Holy cow...my time in NZ has come to an end. I’m penning this final NZ post from the same place I’ve written all my posts- A bar with lots of craft beer. (actually, I started this in that bar and finishing it in the states...more on that in future posts).
I’ve gotta start this post by rolling back the clock a bit to the end of May, where I last left you, dear reader. I drove down to old Oamaru all the way from Blenheim, however I couldn’t resist making a pitstop in Kaikoura, the coastal town that was heavily isolated after an earthquake took out the main road in November. The reason for pilgrammaging all the way to this remote spot? Dolphins. The splashy kind.
I arrived in Kaikoura in the afternoon, and made a bee-line in my car to the furthest point I could reach on the peninsula. I had been driving for 6 hours, and desperately needed to move my legs, so I went up the hill and began running along the top of the gorgeous peninsula. I didn’t really know where I was going, but I felt like running (that sentence should be read in a Forrest Gump voice). Somehow I ended up in some farmland, face to face with a particularly aggressive cow. I didn’t have an angle to see if it was a lady or gentleman cow, but it wasn’t happy that I was there. After a few minutes of a standoff, I had to climb a fence overhanging the cliff, edge around, and hop back in once the heifer was out of trampling range. Here is the accosting bovine in question:
I found my way on the other side of the peninsula as it was growing dark, so what was supposed to be a quick 3-4 miles turned in to 6.5. Oh well, it felt great and I slept like a baby in my empty hostel that night.
The next morning I awoke super excited. I was gonna splash around with the silver kings of the ocean- dolphins! The earthquake that hit Kaikoura 6 months prior had lifted the ground almost a meter, and all of the docks and embankments were destroyed. In order to stay in business, they had us climb aboard the boat while it was up on a trailer, on land, and then lightly deposited us off the boat ramp in to the harbor. Crazy stuff.
We buzzed out of the bay amidst clouds and fog, but no matter, the sun came to the rescue soon enough. We cruised for about 45 minutes before we had our first Flipper sighting. Then another. And finally, the Captain tooted the horn to signal that it was time to get in to the water.
Unfortunately, my trusty GoPro decided to have a CARD ERROR 30 seconds before I jumped in the water, so I have absolutely no underwater photos of what transpired in the water. Just trust me, it was epic.
The funny thing about swimming with wild dolphins is that it’s more of them investigating you than you investigating them. In order to get their attention, you have to make yourself worthy of their eyeballs. This means making movements and, especially, sounds, that will intrigue them. I needed no further motivation to make the weirdest, squeakiest, dolphiniest sounds I could muster in to my snorkel.
IT WORKED. Combined with my seal-like dives, each time the boat stopped I had dolphins circling around me, eager to get a good look at the Star-Wars humming, manatee-resembling Keegaphin. It was so fricken cool. There was one fella in particular (Mr. Splashyfins) who slowed down wayyy more than the others, circling me so that I could keep up spinning around with him. We made eye contact for about 10 seconds, which felt like an eternity of connection between man and animal. I had chills and the all-too-familier Trail Chuckles as I got out of the water, grinning ear to ear.
This experience made the 2 hour detour very much worth it. That afternoon I sped down to Christchurch and stayed at the very hostel where I had started my journey exactly 1 month before. I’d done a complete circuit of the South Island. Neat!
Oamaru Steampunk Festival
I made it to Oamaru nice and early to meet up with my friend, Shantel, at Steampunk HQ (the local steampunk museum exhibit where she works). We did another photoshoot, this time focused on new shots of all the merchandise for the gift shop to be used online. We were the models, naturally, and I’m happy with how the shots turned out (can you say new prof pic?!).
The primary reason I was in Oamaru was to be the volunteer photographer for the Steampunk Festival of New Zealand, the largest Steampunk festival in the Southern Hemisphere. If you don’t know what Steampunk is, check this out. I offered to shoot the event for free for the photography experience and the opportunity to be a part of a fascinating aspect of New Zealand culture.
La Falconesse, or Lady Helen Steampunk, was the lead on the event, and it was her I reported to. She gave me access to the whole event, and we discussed a whole list of events and key moments she’d love to have photos of. I was psyched.
The first event was the Vaudeville after party, basically a Victorian/Steampunk talent show full of costumed performers and audience. In fact, there wasn’t a moment all weekend where I didn’t see someone dressed to the nines in their steamy finest.
The next day held two very interesting events- the Tea Duel and Teapot Racing. A tea duel, I learned, is a classic English game where two people compete over who’s biscuit will crumble last after being dunked in a cup of tea. As the tea-soaked biscuit begins to wilt, it’s falling trajectory is either called a Splash, Splatter, or Splodge. Extensive Tea Duel rules can be foundHERE. http://unlacethevictorians.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/art-of-tea-dueling.html
I plan on bringing an adaptation of this back to the states, just need to find something that can be dunked in to some Zuni Street beer…
The most hilarious of all the events on the weekend was Splendid Teapot Racing. Remote Control cars, all in some way converted to a teapot, navigate an obstacle course surrounded by an eager crowd for their chance at glory. Some failed miserably, others triumphed spectacularly, but everyone had a great time.
Saturday evening was a 250 person murder mystery party. Hilarity ensued. Sunday was the Fashion Show, where the community showed off their most elaborate, innovative, and creative Steampunk Fashion. I was blown away by some of the costumes, these folks went all out.
Sunday evening was the closing Gala, a massive party where I tried out an external flash for the first time. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but once I did I was fairly pleased with how my images came out.
It was a totally exhausting weekend, but I learned a TON about shooting as a professional and had an absolute blast with those wonderfully wacky Steampunkers.
To the North Island!
My month and a half in NZ was drawing to a close very quickly, so I drove for 2 days from Oamaru (on the South Island) to Taupo (in the middle of the north). I drove about 1,200 kilometers in 48 hours, not including the distance covered on the inter-island ferry.
I was once again blessed with ridiculously nice weather, which gave me the perfect window to do the fabled Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It was crisp and cold and clear skies all around, and I was in my element. The most famous feature of this 17km hike is, of course, Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. It surges forth out of the ground with streaks of red and small steam spurts around the top.
My van from the hostel was one of the first there, so I sped ahead of the crowds and had the trails to myself for the first few hours. This proved to be very clutch, as everyone and their mother was doing the crossing that day. I had some blissful time filled with Trail Chuckles before I had to start dodging other tourists.
As I waited for the bus to take me back to the hostel, I befriended a few folks- Hannah the Brit, Brandon from Tennessee, and Jamie the German. We decided to meet up later that night in Taupo for beers and, ultimately, late night hot springs exploration. My headache the next morning was directly proportional to the amount of fun had. There may have been late night Big Macs involved….
My final stop in NZ was Rotorua. A town situated on top of a volcanic area, so every 12 feet there is a hot spring. The entire city smells like sulfur, making it super easy to disguise my farts. Always a silver lining.
I met up with my friend Amber, who I had met wayyy back in Dunedin. It was awesome to catch up and hear about the way she had tackled her travels as well.
En route to Auckland I couldn’t help myself and I stopped by the one and only Hobbitton. I was giddy as a small child on Christmas, asking the tour guide questions and making dorky references. Fortunately, to work there you gotta be a big fan so she was right there with me. The level of detail in this place is UNREAL. They rebuilt all of Hobbitton for the Hobbit series, so everything is movie quality, up to the real vegetables growing in the gardens.
The big highlight was singing the Green Dragon drinking song IN the Green Dragon, behind the bar, with a specially crafted pale ale that’s only served on site. EEEEE!!
All too quickly, my New Zealand travels had come to an end. I could’ve easily stayed another month, but, alas, Australia was calling my name, and I had to answer.
Stay tuned for my next post about Australia with special guest Tim Slatts!
Toodles. -K