South Island = Crazy Awesome

Well....I greatly apologize to all of you who have been on sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for my next post. (Let's be honest, that applies to no one). But seriously, this is my first post from the South Island and it is long overdue because tomorrow we leave and there is no way I can pack all of the South Island into one post.

But I guess I will have to try.

The last I posted I was in Wellington. The ferry ride the next morning was beautiful. We were blessed with crystal clear blue skies and great visibilty throughout Cook Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. The boat was really cold standing in the front with the wind howling in my face. The three of us would spend some time outside and then go in for a bit...then come out and go back in. Like I said, it was gorgeous weather, besides the bit of cold because of the early time. We were able to see the beauty of the strait, with the Kaikoura Ocean Range in the distance (beautiful snow capped mountains) and then once we entered the Sound in towards Picton we were stunned by the peaceful beauty of the water and large coastline hills. It was great.

Once we reached Picton (which is a very small town, basically there for the harbor alone...less than one million people live on the South Island) we pciked up our hired/rental car, which we got for a great deal and headed south toward the small town of Omihi where our first contact of the South Island lived. We drove down the major highway (every major highway is one lane each way) on the east coast toward Christchurch. We had some good scenery along the way...the north part of the island is wine country, so tons of vineyards, very California looking area according to Joel. We stopped in the thriving metropolis of Kaikoura. Of course I exagerate because it is a big city on the map but such a small town in reality. Kaikoura was one of the most beautiful places though. Right on the beach, famous for the breeching of hundreds of Sperm whales a year, plus a snow covered mountain range in the background. So cool to see both beach and mountains...never seen anything like it before.

Anyways, we eventually ended up at Alec and Nacy Baxter's sheep farm that night in the middle of nowhere. They were great folks. So kind and generous. They had a great meal ready for us, a roast which was delicious. We chatted a lot witht hem about all sorts of things. Like I noted before, I have been able to learn so much about Kiwi culture just by staying in people's homes. They are so willing to discuss and tell us abou tthemselves and their country and culture and they have much pride in their home. It was really special to stay with so many people. We told Alec our plans for driving down to Cromwell the next day and he told us that we would never make it and we would miss the beauty of everything by driving in the dark. He called his sister up who lives on the West Coast in the Greymouth area and got her to take us in so that we could take our time the next day.

So we were able to sleep in and then spend some of the morning with Alec around the farm, with the sheep and in the paddocks. It was really awesome to get a hands on experience of it all. Nancy made us an interesting breakfast as well. First cereal...then toast with butter...then eggs sunnyside up on top of spaghetti on top of a peice of toast. Quite interesing for breakfast, but actually really good. We left Omihi just before 11:30 in the morning and began our dricve to the West coast, via Arthur's Pass. And again it was a perfectly clear day and somewhat warm too. The drive through the pass took us just north of Christchurch through the Canterbury Plains (the site of many LOTR shots) and into the Southern Alps (another site of many LOTR shots). The drive was simply stunning. I could picture the Lord of the Rings movies as we were driving through the areas. Joel was listening to the music on his iPod. I can't really explain it beyond saying it was gorgeous and incredible for so many reasons.

Canterbury Plains (video)

Once we got to the West coast we stopped in Greymouth to take a look at the beach and then we called up Helen (Alec's sister) and got to their home in the middle of nowhere. It was a cool place, still in the midst of being built and working off of solar power. It was such a blessing that Helen let us stay with her so last minute. It wasn't a part of the plan but it was much needed. Again we got a hot meal, for dinner (err...I mean tea) and for breakfast. The stars were absolutely incredible from their home. There was just a bright streak across the dark sky filled with thousands of little lights...unlike anything I've ever seen in the night sky before.

We left pretty early in the morning to Cromwell. The West coast was mountain terrain. There were great views all along the way. Definitely a more rainforesty feel to the place. We passed two major glaciers (people pronounce them glass' ee ers here), the Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers. These are two of the largest in the world apparently. We did a good bit of hiking up the Franz Josef. Some good views, waterfalls, etc there. Really cool stuff. A huge gorge too. We stopped to look at Fox and then carried on. Mt. Cook was somewhat visible as well. But the real beauty was once we entered Mount Aspiring National Park (the site of Rings and the Narnia movies) and the Lake Wanaka area. In my opinion this was the most beautiful area of the trip, though today comes close. Unfortunately, I was driving so I didn't get any pciks and it was starting to get dark so we didin't stop for a look or a photo. But it was amazing! The mountains and the water with the rivers and the beauty of it all was breathtaking.  The Lord really blessed with great weather.

So we reached Cromwell at the home of Jim and Helen Harrington, who were another Covenant connection. Once we arrived we went off with the family to their church for a ping pong tournament. (I ended up getting second place in the loser's bracket...there were some sick players there). But the Harrington's were amazing people. They used to be missionaries in Africa and now have a ministry in Cromwell. We were fed incredibly well by Helen. Such a blessing. We stayed there for two nights. Our second day there was very cold...a lot of ice and frost. We went into Queenstown and we picked up some hitchers on our way. Once close to Queenstown we broke through the fog and it was perfect blue sky yet again. Queenstown is a beautiful city. It has all the feeling of a major ski destination.It is very touristy, very young, and very international. It was a really sweet place and it was really nice to get to be in place with a lot of people again since the South Island seems to be humanly extinct. I think sheep outnumber New Zealanders 7 or 8 to 1 out here. And cows aren't doing too bad either.

Queenstown is right on a beautiful lake surrounded by several different mountain ranges. The Southern Alps to the north, the Remarkables to the west. And it is the adventure capital of the world. You can't walk anywhere without seeing an adventure office location on the street. Whether it is bungy jumping or sky diving or white water rafting, or luge cars, or giant swings, or jet boat rides, or skiiing, or whatever. And yes, I caught the fever and wanted to do everything. Joel and I were able to do the Jet Boat ride which was freaking awesome. It is a ride which gets up to 80 km per hour and spins in 360s and cuts close to rocks and canyons through a farely shallow river called the Shotover. It was so sweet...very cold, but really cool. I would recommend that to anyone.

Jetboat ride - Queenstown (video)

The rest of the evening was spent looking in shops or hanging in pubs...we ate the infamous Fergburger which was delicious. We got back to Cromwell in the evening in time for tea (dinner) and it was delicious again. Scott and I played Jim in some ping pong and then we watched a movie again. It was like being in a good friend's home...really a fantastic time there, such a blessing.

Today we came up to Christchurch and will fly out in the early morning so our plan is to sleep in the airport. Hopefully that goes well. Again our drive included some spectacular sceneray, some of the best in the trip...just hard to write about it because there is not much else to say...you need to experience it. We went through many more LOTR areas (by now you can see I am a little obsessed with Lord of the Rings sites...oh well). Christchurch is a very odd city. Largest in the South Island but very small...no high rises. It's just really spread out. It has a famous cathedral and that is about it.

Well, I hope the pics can help to explain the beauty of this place that I cannot explain to you. As far as the culture, I feel like I have been immersed into the culture. Staying with five families in the matter of ten days can do that. I have noticed myself and the other guys saying phrases or using a small piece of the accent here and there. It's really funny, but really cool. The top three phrases in my opinion are: "Good as gold." "Good on ya." and "Sweet as." I love it. It has really been a good time. I am sad to start thinking about leaving. Moving back into normal life will be both good and bad I suppose. I know that we are all missing home in some form and long to be back. I certainly have felt the desire to get back, some times stronger than others. But all in all, I think we did a fantastic job of putting together this trip. What we have seen and done and the people we have met will last me a lifetime. It has changed me and moved me to think and act and live differently. And I certainly hope that it continues.

It is sad to leave such a beautiful place. It is like we were teased with it all in such a short time. We saw so much in such a small period of time and were not able to experience even close to half of what there is to offer here. So I guess I will need to come back, eh?

Much love from Kiwi country,
-b garrison