New Zealand

118 posts

Posts related to my trip to New Zealand.

Tackling the Fox

05/02/08
Chilly hello to all you folks out there! Well, once again I find myself knackered as I write to you. Yup, that’s right, it was another busy day for ActiveSteve here at the Fox Glacier village. My feet and legs are sore today not from biking, but from all the gear I had to wear today while I was out on the dangerous ices of the Fox Glacier. I spent the whole day on the ice, and learned to ice climb. Well, in truth, there really wasn’t all that much to learn, as Ice Climbing is pretty much exactly like rock climging only you’re on ice instead of rock. So, as a result, I already knew how to tie on and off, belay, and all those sorts of things. However, I had to get the hang of using Ice Axes and Crampons, which was a hoot. Read on for a bit more about my exciting day on the glacier. There’s a map too, but I have a feeling it’ll be pretty meaningless, as it was in my pack hidden away most of the day, so I don’t think locations are correct. Sorry!

Welcome to Glacier Country

04/02/08
Good evening friends. ActiveSteve reporting from glacier country here. Yup, I’ve made it about halfway down the west coast already, and find myself at Fox Glacier. Although the day was short on paper, it was nothing short of a barn burner in reality with the nutty hills I had to tackle towards the end of the day, after a couple hours hiking around the Franz Josef Glacier. The weather pretty much didn’t co-operate for most of the day either, with clouds yet again obscuring any chance I might have at some spectacular Southern Alps views. Regardless, it was still a fun day, allowing me to get a later start than usual and stopping at the Franz Josef glacier for a while. I’ve put together a map, which includes the hike at Franz Josef, which you can check out. Hopefully this time, all the maps are up. Last time I had Internet, I couldn’t get any maps up.

Ahead by a Century

03/02/08
Hello everyone out there! SuperSickSteve here reporting again, this time from his sick bed. Yup, I’m still going downhill. Today, I’ve had a nice little fever and aching joints and running nose and plugged throat all day! It’s really fantastic! Not! In spite of this, I managed to post my longest day yet, clocking over 105km on the bike to get to Whataroa, where I’m reporting to you live from a caravan, or RV if you will. Yup, for 23.50 (I got a deal) I have a little aluminum box all to myself for the night. Two beds, a toaster, a water pot, and electricity. Sadly, no Internet. However, given the on and off pouring rain and the cold temps outside, I’d say I’m doing all right despite the fact that I’m in a little tiny village along the glacier highway. Today was a good riding day for the first 75 or so km, then it got really tough for me. Not just because of Mount Hercules, but due to a group of cycle tourists known as Pedaltours. Read on for more, and check out the map.

Rainy Start, Sunny End

02/02/08
Hi folks. I hope you’re all doing well, and feeling better than I am at the moment! You know, it really sucks when you get a summer cold, doesn’t it? Right now, I’m feeling absolutely miserable as I write up this post. I have full intentions of finishing it up, grabbing a bite to eat somewhere, and going straight to bed where I may listen to some music for a while before I [hopefully] fall asleep early. Today was actually a really good day on the bike, in spite of the weather, but tomorrow, thanks to some boneheaded mistake by me and some pre-booking, will be my first 100+km day, ending up somewhere to camp hopefully. Yup, I mis-read my guide book, and missed a 30km distance marking. Oops. I got excited, and pre-booked my ice-climbing day on Fox Glacier for Feb. 5th in anticipation of getting there in 2 days, and already paid 50% for it. So, that means I’ll just have to slug it out tomorrow and ride a long day. Hopefully the weather will be similar to today’s, which blessed me with a tailwind. Read on and check out the map for all the gory details!

An Eyeful of ActiveSteve

01/02/08
Happy February everyone! I barely realized that today was the start of another new month down here in New Zealand. As a result, I’ve celebrated by running around naked in the Tasman Sea! Yup, it looks like I may have to change the rating on my site for mature audiences only. Sorry folks, I just had to do it. I wasn’t sure when I’d have the opportunity to do my naked mile, but today, an opportunity sort of presented itself on a deserted cove and beach for me. This was another one of my famous ‘rest days’, where I get up and spend the day hiking and biking for fun, rather than purpose. There were several hiking trails around this area, and great beaches, so that’s what I did today. I carried my GPS around with me for a lot of the day, so I have another map for you with lots of pictures to check out. As well, if you’d like to hear more about the origins of the thumbnail you see… read on!