The sun and a big ice cube

Franz Josef

Free wi-fi in the airport. Woot! Rare in this country. Which allows me to post an update.

I made my way, earlier this week, between Queenstown and Franz Josef and had to go through the eight hours bus trip between them. The bus company stops in every little village on the way. And it pauses for 30 minutes in the middle of nowhere so we have to buy food sold at very high prices. We abandonned or bus in one of those nowhere city for a restaurant made of wood logs. The noodles and vegetables soup was recommanded. Only 9 $ for a bowl. And you couldn't eat the bowl, I should say. (Not a bowl made of bread for Jeannot... and no grapes either.)

When I got in Franz Josef, I was hoping to book a hike on the Franz Josef glacier for the next day. Since once again, me getting somwhere enabled the city to get rid of the rain they had for two days, everybody had already booked that expedition. No choice : have to stay one more day at the bottom of the mountains.

The choice was interesting, allowing me to relax and explore the trails in the nearby forest. The next day, a very bright sun was shining on the glacier. Doesn't happen too often I was told. That's why they give us a raincoat. But we didn't use it. We had short sleeves on the glacier. That's special. Between that and a museum, I would choose the glacier all the way.

That adventure was followed by another day of traveling, first on a bus to Greymouth, going throught a weird wild food festival in Hokitika, and on a train, to cross from the west coast to the east coast, across the New Zealand Alps.

Finally, I spent a day in the mostly destroyed center of Christchurch, where the earthquake pictures are breathtaking.

One lesson : always make sure the bus stop isn't hidden somewhere close when you get out of the train station. That can prevent you from paying too much for a taxi ride.

I need to go now. My plane for Melbourne is calling.

To conclude, I'd like to say to my colleague Serge that my striped t-shirt, which he thinks is ugly, is very popular everywhere I go. When you're the only one not thinking like the others... (I hope you miss me on Sundays Serge...)

A ride on board of the Tranzalpine Scenic Train

My videos are never too complicated, but they are worth what they are worth. Here is the panorama the Tranzalpine Scenic Train has to offer. I know, it's moving and noisy. But you were warned.

Pictures of New Zealand

Auckland

Devonport

Rangitoto

Tangariro

Here are some pictures for those who are not on Facebook and haven't seen those yet. It's a small preview of what you can see in New Zealand.

Going with the flow

Queenstown, New Zealand

I'm speaking more and more in english. I will soon have been gone for three complete weeks, which is about 10 years in a dog's life and six months in a round-the-world traveler's life, and the little voice in my head switches slowly from french to english, without stopping. That's how it is when you surround yourself with another language.

Well, I say surrounded... Even if I like our French cousins, there are freaking everywhere. You cannot go around the corner without meeting one. BUT, not a lot of "French Canadians".

« You're my first French Canadian » I was told today. Woot!

All that introduction was a way to apologize for using an english title on the french version on this blog. But it was the first title that came into my mind.

So... Going with the flow... Because I tied my cartesian-planning self at the very bottom of my luggage, I accept that I don't know, two or three days ahead, where I'll be and what I'll be doing. Unless I'm in high season, it's probably the best way to see the world. And it allows to have last minute plans.

That's what I did when I figured their was a Nostradamus sign in the cancellation of my ferry. No ferry? Ok, then I'll fly to Queenstown, all the way down the south island, where everybody says you need to go. Too bad for Picton, Nelson and the other northern destinations.

Didn't need to fight to get my refund for the ferry, that's already something. And I flew, like a little bird, early this morning. The capital, with it's neverending grey sky, rainy and windy city, was left behind. One hour later, I found sun and just a little bit of wind.

Queenstown, I love you! Just for your sun. But also because now I understand why everybody says you need to go there. Some will prefer the hundreds of bars and pubs, way too many for the number of people living here. But I also fall for the huge mountains, the lake, the nature with a capital N, a little bit in the middle of nowhere.

I've seen the huge mountains in Innsbruck, Austria, with snow on top. But here, there is a lake. It's almost silent when you go up anywhere. There is a feeling that this nature is really stronger than everything.

So, listening to the gossips, I'm emptying my bank account tomorrow to explore Milford Sound fjord. 120 people live there. And seals (guaranteed). And maybe dolphins too.

I just realized I chose expensive countries. More time in Asia would have helped save money. But one cannot miss New Zealand.

Stuck in boring Wellington

Wellington, New Zealand

My "aura of sun" has left me. New Zealand's "bipolarity" is stronger.

Happy, this morning, I booked a shuttle and the ferry that should have brought me on the South Island, in Picton.

When I got in my hostel in the evening, another guest told me a storm and huge waves were expected for the next day. Result : no ferry. Stuck, I am!

Zen, me? Not really. But when you leave for six months, one unexpected event is not that bad. Only, I had enough of Wellington, where, to be franc, they is not a lot to do if you travel on a budget. Especially when it rains. Because when it's sunny, you can find something to do.

Not out of solutions, I booked a flight to Queenstown (far from here) for Sunday, after adding a night in my hostel, unfortunately the most expensive of the trip yet.

I still need to track the refunds I hope to get. Yeah!

On another topic, I met a 21 year old Australian who travels the world to find places to trek or hike. He walked on the Himalaya, already, and he confirms he found the Tangariro Alpine Crossing difficult. So there I am, proud of what I accomplished.

That Australian guy uses his walks to find sponsors and get money to fight against breast cancer. I'm trying to get the address of his blog to add it to my links page. It would be an excellent article in the newspaper if he had chosen to climb mount Bellevue in Sherbrooke instead of the Rocky Moutains this fall.

Summer is made to play

Taupo, New Zealand

First of all, I know, you're not used to me being silent for that long. It's rare that I stay without a word for a long time, but New Zealand's internet knocked me down.

Free wi-fi is hard to find in that part of Oceania. In McDonald's restaurants, you can only use a certain amount of Mb before being disconnected. In other places, you pay for the amount of Mb used. Upload a picture or a video and hop, no more time left...

So here I am, in Wellington, the capital of this beautiful country, in a chinese restaurant with free wi-fi.

I started my adventure in Auckland, a bipolar city like I call it, like the whole country, where it rains 15 times a day, but generally not for a long time. A mix of Sherbrooke and Montreal, the biggest city in New Zealand has nothing to impress when you first look at it. Luckily, I contacted a couchsurfer who guided me for nearly two days. He for example brought me on an old valcano for some hiking.

Four hours of bus further south, I got in Rotorua, known for it's thermal baths. But most of the points of interest are situated outside of the city. So you need a car. I just decided to walk along the lake and to go to a dinner-show about the maori culture... where I was named maori chief for the night. The lady probably chose me because I was the only lonesome traveler. Having to make weird faces in front of fifty something tourists, most of them being Koreans or Japanese, it means I will probably soon become a star in Asia. When you think of how many videos they took...

The advantage is that I met a Japanese girl I will probably see again in Tokyo, in the end of April or the beggining of May.

The next day, I left for Taupo, where cruises, sailing, skydiving, rafting, bungee and others are on the list of things we can do. I was using the city as a base to go to the Tangariro Alpine Crossing, a 19,4 km trail on the volcano they used for the Mordor in Lord of the rings. Departure : 5:40 in the morning. Start walking : arounf 7 AM. It took around 8 hours to walk the whole trail. Fortunately, my heel and my calf, which were giving me pain in the last few days, were miraculously in shape.

After fighting the sun, rain, snow, hail, rain again, I was so tired. but you'll see, it was totally worth it.

And today, after six hours on the bus, I got in Wellington, the capital. I'm here for a few days, but plans can change after that. Queenstown, which wasn't on my list, seems to be a favorite for all the travelers I meet... We'll see. If the flight is not too expensive.

In the end, note that all the terminals here refuse to read the chip on the credit cards. For an unknown reason, my Visa card wasn't working. After a reverse fee call in the phone system of my bank, I was told something like I was kind of stupid because my card is supposed to work properly. (I'm writing it in my own words). So I'll keep on looking stupid each time my card is not working.

A video of Tangariro

Here is a first video test. A short view of a walk on Tangariro Alpine Crossing.

First piece of trouble

There iAuckland, New Zealand

There it goes. It had to happen. First piece of trouble. And I'm not talking about my eardrums which almost burst when the plane landed. Or about that cold who refuses to die.

Trouble came in Los Angeles airport, yesterday (technically, it's the day before yesterday because of the jetlag).

It's always good to know, before boarding a plane, if the country of your destination will let you in if you only have a one-way ticket.

Even if New Zealand loves Canadians, even if they don't require a visa for us to stay for three months or less, they don't like us enough to take the risk of us staying. Me, I didn't know that.

In fact I did. Another guest in my hostel room, in Los Angeles, asked me if I had a plane ticket out of New Zealand. I don't know why, I didn't check if I needed one. Could have saved me some trouble.

So it was impossible to check my luggage in and to get my boarding pass without a ticket that would get me out of Kiwi land.

I had to leave, my little bundle of joy on a shoulder, to buy a ticket as fast as possible. With the Quantas Airline desk in front of me, I tried to get the best price for a one-way ticket to Australia, out of NZ. I knew I didn't have a choice anyway, especially since I didn't know either when I wanted to leave New Zealand. I gave a random date. I'm good these days to find randomly the cheapest day. But I was sure that I could have found a better deal if I could have used the internet myself in that airport.

Until anybody proves me wrong, I'll leave from Christchurch to Melbourne on March 11. And by the time the girl behind the desk ended her fight booking with a non cooperative computer, the price of the ticket... doubled. What are you gonna do? It's my luck! I need it anyway. Kaching!

Time was still going by and that annoying computer couldn't print my proof of purchase, essential for me to board my plane. It took one hour, total, before I got my document. Good thing I got to the airport three hours before take off.

I just had time to go for the check-in, eat a very bad sandwich very fast and clear security. Even if I had taken out all my liquids in a little see-through bag, two officers had to look into my Purell to make sure I wouldn't try to bomb the plane. Damn it! Gotta do what you gotta do.

In the end, everybody wanted to make sure everything was in order. Security in Los Angeles. Security in Nadi, Fidji, for the stopover (note that we just got out of the plane and that it was technically impossible to have changed the content of our luggages). Security on arrival in Auckland.

That said, a night flight seems shorter than it's 10 hours (before the stopover, 13 total). About the jetlag, I'm now 18 hours in the future compared to Quebec.

I'll see if I can get a refund for my ticket. I found one that was cheaper for the same day, same destination, even after they will have charged me some penalties.