Napier - Land of Culinary Delights

We’ve been blessed to have had many great trips thus far in New Zealand. We ran into a few challenges on our most recent adventure. Our first stop was supposed to be Gisborne on the eastern coast of the North Island. It is a substantial drive from Auckland of over 6 hours. Ninety minutes from Gisborne we reached a "Do Not Proceed" barrier covering half the road. You would think they would post some warning signs further back to let us know this was coming. Either we were blind or they weren't there. At this point, we had two options: (1) backtrack an hour and then take another 4-5 hour detour to Gisborne or (2) take a chance and continue down the road as it looked fine in front of us and other cars had gone around the barrier. Given it was already early evening and we didnt want to travel much longer, we opted to take a chance with #2. Epic fail, 45 min later the road was completely blocked by a landslide. Ended up staying in a tiny motel in a little town with two options for dinner, the gas station or a chinese/fish and chips takeaway. Always makes me nervous when a shop sells both chinese and fish and chips... usually neither choices are appetizing! We picked up granola bars from the gas station... so filling! New Zealand, we love you, but you need to get some better detour signage.

The next day we skipped Gisborne and headed to Napier. This area, known as Hawkes Bay, is also the second largest wine region in New Zealand after Malborough. There were plenty of places to taste and drink the local specialties. We visited: a chocolate shop, honey center, an awesome Indonesian restaurant, and several vineyards.

We also visited Te Mata, a mountain providing for amazing views of the countryside even on a mostly cloudy day. Napier has an abundance of Art Deco architecture. An earthquake leveled the city in 1931 and all the new buildings were built in the Art Deco style. Unfortunately we didn’t get great pictures of Napier due to some inclement weather.

Reinaker's Guest Post - New Zealand Adventures

Matt Reinaker becomes our first guest blogger as he highlights his time in NZ:

Eric and Dana were kind enough not only to let me guest-post but to play host and tour guide (exceptionally!) for my entire two week visit to New Zealand. So I want to begin by thanking both of them for their hospitality. You guys made the trip for me and I can’t thank you enough for it. If anyone is considering a visit, you will not be disappointed! Plus, I literally paid for not one thing while I was there, such is the extent of their generosity.

Eric already detailed some of the trip but here are a few more highlights:

1) Mountain biking on Queen Charlotte Track. I was relatively (read: completely) new to mountain biking so this was a real baptism by fire for me. Twenty miles through some steep climbs and very technical terrain. I admit, the ride definitely stopped being fun at a few points, but as with all experiences that take you outside of your comfort zone, it was well worth the effort. Plus, I was rewarded with a few stops at beautiful, tranquil beaches and some spectacular views along the way, which helped keep my mind off the fact that I was close to being killed at any given moment. At no point, however, was I closer than when I actually mountain-biked off the mountain and into a tree, which was the only thing preventing me from plummeting into the lake below. Hines saved my life at this point by heroically pulling me to safety. (In actuality, I really just slipped off the track but we still celebrated my survival afterwards with several Monteith’s apiece!) And to show my thanks I beat him severely at darts that evening.



The cow was blocking the path and snorting at us. Take that cow.

2) Hiking the Franz Josef Glacier. Overall, we completely lucked out with the weather in New Zealand. We dodged the rain all four days of the Milford Track Hike, for example, and even the guides commented on how rare an occurrence that was. At Franz Josef, however, New Zealand’s infamous rain finally caught up to us. The entire area was bathed in a dense fog and heavy drizzle, which pelted us throughout the hike. But even this added to the experience as the fog slowly revealed the glacier, giving it an aura of mystery as we approached. The hike took us along a river and our tour guide joked that if any of us fell in, he wasn’t coming to save us. We thought it was a joke, at least, until we got a closer look – the water was moving so fast, any rescue attempt would have been pointless. He also gave us some interesting facts about the area, including one little nugget that the area experiences an 8.0 or higher magnitude earthquake every 200 years. The last one? Mid-1700s. He also noted that seismic activity in the area has been pretty minimal recently, indicating tension is building and a powerful quake could be occurring in the near future.

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The density of the compacted ice gave it this impressive blue color

3) Hoodoos on the River – On one of our driving days, we went through the Haast Pass that had about 15 scenic points along the way. We stopped at a few to check out the sights and one of them surprised us with scores of these little rock stackings called “hoodoos”. Stacking them is a meditation exercise and, as you can see, many of their creators obviously had very clear minds.

4) Climbing Mt. Tongariro - having already conquered earth (Milford hike), water (Franz Josef) and air (bungy jump) we figured the trip wouldn't be complete without conquering fire, as well. And what better way to conquer fire than climbing Mt. Doom? (Technically, Mt. Tongariro is only NEXT TO the mountain used as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies, but for some reason everyone referred to it as the one.) Eric and I quickly learned that fire would be the last thing that mountain represented as the conditions at the top were so cold and windy, the guides were giving hypothermia warnings. Intense fog also severely restricted our visibility - clearly "fire" was giving us a good fight! But we soldiered on, made it through steep and rocky terrain, and enjoyed beautiful scenery on our way down. Fire challenge complete.

Running for a Great Cause

My cousin, Victoria Hines, is running the Boston Marathon on April 16th. She is a student at Northeastern University and is preparing to tackle Boston as her first marathon, running for a cause that is very close to my heart.

Victoria and Heather at our Wedding

You'll have to ask Victoria what she's doing here

She is running for The Michael Lisnow Respite Center in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The Respite Center, known as the ‘Big House’ by my sister Heather and others, describes itself as ‘a place that provides emotional and physical support for individuals with disabilities and their families.’. I can tell you it means much more than that to Heather. After those with disabilities finish with the public school system at age 22, there are limited opportunities for them. Thanks to generous donations, the Respite Center operates as a place where they can go for the day, and sometimes overnight, to work on life skills. Often, they are able to gain employment in the community as a result. Since Heather has been going to the Respite Center, her communication skills and independence have dramatically improved. The entire group is like a second family to her.  It’s an amazing place. There are people of all ages and various disabilities and you’ll find a warm smile from everyone you meet there.

Check out the website to read more about the history and the programs the Respite Center provides as I’ve only scratched the surface: http://hopkintonrespite.com/index.htm  

If you’ve met Heather, you undoubtedly have experienced her warmth and big smile. If you haven’t, I think you’ll get a little sense of her spirit through these pictures:

Heather and I in Sedona



Heather showing off her biking skills

Dana and Heather at Bryce Canyon

Heather and friends from the Respite Center

Heather racing with Doug Flutie versus Drew Bledsoe and a friend. 

Heather and Eunice Kennedy Shriver (founder of the Special Olympics)

The Respite Center is allocated 65 official entries as a local charity in the Boston Marathon every year. The first $75,000 raised by the runners is matched by EMC2, a very generous global data storage company that happens to be headquartered in Hopkinton. EMC2 has donated $1 Million to the Respite Center over the past 12 years.

Dana and I have made a contribution. We hope some of you may also find this great cause worthy for your donation. Here is the link to Victoria’s fundraising page:

http://www.razoo.com/story/Victoria4respite

The blog is also going to make a contribution. The site allows us to put ads up on the side column. We will be doing this and donating any proceeds to the cause. So visit the blog often……just by clicking on A Visit To Tomorrow, you’ll be funding a good cause.

Thanks for your generosity!

Milford Track - Day 4

After three days on the track, we were ready to complete the journey and find ourselves a shower and real food. While there were plenty of beautiful spots on the way, we were focused on making it to the end at Sandfly Point to catch our 2 pm boat back to civilization. We counted down the remaining kilometres and our legs and backs were relieved when we finished the 14 km for day 4. We made it in plenty of time and congratulated all of the new friends we made on the trail. There was a heart-warming finish for the two oldest hikers in our group. One gentleman was 70 and the other in his late 60’s, both visiting New Zealand from Wales. Flashing big smiles and optimism, these guys were checking the Milford Track off their bucket list. The 70 year old had recently been skydiving with his daughter! They lugged huge packs along the trail just as all the younger hikers had and were clearly struggling with the distance on the last day. Though they left the last hut much earlier, we passed them half way through the day. It seemed uncertain whether they would be able to get to the boat in time. Just before launch, they emerged from the wilderness exhausted but with huge smiles. The group on the boat erupted in applause for them... a fitting end!                                           

The boat dropped us off at the Milford Sound, and we took a cruise. It felt fantastic to take the packs off, grab a drink, sit down and enjoy the scenery. After a two hour bus ride back to Te Anau, we took showers and devoured hamburgers at a wild west themed restaurant (that played country music and had nascar on TV for a little American nostalgia). “The Finest Walk in the World” – Compete. Just challenging enough, perfect weather, unbelievable sights, and new friends. Couldn’t ask for much more.  

Milford Track Day 3

Day 3 of the Milford Track is the highlight of the walk and also the most difficult, as you to scale the peak at MacKinnon Pass and then hike all the way back down to sea level. We had 14 km ahead of us and headed out fairly early. The day started off cloudy and the first few hours were straight up hill through fog. Having already hiked 21.5 km the previous two days, the 30 lb packs we were lugging up the mountain began to feel a little heavy. After about an hour and a half, the path gets increasingly steep as it zigzags upwards. Just as we began to doubt whether all this
effort would be rewarded, we looked up and peeking through the clouds was the top of a mountain. It was a mystical and breathtaking sight.



This was our first glimpse



Dana emerging from the clouds



We made it to MacKinnon Pass at the perfect time, as the sun was out and the clouds were beginning roll away. From what we hear, this is a rare event at the peak given that it rains 300 days a year and the peak is often under significant cloud cover. To say it was an incredible view is an understatement. The pictures help to tell the story, but check out the videos to get the 360 degree perspective.

McKinnon Pass is noted to have best toilet view in Fiordland. Think that might not be enough credit…..Anyone found a better toilet view in the world?

Videos:

View at the top. Note it is really windy! Yes, that is snow up there and it’s summer in NZ.
http://youtu.be/Ikap-n6E9-k

Reinaker went for a quick dip at the little pond at the top. Given that it was 40 degrees and windy, this was an insane idea (others laughing in the background felt the same). He dried off quickly, changed clothes and said he felt great afterwards. Gauging from his reaction…..the water was pretty cold. I certainly wasn’t tough enough to do the same.

http://youtu.be/FI6iAtKsV4I 

That wasn’t the end of the fun and adventure for day three. We headed down the mountain which is actually tougher on the legs than going up. We passed some beautiful sights on the way down. There is an optional 1.5 hour trip to Sutherland falls a few km before the hut. After hiking 6 hours, it was a tough decision to tack on an extra hike at this point. However we heard that it was the longest waterfall in New Zealand and you could walk behind it, so we left our packs on the trail and took the detour (much easier hiking without having to lug 30 lb packs with us!).

The waterfall was well worth the extra hike. The pictures can’t capture the true height, but it was intensely powerful. There was spray from the waterfall reaching a couple hundred feet away. Checking out the pool of water below the waterfall, it wasn’t really swim worthy as it couldn’t have been more than a foot deep. And this wasn’t a waterfall that you wanted to be directly under. I’m pretty sure that would kill a person. However Reinaker and I walked along the rocks and stood directly behind the waterfall. It was like being in a hurricane. Water was pelting you from all directions,with insanely loud and powerful winds and you could barely see with all the water coming at you. This description probably doesn’t sound appealing to most of you…..but it was awesome.At certain points there was so much water around that I would look in a certain direction and my vision had a circular rainbow. Not just a half circle rainbow, but a full 360 degrees rainbow wherever I looked. Maybe someone that knows science can explain that one.      

          

After our long adventure, we cooked up our last dinner on the trail. I was exhausted and declined any socializing, hitting the pillow sometime around 7 pm.

Milford Track Day 1 & 2

The slogan for Milford Track is “the finest walk in the world”, which is no doubt high praise. The hike is all within Fiordland National Park in the southwest portion of the South Island. The full hike is 53.5 km (33.5 miles) over 4 days and ascends from sea level to 1,154 meters at the top of McKinnon Pass and then back down to sea level. After getting the bungy jumping out of our system, we hit the grocery store to fill up our packs with food and prepare for our journey.

 Just to get to the start of the track is a journey. We started early in the morning in Queenstown and took a bus ride to Te Anau, then jumped on another bus to catch a boat which dropped us off at the start of the track, deep into Fiordland. There isn’t much at the start, simply a dock for the boat to stop at and a sign signifying that this truly was the beginning of the Milford Track.



From the boat heading towards start of track



Drop off point, there is no going back from here

The first day’s walk is short, only taking around an hour and a half to reach the hut on the first night. There were two separate huts in different locations with undoubtedly different accommodations. We passed the glade hut which is where the guided walkers stayed. It reeked of luxury compared to the simple accommodations of the commoners hut that didn’t have guides. They had real beds, cooked meals, and hot showers. We had sleeping bags, ramen noodles and no showers. Plus the guided hikers were easy to pick out with their tiny backpacks and dorky name tags.



Dana in front of our first hut



The hiking portion of the first day is flat and for the most part we walked beside a river. As everyone is enthusiastic for the trip, we kept up a good tempo and made it to the hut a little quicker than anticipated. Once you’ve settled at the hut there really isn’t much to do. Your options are to cook and eat, or play cards. We played cards, cooked, ate, and then played some more cards.

There are rangers at each of the huts, and the ranger at the first one had an interactive night time tour showing us glowworms living underneath a rock. He also took us to the helicopter pad for a great view of the night sky. He pointed out the Southern Cross and other constellations, throwing around amazing stats about how far away certain stars and galaxies are. Don’t know if it was the wilderness setting or what, but I have never seen the night sky so clear.  

Day number two was a 16.5 km hike that started out flat and then started to climb elevation in the last few kilometres. The morning was a little cloudy, but the clouds moved out fairly quickly. The scenery was similar to what I saw in the Milford Sound with my parents, but instead of being in a boat, we were walking in a valley. There were some amazing views and plenty of waterfalls! We left my camera home and brought our small point and shoot, but still got some wonderful photos.

After the long hike, you are naturally starving, so you go through the same routine from the night before. At this point, you’re getting to know your fellow hikers pretty well. Almost all were foreigners and the ages ranged from the early 20s to 70. Germans, Australians, Israelis, Welsh, Dutch, Australians, and fellow Americans were represented (probably more nationalities as well….).