NZPost vs Universal Mail vs Canada Post

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New Zealand’s postal system is much like Canada’s, in that it is a large, government run entity (NZ Post). But for tourists there is another option, with ‘Universal Mail’ stamps in most tourist shops. The stamps are often much more touristy, showing pictures of areas, compared to NZPost’s which are all of the same general image. Using Universal Mail cost the same as NZPost to send a postcard internationally, but how is the speed? Research shows they use a courier, DHL for moving the mail international. And how about in reverse, sending from Canada to New Zealand? Curious to see the difference, I got Donna back in Sarnia to help me with a little experiment. A postal race across the pacific.

From my side in Ohakune, I dropped both postcards in the mail on October 16th, a Sunday. This was done on purpose to ensure that they both have an equal start – Monday morning, or whenever mail was collected that day. So the first day of movement was considered October 17th. On Donna’s side, after a difficult search to actually find a postcard with Sarnia on it, she dropped a postcard  in the mail on October 17th – which would be October 18th for me. She posted it from the post office so it would get sent that day.

The results:

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On the road again

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After my longest stay in a single place since…probably March (!!), I have put Ohakune in my rear-view mirror and started my travels once again. While I generally try not to repeat spots too much, I simply hadn’t spent much time in Taupo the two times I passed through. And something was pulling me here, both times through it just ‘felt’ like a great spot.

Taupo has a couple other things going for it that I like, simply past the ‘feel’. It’s both a small town and yet has a thriving tourism economy, so there are lots of shops and competition, keeping prices lower. It’s got great scenery, which I’ll be exploring over the next few days here. Finally, free camping is in abundance, with the best spot being less than 5km outside of town along the Huka river. It’s a beautiful spot and where I’ll be parking my car for the night during my stay here. Summer is nearly here so camping shouldn’t be a cold experience anymore. This will in effect save me $20+/night, which will help stretch that old budget just a little further. I only have one hurdle there to still overcome – cooking and food. While I’ve had a gas cooker and propane tank for quite some time, I still have no pots/pans to use. I’ve bought a set online (used), now it’s just a wait and see for when it might arrive in the mail. And then I’ll be able to enjoy instant noodles, rice and sausages, and many other exciting meals out in the wilds of New Zealand. I for one can’t wait! Until then, I’ll just have to hike to keep myself busy. And maybe jump off high platforms or something exciting…:D

I know what I’ll be doing March 13th, 2012…

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I’ve specifically stayed away from planning more than a a few days in advance so far but have had to change that for March next year. Specifically, starting March 13th I’ll be walking on the world-famous Milford Track. The reason I have booked so far in advance? That’s the first day of availability. The New Zealand government limits the number of independent hikers to 40 per day on this track to keep it in good, natural condition. The track being a huge draw though means it can be hard to get a spot during the summer months. March is actually fall here, but it will do just fine for me. This was one multi-day hike that I HAD to make sure to do before leaving New Zealand, so I made the booking today. This will fit well – I will already be in the Queenstown area March 2nd dropping off friends for their flight home, and again on April 1st when my parents come for a visit. I’m hoping to get some serious hiking in during the month in-between. There are some absolutely fantastic multi-day hikes in that region.

The big downside to the Milford Track,compared to any other hike here in New Zealand? The price. You can’t camp on the Milford (you can on any other great walk), and hate to stay in huts. The huts are supposed to be great, but the price difference is substantial ($50 vs $15 camping). Add to that you need a boat to take you to the start of the track from Te Anau downs, and then a boat to get you from the end of the track to Milford Sound, and then a bus back to Te Anau…the total cost quickly hits over $300! OUCH. Compared that to most other hikes which require no transport fees or huts (ie the Tongariro Northern Circuit), those costs will be $45-50 for the same amount of days. Oh well, small price to pay for what should be one of the best hikes in the world. It will cost me considerably more whenever I get to do the Inca trail after all…:)

I just hope I get good weather!

Around the Mountains

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While there is a difficult 4-5 day hike called ‘Round the Mountain’, which takes you all the way around Mt. Ruapehu, I wasn’t going to be trying that hike during my stay here. Instead, I opted to hop in the car and see a few things in the region I had yet to see and circle the three major mountains on the North Island – the weather was beautiful and I was hankering for a hike. I ended up doing 5.

The circuit of driving was about 200km – this is a BIG area. My first stop was the hike to Lake Rotokuru. Unlike the rest of my hikes today, this was a lush green forested area.

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The Surprise was the difficulty

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I had originally wanted to do this on my birthday or Halloween, but I was working for one and the weather was dreadful for the other. So I started the hike to Lake Surprise on a somewhat cloudy day a few days into November with hopes that the hike would prove to be a good one. It had been talked up quite a bit by my bosses, who really enjoyed the hike last summer. I think summer might have been key.

This was the view from my start point, near the Turoa ski area on Mt. Ruapehu. I was just below the snow line, at least what remains of it at this time. This was going to be a different hike, being on a volcanic mountainside and completely open to everything.

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Nearing the end

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I’ve reached my ‘minimum’ 4 week stay here in Ohakune, and had planned to stay until November 6th, the end of ski season. My boss asked me to extend that until November 10th to help out during a busy week, and I’ll stay until then. The reason? A little movie production called ‘The Hobbit’ is coming to town…

In addition to that neato bit coming up, November should be a very busy and exciting month. If you’ve been getting bored by the lack of adventure activities that I’ve done in October…that will change in November! I think I’ll be camping and hostelling it for the month, and hope to finish off several areas – namely Rotorua, Taupo, Hamilton and Coromandel. There are some pretty big things I’ve got set up in those cities – white water rafting, sailing, surfing, hiking, going to the dentist, jet-boating, high-ropes…and quite a bit more that you’ll have to wait to see. 😉

Spent my Halloween today working during the morning, and snowboarding in the afternoon. The mountain probably only has about 1/3 the runs left at this point, mostly in the higher parts. Lots of the snow is disappearing quickly now! I still would like to get up once more before the mountain is closed, but that is very much weather dependent. I’ve also got a couple of hikes that I’d like to do, and time is getting short for the good weather to show up!

Happy Halloween to everyone back home!

14 hours a day

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The weekend was a rather uninteresting one. The owners of the motel were away Friday-Sunday so I was looking after the place by myself. So that meant long work days 14 hours (730am-930pm) to be exact! Granted, work was far from continuous, but it also meant I had to be here the entire time. So no hiking or snowboarding for me this weekend. Working during your birthday (Saturday) isn’t the most exciting way to spend it, but it’s just another day for me now that I’m 28. Not an overly exciting or special year on number alone (29 is my champagne birthday…but where shall I be spending it?), but hopefully I can make it an amazing one based on experience. 😀

More fun with Viaducts

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Bored by viaducts? TOO BAD! I wanted to finish off the Old Coach Road, so I walked it starting from the other end and went to the halfway mark, roughly. That way I will have seen everything the trail has to offer, just split over 2 days. This one had some more viaducts for me to enjoy. They are neat from an engineering perspective, okay? Maybe I should become a Civil Engineer, that was my 2nd choice for engineering careers way back when I had the option of what field to go into. Chemical, Civil and Materials engineering were my top 3. I’m pretty sure I had Electrical dead last. One reason was because Electrical had 3 full years of Calculus instead of 2. Nooooooooo thank you!

Anyways, back to the joys of hiking. 🙂 The day still wasn’t overly pleasant but that didn’t deter me. My time in the region is winding down and I want to make sure to hit the trails I want before I go!

No rain this morning meant the trail wasn’t a muddy mess this time, allowing me to make better time than yesterday. I still made lots of stops for pictures, like here, with a small waterfall in the background.

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