LepoLand - A Blog by Alan Lepofsky

In December 2005, I spent 28 days on a big blue bus touring around New Zealand's North and South Islands on the Flying Kiwi Ultimate Explorer.  There were 20-30 people on the bus at all times, with a few people changing each week, but a core group of us together for most of the tour.  The majority of people were from either the UK or Germany, with a new places like Israel, Sweden, Ireland, Czech Republic, and even Canada thrown in.  I made some wonderful friends, which to me is just as important as the tour itself.  Hopefully some will be friends for the rest of my life.  Our guide Lisa was from New Zealand, and our assistant John from North Carolina, but he lived in New Zealand for a year and is truly a Kiwi at heart.


We camped almost every night, but there were times where we stayed in lodges and hostels.  Some of the camp sites had amenities like running water, showers, laundry, and occasionally internet, but other times we stayed in true bush camps.  Just us and Mother Nature.




The group was divided into 3 cook teams, so every 3rd day your group was responsible for making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the bus.


The tour was an active one, no sitting around for the Fly Kiwis!  We had mountain bikes that we could use to ride ahead of the bus each morning, or in the afternoon the bus would let us off 25-50km ahead of the camp site, and we would bike to it.


Some of the rides were insane, including a 2km steep downhill at Haast Past (564m), and an 18km downhill with a 3500ft elevation drop from the Homer Tunnel down to Milford sound!  That was a ride I'll never forget, and thankfully we did not have to ride back up!


Of course the scenery in New Zealand can't be fully appreciated via photos.  There are mountains, lakes, oceans, forests, waterfalls, beaches, sunrises, sunsets...



Near Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula


Hiking on the Kepler Track


Sunrise at Te Anau




Sunset at Lake Wanaka near Boundary Creek campsite.


Mangrove walk leading to Haruru falls.


The next 3 photos are from the bubbling mud pools, geysers, and thermal pools in the Rotorua / Wai-O-Tapu area.









New Zealand's most famous landscape, Mt. Cook.






Moeraki Boulders, south of Oamaru


This picture is one of my favourites.  I love how the sun is shining on the lupins in front, but a huge storm is moving in over the mountains in the background.


There are several "mirror lakes" offering perfect reflections of the mountains and clouds.




Stone beach at Boundary Creek campsite


Punakaiki Pancake Rocks


Bay Of Islands


Hole In The Rock


We took the ferry from Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island)


Wellington


Christchurch.  The second photo is from the top of the steeple.  The Black and white building on the left is an IBM office!
 

Queenstown from the top of the Gondola


Of course no trip to New Zealand is complete without sheep...


But I also saw Sperm whales off the coast of Kaikoura




and went swimming with a pod of about 250 Dusky dolphins.  This was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.  I can't explain what it feels like to have them swimming all around you, and jumping out of the water doing flips and twists.


I also saw Common dolphins, these two were following our boat in the Bay of Islands.  They are much larger than the Duskies.


New Zealand Fur Seals can be found all over the place... just follow their smell!


Kea birds, or mountain parrots are hysterical!  They are very intelligent, and one will perform for you while their friends sneak behind you and try to (and often do!) steal your things.


On to Page 2, the adventures...