Sydney & Vicinity

More photos from this segment!:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103620108216329120374/Sydney?authkey=Gv1sRgCLT2roP264WwmAE&noredirect=1

After our 20-days away in New Zealand, we've returned to Australia, and were greeted with beautiful sunny weather in Sydney. We stayed one night at the Westin, and got to see a good chunk of the city.

The harbor was the highlight for us. We walked around both sides of it - you can cross over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured in the background) to the more residential neighborhoods of North Sydney; just like the Brooklyn bridge in New York!

We found the perfect after-work hang out spot, outside the Sydney Opera House. It was packed, but we managed to snag a table for drinks and a quick bite.

Downtown Sydney reminds me a lot of Lower Manhattan. It's compact, filled with skyscrappers, and has a historic district (the Rocks) with small lanes and old buildings.

Bondi Beach is just a few miles away from Downtown. It's a lively community filled with million dollar apartments with views. There's a great walkway along the water.

After our short stay in Sydney, we ventured out to the quieter region of the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of Sydney. Pictured here is the Three Sisters, an iconic rock formation in the mountains. They were formed by erosion of the sandstone around the columns. Apparently, there used to be a few more sisters that have been completed eroded away. Day-hikes here were great!

We completed the Sydney circuit with a couple of days at the beach, just south of Sydney. We relaxed at this beach in Jervis Bay for a few hours one afternoon. It was the most isolated of the spots we found, and as far south as we went before returning to Sydney for our intercontinental flight.

Overall, I think the Sydney region is the most livable of all the places we visited on the trip! The city itself is like a smaller version of New York, and there's so much to do around it. If I can manage to work and live here for a year, I definitely would. 

Milford Track

More photos from this segment!:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103620108216329120374/MilfordTrack?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2D8suUhNfUQA&noredirect=1

The Milford Track, a four-day hike amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island, was one of the most highly anticipated parts of our trip. We reserved our spots almost a year in advance, since the only ~30 people are permitted to start the trail each day. It was my very first multi-day hike!

Day 1: Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

The first day starts with a boat ride across Lake Te Anau. There were two groups of ~30 starting with us that day - one group was part of the guided trek, which provides meals and decent accomodations to its participants; the other group, which we were in, trekked independently, stayed in basic lodges and made our own food.

From the other side of the lake, it was a short and easy two-hour hike to Glade House, where we spent our first night. The lodge was basic - three simple cabins were filled with bunk beds with matresses for your sleeping bag. There's a separate cooking cabin with benches and stoves. There was a helipad by each of the lodges for supplies.

Day 2: Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

The scenary for the first two days was pretty much the same. We walked on a well-marked trail through a rainforest, which often opened up to beautiful mountain and river views. The trail was mostly flat, climbing about 300 meters today. Six hours later, we arrived at Mintaro Hut. 

The rainforest was magical. Everything is lush and covered in moss. Apparently, when there's no rain in 7+ days, all the moss curl up and the place looks really different.

We were greeted by keas at the second lodge. These birds are super smart and aggressive - they'll eat anything food you leave out, and pick at your belongings. We were told to keep our packs closed and our boots hung up.

Day 3: Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

This is the big day! We crossed over Mackinnon Pass to get to the over side of the valley. The hike up was moderate. The path was good and not too steep. Even though the highest part of the pass is only 100m, we got great views in all directions! The day was calm, sunny and warm.

On the way down, an 1.5hr side trail took us to Sutherland Falls. At 580m, it's the tallest waterfall in New Zealand. If you want to get soaked, try going behind the falls for a minute.

This was by far the longest day - took us about 10 hours from start to finish, although we did take many breaks.

Day 4: Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

The number of sandflies had been increasing each day on the trail, and had become unbearable by Day 4. The end of the hike is apted named Sandfly Point. We tried taking a picture there, but couldn't stop waving bugs out of face long enough for a good one. There were beautiful waterfalls on the last day though!

At a total of 53.5km, the Milford Track is a pretty easy four-day hike. Plus, it's made easier by having lodges and cooking facilities each night, greatly reducing the weight of our backpacks. Water along the trail is perfectly good to drink. We only had to carry our own food, cloths, and camera equipment.

Ever since signing up for the hike, my biggest fear was encountering lots of rain on the trail. Receiving 268in of rain annually, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. At least a few times a year, the trails get completely flooded - hikers are forced to stay extra nights in the lodges until water levels falls. As you can see from our pictures though, we had beautiful weather all four days! In fact, we didn't see a drop of rain, and most days were beautifully sunny, especially the day when we crossed over Mackinnon Pass. Maybe we'll get to use our rain gear in Patagonia next month?

Lake Wanaka, Queenstown, and Te Anau

More photos from this segment!:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103620108216329120374/LakeWanakaQueenstownAndTeAnau?locked=true&noredirect=1

The Queenstown region of Southern New Zealand is one of favorites from the trip. It's a lot like the Colorado ski towns, but much more accessible and affordable. We were there in early summer, and it offered beautiful hiking and scenary.

The main part of Queenstown is filled with restaurants and bars, like you would find in any ski town. All of it was pretty new and modern. The backdrop of the city, whereever you look, is mountains and lakes.

There are hiking trails everywhere. You can easily find a hike near by that suits your schedule and ability. We picked a hike impromptu each day, and every one of them was beautiful. We didn't do anything challenging because we're saving our energy for the upcoming Milford Track.

Plus, if you're tired of hiking, there are just as many scenic drives. In fact, most of the roads we traveled on in New Zealand were beautiful, although this region wins for the best of New Zealand.

Look how gorgeous the backgroud is! Dave looks extra handsome in the foreground. I can't believe a place like this is so accessible. Wouldn't it be great if New York had this nearby?

Here we are making a roadside stop because it was just too gorgeous!

I would love to come back here for some skiing in the winter!

Finally, I'd like to share a few interesting observations about New Zealand so far:

• Each destination is only an hour or two from the next! The islands are compact and filled with sights. This is the opposite of Australia, where we had to fly to get places. 
• New Zealand has the best residential real estate market ever. Most houses are big and modern, and even the ones with great views are supprisingly afforable. 
• Despite most things modern about the country, New Zealand is one of the worst countries for Wifi. Free public wifi is extremely rare. Plus, Wifi hotspots often have a ridiculous 50mb usage limit. 

Picton to Mt. Cook

More photos from this segment!:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103620108216329120374/PictonToMountCook?authkey=Gv1sRgCOjo3NSCq4iY6wE&noredirect=1

Welcome to the South Island of New Zealand! We dropped off our rental car in Wellington, boarded the InterIslander Ferry, and pick up another car in Picton four hours later.

We started our two-week trip with two days at Queen Charlotte Sound, hiking sections of the 70km Queen Charlotte Track. Most of the trail is pretty flat, making for some easy walking. We were treated to views of sounds on both sides of the trail.

As we made our way south, we stopped by many of the island's wine-making regions. This was in the Marlborough region. Just like houses in New Zealand, wineries there were modern and tastefully decorated.

We stopped at Kaikoura as we drove along the eastern coast of the island. The walk around the tip of the peninsula there is wonderful! It's only a couple of hours, and you get to see a ton of wildlife and interesting rock formations. 

One of the best days we had was in Lake Tekapo. It suddenly clearly up as we got near it. The setting of the town at one end of a large blue lake is perfect. Plus, there is a observatory just up a road from the town that offers one of the best views in the world and serves delicious cappucinos. (Of couse, we opted for the hike up to the observatory.)

The place felt so remote, yet it's so accessible. It's such an underrated destination. If it was in anywhere near New York, it would be packed with tourists on a nice day like this.

Just a short drive from Lake Tekapo is Mount Cook National park, home of New Zealand's highest mountain. We camped in this beautiful spot near the entrance to the park. We were pratically the only ones there! We set up our tent and made a yummy grilled salmon and veggies dinner before heading out to the glaciers for a sunset walk.

I don't know how we managed to get perfect weather the entire time we were on the Western side of the South Island - it certainly isn't the typical weather here. But I was grateful! The hikes in Mount Cook were short and extremely rewarding, just the way I like them.

There's more to the South Island of New Zealand!!! Coming up is my most anticipated part of the trip - the Queenstown region and the famous Milford Track.

Tongariro National Park to Wellington

In this post, I'll cover three highlights of our roadtrip from Tongariro National Park to Wellington, New Zealand.

More photos from this segment!:
https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5994008905005164593

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The most popular (and possibly best) day hike in New Zealand, the 19.4km Tongariro Alpine Crossing passes over the volcanic terrain of the multi-cratered active volcano Mt Tongariro. We started the hike with clear blue skies and were greeted with stunning views of Mt. Ngauruhoe, better known as Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mt. Ngauruhoe can be climbed as a side-trip, but that would make for a very long day.

As we hiked to over the peak of the alpine crossing, a cluster of emerald lakes appeared out of nowhere. At first, they were partly covered by fog, but as we started descending towards the lakes, the fog suddenly cleared in a matter of seconds revealing this gorgeous view.

Here is a shot looking back on Red Crater after the crossing.

If you do attempt this one-way hike, don't forget to arrange transportation from one end of the trail to the other!

Gannet Tour

We had so much fun visiting the gannet colonies at Cape Kidnappers despite the nonstop rain. Our tractor tour drove us four miles each way down the cape to the gannets, which reside at Hawkes Bay from August to April each year.

These little creatures migrate between the Cape and Eastern Australia, with a mortality rate of 70% to 80% during the journey.

Wellington, NZ

Wellington is beautiful on a calm, sunny day. Set on Wellington Harbor and surrounded by mountains, there are many places to go for a scenic walk.

Standing atop Mount Victoria, just minutes from Downtown, we caught a glimpse of this Quantas Airline plane descending into Wellington Airport through the fog. As we watched, the pilot actually decided to abort the landing, pulling up and circling around for another pass.

The vibrant Cuba Street in downtown Wellington offers numerous shops, restaurants, and bars.
As the capital of New Zealand, Wellington is also home to a number of museums and cultural institutions, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Auckland to Taupo

More photos from this segment of the trip!:
https://plus.google.com/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5986222352217579377

We left our home exactly five months ago today! And with a little over a month left to go in the trip, the end seems near. We're nowhere near done with our adventure though. We're just getting started with our road trip in New Zealand, and we've still got our backpacking trips coming up (Milford Track and W Track) and a whole new continent (South America) to explore!

We have three and a half weeks altogether in New Zealand, which is split between the North and South Island. Starting from the north, we rented a car from a local car company this time (it was significantly cheaper than our favorite international chain). Packed with camping and hiking gear, a constant supply of bread, peanut butter, and snacks, we were off on the road. Our road-map looks pretty ambitious (I already cut out a few destinations from this map - there were so many places I wanted to see in New Zealand)!

First stop: Auckland. A fairly small city, it is set amongst a field of 48 extinct volcanoes that provides great jogging trails and viewing platforms. Here, standing on the top of one volcanic cone, you can see several others and the city in the distance.

From Auckland, we drove out to Tauraga, in the Bay of Plenty. We camped in prime real estate, right under Mt Maunganui at the end of the peninsula. The days are getting long enough now that we don't need flashlights anymore at night, and the weather is just perfect for camping too. We enjoyed beautiful views from the top of Maunganui after a short hike.

Our tour of White Island was almost cancelled due to windy conditions. The boat ride out was very choppy - half of the passengers got sick on the way, but we were tough. The island is an active volcano 48km from the coast. The only way to step foot on it is via the once daily boat tour. Once there, we were given gas masks to help with the sulfur fumes and hard hats in case of an eruption. We got to walk right up to the steaming vents and explored this crazy landscape for a couple of hours. Miners used to live in this hostile environment!

Fortunately, the water had calmed on our way back, making for a beautiful trip to end the day.

After a couple hours of driving, we arrived at Rotorua, known for geothermal activity. The city is filled with attractions - visitors can see a number of geothermal areas, attend Maori cultural shows, and visit the famous Rotorua museum, which was once a geothermal spa that offered therapeutic treatments to visitors from all over the world. With our one day there, we checked out the museum, visited a Maori village at night, went to one of the geothermal sites.

The Maori performance was really interesting, and the traditional dinner served afterwards was delicious!

After all these recent adventures, we had to relax when we got to Taupo on a warm, sunny day. We had a long lunch by the lake, while watching locals enjoying this beautiful town. Why don't we live in New Zealand?

Next: the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, claiming the title of the best day hike in New Zealand.