Hi everyone,
Just a quick update:
We finished the Routeburn track yesterday. We had great weather (no rain at all!) and the track was amazing.
Tomorrow we are starting the Milford track. The Milford track is world-famous and we had to book in in October to get a spot (only 50 people can start per day). A lot of people that we met on the Routeburn were pretty jealous that we got a spot on the Milford. So, needless to say, we are pretty excited.
We were pretty busy today with driving from Queenstown to Te Anau (where the Milford starts), unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking for the next tramp (and spending a little time enjoying the sunny weather).
The Milford takes 4 days, so you will get all of your photos after that.
Buh-bye,
Erin
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Photos: Lake Tekapo to Queenstown
Driving from Christchurch to Mt Cook, we stopped at Lake Tekapo for lunch.
Here are pictures.
Between Mt Cook and Queenstown:
Today we did a day hike near Queenstown. A few pics from that excursion.
And this is our hostel room:
Here are pictures.
Between Mt Cook and Queenstown:
Today we did a day hike near Queenstown. A few pics from that excursion.
And this is our hostel room:
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| From Jay and Erin's Excellent Adventure! |
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Hi from Queenstown!
Today we made the drive from Mount Cook to Queenstown. Today it's STILL the same lousy weather we've been getting since Friday. It was rainy and ugly this morning so we didn't do the hike at Mt Cook—there'd be nothing to see anyhow.
The drive was nice and scenic though. And never boring, what with all its winding about.
Erin thinks Queenstown is like Banff—on steroids. I can agree to that.
The hostel here is nice. It's on the lake, and our room – the best room in the building, we think – has a balcony that overlooks the lake. Sweet as...
Tomorrow's a day off (might do a day hike with some good elevation and a view), and the day after that we start our first tramp: Routeburn Track. Hoorah!
Expect photos from our journey to Queenstown via Mt Cook perhaps tomorrow?
Laters
The drive was nice and scenic though. And never boring, what with all its winding about.
Erin thinks Queenstown is like Banff—on steroids. I can agree to that.
The hostel here is nice. It's on the lake, and our room – the best room in the building, we think – has a balcony that overlooks the lake. Sweet as...
Tomorrow's a day off (might do a day hike with some good elevation and a view), and the day after that we start our first tramp: Routeburn Track. Hoorah!
Expect photos from our journey to Queenstown via Mt Cook perhaps tomorrow?
Laters
Neato.
I added this gadget thing that puts my web albums on the side of the page here ---->
And it auto-slideshows. NEEEAT.
And it auto-slideshows. NEEEAT.
Christchurch pics
Hey folks
Sorry, I meant to upload these last night but the intrnet conked out. Here ya go.
CHRISTCHURCH GALLERY
A sample of what's inside!
Captain Cook!
Robert Falcon Scott (antarctic explorer)
Inside the cathedral
And outside
Flowers from the botanic garden
Sorry, I meant to upload these last night but the intrnet conked out. Here ya go.
CHRISTCHURCH GALLERY
A sample of what's inside!
Captain Cook!
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| From Christchurch |
Robert Falcon Scott (antarctic explorer)
 |
| From Christchurch |
Inside the cathedral
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| From Christchurch |
And outside
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| From Christchurch |
Flowers from the botanic garden
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| From Christchurch |
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Christchurch - Mt. Cook
Hi everybody,
Just a quick update:
Yesterday we spent most of the day stocking up on supplies (about $300 NZ in food (yikes!)) and getting our food and equipment organized for traveling...pretty uneventful, it was pouring rain so it was a perfect day to spend organizing.
Today was much more interesting. We left Christchurch (we are both happy to get out of the city, neither of us are really city-lovers) and drove to Mt. Cook Village (about 320km). This was our first experience on NZ highways and it was a really fun drive. The roads are quite hilly and windy, and it is rare if you can see more than 250m ahead; quite a contrast to Alberta's highways. Even though it was overcast and a bit foggy in places, the scenery was really beautiful: rolling hills, green pastures, rivers, streams and waterfalls, and, of course, plenty of sheep (there were also a lot of cows). We stopped to eat lunch at Lake Tekapo, a beautiful turquoise lake, and then continued on to Mt. Cook Village. We are staying at a hostel in the village at the base of Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. As it is cloudy right now, I haven't really seen said mountain, but the valley here is beautiful nonetheless. It has been raining for a few days here, so it seems like everyone at the hostel has cabin fever. Tomorrow morning we plan to brave the rain and do a one-hour hike to Kea point, which is supposed to give great views of Mt. Cook. After the hike, we are going to head to Queenstown for two nights before we embark on our first tramp.
I am sure that everyone is much more interested in Jay's pictures from Christchurch, so ta-ta for now,
Erin
Just a quick update:
Yesterday we spent most of the day stocking up on supplies (about $300 NZ in food (yikes!)) and getting our food and equipment organized for traveling...pretty uneventful, it was pouring rain so it was a perfect day to spend organizing.
Today was much more interesting. We left Christchurch (we are both happy to get out of the city, neither of us are really city-lovers) and drove to Mt. Cook Village (about 320km). This was our first experience on NZ highways and it was a really fun drive. The roads are quite hilly and windy, and it is rare if you can see more than 250m ahead; quite a contrast to Alberta's highways. Even though it was overcast and a bit foggy in places, the scenery was really beautiful: rolling hills, green pastures, rivers, streams and waterfalls, and, of course, plenty of sheep (there were also a lot of cows). We stopped to eat lunch at Lake Tekapo, a beautiful turquoise lake, and then continued on to Mt. Cook Village. We are staying at a hostel in the village at the base of Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. As it is cloudy right now, I haven't really seen said mountain, but the valley here is beautiful nonetheless. It has been raining for a few days here, so it seems like everyone at the hostel has cabin fever. Tomorrow morning we plan to brave the rain and do a one-hour hike to Kea point, which is supposed to give great views of Mt. Cook. After the hike, we are going to head to Queenstown for two nights before we embark on our first tramp.
I am sure that everyone is much more interested in Jay's pictures from Christchurch, so ta-ta for now,
Erin
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Christchurch
Hello everybody,
We had a pretty eventful day today. In the morning, we picked up our rental car and had our first experience driving on the left hand side of the road. Well, I should say that Jay did the driving and I had my first experience navigating. Jay did really well and his biggest problem was not turning into oncoming traffic, which is something that I was scared that I would do, but turning on the windshield wiper instead of the signal light (they are on the wrong side of the wheel). We made back from the rental place to downtown Christchurch safely and were ready to park for the day when we found out that the hostel had no parking spaces left. The hostel staff recommended a few areas that have free parking, but all of the spots were taken. We ended up circling around downtown for about an hour before we gave up and parked in a residential area that is a twenty minute walk from the hostel. Needless to say, Jay got plenty of driving practice and I am happy to report that no tears were shed in the process. Hopefully the car will still be there in the morning :).
After the parking fiasco, we did a tour of Christchurch's main tourist attractions. We toured the famous Christchurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square, and the original grounds of the Canterbury University. The buildings had very impressive architecture and beautiful stained glass. The highlight of my day was visiting Christchurch's massive botanical gardens – everything was green and lush and in full bloom. There was a beautiful rose garden at the center that had hundreds of roses (I thought I would mention that to make my mom jealous). On the way back from the botanical gardens, we checked out the Canterbury Museum, which had a large assortment of displays about everything from Antarctica to dinosaurs and everything in between.
I think we are pretty much packed in for the night now. Tomorrow we are planning on stocking up on food and supplies for hiking, so we will be navigating through the city once again, which should be an interesting adventure.
Cheers,
Erin
We had a pretty eventful day today. In the morning, we picked up our rental car and had our first experience driving on the left hand side of the road. Well, I should say that Jay did the driving and I had my first experience navigating. Jay did really well and his biggest problem was not turning into oncoming traffic, which is something that I was scared that I would do, but turning on the windshield wiper instead of the signal light (they are on the wrong side of the wheel). We made back from the rental place to downtown Christchurch safely and were ready to park for the day when we found out that the hostel had no parking spaces left. The hostel staff recommended a few areas that have free parking, but all of the spots were taken. We ended up circling around downtown for about an hour before we gave up and parked in a residential area that is a twenty minute walk from the hostel. Needless to say, Jay got plenty of driving practice and I am happy to report that no tears were shed in the process. Hopefully the car will still be there in the morning :).
After the parking fiasco, we did a tour of Christchurch's main tourist attractions. We toured the famous Christchurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square, and the original grounds of the Canterbury University. The buildings had very impressive architecture and beautiful stained glass. The highlight of my day was visiting Christchurch's massive botanical gardens – everything was green and lush and in full bloom. There was a beautiful rose garden at the center that had hundreds of roses (I thought I would mention that to make my mom jealous). On the way back from the botanical gardens, we checked out the Canterbury Museum, which had a large assortment of displays about everything from Antarctica to dinosaurs and everything in between.
I think we are pretty much packed in for the night now. Tomorrow we are planning on stocking up on food and supplies for hiking, so we will be navigating through the city once again, which should be an interesting adventure.
Cheers,
Erin
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We made it
Hiya everybody,
What a long trip! It was something like 27+ hours on planes and in airports. I was about to go CRAZY but I don't think I did...
Anyway, we are safe and sound in Christchurch. Today was all about recuperating. Did you know that you used to require a letter of recommendation from your church back in the city's early days in order to live here? It's true!
Did you ALSO know that this is supposed to be the most English NZ city? Well maybe it is, but it's still very kiwi in my estimation. It does have some great Olde Style architecture though. And so far it looks very beautiful!
Tomorrow we'll be exploring the city more, check out the parks, snap some photos etc. We'll also get our car tomorrow.
Cheers!
What a long trip! It was something like 27+ hours on planes and in airports. I was about to go CRAZY but I don't think I did...
Anyway, we are safe and sound in Christchurch. Today was all about recuperating. Did you know that you used to require a letter of recommendation from your church back in the city's early days in order to live here? It's true!
Did you ALSO know that this is supposed to be the most English NZ city? Well maybe it is, but it's still very kiwi in my estimation. It does have some great Olde Style architecture though. And so far it looks very beautiful!
Tomorrow we'll be exploring the city more, check out the parks, snap some photos etc. We'll also get our car tomorrow.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Plan
Okay, Internet! Here is the plan!
We are leaving Edmonton on Monday February 16, and, four flights later, we will arrive in Christchurch, NZ on Wednesday, February 18. We have booked our first three nights in a hostel in Christchurch so that we can overcome jet lag, pick up our rental car, and get some supplies. We will then head west to Queenstown, which sounds like NZ`s equilvalent to Banff. We will probably spend a few weeks in the Queenstown area, as it is known for its spectacular hiking, before heading south to Stewart Island. These plans are pretty flexible, depending on how distracted or engrossed we get with things along the way.
Right now we are p-p-p-packing and it is f-f-f-fun. Our living room is full of camping equipment and clothes. Tomorrow we are going to try and stuff it all in our luggage and not forget anything. Yaaay.
That is about it for now. Please comment and keep in touch along the way!
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