Saturday October, 24-Queenstown

Returned Friday afternoon from amazing 6 day journey to Dusky Sound on 64 foot boat Breaksea Girl (including two 3 hour gut wrenching sea passages-but totally worth it). Penguins, dolphins, albatross, seals, waterfalls, podocarps, NZ orchid-I took almost 1,000 pictures (95% of which will be deleted). 3 crew and 9 passengers-an entertaining bunch. Never again will I bemoan of the perils of ferry passages or muddy tracks (trails)-we pulled on our gumboots and trudged through mud, over stumps and tree roots to witness NZ conservation and ecology-see the damage done by the (introduced) stoats, possums & deer; Captain Cook encampments and remote island home of Richard Henry, the fellow who helped find and save the Kakapo. Also saw where the first beer was brewed in New Zealand by Cook and his crew. Truly magical and remote-we encountered only 2 other vessels in Dusky Sound and very few in Doubtful Sound.

Very limited internet so no photos until I get home (Monday!!!)

Stewart Island Photos

Just uploaded Stewart Island photos-sorry about the huge glut of photos but we're in-between 2 five day adventures. Interior of our cottage should be of interest to Andersons. Drove to Milfird Sound today into the rain: eerie. Had some fun with the Kea, mountain parrot another cheeky fellow.

Stewart Island Oct 10-15

Drive to Invercargill:The area between Clyde/Cromwell to Gore (Clutha River Valley?) was a maisma of fruit trees, patches of vegetable crops, fruit stands (mostly closed except for the occasional stand selling cold storage apples). I put it on the list of places to explore next time.

Invercargill to Stewart Island

Everywhere we stopped we traded tales of the ferry ride to Stewart Island across Foveaux Strait; we deduced that the likelihood of a rough ride was almost guaranteed (at least on the trip over, the trip back is generally a bit smoother) and the percentage of seasickness among the passengers ranged from 50-99% and swells up to 10 feet. Luckily it’s a quick hop from Bluff/Invercargill, only an hour, but it seems to take forever. We opted for the plane flight this time since we had the ferry experience in March 08 (seasickness=60%, swells=8 feet). And the plane takes just 20 minutes!

I have to say the plane option in exciting in its own way. The young fellow that checked us in (and was skeptical that our luggage would fit in the luggage/freight compartment), also called our flight, took the boarding passes, sardined us into the plane and then climbed into the cockpit and flew us to Stewart Island. He looked very much like our son-in-law Arthur. The plane had less room than a mini-van, so we were knee to head with our fellow 9 passengers (one passenger sat next to the pilot). The weather during our stay was generally wet (showers/rain) and two days it was quite windy prompting gale warnings in the forecast. I was somewhat comforted to see the Stewart Island Air planes soldiered on and braved all weathers.

That’s what makes Stewart Island so unique: everyone has to make a special effort to get here to explore wild the southern edge of civilization. The provisions in the store depend on what happens to make it over on the supply boat. The Kiwi birds here (Stewart Island Kiwi) are also seen in the daytime (so they say).

Oban, the one town on Stewart Island, reminds me of Inverness in West Marin. A one-store town, 3 or 4 restaurants, funky hotel/pub/restaurant overlooking Halfmoon Bay and other accommodations scattered about the hilly town. Our cottage is very much like a mini version of the Anderson Inverness cottage with a few exceptions: it is heated by a coal/wood burning stove (also used to heat the water, although when the stove is not in use the water is electrically heated),water is from a catchment system-totally dependent of rainfall (true for the whole island) and there are few roads. There are a surprising number of cars about considering that getting out of third gear would be something to celebrate. Only 20 km (13 miles) of paved roads.

A vast majority of the island is a National National Park: Rakiura National Park , famously known for the challenging multi-day hikes offered. Our 7 hour hike yesterday was rewarding in it’s beauty & isolation (we saw only 3 other people slogging along), we sighted a green New Zealand parakeet and stumbled upon a seal sleeping in some bush near Kaipipi Bay. About half-way though our hike I noticed the asterisk next to the description of our hike in my DOC “Day Walks” pamphlet, the asterisk designated the possibility of a particularly muddy hike. And it was. It seems most hikers just trudged (or mucked) straight thorough the muddy patches. Once again our trekking poles were mighty handy.

Kakapo Encounter: Ever since our last visit to Stewart Island I’ve been intrigued by the Kakapo: a very large endangered, flightless parrot. A few weeks each year one is brought to Ulva island bird sanctuary for the public to view. The rest of the Kakapo population lives on Codfish island, off Stewart Island (public not allowed). They take extra care that the new chicks imprint on Kakapo but Sirocco imprinted on humans (he likes to hump legs and heads). Very friendly and intelligent. So we boarded our boat at about 7:30 pm for a 30 ride out to Ulva Island-fortunately it was rather calm. Our group was smallish, only about 12 people, and we hiked about 20 minutes on paths and then through the bush to the secret Kakapo enclosure (he’s behind plexiglass). We had about 45 mintues with him and Karen, his cheerful handler who filled us in on all things Kakapo. An extra bonus: little blue penguin by the dock on our return trip.

October 9th ?

What day is this? Last heard from leaving Golden Bay... on Monday, October 5 and it was probably raining.

Another mad dash ‘over the hill’ back to Picton to catch the train to Christchurch. Just as we were leaving Takaka at about 8:17 a.m. we spied a hitchhiker on the side of the road in full bagpiper regalia: bagpipe, kilt, jacket, knee socks, long hair. First hitchhiker we’ve seen this trip, but we were in some kind of frenzy to reach Picton and not certain of road conditions (there was frost on the ground and fresh snow on the mountain peaks) and how long the drive would take in Kathi & Bill time, so we didn’t stop. We keep looking for him. We took the scenic route that skirted Queen Charlotte Sound: very, very windy (like a snake) but great views of the sound. Arrived with about 1/2 hour to spare.

We could see fresh snow on the mountain tops in Golden Bay and all the way to Kaikoura on our train trip. The train runs parallel to the shore for a long stretch, the rocks were dotted with seals.

Christchurch was a shock to the senses, big city traffic and busyness. The next morning we managed to navigate out of that maze (got turned around in the same spot as our last attempt to flee the city). Like so many cities it takes forever to leave, the little towns runtogether into one long block of stores, dairys (7-11 mini-marts), petrol stations and stop lights and round abouts. Back to the land of braided rivers, sheep, deer (raised for food), cattle, tiny towns with toilets. Stopped in Geraldine in search of real bread (no luck) but an older gentleman was sitting in a chair on the sidewalk playing an accordion for general ambiance.

Lake Tekapo: when the sun in shining the lake is an otherworldy blue due to suspended stone flour (sediment) in the water. I tried to capture the color in my photos on the 1.5 sunny days were had (out of 3).The night sky is exceptionally clear (when there are no clouds or storms), it is so unusual that there is a movement afoot to have the sky above Lake Takapo declared a national park. The town takes pains to limit their ambient light for the Mt. John Observatory which is just minutes from town. Our accommodation was on a slight hill overlooking the town and lake, even with evening neighborhood lights were were awed by the sky, I just wanted to lie down on the cold, cold ground and stare up into the eye of the universe.

We explored Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park, down around and up the highway a bit. We only had time for a short hike to Kea Point, trudging in fresh air, sun, snowy peaks ahead and bonus of hearing mini- avalanches and small chunks of the glacier breaking away. A few times we were lucky enough to see the event. We met a jolly fellow from London, Luke, who is traveling around the world and whipping out a chicken hat at every photo op.

Woke up this morning to SNOW, big flakes floating down and melting on the ground, I was a little concerned because we had a long, long drive ahead of us, through a pass or two. We did see freshly dusted mountains and well covered peaks but aside from occasional downpours we had a pleasant drive to Invercargill. Tomorrow off the Stewart Island for 5 days and an encounter with the majestic Kakapo.

Thursday 10/1 Monday 10/5

Nelson to Golden Bay

The drive between Nelson and our lodging (Adrift in Golden Bay- near Tukaka) winds behind Able Tasman National Park and what the locals call “over the hill”. Cows, sheep, more orchards, forests, little communities, we felt like we were in a desolate area but it gets quite crowded in the summer due to amazing beaches along Golden Bay and tramping (hiking & backpacking) in the many parks.

Our first night, anxious to try the beer at the local pub, we happened to stumble into the Mussel Inn on Quiz Night. During the summer, holiday-makers take over the pub so the locals stay away, tonight not many tourists in sight. Locals of all ages filled the pub, we almost felt like intruders but were soon incorporated into the team at our table. There was a fire place at one end of the room and tables of various sizes so folks can eat and drink with their mates (or strangers). The game lasted through our meal and a few beers beyond and consisted of many local questions (What is the latitude of Collingwood?) to more general (Who was the second man to step onto the moon?)-our team did pretty well, 3rd or 4th place out of perhaps 12 and we actually helped with a few correct answers.

Walking from our car to our fine little cottage we heard eerie scheeches in the bush. Having just heard the sound of Kiwis at an exhibit at Tongariro National Park, Bill plunged into the dark on a Kiwi hunt. I didn’t think Kiwis were in the area but just that morning read about blue penguins on the accommodation property. The mystery was solved the next morning when Gordon, our host, took us out beyond their garden to the penguin nesting boxes that he’s built and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a little blue penguin sitting on her/his chick (they take turns going out to sea to feed). The penguin seemed unconcerned about us having a look and we could almost see the chick. Gordon was pleased at how plump they both were. he said last year was a bad year and the parents left the chicks early. He placed the nesting boxes near a stream that runs down to the ocean so the penguins could swim up to the nesting boxes; walking all that way (200 yards?) was hard work for the little birds.

It turned into a another cold, showery day so we visited “The Dead Possum” a cafe and possum skin store. It seems possum skins make good lampshades and that seems about it; their fur incorporated into yarn for sweaters and socks. We found a trailhead across from the cafe (lots of wild meat on the menu) and hoped to return on a dry day for a hike.

t turned into a another cold, showery day so we visited “The Dead Possum” a cafe and possum skin store. It seems possum skins make good lampshades and that seems about it; their fur incorporated into yarn for sweaters and socks. We found a trailhead across from the cafe (lots of wild meat on the menu) and hoped to return on a dry day for a hike.

Tame Eels!

The next day started off bright (as they say) but soon deteriorated into showers but still a fine day to visit the tame eels. Before feeding the eels we were given little sacks of animal feed and set out into a barnyardy area to feed llamas, bunnies, cows, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, emu? Ostrichs? Rheas? Cape Bering Goose, etc. After that sad affair I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as eel feeding goes: in a tank? a trough? could we pet them? We were given 2 slender sticks and 2 little containers of tiny chunks of meat.

It turned very cold and overcast. On the north island snow stranded 700 motorists on the highway between Napier and Taupo (highway we drove a few weeks ago) and we saw new snow on the higher hills around Golden Bay.

Thursday, 10/1

Visited the World of Wearable Art and Classic Car Museum on our way out of Nelson. You can eyeball past entries and winning outfits (‘costume’ does not really do justice to the artworks). There were a few choice examples of the Bizarre Bra contest and the glow-in-the-dark winners. Unfortunately photography is not allowed. We enjoyed some coffee - ok here is where I explain New Zealand ‘coffee’ which is actually espresso. If you’d like a simple cup of coffee-good luck! A cup of coffee is called filter or plunger coffee and is readily available at any Starbucks, which we refuse to patronize. Otherwise the choices are: short black, long black, flat white, mochachino (or some variation on mocha). All different ways to down your espresso (one shot; one shot with hot water; with milk; and chocolate). Sometimes Americano which is like the long black but somehow different-more water?).

Bill is learning to appreciate the long/short black and I'm a flat white kinda gal. Rainy with bandwidth problems, have masses of pictures to upload, but maybe when we get to Christchurch (the big city)?

Wednesday 9/30

Ferry to Picton

Ahhh the south island, less hustle and bustle, less traffic (although what traffic there is is usually right on your tail). Once again dazzled by greens, apple orchids on the verge of full blossom, tree ferns, manuka & kanuna trees and rainbows.

Mad evening dash to Nelson after an annoying rental car snafu (by the way, New Zealanders are quite helpful and cheery to visitors in distress). I managed to navigate our way back to The House of Ales where we had a fine mussel dinner in 2006, the only problem was their stock of local ales was woefully depleted this visit.

Monday & Tuesday 9/28 & 9/28

Wellington:

Good ol’ Wellington: rainy, bustling and the best street art in NZ (stenciling and other stuff). The graffiti murals and stenciling remind me of Kansas City around the Art Institute. This was our fourth visit and we’re still stumbling upon hidden nooks and crannies, doorways and alleys. I'll upload street art photos as soon as I get more bandwidth........

WOW (World of Wearable Art) Show: Vegas meets Fiber Arts. Show opened with 2 Catherine Schoen characters (Napa Library folk know who I mean) then showcased World of Wearable Art competition finalists and winners: bizarre feast for the eyes. For more see worldofwearableart.com - Kat & Kris must see! Some past winning outfits are displayed though out Welllington, I tried to get a few pictures but not much luck due to glass and lighting challenges.

Sunday 9/27

Daylight savings time began last night much to everyones confusion.

Todays journey: Whakapapa Village (Torgariro National Park) through Ohakune (Carrot capital) and Taihape (gumboot capital) to Palmerston North.

Four things about Palmerston North

1. “If you ever want to kill yourself, but lack the courage, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.” - John Cleese

2. There is a rubbish dump in Palmerston North named after John Cleese. (Info for 1 & 2 from Lonely Planet).

3. Two wind-farms near the edge of town.

4. Manawatu Gorge.

Bandwidth is really limited at the moment so I can't post any new pictures.