The Kepler

Definitions of a tramp: 

1. A prostitute. -- No...

2. A person regarded as promiscuous. -- No...

3. One who travels aimlessly about on foot, doing odd jobs or begging for a living; a vagrant. -- Not quite...

4. To traverse on foot  -- Ahhh, yes.

In New Zealand one does not simply go hiking, one goes tramping!  While it may sound silly, in reality, New Zealand's long-distance treks are no laughing matter.  This past week I was fortunate enough to experience one of the country's more beautiful tramps: The Kepler.  As I briefly mentioned in my last post the Kepler starts in the resort town of Te Anau, which is located about four and a half hours away from Dunedin.  I traversed this distance by InterCity bus and was regaled along the way with local stories told by our charming bus driver.  As the hours passed the idyllic scenery outside the bus became gradually more mountainous but one thing stayed the same: the number of sheep!  It doesn't take a guidebook to make a tourist to realize that sheep in New Zealand outnumber citizens by a large margin (15:1).  If my experience is any indication, what that statistic actually means is that by the end of any drive through the country, you will have a strong desire for a lamb roast with maple roasted root vegetables.  Mmmmmm.

After spending the night in the Te Anau YHA I was ready to begin my tramping.  While it was raining as I took a shuttle to the beginning of the track, almost as soon as I stepped off the bus the clouds began to lift.  The rain actually made the beech forest more beautiful, the greens were vivid and the air humid and tropical.  After an hour of flat walking, the trail reached a beach and turned sharply upwards.  After three exhausting hours of steep climbing through dense forest I emerged far above Lake Te Anau and got my first views out over the neighboring fiords.
From there it was only about another hour before I reached my first overnight stop, the Luxmore Hut.  After setting up my sleeping bag in one of the hut's many bunk beds, I headed out to see a nearby cave and then settled down on the deck with my book.

That night at dinner I met the first of my tramping companions.  Maria, originally from Holland but now living in Perth, Australia.  Maria had just come from hiking the Milford Track and assured me that the Kepler was much more worthwile, being less crowded, just as beautiful and having fewer sandflies (more on that in a bit).  The next day I hiked up to the top of Mount Luxmore with some other new friends, three girls all of whom were fresh out of the Israeli army and traveling the world.  You meet people from every corner of the world and every walk of life while tramping and it was interesting to hear their stories and plans.

On the second night Maria introduced me to Mirjam (from Switzerland) and the next day at lunch we added Tijs and Pieter (Belgian hitchhikers) to our group.  I traveled the remaining two days with Maria, Mirjam, Tijs and Pieter (walking at the sandfly pace.) I couldn't have asked for a more interesting and entertaining group of people to tramp with.  From swimming in the warm waters of Lake Manapouri and watching the sun set to playing a German travel version of Settlers we had a great time together!  Mirjam may even come to visit me in Dunedin!

One final note about the Kepler: sandflies.  Sandflies are the equivilent of Minnesota's blackflies, except worse: much much worse.  Active primarily at dawn and dusk (and in the foot of my sleeping bag at night) these mosquitoes suck your blood and leave you itchy as hell.  If you're extra lucky, like me, you might find that you are allergic to their 'venom' and wind up with huge welts and swollen areas making it look as though someone has been beating the crap out of you.  To avoid these demons, one wears 95% deet and walks very quickly (the sandfly pace).

However, I refuse to be deterred by the attacks of mere bugs so just as soon as my feet are back to their normal size (otherwise known as the day after tomorrow) I am off to hike the Abel Tasman.  The AT is an easy tramp along the beaches at the north end of the South Island and boasts white sand beaches, marine wildlife and yes, more sandflies.  Fortunately, I will not be alone in my suffering, I will be joined by a fellow geologist from Macalester and together we shall travel through Christchurch, along the length of the east coast of New Zealand, through Nelson and along the 32 miles of the Abel Tasman.  In short: there and back again.

Love,
Allison

Welcome to Dunedin

Today was my third day in Dunedin.  I'm just starting to feel comfortable in the city which means that it's time for me to pack my bags and head off on my first tramp, but more on that later!

My first view of Dunedin was as I landed at its small airstrip about 30 minutes out of town.  My first thought as we touched down was, "god, I hope we can stop quickly enough not to hit the sheep."  Yes, indeed the Dunedin Aerodrome, is quite pastoral, but the city itself is far from it. As my friendly taxi driver and I chatted about the city (and cricket) on our drive into town, the scenery slowly transitioned from bright green pastures to more urban buildings with beautiful gardens. 

My first stop in the city was at the University (photo) to pick up the key to my flat.  After signing the necessary paperwork and collecting my key the cab took me to my new home (less than a block away) and I began what my mother calls the process of 'nesting.'  This involved unpacking my stuff, hanging decorations and unfortunately washing every surface and cooking implement in the house.  I'm not going to post any pictures of the flat yet because I'm still unsure of which bedroom will finally be mine and the rest of it is not much to look at.  The room I'm currently staying in is very tiny (think smaller than a Dupre single), but I have hopes of switching with one of my roomates who might be interested in cheaper rent.  This is an issue that will take some time to resolve because neither of my roommates will be arriving until mid Feburary, nearer to when classes start.

Despite the fact that no one is living with me, I have already started to meet people.  Last night I hung out with the Kiwi boys who live next door to me, some kids who go to Dartmouth and some kids from Canada.  The latter two groups are here for summer school and will be leaving soon, but it was fun to get out and meet some new people.  The Canadians (here to study eco-tourism) were particularly fun to talk with, they were very outgoing and happy to share what they have come to love about Dunedin.

In addition to my late night communing with fellow foreigners and neighborly New Zealanders I have also done a number of other interesting things in the city so far.  Including...

 

Making good on my promise to smell the roses in the Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

Visiting the Dunedin train station in all its Sottish-Gothic glory and the First Church of Dunedin

Going to the Beach: Where my pale pale Minnesota skin turned the same shade as that sunflower above

If someone were to ask what has stood out to me the most so far, my answer would be: the colors of the foliage, the smells of the flowers and the exciting topography.  Coming from a white, icy, flat landscape these have all been things to behold.  My most interesting experience thus far was riding the (expensive) city bus.  On my way out to the beach I saw a number of interesting thrift shops downtown which I thought might be useful for furnishing my flat.  So, on the way back I asked the driver if I could get a transfer (you know where you can get off and then get back on without paying twice).  He didn't understand what I was asking, so I explained, thinking that the word must just be different.  When I had finished he gave me a very stern look and said, "Young lady, the bus is not a taxi cab to be used at your leisure."  Unfortunately, EVERYONE on the bus heard this lecture and much to my chagrin though my request was hilarious.  I tried to explain that this was quite commonplace in the U.S. which didn't help my case.  Lesson learned.

Next up on my agenda is hiking the Kepler Track in Fiordland. The Kepler is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, although 'walk' is a bit of a misnomer.  The hike starts in Te Anau and goes in a loop for 38 miles over the course of 4 days,  climbing almost 3,000 feet to reach the summit of Mt. Luxmore.  Check back in a week for pictures, hopefully they'll be stunning panoramas, the Kepler was one of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings. 


More next week!
Allison

Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity!

I left MSP on Sunday, beginning a journey of two days and four flights, taking me more than 8,600 miles to a new hemisphere and the other side of the world.  As we took off I looked out over the snow covered cities and it occurred to me that the next time I see Minnesota will be in June and the scene will be an entirely different color.  I thought of the changes I will miss, the melting of the snow, the leafing out of the trees...  But then I remembered that I'm going to NEW ZEALAND, where it is currently SUMMER and I stopped feeling so sorry for myself.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

 

My preparations for this trip began months ago, but it didn't actually begin to seem real until it was time to leave Mac.  As friends can testify this was hard, with many watery-eyed hugs.  I look forward to hearing from everyone, especially those who have promised to write me letters! (367 Leith St., Dunedin, Otago 9016, New Zealand)

I also had my family to say goodbye to and that was even harder.  The first time I flew by myself (to Texas for 10 weeks) it was a rather tearful goodbye.  I'll spare you the gory details of my waterworks this time around, let it suffice to say that I love them all very much and it's too bad there are no such things as rewards for frequent skype-ing.  I'm going to do my best to stay in touch without, you know, calling home every day or anything ridiculous like that. 

Goodbyes over it was time for my next challenge... MSP airport "security."  Fortunately, I passed through without incident (I think they go easy on tearful blondes.)  Unfortunately, as I "hopped off the plane at LAX" late (due to mechanical problems in Denver) I learned of a "passenger Allison Jackowbel" who was about to miss the last boarding call for her flight to Auckland.  Frantically, I tried to pass through international security at LAX at the speed of light.  This is an impossible task but was much speeded by my shutting down a TSA agent who wanted to swab my laptop (again) for god knows what...  "Um, excuse me that is MY laptop (taking it from her hands) and I am very late for my very expensive flight so NO, it is NOT ok with me if you put it through a secondary screening."  I don't think people talk back to them, ever, and she was shocked enough that she didn't stop me!

Flying over the Pacific I (unlike poor Kaija) had a chance to think about where I've been and where I'm going.  It dawned on me that this time last year I was in the Bahamas.  I also thought about the last time I was in NZ (14 years ago this month).  Thinking about all this led me to two conclusions: (1) I have a pretty nice life and (2) I have a tendency to live in the past and future rather than enjoying the moment.  My corresponding resolutions for New Zealand are to (A) stop worrying so much and (B) relax and smell the flowers.  If you find me deviating from these resolutions please send me a nice letter and some dark chocolate.

It is now 4 pm, 2 days, 1 sleeping pill and several thousand miles later and I am sitting in my new room in Dunedin wondering where to start.  My adventure has begun!  More soon ...

Much love,
Allison