12/22/98
Happy Holidays from Down under
Greeting from the summer solstice down under.
Christmas is here and it's time to bust a move for the beaches and
parks. Writing to you from a fancy new Imac in Aukland (which I must say
has not caught my fancy - the computer that is).
NZ finished up real smooth. The flower farm was a real good insight. Not
into the age old pioneering salt of the earth NZ farming family, but
that of a modern pioneering dysfunctional one. The work on the farm
(harvesting flowers from the fields with clippers, weeding out seedlings
in prep for sale, firming up a very loose stone driveway) was all
pleasant in a romantic true-work type of way. But driving the 4x4 bike
around was my favorite part. Fraternizing at the "just up the road"
Hilltop Bar was also real insightful. The farm was a good stretch to get
our Viva back into working order. I actually (among other things)
replaced the fan belt by temporarily loosingup the generator (the car
was so old it had a DC generator vs. the not-so-modern AC producing
alternator). In Christchurch a hero of a body shop guy realigned our
offset driver's door (from the high wind incident) by simply muscling it
up and down until it was alligned perfectly. He refused money from us so
we got him a six pack!
Our last travel stop was at Kaikoura. I went on a whale watch and saw
four male sperm whales surfacing and then diving. We also went thru a
HUGE pod of dusky dolphins, that were extremely acrobatic and I got
shots of them flipping and twisitng and it was awesome.
Finally we drove the Viva from Wellington to Aukland (a 400+ mile trip)
in about 9 hours with no (thank the lord himself) problems. To finish
the Viva story, after posting our sale offer we got not one nibble in
two days. I was 100% ready to drive ourselves to airport in it. Leave it
in shortterm parking, fill in the change of ownership form, leave the
key and write a "Finders Keepers" note. But no! WE got three Austrian
guys to fall hopelessly for the 30 yr old Viva and they gave us roughly
$415 US for it. We only paid $440 for it and maye $50 in maintenance. An
out and out coup! We celebrated in Auklands chi-chi town last night and
are still aglow.
On Saturday we're off to Jakarta. We may stop in Bali for a while or
probably just go straight to Sumatra where we will spend the lion's
share of our Indo time. After that we go to Singapore and Malaysia. Very
very excited. Not excited that it's rainy season in much of Indo and as
it straddles the equator I'll be a human perspiration machine. Just
looked up weather in Jakarta, Depasar and Medan ... all Tstorms for the
next four days!
Not much planned for X-mas. We were gonna do a hotel splurge, but so
pricy for so little we figured we'd hold out until in Indonesia where we
can do something decadent for half the price. So we'll be waiting for
Santa at the Parnell Youth Hostel, but moving on soon! Hopefully we'll
get a good beach day out of it.
Jules is great. Aukland is real great. Very Pacific NW like city, but
with only 50% the inflation. So rent is cheap, but salaries are low, and
so it goes.
Keep those letters coming. Send thanks to john (support local music go
see Method Engine) jvars@previewtravel.com for postings to the site.
It's makes us oogey to hear about the hits it's getting.
Chow mein
T-
jalondon@hotmail.com
tedinasia@hotmail.com
12/16/98
Just a quick update while Ted holds down the parking space outside ...
Hello all.
We regretfully left the flower farm this morning. The Cooke family
treated us really well while we were there and we would have liked to
stay longer, but the holidays complicate things.
We are heading north for Kaikoura where we'll spend tonight, catch the
ferry back to the North Island late Friday evening the 18th, and be back
in Auckland on Saturday. We pushed our flight to Indonesia back to
December 26th and will be spending our last week in NZ selling the car
and gearing up for the big foray into Asia.
I'd like to give you more details, but I have a sneaky feeling that the
bus drivers are breathing down the boy's neck. We'll write soon from
Auckland.
Until then, take care and enjoy the weekend!
love, Julie
jalondon@hotmail.com
tedinasia@hotmail.com
12/03/98
Yet another amazing week in NZ
Had a great time in Fiordland with John
"The Sheephunter" and Gary "The Mighty G" Vars. We spent a night on a
boat in spectacular Milford Sound, kayaked around and slept in bunks
like salty sailors. We said good bye to our first and only travel
companions and partners in crime the next day at the tiny Milford
Airstrip and pointed the Viva due South.
We motored down to Invecargill, one of the biggest cities this side of
Antartica and travelled along the "developing" Catlain coast (the SE
corner of the south island). We were able to fianlly get away from the
travelling mobs as even the main state highway that runs thru there is
still not paved. (Pity the poor Viva). Real good coastal adventures
brought us up to the Banks Peninsula just SE of Christchurch. You
should note Bans Peninsula, not because it is one of the most peaceful
and beautiful places I have been, but because we just lined up two weeks
of work on a wildflower farm in the tiny farmlet of Barry's Bay, on the
NW corner of the Akaroa Bay. In exchange for 4 hours work we get a nice
room in their beautiful house and three meals. We won't be making
money, but we can stay in NZ longer and help bring expenses back under
budget. We start work Monday, so we're in Christchurch (largest South
Island city at 300,000+) (with plenty of work and apt availability for
those looking to mark out to new shores) for a night and do some
motoring around here prior to starting our gig.
The SE and SW coast of the South Island gave of first hand experience
with some amzing birds and animals.
Fur Seals: Once hunted to near extinction, they've started reusing old
mating grounds and can be seen along plenty of beaches
Fiordland Crested Penguin: Our boat on Milfor anchored within 100 feet
of a colony site, but we had to settle for hearing them craw all night
and a couple quick sites of swimmers in the water.
Hooker Sea Lion: Tramped across a farmers sheep paddocks to a beautiful
hooked beach that was just part of the farmers massive property. The Sea
Lions just pulled themsores on to the hot sand a slept. We could walk
closely among them.
Yellow Eyed Penguins: Took two trips to a special blind before we were
albe to see them pop out of the water (in twos) and waddle accross a
windblown beach to their social area (neat their hidden nests) back by
cliff walls. We saw another of these fellows at a later beach
Royal Albatros: By far my personal creature highlight. Albatros always
nest of ferocious sub-antartic (and artic) islands high up on wind
facing cliffs, except for this small colony on the NZ mailand just an
hour from a 100,000 person city. From another special blind we were able
to see a mother on her nest, some visitors and up to five bohemouths
flying in a pattern above the peninsula's peak. Their wing spans get
above 11 feet and the beaks are as big as human feet. Their wings have
two joints to triple tuck them in.
CAR NEWS:
In the middle of a three hour drive, fan belt shredded. WE found not
one, but two decepit but unused spares wrapped benignly around parts
near the engine, got one squeezed on and it's still turning the fan and
alternator today.
Fuel gauge no longer works, unless (most mysteriously) on one stretch of
road in a town. Must be electical something
Tragic damage to driver door. Parked upon a bluff above Roaring Bay in a
massive massvie wind, the wind blew the door out of my hand and back
upon itself. It opens and closes still, but badly.
INTERESTING PEOPLE MET:
The kiwi ski instructor who did 19 winters in a row between Queenstown
and US and Europe
SURPRISING SHEEP FACTS:
Before their heavy winter coats are showrn, a sheep can fall on its back
and not right itslef. Fellow sheep are of no help. If the farmer does
not spot stranded sheep early enough, sometimes hawks and gulls can come
along and pluck eyes out. Sheep will live.
That's it. Not many letters in the Tucker Box (kiwi for food trough)
today, so keep'm coming.
Best darn regards
Too many email address than I can keep in my head. Please forward to
all.
T-
tedinasia@hotmail.com
11/24/98
Off to Fiordland
And we're back!
New Zealand is an adventure a minute. Everyday has shown us spectacular
scenery and good healthy activity. Jules and I and the Viva are having a
great time. We joined up with John Vars and his father two days ago in
Queenstown and we are all off to Fiordland in the SW corner of the
country for some spectacular countryside and a once in a lifetime
overnight sailing journey around Milford Sound.
I can't belive what we've done in the last two weeks, so I thought I'd
recount as a list. It is really amazing how easy, cheap and
unproblematic it has all been.
*We walked though massive caves and then floated through an underground
river in a glow worm grotto wich looked like the mily way turned into
laser blue lights.
*We spent a night on a farm on the bend of a beautiful river. In the
morning we helped the farmer move his herd of deer (raised for meet and
horns) to different pastures, fed their pigs and goats and drove his
Land Rover down there river and fly fished for a couple hours.
*We walked through a giant field of escaping sulpherous steam aptly
named Craters of the Moon
*We did a singular one day hike that took us beside a massive active
volcano, through ancient craters, alongside emerald lakes, blue lakes, a
massive crater wall of deep red rock, sulpherous steam pores everywhere
and closed hot springs (bummer)
*Spent two nights in Abel Tasman national park. We had to drive the Viva
through two water crossings and hike in and out half an hour through a
massive ocean inlet during the low tide hours. It was beautiful in there
and we even ate fresh off the rock mussels I picked
*We saw a colony of fur sears abeached and have since seem then along
many coasts
*We hiked atop the Fox Glacier. An amzing ice flow that bottoms out
within a couple thousand feet of sea level. Unlike most glaciers that
move a milimeter a year, ice gets from top to bottom in roughly 100
years.
*We had our muffler pipe crack clean off inbetween the engine and
muffler. We tied it up, turned the radio up real loud and had it welded
back together in 15 minutes for $10 US at the next gas station.
*We spent a couple days near Jackson Bay, the last permanent outpost on
NZ's west coast.
*We took an amazing jet boat venture way up the Dart River into Mt.
Aspiring Natl Park with John and Dad. We went well beyond vehicle access
and were surrounded by snow covered peak spouting off waterfalls
everywhere ... and then jetted back down to a massive glacial lake that
has an inexplicable tide pattern raising and loweirng the water lever 3
to 8 inches every hour!
The car just gives us ultimate freedom and the country offers ultimate
adventure. Now that we have made our way down the west coast, we will
spend then time in the south and slowy make our way back up the east
coast. We are hoping we can find a real perfect village, find some work
for 5-7 days and just sit a bit and get to get a deeply experience,
while saving some $$$.
Things are really heating up in Jakarta (and personally I hope Habibe,
Gen Wiranto and all the rest of the old time cronies get pushed out and
a real representative government can try and take root) so we are
realising our travel plans might have to be retooled rather quickly, but
there is plenty of great options in the area.
That's it for now. Have some great thanksgivings. Have some great late
falls. Enjoy all you social lives and in-house bathroom facilites ...
we'll take care of the rest.
Until then
Ted
tedinasia@hotmail.com
11/18/98
Just Talked To Ted
Hi, This is John. I just spoke to Ted on the phone for a few minutes. He sounds really good. They are driving down the west coast of the South Island (still New Zealand). Ted said the landscape is entirely breathtaking. Tomorrow they will be at the Fox Glacier, one of sixty or so glaciers in the Southern Alps. These are also the fastest moving glaciers in the world and I've been told if you stand at the foot of one of these you can see chunks peels off.
I will be meeting Ted and Julie on Monday or Tuesday in Queenstown. I think we're hoping for Thanksgiving at Milford Sound, a fiord with vertical sides of 1200 meters above the sea with waterfalls jetting over. I'll take some pictures.
That's the deal. They wish the best to all and in the words of Ted, "Be extra cool",
John V
11/10/98
A Quick Note about the Car
The car pics kill me. It is that light blue color, red interior. Note no
side mirrors, true to life. Just drove it 300 miles yesterday. That was too
much for the old gal, but she did just fine! We're goona take it easy on her
today, we've got a lot more miles to go. We cross from Wellington to the
South Island on Sunday the 15th.
Take it way easy,
T-
tedinasia@hotmail.com
11/5/98
The Latest from the Land O' Kiwis
Ted and I arrived in Auckland yesterday afternoon via Tonga
(unnfortunately saw nothing of that country but the airport, but from
the air it looked amazing - next trip maybe). Crazy kids that we are we
bought a car this afternoon - a 1969 blue Vauxhall Viva Deluxe (ohh,
baby!). Seems like a sweet ride and for $US 400 who can complain? I know
I know. You're thinking it's got to be a rattrap, but cars here are
cheap and the country is in the midst of a pretty serious recession (bad
for Kiwis, but good for us). Still, we didn't think the car purchase
fantasy would work out this cheaply). I suppose time will tell, but the
car only had 2 owners and 75 K miles on it before us so ...
Well, the whole thing happened so quickly we don't even know where
we're going yet, but we'll be shoving out of the City the day after
tomorrow. The basic plan right now is 2 weeks on the North Island
followed by 4 weeks on the South followed by however many days (daze?)
it takes us to sell the car to some other backpackers when we leave.
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment and stay well.
--Julie
tedinasia@hotmail.com
