Lightly Cloudy Mornings Make for the Best Sun Rises

Wednesday, February 25th.

Before breakfast we went for a run along the shore of Lake Te Anau, dawn had not yet broke. Twenty minutes in and I realised I had stopped running and was standing watching the sun rise.  It was still below the hills and the mountains to the north were still just soft gray lumps the cloud-rippled sky was a wash with pinks and purples - the sun was about to rise.

I stood there for almost five minutes  mesmerized by the slowly changing sky. Shafts of light began to launch forth and cut though the dullness of the clouds.  The pinks and purples replaced by a soft yellow.  The trees on the high hill top that the sun was about to crest looked like the tops of a black picket fence the valley and lake still resting in the non-committal light of pre-dawn. 

The light slowly began to spread across the high hill top, the yellow rays panning outward turning the soft gray clouds light yellow.  It was a sunrise that reminded me that the Sun does track across the sky as the Earth rotates.

I looked intently upon the event - I had not brought my camera and I was desperate to remember the sunrise and the visual poetry it created. But I had to turn away, I had to get back to the motel to shower, eat, pack and fold myself once more into the car.  As I turned, the lush green mountains on the far side of Lake Te Anau were being caressed by their first glimpses of sun and the lake shone in it's brilliance.

My running form cast long shadows on the golden grasses on the near shore and my fully formed shadow would eclipse the occasional tree as I ran back towards the motel.

Thus began the day.

Tuesday, February 24th.

Since I am writing this (and hopefully posting this) on the 25th, I thought I'd start with my attempt to capture in words what I couldn't capture in photos (though my words, once again, fail to be adequate). Now I will back-track and talk about yesterday and the remainder of today.

The weather was perfect for out "Big Day Out" in the Milford Sound area.  We booked to go on a 3 hour cruise and a 2.5 hour guided hike from a company who would pick us up from our motel in Te Anau and drive us to Milford Sound, along winding roads in part of the forested and mountainous Fiordland National Park.  Part of the drive out to Milford Sound took us through a mountain side via the Homer Tunnel; a 1.2K tunnel, construction of which began in the 30's and wasn't completed until the 50's.

We boarded the Milford Mariner and set off on our cruise through the mis-named Milford Sound - misnamed because Sounds are carved by water while Fiords are carved by Glaciers; therefore Milford Sound and all the Sounds in Fiordland National Park are actually fiords (hence the name Fiordland National Park).

Dwarfed by mountains we cruised though the fiord, seeing high peaks and waterfalls and I was even lucky enough to glimpse a Fiordland Crested Penguin swimming along side the boat.  The calm and sunny morning made for a great cruise.

After a short drive (back through the tunnel, but still in the Milford Sound area), we disembarked the minibus and embarked on our hike up to Key Summit (elevation 919 metres).  The hike up and back (plus photo stops) took just under 2.5hrs.  Since there is no one allowed to live in the Milford Sound area, the treed and mountainous expanse is predominantly untouched, with the exception of various marked and monitored trails, some of which are several days long.  The long multi-day trails have huts along them for sleeping and eating (so no need to hike with camp stove and tent) so the number of people allowed on the track at any given time are limited.  But out little hike up to Key Summit was just a short hike that was not subject to the same restrictions.

After another short bus ride, our driver, who did the hike with us, pulled off to another scenic spot and boiled up some mountain creek water for a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit.  Then back into the van again for the trip back to Te Anau.

Wednesday, February 25th, revisited.

We were on the road at 9AM and off to Queenstown, the centre for most of the extreme adventure things here in NZ (bungee jumping, paragliding, jet boating, white water surfing, etc.).  And No, I did not bungee jump, I have no interest in that, instead, I took the gondola up to the top of a mountain overlooking Queenstown and ran off the side of a mountain.  Don't worry, I was strapped to a man who was strapped to a parachute - I went paragliding!  Yet another experience that defies description.

Strapped into a harness/seat, we glided down the mountain, drifting out towards the lake before turning back towards the city and  touching down gently two blocks from the gondola's base.  It was fun!  The hardest part of it was running down the side of the mountain to get started - begin afraid of heights (and afraid of falling from heights) the experience was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but it was completely fun.

The remainder of our trip to Wanaka was not nearly as exciting (thank goodness, the less exciting driving is, the better, I'd say!).

Never a Truer Word was Spoken

Yesterday we were wandering around the Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin yesterday and in the section dedicated to the early immigrants from England and Scotland I came across this quote attributed to a passenger on one of the early voyages, Andrew Sprott aboard the "Wave Queen", 1863; "We are beginning to tire of the voyage, of the provisions and last tho' not least, of each other." and wondered if, in another few days, we won't truly begin to take this quote to heart - I think I'm over half way there.

We keep eating picnic lunches and inexpensive dinners and dinners in the room for expediency's sake; but expedient is beginning to get a bit tedious.

Trying to pack seeing all of  NZ into just over 3 weeks means we are having a lot of early starts, which is beginning to make me tire of the voyage.  There is very little down-time, trying to see as much as possible everywhere we go is beginning to take it's toll on us all.  Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic country and it's a fantastic trip, but the pace is certainly not laid back - this is not your "sit on the beach and drink fruity beverages" kind of trip.  It's more of a, see as much as possible and make notes of where you'd like to come back to kind of trip.  On with the voyage...

Two days ago (which would make it, um, Saturday) we travelled from ChCh to Dunedin through rainstorms and flooding (at one point there were cops and maintenance workers on a bridge, examining the debris and the water levels determining wether or not to close the road). For a fleeting moment I worried that we wouldn't make it to Dunedin.  We had to negotiate some places on the highway where the water had flooded over top the road, but we managed to make it to our lunch stop in Oamaru without any problems.

We tromped around Oamaru in the rain looking at historic buildings and putting in time before heading down to Moeraki to see the Boulders.

The Moeraki Boulders are famous for their spherical shape, and they litter the beach like an abandoned game of snooker.  They are best viewed at low tide (since they are on the beach), which is why we spent so much time wandering in the rain in Oamaru. Braving  the strong wind and horizontal rain we ventured down to the beach and out to the rocks.  It was fascinating to see how almost perfectly spherical they are.  Drenched and rather cold but satisfied, we returned to the car for the hour-or-so drive on to Dunedin.  Still wet, we arrived at the hotel.

Yesterday dawned almost as wet and woolly as Saturday, not boding well for the wildlife nature hike we had planned for the afternoon/evening.  The morning was spent sploshing around Dunedin, we resisted the urge to tour the Cadbury's Chocolate factory, instead opting for the Settlers Museum. It had a really interesting section on the Maori including their recent history involving the giving back (ceremonial and otherwise) of the land to the Maori. 

The dry warmth of the museum was replaced by more sploshing about as we snapped a few pictures around down town before heading back to the Motel to get ready for our wildlife nature hike.

Elm Wildlife Tours picked us up from our Motel at 3:15PM and whisked us up the Otago Peninsula to see Albatross, Fur Seals, Sea Lions and Penguins.  We spent about 45 minutes at the Albatross Centre watching them sail in on the air currents, catching updrafts and circling back all set on the backdrop of high and craggy cliffs and a lone tower lighthouse.  The rain had eased and the wind had picked up; just perfect for albatross and observers alike.

After the albatross, and a half hour minibus trip to another part of the Peninsula to a private field owned by a farmer, where we hiked down to a beach where we encountered a sleeping sea lion and spotted our first Yellow Eyed Penguins.  We snaked through the tall grass above the beach and made our way quietly to a blind that we could safely watch the penguins from, without risking scaring them off.  They were just coming home from a long day  out at sea, they'd coast up onto the beach and then waddle their way up the sand, stopping to dry off and preen themselves before hiking up the hill to their nests.

We stood in the blind and watched them for about a half an hour or more before heading up to a second blind, further up the hillside to watch the penguins coming home to meet their young.  There we were able to glimpse the Little Blue Penguin, a pair of which were nesting in a nesting box in the hillside above the blind.

Reluctantly we left the penguins and headed back along the beach and back up towards the minibus before heading though a sheep field and down another hill to another beach and set of blinds so that we could watch the New Zealand Fur Seal.  There were many pups hauled out on the rocks and playing in tide pools swimming, fighting and playing tug-of-war with kelp.

The weather had let up, windy still, but the rain had ceased so it turned out to be a wonderful evening.

Today we headed out early on the road again to travel South to Te Anau, our staging point for the Milford Sound hike and cruise we have planned for tomorrow.  Arriving in Te Anau at lunch time, we lucked out by being able to get into our spacious 2 bedroom, self contained, cabin and have our picnic lunch with warm tea.

This afternoon we went for a 2 hour hike along the lake shore (Lake Te Anau is the second largest lake in NZ) braving the intermittent showers, before heading out to dinner.  The weather today was still rainy and a bit cold, hopefully tomorrow will be nicer - however,  Milford Sound is supposedly one of the rainiest parts of NZ - sigh, we'll let's hope tomorrow is one of the dry days.

Kiwi Curiosities.

Let me just preface this by saying - I am really enjoying my trip to NZ. The countryside is spectacular and the people are very friendly and helpful. However (and you knew there had to be a "however" in there somewhere) there are a few Kiwi idiosyncrasies and, dare I say, shortcomings that I feel compelled to blog about.

Ignoring the reversal of Left and Right and North and South there are other quirky things about NZ which sometimes baffle me. The country seems to have a strange love for marshmallows and everything marshmallow - they put them on the side plates of all their hot chocolates (and we're not talking about small marshmallows that could easily melt in a steaming mug of hot coco, we're talking the honking ones you'd combust over a campfire, bot fates make them strangely almost palatable) and they even make some strange dessert with them (most places call it lollipop slice or some such playful name) which seems to consist of (but I REFUSE to try it to be more exact with the ingredients- YUCK) marshmallows (both white and pink, of course) and some mysterious brown binding material that looks vaguely like fudge, but I can't imagine it tasting like it, and adhered to the outer circumference of the confectionary amalgamation is shredded coconut. It looks ghastly but is flogged in most coffee shops. I guess they expect people to buy a hot coco and a Lollipop Slice and get their total marshmallow fix.

There are other culinary shortcomings that NZ offers. Their milkshakes, for instance consist of iced milk blended with milk, the result being, icy milk - not the creamy shake my Canadian taste buds were expecting. Oh, and harkening back to that hot coco, a more accurate name would be tepid coco, but I suppose that wouldn't sell as well. Paninis seem to be another thing that NZ just hasn't got the hang of yet, stuffing a kaiser bun with filling and then flattening with an iron does not a panini make. A plain black coffee also seems to be an elusive beverage (though I don't drink it, so I'm not as indignant about coffee). Wholesome bran muffins are as rare as snow in the Sahara and though scones are plentiful (chalk one up for British influence) they are almost as solid as the Moeraki Boulders. I think Second Cup could make a killing if they came down here and set up shop.

But in other ways I am surprised about how some things are done. For instance, during a hike along a steep cliff top trail there was no guard rail keeping the overly daring (my polite phrase for dumb dumbs) from plummeting to their death over the side of the cliff (maybe it's because they live on two reasonably small islands, it's their way of culling the heard). I know NZ has laws against people rampant suing, or maybe they naively still expect people to have some common sense and personal responsibility for their actions and their safety instead of feeling compelled to bubble-wrap nature for the protection of people.

In stark contradiction to the expectation that people use common sense, the folks in charge of NZ highways and motorways have posted a series of very blunt signs touting the dangers of drink driving (drinking and driving) or driving while tired or speeding; most are actually very creative and we have begun to amass a list of them.

One challenge Kiwi drivers do seem to suffer from is locating the indicator lever in their cars, I imagine this is due to the fact that the lever on the right side of the steering wheel maybe that makes it harder to operate. They also have a propensity for traffic circles; sticking them in city, town and village alike. Though I must admit, at 6am when there is nothing else on the road - bopping through a traffic circle is must nicer than sitting at a red light watching nothing go though the intersection as you impatiently wait for the light to go green.

Another adjustment I have had to make is attempting to wash hands or face in a sink with a hot tap and a cold tap (unless you fill the basin, you either freeze or burn whatever skin covered surface you are trying to wash). A great thing that most NZ bathrooms have are a dual flow toilet (my name for it) which allows the user to either do a half flush or a full flush; so that if you have errr, a more substantive amount to flush a full flush is warranted, otherwise you could just use a half-flush and conserve water use.

Technologically speaking, NZ seems a bit behind the times. Ignoring the fact that I have looked in every major city from Wellington on the North Island to Dunedin on the South Island in a vain search for my type of camera battery, in fairness to NZ, my camera is a very new model) , their so-called high speed Internet leaves a lot to be desired, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that 54Mbps is a bit on the slow side of high speed. Flickr uploads will most likely not happen until after the trip.

All in all there are some things I'd like Canada to adopt about the way things are done down here and vice versa - NZ could learn a thing or two from Canada (just as long as it's the good things, not the bad ones).

Exploring Nelson and Beyond

I am going to break with tradition and chronological order and say - FABULOUS, WONDERFUL, AWESOME, FANTASTIC, MAARVELOUS, SPECTACULAR, STUPENDOUS!

TODAY I SWAM WITH ONE OF THE SMALLEST AND RAREST DOLPHINS IN  THE WORLD AND THEY WERE SO CLOSE I COULD ALMOST TOUCH THEM!!!!!!!!

<ok, breathe>

Today we are in Christchurch (and it's Friday) and this morning we got up before dawn (well before); at 5AM and headed out to Akaroa which is a winding hour and a half's drive out of Christchurch.  Akaroa is Maori for "Long Harbour" and the site of the Black Cat Cruises Dolphin Encounter.  We donned wet suits and boots and shuffled down the wharf an onto out boat for a three hour trip to find and swim with Hector's Dolphins.  It was a rainy day but our slightly dampened bodies and spirits were quickly forgotten when less than 20 minutes into our trip we spotted a pod (a group of dolphins) and determined that it was ok to swim with them (if there had been any calves in the group the swim would not have happened).

We spent over an hour in the water and by the end of it I was mildly hypothermic (which I was oblivious to until back on the boat).  Soon in the water we were surrounded by dolphins!! We were supposed to make noise to attract the dolphins and I soon realized the manual winder on my disposable 35mm waterproof camera made a clicking noise that the dolphins liked and I was from time to time surrounded by three or four of the marvelous creatures.  I floated on the surface, mask and snorkel in place and watched the underwater ballet and the dolphins swooped and and spun around me.  It was magical.  Magical doesn't do it justice!  It defies description!

Neither do the pictures (of which I have very few); makes me really wish I had splurged on an underwater digital camera.   I was close enough to almost touch them, but alas my cheap little camera didn't pick them up.  BUT STILL AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!

The drive back was rainy and uneventful; I'm really getting the hang of driving on the other side of the road!

This afternoon we wandered around a rainy Christchurch looking in souvenir shops and I got a great deal on a polar fleece jacket and even Tigger got a little shirt.  Anyway,  not much more to report on from today, maybe I need to back up a few days now and review the past few days....

Monday - Nelson

We got to sleep in a bit on Monday!  Ok, we got up at 6AM instead of 5:30AM.  Then we went for a run to the Centre of New Zealand (the actual geographic centre of the country), which was up a rather steep hill, but offered a great panoramic view of Nelson and the surrounding area and then we ran back down a different way that took us though a farmer's field where he kept his sheep (we nicknamed the run the Sheep Shit Shuffle).

After breakfast we wandered around Nelson in the morning (I was in a futile search for a second battery for my camera - apparently Fuji isn't a popular brand here (or  maybe my camera is so new that no one stocks the battery for it - even the Fuji photo shop didn't carry the battery - I spent an inordinate amount of time chatting up various shop clerks in my vain search.

We spent time in Trafalgar Square (not THAT one) that is the street around the main church in Nelson (so technically, I guess, it's ON Trafalgar Square rather than IN Trafalgar Square), side streets off of the road have historical buildings so we wandered off to find South Street where a row of historic houses that are now mostly self-catered accommodations, and an old school  house  (which is conveniently only open from 1-4 PM on Sundays - and it was Monday morning when we were there) which is off another side street off Trafalgar Square.

After a late lunch at the Founders Brewery and Cafe which is in a historic park (like Fort Edmonton Park in Edmonton) we headed out to one of the local beaches called Tahunanui where we walked for about an hour and a half (since it was overcast and too cold to swim or just sit about on the sand.

Since L and I had iffy stomachs,  we bought some groceries and made dinner in our room before doing glamorous things like making picnic lunch for tomorrow, doing a load of laundry and then turning in for the night.  We are just a group of wild and crazy people!

Tuesday - Nelson (Able Tasman National Park)

Tuesday we headed off for a day trip  to Able Tasman National Park for a Kayak and Hike adventure.  Feeling self indulgent, we took a shuttle bus to the start of our adventure which was about an hour's drive out of Nelson at a little spot called Marahau.

After finding out guide Steve and getting kitted out in our Kayaking gear we loaded our gear into the kayaks and the kayaks onto a trailer pulled by a tractor and hopped on another trailer (pulled by the same tractor, but in front of the trailer with the kayaks) and headed down to the shore.

The day was perfect!  Sunny, bright and wonderful, the sea was calm and the kayaking was perfect.  We stopped at about half way (only did a two hour kayak) and pulled up on to shore at Apple Tree Bay (which apparently no longer has an apple tree on the shore anymore), had some cookies and a drink before getting back out on the water for the second hour of kayaking. 

We saw a Little Blue Penguin!  At a great distance and all it was doing was floating about on its tummy, but it was my first wild penguin - so still very cool.

After lunch on a second beach, we started our three hour hike through the Park back to were we began out trip. It was a little hot and by the end of the hike most of us were wishing we'd chosen the full day's kayaking instead, it might have been easier.  But there were some awesome vistas and it was a nice hike.

Wednesday - Nelson to Kaikoura

Another 0530 start!  We spent the morning travelling and stopped outside Kaikoura to see a Sea Lion Colony - we stood and watched the little pups play about in the tide pools, fighting and splashing about.  Headed into Kaikoura and had lunch near Fyffe Quay at another Fur Seal colony, before heading up a steep hill to begin a two hour walk (or Tramp as the Kiwis call it), to South Bay and back,  skirting the top of the cliffs that make up the Kaikoura coastline in the area.

Unfortunately, the day was a foggy one,  so not able to see the surrounding mountains that are purported to be rather breathtaking.

After checking in, we wandered the beach near our hotel before going out to search for sustenance.

Thursday - Kaikoura to Christchurch

After another early start, in order to get into Christchurch with plenty of time to see the city.  We made good time on the roads and managed to get into Christchurch by 10AM.  Lucky for us, our room at the motel was ready and waiting, so we were able to off-load out gear and have a quick tea before seeing the sights.

Christchurch was designed to look like a British town, and a lot of things were named accordingly (there is a river running through it called the Avon).  The weather was not bright and sunny (overcast and threatening to rain) so we forgo the gondola ride up to see the city from above but we did climb 137 twisty steps up the Christchurch Cathedral's Bell Tower to see the town's centre from above.

Later, we had a nice lunch down town and after seeing most of the sights we walked back to the motel (which is within walking distance to downtown ChCh) to get ready to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant near the hotel called Strawberry Fare,  which was originally a desert shop that branched out, and if I had seen the desserts before I'd order my main meal I would have just ordered dessert - to heck with proper nutrition.

Which brings me back to today at Akaroa and the ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Dolphin Swim.

It's late here now, well after 11pm and we have yet another early start tomorrow.  It's blowing a gale and bucketing down here and isn't likely to get much better; apparently there are remnants of tropical storms that are set to deluge parts of the S Island for the next week or so.  Oh, well, what do I care, I got to swim with dolphins today and fulfill one of the goals I have had for over 20 years!

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

Further on Down the Road with Side Trips Down Memory Lane

It's funny the things that remind you of other things. When I was in Auckland there was a certain flowery smell that reminded me of Belize.  I have seen people in various places that remind me of my friends back home. While riding in the back of the car, I was reminded of moving from Edmonton to Winnipeg as a passenger in one of two cars laden down with various house plants, a dog, a cat and a guinea pig (I think the cat was in one car and the dog and guinea pig in another, though they all did get along ok). I remember every time we tried to open the car's sunroof to get some air, the cat would howl until we shut it again.  I also remember the cat (which was an adopted stray) in a collar with a leash attached - not at all a happy cat for the two-day duration. Mum regaled us of a time, when my sister and I were really young and fighting over the hotly disputed territory known as the back seat, when the Edmonton Police pulled mum over because she did an illegal turn because she was so distracted by the backseat battles. Ah, memories...

Now as I write this part of the blog, I am sitting on the Interislander Ferry from Wellington to Picton as our tour of the North Island has ended and our tour of the South is about  to begin.  The ferry stirs up vague memories of being on a ferry somewhere in Europe (maybe Dover to somewhere) the day was rough and I was travelling with my family (I was a child at the time, some point in time between the Police incident and the Winnipeg move) and a Uncle, Aunt and cousins (though I don't remember which - I do, however, remember the movie that was playing in the cinema on board, "Ghostbusters".  Odd what the mind dredges up from the recesses of memory.

The ferry  is quite large and has similar amenities to that of the ferry between Victoria BC and the main land, but about 3 times larger and kitted out with two movie cinemas (currently showing "Australia" and "Madagascar 2", in case you were interested in knowing). We pass through a fair amount of open ocean before winding our way though a group of islands called the Queen Charlotte Islands to reach our destination.  Right now as I look out my window, I see open ocean and one lone sailboat under sail.

But enough about the ferry ride, maybe my ramblings about the last several days will be more interesting...

Two days ago (wow, was it only two days ago) we got up early (again, I think our average wake-up time is about 0530hrs, I know that's late for some, but it seems early for vacationers, but there is soo much to see, that early starts are required).  We had a nice big breakfast at our B&B before hitting the road to drive from Rotorua to Hastings via various points of interest.

Our first stop was about 45 minutes down the road at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and Lady Knox Geyser; which erupts due to the presence of two chambers of water (a cold chamber on top of the hot one) that, when triggered with a surfactant, that beaks the water tension between the two chambers causing the water to mix, steam, and thereby causing the eruption (a nice Park ranger type person does the honours and the Geyser erupts, on queue at 10:15 am daily.

 

Champagne Pool in Wai-O-Tapu

Lady Knox Geyser

Our picnic lunch stop was at Lake Taupo, the largest lake in NZ, since we wanted to have time to stop and look around at our next rest stop of Napier, we spent very little time in Taupo.  After a quick lunch and a short walk along the lakefront, it was on the road again and off to Napier.

Napier was a quaint little town who's main claim to fame (besides being in the centre of some of the best wine growing country in NZ) is  it's Art Deco buildings built  in the early 1930s following the earthquake and fire in February of 1931 that devastated downtown Napier.

After having a hot chocolate (there was a strong south wind blowing making it feel rather cold), we had a walk around downtown Napier snapping shots of the buildings before it was off to our hotel in Hastings (15 minutes down the road from Napier).

I would have to describe Hastings as Napier's poor cousin; it has some of the Art Deco buildings but lacks the charm of Napier (though it tries to dress itself up with an overabundance of flowerpots and hanging baskets, as if wearing too much makeup would make up for it's shortcomings). 

The  next morning it was off to Wellington, NZs capital city.  The drive took us about 5 hours (four and a half of driving, all by me, I might add) along with a short stop for a coffee (or hot chocolate) in little town called Masterton.  There were a lot of side trips we could have done (had we had the time) to places on the coast, but time restrictions had us heading strait (or as strait and the NZ roads allow; 13KM of very twisty roads make me feel using the phrase "direct route" would be more apt) to Wellington.

Due to my skillful driving (ok, gloating a bit there) we had the entire afternoon in Wellington (after a less than scenic picnic lunch in the hotel parking lot).  We wandered into downtown and took the Cable car up the side of a  hill to have a look at the port of Wellington.  Wellington, as well as being the Capital City of NZ, is a port city (and the most southerly city of the North Island).  We wandered back down the hill and had a look at the outside of the Parliament Building and wandered back though town, taking in the sights as we went. 

We saw no interesting places to eat (it seems that there are cafes that serve breakfast and lunches and that close  around 5PM and then there are bars, takeout joints, and very swish restaurants that open about 5PM to serve the dinner crowd, but little in the way of middle-of-the-road restaurants for inexpensive evening meals) so we bought hot, prepared food from the local supermarket and then headed back to the Hotel room for dinner.  Since most of our hotels have full kitchens, we've eaten in the room a few times for dinner, make all our breakfasts there and make picnic lunches most days too - cuts down on the costs and it's easier than being in constant search for good places to eat.

Another early morning and we headed off to the Ferry Terminal to catch the ferry to  Picton a 3.5 hour crossing (which is about half over now, and I'm going to sign off for now and complete this later after we've had a wander about Nelson and had  our evening meal).

We stopped at Picton for lunch (a picturesque little town) and sat in a park on the waterfront and ate yet another picnic lunch. After walking around town for a bit we piled back into the car and headed off to Nelson - we took the scenic route (read really really winding and narrow road) paralleling the North end of the South Island.

Arriving at in Nelson about 4:30PM, we checked into the hotel and then went down to the i Site (the NZ tourist information centre) and booked a day trip to the Able Tasman area for Tuesday (I'm not good at thinking in days of the week).

I had the day off from driving today (and since where here in Nelson until Wednesday morning, I probably won't drive until then) . I'm getting accustomed to the driving  on the other side of the road and the concept that wind from the south is cold, not warm and that as we travel further south, the weather will be getting cooler, not warmer. Thus ends another day on the other side of the world.

The Road to Rotorua

As it happens with vacations, I have managed to loose track of the days. According to my watch, it's the Thursday the 12th, though according to my Mini Computer it's Wednesday the 11th - (though it also says it's 11:40AM, so I know it's wrong); so you can see part of my confusion.
It's been a couple of days since I blogged last and I'm busily trying to remember what we did when and where we were. It's been about 600 km since my last blog posting; we drove from Paihia to Otorohanga (a rough little hick-town in the middle of nowhere - but close to the Glowworm caves, which was our objective for the next day) - which was about 400 km (about 6 hours of driving the sharply undulating roads); of which I drove about 2 hours - and survived! (as did all my passengers). The following day was a shorter drive (only 200 km including the detour to the glowworm caves).

What are these glowworm caves? You ask. They are a series of caves near a little town called Waitomo where the larval form a certain insect have a glowing tail end that attracts prey. L and I took a three hour tubing trip through the caves - which was really a combination of amateur spelunking and tubing - so it was great fun. At a couple of points, we turned off the head lamps on our helmets and floated along in the pitch-dark looking up at the star-like glow-worms.

The afternoon was spent traveling from Waitomo to Rototura where we settled in to our B&B before heading out for a Hangi meal (a traditional Maori meal that is baked over hot rocks for several hours) along with a Maori Cultural show. Great food and quite an interesting experience, complete with Maori warriors and Polynesian dancing.

I have to go now, breakfast is waiting and so is our full day in Rotorua...

We're back from our day out & about in Rotorua, which we spent in and around Rotorua while it tried to rain a bit. We were spoilt for choice for what to do - Rotorua is an area of underground volcanic activity, so there are a lot of sulphur hot springs and places where gasses are bubbling up though the mud and water; also, there is a forest that rivals that of the California Redwoods, along with waterfalls and lakes, plus adventure activities like bungee jumping and Zorbing.

The was a main park in Rotorua called Kuirau Park is filled with areas where the hydrogen sulfide bubbles up through the ground and heats the water and mud, in which we walked around for a while taking pictures before heading into downtown and looking at the lake and the hydrogen sulfide activity there. The lake shore was composed of fine rocks and pumice stones.

Next stop was the forest for a very brief look at Whakarewarewa Forest Park and the California Redwoods (that were planted in the early 1900s) before heading off in search of the Blue and Green lake. By the time we got to the lakes the skies were about ready to open up and spew forth a great downpour, so instead of a walk, it was a quick look until diving back into the car and heading back into town (incidentally, I was disappointed to discover that I was a mere 3 days early for a women's triathlon that was to be held in Blue Lake - the ride and run would have been a hilly torture).

So, after looking at most of the natural wonders - minus the waterfalls, we went Zorbing - it was awesome fun!!!

What the heck is Zorbing? - you may be asking. Zorbing is where the Kiwis put you in a large inflated ball and push you down a hill. And if you're not satisfied with that answer, here's a better one. There are two large durable plastic balls; an inner one and an outer one (the inner and the outer balls are held together) the outer one is filled with air, the inner one partially filled with water and a person. Said person then walks forward until the ball, which has been staged at the top of the Zorb run (a grassy hillside surrounded by grassy embankments and fences), begins to roll down the hill at which point gravity takes over and the person is at the mercy of the Zorb run and gets sloshed about as the ball rolls down the run ricocheting off of the sides. It was a blast!! I wanted to go a second time, but unfortunately there wasn't time.

We wandered about the town in the afternoon and then headed out for dinner at an outdoor restaurant, we were tempting fate and fate won, having survived a series of light drizzly showers (which we were protected from by the table umbrella) during the meal, the skies opened up at the end of our meal making us all run for cover and scamper to the car to avoid being drenched.

I'm now safely back at the B&B we're staying at, it's out in the country at the foot of a mountain with an unpronounceable Maori name (most Maori names seem rather un pronounceable to me - apparently, if you pretend you are a Japanese tourist, you can get the pronounciation right - something about the way they pronounce their vowels).

With only dial-up Internet, Tigger photos, and a Flickr post, will just have to wait until further down the road (literally) 'til when we are in Hastings or Wellington.

Searching for Sea-Legs

Yesterday we had an early start, on the road by 5:30 AM heading out of Auckland and towards Tutukaka and our day of diving Poor Knights Island!

Some of the roads en route were narrow and winding and we made slower progress than expected and just managed to make  it to the boat in time.  All our gear was waiting for us and we just hopped on the boat and off we went.

 

The sea was a bit rolly and I was a little pale and shakey before the first dive, prompting the Divemaster to suggest I just jump in and cool off before getting kitted up and into the water for the first dive. The cool water helped and I managed to do the dive with out incident; underwater I don't need sea-legs.

Our Divemaster was very helpful and he gave us a guided tour on both dives pointing out rays, eels, nudibranchs and other marine wonders.

Apparently, a wonderful buffet lunch was  laid on for us, with cold cuts, cheese, buns, yogurt, chips and more - though I saw none of it.  I just sat back with my eyes closed willing away the nausea until the second dive, which was even nicer than the first.

Later, we reached Paihia; after more narrow winding roads and our stop for two nights. We wandered the town a bit before dinner and I happened upon an acquaintance of mine from Edmonton - she's been down here for months travelling about and the odds of us seeing each other were astronomically small!

This morning we went on a boat trip with the hopes of seeing and swimming with dolphins.  The day dawned misty and I didn't think our chances were very good at finding anything.  But we did! 

Not long after we set off we found a pod of about 20-40 dolphins and followed them about for almost an hour as they frolicked and fed in the bay near Paihia.  Since there were some very young dolphins among the pod we couldn't swim with them.  So we set off on a foggy search for more dolphins. 

The remainder of the four hour trip was a series of stops near some of the many islands in the area (they don't call it Bay of Islands for nothing). Very pretty, kind of wet, but reasonably calm - so my lack of sea legs wasn't as much of an issue today!

After lunch ignoring the fact that the morning mist turned to afternoon drizzle, we went for a couple of walks on the beach.  The first one was along the sandy beach that Paihia's main road parallels. The tide was coming in and was making interesting patterns on the sand with combinations of shells, leaves, seed pods, and seaweed. Almost as if the tide were making little collages on the sand.

Later, we walked along the rocky coastline away from Paihia's town centre looking in tide pools and picking up shells. 

Tomorrow will be a long day of driving - as we are heading in back inland (via Auckland) to Otorohanga (driving time, about 8 hours).  I'm going to be doing some of the driving and personally, it scares me a bit.  I guess it's all part of the adventure!

Wandering Auckland

We woke up at about 6am and went  for a run in a park called The Domain, mere blocks from our hotel in Parnell (a neighbourhood of Auckland).  The park is not unlike Stanley Park in Vancouver -  I've been trying to figure out what city I would compare Auckland to, but I haven't come up any. Being a port city, it's a lot like Vancouver, but still different enough for me not to make that comparison.  But the Domain did remind me of Stanley Park, with a museum and a cricket pitch (or several) accompanying rose gardens, and duck ponds and various other minor attractions all surrounded by a forested area with trees filled with cicadas chirping and whining in a cacophonous chorus.  It all contributed to a pretty place to run.

After breakfast, we took the Link bus (a frequent shuttle bus that runs in a circuit into and out of the city centre) into downtown Auckland and did some browsing through the shops in a place called The Victoria Park Market, a indoor collection of small shops and stores (similar to Granville Market, once again a Vancouver comparison).

Just prior to lunch, we embarked on a quest to find a cell phone store that would be able to unlock my cell phone so we could use it with a prepaid SIM card we bought - however, yesterday was a holiday here, so no Techs seemed to be available anywhere to do the deed.

We wandered up to the rental car company, which was conveniently  located a few long blocks from where we gave up our cell phone Tech quest and picked up our car - a very roomy Nissan Bluebird - don't let the name fool you, it seems like a really good car.  After managing to drive on the correct side of the road, we made it back to the hotel for a short lunch before heading out to catch the ferry to Devonport.

Devonport was very nice burrow of Auckland on the far side of Auckland Harbour, with pretty little beaches and a "boardwalk" along the shore-side.  The sea breeze made the hot sunny day more pleasant, though I was so tempted to go for a swim!

Alas, I have no Tigger Pictures today because in an attempt to be pro-active, I took my battery out last night to charge it up and then forgot to put it back in the camera - oh well, others took a short or two and maybe in a day or so I will post another Tigger post.

Tomorrow two of us are going diving!! My cold seems to have cleared up so with any luck we'll have a great time!  It'll be an early start tomorrow - on the road by 0530 - but well worth the lack of sleep!!

I'm ending yet another fabulous day, the way I ended yesterday, sitting in Esquires Coffee Shop on Parnell Road, sipping warm milk at 9PM and realizing it's 1AM with you back home!  Thus ends my rather mundane reporting of today's events.

What happened to Thursday?

I'm sitting here in the hotel on Friday night getting ready to head out for a burger and a beer and REALLY READY for an early night.

Friday night? What happened to Thursday? We left last night, Wednesday night, at about 7 PM from YVR (Vancouver International Airport) and touched down this morning around 6 AM Auckland time, Friday February 6th. Friday!?! Crossing the International Date Line really messes with a person's head.

So, anyway, it's Friday night and we managed to survive the plane trip - barely, being packed in like sardines for fourteen hours. Searching for sleep and finding little solace. Struggling to find a comfortable way for a five-foot four person to sleep in a seat built for someone six-feet tall. After a while, the seat felt like cement and the possibility of a dream-filled sleep was quickly becoming a pipe-dream.

Getting next to no sleep and landing in Auckland at the start of a fresh new day presented challenges, but in the end we struggled through the day short on energy and a tad short on temper.

Seeing the view from 200m up in the Sky Tower.

And seeing the view from sea level on a harbour cruise, you could say Friday had it's ups and downs - forgive me for that one - I'm functioning on less than two hours of sleep!

It's about 9 PM here now, and I'm sitting alone in an internet cafe in my shorts and t-shirt, sipping on warm milk, finishing off this blog and reflecting on the day. Sleep will find me soon, I hope. I hope too, that I'll make it back to the hotel before sleep tracks me down.

Until tomorrow....

...and so it begins.

I arrived at Edmonton International Airport with plenty of time to spare, I'd rather be sitting around waiting at the gate than racing and panicking to get there on time.

I sit down and pull out the paperback novel I had brought with me and began to read, after about a paragraph or two I began to question my choice. Maybe I needed to have a more stringent selection criteria than simply selecting a paperback at random from the book box in my living room - the box of assorted paperback that were previously read by someone else that I had picked up for free on the off-chance I might like to read it. The majority of the books were mysteries or suspense novels. The one I had selected was one by an author I hadn't read yet, and I thought it was the book that I cared the least about bringing back to Canada with me; as I said, not the most stringent of selection criteria. As it turns out, it's about a forensic anthropologist that investigates human remains - the TV show "Bones" is based on the author's protagonist. Unfortunately, the dead bodies she's investigating this time around are the result of a plane crash.

I read the first chapter and then thought it might be bad Karma or something to keep reading. I'm not a nervous flyer, per se, but reading about plane wreckage and body parts strewn about the woods of North Carolina might not be the best way to start my New Zealand Adventure.

Maybe music and blogging will have to be my main distractions until I'm back on terra firma in NZ - I only have to distract myself for another 16 hours....

...and so it begins - my great New Zealand Adventure!