Around-the-World with Drew & Erin: New Zealand
by Allie Comeau on May 3, 2008 
Leave the first comment
Join The Blogging Post as we head around-the-world with our friends Drew & Erin. They’ll be sending us regular dispatches and updates from around, across, and all over the globe. This is their first post from New Zealand…
New Zealand Bound
Erin and I arrived in downtown Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, around midnight after a couple of long flights from Bangkok via Melbourne.
Immediately, the differences between here and Bangkok were striking. For one, it was quiet – virtually silent and not a person in sight. For two, it was perfectly clean – not a piece of litter anywhere. And three, we were staring straight at the Christchurch Cathedral – the centerpiece of the town’s charming center square. The architecture, design, and symbolism of the Christian cathedral were a stark contrast to the hundreds of Buddhist temples we´d seen in our travels in Thailand and Southeast Asia. It was clear we were not in Asia any more.
Fortunately for us, the adjustment would be an easy one. We were now back in the familiar territory of an English-speaking nation that is in many ways very similar to our own. We basked in the quality of the accommodations – even at the hostels, or “backpackers” as they call them. And things were generally prompt, efficient, and on-time – a far cry from our days on a slow boat in Laos. The only challenge to us was that the costs were much higher as New Zealand is an expensive place to live and travel – especially for two Yanks facing a very weak US dollar.
But our trip to New Zealand was about way more than that. Erin and I had both traveled here before, separately, but both after studying abroad in Australia while in college. During my first trip here I traveled on my own for about two weeks. My method of travel at that time was on the ‘Kiwi Experience’, a backpacker’s bus that allows independent travelers to travel with a group of like-minded, generally young people to the main hot spots on the traveler´s trail. It was an eye-opening experience for me in several ways.
First, I was amazed by the awe-inspiring landscapes of New Zealand and vowed I´d come back. But it also exposed me to many other young travelers – most who were from Europe – who were in the process of “seeing the world”. It was on that trip – or shortly after – that the idea for my current adventure germinated in my mind. I realized it was possible to literally travel the world and knew I would someday thanks to the inspiration of my fellow Kiwi Experiencers.
Nowadays, Erin and I both feel like we’ve outgrown the backpacker’s bus style of travel with its party-scene and very social bent. So we decided to get our own set of wheels and travel freely to the far corners of the South Island. We fully expected to rent a car, but after looking into our options, we found a great deal on the purchase of a 1989 Mitsubishi Morage (Lancer) with a guaranteed buyback option after our five weeks in the country. In less than 24 hours from landing in Christchurch, we were the proud owners of a brand new…er, old-school car. It was not what we were planning to do, but we’ve learned flexibility often allows for the optimal solution. In this case, we were quite certain that owning a car for a short time would give us maximum flexibility for the least cost. And it was important to have cheap wheels with gas prices at almost $5.50 per gallon in NZ.
After a few days in Christchurch, and now that we had our own ride, we set out to explore the outskirts of town. We made our way just a few kilometers east to the coast and the seaside town of Sumner. Almost instantly we were struck by the beauty of New Zealand and the outdoor pursuits it offers. This idyllic little town, just minutes from the “big city,” offers top-notch surfing, hiking, and mountain and road biking possibilities. We started to daydream about how we could perhaps make a home here.
In Sumner we shared a cup of coffee with a colleague from the New Zealand outdoor industry whom a common friend had put us in touch with. We also started to get a dose of the Kiwi hospitality, as our new friend marked our maps with all the free camping spots on the island and openly shared his local´s insights about the gems of the South Island. The blend of amazing landscapes and genuine people is truly alluring here.
After our night in Sumner, we started the drive south. In a few days time, we had a fixed date to start the legendary Milford Track and needed to cover a lot of ground to get there in time. We enjoyed the scenic inland drive south from Christchurch and found ourselves a free campsite beside the gorgeously deep blue Lake Pukaki. Our dream of returning to New Zealand was coming true as we laid down in our tent that first night out under the Southern Cross.
PHOTOS
Photo #1 – The Sumner coastline
Photo #2 – Typically gorgeous New Zealand mountain and lake scenery
Photo #3 – Our first camp on the shores of Lake Pukaki
