Rio de Janeiro – Mar 2012

Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes
Goes "A-a-a-h"
When she walks she's like a samba
When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes
Goes "A-a-a-h"

Rio de Janeiro is locally pronounced as ‘Hee-oh dae shanairo’. And let me tell you that it’s not so easy, as was evident from all the twisted faces that we made as Ronaldo taught it to us on our ride from the airport to the hotel. And we are introduced, in a lighter vein, to the City Wars - Rio de Janeiro vs São Paulo. We are stuck in a traffic jam, which is unusual for Rio as per our guide. Traffic jams are found only in São Paulo!!!

Rio has long been romanticized - whether by the 1962′s hit “Girl from Ipanema” or more recently, when Cristo Redentor was selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It is difficult to resist a city that’s wedged between lush jungle and crystal-clear ocean – no wonder it is the most visited city in the Southern hemisphere.

It was a bit late by the time we reached the hotel. Some of us decide to go and experience the vibrant night life later and try the Caipirinha (again recommended by Laura). I wanted to go, but a 10 minutes stretch on the bed turns into a deep slumber! So again, am up at 4:00 freakin' AM. Luckily for me, I had a roomie who just gets up with me without a sigh!!! We decide to go to the Copacabana beach, only a 10 mins walk from our hotel, for an early morning walk. Copacabana beach, considered one of the top 10 beaches of the world, hosts the biggest outdoor New Year party every year. And everyone wears white!!!

It was simply beautiful – the sunrise, the coast-hugging mountains including the famous Sugarloaf, the turquoise waters… Soon we are joined by a few others and are enjoying ourselves in the water, when we see A and N coming from the other end of the beach towards us. What they tell us leaves us all shocked. They have been mugged off their cameras - at knife point. Locals on the beach just ignored the whole incident. A little jittery as all of us were carrying cameras, we decide to go back.

Little later, our city tour takes us along the Guanabara Bay and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (lagoon) and through the Rebouças tunnel. This tunnel links the southern and northern parts of the city cut in half by the Tijuca ridge that makes Rio the only city in the world to have a National Park 5 minutes from downtown. From the Cosme Velho district, we take a cogwheel train to go up the Corcovado Mountain to visit Christ, the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue. “Corcovado” means hunchback and that is what the granite hill looks like. Its original name is Pinaculo da Tentacao or Pinnacle of Temptation alluding to the Biblical Mountain.

The statue, 130 feet tall with a span from fingertip to fingertip of 28m, arms outstretched, as if it is embracing the city and welcoming all the visitors is magnificent. Covered with a mosaic of soapstone, it is one of Rio's finest Art Nouveau monuments and the largest Art Deco and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world.The status was very impressive, no doubt. But like I was explaining to someone, there are some churches /temples/ status which are very touristy while some evoke in us religious sentiments, want us to sit down and just close our eyes. It’s happened to me at many places during my travels. I particularly remember one small church in the Barcelona old quarter, where a service was going on and I just sat there for close to an hour! This was NOT one of them. It didn’t have to be Jesus. Could have been Pele for all I cared! But that does not take away from it, its magnificence.

The vantage point offers stupendous views of downtown Rio, the bay, Sugarloaf Mountain and Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. The white of the cliffs, the blue of the sky, the green hills and ever-changing shore is so meditative.

We then visit the Samba Stadium where the Rio Festival and the completions between the various schools take place every year. It’s actually supposed to be closed, but they are bringing down the stands from the recently concluded festival so we manage to go in and decide to have our own Samba school!

Rio’s Catedral Metropolitana sure was an odd shaped building. Infact, it is one of the 50 most extraordinary churches in the world. Conical in form, it didn’t look like a cathedral at all, but more like a Pyramid of Egypt!!! The inside is 12 sided with four rectilinear stained glass windows that are a massive 210 ft tall and soar from floor to ceiling to a cross shaped roof of lights. I distinctly remember that after the scorching sun, the cool interior was really welcome! Now I have read about its green architecture, much ahead of the times when it was built in the 1970’s. There are no windows at all - the four huge stained glass windows are there but otherwise there are no open windows. The fresh air comes through openings in the walls that are layered so that rain cannot come in but cool air can. The architect has designed it in such a way that no electricity is needed for cooling the building. Hot air rises and leaves through the top vents and cool air comes in through the open doors and lower vents. Electricity is not needed to light the building either as usually sufficient light passes through the stained glass windows, the vents and the large doors.
It was designed by the world renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. According to our guide, there was a competition held to select a design for the new cathedral and this one was chosen because it was cheap to build and also cheap to maintain ( no painting and little external cleaning required) and also cheap to upkeep as very little is needed to cool or light the inside of the building!!! There is a beautiful wooden cross with Jesus hanging from the roof. I just love the place. Some carol singing from a room at the back makes it perfect!

From there we go to an Italian restaurant for Lunch. The food takes ages to come. I am a vegetarian but for this trip I had decided I will be open to trying some non-veg so I decide to have the pomfret. It’s the only non vegetarian meal that I enjoyed. We had a choice of 3 desserts. The papaya dessert sounds very weird but it’s the yummiest. We are lucky. All the confusion from the delay, they mess up our order and get us more of that!!!

We visit the legendary Pão do Açucar better known as Sugar Loaf Mountain because it resembles the early large-lumps of sugar supplied to shops which they would simply slice a lump off when someone came to purchase sugar.

Driving around Copacabana and Ipanema beaches we cross the university area where we see several boys with painted bodies. It seems that’s a part of their ragging and inclusion to the tribe! Return to our hotel to get ready for our ‘Pink’ evening. We all are expected to wear pink for dinner at one of the barbecue restaurants. The waiters come with various cuts of meat at the table. Unfortunately I am sitting at a corner and they would come suddenly with these huge chunks of meat. It is here that I decide – I can’t eat non veg. All that meat just got to me and I return to being a vegetarian!

After dinner we go for a Rio by Night Plataforma Show - a samba show. 7 feet tall ladies dressed in samba attire come around to get photographs clicked. They tower over even the tallest of us and are nearly double the size of the some of the shortest in our group. The show begins where the "mulatas" exhibit the intricate steps of local dances and "batuqueiros" produce a delirium beat from exotic percussion instruments. After the show, we leave cracking chocolate jelly / mousse jokes amongst us all the way back to the hotel.

São Paulo – March 2012

“Non dvcor, dvco”
(Motto of São Paulo translating as "I am not led, I lead.”)

As we landed at São Paulo, our first stop on the South American trip, our excitement was just so obvious– like little kids grabbing window seats, peering out and clicking snaps. The first impressions are of a rapidly growing congested city with all those skyscrapers. After all, it is the third largest city in the world!

At the airport we are greeted by our bubbly guide Laura. She doesn’t stop talking for even a minute, as we move from the airport to our hotel, which is at the other end of the city, nearly an hrs drive away- giving us so much information about her city, Brazil, Brazilian culture, what to eat, what to drink etc etc. It starts raining & pouring and we are transported to our very own Bengaluru / Mumbai with traffic jams and over flooded streets! She warns us that this is a daily thing – morning will be nice and sunny and it will start raining at 4:00 PM. And she is so right, as we encounter rain again at the same time the next day!!!

She tells us that traffic jams are so bad here that São Paulo has the 2nd highest no of helicopters per person in any city in the world. Many of the high-rises have helipads. The business honchos feel that the cost of owning and maintain a helicopter are less than the cost of the time wasted in traffic jams. Plus there is the added benefit of freedom from the fear of mugging and kidnapping.

M and I decide to call it a day early. The downside of that is that we are up at 2:00 AM, ready and packed by 5:00 AM and at the breakfast table at 6:00 AM. No one seems to speak English as we struggle and finally succeed to explain Laura’s recommendation - 'cheese bread' (pão de queijo ) to the staff. It’s yummy especially if eaten hot!!!

We finish breakfast and no one from our group is to be seen so we decide to go for a walk. And that was the best part of the day. My initial impressions of this being just another economic power-house with offices, offices and still more offices are changed. Just a short walk from our hotel in the business centre, and we are in lovely neighborhood. It’s full of bakeries and patisseries which have the most amazingly creative ideas for their shops, cakes, vans! Then we see a computer repair shop – that was like height of creativity. They gate of the place had been decorated with chips, keyboard and mouse. The banner had an old laptop with a stethoscope around it…he is after all a doctor for sick laptops!!!!

A cute little dog scampers up – he has orange balloons for socks!!! What a great idea, considering the dampness left by the rain of the previous day.

Back at the hotel, Laura has arrived. As we wait for the bus she gives us a samba demo!!! We leave for the city tour. What a city of contrasts - next to the modern High Rises are the 'The Favelas'. These are supposedly the 'slums' of Brazil but as Maria rightly pointed out - they ain't no 'Dharavi'!!! Inspite of being slums, they are on neat clean tree lined roads

The municipality developed a slum demolition and redevelopment program named Cingapura (Portuguese pronunciation of Singapore). But that was a failure and now what they have is the Favelas, still existing as is behind the Cingapura.

We pass by the official residence of the Governor against the backdrop of towering, modern skyscrapers – again a wonderful blend of the traditional & the contemporary.

Located on Paulista Avenue is the striking São Paulo Museum of Art, one of the postcard monuments of the city. It can’t be missed - it’s a large concrete and glass structure raised above the sidewalk, supported on two huge bright red beams on one side. From there we pass through Ibirapuera Park with it’s beautiful gardens and lakes. It is a huge 2 million square meter oasis of green in the heart of down-town São Paulo.

At the entrance to the park, we stop to admire another of São Paulo's postcard monuments - Monumento às Bandeiras, popularly called by the locals as the Push Push monument. It’s homage to the first settlers, the Bandeirantes. The name literally means "monument to the flags" i.e. "those who follow the flags", which was the name used to refer to these private explorers.

Inside the park, we stop by the lake and admire the obelisk – a monument built in memory of the republicans that were killed in the 1932 revolution.

Laura introduces us to a Brazilain term – Jeitinho which the Bangaloreans can equate with ‘Adjust Maadi’. She changes the itinerary because she knows we will enjoy the local market more than a soccer stadium. So we stop at this market with the most amazing fresh fruits, spices, food, meats & sweets!!!!! Everything looked so tempting it was hard to decide what to try and what to leave.

We first attacked a fresh fruit stall and tried some of the freshest fruits! M bought her lunch – a chicken Pastel de Bacalhau. It was a wee bit salty, but still quite nice.

Obviously Brigadeiro was not to be missed. In southern Brazilian states is it called as negrinho, literally "blackie" and is just a simple chocolate bonbon, but wow…was it yummy!!! There were other flavors also and I tried a pista one which was also amazing!

Soon it was time to leave and say good bye to the market, São Paulo and Laura. One image that stays with me is the friendliness of Laura. She had bought her lunch, a vegetarian Pastel with corn and banana at the market and she willingly was letting some of us try it.

Why do I travel?

I was asked to write for the Logica’s Women Network blog on Travel. They couldn’t  have chosen a better topic for me to write on. Below is what I posted on the Garam Chai blog.

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page! -  St. Augustine

I love to travel, explore new places and re-explore already explored places!
People who know me say, my eyes twinkle and I become a different person when I talk of old travels and plan for new travels.
Why do I travel? To learn and grow – when I visit better countries, I wish to improve my own. I have now realized it is possible to drive without honking and I do try to do so. And if I travel to a country worse than mine, I learn to appreciate my own country.

The perspective of the word Still changed after my visit to the Amazon Forest.
Visiting Hampi, Ajanta & Ellora, Golden temple, I learnt that as we build the so called ‘state of art’ sky scrapers, we forget Beauty.
Fear was redefined after being chased by an elephant in Kabini.
Skydiving in New Zealand instilled in me a new found Respect for myself.
Scandinavians give a new character to the word Honesty.
As we travelled in the Norwegian Fjords, I discovered Majestic.
For the first time we Listened to our guide to stick together, after my friends were mugged on Copacabana beach in Rio.

I could go on and on but for now I want to leave you all with a beautiful quote from Mark Twain - “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

A bit of Johannesburg – March 2012

What a start to the trip! I had just finished my immigration and was waiting for the rest to join me when an official approached me and wanted to know if I was Sumitra or belonged to her group. As I nodded he asked for my passport and rechecked my visa and says –‘see ur visa is OK. But one of your frens has a transit visa and so we can’t let her out.’ WHAAAAT! I went to the baggage collection to send Sumi back to immigration and start the beginning of what seemed an endless wait. 2 were missing – Nalini and Smita. Finally Sumi returned …but only with Nalini – mixed feelings …whew for Nalini (they kept her passport for a day and allowed her out), and bewilderment for Smita – where the hell was she? We walk out and see her standing there – she had been up and down to the hotel 3 times in the shuttle looking for us! A porter accosts us and offers to show us the way to bus stop for the shuttle. But we had heard so many horror stories about Jo’burg that we found it difficult to trust him. On hindsight – what were we thinking? That one man is going to kidnap 20 of us!!!

A quick nap and lolee (yummy Sindhi style paranthas) courtesy Meeta’s mom and off we were to the Lion Park. The Lion Park - neither a game reserve nor a zoo, is split into two areas – one area for the herbivores such as zebra, giraffe, antelopes etc and the other area for the carnivores.

First stop was the Cub World area where sub-adult lions and cubs are housed and where we could enter and actually play with lion cubs. Awww…the cubs were sooooo cute…playfully pulling at our laces and trousers. I just didn’t want to come out of the cage.

Then off to the herbivores area where they roam freely around and we can interact with them at close proximity. The Giraffe was the cutest…eating peanuts from everyone’s hands and seemingly having a very intimate conversation my friend.

The baby Meerkats suckled while the mother stood patiently and majestically. Other sightings were Zebras (first time for me), Ostriches and deer and black wildebeest.

This was followed by the Self-Drive through the Main Park – first through the antelope area where our guide pointed out various species like Gemsbok, Springbok & Blesbokthen and Black Wildebeest, followed by the wild dogs’ enclosure where we saw what tops the list of the 5 ugliest of South Africa.

And then the highlight – we entered the cheetah and lion enclosures. There were 2 Cheetahs and they were like the synchronized swimmers – they were sitting in identical postures, facing in the same direction and when they moved they seemed to move in sync! The Lions and lionesses were very impressive, specially the white lions. But now I know why patience is required when you go on wild life safaris. Initially we couldn’t see the front of the 2 lionesses sitting as we entered the enclosure, so we asked the driver to move to the other side. But as luck would have it, before we all managed our pictures, they decided to turn to the direction where we came from. It was if they were trained to show only their backsides ;-)

And the lions were sleeping away peacefully - lazy bums refused to get up. But we waited patiently and patience pays. Because we finally saw them get up and I even managed a beautiful picture of one of them yawning. Unfortunately, my memory card got spoilt after a few days and I lost all the pictures of the first few days L

As we moved away, one of the lions emerged from the bushes and crossed the track right in front of the vehicle behind ours. Did a personal ramp walk for them – lucky people!

I was having so much fun that I just didn’t want to leave. The thought of Pan African cuisine at one of the top restaurant in Jo’burg pushed us into leaving and off were to the stylish Moyo restaurant at Melrose Arch. It had started to drizzle and sitting on the diwans under a Moroocan tent, with fire bowls close by – very, very exotic! I am told by M to go visit the loo – she doesn’t tell me why, but has this smirk on her face. Not getting into the details, but I have yet to see a more erotic loo!!!

Live music was playing inside so we moved to the bar after some time where some enjoyed the African Amarula (like the Baileys Irish Coffee).

A winding, spiral wooden staircase took us up to our tables. The waitress comes with a big bowl and a water jug and makes us wash our hands. They also paint our faces with intricate tattoos… a lot like what the Bengali brides do. The starter– a moyo flat bread with dukka spice and olive was awesome. Yummy carrot, coconut & cumin soup, chickpea, chilli & feta salad and abampofu salad and my tummy was nearly full. So I just nibbled at the main course of Tanzanian mango chicken, North African lamb tagine and tagine seven vegetables as I wanted to keep some space for the dessert. And thank god for that – the never ending bowl of toasted almond ice cream was sinfully yummy! I thought I’ll have a few bites and leave the rest…but it was just impossible to stop.

Thanks to Sumi and South African Airways we had an awesome time in Jo’burg. I now can definitely say – I enjoy wildlife holidays the MOST!!!

Rain

Found a little note as I was clearing a drawer - I had written it down during my trip to New Zealand. It was so appropriate that time, as it had rained the whole day. And now also it seems appropriate as I miss the Bangalore rain!

It rained and it rained and it rained and it rained;
the average fall was well maintained,
and when the tracks were simply bogs,
it started raining cats and dogs.

After a drought of half an hour
we had a most refreshing shower,
and then the most curious thing of all:
a gentle rain began to fall.

Next day was also fairly dry,
save for the deluge from the sky,
which wetted the party to the skin,
and after that the rain set in.

Getting a high

The company that I work for has a Writer’s Club of which I am a member, albeit not a very active one.  Recently they introduced PROJECT 46 under which for the 46 Tuesdays starting Valentines' day, writer members who have not written for the Writers' club will write about their passions, hobbies or anything that they want to write about.. no specific subject. The whole idea is to have the different writing styles, the different flavours of ALL the writers captured on our site.

Reproduced below my post for which I have taken tidbits from an earlier post on this blog
****************************************************************************************************

I am a hyper kind of a person.
Someone once said of herself - “My mind is always in constant chatter with itself in which I think about a million things” and I was like – that is so me!!!!
Only Music, especially the flute has a calming effect on me.
It touches my soul like nothing else. From as far back as I can remember the Flute was always my favorite. It inspires me, stirs such emotions and even though this may sound like an oxymoron – it energizes while bringing about a greater peacefulness.

Long back I read somewhere that the Latin word for Breath is ‘spiritus’. And breath is a prerequisite of music. Is that a coincidence, an accident? I doubt it, for music invokes the spiritual in us.

I love music….maybe a result of all the Spic Macay programs I was made to attend in school.
But the answer to the oft asked question – ‘what kind of music do u like to listen to’, I don’t have a clear answer. Anything that sounds nice to me. It could be Indian or Western Classical, Folk from different parts of the world, Instrumental including movie songs, Old romantic Bollywood songs and even some new ones!!!

Forget being an expert, I’m not even an amateur at music. I’m simply a music lover...

I don’t really understand classical music the way the concert goers are expected to…but I still go. One friend asks – But would you really like to go to a Carnatic music concert?  I fail to explain to her –‘music has no language for me’.
In fact Music is the only language in which different cultures can have a conversation. Have you heard the Indian Instrument Tabla and Western instrument Harp talk to each other – mind blowing chemistry!  Flautist Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Harpist Gwyneth Wentink left the audience totally mesmerized with their performance one evening in Bangalore.

Remember, one learns to listen to music as one learns to listen to oneself, not just with one's ears but with one's awareness.

According to Discovery news, listening to music releases dopamine, a feel-good chemical associated with addiction and good food.
And to quote Bob Marley “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
So get a hit, experience a high, and get some music into your life.

South America – preparations etc!!!

South America called…finally. I think I day dreamed of walking in the Amazon forests as Ms Bhati talked of rainforests in the geography class ages ago. As long back as 2006 I had started talking to travel agencies for quotes and realized I needed to have a separate ‘SA Fund!’ It was ****** expensive…but then that’s me…I always seem to like the most expensive product on the shelf.

The dinner  in Devonport, New Zealand comes back. On the 1^st day of our trip as we discussed travelling to South America the following year we nearly got ourselves a companion – the waiter wanted to accompany us after listing to our excited chatter!

Getting the required visas – South Africa, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina was a marathon by itself. A teaser to what was in store for us. Many visas – much confusion! Change of the application city for Bangalore wanderers, form needing refilling in black ink as I had filled it in blue! Some surprises too – one day I get an email that my (MY!!!!) Peru visa was rejected because they wanted original bank statements! Later I realized it was not rejected, but they just declined to accept the form. I thought printouts with signature and bank seal were treated as originals everywhere. What the heck? I was just wondering how to get 4 more copies from ICICI (what a nightmare that was gonna be), when I was informed that the WOW office had resent my passport with another bunch and it worked!!!Talk about weirdness!

Then South African airways decided to change the schedule and wanted us to leave one day earlier. In hindsight this worked better for us – not only did we get a break after an 8 hrs flight instead of traveling continuously for over 20 hrs but were also able to check out Jo’burg with the cost of one night hotel in Jo'burg, airport transfers, breakfast, and visa charges being borne by the airline!!!

The final straw was when on 5^th afternoon I got call – the South African consulate didn’t quite like my photograph (JERKS!). Some white shirt on white background nonsense. They needed spectacles – it was a white PRINTED shirt! Courier new photographs was what I was instructed. 7^th and 8^th were holidays at the mumbai consulate on account of Holi, 9^th night we were travelling – this was NOT going to work. Luckily it struck me that I had a soft copy of another snap, which I sent and requested them to take prints of in Mumbai itself and resubmit the forms. What a restless night that!!! I even contemplated staying in the airport for that one day and night

What a relief when we finally had our passports with all the visas stamped. And off we were to South America via Jo’burg.

Blowin' in the Wind

A friend and her daughter are making pen stands from old music cassettes – they call it REWIND...RETRO...RECYCLE... It brings back memories of Gurgaon, listening to the cassette over and over again.

My favorite then and still, I guess …Bob Dylan’s Blowin' in the Wind

How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist

Before it's washed to the sea?

Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,

Pretending he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

my updated wish list

In 2007 I made a travel wish list and I’ve been lucky…some of the places I managed to visit from that list
- Barcelona
- New Zealand
- Paris, France
- China
now its time to write a new wish list…
- Machu Picchu, Peru (and this could happen next year!!!)
- East Africa – Kenya and Tanzania
- Madhya Pradesh, India
- Bali
- Costa Rica
- Japan
- South Africa
- Sikkim and East India
- Bhutan
- Novi Sad, Serbia
- Sri Lanka
- Israel and Jordan
- Vietnam and Cambodia

Franz Josef & Heli-Hike- NZ March ‘11

We were quite excited that morning as we left early from Fox Glacier town to go to Franz Josef for our heli-hike – an awesome scenic helicopter flight over the Franz Josef glacier that would then leave us high up for a 2 hrs guided walk amongst the ice caves and pinnacles of ice.

The weather didn’t look too great…there was a drizzle and it was soooo grey. But we hoped that it would clear up soon. When we reached the Heli Hike office at 8:45 we were informed that the trip had been postponed and they would give an update an hour later. We hung around the office but that update kept getting postponed. I watched as the glacier which we could see in the morning, was now covered with dark clouds. Short bursts of rain, then the sun would peek out for a few minutes and then drizzle again. We decided to walk around a bit and I kept everyone entertained with my weather predictions – the clouds seem to have moved an inch and we can now see the glacier from here…now its hidden again!!! What a game of peek-a-boo!!!!

We decided to explore the place a bit to kill time. There seemed to some kind of an exhibition on the formation of glaciers with very nicely made paintings – and one depicting Maori Legend on the formation of the Franz Josef glacier really caught my eye.

Hine Hukatere, as adventurous Maori maiden who loved mountaineering above all her other pastimes, frequently persuaded her lover, Wawe, to accompany her on escapades into the hills. On one such expedition the unfortunate Wawe, who had never been found of climbing as his sweetheart, slipped and plunged to an early death. Heartbroken, Hine Hukatere cried - her tears were frozen by the gods as a memorial to her grief, thus forming Franz Josef Glacier or Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (The tears of Hinehukatere)

A forest walk marked a little ahead seemed like a good idea as by now we were worried that the hike may get cancelled. Walking in the forests in a light drizzle with the sounds of birds made us forget our woes for some time at least. I am sure I heard a Kiwi, though Stephen was not quite convinced since Kiwis are nocturnal… maybe the dark clouds and grey weather had confused him!!!

Returning from the walk we stopped at a cute church, outside which I read some more Maori Mythology - according to which four sons of Raki (the Sky Father) came down to greet their father’s new wife Papa-tua-nuku (The Earth Mother) in a canoe known as Te Waka o Aoraki. The karakia (incantation), which have returned them to their celestial home failed and the waka (canoe) fell back into the sea. It turned on its side and was turned to stone and earth, thus forming the South Island! Aoraki and his brothers clambered to the high side of the waka and were turned into mountains. Aoraki became Mt Aoraki/ Mt Cook, Rakiroa became Mt Dampier, Rakirua became Mt Teichelmann and Rarakiroa became Mt Tasman.

Lunch at a small café which had some amazing 3D paintings and still more amazing burgers!!

We were now informed that the heli-hike had been cancelled but since they were doing the glacier walks we could change to that. After considering all the options, we called our agent. Our itinerary had been changed a bit due to the Christchurch earthquake so that we would be spending 2 nights in Greymouth rather than Christchurch. We asked her to change that to one night and gave us another in Franz Josef so that we could give the heli-hike another go the next day. Lo behold, she agreed and organized everything, even though it was such a short notice!!!

Stephen then suggested that we do the Franz Josef glacier valley walk to spend the rest of the day. The spectacular glacier valley walk is a 1 1/2hr return walk up the glacier valley and follows the riverbed made up of rock and shingle with great views of the glacier. The valley was formed by the glacier thousands of years ago and as it has retreated, features have been carved into the valley.

As soon we enter the valley we see some lovely waterfalls and the glacier can be seen immediately. The funny thing was that it never seemed to get closer as we walked down until we realized we were right up on it….just 100m away from the terminal face where you can see the ice cave and the river run through it. It was well spent time.

Yippeeee….next day is clear and we take off for our heli hike. We are taken to base camp and provided with the gear - rain jacket, waterproof over-trousers, woolen socks, caps , gloves, sturdy boots and crampons (with small waist bag). The views from the helicopter ride are mind boggling as the pilot takes us deep into the heart of the glacier and does the twists and turns! We land and start our hike. Our guide is a kid…all of 21 yrs. The glacier scenery can’t get more pristine and awe-inspiring. We see spectacular ice formations and make our way amongst towering pinnacles of brilliantly blue ice. We hear thunderous rumbling… that was the ice falling. We want more that we can see and not just hear. And we are blessed…coz we see several. It’s an experience I can’t describe in words. But the fact that Anita, who never really asks anyone to share snaps, for the 1st time asked me for my videos of the glacier ice falling.

It was well worth the wait and a fantabulous way to end our trip to New Zealand.

Scenic Drive to Fox Glacier – NZ Feb 2011

We leave Queenstown for Fox Glacier and this is the journey that I had mentioned in an earlier post, where we saw such diversity, with the landscape changing ever so often –rainforest, wetlands, lakes, glacier-fed rivers & white water rapids.

We had a brief stopover in Arrowtown, a quaint little town, to explore the streets and lanes. On the banks of the Arrow River, it has a very arty ambience with its shops, restaurants, cafes, offices and galleries located within a tight precinct.  At the outskirts of this town we stopped at a very famous fruit shop – Mrs Jones Fruits where we bought the local produce - Manuka honey, honey comb and fruits. 

The scenic landscape first treated us to 2 famous lakes– Lake Hawea with the background of mountain peaks and the adjacent Lake Wanaka, which is one of the largest lakes in New Zealand.

Soon after that we stop for a walk through New Zealand Silver Beech forest and a bridge over the Makarora River to reach the Blue Pools. The views back to the mountains of the Main Divide are absolutely breath-taking.

The glacier-fed water from the Blue River and the Makarora River in these deep pools is a deep azure blue, and so clear that you can see right to the bottom. We were told to look out for the resident brown trout in the river and the pools. Reminded me of Stephen’s story that the way to catch trout is just tickle them under the gut and they will come flying out. It was a good time for a demo, but luckily for Stephen, there didn’t seem to be any trout around that day!!! The color was blue but not thaaaaat blue also!

Noticed piles of stones much like the ones I saw all over the place in Norway. We spent some time there building small piles of stones and adding to existing ones. They are actually known as Cairns and were navigation points earlier, but now people build them just for fun – as someone said Local Graffiti – more like ‘I was here’ left by tourists.

On our way up to Haast Pass, we pass over ‘Hell’s Gate’ which is a vital bridge linking the West Coast to the Otago. No vehicle is allowed to stop on the bridge, so we got off at one end and walked across it so that we could enjoy the sheer drops of the Haast River to the amazing blue mountain pools.
A little ahead a short walk through a lovely forest gives views of the spectacular 28 metres high Thunder Creek Waterfall which drop from the level of the glacier ice. This is Mt Aspiring National Park, where the Haast Highway crosses the mountains to reach the west coast and the Tasman Sea. Vast emptiness - 1700km to the west, you hit Tasmania, Australia, and to the southwest, nothingness till Antarctica, more than 4500km away!!! Lush vegetation faces the sea, but due to the salty air the trees have a stunted growth making it look like a Bonsai Garden.

We stop at beautiful and desolate place called Ship Creek where the river flows serenely on one side and waves off the Tasman Sea crash against the coastline on the other. The beach is secluded and sandy but plants grow freely around the driftwood which has washed onto the beach. The large pieces of drift wood sticking out of the sand look very beautiful that I feel like carrying one home with me!!!  Don’t know who exactly thought that we should “Walk like Penguins”, but there we were…waddling away!

End of a scenic day as we reached Fox Glacier. But there was another eventful day ahead for we were booked for a Helicopter ride and Glacier Hike.

Shot Over Jet and Skydiving in Queens Town – NZ Feb 2011

From the Maori adventurers looking for Pounamu (greenstone, the green gold) in the 1100’s to the gold miner and high country sheep farmers in 1860’s; on the edge lifestyles have always been the norm in Queenstown. The culture of adventure still rules and now being home to skydivers, mountaineers, free skiers and others who dwell on the edge – no wonder the town is known as “Adventure Capital of the World”.

Stephen had asked us to find out the shape of the Lake Wakatipu and so as we had reached our hotel the previous night I had done some research on the net. And read a very interesting Maori Legend which states that the giant Matau was burnt to death in his sleep after he abducted a chief's daughter, burning a massive hole in the ground and melting the ice and snow of the surrounding mountains, forming the lake. The lake is a large "S" shape, like a giant, curled up and sleeping on its side. Matau's head rested at Glenorchy, at the north of the lake, and his feet south in Kingston. Queenstown sits on Matau's knee. One of Wakatipu's mysteries is the rise and fall of the lake by about 12cm (5") every five minutes. Legend states that a Giant's heart is impossible to destroy, and causes this rise and fall, while science says it is due to fluctuating atmospheric pressures. We were going to enjoy views of this lake from several heights and in my case even from 9,000 feet above!!!

It started at an easy pace with a half day city tour on a lovely sunny morning. We enjoyed beautiful views of the Lake Wakatipu, saw a London Bus doing the tourist rounds here and then went for a gondola ride - reputed to be the steepest lift in the Southern Hemisphere to the Skyline complex located on Bob's Peak for still more spectacular views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown is the birthplace of bungee jumping and we visited the place where it all started and watched people as they were flung off the bridge. I commented –“These people are crazy. How can they jump off like that?” I turned around to see my friends with THE LOOK. Dipti commented – and what you plan to do later in the day, thatz not crazy???

Our adventure started when we decided to go for an exhilarating ShotOver Jet Ride - a unique, breathtaking white water ride through dramatic and narrow Canyons. The boats speed in mere centimeters of water (as little as 10 cms) in the famous Shotover River and move deep into the spectacular Shotover River Canyons where the jet boat drivers aim their high-speed boats at rock walls and then veer away at the last second with just centimeters to spare. They skillfully whip past rocky outcrops, skims around crags and boulders and steer their boats into sharp 360-degree turns, throwing up plumes of water that drench us. What an unforgettable adrenaline rush!!!

A walk in the beautiful Queenstown gardens to calm us down was needed. The rest decided to have lunch and go back to the hotel as they had other plans for the evening. But me? I decided to skip lunch. I was too scared that I will throw up during my SKYDIVE slated for a little later.

After exploring the gardens for some more time I went to the skydive place. I was NERVOUS. But a very nice couple who were also going reassured me.

I was going to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane – don’t ask me why, from 9,000ft   for 25 secs of free fall at a terminal velocity of 200kph. Then a 15 mins parachute ride land back.

We reached the drop zone and our jump masters were assigned to us. As I waited, I saw each one getting instructions from his/her jump master but mine was nowhere to be seen. I asked around and I was told ‘Ahhh don’t worry, sometimes he decides to take a nap!!!” What??? He should be giving me instructions!!!! I anyways listened to someone else getting their instructions. Then my jump master comes along and casually hands me a cap and gloves and asks me to get into the suit. As I tell him, let me try the cap on, he smiles and says. Don’t worry, you just trust me!

And gives me exactly 5 mins to get ready and takes me to the plane. We are the last to get on, coz it seems we will be the 1^st to jump off…heavens noooooooooooo!!!!!

As we reached the desired height of 9000ft, he opens the shutter and asks me to dangle my feet over the side. I shudder, he gauges I am nervous. Tells me…don’t worry, take ur time and as I decide to relax and look around he nudges me over and before I know it I am off the plane, into the air. But no fear now. There is just too much beauty around to enjoy that there is no time to worry about anything else. I am so engrossed that I forget to pose for the camera man! Adam nudges my face and asks me to look at the camera for a few shots.

Even after we landed I was on a high. My lunch was still in my bag. I couldn’t even think about eating anything. I didn’t know how I would feel after the dive so I had opted out for the dinner plans that the rest were going to. When they were doing their bookings, they told the lady that our friend who has gone for sky diving may join. It seems she told them – she will be so high on adrenalin that I doubt she will be able to eat anything!!! How right she was.

Decided to just sit around in the park, next to the lake and let it all sink in. After nearly 2 hrs, took a bus and went back to the hotel. But the excitement that day had been much – I couldn’t even sleep!!!

What do I feel now - if given a chance I would do it again!!!! It was simply wonderful.

Milford Sound New Zealand Feb 2011

“The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time” - David Henry Thoreau”

The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is regarded as one of the most scenic roads in New Zealand and is an experience worth living. The benefit of a driving holiday with a very knowledgeable guide cum driver is that he made these frequent stops for us to enjoy the beauty.

We travelled along the edge of Lake Wakatipu, through Kingston and Mossburn to enter Fiordland National Park. With the Eglinton River besides us we reached Eglinton Valley, once filled with glacier ice. We made our first stop here – the open green field against the backdrop of huge mountains that tower along the valley sides, some two thousand feet above the valley floor looked very surreal!!! The majesty of the mountain scenery and valley definitely called for some dancing and singing ‘The Sound of Music’. As we entered our van we found a bee inside. True to NZ tradition where they don’t interfere with nature, Stephen gently caught it in his kerchief and let it free.

Soon after that we stopped at a small stream, which had the sweetest water I have ever tasted. We filled our bottles with the chilled sweet water before taking off again to changing landscapes and thick forests – the location of several scenes from the Lord of Rings series.

Other highlights of the drive included a stop at the Mirror Lakes. Luckily for us it was a nice still day so that we could see a perfect reflection of the Earl Mountains. And it was time for more of Stephen’s stories – a small Korean boy while peering into the lakes lost his glasses and Stephen retrieved them for him, for which he was treated to Tequila! He insisted he had only Tequila unlike the Koreans who have blood and whiskey!!! Later I googled and found that there is a drink called ‘Blood and Whiskey Sour’ made with blood red oranges and whiskey!

The next part of the road is called the “Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain” so called because an optical illusion causes the approaching mountain to get smaller rather than larger. Next stop was for a short walk at Cascade creek to view the creeks of splashing water.

As we reached Lake Gunn, it was time to stretch our legs - Stephen sent us off one a nature walk, an easy 45 minute loop track through thick forests where we managed to see some birds including the wood pigeon.

At The Divide, which is the lowest of the passes in the Southern Alps the road goes gradually downhill and after a short distance we stop at viewing platform with impressive views of snow topped mountains. Some of us catch a fleeting glimpse of the Kea, a bird found in this region flying around.

At the Homer Tunnel, a man-made tunnel cut out of the rock wall, we wait for our turn – the tunnel is only one way. And then the highlight – a Kea bird decides to do the ramp walk for us!

The last stop of the day, before we reach Milford Sound for our cruise is at the Chasm. A 20 minute walk leads us to the spectacular waterfall where the Cleddau River has scoured its way through solid rock.

The Southern Discoveries Milford Sound Scenic Cruise takes us through the majestic fiords and we see the Mitre Peak, one of the highest mountains in the world to rise directly from the ocean floor. Seals laze on the rocks and we relax on the cruise. Magnificent waterfalls can be seen on both sides. The captain of the ship takes us under one of them and insists that if we go under it we will emerge looking 10 years younger – guess that is the secret of my young looking friends!!!

After the cruise we travel to Queenstown and on the way we see this fence strapped with shoes. Nice way to dispose of old shoes, I say. If Stephen is to be believed there was a similar Bra Fence in Queenstown!!!

As we approach Queenstown the “Adventure Capital of the World”, my heart starts thumping. Because it is here that I have decided to do Sky Diving – but more on that tomorrow!