Rock Climbing in Wanaka

Wednesday, 12 November

I'd read that Wanaka is one of the best places in the country to rock climb, so I thought it would be a great way to get out of town and a perfect place to take an intro course and learn a thing or two! 

Dave, the owner of Wanaka Rock Climbing, picked me up in the morning and we headed out towards Mt. Aspiring Nat'l Park for my private lesson :)

If you look at the picture above, you can see the two spots we climbed - we started on the far right at the first low rocks there, and then crossed the street later to do a climb sort of toward the middle left of the pic.

Harnessed up!

Dave led the first several climbs (which means he went first and clipped in the rope to the anchors along the way), and then I climbed after him secured to the rope the whole time.

Then I led a climb up a rock face that I had already climbed once before. This just means I climbed first and clipped in the rope as I went. It's a little more dangerous (thus a little more thrilling) because at first you don't have a rope to catch you if you fall and as you go higher to clip into each anchor.

Then I led a climb up the face of a more challenging climb that I hadn't climbed yet. That was really good fun and I'm glad I did that one! 

Some other guys Dave knows where there climbing near us, so I had a personal photographer snapping shots the whole time :)

Just getting to the top.

Dave met me at the top and then I abseiled down!

Oh so much fun! So glad I did this and hopefully now I've learned a thing or two that I can use some day in Cambodia with my rock-climbing friends!!

Rainy rest day in Wanaka

Tuesday, 11 November 

During the night the storm came – rain and WIND. Gusts came and all I could think when I heard them was that I was glad I was in my warm and dry tent and not on my bike blowing off a cliff! By the time I woke up in the morning the sun was out, but instead of 20 degrees like last night, it was 10 degrees. That’s NZ weather for you!

I had a nice long breakfast, devos, read, emailed, and then rode to town before the dark sky poured down rain. Spent several hours reading and chatting online with friends and sisters over a coffee, then went to a place called Ruby’s to see a NZ-made film – Hip Hoperation. The oldest hip hop group in the world (ages ranging from 65-94), from a little island off the north island, join hip hop dance competitions around NZ with the ambitious goal of making it to the international hip hop competition in Las Vegas. Hilarious and so up-lifting!

Speedy Ride to Wanaka

Monday, 10 November – Hitch hiking!

Pine Grove (aka Middle of Nowhere) to Wanaka

This morning I decided I would start riding and then, when it started raining, I would put my thumb up and hitch a lift and try to make it all the way to Wanaka (around 200kms from where I started). Haven’t caught a ride since Ewoud and I were in a rush to get to our boat on the north island nearly 4 weeks ago (although I have to say, I've been tempted on several occasions...)! ;) It didn’t take more than 15kms for the rain to come, so as I rode I put my thumb up. I was aiming for a campervan – big enough to take me and my bike (and guaranteed to be tourists). Campervans are pretty much the only vehicles no the highway in this part of the country anyway, so chances were good!

Traffic was few and far between, but eventually (it took maybe 20 minutes) a big camper van pulled off the road and picked me up. SWEET German couple with an 11 month old baby, Tony, who are traveling around the world for a year (that’s the beauty of maternity/paternity leave in Europe, I’m learning…Have a baby and get a year off…?!) ;) Florian and Ines were super chill, put my bike and wet bags in the back of their rented camper van, and off we went to Wanaka!

The four of us rode to Haast, where we stopped for lunch, then headed through Haast Pass, over the Haast Bridge, along lake Wanaka (STUNNING views, see below), and thru the “neck” – where the road goes right in between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea (a beautiful blue lake surrounded by mountains…).

Florian, Ines and Tony :)

As we passed between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea (a distance of just a few km), the weather underwent an extreme makeover.

When we arrived the weather was sunny and about 25 degrees! It was the warmest weather I’ve had in this country yet. What an incredible, beautiful, amazing place. In terms of location, it’s probably my favorite “spot” in NZ so far. I could spend weeks here exploring trails, swimming (in the summer!! Not now…!), skiing in the winter… just sitting and staring at the lake and mountains! It’s small, quiet, cute and naturally just beautiful. I went to town, bought some groceries, took a million pictures of the mountains, found the nicest campsite yet, and made dinner. 

This is the view from just down the road from my campsite:

Franz Josef to Middle of Nowhere

Sunday, 9 November

Franz Josef Glacier to Kurianga (35km south of Fox) - Pine Grove Motels

This post comes with a warning. There are no pics as I didn't take any today, and this is more of a "contemplative" post. So read as much or as little of this one as you like. :)

Today I got a 9am start – overcast weather and not a big day ahead of me (only about 60km planned), but there were 3 steep climbs right in the first 20km between Franz and Fox glaciers, so I wanted to get on the road early to beat any potential weather.

The hills were no big deal. Yes, while climbing them I’m sweating and more or less mentally chanting positive phrases and Bible verses about strength and how I can do all things… haha. But I just keep telling myself it’s just a CrossFit session and I got this. And you know, as painful as it is sometimes on the way up, I always make it to the top! There’s a life metaphor in there somewhere…

After the initial 20km, the remainder of the day was super easy and fun cause I could ride fast - pretty much downhill from there! I stopped at Fox Glacier for a coffee and lunch - it’s smaller and quieter than Franz – but kept going after that cause it looked like rain. Rain isn’t a big deal…in Cambodia where it’s warm! Ha. Here, when it’s cold, it’s fine. When it’s rainy and warm, it’s fine. But when it’s cold AND rainy and I have a whole day ahead of me… that’s my hardest mental (and physical) battle. It’s the weather! Forget the hills!

But the rest of the ride was fine, and I made really good time to the place I was aiming for. A little “motel” in the middle of literally nowhere. It had great reviews and it was absolutely perfect for that afternoon. I arrived at 2pm-ish and I was nearly the only one there. I got a tiny little cabin with a space heater(!) and the most comfortable bed ever, and it was cute, quiet and cozy. No internet access, no cell phone service, it was perfect.

I took a shower, then a nap, and then spent the rest of the afternoon reading the book Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot – been meaning to get to this book for a long time – and then the rest of the evening I spent just by myself, reflecting on the last five weeks and talking to God about stuff. This weekend all of the sudden I realized how quickly the last five weeks have gone by and how much I have just been racing through “seeing and doing.” This weekend I got this sense of awareness that I needed to slow down for a bit. There are three precious weeks left before I go back to work and life and busyness that actually involves other people and things I’m responsible for – and right now I am free from them!

Before I arrived in New Zealand, 6 weeks on my own seemed like a lot of time. I figured I would be lonely at times, expected to have a day or two with tears of frustration during difficult circumstances, and was prepared to deal with all kinds of challenges on the road. You know, so far I’ve never felt lonely (I guess generally speaking I rarely to almost never do…); to date I’ve not had a flat tire yet (I did have gear issues but thankfully learned from a guy how to fix it when I was in a city, so managed to take care of that when I was alone and in the middle of nowhere!); and I’ve had no tears (other than some good praying tears) J.  These last weeks have whizzed by – quite literally – and on Sunday when I arrived to my little cabin in the middle of nowhere with no internet and nothing to do other than read and pray and be by myself, I realized how much I was craving that alone time – true alone time – with God to worship, reflect and look forward.

So I got some of that time at the little cabin Sunday, and I made a conscious decision to get more of it this week. My dad flies in Saturday into Queenstown. Cannot WAIT! For those of you who don’t already know this, my dad is the person I love and respect most in the world. I want to make sure that my expectations are right and clear before our time together begins – and that I am able to share with my dad all that I want to while he’s here, and we get to talk about the things that are important to both of us while we’re together. I’m excited to share with him (with you dad!) life on the road in NZ and catch up on life since January! J

I also wanted to think about what’s next for me in Cambodia. In the coming months I’ll be back at iDE with the latrine dream team, and beyond that, who knows?! I’m excited for this year and the changes it will bring. I want to start to study Khmer formally again (if you’re reading this, please hold me accountable to this one!). It can only help as I continue to live in PP.  I also want to upgrade my house… I want to have an extra room to host people – touring cyclists as they pass through PP, and anyone who needs a place to stay. I’ve thought about this for years, and now given my experience with Warmshowers – both hosting and being hosted (thank you thank you THANK YOU all you Warmshowers people and others who have hosted me – you have all been incredible and such a big part of my trip!) – so perhaps it’s time to make a move!

So that wraps up my quiet, rejuvenating afternoon and day with no pictures. J

Oh, another thing I realized upon further reflection is that I need to equip my house with a proper kettle, asap. How have I lived so long without one?!

Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers(!)

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Just rode a helicopter over Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers… AMAZING!! That was an incredible 30 minutes and I’m so glad I did it! I decided last night not to commit to any plans until the morning, as the weather could be amazing to see the Franz Josef glacier…or it could be raining and terrible. Last night I was leaning towards not doing a hell ride, but instead to do a walk near the glacier to get a from-the-ground view (really just to avoid spending $$). This morning, however, the sun was out and since I didn’t feel like a long walk (my long bike ride yesterday helped to justify this), I decided to check out what options were available this morning.

I took the earliest flight I could – 9am because the word on the street was that clouds descend over the mountains late morning. One spot left for a 30-minute ride over both Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, with a 7 minute landing above Fox. Perfect. I got my camera ready, and here’s how it turned out!

It's go time!

I got front seat, right next to the pilot on the way up. Best seat in the house!

Making our ascent!

First we went up and over Franz Josef Glacier. 

The pilot was great - super relaxed and friendly, pointing out interesting things along the way. 

We landed near Fox Glacier for 7 minutes and got to get out and run around on the snow. It wasn't too cold - I didn't even have all my layers on. ;)

Pic with the pilot :)

Our helicopter held the pilot plus five passengers. The others were two ladies from Australia and a couple from Austria.

That's my ride today!

On the way back I sat in the back by the right window. Not too bad of a view either! :)

Fox Glacier

Heading back to town over the tail end of Franz Josef - the glacier has melted and receded significantly over the years. Below is the little town of Franz Josef.

Really, such a spectacular experience. Am feeling quite pleased that I took the "lazy" way out and also feel it was such a privilege to see such beauty from a completely different point of view.

I plan to spend the rest of the day relaxing, perhaps enjoying the hot springs near by, and enjoying a day of rest!