Driving the West Coast of the South Island

Thursday morning we left beautiful sunny Wanaka and headed for the mountain pass to bring us to the west coast of the South Island. We could see the clouds stacking up against the western side of the mountains but were committed to our plan. We drove along Lake Hawea (a sister lake to Lake Wanaka) towards Haast Pass. Once again we were winding our way along mountainsides over streams and rivers on a narrow, serpentine road. The clouds settled around us and the rains began. We knew we were surrounded by mountains but we couldn’t see them. Instead, we were awed by dense ferns that tenaciously clung to the cliffs along the highway as we drove through cloud topped fern tunnels. During the course of the day we drove over dozens of one-lane bridges. We even drove an extra long one-way bridge that had two passing bays! From the top of Haast Pass we descended rapidly and steeply to the coast of the Tasman Sea and brief sunshine. We ate our picnic lunch (in the car due to sandflies!) along the beach and viewed a mile or so of whimsical driftwood and rock creations.

Continuing north along the coast, we were bound for the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers which are located in the Mt. Cook National Park. (Interestingly, to see Mt. Cook up close one needs to approach from the eastern side of the island as there is no road from the west coast.) Most people driving the west coast come from the north to the south. Consequently, the first turnoff we encountered for Fox Glacier was not the main entrance although we didn’t know that at the time. We drove in on a rough road, stopping on the way in at a little pullout for a view of the glacier. Long story short, we had an amazing walk in a steady rain through a temperate rain forest to the chalky colored river and a distant view of the cloud topped glacier. As Mark said, “Jurassic Park meets Ice Age in a half mile walk.” We stopped for an afternoon snack and noticed a sign proclaiming that we were now in southern Westland and we knew that we had just left northern Southland. Gets a wee bit confusing at times!

We drove another 10 k (6 miles) to see the Franz Josef Glacier. Kiwis are quite pleased because in the past few years the glaciers have been advancing again instead of receding. Here we accessed the main entrance and took a short hike to a viewing area for the glacier. The clouds were still low but we did see the glacier and were treated to a double rainbow stretching across the valley. Rain brings its own treasures even though we were sad to not have mountain vistas along the way.

Our final push of the 240 some miles we traveled on Thursday (in nine hours!) was to the small coastal town of Hokitika, south of Greymouth. We had picked up a couple of meat pies (very popular in NZ) in the town of Franz Josef and happily checked into our hotel complete with frig and microwave (lots of hotels have small kitchenettes here) and made a very nice dinner for ourselves with our other odds and ends of food we had leftover. After dinner, we took the small lantern that our hotel host had given us and walked up the highway a block or so to the local Glowworm Dell.

Glowworms are big stuff in NZ--both islands. There are all sorts of pricey tours that one can take to see the glowworms. They are not really worms but are larvae of a kind of gnat. Like fireflies they phosphoresce, however, they are stationary and just glow to attract food. Regardless, the little dell was aglow--like looking at a starry night on a wall. We giggled because we went boldly and noisily into the dell only to discover lots of silent people there in the dark. We quickly doused the light and started whispering as we tried to find each other again.  The next morning we stopped by the dell to see it in daylight. It was just a high walled area with lots of vegetation. We may yet have to pay to visit one of the big caves that boast thousands of glow worms….

Milford Sound

We rested on Monday. Caught up on emails and downloaded pictures, did some laundry and other housekeeping kinds of things. After lunch we took a short bike ride along the Clutha River which is just a stone’s throw from David and Pia’s house. AND we (mostly I) stressed over the weather report for Milford Sound--high winds and rain! Of course, MS receives rain 200 days a year so…….

Tuesday morning we headed out early to make the 3.5 hour drive south from Wanaka to Te Anua where we caught a bus for our trip to Milford Sound. MS is the most northern and most accessible of fourteen fiords in the area of NZ that is called Fiordland. Fiordland National Park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Area. The road from Te Anau to MS is the only main road in the entire area and you can only live in MS if you are actively working in MS. We caught our bus tour bound for Milford Sound.

Incredibly, we had a gloriously sunny day! The 2.5 hour bus ride from TA to MS was a progression from grasslands, lakes, and foothills into majestic mountains. We stopped at the lovely, flat, grass covered Eglinton Valley with views to the mountains, saw some small but enchanting “mirror” lakes, a cascading waterfall with rocks worn into sculpted shapes and holes, and traveled almost a mile via the Homer Tunnel through solid granite mountain. The tunnel was begun in the 30’s but wasn’t opened until 1954. All the way we proceeded through beautiful, ancient beech tree forests. The bus had windows on the sides of the roof so we could look up at the mountain tops as we went. We were relieved that we weren’t driving. The road was very narrow! Our driver not only drove, he also gave a running commentary, historical and ecological, even while driving the aptly named “cardiac corners”. Pulling into MS we looked out on the blue, sun sparkled water and the famous view of the awe inspiring Mitre Peak (named by the English because they thought it looked like a bishop‘s hat although the Maori apparently thought it more closely resembled… manhood). We checked in and queued up with the 60 odd other passengers to board our overnight boat, the Milford Mariner.

Eglinton Valley

Milford Sound we learned is actually not a sound but a fiord which basically means that it was carved out by glaciers (pronounced “glassy-urs” around here). The water comes to the very edge of the mountains because the carved out area continues hundreds of meters below the water line. We left port and headed out into the sound. The wind was incredibly strong although the water was only mildly wavy. To move around the deck we clung from railing to railing. We discovered later that the wind was gusting up to 60 mph! Due to the high winds, the boat didn’t go all the way out of the sound to the Tasman Sea but instead anchored in a smaller cove. Passengers were invited to go out in groups on little motor tender boats or go kayaking. We choose to kayak and found it exhilarating! There were only three other couples (all a good deal younger than we) who chose to kayak. Our guide explained to us that the mountains are of hard granite and that there is no topsoil. She took us in close to an area where wild winds had actually “lifted” a portion of trees, bushes, moss away from the rock wall. It was literally hanging in mid air and still green and seemingly growing.  I have mentioned to a few of you the possibility of “voracious” sandflies at Milford Sound. When we were kayaking around the cove, we discovered that close to shore the sandflies were indeed biting.  As we paddled farther from shore, we had relief. We are surmising that the fierce winds we experienced saved us.  We were back to the boat in time for dinner and the evening’s entertainment, a lively slide show of Milford Sound.

check out the wind!

We woke to gray clouds out the porthole, dressed, and headed up from our below decks cabin for 7AM breakfast. While we were still eating, the boat began to move out towards the Tasman Sea. The wind was slightly abated from the previous day but was still strong and the swells out on the sea were significant. The boat retreated back to the sound. We saw seals, a few rare Fiordland crested penguins from afar, and crept up to within a few feet of the base of the 480 ft. high Stirling Falls. The mountains surrounding the sound are overwhelming whether in sunshine or in clouds. They are so massive and rugged and stark. None of our pictures seem to do the place justice. I’ve read that words fail poets when describing Milford Sound…and I’m no poet.

Mitre Peak

 
 
 
 
 
 the cove we kayaked and anchored in overnight

Wanaka to Queenstown

On leaving Kakanui, we did a little shopping in Oamaru and meandered our way west once again to the little lakeside town of Wanaka in the Southern Alps. We have a week off before we need to be in Putaruru on the North Island.

Sunday dawned beautiful and sunny. We had looked up the location of the local Presbyterian church the night before and decided to go. A good decision. It was a moderate sized church with many windows looking out to the surrounding mountains.  The service spoke to us in many ways and gave us things to talk about: a brief smile on my part as the minister reminded us all that “we are now in the season of Lint”; a new hymn to us based on the well known Ecclesiastes passage with lines that read “A time to be saving, a time to spend”; new words to an old hymn, “God who sets us on a journey to discover, dream, and grow…”

From church we drove out of town on the “highest road” in New Zealand, the road from Wanaka to Queenstown. Along the way, we stopped at the Cardrona Hotel, a NZ icon featured in a favorite old Speights’ beer ad. Built in the 1860s during the gold rush, it is now a frequent tourist stop for refreshments of various kinds. We had a hearty tomato and ginger soup before heading up and up.

At the summit, we did an hour’s walk higher up to Rock’s Peak and panoramic views of the entire area--Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, plus the Remarkables, Crown, Carrick, and Criffle mountains. Don’t ask me which was which! The surrounding hills were covered in tussocks of light olive green grasses. From a distance, it looked like textured velvet or a knubby sweater that begged to be touched. Back to the car, we descended into Queenstown traversing at one point 6-7 hairpin switchback turns before getting out of the mountains.

Queenstown is a very large tourist haven. Sadly, at this point, I was driving and got completely rattled and, I must confess, very crabby. We finally slid into a 30 minute parking place in a very congested downtown area, got a snack, found a bathroom, and walked the short blocks to the gorgeous sparkling waterfront. We either had to find a new parking place or head on home--we headed home but by a different route.

We ended up stumbling on Kawarau Bridge, the site of AJ Hackett’s original local bungy jump back in the 80‘s. Hackett was an entrepreneur who popularized bungy jumping and is considered the father of the extreme sport. It was a large commercial center so we stayed and watched several people jump. Watching at that site was free unlike some other sites. It was a 142 foot drop (you can be dipped in the water or not as you wish). A whole busload of Asian tourists were indulging. (I found fascinating that there was a list of instructions in the bathroom in about six different Asian character languages--obviously, this is a destination spot for Asian tourists!)

Back on the road, we felt like we had been transported to Eastern Washington. There were miles of vineyards, winery after winery, and fruit stand after fruit stand in a valley along a river ringed by dry hillsides. We treated ourselves to a large bag of fresh picked crackling good cherries and a box of cute little green and pink plums called greengages which turned out to be very sweet.

Mark's musings

My turn to “blog” again… is that truly a word? So more about medical practice here. I am still in my first posting at Central Medical, a 4 doc group here in Oamaru. They did a very nice job welcoming and orienting me to the practice, and the receptionists were kind in the first 2 weeks not to overbook me. They use an electronic medical record, Medtech, as does much of the rest of New Zealand. Their office is in an old limestone building in the center of town, 2 blocks from the small hospital, where most labs and x-rays are done. The day’s patients are booked into 15 minute appts with double-books common as well, especially when one doc is on holiday, as one is now. I have also been out to each of the four rest homes in town, grouped around lunch for travel time, for emergency and routine visits. (It made me really appreciate my nursing home rounders back home.)

It has been a real learning experience to spend less time with each patient, and to call them from the exam room, do their vitals, and take the history and examine them all in my single office/exam room. (There is not a nurse for each doc.) Amazingly I am able to type a note as we go and finish most in the allotted time. That is unless they come with a more difficult problem, like depression, or accident/time loss with all the attendant computerized forms to complete. Or like my last 60 year old patient yesterday who wanted “everything checked out” and had not been seen in 4 years, with a BP of 142/94, etc…
I marvel at how I can see patients every 15 minutes and usually stay on time, while back home my nurse does the vitals, I have 20 min per patient, and I still fall behind. Part of the reason is that patients here come in EVERY 3 months for refills (or “repeats” as they say) and seem to expect short, more frequent visits. And there are virtually no adult physical exams. There are well children visits, but on a much briefer schedule to get shots. All cervical smears (Paps) are done by the two RN’s in the group, and they do virtually all the female vaginal exams as well.
And then there are the different words patients use to describe their conditions:
There was a GI bug going around and the first patient talked about “spewing“- I was surprised and asked what that was… vomiting! At least I knew what he meant when he said “I took crook” (very sick). When patient has a prescription it is the “chemist” who will fill it.
And finally, there is the wonderful “tea time”- it’s in every day’s schedule at 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM. And most of the docs and the 2 nurses each day get to these tea times, even if a few minutes late. It could be a catch up time at your computer, but everyone leaves what they’re doing to go sit together for a few minutes and chat over tea, coffee, or a snack. And patients who are waiting see us go and never give me a look of dismay… Wow!

Goodbye, Oamaru

We want to leave you with a few images of Oamaru and Kakanui as we depart these towns:

A field on the commute to Oamaru from Kakanui

A rare stormy day

The more typical sunny day

Downtown Oamaru

Central Medical where Mark worked

Oamaru’s own little botanic garden

One of Oamaru’s lovely local limestone buildings

Our last evening’s walk in Kakanui--looking at Campbell’s Bay at sunset complete with a couple of surfers..........

Thoughts

When Mark and I are “home” in Oamaru our days are centered around Mark going to work. He usually leaves around 8 AM and often carpools with Claire (neighbor/landlady/co-worker) as well as her teenage daughters who go to school in town. They have probably the loveliest commute either of us has ever experienced. The 15 minute drive is along country roads through green and gold fields, some dotted here and there with cattle or sheep, with frequent views to the ocean and the distant cliffs. The ocean in many places has gradations of colors from milky aqua to steel blue. The beaches are long, sandy, and mostly deserted with just an occasional camper van pulled in for a free overnight. We wonder if we’ve had “dessert first” in terms of our posting here. Time will tell.

I mostly spend my days reading, doing devotions, walking, emailing and blogging, cooking, doing laundry (is it a good day for line drying?), working on projects I brought with me, playing my violin, doing a little NZ research--pretty mundane stuff. Once Mark gets home we eat and walk and catch up. On the days Mark leaves me the car, I run our errands. We expect that this pattern will continue with our subsequent postings.

We are still learning about foods in NZ. We have learned now that capsicums are peppers but are continually surprised by the word pumpkin usually (but not always) referring to winter squash. I’ve had pumpkin soup several times and discovered it is squash soup--I prefer the sweetness of pumpkin. In the same way, lemonade is always a carbonated lemon drink. Pavlova (meringue) is a standard dessert here. We have had it twice: once in a restaurant and once at another doc’s house. The restaurant version was a small, hard, chewy disc served with strawberries and whipped cream. OK, but not great. The cake at Joy’s house was a soft tall cake with a heavy cream/light sugar “frosting”. It was incredible! We recently also had the local green lipped mussels for dinner. Not only are they yummy, but the shells look like the name and are beautiful!

Kakanui, our little settlement south of Oamaru, is known for its production of tomatoes. Half the houses here have greenhouses filled with tomatoes and some various ground and bush fruits and fruit trees. Our neighbor/landlord Dave has four large greenhouses filled with a wide variety of tomatoes which he sells in Dunedin at the Saturday market. Recently, on my birthday, he hand delivered a unique and precious gift--two beautifully ripe heirloom Black Krim tomatoes. We had never seen anything like them. They are described as “maroon beefsteak with green shoulders and an intense, unique taste!”. Indeed, they are quite lovely.

One thing that NZ has really done right is its gardens and parks. Even the smallest of towns have a botanic garden, a bush (reserved wild area), and/or a domain (larger area). All the gardens we’ve visited seem to have been established early in the history of the city/town and are filled with huge trees and meticulously planted flower beds. What a gift to its citizens. Like many of the museums, the gardens have all been free.
Let’s see, other interesting stuff.
--Most houses have the toilet in its own little room.
--No house we have been in has screens on the windows--that includes ours. I have become quite adept at “freeing” the inevitable flies in the house by pushing the window out wider so they can escape. Sigh……
--On our drives we have encountered signs which read: “Rumble Lines!” These signs warn of those little strips along the highway that make a noisy vibration when your tire strays onto them--do we call them anything in the States??
--Finally, our tour guide in Christchurch, commenting on the city’s artesian water, called it, “Spot on!” It’s the water, right, Olympia readers?!

Monday in Akaroa

Monday dawned cold and overcast. Regardless, we made the 1.5 hour tortuous drive out the Banks Peninsula to the town of Akaroa. Here, we boarded a two hour catamaran boat cruise out into the long harbor in hopes of catching sight of the Hector’s dolphin, a native species and, at four feet, one of the smallest dolphins in the world. We were not disappointed. Saw several including a mother and calf but didn’t manage to catch any on camera.

Also saw spotted shags, a white flippered penguin, fur seals, and sheep grazing on the incredibly steep and rocky cliffs. The captain called it a new sport: extreme grazing! Formed by a ancient volcano the harbor is mostly black rocky cliffs.

Even though we were well bundled we returned to port chilled and ready for a hot lunch before the long drive home again. Bright spot on the way home was stopping at a farm for fresh picked nectarines and peaches.

Sunday in Christchurch

Sunday morning found us back at the cathedral for worship. The church was very full. It felt like a true community with inclusion of Maori language in the liturgy and a Down’s young woman serving as one of the candle bearers’ in the processions. As always, we loved the music--the organ, of course, but also a very fine men and boys choir. The text for Valentine’s Day was from the Song of Solomon and the thoughtful sermon on love and sex and human relationships.

After church we walked the several blocks to Hagley Park and the Botanic Garden--purportedly one of largest city parks in the world. We lost ourselves in the elaborately planted flower beds, the aromatic rose garden, the many hued hydrangea garden, and several amazing greenhouses. We picked up a “Notable Trees” brochure and hunted down many throughout the garden--each with its own story. Personal favorites: the alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) which is the largest of its species in NZ and the common oak which was grown from an acorn sent in 1861 to the Rev. Taylor by Queen Victoria to commemorate the death of her husband!

pretty big, huh?!!

It was hard to leave the gardens but we were eager to get to the one-day annual Scottish Festival at the nearby Riccarton Bush. There were displays of highland dancing, pipe band competitions, a parade of “ladies and gentlemen in Victorian and Edwardian clothes, vintage cyclists, and a host of veteran cars.” Participants were of all ages. Chatting with a few kilt clad men, we discovered that not all were of Scottish descent. It reminded us of Kloempen (Klompen?) dancers who are not Dutch and Irish dancers who are not Irish. Just a huge happy community event on the lovely grounds formerly belonging to a Scottish immigrant family. We left with the soulful strains of Amazing Grace played by eight bagpipes and seven drums ringing in our ears.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday in Christchurch

This past weekend we drove up the coast some 3.5 hours to sightsee in Christchurch which at 350,00 people is the largest city on the South Island. As we are so often experiencing during this time of lots of different sightseeing opportunities, you win some and you lose some. We cruised into downtown just in time to arrive out of breath for the free guided cathedral tour at 11 AM with a well meaning but not overly coherent guide. We probably would have done better with the purchased $10 audio tour on our own! As with so much of the history of the British settlement of NZ, Christchurch’s story is strongly linked with the church--in this case, Anglican--so it was a good first stop anyway.



A more modern stained glass window in the cathedral.  Is Jesus Maori?  Or a composite--hands and feet a different color than face.  Our guide said there was some controversy about it.

After some lunch, we opted for a 2 hour city walking tour. Ended up not being as stellar as our walking tour in Dunedin but informative nonetheless. The main downtown area is around the Cathedral Square and is systematically laid out on four main avenues. Many wonderful old buildings dating from the 1850s in this area. We particularly enjoyed the well maintained Provincial Council Chambers from the 1850s and a look around the Christ’s College Canterbury (a secondary school) that reminded us of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Meandering through the city is the shallow but lovely Avon River where one can kayak OR go punting. We did neither (since we were walking on a tour!) but enjoyed watching folks doing both. Bordering the river is one long continuous park and pathway shaded by many trees--very inviting. An interesting fact commemorated by a bronze statue at one point along the Avon: in 1893, NZ was the first country in the world to grant women, including Maori women, the right to vote. The tour ended at the Arts Centre, a large complex of shops, galleries, and restaurants housed in the Gothic Revival buildings once used by the Canterbury University. We wandered a while and then headed out to find our reserved hotel and prep for dinner before attending a Valentine’s Eve concert in the cathedral.

Provincial Council Chambers

Hogwarts?

punting on the Avon

The concert was both strange and wonderful. It was: one part harmonious men’s octet from the Cathedral Choir singing modern love songs; one part Cathedral organist playing an impressive classical suite followed by a “medley of popular love tunes” (which sounded like roller-skating rink music to us or as we say, “all skate“); and one part the fabulous Fiona Pears and Band. Fiona plays a wild violin while dancing around the stage accompanied by guitar, piano, bass and drums. On one too-brief song everyone sang and played together!! The concert also included a light show of sorts on the cathedral columns. While we wondered about all of this in the cathedral’s space, we did enjoy it.

Heading back to Oamaru

Monday, we headed downtown for our 2 hour walking tour of Dunedin. Our guide was a retired diplomat who spoke German to the young man on our tour and Italian to his girlfriend. Oh, my!

Dunedin was settled principally by the “free church” Scottish in 1848 who were looking for a place to practice their religion as they chose. In 1861, however, gold was discovered and Dunedin’s population soared with a different kind of immigrant! Our knowledgeable guide assured us, however, that the city fathers spent the new wealth wisely on community buildings, churches, and education before the gold ran out. The city is filled with remarkable buildings many out of Oamaru limestone and a nearby black stone. Most are still in use and well maintained.

the train station

By mid-afternoon, we were headed back up highway 1 to Oamaru. Our plan was to visit a couple of sights in Moeraki, a small town about 25 miles south of Oamaru. Out a long gravel road is the Moeraki lighthouse and, more importantly to us, another hide for seeing the yellow-eyed penguins. Bingo! Although the secluded beach had only one penguin on it, we were quite close and able to watch him preen and waddle on the beach amongst several oblivious and disinterested seals. We climbed the hill back to our car with a feeling of triumph. Now we had really seen the yellow-eyed penguin!

Just a short mile further up the beach we stopped at one of the local wonders: the Moeraki Boulders. We had been advised to arrive at low tide for the best viewing. Definitely a tourist stop, the large spherical rocks are randomly strung out along the beach. The joke is that they are alien in origin but the scientific explanation is that they are concretions or layers of minerals around a central core. Regardless, they are quite striking. We were pleased to be leaving just as a large bus of Japanese tourists were arriving.

a hatching alien??

Sunday in Dunedin

Sunday morning in Dunedin, we woke to light rain and cold. Fortified by the continental breakfast complete with large pot of hot pressed coffee served by the owner of The Brothers hotel, we set out down the hill to the nearby Anglican church. Having worshipped God as manifested in His creation the Sunday before in Wanaka, we were eager for a church service even though we knew we would have to sneak out early to catch our 11 AM walking tour of Dunedin. Once again, the liturgy, choir, organ, and sermon were soul filling.

On exiting church, we discovered the rain had intensified. We walked the short block to the iSite and fortunately were able to rebook our 2 hour walking tour for Monday. After store browsing and lunch, we retrieved the car and an extra umbrella and spent the day seeing other sights around town.

Our first stop was the Dunedin Chinese Garden. It is the only authentic Chinese Garden in NZ having been pre-fabricated and assembled in Shanghai then dismantled, transported, and reconstructed in Dunedin in 2008. Although the plantings are still young, the garden is beautiful and tranquil.

Visiting historical homes is always interesting to us and given the weather, we headed to Olveston, a “masterpiece of modernity” built in 1904 by the Theomin family. The house had central heating, an in-house telephone system, heated towel racks, and electric lights and heaters run exclusively by generator. The house remained in the family until given in trust to the city of Dunedin in 1966, and the feeling of a family home with “cluttered charm” is maintained. (Hmmmm, is that what would be written of my house?? I’m thinking it would just be cluttered, no charm!) On the beautiful grounds in its own glass garage is the family’s 1921 Fiat 510 convertible touring car in complete running order and shined to perfection! The elderly, feisty tour guide was a fount of information and kept us all in order on the tour. Fun note: we saw foot poofs (pouffes) for the first time--small pillows on the floor in front of the chairs in the ladies’ sitting room on which the ladies would put their feet and then drop their dresses to the floor around it to keep their toes cozy. A toe cozy??

Last stop was Baldwin Street--the steepest street in the world (Guiness Book of World Records verified)! It is indeed incredibly steep at a 35% grade.  We also learned that the original grid for the city was laid out in England site unseen. Consequently, the streets are quite straight BUT some are very steep.

Saturday in Dunedin

This past weekend we visited the city of Dunedin which is on the coast about an hour and a half south of Oamaru. We left first thing Saturday morning in order to catch the vibrant Saturday-only Dunedin Farmers’ Market. It was packed with people buying local fruits, vegetables, and meats as well as enjoying the various offerings including beer and coffee, baked goods and hot lunch items. We bought an assortment of things for a picnic lunch and put it in out chilly bin a.k.a. cooler (in our case, a recycled styrofoam box from Central Medical).


From there we did a quick survey of downtown, located our boutique hotel (a redone monastery), and, since it was a gloriously sunny and warm day, headed out to the Otago Peninsula northeast of town. The peninsula is about 10 miles long and consists of narrow roads that wind either up and down between the high cliff pastures and farms (the high road) or in and out precariously along the long narrow harbor (the low road). Recommended time to drive the 19 miles roundtrip: nearly an hour! There are two main attractions to be seen: the Larnach Castle and Taiaroa Head wildlife.

The impressive hilltop Larnach Castle was built in the mid-1870s by William Larnach, a wealthy businessman and politician. Unfortunately, he was beset by financial and family woes (three wives, conniving children) and ended up committing suicide while at the Parliament House! That aside, the four story castle, complete with battlements, has since been beautifully restored and furnished and sits amid 35 acres of variously themed gardens. On arrival we were famished so ate our picnic lunch in the shade before setting out to tour house and gardens.

Next stop was the very end of the peninsula, Taiaroa Head. Here we donned heavy canvas “dust” coats to take a wildlife tour in an all-terrain vehicle that jolted us up the privately owned steep cliffs for vista views of the peninsula and then down the cliffs for rock and beach viewing of fur seals and penguins. The baby seals were cavorting in small rock enclosed pools while the adults, blending in with the seaweed, slept contentedly on the warm rocks . The private owner of the land and tour company has built an extensive hide for viewing of the penguins. We had better views than we had managed before of the illusive and shy yellow-eyed penguins (but only three) on a protected beach. We watched one in particular on his arduous trek across the large expanse of sand to the brush covered steep dune where it roosts--enchanting. We also glimpsed views of the baby blue penguins well hidden in their burrows in and around the hide.

can you find the penguin?

Descending from the cliff tops, we arrived at the eastern tip of the peninsula for our advanced booked 6 PM tour of the Royal Albatross Centre. After a brief introduction and movie, we were guided to a hilltop observatory for views (binoculars provided) of the albatrosses--flying adults and also nesting adults (males and females take turns) with the precious 7-10 day old chicks (monogamous couples only breed every two years). Even though it was not a very windy day which makes for more spectacular flying demonstrations, we loved seeing the giant birds, wingspans up to 10 feet, glide around us. Watching them land awkwardly and then fold and tuck the ungainly wings was fascinating. Other than this protected area on Taiaroa Head, the birds are only found in the Chatham Islands many miles to the east of NZ and remote small islands deep in the southern oceans. We also had great views of nesting shags (cormorants).

At the end of our hour long tour, we were once again famished. Thankfully, we found a little converted post office restaurant called the 1908 Café “where the high road meets the low road” on the way back to town. A delightful but very full day.

Sheep Stories and More

I must admit to a real delight in seeing lots of sheep here in NZ! So, I must chronicle a couple of sheep stories from the drive back from Wanaka. Firstly, rounding one corner, we laughed after spying a foursome on a rural golf course leaning on their golf clubs waiting for a flock of sheep to clear the course. (As I commented to Mark about hiking with sheep: pro is hiking with sheep; con is hiking with sheep…scat.)

The second sheep encounter was more dramatic. Traveling at close to 60 mph, Mark rounded a curve on the highway and found himself in a traffic jam. He screeched to a halt amidst a herd of sheep crossing the highway while I struggled to grab my camera since the car had frozen my seatbelt in the process! Lots of noise, dust, running sheep, and cautious drivers. Very fun!

We are not birders. Nonetheless, we have greatly enjoyed seeing and identifying (we think) at least a few NZ birds. These include the tui, magpie, pukeko or swamp hen, black swans, and the aforementioned kea or alpine parrot.

Besides the sheep and cattle, we have also seen large herds of farmed deer and elk. Venison dishes grace many menus.

Lastly, on our Waimate bush hike, we were surprised to stumble on a hedgehog. Sadly, since then, we’ve seen lots of hedgehog road kill along with possums and rabbits. Rabbits are apparently considered a real pest. A side note, one of Mark’s doctor partners invited us to go rabbit hunting with him. (Animal activists beware: this is sport.) He proudly announced that over the weekend he had killed some 600 rabbits on one farm much to the farmer’s delight. We declined the offer even though he had just bought a new 20-gauge shotgun for the next outing.

Weekend in Wanaka

On Saturday morning, we set out early to make the three hour drive west towards the mountains and the town of Wanaka. Mark’s brother and sister-in-law actually own a home there so we stayed in luxurious lakefront accommodations which spoiled us completely! Thanks, David and Pia!! The drive up to Wanaka from Oamaru winds through varied terrain--flat valleys, rolling farmland, stark foothills--and melodiously named towns (Duntroon, Otematata, Omarama). We were delighted at Lindis Pass to encounter miles of wild flowers stretched along the highway, especially the many colored lupines. Made us think that Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady had been there.  Wanaka is a small, resort town of about 5,000 people situated on the shores of Lake Wanaka, the 4th largest lake in NZ, and surrounded by mountains. It reminds us of Sun Valley, Idaho--ski town in winter, all manner of outdoor activities in summer.

Wanaka from Mount Iron

Saturday afternoon, we stretched our legs by climbing Mount Iron, really just a good sized hill, on the edge of town. Interestingly, the descriptions of hikes in NZ give round trip times rather than length. The same is true of driving to various destinations. Mount Iron was a “1.5 hour round trip hike” and allowed us panoramic views of the city, lakes, river, and mountains. After the hike, we rewarded ourselves by heading out of town northwest along the lake to the Rippon Winery. It is a 4th generation family-owned winery with vines invitingly planted up and down the hills to the lake. We left with purchases and pictures!

Awakening Sunday morning to cloud enshrouded mountains, we contentedly lingered over coffee and breakfast before heading out for our chosen hike of the day: the “easy, 3.5 hours round trip” Rob Roy Glacier hike. Now we are used to our beloved Bob and Ira Spring hike books that give us distance and elevation gain and even designations of easy, moderate, difficult, etc. We would definitely have designated this a moderate hike with significant elevation gain after hiking it. Regardless, it was a glorious hike!

The drive to the trailhead was about an hour and half with most of it on a dry, gravel, washboard road (entrance to the Mt. Aspiring National Park). It wound through beautiful grazing lands along the Matukituki River and also included at least seven stream fordings. (We had been assured that the fordings were low and our little car could most probably handle them--it did.). Arriving at the trailhead we found bathrooms, unfiltered water, and lots of cars. We were ready!

Fifteen minutes into the hike we crossed the rapidly flowing river on a long swing bridge. From there we climbed through fairly dense forest (mostly beech) with intermittent views to the mountains and glacier. Arriving at the top, we were right at the base of the Rob Roy Glacier. At least eight waterfalls cascaded down the face of the mountain fed by the glacier. The sky was a bright blue with few clouds, the mountains black and rocky, the ice glimmering in the sunshine. A feast for the eyes! We were also treated, thanks to a fellow hiker, to an up close sighting of the kea, the only alpine parrot. What a day, what a hike!