Trip - 2015 New Zealand — ThePhotoGuy.dk

My 2015 Trip to New Zealand

11 Days solo and 11 Days with Michael

I turned 50 in 2015 and that was the year I decided to visit New Zealand.

I remember feeling very happy about my age, because I was certain that I would not have gone to New Zealand any earlier in my life.

At 50, I had both the financial means and emotional resources to support taking the trip, which would have felt far to intimidating beforehand. I felt uncertain about driving on the opposite side of the road, as well as any number of additional dangers my mind could dream up.

As a bit of a “safety net”, I agreed to share half the trip with my friend Michael. He joined me on day 10. Travelling alone vs. with a friend is quite a different experience. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but, no offence to Michael, I learned on this trip that I prefer solo travelling.

In general, I found that I loved the freedom of being able to sleep anywhere and I found that I enjoy long drives on my own, as well as planning the trip in the months before I left. Making a plan is something I enjoy. With a solid plan, I find it much easier to make spontaneous adjustments.

I had a friend at work who asked me to create blog and write while I was travelling. I did so and attempt to recreate it below (I lost the original blog when I upgraded this site).

My route

Blog

Let’s get this started

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

My first post. Like all first posts, it’s lame. Don’t bother reading it.

So, I'm going to New Zealand soon, and that seems like a good a reason as any to start a blog.

Of course, if I wait until I'm there to get started, I'll have no idea how to create entries and add pictures and do whatever else people do on blogs, plus the internet access will suck most of the time, so it will be totally lame and you, dear reader, will think I'm an idiot.

Well, you'll think that anyway, but I'd just as soon start out with you thinking I'm an idiot while I'm at home, rather than you thinking I'm an idiot while I'm in New Zealand. Now, when you read the couple of entries that I've written on the road, and then reach back to the start of the blog to try to figure out what the fuck is going on, you'll read this entry, you'll just think, "Oh, no wonder.", and you'll adjust your expectations downwards. Most likely you'll stop reading. On this entry. Before you read anything else.

Which is actually OK with me. I'm just writing these words for myself, so that I can look back and think, "God, I was such an idiot!" Then I'll be able to think that I've grown a lot since then and I'll feel good about myself. The wonders of modern technology.

Right, so I should figure out how to add a picture.

Here's one:

Right, actually, I can't figure out how to add an image actually right here. I added an image, but I have no clue where it will appear. I told you this would be a lame entry.

Anyway, I should probably explain the image. It's a church in Dnipropetrov'sk, Ukraine. The water is the river, which is called the Dnipro (or something like that). You might notice that the image looks a little unusual. I took it with my Canon 60D which I have converted to take infrared images. I'm learning how to take infrared pictures, since I hope to do so in New Zealand. So this one is not very good, but you get the idea.

I'm not actually in Dnipr (people use "Dnipr" for the city for short, because it gets annoying to say all those syllables every time) at the moment. I'm home, in Copenhagen.

Perhaps I'll write a few more posts before I leave.

Sidebar

I don't have much reason to write a blog (and I'm sure you have even less reason to read another one). I'm just doing this because I'm going to New Zealand soon, and that's what people do.

Here's how this works:

I write entries every few days.

You ignore them.

Please do your part.

I have readers!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

It's amazing, but sources tell me that I now have two followers. An exponential growth (from 0) after only one day!

This blog is going viral, baby! Let the sponsorships begin!

Hmmmm, wait a minute... It's April 1st today, isn't it? Ah, damn. Got me on that one.

Oh, well, it was exciting while it lasted.

Here is another picture (woo hoo, I learned how to imbed a picture... that may come in handy):

Enjoy. More to come, faithful fans.

On my way!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

My trip begins today.

My North Face XL base camp duffle is packed, not exactly to bursting, but enough that I'm glad I invested in a duffle that is three times as large as my previous duffle (which I lent to Michael, who will join me in May, so I'm still getting value from it).

My oversized duffle weighed in at 22kg (30kg is allowed by Singapore Airlines, but not by my back!). The size of it required a long walk to the odd sized baggage drop off point.

Meanwhile my camera backpack weighs in at 13kg (7kg is allowed, don't tell!). I'm already glad I decided to start walking to work and strength training to prepare for the trip!

I've installed an iPhone app that allows me to type these entries easily, so stayed tuned reader, I shan’t disappoint you.

Half way there…

Monday, April 20, 2015

I'm now securely in Singapore airport. My first flight couldn't have been better. I had paid a little extra for an emergency exit seat so that I would have plenty of leg room. When I arrived to it, my seat mate was already there. He was a nice guy, an off duty pilot for Singapore Airlines on his way home after a single day in Copenhagen.

We got along well, but once we were in the air he was offered a better seat, so for nearly all of the flight I had an empty seat beside me, which was prefect.

I'm trying melatonin on this trip to see if it helps against jet lag. So far, so good. I took two pills soon after take off, at about 13:00 DK time and 23:00 NZ. I was feeling pretty drowsy by the time they served the main meal and slept soon after.

I woke up at about 5am NZ time and had a snack, which hopefully will start resetting my food clock. My hope now is to sleep only a little on the next flight, then get a good night's sleep after arriving in Auckland at about 22:00 tonight.

I'll keep you posted dear reader.

Day 1 - It’s about adventure, right?

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

In an adventure, things don't always go as the hero expects them to. Some people teased me because I love to plan, and this vacation has given me lots to plan, which has been great fun. This morning I picked up my camper and got instructions regarding how to use it.

The woman helping me was very nice, but there are many moving parts in a camper, and although I thought everything was clear when I left...

Well, let's just say that I would advise future travellers to make sure they understand how the refrigerator works before spending a couple hundred dollars on groceries.

In the quick set of explanations, the woman mentioned that the refrigerator light would blink if something was wrong.

"If that happens, try turning it off and on again," she said.

Apparently it's a Microsoft refrigerator.

"That should fix it," she assured me. "Basically, it should just never blink."

There were a couple of, "never ever drive when..." commands, but I can't remember exactly when what. Oh, well, it probably wasn't that important.

In any case, I've got a blinking refrigerator now and it never did get cold.

My first day was fun, nevertheless. Now it's time to sleep.

Tomorrow, I need to get up early to drive somewhere where I can buy breakfast, and find a good sized dumpster for my groceries...

Day 2 - Refrigerator mystery solved

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

I called the camper company and it turns out that blinking blue is OK. It's blinking red that's bad. Whew!

I made myself Thai Chicken tonight and I don't seem to be suffering from food poisoning yet, so all is (apparently) good.

I've driven about 200km or so each day and I am taking pictures, just never think to use my iPhone, so I still have nothing new to post.

I'm getting used to driving on the left side of the road. No major mishaps yet, although last night (long after sundown, as I used sundown to get the best light for pictures), I choose a campsite that was up a steep gravel hill. That didn't work out to great. Luckily, a guy came running out with a headlamp and helped me back down the hill without hitting any other cars (particularly his!) or tipping over.

My impression so far is that melatonin works great. I took 2 pills in my first flight at about 1pm, as mentioned previously, then two pills at about 11pm when I arrived in Auckland. Last night I skipped the pills and fell asleep easily at 9-10pm, bt woke up at midnight. Then I took two more pills and slept til morning.

I've felt quite alert all day, although I'm feeling very tired now, at 9pm. I think I will take two more pills before bedtime, and hopefully will sleep through the night.

Oh, yea, I suppose some of you may also be interested in New Zealand. It's cool.

Another update about melatonin tomorrow.

Day 3 - A post of clichés

Thursday, April 23, 2015

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days.

WARNING
This post contains graphic descriptions of the author repeatedly engaged in enjoyable activities, followed, in multiple occasions, by the author unwittingly making poor choices that lead to disturbing events. This material may not be suitable for all readers (stop reading, Mom!), such as those who might feel undo worry or distress over the fact that they are completely helpless to stop the author from continuing to make stupid mistakes.

READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

OK, so Nicole pointed out that my description of New Zealand as "cool" was somewhat lacking in details. Fair enough. The problem, to be honest, was that I didn't really feel that much had happened that I could describe in any detail. Just briefly, here's a summary, with details, of my first two days here.

After arriving and waiting 15 minutes at 23:00 for a shuttle to my hotel, which was 1.6km away from the airport, I realized that the next bus would come in another 18 minutes. So I took a taxi. The driver was Chinese (that's a detail!). He mentioned that most of the drivers are Indian and they would not like to get a fare for such a close hotel, because they wanted to earn lots of money to send back to India, where they would buy a house with it. Seeing as he was Chinese, however, he didn't mind charging me NZ$20 for the 5 minute trip. That's just the way the Chinese are.

In the morning, a representative from Wilderness picked me up at 8am after I finished my "all you can eat" breakfast at the Ibis Airport Hotel (Motto: we have toast! What more could you eat?). She was very nice, except for the confusion about the refrigerator, which we've already cleared up.

After shopping, I drove about 200km to a place called Bridal Veil Falls. I got there just before the light disappeared and rushed through the 10 minute descent to the viewing platform trying to take as many pictures as I could before darkness descended. I had read that the parking lot has a history of break-ins, so I was nervous when returning to see if my camper door would be hanging open, but I had taken all my camera equipment, as well as my MacBook and iPad, with me, so I felt reasonably safe. Luckily, the local thieves had taken the day off.

By the time I returned to the camper, the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. I checked my GPS and the campground that I had planned to patronize was still a 2 hour drive away. In my own planning, I found a route through back roads which was faster, but the GPS unit did not know this path, and my iPhone had no signal, so I could not educate it.

I made a snap decision to visit an alternative camp ground, and changed my plans again when I realized that there was one even closer than the alternative. See, Kate, I'm not a control freak. All that planning made it easy for me to find an alternative when I needed to. So there!

The alternative was called Kev's Place. A reviewer claimed that it had great views over the town below. When I got there, however, I actually drove right by, because, in the darkness, and despite the GPS telling me I was there, I couldn't see anything that might resemble a camp ground. After driving 5km or more, I turned around, and discovered Kev's sign was just high up on a hill and not obvious from the dark road. I was expected, as a customer, to drive up said hill. As I turned up the gravel, over-grown excuse for a driveway, I began to wonder if this was such a good idea.

I should mention, by the way, that driving a camper has helped me to gain an appreciation of the adjective "lumbering". Piloting such a monstrosity makes me feel a bit like a tic that's overfull with blood crawling along on the back roads of a hilly dog, while fleas pile up behind me looking annoyed.

This is supposed to be a short summary, so I'll just say that Kev wasn't there, but his friend who was taking care of the place for him helped me back the camper down the hill without bumping into his car or rolling the camper off said hill. I managed to get a good night's sleep and left in the morning without incident.

I drove down to the nearby town and found a place for a quick cup of coffee and a muffin. This is not how I hope to feed myself in the mornings, but it was enough fuel for me to use to head off to my next destination. Another waterfall. Thus I spent another couple of uneventful hours driving and feeling guilty about the cars that got stuck behind me, and terrified of the 18 wheelers that came up behind me (they seemed much less understanding and aggressive).

Waterfall #2 was a 1 mile hike from the spot along the side of a gravel road where I could park. When I got there, there were no other cars, but a van showed up with a couple as I was collecting my things and getting ready to hike. They took off on the hike while I was photographing the surroundings, and I neither caught up with them nor ever saw them again. The van was gone when I got back. Perhaps they walked by me while I was shooting the bright red mushrooms. [see picture above]

After that shoot, I headed to my next planned camp ground: Seaview Holiday Park. This was a bit more advanced than Kev's Place, and I was able to connect to power, have a shower, and resolve the refrigerator mystery. In the morning I made myself a breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee in my little kitchen. Woo hoo!

Breakfast burrito and and coffee in my camper

I headed out for my first destination, the 3 sisters. This refers to some stone formations on a beach. The book that suggested a visit pointed out that one should check the tide tables, and I did so the evening before (Sea View Holiday Park also offers WIFI). Low tide at 6:52 and high tide at 13:12. I left at Sea View at 7:00 and drove the 16km to the beach (with one short stop at another beach that also sounded cool).

The author mentioned having to splash through water at a river mouth to get to the beach, and warned about keeping an eye on the tides, but I only had to walk over a couple hundred meters of rocks that were a good meter about the water level, so I kept my feet dry.

The river as I walked out to the 3 sisters...

The beach was pretty damn cool (does that count as a detail?). I got lost in taking pictures for a couple of hours. I had worn aqua socks and water shoes, plus a pair of shorts. I pretty quickly regretted the shorts, as the sand flies do indeed draw blood and my bare legs were soon itching. Being able to walk through the water while taking pictures, however, was definitely a big plus.

The tide was definitely coming in and I was having a great time taking pictures of the huge waves rebounding off the rock formations, when I decided I had best head back to the mouth of the river to check the water level.

Let's just say, I learned that one should listen to warnings about keeping track of the tides.

The rocks I had walked over were now completely submerged. Submerged by, it turns out, over a meter of water. The walls along the edge of the river were steep and slippery. Shit. Shit. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Don't panic. OK, panic.

I waded out fairly quickly and the water was quickly getting over my knees. I had my two cameras on straps attached to my backpack, hanging at about my waist and my iPhone in shorts pocket. Before the water got too deep, I decided I needed to do something about that. I found a reasonably high spot and put the cameras back into the backpack and moved my iPhone and other stuff to higher pockets. I walked a little further and the water was reaching my shorts. I found another high spot and took my tripod off the backpack and extended a leg fully to use as a walking stick and to test the depth, since the water was murky and had not visibility at all.

I undid the waist strap to the backpack (something suggested by a video Michael had suggested I watch, thanks Michael), and kept going as best I could. About 5 feet later I slipped, fell in, and lost hold on the tripod. Thankfully, I grabbed hold of on a tripod leg before it disappeared, managed to get to my feet quickly, and pushed the dripping backpack as high on my back as it would go, then kept walking while repeating my mantra ("fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck").

I managed to reach shallow waters without falling again, and while I was still in these waters, I saw two young girls heading to me wearing dry cut-off jeans shorts and sneakers. Whew! That meant that I was past the deepest parts of the river. After discussing with me, they decided to take a picture from the spot they were standing with their iPad, and headed back to the car park.

As it happened, it was quite sunny and warm by this time, so I found a picnic table and opened my backpack. Both cameras were bone dry. Whew! My iPad on top of them was also dry, and my iPhone worked fine. Whew! Whew! Whew!

Actually, I completely forgot (until just now as I write this) that my MacBook was in the backpack as well, against my back, the part that got dunked. I've taken it out and placed it on my camper table (I'm writing this at 9pm). I dare not try to start it. Luckily, I turn it off when I'm not using it while traveling, to save battery, so it's possible that it may survive this if it fully dries before I start it. On the other hand, salt water is not good for electronics. If it's fried, that would suck. We shall see. One good sign is that the neoprene holder (a MacBook wet suit!) is pretty much dry. My hope is that the backpack itself soaked up the river before it got to the contents.

Otherwise, the total summary of known damages for this mistake:

1. My right front hip feels a bit bruised from when I fell, otherwise, no injuries.

2. My shorts and other clothing got pretty dirty.

3. The lens cap for my most expensive lens appears lost (will try to replace it tomorrow).

4. And apparently the worst thing is that my 70-300mm lens, which was in a separate bag that I dropped into the water when putting the lenses back into the backpack, now appears to have problems with focusing and zooming. That could be expensive if I have to replace it. Does insurance cover the tides?

The beach is just around the corner...

This is the edge of the river after I got back to the car park. — The beach is just around the corner... This is the edge of the river after I got back to the car park.

I stayed on that picnic bench for a while letting things dry and eating my lunch (tomatoes, carrots, and a banana). Then I was off for another hike up along the cliffs over looking the beach, which was now fully inundated with crashing waves. The heights made me queazy and you can believe I kept my distance! I took a few pictures, but given the direct sun and lack of clouds, I don't think any will be interesting. I was happy nonetheless.

After that hike, I headed off to my next photo assignment. This time an interesting bridge that frames a mountain. The mountain is often hidden behind clouds (and it was for most of today), but the clouds cleared just as I arrived, which was perfect! I took a bunch of pictures and headed off to my next camp site, which also offered a photo opportunity. At this point, the sun was setting and my GPS told me I'd be there 15 minutes after sunset at best.

There just happened to be lots of road work where I was, and therefore long lines of traffic. The setting sun lit the mountain perfectly, and if I had been 30 minutes earlier, my shots would have been amazing, but alas, it was not meant to be. This didn't stop me from reciting my mantra some more.

I did manage to take some pictures before the light disappeared completely, however, so I was an extremely happy camper as I got back into private little home (the camp site is a "free camping" site... no toilets, no showers, no power, no people, and, tonight, no other cars... just a little gravel parking area that I have all to myself). This is right at the beach in the western most part of the north island, well, at least the southern part of the north island. A little crescent moon is setting outside my window as I type and I hear the waves loud as the come into shore.

So, I was in a great mood when I opened a cabinet to start pulling down the things I needed to make dinner.

Crash!

OK, that was unexpected. You know how air stewardesses always say, "be careful when opening the over head lockers as things may have shifted during the flight."? They should have a recording of that in a camper. I had been so smart as to put a bottle of olive oil and my canned goods in the cabinet directly over the stove, which had a glass cover that I was warned to keep open after using the stove, otherwise it would shatter.

You know what? It also shatters when a bottle of olive oil falls from the cabinet and lands directly on the glass.

So, my first task of the evening, was to clean up the roughly 17 billion small pieces of glass that had once been the glass cover of the stove top. I've called to ask the camper company what I should do, but they were closed, so I left a message. I'm hoping they will just charge me a lot of money and let me continue my trip. Worst case is if they want me to visit a service center to have it checked out.

Best of days. Worst of days. Still, I can't complain. After cleaning up the glass, I made dinner (salad and quiche), and now I've told my story.

I hope this story presented a suitable number of details, Nicole. To be honest, I won't be disappointed if the rest of the visit doesn't offer anything quite so dramatic!

Day 4 - Drivin' Drivin' Drivin'

Friday, April 24, 2015

I spent a very pleasant day mostly driving. Once again, my plans and my GPS disagree on the route to take, but this time we had the disagreement while I had internet access on my phone.

The problem was that the route I wanted included a short stretch of dirt road, which my GPS assumed I would be willing to do anything to avoid. By adding way points, I got it to reluctantly agree.

The trip was gorgeous and I had perfect weather. Today and tomorrow should be nice as well, then I'm promised rain on Monday. All good with me.

Last night I stayed at a powered site and planned today's trip in advance. Lots of driving again, plus several photo ops.

UPDATE: My MacBook appears definitely fried. 😢 I hope the external hard drive with backups I took of the first couple of days of pictures survived. Plus I have to hope I have enough SD cards to shoot all the pictures I see.

Question for knowledgeable Danish readers: will my home owners insurance cover the damaged laptop and lens?

I guess I'll find out when I get home, but could be nice to know if people think it's likely.

Day 5 - Saturday, April 25, 2015

Day 6 - Sunday, April 26, 2015

Day 7 - Monday, April 27, 2015

A lone tree's struggle against the winds of change

Back on the grid

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Have no fear, loyal readers!

No calamity has befallen your faithful adventurer. I've just been visiting remote locations and camping out in the wilderness. I've had to survive without internet access for a few days.

Still driving a lot, through beautiful countryside which, in some ways, reminds me of New England.

The weather has turned more dramatic than earlier in my visit. I've had two days of, at times, quite heavy rain. Last night it was so windy that I wondered if my camper might be blown off the hillside where I had parked for the night. There was no risk of that, I'm sure, but one thinks amazing things when alone in dark camper that is continuously being shoved about as though a team of rugby players are practicing with it.

I'm at Castlepoint today, a couple of days ahead of schedule, and will head to the south island tomorrow (Wednesday), rather than Friday. Michael is leaving Denmark to join me in a few hours, and we've agreed to scratch our original plan (meeting in Picton on Friday and starting our explorations on the north of the south island) and will meet in Christchurch on Thursday, shortly after he arrives, and head south so that we can see Wilford Sound, which many have spoken highly of.

Day 9 - Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Waiting for the ferry to the South Island...

Day 10 - Thursday, April 30, 2015

Day 11 - New Zealand, now with twice as many travelers (at least in my camper)

Friday, May 1, 2015

I picked up Michael in the Christchurch airport yesterday. That turned out to be more challenging than I had expected, due to height restrictions in the short term parking area. It eventually worked out, though, and we immediately left the area.

After driving for about 15 minutes, Michael got a call from immigration saying he had forgotten his passport at the airport.

A good start!

They agreed, however, to hold on to it until he returned, so we continued onwards.

We drove until sunset (with stops for lunch and groceries) and parked at a popular spot for the night, aside a lake, about a third on the way to Milford Sound. I made us tacos for dinner and I can report that I found myself laughing much more than when I was traveling alone. I was also able to take pictures while the car was moving, so all in all, a plus having Michael along.

Snapped during a walk from our campsite...

Today we visited an interesting site with strange rock formations, and drove another third of the way to Milford Sound.

From within a slot canyon in the badlands

We're staying in a civilised campground tonight, so we've each had showers and the camper is nice and warm.

Tomorrow, the sound!

Day 12 - Saturday, May 2, 2015

Day 13 - Stuffed!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Just had a nice meal in Queenstown. Need a long walk!

Day 14 - Earthquake!

Monday, May 4, 2015

Michael and I experienced a 5.6 earthquake at 14.29 today as we were hiking in the mountains. The epicenter was literally a few kilometers from where we were walking, as we neared the higher of two lookouts at the Rob Roy glacier. The earthquake lasted 40 seconds and immediately concerned both of us, as the trail already had a lot of damage and signs warning against stopping, because of the risk of falling rocks.

The earthquake kicked off several avalanches from the glacier, which posed no danger to us, as it was on the other side of a valley. Still, it contributed to our feeling of unease, so we headed down the mountain immediately, rather than continue up to the top lookout (we were only about 100 meters away).

On the way down, we saw numerous places where old trees and rocks had fallen on the trail, but luckily no-one appeared hurt that we could see.

It was, however, an immediate topic of conversation for everyone we've met, even in nearby Wanaka. If you search on Google for earthquakes in the world today you can find it.

Exciting!

Day 15 - Rain, rain, rain

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

New Zealand decided to stop with all this Sun nonsense and rain down its love on us today. We responded by staying mostly in the camper and driving from Wanaka to Greymouth, which, trust me, is a long drive.

The forecast promises lots more rain for the west coast for the rest of my trip.

We're thinking we'll had to the east cost tomorrow, where it will also rain, but it should clear up the following day.

Wish us luck...

Day 16 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Day 17 - Thursday, May 7, 2015

Day 18 - Back to the sun

May 8, 2015

The east coast has the sunshine and the girls all get so tan. At least, I suppose they do in the summer. We haven't seen any on this trip, so I really couldn't say, but we have returned to the sunny east coast and have had two good days here.

Today we tried our mountain bikes for real and road for a few hours and had lunch on a sunny beach. We're nearing the end now, just a few days left. I'm looking forward to returning soon.

It's been a great vacation, but I do love Denmark in the spring and summer.

Day 19 - Saturday, May 9, 2015

Day 20 - Sunday, May 10, 2015

Day 21 - Last day on the South Island

Monday, May 11, 2015

I dropped off Michael at the Christchurch airport today and I'm taking an easy lazy day today. Tomorrow I fly to Auckland and have one night there before I return to Denmark.

It's been a great trip. I feel like I've seen a lot of the country, even though there is much more that I didn't see. I'm looking forward to returning now, enjoying spring in Copenhagen, and finally having a chance to see whether any of my pictures are worth showing.

Thanks to all who read along!

Day 22 - Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Day 23 - Heading home...

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

I spent a lazy day in Auckland taking a few pictures, enjoying the rain, and a nice café. Traveling is so much more enjoyable now that I have learned to drink coffee.