I started in New Zealand, flying into Auckland
the last day of January. I visited with my friends Jay & McKay
Nutt, who were there on sabbatical. I spent a lot of time exploring
the city, preparing for my bicycle tour, and recovering from the
cold I caught on the way over.
|
New Zealand is a very volcanic place. The island in this picture is called Rangitoto. It's just north of Auckland harbour, uninhabited except for animals, hikers and campers. It's also a dormant volcano, just 5000 years old (an infant by geologic standards). That's my friend Karen from Portland in the water. We discovered accidentally that we were both going to be in NZ at the same time, and met up to hang out and trade notes. We ended up bumping into each other again in Nelson, on the South Island, and traveled around together for a week. (35K) |
(36K) 
(34K) 
(32K) 
(33K) |
| This series of pictures is from the Kaituna River, near Rotorua. A 5m raft is going over the 7m waterfall! This raft made it... |
 |
 |
Here's a shot of Tokomaru Bay, on the East Cape of the North Island. This was one of the most relaxing places I stayed while in New Zealand. I was bike touring the North Island, and was thrilled to find such a beautiful place to take a break. I got this spectacular view from climbing Morotiri, the 1500 foot mountain just north-east of town. The backpackers where I stayed is the house with the two cars parked in front. (74K) |
 |
I stopped for four days in the city of Napier, known for it's art-deco architecture. It was destroyed by earthquake in 1931, and most of the buildings were rebuilt in that style. Here is a picture of a sunset over Napier. (48K) |
 |
I took a train from Napier to Wellington because my knee began to give me some trouble. When I got there, I ran into three other Americans; Marcel, Mark, and Lynne. We hit it off incredibly well, and for the next five days we ran around Wellington like crazy people. Here is a picture of the four of us. (48K) |
 |
The west coast of the South Island of New Zealand has one of the few temperate rainforests of the world. Theirs is different from ours (the Olympic forest in Washington state) in several ways. One of the most striking differences is the giant fern trees they have there. This is a new shoot that will eventually all unroll into a giant frond over 10 feet long. (41K) |
 |
I ran into Karen, my friend from Portland. She had just bought a car, and we traveled together down the west coast of the South Island. We went from temperate rain forest to glaciers in a matter of minutes! Here's a photo of the transition zone at Haast pass. (26K) |
 |
This is Steve, an American I met in Wanaka, on the South Island. In the background is Mount Aspiring. He works at the Lucky Labrador pub in Portland... (30K) |
 |
Once we got to the Southern part of the island, I realized I needed to pick up the pace, or I would miss my flight to Australia. Since Karen was continuing south, I had to find another ride. Luckily, Kate from Vermont was driving the next day to Dunedin, the most Scottish city in New Zealand. Kate and I spent the next few days in Dunedin, mostly visiting the Otago peninsula, where the albatross, penguin, and seal colonies are located. We then drove to Christchurch, stopping at the Moeraki Rocks on the way. These are like giant geodes-- hollow, spherical rocks with crystals inside.(26K) |
 |
Here is the view from a guest house in Orewa, just north of Auckland. It rained most of the time I was there. It was the last place I stopped before I went on to Australia. (52K) |
 |
I was walking down the street in Melbourne (pronounced "Mel-bin"), I came across this wonderful scene of democracy in action. He saw me with the camera, and began directing his tirade at me. (32K) |