Sticking to the schedule (with some twists and turns), Joe and I have been mighty busy! I quite liked how he has been doing the past posts, and I think I'll stick with the same format!
Joe and I spent 4 days and 3 nights canoing on the Whaganui River! It was incredible! We loaded our big red canoe with two water proof barrels, grabbed our paddles, and hit the water! It was just the two of us and the river, literally, in the middle of nowhere, or in Kiwi, the Wop Wops. The stretch of river we were on has no road access. We saw only 3 other canoes the entire time all on the first day, so we felt a big sense of isolation. Although most of the river is slow moving, there were some rapids to keep us on our toes! It is one of both of our favorite things we have done on the whole trip. I see a potential hobby on the horizon, and Joe used to make fun of me for wanting to river kayak!
Joe and I spent 4 days and 3 nights canoing on the Whaganui River! It was incredible! We loaded our big red canoe with two water proof barrels, grabbed our paddles, and hit the water! It was just the two of us and the river, literally, in the middle of nowhere, or in Kiwi, the Wop Wops. The stretch of river we were on has no road access. We saw only 3 other canoes the entire time all on the first day, so we felt a big sense of isolation. Although most of the river is slow moving, there were some rapids to keep us on our toes! It is one of both of our favorite things we have done on the whole trip. I see a potential hobby on the horizon, and Joe used to make fun of me for wanting to river kayak!
Being that we are in New Zealand, the very next day after the river adventure we found ourselves in a completely different world - Tongariro National Park. We had planned on doing a three day trek throughout the park, but settled on a long one day on the "Crossing" (what all the tourists do). We started the hike at 6am and walked through clouds for the first half. I can't say that I much enjoyed this first half. Apparently I'm not a fan of mountain tops because I was pretty miserable. The wind was roaring harder than I have ever felt, it was wet (my rain coat is just awful, shouldn't even call it a rain coat really), we were walking up a steep mountain, and we couldn't see any of the scenery. But! The way back was quite amazing. The clouds lifted enough that we were rewarded with glimpses of this crazy world.Well, apparently it's almost Christmas, a notion that has pretty much breezed by Joe and I unnoticed. Being from Colorado, we are lucky enough to have the idea that the holidays are a snow filled, chilly time of year, where once in a while you are blessed with a sheet of fluffy white snow on Christmas day. Here in New Zealand, Christmas means sunshine, beaches, and barbecues. Nevertheless, if we forget to say it, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We are shipping ourselves and the car to the South Island tonight!
No comments:
Post a Comment