New Zealand: Glaciers, Rainforests, and Beaches

The next day, it was off into the mountains, following a different road than the one to Milford Sound. This one led, eventually, to a winery, where we had a wine tasting. Now, I'm not a wine drinker, but I enjoyed the multi-media presentation, which included footage of helicopter flight over local vinyards and interviews with the vintners who'd created the wine we were about to taste.

We made various sight-seeing stops along the way, including a lunch stop as we crossed over the mountains, but, in the end we arrived in Franz Josef Township. We checked into the local hotel, relaxed a bit, then headed to dinner at the hotel restaurant. I had some excellent lamb, as I recall, but nothing that leaps out as something that must be mentioned.

That night, we had a walk into the local bush. There, we saw many, many glow worms. These are the larva of a type of fly. They spin a sticky thread and then glow bluish to attract prey. They are eerie and beautiful, with a blue glow that's easier seen from the corner of your eye than when you just look at them. We also spotted and photographed an Australian possum. These little guys are cute, but they're also a huge nuisance in New Zealand, as they eat and kill the local trees. We saw many possum fur products, and their pelts are a tourist industry.

The next morning was drizzling, but we set forth, undaunted, to Franz Josef Glacier. This glacier is one of only two in the world that descends into a rainforest. We trekked over dry river bedding and many small streams to the glacier itself, eventually touching it. It was a beautiful thing, with an ice cave, blue ice, and a bunch of loonies hiking on it. Not for me, thank you. It rained harder on the way out, but we were treated to some of the most incredible waterfalls I've ever seen.

We made various stops, including one to a beach where we saw New Zealand fur seals (actually a type of sea lion) and the weka, a less endangered cousin of the kiwi. Ultimately, we ended up in the little town of Greymouth. For dinner, I had some of the best venison I've ever tasted in the hotel's restaurant. Absolutely crushingly good.

The next day was a rather bizarre one. We stopped in a small town called Reefton, where we learned about its gold rush history. Tea was served to us by a group called the Bearded Miners Association who made "billy tea" in a cast iron billy over a coal fire. We also got gridle scones and manuka honey. Yum.

After tea, we were off to the local museum, which is incredibly stuffed to the rafters (literally) with the bric-a-brac of the town. Papers, clothing, rocks, shells, machines...it was a glorious mess! Finally, we came back to town center for lunch at the local tea room. A really good tomato soup and pizza...which was...nothing like pizza I've ever had. The pizza had no tomato sauce and was made with cream cheese (marscapone, I think), bell pepper strips, and chicken. Very, very tasty...but very, very odd.

After many, many stops to sightsee, including a beach on the Tasman Sea, we were back at the hotel. Dinner was fish and chips from the hotel restaurant...incredibly good fish and chips at that...and a side-order of gentle mockery when we told our waitress we'd been in Reefton that day. Apparently the place is well-known for being a bit wacky.

the next day began the final leg of our journey. More on that shortly.

New Zealand: The Weather Started Getting Rough

It started well enough. We flew from Rotorua to Christchurch, with just a bit of turbulence. Once we got there, though, the news was not good. The weather in Queenstown was terrible. They weren't going to be able to fly us in. So we boarded large buses to make the nine hour drive. We didn't arrive at our hotel until about 1 AM.

Our hotel, the Millbrook is beautiful, but somewhat insane. It's a world-class golf course, visited by tourists and golfers from all over the world. To make things slightly more out-of-whack, we were upgraded to huge villa rooms. These two room hotel rooms had luxuries that were not to be believed. Sure, the laundry machines were nice. But do we really need heated bathroom floors? Hmm...on the other hand, they do feel rather nice o n the paws.

Breakfast here was the first real variance we ran across. In addition to what we now recognized as the traditional Kiwi breakfast fare (the same four cereals, scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, triangular hash browns...), there was also a cold board of meats and cheeses (we assumed for Scandinavian guests), poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce (the Other Half LOVES his eggs benedict, thank you), miso soup and rice (for Japanese guests, we guess?), and more.

The scenery is also breathtaking. Mountains peaked with snow loom in all directions. A truly awesome sight in the early morning light.

Oh...and I do mean early. About 5 AM after having been up til 1 AM the night before.

Why? Well, the plan was to go to Milford Sound, part of New Zealand's Fiordland region. Sadly, the weather interfered again, as an avalanche had wiped out the road to Milford. So our tour leader worked some magic. We tooled around Queenstown for some hours, and the Bear Squad hit Hell Pizza, a chain of pizzas that the Otter had heard about before we departed the U.S. Besides a catchy yet controversial slogan (Hungry? Go to Hell!), and large pizza boxes that fold into coffins to keep your leftovers in, they feature pizzas named for the Seven Deadly Sins, other bad habits, Limbo, Purgatory, Mordor, and more. The Bear Squad enjoyed their pizzas, but the Bear did not. I wasn't feeling too well, so I passed. My time for Hell Pizza would come later...

Well, with Milford Sound out, we instead switched days and did what was planned for the following day. We got suited up in splash jackets and life vests and hopped on the Dart River in a jetboat. This Kiwi-designed vessel can make incredible acrobatic turns, including a near-360 degree spin called the Hamilton Turn. Our boat'spilot, like so many of our local guides was what our overall guide called "a typical Kiwi boy"...rugged, grinning, adventurous, and ready to pull our legs more than a little. How long had he been working there? "This is my first day, actually." When one of our group jokingly asked if he'd seen some of the logs we'd just missed in the river, he blinked. "Logs? There are no logs in that part of the river, are there? I didn't see any."

For three blissful hours, we rode in this quick little vessel past scenery literally right out of Lord of the Rings. We saw where many chunks of the movie were filmed, and with good reason. Some of the most spectacular and beautiful scenery I've ever laid eyes on. We had a little walk through the bush, and we saw many waterfalls, thanks to the bad rains.

Afterward, we opted not to have dinner with the group. We needed a bit of a break, so we headed to the hotel's gourmet restaurant, which had some golf-themed name. The food was excellent. The Otter had a Fritto Mera...basically a super-upscale fisherman's platter. The Other Half finally got some venison, which he loved. I had a nice, fatty piece of pork belly. Ah well. With all the walking around, I was confident I could cheat my eating habits now and then.

The next day, we learned that Milford Sound was going to be a total miss. The avalanche would take days to clear. So our tour guide improvised. She took us onto Deer Park Heights, which has been in countless movies including, you guessed it, The Lord of the Rings. We posed for photos around various very recognizable features of the landscape. We also got to enjoy meeting the local animals, which included domesticated chickens, cluny pigs (rather handsome furry pigs), tahr (very, very shaggy mountain goats), red deer, llamas, Scottish Highland Cattle, and more. After the Park, we rode a gondola to the top of a local mountain to a mountaintop restaurant. Some tasty food, and a ride on a mountaintop luge. Definitely a fun time.

Afterards, we visited Arrowtown, a gold rush town from the 1800s. We got to see more Lord of the Rings scenes, and we ate at a local pub called the New Orleans Hotel. We had some excellent sweet and sticky chicken wings and some roast pork...it was so good, I was convinced I'd been right to eat the Jungle Curry in Auckland.

Soon, we were off to someplace very different indeed.

- The Happy Bear

Oh Magic Cadillac...Deliver Me That Pie at Once...

It's hard to get really good pizza delivered in the woods, but we manage. And right now, the pizza delivery of choice is Pinky's Famous Pizza.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know why Pinky's Pizza is famous, but I suspect it has something to do with the outrageously good food. It may seem a little pricey, but the pizzas are vast and loaded with excellent toppings. You can get most of the traditional pies, like Pepperoni, Margherita, and Meat-Lovers. But then you can also get more gourmet and unusual pieces, such as the Hottt Rod (no tomato sauce...buffalo chicken, bleu cheese, and mozzarella), the Sputnik Scampi (white pizza with shrimp and garlic), and the All-American Steak and Cheese.

For those not in a pizza-ish mood, they have wraps and incredibly massive salads such as the Apple Walnut Gorgonzola and the Tropical Island (served in a tortilla shell). You can also have chicken wings, chicken fingers, and almost any kind of calzone you might crave.

Dessert options are limited, in as much as they have only one - cinnamon sticks. But dang, these are the best cinnamon sticks I've ever had! Loaded with cinnamon and a tasty icing, they're buttery and wonderful.

For those of you outside their range, I'm sorry. Wish I could help, but I have to go order some right now. Reviewin' makes me hungry.

- The Happy Bear