Abel Tasman

The Abel Tasman was named after the first European explorer to sight New Zealand. It's a beautiful national park, great for tramping, kayaking and camping...Bri and I decided to camp and tramp.

Our campsite; next to some horsies and beyond those pretty things is the beach

Yes I'm wearing socks and a botton up...the sand flies were brutal

We had to take a water taxi to begin our hike, so they gave us a little tour on the way. Below is a unique rock formation known as Split Apple Rock. The tides change so drastically in this area that at high tide it looks like the apple is floating in the water and at low tide you can walk from the beach to the rock without getting wet.

Anchorage Bay...where Tom Cruise, Bill Gates and Bob Dylan spent their holiday's last Christmas (separately of course)

It was gorgeous...really tropical and you could hear the ocean at points too. The beaches had golden sand and the water was a beautiful turquoise color. The tramp took us five hours. It was St. Patrick's Day, so Bri and I thought we were very deserving of a brewski. Back to Nelson to celebrate!

Ciao.
Lissy.

Pretty Little Leslie.

Leslie is our new home. Ironically, she has South Park characters painted all over her (the show South Park is based in Colorado). My friend Spencer, who I used to work with at OppenheimerFunds, is traveling at the moment too. He gave me an insider tip about hiring a van from NZ...you get 10% off if you are gay. So, being the frugal travelers we are...we asked the booking agent about the discount. He said, yea I guess it's hard to really tell if it's true or not, but are you? Really gay, I answered. $60 off, thank you. Leslie is her name...isn't she a beaut?

We began traveling north towards Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park. It took us about six hours but the scenery was so beautiful that we barely noticed the drive (but I promise we were watching the road). The trip was filled with mountains (lush and green!), lakes, winding roads (and I mean winding) and animals. Fenced in farming animals...thousands of sheep, cows and deer...yes, deer! It was odd seeing them that way.

It's hard to see the cliff we're on, but it was a grand view

Deer!

  After making it to the sweet little town of Nelson, we found a restaurant, ordered some coffee and wine, and then used their restrooms to wash our faces and brush our teeth. Smooth. Then back to Leslie to find a place to park and crash. We agreed that a hotel seemed safe, so we parked and got some shut eye...only to wake up to someone beating on our window at 7 am. "Is anyone in there? This is private property...you must move now...the police are on their way!". Halfway asleep, halfway peeing her pants out of fright...Bri got in the front and drove off. Then we laughed. Then we got a coffee.

It was a rainy day in Nelson...we definitely didn't have the gear to go on a hike (they call it a tramp) in that kind of weather. What to do, what to do? Wineries. Yes, that sounds just right.

Sweet Italian woman named Angela who gave us tips on our next two stops

Richmond Plains winery...one of the seven organic wineries in the country (there are 700 wineries in all)

Next stop: Stafford Lane Estate...known for their chutney and oils (and their wine too of course) 

We were taught how to 'fluff' our wine to help separate the alcohol from the grapes to be able to distinguish the different notes in the wine

Of course there was some wool lying around

Funny side note: Stafford was our second winery of the day, so we were being warned to be careful driving around the area, etc. Just after he finished speaking, little Bri spilled wine on her shirt and knocked over her full glass onto the table. You see folks, she was trying a technique that we had been taught called the canoe (done with your tongue) and she kind of choked on her wine. It was hilarious. We had one more tasting, ate the remaining bread and left. Onto the next...

Rimu Grove Winery...overlooks the Waimea Inlet

They let us under the nets to try the grapes

Onto the Abel Tasman National Park!

Catch ya people.

L.

Pardon me...I've been living in a van for 11 days.

There she is folks, *Leslie. We picked her up in Christchurch in hopes to explore the entire south island...and we were successful. NZ (they pronounce it NZed) is a gorgeous country with such diverse landscape and kind people. I can't wait to show you around.... :)

First and foremost though...getting to NZ. Bri and I booked our flights from SYD - CHC just a few days ahead of time...little did we know (and soon were we to find out) that they don't allow you into the country unless you have a way of getting out. Sooooo...there we were at the ticket counter when we heard the news. We had 45 minutes to book a flight out of NZ...problem was, we didn't know where we were going next. We scrounged up all of our loose coinage (Aus currency has $1 and $2 coins) and got on the brutally slow computers in the international terminal and started putting in dates and cities. At that point we were running out of time on the computers and time to get on our flight! With 30 seconds of credit remaining and Bri in the midst of booking her flight, I became a homeless person begging for change. I was denied by an old man and saved by a young boy, promising I'd pay him back (which I have yet to do). With five minutes to spare we checked in our bags and headed to customs...yes customs, which we totally forgot about...(it was our first flight out of Aus). We smiled and got through the line and began our sprint to our gate. Knocking over small children and racks of duty free goods (ok not really)...we heard them calling our flight. We showed up, two sweaty Americans, and walked right onto the plane. PHEW! Cheers to a good rush.

Once we landed in ChCh (Christchurch) we had zero plans of where we were staying. Our friend from Colorado, Blake, had studied abroad in NZ and had a good friend (Tim) that I had been in touch with for the past few months. The plan was to stay with him and figure out our route around the country from there...well due to the earthquake, Tim moved to Dunedin, NZ with his job. So our choice was easy...hostel here we come. Bri met a nice fella from Aus as she booked our hostel from the airport...Grant became our date for the evening and our roommate for the night (and completely harmless).

It was amazing to see the destruction in the city. The CBD was blocked off (where the main damage occurred) but evidence of the earthquake was easy to see.

"We will save this house" 

The majority of the roads were separated and uneven

After checking in to our hostel, we made our way to one of the only restaurants still operating in the city. We had a few Speight's (NZ beer), some food, and made our first Kiwi friend! His name is Graeme and he's way cool. FYI He was eating out for dinner because he still has no running water at his house.

Grant, Me, Bri and Graeme

Our thought was to meet some locals to make our plan of attack rather than read a book about it. And bam there you have him, Graeme, the travel advisor. He helped us map out our 11 days in the beautiful country (which is actually very comparable in size to Colorado...fun fact!). Oh and I felt an after shock at the restaurant...it was small but my feet shook and it was neat.

xo.
L.

The Great Ocean Road and my first kangaroo.

Next stop...another amazingly kind family from Melbourne. Bri's family friend of friends, the Knights, agreed to take two 25-year-old American girls on a 7 hour road trip along the southeastern coast of Australia, known as The Great Ocean Road. The road traverses rain forests, as well as beaches and cliffs composed of limestone and sandstone...and it's beautiful.

Sailing sailing sailing.

Oh, and I saw a kangaroo...about 15 of them, actually! Gary and Connie knew of a golf course where you can find them on the greens, so that is where we went...they are so beautiful and powerful. Sweeeet.

 

After our trip we headed to the Knight's home in Melbourne to pick up their daughter and head to dinner. Vietnamese yum yum.

Bri and I with Rachel (Connie and Gary's daughter)

Another lovely family. The people here have been so welcoming to us...we have been taken such good care of. It's been interesting to see the differences in our cultures as well. For instance in the states, most kids head off to college in another city. In Australia, most of them go to uni in their home town and then continue to live with their families (which is the case for the daughters of both the Fragapane's and Knight's). They asked us questions about what it's like to be on our own at such a young age and how we afford those expenses. I guess that's just the norm in our culture...but it's fascinating to have those conversations to decide if one way is more beneficial than the other. Do you think we grow up more quickly by having more responsibilities and making our own choices at 18...or do you think we're at an unstable stage in our lives which might possibly lead to the beginning of poor habits at a young age? Hmmmmm.......

Holla!

L.

Inkkkkkkkkk!!!!!

We have made it to Geelong! Geelong is a city about an hour south of Melbourne. We are staying with a family here...and this is how I know them: My cousin Chet once visited Australia (almost 15 years ago) to play basketball. He stayed with a extremely kind family known as the Fragapane's. Well, once he heard about my trip here he put me in touch with Lucy and Tony and it has been history from there. They are such welcoming and brilliantly witty people (well Lucy anyway) :) They picked us up from the train, made us dinner and practically tucked us in. Bri and I were not the only new-comers to their home that day...they also picked up a Japanese girl named Satomi. She is here studying English for a couple of weeks. As hectic as that sounds, they are used to it. They have hosted heaps of students and travelers...which goes to show in their up for anything/laid back personalities. It has been interesting around here after the news of the tragic tsunami that hit Japan. Satomi was obviously very shook up trying to contact her family and friends. Everyone seems to be safe and sound but it took awhile to get a hold of anyone...so frightening.

On a lighter note...Tony is awesome and he took us fishing!!!

There they are folks!

First time I've set eyes on a legit jelly.

Makes me miss my Gramps :) xo

Yes our caps say "Fishing Lady"...get over it.

Ok so little did we know that we were going to be fishing for squid. I was thinking walleye, northern, maybe a few sunnies...hahaa. Nope, squid. And what I really had no clue about was the INK!!!!! I think I must've learned about the defense mechanism of squid in school at some point, right? As soon as we'd pull in a squid it would shoot out black ink and then some sort of clear substance. I about had a panic attack getting through that experience. I screamed as the ink spewed all over us. Too graphic for you?? Try being in the midst of it. We took our prizes home and Lucy cleaned and cooked them for us...

And voila...calamari!

What a great experience...thanks again Fragapane's :)

Little Brianna Dahling.

We have reunited! Breezy and I met at the Melbourne airport on Wednesday morning...so good to see that little chicken! The first day we wandered around the city (St. Kilda area), caught up, had coffee, had dinner, and saw a bit of live music...then laid our heads in a nice hostel in the area.

Dinner was great. We stumbled upon a place called Lentil as Anything. We walked into the very modest restaurant to check out the menu. There were no prices, just a few vegetarian curry dishes and a story. Here is the gist of it: The pay as you feel philosophy is simple--pay what you think the food and the experience is worth...placing human dignity above profit. All donations and payments are made into an anonymous box...which in their eyes preserves dignity and promotes trust and feelings of social inclusion. The food was delicious, very simple but with wonderful spices and flavor. I wonder how they do? I am sure that we paid more than we would've been charged, but do you think people take advantage of it? Or is their philosophy working for them...the part about promoting trust and feelings of social inclusion...? I loved it...and at the end of the day there's no complaining about food or service...the focus is simply on the food and the social aspect of dining out.

My goodies.

The second day of our honeymoon we decided to rent bikes, roam the city, hit up the Victoria market and eat candy...so after much convincing, that is exactly what we did.

The trouble was...the bike lanes are completely inconsistent throughout the city. Whatevaaa, we are American. We don't even know what side of the road we're supposed to be riding on.

Look who I found wide-eyed in the candy store....!

Unfortunately, the weather was a rubbish both days...but thankfully it has turned around since then and we're seeing the SUN again :)

Off to Geelong we go!

Catch ya.

L.