.JPG)
Prvni mesto jizniho ostrova kde se rozhodneme prenocovat je Nelson - nejslunecnejsi mesto NZ (ne, ze by jsme to potrebovali, kdyz jsme meli za cely mesic jen jeden destivy den). Nelson vyuzijeme jako zakladnu pro trek v NP Abel Tasman. Uz pri ceste lodi vidime, ze se bude na co tesit. Huste lesy, zatoky a laguny lemovane zlatymi plazemi. Krasnych 22km nenarocnym terenem, plaze lakaji k povalovani, ale jen co se zastavime na piknik zacnou kousat sandflies. Nektere trasy v NP maji 2 ruzne cesty podle toho jestli je priliv nebo odliv.
Dale jedeme usek Nelson - Greymouth. Scenerie jak jinak paradni, ale krome zastavky u Pancake rocks (formace utesu poskladane z tenkych vrstev sedimentu) a kolonie tulenu se nic zvlastniho nedeje. Prejizdime dost mostu 3 v 1 jak je mistni nazyvaji - 1 pruh pro oba smery, auta i vlaky.
Na ceste z Greymouth do Franz Josef urcite stoji za zminku expozice Bush. Je zde zajimavy dokument o tom jak se na NZ zbavovali premnozene vysoke a proc tu maji tolik farem kde vysokou chovaji. Kazdy rok tu postrileli pres 2mil kusu. A nez vynalezli vystrelovaci site tak skakali lovci na hrbety jelenu z helikoptery! Franz Josef je vesnicka o 2 ulicich. Hlavni lakadlo pro navstevniky je nejpristupnejsi ledovec NZ. Ale jen se koukneme z vyhlidky, proti Patagonii hodne slaby odvar.
Dalsi den zastihneme zrcadlove jezero Matheson zalite rannim sluncem a nad zemi se povaluji cary mlhy. Stesti, ze priroda nedela kyce, tohle by jinak jeden urcite byl.
Queenstown neni jen hlavnim mestem adrenalinu, ale zaroven malebne mestecko na brehu jezera Wakatipu pod vysokanskymi kopci. Vecer pri zapadu slunce vidime zelenou?! oblohu. Skoda, ze zrovna dosly baterie ve fotaku. K obedu jednoznacne doporucujeme svetoznamy Fergburger. 15dolaru nekomu mozna prijde za hamburger dost, ale verte, ze lepsi maso v housce budete shanet tezko. Muj tip je jehneci s matou.
Navecer druhy den vyjedeme lanovkou nad mesto, ale zelena obloha se podruhe nekona. Na dalsi 2 dny pujcime auto, ale kvuli Velikonocnim svatkum je vse rozebrane a tak na me zbyde jen automaticka prevodovka. Prvni jizdy jsou docela zazitek, proc to auto misto pribrzdeni vzdy rovnou na miste zastavi? :)
Na vylet jedeme ve 4. Itinerarem jizniho ostrova jsme se presne strefili do programu 2 ceskych holcin;) Martiny a Jany (Zdravime!). Cilem je Milford Sound, vzdusnou carou vzdaleny jen 30km, ale 5h cesty po silnici. Jediny vozidlem pristupny fjord z obrovskeho NP Fjordland. Jak uz jsme si zvykli, mame bezchybne pocasi. Vzhledem k tomu, ze je tu prumerny rocni uhrn srazek 7m a maximum 10.4m! docela drzost. Silnice vede mezi ostrymi vysokymi kopci. Na chvilku zajdeme protahnout nohy do dzungle a kapradi kde je uzka souteska Chasm. Presne ji vystihuje citat, ktery zni nejak takhle: 'Nejlepsi socharske nastroje nejsou majzlik a kladivo, staci jen lehky a dlouhy dotek vody a vzduchu.' Na Milford Sound jedeme na 2h plavbu podel brehu fjordu. Kilometrove vertikalni svahy kolem jsou plne vodopadu uplne zavislych na desti a nektere jsou hodne mohutne i kdyz ted zrovna nemaji prisun vody. Cestou zpatky konecne vidime ohromna stada ovci, tech 60mil nekde byt musi. Pocasi je porad krasne, ale citelne se ochladilo. Misto kratas prichazi na radu kalhoty a bunda.
Dunedin (preklad skotskeho Edinburgh) zalozeny skotskymi pristehovalci se misty opravdu podoba Edinburghu. Zastavime se u Baldwin St. coz je podle Guinessovy knihy rekordu nejstrmejsi ulice sveta, ale myslime ze jediny duvod proc tento titul drzi je, ze nikdo v Bolivijskem La Pazu nema o teto knize ani paru.
Nedaleko Dunedinu zastavime u Moeraki Boulders. Velike kameny ve tvaru koule nahodne rozsypane po plazi. Vypadaji jak draci vejce ze kterych se kazdou chvili musi neco vyklubat.
Navecer prijedeme do Tekapa. Krasny hostel na brehu jezera bude nasim domovem pristich par dni kde mame pokoj spolecne s Martinou a Janou. Hned prvni den jsem si sel od 10 do pulnoci lamat krk a mrznout na hvezdarnu a vyzkumnou stanici Mt. John (holky odradila zima v noci, ale vydatne nas tam zasobovali horkou cokoladou tak se to dalo prezit). NASA vybirala lokaci pro tuto hvezdarnu pres 5 let a nakonec se zdarilo - nejlepsi podminky na jizni polokouli co se tyce cistoty vzduchu, oblacnosti a svetelneho znecisteni. A jeste ke vsemu jsme tu jen jeden den do novu a tak nic nerusi absolutni cernou pretatou mlecnou drahou. Astronomove maji silne laserove ukazovatka s dostahem 5km a tak na obloze doslova kresli a popisuji co vse vidime. Stred nasi glaxie, Magellanicovi galaxie a souhvezdi jizni polokoule (toto na severni polokouli neni viditelne), pak jeste Venuse a Saturn vcetne svych prstencu. Zajimava prezentace provedena vtipnou formou. Clovek si pripada hodne bezvyznamny, kdyz nam ukazou nevyraznou tecku na obloze a pak je v objektivu videt seskupeni 4mil hvezd...sem tam do toho vseho proleti meteorit. Pro me jeden z nejlepsich zazitku Noveho Zelandu.
Dalsi den se rozhodneme po nenarocnem treku zajit navecer do venkovnich vyhrivanych bazenu. Jen tak si lezet a kochat se nocni oblohou, parada.
3ti den pobytu jedeme jen ja s Jancou na trek pod Mt. Cook (nekdy prezdivane hora zabijak, vyzadala si uz pres 130zivotu horolezcu). Jdeme pohodovy 4h trek udolim Hooker az pod Mt. Cook kde si u ledovce na brehu jezera dame obed. Po ceste sem tam spadne nahore lavina a naplni udoli poradnym dunenim a hrmenim. A jedna je opravdu velka, krasa. Mt. Cook i kdyz neveliky (3754m) je opravdu majestatni, jen smeknout a poklonit se. Vecer si jdu zahrat hokej na mistni zimak, ktery jsme objevili vcera u bazenu. Kdyby mi nekdo pred vyletem tvrdil, ze si na Zelandu zahraju vyborny hokej s cechy, kanadany a maorem (mimochodem vyborny hrac, absolutne se do hokeje zblaznil a nekolik mesicu trenuje kazdy den) tak bych neveril. K dispozici je komplet nove vybaveni, vsichni zavodne hrali nebo hraji a tak ma zapas slusnou uroven (netreba zminovat, ze cesky utok si vedl velmi dobre ;)
Po Tekapu uz nam zbyva jen Christchurch, pro nas nejhezci mesto NZ. Krasna katedrala, centrum umeni a botanicke zahrady mohou souperit s Dublinskymi. Vecer dame jeste rozlucku s holkama se kterymi jsme cestovali skoro 2 tydny. Martina nam predvede sva kulinarska kouzla a jeste ted se nam sbihaji sliny kdyz vzpomeneme na tu dobrotu ;)
Urcite to neni naposledy co jsme se na NZ podivali, byt to blize domu tak tu snad rovnou zustaneme!
Fotky:
Abel Tasman
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59420&id=1344786025&l=1c9d1f50f2
Lake Matheson
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59421&id=1344786025&l=cc5be3ebb8
Queenstown
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59423&id=1344786025&l=e9c86cb5ee
Franz Josef
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59425&id=1344786025&l=ccf1fb71e9
Milford Sound
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59426&id=1344786025&l=7c57b7a646
First town of South Island where we decide to stay for a while is Nelson - sunniest town of NZ (not, that we need it, in a month we had just one rainy day). Nelson will do nicely as a base to explore NP Abel Tasman. And already from a boat we can see that the trek will be worth it. Dense forest and lagoons with golden sandy fringes. Great 22km of easy terrain, beaches lure to have a rest, but as soon as we stop for a picnic sand flies make appearance and are quite annoying. Some of the tracks in the NP have 2 different routes depending on the tide.
Then we continue from Nelson to Greymouth. Scenery as usual is great, but besides stop at Pancake rocks (cliff formation made of thin layers of sediments) and seal colony nothing interesting happens. We cross quite a lot of 3in1 bridges - 1 line for both directions, both cars and trains.
On the way from Greymouth to Franz Josef is Bush museum, definitely worth mentioning. We watched interesting document about how NZ coped with a deer (not native, imported from Britain) problem and why is there so many deer farms here. Every year over 2mil deer got shot. And before shoot nets were invented the hunters were jumping on the deer backs from helicopter! Franz Josef is a small village consisting of just 2 streets. Main reason why most of the people come here is the glacier, but after seeing Perito Moreno we don't even bother to hike close to it.
Next day we catch the mirror lake Matheson bathing in morning sun light with fog ribbons lying around. Luckily nature cannot create tacky views, this would be it.
Queenstown is not just an adrenalin capital, but also a picturesque town on the Wakatipu lake just below big hills. In the evening wondering around town we see a green?! sunset. Pity, the batteries in camera just went flat. For a lunch world well known Fergburger is highly recommended. Somebody might argue that 15dollars for a burger is a lot but believe that better chunk of meat in a bun is hard to come by. My tip is lamb with mint.
Evening of next day we take a cable car up to the peak above the town, unfortunately green sunset is not on tonight. We rent a car for 2 days. Due to the Easter holidays nearly everything is gone and all we can get is automatic transmission. First attempts are quite a thrill, why does the car stop on the spot instead of just slowing down? :)
There is 4 of us taking this trip. Our itinerary matched exactly with plans of 2 Czech girls Martina and Jana. We decided to head to Milford Sound, fjord that is only 30km far from Queenstown by air but 5hrs driving. The only accessible fjord by car in the whole huge NP Fjordland. As usual we have a perfect weather - taking into account that average rainfall here is 7m and maximum 10.4m! it's nearly a blasphemy.
Road is just down below sharp hills. We go for a short walk to stretch our legs at narrow passage Chasm. This quotation does quite a good job on describing it: 'The best sculptor's tools are not chisel and hammer. All you need is light touch of air and water.'
At Milford Sound we take a 2h cruise along the sides of it. Big vertical walls around us are full of waterfalls completely dependent on rain water. On our way back to QT we finally see huge herds of sheep, the 60mil must be somewhere. Weather is still great, just temperature dropped significantly. So we change shorts for a trousers and jacket.
Dunedin (translation of Edinburgh) really bears resemblance to the original. But we don't find it as spectacular. We stop at the Baldwin St. which according to Guiness Book of records is the steepest street in the world. But I think that the only reason why it holds the title is that in Bolivian La Paz nobody knows about its existence.
Not far from Dunedin we stop at Moeraki Boulders. Big rocks in the shape of sphere randomly scattered along the beach. If anything like that existed we'd say they are dragon eggs that are about to crack.
We arrive to Tekapo in the evening. Great hostel on the shore of Tekapo lake will be our home for next few days. We share the room with Martina and Jana. Girls are bit tired but I decide to go freeze and break my neck at night at the Mr. John observatory. NASA was looking for the location for this observatory for over 5yrs and succeeded in the end - best conditions for stargazing in the southern hemisphere. Clear air, minimum of cloudy days and no light pollution. On the top of all these things we are only a day to New moon so nothing can distract the absolute blackness with blazing Milky way. Astronomers from the observatory have laser pointers with reach of 5km and can literally draw on the night sky. We can see a lot of great things not visible from our side of the earth - centre of our galaxy, Magellanics' galaxies and other constellations plus Venus and Saturn including its rings. Very interesting presentation delivered in a funny form keeps us entertained for 3hours. We all feel very unimportant, especially when we're shown a pale dot and then we can see 4mil stars gazing through the telescope...from time to time meteorite flashes across. One of the best things I saw in NZ.
Day after we just relax at the spa and can stargaze again, this time laying on our back in warm pools.
3rd day of our stay myself and Jana alone go for a trek below Mt. Cook (sometimes infamously nicknamed Mt. Killer, it claimed over 130 lives of mountaineers). Trek is easy 4hrs walk through Hooker valley. Couple times the valley roars with an avalanche falling above on the slopes, great. Mt. Cook while not very big (3754m) is quite majestic. In the evening I go for a game of ice-hockey on the local ice ring that we discovered yesterday by the spa. If someone told me that during our travels I'll play great game of ice-hockey with other Czechs, Canadians, Scandinavians and one Maori guy (by the way very decent player, absolutely fell for the game and has been training for last 8 months every day) I would not believe. I think I don't need to mention that Czech offence did quite well and scored few nice goals ;)
Our last stop in NZ after Tekapo is Christchurch, both of us agreed that the most beautiful big town in NZ. Nice cathedral, arts centre and botanical gardens can match the Dublins' ones. Last evening with girls we spent nearly 2weeks with rounds up a dinner. Culinary feast made by Martina.
Definitely this was not our last time we visited this great country. If it was closer to home I think we'd stay for indefinite time!
Pics:
Abel Tasman
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59420&id=1344786025&l=1c9d1f50f2
Lake Matheson
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59421&id=1344786025&l=cc5be3ebb8
Queenstown
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59423&id=1344786025&l=e9c86cb5ee
Franz Josef
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59425&id=1344786025&l=ccf1fb71e9
Milford Sound
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59426&id=1344786025&l=7c57b7a646
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Friday, 2 April 2010
Severni Ostrov / North Island (New Zealand)
Popisovat krajinu Noveho Zelandu se da dost tezko. Vzhledem k tomu, ze tu maji uplne vsechno a nahustene na 3 mensich ostrovech nejlepsi prirovnani bude kdyz rekneme, ze je to mix toho lepsiho z Irska, Svycarska, trochou Norska a primesi exotiky. Asi tak nejak. Krajina je tak krasna, aby bez problemu nadchla i cloveka ktery uz neco videl. Ke vsemu jsme tu jeste chytili krasne babi leto.
U novozelandanu je vse 'Sweet As' (Na pohodu) a musime rict, ze tenhle vyraz se ujal stejne rychle jako 'Chicos' v JA.
Z Aucklandu jedeme hned druhy den na poloostrov Coromandel. Prvni zastavka je plaz horke vody kde za odlivu staci vzit lopatu a muzete si vykopat v pisku vlastni termalni bazenek. Toto se nam, ale nepostesti protoze mame zrovna priliv. Ale i tak je plaz nadherna a voda v mori tepla. Dalsi zastavka je magicka Cathedral Cove (ve filmu Narnie 2 tu decka prosli z Londynskeho metra primo do Narnie). A pripadame si opravdu jak v pohadce, jedna z nejhezcich plazi co jsme videli, staci sundat boty a tunelem se probrodit do chranene zatoky se zlatym piskem. More tu neni tak teple, ale porad se to da kdyz tam vlezla i Janca. Dale navstivime mesto bohatych Whitianga (oblibene misto kapitana Cooka), mistni si protahli more skrz kanaly az do zahrad a tak mohou parkovat sve jachty hned u domu. Prekvapuje nas, ze stromy kiwi vypadaji jak trochu prerostla vinna reva.
Dalsi den jedeme pres mesto Hobitu do Rotoruy. Lezi na jednom z nejvetsich geotermalnich poli NZ a sem tam je citit sira, po meste jsou nahodne rozmistene jezirka s bublajicim bahnem. Zde navstivime manufakturu kde opracovavaji nefrit (posvatny maorsky kamen) do krasnych tradicnich tvaru. Pujcime auto a zajedeme na prochazku do Redwood forest. Obrovsky les plny sekvoju a az 10m kapradi (narodni znak NZ), jsme z nej uplne nadseni. Oddelene stezky pro pesi, horska kola a kone. Snad nejhezci les co jsme videli.
Pristi den rano jedeme do Wai-O-Tapu. Geotermalni park zbarveny vsemoznymi mineraly, smrdici sirou, bublajici bahno, gejziry. Nejvic se nam libi Sampanske jezirko se sumici vodou a brehu ze smesi siry a zlata, jedovate zelena dablova koupel a jezero plne bublajiciho bahna strikajiciho az do 2m. Odpoledne jdeme do stanice pro ochranu kiwiu. Ptaci jsou hodne srandovni, prekvapi nas velikost, asi jako slepice.
Dalsi den je Den s velkym D! Projizdime Tolkienovu Stredozem, navstivime farmu ohromnych kraliku, kteri se pestuji pro srst stejne hebkou jako kasmir. Pokracujeme do Waitomo, kde maji zrovna mistni festival a zavody ve strihani ovci (mene nez 1min), sekani dreva, atd.
Ja si dojdu vyfasovat 5mm neopren, helmu a dusi od nakladaku a jdu 'raftovat cernou vodu'. Janca se rozhodne jeskyne prozkoumat z bezpeci lode. V jeskynich je zima, voda mezi 6-9st. Hned na zacatku se plazime 15m tunelem o prumeru 1m s tekouci vodou ke skrytemu vodopadu. Na konci je jeskyne 3x3m a pada na nas vodopad z vysky 14m. Vratime se, skocime z mensiho vodopadu a jedeme tmou a tunely asi 40min. Hlavni atrakci jsou Glow Worms. Cervi, jejichz trus diky chemicke reakci sviti a laka potravu - mame nad sebou nas maly soukromy vesmir, misty tak jasny, ze se odrazi od vody na ktere jedeme. Tisice a tisice hvezd vzdalenych na dosah ruky. Zmrzli na kost pak pokracujeme do Taupo. Mesta na brehu nejvetsiho krateroveho jezera sveta, pred 25000lety tu byla nejvetsi erupce v historii planety. Zastavime u Huka Falls, ale jedine co nas tu muze prekvapit po tom co jsme videli Iguazu Falls je cistota vody, absolutni modra (95% rek a potoku NZ je pitna voda). Je krasny letni den a tak se na posledni chvili rozhodneme pro skok padakem! 20 nervoznich minut nahoru do 4km. Janca je uplne v pohode, ale ja nejsem zrovna nejvetsi pritel letani ani vysek, idealni sport pro me. Hnede bezpecnostni trenky sebou ale nemam. Pocit kdyz se ve 4km otevrou dvere a sedite na hrane a koukate dolu se da popsat dost tezce. Zrovna tak skok a 45s volneho padu vice nez 200km/h. Skacu prvni a se mnou skace jeste jeden typek co si se mnou ve vzduchu placa, podava ruce a dela ruzne opicky, pad nam prijde dost dlouhy. Ale pote co se otevre padak si muzeme s Jancou zamavat a pozorovat ostrov pod nami. Jsou videt oba brehy a v dalce dokonce breh jizniho ostrova. Primo pod nami jezero Taupo a hora Mt. Doom, chybi jen vsevidouci Sauronovo oko. Bomba!
Navstevu severniho ostrova zakoncime ve Wellingtonu. Prijemne mesto ktere na nas nepusobi jako ostatni hlavni mesta, ale ma spise atmosferu pohodoveho krajskeho mesta. Zajdeme do narodniho muzea TePapa. Zajimave zpracovane interaktivni exibice nas zdrzi cele odpoledne. Pristi den rano uz jen plavba pres Cookovu uzinu kde nas vyprovodi stovky delfinu.
Foto:
Coromandel
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57061&id=1344786025&l=11c7632b40
Rotorua
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57063&id=1344786025&l=8007da8017
Taupo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57064&id=1344786025&l=cdb5ab2365
Wellington
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57065&id=1344786025&l=aea4704d12
Describe the landscape of NZ is quite difficult. When you take into account that NZ has nearly everything you can find on this planet the best metaphor would be if we say that it's a mixture of the nice stuff taken from Ireland, Switzerland, bit of Norway with an exotic touch. Landscape can easily impress anybody. And on the top of all the things we have great end of the summer weather.
With Kiwis everything is 'Sweet As' and it's quite catchy, like 'Chicos' in Latin America.
We leave Auckland next day after arrival and head for Coromandel peninsula. Hot Water Beach is our first stop, place where you can dig out your own thermal bath providing it's low tide. Next stop is magical Cathedral Cove (used in making the movie Narnia 2). And it really feels like being in a fairy tale, one of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen. Take off your shoes, ford through the tunnel and enter a sheltered beach with golden sand. Sea is warm enough even for Jana to go for a swim. Then we visit a town of Whitianga, favorite place of Cpt. Cook. Local rich families extended canals from the sea to their back yards so the yachts can be parked next to the house.
We're surprised that kiwi trees look like big grapevine and not like trees.
Next day we pass through Hobbitton town to Rotorua. Rotorua lays on one of the biggest geothermal areas in the NZ a smells of sulphur, there are ponds of bubbling mud randomly scattered around the town. We visit a jade manufacture (sacred Maori stone) where the stone is wrought into beautiful traditional shapes. We rent a car and go for a stroll into Redwood forest. Huge forest full of redwood and fern, we are absolutely blown away. Greatest forest we've seen so far with separate paths for walking, MTB and horses.
Next morning we drive to Wai-O-Tapu. Geothermal park coloured by various minerals, stinking of sulphur, geysers, etc. Our top picks are Champagne lake with sparkling water and bank made of sulphur and gold compound, Devil's bath with poisonous green color and lake full of bubbling mud squirting up to 2m. In the afternoon we visit nocturnal house full of kiwi birds. They are cute and funny, we're surprised how big they are. Same size as chicken.
Today is a Day with capital D! Making our way through the Middleearth, stopping at the giant rabbit farm that are grown for their fur equally soft as cashmere. Continuing towards Waitomo, where is currently on a local festival and various competitions like sheep trimming, wood cutting, etc.
I don a 5mm wetsuit, helmet and big inner tube and go 'rafting the blackwater'. Jana decides to explore the caves from the safety of boat deck. Caves are quite cold, water temperature 6-9degrees. We start by crawling through 15m long tunnel laying down in cold water reaching secret hidden waterfall at the end. We return jump of the small waterfall and float in complete darkness for about 40mins. Main attraction are Glow Worms. Worms that produce dropping that glows in the dark and attracts their feed. Above us we have our own small personal universe, in some places bright enough to reflect of the water surface. Thousands and thousands of stars withing the reach of our hands. Great - frozen to the bone we continue to Taupo.
Town spread on the bank of Taupo lake, biggest crater lake in the world. 25000yrs ago this was the place of biggest eruption in the history of Earth. Short stop at the Huka Falls, but after seeing Iguazu Falls the only thing that can surprise is how crystal clear the water is. Weather is great so we decide to do a skydive!
20 anxious minutes up to reach 4km. Jana enjoys it a lot, but I'm not the best friend of heights and flying, ideal sport for me. And I forgot to pack the safety brown underwear... To describe the feeling when the door open at 4km above the earth and you're sitting on the edge and look down is quite hard. Same with the freefall, speed of 200km/h lasting 45s. I am the first one to go, with me jumps another guy who gives me high5 when falling, the fall feels much longer than 45s.. Once the parachute opens I can wave to Jana and have a look at the island below us. Visibility is good and we can see both coasts of North Island and even outline of the South Island. Straight below us lake Taupo and Mt. Doom, missing just Sauron's allseeing eye. What a blast!
Visit of the North Island ends in Wellington. City with friendly feeling that doesn't have the cosmopolitan atmosphere of other capitals. National museum TePapa keeps us entertained for the whole afternoon. Next morning we cross the Cook's Strait and hundreds of dolphins see us off.
Pictures:
Coromandel
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57061&id=1344786025&l=11c7632b40
Rotorua
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57063&id=1344786025&l=8007da8017
Taupo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57064&id=1344786025&l=cdb5ab2365
Wellington
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57065&id=1344786025&l=aea4704d12
U novozelandanu je vse 'Sweet As' (Na pohodu) a musime rict, ze tenhle vyraz se ujal stejne rychle jako 'Chicos' v JA.
Z Aucklandu jedeme hned druhy den na poloostrov Coromandel. Prvni zastavka je plaz horke vody kde za odlivu staci vzit lopatu a muzete si vykopat v pisku vlastni termalni bazenek. Toto se nam, ale nepostesti protoze mame zrovna priliv. Ale i tak je plaz nadherna a voda v mori tepla. Dalsi zastavka je magicka Cathedral Cove (ve filmu Narnie 2 tu decka prosli z Londynskeho metra primo do Narnie). A pripadame si opravdu jak v pohadce, jedna z nejhezcich plazi co jsme videli, staci sundat boty a tunelem se probrodit do chranene zatoky se zlatym piskem. More tu neni tak teple, ale porad se to da kdyz tam vlezla i Janca. Dale navstivime mesto bohatych Whitianga (oblibene misto kapitana Cooka), mistni si protahli more skrz kanaly az do zahrad a tak mohou parkovat sve jachty hned u domu. Prekvapuje nas, ze stromy kiwi vypadaji jak trochu prerostla vinna reva.
Dalsi den jedeme pres mesto Hobitu do Rotoruy. Lezi na jednom z nejvetsich geotermalnich poli NZ a sem tam je citit sira, po meste jsou nahodne rozmistene jezirka s bublajicim bahnem. Zde navstivime manufakturu kde opracovavaji nefrit (posvatny maorsky kamen) do krasnych tradicnich tvaru. Pujcime auto a zajedeme na prochazku do Redwood forest. Obrovsky les plny sekvoju a az 10m kapradi (narodni znak NZ), jsme z nej uplne nadseni. Oddelene stezky pro pesi, horska kola a kone. Snad nejhezci les co jsme videli.
Pristi den rano jedeme do Wai-O-Tapu. Geotermalni park zbarveny vsemoznymi mineraly, smrdici sirou, bublajici bahno, gejziry. Nejvic se nam libi Sampanske jezirko se sumici vodou a brehu ze smesi siry a zlata, jedovate zelena dablova koupel a jezero plne bublajiciho bahna strikajiciho az do 2m. Odpoledne jdeme do stanice pro ochranu kiwiu. Ptaci jsou hodne srandovni, prekvapi nas velikost, asi jako slepice.
Dalsi den je Den s velkym D! Projizdime Tolkienovu Stredozem, navstivime farmu ohromnych kraliku, kteri se pestuji pro srst stejne hebkou jako kasmir. Pokracujeme do Waitomo, kde maji zrovna mistni festival a zavody ve strihani ovci (mene nez 1min), sekani dreva, atd.
Ja si dojdu vyfasovat 5mm neopren, helmu a dusi od nakladaku a jdu 'raftovat cernou vodu'. Janca se rozhodne jeskyne prozkoumat z bezpeci lode. V jeskynich je zima, voda mezi 6-9st. Hned na zacatku se plazime 15m tunelem o prumeru 1m s tekouci vodou ke skrytemu vodopadu. Na konci je jeskyne 3x3m a pada na nas vodopad z vysky 14m. Vratime se, skocime z mensiho vodopadu a jedeme tmou a tunely asi 40min. Hlavni atrakci jsou Glow Worms. Cervi, jejichz trus diky chemicke reakci sviti a laka potravu - mame nad sebou nas maly soukromy vesmir, misty tak jasny, ze se odrazi od vody na ktere jedeme. Tisice a tisice hvezd vzdalenych na dosah ruky. Zmrzli na kost pak pokracujeme do Taupo. Mesta na brehu nejvetsiho krateroveho jezera sveta, pred 25000lety tu byla nejvetsi erupce v historii planety. Zastavime u Huka Falls, ale jedine co nas tu muze prekvapit po tom co jsme videli Iguazu Falls je cistota vody, absolutni modra (95% rek a potoku NZ je pitna voda). Je krasny letni den a tak se na posledni chvili rozhodneme pro skok padakem! 20 nervoznich minut nahoru do 4km. Janca je uplne v pohode, ale ja nejsem zrovna nejvetsi pritel letani ani vysek, idealni sport pro me. Hnede bezpecnostni trenky sebou ale nemam. Pocit kdyz se ve 4km otevrou dvere a sedite na hrane a koukate dolu se da popsat dost tezce. Zrovna tak skok a 45s volneho padu vice nez 200km/h. Skacu prvni a se mnou skace jeste jeden typek co si se mnou ve vzduchu placa, podava ruce a dela ruzne opicky, pad nam prijde dost dlouhy. Ale pote co se otevre padak si muzeme s Jancou zamavat a pozorovat ostrov pod nami. Jsou videt oba brehy a v dalce dokonce breh jizniho ostrova. Primo pod nami jezero Taupo a hora Mt. Doom, chybi jen vsevidouci Sauronovo oko. Bomba!
Navstevu severniho ostrova zakoncime ve Wellingtonu. Prijemne mesto ktere na nas nepusobi jako ostatni hlavni mesta, ale ma spise atmosferu pohodoveho krajskeho mesta. Zajdeme do narodniho muzea TePapa. Zajimave zpracovane interaktivni exibice nas zdrzi cele odpoledne. Pristi den rano uz jen plavba pres Cookovu uzinu kde nas vyprovodi stovky delfinu.
Foto:
Coromandel
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57061&id=1344786025&l=11c7632b40
Rotorua
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57063&id=1344786025&l=8007da8017
Taupo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57064&id=1344786025&l=cdb5ab2365
Wellington
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57065&id=1344786025&l=aea4704d12
Describe the landscape of NZ is quite difficult. When you take into account that NZ has nearly everything you can find on this planet the best metaphor would be if we say that it's a mixture of the nice stuff taken from Ireland, Switzerland, bit of Norway with an exotic touch. Landscape can easily impress anybody. And on the top of all the things we have great end of the summer weather.
With Kiwis everything is 'Sweet As' and it's quite catchy, like 'Chicos' in Latin America.
We leave Auckland next day after arrival and head for Coromandel peninsula. Hot Water Beach is our first stop, place where you can dig out your own thermal bath providing it's low tide. Next stop is magical Cathedral Cove (used in making the movie Narnia 2). And it really feels like being in a fairy tale, one of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen. Take off your shoes, ford through the tunnel and enter a sheltered beach with golden sand. Sea is warm enough even for Jana to go for a swim. Then we visit a town of Whitianga, favorite place of Cpt. Cook. Local rich families extended canals from the sea to their back yards so the yachts can be parked next to the house.
We're surprised that kiwi trees look like big grapevine and not like trees.
Next day we pass through Hobbitton town to Rotorua. Rotorua lays on one of the biggest geothermal areas in the NZ a smells of sulphur, there are ponds of bubbling mud randomly scattered around the town. We visit a jade manufacture (sacred Maori stone) where the stone is wrought into beautiful traditional shapes. We rent a car and go for a stroll into Redwood forest. Huge forest full of redwood and fern, we are absolutely blown away. Greatest forest we've seen so far with separate paths for walking, MTB and horses.
Next morning we drive to Wai-O-Tapu. Geothermal park coloured by various minerals, stinking of sulphur, geysers, etc. Our top picks are Champagne lake with sparkling water and bank made of sulphur and gold compound, Devil's bath with poisonous green color and lake full of bubbling mud squirting up to 2m. In the afternoon we visit nocturnal house full of kiwi birds. They are cute and funny, we're surprised how big they are. Same size as chicken.
Today is a Day with capital D! Making our way through the Middleearth, stopping at the giant rabbit farm that are grown for their fur equally soft as cashmere. Continuing towards Waitomo, where is currently on a local festival and various competitions like sheep trimming, wood cutting, etc.
I don a 5mm wetsuit, helmet and big inner tube and go 'rafting the blackwater'. Jana decides to explore the caves from the safety of boat deck. Caves are quite cold, water temperature 6-9degrees. We start by crawling through 15m long tunnel laying down in cold water reaching secret hidden waterfall at the end. We return jump of the small waterfall and float in complete darkness for about 40mins. Main attraction are Glow Worms. Worms that produce dropping that glows in the dark and attracts their feed. Above us we have our own small personal universe, in some places bright enough to reflect of the water surface. Thousands and thousands of stars withing the reach of our hands. Great - frozen to the bone we continue to Taupo.
Town spread on the bank of Taupo lake, biggest crater lake in the world. 25000yrs ago this was the place of biggest eruption in the history of Earth. Short stop at the Huka Falls, but after seeing Iguazu Falls the only thing that can surprise is how crystal clear the water is. Weather is great so we decide to do a skydive!
20 anxious minutes up to reach 4km. Jana enjoys it a lot, but I'm not the best friend of heights and flying, ideal sport for me. And I forgot to pack the safety brown underwear... To describe the feeling when the door open at 4km above the earth and you're sitting on the edge and look down is quite hard. Same with the freefall, speed of 200km/h lasting 45s. I am the first one to go, with me jumps another guy who gives me high5 when falling, the fall feels much longer than 45s.. Once the parachute opens I can wave to Jana and have a look at the island below us. Visibility is good and we can see both coasts of North Island and even outline of the South Island. Straight below us lake Taupo and Mt. Doom, missing just Sauron's allseeing eye. What a blast!
Visit of the North Island ends in Wellington. City with friendly feeling that doesn't have the cosmopolitan atmosphere of other capitals. National museum TePapa keeps us entertained for the whole afternoon. Next morning we cross the Cook's Strait and hundreds of dolphins see us off.
Pictures:
Coromandel
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57061&id=1344786025&l=11c7632b40
Rotorua
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57063&id=1344786025&l=8007da8017
Taupo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57064&id=1344786025&l=cdb5ab2365
Wellington
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57065&id=1344786025&l=aea4704d12
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Santiago/Auckland (Chile/New Zealand)
V Santiagu je priletova hala primo na parkovisti pred skutecnou halou. Zemetreseni Santiago nezasahlo oproti Concepcion (ktere je srovnane se zemi) az tak moc, ale nektere nasledky se jeste nepodarilo odstranit. Sem tam maji historicke budovy praskliny a jsou ohranicene aby na nekoho nespadly.
Na to jak je mesto velke je hodne ciste, zadne odpadky, nedopalky ani zvykacky na zemi. Mesto je rozhodne metropole nejevropstejsiho stylu co jsme v JA videli, nevime proc vsechny pruvodce vyzdvihuji Buenos Aires ktere ma s Evropou spolecne jen znacky v obchodech. Za zminku stoji hlavne vyhlidka z kopce San Cristobal, kde je celych 6mil obyvatel jako na dlani a nad tim krasne 5ti tisicovky. A potom jeste predkolonialni muzeum, ktere nas nauci hodne o incke kulture a expozice jsou najzajimavejsi ze vsech muzeii co jsme v JA navstivili.
Jeste cestou na letiste nas mrzi, ze jsme nevedeli o tom, ze spousta letu na Novy Zeland mezipristava na Velikonocnich ostrovech. Sakra. Adios America del Sur!
Nedele 21/3 z naseho zivota diky casovemu posunu a 14h letu uplne zmizela. Do NZ jsme vpusteni bez jakychkoliv problemu (pokud nezminujeme vyborny sendvic co jsme museli vyhodit). Ve meste hned atakujeme prvni kavarnu co vidime - obycejny croissant, cappuccino a cisty zachod s toaletnim papirem, mydlem a teplou vodou, platba kartou! Tyto zdanlive bezne veci jsou pro nas absolutni VIP! Z casoveho posunu jsme hodne unaveni, bude to dlouhy den. Krome nakupu vicemene zvladneme vyjet jen na Skytower, architektonicky skvost kde se muzeme kochat 360st pohledem na mesto z 220m. Zvlastni pocit, stat v tehle vysce na prosklene podlaze a koukat pod sebe na miniaturni mrakodrapy. A komu to nestaci muze se nechat spustit dolu na lane rychlosti volneho padu. Jeste nas prekvapuje kolik je ve meste asiatu, vice nez mistnich.
Foto Santiago
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57059&id=1344786025&l=fca0797c7d
Foto Auckland
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57060&id=1344786025&l=24239f8171
In Santiago is the arrival hall on the parking places in front of the real hall. Earthquake that hit and completely raised down Concepcion didn't struck here that hard but some of it's effects are hard to fix. Some historical buildings have big cracks.
For the city of this size are all the streets very clean. It's is the most European metropolis we've seen here, don't know why all guides mention Buenos Aires, which most common things with Europe are brands in the shops. Worth mentioning is hill San Cristobal where you can see all 6mil inhabitants down below with some 5000m high peaks above. And the precolonial museum, it tells a lot about Inca culture and society and by far is most enjoyable museum in SA.
Pity we didn't know that a lot of flights to Auckland land on Easter islands...it would be a great stop. Adios America del Sur!
Thanks to the difference in time zones and 14hrs flight Sunday 21/3 has completely disappeared from our lives. If we don't count nice sandwich we had to throw out there were no problems with immigration. We attack the first coffee place in town we see - croissant, cappuccino, clean toilet with paper, soap and hot water, payment by card! These seemingly common things are an absolute VIP! We are very tired from the jet lag, it will be a long day. Besides grocery shopping we only manage to get ourselves on the top of Skytower. Architectonic beauty where you can see Auckland 360degrees from 220m. Weird feeling, standing on the glass floor and look down at the tiny skyscrapers. Who wants a bit more thrill can throw himself down on a rope. We are quite surprised by the amount of Asian people living here, there is more of them than Kiwi people.
Santiago pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57059&id=1344786025&l=fca0797c7d
Auckland pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57060&id=1344786025&l=24239f8171
Na to jak je mesto velke je hodne ciste, zadne odpadky, nedopalky ani zvykacky na zemi. Mesto je rozhodne metropole nejevropstejsiho stylu co jsme v JA videli, nevime proc vsechny pruvodce vyzdvihuji Buenos Aires ktere ma s Evropou spolecne jen znacky v obchodech. Za zminku stoji hlavne vyhlidka z kopce San Cristobal, kde je celych 6mil obyvatel jako na dlani a nad tim krasne 5ti tisicovky. A potom jeste predkolonialni muzeum, ktere nas nauci hodne o incke kulture a expozice jsou najzajimavejsi ze vsech muzeii co jsme v JA navstivili.
Jeste cestou na letiste nas mrzi, ze jsme nevedeli o tom, ze spousta letu na Novy Zeland mezipristava na Velikonocnich ostrovech. Sakra. Adios America del Sur!
Nedele 21/3 z naseho zivota diky casovemu posunu a 14h letu uplne zmizela. Do NZ jsme vpusteni bez jakychkoliv problemu (pokud nezminujeme vyborny sendvic co jsme museli vyhodit). Ve meste hned atakujeme prvni kavarnu co vidime - obycejny croissant, cappuccino a cisty zachod s toaletnim papirem, mydlem a teplou vodou, platba kartou! Tyto zdanlive bezne veci jsou pro nas absolutni VIP! Z casoveho posunu jsme hodne unaveni, bude to dlouhy den. Krome nakupu vicemene zvladneme vyjet jen na Skytower, architektonicky skvost kde se muzeme kochat 360st pohledem na mesto z 220m. Zvlastni pocit, stat v tehle vysce na prosklene podlaze a koukat pod sebe na miniaturni mrakodrapy. A komu to nestaci muze se nechat spustit dolu na lane rychlosti volneho padu. Jeste nas prekvapuje kolik je ve meste asiatu, vice nez mistnich.
Foto Santiago
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57059&id=1344786025&l=fca0797c7d
Foto Auckland
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57060&id=1344786025&l=24239f8171
In Santiago is the arrival hall on the parking places in front of the real hall. Earthquake that hit and completely raised down Concepcion didn't struck here that hard but some of it's effects are hard to fix. Some historical buildings have big cracks.
For the city of this size are all the streets very clean. It's is the most European metropolis we've seen here, don't know why all guides mention Buenos Aires, which most common things with Europe are brands in the shops. Worth mentioning is hill San Cristobal where you can see all 6mil inhabitants down below with some 5000m high peaks above. And the precolonial museum, it tells a lot about Inca culture and society and by far is most enjoyable museum in SA.
Pity we didn't know that a lot of flights to Auckland land on Easter islands...it would be a great stop. Adios America del Sur!
Thanks to the difference in time zones and 14hrs flight Sunday 21/3 has completely disappeared from our lives. If we don't count nice sandwich we had to throw out there were no problems with immigration. We attack the first coffee place in town we see - croissant, cappuccino, clean toilet with paper, soap and hot water, payment by card! These seemingly common things are an absolute VIP! We are very tired from the jet lag, it will be a long day. Besides grocery shopping we only manage to get ourselves on the top of Skytower. Architectonic beauty where you can see Auckland 360degrees from 220m. Weird feeling, standing on the glass floor and look down at the tiny skyscrapers. Who wants a bit more thrill can throw himself down on a rope. We are quite surprised by the amount of Asian people living here, there is more of them than Kiwi people.
Santiago pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57059&id=1344786025&l=fca0797c7d
Auckland pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57060&id=1344786025&l=24239f8171
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