For years, I've been a European junkie.  My parents took me once when I was fairly small although I don't remember much other than visiting a lot of relatives.  My next trip was as a freshman at the University of Delaware, spending winter session studying at the University of Caen capped off by a few magical days in Paris.  After graduating, I worked for a company that almost immediately transferred me to their European start-up operation (talk about luck!).  I spent two wonderful years in Europe, spending many a weekend and most of my vacations travelling around Europe.  After returning to the US, I went back for the Millennium.  But now, after being seduced by the outdoor wonders of the American Southwest, I want something a little different.  Africa's too expensive, South America's a possibility, but Australia and New Zealand?  Now that's a ways away!  

11/24/00  And so, I find myself on a 6 hour flight to LAX, a 4 hour layover, and then a 13 hour flight to Auckland.  The flights feel like forever...not helped when we lose a day because of the international date line.  For someone who doesn't like flying, I am extremely relieved to get on the ground!

11/26/00  I have a two hour layover before my next (thankfully short) flight to Nelson.  Auckland is wonderful in the airport has showers you can rent (including towels and soap), with no time limit.  I indulge in a long, hot shower and leave feeling very much refreshed.  The flight to Nelson is wonderful.  I'm sitting next to someone who was also on my flight to Auckland.  He's on a Backroads cycling tour - one of the tours I checked out, but then rejected after seeing how much they cost.  I end up seeing him a couple of times later, as our tours follow the same route (as virtually all tours out of Nelson do).  On the way, the captain circles around Mount Taranaki, a cone volcano.  Unfortunately, my camera is in the overhead <grrr>, so no photo of the picture-perfect mountain.  Landing at Nelson, I catch a shuttle to town, stop at the visitor's center, and then walk to Shortbread Cottage.  I knew I found the right place when I see two lovely women tanning in the backyard.  Turns out they are on an around the world trip, and this is their second to last stop before a week or two in Fiji (rough!) and then home to England.  They are the first of many I would meet doing the world tour.  I want to go sea kayaking at Abel Tasman tomorrow, so I grab a few brochures, picked a couple of tours that sound interesting, and fortunately get a booking with Abel Tasman Kayaks.  I then wander around Nelson for a few hours, buy ingredients for Moroccan chicken including a bottle of NZ sauvignon blanc (my first taste, and one that I have since repeated many times!), then head back to the hostel for dinner.  Spend the evening lazing around, talking to the very friendly owners, then to bed.  

11/27/00  Up early for sea kayaking, I get picked up by their shuttle (driven by our guide it turned out), receive the safety briefing at their office, and we are off!  It's an absolutely gorgeous day, with barely a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the upper 70s.  The sea kayaks are all two man and very stable.  I think it would take a considerable effort to tip it.  Our tour heads along the coastline, with a stop for tea (former British colony...) and another for lunch.  Both very satisfying.  The coastline is beautiful, particularly the contrast between the deep green of the forest and the wonderful blue of the water.  One of the more popular hikes (or tramps as the Kiwis call them) on the South Island follows the coast.  You can do it in a few days, but many will take two weeks, stopping to tan and relax whenever they feel like it.  We return by water taxi.

11/28/00  Up early once again, this time to meet my group.  I'm going with a company called New Zealand Nature Safari (now Hiking New Zealand, ).  10 days of hiking for NZ$880 (US$355)!  Food, optional tours, and park camping fees are not included, but what a steal!  (16 days physically in NZ cost me under US$1000.)  They were recommended in Frommer's, and their website sounded like they offered exactly what I wanted.  It's raining, so I huddle under the awning at the visitor's center and meet Alex, a Brit a couple of years younger than me who's in between jobs (soon to be a Swedish internet consultant) and traveling for a couple of months.  The others soon arrive:  two Belges, 1 Dutchman, 2 American students in Australia, 1 German living in Singapore, and one vegetarian Kiwi.  Looks like a good group - moodwise, the rain isn't bothering us and agewise, we are all between 20 and 31.  Our guide is Neale Elders, who lives on a farm and works in construction but leads four trips a year for fun.  He's a geologist by training who spent several years working in the Parks.  We soon called him "Crazy Neale."  Transportation consists of a 10 passenger van with a trailer to hold the packs, food, stoves, and cooking gear.  We throw our stuff in and head out.  As Neale drives, he gives us an overview and appoints Andrew our treasurer.  Andrew is in charge of the "kitty," and collects money from all of us.  Our first stop is a supermarket, where we fill three shopping carts very full.  Each person is in charge of dinner for a night (10 people, 10 dinners).  I volunteer for dinner at a campground with a kitchen...Tex-Mexican night!  Get everything except for the sour cream and meat (which we'll get that day at a smaller supermarket).  By the time we come out, the rain is gone and there's a hint of sun in the sky.  Our second stop is a beer store unlike any I've been to.  The store consists of a row of taps.  You bring in an empty bottle (2 liter in our case), fill them, and pay for them.  Environmentally friendly, cheap, and great beer.  I love this country!!

 Our destination is Kahurangi National Park.  Not far south and west of Nelson, this park is our introduction to New Zealand.  We load the gear, pose for a photo, and then head out.  The hiking is initially easy, going through an open beech forest and crossing the first of several wire suspension bridges we'll encounter.  A nice bounce to it, but you can also just walk across the stream (the bridges become necessary when there's a big rainstorm).  Neale points out the various trees and fauna that we encounter, but I'm afraid my brain ignores much of it, preferring to simply enjoy the different kinds of plants.  We pause for lunch along a stream, eating cucumber and tomato sandwiches with hard cheese and salami.  Even apples!  (Kiwis appear not to have heard of ramen noodles and dehydrated/freeze-dried food!)   We take our boots off and go wading in the stream.  My toes go numb, but Andrew goes for a dip.  Lacing up, we continue on across grassy tussocks to camp.  We were supposed to camp at a rock shelter, but a girl's academy has already beat us to it so we continue on to Salisbury Lodge, part of New Zealand's hut system.  The huts vary in quality.  This one is great - gas stoves, comfy mattresses, outhouse nearby, running water just outside.  All for just NZ$10 (US$4)!  We settle in along with a few other hikers.  The views from the hut are spectacular - we can see Mount Arthur (1795 meters) and Gordon's Pyramid (1501 meters).  Andrew cooks our first meal - spaghetti with veggies.  Needless to say, we are all hungry and did not leave leftovers!  

11/29/00  We cinch tight the straps on our packs and head towards Gordon's Pyramid.  The plan is to hike to the top, then descend into the valley below and climb Mount Arthur.  We leave in sunshine, but once again Mother Nature changes her mind.  It starts drizzling, so I break out my pack cover. As it's warm, I hold off putting on the jacket and instead pull the cover partially over me.  The route takes us through a forest where the trunks are covered by moss and the branches are twisted at all sorts of angles.  The forest is quite different from what I'm used to, and an experience to see.  Continuing on, we reach Gordon's Pyramid and start climbing.  The drizzle became rain, so I reluctantly put on my Gore-Tex jacket and continue up the switchbacks.  Soon, I become thankful for the jacket, as the temperature begins falling and the winds pick up.  By the time we reach the top, the winds are blowing 30mph with gusts even higher and it's freezing.  After a couple of pictures, on go the long pants, fleece, ear-warmers, and gloves as we wait for the rest to catch up.  Then it starts snowing!  Upper 70s one day, to 30 degrees and snow the next - talk about a contrast!  We abandon plans to climb Mount Arthur and instead slide our way down to a lower elevation, out of the wind.  The snow gives way to rain and then...sunshine!  We stop to remove layers next to a mine shaft.  Andrew, Matt, and I explore it until the water in the shaft gets near our boot tops, then turn around (freezing water is not our idea of a good time at present).  We return to the van and drive to our next camp along the Owen River and sunshine.  We're the only ones there.  A hot shower is most welcome, even if it's only two minutes.  The sand flies are "bloody awful" as Alex puts it.  I dig out my mosquito netting and put it around my head, earning a lot of laughs, but the bugs avoid me for the most part.  As soon as the sun sets, the flies disappear and we enjoy a fire beneath the stars.  I sleep under the stars, awaking early in the morning to the sand flies back out to feed. Breakfast is pancakes, courtesy of Anne.  So thin they are almost crepes!  A little sugar and jam and we are ready for the road!