Week 40 - A week with the Kiwis Sydney Airport to 23h ...
In fact the trick to get to the airport by train. If we stop at the stop just before you win $ 9. They are clever at the airport, but hey, Antoine told me that thing and told me to take shortcuts on foot. In short I arrive at the airport that closes between midnight and 4 hours! There are just a small padded room with tiled for those who wish to spend the night. Anyway it does not bother me, I put my alarm clock at 6 am and I sleep peacefully under the glare of neon lights.
Friday, March 21 , rain
Firstly what New Zealand? It is primarily a country! A beautiful country whose capital is Wellington, a rugby team called the All Blacks and Kiwi is synonymous with New Zealanders. But in fact NZ has a population 11 times more sheep than New Zealanders. The first residents of NZ are Maori. Unlike Aborigines, there is no Maori reserves. Something incredible is that man has set foot for the first time in New Zealand between 1200 and 1300, very recently compared to the Aborigines who arrived in Australia there are tens of thousands of years. The first European to set foot on the Abel Tasman NZ is the same who discovered Tasmania, but only with the exceptional talents of cartographer James Cook as New Zealand will be plotted on a map. NZ has two main islands (plus many smaller islands). The South Island is about two times larger than the North Island but in fact the North Island which has the majority of the population. The largest city in the South Island (by far) is called Christchurch (350.000hab). Unfortunately I only have a week to visit NZ, I'll just the South Island. What is amazing is that in NZ 80% of the flora is unique in the country.
Sydney: It's raining less than yesterday already, I hope the weather will be better in New Zealand. That is my plane ...
It is the plane took off, still farther east. 3 hours later I arrive in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island.
It is 2:10 p.m. ET I am 300km from the antipodes of France (which is also open in the sea). There are now 12 hours of time difference with France, we can not do better. I found Bruno in the station, inloupable, he wears the beret!
is called the rental car so they pick us up, we arrive at the center of Christchurch to take the car. It's a tiny Toyota Starlet. It really changes the Falcon, it pulls all alone! Oh la la, large galley, my Australian credit card does not work here and as I did not used my French card already nine months since I forgot the code. Bruno kindly get me, it's a situation I do not like too good but I have no choice. In addition to adding it's Easter Friday so the banks are closed ... Here we are on the road, when I had Bruno on Skype, we quickly realized that these were limited to holiday travel as cheap as possible, so it is not evil that is agreed on that. That the rental car ...
Anyway, we fill up the car, buy something to eat quickly, because I have not eaten since yesterday evening. We drive to Arthur Pass, center, what beautiful country it is really pretty.
Here the bridges are single lane, so be careful.
We drive to the west coast we go shopping and we stopped at a store Jade, a stone semi-precision found in China, Canada, Russia and New Zealand ...
We stop on the coast where we sleep outside ...
Saturday, March 22 , rain
Unfortunately, is gray, you can not really enjoy the scenery today. We go back a little further north to go to the strange pancakes rock formation.
The pancake rocks ...
Imagination Maori ...
We drive along the West Coast to Franz Josef Glacier. We start a walk at the foot of the glacier, it gets a little gray, but the view is really beautiful.
is the secret passage to approach the glacier ...
We continue our journey to the Fox glacier is located about thirty miles from Franz Josef Glacier. We are invited by an American to take a beer from New Zealand in a bar (probably the only one of Fox Glacier). Then we go to bed (in the car) near the beach. We want to take a walk on the glacier tomorrow, he'll have to get up early.
Sunday, March 23 covered
We wake up just before the sun, we begin the day with a walk around Lake Matheson. Too bad there is no light but it's really incredibly beautiful.
We arrive just in time to begin walking on the glacier with a guide.
water from melting glacier ...
The sight of a little higher ...
And yes, we must put on the nails ...
Glacier Blue ...
We returned to the car, heading south along a magnificent road, you get one go at the seaside and a few minutes later at the foot of the glaciers, then the forest, rivers ... We stop to eat at a lake. Speaking with an English (who came from England with his 4x4!), It tells us what to visit in the South. We note a walk three days would seem to be feasible in one day for good walkers. To see ...
's the scenic route takes us to Queenstown
On the road, we take a hitchhiker, a Kiwi who lives in the region. We drive to Queenstown capital of extreme sports where we are introducing the New Zealanders. It is also a wonderful village on a lake at the foot of ski resorts and minutes from the sea ... We visit the city soon night before heading back to the famous march of three days. The lake at night Wakatpu ...
We are waking up early.
Monday, March 24 , sunny
Isengaard We wake to a famous place where was filmed "The Lord of the Rings ". He still dark when we rise. We drive to the start of the Routeburn track. There is always the morning mist that remains flush with the ground, I understand better why the Maoris called New Zealand Aotearoa which means "land of the long white cloud".
The beginning looks really gorgeous in a forest of oak trees of all colors (I remind you that fall is here).
The milky blue water River
Can we get a place on the mountain more open, it's incredibly beautiful, we do not know what to say ...
The water is very pure here ...
We continue our walk to the top of the Ocean Peak where we see the sea in the distance ... We returned the car late in the day, we set to arrive in Te Anau tonight, we want to be at 9am tomorrow morning at Milford Sound in the fjords. What is crazy is that during our walk we were within 25km as the crow flies from Milford Sound, but due to lack of road, he must do all around the Lake Wanaka and go behind the 6:30 mountain or road according to the guide. Besides, we must be careful because the road is a dead end and there is no petrol from Te Anau 240km is no fuel to go to Milford Sound and back. We arrive
night shortly after Te Anau, we sleep near a lake.
Tuesday, March 25 , cloudy, sunny
We rise again at dawn to arrive at Milford Sound before leaving the boat for cruising 9am. We arrived at 8:50, time to take the tickets and we're on the boat just in time. A small photo before departure, it is at sea level and yet the Mitre Peak (opposite) peaks at 1692m. We can say we did honor to breakfast Available. We are finally on the fjords, but what art is a fjord? It is a yogurt (very good way) but it is also a geological feature: they are formed by ancient glaciers, not to be confused with sounds that are formed by streams, also called Milford Sound Milford Fjord should be. Average rainfall in the region, compared with 7000mm 870mm means in France.
It is the 45 th parallel South and it is rather cold, but it's really beautiful.
Then we take the car, I have to file Bruno on the road to Dunedin (where he lives). On the road, we go back to the Homer tunnel, a 1250m long tunnel whose construction took more than 30 years. This tunnel is very special since it is composed of only one way then we can run in both directions, so there is an alternative fire that lasts 15 minutes ...! Must not be pressed. But the worst part of it is that fire does not work between 8 and 20h and the tunnel is not lit: do not venture there if you do not have headlights. Basically if you meet someone in the middle of the tunnel, you must be prepared to walk 700m back! I noticed that the Kiwis are strong enough to make way for a unique double as meaning bridges. There are worse because there are decks where you can go both ways also with a track, ie, the railroad is in the track width of the car. In short this is the famous Homer Tunnel, where you can see on the panel waiting time between two green lights ...
On the road we see two people making the stop. We decide to take them, two Czechs who go to Queenstown. I file Bruno few kilometers later, then I bring the Czechs in Queenstown, I stop from time to time on the road to take some photos this great country.
Here I am all alone at the end of the world ... actually not that much because when I went into the city, I met a group of girls including one who polo at my university, and who lives 500m from Kooloobong, it's crazy! He is 16h, I surely time for a little browse ... There's one not too far from here that looks nice as it is on a slope of the mountain that overlooks Queenstown and the lake. It climbs pretty well, but as usual, it's really beautiful,
On my way I met a New Zealander who tells me that there is a ghost town not far from here, but the ride is in the palm of gorges, there are 20 rivers to cross on foot ... I'm quite tempted to go.
I returned to Queenstown in the evening, I walk in the city I then decided to roll a bit to find a corner to sleep. I plunge into the forest, make me a fire and then I go to bed at the beautiful *. Tomorrow I aim to go Mount Cook.
Wednesday, March 26 , cloudy
Rise at 5:30 this morning, I make a trip to go ghost town, but I must not go too late if I want to go to Mount Cook. In the end I did not find this village. returned from my trip, I realized I was wrong road. I have not seen any sign, there was not enough light.
the way I met this monster ...
bad, I will not have seen this former mining village ... I continue the road towards the North. Mount Cook (Aoraki in Maori) is the highest mountain in New Zealand amounting to 3754m and is located just few km from the Tasman Sea (west of NZ). Indeed, the Alps New Zealand women is battery instead of meeting of two tectonic plates.
I undertake a step toward Glacier ...
I filled my bottle at the source of the glacier ...
By cons I do not know why the water is cloudy.
By late afternoon, I returned to the car to head towards Christchurch, I have to be at the airport tomorrow. I roll up a small village in the mountains to eat. The vegetation has changed. There are no more trees, only grass yellow or orange. I keep a little road at night and then I'll sleep in the car.
Thursday, March 27 , cloudy
When I wake up, I take the road to Christchurch, I arrived around 14h to return the car. Then I decide to walk in Christchurch is a beautiful city along the coast. Traffic question, what does this sign?
the evening, I finished my NZ dollars at McDonalds. I keep just enough money to pay for the bus to the airport and pay the departure tax (a tax that's still very original that you have to pay if you are over 12 years). I take the last bus at 23h in the airport, I stop at the stop just before that cost me $ 1.90 instead of $ 9 to go to the airport (10min walk to the front last stop). I slept in the airport and put my alarm clock at 4:20 because I take off early tomorrow.
Friday, March 28 , sunny
It is the plane takes off, the last goodbye to New Zealand a fantastic country, really nice. Unfortunately one week it's still too short, but I will not have wasted my time too. 3 hours later I'm back in Australia. When I met a businessman in a suit and tie computer under his arm trying to skate, I told myself that I was in Australia. Unfortunately I have not had time to chopping my camera at that time.
I resume the train at Wolli Creek (to avoid paying the additional $ 9 per 10 minute walk) and I'm back in Wollongong.
Time to take a shower here I am at work directly on Multimedia signal processing. And yes, after a week of vacation I have a lot of work.
