The Traveling Michigander

As I was reading in The New Zealand Herald about the Crown View Bed & Breakfast near Queenstown, New Zealand, which was named the best B&B in the South Pacific, I thought of the last B&B my wife and I stayed in Queenstown. This was our last stay in New Zealand before making three fantastic flights back to Michigan (Queenstown – Auckland, Auckland – Los Angeles, Los Angeles – Detroit), and we wanted someplace memorable. And we found it at the Hikurangi Lodge.

The Lodge was easy to find. We turned off Highway 6A and up a few very steep streets to be greeted by an incredible view of The Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu. Shirley and Barry were incredibly nice and accommodating – we had arrived late from a drive from Dunedin, and I had forgotten to write down the phone number before we left home to let them know we’d be late.

We slept in the Remarkables Room and couldn’t have asked for a better view. With the lake and mountain range in clear view, we had beautiful sunrises and sunset. We were even blessed with a few rainbows during our stay. It was without question the greatest view I’ve ever had from a hotel / B&B room.

Shirley made great breakfasts every morning and Barry was available to provide us information about the local area or book excursions for us. Whenever we would return to the Lodge from a hard day of relaxing, we always felt welcome, like we were visiting friends and not staying at a B&B.

We will not return to New Zealand for several more years, but when we do, the Hikurangi Lodge will definitely be on the list of places to stay.

I just finished Kiwi Tracks by Andrew Stevenson. I’ve been to New Zealand twice, and it’s true what they say – friendly people, majestic landscapes, varied and accessible wildlife, New Zealand has it all, but the part about man-eating purple rabbits is completely false. I don’t know how that rumor got started.

But onto the book. The description of the scenery and the details of his tramps (hikes, not loose women) paints a wonderful picture of his four-month stay. (What I wouldn’t give for a four-month stay in New Zealand.) This was why I was interested in the book, hearing about an adventure in a far-away place that didn’t involve daily commutes and sitting in front of a computer.

It starts quickly, involving a hike through Milford Sound during a blizzard, not something I would want to experience. (On the other hand, I do hate getting stuck in traffic light after traffic light.) He explores an amazing amount of the country, from the very bottom of New Zealand, Stewart Island, which sits just below the South Island, to Cape Reinga, the very tip of the North Island.

Andrew also discusses details about the conflicts with the Maori and the white New Zealanders, a conflict that goes back to the 19th century. While interesting and certainly informative, there was too much focus on that particular aspect of the trip, a lot of it the he-said, she-said variety which comes from differing points of view. When I get around to blogging about my New Zealand trip, I will not be talking about New Zealand politics, but to each their own.

One of the great things about traveling is meeting interesting people, and from the different travel books I’ve read, backpackers seem to meet more interesting people than we travelers to rent cars or go on packaged tours. Andrew goes into detail about many of the people he encountered on his journey, such as the Englishman walking the length of New Zealand and the Vietnam vet searching for peace in the forest, and he doesn’t seem to disparage the non-backpackers too much.

Which brings me to a rant. I’ve noticed that in the travel books I’ve read, anyone who takes a tour or only visits the major sights is committing a great and terrible sin, wronging the natives for ignoring their real way of life, ruining the environment, and doing themselves a great disservice by living in their own sheltered world by seeing only what tour guides want them to see. Real travelers only stay at hostels and only eat at hole in the wall place with the locals and never, ever, check luggage.

Those things are fine if you like them – traveling is what you make of it. I prefer comfortable beds, visiting famous monuments or areas of nature, and having a pleasant trip. It’s vacation, after all. That doesn’t mean I won’t eat local dishes or visit an out of the way cave that I just heard about five minutes ago – those are wonderful too, and those little things can make a good trip a great trip. Testing your comfort zone can be exciting, but each person has their limit of what is an enjoyable travel experience can be. Prefer to eat at McDonald’s instead of “Chen’s House of Stinky Tofu and Guaranteed Indigestion”? I’m with you.

Okay, I’m back on track now. If you don’t mind a history lesson and discussions about 150+ year old land disputes, it’s a decent read, and a quick one at only 202 pages. I’m glad I read it, and after hearing about Andrew’s numerous experiences with bad weather and being dirty for days on end, I’m glad I saw most of New Zealand by car.

I was reading an article from the New Zealand Herald on Akaroa, a small town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and it reminded me of my own trip there. My wife and I had made a day trip from Christchurch to the town, which was settled with the intention of being a French colony. Though the British beat them to it, the government allowed the French to settle in the little corner of their island.

My favorite part of Akaroa was getting there. As Highway 75 approaches the town on the Banks Peninsula, it winds its way up and over hills with sharp turns and beautiful views of the valley. The drive isn’t for the faint of heart – the drops are very steep – but it was a fun drive. Well, for me at least.

We boarded the Black Cat harbor tour with great hopes of seeing all kinds of wildlife, and we were not disappointed. We saw dolphins and birds and seals – if you like boats and wildlife, two great things that go great together, then definitely consider the Black Cat cruise.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. Let’s just say that for a pregnant woman who was already prone to motion sickness, being on a boat for two hours didn’t make for the best afternoon. Lesson learned.

We went to Akaroa in November, and it wasn’t at all busy, and it was easily walkable. The town is located in bottom of the caldera of an ancient volcano now filled with water and makes a fantastic setting. And it’s only a short trip from Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city. So head on over – it only took us about twenty hours of total time in the air to get to Christchurch from Michigan – no problem.