Adventure Capital of the World!
Door: Pieternel
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Pieternel
21 Februari 2008 | Nieuw Zeeland, Christchurch
Hey everyone!
I am sorry, but the last week has been pretty cool and I don’t want my non-Dutch speaking friends to miss out on these stories. So non-English speaking people, just try really hard to understand it anyways and have a look at the videos!
Right, where to start...Everytime I try keeping my stories short, but it is pretty difficult and this time especially, so let’s see where it’ll end up!
Last week was just a short week of work, because on Wednesday evening I left with Fons, Kate and Ben to Queenstown. They are the family I stayed with when I was here 4 years ago. Queenstown: the place where in 1988 the first commercial bungee jump took place (although there still are some discussion whether this is really true). The modern bungee jumping is inspired by the vine jumpers of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean, where it is understood to be both a rite of passage into manhood, and a fertility rite performed to ensure a good yam harvest. Well, there is no way I will ever jump off a bridge with a bit of elastic rope tied around my ankles, but of course there is a whole lot more to do in Queenstown as it is the Adventure Capital of the World.
Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn’t that great, so I had decided not to book any cool rafting or paragliding trips. We arrived at Fons and Kate’s holiday home around midnight, so it all looked the same to me: pitch black. You can imagine my surprise when I saw the view the next morning. (see pic) I mean, everyone would want to wake up every day with a view like that, right?!
Thankfully the weather turned out to be really nice Thursday afternoon, so I quickly phoned some horse riding stables and within 45 minutes Rocky (horse) and me were riding along the Shotover River. Was a very nice ride and pretty painful afterwards as I hadn’t been riding for quite a bit! The next day we spent most of our time wandering and shopping in Arrowtown, an old Chinese gold mining town. Pretty cute!
Just before I left Geoff had told me that one of our trips was gonna do a heli hike on Saturday in the Remarkables, a mountain range around Queenstown. Ever since I have seen them four years ago they fascinate me. There’s just something about them and some of you might recognise them from Lord of the Rings! Anyways, there was a place left on the helicopter, so I could join the walk. Well, no need to tell me twice as I had never been in a helicopter (I think)! So Saturday morning Alison, one of our guides, and the other four of the group picked me up and we drove up to the Remarkables ski field. It had snowed the night before (yep, in the middle of the summer!), not enough for skiing of course, but just enough to make our walk a little bit more special and stunning. Have a look at the pics, but still they don’t even get close to how it was hiking up the rocks and being in the middle of this amazing scenery. It was a bit unsure whether the helicopter was gonna be able to pick us up at the end of our walk and drop us back in Queenstown, but thankfully after a long lunch and tiny prayers from me the clouds lifted and the view that appeared was absolutely amazing! Large lakes (tarns) with snow topped peaks on the background. Unbelievable how beautiful this country is. So we could continue our walk through patches of snow and crossing tiny waterfalls. When we reached the tarns we radioed the helicopter to come and pick us up (check the video!) It was a short flight, but I absolutely loved it; the view we had over Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown is just indescribable.
After this absolutely awesome hike they dropped me off at Arrowtown again, because Fons, Kate and the rest came to Queenstown to go and see the concert of Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra (I know, all the non-Kiwis will go: WHO???). Dave and Hayley are two well-known NZ artists and the concert was really nice. Out on a big field with everyone just sitting around, having a picnic, some family time and enjoying the lovely weather. Great Kiwi atmosphere!
On Sunday we drove back to Christchurch. About an 6/7 hour drive, but if you’ve got scenery like this, then that’s no worries at all! Lake Pukaki and Mt Cook (highest mountain of NZ) were just gorgeous, as you see them at all the postcards. So that was an awesome short break of work.
Work is still going really great! Getting more and more assignments almost every day and I just really enjoy it. Tuesday evening was salsa class again and last night Rachel and I went to a salsa party. Was really good fun! Tonight I just got back from our Italian cooking class, also fun, but the woman just chats and chats and chats. Pretty exhausted now! On Saturday Rachel and I will go to the final cricket match of the five day series between England and NZ. (Explanation on this sport will follow another time!).
This story is way too long again, but I really tried.....
Hope you’re all doing great too and love hearing from you!!!
Xx Pep
PS. For the people who heard about two Dutch and an Italian guy being robbed at gunpoint at Akaroa Harbour (about 90 min from here) I would just like to make sure that you also hear the fact that they have made up the story to claim insurance money and with this causing a lot of negative publicity about New Zealand for nothing! Silly buggers!
I am sorry, but the last week has been pretty cool and I don’t want my non-Dutch speaking friends to miss out on these stories. So non-English speaking people, just try really hard to understand it anyways and have a look at the videos!
Right, where to start...Everytime I try keeping my stories short, but it is pretty difficult and this time especially, so let’s see where it’ll end up!
Last week was just a short week of work, because on Wednesday evening I left with Fons, Kate and Ben to Queenstown. They are the family I stayed with when I was here 4 years ago. Queenstown: the place where in 1988 the first commercial bungee jump took place (although there still are some discussion whether this is really true). The modern bungee jumping is inspired by the vine jumpers of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean, where it is understood to be both a rite of passage into manhood, and a fertility rite performed to ensure a good yam harvest. Well, there is no way I will ever jump off a bridge with a bit of elastic rope tied around my ankles, but of course there is a whole lot more to do in Queenstown as it is the Adventure Capital of the World.
Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn’t that great, so I had decided not to book any cool rafting or paragliding trips. We arrived at Fons and Kate’s holiday home around midnight, so it all looked the same to me: pitch black. You can imagine my surprise when I saw the view the next morning. (see pic) I mean, everyone would want to wake up every day with a view like that, right?!
Thankfully the weather turned out to be really nice Thursday afternoon, so I quickly phoned some horse riding stables and within 45 minutes Rocky (horse) and me were riding along the Shotover River. Was a very nice ride and pretty painful afterwards as I hadn’t been riding for quite a bit! The next day we spent most of our time wandering and shopping in Arrowtown, an old Chinese gold mining town. Pretty cute!
Just before I left Geoff had told me that one of our trips was gonna do a heli hike on Saturday in the Remarkables, a mountain range around Queenstown. Ever since I have seen them four years ago they fascinate me. There’s just something about them and some of you might recognise them from Lord of the Rings! Anyways, there was a place left on the helicopter, so I could join the walk. Well, no need to tell me twice as I had never been in a helicopter (I think)! So Saturday morning Alison, one of our guides, and the other four of the group picked me up and we drove up to the Remarkables ski field. It had snowed the night before (yep, in the middle of the summer!), not enough for skiing of course, but just enough to make our walk a little bit more special and stunning. Have a look at the pics, but still they don’t even get close to how it was hiking up the rocks and being in the middle of this amazing scenery. It was a bit unsure whether the helicopter was gonna be able to pick us up at the end of our walk and drop us back in Queenstown, but thankfully after a long lunch and tiny prayers from me the clouds lifted and the view that appeared was absolutely amazing! Large lakes (tarns) with snow topped peaks on the background. Unbelievable how beautiful this country is. So we could continue our walk through patches of snow and crossing tiny waterfalls. When we reached the tarns we radioed the helicopter to come and pick us up (check the video!) It was a short flight, but I absolutely loved it; the view we had over Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown is just indescribable.
After this absolutely awesome hike they dropped me off at Arrowtown again, because Fons, Kate and the rest came to Queenstown to go and see the concert of Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra (I know, all the non-Kiwis will go: WHO???). Dave and Hayley are two well-known NZ artists and the concert was really nice. Out on a big field with everyone just sitting around, having a picnic, some family time and enjoying the lovely weather. Great Kiwi atmosphere!
On Sunday we drove back to Christchurch. About an 6/7 hour drive, but if you’ve got scenery like this, then that’s no worries at all! Lake Pukaki and Mt Cook (highest mountain of NZ) were just gorgeous, as you see them at all the postcards. So that was an awesome short break of work.
Work is still going really great! Getting more and more assignments almost every day and I just really enjoy it. Tuesday evening was salsa class again and last night Rachel and I went to a salsa party. Was really good fun! Tonight I just got back from our Italian cooking class, also fun, but the woman just chats and chats and chats. Pretty exhausted now! On Saturday Rachel and I will go to the final cricket match of the five day series between England and NZ. (Explanation on this sport will follow another time!).
This story is way too long again, but I really tried.....
Hope you’re all doing great too and love hearing from you!!!
Xx Pep
PS. For the people who heard about two Dutch and an Italian guy being robbed at gunpoint at Akaroa Harbour (about 90 min from here) I would just like to make sure that you also hear the fact that they have made up the story to claim insurance money and with this causing a lot of negative publicity about New Zealand for nothing! Silly buggers!
-
21 Februari 2008 - 09:28
Cookie:
Hey Pep!
What a nice report again ;) So you're there in the summer with nice views and snow, over here it's winter and all we get is some cold nose! Well, what would you expect in Holland.. Hopefully the spring will come very soon and I will be able to leave my house without a jacket!
Kisses,
Your biggest IKEA-fan ;) -
21 Februari 2008 - 10:40
Joyce:
Chica!!!
Wat een prachtig verhaal. Wat maakt het uit dat het lang is, je maakt toch ook wel zo ontzettend veel gave dingen mee hoor. Ik ben gewoon jaloers hahaha :D
Veel avontuurlijke groetjes
xx Joyce -
21 Februari 2008 - 11:14
Marieke & Jan:
He Pieternel,
Wat een mooie foto's !! We zien wel dat je het weer goed naar je zin hebt. Wij zijn ook druk bezig met de voorbereidingen voor onze reis.
Veel groetjes uit Boxmeer, xxxx -
21 Februari 2008 - 14:35
Malou:
Remarkable pictures!!! Heb je al een kiwi-accent? Fijn dat je het zo naar je zin hebt daar. En wat gaaf dat je salsa les hebt! Ben ik ook naar op zoek gegaan, maar ze zeggen dat ik dat maar in de kroeg moet gaan leren... met die kleine peruaantjes haha Xx -
21 Februari 2008 - 15:57
Mieke:
AAHHHH JALOERS!
en ik maar computers installeren...:( haha
kei goed! xx! -
21 Februari 2008 - 22:40
Lou:
VET!!! Kan eindelijk de foto's goed bekijken hier op het werk! Ik heb zo'n zin om je op te komen zoeken!! Kan bijna niet wachten!! We kletsen snel weer (hopelijk zonder galm ;))! dikke kus! -
23 Februari 2008 - 13:41
Sofie:
Hola chica!
Even de groeten uit het zeer warme Argentinie! Ik lees je berichten elke keer weer. Nieuw-Zeeland is ook zooo mooi en bijzonder! Wordt dat mijn volgende bestemming?...
Mijn onderzoek begint steeds lekkerder te lopen. Iedereen is vriendelijk en behulpzaam, dat gaat helemaal goed komen denk ik. Jij nog veel succes met je stage en geniet ze he!!!
Besos, Sofie -
24 Februari 2008 - 09:29
Susan:
Hey Pep,
Jeetje, wat prachtig allemaal. Je hebt al zoveel gezien in een korte tijd. Echt super voor je. In de Zuilenstraat had je het hier al steeds over..Australië, NZ en nu zit je er!
Genietse, maar dat zal voor jou geen probleem zijn.
Ik blijf je volgen, leuk!
Liefs, Susan -
25 Februari 2008 - 12:37
Jonna:
hee lieve nicht! wat een heerlijke verhalen en prachtige foto´s. fijn dat je het zo naar je zin hebt daar!! ga je snel een een langer mailtje sturen... geniet ervan! hele dikke kus. -
27 Februari 2008 - 16:49
Bob:
I 'hate' you
:p -
06 Maart 2008 - 15:33
Dien:
zeg, heb jij je loten al gekocht voor de lotto??
zo niet dan kun je natuurlijk ook nog eve aanpappen met die australier die t van de week gewonnen heeft in christchurch! das 2 vliegen in 1 klap!
succes!
xx -
10 Maart 2008 - 16:05
Leon10:
Wat ben je stil!
Heb je t soms naar je zin daar??....... :-)
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