New Zealand

[Written by Elizabeth Leonardis for our old blog, So Civilized]

How can you not love New Zealand? ! The scenery is breathtaking, the people are lovely and the country feels like one of the mot peaceful places on Earth. We began our time in NZ enjoying the luxuries of the Christchurch airport, while waiting for our couchsurfing hosts to return home. This was our first English speaking country, they sold  goods we could actually afford (unlike Tahiti) with all the other comforts and options of the western world (i.e. wifi.) You really grow to appreciate airports as you travel and all the services they provide.

Alex & our spaceship outside Queenstown, NZ

Alex cooking in the spaceship

We headed to the home of our amazing couchsurfing hosts, Verna & Ian, enjoying a few days with them in Christchurch. We ended up renting a spaceship van and embarked on our marathon trip around the South Island with a mere 10days to see what we could of NZ. As we were still in the Southern Hempishere, winter was rapidly approaching and we battled cold, rainy, wintry weather for much of the trip. However, this did not put us off. Alex still had us out “tramping on the tracks” (NZ language for hiking on the trails)  most days.

Running on Kepler Track in TeAnu

Knee deep in mud on Talbot Track in Milford Sound

Cold water rinse after our Talbot run

Running Kepler Track

We drove down the East coast of the South Island to Milford Sound, returning via the West coast, crossing through Arthurs Pass and stopping at Castle Hill for some beautiful rock climbing. Most days were spent enjoying the beautiful landscape of the country and trying to put to use all our outdoor gear we’d been lugging around with us since Antarctica.

Hiking at the base of Mt. Talbot near Milford Sound

Alex bouldering at Castle Hill

Lake Tekapo near Mt. Cook

Driving near Dunedin

A beach on the West coast of the island

Unfortunately, our short stay in New Zealand went far too quickly and there were many places we would have like days, if not weeks more time.  One such place was Castle Hill, an amazing place for rockclimbing, just a few hours West of Christchurch. We arrived there on a cold and foggy morning to explore the incredible rock formations that border a local sheep farm.

The morning fog lifting at Castle Hill

Alex & I at Castle Hill

Castle Hill rocks

Another great climbing spot was Wye Creek, just outside Queenstown. A steep hour hike to the crags and one can find themselves surrounded by endless sport climbing routes. Again, we could have spent days here but were limited by our schdule of getting our rental van up to Auckland in time for our flight to Australia.

Sunset at Wye Creek

Alex & I at Wye Creek