Leaving On A Jet Plane

 I can’t believe our time in New Zealand is over! On the other hand, I’m sitting in the Queenstown airport waiting to board a flight to Sydney, so…

We landed in Auckland on February 4th. It’s now February 27th. I have no idea how many miles we drove - I meant to check the odometer when we dropped off the car and forgot. We’ve learned a lot of lessons about road trips since our very first drive across the US in 1982. We keep the driving days short and break them up with sightseeing stops and/or lunch. That worked well for us through New Zealand. David adjusted very well to driving on the left side of the road. I didn’t adjust quite so well to riding in the passenger seat. I often felt that we were going off the road on to the shoulder or that people we were in the path of a head-on collision. That’s why he did all the driving.

To catch up on the last few days: on Sunday we left Christchurch and headed for Dunedin to visit friends. We stopped at a petroglyph site along the way.

We got into Christchurch, had a lovely dinner at Nick and Allison’s, and took a tiki tour around Dunedin Harbor. “Tiki tour” is Kiwi-speak for a sightseeing trip with no fixed destination. We ended up on Baldwin Street, which is officially the steepest street in the world.

Trick shot. David is standing straight up. The street is - not.

On Monday we went on a nature tour. We saw gorgeous landscape, lots of different kinds of birds, sea lions, fur seal pups, and no penguins. The yellow-eyed penguins live on the farm. It’s molting season, thought, and they don’t venture far out of their nesting boxes when they’re molting. We did see a 19th-century limekiln and the mosaic floor of the Dunedin railroad station.

Also a giant petrel and two albatross (albatrosses?) which were too far away to register on the phone cameras. I haven’t downloaded the pictures from the “real” camera yet.

We left Dunedin on Tuesday and drove to Te Anau where we had a tiny house next to some sheep, cows, and alpacas (see previous entry). We also had a wood-fired hot tub that we could soak in while we looked at the Milky Way. 

On Wednesday (yesterday! I’m catching up!) we drove to Milford Sound, which is not actually a sound. It’s a fjord and part of the Fjordlands National Park. We took a two-hour boat trip around the fjord. It’s not the first time during this trip that I’ve found myself without words to describe what we were seeing.

We drove back to Te Anau and our neighbors the sheep.

Before we settled in to the hot tub we had to recombombulate - unload everything from the car and redistribute it to fit in our suitcases so we were ready for our flight.

It did all fit, I promise.

Off to Sydney tonight and then to Cairns tomorrow to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef! I’m sad to leave New Zealand and still excited for the remaining adventures.

Here Comes the Sun

 It’s a sunny Wednesday morning and we are again in the countryside in a little cottage near Te Anau.

There’s no WiFi and we have a few bars of LTE; I’m surprised I can get online at all and I’m not going to push my luck. I’ll post something more complete from the airport tomorrow - it’s our last full day in New Zealand. Sigh.

To tide you over, here are some photos from our most recent expedition in Dunedin on Monday. Fur seal pups and sea lions!

Today we’re off for a boat trip in Milford Sound. We’re pining for the fjords.

Saturday In The Park

Wow, it’s Saturday and my last post was Wednesday! I know it says Tuesday but it was Wednesday in New Zealand, honest.

Thursday we were supposed to go swimming with dolphins. We drove from Christchurch over the mountains to a charming coastal town named Akaroa. It’s very French - at least if France sat on the edge of an extinct volcano. The view from lunch.

We checked in at Black Cat cruises, got outfitted in in wet suits and dive boots, and boarded the boat. We saw dolpins! They’re Hector’s dolphins, found only in New Zealand. They’re the smallest dolphins known.

They did not stick around the boat enough for us to actually get in the water. We went swimming with dolphins in the Florida Keys years ago at a research and rehabilitation facility where the dolphins were in an enclosure. These are wild animals and they did not want to play with us. First the whale watch and then the dolphins - we’re not doing well with the cetaceans on this trip! The ride was gorgeous anyway. I spent most of the trip standing at the bow - less likely to get seasick that way.

We did see New Zealand fur seals with pups!

We went back to Christchurch and went back to Manu for dinner because it was sooo good the first time. This time we sat at the bar and had a lovely time with the barman who not only flambéd my drink but also lit some cinnamon as well! Sorry, no video, just pictures of the drinks.

We walked back to the apartment along the river and had a quiet evening. Yesterday we packed up the car and headed for Aoraki Mt Cook, a National Park in the heart of the Southern Alps. There are no words to describe what it looks like.

The top photo includes my cocktail from dinner last night at the aptly named Panorama Restaurant. 

The National Park sits within the largest Dark Sky preserve in New Zealand. We didn’t sign up in time to get in to the astronomer talk so we had to look by ourselves. That was OK.

This was the view this morning.

We ate breakfast and headed off for a boat ride in Lake Tasman, which sits at the end of the Tasman Glacier and thus contains icebergs. 

We hiked back out to the car park and the bus brought us back to the hotel. We found lunch at the Edmund Hillary Café (he climbed Mt Cook before he tackled Everest) and then headed back out to try and hike to a  waterfall. Most of the hiking here is very challenging - steep, long, icy, technical - and the easier hikes are generally very crowded. David suggested we try bushwhacking toward a waterfall we’d seen from the road. We got a little closer and then I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of falling and twisting an ankle on the stones. We did get close enough to see more of the waterfall than before.

It was worth it, and I’m glad we headed back when we did. We came back, showered, changed, and went to the bar for a snack and a glass of wine. Now back in the room waiting for our dinner reservation at the Panorama Room (why not?). Tomorrow is a driving day to Dunedin to visit friends.

 

Let the Sunshine In

We started the day in rain and fog on the west coast and ended in hot sunny weather back in Christchurch.

Last night we stayed in a small cottage in the hills outside of Hokitika. I’m sure we would have seen all the stars if it hadn’t been completely clouded over. We had relaxing evening that for once did not include a restaurant (we had lots of leftovers) and took advantage of the lack of steps to bring all the suitcases inside and recombobulate things. We each have a rolling carryon bag that we are using for two to three days at a time. We also have a large suitcase which has hiking and swimming gear and another large suitcase with extra clothes and toiletries. Over the past two weeks things have gotten out of place, to say the least, so we went through everything, put all the laundry in a grocery bag, pulled out the hiking clothes for day and the swimming gear for tomorrow and repacked. 

This morning after breakfast (farm fresh eggs from our hosts!) we headed to Hokitika Gorge to do some hiking. In New Zealand, they tramp on a track rather than hike on a trail. There were several short tramps available. Luckily for me, the swing bridge that used to cross the river in one place is no longer intact. What’s a swing bridge, you ask? Answer: something I never ever ever want to set foot on. Go to 7:39 of this video to see why. There is a newer bridge that David assured me is not a swing bridge but a suspension bridge. It certainly looked sturdy enough. Unfortunately, it also moved more than I would have liked.

Other than that it was a delightful walk even in the rain. The gorge itself is gorgeous. Even with the rain the river was an amazing shade of blue-green.

And here’s your moment of Zen for the day: rain in the forest.

We had a decent lunch in Hokitika proper and headed back over the mountain to Christchurch, so we’re now back in the city after our rural interlude. We had one of the best meals of the trip at Manu, which says it’s Pacifica glam. I think they delivered. 

The food was delicious: sticky lamb ribs, tuna tataki, and duck in red curry sauce. We wheedled our way to a table tomorrow evening as well (it helps to overtip).

Side note: Manu is one of the few places we’ve been that has a line for tips on the credit card slip. Tipping isn’t really a thing here. It feels weird to me.

We walked back and threw in a load of much-needed laundry. Tomorrow: swimming with dolphins!

Here Comes the Rain Again

 We woke up to rain this morning in Christchurch and resigned ourselves to a day of wet weather. Originally we planned to take a train trip over Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps, but one of use (ME) did not do their due diligence and so we ended up driving instead. This was one of those happy accidents - we had the chance to see some wonderful things that we would not have seen from the train.

The rain let up as we drove out of Christchurch and by the time we got to Castle Rock we had sunshine and blue skies. Castle Rock is amazing. These are limestone pillars formed by erosion; since it’s an arid climate, they are more resistant than the surrounding material (yes, I’m traveling with a geologist. Why do you ask?). 

The pictures don’t do it justice. Speaking of which…we kept driving west toward’s Arthur’s Pass and shortly after entered the park we took a hike to the Devil’s Punchbowl waterfall. And I do mean hike. There was a short walk to an overlook and then a lot - a lot - A LOT - of steps to the base of the falls. It was totally worth it.

Here’s the video to go with that last shot.

We caught our breath in the village at the base of the hike with coffee and a snack. I wasn’t the only one who wanted the snack.

The bird is a kea, the only mountain parrot in the world. They are endangered and also far too comfortable with people. 

We drove out of the mountains and to our home for the evening, a lovely mountain cabin. Tomorrow: back to Christchurch and maybe a hike en route depending on the weather.

Rainy Days and Mondays

It’s the first rain we’ve encountered here. Many people told us that the summer had been unusually cool and wet until last week. It caught up with us today in Christchurch.

We did not go whale-watching yesterday. We waited online to check in and after hearing the staff member say “the Captain does not think it’s a good idea” repeatedly, we figured it was a bad idea. I would certainly have been seasick even with my scopolamine patch and David didn’t think there would be much to see. We were pleasantly surprised that Whale Watch Kaikoura offered us a full refund. 

Our kayaking guide the day before recommended the Seafood Barbecue kiosk so  we drowned our sorrows in lobster. They call it crayfish. We shared one and it was the size of a lobster without the claws. It made up for it in way more meat in the tail. Add in a little garlic butter and yummo.  Sorry, it didn’t occur to me to take pictures. I was too hungry.

We headed south to Hanmer Springs. Before we soaked in the mineral waters we had one of the most interesting meals we’ve ever had. MK Restaurant specializes in dumplings. Gyoza, pierogies, empanadas, pelmeni - if it’s a dumpling, they make it. I didn’t take a picture of the empanadas we had for dinner, so you’ll have to settle for the gyoza, dessert, and cocktail. 

Today we drove over to Christchurch. Lovely views en route.

We walked around the corner to dinner and had interesting cocktails.

The food was good, too! Now settled in to our AirBnB for the evening before drive over the Southern Alps tomorrow.