The Caitlins and Dunedin

We took the southern scenic route from Te Anua to The Caitlins. The country side was filled with sheep and deer farms all along the way. Very picturesque. The final stretch of road was along the southern coast which is really wild and only sparsely populated. The south westerly winds are so strong that the trees along the coast are all bent flat and are very dry. No doubt the salt spray from the sea has a negative effect as well.

We stayed in a very nice B&B which is on a farm. I believe the owners said that they have 2700 sheep and 500 deer. We had a very nice dinner in the cafe down the road which was in an old school house. We were the only 2 customers and they closed the kitchen shortly after we got our meals. Close to the cafe was their Niagara Falls;it is so small that we missed it the first time altogether.

The next day we headed for Dunedin stopping several times along the way for walks and to visit some more waterfalls (much bigger). The weather was cool (only 11 C) with showers. Nevertheless, the walks were very pleasant as we were properly dressed and the walks took us through some really pretty rain forests. We are always surprised by how lush the forests are here.

When we arrived in Dunedin we made our way to Larnach Castle where we were booked for one night. We were surprised at first to learn that guests do not actually stay in the castle which is really a museum; rather in a lodge on the castle grounds. However, once we saw our room all our misgivings disappeared. We were assigned the Queen Victoria room which has a canopy bed and spectacular views of the coast. Since our room had a large soaking tub we decided to have a nice bath together along with a glass of wine. Both King and Queen were extremely happy and relaxed by the time it was time to go to dinner. We decided to have dinner in the castle dinning room which seats about 20 people around an antique table.

Before dinner we had drinks and got to meet out fellow diners whom turned out to be very charming indeed. At dinner one of the guests (physiologist wouldn't you know) suggested that each of us to say a few words about who we were, where we came from and what we considered to be an important lesson about life. Lucille talked about the fact that even though all the people present had come from different parts of the world and how well we all got along and how much we had in common. I mentioned how important it was to live for the moment since we never know what the future holds in store for us.

We really enjoyed the evening as we had a lot of laughs, and the food and wine were excellent. The castle is owned by the Barker family who have spent many years restoring it to something of its former graciousness. The castle was built by William Larnach in the late 1880's and clearly didn't worry about the cost since took about 10 years to complete. It is filled with fine furniture, marble and imported woods. Beautiful!

The next day we drove to the tip of the peninsula to see the Albatross Colony. These birds have the longest wingspan of any bird (3.3 meters) and this is the only place in the world where they nest so close to humans. We were fortunate enough to see one flying (impressive) and a mother grooming her chick. We also saw plenty of other birds, 2 dolphins ridding the bow wave of a passing ship and a few seals or sea lions (we can't tell the difference).

We then visited the old Scottish train station which is made of stone and has some beautiful stained glass windows and colorful tiles. Since it was lunch time we ended up having lunch in the station which specializes in traditional Scottish food and I had a real Scottish beer called Belhaven, I think. Anyway it was very good!




Next stop Lake Tekapo.

Te Anau and Doubtful Sound

Our stay in Te Anau got off to an exciting start because we experienced our first earthquake since arriving in NZ. It was 5.3 on the richtor scale and happened while we were having breakfast. Lucille noticed it first and then we both felt the building moving. Apparently they get lots of these small ones.

We watched a good video at the Information office which gave us a better appreciation of the history, fora and fauna of the southern Alps. This is a truly remarkable area of NZ and it is easy to understand why it has been designated as a World Heritage Area. We then went to the local cinema to see another film which provided us some beautiful views taken from helicopters covering all four seasons. Cheapest way to see what the mountains and fiords look like from the air. The cinema was very small but the seats were very comfortable and large. It was also the first time that I was able to have a beer in a cinema. Very civilized!

The next morning we drove to Lake Manapouri which is the deepest lake in NZ (443 M) and is actually 265 meters below sea level at the bottom. We boarded a boat for the trip across the lake then a bus took us down to the coast where we took another boat out into Doubtful Sound. Incidentally, Captain Cook named it because he wasn't sure whether he would be able to navigate his way out of the fiord hence decided not to take a chance. Having seen the width and how strong the wind is coming into the fiord I think he made the right decision. Doubtful Sound is the second largest of Fiordland National Park's 14 fiords. The sea surface area is 10 times larger than the Milford Sound but Milford Sound has steeper cliffs. We were blessed with another really beautiful day; not a cloud in the sky (very unusual). The views were stunning with huge mountains on all sides and clear blue water beneath us. We travelled to the mouth of the fiord where we saw fur seals and the open ocean. Nothing left between us and Tasmania.

Closer we got to the mouth the more the wind picked up and until it was so strong you could lean into it and not fall over. On the return trip we entered a smaller side-arm where the Captain shut-off the motors and we were seemed to be suspended between the ocean and the sky. All we could hear were birds signing and feel was a gentle breeze.

After re boarding the bus we took a detour by entering the service tunnel for the hydro electric dam. The tunnel went 2 kms through the mountain (it was cut in order to bring in all the equipment including the turbines) and we were able to descend 180 meters below the level of the lake. We were then able to view the actual generators from a large observation deck.

The most pleasant day we have spent in NZ! Although everyday has been pretty good so far!

We are off to the The Caitlins (most southern part of NZ).

Haast to Wanaka

It was raining very hard when we left Haast via the Haast pass which is the lowest pass between the east and west coasts of the South Island. As usual the road was full of curves but the views were tremendous especially as there were waterfalls all along the route due to the rain. There were a lot more waterfalls than normal, and they were much bigger due to the torrential rain. Once we got through the mountains the weather started improving immediately. On our approach to Wanaka the road meanders between two lakes (Hawea and Wanaka). Lake Wanaka is some 45 kms long and 6 kms at it's widest point. Beautiful scenery and the sun started to break through. Truly worth the drive. In fact, the more we see the more we love NZ!

Wanaka is a very nice little town nestled in the mountains. Much like Jasper. Skiing, hiking, fishing and boating are the main activities. We walked along the shore of the lake and had another nice meal; this time we decided to buy a roast chicken and some salad which we ate on the beach. Of course, no meal in NZ is complete without a bottle of local wine. Incidentally, the wine here is really very good. So far we have tried the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. All are exceptional. Not cheap (average cost about $15 in the super market and double that in the restaurants). Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to take one of the local tracks which would have provided us with some badly needed exercise (I'm putting on weight but Lucille seems to be holding her own; she says it is because of all the extra wine I drink).

The next morning we took the road to Queenstown which is the highest highway in NZ (1076 m). Along the way we had to stop at one of the original hotels which was built in the late 1800s to service the gold miners. Nice old place but it was too early for a beer. We then stopped in Arrowtown which was the local gold mining town. It is a very pretty town with lots of old colonial buildings and a small Chinese settlement. However, we ended up spending most of our time shopping for clothes (first time since we got to NZ so it wasn't so bad).

Queenstown was named by Mr. Rees who was the first white person to visit the area and was so taken with the view that he said it was a place fit for a Queen. Another beautiful day!! Sunny and warm (30C). We caught our steam boat at 2:00 pm which took us across the lake Wakatipu (83kms long and 405 meters deep) to one of the original homesteads. We were given a tour of the boat and briefing about it's history. Incredible, when you learn that they used to carry everything needed by the farmers on this boat including 1200 sheep at a time. The original engine keeps working and consumes appro. 12 tons of coal per day. The farm raises deer (800) and sheep (20,000). They raise the deer for their horns (sold in Asia for medicinal purposes and as an aphrodisiac)and meat. You should see the horns on these babies, a hunter's dream come true! We also saw another sheep shearing demo (when you seen one you seen them all). The fellow who gave us the tour was a real character, very typical, a really dry sense humour which we have come to appreciate more as we travel around the great country.

Saturday January 19, we took a Jet boat trip along the Shotover canon. We are still not sure which was most frightening; the road (if you can call it that) or the actual boat trip. Most of the trip was along a narrow track which you would have trouble driving a 4x4 over let alone a mini-bus. The worse part was that all along the track there were shear precipices hundreds of meters deep. Lucille said she wasn't worried but I was more than a little concerned at times. We were only a few inches from going to meet our maker! They say that a brave man only dies once so I guess I'm not as brave as I thought I was. We will never complain about our road to the cottage again!! Those of you who have been to our cottage will know what we mean.

The boat ride was almost as frightening since we came so close to the rocks that I was sure that we were going to hit (actually I did notice a lot of blue paint of some of the rock outcroppings). The spins were fun and the whole trip was awesome. I did hear Lucille squeal a few times so perhaps she is not as brave as I thought she was.

Next stop Te Anua.

Franz Glacier

Took a walk to the face of the Fox Glacier which is takes approx. 2 hours return trip. NZ and Argentina are the only places where glaciers decend into temperate rain forests. The Fox glacier is the longest glacier on the west coast although there are larger ones inland. The glacier was impressive but it would have been better if we had taken the helicopter flight which would have been more interesting. The next day was simply unbelievable with not a cloud in the sky which meant that we had a clear view of both Mount Cook (highest peak in NZ) and Mount Tasman. We were incredibly lucky as they are often shrouded in clouds!

We walked around (1 HR) Lake Matheson which is surrounded by a temperate rain forest. Very pretty with another great vie of both mountains mentioned previously. Had another Capucino (this is becoming our latest routine around 11 o'clock) while gazing at the surrounding mountains. Lovely, quiet and serene.

We then drove along the coast until we reached Knight's Point which affords a majestic view of the Tasman sea. If you were to travel west you would land in Tasmania and south would bring you to Antarctica. The coast is very primitive with very little human habitation. There is lots of bird life due to the cold currents which attract a lots of fish, fur seals and even some elephant seals (the largest of the seal family).

Arrived in Hast which consists of just a few motels and restaurants really. Spent the afternoon on the beach with approx. 3 or 4 other people (beach is several KMS long, if you get the picture.

Greymouth to Franz Glacier

Another nice day, we had to negotiate another range of mountains. Some the curves were so bad that we had to slow down to 15 kms/hr. Lots of trees and huge ferns. Forest looks almost tropical even though we are closer to Antartica than the rest of the world. Drove through the smallest town in NZ with a total population of 2 but we had to stop when we saw there were 2 cafe's. The first has a large stuffed sandfly. They really grow them big down here and you only get bit once in your life. The second place specializes in possum meat pies which we didn't have a chance to sample unfortunately. I have included a couple of pictures for those of you who may doubt the veracity of what I'm saying (I don't know why since I always tell the truth as everyone knows).

Nelson and Westland

Nelson is a paradise for bush walkers, kayaking, boating and simply lying on the beach. We arranged to take a catamaran to Golden bay and the surrounding marine park but the trip was cancelled at the last minute due to a problem with the boat's motor. Back we went to the information office and quickly decided to drive to a town in the same area and take a boat from there instead. The first place we checked had a speedboat leaving within a matter of minutes so we hopped on board for a place called Bark Beach. It took 45 minutes to get there only. We then had a picnic lunch (consisting of bread, smoked salmon, cheeses, salad, fruit and a good bottle of local Pinot Noire) on the beach and spent the rest of our time simply enjoying the view and having a quick dip (the water was too cold to stay in any longer). Weather was hot (30C) and sunny. The boat ride back took 1.5 hours as we were on a much larger boat which was good since we had a better chance to see things. See photo below.

Ferry Crossing North Island to South Island

12-01-08
Yesterday was our last day in Wellington; we visited the National Museum; unfortunately we did not have enough time to see it all because we had to catch the ferry to Nelson. Another excellent venue with lots of videos and interactive displays. Lots of info on how NZ was formed as well as animals/fish/plants/costumes/furniture, etc.
What a beautiful day it was to be on a ferry; the trip took 3.5 hrs, the sea was smooth, saw lots of sailboats, fishing boats and beautiful houses built on very rugged coastlines.
Picked up our new rental car (bigger and better than the other one) and drove to Nelson where we are staying for 3 nights. Lots of outdoor activities to do around here. Tomorrow we shall take a catamaran boat cruise to Golden Bay, where we might see dolphins, seals and various sea birds.

That's all for now.

Photos of NZ

LARGEST KAURI TREE IN NZ.

MAORI WHAKA IN PAIHIA
LUCILLE WITH MAORI WARRIOR
CATHEDRAL COVE
AUCKLAND
HOLE IN THE ROCK

Week 2 in NZ

Whitianga
We went to the 'hot beach' where hot (really hot, boiling hot) water comes out of the sand during low tide due to the local volcanic environment. People dig holes and sit in the sand.
We also took a 35 minute walk to the 'Cathedral Cove' where there is a beach and a huge hole through the rock. It was a very hot day, nice.
During our travels we came across many 'one way bridge'; there is an arrow indicating who has the right of way. It's a very slow process...

Rotorua
We visited a Maori village after having been greeted at the entrance by some rather intimidating warriors!!!We got to see how they practice for battle, cook their food, and are given tattoos.
We also saw a really good show followed by a hangi which is a traditional Maori meal.
We took a gondola ride to the top of the mountain with a terrific view of Lake Rotorua (which is an ancient volcano).
The whole area consists of numerous steam and mud openings as well as some geysers (which gives of a rather fowl smell)
Outside of our room we had a private spa... all the hot water comes from the thermal system.
On our second day, we went to the Polynesian Spa overlooking a thermal crater. There were many small pools at different temperatures i.e. between 36C and 43C; very relaxing, especially since we both had colds.

Taupo
This is the largest lake in NZ and is renowned for its trout fishing.
Once again we had a private spa outside our room.
We went through way too many mountains, up and down and around...

Napier
Region between Taupo and Napier is a huge reforestation area, consisting of many different types of pine trees.
This is the 'Art Deco' capital of the world, with lots of pastel colored buildings/houses. So far is the prettiest town we've seen. We had a very nice dinner of grilled tuna and veggies and of course of good bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc.

Today we drove 325 kms which took us all day to Wellington. (We went through so many little towns with a maximum speed limit of 50 kms along the way). We also discovered, when we went through Carterton town, that the former mayor was the first transgender person in the world to become a mayor and then a Member of Parliament...
We also stopped along the way and sampled some of the local wines which were very good.

Tomorrow we take the ferry to the South Island. We still have approx. 3 weeks left in NZ. Should be fun.

Auckland and Northern NZ

So far we have seen the 2 largest Kauri trees and the oldest house in New Zealand. We spent 3 days in Auckland including New Year's Eve.

Auckland is a very beautiful city with lots of hills and much of the city centre is filled with new buildings. We will post some pictures next week. We had seafood on the wharf and a good bottle of NZ wine for New Year's Eve. We did not stay until midnight since we had to get up early the next day to pick up our car. The people are very friendly, the owner of the lodge where we stayed lent us his son's car one night in order that we could go out to the restaurant. He told us not to tell his wife otherwise she would have a monkey fit (whatever that is).

The day we went to pick up the car, Dave called for a taxi, 1 hour before we were to meet our shuttle bus downtown. However, the taxi driver decided to pick up another fair on his way to our place; as a result, David called several more times to see what had happened to the taxi. In short, we almost missed our shuttle, but, fortunately, the driver was kind enough to wait for us for 20 minutes. They said not to worry in 'paradise'...


So far the weather has been around 23 C sunny and windy; perfect for traveling. We spent around 3.5 hrs in the Auckland Museum, 3 stories, absolutely outstanding; we were exhausted by the time we went home. We use the buses around the city, and even though it is during the holiday season, they run pretty often, and it is about the same price as it would be at home; $3.50/person. We asked questions to the drivers, and they were very nice; one of them even let us on his bus (free) and showed us where to take the bus that we had asked for. We also took a ferry across the harbor, trip was about 12 minutes.

We spent 3 nights in Paihia, in the Bay of Islands (northern NZ). We took a cruise (4.5 hrs) during which we visited several islands and went to the "Hole in the Rock" David used to say "Hole in the Wall" and people looked at him like he was crazy... It was a beautiful warm day; very pleasant and relaxing.

The following day we visited Kiri-kiri which is where we saw the oldest house in NZ as well as the stone store which is a combination museum/actual store selling reproductions of old tools, etc, etc.

We then drove several hours along the coast and saw some beautiful beaches and mountains. We finished up on 90 mile beach which is actually only 75 miles long. All along the route there are numerous places where the Maori fought battles with the British army. Most of the fighting took place between 1840-1860 and was caused by the fact that the Maori did not wish to sell their land and were angry over the interference by the Brits in their internal affairs.

Yesterday morning, we visited the town of Russell, which was the capital of NZ for a very short time in the 1840s. They have a very well preserved museum which houses a working printing press from the same period, as well as a tannery. We learned how books were made as well as the leather bindings.

In the afternoon we drove down the west coast through the Kauri forest which contains the biggest Kauri trees in NZ. These trees are up to 30 m.high and 7 m.wide, huge trees. The forest itself makes one think of prehistoric jungles.

We are now in Whitianga, nice coastal town. We had lunch in a little town called Cromandel, also on the coast, where most of the people looked like hillbillies... It reminded us of some of the little towns that we drove through in Australia... Lucille has been doing most of the driving, especially in the mountains. It is EXTREMELY curvy, up and down, and if she did not drive, she would get car sick. The road in and around the mountains is very narrow with sheer drops into the valleys/ocean.