New Zealand (ii): Rainbow Road

I greeted my first day in Wanaka by heading down to the lake to photograph "That Wanaka Tree." The iconic tree was bare-its foliage replaced by crows-as the sun rose across the water behind the town. The fast moving rain clouds parted just enough to let some of the purples and reds spill in. It was soon dark though. Rain fell and I retreated to a nearby coffee shop to figure out alternative plans. Since I couldn't do the hikes I had planned on, I ended up just taking the drive toward Rob Roy Glacier in Mount Aspiring National Park. Through mist and cows I drove along the valley as the surrounding green slopes were bisected by slashing torrents of white water filtering all the way down from the ice caps high above. My drive was cut just short of the short trail to the glacier when one of the fords looked just a bit too ambitious for my RAV 4 to handle.

On the way back into town, the rain abated and sun broke through the clouds intermittently. Bright, complete rainbows arced across the sky between mountains above green fields. Hoping the sun would hold, I sped back up north the way I had come the previous night along Lake Wanaka and Hawea to see if I could check out the Blue Pools. The roads that I had come over in the dark yielded spectacular views of the surrounding lakes during the day. Winding dramatically along cliff faces over the water across from countless towering rock monoliths. Powerful winds blowing criss cross patterns of whitecaps on the lakes and speeding the clouds overhead.

When I did arrive at the Blue Pools trailhead, it began pouring, as if on cue, as soon as I had parked the car. With only a couple of hours before sunset, I called it a day and headed back to town to grab dinner and check 50 different forecasts for any signs that the weather the following day would be more merciful.

New Zealand (i): Ends of the Earth

Last month I went as far south on this planet as I am likely ever to go. My flight back from Papua New Guinea routed through Sydney, so I decided to take a week long stopover and book a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand is the kind of place that virtually everyone professes some desire to see at some point in their life, but few actually make it there. So naturally I jumped at the opportunity. With only six days there though, it was difficult to try to plan an itinerary that would do the place justice and ultimately I didn't. By the end of my trip I felt rushed and wishing I could stay for three more months. Nevertheless, New Zealand is a relentlessly, heart-achingly beautiful place that begs to be taken in through every facet of the senses.

From Christchurch, I rented a car and set out north toward the Lewis Pass to make my way to the western coast of the island to Punakaiki. The first day's drive was not as dramatic as later ones as I made my way across plains and foothills as I approached the alps. As I headed north, snow capped peaks loomed in the distance both daunting and inviting. Periodic rain and clouds obscured the horizon and drifted swiftly between and over mountains. It was on this drive that I began to see the deficiency in my planning. I passed so many things that I wished I could have stopped for, but had to press on in order to reach my destination while there was still daylight as the sun sets at about 5pm during New Zealand's winter. My first leg of the roadtrip was particularly long, so I had to make good time. I arrived at Punakaiki just before sunset.

Punakaiki is a tiny little town along the coast halfway between Westport and Greymouth that is known for very dramatic rock features on its beach. The so called "pancake rocks" are the well known attraction, but I was drawn toward a massive monolith dubbed the "chief's head" that stood alone against the waves etched with eons of crashing salt water and wind. I walked along the beach feeling the cold sand between my toes admiring the dramatic coast and inspecting twisted, gnarled driftwood washed ashore.

I finished my evening at a local pub and had dinner and a New Zealand brewed IPA and checked into a little, warm hostel just off the beach. At about 7pm it was already pitch black and I had not really slept since the previous morning where I had started my journey from Port Moresby. I chatted a bit with other travelers in the common area before crashing super hard on the bottom bunk of a hostel bed made comfortable by sheer exhaustion.

The following day was another long driving day. I was making it all the way to Wanaka by evening down the west coast. The drive from Westport to Greymouth is considered one of the most scenic drives in the world and I would be hard pressed to argue. Dramatic seaside cliffs, rainforests, and sprawling dunes make the case well. Along this drive are two popular glaciers that are often cited as "must see" attractions. Guide companies offer helicopter flights to the glaciers, but I didn't really have the time, so I opted instead to take a quick hike to the face of Fox Glacier along a desolate, grey glacier hewn valley. The stark blue of the ancient ice glowing cold and alien.

Continuing down the coast from Fox Glacier it began to rain steadily as I passed through Mount Aspiring National Park. The mountain slopes disappeared upward into thick clouds. It wasn't until just before sunset as I was approaching the northern tip of Lake Wanaka that the clouds began to dissipate and the snowcaps came back into view. I caught glimpses of Lake Wanaka and Hawea as the light failed and was eager to revisit them during the day.

I pulled up to my airbnb in the spectacular dark of the New Zealand evening and, much like the previous evening, collapsed into the bed after a beer and dinner at a local pub. I was to spend the next two days in Wanaka so was able to slow my pace down a bit and really take in the obscene beauty of where I was.

PNG (i): Port Boresby

I spent a month in Papua New Guinea for work recently and it was not one of my more entertaining assignments. It was my first trip during which I spent most of my time confined to the hotel or the office. Port Moresby and Papua New Guinea in general are plagued with violence, crime, and tribal conflicts so it's a bit difficult to navigate and make my way around on my own. Granted I'm sure that had I the time to acquaint myself with the place and develop a social network, I could have done plenty, but after about a week of ominous warnings not to leave the compound and security alerts of expats being carjacked, I resigned myself to spending a lot of time on the couch in my hotel room.

That said, PNG has just as much natural beauty and cultural nuance as any of the other Pacific islands. I did manage to get out of town a few times on the weekends to see some of it. One weekend my driver showed me around one of the stilts villages. These are small towns built on wooden stilts over the ocean from the shore. I had assumed that these villages were built this way because they were sailing or fishing villages, but one local I met in Pari Village (a stilt village about 30 minutes outside of Port Moresby) told me that it was actually because the coastal tribes believe that the salt water protects them from the magic of the highland sorcerers. I walked cautiously along the seemingly haphazardly constructed docks that swayed with each footstep and passing wave, but a group of local children that had followed me sprinted full speed over the planks. It's amazing what you can get used to.

And the only hiking I was able to do was with a local bushwalking group. Leisure hiking is a bit restricted because you are required to pay land use fees and it's simply not safe to be out anywhere alone. The bushwalking group addresses this by arranging payment to landowners and police escorts. The downside being that you're just walking with massive groups of expats, which diminishes the sense of solitude and exploration that I enjoy about hiking a bit. The walk then I joined took the group up into the mountains near the famous Koda Track to the Sogeri Hills. We walked through lush rolling hills and cattle lands alongside a herd of 5,000.

To be honest, part of me did appreciate the luxury of being bored for once. I almost welcomed the excuse to allow myself the time to relax. It's been a busy year so far, hence the lack of activity on this blog so far in 2015. I've had a couple of long trips and plenty of things going on at home with work and freelance gigs. I can hardly believe 2015 is half over.

Stay tuned for some more from PNG, leftovers from Timor-Leste, and, more importantly, scenes from my whirlwind ride through New Zealand's south island.