Going South

Hello again everyone now from the South Island. It has been an exiting time . Last we wrote we were in Napier on the North. Since then we have traveled to Wellington city. That is were we spent our 2nd anniversary. We got a hotel in a section called Cuba. It was a colorful, artsy fun area. The people are a little off in dress and the way they behave but they make for good people watching. We started out at a Belgian brewery for lunch then found a Borders book store. My present was a $50. paper back! It sells for $15 in the States. We spent most the day doing laundry. Later we got Thai food for dinner and walked around. We are usually in bed by 9pm. At midnight I woke shocked by the noise of rock, salsa and who knows what else roaring from the streets. We had to shut the windows because it was so loud. The locals didn't stop partying till the sun came up.
The city was a little crazy for us after being out camping in peace and quiet. We couldn't't wait to get out. We worked our way to Kaitoke park. A camping area you can stay for $5 each per night. It has trails and a river, and bathrooms and a kitchen area. The area is a popular tourist spot for Lord of the Ring tours. We found a rail trail down the road. It said to bring a torch so we brought headlamps. We had no idea the tunnels would be so long dark and scary. One lamp died so Matt followed me. I could only see a spot of ground in front of me. All I kept thinking was.Please don't see anything! This was what ghost stories are made from. We safely got back. The one other guy we saw on the trail wiped out in a tunnel and landed over his handel bars bleading. I guess we got lucky.
We visited Te Papa Museum for free in the city. There are great exhibits that expand over 6 floors. We took allot of the Native Maori things in. Matthews favorite was the Polonesian section with artifacts, costumed and pictures of their sailing rafts. We got our ferry the next day from this port. We drove the car under it and headed across the Cooks streight for 3 uneasy hours at night.
We arrived on the other Island around midnight and drove up a windy mountain not able to see much but possum eyes in the dark. We camped out on the side of the road, in the morning to discover a beach campsite down the road. Nelson was our next small city to drive through. Most the people here are passing through on their way to or from one of the great walks. This is a huge rafting and kyaking area because of the rivers and gorges. We crossed a swing bridge to the other side, a gold mining area. The beach had flakes of gold floating around. It was unreal. The bugs are awful and relentless.
We drove down the West coast. You can see the beaches in the pictures are breathtaking. There are lots of pull offs on the side of the road for photo ops. Lots of tourist in rental caravans everywere. W e try hard to escape them and find off road private sites to camp, sometimes almost falling into a ditch but most times finding places like the shot of the van on the beach.
We continues South to a town Hokitika, known for it's jade or greenstone. You can walk on the beach and just pick it up in it's raw form. This wasn't as great of a spot as we thought so we traveled on. Next was a drive through snow capped mountains with glaciers escaping from cracks. We got to climb to the base of fox glacier and see were it was receding fro. It's pretty dangerous. There are constant shifting and landslides. It moves a meter a day.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with a pasta dinner from our kitchen. People here don't have this holiday so they are early to get a start on Christmas.
We are doing well and are in Queens town now, the capital of extreme sports. No we are playing it safe. Everyone else is here for bungee jumping,para sailing,jet boating, hand gliding, rapid surfing, rafting, cave rappelling, monster trucks, 4x4ing and being flown to mt. tops and dropped with your bike. All this things are extremely expensive. We try to do things on the cheap. If it's free it's for me. We did a nice scenic bike around the lake in town. The Aspen flowers smell great. It is Spring here in the mountains and the sun doesn't go down till at least 9 pm at least. We are getting far South. All that is on the other side of the ocean is the south pole and Tasmania.
We are headed to Milford sound to do some day hikes then continuing south. Jude's a trooper and gets plenty of rest. We will keep you updated. Hope you all enjoy the postcards. Love Lauren and Matthew P.S. Everyone whos checking in please log on and leave a comment. We'd like to know who's out there. Thanks

South Island...the trip goes on!

made it here on a nite ferry, currently working our way down the west coast...enjoy the pics internet cafe is closing...we will write more at a later time...ENJOY!!!

Leaving the North Island

Hello from Napier on the East coast of the North Island. We have been camped out at a beach you will see in the pictures. The water is a clear aqua, the waves are all you hear, the weathers sunny and fine and it's all free! The rocky beach runs for miles on the coast and it is open for the public to enjoy. They even have a 7 minute shower in town for one dollar. We have held down this spot just outside of town for four nights. After waking we go into town to explore,have lunch, bike around etc.
It is a beautiful town with all it's architecture done in the art deco style of the 30's. The whole town was destroyed in a earthquake in the 30's so everything had to be rebuilt. The buildings are geometric with lots of arches , light purples and allot of soft yellows. We are in Hawkes Bay otherwise known as wine country. We lost count of all the vineyards. Fresh produce is sold at the roadsides. There is a local peak you can drive to the top of. Legend has it that it looks like a giant sleeping. We decided to bike down the designated bike trail after being recommended by a local. Good God-did we make a mistake. Take a look at the picture of me coming down the beginning of the trail. It didn't get any better. I have the bumps and bruises to prove it. Matthew made it down in one piece and was playing it cool. I know he was scared too. These Kiwis are hard core. Some of these trails I can't imagine just cruising down without padding and a mouth guard.
We just bought our ferry tickets for next week. It will carry us and car to the South Island. We will return on the Christmas afternoon ferry back to the North. Things are fine except for the shortage of used book stores and poor selection of literature. Please send books but don't send anything till a few days before Christmas or after. Our post office only holds mail for a month before sending back or discarding. Hope you enjoy the photos.