South Island, Lake Hawea. January 1993
Kiwi Experience
When Brian and I went to New Zealand our time was divided into two distinct halves due to geography, the North and South Islands. On the North Island we were mostly on our own and took short tours out of Auckland and Rotorua. We then spent a fabulous Christmas holiday with our India/Nepal travel friends Jo and Jamie Goodsir from Wellington whom with we also traveled to Taranaki. After we came back to the capital from Christmas with Jo's sister, we bid them goodbye and headed off to the South Island (which, by the way, we should have never attempted to travel to by ferry during the Christmas week. We barely got tickets!). We were about to embark on a new kind of travel, "the Kiwi Experience".
The idea was fairly straightforward. Like the big red tourist buses endlessly looping inside major cities around the world, the Kiwi Experience had a fleet of green buses making large loops from Picton on the northern tip of the South Island down the West Coast to world adventure capital, Queenstown, and then back up north via Christchurch. The buses had driver/guides that stopped at all the important sites along the way and explained clearly what was interesting to see and more importantly what was free and what was a paid attraction. After all, this was a budget tour bus filled with backpackers. In the evening, the bus stopped at a designated cheap hotel/hostel where they had pre-booked rooms for everyone. The idea was actually good for young people who couldn't afford to rent a car, but wanted to get around quickly and see all the main sites. Brian and I were dubious, but our time was so limited, we decided to go for it.
There were some high points to the experience. First and foremost, we met our dear friend MAP from Germany on the Kiwi Experience. That alone probably made the trip worth it. We also were pointed in the right direction to a lot of places we might have otherwise missed. The bus cohort grew a sort of comradery as we made our way down to Queenstown. The passengers I remember the most were the Norwegians who drank the entire time. I didn't understand until later that alcohol was so expensive in Norway that it seemed virtually "free" elsewhere. Most of us were mystified why anyone would choose to come to a beautiful and exciting destination like New Zealand only to be drunk, sleeping, or hung over for the bulk of the journey. Additionally, we had a BIG Maori driver whom we all liked a lot until we realized that he was partying and drinking at all our stops and then navigating some treacherous mountain roads the next morning. That was not a good mix even though the guy was really hilarious and everyone truly loved him.
We spent New Year's Eve in Franz Josef (where we had viewed a huge glacier and landed near the summit of Mt Cook on a helicopter flight). The hotel/hostel was very rustic - more like something out of the American "old West". Everyone got a little drunk and I still remember Brian and I pushing MAP to keep dancing with a girl in whom he was not interested, but she clearly had designs on him. Oh, Brian and I were BAD and we nearly pissed ourselves laughing. Those are some good memories (no doubt less so for MAP).
The photo above was taken on the long ride from the West Coast down to Queenstown. The road cut inland from the coast through rugged mountains and then continued along narrow Lake Wanaka. It was incredibly scenic, but it got better. About halfway down the lake at a small pass in the mountains hemming in the water, the road turned 90 degrees, passed through a mountain notch, and then followed an equally lovely parallel lake, Hawea, on the other side. Even though the weather was overcast, both lakes were gorgeous. Admittedly, we felt disappointed as it was supposed to be one of the high points of the journey and the weather was crap, but it still impressed. It was places like those two lakes and the mountains surrounding them that made New Zealand a filmmakers' darling location. There was such rugged beauty, literally empty yet still easily accessible.
We finally arrived in Queenstown. MAP was our new, confirmed travel mate, and the three of us set off for some adventure.
NB: we stopped in Wellington again on the way back to Auckland and shared our story of "Kiwi Experience" with Jo and Jamie who encouraged us to write to the company after we got home to New York. They were genuinely concerned for the safety of other travelers after hearing about the driver. We did actually write, too. When I look back on it - those were some twisting, narrow two lane roads being navigated by a bus driver who never appeared to be totally sober the whole trip! Oh to be young and fearless...
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