WWOOF #11 - Queenstown

Feb. 10 – Feb. 20

You can probably tell by the long date range that we thoroughly enjoyed this WWOOF. Since this was a shot-in-the-dark phone call, we really didn’t have any expectations coming into it, we just hoped it would work for a couple days and then we could be on our way. After feeling guilty for leaving early at our previous WWOOF, we decided we could cope with anything, and prepared ourselves for the worst. We had no idea we were about to enter a luxurious, boutique getaway compound for the rich and famous. The long, winding drive up to the main house passed several ponds, meandering through natural forested grounds. It ended at the compound, several self-contained ensuites circling a central patio area. An enclosed pool/spa at one end, lookout tower at another, and covered patio kitchen area all lined the main grid. We were speechless, and alone. The hosts had run into town and we were left waiting in the carpark, just salivating over our good fortune. What started as a possible 4-5 day stay, soon turned into 10 nights.

Here are a few shots of the property...

Expansive patio kitchen area

Keris with "Kaz," their giant Indonesian Mountain dog. He was a loopy sweetheart despite his overpowering size.

The resident swan

Sue (the mother) and Ben (middle son – age 36) were great hosts. We had a bit of shock when Ben said he’d show us to our room – and we got in the car to drive up the hill. For a split second we thought we were in store for another horrible cabin experience away from the main house. Where we ended up was the “resident artist’s” quarters - a private, rustic wood cabin 200 meters up to the top of the hill, overlooking the property and surrounding valley. It is used to house local NZ artists who work/create and interact with guests on a more personal level. For the next 5 days, it would house 2 lucky WWOOFers from Texas.

Here are a few shots of the artist's residence.And a view from our porch overlooking the property

We did eventually get a tour of the whole complex, each ensuite ornately decorated in its own theme, complete with commissioned artists paintings, sculptures, and drawings. The property started as about 100 acres of scrub bushland 30 years prior, and was developed as a vision. It now hosts exclusive guests from all over the world during the summer season (Bill Clinton was going stay had there been a way for his security team to secure the property). Because there were no guests currently occupying the units, we had greater access to the property and treated to delicious homemade meals.

Check out these massive burgers... Ann and Jay on the left were the WWOOFers from Belgium. Ben, at the far end, was the master chef and cooked amazing homecut fries (even the Belgians approved).

The work ended up being less organic gardening than desired, and more property maintenance, but we didn’t mind. We scrubbed the algae from the metal framing around the pool, did some gardening, raking, car washing, gutter cleaning, dam building for the ponds, and our least favorite job yet (4 days of spraying Ragwort weeds in various paddocks with an herbicide). Organic approaches were tried and failed in dealing with ragwort, and it was taking over. Our hosts certainly didn’t want to use sprays if possible, and after so many months of working with organic principles, spraying the weeds was hard to bear for us.

Stuart the pool boy cleaning the algae off the metal rafters.

Getting ready for a 'little' ragwort spraying...

We mostly just relaxed on the property in our free time. The private peak that extended further up from our cabin made for spectacular sunsets overlooking Lake Wakatipu – a view extending from Queenstown halfway to Glenorchy (about 10 miles in each direction). The Remarkables mountain range made for an even more dramatic backdrop. We ran on the trails around the lake, took a dip in the frigid waters, drove out for a tour of Glenorchy, watched the bungy jumpers at the famous (world’s first) Kawerau Bridge, met up with our WWOOF friends George and Louisa (who we had met at a previous WWOOF in Amberley) for a few drinks in a Queenstown park, watched rugby matches, and played Scrabble with Ben. Ben was our main host, in charge of our work schedules, and saw to it that we were entertained and accommodated. He is an actor, and had so many hilarious stories to share with us. We’d often sit and talk for hours at dinner. After our first 5 nights, we were scheduled to leave because other WWOOFers were going to arrive. Because we were getting along so well with our hosts and had no need to vacate (at this point we failed to find a new WWOOF even after contacting many places), they let us move into the main compound – a loft room above the office in the main house. The new WWOOFers, a nice, young Belgian couple, moved into our cabin up the hill. It was nice to be in the main house, but we actually missed the isolation of the cabin, despite it being a 5 minute walk up the hill.

View of Lake Wakatipu from the private peak behind the property. We climbed this hill almost every day for a view. Enjoying our share of wine at the top during magnificent sunsets.

Kawarau Canyon, site of the world's first bungy.

Watching from above, the jumpers had the option of how "wet" they wanted to get at the bottom, some people plunging halfway into the water before springing back up.

Not even the pumping techno beats could get Keris or Stuart pumped for a jump. Just watching for us today.

Giant eel and brown trout we spied at the underwater observatory.

Part of the reason we stayed so long is that WWOOFs were getting harder to book. There are far too many workers and not enough hosts, so everyone we contacted was already full. So, we stayed put and reorganized our trip to incorporate a little more vacation time. On the 11th day, it was hard to leave. We certainly could have stayed much longer, but we decided there was still too much to see in NZ. Queenstown quickly became one of our favorite areas the longer we stayed, in stark contrast to our first opinion.

Thanks so much to Sue and Ben for a fantastic and memorable stay. We hope that our dreams will transpire into something as magical as Punatapu.

WWOOF #10 - Queenstown

Feb. 8 – Feb. 10

The short date range on this WWOOF might raise a few eyebrows and prompt a few questions, but we’ll get to that. As with our last 2 WWOOFs, we showed up to find other WWOOFers already here. This was strange considering we’d recently spoken on the phone with the hosts and they didn’t mention extra help (and their online description said they only had room for 1-2 people). But there were 3 young German boys sitting at the outside lunch table as we pulled up, and we soon realized there was a bit of a problem. We were double booked. And the hosts (Mark and Michelle) were a bit frantic about what to do. Strange considering they’d known for at least a day or 2 that they’d double booked us, but they still had no idea what to do with us once we arrived. Oh well, we had some lunch, and then Stuart went to work moving hay bales on the farm while Keris helped Michelle work out the living situation. And it was a bit of a situation. They’d rented out their large house and moved into their small art gallery. We hoped they were only half-joking when they asked us if we had our own tent (like we wanted to sleep in that in return for our work for the next week after just camping for 6 nights already). But, we were in luck. They had moved a house to the property that they intended to renovate and live in. The only catch - it was still in the 3 pieces it arrived in after being delivered on the back of the trucks! No power, no water, no toilets. At least some of the rooms had doors on them, because the living room was open to the garden. So here we were - overbooked, sub-par accommodations, and frantic hosts. Stuart pulled out the cell phone after moving hay and after 10 failed attempts at finding a new WWOOF, we accepted our fate. By some miracle, it wasn’t long that someone called back with an opening, and we’d be out of here after just 2 nights.

Part of the house still in pieces. We'll be sleeping in one of the rooms at the back (luckily a fully enclosed room)Welcome home honey!

Our hosts did try extremely hard to rectify the situation, but it was still a struggle with meals and work. Keris spent her first day cleaning our “split house,” making the accommodation a little more reasonable. A portable toilet was put in place and an extension cord ran up to the house. Stuart built a gate and weeded the veggie garden. We took our afternoon free time to Lake Hayes and had a run and a nice long talk about leaving this WWOOF behind. We’d actually become quite attached to the hosts and could see ourselves sticking it out to the end, but deep down we wanted to leave and try out this new WWOOF we’d booked. We’ve always kept an open mind with each new WWOOF experience, but we were completely unprepared for this one, and reaffirmed our decision to bail. We worked a little more in garden the next morning, and then left Mark and Michelle. We wished everything had worked out as planned and believe we may have enjoyed the WWOOF a little more. And, in the end, we lucked out the German boys were there, because with extra helpers around, when Mark asked for volunteers for sheep crutching, I was able to decline. Sheep crutching involves not sheering the whole, but only around their... umm... butt. Apparently, in the hot summer, poop will dry on the wool and can allow diseases to multiply and sicken the sheep. Get us out of here!

Some craftsmanship on the new gate. Some weeding in the neglected garden. We were very much looking forward to have a wonderfully large, diverse garden to help manage. Not a giant weed patch.

Short NZ Vacation #5 - The Deep South Island

Feb. 2 – Feb 8

7 day camping adventure!

We set off from Kutash Organic with some semblance of a plan, but we really had no idea just how much there was to see all across the southern tip of the south island. After some thought and debate, we decided that heading east first, and then circling around the south to finish in the Fiordland would be our best bet, and allow for the most complete journey.

We started. Due east along the deserted, desert roads of central Otago, we finally came to the ocean. Our first stop was a simple side journey out to the coastline to view the Moraeki boulders. It sounded a bit strange, but turns out it was underplayed. What a crazy sight. 30 or 40 large, spherical boulders lay partly buried in the sand over a short stretch of beach – and nowhere else. Having eroded from the cliffs, they rolled down to their current resting place. We’d never seen anything like it, and it’s a wonder why this exact spot holds such a mass quantity of these geode rocks. A natural playground right on the beach.

Moraeki Boulders on the beach

We continued north to Oamaru, the “penguin town.” This would be our home base for the night – the best time to catch a glimpse of the yellow-eyed or blue penguin, but we first ventured out to some Maori rock art. A little disappointing, as free public (and unprotected from the elements) rock art often is, but worth a look nonetheless. Some of the drawings have been removed and are now on display at museums across NZ (which we later saw). Continuing on with somewhat of a random outing and wild goose chase for sights, in the near vicinity was the proclaimed “elephant rocks,” a site used in the Chronicles of Narnia film. This proved to be quite an epic landscape of massive, smooth cliffs in a paddock.

Display board beneath the rock art describing what's drawn.

Keris atop the elephant rocks pretending she's the ice-queen of Narnia.

The real treat was at nightfall. We made it down to the viewing area for the yellow-eyed penguins just as the sun was setting, a glorious spectacle by itself. We thought we were almost late, but there were tons of people still waiting to catch a glimpse. High on the cliffs, it was difficult to see the occasional penguin come ashore way down the beach as the sky turned dark. Most people began disbanding, as this didn’t appear to be a mass arrival of penguins, but we remained hopeful. Sure enough, without knowing how the penguins had crossed the beach undetected, the first one appeared right in front of us, 100 feet up the cliffside! It was only a few feet away, and it soon found its baby (almost the same size). We were so happy have waited for such a spectacle. A few more did eventually come out of the water, but by then it was so dark they could barely be made out on the beach far below. We headed over to the blue penguin colony location, but found that it was blocked off and could only be accessed via expensive paid admission tours (and it was too late). Oh well, the yellow-eyed penguin viewing was a success.

One of the yellow-eyed penguins that climbed the cliffside and showed up right in front of us to feed its young.

View down to the beach from the yellow-eyed penguin lookout.

Day 2 – We drove south along the coast to Dunedin, what’s been described as the most Scottish city outside Scotland – crappy weather included. It was a beautiful, sunny day for us, so we ate lunch in the park, perused the art museum, and did a little 2nd-hand shopping. We finally broke down and bought some more camping gear – 1 pot, 1 plate, and a can opener! Actually, the plate was free, and we’ve been joking that if it wasn’t free we wouldn’t have gotten it. In fact, there were several free plates available (but only one plastic one) and thus, we only took the 1 free plastic plate. Who said beggars can’t be choosers. Ah, the endless possibilities before us with our new cooking equipment. We’d grown tired of PB&J and tomato/cucumber/cheese sandwiches several times a day, despite finding really good rolls for bread. Now we could do fantastic 1-pot meals of pasta, curry, porridge. Just in time for the next 5 nights of camping.

That night, we drove out to the Otago Peninsula and pitched our tent at the only campsite in Portabella. We attempted a hike up to view the castle on the hill, but turned back about ¾ of the way. Just before sunset, we hiked out to the Chasm with a bottle of wine. We were the only ones there when we arrived, a peaceful setting to view the 300 foot vertical drop crevasse in the cliff at the edge of the water. We made the trek over to Lovers’ Leap after that, crossing the sheep paddock (wine in hand) to the lookout point. Again, suspended 100s of feet above the sea, the ominous cliffs dropped away from us. The view was magnificent, and was not shared with anyone.

Enjoying our solitude atop the "Chasm" on the Otago Peninsula

Partial view down into the Chasm (didn't want to get too close to the edge - most locations in NZ don't come with safety barricades as standard)

Looking down on Lovers' Leap. The archway alone is 100's of feet above the sea, and the cliffs climb even higher above that to our viewing platform.

The lean of this silver beech tree is a reminder of the power of the Antarctic winds.

The evening was not over though. Our incredible pace catching up with us, we were getting tired, but we drove out to the very tip of the peninsula just as the sunset faded to darkness, to join a large group of people waiting for the blue penguins to come ashore. This was our chance to view them now. For a 2nd time, penguin viewing tried people’s patience. The disheartened left too early. There was just enough light left to see a mass ripple moving towards us in the water. Then, 15-20 penguins in two separate waves came waddling across the beach. Shortly after, they made there way up the land toward their young for feeding. They were so tiny and cute! Such a great opportunity to view them in their natural habitat (but sorry no pics, it was too dark and camera flashes scare the penguins).

Day 3 – We barely made it back into Dunedin without running out of gas, and then we checked out the natural history museum (including some of the above mentioned Maori rock art), the botanic gardens, and the ornate train station. We left town and headed to the southern most tip of the island to camp in the Catlins National Park. After a quick walk to the wonderful Purakanui Falls (wine glasses in hand), we found a cozy spot next to Purakanui beach to pitch our tent for the night. At last, we found a cheap, rugged campsite on the beach instead of an expensive holiday park site with no view. We took a walk on the beach before hunkering down in the tent for a windy night.

Purakanui Falls

Purakanui Beach

Finally, a cheap campsite right next to the beach! We celebrated the find.

Day 4 – Another gorgeous waterfall walk we found along the road early in the morning.

McLean Falls (much bigger in person)

We’re uncertain how many times we’ve found amazing places to stop off and see while driving along the highway. There’s no shortage of spectacular landscape. We made it to Invercargill in time for lunch in the expansive botanic gardens. Without much to see in the city, we continued on toward the Fjordland on the west coast. It was long drive, but well worth the effort. We stopped just short of our final destination to have a look around Manapouri, a lakeside city without much proclaim in Lonely Planet. The water temp was suitable for a swim (with a wetsuit) on such a warm day. A little triathlon training and sunbathing in the afternoon was a good way to relax. It was tough to leave this spot, but we finished our journey with a 20 minute drive up to Te Anau – the launching point for most of the Milford Sound tours. Our campsite was right across from an equally stunning lake view as Manapouri. We were razzed a bit about our 1-pot meal by some elderly campers, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Beautiful day for triathlon training.

Day 5 – Up early for a long day, we were a bit slow to get going since the sky was a little overcast. We picked up the Department of Conservation hiking guide pamphlet and started the 2+ hour drive to Milford Sound. We’d booked a boat tour for the afternoon, and carefully mapped out all our hikes for the day.

Mirror Lakes

Our first stop was at Mirror Lakes, a roadside observation deck built above a small lake in which the surface was like glass this early in the morning. We snapped a few photos before even the slightest disturbance in the water rippled away the reflection. We next stopped at the start of the famous Routeburn track. We took a detour after an hour’s hike to climb to Key Summit for a fantastic 360 view of the surrounding glacial valleys. The scenery continued to impress the further along we ventured toward Milford Sound. A long drive down a side gravel road took us to Humboldt Falls – an impressive multi-tiered falls rising nearly 1,000 feet up the cliff. A short ways back to the main road, we pulled off at Marian Creek Bridge to get a view of the stunningly blue-clear glacial runoff. A quick stop-off at Moraine Falls – more of a gushing, tumultuous river, and then we were back on the road – we thought, for an uninterrupted drive to Milford. However, around every turn in the road, our eyes wandered to the valley peaks, watching cascading waters plunge 100s of feet down the sheer rock walls. Ooh and Aah around every bend, stopping for more pictures and driving at a nice leisurely pace to take in the astounding scenery. This wondrous place immediately jumped to the top of our favorites list – and we weren’t even to Milford Sound yet!!

View of Humboldt Falls. They look small from a distance (actually 3rd largest in NZ, with each tier cascading 100's of feet down the cliff.

Such pure water flowing in the rivers.

Passing through the long, 1-way tunnel we descended down to our destination along the twisty mountain road. Alas, it was time to relax on our 2+ hour boat cruise of the sounds. By now, we were so excited for what lay ahead given the sights we’d already seen. Being on the boat gave a new perspective of glacier valley walls and mountain peaks soaring 1,000s of feet overhead. Rugged, jungle forest clung to keep hold on the poorly soiled rock walls, the roots of the trees becoming entangled in 1 giant mat essentially holding up the entire mountainside. It was a bit windy and rough at first, but we’d lucked out on such a gorgeous day, missing one the common rain showers that brings nearly 7 meters of rainfall a year. The views were captivating, so we just sat and watched in awe. On the return trip, we drove right into Stirling Falls, soaking the front half of the boat (where we happened to be taking some pics). It was a must-do sightseeing trip, and well worth it. Probably the best day we’d had yet, and certainly one of the longest and most action-packed. We were exhausted by the time we got back to camp in the dark.

Just before heading into the tunnel and descending down to Milford Sound, one of the first, great "wow" moments.

Close up of the waterfalls down the glacier-carved cliff

Heading out into Milford Sound

Extreme close-up of the magnificent Stirling Falls included driving the tour boat right beneath it!

Getting a perspective on the Palisades (the stair-stepped cliffs show the levels of different glaciers over time)

Day 6 – There was certainly no rush to leave Te Anau this morning. Check out was 10am, and I think we pulled out around 1pm after catching up on some much needed internet, rest, and 1 last hot shower. It was a long drive to Queenstown, one we made without much stopping as compared to many previous trips. Lake Wakatipu was certainly stunning, a sharp, dark blue compared to the brown, rocky mountainsides surrounding. Our first impression of Queenstown was not good, likening the city to Aspen or Tahoe, and probably the least “New Zealand” town we’d seen thus far (which is just about all of them). There is certainly a lot of nightlife and adrenaline pumping activities, but we just packed in like a sardine at the campground and called it an early night.

Day 7 – Refreshed, we were up early to tackle the hour climb to Bob’s Peak, passing on the gondola ride. At the top, we found a great view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the Remarkables mountain range. It was gorgeous. Among the adrenaline rushing activities at the top of the hill… bungy jump and luge. Unfortunately, there was no one to watch take the jump (since we certainly weren’t up for it). Instead, we opted for a couple runs on the luge. It was not quite as long as the one we’d done last year in Rotorua, but it was still a lot of fun. After a long hike back down the mountain, we headed to our next WWOOF, ending this long streak of adventure and vacation. We were so happy to have taken the time in the trip to do something like this, especially taking the extra time to stop at so many side ventures.

View from Bob's Peak at the top of gondola. Queenstown is spread below along the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

Of course, we couldn't pass on the luge at the top of the peak! We just wish the luge went all the way down the hill so we didn't have to walk down...

Catching the short chairlift back to the top of the luge for our 2nd run (first run had to be on the beginner track... do we look like beginners?)