NEW ZEALAND MARATHON TRIP Part 1 of 2 : 11/12/18 - 11/24/18

12NOV18 – Leave for Queenstown out of GR

Once again I am waaay behind in my blogging endeavors.  Here's the first part of our trip to New Zealand last fall.....

Our flight began Monday afternoon out of the Grand Rapids airport.  We flew from Grand Rapids to Dallas/Fort Worth.  We had a short layover before our 17 hour long flight from DFW to Sydney, Australia.

The long flight didn’t seem all that bad.  Luckily, we ended up in a row with only 3 seats and the outside seat was empty.  Not much to do other then watch TV, sleep and eat.  We wore compression socks this time because the last time when we flew to Russia my feet swelled up from the long flight.  The socks actually seemed to help since I didn’t get that same swelling!

After 17 looooong hours, we finally arrived in Sydney.  We had another short layover before getting back on the plane to Queenstown, NZ.  When we arrived in Sydney, we had crossed the international date line, so when we landed it was already Wednesday.  It was like we time traveled to the future! Haha.

Quantas Air - You are the best

14NOV18 – Finally getting off the plane in Queenstown!

Upon arriving at the Queenstown airport, we gathered up our luggage and I called Scotties Rent a car to let them know that we needed to be picked up at the airport to get our car.  A few minutes later, a tall, thin girl named Amy picked us up to take us back to the car lot.  This was the first time that either of us had been in a country where they drive on the opposite side of the road.  It’s very strange! 

Right-hand side driving.  Yikes!

We got to the car lot, filled out the paperwork and we were on our way.  Gary drove and I helped navigate and remind him to stay on the left side of the road.  It felt like it took both of us to drive.  You would get this uneasy feeling, like you were about to get smashed in the back, when you turned left into the closest lane instead of the far lane.  They also use a lot of round-a-bouts at intersections.  You have to go left around them instead of right.  The brake and gas pedal are still in the same position as they are on the left hand side of the car, but the blinker and wipers are opposite.  Gary frequently kept turning on the wipers when he wanted to turn on the blinker.  Also, he could not gage the distance well from the left side of the car to the edge of the road.  Frequently, we would hit the rumble strips or even brush along shrubs while driving.  It’s like we were learning to drive all over again!

Anyway, we only had to drive about 10 minutes from the airport to the Embassy B&B where we were staying.  This place was at the top of a switch back road, on a hill overlooking the big lake in Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu.  Janet and Chris were the owners of the B&B and greeted us and got us to our room.  The view from our room was breathtaking!  I loved staying at the place the entire time we were in Queenstown!

Front entrance to the B&B - our room was up the stairs.  We ate breakfast in this area in the mornings

View our of our hotel window! - Lake Wakatipu

View from the deck of our B&B

After we got settled in a little bit, we decided to walk downtown to check things out.  There is a walking path across the main street from the B&B.  The path runs right along the lake all the way into town.  We got dinner and grabbed a few items at the grocery store and headed back to our B&B for the evening.

Downtown Queenstown

This park was really cute - lot of people hanging out and drinking and enjoying the nice weather

Gary ate the whole thing!

Pumpkin and Beet salad - this seemed to be a common salad / dish at restaurants and in grocery store delis. 

Rice Bubbles! hehe

15NOV18 – Drive to Milford Sound

The next morning we decided to drive out to see Milford Sound.  On Google maps, it appeared that it would take us a couple of hours to drive the distance.  However, after talking to a couple of people at the B&B, they let us know that Google maps isn’t exactly correct and it would probably take us more like 5 hours to drive there one way.  We hustled and took off around 8:30 or so for the sound.  The drive was very slow and windy…driving along these roads almost made me dizzy sometimes.  The scenery was amazing.  We stopped at a few places along the way to take pictures.  There was one stop that had a sign that said “Don’t feed the Kia”.  The Kia is apparently some kind of bird there, but we didn’t see any around, so we didn’t think much of the sign at the time….

A scenic stop on our way to the Milford Sound

I thought this was pretty amazing!  We all know you pass the 45th North parallel on your way to the Mackinac Bridge, so I couldn't believe it when we passed the 45th South parallel!!

Another scenic stop before going through the Milford tunnel

Do NOT feed the Kia...it's not joke....as I learned later on.

On the last stretch of road before you get to the sound, you have to go through this tunnel.  It’s one lane wide.  You cannot see to the other side, so a traffic light lets one side go and then the other.  When you pop out on the other side of the tunnel, it’s like you just stepped into another world.  You can finally kind of see the sound and your final destination.  The road is winding downwards, the mountains are jutting up into the sky and you can start to see where the ocean comes in to the sound.  It’s amazing.

Entering the tunnel!

Once we finally made it to the sound, we got tickets to take a boat cruise tour.  The boat took you out into the sound and the crew talked about the history of the sound during the trip.  We saw seals basking in the sun on some rocks and even a wild penguin jumping around! 

The Milford Sound

At one point, the boat drives up to the biggest waterfall in the sound.  For those who want to, you can go out on the deck and get splashed by the waterfall.  Sort of reminds me of the boat rides they do at Niagara Falls.  The crew called it a ‘glacial facial’.  Gary and I couldn’t stop giggling…..I’m not sure if their slang is exactly the same as ours, but we thought it was funny.

Unbelievable waterfalls in the sound!

Gary receiving his 'glacial facial' - hahahaha

After we got back on land, we had to get going for the long drive home.  Luckily, they had a gas station right there in Milford Sound.  The last town before Milford Sound is called Ten Anau Downs and that was 2 or more hours away.  Anyway, we filled up and started to head back. 

When we got to the one-lane tunnel, we had to wait in a line in order to get through.  As we were waiting there, this bird was hopping alongside the cars.  We realized that he was begging for food!  Of course, I wanted to just give him a little snack.  The only snack I could give him were these  ‘digestive crackers’ that I had bought for the ride.  A little bit of background on these crackers.  They seem to be quite common in other countries and I have had them before.  They are sort-of crackers to help you stay regular.  The reason I got them was 1) I thought my digestive track would be pretty screwed up after the race and would need some help 2) we would be sitting in a car for 10 hours not moving.  Anyway, I broke apart a cracker to give to the bird.

Then I realized that this bird was a Kia!  The bird that the sign had warned us not to feed.  On top of feeding the bird that we weren’t supposed to feed, Gary yells at me, “Oh my God, you fed the bird a shit biscuit???”.  Technically, it’s not a shit biscuit, it’s a digestive biscuit! haha

At the time, I didn’t understand why it was a big deal to feed these Kia birds.  I found out later that they can be quite aggressive and a nuisance.  Apparently, they have been known to jump on cars and peck and tear at the plastic.  Lesson learned for the next time I visit New Zeeland!

It's a Kia begging for food while waiting to go through the tunnel

A Kia - They are little buggers

16NOV18 –Wanaka Tree, Arrowtown, Packet pick-up in Queenstown

The day before the race, we had a lot of activities planned.  First thing in the morning we headed to Cardrona to do some horseback riding at Back Country Saddle Expeditions.  Just getting there took a lot longer than we expected because there was one narrow, 2-lane road that was a switchback up the mountain.  It was really hard to judge how long it would take you to get places because mileage wise, it was not that far.

Once we arrived, there were a handful of us that morning ready to ride.  We got outfitted with our helmet, duster (they were predicting rain and the long, heavy coat would keep us dry), our horse and we were ready to go.  I was riding ‘Bitty’ and Gary was on “Prickles”. 

Horses are ready for our big excursion!

The riding was really easy and slow.  The horses were basically on autopilot.  The girl leading took us on this trail along the side of a gentle slope.  We crossed a large open field and did some ‘trotting’.  We crossed a stream where the horses stopped to drink for a bit.  It was really relaxing and it was beautiful countryside.

Beautiful New Zealand Countryside

We did notice that there seemed to be quite a few dead bunnies all over the place.  We asked our guide about the bunnies.  She said that bunnies are not native to New Zealand and they do not have any predators.  Because they have no predators, their numbers are out of control.  The horse owners don’t like them because they dig holes, spook the horses and create a potential for the horses to break an ankle.   

Me and Bitty, Gary and Prickles

After our ride, we headed to the town of Wanaka.   The only reason we drove there was because I had seen this ‘Wanaka Tree’ on Instagram that was somehow super famous.  It was a random tree that grew out in the Wanaka Lake.  I didn’t really know the history behind it, but I wanted to see it for myself. 

On the way to Wanaka, we stopped at the famous bra fence.  Not sure how this became a thing, but I did NOT leave a bra here!

We got to this little town on the lake and walked around.  This was probably where we first noticed this amazing flower smell throughout the entire town.  There was this yellow blooming flower all along the shore of Lake Wanaka.  It smelled amazing and it was like the whole town smelled like this flower.  I wish we could have bottled up that smell and took it with us. 

We found the Wanaka tree and took some pictures.  It was kind of funny because there were quite a few people gathered there taking pictures as well.  Later on when we were walking around town, we asked a girl working in a souvenir shop what the deal was with that Wanaka tree.  She laughed and said “Nothing, it’s just a tree….it got famous from people posting pictures of it on Instagram!”. 

Another thing we noticed around Wanaka was a lot of camper vans in the parking lots along the lakeshore.  We found out later on that in New Zealand there’s this thing called ‘Freedom camping”.  People will rent these camper vans and live out of them and travel around the country.  You are allowed to pretty much park / camp anywhere.  Not sure if there’s some kind of bathroom inside, but most of them definitely had a cooking space at the back of the van….almost as if you were tailgating. 

The Wanaka Tree - It got famous because people posted pictures of it on Instagram.  

After Wanaka, we headed over to Arrowtown.  That was going to be the starting place of my race the next day, so we wanted to check it out.  It was an old gold mining town that they turned into a cute, small tourist town.  It really reminded me of Saugatuck.  We didn’t do too much here except visit a few shops and walk around a bit.  It had started to rain and got pretty cool outside, so we didn’t stay long.

After Arrowtown, we headed back to Queenstown where I had to pick up my race packet for the next day!  We had dinner and then it was off to bed for a fitful night’s sleep before the big race.

17NOV19 – RACE DAY!

The day of the race arrived!  I got up early so Gary could drop me off downtown Queenstown for me to catch the bus.  Since it was a point-to-point run, we had to take busses from the finish line out to the starting line. 

It was sunny and the weather was cool, which would be great for the race.  However, at 6:30 in the morning it was freezing!  I was wearing a thin long sleeve T-shirt and shorts and my Nathen’s vest.  I walked over to where everyone was standing in line for the marathon busses.  After about 30 minutes of freezing, a bus finally arrived to pick us up to take us to the start, which was in Arrowtown.

A young kid sat next to me on the bus.  I am usually pretty nervous before a race, so I don’t talk much.  But, this kid was nice and he was super pumped and he wanted to chat.  He was from England originally, but had moved to Wellington, NZ about 3 years ago to work and live.  This was his first marathon and he had been doing all these techniques training to run his best run and time. In my mind I’m thinking, “I just want to cross the finish line!”.

His girlfriend was on her way from Wellington to travel to Queenstown to meet up with him at the end of the race.  He was just so happy and excited and wished me luck when we finally arrived at the starting line.

We got off the bus at this golf course in Arrowtown.  The sun was shining, but I was back to freezing.  I walked around and used the bathroom and snapped some pictures waiting for the start of the race.

People lining up for the start of the race.

We all lined up for the 8am start.  However, because most of the race was on paths, the start of the race had to occur in waves.  Eventually, my wave was called to go.

The race started off just fine.  In the beginning, I probably pay more attention to my surroundings and the people then I do later on.  For a bit, I ran behind a couple of guys dressed as bananas in pajamas.  I don’t know how they wore those costumes for 26 miles!  I was behind a girl with a shirt that said “If you see me passed out, pause my Garmin”.  For a while, I ran near these 2 Asian girls who were running with a flag the whole race.  They took turns taking pictures with their flag along the way.  It’s funny how you ‘run’ with people for a while until someone goes to the bathroom or stops for a drink.

As the race went on, we were on the road for a bit, then on a path, then back on the road, then back on the path.  I think they said that 80ish% of the race was on these walking paths.  We ran right down the center of the little gold mining town of Arrowtown.  People lined the street cheering which is encouraging.  Once we got past the little town, it was pretty much countryside until I got back into Queenstown.  The scenery was beautiful!  I passed mountains and lakes.  When we ran on the path, it was really hard packed and not too difficult to run on. 

At one point the path went around a lake.  This was probably the most difficult part of the path.  It was super narrow and you were not able to pass anyone because on either side of the path it was immediately swampy.  Just when I didn’t think it could get harder, the path went up this large hill where it traversed around the side of it.  EVERYONE in front of me walked up the hill.  Once it leveled out, it became a really cool view and path.

The trail goes up and up and up!

Beautiful scenery, worth the difficult climb!

At about 10km left of the race, I really started pooping out.  There was a pedestrian bridge that I had to cross over to get to the other side of this river.  The path became a switchback to get up to this bridge!  Once I crossed the bridge, the path flattened out for the last several miles of the race.  It followed right along the shores of Lake Wakatipu.  It was around this time that I passed a girl sobbing and her boyfriend/husband was consoling her. I wanted to tell her so bad that I knew exactly how she felt and she was so very close to the end!  It was beautiful scenery and it didn’t seem too much farther since I finally was recognizing the area. 

I really was getting ‘runners gut’ at this point.  At around 3 miles from the finish, I had to stop and use the restroom.  My gut was acting up so bad, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to leave the port a john! I also realized that my music stopped, which meant that I had already gone through almost 5 hours of music.  This also meant that Gary was probably already waiting for me at the finish and I was still 3 miles out!  At some point, I was able to pull myself together and plod along to the finish.

The last little bit of the race went right through downtown Queenstown.  There were people still standing around cheering.  I came over the last little hill and there was the finish line inside of this out track / stadium.  I finally finished in around 5hours, 30 minutes.

After the race, I was able to somehow hobble to where Gary had parked the car, we headed back to our place and I took a much needed shower and rest. Sometime in the afternoon, I was able to pull myself together and we headed back to downtown Queenstown for dinner and to walk around for a bit.  My goal was to break my all-time steps for a 24-hour period.  So, with a marathon plus walking afterwards, I broke my own record with 59,414 steps for the day!

I finished!