brynandchristopher

[brynandchristopher]

The (temporary) end of an era

Well, it’s certainly been a while since we last wrote. We apologize for the delay, we’ve been busy transitioning from New Zealand life to Australia in the last month or so, and then from Australia back to our homes in the last few days, and just haven’t gotten around to writing. But now we’re back! First and foremost, Chris and I are safe, happy, and healthy. It is a crazy time that we are living in right now, but so far we have remained physically unaffected by coronavirus and are keeping our fingers crossed that it remains that way. We are in good health and taking all of the necessary precautions to stay safe in this time of chaos and uncertainty.

In our last post, we had just bid Madeline farewell and were beginning the process of selling our van, Sweetie, in Christchurch. We gave ourselves ~2 weeks before departing to sell the van in hopes that would give us enough time to meet with prospective buyers and try to make some of our money back before taking off for Australia. In New Zealand, there is a bit of a boom and bust cycle in regards to van prices due to the major influx of backpackers at the beginning of the summer and mass exodus at the end of summer. Additionally, most backpackers take a similar route to the one we took - flying into Auckland, exploring the north island, heading down south, flying out of Christchurch - resulting in a huge supply of backpacker vans in Christchurch and not very much demand. We were aware of this cycle going into our trip and knew we wouldn’t get a full return on what we spent, but we were hopeful we could get at least half of our money back to put towards our next van in Australia. Our first few van showings were slightly disheartening. We received significant interest via buy/sell facebook pages and other websites where we posted ads, but when we met in person for test drives and viewings everyone seemed very nit-picky about small things that hadn’t mattered much to us. We soon realized that backpackers looking at vans at the end of the summer could afford to be selective because of how many vans were available to them at a low cost. We didn’t let them get us down though, and after 4 or 5 days of showings we met an Israeli couple around our age that was interested in buying Sweetie. Chris negotiated with them (definitely not my forté, Chris is the master haggler between the two of us) and we were able to get a little more than half of what we had spent. We spent a day driving around with them for a test drive, mechanical inspection, and eventually a transfer of ownership, and by that evening it was time for us to part with our beloved Sweetie. She was a real trooper and everything we could have asked for for our very first car, we felt lucky to have had no car problems for the whole 3 months (which cannot be said for many secondhand backpacker campervans). We were sad to see her go but happy to be leaving her in good hands for her next adventure :)

It was a relief to sell the van in the first few days of our arrival to Christchurch, but we soon realized we had a lot of time on our hands for the next 10 days without a vehicle to go anywhere beyond the city. We stayed in a hostel in central Christchurch for 3 nights and spent a few days exploring the sights of the city. We walked through the botanical gardens, visited the local museum, explored the shops, and hung out around the hostel. One day we went to a climbing gym and spent a few hours bouldering, a hobby that both Chris and I had missed since our travels began. Once our time in the hostel was up, Chris’ dad, John, helped us out with some points so we could stay at the Double Tree Inn for 2 nights. After living in a minivan for 3 months and then staying in a crowded hostel for a few nights, the Double Tree felt luxurious and plush. We were very grateful to be staying in a nice place for a few days and have a bit of a break from the backpacker lifestyle - thanks Wan :) 

For the remainder of our time in Christchurch, we booked a cheap AirBnb on the outskirts of the city. We were beginning to get a bit restless - while Christchurch is nice enough, New Zealand isn’t exactly famous for it’s beautiful cities and we felt like we had explored most of what it had to offer. I spent most of our days there starting to look online for vans and jobs in Australia, and Chris played a lot of Pokémon ;) I had applied to a few live-in nanny jobs in Queensland, where we were hoping to post up for a few months to save up some money, and I heard back from the one Chris and I were most excited about. The family of 5 lived on 7 acres in a sleepy beach town called Kinka Beach about 7 hours north of Brisbane, and it seemed like we would be a good fit for what they were looking for. After a few emails back and forth, the mother, Olivia, and I spoke on the phone for a while to sort out the details and get to know each other a bit. Originally Olivia and her husband, Darren, weren’t looking to have a couple, but when we told them of Chris’ handyman/DIY construction experience, they figured they could use his help on some projects around their property in addition to my help with their 3 kids. We agreed on an arrival date in early April and planned to stay in touch until then. Before we knew it, our last night in New Zealand was upon us and we decided to celebrate by going out to dinner at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant a few blocks away from our AirBnb. We ordered a few different dishes, which were fantastic, and recounted all of the unforgettable memories we made in the beautiful country of New Zealand. It was a sad goodbye but we were looking forward to our next adventure in Australia. 

At this point, the Coronavirus panic was beginning to ramp up. We were only experiencing it secondhand, as it hadn’t become a problem at all in New Zealand yet, so it didn't really feel real until we got to the airport. There were increased screening and security measures when we arrived to Australia, questions about where we’d travelled recently and separate lines for people who had been to China, Italy, Iran, or Dubai. This, of course, was only the tip of the iceberg and our nervousness about the situation began to increase. My parents were supposed to be visiting about a week after we arrived to Sydney and we weren’t sure what would happen in that time. Fortunately, we had a safe and isolated place to stay in Sydney for the week - my Dad’s childhood friend, Rob, lives in a beautiful downtown apartment in the heart of Sydney and was gracious enough to host us. For the first few days we got to know Rob over dinners and wine and he gave us advice for places to check out around the city. We walked through the beautiful botanic gardens, along the harbor to see the Sydney Opera House, and spent a day soaking up the sun at Bondi Beach. We were primarily in Sydney to start our hunt for a new van, so we met up with a few different sellers that we’d been in contact with to test drive and scope out our options. Because we would be living in this van for a longer period of time, we were hoping to upgrade on a few things that Sweetie didn’t have - a bit more space in the back, a high roof, and an indoor kitchen. We liked 1 or 2 of the ones we viewed in the first few days, but nothing was really checking all of the boxes that we were hoping for. 

Three or four days into our time in Sydney, it became very apparent how seriously the world was reacting to Coronavirus. Everyone was being sent home from work, businesses were closing, and fewer and fewer people were out on the street each day. Before we knew it, travel restrictions and bans were being put in place by many countries, Australia being one of them. With very heavy hearts, my parents had to cancel their trip to come and visit us for 2+ weeks. We were all pretty heartbroken about the situation, all of us had been looking forward to the trip for months. I was craving a taste of comfort and home that I knew would come from spending time with my parents, and I knew how excited they were to take a much deserved break from work and go on a big adventure across the world. I soon found out that my sister, Maggie, was also going to surprise me and come along with them (I had suspicions all along (; ), which only made it harder. It was a major disappointment on both ends, but it was out of our hands. 

Feeling a bit deflated and sad, we continued our search for the right van. When we came across a van that was everything we were looking for but a little bit out of our price range, we figured we might as well take a look at it and see if we could negotiate our way down. We met with the owner of the van, a Spanish guy named Edgar, who was trying to get out of the country as soon as possible because his visa was about to expire. The van was perfect, we fell in love with it immediately. It had a solar panel on top that powered a refrigerator, water pump for running water, power outlets, and cabin lights, had a whole indoor kitchen set up, and had a semi-high roof. It was in great mechanical condition and had very low kilometers compared to the majority of the vans we had looked at. We spent a day or two going back and forth with Edgar about the price and eventually we came to an agreement- we were now the proud owners of a 1999 fully outfitted Toyota Hiace Campervan! We named him Rollo, a viking name that we felt was well-suited for our van.

A day or two later, Chris and I went through a few hours of panic about coronavirus and whether or not we needed to make the difficult decision to end our trip and go home. It was poor timing to go through this decision making process, as we had just invested the majority of our money into a new home on wheels, but it was an option we knew we had to seriously consider before carrying on with our travel plans. We went through many different hypothetical scenarios, weighed all of the pros and cons, talked it out with friends and family, and eventually came to the decision that we would wait it out in Australia for now. The situation worldwide was changing every day and the uncertainty was scary - our first instinct is to be around our family in a time like this - but we knew we had a safe place to hunker down for a few months with our nannying family in Kinka Beach. With new border closures and travel restrictions being put into place, we decided we would leave Sydney and head straight for Kinka Beach without making many stops in between. Before we left, Rob recommended a hike close by in Royal National Park to the beautiful Figure Eight Pools. These series of pools were formed along a rock shelf of the coastline from centuries of pounding waves and receding tides. When the tide is low enough, you can walk out on the shelf and take a dip in the crystal clear waters of the Figure Eight Pools - take a look at our pictures and you’ll understand the name. We had never seen anything like them before, it was a really cool adventure. After swimming in the pools we spent a few hours on the beach before making our way back to Sydney.  We had our last dinner with Rob and he was nice enough to send us off with a basket full of van-life essentials - we were beyond grateful for his hospitality and generosity over the course of the week and hoped to visit if we’re back in Sydney again :)

Chris and I hit the road and began our 3-day drive up the east coast of Australia. On our first day, we stopped in to visit with my great-Aunt, Nancy, who lives in Newcastle a few hours north of Sydney. I had never met Nancy, only heard about her secondhand from my Grandad and the rest of my Dad’s family, so I was very excited to finally get to meet her. Chris and I spent an hour or so with Nancy, chatting over tea and walking through her magnificent backyard garden. It was wonderful to meet her and exchange stories of our travels, I hope to stay in touch in the future. After saying our goodbyes, we continued our drive north. We felt a bit melancholy as we passed exit after exit for all of the places we were supposed to be staying at with my parents, but we were doing our best to stay positive. We knew how lucky we were to have found a beautiful new van and to have a safe place to go to in a time of crisis. We stayed overnight in free rest-stop campsites along the way and made it to Kinka Beach after 3 long days in the van. 

Olivia and Darren, the parents, greeted us and we spent an hour or so getting to know each other and taking a look around their property. They own a coral selling business where they harvest small amounts of coral from the Great Barrier Reef and then propagate it in tanks on land to sell to aquarium owners, pet stores, etc. Their property had an old aquarium on it that they were going to convert into a coral-growing space because it already had the tanks and requirements needed for their business. The aquarium was accompanied by a giant concrete whale that you could go inside - it was as big as a house and definitely a trademark of the Kinka Beach area. It was a funky property but we liked it, and we got along well with Olivia and Darren. Because we had been in Sydney and traveling around, they asked us to keep our distance and self-isolate in our van on their property for the first week that we were there, which we of course were fine with. We spent the week going to the beach, stocking up on food essentials, and relaxing in the van. As much as we tried to keep our distance, the older two of the children were very curious about the two new van-dwellers on their property. They would sneak away from their parents to come and say hello, and took a liking to us right away. Our new names were ‘Nanny Chris’ and ‘Nanny Bryn’, it was very cute :) The week of isolation passed and Chris and I moved in to the family’s house. The family also had a separate unit on their property on the second floor of the aquarium that Chris and I were planning on moving into but it had some damage from a cyclone a few years back. Fixing up the separate unit was going to be Chris’ project for the few months that we were there, and he dove right in once we got settled. For the first few days I was with Olivia and the three kids - Henderson or ‘Hendo’ (4), Israel (2), and Kingsley (12 weeks) - playing in their blow up pool, jumping on the trampoline, reading books, and watching movies. The kids were adorable and (mostly) well-behaved, and Olivia and I got along great. I spent my birthday with the kids, and Chris and I snuck away during their nap to have a pizza beach picnic where he gave me a guitar!! I had expressed the desire to start learning throughout our travels and he remembered, it was a very sweet and thoughtful gift <3 The family surprised me with birthday cake and songs later that night and made my birthday feel special, even if it was under somewhat different circumstances than usual. 

A day or two into the job, the same anxieties that Chris and I were having in Sydney began to creep back up on us. Coronavirus continued to ramp up, and our fears of being far from home grew with it. We worried about being stuck in Australia if they cancelled all outgoing flights and not being able to return to the US if family or friends got sick, or what would happen if we needed to be hospitalized abroad. Mostly we just felt scared, anxious, and homesick being in an unfamiliar place during a time of such panic and crisis, and it was seriously impacting our ability to enjoy our time there. The family had also asked that Chris didn’t get a job in the community, as they had young children and a baby, and wanted to limit potential exposure to the virus. This would mean we wouldn’t be making very much money, and we knew we needed to resupply our funds if we wanted to continue to travel. At the same time, we were scared by the prospect of traveling if we did decide to go home, which would mean exposing ourselves to airplanes and airports. It was risky and we didn’t want to bring the sickness home to anyone or put others at risk. After a few wrenching days of going back and forth about it and talking it through with Olivia and Darren, Chris and I made the difficult decision to sell the van and go home. It was a heartbreaking goodbye - the kids had begun to get attached to us, and us to them - but after lots of hugs we bid farewell and headed south towards Brisbane to sell Rollo. We stayed at a campground and arranged a few meetings with interested buyers, and after a day we made a quick sale to a Dutch backpacker couple. The next morning we were on a flight to Sydney, where we spent the night, and then carried on to San Francisco the following day. After the 13+ hour flight to California, Chris and I parted ways - I flew home to Boston and Chris to Salt Lake City. It feels strange and sad to be apart after spending literally every hour of the day together for 5+ months straight, but fortunately (and unfortunately, I suppose) we have quite a bit of experience with long-distance. We know it’s not forever and we are staying positive and looking forward to spending time with our families after being away for so long. Both of us are currently self-quarantining in our homes - I’m up in the creative room in my house for the next two weeks and Chris is confined to the basement at his house. We’re both feeling very lucky that our houses are set up in a way that allows us to be physically separate from our families while still being able to visit from across the yard or between rooms. We know not everyone being affected by coronavirus is afforded that same luxury, so we are counting our blessings and keeping ourselves busy for the next 14 days. 

Unfortunately this will likely be our last blog post for a while. But don’t worry!! Our travels will continue once we’ve saved up a little more money, and we will be sure to post here when that time comes :) We are relieved and happy to be home and are looking forward to better and brighter days. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have kept up with our travels in the past 5 months, it has been filled with more joy, wonder, and adventure than we could have ever imagined. We feel so lucky to have people in our lives that we can share those experiences with, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Stay home, stay safe, and stay healthy!! 

With love,

Bryn and Christopher

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

The 3 Musketeers

Hello again! It is a bittersweet thing to say this will be our last post from New Zealand. We have had an absolutely wonderful time here and in part don’t want it to be over, but we are also ready to move on to our next adventure in Australia. We are looking forward to a little bit of routine and stability, as well as a new landscape to explore in a new van!!

The last time we checked in we had just finished the Kepler Track and were waiting to meet up with some friends of mine. We left Lake Dunstan and headed through a deep river/reservoir gorge between Cromwell and Alexandra to go see my college best friend, Camille, and her boyfriend, Aaron. They had been picking cherries and training young trees for about 7 weeks and when we arrived they had just finished their stint on the orchard. A lot of people here get a working holiday visa which allows them to stay for up to a year, and up to 2 years if 3 months of farm work is completed. Camille and Aaron were pretty sick of Alexandra so we headed out into the hills of Otago to camp for a few nights at a cool secluded freedom camp they knew of called St. Bathan’s place.

We spent 3 nights in St. Bathan’s and had a blast. It was situated around a bunch of cattle grazing pastures nearby to an old abandoned gold mine. The gold mining operation had left a large pit in the ground which over the decades filled up with rainwater and is now a lovely lake! We spent our first night there hanging out with Camille and Aaron and catching up on all of their adventures. We stayed up late into the night, having a few drinks, and freezing our toes off. It got really cold but we persisted in staying up and enjoying the amazing array of stars. We got full views of the milky way and it was definitely the best stargazing we’ve done during the trip. The next day we walked over to the lake and spent the day basking in the sun, listening to music, and climbing the fragile cliffs and jumping back down into the lake! We made dinner together and had another night of hanging out and listening to hilarious stories about Ireland, where Aaron is from. 

The next day was very gloomy and we spent most of the day watching The Mandalorian in our van, great show, highly recommend. It cleared up in the evening and Camille and I were treated to a few impromptu duets from Bryn and Aaron once he had enough whisky to bust out his guitar. 

The next day we left St. Bathan’s and went back to Alexandra to hang out at a lake nearby to the orchard Camille and Aaron worked on. It was an awesome lake with cool waterbirds and big cliffs all around. We hung out on the beach for a while and attempted our highest cliff jumping of the trip (~40 feet). It was a beautiful day and after taking care of some final logistical things in town, we all set out to a freedom camp in that river/reservoir gorge we came into town through called Champagne Gully. We enjoyed a last dinner together before going our separate ways the next morning. It was so much fun to see an old friend and spend a few days socializing, Bryn and I aren’t sick of each other but having other people around is nice sometimes :). 

The next morning was my birthday! Woohoo. We spent the beginning of the day at a cafe so I could watch my favorite soccer team, Manchester United, play my least favorite soccer team, Chelsea. Since it was my birthday they made sure to win for me :). We had some lovely drinks and treats at the cafe to celebrate and then headed to Queenstown to shower at the free service station. Bryn had planned a special dinner/activity for my birthday but wouldn’t tell me what it was, just that we had to be in Queenstown that evening. After hanging at the service station and talking to my fam, we drove into downtown. We parked the car and walked along the docks until we reached a famous old steamship, the TSS Earnslaw and Bryn finally let me in on the secret - we were taking a steamboat cruise across Lake Wakatipu to a traditional farm for a gourmet all-you-can-eat bbq dinner. The cruise was beautiful and we stood out on the front deck while we braved the wind and enjoyed the view. The farm was immaculate and definitely used for private functions and weddings from time to time. There were tons of flower gardens and a cool old Victorian style house where dinner was served. We got a lovely table overlooking the water and treated ourselves to a little bit of everything they had to offer. I think I went back to the buffet 4 or 5 times and was very, very full by the end of it. After dinner they did a demonstration in this cool outdoor amphitheater of how they shear sheep as well as a live demonstration of their herding dogs herding a flock of sheep down a hill. The control of the dogs was incredible, using different pitched whistles to signal them to stalk, bark, run, stop etc. There were two dogs were highly adept in working together and it was an awesome learning experience. After that we got back on the boat and headed back across the lake. There was a piano singalong of old folk songs in the back of the boat and Bryn and I sat right up by the piano in the heart of the diehard geriatric singers and sang our voices hoarse - there were some people that were suuuuper into it and it was really fun and hilarious to be a part of. Bryn even requested happy birthday at the end and I got a nice birthday serenade from a bunch of strangers :). 

The next day I got a wonderful belated birthday present :). My sister Madeline flew across the world to come visit us for 9 days. She arrived in the late afternoon and our first day we shopped for a few things, made a nice dinner in our Airbnb, and rested up so she could get over the jet lag quickly. The next morning we got up early and headed into town to kick off the festivities. We found a really good deal on a 3 person parasailing over Lake Wakatipu. It was such an amazing view as we were towed up behind a boat over the lake and a really fun way to kick things off. After our morning parasailing ride we walked around Queenstown and did a little bit of shopping before heading into the public flower gardens along the lake. After a lot of walking and minorly sore feet we decided to stop for lunch at a famous local restaurant called Fergberger. We got ourselves a meat pie, a burger, and the NZ version of a Boston creme donut. All of them were fantastic and a special treat, as we normally don’t eat meat or dairy. 

We had planned to do a cruise on Milford sound the next day but the landslides had destroyed the roads and still were not open to personal vehicles. We didn’t want to spend ~250 dollars for a commercial coach and cruise upgrade option so we made a change of plans and headed back to Wanaka where Bryn and I spent a few days a couple of weeks back. We went back to some cool cliff jumping and lazy river spots we found and stayed at a huge open campground in the woods and made friends with a bike packer named Karl. He serenaded a family of ducks with his flute and he and Madeline were fast friends! 

The next day we headed north up to Mt. Cook. We planned to go all the way up into Mt. Cook National Park but when we arrived the weather was very clouded and drizzly so we decided to wait until the next morning for better weather and camped at a lake. We made an amazing dinner of portabella mushroom burgers and red kumara (like a sweet potato) fries and snuggled up in the van to play a rousing game of monopoly. As monopoly always does, the game dragged on quite a bit, and I won by forfeiture - me and my sisters play monopoly back home so it was a really fun throwback game night. The next morning we got up early and drove an hour or so into the national park. We made a first stop and did a 3 km hike up to an overlook of the Tasman glacier. It was the first time Madeline had seen a glacier so that was really cool, and the views of the mountains were absolutely gorgeous. We continued up the road to its end where there were hundreds of cars/vans parked at the staging camp for a plethora of hikes. We opted not to join in on the difficult and crowded trails but just hung out, had some snacks, and enjoyed the view of NZ’s tallest mountain. After we left we had a hefty driving day and made it a long way south to yet another lakeside campground. 

The next day we drove even further south to the town of Bluff. We had spent the last 3 nights staying at freedom camps in our van - we had to pitch a tent as well because the van really only has space for 2 people - and were a bit weary of the cold and loneliness accompanying being alone out in the tent so we booked some more cheap Airbnb’s. The Airbnb in Bluff was really nice and after driving to the end of the peninsula at the end of NZ we utilized the real kitchen space to make an Italian feast of salad, gnocchi and vegetarian bolognese sauce, and garlic bread (and a little bit of wine). 

The next day we drove through the Catlins, a large forested area of southern New Zealand stopping along the way at some really cool natural features. We went to two different waterfall areas which each boasted multiple waterfalls and took in the beauty and got some great pictures. We stopped for a couple hours in a small town called Owaka so Madeline could take an online test back home which she took at the local library - after that we did a little souvenir shopping before heading to Jack’s Blowhole. After a sizable walk we made it to the blowhole, which was over 600 feet inland and nearly 400 feet deep! It was really crazy to see the tides flow in and out and spray up, we got there at high tide so it was in ideal form. After that we headed to Kaka Point, a small beautiful seaside town where we got another Airbnb up on the cliffs. Our host, Mary Jo, was super nice and gave us some good advice of what to do around there and let us play with her Red Heeler, Matty. I don’t have enough dogs in my life… :( The next morning we woke up very early to go to a lighthouse ~15 min away for sunrise. Madeline was in a sleepy stupor and was unable to rouse herself so Bryn and I made the journey on our own. It was really nice to be out in the early morning hours and we got some absolutely amazing views at Nugget Point. There were large rock outcropping all around the peninsula that looked like nugget of gold (or chicken). It was a lovely morning, despite a cloudy and slightly underwhelming sunrise. After going back to the Airbnb and making breakfast, we headed back through the Catlins to stop at some of the spots we didn’t have time to see on the first pass. We went to the famous Purakaunui falls as well as Curio bay. Curio bay had a petrified forest outcropping along the sea that is now home to the rarest species of penguin in the world. We were graced with a lucky sighting of the 2019 bird of the year, the Hoiho (noisy in Maori) or Yellow-eyed penguin. We were able to get reasonably close and watch it hang out along in petrified forest rocks. We went to a cafe afterwards and had some really nice snacks before heading to Weir Beach. We camped in a big open field along the ocean at the farthest south point in all of NZ this night and luckily, it wasn’t all that cold. 

The next morning we got up early and drove to Dunedin for our final day together. We got to our Airbnb and after taking showers we went into town. We walked around town a bit, stopping in some art galleries and cool shops to get a few souvenirs. We got a gelato in the main square downtown and played ping pong in the park for a while. Afterwards we went to the Black Dog, a chic restaurant bar for a final meal together. We shared cream of tomato soup as a starter and a chocolate mousse for dessert, along with our individual entrees of course - it was a really nice last supper together. We headed back to the Airbnb and hung out and snuggled before going to bed. We got up and drove to the airport the next morning for Madeline’s very early flight - I was very sad to say goodbye to her but am so thankful she came. I miss her and my family a lot so it meant a lot to me that she came all this way to see me. <3 

After we said goodbye to Madeline we packed up and did a long haul drive up to Christchurch where we are now. We will be in Christchurch for another ~2 weeks trying to sell our van and then we will head to Australia!!! Wish us luck selling the van, we might need it! :) 

Expect our best,

Christopher and Bryn

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

[brynandchristopher]

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[brynandchristopher]

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[brynandchristopher]

Rain rain go away

Well it’s been a while! Our plans got switched around quite a bit in the last 2 weeks, so we are a little off schedule in getting a blog post out. The last time we checked in we had just finished the Abel Tasman Coastal Track on the northern coast of the South Island and were stopped in Westport for a few nights post-hike.  

After leaving Westport, we embarked on the scenic drive south on Route 6 along the wild and rugged western coast of the South Island. The west coast is where the mountains meet the sea, and Route 6 skirts the fine line between the cascading forested peaks and the dark rocky beaches. We drove a few hours down the winding, rugged road, making a few stops along the way to take it all in. One of the most noteworthy places we stopped was in Punakaiki on the western edge of Paparoa National Park, where we took a short walk to view the pancake rocks and blowholes. The pancake rocks are odd, stacked rock formations that are still somewhat of a geological mystery, and the blowholes release surges of sea spray through hollowed out rock caverns. It was a beautiful walk and a nice way to stretch our legs after a few hours of driving. We made it to a free campsite at Whataroa Gorge that afternoon, where we cooked a delicious dinner, went for a quick dip in the river, and tucked in for the night. The next morning we woke up to rain and cold, and decided we would use the overcast weather to put a dent in our drive south to another free campsite in the parking lot of a cafe a few hours away. After holing up in the cafe for a while, and without much else to do in the pouring rain, we figured we might as well put in a few more hours of driving. We stopped at the roaring Fantail Falls in Mount Aspiring National Park before making our way to Wanaka, a beautiful lakeside town flanked by hills and mountains. At this point, we were both a bit cranky after being in the car for 5 or 6 hours, but we found a campsite, whipped up a quick dinner of instant noodles and hunkered down for the night. 

The next day, we were pleasantly surprised to find another service hub in Wanaka that offered free hot showers, wifi, water, etc. to van/camper-dwelling travelers, so we stopped in to get all cleaned up and refreshed. Fortunately the sun had come out again, and we took advantage of the good weather by seeking out a cliff jumping spot that had been recommended to us by a friend of Chris’ who had spent a semester abroad in New Zealand. We drove down a long gravel road to a trail that lead down to a gorge on the Motatapu River. The gorge was beautiful, with clear teal water carving through rocky cliffs and we were lucky enough to  have it all to ourselves. There were a few different spots to jump (I went for the shorter, less scary ones, and Chris went for the higher ones) and the water was shockingly cold, but we had an awesome time and were happy we got the recommendation. As we were drying off and preparing to leave, a few people had just arrived to the gorge and told us about another jumping spot a few miles up the road. After a few wrong turns, we made it to the trailhead and hiked to a small riverside beach. We were told to walk upriver for a few minutes to another gorge with a few different jumping spots, so we walked and swam our way to a beautiful opening in the river channel. We jumped in a few times and then floated our way back down to the beach. It was super fun and we were grateful to get a local tip :)

We spent another night in Wanaka before driving south to Queenstown, where we restocked on some groceries, stopped in for a shower at another service hub, and departed towards a campsite in the small town of Lumsden. The weather had begun to turn again, and the next day we were greeted by what would be the start of an extremely rainy week. We were getting a bit nervous - our next Great Walk, the Kepler Track in Fiordlands National Park, was coming up in a few days and the forecast was very foreboding. In the next couple of days we drove farther south, stopping in at a few towns for farmers markets and refuge from the rain. We camped along the beautiful southern coast in Pahia, and then looped up towards Te Anau where we would begin the Kepler Track. The morning we were supposed to leave for the trek, we checked the weather only to see a 100% chance of heavy rain every day for the next 4-5 days, with forecasts of flooding and landslides possible. The main draw of the Kepler Track are the spectacular views, so we decided to postpone our hike by about a week in hopes that the weather would clear. Our next Great Walk after the Kepler was supposed to be the Routeburn Track (also in Fiordland National Park), so we decided to stop in at the visitor center in Te Anau to ask about the status of the trails.

When we arrived, we were informed that there had been a major landslide on the road leading out to the Routeburn Track, as well as multiple landslides along the trail itself, and that it would likely be closed for the rest of the season. We were pretty bummed that we wouldn’t be able to do the Routeburn anymore, but felt grateful that we weren’t out on the trail when the landslides happened - one of the slides hit a hut on the trail and everyone had to be evacuated out by helicopter! The ranger at the visitor center also informed us that all of the major highways going north were flooded due to the heavy rains, as well as some of the highways leading east, so we had few options for where to go in our time before Kepler. We were able to drive to Lumsden again, avoiding multiple flooding detours along the way, and camped there for the night. The town of Lumsden was generous enough opened their community center for the night as a place for stranded freedom campers to come and escape the rain and wind. They offered warm drinks, cookies, and a space to hang out for everyone - Chris and I ended up guiding an impromptu yoga lesson to a group of German girls who were also stuck there. We were extremely grateful to the people of Lumsden for their hospitality and kindness. :)

The next few days were a little bit of a drag - one of the downfalls of van life is the lack of options in poor weather, and we found ourselves feeling a bit trapped and restless. We drove between a few different towns and spent most of our time between the van, libraries, and cafes while the rain continued to come down in sheets. One of our nights was spent in the parking lot of a rugby club in the small town of Edendale. Only an hour so after we arrived, a helicopter landed in the field adjacent to us and dropped off mattresses and blankets for evacuees in the area. Two of the neighboring towns had been evacuated due to flooding, one of which was at risk of a toxic Ammonia gas leak as a result of waste left in an old paper mill along the river that wasn’t supposed to get wet. The south island is used to a lot of precipitation, but apparently this rain event was a one in every 100 years type of occurrence. 

Finally the rain began to clear and we drove back along the southern coast to make our way towards Fiordland National Park for the second time. We stopped in the beautiful Colac Bay to camp for a night and explored the rocky beach, relieved to be outside after so many days stuck in the van. While we were walking, we spotted a sign about harvesting mussels at low tide, and figured we should scout out the area in case we came across any. Once low tide came around, we walked down to the rocks and Chris found hundreds of New Zealand’s green-lipped mussels clinging to a boulder just below the tideline. He harvested 44 of them and we cooked them up for a dinner of raviolis, mussels, and broccoli in a white cheese sauce. It was delicious and fun to know that we had harvested part of the meal ourselves. :)

After Colac Bay, we drove to the southern region of Fiordland National Park to the deepest lake in New Zealand, Lake Hauroko. We hiked an hour up a steep, rugged trail to a lookout point over the lake, stopped for a break to take it all in, and made our way back down to go for a swim. After our swim we were attacked by swarms of sandflies, New Zealand’s resident biting fly, and made a quick escape into the van before driving to our campsite by the Clifden Suspension Bridge. The following day we took a walk among the towering Totara trees, an enormous tree species endemic to New Zealand, and then prepped for the Kepler Track which we would be starting the next day. The weather forecast predicted the next three days to be in the 60s, clear and sunny, and we were thanking ourselves for deciding to change our plans. On our first day, the Kepler Track took us through lush, fern-laiden forests and over rushing streams and rivers. The trail was relatively flat with minor undulations, but it was a long day for both of us at about 13.7 miles. After 6 hours of hiking we arrived at the Iris Burn campsite, feeling sore but accomplished, and excited for a rest. We had a typical backpacking dinner of instant rice, quinoa, and lentils, with a dessert of peppermint tea and gummy fruit jubes. We ended up talking with a lot of the other campers, and were shocked by how many other Americans were on the trail at the same time as us. We’ve hardly met any other Americans in our travels so far, and there were about 8 of us at this one campsite - two were from Maine and one had graduated from UMass in 2019 as well! It was a nice and unexpected taste of home, and it felt good to recount pieces of home with them. When we got into our tent for the night, we noticed that someone had set their tent up about three feet away from ours, but we shrugged it off at the time assuming they were just trying to find a flat spot. About an hour or two later, loud, jagged snores began coming from the adjacent tent. We tried to ignore it and fall asleep to no avail, and ended up carrying our tent through the woods in the middle of night to escape the noise.

We woke up the next morning a bit tired from the snoring fiasco, but ready for the long day ahead. The second day was going to be the hardest day by far - nearly 15 miles up and over Mount Luxmore standing at just over 4800 feet. We spent the first 3 hours on the trail winding up a series of unforgiving switchbacks before arriving at the Hanging Valley emergency shelter. We were already feeling exhausted, but the views were absolutely spectacular - soaring, snow-peaked mountains towered over Lake Te Anau and glacier carved valleys surrounded us on all sides. We stopped for some trail mix which we had to keep away from the local Keas - the world’s only alpine parrot which are notoriously clever at stealing from people. After a quick rest carried on across the ridgeline and up the remainder of Mount Luxmore. Three hours later we arrived at Luxmore Hut, a hut on the far side of Mount Luxmore overlooking Lake Te Anau. We still had about 5 miles to go to our campsite, but we took a quick snack break and rested our feet while looking out at the stunning view. Fortunately, the last 5 miles  were downhill and our bodies were grateful for a break from the relentless uphill climb. After a long, 8.5 hour day of hiking, we arrived at Brod Bay Campsite, feeling weary and relieved to be done. We set up camp, went for a swim in the lake, and made a fire on the beach while we cooked dinner. It was a lovely way to end the day and we relaxed by the flames before settling into our tent for the night. We had seen mice around the campsite so we brought our food bags into the tent with us in hopes that they wouldn’t eat any. At around 4 am, I awoke to the sound of rustling in our tent, and looked towards our food bags to see a mouse nibbling at our trail mix. Startled, I yelped and woke Chris up, and continued to panic a bit as the mouse ran and jumped around our tent. Eventually after a few failed attempts to catch the mouse, we emptied the tent out and shook it out. Now wide awake, and with little hope of falling back asleep, we decided to hike out at 5 in the morning. The majority of the 9.5 miles out to the parking lot was in the dark, and we were definitely the only ones on the trail. While we were a little bit delirious, it was cool to hike at night, and we think we heard the bird calls of the endangered, nocturnal Kiwis!

We were off the trail by 9 am, and drove to Queenstown for a much needed shower and celebratory pizza. Since then, we’ve spent 2 nights camped by Lake Dunstan outside Cromwell, a town about 45 minutes north of Queenstown. In the next few days we will be heading east to Alexandra to meet up with Chris’ friend from Northeastern, Camille, who is also living in New Zealand right now. After that, Chris’ sister, Madeline, is coming to visit for about a week, and then we will try to sell the van in the Christchurch area! It’s crazy that our time in New Zealand is starting to come to an end, we’ll be leaving for Australia in just under a month from now! We will be sad to part with this incredible country, and are cherishing every day we have left here. We still have a few more exciting adventures to come before we head out, and are looking forward to having Madeline around to share them with. :) 

Loving and missing you all from afar, 

Bryn and Christopher