Samoa

We have spent 10 great and fun-filled days in Samoa relaxing in the sun, enjoying fresh fish and Vailima beer, and swimming in the clear warm water. Paradise. To sum up our adventures here, we thought we'd share with you our top ten experiences for the last ten days...

Riding the Samoan Buses

Samoan buses are an experience in themselves. Each driver is given artistic freedom to decorate the inside and out as he pleases, which generally means they are brightly colored and filled with a variety of toys, flags or religious symbols on the inside. Not to mention pumping loud island music as they bump along the road. The best part of the Samoan bus experience, however, (or worst depending on how you look at it) is getting stuffed in like sardines with a bunch of large Samoan people for hour-plus rides to wherever you are going. There is no such thing as "the bus is full,"...there is ALWAYS room for one more.

My favorite ride in terms of cultural experience (though admittedly least comfortable) was the one where I was welcomed on to a large Samoan woman's lap so we could make room for others. She hugged me in tight and wrapped her arms around me, giving a gentle pat now and then as we readjusted when the bus went round a quick curve. Eric, meanwhile, was stuck standing on one leg in the aisle for an hour until enough people got off the bus so that he could stand properly. The buses are also great places to chat with the locals who are very friendly and always ask where you are from, where you are going, how you like their country, etc. It was a much better, and cheaper, way to travel than a taxi.

Relaxing at Tafua Beach Fales in Lalomanu Beach

We left Samoa's main city, Apia, on our first day and discovered a little slice of heaven at Tafua's Beach Fales. The family who runs the place is very friendly and it's a popular place among travelers. We were given an "open fale" (i.e., open-air thatched beach hut with tarps you roll down when it rains and at night) right on the beach front. As we laid on our cushy mat in our fale reading our books, we looked right out onto the beach and aqua blue water. Now THIS is the honeymoon we were waiting for! In our 4 days at Tafua, we met a lot of great people from all over the world, enjoyed communal meals (and good food) at the long dinner table, spent time snorkeling and swimming, played with the local children in the sand and took daily naps. It's a tough life...but someone's gotta do it!

Playing Nightly Games of Cards

While at Tafua, we met a few friends who we bonded with over nightly card games of "Switch" (similar to "Uno"). Daniel (from Australia) and his French girlfriend Nadege, along with Thomas from Germany were our willing opponents every night after dinner. We'd have a couple beers, talk a lot of crap over who was the best card player, and have good laughs throughout the games. It was a lovely way to pass the time and get to know some interesting and fun people from different reaches of the world.

Watching a Samoan FiaFia Dance Show
While staying at Tafua, we were entertained one evening by the village dance troupe comprised of local teens. They performed traditional Samoan dances, and also got creative and weaved in traditional moves into more modern dances. The girls´dances had many graceful hand movements and gentle hip swinging, while the guys´ dances included a lot of hip thrusting and foot pounding...which they all seemed to enjoy while checking out the cute female Pelangis (tourists) in the audience. Eric definitely had enough of the suggestive hip thrusting by the end of the show. The best part was the fire dancing performed with burning torches. The fire dancer only missed his catch once and just barely avoided scalding the drummer. It was kinda funny.

Touring Savaii Island

After four days at Tafua's, we figured if we didn't get moving, we'd never leave. So we decided to broaden our Samoan experience and head over to the other main island called Savaii. We were a bit sad at first to leave our little paradise at Lalomanu beach, but found some new friends and adventures not long after. We'd had enough beach sitting for awhile, so decided to rent a car and drive around the entire island in a day to take in all the touristy sites. We shared our car with our new found Italian friend, Angelo, who currently lives in New Zealand and was on a week long holiday. Most of the "must sees" on the island were actually not that exciting, but we did thoroughly enjoy seeing the blow holes that spurted sea water many feet into the air. Another highlight was the Afu Afua Waterfall that had a 10 ft pool to dive into. The swimming hole was filled with locals enjoying a refreshing swim and dancing about to island music. And finally, the vast lava fields from the early 1900's that had covered whole villages and churches were also quite impressive to tour.

Swimming with Turtles

Our favorite experience on Savaii was the hour we spent swimming and feeding sea turtles in a lagoon just inland from the main sea. The locals had made a nice home for about 10 turtles and you could jump in the water with them and give them bits of papaya as you patted their shells and sat in amazement watching these cool creatures. We got some neat photos, so be sure to check them out.

Going to Church

We were told that going to church in Samoa was part of the cultural experience since most Samoans are very religious. The variety of denominations of Christianity (and some Mormon) are many, but we chose to go to a Methodist service (since that was the church across from our hotel). We were accompanied by our friends Angelo and Keith who we´d been hanging out with a for a few days. As we entered the church just in the nick of time, we were smiled at by the Samoan ladies dressed in their best white outfits and hats and the men who wore black lava lavas and collared white shirts. The choir was amazing and the music was the most enjoyable part of the service since we couldn´t understand anything (the sermon was in Samoan).

We were given a small bit of relief from the heat when the woman seated behind us took pity and occasionally fanned us with her woven fan. We think she usually got most inspired when she saw Keith nodding off. :) During the service, everyone was on best behavior, though the smallest children were allowed to wander freely. One boy of about 8, however, was surprised by a knock on the head with his grandfather´s bible because he had been provoking his elder during his reading of the bible to the congregation. All in all, the Samoans seemed to enjoy having us there and we certainly enjoyed seeing a piece of traditional (well since the missionaries came anyhow) life.

Visiting Manono Island

Our last day in Samoa was spent on Manono Island, a tiny island between the two main islands. We were joined by our friends Angelo and Keith for great company and found a wonderful little place to stay called Sunset View Fales run by a very nice family. Since there isn´t a whole lot to do on the island, the family has taken it upon themselves to provide some fun local activities to entertain guests and teach them about local ways. We did circumnavigate the island with "Junior" (the son) in about two hours and also did some swimming, canoeing, napping, reading and even a bit of basket weaving. The highlight, however, was having delicious local cuisine at a special table set up for the 4 of us on their jetty...and watching the sunset. It truly was paradise.

Cooking Traditional Samoan "Umu" Style

While in Manono, we got to experience a traditional Umu BBQ, in which a large fire is built to heat a pile of rocks that become like an oven. Local specialities made from ingredients such as taro root, coconut, taro leaves, and breadfruit are prepared and placed inside the rock pile to cook. The rocks are covered with large palm leaves to keep the heat inside and bake the food. With the guidance of our local expert, Apa, we got to help with food preparation - Eric and Keith did some coconut grinding, Angelo did his best to start a fire using the old wood on wood method (we all tried actually, but only Apa was successful), I prepared some of the vegetables and also wove part of a basket to put the finished food inside. It was great fun.

Meeting Great People To Share the Experiences

While everything we did and saw in Samoa were wonderful experiences, what really made our time here unique were the many great people we met and spent time with. The local families that ran Tafua and Sunset View Fales were wonderful. We also had so much fun with our fellow travelers Dan, Nadege, Thomas, Keith and Angelo.

New Zealand Week 4: Qeenstown to Christchurch

Our final week in New Zealand was very much about rest and relaxation with a few nature days thrown in. After our week hiking the Routeburn and exploring Milford and Doubtful Sounds, we headed to Queenstown to stay with our friends Robert and Nancy Good and family. We met the Good family on our first visit to New Zealand over 5 years ago while Eric was bungy jumping...and after our first dinner at their house, I soon adopted them as my second family during my study abroad time in New Zealand spending a number of weekends at their place.

The Goods are an American family that moved to New Zealand about 6 years ago from LA, enjoying a bit of early retirement and a nice change of pace while they finished raising their kids. They now only have their youngest Emily still at home who is now 15 (their two older kids Will and Rose are back in the US studying and working). Unfortunately, on this trip, Rob was back in the US, but we did have a wonderful time hanging out with Nancy and Emily and a handful of other guests and family members who happened to be visiting at the same time. What we love about the Good's home is that it's one of those places where everyone feels welcome and comfortable...in fact, our 2 days there soon turned into 4 because it was so hard to leave since we enjoyed our time there so much.

Their house is set in a little paradise overlooking the Shotover River and surrounded by mountains. They have started their own vineyard, so there are vines on either side of the property and we were lucky enough to sample their first vintage, which was fabulous! The have built a lovely guesthouse which is quite luxury compared to our camping and hosteling. We spent our days hanging out and catching up on life - chatting over dinner or a cup of tea, or taking a walk by the river. We also had plenty of time to read, journal, do computer stuff, and make a variety of calls back home since they have a monthly phone plan to the US. And Eric was so excited to find out they got the Superbowl on their TV so we even got to see the awesome game between the Giants and the Patriots...it's the small pleasures in life. :)

The day before we departed, we did a day trip to Mt. Aspiring National Park and hiked up to the Rob Roy Glacier. It was a spectacular hike with great views of the valley, numerous waterfalls and the glacier. And it ensured we didn't become complete couch potatoes! Finally, we sadly said our goodbyes to everyone and headed East to Mt. Cook National Park.

Mt. Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand and also home to a number of glaciers and great hikes. Taking the advice of a friend of the Good's, we climbed one of the steep mountains up to Muller Hut for stunning views (once again) of the glacial region and surrounding valley and lakes. We even got to witness a number of avalanches coming off the glacier (no worries, we were on the opposite mountain facing the glacier that didn't have any snow on it). That was awesome. On the way up the mountain - which I might add gave no reprieve from the continuous uphill climb - we met a couple really cool Americans from Oregon named Sarah and Jeremy. After chatting at a resting spot for about a half hour, we decided to continue the hike together. The boys raced up ahead and us girls indulged in some much needed girl talk. Eric is always happy when I find girl friends along the way to chat up a storm with and "get it out of my system" as he says...it gives him a break from my constant chatter during hours of driving. It's a girl vs. guy thing, as I'm sure many can relate. There is just a certain bond when you find another girl traveler and you can immediately bond, open up and talk about life with and just gossip about senseless things boys aren't always as interested in discussing. :)

After our 7 hour hike, we snuck into the YHA hostel where Sarah and Jeremy were staying (we were camping) and took a much needed shower. We then shared dinner, wine, conversation and a game of cards. It was a great end to the day. The next morning, we packed up camp and picked up our new friends and headed to see another glacier in the region and do a short hike before we parted ways and headed East once more towards Christchurch.

After 5 hours of driving (in which Eric konked out), we got to Christchurch and the home of our friends Simon and Katrin. I had met Simon while studying in New Zealand and we've stayed in touch over the years, so it was great to get a chance to come stay for a couple days before we head to Samoa. His girlfriend of 3 years, Katrin, is from Germany and they also share a love of world travel so we have many stories to share and lots to talk about. Our first night, we went out to dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant which was such a treat since it's been awhile since we've eaten out. The next evening, we went for dinner and drinks downtown and also met up with my friend Tim from university in Dunedin and his girlfriend Lee. It's so wonderful to keep in touch with friends you meet and be able to visit again around the world and catch up. And it was also fun to have a good night out...though our wardrobes are certainly lacking in the "trendy" night out department. :)

After a couple loads of laundry and a reassessment of what we can realistically fit in our bags (we've kinda expanded our "stuff" since we've had a car the last month), we will fly out Sunday night to spend a couple weeks in Samoa and Tonga before flying to South America for our final 3 months of travel.

Our time in New Zealand has been a blessing. We have so enjoyed the phenomenal natural beauty, the hiking, the camping, the boating, the driving...and of course, the people. It's been great to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. And since culturally it's not so drastically different from what we're used to, it's truly felt like a vacation from our travels. Don't get us wrong, what we love most about travel are the variety of cultures, new experiences and different kinds of stimulation, but after a number of months on the road, it can be really refreshing to have several weeks in a country that feels a bit more like home. In New Zealand, we have also rediscovered our love for the outdoors and feel confident that we will make more of an effort when we get home to explore our own surrounds and go on some fun camping trips. Plus, we'll be so poor when we return that camping will be the only way to go for awhile! Ha ha ha. In closing, we'd like to say thank you to our friends who made this month so much fun and give thanks for a great first month to our honeymoon.

And stay tuned for new adventures coming to a blog near you...

New Zealand Week 3: South Island Fiordland

After our travels along the west coast of the South Island, Mariah and I were ready for our adventures in Fiordland National Park located in the southwest corner of New Zealand.

Routeburn Track
<- Click to see map of Routeburn Track
The Routeburn track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks and is a multi-day track (we did it over 3 days) leaving from Glenorchy, going over Harris Saddle, and then traversing the ridge of the Hollyfiord Valley to the Milford Divide. The trek has many huts providing bunkbeds (no linen = bring your own sleeping bag), gas stoves (no pots/pans = bring your own) and drinking water. This was the first multi-day track Mariah and I had done together and we were both full of anticipation...

Right off the bat we both realized that due to our recent hiking trips in NZ, we were in much better shape for the hike than expected and had no problem the first day lugging our packs to the first hut - which took us less than 5 hrs with a nice picnic lunch by a stream in a pretty valley. The remaining two days were progressively more challenging, but nothing too strenuous. We were lucky to have great weather, which enabled us to do a side trip to climb Conical Hill and take in the breathtaking views of the Hollyford Valley stretching all the way out to the Tasman Sea.

Other highlights from the trip were meeting a Swedish couple with a 7 month old baby! This sparked many conversations and was very eye opening that life doesn't have to end when you have kids. This couple, Malin and Kris (and baby Matilda) were incredibly active and decided it was better to expose their daughter early on to the things they love to do. They were also lucky of course to have such a happy baby...she was almost all smiles, quite friendly to the many strangers who gooed and gaaed at her, and only fussed when in need of something. We learned they even make baby sleeping bags and specialty baby carrying backpacks for tramping! So for all you with young children, or who have the inking that someday you might, there are a bunch of trailblazers out there living their lives and traveling the world with their kids...and exposing them (and preparing them) at a young age for the world. Meeting Malin and Kris also reminded us of similar couples we had met in Russia and South East Asia who had little ones traveling backpacker style...and all pretty happy campers. Some good examples for us to look up to.

What made the trekking adventure most enjoyable was the comradarie we found with our fellow trekkers. It was a nice treat in the evenings after spending all day hiking just the two of us to meet and socialize with others at the huts to share experiences from the day, in addition to other intersting life and travel stories and tidbits.

My Birthday in Milford Sound
Mariah, my wife, was amazing and secretly packed a chocolate muffin and candles, and two of my favorite candy bars, for three days on the Routeburn. We got off the trail late afternoon on Jan 27 and took a bus straight to Milford Sound to stay at the lodge there. For anyone who has been to Milford, you will know there isn't a grocery store, or much of anything but gorgeous landscape, one lodge for accommodation, two boat docks and one pub. But she planned ahead and on my 26th birthday morning (Jan 28), surprised me with a bit of "cake" and the cheesy "Happy Birthday" song. It was a special start to a great day...

After our little birthday celebration at 6:30AM, we were picked up to spend the day kayaking on Milford Sound. Seeing this spectacular fjord is a "must" for most who travel to the South Island of New Zealand, but most see it by cruise boat. We decided to put a small twist to the whole adventure and see it up close and personal by kayak, getting on the water at 7:30AM when it's most peaceful (i.e., before the on rush of cruise boats). Thanks to this wedding gift from my colleague and friend Ruth and her husband Bill, we paddled the day away next to fur seals, sea gulls and a variety of other bird life. We had a great time and were amazed at the dwarfing effect you experience while on the fjord. Because the cliffs are so drastic, walls which are 3x the height of the Eifel tower look like 10 story buildings. The Milford fjord got its majestic landscape from the melting of enormous glaciers over many years past that carved the steep rock walls. After 5 hours of paddling, and a bit of water soaking my underside, we felt we'd gotten the most out of the experience and were ready to head back to the lodge, take a hot shower and a nap.

That evening, we decided to continue my birthday celebration by treating ourselves to a nice dinner at the only restaurant/pub in town. We were disappointed...the food was excellent and filling and the beer wasn't too bad either. And we struck up a fun conversation with the table next to us. All in all, it was an excellent way to celebrate my 26 years.

Doubtful Sound
Thanks to another wedding gift from the Fields Tyler family, we were able to take in another of the amazing fjords in the national park that's a bit more difficult to get to. The enormous Doubtful Sound is south of Milford Sound, but there is no direct road access due to the large lake and steep mountains that sit in front of it. To get there, you have to take a boat across Lake Manapouri and then take a bus over a steep mountain pass to reach the sound. The trip is well worth the time and money, but due to the hassle, few tourists have the oportunity to see the sound. We were very fortunate to take in Doubtful Sound during a 3 hour criuse and also got to explore many of the ajoining arms that branch off from the main sound. Its not as steep as Milford, but is much more vast. We also got to see seals, dolphins and penguins!

Before heading to Doubtful Sound, we did a little research and found out that there is a little known hostel you can stay at that is normally reserved for workers in the area. However, the place does accept tourists if you call and there is space. We got a great deal on a very nice double room that included 3 meals...and everyone there was extremely friendly and welcoming! Our extra work in booking this accommodation allowed us to stay a bit longer to hike and enjoy the area. If we'd had the time, we probably would have stayed a few more days we enjoyed it so much.

So...after a packed week with the Routburn, Milford and Doubtful Sound experiences, we were ready to lay low for a few days and headed to Queenstown to stay with some friends and indulge in some R&R...

New Zealand Week 2: South Island's Northern Tip

Feeling invigorated by our rest in Wanginui before we took the ferry over to the South Island, we decided to have another very active week.

Marlborough Sounds
We spent our first day exploring the beautiful Marlborough Sounds by car and foot. We had been told great things about the Queen Charlotte track around the Sounds, but unfortunately didn't have time for the 4-day hike. So we opted to spend a half-day driving some of the curvy roads into the Sounds, set up camp at a lovely site next to the water, and from there trekked the most scenic part of the track along the highest ridge. The views truly were stunning and the area quite peaceful. Our little campground only had 3 sites available, so we befriended one of our neighbors - a young Swedish couple traveling around in a small camper van - and shared wine and cookies.

Wine Country
On day two of our South Island excursion, we headed East for an hour into the heart of wine country. On the way, we witnessed a forest fire not far from the road and of course pulled over like all the other dumb tourists to watch as the 7 plus helicopters retrieved and poured buckets of water onto the flames. It was actually quite a site...we heard later they did finally get the blaze under control.

Once on our way again, we headed straight to the Montana Winery to do our first wine tasting. This region of New Zealand is particularly known for their white wines and also Pinot Noirs. As we sat in the garden of vineyard number one, we marveled at how much it felt like Napa Valley and how we could have easily been sitting back near home in California. From there we headed to our second winery and did tasting number two...and since they also brewed their own line of beers, what the heck, we tasted those too. It was nearing lunch time by then, so we decided to splurge and have a bite to eat at their noteworthy Twelve Trees Restaurant. I had the seafood chowder and Eric the fancy "bangers and mash," and of course a glass of wine and a beer. We must admit, the food was good and they didn't hold back on the portions. We were having a fabulous time spoiling ourselves, so went to winery number three, Herzog Winery. In addition to our tasting here, we also ordered fancy coffees to liven up again.

Let's just say, that despite sharing only 1 portion of "tasting" at each vineyard, I am a light weight. I recall we went to three more wineries after Herzog and I remember getting a bit more "outgoing" and "giggly" at each one. And I can't even remember the names of the last 3. Eric of course is a bit more sophisticated (i.e., can handle his liquor) in his ability to wine taste, so he was just fine. When we finally got back to our hostel (where we were camping), my head was spinning. Eric, being the good new husband he is, took me out strolling to walk off my wine buzz a bit...and made us some dinner, which certainly helped. I still went to bed early that night and had a restless sleep, but was fine (with no morning after issues) the next day and ready for the next adventure.

Abel Tasman
On our way to the famous coastal region of Abel Tasman National Park, we drove through some lovely farmland, more vineyards and quaint towns filled with thriving art communities. We even stopped off in Nelson for an afternoon to enjoy the local farmers market. We made arrangements to do a full-day hiking, followed by a night of camping on the Abel Tasman track. The entire track is three days, but again we were pressed for time because we were due to start a three-day track down South in a couple days time. To be honest, I was partially relieved to build up to our three-day adventure with a couple long day hikes and then our first overnight trip where I'd actually have to carry my heavy pack.

The hike wasn't too strenuous and had incredible views of the coastline, clear aqua blue water, sandy beaches and secluded inlets. We hiked about 6 hours and covered 21kms before we arrived to our campsite at Bark Bay. We set up our tent, made ourselves canned chili for dinner and had a few sweet snacks for dessert. Our entertainment was card playing, book reading, beach walking...and, in general, doing what we could to avoid the sand flies that were hungry to "suck our blood." Thank goodness we thought to pack repellent!

The next morning, we rose quite leisurely because our shuttle speed boat wasn't arriving until 11AM. They picked us up right on our beach and we sped back to our starting point in 25 mins...it was cool to get the opposite view from the water as opposed to the coast, but slightly discouraging how quickly we covered the same distance. No matter, it was a great taste of the area and we highly recommend a stop here to anyone visiting New Zealand.

The West Coast
After our stint in Abel Tasman, we headed south by way of the West Coast. Our drive timing was perfect. We'd had virtually all sun until we had to make the long drive south when it started pouring rain. It rained all day the day we drove from Westport to Franz Josef Glacier (about a 5-6 hour drive), which was ok since we were in the car all day anyhow. We could still admire the scenery and made a few short stops including one to see the "Pancake Rocks" in Punakaiki.

When we got to the village of Franz Josef, we discovered a rock slide a ways up the road was preventing anyone from driving much further, so we quickly reserved ourselves a hostel room before all the tour buses got back into town. While we waited for the rain to clear and the lights to turn back on from the power outage they were experiencing, we enjoyed pizza and beer at the local pub. The next morning, the road was thankfully clear. We took a couple short day hikes up to the Franz Josef Glacier (which is quite a site!) and around Lake Matheson, which on a clear and calm day has amazing reflections of Mt. Cook...it wasn't a completely clear or calm day, so we just enjoyed the stroll. Then we were back in the car and heading South once more towards Queenstown, where we'd catch our shuttle up to the start of our Routeburn trekking adventure...more on that to come...