Hello north island.

We are leaving the south island today. We have spent a majority of our time here. It feels like things are coming to a close. Of course, we still have plenty of things to do. There is more fishing planned with Steve. And we need to get in a bit more camping before we on to our next vacation in Hawai'i!
Here is where we have been so far:


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Heaven.

Getting out of our horrible hostel in Christchurch was quick and painless. The next day, we watched the World Buskers Festival. It was the best thing about Christchurch. Besides the Indian food.

Buskers are street performers. I like watching them.

Then we made it to Kaikoura. It is a small seaside town that is known for it's crayfish (lobsters).

Mojdeh eating local lobster.

We camped beside a dirty river, but I saw heaps of trout so I tried my luck anyway. They swam away along with some eels. Weak.

The river looks nice from far away.

From Kaikoura, we hitchhiked back to our favorite wine tasting town of Renwick. We felt like locals. It was one of the towns that we have visited twice. We knew our way around and enoyed a few days of wine and a little bit of fishing.

Fishing and food. Could I be any happier?

Now we are in Picton. It is another small town that is the port town to the north island. There is free wireless, free breakfast, free hot tub, and free bikes to ride. Today we rode to the local pool. I swam 10X100's and nearly drowned. I am out of shape. I need to get back in shape quickly. I have lots of races this year!

Another day in the life.

What a day. We woke up in Dunedin and decided that we had enough of the second largest city on the south island. There has been a fishing vest staring at me for a while, so Mojdeh bought it for me as a Christmas present. (Christmas has been a bit different this year.) It is the Riverworks Tongariro Fly Vest and I am stoked!

We jumped on a bus to head out of town to start hitch hiking. The bus driver knew a good place to drop us off and was very friendly. At one stop, he jumped out to pick walnuts for a couple of American tourists (not us) that were inquiring about the trees. We also saw him run down the street telling a bus driver of a different company that his engine cover was open. Did I mention that he was a nice guy? This is the typical Kiwi hospitality that we have found. We waited for about 15 minutes before a guy picked us up and took us about 45 minutes north to a dumpy town called Palmerston.

We thought about trying to get to Christchurch, but it is a 4-5 hour drive. Last time we did a 4 hour drive hitchhiking, it took us 9 hours. We weren't too optimistic. A couple of guys picked us up that were on break from school. They were 17 and driving all over the south island. They work on the family farms during the summer. One kid had over 2,500 sheep at his farm. They took us to see the Moeraki Boulders.

Boulders.

These guys were driving almost all the way to Christchurch and we all got along. We talked about as much as you can with 17 yr old rugby players, but it included politics, the weather, and lots of sports. They dropped us off about 25 km outside of Christchurch and we were very grateful. The next people to pick us up were a couple that were... how do I say this nicely... not my kind of people. I think that his hobbies were wiring his sound system in his car between hits of the crystal meth pipe and getting his girlfriend pregnant. She was very nice, probably 18, pregnant, and Maori. He was white, 25-35 years old with teeth messed up from smoking cigarettes and crack. He had long braids, like a white Snoop Dogg. So we rolled into town, bass thumping, keeping our gangster lean, and looking cool. They dropped us off at a bus stop about 30 seconds before I opened the door to tuck and roll on the freeway. I would feel safer tumbling down the road clutching my backpack than more time in that car.

We made it to our hostel where we planned on camping. The door was locked and a big hairy man openend the door wearing white painting overalls. He had a thick Russian (I don't mean to seem ignorant, it was some sort of Eastern European, or possibly Russian) accent. I didn't notice any painting going on anywhere. We asked to see where there was place to put our tent. He took us to the back "yard". A sad patch of uneven land with bits of grass in random areas. He warned us that it was Saturday night, so there might "be some parrrty" in the back yard tonight. I balked and got us a room.

The room.

So here we sit in a dirty room that looks like a prison. We found some kick ass Indian takeaway and we are making the most of it. I think that tomorrow we are leaving Christchurch as fast as possible. There was more to this story about drunks on the bus and people trying to sell us liquor on the street corners, but this post is already too long.

Internet usage.

I have internet. It is too hot to be outside. You are warned to avoid the heat from 11-3 everyday. Summer is here. So we watch You Tube videos of Obama.

I also found this in the NY Times about surfing on the North Shore. If you have surfed there, you know it's pretty true. Except the beatings occur quite regularly.

Also, we put together a movie of us with seals.

Here is on eo fmy favorite things that I have seen in a long time. It is Sir Ken Robinson summing up a lot of what I think about our education system. Less drugs for students. Stop telling kids to sit still, let them express themselves creatively. I think that our education system was set up for a world that we no longer live in today. Come on Obama, let's make some more changes.

I like that Obama shut down Guantanamo. People here in New Zealand already like Americans more. There hasn't been much anti-American sentiment, but a lot of Bush bashing.

Anyone know of cheap rental cars on O'ahu?

A day in the life.

We left Queenstown heading for the east coast of the south island. We have been very spoiled with our new friend Avi and his car. We considered taking a bus, but  thought that we should get back to our roots and start hitchhiking again. We walked further than we wanted this morning, but eventually got picked up by a fly fishing guide. I think that he picked us up because he saw our rods sticking out of our backpacks. Shortly after he dropped us off, another person picked us up. He was making some jokes and then began talking about his profession. I wasn't sure when the jokes stopped and he became serious about his job. He is a Pentecostal minister/excorsist. He speaks in tongues, communicates directly with God, and heals people. The Holy Spirit tells him things and he can fix your problems, even over the phone. Tell me if you need his phone number and I will be happy to give it to you.

How we get around.

Later, a man from Holland picked us up. He took a 5 week trip to New Zealand because he was turning 50. I love hearing about people's lives. Close to our destination of Dunedin, a local judge picked us up. This is a typical day of hitchhiking for us. If we drove, it would probably take us about 3 1/2 hours. Hitching took us 9 hours. And we made ALL kinds of new friends!

Mountain Biking.

We had to throw in a little more adventure before we head out of Queenstown, so we went mountain biking yesterday.

Milford Bound.

Windy in Milford.

Leaving Queenstown and looking for something a bit more relaxing, we headed for Milford Sound. There is a famous walk here called the Milford Track. It is booked months in advance, but is supposed to be beautiful. To get to Milford Sound, you must pass through the small town of Te Anau. We stayed here for a couple of nights. We tried to camp one night, but the ravenous sandflies forced us back to town. There were thousands of sandflies trying to bore holes into us constantly. We set up our tent while being eaten alive. As soon as the tent was ready, they came inside with us. We clambered inside as fast as possible and spent the next half hour pressing the little annoying bugs against the inside of the tent until they squished. Their death would give us mild pleasure, but outside thousands more waited for us to open the zipper.

INTO a Miford waterfall.

This made us miserable, so we went back to town and complained about the great fishing we were probably missing. Eventually making it to Milford we booked an hour and a half cruise. It rains a lot in this area. It makes for hundreds of amazing waterfalls, but not a lot of outdoor activities. We spent just one night in Milford Sound then returned to Queenstown.

A small waterfall in Milford Sound.

We are camping on a tiny piece of grass at a hostel in Queenstown. Little did we know that we are the only straight people staying at the Hippo Lodge. They forgot to mention that in the Lonely Planet!

Q Town.

Harnessed in.

Leaving the Aspiring Hut, we drove to Queenstown. Excitement fills the air at this adrenaline junky's paradise. Immediately, we threw ourselves off the first thing that we could. Canyon swinging is like bungy jumping with a twist. We jumped off a ledge but instead of just bouncing, we swung through a canyon, like the name implies. The drop was 60 meters beside a cliff, then a 200 meter swing. We were 109 meters above the river and the views were incredible.

The jumping platform for the Canyon Swing.

The next day we wandered around town, and headed up the hill beside Queenstown. We took a gondola up and at the top there was a luge. It was kind of a kiddy go kart luge, but it got our hearts pumping more than we thought that it would. Being at the top of a hill, I wanted to jump off something else, again. This time it was paragliding.

Not a bad view.

That's me.

Aspiring Hut.

The drive out of town.

Wanting to get out of town, we found a nearby mountaineering hut and decided to camp near it for a night. It was an hour drive and a couple hours of walking, but there were hardly any people and the views were amazing.

 

Another day in the life!

There were glaciers at the tops of the surrounding mountains that were constantly impressive.

Mojdeh walking.

Sighting.

Also in the town of Wanaka is the Bullock River. This river used to have a trout spawning area so there is no fishing allowed. There are giant trout everywhere. under the bridge by the library, we found trout that were so tame, I could take pictures of them underwater.

THE bridge.

THE fish. 

Some were diva-ish and didn't like their picture taken, but some posed!

 

Beauty!

Here is where we are:

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Cafe Paradiso.

Leaving Fox's glacier, we went to the lakeside town of Wanaka. We went to see a movie because of the cool theater.

Here is what we saw.

Sitting inside.

Inside there was couches, a car, and no trailers! The movie had an intermission. We pre ordered cheesy garlic bread. It was ready when the intermission began.

Garlic bread.

Sweet as, bro!

Fox.

Lake Matheson was supposed to look like this.

This is what we saw.

Leaving Greymouth, the 3 of us headed for the glaciers. Franz Josef is the first glacier that we got to. It was pouring rain. We set up our tents hoping to camp for the night, but it was too wet, so we all piled into Avi's car and slept there for the night.

Sleeping in the car.

The next day we headed a half an hour away to the next glacier, Fox Glacier. There it was still raining, but the following day, the weather was nice enough to go for a walk on the glacier.

Avi and Moj cruising on the glacier.

Sometimes I compare myself to Moses.

Southward

We hitched a ride with Julian from Germany. He just graduated form high school. He worked for six weeks and made enough money to travel for six months. He bought a van for NZ$800 (US$500) that he sleeps in. That is quite common here. I really respect that so many kids pick up and leave their home country at the age of 18. He is traveling by himself and meets people along the way.

We made it from Nelson Lakes to the west coast city of Westport. Now we journey south. Westport was a coal mining town. It still is. Two nights was too many. Luckily they had a pool so we can start training for the tri season that we will be heavily involved in!

Keeping busy in a boring town.

Between the only two towns on the west coast is the not very exciting "pancake rocks". There we spent too much time looking at the rocks wondering what the appeal was. Then we hitched into Greymouth.

Me and the "pancake rocks".

Greymouth is another mining town. The town is pretty miserable. Again we found a pool. The best thing that happened there was that we ran into our old friend Avi that we met in Takaka. We had left him a couple of weeks ago. He was headed the same way as we were so he offered us a ride. Then he told us about a two day walk that was near the famous Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki.

My new job.

Starting this March, I will be the manager of the 2009 USAT Endurance Mobile Tour. This means that I will be traveling across the Western US promoting USA Triathlon and many of its partners. We will be driving a fully loaded RV and pulling a trailer. We will set up a booth at each event (about 24) across 7 states. There we will hand out goodie bags with product samples, rent out gear, run a retail store, and have a "cool down" area where athletes can relax.
We will set up CompuTrainers so people can ride Blue bikes, sometimes have an Endless Pool for people to swim in, and of course demo the latest Rudy Project helmets and eyewear. The tour will be striving to be environmentally friendly at each event. We have also partnered with Soles for Souls so bring us your used running shoes. I want to invite everyone to come and visit us along the way. As well as my usual blog, we are starting a new one just for this adventure. Check out usatri.blogspot.com to see what we are up to.
I will need lots of help, so anybody in these areas is more than welcome to come and volunteer! I will have a ton of cool gear for anyone that shows up for a day or a weekend.

Here is our tentative schedule:
2009 USAT ENDURANCE MOBILE TOUR

MARCH                                
6-8                   TriFEST Expo                       Tucson, AZ
13-14               Trigear TRI #1                       Tucson, AZ
20-21               Lake Havasu Triathlon         Lake Havasu, AZ
                        (West Coast Collegiate)
28-29               OPEN

APRIL
1-3                   California 70.3                     Oceanside, CA
11                    Vineman Showdown              San Rafael, CA
18-19               Newport Beach TRI               Newport Beach, CA
25-26               OPEN

MAY
1-3                   Wildflower Triathlon              Monterey, CA
9-10                 SheROX Womens TRI         Tempe, AZ
16-17               Tempe Intl. Triathlon             Tempe, AZ
30-31               Deuces Wild Triathlon          Showlow, AZ.

JUNE
5-6                   Tri for Your Cause                 Boulder, CO 
12-14               Kansas 70.3 Half-Iron            Lawrence, KS
20                    Topeka Tinman TRI              Topeka, KS
26-28               USAT- Hyvee Triathlon        Des Moines, IA

JULY
1-9                   OPEN                                Colorado
11-12               Boulder Peak Triathlon          Boulder, CO
17-19               Vineman Half-Iron                 Sonoma County, CA
25-26               Pacific Coast Triathlon          Newport Beach, CA
                        (USAT Sprint Nationals)
30-1                 Vineman Full Triathlon          Sonoma County, CA

AUGUST
8-9                   OPEN                                Pacific NW
15-16               Beaver Lake Triathlon           Issaquah/Seattle
22-23               Portland Triathlon                 Portland, OR
29-30               OPEN                                 Pacific NW

SEPTEMBER
5-6                   OPEN                                 Pacific NW
12-13               Spokane Triathlon                  Spokane, WA
19-20               Kirkland Triathlon                 Kirkland/Seattle
26-27               Black Diamond Tri                Enumclaw, WA   or OC Intl Triathlon

OCTOBER
2-4                   Los Angeles Triathlon           Los Angeles, CA
10-11               OPEN                                 California
17-18               OPEN                                 California
24-25               SOMA Intl. Triathlon              Tempe, AZ

NOVEMBER
31-1                 Marin Triathlon                    San Rafael, CA   (PENDING)
7-8                   SilverMAN Triathlon             Las Vegas, NV
              
 Here is a list of the partners so far:

Avia Running Shoes
Astavia Supplements
Fuel Belt
Garmin
Skins Performance Clothes
Endless Pools
Astavia Supplements
Bag Tags
Bank of America
BLUE Competition Bikes
BodyGlide
Hammer Nutrition
ISM Saddles
Maxxis Tires
NuBound Supplements
Spinervals Videos
Textile Solutions Towels
Training PEAKS
Tri All 3 Sport Bike Cases
TriggerPoint
Choice Hotels
Compu-Trainer
DeFeet Socks
SweatVAC
Endurance FILMS
Rudy Project Eyewear
Rudy Project Helmets
Runovia Supplements
Gatorade
Trigger Point
Wicked Fast Supplements
Yankz! Shoe Lace System
Cowbell.com
TriZONE.com
FlexPower Muscle Gel
Selle Italia Saddles
Zipp/SRAM

Nelson Lakes

Nelson Lakes reminds us of places in Colorado. We are higher in elevation and away from the ocean. The days are hotter and the nights are colder. It is the busy season, but we still didn't have much trouble showing up without a reservation and finding a place to camp. There isn't much to do at Nelson Lakes, so we walked, fished, and relaxed.

One of our trails.

This might have been our first taste of what we have been told to expect from the dreaded sandflies. They are actually a blackfly. Those of you entomologists or fly fishermen would be interested to know that they are a midge. Either way, THEY BITE. The anti coagulants in their saliva help leave pools of blood when they are done feasting. There are millions of them on our tent. It sounds like rain when they can't escape and they bash themselves between our tent and rainfly. I thoroughly enjoy killing them when they land on me, but it never deters the others. We bought "army grade" insect repellent, but the welts continue to show up.

One of the lakes, with tea.

We have been warned that the west side of the island has heaps of these blasted creatures so tomorrow we plan to start our journey down the west coast. The West has also been described as stunningly beautiful... if it isn't raining.

Whisky (sic) Falls.

In the end, we had a few hours of sunshine, but never any relief from the sandflies. It rained and was buggy, so we left Nelson Lakes without having too much fun. Now we are in Westport, a small run down town that is left over from the mining days. The big attraction is the coal mine and processing plant. We are out of here tomorrow! Happy New Year.

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