So it's been over 3 weeks since my last post, so my apologies go out to those eagerly awaiting this correspondence. Somewhere in between a slowly accumulating workload, weekend trips, and my New Zealand wine class, I've found myself with little time to sit down and write.
As was indicated by the last post, the first weekend of March featured a trip to Queenstown, fittingly named the Adventure Capital of the World. Very quickly, this town became one of my favorite places on this planet. On the northern banks of Carribean-blue Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is nestled between mountains exploding 6,000 feet from the ground from all directions. Combined with the unrelenting advertisements for skydiving, bungy jumping, heli-skiing, cheap beer and cheap hostels, for a while I could see myself settling down there.
In planning this trip, it was no surprise the suggestion of bungy jumping received a near unanimous answer. The next morning we anxiously signed in and filled out our toe tags (name, age, weight...), which was more than a little morbid. We took a very quiet bus ride 45 minutes past a crew setting up for a CCR concert to the site of the Nevis Bungy Jump. Boasting an 8.5 second freefall, the 440-foot bungy is the highest in Australasia and the 3rd highest in the world. What I've been waiting to do for years was finally happening! Check out some pictures and a video...
Possibly THE highlight of my trip so far, the jump was something I'll never forget. Of course, it would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous, but only leading up to the jump. After leaping off into the canyon, it took me about 2 seconds to comprehend that I was falling at 9.8 m/s/s towards the Earth, but after that a state of zen and near-self actualization overcame me. In stark contrast to the ear-shattering noise of a sky-diving freefall, the bungy freefall was completely and beautifully... silent as I stared down the rapidly-approaching river below. Truly one of the most intense physical, mental, and emotional experiences of my life.
The following day, we awake early and climbed Ben Lomand, a local 5,735-foot mountain, which offered stunning views of Queenstown when the thick clouds briefly parted. Soon enough, we were forced to say goodbye (until next time!) to beautiful Queenstown.
The following weekend I was invited to an overnight hike on the Otago Peninsula, which I had already hiked on. Eager to try out my new camping hammock and make the most of the weather, I went along. The hike turned out to be a lot less strenuous than the last, and included some beach trips, rock climbing, and icy ocean swims. It was a guys weekend, and with my friends Sam, Sam, Matt, and Austin, we had a myriad of in-depth conversations stretching from the biochemical and social basis of beauty, sensory relativity, and the implications of the American family moving further into suburbia.
I was finally able to check off something that had been on my to-do list since even before I left, to see a penguin! After making camp on the beach and starting up a small fire, I ventured further down the beach and took a sunset skinny dip. On my way out of the water, I happened to look up and saw three Yellow-Eyed Penguins urgently waddling back into the sand dunes. I must have scared the little guys!
The next two weekends (leading up to the current one), I made two trips south the the Catlins National Park for some good ol' 'sploring. With two different groups, each trip was different, with one admittedly better than the other. The first (with Jonah, Carly, and Taylor) was intended to be a 2-night excursion of hiking and camping, but turned into one night of the four of us spending the night in the back of our station wagon to elude the hurricane rain and wind that on several occasions shook the car. Thats all that should be said about that.
This past weekend was much better. With my friends Michael, Lexi, and Jill, we rented a car and took off with a very nice weather forecast, which turned out to hold true for just one of the days. Just over two hours from Dunedin, our first stop was the Parakaunui Falls, a brutal 10 minute hike into almost obscenely impassible terrain... just kidding.
We drove on and found Cannibal Bay, which was named after the discovery of human bones in the sand dunes. The bay was beautiful. Soft, white, sand led to some very peculiar rock formations, both of which were juxtaposed by furious waves crashing into the land.
Moving on, we drove a bit further north to Nugget Point, the home of one of the most famous lighthouses on the southern island. We took a 20-minute walk along some high coastline, and could see some seals splashing playfully in the tide pools below. Once the winds picked up, we conceded and headed back to the car.
Just after arriving at our campsite, we were met with a New Zealand police cruiser. Initially, I thought it came for us for taking someone's spot or not paying, but we soon learned it was for something much bigger. I chatted with a fellow camper, and she explained to me that a group of six very drunk teenagers and two dogs had driven their car at high speeds down an embankment, through a river, and onto the beach, where they got stuck. Pretty exciting stuff, but I quickly lost interest when the groan of the heavy machinery that was brought in kept us awake.
The next morning, we drove to Slope Point, known for being the southern-most part of the New Zealand South Island. It turned out to be a great stop and after taking some silly pictures with the sign, Michael and I descended a rather slippery slope to the rocky coast below. Looking out at the relentless swells, I found myself memorializing that moment, which I assumed would be the furthest south I would ever go in my lifetime.
Our next dot on the map was Cathedral Caves, one of the most popular attractions of the Catlins. After paying our $5.00 fee, we took a short hike to the beach and were greeted with the impressive caves. Naturally forming over thousands of years from the pounding of the ocean, some of the caves crept almost a kilometer into the coastline.
Our final stop was McLean falls, another one of many waterfalls in the Catlins. By this point, the forecast for mostly sunny was all but a joke and we were drenched with rain. So when we arrived at the falls, both Michael's and my natural instinct was to take a swim in the water. I've been in some cold water, but this may have been the coldest swim I've ever taken. After cannonballing in, shocks were sent all over my body and I could hardly breathe! But of course, even that didn't stop us from jumping in a few more times.
Thanks for sticking with me though this pretty long post. Next weekend we'll be taking off to Mt. Cook National Park, home of the highest peak in New Zealand. Unfortunately, we won't be hiking it, but I'm sure we'll be trekking through our fair share of snow and ice!
