Out of the Mountains

So let's see... Lots has happened since I last wrote.  Esack and I are back in Auckland, at a different hostel this time around.  We are in a room with 8 other people or so.  One of whom is an unbelievably loud snorer, and one who is an unbelievably sleazy Italian.  The other six don't really speak.  So anyway, we are happy and enjoying some down time before we move onto Singapore on May 3 (happy bday L).

We loved our time in Queenstown.  It was much colder there, but the leaves were turning colors and it's situated on Lake Wakitipu, which is absolutely gorgeous and you can see it in The Two Towers!  I seriously considered doing an LOTR tour but it was waaay too expensive and plus they really just take you to the top of a leafy hill.  I don't really know but I'm telling myself that.  Anyway, this one bus driver did point out a hill where they filmed the epic battle in the woods (the one where Boromir gets shot... sorry if that's a spoiler, but it's been like 7 years so...).  If you watch the scene (which Esack and I did, along with the rest of the movie and the first and third movies #timewellspent) you can see the lake in the background.  So long story short, Queenstown is pretty.

Esack and I did the Caples and Greenstone tracks from there.  It's essentially a big loop with a saddle about halfway between.  The Caples was beautiful, all different kinds of landscapes, flatlands, hills, mountains, forests, plains.  At one point we felt we were in Rohan.  And I'm officially done with the LOTR references.  Oh, except we were also in the Shire once too.  Ok now done!  We got eaten alive by sandflies the first night but then we figured out them out a bit and struck a deal.  It got COLD at night. I think we were out there for 7 nights.  The very last night we stayed in a hut, but every other night we camped.  

On the second day we came across this unbelievable little campsite.  It was small and right next to a really rocky part of the river.  We found the perfect little square of red moss where we layed our tent and it was sooo comfortable.  We slept for 14 hours that night!  There was a giant rock dividing the river and sort of worked as a dam, so there was this crystal clear water pool right next to us.  I wanted to swim so badly, and Esack frequently egged me on, but in the end it was just too cold.  It might've been fun at first, but then I would've just been cold for like five days and so I just got into my sleeping bag and pretended to swim in that.  "I wish it was summer!" was probably the most frequently said thing at that camp site.  Or maybe "this place is so beautiful."  One of the two.  We decided to stay there for a second night, partially cause we loved it, and partially cause we woke up really late after our 14 hour nap.  We made chocolate chip pancakes and tea that day.  Plus we really didn't need so many days to do the trek.  The day after that we hiked up the saddle, which is a just a crossable area between two mountains.  We went down the other side and camped in the plains-ey area.  Then we took another day off the next day and did a day hike up to the beginning of the Routeburn track.  On the map it's a place called the Divide.  We thought it was going to be some epic crater in the earth or something.  But... it was a parking lot.  Haha so we had lunch in a parking lot and enjoyed semi-civilization for an hour or so.  Then we hiked back in.  We walked the Greenstone pretty quickly.  It was relatively easy and mostly on the flatlands by the river.  There were lots of cows and sheep, but it wasn't easy to make friends.  We did make some bird friends though.  Esack got one to eat a noodle out of his hand.  I got one to mimic my singing voice perfectly and carry small objects for me.  Ok I didn't, I'm just jealous of Esack.  But I left a few sunflower seeds for them :)

After we came down from the formidable hills of lower NZ we had a couple days to kill in Queenstown.  We did a soak in the Onsen hot pools, which were a major highlight.  It felt great on our very tired leg muscles.  Now, back in Auckland.

Yesterday Esack and I saw the Avengers, cause apparently movies come out earlier here.  It was 20 bucks to see it in 3D but we figured why not?  It was a lot of fun and a rainy day so it was a good way to spend it.  We went back to Food Alley for lunch and I tried Korean this time.  

Today we got together with Maggie Grueskin's (Esack's stepmother) friend John who lives in Auckland with his family.  He took us out on his boat and it was amazing to see a whole other side of Auckland!  We circled Rangitoto, a volcano island in the bay, and then went out to Waiheke, an island with lots of vineyards we plan to visit again.  We have just a few more days here, but honestly, I'm getting ready to go.  I love the scenery of NZ and the people are great.  But everything is so expensive and it's exhausting trying to balance having fun versus counting coins.  

So anyway, onto Singapore next and then China for a whole two weeks to visit Trevor!  Both Esack and I are very excited for China.  It's gonna make a huge difference having a guide who speaks Mandarin and just another friend to talk to.  Esack and I haven't gotten sick of each other or anything.  But we are literally together 24 hours a day and it will be nice to have another friend.  It's a good thing we make each other laugh so much.  Lately Esack has been particularly entertaining by singing death metal versions of musical theater numbers, or really any non-death metal song.  

I hope you enjoy reading this post and if any of you ever have questions about our trip or something specific you want me to write about, I'd love it!  Sometimes I feel like this is Live Journal or something, so I have to at least try to make it entertaining.  

Esack and I already had an early dinner of Bento boxes, so tonight the menu is: read, hang out, and most importantly... track down ear plugs!  

Peace love and meows xoxoxo

A note about the pics:  for now I can't easily upload pics from my phone, only Esack's.  I'll upload more when I can, and check my facebook for a few more.  

The first memorable bite of a Ferg Burger.  The best burger I've probably ever eaten.  

Lake Wakitipu from Queenstown

Day 1 of our hike!

Making friends.  

The Caples river

There is fungus among us!

On top of McKellar saddle

In the Greenstone River valley.  The tent is our bedroom and there is Esack in the kitchen, making something scrumptious!

Beginnings

Hello family friends and followers!

I am blogging from the Nomads Fat Camel hostel in Auckland, New Zealand. Esack and I arrived yesterday, me from San Francisco, and Esack from Perth. Our flights went smoothly and we found each other relatively easily in the airport, although we each described moments of panic when we frantically searched for each other, looking wildly suspicious in an airport I'm sure. But we found each other, hugged for a solid 15 minutes, then hopped on a bus for downtown Auckland. It was only 7:30 am when we arrived and unfortunately check in wasnt til one. So we walked around downtown, got breakfast and coffee at two different cafes, and still had two hours to kill before check in. We napped in the hostel common room for awhile and then finally it became one o clock.

The hostel is interesting. We have a tiny, windowless room on the sixth floor for 50 dollars a night. We splurged. There are people from all over the world. We haven't really made any friends yet. But that's ok. We are only here for one more night. Today, we are going to check out this Asian food hall place, where apparently you can get any kind of Asian food on the cheaps.

Tomorrow morning we leave for queenstown, on the south island. From there, we'll be doing a 5-6 day trek called the greenstone trek, same one my dad did several years ago (shout out!). I've heard great things about QT and we're really excited. Bungee jumping and other things that make me nervous are alo in discussion.

Most of you know that Esack and I are doing this trip for fun after spending way too much time getting our degrees from the university of Iowa. Here is what we have planned so far:

April 17-27 queenstown
April 28-may 3 Auckland again, didn't have a choice about it. But we're thinking of checking out a hostel away from downtown, in a more relaxed suburb. And maybe some day trips to volcanos!
May 3- may6 Singapore
May 6- may 22 shanghai, china to visit the famous Trevor smith. You should read his blog. Www.gristlehedgeunderground.wordpress.com. I think.
May22- may25 Moscow
May 25- June 1 st. Petersburg
June 1 - July 22 Europe!
Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, spain, France, etc etc maybe maybe it's all up in the air! But we will figure it out.

So, after only one day of travel, I already feel like I've been gone forever. But my lack of jet lag is great! I feel energized and excited. Esack and I have a huge adventure before us and this blog is a way for you to come along with us. We wouldn't have been able to put it together without everyone's support, and at times, financial help :)

It's about time we start our day but thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the blog. I'll update as often as possible. Feel free to email anytime at gougejk@yahoo.com but if you call or text I can't respond.

I love you all!!!