Somehow I've let another huge chunk of time slip by since my last post (not "time of chunk," the typo/brainfart my dad was kind enough to point out in one of my previous entries), and a lot has happened since good old March 6th. Since my last post, my dad visited Queenstown, Alexa and I hiked the Routeburn Track, and we've put in our two weeks' notice at Fresh Choice in preparation for our next relocation.
Let's start with my dad's visit. He arrived a day late thanks to a storm in Chicago delaying his flight from Baltimore, and a little bit delirious from all the travel. Fresh off the plane, we headed to Harry's Pool Bar for a few beers and games of pool. Dad might remember it differently since he was so mixed up from spending so much time on a plane, but I beat him fifty games in a row. Straight. Remember: if it's on my blog, it's the truth.
Throughout the week we sampled Queenstown's many touristy offerings, some new to us and some repeats, but all fun. Thursday we took a 4X4 Lord of the Rings tour to Glenorchy, an isolated town located about one and a half hours from Queenstown. It was more about the scenery than the movies, as the guide said he wasn't much of a fan. Not sure how he landed the job if he isn't even a fan of the films, but as a local he did share a variety of local facts and the scenery was, as always, fantastic.
Friday we boarded the TSS Earnslaw, Queenstown's very own steamship from the early 1900's, and rode out to Walter Peak Station, a sheep station on Lake Wakatipu's opposite shore. It doesn't look very far away, but the trip took a considerably long time. Apparently steamboats aren't the quickest way to get around on the water. Since Alexa and I are working and living here in Queenstown, we were able to get a locals' special and the trip included a free BBQ buffet lunch. First all-you-can-eat buffet I've had since leaving the states over seven months ago. It was awesome. We also checked out a brief sheep mustering and shearing demonstration. The ewe did not look happy about the shearing process, despite the farmer's assurances that she was "quite happy" to be rid of the wool. Maybe, but I doubt she'll be happy about being turned into mutton at the end of the year (a fun fact the farmer shared with the audience--for the kids!)
The next day we fulfilled one of my Dad's dreams and went white water rafting. The water levels were lower than when Alexa and I rafted on Boxing Day, and our guide was a bit of a prick, but it was still a lot of fun and we're glad we did it.
Dad's in the front row on the right, and I'm directly behind him. As you can see, the rapids are still quite rough even though the water level has dropped significantly.
Sunday brought work for me and Alexa and souvenir shopping for my Dad, but on Monday we all took the gondola up to Bob's Peak to try out the luge track. At first we weren't sure if Dad would even make it up to the track since he wasn't too thrilled about the chair lift, but in the end it all worked out!
Here's Dad looking extremely nervous (and I'm looking extremely mature) on the chair-lift up to the start of the luge track:
The first time around I reached the bottom of the track first and had to wait about half an hour for Alexa to catch up, and then we both had to wait an additional two hours for my Dad. No exaggeration.
On the second go we weren't quite as spread out. We all met up at the bottom so we could come in for a group photo finish:
I can't decide who's making the best face in that picture. Regardless, we're all looking pretty awesome.
Later on Alexa had to work, but Dad and I took the drive up to Wanaka so he could check out Puzzling World. If you think back to the ancient times (aka December) when Alexa and I were first driving down to Queenstown, you'll remember the place that had the giant maze, crazy illusion rooms, and Roman-style toilets. Yep, that's Puzzling World. Here's Giant Eoin and Little Dad:
I want to do this when Mike's with us. It's a great puzzle in itself: if Mike stood in the tall spot, and I stood in the short spot, what would happen? Would he appear taller than me? Would we be the same height? Or, maybe, just maybe, would he still be shorter? In a few weeks we'll be able to solve one of science's greatest riddles: how to make Mike look tall! I need to stop. I don't think he even reads this, so this is essentially as bad as talking about him behind his back...with an audience. Sorry Mike. But that's what you get for not reading my blog. Gosh.
Anyway, the next day was Tuesday and St. Patrick's Day, and I really don't think any explanation is required. Obviously we spent the day at church learning about St. Patrick, Jesus, and all those other awesome folk. And there was no alcohol involved. At all. Surprisingly enough, the church had a pool table. In the course of the day I once again bested the old man. This time I conquered him in ninety nine out of a hundred games of pool (it was a long day). Not sure how I let that last slip past me. Maybe I just didn't feel right crushing his ego entirely.
And remember: if it's on my blog, it's the truth. I use only the highest level of journalistic integrity for you, my dear readers.
Here we are at the end of the holy day. Clearly no alcohol involved whatsoever.
After leaving the pub church we headed to Winnie's, a local bar/pizzeria for some delicious dinner, then caught a cab home. We crashed pretty quickly: spending St. Patrick's day at a church is more exhausting than you might think. In fact, the exhaustion carried over into the next day and manifested itself in a terrible illness with symptoms not unlike those of a hangover. Very, very strange. Dad managed to make it out of the house before I did and headed downtown for some brunch. After fighting off a crippling headache, I followed an hour later, scarfed down a kebab, and joined Dad for a trip up to Deer Park Heights.
As a quick refresher, Deer Park Heights is where this photo was taken:
Alexa had to work, so unfortunately she couldn't reenact this Kodak moment. Dad got to meet a few alpacas, however. We also saw several deer (including a few stags making their claim over the females as it's "roaring season." If you've never heard a stag "roar," it's freaking weird), miniature ponies, a water buffalo, and more goats than I ever care to see again. It seemed like there were twice as many goats as last time, and every last one of them dedicated their time to sitting nonchalantly in the middle of the road, completely unfazed as I laid on the horn.
Also, what the hell is this alpaca doing? The face he's making is like the face Napoleon Dynamite makes when he's angry:
The next day we woke early, breakfasted at a cafe in town, and headed straight for the airport. The week and a half had flown by quite quickly, and it was time for Dad to make his long, long flight home. Alexa and I bid him farewell and headed back to town without delay. We had no time to dilly-dally, as the next day we were due to start our next adventure...
The Routeburn Track!
The Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks, is a 32 kilometer (3 day) trek through the rain forest and mountains of two national parks, Mt. Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. Only two of the Great Walks cross the border between different parks. Apart from the Routeburn, the other is the Heaphy. Do any of these names mean anything to my American readers? No, probably not. But it's information, and the more of it I spew out the more knowledgeable I can pretend to be. Perfect.
If you think back to Alexa's entry about the Tongariro Crossing, the hike we did in December, you'll remember how much she loved it. And the Tongariro Crossing was only a one day hike, and didn't require heavy backpacks! With a little imagination, then, I'm sure you can guess how Alexa felt about the Routeburn.
But in the end Alexa admitted to having an "okay" time despite her initial misgivings. After all, the Routeburn is 32 km in three days, whereas Tongariro was 21 km in one day. Apart from the first day (which is almost entirely uphill), the Routeburn Track is pretty much a combination of level and downhill walking.
The first day we hiked uphill through the rain forest alongside a river, which gave us great views of several rapids and waterfalls. We spent the night in the Routeburn Falls Hut, which had a balcony overlooking the Routeburn Flats and other areas we'd walked through over the course of the day. The second day started off with climbing up above the treeline and through a long valley. At the halfway point we reached the optional sidetrack up to Conical Hill. It's labeled as an hour to an hour and a half return trip, up the side of a "hill" and back down. Alexa stayed behind and relaxed with our bags while I climbed up the hill. And it certainly was a climb. The trail wasn't well formed, and I spent most of the ascent scrambling over huge rocks and thinking to myself "wow, this is going to suck on the way down." But the 360 degree views of the surround mountains, forest, and valleys made the climb well worth it. Off towards the west, I could see all the way to the Tasman Sea (the body of water between Australia and New Zealand)! Climbing back down Conical Hill did suck as much as I predicted. At one point I slipped on a muddy rock and fell. Fortunately I caught myself. If I hadn't, I would've rolled until I met a rock large enough to stop me, and Alexa and I would've gotten a helicopter ride out of the park.
Once I rejoined Alexa at the bottom, we began our descent towards Lake Mackenzie, site of the second hut. We spent the evening skipping stones and soaking our feet in Lake Mackenzie. A creepy American at the hut gave us directions to a secluded location where we could skinny dip in the lake, but we were quite content with just dipping our feet in. It's an alpine lake, so the water was obviously freezing.
The third and final day began with a very short climb up the opposite side of the valley, and then we once again found ourselves on relatively level ground. We came to Lake Howden around noon and stopped to eat lunch and lounge in the sun for about an hour. From that point we had another short climb, and then a brief 45-minute walk down to the car park where we once again lounged in the sun until the van picked us up.
I think the second day was probably my favorite in terms of scenery. The first picture I posted up top is from that part of the hike. I've included a few more shots in this post, but you can find the rest in my new Facebook album linked on the sidebar to the right, Album Eight: The Routeburn Track.
On that note, I've also updated Album Six: The Journey South and Queenstown, and created Album Seven: Milford Sound, Dunedin, and Dad's Visit, so there are heaps of new pictures for you guys to check out. Have at it!
Lake Mackenzie, site of the second night's hut.
Earland Falls, a little bit before we reached Lake Howden on our last day of hiking.
After returning from the Routeburn, we promptly put our noses back to the grindstone and we've been whiling our time away at Fresh Choice once again. Happily we gave our two weeks' notice last weekend!
My last day of work is Easter Sunday, but Alexa will keep working until Tuesday. Tuesday our third (and final? anyone else fancy a trip to New Zealand?) visitor, my good friend Mike arrives. After spending a few days in Queenstown, Mike will accompany us on our trip all the way back to Picton, across the Cook Straight to Wellington, and then all the way up to the top of the north island where we'll spend our last four months in New Zealand, dropping Mike off at the airport in Auckland along the way. Mike probably gets the best deal, since he gets see the sights on both islands.
Lastly, in two days Alexa and I will go on our final Queenstown-based adventure. Tuesday morning we're catching a coach down to Doubtful Sound, where we're going on an overnight cruise. Doubtful Sound, like Milford Sound, is a huge, remote body of water in the midst of mountains and rain forest. Doubtful sound is a bit further away, though, and is said to be more untouched by man and you have a better chance of seeing wildlife. In fact, our boat is likely to be the only man-made structure we'll see during the course of our cruise. It's supposed to be like a trip back to the Jurassic period (minus the dinosaurs).
Hopefully I'll get a chance to update on that before we leave Queenstown, so keep an eye out for a new post sometime next week. After that we'll be on the road again, so I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to update.
In the meantime, check out the new photo albums and enjoy this little anecdote:
Last Tuesday was the biannual stock take at Fresh Choice. One of my fellow checkout workers, Linda, is not the brightest crayon in the box. In fact, a few of the supervisors have a special hatred for her and her consistent ability to make the same, stupid mistakes over, and over, and over again on a daily basis. When she heard that we had a stock take coming up and attendance was mandatory for all employees, she got excited. Why would anybody in their right mind be excited about having to spend three-four hours tediously counting every item in the shop (including tiny sachets of seasons, packs of soup, boxes of toothpaste--you get the idea)? It turns out she took the phrase "stock take" a little too literally. She thought it was time to clear out old stock, and all the employees got to come in and take whatever they wanted for free! If only.
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