The Desert of No Waivers

It's funny how long you can live in a city without doing any "tourist activities" until you actually have visitors.  Most of my coworkers signed up for Dubai's most popular attraction, the Desert Safari, within their first month, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I've always felt a bit claustrophobic in large groups of tourists, and being herded around like sheep (or should I say camels) through the desert all day did not sound like my idea of a good time.  It is difficult to deny your mother anything, so when she came to visit and requested to do the trip, how could I refuse?

This leads me to my first travel tip:  Always try everything once.

Far from your average sightseeing tour, Safari Adventures actually lived up to its name.  America's adventure activities are on a downhill spiral to boring with all the new safety regulations. The industry lives in constant fear of being sued. And fair enough, you're probably not even allowed to take coffee with you on most city walking tours anymore because you might accidentally spill it on yourself and try to hold the company liable. Way to ruin it for all of us...

In Dubai they have no concerns.  If you die on their time, why not just cover it up with their 100 % government regulated media?  Off-roading in the sand dunes far surpassed any roller-coaster I'd ever been on.  They pile you in monster jeeps, the driver guns it, and you're stomach is doing flips before you even know what hit you.   In the words of my mother, "It was a lot scarier than I thought!"  

A picture says a thousand words...

Scary (for some)

The jeeps stopping point is at the camp a few miles into the vast bleakness of the desert.  Look straight towards the ginormous ATV track, look left at the belly dancer's stage, look right at camels and a falcon, and look behind you at the massive dunes equipped with sandboards.   Desert fun from all angles.  

ATV track to the right and the stage to the left

Getting a Henna Tattoo.  This artist was amazing, and it lasted for weeks. 

It would have been great if the straps weren't broken

At first I was excited to ride a camel for the first time.   These are not small creatures, and unlike most animals you ride, they have a gigantic hump on their back which makes getting on a difficult task.  The Camel Tamer tried his best to encourage the animal to its knees so people could mount it more easily, but camels are not built to shift from standing to kneeling positions every 5 minutes.  They're top heavy creatures with legs that resemble toothpicks,  and their knees took a rough beating during the multiple transitions.  I felt quite uneasy about the situation, but the Tamer reassured me they only gave rides once a day and the animals were very well taken care of.  I still felt uncertain. 

He still looks a little sad:(

When camels manage to find the strength to stand, it's an awkward movement.  They shift their weight from side to side in search for the perfect angle to force their body upwards.  You have to hang on tight.  Unfortunately, the girl in front of us wasn't aware of this and she almost toppled head first off the camel when it finally stood up.  She was screaming bloody murder but the camel tamer seemed unfazed and kept saying "it's okay, hang on, hang on".  He probably has a more profound emotional attachment with the camels than with the riders...  

Anyway, I hung on for dear life when it was my turn.

The Belly Dancers performed towards the end of the night and were spectacular, but my favorite was the Whirling Dervish that came onto the stage shortly afterwards.  A Dervish is someone who practices Sufism, also known as the "inner mystical dimension of Islam".  They twirl in a circle 3,000 times in attempts to reach "religious ecstasy" and be closer to Allah.  The dance was never intended for entertainment purposes, but the western world begged to differ.  Watching someone spin 3,000 times in a circle was most certainly a crowd pleaser.  Ballerinas and other dancers have a focal point when they spin to avoid getting dizzy, but the dervish had his eyes wide open staring straight ahead following his turn; it was ludicrous.   Of course due to the high-demand of the performance, it has evolved into an art of it's own, with magnificent costumes of color and light.

As the sun began to dip further into the horizon, Arabic coffee and dates were served before piling us back in the Jeeps, and I had "Arabian Nights" from Aladdin stuck in my head all the way back to Dubai.

Meditating in a Kayak

Launching my kayak off the shore into Lake Mapourika

When I was in Franz Josef, I was helping Bronwyn out with her kayaking company.  Since it was off-season for kayaking (as it was winter in the southern hemisphere), company employee's were limited to herself and her partner Dale.
One morning the Kiwi Bus (or the party bus as I like to call it, because it consists of young travelers who never leave their hostel without a flask), showed up with an unusual amount of individuals wanting to kayak off their hangovers.   Bronwyn called me in as a second guide to run the trip, and it was one of my favorite days in New Zealand.

Lake Mapourika is one of the most stunning places on earth.  Once you’ve seen it, you’re left with an insatiable desire to experience it again and again. Those three magical hours on the water are as much for the enjoyment of the staff, as they are for the first-timers, resulting in contagious positive energy bouncing around the entire trip.

Maybe they weren't that hungover...

One of the biggest perks of kayaking on a placid lake is the ease of it. Even if you're new to the sport, to operate it requires minimal coordination skill. Basically if you can walk, you can kayak. Bronwyn provides all the gear and transportation so all the guests have to worry about is what to bring for lunch.

Your main task as a guide is suiting people up and strapping them into their kayaks.  Once on the water I occupied myself with photography and coming up with as many annoying jingles to sing as possible. 

The lake is sheltered from harsh coastal winds and most often it is perfectly still, creating a mirror like reflection of your surroundings in the water below. Calls of the rainforest birds create pleasant background music, and the overwhelming beauty of the glacier-capped mountains has you entranced. Each stroke of your paddle pulls you deeper and deeper into a meditative state of sublimity.

Half-way through the trip we enter a creek whose shoreline belongs to a Kiwi Wildlife Sanctuary.  Unfortunately these country famous furry creatures are nocturnal, but it was still a great opportunity to see their living environment.  It reminded me of the tours they have in Hollywood, where people pay hundreds of dollars to drive by the outside of celebrity houses (but without feeling pathetic).





Before I knew it, I was heading back to shore cursing Einstein’s Theory of Relativity; three hours have passed in a flash.  Then I remembered the best part of living in a vacation destination: I can do this everyday!

Myself venturing out of the Sanctuary

Exploring the Glacier

My first thought of New Zealand was that it was eerily similar to Canada in it's magnificent scenery and wildly entertaining people.

When cruising into Franz Josef the first thought that comes to mind is “this is the reason I’m travelling New Zealand.” Situated in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, this city meets all your outdoor adventure needs.

 

The small town is comprised of two streets, 330 welcoming locals, and is set in the heart of the rainforest (quite disorienting after you catch sight of towering glacier packed mountains right above your head). The West Coast of New Zealand is the only place in the world you will find rainforest and glacial biomes in such close proximity. 

Bronwyn was a childhood friend of mine who used to work as a Franz Josef Glacier Guide before opening up her own kayaking company. One morning she invited me along with some of her friends to hike Fox Glacier (just 30 minutes south of Franz).  I lucked into having my own personal guide and the necessary equipment to explore the glacier way above the designated turn-back point for general public guided tours. Bingo.

Unloading for the hike

The trickiest part about walking on the glacier is accepting the fact that you are walking on a sheet of ice. Glacier terrain varies with every step; some parts are as flat as the prairies while other areas required climbing equipment. Bronwyn came equipped with an ice ax to carve steps in anything too vertical for our own comfort. With crampons fastened tightly around our boots, slipping and sliding on the ice is out of the question, but you  have to learn to trust your equipment. The faster you do this, the faster you can relax and appreciate your breathtaking surroundings, letting your imagination take you back to the last ice age.

Crampon!

Glaciers are one of the most exquisite natural wonders ever created. If you are lucky enough to catch it on a sunny day, the light reflects off the ice in such a way that the glacier looks as though it’s composed of thousands of diamonds rather than frozen water molecules. Carved by water and shaped by tectonic processes, the features of the glacier are both astonishing and unusual. It’s easy to loose yourself in its ancient beauty. It's these experiences in life that open your eyes to the astonishing wonders that lay undiscovered by a vast majority of the population.  All it takes is a little exploring!

Photo of a Moulin (carved by ice melt, these can extend downwards over 20 meters...don't fall in!)

Myself in the ice cave

Bronwyn and myself saying good-bye to Fox