My Adventures in New Zealand: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Cadbury Chocolates and Mochaccinos

Although not originally invented in New Zealand, Cadbury's presence here is undeniable. Every small convenience store or tourist shop is loaded with shelves full of all the popular Cadbury treats as well as the ones exclusively created in the Dunedin factory (a city located on the south east coast of South Island.) While in Dunedin, I had the opportunity to go on a tour of the famous factory and learn all about the chocolate-making process as well as the unique secrets that Cadbury uses to make their special chocolates and sweets. I found it interesting to see a display of the broken down process that the cocoa beans go through separating the cocoa butter from the cocoa mass before being combined with milk and sugar to form the basic milk chocolate bar. We also learned all New Zealand's contribution to the Cadbury name with their four famous treats, the Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps, Moro, and Pinky. Being on the Hershey's chocolate tour twice, I must say that this tour was 10 times better! Every room we entered seemed to promise a new chocolate bar or two for us. And not just a tiny bite size peice of chocolate, but the normal large chocolate bars that satisfy every chocolate craving. I soon discovered my new favorite, the Mighty Perky Nana, a milk chocolate bar with sugary banana flavours inside (definitely designed for kids, but when it comes to candy im still a child.) Halfway through the tour though, I wasn't able to keep up with the gobbling down of chocolate and ended up with a lumpy sweatshirt pouch full of free bars to munch on later!

Although I do love chocolate, I would not quite classify myself as a chocoholic. However, I will admit that I have a strong addiction to Mochaccinos and the way they serve them in New Zealand. I order them so frequently on campus that the lady who makes it for me knows exactly how I like mine made. I'll approach and immediately she'll ask "Mochaccino, one sugar, two marshmallows?" The first time she asked me if I wanted marshmallows I was a bit confused, but curious I replied "Sure." Originally, I thought that marshmallows in a coffee sounded kind of funny, but I've learned that its actually normal here to have marshmallows in a Mochaccino. Now a Mochaccino is not a Mochaccino to me without one white and one pink (strawberry) marshmallow. There's something quite soothing about sipping slowly on the chocolate powdered foam (my favorite part!) created from the steamed milk with little bits of marshmallow dissolving in your mouth. Then as you get through the foam to the milky, choclately espresso combination, your mouth is suddenly awakened by the warm, rich flavor as it washes down your throat and lights you up with energy. On my travels through the South Island, I couldn't resist trying Mochaccinos from many of the cute Espresso Shops and I was delighted with every one of them.

Here are some pictures of the delicious Mochaccinos I had along the way (the first one you see was my favorite from the town of Wanaka! MOCHACCINO DELUXE!!!)

Climbing the Glay-See-Er was SWEET AS!

Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere (The tears of Hinehukatere) is the Maori name for Franz Josef Glacier located on the West Coast of the South Island. It is said in Maori legends that Hinehukatere had a passion for climbing the mountains in the Southern Alps, but one day her lover, Wawe was swept away by an avalanche. The Franz Josef Glacier was then formed from Hinehukatere's tears as they flowed down the mountain and froze.

As we rounded the corner out of the woods and into carved out valley made up of rocks and streams, our eyes landed upon the magnificent glacier whose glistening white crystals poured down from the mountains meeting with mixtures of mud and rock. Approaching the white field, we suited up into the jackets and pants provided to us and attached the spiky crampons to our giant boots. With the crunch of loose ice and slush beneath our feet, we made our way over the glacier, slipping through crevices and tunnels of slick ice that illuminated all around us with a blue glow. I was in what seemed to be the Ice Age, although it must have been the end of the Ice Age as there was a constant dripping and the ice seemed to be melting slowly. In fact, when we set up for climbing up the steep masses of ice, the bolts that anchored the ropes to the top had to be changed every once in a while so that the melting ice wouldn't make them to come loose and cause someone to fall.

Tied into the rope, with ice axes in my hands, I was ready to try this new type of climbing. I thought about the movie, Vertical Limit and the insanely ridiculous scene where the main character jumps from one cliff to another and miraculously sticks it with his climbing axes.

Digging my spiky toes and sharp axes into the ice wall one at a time, I imagined how fun it would be to reenact this scene right now. I also realized how similar this was to normal rock climbing by the way you have to carefully keep track of your balance as well as scope out nice jugs or lips in the rock (ice) where your fingers (axe) and feet can get a good grip. However, having a rainstorm of ice shower down in your face with every whip of the axe definitely made it a new, unique experience.

Back in the town of Franz Josef, I kept overhearing a lot of the locals or glacier guides speaking about the "glay-see-er." While noticing the difference in pronunciation, it wasn't until I heard the word again from our Kiwi friend who was traveling with us that I really paid attention to how funny it sounded when he pronounced it. Teasingly, the rest of us all began to poke fun at the word "glay-see-er" and have now found it necessary to pronounce it that way in attempt to blend in with the Kiwi's. Throughout my time in New Zealand, I have realized that there aren't really any major adjustments in the way people speak here. There are some words with special pronunciation like "glay-see-er," such as"earplane" (airplane) or "brudge" (bridge) which are typically easy to understand, but on occasions result in a "what did you say?" And who knew that tomato sauce is ketchup, chips are fries, crisps are chips, lifts are elevators, and jandels are flip-flops. There are also some fun expressions that I've taken a liking to, one of the most popular being "sweet as" which is the same as saying something is "awesome." You can even customize this expression by trading "sweet" in for another word such as "nasty" or "hot." In general, I catch myself giggling from time to time over new expressions I hear from my Kiwi friends, but I enjoy picking up on their lingo and using it every now and then.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Enjoying the Hike

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."Khalil Gibran

Every trip I've made prior to South Island has usually involved a group of 10 to 12 people. As we set off to catch a ferry or pick up our rental van, I am reminded of the movie Home Alone where everybody is bustling and the group ends up temporarily splitting up to make stops at the ATM or Starbucks. Keeping a large group together while managing time proved to be a little stressful and irritating to some. Recognizing this, our group adapted a "no stop policy" which basically meant if you needed to make a stop on the way down Queen Street before hopping on the ferry, then you better run ahead. This worked out because it kept things moving and satisfied the group as a whole.

Our vacation to South Island soon approached, and twelve of us prepared for our twelve-day journey around the island. In Christchurch we rented three camper vans (4 people per van) called "Spaceships" which were bright orange and resembled creamsicles with the bubbly white lettering written across the sides. My excitement was boiling and I was ready to take off and take in every moment of this trip. In no more than about 3 hours, I soon realized that this "no stop policy" was going to be in effect during this trip as well. The most important thing about this vacation to me however, was not to just see the South Island, but to really enjoy the South Island. As one van took off for the next town without any notice, we were forced to play a game of "catch up" until we realized that we didn't have to run and stay with the group and that we could go our own way. While the three vans tended to travel separately, we always managed to meet up at some point each day or night either at a campsite or in one of the major towns we were visiting. This method of traveling suited us all well and made the trip so much more relaxing to me.

Our third day on the island took us to the northern coast in the large national park called Abel Tasman. Here we took on the longest hike we've done so far. It took us up into the evergreen enclosure, over staggered hills that lined the coast, and down onto the rust-colored sand and over large chunks of randomly assembled rocks. We hiked about 4 hours to the Separation Point (the northernmost point of Abel Tasman where the North Island can be seen off in the distance.) The views from this hike were outstanding and we couldn't have asked for better weather. As I took my time to gaze off at the wondrous landscapes and think about how lucky I am to have found such a truly breathtaking place, I started to find myself falling behind the "no stop policy" group. Regardless, I took in every moment of that hike and ignored the others attempts to make good time on the hike; I wanted to make a good experience instead.

We took breaks at some of the beaches that the trail led us down to and all did our own things (snacking, sitting on the beach, scrambling through the rocks.) Naturally, I found myself hobbling over the castle-like quartz rock formations and squatting by the tide pools to check out the wildlife. I was amused to see the tiniest starfish I've ever seen as well as crabs the size of my fist peeking out through the crevices. A few of my friends did the same for a little bit, but once again I looked up and realized that the group was ready to move on. Feeling a little rushed, I scrambled back to the spot on the beach where they were waiting for me. I thought about friends from home, who would have similar views about this hike that I did and would likewise want to take advantage of every little part of it. As the group continued on, I continued to take my time seeing and feeling New Zealand the way I imagined it. Every step I took unraveled new picturesque views. Every turn of my head set off bursts of snapshots on my internal camera as I sunk into what seemed to be a vibrant painting surrounding me. I guess this is why I am not a good runner; I find walking to be so much more entertaining. One of my close friends who also tends to travel with her eyes and not with her feet joined me as we fell behind the group and explored our own way through climbing rocks and allowing ourselves to truly be in New Zealand.

On the return back to camp, another friend and I really took our time and almost ended up lost toward the end because we had been rushed through the beginning of the hike so much that we didn't recognize some of the things we were seeing that we had missed before. I found that in this time we not only saw more nature, but had the chance to bond and get to know each other better. We even inducted a third member into our journey. The fantail bird, who we named Milton, followed us for nearly an hour as we wandered along. He was a great companion, flitting back and forth, sometimes coming straight towards us then landing on a branch close by. We were actually very sad and surprised when he left because the way he had been following us made us hopeful that we could bring our little friend back to camp. Nevertheless, it was oddly amusing to befriend a wild bird while walking in the woods.

After the entire South Island expedition was over, I looked back and was pleased to know that I had not only traveled around pretty much the entire South Island and done everything I wanted to do, but I had managed to be a part of it and leave my footprint in the sands and trails that I walked on.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Overwhelmed by Fun?

I have recently discovered that it is possible to be overwhelmed by fun. I found myself in this position throughout the entire 12 days exploring around all of South Island. It seemed that as soon as one exciting activity was over, another one would be awaiting us or if not we would spontaneously find ourselves on another adventure. Now that I'm back in Auckland, it's scary to think that I may never have that much fun again. I hope that's not the case, but it will be hard to find anything to compare to the endless excitement that made me so spastic and happy during the trip. A "happy dance" was even created by a friend and I in order to shed off some of the energy that we could not hold in. All those who observed this probably thought that we had just escaped from the mental hospital. Another cure I found for this overexcitement was by stuffing my face with junk food.

The night before I bungee jumped was the worst that this disease of overexcitement hit me. I have been dying to go bungee jumping for the longest time, and ever since I found out I was coming to New Zealand I knew I would be doing the exact bungee jump that I was about to do. What made this worse however was that I had spent the entire day before by a beautiful lake in the mountains doing another thing I love, horseback riding. Being back on a horse that day made me realize two things: 1. I want to live on a vineyard someday and 2. I want to have horses on this vineyard. Two new goals/dreams for me! After I came to these conclusions on the back of a horse, our group made our way to Queenstown, (the bungee jump town) but not before stopping at Puzzle World of course. That was the definition of South Island: always stopping, always seeing, always doing. We never just went from place to place or town to town without doing multiple things. Puzzle World was pretty much the most twisted, artistic, confusing place full of the coolest human maze I have ever been in and mind boggling illusions. You can imagine our energetic state after running through mazes and falling in tilted rooms. So once we arrived in Queenstown, I thought about the upcoming bungee jump and all the fun I had had thus far. I was not hungry at all but when we met up with the rest of our group at the New Zealand famous burger joint known as Fergburger, I soon found myself chomping down on the largest, tastiest burger I have ever had. The Tropical Swine burger (naturally I go for the foods with pineapples or bacon in them, this was perfect!) was one of about twenty burgers that Fergburger offered and I was happy to eat every bite. Mainly Fergburger is known as the place to go in town late at night to satisfy drunken munchies, and now to me is a place to focus on yummy food and maintain my overexcitement.

This occasion however, was not the only occasion that I was forced to do the "happy dance" or stuff my face. But how could I not get this way with all of the awesome things we did. Even driving was a thrilling excursion due to the winding mountain roads and outstanding landscapes. The pictures below show South Island in a nutshell. I took over 1,000 pictures and that still wasn't enough to truly capture the beauty and the feelings that I had while on the best adventure of my life.