The south

After spending almost three months on New Zealand's north island, I was fairly excited to venture south. Well, I wish I had come down here earlier! It has a very different vibe, and of course, is absolutely beautiful.

The ferry ride between the port cities of Wellington and Picton is 3-4 hours. I was up bright and early one morning last week to catch the boat. My first glimpses of the south island from the ferry:

The port town of Picton:

After a night in Blenheim, where I had been hoping to do a bicycle tour of the wineries (sounds fun, right?!) but was thwarted because of the rain, I made my way over to Nelson. There I stayed in a fairly posh hostel, met some great people, and experienced the area.

Accents on the Park, my hostel in Nelson

Patty, a new friend from The Netherlands, and I ventured down to Nelson Lakes in her car one afternoon. We did a short walk around the northern peninsula of Lake Rotoiti. These are probably some images you've seen before as they are fairly iconic in New Zealand tourism literature.

More to come as I make my way around the south island!
To all my friends who are beginning Great Lent, I wish you a fruitful journey!

The windy Welly

Well, I have finally found a place in New Zealand that I absolutely love. Wellington is a funky, big but small, coastal, hilly, young town that has been a pure pleasure to visit. In a way, it reminds me of San Francisco.
A few quick facts about Wellington:

• It's the capital of New Zealand.
• Population is around 400,000 residents, the second most populated city in New Zealand after Auckland.
• Wellington is the world's most southerly capital city.
• Major earthquakes in the 1840s and 1850s caused vertical movements of the land in Wellington, actually raising new land out of the sea, which is now part of the city. The street that marked the shoreline in 1840, Lambton Quay, is now 100-200 meters from the harbor.
• Wellington's harbor has three islands.
• It's known as "Windy Welly" because, well, it's always windy.

I met up with new friends Allison and David (see picture below), Belgian expatriates currently living in Wellington. After brunch at Sweet Mother's Kitchen (yum!), they drove me up to Mt. Victoria, which offers a 360-degree view of the Wellington area. After that, we drove along the Miramar Peninsula and I got a firsthand view of the beautiful coastline. Later that day I went for a jog along Oriental Charade (the street running along the coast of Wellington) and had dinner with a friend.

Mt. Victoria

David and Allison

Looking towards Wellington from Mt. Victoria

My second day in Welly I ventured out to the town's cable car (yes, there's only one!), which dropped me off right at the Botanical Gardens.

 

  

At the Botanical Garden's lookout point

A low-res 360 view from the lookout point

I LOVED the Botanical Gardens!

The rose garden

Leaving the Botanical Gardens, I made my way down Bolton Street and its pathways, along with many locals on their lunch breaks, where I found a lovely cemetery overlooking the city.

Next stop: the government buildings. These include what is referred to as "the Beehive" (see left below), the Parliament Building, the Parliament Library, and another building across the street.

Since it was a sunny day, I decided to head to the urban beach for a bit. The Wellington waterfront is absolutely lovely.

Oriental Beach, adjacent to Oriental Charade. That's the Mt. Victoria neighborhood on the hill.

The waterfront looking towards the central business district

After a couple short days in Wellington, I caught the ferry to continue my adventures on New Zealand's south island. So far, it has been wonderful. I will post another update soon!

The goodbye

Greetings, friends!

It's time for me to leave Taupo. I will be catching a bus to Wellington this weekend, and after that, heading down to the South Island for some more exploring. My time here has been filled with new adventures, lots of friends, and rewarding experiences.

I'll miss the lovely friends I made here:

Ruth and I jam out. I miss this girl!

My friend Ann from Germany... my first roommate in Taupo

Some of the gang: Raphaela, Ann, me, Matthew, Ruth, Celia, Dave

Ruth, Celia, and me... roomies

Tina, me, Courtney, and Rob



Nadine, me, Marie, and Rob



My last night in Taupo: Mario, Rob, Sabrina, Ann, Caro, me, and Marie

I will not miss our bedroom: six (bunk)beds, six women, three electrical outlets, no storage:

I will miss walking by the SuperLoo, the town's public toilets, and having a good chuckle at the name.

I will miss seeing the Mackers that converted an old plane into a seating area. Not because I fancy Big Macs for dinner every night (I already confessed to one fast food transgression), but because this place is uniquely Taupo.

I probably won't miss the Taupo "nightlife" very much. There are about four places to go, and they're pretty much all the same. And they're all on the same street:

I will miss hanging out at the cafe, and my funny colleagues there:

Troy and Possum

The outside of the cafe... look closely and you will see some rugby players out front

Hamish (aka "Hammy")

Judith

Troy, Possum, Judith, me, and Michelle out at the pub



I will miss this wonderful espresso...





But I won't miss doing the dishes at the cafe:

A typical day in the kitchen... don't I look thrilled?!

I will really miss the incredible Taupo sunsets. Each night, from our balcony view over the lake, we enjoyed different, but equally majestic, displays of color and texture as the sun went down. These photographs don't really do them justice.

So, goodbye, Taupo. It's been good.

The lake

With a surface area of approximately 238 square miles, Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. It was formed by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, with the most recent eruption dated approximately AD 180. On a clear day, from town you can see beyond the lake towards the mountains. On a cloudy day, the lake seems endless, almost like an ocean. The lake is also a noted trout fishery, and many visitors come here to fish in leisure.

Some friends and I recently enjoyed a boat cruise on the lake.

 

On a rock cliff along the lake, there are some Maori carvings famous in Taupo. Interestingly, these carvings are not ancient (to the surprise of many visitors!) but were completed in the late 1970s mainly by students from Wellington. They are meant to protect the lake from volcanic activities.