I love countries that are full of surprises; countries that tempt you to explore them simply by existing somewhere in the back of your mind. Before coming to New Zealand, I knew a fair bit about the country, had heard wonderful things about the places I planned to visit and, like most of the world, had seen its stunning scenery in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. What I didn’t realize, however, is that every inch of this tiny country at the bottom of the world had something exceptional to share with me, some way of challenging me, and a uniqueness that made me appreciate the entire country with a whole new sense of wonder. New Zealand is unlike any other country on Earth.
Having just spent the last year living in Australia, I’d encountered many travelers who were either heading to New Zealand, or had just been. While I was planning my move to Australia, I assumed that I’d have time to zip over and “do” the much smaller country of New Zealand while I was there. This was a huge misconception on two parts: 1. Australia alone can not be done in one year. 2. New Zealand may be small, but its offerings are colossal.
So instead of heading back to Canada as planned, I decide to move from Australia to New Zealand. I manage to get myself a working holiday visa, weeks before I turn 31, just meeting the age restriction. The visa allows me to stay in New Zealand for up to a year, and also gives me the right to work. But work is the last thing on my mind when I land in Wellington in the middle of January. I give myself around two months to explore the country before I have to find work. It sounds like a long time, but as I plan my itinerary, I know it’s not going to be enough.
New Zealand consists of two islands, simply referred to as the North Island and the South Island. A sort of ongoing rivalry between fans of each island exists, and many travelers will spend weeks exploring one island, while completely missing out on the other. I even had one misguided traveler tell me, “Don’t bother going to the North Island, there’s nothing there.”
At any time of the year, New Zealand is alive with travelers anxious to discover the country’s highlights. For this reason, tourists have an overwhelming number of choices when it comes to touring around each of the islands. Renting cars or campervans is very popular, as are guided tours, both luxury and budget. The option of designing your own itinerary and using the Intercity buses also appeals to many.
When I travel, I look for two main things in my transportation; flexibility and affordability, which is ultimately what led me to choose Stray. www.straytravel.com. Stray is one of three main hop-on hop-off buses that travel around the country on a variety of set routes, with buses running every 1-3 days. It’s perfect for exploring the country at your own pace; if you want to stay somewhere for a few extra days you can jump off and catch the next bus at no extra charge.
It’s also perfect for people who mostly travel alone, like myself, as the buses are full of other friendly travelers of all ages, from all over the world. Stray offers a variety of bus passes covering both the North and South Islands. Passes allowing you to explore either the North Island or the South Island on their own are also available. I chose Max, the most comprehensive North and South Island pass. It’s also one of the only passes out of all the hop-on hop-off companies that goes far enough south to visit Stewart Island (New Zealand’s less famous, tiny third island).
Wellington
While still in Australia, I convince my friend Jolene to come to New Zealand with me for two weeks before she has to go back to work. We fly into Wellington on the North Island late at night, and are greeted by Emma, a friend I met traveling years ago in Morocco. (If you travel long enough, eventually you have free places to stay all over the world.) We have a day in the capital before embarking on our journey, but it’s cold and rainy. I know I’ll be back in Wellington again soon, so I don’t rush to pack in all my sightseeing this time around.
Emma takes us for a drive around the city and I’m surprised at how hilly it is. Wellington is a very green city; we pass lots of parks and row after row of trees. “You’ve just missed the Christmas trees,” Emma says, as we pass a row of particularly tall trees. “Those are pohutukawa trees.” She tells us how they burst into bloom with bright red flowers in December. I’m disappointed to have missed that, but shortly afterwards we’re driving past another unique Kiwi view; Parliament.
New Zealand definitely has an unusual Parliament. Three buildings make up the parliamentary complex on Bowen Street, but one stands out from the rest; The Beehive. As we circle around the building, I feel as if I’m staring up at a giant Lego replica of a bee hive. Completed in 1980, the Beehive caused a controversy, but is now regarded as an architectural symbol of New Zealand. It may be a bit old and drabby looking, but it’s certainly memorable.
Abel Tasman National Park
I choose to start my travels on the South Island, not because of the uninformed advice I’d received, but because I like to be warm. I have to keep reminding myself that January is summer in this part of the world. I want to go down south while the weather is still decent, and make my way north as summer turns to autumn, and follow the lingering heat. That said, I didn’t realize how chilly summer can be when you’re that far south, even in summer.
Early the next morning, Emma drives us to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to the South Island. The ferry is huge; we have to climb five flights of stairs just to get to the first passenger level. We find a seat and go outside to wave good-bye to Wellington. It’s still raining, and I’m finally beginning to understand why the city is nicknamed Windy Wellington. I have to grip the railing as I make my way back inside. It takes around 3 hours to go from one island to the other, and we spend most of the trip wandering around the ferry, out of the rain.
As we near our destination, we go out on to the deck as we start to pass through the Marlborough Sounds. This is my first view of New Zealand’s natural beauty, and I’m enthralled. Although heavy clouds still hang low, I can see patches of blue sky and green hills running down to the meet the water. We pass hundreds of bays, inlets and islands that look as if no one has ever stepped foot on them.
We anchor in Picton at the northern tip of the South Island. There are so many boats in the tiny harbor on the edge of the small town that I wonder where all their owners could possibly be. After getting our bags, we meet the Stray bus just outside the ferry terminal. Rob, the bus driver and tour guide, practically knocks me over with his enthusiasm. You’d think he was the one on holiday, not the one starting his shift. On board the bus, Rob fills us in on what the South Island has to offer. His passion for his job is more than contagious and soon the entire bus is buzzing like a household of children on Christmas Eve.
Our destination is Abel Tasman National Park. After a few hours of driving through rolling fields, green pastures and a spot of coastline, we arrive in Nelson. You have the option of getting off the bus here and poking around the small city, but I’m headed straight for the national park.
One thing I learn early in New Zealand is that the country’s highlights lie outside its populated areas. New Zealand’s highlights, and there are many, are found within its national parks, its landscapes, its coastline, and its oceans. In other words – outdoors. New Zealand was blessed with an extraordinary environment. Don’t come here unless you’re a nature lover. On second thought, if you’re not a nature lover, you should come here immediately and experience the fresh air and breathtaking scenery. You’ll leave a changed person.
We stop in Nelson long enough to drop off a few people and make a stop at the grocery store. Stray stays right in Marahau within Abel Tasman National Park at an endearing place called Old MacDonald’s Farm. On our way to our cabins, we pass fields where sheep and alpaca munch away at some of the greenest grass I have ever seen. Small mountains in the distance are obscured by thick white clouds hanging low over the vista. It starts to rain and I briefly forget that it’s summer as I pull on my long pants and thick sweater. But there’s something cozy about the small farm and its cabins while the rain hammers down outside.
That night Rob cooks us a group meal and Jolene and I and our 14 new friends sit talking late into the night. There is a sort of camaraderie amongst travelers, and we’re all chatting away like we’ve known each other for years, instead of mere hours.
The next morning dawns bright and sunny - a perfect day for sailing, or so I think. Abel Tasman’s beauty lies mainly in its coastline, and sailing is one of the more relaxing ways to take in the area’s splendor. Hiking, or tramping as it’s referred to here in New Zealand, is also a great way to explore the National Park if you have good weather and time on your hands.
Although the sun hides behind a cloud within minutes of our departure from the dock, and rain falls as we sail on the majestic blue water, I can’t quite believe that I’m in New Zealand. What I see as we sail along white beaches backed by forested mountains reminds me of the Caribbean or some other exotic location.
We pass an Abel Tasman landmark, The Split Rocks, and the captain maneuvers our boat as close as he can. The huge boulder looks as if it’s been sliced exactly in half. After a few hours on the water, we’re dropped off on an isolated beach. We tramp back to Old MacDonald’s Farm, taking in the views as the trail winds higher and higher.
We cross over a bridge spanning a small inlet, and something catches my eye in the water. Peering over the bridge, we can just make out the shape of an eel hiding under some rocks. As we get closer to Marahau, we walk by an amazing formation. An old tree stump stands in a field, and two Maori faces have been intricately carved into the trunk. That’s what I call natural art.
Abel Tasman is one place I wish I had spent more time in, but as luck would have it, the weather forecast was dismally wet and we decide to jump back on Rob’s bus and leave after lunch. The half day sailing trip did allow me to get a taste of what Abel Tasman has to offer, so I don’t feel too cheated.
Pancake Rocks And Barrytown
From Abel Tasman we head to Barrytown, a small settlement on the South Island’s West Coast. As the bus rambles south along the winding highway, the sun peaks out and illuminates my first real glimpse of New Zealand’s typical mountainous scenery. Just sitting in the bus and staring out the window is magical in itself; the landscape is stunning and I can’t stop taking pictures through the window at every turn.
We drive through mountains carpeted with lush forest, passing the occasional river where crystal clear water runs rapidly through the valleys. Then we’re driving next to the coastline and stopping to photograph a penguin crossing sign. I’ve never had so much fun just sitting on a bus before.
Before arriving in Barrytown, we make a stop to view some of the area’s finest scenery up close. Punakaiki, famous for its Pancake Rocks and blowholes, is one of the highlights of the West Coast. Stylobedding, a layering process, has formed the limestone rocks into stacks of thin layers, very much resembling pancakes. The gray pancake cliffs overlook the ocean, providing an amazing backdrop for an already impressive view. It takes about half an hour to walk around the area and fully appreciate its wonder. The limestone cliffs tower high above the white water crashing onto their bases below.
We’re lucky enough to arrive at high tide, and the blowholes are in full action. When a big wave surges into the caverns below the stacked rocks, the water explodes out of the holes like a geyser. The water shimmers in the sunlight, and falls in slow motion as the next wave crashes in.
We spend the night in Barrytown, a settlement of only a handful of homes. I’m told that New Zealand’s most famous gem, jade - or greenstone, can be found on the beach just down the road. I poke around in the rocks for a few hours and find several pieces of what I think is jade, only to be told later that they are only green stones, not greenstone. I feel a bit foolish, but at least I had fun trying.
From Barrytown, we head farther south, and Rob stops every so often to take us deeper into the country’s scenery. We do a quick walk through a rainforest and I’m completely surrounded by green. I see my first wood pigeon sitting high up in a tree. It’s about twice the size of your average pigeon, with a white underside. Green feathers cover its back; the only other splash of color is its red beak. I’m more excited by this than the others as I seem to have become slightly obsessed with birds during my travels over the last year.
En route to our next destination, The Franz Josef Glacier, the scenery is much like the previous day’s; stunning mountains set against beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine. We pass several rivers meandering through the valleys, but these are no ordinary rivers. The farther south we go, the bluer the water becomes.
As we get nearer to the glacier, the air gets colder and the river running off the huge mass of ice is dark gray. Rob drives us up to the viewpoint to have a peek at the glacier that we’ll be climbing the next day. It looks much like a dirty block of ice sloping down the mountainside. It looks big. It looks jagged. It looks fairly unclimbable and I have my doubts as I climb back on the bus. But I came to New Zealand to experience new things. This is where the adventure portion of my trip begins – and I can’t wait to see what I’ve gotten myself into.
Dawnelle Salant: dawnelle8@yahoo.com
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