Friday, September 29, 2023

9/24 - Explore Dunedin

Our first visit was to Larnach Castle, built in 1871 by William Larnach, a weatlthy merchant and later a politician. It is on the Otego Peninsula on the southeast portion of the South Island. It is a ways outside of Dunedin and overlooks the city and the harbor. When you look at the ocean from here, the next continent you encounter is southernmost South America.

It was built in 3 years, but another 12 was spent on the elaborate and detailed decorations throughout the home. It sits on 35 acres, much of which is finely landscaped. Larnach had 3 wives (2 of them died at age 38, but the third one survived him and may have had an affair with one of his sons. He committed suicide in 1898 and she decamped to England for 10 months before returning, leading some to think the theoretical hanky panky had a result that took a while to dispatch.) Extended legal battles between his many children and his third wife ensued, and were finally settled in 1906, when the children won. They promptly set about to sell everything they could.

The building went through several owners and fell into serious disrepair. It was scheduled to be purchased for the land value and razed when Barry and Margaret Barker managed to acquire it instead in 1967 with the idea of a total restoration. They were even successful at locating and buying some of the original furniture in the house. It is now a tourist attraction that also has accommodations for rent in the stables.

We started in the ballroom, which is currently used as a cafe, then proceeded to the enclosed veranda. The veranda was originally open to the elements, but after living through their first winter, they decided to enclose it to help keep the house warmer. We visited all the rooms on all 3 floors and then took a VERY narrow circular staircase to the tower at the top of the building.


The enclosed veranda



Larnach called this very elaborate edifice "the camp"


Several views of the surrounding area from the tower





The really TIGHT stairs to the tower

Sometimes, the planned projects were just too difficult to accomplish. There was a plan for carved stone bathtubs in the home, but they were so heavy only one made it inside. Another is a huge planter in the garden.



We also walked through the gardens and I found a lovely rock wall overlooking the sea and left one of my Jim marbles there, tucked away to not be visible after I took the photo.

These are examples from the garden and exterior of the home.





The veranda enclosure shown here is probably prettier
than the original open veranda.

Back at the hotel, we had a brief break before a walking tour of downtown Dinedin, called the Octagon, based on its shape. There was a gold rush here that started in 1861 and Dinedin experienced the kind of explosive growth and influx of wealth that San Francisco had in 1849. Our hotel, the Distinction, was the post office before being converted to a hotel after being empty for some time in the 1990s. It is located in the Heritage area where most of the buildings retain their original facades. As you approach the Octogon, the architecture is generally more modern.

There are several scattered penguin bronzes scattered in a small park. further on, we visited the railway station and the group went on to see the Settler's Museum and Chinese Gardens, while Sandy and I broke off to visit a rock  shop she had been looking for. 

We returned to the hotel for lunch where we asked to see the vaults. The areas where the most valuable goods were kept for transfer are in a hallway behind the main restaurant and have been transformed into VERY private dining rooms. I assume the vault door is closed during the meal, but I think I would find it too claustrophobic to enjoy, even though I think it's and interesting concept.

After lunch, we completely repacked for our trip tomorrow: we will be sailing overnight on Milford Sound and have been advised to pack only what we need in a backpack as our big suitcase and smaller carry on will wait for us on the bus.

9/29 - Revised Transit Plan to the Bay of Islands

 Rod's prediction came true. He got notified at 4 AM that our flight was cancelled and immediately got to work finding an alternative. He scored a flight for us only 2.25 hours later than the original, but it did necessitate eliminating our lunch stop and glow worm cave ("we will have to can the worms" he said) and delivered us to the hotel only a hour late. 

We learned of the change at our 6:15 wake up call and that gave us some extra free time in the morning. The transfer to Aukland airport was fine, but the particulars of what we had to do for the security screening were lacking. I have been spoiled by TSA Pre and normally don't have to unpack my carry-on at all. It took 2 or 3 trips through the scanner before they determined I had a tablet, Kindle, and camera that all needed to be revealed. Funny that the 2 cell phones could stay where they were. Sandy had left a lighter in her bag and they told her she should have put it in a zipped up jacket pocket and it wouldn't have been flagged. The only logic I could figure out was that if it set her coat on fire, she might notice faster than if it got her backpack.....

This time we had an uneventful flight, collected our luggage and headed north to Paihia. At our first rest stop, we were encouraged to find snacks to replace lunch and I had my first Magnum bar in several months. YUM! 

Our next stop was Kawakawa, home to the works of an Austrian architect/artist named Hundertwasser who Sandy was familiar with because of her husband's interests. She had sent me a picture of a very creative public restroom which was located in Kawakawa, along with a lot of his other work. She said the floors of his constructions are always uneven because that is how nature usually is. On Monday when we drive back to Aukland for the flight home, we will stop at another village that features his work.

Finally at the hotel, we minimally unpacked and had dinner. As soon as I save this post, it is time for bed.

9/28 - Arrowtown and Farewell Dinner

 We had a leisurely start to the day and hopped a couple buses to get to Arrowtown, the site of the 1862 gold rush. Its population swelled to 7,000 and even had a separate Chinese settlement. The Chinese were subjected to ill-treatment but generally not to violence. In 1951, the population had dropped to 200, but it reinvented itself as a tourist attraction and now has around 3,000 residents. The attractive main street recalls an older era and several buildings in the Chinese Settlement have been preserved and have educational plaques posted.

We did an introductory loop of the town, ending at the Chinese Settlement and Sandy and I stayed to explore the general store and a few of the original residences. Rod had something he wanted to show me and Sandy went off to do jade pendant research for me. Rod had seen an Edmond Hillary red cap he thought I would like and told me the company was going out of business so it would become a collector's item. Many-time OAT travelers get a gift at the end of the tour and he thought I would like it, though it was a bit over his budget, so I made up the small difference.

Sandy rejoined me at the hat shop and announced that she had found some good options. As I had hoped, the choices were more extensive than we had seen in Queenstown and also less expensive. I found a stylized hook shape (one of 7 classical designs) and got it. In Maori culture, the hook symbolizes strength, catches good luck, and gives protection for travel, especially over water. It seemed quite appropriate.

We got a take out meat pie for lunch and went to a shop called The Winery which had outside tables where we could eat our pies. You provide your credit card and they give you a numbered card that allows you to select from dozens of bottles of wine and pour for yourself. You can choose 1 oz, 2 (maybe 3) oz, or 5 oz. I had 3 one-ounce pours with my spicy chicken pie and it only cost $8.60, a lot less than a tasting in Napa.

It was time to catch the hourly bus back to Queenstown (about 30 minutes away) and Sandy decided to stop for a hot chocolate there that everyone had been raving about. I opted for a small bonbon and a truffle instead. 

We caught the bus to the hotel and started to pack for our trip to the Bay of Islands tomorrow. It is back on the North Island and we are catching an early plane to Auckland. 

It is also the end of the main tour (the Bay of Islands is an organized optional post-trip), so we will had our celebratory Farewell Dinner at a large farm that we reached via an historic steamer this evening. The engine compartment was open to view from above and riders could walk through it if interested. The huge farm house has an enormous space that can accommodate a buffet dinner for 200 people with more tables for the buffet than I have seen before. The food was quite good, but I was disappointed that the meal was followed by a sheep dog exhibition in an outdoor unheated space that closely resembled the visit we made to a farm several years ago. Plus if I had been made aware of the plan, my attire would have been much more oriented to warmth than style. We survived somehow, but learned that our 9am flight is potentially going to be disrupted, which Rod predicted really meant that it would be cancelled.

 



Wednesday, September 27, 2023

9/27 -- Enjoy Queenstown Activities

 Our hilltop hotel is a bit high and far from the main commercial area to walk to, so we each got a bus pass loaded for two round trips. Today, we headed there and started by locating the ship where we will have our farewell dinner tomorrow night. Rod showed us the area and advised us on options for our morning and where and when to meet for our jet boat ride this afternoon.

We ended at a botanical garden, but instead of exploring it, Pam and I had talked about getting a massage. The options online didn't look great, so we headed to a recommended one we had passed hoping to be more successful in person. Unfortunately, though it was now 10am and the shop sign and website said they opened at 9, it was still closed. I headed off to look for jade and Sandy. I learned later that Pam was more persistent and did get an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

Sandy and I linked up and looked at 2 jade shops, both of which were much higher priced than I anticipated and the second was double the first. Apparently the reasonably priced options are not New Zealand made and/or the jade is not sourced here. There were a few possibilities (which will look more reasonably priced when I do the math since one US dollar is worth 1.65 NZ dollars). I decided to wait until after our trip to Arrowtown tomorrow. If I don't find something there, I will have time in the afternoon to look again here.

Sandy had read about a legendary burger shop called Ferg's before we left on our trip and it is enormously popular here. When we drove past the shop on the way to the hotel last evening, there was a LONG line waiting to get in.Since our boat trip started at 12:45, we went for lunch at 11. The line wasn't horrible, but it still took almost 30 minutes to order and get our food. I was able to snare an outside table near the door (VERY few tables here considering the popularity) and Sandy got a burger and fries to share. What I didn't expect was that the meat would be something other than beef. I have finally eaten Bambi. He actually tasted pretty good. 

We got to the boat meeting place early and donned our water pants. We hopped  on a bus for a half hour ride to the Dart River and got into waterproof and warm gear and a heavy duty life jacket. The jet boat trip was a blast. The river we went up is a 'braided' river because it is in a wide space and the rains and snow melt can take several intertwining paths through the gravel and sand river bed. The boat can handle water as shallow as 4 inches. It actually felt like it skidded through the turns and the drivers try to maintain a speed around 90 kph  (about 56 mph). Their main claim to fame is apparently doing a spin. It was all quite a bit of fun and not as wet as I thought. We had a couple opportunities to stop and walk around on the gravel banks. Our boat driver also pointed out where various scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies were shot. I guess I will have to go  back and watch the movies again to see what I can recognize.

After our long drive back, we were dropped off at the hotel and both of us have concentrated on updating our blogs. I also discovered where my missing photos went and will see if I can add them to my posts tomorrow. For now, I will just publish everything to get current.

9/26 - Milford Sound and the Drive to Queensland

 After breakfast, we headed out towards the Tasman Sea to the mouth  of the sound. The captain thought the sea looked pretty calm, so he proceeded further out into it. It didn't feel like such a good plan when the ship started noticeably pitching and I was reminded of why I am not keen on blue water sailing. We headed back into the sound and the dock, passing the large waterfall that created the mist that I had been unable to capture last night.

We docked around 9 am and got back on the bus for our return through the tunnel and back to Te Anau for a lunch stop. As we drove past Monkey Creek again, the Kea was entertaining more tourists. We knew that dinner would be provided tonight, so we had planned ahead to have snacks so that we could spend our time checking out the shops instead of eating. I found a few things and looked for a Maori style jade pendant, but nothing intrigued me.

We also spent some time at a bird sanctuary where there big draw is the takahe, which was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1948. It is a large flightless hen with small wings. Restoration efforts around the country have resulted in just over 400 birds today. There were several other birds here too, but their cages were fully enclosed and darker, and I had no success at taking a worthwhile photo of any of them. I enjoyed walking around for a while and found a pretty pair of geese in the wild instead.

The rest of the trip was through a lot of farm land and we saw lots of sheep and lambs and the occasional farmed deer and cow herds.

We arrived in Queenstown in time to get our luggage, start to unpack, go to dinner and prep for tomorrow.

9/25 - Transfer to Milford Sound

 We crossed the southern end of New Zealand today, going from Dunedin on the east coast to Milford Sound on the west coast. It was a lot of hours on the bus, with few interesting stops. We stopped at a small popolace with bathrooms and we were encouraged to get a coffee at the shop there. I ended up getting a lemon crumble to wash down with the coffee, but of which were really good. The sweets were made daily by the woman who owned the shop. We think the shop was in Gore, where we left Hwy 1 and turned onto Hwy 94 which took us to Te Anau.

I had slept very badly and so I reclined my seat and napped. I felt like I was always aware of the bus noise, but apparently was more 'out' than I thought. We often have to pre-order our meals from a set menu for lunch or dinner and when the list got to Sandy, she was unable to rouse me so she ordered for me. Just like Jim would have done, she ordered a meal she thought I would like and a different meal for herself that she thought I would also like so that I would have a choice if she had guessed wrong. 

We have talked about the similarities in our married relationships and come to the conclusion that our pairings were similar: Both she and Jim are very 'Other' oriented (most interested in meeting and relating to other people) while Herbert and I were more 'Task' oriented (focused on getting things done, though I am somewhat more outgoing than Herbert was). All 4 of us are/were introverts (we get energy from time alone vs extroverts who get energy from interacting with others) while still having social skills. Jim used to make people laugh when he claimed to be a shy introvert, but it was really true, he just covered it up well.

We drove past lots of sheep and cows and occasional herds of farmed deer, which are raised for the meat, which is sold both internally and for export. At lunch, we reached Te Anau, along the second largest lake  on the South Island. After lunch, we had a bit of time to explore and I just walked around because I was so done with sitting. 

Back on the bus, we had a couple more stops on the way to Milford Sound. The first was at Mirror Lakes, so named because it is often dead calm and the lakes reflect the mountains around them. They were not that calm today, but lovely none the less. We did see sleeping ducks and had a pleasant  walk along the waterfront boardwalk. We also got a good look at the mountains that Milford Sound is on the other side of.

Our next stop was at Monkey Creek, not because of monkeys but because how the Keas sometimes seen there act. Rod said they never saw them the five times he visited but we saw them today. They are a kind of parrot. The first one was quite bold and took a bite out of the rubber mat on the bus steps. They have wings, but made no effort to fly away.

Twenty four years ago, when we went to Doubtful Sound (quite a way south of here), we took a big bus and drove over the mountains. I called it an E-Ticket ride for how Disney used to class their scary rides. Here at Milford Sound, they dug a tunnel under the mountain, mostly by hand because of issues with explosives. It is just big enough for a bus and there was almost a 5 minute wait before we could proceed. 

But then we were there at Milford Sound and shown to our ship. It has 3 masts but apparently they are all for show. We had a safety briefing, set sail, and got into our small cabin just before dinner. After dinner, we had a choice to take a motor boat trip or kayak. We opted for the motor boat. We went to a waterfall that threw enough mist to create a little rainbow, and we found a fairy penguin. They are really small.We saw one come ashore and watched as he groomed himself and decided what to do next. 

After the boat ride, they asked if anyone wanted to go swimming. Sandy signed up and got into the water for a very brief swim. My guess is that it would be better much later in the summer. We adjourned to our cabin and learned to spend a night without internet access, which is how I fell so far behind on my blog.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

9/23 - Transfer to Dunedin

 This was a long day on a bus, broken up by a couple interesting stops. We stopped for lunch in Oamaru, which had a steampunk museum close to our restaurant. With  over an hour to explore, Sandy really wanted to go there because it was a special interest of her husband's and she was hoping to find a place for one of his marbles.  I have read a steampunk novel or two, but was not quite ready for what we found. It was both bizarre and fascinating and Sandy found a way to leave one of Herbert's marbles in a train engine.

We had some time left and looked at a couple shops and I found some interesting chocolates to try. I doubt they will make it back home. 

Our next stop on the way was the Moeraki Boulders. These rocks are accretions that are at least 4 million years old and very round. They are visible on  a beach at low tide, and we were lucky to arrive at a very low point. It was really odd seeing all this forms just lying around on the beach. Of course there was a gift shop and I found something to bring home.


 

Dunedin (pronounced dun-E-din) is supposedly home to the steepest street in the world, a hair steeper than the 2 steepest streets in San Francisco: Lombard and Potrero. It is name Baldwin, which coincidentally is the name of the street I lived on for my first 4+ year of life. I looked and walked part way up, but have climbed enough steep streets in the last 26 year to not need to climb this one.

Our hotel for the next 2 nights is a former post office and quite nice. Tomorrow, we will explore Dunedin and its Scottish connections.

9/22 - Sheep Farm Visit

First we went for a walk to the Transitional Church, also known as the Cardboard Cathedral, which replaced the Christchurch (Anglican) Cathedral after the 2011 earthquake. It is so named because many of the construction elements are cardboard, designed by a Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban, who had created a similar church after the Kobe earthquake. The cardboard look is carried throughout the church, including the cross. It is anticipated it will stand for 50 years. The site was originally another church which was destroyed in the earthquake. It is now multi-denominational but will revert to St. John's after the Cathedral is completed, targeted for 2027.

 When we left, we went to a park that marked the spot where the Christchurch TV Station building was located. It had experienced some earthquake damage earlier and was assessed to be safe. In addition to the TV station, it also housed a language school and consultants organization. It completely collapsed during the earthquake and then burned, killing 115 people of the 185 killed in the quake. It is now a memorial park and will not be built on. I wandered back on my own to the  hotel, past some of the new townhouses and public spaces built since the earthquake.

At 10, we boarded a bus to visit the Rubicon Valley farm, about 40 miles west of Christchurch. There we met Chris and Dell, who host horseback treks and demonstrate sheep dog work, sheep shearing, and provide a BBQ Shearer's Lunch. 

Chris grew up on a farm, but the life didn't suit him, so he became a police officer. After 20 on the force, he retired and developed a tourist business focused on horses and sheep dogs. He introduced us to his three dogs and they gave a demonstration of moving the sheep from a field into a pen. Then one of the Jims in our group (there are 2) got volunteered to separate the 7 sheep into the 3 who needed sheering and the 4 who did not. There was a shute the sheep ran thru and Jim got to open and close the gate quickly to do the separation. He did really well, as only 1 of the sheared sheep got into the holding pen. 

 

At the end of the dog demonstration, we met his two alpacas, and many of us got our pictures taken with them. Chris used to raise alpacas, but it has become uneconomical, so these are his last two, down from a herd of 15. The females can sell for $6000, but the males only for $300-$400. The fine alpaca wool only comes from the back 'saddle' area and is only about 1 kilo per animal, and the rest which is less valuable.  

Back in the barn, Chris told us how sheep were sheared. The old style was a huge scissors that has the advantage of leaving a bit of fleece on the sheep that is useful in colder climates.The more modern style looks like a barber's clippers and is not only much faster, but also much closer to the skin. There are shearing competitions and the timing starts when the shearer releases the sheep from its pen and ends when the sheared sheep is back in the pen. The current fastest shearer is a woman who managed all this in 47 SECONDS. 

Watching Chris at work, it is a wonder how anyone could be that fast. Most of the shearing was done with the clipper, then he gave a couple of us a chance to try the shears, which clearly left about 1/2 inch of coat. A typical shearer could clip 180 sheep in an 8 hour day with a scissors, and 300 with the clipper. When Chris learned clipping, he got paid 85 cents and hour and the fleece was sold for $7-$9 per kilo and a sheep normally yields 3 kilos. Now, shearers get $3 per sheep and the farmer gets $1 per kilo, basically a losing game. The sheep he sheared produces wool that is good for carpets, but the market for wool in general is way down from the past. Many of the sheep here are grown for export, which I suspect is a nice way of saying grown for food.

Dell served a delicious lunch of lamb, beef sausages, potatoes, corn, and salad. For dessert, we celebrated Sandy's birthday with a cake and champagne. 

Then it was back on the bus for the ride back to Christchurch. Sandy and I got off at the market area to sample the ice cream at Rollikin Gelato. We both had the hokey pokey variety and I discovered that the reason I like hokey pokey so much (had some in a small chocolate bar) is that it is the same stuff we call angel food or fairy food in Wisconsin. This is a chocolate covered sponge or honeycomb candy that used to appear primarily at Christmas, and I used to be able to polish off an entire bag on my own.

We had a pleasant walk back to the hotel where we get to pack for our transfer to Dunedin tomorrow morning.

Friday, September 22, 2023

9/20 - Explore Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Zip Line, Home-Hosted Dinner

This was a really full day. Which is why I am writing this on the 21st, not the day it happened. To see more detail on the  valley, go to Sandy's posts at https://beabondgrrl.com/2023-new-zealand/

The Waimangu Valley used to contain 2 smallish lakes and featured two separate and popular terraces -- one pink and one white -- where visitors would enjoy the thermal pools at the top and apparently slide down the terraces to the lake. Then in 1886, Mt. Terawara erupted with ash instead of lava, similar to how our Mt. St. Helens erupted with pyroclastic flows down the mountain side. The eruption formed a much bigger lake that overtook both of the smaller ones and the popular terraces are now 60 or more feet underwater.. We hiked through a section of the valley, and then took a boat ride on the lake, highlighting the most interesting features. 

FYI, I am having difficulty uploading photos in a logical way and since there are so many, I am just grabbing them in any sequence I can and not captioning mostthem. I am not sure why this upload is not working the way it used to, but the new process is much more time consuming and I prefer to show you as much as I can.


 

















 
 

We had lunch at the Visitor Center before heading back to the hotel. 

There was an option for a zipline tour, which of course I signed up for, which consumed most of the afternoon and was wonderful. It is billed as a 'Canopy Tour' and actually had more information about the forest and the efforts to control/eliminate the introduced mammals that are wreaking havoc on the native bird population. Too often in history, we see the situation where people have the brilliant idea to bring a new animal in for some purpose. When the animal (with no natural predators) becomes a pest, they bring in another non-native animal to kill the first which then also becomes a pest. This situation reminded me of a children's song. "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly, perhaps she'll die. I know an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled and wiggled and tiggled inside her. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly....." and continues on with a bird, a cat, a dog and other animals until she finally dies by swallowing a cow.

 

 

There were 6 lines, 2 quite long, and 2 swinging bridges: a long one with wire 'rails' and a very short one with no rails where we were encouraged to pose in silly ways for a photo.

I got back around 5:30, barely enough time to clean up and dress for dinner. We were told to be prepared for cold because it would be in an outside venue to accommodate all 16 of us and the family we were meeting, so I brought way more layers than I ended up needing. 

We were greeted by 4 generations of this family. They live on the shores of Lake Rotorura, and had a huge fire going in an outside open fireplace. The walls were a heavy transparent plastic that would have kept the wind at bay if there had been some. We mingled for a while, then sat down to another hangi style meal, almost identical to yesterday's lunch. There were two other travelers at the table with Sandy and me and we were joined by 2 women who I think were mother and daughter (and the daughter also had a teenage daughter). We enjoyed a delightful conversation and after dinner, interacted with the great-grandmother of the clan. I love the opportunity to have extended conversations with the families we meet. In most cases, there is not a tour leader to help with anything, even when we don't share language. Of course, translation apps have made language challenged groups a bit more informative, but the sameness of people all over the world becomes clearer with each visit.