One of new Zealand’s great cycle treks, the 90 km Twin coast cycle track between Opua in the Bay of Islands and peaceful Horeke in Hokianga Harbour travels by coastal views, wetlands, native forest and rolling farmland through some of New Zealand’s earliest Maori and European settlements. Our shuttle took one and a half hours to bring us to the beginning of our 2-day ride. By 10:30 we were dropped off at the starting point in Opua, we have our back packs on the back of the bike rack and we are ready to go. We start biking on the trail that used to be a railway in the 1880s so here and there you can see little bits of old train tracks. When the train was working it brought lumber and crops to the coast for trade. The scenery is gorgeous along the river and by big fields of farmland. Occasionally dairy cows would stare at us with their big black eyes; awe so cute, I literally fell in love with cows in the past two days. Other times we ride through forests of pine trees or valleys of giant New Zealand flax, and the towering fern trees reminded me of the jungle trees in Costa Rica. Everything was awesome besides the 27 km wind in your FACE! After 50km I was exhausted. Happily, we stayed in the greatest little cottage with great hosts who brought us a tasty “tucker box” so we could prepare a nutritious dinner and breakfast. If you ever stop in Kaikohe, make sure to stop at Mulga Bills Stopover.
cycling through pastureland
one of many train bridges to cross
untucked tucker box
Next day we had a fresh start but rode with the sorest behinds in the world. The scenery was stunning and more beautiful than the day before, there was no wind just a breeze and soon the trail was more downhill – Yay! We passed a farm with crazy and curious chickens where are stopped by a creek for a snack. We knew we were nearing the bay when the breeze picked up and carried the scent of the ocean. Soon we reached a long boardwalk through the mangroves with pretty grasses of reddish gold and some sort of fruit trees. On the last kilometer the wind came back to say “hi “, thankfully tires smoothly roll on wood so it was not that difficult. When we reached the hotel, I felt the best feeling of victory! My first long multi-day ride in my pocket.
A LITTLE BIT MORE OF MAORI HISTORY
The Maori sailed from Polynesia and settled in New Zealand around 1200 and they lived closely to the land mainly in the North. Starting in the late 1800s more and more sealing and then whaling ships visited New Zealand, mainly stopping at the Bay of Islands area for food and supplies and rest and relaxation. Here they met the Maori people. Many traders wanted kauri timber for ship building and flax for rope and nets. We saw some of these amazing trees that can live for 3-5 thousand years and it is strange to think the pretty pastures we rode by are areas of cleared forest that is so lush. Because of trade, Māori society changed a lot up to the 1840s. They changed their society from one of subsistence farming and gathering to cultivating useful crops for trade. In February 1840 the British wrote a treaty to negotiate exclusive rights to sale of land by the Maori and a voluntary transfer of sovereignty from the Māori to the British Crown. Our bike ride went through towns where the treaty was debated and signed by the majority of Chiefs, though some refused. This treaty was first signed in Waitangi and then passed through the country for more Maori chiefs to sign. Ever since there has been debate over the interpretation and the translations of the treaty and whether the Maori were given an honest deal.
About a week ago my mom, my sister, and I felt like we were in fairy tale, but we weren’t, we were just inside the dim blue illuminated caves in Waitomo, New Zealand where glow-worms live. I didn’t really have any expectations, but I would sum up the experience as something magical.
On a clear sunny day in the north island we drove through rolling hills of pastureland , it was hard to image there would be anything more than dirt below us. We ended up at the bottom of a hill, along a creek where a cave mouth opened leading us into the darkness. When first entering the cave it seems like a normal cave, besides the 100’s of stalactites and stalagmites all around us, but soon we turned off our lights and waited 5 minutes for our eyes to adjust to the darkness; slowly but surely dim strings of blue light started to appear all around us in clusters. Looking closer in between every little dangling strand of transparent blue web-like formations, there was a glowing worm. Traveling further into the cave, the air getting cooler and the sound of a distant water fall louder, we boarded a small raft. Floating silently down the underground river, we turned the corner and there they were thousands of specks reflecting off the water and lighting up the walls and ceiling of the cave with a sort turquoise glow. I felt I was right under the Milkyway looking up at the dotted stars across the pitch-black night sky, only they weren’t stars they were glow worms. Their light defined the contour of the cave and we could see their world. We gradually made it back the the mouth of the cave, leaving this wonderland behind us and I was filled with awe that such an amazing ecosystem exists on our planet.
floating down a stream in a glow worm cave
Wanting to understand this more I did little research on glow worms. Glow-worms are not actually worms, they are the larval stage of the fungus gnat. Glow-worms live in damp, dark, and still forests or cave systems where there is appropriate prey (other types of flies), they hang from gully walls, cave ceilings, and along stream banks. The prominent feature of the fungus gnat is hinted at in its larval name (glow-worm). The larval stage takes the predominant portion of the life-cycle, about a year. Then the remaining few weeks and days on either end of the cycle changing form egg to larva and larvae to gnat. The natural glow emitted during the larva stage is called bioluminescence. Glow-worms have a light-producing gland in their tail that is a byproduct of an enzyme called luciferase reacting with the multitude of chemicals.
How does a glow-worm find its food in a dark cave? Glow worms are blind and so create “fishing lines” to catch flies. It takes glow worm 1-15 minutes to form a line up to 500 mm long, glow worms in caves tend to have longer lines then the bush-dwelling-glowworms where the wind can tangle their lines. The glow worms web is made by their mouth and once the web is down, they will coat it in sticky mucous to catch their prey (usually flies). With the bioluminescent light in their tail they can attract/trick flies into thinking that their tail is light to the open sky, thereby catching their prey. Glow-worms then emerge from their tube to eat their prey. Sometimes, if the tension or vibration in the line suggests it is too far down the line to be considered safe they can reel the prey in or cut the over-sized unwanted prey from their line.
Interestingly Glowworms are only found in the southern portion of the ancient continent of Gondwana. 550 million years ago this ancient component of Pangea was comprised of South America, where I just was; Australasia, where I am now; and Africa, where I am going next.
This month we have done a lot of walking through Chile and Argentina. In Patagonia we did lots of hiking. From the Patagonian forests of tall trees and pretty water falls to the grassy shrubby steppe, there are miles under our feet. They say they have four seasons in one day in Patagonia and it is true. We hiked in all kinds of weather – Rain, snow, sun, fog.
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
We did some challenging hikes to the bottom of Mt Fitz Roy (named after the captain of the Beagle – Darwin comes up everywhere) and Torres de Paine; both had a turquoise grey lake just below the spires and a little bit of snow. These hikes are 10 to 11 km each way and take you through the forest and near the end above the tree line to very step sections where you go up 1,300 feet in the last kilometer! I enjoyed the Fits Roy hike the most; the flowers smell so sweet and give a nice sent to the air, the glaciers are beautiful with lots of vibrant blue colors (like literally the blue is like something out of a Disney movie) and best of all, I got to play in snow yeess. Ps: my brother did not get tp come on the Fitz Roy hike because he had hurt his hamstring muscle.
Perito Moreno GlacierPuddle hopping in El Chaltain, Argentina
At the very end we visited Buenos Aires. Now I only spent 2 days there. We arrived near midnight and then had to wait a crazy 1.5 hours for our luggage so after crawling into bed at about 2am we slept in late, at least I did. We enjoyed a scrumptious brunch at my now my favorite café in Buenos Aires, La Pandera Rosa. My recommendation is the of Nutella and fruit on a Belgian waffle. Our first day was also New Year’s Eve and we walked around the town. There are lively street cafes with music and there is so much great colorful street/graffiti art on the sides of the old buildings that it is like walking through a modern art museum. That evening the mood was very different because my dad flew back to Seattle and then all the shops and restaurants closed at 4pm for the New Years. The next day the streets were quiet with everything closed so we went for a walk, and gradually ran into more and more families doing the same. We headed for Bosque del Paloma which is a big park in the city and one of the few places open on New Year’s day to visit. My brother wanted to jog and so meanwhile my mom and I rented a funny bike car or pedal go-cart to pedal around a lake in the park. That night was January first, we took a non-stop flight to New Zealand and we landed on January third. We lost January second flying past Antarctica somewhere
Flying from Fin Del Mundo to Buenos Aires in the twilight of December
January 1 2020
By Haakon
While we have been rolling down these long never-ending Patagonian dirt roads with enormous mountains to our left and right, I have had a couple things on my mind. One food craving, and two things I miss about Seattle. I have been craving a Dairy Queen blizzard, Hot Cakes (in Ballard), and good Indian food in general. The thing I am really bummed out about missing are, team sports, friends, ski-bus!!, not having to spend an hour and a half searching various stores for somewhat healthy food, and easy routines you can stick to. So, this brings me into what this blog post will be about, how traveling has put perspective on my everyday activities in Seattle.
The main element
I appreciate about Seattle is being able to have all your friends around
you to
hang out with, play sports with, talk with, etc. When traveling,
inconsistent Wi-Fi
is guaranteed, and you are always on different time zones so it can be
hard to
even talk with friends. The past 3 months I have really realized how
nice it is
to have all your friends within a mile from you so you can just do what
you
like to do together. The second thing I am just really going to miss is
ski-bus,
last year we talked the whole way to the summit, skied for three hours
before
hopping back on the bus and riding back to school where we got picked up
by our
parents we could ask to sleep over because it was only a Friday night
and we
had the whole weekend to go. The third
thing that I have come to really like about Seattle is team sports, not
only
are they a great way to get some exercise in but you can also be around
friends
while doing something you love. When traveling it can be very hard to
get much exercise
in like running for example; if you are somewhere that is unfamiliar you
can
get lost, and in bigger cities you don’t know how safe it is to run on
your own. That doesn’t mean you don’t go on hikes; we have
gone on a lot more hikes than we would in Seattle so that is a plus
about
travel. We have been hiking several times a week through South America
in some awesome
places.
I expected to miss what I miss
about life at home, so I am not surprised. I didn’t think how fast the year would fly by,
it’s the New Year already. I don’t know if time feels like that in Seattle but that’s
what it feels like on the road. I haven’t got the shock, like oh woah I am
really traveling the world; it’s more like I am happy to experience all the
things that I am and it helps me be more happy with what I have and what I have
learned because of my experiences. As ski bus comes closer, I will get more homesick,
but I will just have to remember I have surfed, snorkeled, and mountain-biked
while everyone was in school
P.S. Tonight
I am flying to Auckland, New Zealand and will be missing out on January 2d
because of the time zones, just thought that was wacky.
Long Solstice shadows – Lago Argentina Estuary at El Calafate, Argentina
Dec 31 2019
By Annelise
Traveling through Southern Chile and Argentina with the kids during the holiday season from Thanksgiving, Sinterklaas, Christmas through New Years has been interesting.
I am very grateful for our 10 year old who, happily, is still a child at heart. Siri kept her joy of celebrating each special day and would find and point out decorations or signs of holiday cheer. Early in December, Bariloche, with its Bavarian and Alpen influence had Christmas craft markets, street decorations to lift the holiday vibes. Ushuaia with polar wind and some snow ushered in more hopes for a snowy Christmas. The approaching summer solstice erased cozy candles and fires, so she downloaded a list of Frank Senatra and other remixed classic Christmas ballads to listen to on our long car rides through the Patagonian steppe from Ushuaia at the Fin del Mundo up to Torres Del Paine in Chile and onward to El Chalten. She searched out paper crafts to make a wreath (an over complicated origami flexigon) and I made Danish paper heart baskets. She has helped off set the homesickness that was bound to creep in with all the traditions we have been missing. Each hike and long drive, a few miles of trail were eaten up with detailed descriptions of classic dishes, who has the best recipe, which dish will be most missed. More hiking hours passed by recalling fun memories with friends and family around the table of visiting. The wish lists are short, in large part by necessity – we can’t add more to our packed duffels, also in realizing we do not need much and what the kids really want is time with friends. We celebrated Christmas morning in El Chalten and went out for our traditional walk. It was laughably miserable for a while in the blowing rain, sleet and grit delivered by Patagonian winds strong enough blow our legs out from under us or lean on entirely and providing us new sympathy for those reindeer. The next day we had far better weather for the hike to Laguna los Tres at the base of Fitz Roy and Siri crossed one wish off her list – to play in snow
In the northern hemisphere there is more a sense of reaping the harvest of the quieter introspective time of fall to winter, increasing darkness towards solstice then opening to the new year. I have missed this part of the year associated with our holiday time the most. In our perpetual spring summer heading south we have not had that autumnal pause in our pace. Planning the next place to stay or route knowing it was gradually also leading to the end of our travels as a whole family has left me more grateful for the extended hours driving and hiking in Patagonia to allow my mind to catch up.
The message of Christmas is the joy wonder of new birth, new light, new chances to be kinder to each-other and the world we live in/on. With that in mind, I am looking forward to the next month with the kids in New Zealand. This next phase, the first part of the new year will be new for our family as Mark will be in Seattle while I am traveling on with the kids. It is a new beginning in a way and will come with new challenges and opportunities. After nearly 20 years traveling together it will be so different to be apart – like two trees in the forest whose canopies have grown in just the way that allows each the most light and shelters each-other from storms. It will be new to be parenting and traveling without my life travel partner for a while. So it begins, Mark departs in half an hour!
Nandu: ostrich-like bird of the Patagonian steppe.
Lenga: a beech (genus Nothofagus) tree common in Patagonia on which Darwin’s Fungus (Cyttaria darwinii) can be found
Nonsense title of course, Nandus are not found in trees even on the 12 day!
Lago Nordskold, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Dec 19 2019
By Annelise
As of this week, we have been traveling for three months, every day
together. In three weeks, Mark will be back in Seattle and I will continue on
with the kids to adventure through more cultures and continents for another
half year or more. In the vast landscapes of Patagonia where I feel at once
lost in time and feel it’s immensity, I realize again that this time together
is truly precious and something I do not take for granted. Looking forward I am
not sure if this will ever happen again for the four of us. Never again will we
be able to spend nearly every moment with each other for this length of time.
We have had a lot of fun and new experiences through Central and South
America -thrills of surfing, ziplining or encountering new animals and foods; goofy
moments when we completely miss the mark. The beauty and otherness are
stimulating and at times over-whelming. Not all the experiences have been pleasant,
and we have had grouchy, frustrating and wits-end moments. I realize though
that the low points, though intense, are just that, points or moments; they are
not the arc or thread of our journey.
An apt quote I remind myself of; “A Journey is like marriage. A certain way
to be wrong is to think you control it” John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie.
We are learning more about each other’s tempos and temperaments and how to foster
individual and family flow. Just as we can’t make is stop raining so that we
can experience the breathtaking views of a mountain peak or color of the water,
we can’t control individual weather patterns either. There is a balance and
tension between the comfort of routine and structure and the ease of spontaneity
and taking things as they come. Too much of one or the other and the journey
would not move forward.
As if a metaphor for personal growth, traveling through Patagonia takes time. Not just that the distances between parks or towns are immense but also the roads are not always paved, even the main highway in places. There are not many benchmarks or signposts. The map of southern Argentina is denoted by one vast ranch after the next, as we drive there are hours where we barely see any structures at all other than fences. One evening we saw a rancher out fixing a fence post. It must have been one of nearly a million lining the borders of his ranch. How did he know to address that particular one?
We see Nandus (ostrich like birds), Chilean flamingos, black necked swans, brown foxes, armadillos, hog nosed skunks, guanacos, so it is clear that this landscape of volcanic mountains shaped by glaciers over millenia is enough different from familiar territory of the Pacific Northwest. Here it feels like the US Southwest and Northwest combined in the sense of human scale and geologic time. The territory is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
Places like this help me not take myself to seriously. I feel rightfully
like a spec in the universe. Some wonder why I would want to leave for a year
of travel. Leaving one rhythm behind to try to find a new one. Not really. I
think it was Confucius how said, “wherever you go, there you are”. You take
yourself with you when you travel. For me I would say that getting out of my
patterns and environment helps me see and feel more clearly who I am at this
time. I am developing a better sense of my strengths and weaknesses and how I
want work with them as I navigate forward as a person and parent.
