NZ Land Logs 23, Year 2: South Island–Christchurch to Kaikoura

NZ Land Logs 23, Year 2: South Island–Christchurch to Kaikoura
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Weather Today: Temperature Dropping and Rain
Location: Kaikoura, New Zealand

Yesterday was beautiful and sunny, but we are getting our share of cool and rainy weather once again. I’m not a lover of rain, but actually I prefer the rain to the cooler weather. For the most part, the rain is light, it’s supposed to be in the 50’s for the next couple of days, so I guess I have to put the sandals away and get out real shoes and jeans.

We only made one stop on our way here to Kaikora and that was at the Cathedral Cliffs in a place called Gore. The cliffs were soil, not rock, and looked like they might give way at any moment. That gave us pause as we neared the edge to view. We stopped only long enough for pictures and then it was on to Kaikora. This little seaside town is tucked between the ocean and the coastal mountain range, the Seaward Kaikouras, which provides beautiful views. This is the place to come if you want to do whale watching or swim with the dolphins or seals, but in weather like this it doesn’t sound very inviting. We did take a walk along the rocky beach at lowtide and saw a few fur seals. With the rain and cool weather, we are also getting a lot of wind, so our walk was a wee bit chilly. At least the rain stopped for our walk and we enjoyed watching the huge waves crashing on the rocks just offshore.

Tomorrow we leave here and get on the Interisland Ferry at 1:15 pm. We will cross Cook’s Strait and find ourselves back on the North Island. The fifteen days here on the South Island have been magical. And we still have more of the North Island to explore. So on we go.

070313 Web Pics–Christchurch to Kaikora

NZ Land Logs 22, Year 2: South Island–Christchurch

NZ Land Logs 22, Year 2: South Island–Christchurch
Date: Monday, March 12, 2007
Weather Today: Sunny and Warm
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand

Yesterday was a down day; today was the opposite. Today we were up early and Mark fixed a big breakfast for all of us in the backpacker kitchen. Then Alan and Helaine were off to Akaroa where Helaine was going swimming with the Hector’s dolphins–endemic to New Zealand and the world’s smallest and rarest. Mark and I went into the .Com Internet Cafe to send yesterday’s log and upload some pictures, and then we took the public bus into Christchurch.

Helaine’s swim with the dolphins was moderately successful. She saw lots of dolphins from the boat, but when the group got into the water the dolphins were not anxious to play. She did get to swim with one group and was very excited about the trip. Alan stayed on the dock and met the owner of a J40. Alan and Helaine’s sailboat, Atlantis, is a J40, so Alan was excited to meet the owner of Soulmate, J40 #47, registered in Melbourne, Australia. Currently this boat is doing a figure-8 circumnavigation of the North and South islands by cutting between the two islands through Cook’s Strait. This boat will be traveling to Vanuatu for the winter (your summer), so we might meet them there.

Our trip to Christchurch was delightful. We walked from the bus station in city centre to Cathedral Square and visited Christchurch Cathedral. In the same square with the cathedral is the 18 metre-high Metal Chalice, a sculpture done by Neil Dawson to welcome the new millenium. Christchurch Cathedral was built in the early 1880’s and has a wood-ribbed ceiling, beautiful stained-glass windows, and some Maori Tukutuki panels. After leaving the cathedral, we followed the tracks of the Tramway to New Regent Street where we saw the pastel-colored Spanish mission-style apartments above the stores on the street. The Tramway comes down this narrow street lined with outdoor cafe tables. We enjoyed the second floor apartments that had stuffed animals climbing down ladders from the windows–cute. It was then on to Victoria Square, a lovely inner-city park with beautiful flowers, even a flower clock, and the Avon River running along side. There were inflatables shaped like exotic fish and boats all along the river’s edge. There was even one shaped like a container ship and labeled Costco. They were not there later in the day, so we have no idea what they were for–maybe a wedding. From Victoria Park we walked to the Canterbury Provincial Council, built in the Victorian Gothic style. We walked inside and found a large governing chamber and many small classroom-type rooms with large tables in the center. It reminded us of St. Paul’s School back in Concord, New Hampshire, where our children attended secondary school. Just down from the Provencial Council buildings we found “Our City O-Tautahi.” This Queen Anne building is the home of the Christchurch first City Council where major issues are presented. This building also houses many local exhibitions. We made a turn here and headed down Gloucester Street where we saw Christ’s College, the Centre of Contemporary Art, and The Arts Centre. All of these buildings are Victorian-style stone buildings, and The Arts Centre now houses everything from up-scale shops where you can buy New Zealand-made goods or where you can go to the cinema or eat lunch and dinner. If you have enough money, you can also live there. It is quite a showcase. Just a few more steps down the street we found the Canterbury Museum that displays New Zealand life, old and new, and the Churchchrist Botanic Gardens next door. We strolled through the beautiful gardens along the Avon and wound around until we reached the street once again and found a little cafe at Punting in the Park. Punts are flat-bottomed boats that require a pilot who pushes the boat along with a long pole in shallow water to “punt” you along at a leisurely pace. We ate lunch in the cafe, but then headed back to another spot for punting. I wanted to float along in the section of the river with willow trees, so that we did. What an enjoyable ride.

It was time to get ourselves to the bus station to head back to Sumner, so we hiked across town and caught the next bus. Alan and Helaine got back shortly after we did and it is now time to fix dinner and get ready for another day. While fixing dinner a woman named Christy from Minnesota shared pictures of her recent experiences in Antarctica. She was at McMurdo Station working in communications and supplies. It was absolutely fascinating to watch her slide show. This is one of the neat things about staying in a backpacker. You do get to meet some very interesting people.

Tomorrow we go to Kaikoura and the following day we will take the ferry back to the North Island. We will have spent fifteen glorious days on the South Island and take many memories north with us.

070312 Web Pics–Sumner and Christchurch

NZ Land Logs 21, Year 2: South Island–Fairlie to Christchurch

NZ Land Logs 21, Year 2: South Island–Fairlie to Christchurch
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2007
Weather Today: Sunny and in the Upper 60’s
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand

We actually did it. We drove from Fairlie to Christchurch this morning and headed directly for the beach just out of town and just took the rest of the day off. We checked into the Marine Bar and Backpacker in a town on the beach named Sumner. This was an Author’s Choice in the Lonely Planet New Zealand Guide and it was a good choice. Our accommodations for tonight are a little cramped–all four of us in a tiny room with bunk beds. But tomorrow night they have two double rooms (a double here has only one bed) for us. The place is immaculately clean and there is a big kitchen with eating tables and a huge living room. As I write this log, Alan and Helaine, and Mark and I, are the only people in the living room and it is really delightful. All of this, only two blocks from the beach, for $20 per person. Not bad.

We took a walk down to the beach after we got here and watched all of the local New Zealanders enjoying a lazy Sunday at the beach. There were lots of surfers and even more people just having fun on the beach. Tomorrow morning Helaine is going to go swimming with the dolphins while the rest of us head into Christchurch. We will do a walking tour of the city and go punting on the River Avon. Until tomorrow evening . . . Cheerio.

070311 Web Pics–Fairlie to Sumner

NZ Land Logs 20, Year 2: South Island–Majestic Mt. Cook to Fairlie

NZ Land Logs 20, Year 2: South Island–Majestic Mt. Cook to Fairlie
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007
Weather Today: Absolutely Beautiful–Warm, Sunny, and Clear Blue Skies
Location: Fairlie, New Zealand

What a day! We got up in Oamaru with overcast skies and headed to Mt. Cook with low expectations for seeing the mountain. Mt. Cook, Aoraki in Maori, means Cloud in the Sky, so you know you don’t have a great chance of seeing this spectacular mountain right from the start. But we had high hopes and headed in that direction anyway, taking a chance on what we would really get to see. We had a couple of stops planned on the way and the first was at Elephant Rocks. These rock formations in the middle of a sheep pasture were the setting for the “otherworldly” Aslan Camp in the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. It was a bizarre contrast to see these rocks in a sheep pasture setting, but they provided a great photo opportunity. It also got us closer to the sheep than we have been by being in the middle of their pasture. We drove on to the next stop, the Takiroa Maori Rock Art Site. Here we saw red ocre and charcoal drawings–some from the 1800’s and some dating back many centuries. After viewing the drawings, we drove past beautiful Lake Aviemore on our way to Omarama where turned north toward Mt. Cook. As you drive toward this mighty mountain, you first drive through the town of Twizel. It was in this area that the largest battle scene film in the Lord of the Rings was set. The Ered Nimrais or snow-covered mountain chain was filmed from here. We were in awe at fields of gold and bronze Tussock grass sliding up to the base of majestic mountains. As we drove further north, we were then driving along the fantastically beautiful Lake Pukaki. The “blazing turquoise color” of this lake, as well as neighboring Lake Tekapo comes from the sediment created when this basin was ground out by glaciers. The result of the grinding was “rock flour” which suspends in the water to create a milky quality that produces the beautiful colors of green and blue in the water. Seeing the ice-capped Mt. Cook and her surrounding mountains with this surreal blue water in the foreground was really spectacular.

The main stop for the day was Mt. Cook and we arrived there around noon with absolutely clear blue skies with not a cloud in sight. We went to the Information Centre and then walked up to The Hermitage. This is New Zealand’s most famous hotel, not for its beauty but for its location, location, location. The first Hermitage was destroyed by a flood in 1913, and the second Hermitage was destroyed by fire in 1957. This third rendition was built around 1960 and is still standing. It provides a staging for fantastic views of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains. We had lunch in the hotel cafe and really basked in the beauty of the surroundings. We then took the most popular short walk up the Hooker Valley. You walk a short way and then climb to a lookout that gives a great view of Mt. Cook. You then walk on up the valley and cross a swing bridge across the steam created by glacial melt. This was as far as we planned to go today, so once we crossed the bridge, we reversed our trail and headed back. Our drive out was as beautiful as our drive in and we made one more stop at the Information Center at the end of the lake to take our last pictures of Mt. Cook. Our last stop of the day was at Lake Tekapo on our way to Fairlie. We visited the Church of the Good Shepherd on the lakefront and took pictures of the quaint little church and the beautiful surroundings. It was then time to head over Burke’s Pass to Fairlie. Once we reached the pass and headed down the other side, the terrain changed abrubtly. We were no longer in golden grass country, but found ourselves in a much greener terrain. we got to Fairlie and checked into our Top 10 Holiday Park and then went to the Old Library Cafe for dinner. It is a great restaurant with good food and even better music. The owner chooses the music selections, and his choices of everything from Nora Jones to opera kept our interest. We are now back in our cabin at the Top 10 and enjoying the luxury of having wireless internet. Life is good and we are happy. Tomorrow we go to Sumner, just outside of Christchurch. We chose this little place as it is on the ocean. We are hoping for a little beach time and relaxation before heading into Christchurch on Monday morning.

By the time I write the next log, it is my understanding that you will have moved into Daylight Savings Time. That means you will be seven hours ahead of us instead of six. But remember that we are still one day ahead. In another week New Zealand will be going off Daylight Savings Time which will put you another hour ahead of us. But then remember, we are still one day ahead of you. How confusing!

Majestic Mt. Cook
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007
Weather Today: Absolutely Beautiful–Warm, Sunny, and Clear Blue Skies
Location: Fairlie, New Zealand

What a day! We got up in Oamaru with overcast skies and headed to Mt. Cook with low expectations for seeing the mountain. Mt. Cook, Aoraki in Maori, means Cloud in the Sky, so you know you don’t have a great chance of seeing this spectacular mountain right from the start. But we had high hopes and headed in that direction anyway, taking a chance on what we would really get to see. We had a couple of stops planned on the way and the first was at Elephant Rocks. These rock formations in the middle of a sheep pasture were the setting for the “otherworldly” Aslan Camp in the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. It was a bizarre contrast to see these rocks in a sheep pasture setting, but they provided a great photo opportunity. It also got us closer to the sheep than we have been by being in the middle of their pasture. We drove on to the next stop, the Takiroa Maori Rock Art Site. Here we saw red ocre and charcoal drawings–some from the 1800’s and some dating back many centuries. After viewing the drawings, we drove past beautiful Lake Aviemore on our way to Omarama where turned north toward Mt. Cook. As you drive toward this mighty mountain, you first drive through the town of Twizel. It was in this area that the largest battle scene film in the Lord of the Rings was set. The Ered Nimrais or snow-covered mountain chain was filmed from here. We were in awe at fields of gold and bronze Tussock grass sliding up to the base of majestic mountains. As we drove further north, we were then driving along the fantastically beautiful Lake Pukaki. The “blazing turquoise color” of this lake, as well as neighboring Lake Tekapo comes from the sediment created when this basin was ground out by glaciers. The result of the grinding was “rock flour” which suspends in the water to create a milky quality that produces the beautiful colors of green and blue in the water. Seeing the ice-capped Mt. Cook and her surrounding mountains with this surreal blue water in the foreground was really spectacular.

The main stop for the day was Mt. Cook and we arrived there around noon with absolutely clear blue skies with not a cloud in sight. We went to the Information Centre and then walked up to The Hermitage. This is New Zealand’s most famous hotel, not for its beauty but for its location, location, location. The first Hermitage was destroyed by a flood in 1913, and the second Hermitage was destroyed by fire in 1957. This third rendition was built around 1960 and is still standing. It provides a staging for fantastic views of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains. We had lunch in the hotel cafe and really basked in the beauty of the surroundings. We then took the most popular short walk up the Hooker Valley. You walk a short way and then climb to a lookout that gives a great view of Mt. Cook. You then walk on up the valley and cross a swing bridge across the steam created by glacial melt. This was as far as we planned to go today, so once we crossed the bridge, we reversed our trail and headed back. Our drive out was as beautiful as our drive in and we made one more stop at the Information Center at the end of the lake to take our last pictures of Mt. Cook. Our last stop of the day was at Lake Tekapo on our way to Fairlie. We visited the Church of the Good Shepherd on the lakefront and took pictures of the quaint little church and the beautiful surroundings. It was then time to head over Burke’s Pass to Fairlie. Once we reached the pass and headed down the other side, the terrain changed abrubtly. We were no longer in golden grass country, but found ourselves in a much greener terrain. we go to Fairlie and checked into our Top 10 Holiday Park and then went to the Old Library Cafe for dinner. It is a great restaurant with good food and even better music. The owner chooses the music selections, and his choices of everything from Nora Jones to opera kept our interest. We are now back in our cabin at the Top 10 and enjoying the luxury of having wireless internet. Life is good and we are happy. Tomorrow we go to Sumner, just outside of Christchurch. We chose this little place as it is on the ocean. We are hoping for a little beach time and relaxation before heading into Christchurch on Monday morning.

By the time I write the next log, it is my understanding that you will have moved into Daylight Savings Time. That means you will be seven hours ahead of us instead of six. But remember that we are still one day ahead. In another week New Zealand will be going off Daylight Savings Time which will put you another hour ahead of us. But then remember, we are still one day ahead of you. How confusing!

070310 Web Pics–Oamaru to Fairlie

NZ Land Logs 19, Year 2: South Island—Oamaru Bird Adventures

NZ Land Logs 19, Year 2: South Island—Oamaru Bird Adventures
Date: Friday, March 9, 2007
Weather Today: Sunny with Temperature in the 60’s
Location: Oamaru, New Zealand

We awoke to a sunny day at The Penguin Place and got ready for another adventurous day. Although we got to see albatross soaring in the skies above the Royal Albatross Centre late yesterday, we returned this morning in hopes of seeing some of the babies in their nests and with the slightest bit of hope in seeing a parent who might have gotten a late start in going out to sea to feed today. The tour included an overview with a guide, a film about albatross, and then a hike up to the observatory. We were high on the bluff looking down at the nests of shags (much like cormorants) and overlooking the nests of four 6-week old baby albatross. At this age they are still white and fluffy. The nests were not close to the observation window, but with binoculars we could watch them as they slept, stretched, and flapped their wings. There were not adults around, but after a few minutes of observation, the huge wings of an albatross came into sight. The wing span of this bird is about eight feet, so even at a good distance they look very large. The birds that nest at the Centre are banded for identification, and our guide new that this guy was a 31 year-old daddy coming home to feed his young one. He landed, found his baby, and fed the little one for at least 20 minutes. He did this by regurgitating the food he had eaten and letting the baby stick its head in his mouth to eat. Sounds yucky to us, but it must be yummy for the baby albatross. They only get to eat every other day, so they had better not complain.

After our albatross experience, we started the hair-raising drive along the water’s edge back toward Dunedin. We only had to go halfway today and then we headed up the mountain to see Larnach Castle. This castle stands on the highest point on the Otago Peninsula and was built in 1871 by a man named William Larnach. The castle is a Gothic mansion that has been restored by the Barker family who reside in it today. I read in the paper that Mrs. Baker turned 65 on Sunday, March 4, so Alan and I feel a connection to her since we all have birthdays close together. Unfortunately, that didn’t get us an invitation into the castle, but we did tour the grounds and visited the various gardens–all beautiful. From the top of the Otago world, we slowly descended to Dunedin and drove into the center of town to check it out. This city has about 110,000 people so it was our first big city experience since Auckland. We really only had time to visit an internet cafe to check email and send yesterday’s log and then have lunch before moving on, but it was fun to see the city center if only for a short time.

Our drive north up the east coast from Dunedin to Moeraki, our next stop, took about an hour and a half. We were hoping to reach the coast at Moeraki at low tide in order to see the strange rocks that call this area home. The Te Kaihinaki (ancient boulders) are round rocks created millions of years ago around lime crystals. They looks like little moons scattered about the beach and the ones that had cracked open looked a lot like huge geodes. Helaine was delighted to take off her shoes and walk for the first time in the South Pacific Ocean. After our rock tour, we headed to Oamaru, our stop for the night. Lonely Planet says that Oamaru is a “slightly eccentric, wonderfully friendly town.” This was a prosperous town in the 1800’s but today it is a lazy little town with leftover architecture from another age. We stopped at 41 Tyne, our B & B for the night, and were very pleasantly surprised at the find. Just as described in Lonely Planet, this place is a great deal. At only $105 New Zealand for the night, we have our own little house with three bedrooms, a living room, an a very nice kitchen. All this comes with continental breakfast provided and fresh bread. Wow! What a deal.

Our purpose for stopping in this little town was to see the Little Blue penguins that come ashore every night here after feeding at sea. The “show” begins at dusk and goes until about 10 pm. We saw 40 to 50 Little Blues wash ashore and scramble up the rocky shore to their homes at the base of the cliff. We were not allowed to take any pictures, so I took detailed notes and will write those up as my “Little Blue” story. I’ll post this with a later log once I have time to write it.

Tomorrow we go to see Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. Twenty-two of the twenty-seven mountains in New Zealand are in this park. We saw the peak of Mt. Cook from the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers area, but it will be thrilling to see the whole mountain–weather cooperating. We will end our day in a little town called Fairlie and have dinner there in the Old Library Cafe. It comes highly recommended from my sister Patsy and her husband Joe as well as a number of Kiwis we have met along the way. So tomorrow we leave the birds and ocean behind and enjoy a day of mountains.

070309 Web Pics–Otago Peninsula to Dunedin to Oamaru

NZ Land Logs 18, Year 2: South Island—The Otago Peninsula

NZ Land Logs 18, Year 2: South Island—The Otago Peninsula
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2007
Weather in Dunedin: Sunny and Cool
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand

Today we traveled from Papatowai in The Catlins to Dunedin and on out to the Otago Peninsula. There was more rain in the early morning, but before noon we had sunny skies once again. We started our day at the Purakaunui Falls, New Zealand’s most photographed, although not the most spectacular we have seen this week. Still we had a great walk through the forest with birds that sang to us as we walked. Throughout the day, we continued to see more and more birds, and then we ended our day with Yellow-eyed penguins. It was a “flighty” day, or “flightless” one in the case of the Yellow-eyed Penguins, and quite a thrill.

>From the Purakaunui Falls we drove back roads to Jack’s Bay. This bay was named after Maori chief Tuhawaiki, known to European settlers as Bloody Jack–not someone I’m sorry not to have met. In order to get to Jack’s Bay we drove along the Catlin River It was lowtide and there were lots of sea birds in the shallow water. We saw South Island Pied Oystercatchers, locally known as sipos, and maybe even a Variable Oystercatcher. This bird is protected and uncommon but we didn’t get any pictures so I guess we will never know. In the same area we saw White-faced Heron, Grey Teal Ducks, and a few White-backed Magpies in the nearby sheep pastures. We drove to Jack’s Bay in hopes of seeing Jack’s Blowhole, but once we got there we realized we would have a one-hour return walk and probably no blowhole as it was low tide. We enjoyed the views and then headed back to the Catlin River and crossed it to reach the town of Owaka. Not far out of that town, we headed down the backroads once again to reach Nugget Point. We enjoyed seeing the old style light and the new, very tiny, light emitting diode (LED) light that has been installed to replace the old one. We walked up to the lighthouse platform and had great views up and down the coast. From the lighthouse we could look down and watch the fur seals and sea lions basking on the rocks and playing in the water. There were more birds to watch here as well. We thought we spotted a nesting albatross and we did see an Australasin Gannet nearby her nest. We then walked down to Roaring Bay in hopes of seeing some Yellow-eyed penguins and possibly a couple of elephant seals. The only Yellow-eyed penguin we could see was in the far distance, but there were no seals or sea lions in sight. so on we went.

We took the scenic route up the coast to the city of Dunedin and enjoyed fantastic views from a thousand feet above. We then dipped down to the coast and again the views of sand beaches with breaking white waves and blue skies was just stunning. We reached Dunedin by late afternoon and started the drive out the Otago Peninsula. The drive out the Peninsula is quite interesting. The road is very narrow and is literally right on the edge of the water. Alan was driving this stint and although he did a great job, the ride gave us all a little fright. We reached our destination for the night around 5:00 and found that we were in just the right place. We had made reservations at the Penguin Place, a backpacker on the peninsula, not knowing that it was on the same farm as the Yellow-eyed penguin Conservation Reserve. This penguin is found only in New Zealand and there are only about 4,000 of them left. This is the world’s most endangered penguin and this reserve has built blinds from which to watch the penguins without disturbing their environment. We made reservations for a 6:15 pm tour, checked out our accommodations for the evening, and made a quick trip to the nearby Royal Albatross Center. We didn’t have time to do the tour of the center and view the albatross in their nests, but we get to see these magnificent birds soaring in the sky above us. This was one time when we needed a telephoto lens to capture these creatures, but luckily Alan had one and he did get some great pictures.

We got back to the Penguin Place just in time for our tour there. Our tour guide, Anna, gave us an overview of the Yellow-eyed penguin and then took us by bus across the sheep farm to the water’s edge. We walked downhill to first see the fur seals and then we started our penguin search. We saw one older penguin just standing outside his little man-made home starting the molting process. And then we saw a juvenile strutting up the hill. He had just finished the molting process with the exception of tufts of feathers still encircling his head. The Yellow-eyed penguin has a yellow band around the head. This young fellow was molting for the first time and when those last feathers are gone and his yellow band is there for all to see, he has come of age. On this reserve, penguin homes are provided. The Little Blue penguin houses were tiny little square wooden boxes and the yellow-eyed homes were A-frames covered with hay. We walked through man-made tunnels, half below and half above ground, to hide ourselves from the penguins and viewed them from blinds. We watched one little guy walk out of the water and onto the beach, arriving home at the end of long day of feeding at sea. It was a great tour and we were just so happy to be able to see this special penguin. We only saw a couple of Little Blues (also called the Fairy penguin) in their little box homes, but tomorrow we will see more of these little guys at our stop for the night in Oamaru.

Our bird finale for the day was seeing Pukekos. This is a New Zealand bird that looks like a black chicken with a big red beak. We have seen them in pictures, seen them stuffed in museums, and have even seen one in a pen in a wild life park, but it was neat to see them out in the wild. We got back to the backpacker and fixed tacos for dinner. We are sharing a farmhouse with about 8 bedrooms with only one other traveler tonight. This backpacker is neat and clean, has a great kitchen, and a great view of the bay. The bedrooms are very basic, but it is after mid-night already and we will be up by 7:00 am, so who needs a fancy bedroom anyway?!!

070308 Web Pics–Papatowai to Otaga Penninsula