by Judy Handley | Mar 1, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 11, Year 2: South Island–Franz Josef Village
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007
Weather in Franz Josef Glacier Region: Sunny, Warm, and Beautiful
Location: Franz Josef Village, New Zealand
What an incredible day in an incredibly beautiful country. This little island country has the most diverse geography imaginable in such a small area. Today we left the ski country of the Nelson Lakes area, headed west through Buller’s Gorge, emerged on the coast, and spent the afternoon driving the west coast through forest, cliffs high above the Tasman Sea, lowland pastures, magnificent mountain areas, and finally arriving five kilometers from a glacier in an area with parrots and fern trees. We expected it to be colder and we didn’t expect palm trees on the South Island , but we are learning that not only the weather changes every few hours in this country—so does the landscape.
The pasture lands here are full of cows and sheep. Our morning started in pasture lands with mountains climbing high on either side of the highway. We then drove through the Buller’s Gorge area and saw very wide dry river beds with little steams running through them. It is very obvious that when the snow melts here in the springtime, these little streams turn into raging rivers rushing to the sea. We reached the coast, but at first the highway does not run right next to the water. Then all of a sudden we found ourselves driving along the edge of the Tasman Sea on a day when the sea was very calm. At first the seaside drive was not so dramatic, but then we turned a corner and all of sudden we were driving through an area that reminded us of Big Sur in California–crashing waves along a rocky coast and mountains reaching down to the water. We stopped at Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes in the Paparoa National Park. These rocks are more commonly known as Pancake Rocks because they literally look like huge stacks of pancakes and scientists are still puzzling over why they are formed like this. The tide was not right to see the blowholes, but the rock formations were fantastic. We left this area and drove on to Greymouth where we stopped for an internet break. When we got into town, we stopped at the café listed in Lonely Planet as the only internet possibility, but they sent us to a new restaurant called Persia. Their specialty was middle eastern food, so we ate a great lunch while sending travel logs and other emails. The young couple who own the restaurant were very accommodating and let us stay way past their lunch closing time. Alan and Helaine got on to Skype and made some family connections. We then used their connection to talk to Heather and Jed and Baby Sam. It was great to hear their voices.
Our next stop was in Franz Josef Village at our overnight accommodation. Our reservation was at the Mountain View Top 10 Campground. We thought we had a cabin reserved with bathroom in the room. Unfortunately, what we had reserved was a basic cabin with bathrooms across the way. There was nothing else available for the night, so we settled for this and actually it wasn’t so bad. It is much warmer here then we expected, so taking a middle of the night walk to the bathroom was not so bad.
We had dinner in town and Mark and Helaine had local venison. I tasted Mark’s and it was delicious. There are many deer farms here and whatever they feed those deer results in a very tender meat. We changed our reservation for tomorrow night to a lodge with a bathroom en suite which should be much more comfortable. Tomorrow we visit the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and I’m sure we will need a good night’s rest before heading south to Queenstown.
by Judy Handley | Feb 28, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 10 Year 2: South Island–St. Arnaud in Marlborough Wine Country
Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Weather in Marlborough Region: Cloudy with Temps in the 60’s
Location: St. Arnaud, Nelson Lakes Region, New Zealand
It was up before dawn this morning in order to get to the ferry terminal. We had a reservation on the 8:30 AM ferry but you have to be in line ready to load at least an hour before departure time. At exactly 8:30, the Interisland Ferry pulled away from the dock in Wellington and by 11:30 AM we were in Piction on the South Island. During the last hour of the ferry ride, we were calmly winding our way through the islands in the Marlborough Sound, but the motion during the first part of the trip was not quite as calm. You could definitely feel the Pacific swell in Cook’s Sound. But even with the uneven motion, soon after take-off we were all busy with various computer projects. Before we knew it, it was time to disembark.
>From Picton, the ferry destination on the South Island, we drove a few miles south to Blenheim to do some last minute shopping. We needed windshield wipers for our van as the ones on it were quickly disintegrating. We also picked up a few groceries and then we were off to the vineyards. There are more than 50 wineries and acres and acres of vineyards in the Marlborough Region, so we had to choose just a few to visit today. We started at the Matua Vineyard and tasted their Savignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Neither passed our taste tests, but we really enjoyed walking through the vineyard. Then it was on to the Wairau River Vineyard. This vineyard is across the road from Nautilus. We wished he had made a Pinot Noir tasting reservation at that vineyard, but we had not and had to forgo that taste test. At Wairau, we had a late lunch and it was absolutely scrumptuous. I had mussell chowder with toasted herb bread, Mark had prawn, tomatoe, and preserved lemon spaghattini, Helaine had blue cheese souffle with a pear and hazelnut salad, and Alan had smoked salmon steak and potato augratin with wasabi mayonnaise and a salad. We each had a glass of the wine recommended to accompany our lunch and we truly enjoyed the experience. And the Wairau River Savignon Blanc 2006 certainly satisfied my taste palette.
Next we visited the Cloudy Bay Vineyard where Alan and Helaine bought a couple of bottles of Gewurztraminer. That was our choice of wine to have with the curry dinner we had planned for the evening and we did certainly enjoy it. We made a necessary stop at the Makana Chocolate Factory, visited one more vineyard, and then drove about an hour to the Nelson Lakes area. On the way we saw more vineyards and drove into the mountains where logging is a way of life. All through New Zealand we have seen whole mountains completely clear cut and then reforested with baby trees. At first we were wondering why trees in New Zealand grow in straight rows, but we quickly figured it out. Many of the mountains in the Nelson Lakes area have been replanted recently, so it was easy to see the young forests developing.
We had reservations at the Nelson Lakes Motel and were very pleasantly surprised when we got there. We were in log cabins that were virtually new, actually had two bedrooms instead of all four of us sleeping in one room, plus we had a full kitchen and living room with a TV! We had dinner and then did photo slide shows sharing with each other the pictures we have taken to date on this fantastic adventure. Tomorrow we drive down the coast to the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier areas where we will have our first glacier expedition.
by Judy Handley | Feb 27, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 9, Year 2: North Island–Wellington
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Weather in Wellington:
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
By 9 AM we were on our way from Ohakune, the Carrot Capital of the North Island, to Wellington, the political capital. Leaving Ohakune in early morning was beautiful. There were fields of sheep, fields of carrots, and a snow-capped mountain to top things off. We headed to a river gorge that was the site of River Anduin in The Fellowship of the Rings and had a great time walking across the bridge over the gorge. There was a bungy jumping site here, but we weren’t tempted. Just walking across the bridge over a riverbed 80 meters below us was adventure enough for us today.
In early afternoon, we arrived in Wellington. Mark had a 2:00 PM appointment with New Zealand Public Radio and Alan and Helaine and myself found our way to the Red Cable Car that took us to the top of the hill for a fantastic view of the city and harbor. Alan made a quick trip to the Observatory and Helaine and I toured the Botanical Gardens. We didn’t have much time, so all we got to see was the Rose Garden and it was beautiful. If we have time on our way back north, we will try to see more of the gardens.
Mark met us at the top of the cable run and we all enjoyed a beautiful view of the city. We then returned to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Right now we are sitting in an internet cafe trying to get our travel logs to send. We have had nothing but problems with technology on this trip to date, but we are hopeful that we have worked things out. Believe it or not, it is really easier to send logs from the middle of the Pacific Ocean! Tomorrow we get on the inter-island ferry early in the morning and arrive on the South Island just before noon. We spend tomorrow afternoon touring the Marlborough wine country. I know, someone has to do this, so don’t feel too sorry for us. We might not get to an internet cafe for a couple of days, so if there is no long for a day or two, just be patient. We will post as soon as we can. Until then . . .
by Judy Handley | Feb 26, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 8, Year 2: North Island–Ohakune
Date: Monday, February 26, 2007
Weather in Ohakune:
Location: Ohakune, New Zealand
It was another fantastic day of geothermals, lakes, mountains, and sheep. We started our morning in Rotorua with a stop at an internet cafe and then a walk in Kuirau Park just on the edge of town. This is a beautiful park with hot springs and bubbling mud everywhere. Helaine and I stopped for a quick foot bath in one of the pools and then we were headed south. Our next stop was Orakei Korako. This is a geothermal area just a little off the beaten path, but we had read in Lonely Planet that it is the best thermal area left in NZ. We didn’t get to see any geysers, but it was a starkly beautiful area. We took a ferry across a lake and then walked the 2 kilometer path through a surreal landscape. We saw cauldrons of boiling water and even got to walk down into a cave. After our explore, we then drove to Lake Taupo. This area reminded Alan and Helaine of Lake Tahoe in California. At this point it was getting late in the day, but I really wanted to make a little detour to see the Tongariro National Park. This was the site of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings and once we got there, we could see why this area was chosen as that site. The three volcanic mountains loom above the stark landscape, but you can’t see much of them because the clouds hang low over them. We drove up to see the Grand Chateau which is indeed a grand hotel that sits all alone in the stark landscape at the base of Mt. Ruapehu. The Lord of the Rings team stayed here while filming the Mordor pieces of the film. We wished that we had more time to walk and explore, but at this point, we needed to high tail it to our little cabin for the night. Check-in times in this part of the world end at 8 PM, so we drove quickly down from the national park into Ohakune.
Now when I said “little” cabin, I don’t think I really knew exactly how little it would be. We have a tiny little “great room” with a sink, refrigerator, electric frying pan, and kitchen table. Then we have a tiny little bathroom with the smallest sink any of us have ever seen. And finally we have a tiny little bedroom with four bunks–two on one side of the room, one above the other, and two on the other side. It is going to be tight quarters tonight, so hopefully we will all still be friends in the morning and continue our trek to Wellington.
by Judy Handley | Feb 25, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 7, Year 2: North Island–Rotorua
Date: Sunday, February 25, 2007
Weather in Rotorua: Absolutely Beautiful—Sunny and Warm
Location: Rotorua, New Zealand
We left Auckland this morning headed for Rotorua, the heartland of Maori culture. Our plan was to take the main highway down the center of the island, but when we looked at the map, we decided to head over to the east coast and take in a little shore scenery. Somehow we missed a turn and ended up taking a back road down the center of the island, but it did take us through Matamata which was the site of Hobbiton in The Lord of the Rings. It must have been fate that we missed the turn and even though we didn’t stop and tour the actual Hobbiton film site, we did enjoy the very English looking countryside. After leaving Hobbiton, we stopped in a town called Tirau. This town’s claim to fame is that it has gone little overboard in using excess corrugated iron to actually construct buildings that look like a sheep and a dog. All of the town signs were also made of corrugated iron. It was a great lunch stop, but I’m afraid we weren’t all that impressed with the ‘artwork.’
Our next stop was Rotorua, our destination for today. We made our first stop at a Holiday Park Campground where we had reserved a cabin for the night. There are Holiday Parks all over New Zealand and they have the reputation of having very basic, but consistently friendly people and clean facilities. The Cosy Cottage Holiday Park where we are staying lives up to this reputation. We checked in and immediately took a walk down by Lake Rotorua to observe some of the geothermal activity for which this area is famous. We didn’t see any of the bubbling mud pools, but we did see steaming holes. We also saw hundreds of black swans on the lake. It is beautiful here and we can’t wait until tomorrow to further explore the geothermal activity.
After our walk, a drive through town brought us to the Rotorua Museum. The building is built in Tutor style and is surrounded by beautiful flower gardens and well manicured bowling lawns. In back of the museum we saw a huge geothermal energy plant. It is good to see that the Kiwis are capturing some of this pent up steam to produce energy.
We spent our evening at Tamaki Maori Village. This was a wonderful introduction to the Maori people, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Maori are Polynesians who came here from the islands of Tahiti over a thousand years ago. Up until then, the only mammals in New Zealand were a type of bat. Currently, the Maori make up 15 per cent of the population of the country and 35 per cent of the population in the Rotorua area. This is Maori country, and we just couldn’t stop here without visiting one of the cultural villages and attending a traditional hanga (feast). As part of the experience, we were picked up at our campground by a Tamaki Maori Village bus and we were greeted by our host and driver for the evening, Ngata. It was a grand evening made even grander by Ngata’s wonderful personality. We were on a bus with people from Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Germany, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, England, and the US of A. Ngata knew all of our names and he was knowledgeable about every country. He could sing songs in the native language of each country with a perfect accent for each different language and was quite entertaining, all the while teaching us about the Maori culture. Ngata was a wonderful example of Maori beliefs. One of their sayings is, “Ki mai koe ki a au, he aha te mea nui tenei ao: He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.” This translates as, “If you should ask me what is the greatest thing in the world, the answer would be: It is people, it is people, it is people.” We witnessed the Maori war dance, the world famous haka, and the scary looks a Maori warrior would have used to scare his enemy, but in their hearts these are a very gentle and loving people. Alan was chosen as one of five chiefs for the evening which was a highlight for us which topped off a perfect evening.
Before heading further south, we will explore more of the geothermal activity in the area. The pictures of the places we will explore look like Yellowstone, so we are excited to see more of this. When we leave here, we head to the land of Ithilien and Mordor. Can’t wait.
by Judy Handley | Feb 24, 2007 | New Zealand Land Trip, Sailing Logs Year 2 |
NZ Land Logs 6, Year 2: North Island–Auckland
Date: Saturday, February 24, 2007
Weather in Auckland:
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
We were up at 4:30 AM this morning and in Auckland before 8:00. Right on schedule, we met Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg at the Sky Tower and headed to the waterfront. It was still too early to go to the Maritime Museum, so we stopped for a cup of coffee and caught up on happenings since we were last together. It is great to have Concord friends here with us to share our New Zealand land adventure. Kia Ora Aotearoa—Welcome to New Zealand—Alan and Helaine.
Today’s agenda was not high adventure, but we certainly enjoyed the Maritime Museum and then the Auckland Museum in the afternoon. The National Maritime Museum is the place to go if you want to learn about New Zealand’s seafaring history. With an audio tour “guide’ we learned all about the wonderful boats that brought the Maori here from Polynesia, plus there were displays of every sort of boat in the nautical-minded country. We had lunch at the Museum café and then hopped in the van for a short ride across town to the Auckland Museum. This impressive looking building is located in the Auckland Domain–one of the oldest parks in Auckland. This huge chunk of land sits high atop a hill overlooking the city and the harbor. We thoroughly enjoyed the display of Pacific Island and Maori culture. Mark and I especially enjoyed the fact that we could identify the origin of items from our travels this past year.
We are staying at the Aspen House in city centre. It was advertised as “Smart, Stylish, and Cheap’ and at least one of those descriptors fits. Fortunately for the pocket book , it is cheap, but it is anything but smart and stylish. It is a place to stay in the center of the city, however, and it has been tremendously convenient. We had dinner back down on the waterfront, but I’m sorry to report that we didn’t get to go to the Starlight Symphony. We simply ran out of steam. Tomorrow it is on to geothermal world and we will probably be able to pick up a little steam there.
