Austra-Zealand by Air

Few flights are truly memorable (in a good way). But last June, on our visit to New Zealand and Australia, we had a remarkable plane ride between the two.

During our visit to the South Island of NZ, we stuck to the northern parts due to time constraints (darn the American two week vacation) and had to skip the picturesque mountains and glaciers in the southern half. But after these fantastic views, we felt like we got to see at least some of it.

Our final evening in NZ was spent in Christchurch, a city on the west coast of the South Island and recently known for it's devastating earthquakes. We took off from there and flew across the island, which was a lot more efficient than driving across the via the Lewis Pass like we did the first time.

Early on in the flight, the mountains looked like the ones we left behind near Hanmer Springs: rugged and brown.


But as we flew farther east, the landscape became snowier.


Until it looked like we could parachute down onto a nice ski slope.


It was kind of like sky diving without messing up the hair. We entertained ourselves with the thought of possibly seeing Mt. Cook in the distance.

Once we were out over the Tasman Sea and everything was blue, we hunkered down for some food and entertainment. Good old Qantas Airlines - free headphones and on demand movies at every seat, not to mention a big meal that included ice cream. And that was in coach! Clearly we were happy campers.


And we finished our flicks just in time to say...

"Hello Sydney!"

Mom's Turn to Visit New York

After Dad visited NYC and had such a fun and exciting time working at the our new store, Mom couldn't resist coming up herself. It's possible that the chance at a little one-on-one time with her only daughter had something to do with it too.

Of course, a visit to New York would never be complete without an early morning trek to the Today Show. Mom once again proved to be a good luck charm as all our favorite anchors came outside and Matt Lauer stood within a few feet of us!

A lesson on backyard improvement - fascinating!

After a few days of hard work, we treated ourselves to an evening out. We bought last-minute tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana.

Mom made an admirable effort at dressing me up like an NYC fashionista. Below is my best "celebrity caught on the streets of New York" pose. If I was a real celebrity, I'd definitely have to hire a professional publicist for some pointers.

Classy and stylish ladies (at least for one night) all dressed up and out on the town!


We ended the weekend with a trip to the National September 11 Memorial. Right now you have to reserve tickets to get in but it's easy to do and totally worth it.


The reflecting pools surrounded by names of the victims are neat to see and amazingly photogenic. The skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan frame the memorial site beautifully.

Dad and Hurricane Irene Pay a Visit

In August, Dad came to visit and spent a week doing an unpaid internship at Ship It Global. Between running errands, fixing lights, assembling a card rack, and changing locks, he never ran out of things to do. His most impressive feat was replacing and fixing the wiring in all the broken light fixtures. This really reduced the "dingy" factor and now customers remark on how bright the store is and sunglasses sales have gone up.

Since Dad arrived on a Saturday night, we got to have a little fun before getting to work. On Sunday, we took the train north of the city and hiked, scrambled, and pulled ourselves up Breakneck Ridge, one of the toughest hiking trails around. Dad had the energy and agility of a man half his age and says he can't wait to do it again.

The overcast skies don't break our spirits as we scramble up Breakneck Ridge.

It wasn't all hard work. We made time for sightseeing too. We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge one evening and made our traditional morning visit to the Today Show in Rockefeller Center.

Dad on his favorite spot in NYC, on top of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Best attempt of a photo with Natalie Morales, who was sitting just behind that window.

While Dad was here, we also had an uninvited guest, Hurricane Irene. The storm was predicted to be an epic mess and closed down the subways and all other forms of public transportation. Lucky for New York City, it wasn't that bad and things were back to normal within about 24 hours.

Irene hit the day Dad was supposed to fly out so he had to stay two more days. Dad was super flexible about it and didn't seem to mind change in travel plans, especially since he got to visit his favorite bagel shop and bakery one more time. The store got a boost too as we sold flashlights, tape, and tie-down chords to eager customers making preparations. If only we'd had bread, milk, and D batteries!

Stores prepare for Irene by taping their windows.

Because of the high winds and lack of transportation options, we had to stay local for dinner. In our neighborhood, that means Uzbek Kosher. What would that include? Sticks of meat, dumplings, a giant saltine cracker, and a waitress with a thick Russian accent.

Uzbek fair at the restaurant down the street.

The Misfortune of Christchurch

Our New Zealand adventure ended in Christchurch, on the eastern side of the South Island. The city has seen two earthquakes in the past year, the first one in September 2010 and the second in February 2011. The February earthquake was especially damaging to the center of town. The entire town center, which includes the business district, is closed down. There are fences around the center and no one can enter.

We walked up to and peered through the chain-link fence but there were plenty of crippled buildings outside the fence too.

Temporary shoring

Buildings outside the city center were "triaged" and labeled so residents and owners would know whether or not they were allowed to enter.

Our hostel, a one-story wood building, was about two blocks from the area that is fenced off. The green sign above the door meant it passed the inspection.

Happy to see our hostel is okay for occupancy.

Some buildings had major damage and others, sometimes just next door, to appeared to be just fine. Brick structures seemed to fare the worst.

This Baptist Church is now a pile of rubble.

The economic impact on the city has been huge. The total losses have been estimated at $12 billion US, making it New Zealand's costliest natural disaster ever and the third costliest earthquake ever.

Hanmer Springs

We crossed from the West Coast to the East via Lewis Pass. The South Island of New Zealand is narrow and takes about four hours to cross, even with the mountains. We split the trip up, stopping for a night in Hanmer Springs. The town was very quite as it is past summer and a little early for the winter ski season. We stayed at a great little hostel with a cat named Pepper. Pepper spent the entire night on our bed.

Pepper, taking her position as soon as we arrived.

We spent several hours soaking in the Hanmer Springs thermal pools. There were all kinds of pools of different temperatures and several sulfur pools as well. The only hard part was walking in between the pools as the air was a little chilly.

Hanmer Springs thermal pools.

Sheep: a New Zealand Staple

Buller Gorge and Pancakes

When we found out we were close to the longest swing bridge in New Zealand, we knew we couldn't pass up such a fine landmark. We made a pit stop at this bridge over the Buller River near the city of Murchison and it did not disappoint.

It was just the right amount of unsteady to make for a good time. We could almost imagine ourselves as tightrope walkers and there wasn't a single other tourist around to intrude on our fun. Apparently it's not on the NZ top 10 list.

We continued driving down the west coast of the South Island which was rocky and had huge waves. No surfers though; must be too rough and sharp.

The coast of the Tasman Sea

The sun came out from behind the clouds just as we reached Dolomite Point, home to the Pancake Rocks. The limestone has eroded over time to create a layered formation. If you use your imagination, they sort of look like pancakes. A roadside restaurant appropriately sells pancakes across the street.

The Pancake Rocks

Abel Tasman

Today we hiked on the beautiful Abel Tasman coastal track in the Nelson region of New Zealand. Despite being relatively close to the Marlborough Sounds, the scenery on this track is totally different from Queen Charlotte.


Abel Tasman is a long track along the Golden Bay at Abel Tasman National Park. It is a very popular track but pretty quite during the winter.

The views were outstanding and the weather was perfect. We were quite ambitious and hiked about 15 miles. Our feet and legs were screaming but it was worth it and the scenery kept us going.


The park is named after a Dutch explorer who was the first European to see New Zealand in 1672. After seeing this place, I'm not sure if he ever returned.

Golden sands of the Golden Bay.