May 8, 2024

PART 02.

If you haven’t read Part 01. yet read it here. If you have, happy reading. Photos coming soon!

We kicked off March with some epic nature experiences:

• The Kepler Track: another one of New Zealand’s Great Walks, located in Fiordland National Park. This 4day/3night adventure was a trip! Walking past the beech-covered shorelines of lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, through lush dense forest, and up to the tussock-covered ridgelines with spectacular alpine views, we’ll cherish this one forever.
• Drove back into the Fiordlands where we were able to experience the hundreds of waterfalls that occur after a big rain
• The Gertrude Saddle Route Hike: Drew hiked this one as a solo day hike.

Some friends recommended this hike and, boy, did it deliver. You’re treated to an insane view of Milford Sound via a lush valley at the top, but the hike itself is a blast. You go from a walled-in valley to river crossings to rock faces to scrambling over boulder fields. Definitely sketchy after rain, but worth the climb any other time.

• The Blue Pools Track: a short lovely hike consisting of a cold river crossing, lots of sandflies, and gorgeous clear water
• Brewster Track to Brewster Hut & Glacier: another one of my favorites here! This hike starts with a quick river crossing followed by a steep incline up short switchbacks and rocky walls. Once we got above treeline we crossed over several small summits, later arriving at Brewster Hut. From there the path isn’t officially marked by the DOC, instead previous hikers left cairns for us to follow. This part of the hike was truly UNREAL. We traversed down into the glacial canyon, making our way to Brewster Glacier, taking in all its beauty. Drew even went for a swim in the glacial water that was so cold it instantly took his breath away with the first plunge. A 10 out of 10 day!
• Drove along the west coast from south to north, stopping at Jackson Bay, Knights Point, Lake Paringa, Māori Beach, Lake Matheson, Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, Hokitika, and Greymouth. We weren’t able to see Frans Josef or Fox at all since the weather was so foggy and rainy, but our Hokitika round two experience was a great one. Here’s Drew:

Our main reason for returning to Hokitika was to go to a jade carving studio where I could turn the beautiful piece I’d found 4 months ago into a piece of jewelry. Having time to kill before our appointment the following day we returned to the beach where I’d found the jade the first time. I didn’t expect anything going back but simply enjoyed the challenge of beachcombing. I headed down the beach and in the first five minutes, boom, found a small piece of jade. Then another. And another. And another! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept finding more and more pieces.

After about two hours of this I decided to call it a day. I was heading up from the water towards the beach entry when my eyes fell upon a big hunk of green about 10 feet away. I gasped, ran over, and picked up the biggest piece of jade I’d ever seen. Giddy with laughter, I ran to the water to rinse it off and confirm it was what I thought it was. Allison had called it quits over an hour ago and was waiting in the car. I got into the car and showed her the 30(!) smaller pieces I’d found in just two hours. After she looked over them, I very casually pulled the big piece out of my pocket, said, “oh, I found this too,” and handed it to her. Her jaw dropped.

The next day we went to Bonz and Stonz to carve some jewelry. For $35/hour you can use their machines and tools to craft something with your own jade. Normally you pick a Maori design and carve that, but because my piece was so unique I wanted to keep it as close to its original form as possible. I decided to clean up the edges to give it a more defined shape and polish the heck out of it but otherwise keep it the same. After three hours of grinding, polishing, and tutelage from a worker in the studio, I had a beautiful necklace made out of my very own jade. And while I worked on that, Allison turned two smaller round jade pieces that I gave her into a beautiful pair of earrings.

From there we headed back to the east coast, making our way to Amberley again for round two at Pegasus Bay Winery & Vineyard.

Returning to Pegasus Bay for harvest was a very fun experience. In addition to seeing familiar faces and sharing tales from our travels, the energy was transformed. When we had last worked at the vineyard, the team was small, the winery was quiet, and the vibe was mellow. Well, harvest was the opposite in every way. The team was thrice as big, the winery was a nonstop party filled with flowing drinks and pumping techno, and the vibe was high with underlying chaos and stress.

Our job was to clip grape bunches off of the vines. Full stop. We spent every day doing that for eight hours. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was easy, we got to work in the sun, and conversation flowed between all of the workers. About every other day we had the opportunity to go work on the sorting table at the winery for extra hours. This, too, was easy work, but it would often tack on 3+ hours to our day. We had a few days where we worked 11+ hours. The sorting table is probably how you imagine it. Crates of grapes would be emptied onto a conveyor belt that would pass in front of us. We would stand there and pluck out the unripe grapes and stems as fast as we could. Being as monotonous as it was, we were constantly fed beer, wine, and snacks to keep morale up. It worked.

At the end of the two weeks of harvest that we were needed for, we said our final goodbyes to our friends and hit the road again. We went into it knowing that it was going to be our last job in NZ. We were excited by that fact while also being a little sad. It marked the first major milestone on the ensuing march to the end of this experience and our time in this amazing country.

Over St Patrick’s Day weekend, while at Peg Bay, Ventura Coast Brewing Company launched their classic Mexican Lager, Vendelo, my first client package design project!

At the end of March we said our goodbyes to the Pegasus Bay family and headed west yet again to finish our northern west coast exploring. We made our way over Arthur’s Pass again, stopping in Moana, then up from Rapahoe. Some stops we made included: Strongman Mine Memorial, Paparoa National Park, Dolomite Point (pancake rocks & blowhole), Truman Track, Charleston Tavern for fish & chips, Tauranga Bay, and Cape Foulwind.

Over the next week we eventually made our way up to the Golden Bay, specifically Pakawau Beach. This area was a dream. We stayed at a lovely Holiday Park called Pakawau Beach Camp, making friends with a few fellow backpackers our first night there, sharing the bottles and bottles of wine Pegasus Bay generously provided. We also explored Farewell Spit, Wharariki Beach, Archway Islands, and Mussel Inn for a lovely seafood dinner.

April 12th marked another crossover day, going from the South to North Island. It was a beautiful time to reflect on our six months in the south. All the experiences we were able to have there were truly magical.

Our first stop back on the North Island was a city called Whanganui, located on the west coast at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand’s longest navigable waterway. We arrived with the intention of going on another Great Walk adventure, except this time instead of counting steps we’d be counting paddle strokes. We were excited to embark on the Whanganui Journey, but with a bunch of rain and wet weather that happened the day before we arrived, we had to wait a few more days for the river to go down to an appropriate and safe height. After four days of waiting we were ready to go! Here’s Drew:

The Whanganui Journey is included in the Great Walks of New Zealand, but it’s actually a Great Paddle. Doing a canoe trip has always intrigued me, but I always got bogged down in the details of planning one because of the logistics of renting a canoe and waterproof barrels, pickup and dropoff, and having no canoeing experience. Being as the Journey is under the umbrella of the Great Walks, meaning it is well-trod and well-maintained, all of the aforementioned roadblocks were overcome. We found a local company that would rent us a canoe, waterproof barrels, provide transport, provide a place to keep our car, and give us a rundown on the river and proper paddling.

We spent the three days of the Journey paddling along the beautiful Whanganui River past towering canyon walls, lush forest, and ever-active birds. Due to the recent heavy rains, the water level was higher which made the river faster, meaning less paddling, and also covered up a lot of the usual hazards, like trees and rocks. We were able to relax more than anticipated and really soak up the beautiful and remote landscape.

For our two nights on the river we stayed at huts managed by the Department of Conservation. The first hut was a typical hut that we’ve stayed at in the past. The second, however, was a Maori marae, which is a meeting ground and focal point of Maori villages. The local Maori iwi (tribe) and the DOC hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye on this piece of land, but they eventually formed a compromise. The land and property is owned by the iwi and the property is maintained and overseen by the DOC.

Aside from Allison and I, there were seven other paddlers from the same company that we were on the same path with, as well as a large school group. We went on to learn that it was a group for at-risk Maori kids who didn’t go to school for various reasons (i.e., they had to work, take care of younger siblings, behavioral problems). There were 20 kids and 10 guides. In addition to providing guidance, the program was designed to connect the kids to nature as well as their Maori roots. It was neat to be a fly on the wall and see some of their activities and how they were encouraged to connect with their Maori ancestry.

The highlight of our time at the marae was the powhiri. A powhiri is the formal welcome ceremony to a marae. In order for us to be allowed to go to certain parts of the marae we had to go through this ceremony. It went as follows: we entered through an arched entry, men ahead of women, while being led by one of the guides who sang in te reo Maori. We were then seated facing the ceremonial house as the woman and the head man did a call and response. After that finished, the man said a speech in te reo Maori that explained where we were, how they came in peace, and how we were being welcomed to their home. After that I stood up, introduced our group, and then led a song that we sang to them as a response. Allison chose “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as a nod to the Maori new year called Matariki. After that we greeted each person in the group with a hongi, a traditional greeting where you shake hands and press your foreheads together. It was a powerful and humbling experience and one that I won’t soon forget. Allison and I felt extremely special to have had that experience that gave us a glimpse into Maori culture.

Once we got off the river we had a delicious meal at Spice Guru, slept in the next morning, wandered around town a bit more, and then made our way to Napier. Napier is a lovely little coastal city set amongst the renowned wine-producing region of Hawke’s Bay. Rebuilt after a 1931 earthquake, the city is known for its stunning art deco architecture. Drew and I took a day here to explore around town together, then I dropped him off the following day for another Great Walk adventure: the Lake Waikaremoana Track. Here’s Drew:

I had grand aspirations of hiking every Great Walk in New Zealand but soon realized I wasn’t going to be able to accomplish it. Still wanting to tick off as many as possible, I made the decision to hike the Lake Waikaremoana Track three days after we finished the Whanganui Journey. With Allison sitting this one out, I struck out on the 4 day, 3 night trek in the middle of a downpour. I had checked the forecast and knew that there would be rain, but I wasn’t expecting it to rain nonstop for the entire day. But rain is a little misleading. With rain, if you’re under trees, you’re able to avoid some of it. This was more like a heavy mist. I spent 3 hours hiking straight uphill through this mist, arriving at the hut soaked to the core. It was 100% the wettest I’ve ever gotten on a hike. Everything on me was completely saturated and I spent 20 minutes wringing water out of my raincoat, pants, and top layers.

Fortunately the next morning brought sunshine that would allow me and the other hikers at the hut to fully dry out our gear before heading out for day two. The rest of the hike was much more enjoyable as it followed the shoreline of Lake Waikaremoana on an undulating path that didn’t include any majorly steep ascents or descents. This allowed me to take my time and soak up the beautiful native forest and reflect on our time in New Zealand. Knowing that it was my final adventure in this country (for now), I let the emotions and memories wash over me as I thought about all that we’ve experienced and accomplished in our 1 year in New Zealand, 14 months away from the US, and tens of thousands of kilometers explored in Gloria. It was a bittersweet experience but one that I needed to go through alone to process this amazing chapter. I left the trail at peace with our time here and ready for the final push towards our flight date and all of the adventures to follow.

While Drew was hiking his heart out, I stayed solo in Napier for a few days at an Airbnb, recouping from our Whanganui Journey and taking in some solid alone time. After picking up Drew at the Hopuruahine Landing, we drove to Rotorua where we had some excellent Mexican food at El Mexicano Zapata and stayed for the night by Lake Ōkāreka.

The following day we got Gloria all fixed up to sell, giving her a good wash and vacuum, and made our way north to a lovely campsite called Brock’s Place Campsite. The following morning we visited Hobbiton! For all you Lord of the Rings fans, it was epic.

After our morning escapade we drove up to Auckland to meet up with Laureano, an excited 21 year old from Uruguay who wanted to test drive Gloria. After rushing around to a few post offices before closing time, we successfully transferred her registration over. Gloria was officially sold. Drew and I took the night to unpack, move into an Airbnb that we’ve called home for a little over a week, and reminisce on all the beautiful, chaotic, and exciting adventures we had in our first “home” together. The next morning we said our farewells and watched Laureano drive Gloria off to her new life. It was definitely bittersweet.

That all brings us to now! Drew and I are currently in Auckland, running errands, seeing friends, and doing all of our last minute packing before we head back to the states in a few days. Here’s our plan for the next few months:

• MAY 10–16: We officially leave New Zealand and fly to Honolulu to reenter the states and visit Matt & Kate.
• MAY 16–19: We fly from Honolulu to Ontario, CA to kick off Ben & Madison’s wedding celebrations!
• MAY 19–28: After an exciting long weekend in California we fly back to Denver where I CAN NOT WAIT to be! I missed all my people in Colorado so, so much.
• MAY 28 — JUNE 02: We’ll be in Jacksonville visiting family getting some much needed time together.
• JUNE 02 — JUNE 16: We’ll be in Europe for the Behnke Family Trip! We can’t wait.
• JUNE 16: I’ll head back to the states and Drew will make his way to Central Asia, where he’ll spend the next four months or so exploring Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan!

It’s hard to believe our time here is almost over. This past year in New Zealand has taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. I’m braver, stronger, and more independent than ever and it’s really cool to see and experience. I’m proud of myself and so very grateful for all of it. I feel so fortunate to have had such a monumental adventure, especially with Drew Behnke by my side. Cheers to it all!