Chris Lewis

Ugggh

cslewis — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:08:39 +0000

LAX, why do you keep making me hate you? 1 hour after scheduled departure time and we’re sitting at the gate having the hydrolics on the plane looked at. And there is a screaming alien baby in the row immediately in front of us.

Dunedin to Queenstown

cslewis — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:14:11 +0000

Once we arrived in Dunedin, we found our hotel – a place called Hogwartz Bacpackers. We got there earlier than planned so took a tour of the Cadburry chocolate factory and Speight’s – one of the bigger beer brewers in NZ. We added on dinner at the Speight’s Ale House after which was quite tasty.The next day was quite busy as we had a full day tour booked. After our 8am pickup, we headed along the coast of the peninsula near Dunedin. There we saw Larnach Castle, the only restored castle in the country. Afterwards we headed to the end of the peninsula to the Royal Albatross Center. The tour was a little underwhelming as we didn’t see any birds! (these are endangered birds but 30 pairs breed at this place) Next up was Penguin Place. This is a tour of a private farm where 2 different types of penguins nest. The neat part was they have built covered tunnels with lookouts so you can see the penguins in their nests from as close as 5 meters. We saw several yellow eyed penguins and a few bluue penguins in their nests. After this we did a Monarch Wildlife Cruise. This went by the albatross nesting grounds where we got to see at least 11 birds flying around. We also went by a seal colony and saw a ton of them as well,along with lots of other birds.

The next day we took it easy in the morning beofre going on the scenic Taieri gorge railway with a following bus ride through the central Otago area to get to Queenstown. This was quite a nice area and we want to go back sometime to explore it- including the central Otago rail trail.

The next morning was a 6:30am bus pickup to heaad for Milford Sound. We got to stop several times for photos in the national park along the way. It snowed a bit along the way and was on some winding roads. Once we actually got to Milford it rained the whole time we were there. This was good because we got to see a ton of waterfalls, but bad because we couldnt see much of the surrounding mountains. It was still worth the trip though. On the way back we got dropped off in Te Anau.

The next day we wandered the city until noon when we got picked up for our overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound. This as the best part of the
trip. We took a 30 minute bu followed by an hour boat ride across a lake followed by a 45 minute bus to finally reach the sound. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing. We cruised around the sound for 3 or so hours before dropping anchor. I went kayaking while Cressie did a small boat ride. After about 4 people decided to go for a swim in the water that was only 7C – I was one of those. It was a short swim. This was followed by a 3 course buffet dinner that was the best meal of the trip. After dinner people just hung out and looked at the stars before bed. The next morning started at 7am with the engines turning back on and we spent 3 or so hours riding back to the port. We then got transfered back to Te Anau. We had a while before the bus so watched a short movie on the Fjiiordlands. We then caught the bus back to Queenstown.

The next day we did a jet boat ride on Dart River through Mt Aspiring National Park. The boat ride was fun and it was through a pretty area of the country. This also included a bus ride through some areas and a guided nature walk. This combination took most of the day.

The next day was my birthday so Cressie paid for me to bungi. I jumped from the birthplace of bungi which is from a bridge where you actually get wet in the river below. This was so much fun I did it a second time but I jumped of backwards the second time. Cressie did not jump. That evening we took the gondala to the top of Queentown where we rode the luge twice then ate at the buffet overlooking the city.

This morning we took it easy and just wandered through the gardens and by the lake. We then caught a bus to the airport and started heading home. We are in the Auckland airport now waiting for our connection to LAX. We are both sad to leave but we know we will be back soon.

Doubtful Sound

cslewis — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:46:50 +0000

Just made it back from overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound. It was
amazing – had to be highlight of the trip. Now off to Queenstown for
the last few days before flying home.

Seals, Llamas and Sounds

cslewis — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:46:14 +0000

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Chris Lewis
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:29:33 -0700
Subject: Seals, Llamas and Sounds
To: post@posterous.com

Upon arrival in Wellington, we immediately hopped on the ferry to head
to the South Island. The sun was starting to set as we left so we had
some great views of the coast of the North Island, however, that meant
it was dark by the time the South Island came into view. Once we hit
shore, we found our hostel and crashed.

The next morning we were booked on a 8am ferry to take us to Ship Cove
where we planned to do a day walk along the Queen Charlotte Trek. As
luck would have it, it was rainy and overcast that morning, but we
decided to still give it a go. It was a 1.5 hour boat ride to get to
the start. The dock we landed at had a history of Captain Cook, since
he apparently landed there several times. After reading the info and
taking a few pictures, we were off.

The first 45 minutes of the hike was uphill to get to a scenic
overlook, which Cressie was not too happy about. We finally made it,
and the rain had stopped and the clouds were liftimg so we had some
great views. After resting a minute we pressed on, as this was a point
to point walk and we had to be picked up at the far point at 3pm. It
was an interesting walk through lots of unique trees with some great
views of the inlets as we walked. We stopped at several points along
the track, including one where we got engaged. Soon after we realized
we were starting to run out of time so we picked up the pace. We made
it to he lodge with 10 minutes to spare. We got back to land as it was
getting dark, grabbed some dinner at the pub by the hostel, and called
it a day.

The next morning we got the early bus to head down the coast to
Kaikoura. Immediately upon arrival we wre picked up and headed out to
do a llama trek. This consisted of walking while dragging llamas on a
leash through a not too scenic area (compared to the coast that was 5
miles away), and we stopped to have a picnic lunch. Cressie really
enjoyed it though, and since I was expecting to not really enjoy it as
much as some of the other things on the trip, this activity went as
planned. This took up the rest of the day.

The next morning we were booked to go and swim with seals but it was
postponed due to weather. We instead decided to walk up the road to
where a seal colony was. Once we got there we saw 6 just laying on the
rocks. By this point the clouds had lifted and we saw snow capped
mountains surrounding us. We sat and watched the seals for a bit and
took some pictures. We were so close we could have touched them. We
then headed along a cliffside path to look for other seals. Eventually
we found a narrow trail that cut down the cliff to the beach where
there were literally hundreds of seals on the rocks. We made our way
down the trail and looked at these seals for a bit. There was none
else here which probably had something to do with it being 3k from the
car park where the other seals were as well as the steep cliff trail
you had to go down. We then walked back to town and caught the bus to
Christchurch. Next time we are in Kaikoura we are going to check out a
place where baby seals swim upstream to a waterfall and play there. It
is 20km out of the town though so we couldn’t get there without having
a car.

We only stayed in Christchurch long enough to grab a meal and sleep.
We got on the 7:45am bus headed for Dunedin, which we are on now. We
spend a dew days there and then head for Queenstown and the sounds.

I’ll be posting some more pictures whenver we find some wireless
internet that doesn’t charge by the MB.

Proposal Details

cslewis — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:30:42 +0000

In case anyone wants more details than “I asked, she said yes” (But really, do you need to get any more detailed than that? Just sayin…), Cressie has posted a more in-depth account you can read here: http://chrisandcress.com/post/1319042260/my-precious-the-details

Cressie has The One ring

cslewis — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:52:59 +0000

“Yay! so excited! he did such a good job! more details to come later
but here are a few pics. Woot!” – Cressie

Oh, and she said yes, in case you were womdering

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Breaking News – We’re Engaged

cslewis — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:54:28 +0000

Just wanted to let everyone know Cressie and I got engaged yesterday. Details and pictures to come once we have a decent Internet connection!

Kiwis, sheep, and glow worms – oh my

cslewis — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 06:37:01 +0000

Our first full day in New Zealand was quite a busy one. A bus picked us up at 8:30am and we headed on a Hobbiton tour, which was a tour on the actual set of The Shire from Lord of the Rings. It was pretty interesting and the actual farm on which the set was located was very pretty. Unfortunately I can’t post any pictures from there or describe it due to a confidentiality agreement we had to sign – you can figure out why. After the set tour, we saw a sheep shearing demonstration and Cressie fed a baby sheep. Once we made it back to Rotorua, we headed to Rainbow Springs, which is a small nature preserve – the prime attraction which is the kiwi (the bird, not the fruit). We first did the “Kiwi Experience”, which was a tour of their kiwi preservation efforts called Operation Nest Egg. We got to see a baby kiwi sleeping and a adult kiwi running back and forth. Following the tour we went inside the preserve itself, and saw lots of fish, birds, and even a wallaby. All the kiwi were sleeping though.

Following the tour we were picked up to go to the Mita Maori Cultural Experience. This was a local Maori family that put on a show of some of their traditions – they paddled a canoe on the river, sang some songs, and demonstrated weapons. Following all that was a delicious “hangi”, or Maori feast including lamb.

Once we were stuffed, we actually got to go back to Rainbow Springs at night. This included a guided tour, so we learned some things we missed wandering during the day. We got to go to the Kiwi cages, and two of them were out and running about. We were close enough to touch them if we wanted and there was no glass separating us.

The next day we had originally planned to go to a Thermal park a ways out of town via bus, but decided instead to stay in town and see some of the things we had missed. We started by going back to the thermal park in the city we had wandered through the first evening. At the end of the park we saw the Lake, so headed that way. I was almost able to talk Cressie into an arial tour of the area via helicopter but we ended up deciding against it. Leaving the lake, we wandered by the Government Gardens and Rotorua Museum, which was originally and old spa. Behind the museum we found a lake front path. This may have gone around the entire lake, but we only followed it for 2 miles or so. All along the path, next to and actually in the lake, were thermal pools and springs. There were a ton of seagulls and other birds as well. We eventually headed back to the city and caught the bus to Taupo.

Today was an early day, with a 7am bus pickup. The only item on the agenda was Waitiomo Caves, where we were going Blackwater Rafting through caves filled with glow worms. It was chilly in the morning, and we actually rose through a snow storm on the way to the caves. We eventually made it, and shimmied into our wetsuits that were provided and headed for the caves. The tour itself was loads of fun. We started out like any other cave tour walking and crawling through the cave, but then hopped in the intertubes we had been carrying and floated down a stream in the cave. At one point we hit a waterfall approximately 5 feet high, which we got over by standing at the ledge, turning around, and jumping off backwards, landing on our tubes. Cressie even did this! At several points we all turned off our lights and just floated through the cave, staring at the glowworms in the ceiling. As I said, great time. There is actually a longer version offered that includes abscailing I want to do next to time I’m back.

We are now on the bus on the way back to Taupo. Tomorrow is either going to be the Tongario Crossing (18+ km day hike that includes the volcano used for Mt Doom in LOTR) or various tours in the Taupo area. The Crossing was closed today due to snow and weather, so we are waiting to see if they are even open tomorrow or not for hiking. The following day is our last day on the North Island – we are on buses and ferries the entire day getting to the tip of the South Island.

Oh, and I’m sure everyone has heard there are more sheep than people in New Zealand, but the magnitude is hard to believe. Basically, in between every town we’ve gone to there has been nothing but rolling hills out the window covered with sheep. It really is 99% of the people living in the major cities and the rest of the island being farmland and sheep. And I’m pretty sure there might be some sort of rule stating there must be 1 sheep on every square mile of the island.

Kia Ora!

We’ve landed

cslewis — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:42:56 +0000

It only took 28 hours on a plane to get here, but we’ve arrived! We ended up with a lot more time before our first bus than expected, so we decided to take a last minute harbor tour of Auckland. It was interesting, and we both stepped foot on our first volcano. After that, we took a 4 hour bus to get to Rotorua. We passed an interesting park on the bus in, so we walked to it after dropping our bags off. It was a park full of thermal activity and hot springs – think Yellowstone. It’s now time for bed to avoid jetlag. Busy day tomorrow full of a tour of The Shire, visiting a kiwi preservation area, and a Maori Dinner experience. Hopefully we can stay awake!

And so it begins.

cslewis — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:20:34 +0000