Days 5, 6, 7

Day 5 started well - I got a good night's sleep for the first time during the trip (thanks, new pillow). In late-morning we took a 5-minute helicopter ride to Franz Josef glacier. Our guide Tom took us on a three-hour, easy hike on the glacier. We walked through a few crevasses, which appear and disappear on a weekly basis... The glacier is constantly changing, and quickly. The hike was nice - not mind blowing, but nice. My favorite part was the helicopter ride.

In the afternoon I left Shweth to drive over to a serene lake, from which I could see Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. I swam laps from the shore, out, and back again. The water was a lot warmer than I expected. After swimming I soaked up some sun on the shore. For the rest of the evening, we worked out a a local hole-in-the-wall gym, saw a short Maori performance (apparently hakas, the famous Maori chants, aren't war songs - they're warm ups. So from now on I'm going to do a haka before my presentations), and had a beer.

Franz Josef is a small tourist town, but not obnoxiously so. Our hostel was quite good and we actually had space for our large suitcases (which, admittedly, are a bit much).

Day 6 started with a fun 30-minute trial of trying to pry our gas tank open. The drive to Queenstown is supposed to be 5 hours, but we took 10. We're learning that every drive takes twice as long as you think it will because there are amazing sights around every bend. The drive starts off in the rainforest near Fox Glacier, curves through mountains and valleys, splits two massive lakes (we stopped to swim in one), passes through Wanaka (an upper-class resort town), and ends with a spectacular descent to Queenstown.

That evening (Christmas Eve), we met up with five current Fuqua students who we met at Abel Tasman. In typical Fuqua fashion, we met up at a cheesy bar called "5 Below," which is one of two "ice bars" in Queenstown. The concept it quite dumb: take a small room, lower the temperature to 20-ish degrees, charge 35 bucks for entry (but impose a time limit of 45 minutes). I cringe at paying for such a dumb experience, but we wanted to meet up with the Fuquans so sucked it up. They were all nice people (funny how Shweth and I could plug right in - the year change but the nature of Fuqua students remains the same), and we drank a bit at their hotel after the ice bar.

Queenstown is a cross between Gatlinburg, TN (for its super-touristy shops and overall vibe) and Interlaken, Switzerland (for the preponderance of adventure sports). Only 8000 people live in Queenstown, the vast majority serving the tourism industry. It's also in the middle of some great scenery - a deep blue lake borders the city, and it's surrounded by mountains.

Superlatives are the only way to describe New Zealand, so I rate "great" as a 3 on a 5 point scale of New Zealand scenery; thus far my ratings are:

5: Lake Marian (near Milford Sound), the drive to Milford Sound

4: Milford Sound itself (but maybe this should be a 5??), the drive from Queenstown to Wanaka, Glenorchy

3: Abel Tasman, Queenstown

2: Nelson

1: Auckland (although it's still quite pretty)


Day 7 was Christmas, and no stores were open. We slept late. Folks staying at the hostel were already up cooking their native dishes for a hostel potluck. We didn't know about the potluck so didn't bring anything, but there was more than enough food so we ate and talked with other travelers (I talked with a father/son from Chile, a US Air Force guy in med school, and a Brit who runs street soccer camps in the US). Shweth stayed at the hostel to just chill out and do laundry, but I wanted to get out... Too beautiful of a day to be indoors. This was the day I went to Glenorchy (see previous post). Afterward, Shweth and I went on a long run, which I sorely needed.

That evening we had dinner with two of the most interesting people we've met thus far: a German couple (both 19 years old) on their second gap year. They were wise beyond their years, and I have to think their travels (which they are funding themselves) have helped them to be so.

Side note: of all the people I've met while traveling, Germans have struck me as some of the most intelligent and confident, but also the most anti- American, specifically regarding our consumerism, education system, and healthcare system. Most Germans I've will directly tell you they want no part of these things. On the other hand, our Franz Josef guide, Tom, wants to live in the US quite badly BECAUSE of our consumer culture. Do the Germans know something we don't? Or is it some sort of player hating? Or is it sour grapes for the first half of the 20th century? I haven't been to Germany and don't have many data points, but I think it's a combination of all three.

The drive from Franz Josef to Wanaka