riverECHO

After weighing the cons of cost and environmental impact with the pros of great recommendations, camping along the beach, and simply the act of driving along the largest sand island in the world, it was hard to say no to a three day weekend on Fraser Island. Fraser is on every traveler’s must-see list but it is also really popular among local fishermen. Although busy, at times we felt like we had the entire island to ourselves.

The entire island is made of sand, including the roads, and the only way to access the island is with a 4WD vehicle, requiring us to rent one for the weekend. We had in mind a jeep or SUV, but instead got a Suzuki Jimny. BJ actually asked the rental company, “are you serious?” But sure enough, the Jimny rocked. Where larger vehicles and trucks got stuck, we cruised on through the deepest sand you can imagine.  The beach, which you could only drive on in low tide, was actually the smoothest “road” on the island. It was in fact patrolled by rangers and police as it’s considered a national highway. BJ and I both took our turns behind the wheel and definitely enjoyed cruising at about 10-15km/hour along the inland roads the best, which were enclosed by rainforest. It is hard to imagine how huge trees, and in fact an entire rainforest, can grow in such soft sand.

There was a ton to see and do on the island and our car rental company, Aussie Trax, actually gave us a proposed itinerary for our trip length and tide schedules. We didn’t think much of it until we were on the island. It was so great to have the trip pretty much planned out for us. Some of the most popular sites include the many perched fresh water lakes, especially Lake McKenzie which we made a point of getting to in the early morning of our last day. They were beautiful, bright blue, and had white sand beaches just like the ocean. The Australians particularly got a kick out of swimming in the fresh water and we heard one boy ask his dad “will I sink” and “can I drink it.” Aussies spend so much time at the beach that swimming in fresh water is probably a very rare occurrence.

Another popular sight is the Maheno Shipwreck, originally a high class cruise ship that made trips between Auckland, Sydney and Vancouver. After 30 years of service, it was sold as scrap metal to a Japanese company who, while towing it back to Japan, lost it in a huge cyclone. It was beached along Fraser’s east coast in 1935 and has sat to rust ever since. Shortly after it wrecked, a government official actually held his wedding in the main salon.

We drove inland to check out a few different sand dunes, which sat like large barren hills among the thick surrounding rainforest. We had way too much fun making ski turns down one dune in particular.

Another highlight was overlooking the ocean life at Indian Head. We hiked up to an overlook and spotted huge sting rays, dolphins surfing the waves, and whales in about every direction. There were tons of fishermen at the water’s edge and the water was so crystal clear that we could see the fish that were escaping their lures.

We spent two nights on the island, camping along the beach during both nights. We fell asleep to crashing waves and a full moon and woke in the morning to singing birds and howling dingos.

2,010 kilometers around Australia

We read a review of the Australia Zoo in Lonely Planet, claiming that it was one of the top ten sites to see in the WORLD. Well I don’t know if I would go that far but it was pretty cool. Unlike your typical city zoo, these animals actually have a ton of space in front of crowds and behind the scenes. Almost all of them, and the crocodiles in particular, ended up in the zoo because they were injured or about to be killed because they were “problem crocs,” or in other words they probably ate someone. We only had the afternoon to explore the zoo, which ended up being plenty of time to see it all. We immediately headed to the crocodile show where Steve Irwin used to put on quite the performance. We watched a replacement crocodile-tamer, or whatever he would call himself, feed and taunt the starring crocodile named “Murry.” BJ and I both agreed that he was very nervous and at one point he said “I think Murry is playing a little game with me” followed by a very nervous laugh. Well you wouldn’t see me out there dangling sausages in front of Murray, but this crocodile-tamer was no crocodile hunter.

We followed up our crocodile amazement with a visit to the free roaming kangaroos, a stroll below the trees of sleepy koalas, a look at a very chubby wombat, a glad-they-were-behind-glass glance at the venomous snakes, and a quick hello to a very shy cassowary, which is a large flightless bird who can kill you by either cracking your skull with a large horn or slicing your throat with a razor like talon. In the end, we enjoyed the visit but we couldn’t help feeling bad about the critters behind bars, no matter how much the zoo claimed to be pro-conservation.

After the zoo, we hopped back in Slim and drove a short distance north to the fabled Sunshine Coast, another series of golden fine sand beaches. But this time we were in for a very nice surprise. We actually went out for a swim today and let me tell ya, I can’t believe what we have been missing all along. It was instant relaxation. Just being on the beach on our Thai mat and under the warm sun seemed to flip my attitude from go-go-go to stress-free laziness. The water was chilly but easy to get used to and the waves were so much fun. BJ instantly mastered body surfing and I totally forgot about sharks until we got out of the water. We are planning to stay in the area for the remainder of the week and can’t wait to get in the water again.

With an extra day off this weekend, we planned a trip to Abel Tasman National Park, a beautiful jungle lined with bright yellow sandy beaches along the northern coast of the South Island. BJ spent some time here twelve years ago, touring the park via sea kayak and was excited to bring me back. Visiting the park in the middle of winter was much different than BJ’s experience in the heart of summer. Although the temperatures were quite a bit colder and the daylight hours much shorter, there was practically no one there. Apparently in the summer months the bays become stocked full with yachts, sail boats, kayaks, water skiers and bathing beauties. We didn’t test the waters this time but we thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful trails and beaches, as well as the playful seals and chatter-box birds. We started out in a water taxi which took us up the coast and dropped us off on Onetahuti Beach, where we began our walk south, staying the first night in the Bark Bay hut and the second at Anchorage Hut. Our forecast wasn’t superb and it drizzled consistently on us the first two days, but on the third day as we walked back to our car the sun came out, lit up the bright green ocean water and warmed our faces. Sections of the trail can only be crossed at low tide as water quickly fills in each lagoon that separates the next headland. We came upon the crossing at Torrent Bay a little before low tide and had to make a decision to go ahead and cross the tidal flat or to walk 2 hours around it. As BJ put it . . . “it’s just how you do it here” so we opted for the crossing and although it was raining, took off our shoes and tied them to our packs.  The sand and water were chilly and we had to place our feet carefully in sections to avoid crushing tons of clams and sea snails, which when we did crush them we’d yell out “ouch!” and “sorry!” After arriving at each hut, we quickly tossed our packs down and, in order to soak up as much daylight as possible, ventured out again to explore the beaches or whatever shorter trails were nearby. Our handy dandy ponchos which we nicknamed our “turtle shells” were our life savers . . . which we wore pretty much all weekend. The hut life in the winter months was something new for us too as there is so much time spent without light. We ended up eating dinner, visiting with fellow trampers, reading our books by candle light until our butts grew sore of the hard benches and went to bed each night no later than 8pm! Our legs might be a little sore after the weekend but we are definitely well rested up.

Overall it was a great way to spend what we realized is our last “weekend” in New Zealand. The next few weeks will cruise by faster than we know. I fly up to Auckland this coming weekend to see Tara, a good college friend of mine, and her husband Will who are in town for a week. Then, the day after BJ picks me up from the airport, we will officially be saying goodbye to the family wagon which we sold last Friday to a local who has lived here in Punakaiki for 30 years and hasn’t had a car for the last 15. He rides his bike everywhere, including a weekly three hour trip to Greymouth to get groceries, and recently decided he might be getting a little too old to have to bike through another winter. We’ll spend next week in Punakaiki before bussing up to Nelson for our final week in New Zealand, the same place we began our tour of the South Island. I feel like we have turned into professional travel agents over the last couple of days, booking bus tickets here, plane tickets there, and actually doing a practice pack to see if we can fit all of the crap we’ve acquired down here. It turns out I need to take a few things to the local thrift store but there are some things I just can’t let myself give up . . . for example my duct taped puffy jacket which BJ has been trying to convince me to ditch since it got its first big hole three years ago. Our friends Tim and Mary Lynn are currently “purging” back in Jackson as they get ready for a huge year long road trip and thanks to their latest blog, I may find the courage to purge a few more items.

Tonight, we watched one of the most amazing sunsets we’ve seen since we’ve been here. We’ve been listening to the waves crash and rumble from our house over the last couple days and couldn’t tell if we just thought they sounded louder or if in fact they were louder. When we reached the beach, we agreed that they were definitely bigger, starting to crash way off shore when they normally crash right as they reach the rocks. The sun glowed brilliant orange through a strange haze in the sky. Not a single cloud but the waves reflected bright pink and the off shore breeze created a band of sea spray that rolled off the wave and into the sun. It was spectacular.

In between way to many hours staring at our laptops this week we were able to venture out a few times. The Pancake Rocks and Blowholes are the main attraction in Punakaiki and usually the only piece of the town that anyone exploring New Zealand will ever see. A 10 minute walk leads you down to a series of layered rocks, which sort of look like stacked pancakes. The rock has been carved out by the ocean in a way that at high tide, and especially when there is a big swell, sea water crashes under the rock and shoots water and spray high into the air through a number of large holes. We scheduled this outing for a time when high tide was happening right around sunset.

Our most entertaining moments of the week:

Yesterday, during another sunset outing, we drove a little north to the next series of beaches. We walked as far as we could, peaking in little caves and watching the big yellow ball drop over the ocean. On the way back, we had to jump back across a tiny stream coming out from the forest and carving a little canyon in the sand until it flowed into the ocean. It was about as wide as I could jump, so when we crossed it on the way in we had no problem. On the way back, we crossed it a little up “river” where the rocks were more pebble than sand size. I got a running start and leapt out over the running water. As my right foot came down on the other side it instantly sank a couple feet and my momentum carried the rest of my body flat on my face. No injuries, just a very wet foot, a very sandy everything else, and plenty of laughs.

Another exciting moment in our quite life on the beach occurred in the middle of the night. We were both sound asleep and woke to a strange sound that we initially thought was our electric blanket (yes, it’s friggin’ cold here) shorting out. We quickly figured out that the noise was coming from outside and upon further investigation found a possum perched in a branch just outside our window. He was staring straight at us and hissing, if you could call it a hiss. Like I said we thought it was something electrical shorting out. We closed the curtains but he persisted. It was either frequent enough that it became a sort of white noise or we decided we just didn’t care, because we fell back asleep shortly thereafter. It’s the scariest creature we’ve encountered in New Zealand thus far, which overall and compared to what we’ve been reading about Australia, ain’t too bad.

Home bound by work and a little rain over the last couple days we got to a point where we needed to stock up on a few staples . . . milk, eggs, bread, and a bag of gummy candy. We drove into Greymouth this afternoon, making a point to combine our trip with a meal out and a photography exhibit opening. The rain had picked up by the time we reached Greymouth, so for some reason we parked on the edge of downtown, and spent a majority of our time in town running from one overhang to the next and jumping over puddles. No one else seemed to be walking and I’m sure we looked pretty ridiculous to everyone who was warm and dry in their cars. We spotted a pizzeria and jumped inside for an early dinner. It was shining with “clessic” New Zealand décor and 50s music, although the radio station kept saying the best from the 60s and 70s. We really thought we found Greymouth’s little gem. But in the end the pizza was just-okay and our “Chocolate Bomb” dessert left much to be desired. We made a quick swing through the gallery, displaying landscape photography from the area, and then set out on our grocery shopping mission. We are going to try to make it two weeks before going back to the store and from the looks of our fridge and cupboards I think we might make it a month . . . we may have gone a little overboard. As we left the grocery store it started raining buckets, possibly bath tubs. For a few moments we thought we may have to pull over and wait it out, but the minute we left the city limit, it stopped almost immediately and opened up so the stars twinkled during the rest of our winding drive home.

We don’t have any photos from this morning but I woke up to the moon shining in our bedroom window. BJ was already upstairs with coffee in front of his computer watching the sky barely begin to lighten up on the eastern horizon. This house has a ton of windows and it was a pretty cool experience to watch the moon set over the ocean out of one window and the sun rise through another. Here are a few shots from earlier this week. BJ attempted kiting his wing on the beach but the wind just wasn’t cooperating. Further up that same beach we found a sweet cave but we actually didn’t realize there was a way through the cave until we explored the other side and saw light shining through.

We’ve been looking forward to our weekend since we arrived last Monday night and we woke up to pink skies and what looked like would turn into a beautiful day. But by the time we had our first cup of coffee the rain started falling. Although I was a bit antsy to get outside and move around, I was quite easily persuaded to pick up my book, fill up another cup of coffee, look out over the ocean, and wait until it cleared. We were also able to talk to my little sister over Skype, who is currently studying for finals at UCSB . . . it wasn’t too hard to pull her away from her studies for an hour and always nice to hear her voice.

By lunchtime the rain let up enough for us to venture outside. Anticipating that the trails would be quite muddy we decided to walk down to the beach and head north until we could go no further. We made it through a series of beaches, each one connected to the next by a cave or a precarious pile of slippery limestone rocks, before we reached a cliff that would prevent us from going any further. I searched the bush line and found a “sort-of” trail that looked like it would give us access to the beach we were staring down at but could not access. I hollered to BJ to join me and as he started walking towards me I spotted a spray of water and a dark figure breach the surface of the ocean. I pointed and we both stared out to sea . . . waiting. Then again, the darkness breached and splashed. It was a whale . . . and a big one! Last time we were out here with BJ’s mom, we spotted two dolphins, obvious because of their fins. But this was no dolphin. It seemed to take forever for the entire length of its body to roll through the surface. We watched it until it seemed to get its fill and then ventured off to explore the trail we found, which didn’t end up to be much of a trail in the end. On our way back to the beach, we spotted the whale again, this time it lifted a fin in the air and slapped it on the water and then held its tail high in the air for a while, almost as if it were showing it off. It was just far enough away that BJ didn’t bother with the camera. We were so excited about our sighting and figured, like the dolphins, it was probably a regular occurrence along the west coast. We told Brendan, who owns the house where we are staying, and his eyes lit up . . . “a whale? . . . I haven’t seen one in the twelve years I’ve lived here!” He immediately ran out the door and headed to the beach to try to spot it. We definitely witnessed something spectacular in this little quiet part of the world. This place just gets better every day.

We spent last weekend on the southern tip of the South Island in an area called the Catlins. We were expecting a series of small towns with cottages, shops and cafes lining the ocean like something you would find along the Oregon coast. But what we found was much more deserted but also so much more enjoyable. There were plenty of places to stay but no grocery stores and only a couple places to eat. It was a good thing we finally read Lonely Planet’s description of the area about an hour before we arrived and decided to stop at the only grocery store we could find . . . basically the equivalent to a 7-Eleven. So we stocked up on New Zealand style mac and cheese, a handful of apples, some cereal and dried milk, and continued on our way.

We camped on either end of the Catlins, the first night at Curio Bay and the second at Kaka Point, and saw basically everything there is to see in between. It felt a little like being in Yellowstone minus all the people and the complete opposite terrain . . . so maybe it wasn’t at all like Yellowstone. But there were sites to see or walk to about every 15 to 20 minutes of driving and most of them entailed a 20 to 30 minute walk to go see. Here are some of the highlights . . .

Curio and Porpoise Bay: This is where we spent the first night and morning. It’s home to and a very popular spot for watching the endangered yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions, and frequented by dolphins . . . but we didn’t see any. The waves were cool though.

Slope Point: This is actually the southernmost point on the South Island but you wouldn’t guess it by looking at it. We walked 20 minutes through pasture land to a cliff’s edge where there was a small yellow sign pointing north “5140 km to the equator” and south “4803 km to the South Pole.” For some reason, even though we’re at the 46th parallel, it didn’t click until then that we are still SO far away from the South Pole.

Waterfalls: Well we went to two waterfalls, but for the life of me I can’t remember what they were called. I know that one was on the left side of the road and the other on the right. We were surprised by the color of the water. It almost looked like apple juice gushing over the rock and very similar to the tannin colored water in Milford Sound.

The Lost Gypsy Gallery: This was one of the highlights of the weekend. Even Lonely Planet claims that it may be the reason to come to the Catlins. It’s a bus that someone has expanded into his yard as an enormous electronic and mechanical workshop. He’s spent his time making things that move just for fun . . . like a piano where each key activates a different electronic device or a number of gadgets that you wind until they do something like . . . move. All I can say is that he’s had a lot of time on his hands and it thoroughly entertained us for hours.

Cathedral Caves: A hike through private land that we had to pay a small fee to enter led down to a wide beach. At the end of the beach and only at low tide, you can enter one of two caves that are joined at the back.

Nugget Point: This was probably our favorite spot . . . crashing waves, steep cliffs, sea lions, lush covered rocks and a sunshiny day! See top image.

Surat Bay: It was a last minute decision to check out Surat Bay but a friendly neighbor told us there were loads of sea lions and we shouldn’t miss it. It was here that we experienced the ways of the dominating sea lion . . . who woke up from a nap, scooted his enormous body over to another sea lion who was sleeping, bit his neck, moved him out of his way, and laid back down for a nap in his place. The not-so-powerful sea lion just sat there for a while looking at his foe’s bamboozlement.

We explored a few new bike rides as well last week. Skipper’s Canyon is a long downhill ride followed by a long ascent up a dirt road. It was a fun trail despite the amount of cow and sheep poo that we found caked on our bikes and ourselves after the ride. The second new ride was in the town of Alexandra on our way back from the Catlins. It was mostly flat, following the Clutha River, but reminded us of the sandy rocky trails with glorious patches of singletrack in Utah and Colorado.

This week has already started out as a busy one. BJ has been glued to his computer for most of the day, only emerging for air when I’ve placed food in front of him or for dinner. I, on the other hand, have been spending the mornings cranking away for VR Interactive and the afternoons at the winery. I suppose you could gauge the type of work, fun but physically demanding, I’ve been doing at the winery based on how dirty I’ve been when I return home. Both BJ and I agree that a bike ride is in order soon but are hoping we can spend these days catching up for a more relaxed end of the week and upcoming weekend.

After an eleven hour and relatively painless flight to Fiji, BJ, Brad, Gretchen and I quickly left Nadi and took a city bus down the Coral Coast to the town of Korotogo. Before finding lodging for a few days along a quiet stretch of beach, we had to stop for a celebratory beer to welcome ourselves to Fiji. The Coral Coast seemed to be a popular vacation spot for Fijians but was nonetheless very quiet.

A day trip from Korotogo to the Sand Dunes. We hiked out over the dunes during the heat of the day and ran into a Fijian-Indian family along the beach who quickly approached us and wanted to shake our hands and introduce themselves. The Fijians are some of the most carefree and good natured people I have ever met.

Natadola Beach, known as Viti Levu (the main island)’s most beautiful beach. We spent just a few hours here swimming and body surfing. By far the most beautiful beach we had seen yet, we had no idea what was to come once we travelled out to Fiji’s many islands.

We initially put up a fight on the price our taxi driver quoted us. But after he drove us to the sand dunes, waited for us even though we told him not to, drove us to Natadola Beach and back with a side trip to his brother’s house so he could fill up his slowly leaking tire, we befriended him and gave him the amount he initially requested.

All of the guide books warned “whatever you do, make sure the boat you take out to the islands is licensed and has life jackets.” We didn’t exactly follow the rules and arrived in about half the time . . . not that time matters when you are in Fiji. We headed to an island in the Yasawa chain called Waya. It is one of the largest of the Yasawa islands and we hoped to explore a number of hiking trails.

Waya is connected to Wayasewa (or “Little Waya”) twice a day when the tide is out. This is the view over the sand spit from Sunset Resort as the water is going out. Although Sunset Resort was a little more primitive than we were expecting (like the size of the spiders that we slept with every night that made us a little uneasy) the family and village that ran it were wonderful.

We ate huge portions of fresh fish every day for lunch and dinner that the staff would catch out in front of the beach. Over the course of three nights at Sunset there were only a few other visitors from England. A boat would arrive from the village, located right around the corner from Sunset, every morning to drop off a handful of family members to work in the kitchen, work in the office, or to sit around on palm leaves on the sand laughing and sharing stories with one another.

Every evening the younger members of the family would have some sort of entertainment planned. We just happened to experience two nights of “traditional” dancing including a fan dance and fire dance. They dropped the fire sticks so many times during the fire dance we though the place was going to burn down. Although these dances may have been meant for single young ladies, it was extremely entertaining.

My long hair was driving me crazy in the humid and hot climate. So one evening, Gretchen borrowed Brad’s leatherman and gave me a “little” trim. That evening was probably the best one spent at Sunset. Enesi and some of the younger men at the resort bought kava from a neighboring village and invited us to drink Kava with them for an evening.

Kava is considered to be a sort of drug made from the root of the kava plant. It is ground up and then filtered with water. Traditionally, you sit in a circle and the kava server passes a coconut shell full of kava to you when it is your turn. You clap before you drink and then everyone else claps when you are done. Once everyone has had a turn you relax and chat for about 10 minutes and then around it goes again. Although we didn’t feel any other effects from kava than a very full belly, many of the village members told us they were still drunk on kava the next day. Aside from one hike overlooking the resort, we spent most of the day reading and laying in the hammocks so maybe we just didn’t notice.

After three days at Sunset Resort, we decided to splurge and stay at Octopus Resort, located directly on the opposite side of the island. Octopus was VERY different . . . it had fine dining and a full bar, a swimming pool, lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach, private bungalows. Although very modern and luxurious (to our standards), we were expecting to have similar encounters with the staff as we did at Sunset. It felt very corporate to us, as if the staff were instructed not to engage in conversation with the guests. But we still had an amazing time snorkeling, sitting on the beach, reading, drinking Fiji Bitters (what Fijians just call “Beer”), playing poker and eating great food.

Back on the mainland we decided to head inland to the mountains for our last few days in Fiji. We rented a car and BJ had his first test of driving on the opposite side of the road. Our destination was the village of Navala where we stayed with a family who had a few bures for rent. Mama greeted us with big warm hugs, fed us way too much food, and had a funny way of saying “Vinaka” or “thank you” even after a few minutes of silence. One Fijian characteristic that I have somehow left out until now is their laugh: high pitched, more like a giggle, and frequent. They laugh at everything and Mama’s husband would laugh at the end of every sentence. Her son Tui was a pleasure to spend time with. He invited us to drink kava, took us on a tour of the  village and told us about the ancient tradition of cannibalism, and took Brad on a hike to a nearby mountain so that he could paraglide down into the village. The children in the village of course were ecstatic to see someone just fly into their soccer field. We spent the last hour in Navala with the kids, taking pictures and asking them to sing songs for us.

Looking back on how much we actually did and saw while we were in Fiji, it surprises me that we left feeling almost “too” relaxed. Fiji is a beautiful country and the color of the water the most stunning I have ever seen. But the people are what make the country so enjoyable. Their laughter, welcoming embraces, willing to share stories and answer questions about their family, and downright enjoyment of life are what really made the trip for me and opened my eyes to how little you need in life to be happy.