Skyline, we rode the gondola up the ski hill and then rode luge-like go-karts back down. Our ticket bought us six runs ... kind of spendy but a ton of fun on a sunny summer day. We enjoyed racing each other and reached frightening speeds with extraordinary precision. In fact, I'm still miffed that a Formula 1 team hasn't reached out to us yet. Weeks before, back in Boise, Simon chatted with a coworker and learned that he too was traveling to New Zealand when we would be there, but alas, our itineraries didn't overlap. After a run or two, and back in line for the next gondola ride up, a voice shouted, "Simon, no way!" And there was Simon's coworker, Gabe! His plans changed somewhere along the way, and there you have it. It is a small world after all. |
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| Sheep, where do they go? There are 24 million sheep on New Zealand, and that's down from 70 million just over 40 years ago. It's pretty hard not to see sheep. But where do New Zealand's sheep go when ... well, you know ... their time is up? You'd think that New Zealanders would be throwing lamb shanks and balls of sheep-wool yarn at every passerby. These did not happen, and we saw no effort to promote buying things derived from sheep at grocery stores or otherwise. Turns out, New Zealand sheep, alive (lambs) or in pieces and parts, are sent primarily to Asia, and then everywhere else. Baaa! We took many pictures of New Zealand sheep and learned one thing: You have to look like you're NOT going to take their picture and then, at the very last moment, swing around and snap the shot! If they have ANY sense that you're a sheep paparazzi, you'll end up with an image filled with sheep butts as they run away from you. Stealth is the name of the game. |
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| Three-legged lamb Lamb shank was on the menu a few times ... and I did what I could to keep the number of three-legged lambs increasing! So much MEAT! I'm pretty sure they let the three-legged ones live as an act of compassion. Besides, you can't put three-legged lambs on boats to send to distant lands; they'd tip over every time there's a big wave! Baaa! |
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| Wanaka Tree The Wanaka Tree started out as a live willow branch used as a fence post at Lake Wanaka. The post sprouted, the rest of the fence went away, and today you have the Wanaka Tree! And THEN, the Interwebs got on board with the tree as a "thing," resulting in the Wanaka Tree being photographed ... a lot! And there we were, walking as fast as we could along Lake Wanaka to get to the tree while the setting sun's light was still on it. We made it ... and we got the shot with a pied cormorant stretching its wings to boot! |
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| Wildwire! Here, Simon and Natalie are without a care in the world ... swinging on swings. Earlier in the day, things had been very different ... when they were perched perilously high above the valley floor! Wildwire is one of maybe two established via ferrata climbing areas in New Zealand. A 30-minute drive from Wanaka, Wildwire's route didn't look like much from the ground, just another steep rocky mountain gully with a waterfall or two. 1,000 feet above the valley later, Wildwire was a true highlight of the trip. The next few photos take you along for the climb. |
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| Highwire walker Simon negotiating the somewhat damp highwire. Yes, there are guidewires for the arms and hands, but it's a pretty narrow and bouncy cable to walk on! |
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| From dry to soaked in five seconds or less! The mid-cliff water-crossing was pretty straightforward, but we were so glad it was a sunny day because the waterfall's gale force mist took us from dry to soaked in about five seconds, seriously! |
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| It gets steep! There were moments when it got really steep ... and that seemed just fine with Natalie! |
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| Smile for the camera Simon shows the cliff who's boss. He warned the cliff about his terrifying Chuck Norris roundhouse kick ... The cliff was smart. It backed off. |
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| Getting high A family that gets high together, stays together. Wait, what did I say? Why are there police knocking at my door!? NOTE: In the photo, Brian, from Canada, was our other climbing mate. |
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| Phil Phil—hailing from the UK—was a great guide. She had a confident, relaxing style about her. |
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| Where glacier meets jungle It seems out of place because hiking through a temperate rainforest is not where you'd expect to catch glimpses of Fox Glacier's tongue descending from alpine peaks looming above. But there it was. This time we were on the west side of the Southern Alps, while just two weeks earlier we had been on the east side of the range. The "as the crow flies" distance from there to here? Just 16 miles. To drive around the range from point to point? 285 miles over 6 hours. Crows are lucky. |
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| Gollum We were never on the hunt for filming locations used in the Lord of The Rings movies ... though some fans make a New Zealand pilgrimage doing just that. But we didn't hesitate to stop when we saw Gollum perched atop the Otira Stagecoach Hotel in Arthur's Pass National Park. The Otira was established in 1865 as a stop for stagecoaches and later for rail service spurred on by gold mining. When we entered the hotel, we were overwhelmed by the hundreds of crazy odd knick-knacks. This collection obsession has paid off ... they were doing pretty good business when we stopped in for a snack and a look. By golly Gollum, you got us! |
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| Christmas in another land It's Nov. 29 and the Christmas season is well underway down under. Lacking Thanksgiving, there's nothing to get in the way the season's celebrations, like the 31st annual Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park. Nothing says "peace on earth, goodwill to men" than an ice-cold Coke! Kidding aside, this was a fun, chillaxing evening event in Christchurch's Hagley Park, taking place on the last night of our New Zealand odyssey. |
And there you go, three weeks exploring New Zealand's South Island. We had a great time, hiked a lot, saw many sheep butts as they ran away from our cameras, climbed cliffs, witnessed waterfalls, marveled at mountains, and enjoyed Fergburgers.
Go ... explore, and find your Fergburger.* You'll be glad you did!
*Change is STILL within your reach! Take a moment to contact the wonderful people at Fergburger and tell them that Todd humbly remains their greatest champion in the Americas and looks forward to a long and fruitful sponsorship.
And now, a BONUS
Pictures! ... and I want to share them with you!
The blog post tells one part of the story ... the photo album fills in the rest. They go hand in hand.
Each photo includes a brief caption so you know what you're looking at.
Here's how to make the most of viewing the photo album:
- Click this link to access the album.
- When the album displays,
click the Play slideshow icon in the upper right corner.
- As soon as the slideshow
begins to play, click the Pause slideshow icon at the lower center (you can also click the Full screen button to maximize the image size on your screen).
- Now you can advance the
slideshow—at your own pace, image by image—using the right or left arrows at the bottom center of
the screen.
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