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Arrived

We are here!  It is indeed a beautiful country.

We found the flight VERY long - traveled with Rich & Lorna from Ottawa to Chicago, and with John & Mary Anne from San Francisco to Auckland.  Nice to have company to chat with.

It was down to the wire, but we did make it to the Tiritiri island ferry.  Our B&B host, Roger shuttled us down the last 5km.  Saw many new & exotic birds and trees.  Everything lush and green here.

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NZ Birds-Gannets

Our first three days in NZ - action packed!

NZ BIRDS   Sunday, October 30

We arrived on time at 6:30am.  As we had had camping gear, we had to go through a special Customs check - no food or dirt can come in.  Our camping bag was sprayed and is now orange and red instead of just red.  We had to fast track it to depart airport as we were determined to catch the 9:45am ferry to Tiritiri Mantangi - a birding reserve.  The ferry only runs three days a week, so this was our only chance.  Our plan was to catch it at Gulf Harbour, about a one drive.  Unfortunately our rental cars were not ready.  (Bonnie and Guy - do not rent from Car Hire New Zealand!).  Finally, after a few calls, one car arrived and we drove to a parking lot to quickly sign - we drove off about 8:30am.  Rich and Lorna and John and Mary Anne had to wait a bit longer but they did not plan to catch the ferry.  Bill quickly adapted to roundabouts and driving on the left - we had to manoeuvre through Auckland.  Fortunately it was Sunday morning!  We arrived at our B&B, Bayview Manly, near the ferry, at 9:30am.  Our host Roger pulled out his car to shuttle us to the ferry.  His wife, Chris, handed us a packed lunch and called the ferry to confirm we were on our way.  We made it!  Actually the ferry was 15 minutes late so we sat on the grass and snacked on our lunch.

We had a thorough tour of Tiritiri with a volunteer guide, Ritchie - very knowledgeable about trees and birds.  Our first sightings of a saddleback, stitchbird, tui, and bell bird...  It is a very special island, dedicated to preserving native plant and animal species.  Weather was warm.

We arrived back at our B&B - picked up by Roger - at 5pm.  Fortunately there was a Fish &Chips take out nearby, so we could have a quick supper and get much needed rest.

GANNETS   Monday, October 31

Another couple at our B&B recommended a visit to a gannet colony.  It was at Muriwai Beach, about an hour drive on the other side of the island.  We decided to work this in to our plans - a great choice! Craig, the trip across the island was just like driving through the Shire - brilliant green rolling hills.   The gannets were definitely a highlight of the trip for us.  The Beach had soaring cliffs, crashing waves, surfers, hang gliders and zillions of gannets and terns.  We could get very close views of the birds from boardwalks around the cliff tops.  Very spectacular!

Back to our itinerary - we met our friends at the Waitomo Top Ten - a campground three hours south of Auckland.  Of course we had to grocery shop and get into the camping mode.  The campground had an indoor kitchen - very handy as there was a rain shower during supper time.  After supper, we did a short forest hike in the dark, 8:30pm+ to see some glowworms along the trail.  They look like fire flies but do not blink or move.  It is like walking through space.  Glowworms are the larval stage of an insect - they glow to attract prey.

Of course, we saw more birds.  Bird book is already well thumbed.

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Glowworms-Geothermals

Continuing the NZ voyage.... 

GLOWWORMS   Tuesday, November 1

Just a note that Hallowe'en is not celebrated much in NZ - no trick or treating or decorating in evidence.  There are lots of fireworks for sale for Guy Fawkes Day, November 5.  Very British!

After the glowworm hike last night we continued our glowworm adventure.  We took a very worthwhile tour with Spellbound Tours.  Julian, our guide, drove us up into the mountains - more lush sheep farms in the hilly country.  We visited two caves.  The first one was a hike into a large cave and a raft trip down an underground river - again, the tiny bright glowworms made it look like a sea of stars.  The glowworms let down sticky threads to catch other insects.  They looked sparkly in our headlamps.

We had tea and biscuits at a picnic spot and then hiked to the second cave.  We walked through this cave, viewing a few dramatic sinkholes, littered with animal bones.  There were lots of stalactites and stalactites.  Beautiful!

When we returned to Waitomo, we had a picnic lunch with our friends.  After lunch, we drove east to Rotorua, home to a lot of geothermal activity.  We quickly booked an evening Hangi for Bill, Rich, Lorna and John.  Mary Anne and Barbara decided to have a quite evening, drinking wine and chatting.  We camped in town at a very old rustic campground, Rotorua Holiday Park.  It was on Lake Rotorua so we were able to see some water birds - black swans, scaup, ducks...  The Hangi group enjoyed a Maori concert and show.  There was a large buffet with lamb, chicken, yams and potatoes cooked in a pit.  After supper the group had a bush hike to see native trees and more glowworms; also there was a sacred pool with large eels.  Different than Canada!

GEOTHERMALS   Wednesday, November 2

We started the morning with a hike around Hell's Gate.  This was a Maori park of bubbling hot pools and oozing mud fountains.  We got used to the sulphur smell and quite enjoyed the spectacle.

Lorna and Rich suggested a stop at Kerosene Creek south of Rotorua.  This is a beautiful - free! - hot spring where we bathed in a hot pool with a waterfall and had our picnic lunch.  A little bit of heaven!

Our next stop was Huka Falls - clear aqua water thundering down a rocky gorge.  Spectacular!

Across the road, we drove to Craters of the Moon - another hike around steaming geothermal vents - free!

After this exciting day of geothermals, we arrived at our destination - Discovery Lodge in Tongariro National Park.  Anne and John, thanks for the recommendation - this worked out perfectly for us.

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Tongariro Crossing

 Continuing the NZ voyage.... 

TONGARIRO CROSSING   Thursday, November 3

The Tongariro Crossing in Tongariro National Park is recognized as the best one-day walk in New Zealand.  It is one their Great Walks.

It helped us to hear the previous accounts of Cathy, John & Anne.  Cathy, thanks for the tip for bringing hiking poles - they were great for the descent down the hundreds of steps, just as you said.

We started out in a heavy mist and drizzle at 7 am from Discovery Lodge.  Our bus dropped us off at 7:30 am.  As it was very damp and overcast, we wore raingear.  We saw many shining spider webs and shiny moss along the start of the trail.  Pamela, we had a rainbow over a gorge when the sun tried to poke out.  Now we started to climb, gently at first.  As the sun came out, we became hot and took off our raingear and fleece layers.  Soon we started the grunt - a forty-five degree rocky slope beside Mount Doom.  At the top it was VERY windy.  Toques, gloves and warm layers went on fast. There were beautiful craters and snowy peaks all around, with an imposing view of Mount Doom.  We kept ascending to a high ridge.  The wind was so strong, we nearly got blown off - 70 k/h or stronger, we learned later.  This was followed by a long descent down a loose scree slope to a series of emerald ponds.  We were ready for a break.  Fortunately, we found a protected grassy hollow to have our lunch.  Strong winds continued as we hiked through snow fields and another ascent.  Finally, we started down by a long series of switchbacks to a hut for a short break.  More descents past a thermal vent and into the forest.  Then another hour to our waiting bus.  It took us eight hours in total - very challenging. 

To celebrate, we had dinner together in out cabin at Discovery Lodge and early to bed.

This morning we are off to our next adventure - a three-day canoe trip on the Whanganui River. 

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Lord of the Rings - Paddling the Whanganui

Continuing the NZ voyage.... 

LORD OF THE RINGS   Friday, November 4

Before driving south for our canoe trip, we decided to hike some more in Tongariro National Park.  We decided we would check some of the Lord of the Rings filming sites.  A very misty wet morning and we drove to a downhill ski area in the park.  Without snow, it looked very barren - chunky, black volcanic rocks covered the ground.  A ski site employee explained that during the filming they blanketed the place with used carpet to be able to negotiate the site. A muddy hike near the chairlifts brought us to Emyn Muill, the Mead's Wall Store Room, and the Orc Road. Very dreary looking in the foggy mist.

Later we met our group and hiked to the stunning Ithilien waterfall - very high, but so misty, we could barely see it!  Ohakune Top Ten campsite was our home for the evening.  As it was wet, we each stayed in a cabin rather than camp - good choice as we had to sort out our gear for the upcoming canoe trip.

PADDLING THE WHANGANUI   Saturday, November 5 - Monday, November 7

Chris, thanks for recommending this trip - we loved it!

We rented our Canadian canoes (canoes are kayaks in NZ) from Yeti Tours.  The trip started an hour drive to the start - our driver, Ed, answered our questions about the area.  Howard, there are about 15-17 sheep per acre on sheep farms - average farm is about 200 acres.

We had an amazing day on the Whanganui River. It is in a deep canyon with vertical rock faces, green forest at the top.  There are many waterfalls and caves - very dramatic scenery. There are many Class 1 rapids and the current just pulls you along.  There is constant bird song, but they are mostly out of view.  We did see many Grey Ducks, and some Fantails, Welcome Swallows, and a couple of enormous NZ Pigeons.

We settled in to camp at John Coull site.  We celebrated Mary Anne's 60th birthday on a picnic table in a shelter - very festive!  Our spirits were high as we had all enjoyed a stimulating day.

Day 2 on the river was special as well.  Bill fished and caught a beauty - a 10" rainbow trout.  We couldn't bring it in - no net - but we got a good view.  We hiked to the Bridge to Nowhere - a very pleasant half an hour trip through the forest to the Mangapura Stream.  We explored the trail on the other side of the bridge as well.  Back on the water, we experienced headwinds which made it a tough paddle to our campsite at Tieke Kainga.  This is on Maori land but they were not there at this time.

Day 3 brought us to Pipiriki for our pick up.  A rainy, rainy day so we came in dripping.  Still we enjoyed the magic of the river and some fun rapids.  Back to the Ohakune Top Ten campsite where we had discovered showers with heat lamps and warm towel racks - very welcome!

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Corkscrew Turns - Kapititi Island

CORKSCREW TURNS   Tuesday, November 8

We left our Ohakune cabin early in the morning - very misty but we decided to have a last visit to Tongaririo National Park.  We started with a short hike near the Visitor Centre.  Lots of trees and plants were identified by signs - it's hard to remember all the new names!  It was then time to set out on our trip south (southern part of North Island).  Bill drove a very tortuous set of switchbacks over the mountains to Wanganhui where our Whanganui River meets the ocean (spellings of city and river are different but pronunciation is the same).  Our goal was to visit Mt. Bruce Wildlife Centre - a very long drive to Palmerston N. Fortunately the road was flat as we approached the park - what a change in this hilly country.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the park.  We arrived at 3pm, just in time for the kaka (parrots) feeding.  There were so many new birds to view.  We had our first sighting of the nocturnal kiwi - the park had an indoor site for kiwis where they turned day into night.  We got a good view of the chubby flightless bird through glass.  The whole scene was dimly lit by infrared lights.

We then drove in a big loop via Featherston and Upper Hutt to get to Paraparaumu on the west coast where we were meeting John and Mary Anne.  And we encountered another very challenging corkscrew road up and over a mountain. We passed by the areas where Lothlorien and Rivendell were filmed, but could not stop because of the lack of signage.  It was late when we arrived at the Lindale Motor Court at Paraparaumu.  A quick tent set up and supper - bedtime!

HIKING, BIRDING AND LORD OF THE RINGS  POTTERY    Wednesday, November 9

Another beautiful day outside.  We drove to Poirua with John and Mary Anne.  They were on their way to the South Island (ahead of us).  We hike part of the Knob Hill trail but, unfortunately got lost in a web of confusing trails, eventually bushwhacking our way up and down a steep slope.  We drove to a botanical garden to try to get to our trail but got disoriented again.  Nevertheless, a great hike and a delightful picnic in the park.  In the afternoon (after ice cream) we had a guided birding tour near our campsite at Paraparaumu.  We were escorted by our guide, Mik, in his 1955 Citroen.  He showed us a few lagoons and told us stories of birds in the area - lots of ducks and water birds!  The tour was completed with tea and scones at his beautiful home overlooking the ocean.  He and his wife, Moira, have visited Canada and have relatives in Brockville and Kingston.

Mik and Moira suggested we may want to visit their neighbour, Mirek, who made all the pottery for Lord of The Rings.  He made over 700 goblets and bowls used in the movie scenes. Mirek and his wife are both potters and welcomed us into their studio.

We returned to our campsite where Rich and Lorna had just arrived after a day hiking up Mount Egmont (to the north).

We seem to learn so much each day!

KAPITI ISLAND    Thursday, November 10

This was our day to ferry over to the birding island of Kapiti.  It is a reserve with no predators.  We hiked with Rich and Lorna all day, finally summiting the high peak at the top of the island - a 3-hr hike.  It is a birder's paradise.   We saw many of the same birds as at Tiritiri, and some new ones, too.  It was cloudy and dark in the forest, so could not take many good photos.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the hike very much.  The ferry was very interesting.  We boarded on dry land on a trailer, and got towed out to deep water by a tractor.

Tomorrow we will take the ferry from Wellington to the South Island .....

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Interislander - Sea Kayaking Abel Tasman

INTERISLANDER   Friday, November 11

This was our day to ferry from the North Island to the South Island.  We left Paraparaumu at 7:45am to arrive early for our ferry from Wellington.  Wellington is the capital and we were told to expect some rush hour traffic, but it was an easy trip - lots of signs to the ferry.  Cathy, thanks for the tip to book when we got here - discounts available.  We really enjoyed the trip through Wellington Harbour.  The Cook Strait crossing was windy as expected.  The Marlborough Sound approaching Picton on the South Island are truly stunning.  They look ideal for sea kayaking!  We travelled west from Picton - on our way to Abel Tasman National Park.  We stopped at some scenic outlooks and did a short hike.  We had an ice cream break in Havelock and bought some of their unique green-lipped mussels.  In Havelock we mailed some post cards, realizing later that we had forgotten CANADA on the address - hope they get through!  After another very windy road over a mountain we arrived at Marahau - a kayaking and hiking village.  We camped at the Barn, a backpacker's site and met up with John and Mary Anne who had arrived in the area a day ahead of us.  They were very tired after a tortuous drive up to Farewell spit and back - 3 hours each way.  While we were cooking our dinner, two friends of Rich and Lorna's who live nearby in Motueka arrived for a visit, bearing homemade pickled beets which we added to our dinner.  June and Graeme Vincent were very warm and shared a lot of their knowledge of hiking in the park.  It was Remembrance Day for us - they know the day but do not honour it the way we do.

SEA KAYAKING ABEL TASMAN Saturday, November 12

Lorna and Mary Anne had picked out a fantastic trip for us - one day of sea kayaking and one day of hiking, with water taxi drop service (our gear plus us for the return). The MSK Marahau Sea Kayaks company was helpful and set us up very well.  It drizzled all morning.  We spotted a colony of white pied shags (like cormorants) on some trees over the water.  We paddled on in the wet, stopping on a beach for lunch in a cave.  We paddled to Anchorage Bay to camp and took a side trip to a nearby island to see some seals.  The weather improved and we really enjoyed the giant swells.  At the camp we hiked to Pitt head , an hour and a half to our legs in shape for the big hike the following day.  The trees are luxurious, often covered in moss. We enjoyed the flax flowers and the melodious bell birds and this.  Back to the camp and kitchen shelter for dinner and wine.  A great day!

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Hiking Abel Tasman

Sorry we got a bit delayed in sending e-mails - often difficult to a find a spot at the right time...  had to type the previous one in a rush, so some typos - hope it made sense!

HIKING ABEL TASMAN Sunday, November 13

 We left Anchorage Bay early in the morning to hike several kms to Bark Bay and Big Tonga Bay for pick up by water taxi.  We left all our camping gear near the beach for pick up during the day.  Great system!  On the first section of the hike, there were MANY hikers - obviously a popular spot with beautiful overlooks of aqua water and sand beaches. Nice weather - no rain today. We were grateful it was spring not summer when numbers are really high.  Walking sticks are getting quite a workout as there is a lot of climbing and steep descents.  Our water taxi appeared right on cue at 3:30 and we had had the most amazing trip back.  We were followed by several dolphins that started jumping in tandem - often right beside the boat.  Impressive!

After our return to Marahau , we packed our gear into our cars and showered in a camping park nearby.  Refreshed, we drove to Motueka for dinner with the Vincents.  They had generously invited us to have dinner with them and to camp in their backyard.  Graeme prepared a delicious fish chowder and sushi.  Very good with NZ wine.  Camping in their yard worked well as they had a bathroom near their back entrance.  We enjoyed their beautiful garden and awoke to many songbirds in the morning.

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Crossing South Island - Karst Topography

CROSSING SOUTH ISLAND Monday, November 14

This was a travel day crossing the top of South Island from Motueka to Karamea.  The scenery really reminded us of B.C.  We crossed on a valley road full of orchards, surrounded by hills.  We all met at a small place called Lyell which was a former gold mining town.  We hiked a walkway with signs explaining what buildings had stood there.  Particularly poignant was a small cemetery up on the hill, now surrounded by forest.  Each grave site had an iron fence around it and a grey tombstone. While were eating our lunch at picnic site at Lyell, many large vans and motor homes started to arrive.  This was a stopping point on an international 430km adventure race - kayaking, running, biking - 4 days non-stop.

We arrived at Karamea Holiday Park at suppertime.  Fortunately it was beside a large river estuary where we spotted yellowhammers, oyster catchers, stilts and gulls.  We tried driving into town for e-mail but everything was closed.  Still, a pleasant drive across the river.

KARST TOPOGRAPHY  Tuesday, November 15

As it had rained overnight we decided to leave our tents up to dry while we did some hiking in the morning. We drove 15 km. north of Karamea to the most original limestone area.  We did some amazing hikes, examining the rain forest, looking for blue ducks in the rivers, and exploring stone arches and caves:

1. Oparara Arch - 219m stone arch appearing above the forest canopy.

2. Crazy Paving and Box Canyon caves for exploring with our headlamps - very large caves where found a large 15cm NZ spider.

3.  Mirror Tarn where trees reflected in a glassy pool.

4. Moira Gate Arch - a real highlight where we descended down into the ground and emerged under a gigantic stone archway over a river.  We had lunch on some flat rocks under the arch.

We returned to our campground about 2pm and quickly took down our dry tents.  We proceeded south to Punakaiki where we camped at a Holiday Park.  We drove north of town at dusk to see if we could spot some blue penguins who return to land at dusk.  No luck at spotting penguins but we saw some amazing waves rolling onto the beach under a full moon.  On our hike through a forest back to our car we spotted several black possums who glared at us as we passed. 

It's quite a country!

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Pancake Rocks and White Herons

PANCAKE ROCKS AND WHITE HERONS  Wednesday, November 16

We left Punakaiki at 8:30 to stop at the famous Pancake Rocks..  They are indeed spectacular.  They are in a national park - NZ has many NZ parks, all free access.  A well designed boardwalk circled around these stunning layered limestone rocks.  We saw some water spouting though a figuration called the Chimney Pot.  Apparently the view would have been even more spectacular at high tide at 11:30am.  After this hike, we proceeded south again, towards Greymouth where we stopped for lunch and information - very wet and rainy!! 

 The rain continued as we drove to Whataroa where we had booked a tour of a White Heron Sanctuary at 3pm.  The rain lifted just as we approached the town - very sparkly sun shining on the grass.  It was perfect weather for our tour.  Certainly this tour was a NZ highlight for us.  We took a van to the Whataroa River dock, about 15 minutes, followed by a 20 minute jet boat ride.  Jet boats ride above the water on a cushion of air.  Bruce, you would love this - zooming around the curves of large braided river, dodging by rocks, logs.  We were told to take off hats and glasses - very fast!  We hiked a boardwalk to a blind across from the heron nesting area.  This is the only place that White Herons nest in NZ.  It is spring, so there were lots of young being fed.  The herons displayed their breeding plumes - very long delicate white feathers.  As well as the herons, Little Shag were also nesting and some Royal Spoonbills were perched on large white pine trees (not at all like ours!) above.

To complete the day, we stopped for ice cream and drove to Franz Josef Glacier Mountain View Top Ten camping to link up with our friends who had hiked on their way.  Now we are planning a glacier walk.  Every day is different.

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Ice Climbing

ICE CLIMBING  Thursday, November 17

Kirk, you would be so proud of your vertigo challenged mother.  Today we signed up for a half day hike on the Franz Josef glacier - with the Glacier Experience company.  We learned there are only 3 vertical glaciers in the world - 2 in NZ and 1 in Argentina.  Bill was surprised that this glarier hike in no way resembles his introduction to glaciers at the Columbia Ice Fields.

First we hiked 2.5 kms over a stony river bed to the glacier face. The glacier is near a major fault line where two continental plates collided. The glacier face appeared as several tall icy spikes streaking upwards. 

Guides were busy cutting steps and checking hand lines.  We climbed 350 meters up BIG icy steps, extremely vertical, often requiring hanging on to icy holds.  We crossed 3 ladder bridges over deep crevasses.

We were issued blue Gore-Tex raincoats, big wide wet leather boots and talons (crampons).  It rained a bit so raincoats were necessary.  The guides are amazing, very skilled and cautious.  There were about 15 in our group.

It was difficult to get down as there were over 200 people on the glacier at the end of the day and they all were coming down the same path at the same time.  Our guide moved our group down a side slope, cutting steps for us to descend.  We waited while the groups who were out for the full day passed by.  What a cold wait!  Then we had to climb back out to the path, pulling ourselves up a steep snowy slope, hanging over a straight drop down.

On the hike back to the van, Barbara said she felt like right after her Kelowna hot air balloon ride - very peaky but happy for the accomplishment.  Bill was very satisfied with the climb and really enjoyed the experience.  Also, he was delighted to see a green parrot - a Kea.

The next day the glacier hikes were suspended because rain washed out some of the ice steps.  There is a lot of maintenance to keep Franz Josef accessible.  It is a growing glacier at the moment, so the front is constantly crumbling.   Quite an effort!

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Southern Alps - Siberia Experience

SOUTHERN ALPS  Friday, November 18

This was a travel day from Franz Josef Glacier to Wanaka further south.  Our long route took us adjacent to the towering Southern Alps, several with snow-topped peaks.

We started with a visit to Matheson Lake where one can see a magnificent reflection of Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in NZ.  It was a cloudy morning, but as we hiked around the lake, there was an opening in the clouds, revealing the spiky tops of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman.  Very stunning..  We then drove to the Fox Glacier to compare it to the Franz Josef.  As it is also a vertical glacier, it does look similar.  The sun was shining on large rocky spire at the top.

We stopped for lunch at Munro Beach when we reached the west coast.  This beach is home to Fiordland Crested Penguins which we were anxious to see.  We hiked in to the beach - 45 minutes, where we met our friends who had also decided on this stop.  They had seen 5 little penguins, which, by now had retreated to a cove behind a big rock settled on by a large seal.  We waited behind a warning sign to not proceed as penguins were nesting.  We waited at least half an hour, with binoculars poised for the sighting.  No luck!  John showed us a fine photo later - but not the same as a personal sighting.

Bill is known as the birder in our group - referred to as a twitcher by the Brits.  Mostly we have had good luck birding, so we have lots of notes in our NZ bird book.

We moved on to Haast and followed the Haast Pass, 150 kms, through the mountains.  A beautiful windy drive in a river valley.  Finally we arrived at Wanaka where we set up camp for 2 nights - Top Ten Pleasant Lodge Holiday Park.

SIBERIA EXPERIENCE  Saturday, November 19

Rich and Lorna suggested we try the Siberia Experience - a package beginning with a scenic 20 minute plane ride (small Cessna) over the Siberia River Valley in the Southern Alps looking down on the majestic peaks.  Bill sat up front with our pilot and the smallest person, Barbara, sat in the back.  Rich and Lorna sat in the middle.  John and Mary Anne followed in the next plane. We were dropped off in a mountain valley on a short grassy strip.  We then had a COLD river crossing on foot, and stopped for our lunch.  A beautiful bright sunny day. After lunch, we hiked down the valley to the Wilkin River - 3 hours -  to be picked up for a return by jet boat.  Again, the jet boat went crashing through rapids.  This driver decided to do a few 180 degree turns.  Bill's toque blew off. Fortunately nobody lost their glasses! This whole outing was very special.  Another memorable day.

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Return to West Coast - Milford Sound

RETURN TO WEST COAST  Sunday, November 20

It was hard to say goodbye to the Southern Alps and the beautiful Mt. Aspiring Park area.  We realized we had forgotten to add a travel day in our pre-set itinerary which meant giving up our Rob Roy Glacier hike.  We set off for the west coast again, hoping its rainy reputation would not affect us.  We left Wanaka, travelling to Queenstown via a beautiful alpine road (there was a bra fence at a ski area).  Actually it was the highest paved road in NZ, over 1076 metres above sea level.  Very scenic.

Near Queenstown we passed by the Remarkables, a rocky set of mountains used in Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth.  As we stopped to look at them, Bill spotted a pied oyster catcher (black bird with an orange beak) in a field with sheep (there are lots of these).

We now entered Fiordland National Park.  We made a quick stop in Te Anau to check with Fiordland Wilderness Experiences about our upcoming kayaking trip.  It was raining and raining - apparently very typical. 

We decided to drive up to Milford Sound, hoping it would clear so we could see the majestic cliffs.  Actually the rain was a plus as the cliffs were streaming with waterfalls.  We travelled the steep mountainous road reveling in the dramatic landscape.  As well, we found the long tunnel through the mountain an interesting ride. We were lucky to get a room at the Milford Backpackers, the only accommodation in the park.  It was a dormitory room of bunks - 7 beds.  The 6 of us were joined by a youthful German girl (she got a top bunk).

Bill and Mary Anne checked out the cruise boat area and the rest of us joined them for a hike there later when the rain stopped.  We enjoyed another home cooked (by us) dinner at the Backpackers.

MILFORD SOUND  Monday, November 21

We decided to take a morning Mitre Peak cruise on Milford Sound with Rich and Lorna.  Eureka - we spotted 3 Fiordland Crested Penguins!  They were hopping about on wet rocks near the shore.  We also visited the Observatory a 4 storey underwater floating structure where we could view ocean vegetation and many fish. Interestingly, because of all the rain, there is a freshwater layer of water on top of the salt water in the Milford fiord.  Because the water comes down from the mountains laced with brown tannin from plants, it is dark and does not allow much light to penetrate.  Because of this, many species normally existing far underneath the ocean are found higher up and more accessible for viewing by divers, and by us in the observatory.

After our cruise we had a picnic lunch and started the steep drive out.  We stopped for a hike at the Chasm.  We then drove back to Te Anau to visit the Te Anau Wildlife Centre (more birds!) and then we met Rich and Lorna for a pre-kayaking meeting with Fiordland Wilderness Experiences. Daphne who gave us a complete briefing on our trip on Doubtful Sound.

After our meeting we bought food for the 2 day trip and drove to Manapouri where the trip would start.  The 4 of us stayed in a cabin at the Possum Lodge and were busy packing our gear to be ready for a 6:15am departure the next morning.  John and Mary Anne had decided they would take an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound and avoid the cold and rainy kayaking and camping.

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Sea Kayaking Doubtful Sound

SEA KAYAKING DOUBTFUL SOUND  Tuesday, November 22 - Wednesday, November 23

We had a good sleep at Possum Lodge at Manapouri.  We were ready for our early morning pick up by Fiordland Wilderness Experiences - right on schedule at 6:15am.  On our trip we and Rich and Lorna were joined by 4 young people, one from Denmark (a doctor) and one from Germany (an engineer) and a couple from Hawaii (she was a researcher from France and he was an astronomical theoretician from Spain).   We were soon dropped off at the dock at Manapouri where we got into a motor boat.  We had a beautiful 1-hour sunrise trip across Lake Manapouri, then a 3-hour drive in a van over the mountains to our kayaking site on Doubtful Sound.  Here we had to put on assigned gear - a soft top, a wetsuit, a fleece top, a waterproof paddling jacket and a lifejacket - very bulky!  Actually it was quite a warm, and dry, day - very unusual so the layers didn't last long. 
We did have to keep the wet suit on as we had to jump into the cold water to get in and out of the kayaks.

We had 2 guides, Ron, a very experienced environmentalist and Sam, a young recruit.

Doubtful sound is much larger than Milford Sound and has several arms.  We kayaked around 2 arms and a couple of islands. John and Mary Anne travelled the whole fiord on their overnight cruise.  They also avoided rain on Day 2 and lots of sand flies at our camping site.  Bill declared he would never choose a cruise over kayaking.  It certainly is a different experience.  Our Danish doctor and German engineer had met a hiker on the Keppler Track who told them she worked on this cruise ship.  When it passed by our campsite in the early morning of Day 2, Ron radioed the ship and our guys talked to her and asked for some food.  She said she would try to get something for us.  The cruise shipped stopped and they kayaked over, returning with some delicious blueberry muffins.  What a treat!  Of course John and Mary Anne were watching all this action from on board.  We waved to each other.

We were lucky to get close to some Fiordland Crested Penguins and saw some swimming.  Can you believe they looked very much like our loons while they were swimming?  We also a fur seal and, of course, lots of gulls.

As it rained on Day 2, we were wet and cold when we got back - great to change into our dry clothes.  We
repeated the van and boat ride to get back to Manapouri.  As it was quite windy, we had a VERY bumpy hour crossing the lake.

Overall, a successful adventure - really gave us a sense of the landscape and weather.

Another night at Possum Lodge and another good sleep.

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The Catlins

THE CATLINS  Thursday, November 24 - Friday, November 25

This was an early start.  In order to arrive at our Catlins Ecotour at Papatowai on the south coast by 11 am, we had to leave Manapouri at 6:15am. The roads were quiet and we made good time, travelling through Gore and Clinton (The Presidential Highway) to Balclutha and then down to the coast at Papatowai, the home of our hosts, Fergus and Mary Sutherland.  Cathy and Bill, thanks for suggesting Catlins Ecotours.  It suited us very well and we learned so much.  Fergus is an enthusiastic scientist and was able to share his knowledge in our language.

We met 2 other guests, Lee Ann and Anthony, a young couple from England - they had just become engaged at the top of the Fox Glacier!  We were joined by 4 Americans who arrived in a Jaguar limo (the American flag on the side) with Jaguar trailer, and a uniformed driver.  Quite a group, who apologized in advance for being loud and annoying (a true prediction).

Our ecotour began with a short nature hike in a conservation area nearby.  Fergus explained that the land was purchased with funds from the government of France - obtained after the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior blow up.  NZ had set aside a trust for conservation with these funds.  We had a pleasant picnic lunch.  Sunny weather - not like the snow at home!

After lunch we drove to McLean Falls.  John and Mary Anne were also doing this hike so we had quite a reunion.  They confirmed they had really enjoyed their cruise on Doubtful Sound.  We also ran into them at our next stop, the Cathedral Caves.  John had eagerly explored the caves and discovered some small blue penguins at the back of one of the caves.  Fergus patiently toured us through the caves, showing some fine examples of petrified wood and fossils.  We also found the penguins, but just looked at them briefly (no pictures) as they are endangered and it is important not to alarm them. A few of us ventured to the end of the last cave which was very long, narrow and dark, gingerly stepping through squishy masses of wet seaweed.

Our final visit of the day was a hike around Lake Wilkie - very pretty.

We enjoyed a dinner, salads and wine.  The 2 of us were billeted in a separate nearby cottage, the Pipipi - a delightful energy efficient design, overlooking the estuary.  Quite a treat for us!

The next morning, we met the group at 4:30am.  We were driving to Nugget Point about 1 hour away to see the early morning (dawn) departure of yellow-eyed penguins for the sea.  It was quite a show.  We stayed in a blind and had an excellent view.  A couple of penguins hopped down a steep grassy slope and made their way to the ocean.  Fergus said these were new parents anxious to get fishing to feed their young.  Another procession of 6 penguins meandered down to the beach - Fergus said these were the unemployed - no families, just themselves, to feed.  They pranced about the beach for some time, often calling, but not launching into the water.  Eventually we left.  Later we met a couple who stayed, and they said all the penguins had gone back up the slope to get another penguin and to usher him down to the water.  Then they all went for their swim.

We hiked to lighthouse at Nugget Point and could easily spot fur seals, elephant seals and a few more penguins.  We then travelled to Cannibal Beach where we were able to get close to some large sea lions.  We also hiked along the beach at Surat Bay.  A long morning - back to Fergus' for a pizza lunch. 

After lunch, the Americans rested for a few a few hours, the Brits went for a hike and we tried out a tandem kayak with no rudder (a change for us).  We paddled around the estuary getting quite close to colonies of terns and shags.

Later in the afternoon we learned about some of the local rail history, visiting Tunnel Hill.  Two of the Americans hammered rocks looking for fossils and rest of us went for a hike at Mataki Falls.

Back to Fergus' for Thanksgiving Dinner - it was American Thanksgiving at home, so we all celebrated.  Mary had prepared a chicken and Fergus recited a long Robbie Burns poem (about haggis, but he substituted chicken for haggis).

Fergus completed our evening with a tour of cave on their property, complete with glowworms and wetas (like spiders or grasshoppers).

It was a LONG day, very enjoyable.

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Stewart Island

STEWART ISLAND  Saturday, November 26 - Sunday, November 27

Our plan was to travel to Stewart Island and join Rich and Lorna.  We gave a lift to the young British couple as they did not have a car and were planning to travel to Bluff, at the southern most tip of the South Island, by bus.  The American group was also travelling there, but by limo and plane. For us to get to Stewart Island required an hour ferry ride from Bluff to Oban, a small community on Stewart Island.  The crossing can be very rough, but we had good smooth sailing both coming and going.  Most of the island is a national park... We were particularly interested in Ulva Island, a bird sanctuary near Oban. 

We had reserved a 2 bedroom cottage for 2 days - Skip's place - came with kaka, a forest parrot, looking for treats on the deck.  Skip's owner, a young German, Holger, met us at the ferry and drove us UP (big hills everywhere) to our cottage when we arrived at 12:30.  We quickly got settled and tried out some nearby hiking trails, Fuchsia Walk, Observation Rock and Deep Bay Track.  We enjoyed cooking a dinner of fresh blue cod - great with some NZ white wine.  That evening Rich, Lorna and Bill decided to take a kiwi spotting trip, leaving at 9pm by water taxi for The Neck in Paterson Inlet.  Barbara decided to catch up on her sleep as she had already seen kiwis at Mt. Bruce a few weeks earlier. The kiwi spotters returned at 1:30 - one kiwi sighted.  They had walked back and forth in the dark on a muddy trail several times, and on a beach, with a group of about a dozen seekers.  Well worth it, right?

On Sunday morning we hired a water taxi to take us to Ulva Island for 4 hours.  This was truly a bird watching trip.  We tried all the trails and had success, particularly in spotting Saddlebacks and NZ robins.  A weka (brown bird about the size of a chicken), stole some of Bill's sandwich as he was picnicking on a beach.

In the afternoon, we prowled about Oban, enjoying the sunshine (very rare apparently), then enjoyed a lamb dinner with fresh asparagus, NZ karema (like squash) and salad prepared by Rich and Lorna and crepes with kiwi and vanilla ice cream prepared by Bill.

After dinner, we thought we would like to test our luck finding mutton birds (shearwater sea birds) and blue penguins both of which come in at dusk or after dusk.  We hiked about 5km out to a lighthouse where the mutton birds might be, but no sign.  We the tried a few locations looking for blue penguins, but, again, no luck.  So after a lot of hilly hiking in the dark, we finally tucked in at 11:30pm.  Had to get up early for 8am ferry back to Bluff!

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Albatrosses - The Boulders

 ALBATROSSES  Monday, November 28

An early start again to get the ferry back to Bluff on the South Island.  It was a very smooth crossing - very rare.  We spotted several storm petrels also making the crossing, skimming very close to the surface of the water. The 2 of us said goodbye to Rich and Lorna as our plans now diverged - they were off to Queenstown for hang gliding (Rich) and golf (Lorna). We were headed for the Albatross Centre on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin.  It was a pleasant drive across the island (again).  We had booked a tour and learned so much about these magnificent huge birds.  They use the wind currents to glide through the air - no flapping for them.  They are very elegant to watch.  There were a few nesting - we could see these through an inside viewing room and were very close to them.  It takes about 3 months for an egg to hatch - a long windy wait for the moms on this high exposed rock.  Bill saw some blue penguins at night - they have a good spot there.  We stayed in a room at the Portobello Holiday Park as seemed too windy for camping. 

THE BOULDERS  Tuesday, November 29

A travel day again, from Dunedin to Christchurch.  Pamela, we stopped to see the cathedral in Dunedin as this city is apparently a replica of Edinburgh.  It is not called St. Giles however, but First Church Presbyterian, 1848.  A beautiful chapel with a Scottish visitor centre attached.  The university of Otago there is larger than U of T we learned from 2 Canadian professors on sabbatical - we had talked to them on Stewart Island where they were vacationing with their 2 children.

On our drive up the coast to Christchurch, we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders for lunch.  These are glistening 2 metre rounded rocks on a beach - limestone formations eroded out of the cliffs. Bill sat in part of one that was shaped like a chair and enjoyed his lunch with the waves lapping beside him.

Finally we arrived at Christchurch - a city of 300,000.  We stayed in a nice motel near the airport and readied ourselves for our flight to Australia.

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Coming home soon

COMING HOME SOON  Wednesday, November 30 - Thursday, December 1

It was hard for us to say goodbye to New Zealand after 4+ weeks. We flew out of Christchurch for Auckland, flying over Farewell Spit (well named) and Lorna's favourite mountain, Mt. Egmont.  Quite a view!

From Auckland we flew to Melbourne, Australia.  It is a 4 hour journey, so we just crashed when we finally arrived at our hotel, the Atlantis. 

Today we had an exciting tour which suited us perfectly in out one day to see Australia.  We took a tour which included a steam train ride in the hills, a visit to a winery and a tour of the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary.  We have so many new birds, and animals, to add to our list.

See you all soon. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney, San Francisco, Chicago, Ottawa... we gain a day.