April 11, 2010
Auckland is a beautiful city spread our all around the harbour. The Europeans settled here around the 1840’s where they easily took it from the Maori tribes who had decimated themselves fighting for control of the area. It is a city built on volcanoes, the most recent one being an island cone not far from the city center that erupted only 600 years ago. Because it is spread out (sprawled) the city core is easy walking although hilly however you really need to take the transit system or cab to get to many of the sites. We rode the shark bus over to Kelly Tarlton’s; an aquarium and Antarctic adventure centre. The fish were mostly local to the NZ area and the recreation of Scott’s camp was great. The penguin enclosure was wonderful (we went twice) and the nesting King Penguins feeding the puffy fat penguin teenagers were the hit. We headed back downtown early afternoon for lunch and some shopping up Queen Street. Through Albert’s park and the University of New Zealand (lovely old buildings and gardens) then back to our apartment to freshen up for supper. We dined at The Harbourside in the old Ferry building looking out over the Quay. This was our last blow out meal of the trip and we sat outside and dined under the stars. Tomorrow we face the 24 hour slog back home, but I think we are ready. This may be the last entry for the blog – so cheers mates, Kia Ora!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Auckland arrival
April 10 2010
Well today is the day we say goodbye to our house on wheels – old Betsy Britz, a shame really as the day is hot and sunny and we’d love to spend it on the beach. Off to Auckland an easy drive of about two hours and our first taste of true freeway driving in the whole country – two and even three lanes of traffic! We dumped the van after logging over 2800 km of driving and while I didn’t mind the driving I am glad to put it behind me. We took a cab from the airport (where we dropped off the camper) around the harbour to the city where we have a lovely two bedroom apartment just a block from the docks and right in the heart of the city. After hauling our mountains of gear into the apartment and cleaning up we headed out on the town. We went over to the historic Victoria market looking for a few souvenirs; we had a bare hour as everything was closing up. In New Zealand they really roll back the sidewalks at 5:00 wherever you go. We stopped at the Sky Tower (supposedly the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere) and watched someone sky dive off the tower (200 meters of free fall tethered to a pair of braking cables). We didn’t bother to go up, perhaps tomorrow. We then ambled down to quay side where everyone was out for a stroll and a bite. We checked out a couple of seafood restaurants along the water but as no one could agree on a place we ended up eating Mexican off the pier – go figure. Auckland was just starting to wake up around 7:00 with the bars full to the sidewalk and little alleys full of tables. They were showing a free outdoor movie a couple of blocks away and people were dragging carpets and comforters to set up – we didn’t stay to watch. Tomorrow is our last day in Auckland then back to the Northern Hemisphere – we’ll have to make it count.
Well today is the day we say goodbye to our house on wheels – old Betsy Britz, a shame really as the day is hot and sunny and we’d love to spend it on the beach. Off to Auckland an easy drive of about two hours and our first taste of true freeway driving in the whole country – two and even three lanes of traffic! We dumped the van after logging over 2800 km of driving and while I didn’t mind the driving I am glad to put it behind me. We took a cab from the airport (where we dropped off the camper) around the harbour to the city where we have a lovely two bedroom apartment just a block from the docks and right in the heart of the city. After hauling our mountains of gear into the apartment and cleaning up we headed out on the town. We went over to the historic Victoria market looking for a few souvenirs; we had a bare hour as everything was closing up. In New Zealand they really roll back the sidewalks at 5:00 wherever you go. We stopped at the Sky Tower (supposedly the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere) and watched someone sky dive off the tower (200 meters of free fall tethered to a pair of braking cables). We didn’t bother to go up, perhaps tomorrow. We then ambled down to quay side where everyone was out for a stroll and a bite. We checked out a couple of seafood restaurants along the water but as no one could agree on a place we ended up eating Mexican off the pier – go figure. Auckland was just starting to wake up around 7:00 with the bars full to the sidewalk and little alleys full of tables. They were showing a free outdoor movie a couple of blocks away and people were dragging carpets and comforters to set up – we didn’t stay to watch. Tomorrow is our last day in Auckland then back to the Northern Hemisphere – we’ll have to make it count.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Hahei and the gold mine
April 9, 2010
Another spectacular morning, but you can really tell it is fall, by all accounts it is cooler than normal and you see your breath in the morning. What we thought was to be an hour and a half drive up the coast turned into two and a half as the road was winding with hairpin turns up and down the coastal mountains. We stopped briefly in the town of Wahai – ‘New Zealand’s Heart of Gold’ to have a look at a huge open cast mine. Right in the centre of town is the Martha gold mine, the pit portion is 4 km around the rim and 160 meters deep. The underground workings which were started in 1878 go down 600 meters where it is too hot to work more than a few hours. There are over 175 km of underground workings and some of the oldest ones have collapsed swallowing up a couple of properties – one a few years ago with people still in the house (they got out OK). This is one of the oldest and richest gold mines in the world owned by Newmont Mining of Australia (much to the disgust of some locals). By 1952 when the most of the underground operation ceased, 174,160 kg of gold and 1,193,180 kg of silver had been removed so you can imagine the totals today – easily over a quarter of a million kilos of gold! When the mine is done they plan to let the whole thing fill with water – that will be one deep lake. It was interesting to see but the rest of the family wouldn’t let me take a tour, visit the mine or stick around for a pit blast – mores the pity!
Off to Hahei, a little town known for the surf school and the hot water beach. We went right to the beach and the surf was up – way up! We rented boogie boards to body surf however after half an hour we were so bruised and abraded from being slammed into the beach and bottom we gave up. It was fun but a bit scary. We set up camp and waited for the evening. As the tide goes out (the beach is very steep) two geothermal springs are uncovered. If you go out on the beach an hour or two either side of low tide the springs are bubbling right up out of the sand and you can dig your own hot tub. Low tide this evening was around 9:30 so we rented a spade, put our suits on, bundled up (it was cold) and flashlights in hand headed out to the beach. Initially we were alone as we were early and you couldn’t even get at the area where the springs are. After waiting an hour and a half more people started showing up and even though the surf was high we made it around the rocky headland to the hot beach area. We literally stumbled on it as you cross an area that is only as big as a trampoline where your feet start to burn. The water coming up is between 60 and65 degrees Celsius and scalding hot! We had great fun with about 20 other people dancing around the hot sand however it was impossible to dig a hole as the surf kept washing across it and filling it in. Our feet were boiling but our bodies were freezing however the night sky in the pitch dark was worth the hike alone. I have seldom seen the stars so clearly, you can even make out the greater and lesser Magellanic clouds, Frank would love it. Shivering we headed back to camp to de-sand and sleep.
Tomorrow it is into the big city of Auckland where we lose the van for the luxury of a two bedroom apartment for the weekend – our adventures are almost over.
Another spectacular morning, but you can really tell it is fall, by all accounts it is cooler than normal and you see your breath in the morning. What we thought was to be an hour and a half drive up the coast turned into two and a half as the road was winding with hairpin turns up and down the coastal mountains. We stopped briefly in the town of Wahai – ‘New Zealand’s Heart of Gold’ to have a look at a huge open cast mine. Right in the centre of town is the Martha gold mine, the pit portion is 4 km around the rim and 160 meters deep. The underground workings which were started in 1878 go down 600 meters where it is too hot to work more than a few hours. There are over 175 km of underground workings and some of the oldest ones have collapsed swallowing up a couple of properties – one a few years ago with people still in the house (they got out OK). This is one of the oldest and richest gold mines in the world owned by Newmont Mining of Australia (much to the disgust of some locals). By 1952 when the most of the underground operation ceased, 174,160 kg of gold and 1,193,180 kg of silver had been removed so you can imagine the totals today – easily over a quarter of a million kilos of gold! When the mine is done they plan to let the whole thing fill with water – that will be one deep lake. It was interesting to see but the rest of the family wouldn’t let me take a tour, visit the mine or stick around for a pit blast – mores the pity!
Off to Hahei, a little town known for the surf school and the hot water beach. We went right to the beach and the surf was up – way up! We rented boogie boards to body surf however after half an hour we were so bruised and abraded from being slammed into the beach and bottom we gave up. It was fun but a bit scary. We set up camp and waited for the evening. As the tide goes out (the beach is very steep) two geothermal springs are uncovered. If you go out on the beach an hour or two either side of low tide the springs are bubbling right up out of the sand and you can dig your own hot tub. Low tide this evening was around 9:30 so we rented a spade, put our suits on, bundled up (it was cold) and flashlights in hand headed out to the beach. Initially we were alone as we were early and you couldn’t even get at the area where the springs are. After waiting an hour and a half more people started showing up and even though the surf was high we made it around the rocky headland to the hot beach area. We literally stumbled on it as you cross an area that is only as big as a trampoline where your feet start to burn. The water coming up is between 60 and65 degrees Celsius and scalding hot! We had great fun with about 20 other people dancing around the hot sand however it was impossible to dig a hole as the surf kept washing across it and filling it in. Our feet were boiling but our bodies were freezing however the night sky in the pitch dark was worth the hike alone. I have seldom seen the stars so clearly, you can even make out the greater and lesser Magellanic clouds, Frank would love it. Shivering we headed back to camp to de-sand and sleep.
Tomorrow it is into the big city of Auckland where we lose the van for the luxury of a two bedroom apartment for the weekend – our adventures are almost over.
Waitomo and Hobbiton
April 8, 2010
We awoke to a clear day with the mist settled all around us in the valleys and dells. Today we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula which is only about two hours out of Auckland and is a huge holiday camp/cottage area for New Zealanders – the draw being the silky soft fine grey sand beaches and surf. As I was reading the map I noticed a little town not too far off our route called Matamata which turns out to be the site of the Shire or Hobbiton used for the Lord of the Rings – so nothing would do but have a short detour to see it. As with all these things a guided tour is required so we ponied up our money and hopped on the bus. Apparently Peter Jackson flew over all of central North Island looking for rolling hills and the perfect symmetrical tree (the Party Tree) and he found it on the Alexander’s Sheep farm. As with all Lord of the Rings sets it was secret, the NZ armed forces guarded it and there was a 5km no fly zone all around it – 2 pilots even lost their licences trying to film the sets. It was slated for destruction (all the sets across NZ were destroyed after filming) and the area returned to its natural setting however the weather set in and they only got half done. In the meantime the Alexander family renegotiated their agreement and were allowed to keep the 17 hobbit holes that remained and spun it into a tour. It is the only film site still in existence. There is a good deal of construction going on and many of the destroyed hobbit holes are being rebuilt – no one is allowed to say why but of course the worst kept secret in NZ is that Peter Jackson is working on the Hobbit.
Well if you want all your fantasy ideas of what Hobbiton looked like destroyed this is the place to go. The hobbit holes are segments of concrete culvert buried in the hill faced with plywood. All the rock works, bridges, mill, etc. were manufactured on site out of Styrofoam and even the trees, bushes and flowers were imported, setup for the shoot then removed. The only area that looks like the movie is the Party field and tree where Bilbo says goodbye at the start of the movie. Of course we had a dance on the party field and crawl into Bag End and pretended to be hobbits. While it was cheesy we had a laugh.
We headed on to Waihi Beach at the southern end of the Coromandel where we got a brilliant camp site literally on the edge of the beach. Even though it was cold we shivered our way through a swim and body surf, then jumped into the park’s hot tub to warm up. The beach seems to go out forever, you can walk hundreds of meters and be in water only up to the waist. The local river is full of eels, the beach is littered with all manner of shells and Mary Rose managed to get pinched by a crab she stepped on. Tomorrow we head up the peninsula to Hahei where you can dig a hole in the beach and have it fill with geothermally heated water – build your own spa!
We awoke to a clear day with the mist settled all around us in the valleys and dells. Today we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula which is only about two hours out of Auckland and is a huge holiday camp/cottage area for New Zealanders – the draw being the silky soft fine grey sand beaches and surf. As I was reading the map I noticed a little town not too far off our route called Matamata which turns out to be the site of the Shire or Hobbiton used for the Lord of the Rings – so nothing would do but have a short detour to see it. As with all these things a guided tour is required so we ponied up our money and hopped on the bus. Apparently Peter Jackson flew over all of central North Island looking for rolling hills and the perfect symmetrical tree (the Party Tree) and he found it on the Alexander’s Sheep farm. As with all Lord of the Rings sets it was secret, the NZ armed forces guarded it and there was a 5km no fly zone all around it – 2 pilots even lost their licences trying to film the sets. It was slated for destruction (all the sets across NZ were destroyed after filming) and the area returned to its natural setting however the weather set in and they only got half done. In the meantime the Alexander family renegotiated their agreement and were allowed to keep the 17 hobbit holes that remained and spun it into a tour. It is the only film site still in existence. There is a good deal of construction going on and many of the destroyed hobbit holes are being rebuilt – no one is allowed to say why but of course the worst kept secret in NZ is that Peter Jackson is working on the Hobbit.
Well if you want all your fantasy ideas of what Hobbiton looked like destroyed this is the place to go. The hobbit holes are segments of concrete culvert buried in the hill faced with plywood. All the rock works, bridges, mill, etc. were manufactured on site out of Styrofoam and even the trees, bushes and flowers were imported, setup for the shoot then removed. The only area that looks like the movie is the Party field and tree where Bilbo says goodbye at the start of the movie. Of course we had a dance on the party field and crawl into Bag End and pretended to be hobbits. While it was cheesy we had a laugh.
We headed on to Waihi Beach at the southern end of the Coromandel where we got a brilliant camp site literally on the edge of the beach. Even though it was cold we shivered our way through a swim and body surf, then jumped into the park’s hot tub to warm up. The beach seems to go out forever, you can walk hundreds of meters and be in water only up to the waist. The local river is full of eels, the beach is littered with all manner of shells and Mary Rose managed to get pinched by a crab she stepped on. Tomorrow we head up the peninsula to Hahei where you can dig a hole in the beach and have it fill with geothermally heated water – build your own spa!
Waitomo and the caves
April 7, 2010
We awoke to better weather, grey, dry but cold and headed North West to Waitomo. Waitomo in Maori means ‘water entering a hole in the ground’. This area of New Zealand is made up of heavily weathered limestone – Karst topography which means caves! Caves were known in the area by the Maori however the Europeans discovered their tourism potential in the late 1800’s and to date there are about 120 caves known in this area. You can take a cave tour, underground raft (wish we had done this), rappel and climb in the caves and do a glow worm tour. We did two tours, the first into the smaller glow worm cave and the second into one of the largest caves – Ruakuri.
The glow worm tour takes about 45 minutes into a short beautiful cave, however the real draw is the last part of the tour where the glow worms live. Glow worms are not really worms but fly larvae or maggots. They spend about 9 months in their larval stage which is when they grow and glow. They then pupate, come out as a fly, mate and die. They have chemicals they mix in their feces so their rears glow to attract the insects they eat. So while they sound cute they really are carnivorous, cannibalistic maggots that have glowing butts, eat bugs for most of their lives then spend their last hours on earth shagging themselves to death – but this description doesn’t sell. They like moist dark areas where there are plenty of insects (a cave is perfect) and they cover the cave ceiling and hang down sticky threads to capture their meals. We boarded a flat bottom boat and in the pitch black you float down the cavern. There are literally hundreds of thousands of tiny green points of lights overhead - it looks like the night sky!
The second cave about 4 kilometers away was simply amazing it is called Ruakari which means ‘two dogs’ as two wild dogs used to live in the cave entrance and were killed by a Maori hunter. The cave mouth was later used for a burial chamber for important tribe members. It is now sealed and protected, 11 bodies are thought to be buried there. They have cut a huge vertical shaft down to the cave which is lined with a spiral ramp for entry – approximately 8 stories high. This cave has about 1.6 km of accessible tunnel however there is still an arm unexplored. Sometimes the cave is less than a meter wide and I had to duck in several places to get under stalactites. Other areas are as large as a school yard and sometimes many stories high. The cave is covered in sheet flow, stalactites, stalagmites, columns and drapes and is simply marvellous. The guide has a caver’s lamp and highlights features of the cave. It is also cleverly lit and the lighting goes on and off as you go through the cave. The lower levels of the cave contain a swiftly flowing river and this is where you can black water raft. In the deeper and damper portions of the cave the roof is covered with glow worms. We spent about two hours in this cave and couldn’t get enough. I wish we could have done the black water rafting.
We headed back to camp to clean up and decided to try the local café/restaurant called HuHu for supper. While Waitomo is not large (perhaps a few hundred permanent residents) and the caves are the only draw, our campground was packed and as it turned out we had to wait over an hour just to get a seating and another hour to get fed, but was it ever worth it! This was simply the best meal we had in New Zealand – goat cheese and onion tart, seared venison loin, slow roasted duck and deserts to die for. We closed the place down and hit the sack. It is cold tonight perhaps 10 degrees but clear and the stars are magnificent. Tomorrow it is off to the Coromandel Peninsula for our last two nights camping.
We awoke to better weather, grey, dry but cold and headed North West to Waitomo. Waitomo in Maori means ‘water entering a hole in the ground’. This area of New Zealand is made up of heavily weathered limestone – Karst topography which means caves! Caves were known in the area by the Maori however the Europeans discovered their tourism potential in the late 1800’s and to date there are about 120 caves known in this area. You can take a cave tour, underground raft (wish we had done this), rappel and climb in the caves and do a glow worm tour. We did two tours, the first into the smaller glow worm cave and the second into one of the largest caves – Ruakuri.
The glow worm tour takes about 45 minutes into a short beautiful cave, however the real draw is the last part of the tour where the glow worms live. Glow worms are not really worms but fly larvae or maggots. They spend about 9 months in their larval stage which is when they grow and glow. They then pupate, come out as a fly, mate and die. They have chemicals they mix in their feces so their rears glow to attract the insects they eat. So while they sound cute they really are carnivorous, cannibalistic maggots that have glowing butts, eat bugs for most of their lives then spend their last hours on earth shagging themselves to death – but this description doesn’t sell. They like moist dark areas where there are plenty of insects (a cave is perfect) and they cover the cave ceiling and hang down sticky threads to capture their meals. We boarded a flat bottom boat and in the pitch black you float down the cavern. There are literally hundreds of thousands of tiny green points of lights overhead - it looks like the night sky!
The second cave about 4 kilometers away was simply amazing it is called Ruakari which means ‘two dogs’ as two wild dogs used to live in the cave entrance and were killed by a Maori hunter. The cave mouth was later used for a burial chamber for important tribe members. It is now sealed and protected, 11 bodies are thought to be buried there. They have cut a huge vertical shaft down to the cave which is lined with a spiral ramp for entry – approximately 8 stories high. This cave has about 1.6 km of accessible tunnel however there is still an arm unexplored. Sometimes the cave is less than a meter wide and I had to duck in several places to get under stalactites. Other areas are as large as a school yard and sometimes many stories high. The cave is covered in sheet flow, stalactites, stalagmites, columns and drapes and is simply marvellous. The guide has a caver’s lamp and highlights features of the cave. It is also cleverly lit and the lighting goes on and off as you go through the cave. The lower levels of the cave contain a swiftly flowing river and this is where you can black water raft. In the deeper and damper portions of the cave the roof is covered with glow worms. We spent about two hours in this cave and couldn’t get enough. I wish we could have done the black water rafting.
We headed back to camp to clean up and decided to try the local café/restaurant called HuHu for supper. While Waitomo is not large (perhaps a few hundred permanent residents) and the caves are the only draw, our campground was packed and as it turned out we had to wait over an hour just to get a seating and another hour to get fed, but was it ever worth it! This was simply the best meal we had in New Zealand – goat cheese and onion tart, seared venison loin, slow roasted duck and deserts to die for. We closed the place down and hit the sack. It is cold tonight perhaps 10 degrees but clear and the stars are magnificent. Tomorrow it is off to the Coromandel Peninsula for our last two nights camping.
Rotorua and the geysers
April 6, 2010
Our destination today was Rotorua via Lake Taupo. This area is highly volcanically active and one of the centers of modern Maori culture. It is known for its geysers, mineral and mud pools and for its Maori arts, crafts and history. The drive itself is not all that inspiring you clip along at 110 kph through sheep and cattle pasture or clear cut lumber operations. Compared to the South Island the North is busier, faster and less interesting to travel through. We made Rotorua for lunch and headed downtown (in the pouring rain) to visit the museum. The museum is in a beautiful sprawling spa that was built in the early 1900’s as a commercial venture and was the first tourist destination subsidized by the NZ government. Rotorura was already a tourist destination for the thermal springs so they capitalized on it and the wealthy as well as the sick and injured from all over the world came to take the waters. We were a bit rushed here as we were booked on a thermal geyser tour and Maori evening for 4:00. This turned out to be a great night of fun, food and facts.
Central North Island is highly volcanically active, always undergoing earthquakes and has been subjected to several devastating events over the last hundred years, including the destruction of this area in the 1800’s. Lake Rotorua itself sits in an active volcanic caldera. New Zealand sits along the ring of fire where the Pacific plate is being sub ducted under the Australo-Indonesian plate (I think) thus lots of volcanism and dangerous volcanism at that. The beach at Lake Taupo is all volcanic pumice a testament to the explosive nature of the volcanism in this area – and it isn’t over yet.
Our tour by a Maori guide started out a bit slow – I was fascinated by the history of the Maori people but the boys found it tedious. The Maori are essentially Polynesian in origin this is where their language comes from and they can trace their ancestral history right back to the first boat that arrived 1000 to 1500 years ago. Genetically they are Mongolian specifically from the Singapore area. They were great seafarers however and because they brought the small purple sweet potato with them on their immigration they must have travelled as far as Chile where it originates. The Maori remember Kupe the first navigator/priest that visited and mentally mapped the island then returned to central Polynesia – Hawakii to pass on his knowledge and start the immigration process. The Maori had no written language until European contact and thus all this information has been handed down orally. The term Maori is simply one given by the Europeans to describe the indigenous people of NZ, just like our aboriginal peoples however the Maori refer to themselves by the tribe they are affiliated with (100 or more main tribes). They base their carvings and art on the important figures in their tribe and each carving is of a dead ancestor and the events in their life. Thus the stories that go with their carvings are really a local history of the tribe and help them to remember it. A Maori is expected to recite family history backwards to the creation of the tribe if possible. We also saw demonstrations of carving and weaving both still important in Maori culture.
We then went into the dark house to see a breeding pair of Kiwi. All over the country there is an effort to protect and repopulate the Kiwi. Originally it is estimated they numbered over 10 million, they were down to 70,000 two years ago and now estimated at 50,000 or less. They are flightless and nocturnal and introduced stoats (think of a weasel), dogs and destruction of habitat are decimating them. They are very light sensitive so they are kept in a dark house. They look like a furry or feathery football with two legs, a long thin yellow beak on a long neck with almost no head. The female is larger than the male as she carries an egg that is 40% of her body mass, she lays the egg (probably walks a bit funny after that) and the male broods it for about 100 days. They are very picky about their mates and bond for life so captive breeding programs are hit or miss at best. It was interesting to watch them root around with their beaks and have a bit of a sparring match with them when they tussled.
Finally it was time for the geysers! Regardless of the rain we ventured forth to see the hot mud and mineral pools but the geysers themselves were the real show. They erupt at variable times depending on the outside temperature and whether it is raining (this slows them down as the cold water that seeps down needs time to heat). The whole area smells of hydrogen sulphide and the geysers themselves spout out of a terrace built up of sulphur, gypsum and other deposited minerals. They shoot meters to tens of meters into the sky and the whole area is surrounded in a warm steamy fog making it difficult to get good pictures. The sound of bubbling and hissing is marvellous in places you can hear it underground. Many battles were fought amongst the Maori for control of this area as the hunting was good and they had a way to cook their food, on the hot rocks of the thermal pools.
We then took part in a traditional Maori dinner and ceremony called Te Po (the night). It started with a blessing at Te Heketanga-a-Rangi (The Heavenly Origins) honouring the guardians of the 12 heavens (the 12 storehouses of knowledge). We than assembled at the waharoa (gateway) for a traditional Maori welcome where we were challenged by a warrior who drops a bough as a peace offering which must be accepted without turning your back on the warrior. The women greeted us with a karanga (call) and we were invited into the marae or the meeting house for some traditional Maori song, dance, music and the Haki or preparation for battle (lots of stamping, slapping, bulging eyes and sticking out of your tongue to intimidate the enemy). Finally it was time to eat and we partook of the Hangi which is cooked over the thermally heated rocks and natural steam of the area. Steamed corn on the cob followed up with New Zealand Mussels and smoked eel. The main was a selection of rock roasted pork, lamb and chicken with steamed potatoes, pumpkin and Maori purple sweet potato (really starchy). The Maori have a traditional toast that wishes you leave the table with your belly button sticking out and we did. We ended the evening with a return visit to the hot springs and geysers lit up at night warmed by a mug of cocoa. Home to our camp happy, stuffed and wet we turned in. Tomorrow it is off to the caves of Waitomo.
Our destination today was Rotorua via Lake Taupo. This area is highly volcanically active and one of the centers of modern Maori culture. It is known for its geysers, mineral and mud pools and for its Maori arts, crafts and history. The drive itself is not all that inspiring you clip along at 110 kph through sheep and cattle pasture or clear cut lumber operations. Compared to the South Island the North is busier, faster and less interesting to travel through. We made Rotorua for lunch and headed downtown (in the pouring rain) to visit the museum. The museum is in a beautiful sprawling spa that was built in the early 1900’s as a commercial venture and was the first tourist destination subsidized by the NZ government. Rotorura was already a tourist destination for the thermal springs so they capitalized on it and the wealthy as well as the sick and injured from all over the world came to take the waters. We were a bit rushed here as we were booked on a thermal geyser tour and Maori evening for 4:00. This turned out to be a great night of fun, food and facts.
Central North Island is highly volcanically active, always undergoing earthquakes and has been subjected to several devastating events over the last hundred years, including the destruction of this area in the 1800’s. Lake Rotorua itself sits in an active volcanic caldera. New Zealand sits along the ring of fire where the Pacific plate is being sub ducted under the Australo-Indonesian plate (I think) thus lots of volcanism and dangerous volcanism at that. The beach at Lake Taupo is all volcanic pumice a testament to the explosive nature of the volcanism in this area – and it isn’t over yet.
Our tour by a Maori guide started out a bit slow – I was fascinated by the history of the Maori people but the boys found it tedious. The Maori are essentially Polynesian in origin this is where their language comes from and they can trace their ancestral history right back to the first boat that arrived 1000 to 1500 years ago. Genetically they are Mongolian specifically from the Singapore area. They were great seafarers however and because they brought the small purple sweet potato with them on their immigration they must have travelled as far as Chile where it originates. The Maori remember Kupe the first navigator/priest that visited and mentally mapped the island then returned to central Polynesia – Hawakii to pass on his knowledge and start the immigration process. The Maori had no written language until European contact and thus all this information has been handed down orally. The term Maori is simply one given by the Europeans to describe the indigenous people of NZ, just like our aboriginal peoples however the Maori refer to themselves by the tribe they are affiliated with (100 or more main tribes). They base their carvings and art on the important figures in their tribe and each carving is of a dead ancestor and the events in their life. Thus the stories that go with their carvings are really a local history of the tribe and help them to remember it. A Maori is expected to recite family history backwards to the creation of the tribe if possible. We also saw demonstrations of carving and weaving both still important in Maori culture.
We then went into the dark house to see a breeding pair of Kiwi. All over the country there is an effort to protect and repopulate the Kiwi. Originally it is estimated they numbered over 10 million, they were down to 70,000 two years ago and now estimated at 50,000 or less. They are flightless and nocturnal and introduced stoats (think of a weasel), dogs and destruction of habitat are decimating them. They are very light sensitive so they are kept in a dark house. They look like a furry or feathery football with two legs, a long thin yellow beak on a long neck with almost no head. The female is larger than the male as she carries an egg that is 40% of her body mass, she lays the egg (probably walks a bit funny after that) and the male broods it for about 100 days. They are very picky about their mates and bond for life so captive breeding programs are hit or miss at best. It was interesting to watch them root around with their beaks and have a bit of a sparring match with them when they tussled.
Finally it was time for the geysers! Regardless of the rain we ventured forth to see the hot mud and mineral pools but the geysers themselves were the real show. They erupt at variable times depending on the outside temperature and whether it is raining (this slows them down as the cold water that seeps down needs time to heat). The whole area smells of hydrogen sulphide and the geysers themselves spout out of a terrace built up of sulphur, gypsum and other deposited minerals. They shoot meters to tens of meters into the sky and the whole area is surrounded in a warm steamy fog making it difficult to get good pictures. The sound of bubbling and hissing is marvellous in places you can hear it underground. Many battles were fought amongst the Maori for control of this area as the hunting was good and they had a way to cook their food, on the hot rocks of the thermal pools.
We then took part in a traditional Maori dinner and ceremony called Te Po (the night). It started with a blessing at Te Heketanga-a-Rangi (The Heavenly Origins) honouring the guardians of the 12 heavens (the 12 storehouses of knowledge). We than assembled at the waharoa (gateway) for a traditional Maori welcome where we were challenged by a warrior who drops a bough as a peace offering which must be accepted without turning your back on the warrior. The women greeted us with a karanga (call) and we were invited into the marae or the meeting house for some traditional Maori song, dance, music and the Haki or preparation for battle (lots of stamping, slapping, bulging eyes and sticking out of your tongue to intimidate the enemy). Finally it was time to eat and we partook of the Hangi which is cooked over the thermally heated rocks and natural steam of the area. Steamed corn on the cob followed up with New Zealand Mussels and smoked eel. The main was a selection of rock roasted pork, lamb and chicken with steamed potatoes, pumpkin and Maori purple sweet potato (really starchy). The Maori have a traditional toast that wishes you leave the table with your belly button sticking out and we did. We ended the evening with a return visit to the hot springs and geysers lit up at night warmed by a mug of cocoa. Home to our camp happy, stuffed and wet we turned in. Tomorrow it is off to the caves of Waitomo.
Napier on the East Coast
April 5, 2010
Today was a driving day. We headed north from Wellington, bound for Napier which is a small city on Cape Kidnappers in Hawke Bay on the east coast. The drive took us mostly through agricultural land, pasture mostly. The northern island was covered with dense forest when the Europeans arrived and in the time from about 1860 to 1900 it was all cut for timber and to provide farm land for the tidal wave of immigrants that were arriving. Today it is rolling fields and huge wind farms with the hills covered in regrowth pine forest (introduced). The drive was long and uneventful however the gusts of winds were monumental and felt like they were going to blow the van right off the road. We arrived in Napier late afternoon and headed into the city for a quick walk about and supper. The central core of Napier was destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt over the next several years in a distinctive art deco style. This city was almost empty as this was Easter Monday – New Zealand is very Christian in its culture. Everything was closed, there were few pedestrians and even half the restaurants were closed. We managed to walk the Marine Parade along the beach (made up of black volcanic pebbles – beautiful), snapped some photos of the sunken gardens and the Tom Parker fountain, hugged Pania of the Reef for luck and just enjoyed the interesting architecture. After a bite of supper we headed back to camp to rest up for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are off to central North Island to take in the volcanoes and possibly a traditional Maori feast.
Today was a driving day. We headed north from Wellington, bound for Napier which is a small city on Cape Kidnappers in Hawke Bay on the east coast. The drive took us mostly through agricultural land, pasture mostly. The northern island was covered with dense forest when the Europeans arrived and in the time from about 1860 to 1900 it was all cut for timber and to provide farm land for the tidal wave of immigrants that were arriving. Today it is rolling fields and huge wind farms with the hills covered in regrowth pine forest (introduced). The drive was long and uneventful however the gusts of winds were monumental and felt like they were going to blow the van right off the road. We arrived in Napier late afternoon and headed into the city for a quick walk about and supper. The central core of Napier was destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt over the next several years in a distinctive art deco style. This city was almost empty as this was Easter Monday – New Zealand is very Christian in its culture. Everything was closed, there were few pedestrians and even half the restaurants were closed. We managed to walk the Marine Parade along the beach (made up of black volcanic pebbles – beautiful), snapped some photos of the sunken gardens and the Tom Parker fountain, hugged Pania of the Reef for luck and just enjoyed the interesting architecture. After a bite of supper we headed back to camp to rest up for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are off to central North Island to take in the volcanoes and possibly a traditional Maori feast.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A day in Wellington
April 4, 2010
We had a fantastic day today in Wellington. We all woke fairly early as the clocks had gone back the night before. It was windy and a bit cloudy but in the low 20’s. We headed right out the back door and started climbing the hills behind our house right up to the ridges overlooking the city. Wellington has a bit of a feel of Vancouver, a bit of San Francisco but is different from both. It is a government city as the capital of New Zealand with a population of just over 400,000. This means that while the city is spread out around the harbour and up into the hills, the core is compact with a mix of newer high rises mixed with older buildings, warehouses and residential homes. The parliament buildings are literally two blocks from where we are staying and the Prime Ministers home is just a couple of streets away. The older architecture (which is all wooden to be earthquake proof) is ‘Empire’ or ‘Victorian’ with bay windows, stained glass, sparse use of ginger bread and often with beautiful ornamental iron work. We walked the hills overlooking the city and had some wonderful photo ops. We ended up at the botanical gardens and toured the heritage rose beds and the begonia greenhouses. We then headed over to Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand which is dedicated to the natural history, Maori heritage and geologic and historic past of New Zealand. A brilliant museum and free! We particularly enjoyed the visiting exhibit on the ancient city of Pompeii, the permanent collection of Pounamu (Maori carved Jade) and the Maori artefacts like the hand carved meeting house and huge war canoe. As with all museums like this there simply wasn’t time to do it all in an afternoon. Since this was Easter Sunday the city was shut down and there was virtually no one out in the streets. We wandered back along the harbour looking at ships, sea life and lovely restaurants. We are off tomorrow to Napier, a coastal city that was badly destroyed by an earthquake in the early 1930’s and rebuilt in Art Deco architecture. Our thanks to Pete and Andrea for being such wonderful hosts during our too brief stay in Wellington.
We had a fantastic day today in Wellington. We all woke fairly early as the clocks had gone back the night before. It was windy and a bit cloudy but in the low 20’s. We headed right out the back door and started climbing the hills behind our house right up to the ridges overlooking the city. Wellington has a bit of a feel of Vancouver, a bit of San Francisco but is different from both. It is a government city as the capital of New Zealand with a population of just over 400,000. This means that while the city is spread out around the harbour and up into the hills, the core is compact with a mix of newer high rises mixed with older buildings, warehouses and residential homes. The parliament buildings are literally two blocks from where we are staying and the Prime Ministers home is just a couple of streets away. The older architecture (which is all wooden to be earthquake proof) is ‘Empire’ or ‘Victorian’ with bay windows, stained glass, sparse use of ginger bread and often with beautiful ornamental iron work. We walked the hills overlooking the city and had some wonderful photo ops. We ended up at the botanical gardens and toured the heritage rose beds and the begonia greenhouses. We then headed over to Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand which is dedicated to the natural history, Maori heritage and geologic and historic past of New Zealand. A brilliant museum and free! We particularly enjoyed the visiting exhibit on the ancient city of Pompeii, the permanent collection of Pounamu (Maori carved Jade) and the Maori artefacts like the hand carved meeting house and huge war canoe. As with all museums like this there simply wasn’t time to do it all in an afternoon. Since this was Easter Sunday the city was shut down and there was virtually no one out in the streets. We wandered back along the harbour looking at ships, sea life and lovely restaurants. We are off tomorrow to Napier, a coastal city that was badly destroyed by an earthquake in the early 1930’s and rebuilt in Art Deco architecture. Our thanks to Pete and Andrea for being such wonderful hosts during our too brief stay in Wellington.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Off to the North Island of N. Z.
April 3, 2010
Well off to the ferry, today we say goodbye to the North Island. We had an easy drive through Richmond and Nelson until we reached Havelock. Here we made the decision to take a short cut north to the ferry terminal at Picton. This paved rural road while only about 25 km long cut off almost 115 km of driving along Hwy 6. This turned out to be a beautiful drive through the mountains and around some gorgeous lakes. It also was the most twisted and convoluted drive I have ever done in my life. It took almost an hour to make it to Picton and I don’t ever think I managed the posted limit of 50 kph! Well we had 45 minutes to kill until the ferry boarded so we popped open the stove and made some lunch, this is the advantage of living out of a camper, you’re ready for anything. The Ferry travels through Queen Charlotte Sound for the first third of the journey, then right across the small stretch of sea that divides the two islands. The whole trip takes exactly three hours and the ferry really motors along. We had a beautiful crossing but really windy, you could hardly walk the deck without fear of being blown overboard.
As you approach the southern tip of the North Island you notice the wind farms. Even though Wellington is in a sheltered bay they call it Windy Wellington we arrived around suppertime and drove all of one kilometer to the house of Andrea Cotton, Mary Roses second cousin and her husband Pete who foolishly agreed to put us up for a couple of nights. We parked the van literally right in front of their townhouse along an incredibly narrow laneway – we had to warn the neighbours as we are blocking the whole thing however as we are right downtown there is nowhere else to put it. We had a great evening of food, shared stories, getting caught up with the family and watching James Bond ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. As we only have one full day in Wellington, we have a lot to jam in tomorrow. Thank goodness it is Easter Sunday and many things are closed or we would be overwhelmed.
Well off to the ferry, today we say goodbye to the North Island. We had an easy drive through Richmond and Nelson until we reached Havelock. Here we made the decision to take a short cut north to the ferry terminal at Picton. This paved rural road while only about 25 km long cut off almost 115 km of driving along Hwy 6. This turned out to be a beautiful drive through the mountains and around some gorgeous lakes. It also was the most twisted and convoluted drive I have ever done in my life. It took almost an hour to make it to Picton and I don’t ever think I managed the posted limit of 50 kph! Well we had 45 minutes to kill until the ferry boarded so we popped open the stove and made some lunch, this is the advantage of living out of a camper, you’re ready for anything. The Ferry travels through Queen Charlotte Sound for the first third of the journey, then right across the small stretch of sea that divides the two islands. The whole trip takes exactly three hours and the ferry really motors along. We had a beautiful crossing but really windy, you could hardly walk the deck without fear of being blown overboard.
As you approach the southern tip of the North Island you notice the wind farms. Even though Wellington is in a sheltered bay they call it Windy Wellington we arrived around suppertime and drove all of one kilometer to the house of Andrea Cotton, Mary Roses second cousin and her husband Pete who foolishly agreed to put us up for a couple of nights. We parked the van literally right in front of their townhouse along an incredibly narrow laneway – we had to warn the neighbours as we are blocking the whole thing however as we are right downtown there is nowhere else to put it. We had a great evening of food, shared stories, getting caught up with the family and watching James Bond ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. As we only have one full day in Wellington, we have a lot to jam in tomorrow. Thank goodness it is Easter Sunday and many things are closed or we would be overwhelmed.
Abel Tasman National Park - Sun, Sand and Rainforest
April 1, 2010
Woke up this morning to a superb sunrise the moon was still full in the sky and the clouds were tangerine and cerise coloured. We headed inland today (East then North) up the Buller River Valley. This river is famous for its size, the century of coal mining associated with it and the gold mined from it in the interior. This is a winding up and down drive along the edge of Victoria Park Forest. Just past Murchison we stopped to visit a small private park dedicated to preserving old gold mining workings and natural wildlife. The park is on an island in the middle of the Buller River and the only way to it is over the 160 meter swing bridge (4 steel cables, 2 for handholds and 2 for the bridge) – great fun! After a short visit and walk around the island we pushed on, had a picnic lunch and turned North at Kohatu. This 50 km of the drive was through prime fruit country, not unlike our Okanagen Valley. They grow berries, kiwi fruit, apples, pears and huge fields of hops. We stopped for the day in Motueka, our gateway into Abel Tasman National Park tomorrow. We catch an early ride to our water taxi which will drop us off for a day of hiking and bathing then pick us up at another bay and ferry us home.
April 2, 2010
Beautiful sunny day, we were picked up by bus at 8:00 for our ride to Kaiteriteri. This is the end of the road and the start of the water taxi access into Abel Tasman Park. The park itself is one of the smallest in the South Island yet has the highest visitor count due to its ease of access and stunningly beautiful tramps. The park itself is old rolling granite hills, cut through by numerous streams and waterfalls and covered with temperate rainforest. The granite is quite rotted and has tumbled into the sea, there are many interesting islets and coves and in between…. beautiful golden sand beaches! There is a 4 day trek that you can do from one end of the park to the other however you can take a water taxi into any of the bays and hike any portion you like which is just what we did. We took the water taxi all the way to the North end of the park which took two hours as it makes a half dozen stops dropping off and picking up as it goes. We got a bit of local history, the park used to be farm land however was lousy for farming so the government took it over in the 40’s and has been trying to restore it to native flora and fauna. There are still some homes in several of the bays (holiday homes) but with no road access or water/power so they are supplied by the water taxi service. We also visited one of the two NZ Fur Seal colonies in the park and watched the lazy things roll around in the surf and sun.
After riding the taxi all the way up the coast we rode it back to Bark Bay situated in the middle of the park. Here we started our seven km hike south to Torrent Bay where we were picked up later that afternoon. The trail is literally cut into the side of the mountains with beautiful views of the sea from high up (the seas by the way are an amazing emerald green colour due to the underlying golden sand bottom). The forest is quite Jurassic Park with lush undergrowth, towering ferns (some over 15 meters high) and gnarly odd looking coniferous and deciduous trees, it was quite beautiful and strange at the same time. We had lunch on a beautiful lookout and made it to Torrent bay in just a couple of hours. We had some time to kill before pickup so we donned out swim togs and plunged into the Tasman Sea. It was cold (most people thought we were nuts) but not as cold as Georgian Bay in October and we had a good dip swimming out to an offshore sandbar.
We returned to our campsite sunburned, smiling and ravenous. By a fortuitous coincidence parked right behind our camper there was a van with an attached trailer containing a huge oven shaped like a giant clove of garlic. The couple apologized but explained they were here for the evening to cook wood fired fresh pizza for the Easter crowd. Wellll we ordered four different kinds of pizza from them and thought we had died and gone to heaven. I am sitting under the stars as I write this, the sun has just set and I’m waiting for the Southern Cross to rise. This has been a great day in a trip full of wonderful days. Tomorrow it is off to Picton to catch the ferry across to the North Island. A whole new series of adventures await us!
Woke up this morning to a superb sunrise the moon was still full in the sky and the clouds were tangerine and cerise coloured. We headed inland today (East then North) up the Buller River Valley. This river is famous for its size, the century of coal mining associated with it and the gold mined from it in the interior. This is a winding up and down drive along the edge of Victoria Park Forest. Just past Murchison we stopped to visit a small private park dedicated to preserving old gold mining workings and natural wildlife. The park is on an island in the middle of the Buller River and the only way to it is over the 160 meter swing bridge (4 steel cables, 2 for handholds and 2 for the bridge) – great fun! After a short visit and walk around the island we pushed on, had a picnic lunch and turned North at Kohatu. This 50 km of the drive was through prime fruit country, not unlike our Okanagen Valley. They grow berries, kiwi fruit, apples, pears and huge fields of hops. We stopped for the day in Motueka, our gateway into Abel Tasman National Park tomorrow. We catch an early ride to our water taxi which will drop us off for a day of hiking and bathing then pick us up at another bay and ferry us home.
April 2, 2010
Beautiful sunny day, we were picked up by bus at 8:00 for our ride to Kaiteriteri. This is the end of the road and the start of the water taxi access into Abel Tasman Park. The park itself is one of the smallest in the South Island yet has the highest visitor count due to its ease of access and stunningly beautiful tramps. The park itself is old rolling granite hills, cut through by numerous streams and waterfalls and covered with temperate rainforest. The granite is quite rotted and has tumbled into the sea, there are many interesting islets and coves and in between…. beautiful golden sand beaches! There is a 4 day trek that you can do from one end of the park to the other however you can take a water taxi into any of the bays and hike any portion you like which is just what we did. We took the water taxi all the way to the North end of the park which took two hours as it makes a half dozen stops dropping off and picking up as it goes. We got a bit of local history, the park used to be farm land however was lousy for farming so the government took it over in the 40’s and has been trying to restore it to native flora and fauna. There are still some homes in several of the bays (holiday homes) but with no road access or water/power so they are supplied by the water taxi service. We also visited one of the two NZ Fur Seal colonies in the park and watched the lazy things roll around in the surf and sun.
After riding the taxi all the way up the coast we rode it back to Bark Bay situated in the middle of the park. Here we started our seven km hike south to Torrent Bay where we were picked up later that afternoon. The trail is literally cut into the side of the mountains with beautiful views of the sea from high up (the seas by the way are an amazing emerald green colour due to the underlying golden sand bottom). The forest is quite Jurassic Park with lush undergrowth, towering ferns (some over 15 meters high) and gnarly odd looking coniferous and deciduous trees, it was quite beautiful and strange at the same time. We had lunch on a beautiful lookout and made it to Torrent bay in just a couple of hours. We had some time to kill before pickup so we donned out swim togs and plunged into the Tasman Sea. It was cold (most people thought we were nuts) but not as cold as Georgian Bay in October and we had a good dip swimming out to an offshore sandbar.
We returned to our campsite sunburned, smiling and ravenous. By a fortuitous coincidence parked right behind our camper there was a van with an attached trailer containing a huge oven shaped like a giant clove of garlic. The couple apologized but explained they were here for the evening to cook wood fired fresh pizza for the Easter crowd. Wellll we ordered four different kinds of pizza from them and thought we had died and gone to heaven. I am sitting under the stars as I write this, the sun has just set and I’m waiting for the Southern Cross to rise. This has been a great day in a trip full of wonderful days. Tomorrow it is off to Picton to catch the ferry across to the North Island. A whole new series of adventures await us!
Punakaika, the caves and Carters Beach
March 31, 2010
Well what a great day we’ve had, one full of surprises and adventure. We started out in the wet and grey (it is a rainforest dad) and packed our gear into the camper van, we’re getting pretty good at the routine by now. Through the Southern Alps, north bound until we hit the coast at Hokitika and followed it along to Greymouth. In this area the mountains have changed completely to flat lying bedded sediments; limestone, sandstone and conglomerate – perfect environment for a sculpted coastline, flowerpot islands and caves. We continued north to Punakaiki in Paparoa national park – the Pancake Rocks. There is a beautiful little walk through indigenous bush to the coastal cliffs which are full of eroded finely bedded limestone and mudstone. The rain and pounding surf have carved the cliffs into towers, caves and blowholes. Because the finely bedded grey limestone is flat lying the eroded shapes look like stacks of pancakes thus Pancake Rock. We had lunch here and fed the Ketas – a flightless bird that looks like a cross between a chicken and a Kiwi and the locals consider it the equivalent to our racoons as they are bold and steal food. We then explored the Punakaiki caverns. Now by caving standards these are not grand, but they are unrestricted access to the public and with a flashlight you can venture quite far into them. They were (are) carved by underground streams originating in the mountains above making their way to the sea so there is some sheet flow, stalagmites and stalactites and interesting rock formations. We got a few pictures and quite dirty in there. The weather had turned in our favour with a gentle breeze, comfortable temperatures and sun so we decided to push on to Westport an area known for literally kilometers of fine grey sand beach.
We made out campsite at Carters Beach just outside Greymouth. This is an important port city and services the local coal mining and cement operations. But where we are, it is simply miles and miles of undeveloped beach – pristine fine grey sand with rolling surf. Carters Beach ends at an area called Cape Foulwind on Tauranga Bay so named because Captain Cook faced nothing but high seas and foul winds when he circumnavigated the island. Turanga Bay is the home and mating spot for New Zealand Fur Seals so we had to check it out. The bay is again a beautiful grey sandy beach with rocky promontories on both ends. At low tide (which it was) the beach extends out for hundreds of meters and you can walk across the sand spits to the coastal islands. The rocks continue out into the sea and this is where the seal colonies are. With some effort you could actually circumnavigate the headland along the sea and get at the seals, however people have been badly bitten in the past and one person killed. We watched the seals bask in the sun and play in the tide pools. There were only a dozen or so as this is their moult season, most of them were out at sea filling their bellies. This seal is now protected as it was almost hunted to extinction by Europeans, now no fur sealing takes place in New Zealand. These seals were a huge food source for the coastal Maori and when the Europeans started hunting them they were forced to move out or joined the coal miners in their dangerous profession.
While here we noticed some locals heading across the beach with buckets so went out to see what was up. They were collecting New Zealand green lipped mussels while the tide was out – well not being one to miss an opportunity Duncan and I took off our shoes and pants and waded out to the mussel encrusted rocks with the van’s bucket. We get these mussels in Toronto, they are the large ones with the green fringed shell that you buy frozen – well let me tell you, we are getting the babies. The mussels we harvested were larger than my fist and 50 or 60 of them filled our bucket! We quickly headed back to camp to steam them open - they were so big we could only do 9 or 10 at a time. With the whole family working together we steamed, shucked, cleaned and cooked in white wine a feast of mussels. By now it was late and the stars were out as was the full moon. We ended a brilliant day with a stroll on the beach in moonlight.
The wildlife of New Zealand OR Where have all the Fauna gone?
Now you may have noticed that I haven’t spoken much about New Zealand’s native wildlife – that’s because there isn’t any! While much of the island is lush and green, most of what was here originally has been killed off. The Maori when they came (from Hawaii it is now believed) hunted the giant Moa to extinction, introduced the rat which they liked to eat which crowded out or ate many other native species and were in the habit of burning great tracks of bush to make travel easier and flush out game. Not exactly your first conservationists. The Europeans when they arrived hunted, fished mined and logged as expected but also cleared huge areas of bush and introduced the Marino sheep for wool production. They also introduced possums for their fur to mix with the wool and rabbits for food which have both spread like the plague eating much of the native plant life. All of this crowded out native species until they now only exist in small protected pockets around the country. Thus on any one day while we may see thousands of cows and sheep, pass hundreds of dead possums and rabbits being feasted on by raptors and a few song birds there is little other wildlife to see. New Zealand has no large land mammals, no wild dogs, wolves or foxes, no snakes, very few reptiles and only a few bird species beyond shore birds. There is a huge and highly controversial project across New Zealand to poison off the rabbits and possums using green dyed carrots laced with 1080 (sodium flouroacetate I think). Everywhere we drive in the country there are signs against this practice, but we have seen crews out spraying and baiting.
Tomorrow it is on to Golden Bay on the northern tip of the South Island to Abel Tasman National Park, an area known for its treks and beautiful golden beaches.
Well what a great day we’ve had, one full of surprises and adventure. We started out in the wet and grey (it is a rainforest dad) and packed our gear into the camper van, we’re getting pretty good at the routine by now. Through the Southern Alps, north bound until we hit the coast at Hokitika and followed it along to Greymouth. In this area the mountains have changed completely to flat lying bedded sediments; limestone, sandstone and conglomerate – perfect environment for a sculpted coastline, flowerpot islands and caves. We continued north to Punakaiki in Paparoa national park – the Pancake Rocks. There is a beautiful little walk through indigenous bush to the coastal cliffs which are full of eroded finely bedded limestone and mudstone. The rain and pounding surf have carved the cliffs into towers, caves and blowholes. Because the finely bedded grey limestone is flat lying the eroded shapes look like stacks of pancakes thus Pancake Rock. We had lunch here and fed the Ketas – a flightless bird that looks like a cross between a chicken and a Kiwi and the locals consider it the equivalent to our racoons as they are bold and steal food. We then explored the Punakaiki caverns. Now by caving standards these are not grand, but they are unrestricted access to the public and with a flashlight you can venture quite far into them. They were (are) carved by underground streams originating in the mountains above making their way to the sea so there is some sheet flow, stalagmites and stalactites and interesting rock formations. We got a few pictures and quite dirty in there. The weather had turned in our favour with a gentle breeze, comfortable temperatures and sun so we decided to push on to Westport an area known for literally kilometers of fine grey sand beach.
We made out campsite at Carters Beach just outside Greymouth. This is an important port city and services the local coal mining and cement operations. But where we are, it is simply miles and miles of undeveloped beach – pristine fine grey sand with rolling surf. Carters Beach ends at an area called Cape Foulwind on Tauranga Bay so named because Captain Cook faced nothing but high seas and foul winds when he circumnavigated the island. Turanga Bay is the home and mating spot for New Zealand Fur Seals so we had to check it out. The bay is again a beautiful grey sandy beach with rocky promontories on both ends. At low tide (which it was) the beach extends out for hundreds of meters and you can walk across the sand spits to the coastal islands. The rocks continue out into the sea and this is where the seal colonies are. With some effort you could actually circumnavigate the headland along the sea and get at the seals, however people have been badly bitten in the past and one person killed. We watched the seals bask in the sun and play in the tide pools. There were only a dozen or so as this is their moult season, most of them were out at sea filling their bellies. This seal is now protected as it was almost hunted to extinction by Europeans, now no fur sealing takes place in New Zealand. These seals were a huge food source for the coastal Maori and when the Europeans started hunting them they were forced to move out or joined the coal miners in their dangerous profession.
While here we noticed some locals heading across the beach with buckets so went out to see what was up. They were collecting New Zealand green lipped mussels while the tide was out – well not being one to miss an opportunity Duncan and I took off our shoes and pants and waded out to the mussel encrusted rocks with the van’s bucket. We get these mussels in Toronto, they are the large ones with the green fringed shell that you buy frozen – well let me tell you, we are getting the babies. The mussels we harvested were larger than my fist and 50 or 60 of them filled our bucket! We quickly headed back to camp to steam them open - they were so big we could only do 9 or 10 at a time. With the whole family working together we steamed, shucked, cleaned and cooked in white wine a feast of mussels. By now it was late and the stars were out as was the full moon. We ended a brilliant day with a stroll on the beach in moonlight.
The wildlife of New Zealand OR Where have all the Fauna gone?
Now you may have noticed that I haven’t spoken much about New Zealand’s native wildlife – that’s because there isn’t any! While much of the island is lush and green, most of what was here originally has been killed off. The Maori when they came (from Hawaii it is now believed) hunted the giant Moa to extinction, introduced the rat which they liked to eat which crowded out or ate many other native species and were in the habit of burning great tracks of bush to make travel easier and flush out game. Not exactly your first conservationists. The Europeans when they arrived hunted, fished mined and logged as expected but also cleared huge areas of bush and introduced the Marino sheep for wool production. They also introduced possums for their fur to mix with the wool and rabbits for food which have both spread like the plague eating much of the native plant life. All of this crowded out native species until they now only exist in small protected pockets around the country. Thus on any one day while we may see thousands of cows and sheep, pass hundreds of dead possums and rabbits being feasted on by raptors and a few song birds there is little other wildlife to see. New Zealand has no large land mammals, no wild dogs, wolves or foxes, no snakes, very few reptiles and only a few bird species beyond shore birds. There is a huge and highly controversial project across New Zealand to poison off the rabbits and possums using green dyed carrots laced with 1080 (sodium flouroacetate I think). Everywhere we drive in the country there are signs against this practice, but we have seen crews out spraying and baiting.
Tomorrow it is on to Golden Bay on the northern tip of the South Island to Abel Tasman National Park, an area known for its treks and beautiful golden beaches.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A sad and soggy day
March 30, 2010
The Sog Blog:
Rain, rain and more rain but as Duncan says ‘well Dad it is a rainforest’. It poured all night long and at 1:30 I noticed that one of the windows in the cap was open as it was pooling on my side of the bed! We pulled the camper apart this morning and spread everything out in the cooking building to dry – fortunately there was a gas fireplace there which helped things along. We had a slow morning, answered a few emails, had a big breakfast, did some planning and hoped for the rain to stop – no luck. Finally around 2:00 we decided to go for it and headed into the Franz Josef glacier. It is about an hour long walk to the glacier face down the glacial moraine in the valley. The nice braided stream that we saw running down the valley yesterday had turned into a brown churning roaring river that cut the path in several places. The walls of the valley were running with waterfalls, a couple of them quite spectacular. Several river fords and lots of rain left us soaked and squishing before we even reached the face.
The glacier is wonderful however quite small, it has waxed and waned over the years and although it has grown over the last 4 or 5, it is in recession again. The face of the glacier is perhaps 400 meters across and 150 meter high with a gaping tunnel in the middle where the glacial melt water rushes out. Unfortunately the front of the glacier is inaccessible; you can only get within a couple hundred meters of it supposedly due to danger of rock fall. The only way onto the ice is to hire one of the guiding companies and join a group to the tune of about $400.00 for us for a three hour tour. I suspect the danger is not due to falling rock and ice but to loss of employment. Had there not been two groups with guides just coming off the ice we would have snuck up to the face – rats! We hope for better weather tomorrow further up the coast as we head to the Pancake Rocks.
The Sog Blog:
Rain, rain and more rain but as Duncan says ‘well Dad it is a rainforest’. It poured all night long and at 1:30 I noticed that one of the windows in the cap was open as it was pooling on my side of the bed! We pulled the camper apart this morning and spread everything out in the cooking building to dry – fortunately there was a gas fireplace there which helped things along. We had a slow morning, answered a few emails, had a big breakfast, did some planning and hoped for the rain to stop – no luck. Finally around 2:00 we decided to go for it and headed into the Franz Josef glacier. It is about an hour long walk to the glacier face down the glacial moraine in the valley. The nice braided stream that we saw running down the valley yesterday had turned into a brown churning roaring river that cut the path in several places. The walls of the valley were running with waterfalls, a couple of them quite spectacular. Several river fords and lots of rain left us soaked and squishing before we even reached the face.
The glacier is wonderful however quite small, it has waxed and waned over the years and although it has grown over the last 4 or 5, it is in recession again. The face of the glacier is perhaps 400 meters across and 150 meter high with a gaping tunnel in the middle where the glacial melt water rushes out. Unfortunately the front of the glacier is inaccessible; you can only get within a couple hundred meters of it supposedly due to danger of rock fall. The only way onto the ice is to hire one of the guiding companies and join a group to the tune of about $400.00 for us for a three hour tour. I suspect the danger is not due to falling rock and ice but to loss of employment. Had there not been two groups with guides just coming off the ice we would have snuck up to the face – rats! We hope for better weather tomorrow further up the coast as we head to the Pancake Rocks.
Monday, March 29, 2010
West Coast Bound
March 29, 2010
Well we woke up seeing our breath this morning and everyone was up, breakfasted and ready to go except Connor. We woke him and he was at his grumpiest so we decided the only thing to do was throw him off a bridge – and that’s just what we did! We headed north out of Queenstown to the Kawarau River gorge. Where the highway crosses the gorge there is a beautiful hundred year old stone and wood suspension bridge which was the original track across the gorge. This is where AJ Hackett started commercial Bungy jumping and this is the bridge we threw Connor off (actually to be perfectly honest he threw himself off). It is a spectacular 43 meter drop into the gorge, you leap off a little platform on the side of the bridge and they fish you out on a rubber raft as you dangle over the rapids below. Connor jumped with no hesitation and he didn’t soil anything – we have the pictures to prove it. With that out of the way we headed north northwest through the Southern Alps to the west coast – Westland National park. This park protects the temperate rainforest as it meets the sea and is home to some of the most active advancing glaciers on the planet. The Fox and Franz Josef glacier move up to 4 meters a day and come down into the rainforest to 300 meters above sea level where they melt at the face and send cascades of turquoise fresh water via braided streams into the Tasman sea.
This trip while less than 300 km long took us over eight hours to cover much to the annoyance of John Cleese the voice on our GPS. It is time for a short treatise on New Zealand highways. First it would be difficult to differentiate one of their highways from our country roads. They are blacktopped however pavement must be in short supply as the lanes are so narrow our van has a foot of clearance on either side. All highways are marked for 100 km however only Mario Andretti in a Ferrari could manage this (although some of the local farmers in trucks give it a good try). For every 5 km of horizontal distance you have gone up or down at least a km and only travelled 3 km as the crow flies. Road signs are few and far between and often unusual like “beware of debris on the road after storm” or “sheep crossing” or dire warnings about falling asleep at the wheel – DrIvE. Bridges are a challenge as they only make them one lane wide and there are lots of them. I have finally figured the strategy for them is to approach them at high speed and don’t flinch, this gives you right of way. This combined with the need to stop frequently and gawk at the spectacular scenery means you don’t get anywhere fast. Our route took us up the mountains (20 km of hairpin turns which made the passengers quesy), along Lake Wanaka’s shores, through the Haast Pass of the Southern Alps and along the Haast River to the sea. While there was lots to see one particular stop at Bruce Bay was memorable. Here there is a stretch of the highway that follows the beach/coast for about a kilometer where the signage warns to watch for debris washed over the road after storms – and there are plenty of debris. Thousands of travellers have stopped here to write their names or poems on the smooth white rounded marble cobbles and build a structure or cairn commemorating there visit along the side of the road. Of course we stopped and build one of the highest, snapped a few photos and pushed on.
We didn’t arrive in Franz Josef until almost 6:00 at night and I was fried from driving. We camped at the foot of the mountains in the middle of the rainforest where as expected it was raining. We are hoping of a break in the weather tomorrow to hike into the face of the glacier – we will see if Mother Nature cooperates.
Well we woke up seeing our breath this morning and everyone was up, breakfasted and ready to go except Connor. We woke him and he was at his grumpiest so we decided the only thing to do was throw him off a bridge – and that’s just what we did! We headed north out of Queenstown to the Kawarau River gorge. Where the highway crosses the gorge there is a beautiful hundred year old stone and wood suspension bridge which was the original track across the gorge. This is where AJ Hackett started commercial Bungy jumping and this is the bridge we threw Connor off (actually to be perfectly honest he threw himself off). It is a spectacular 43 meter drop into the gorge, you leap off a little platform on the side of the bridge and they fish you out on a rubber raft as you dangle over the rapids below. Connor jumped with no hesitation and he didn’t soil anything – we have the pictures to prove it. With that out of the way we headed north northwest through the Southern Alps to the west coast – Westland National park. This park protects the temperate rainforest as it meets the sea and is home to some of the most active advancing glaciers on the planet. The Fox and Franz Josef glacier move up to 4 meters a day and come down into the rainforest to 300 meters above sea level where they melt at the face and send cascades of turquoise fresh water via braided streams into the Tasman sea.
This trip while less than 300 km long took us over eight hours to cover much to the annoyance of John Cleese the voice on our GPS. It is time for a short treatise on New Zealand highways. First it would be difficult to differentiate one of their highways from our country roads. They are blacktopped however pavement must be in short supply as the lanes are so narrow our van has a foot of clearance on either side. All highways are marked for 100 km however only Mario Andretti in a Ferrari could manage this (although some of the local farmers in trucks give it a good try). For every 5 km of horizontal distance you have gone up or down at least a km and only travelled 3 km as the crow flies. Road signs are few and far between and often unusual like “beware of debris on the road after storm” or “sheep crossing” or dire warnings about falling asleep at the wheel – DrIvE. Bridges are a challenge as they only make them one lane wide and there are lots of them. I have finally figured the strategy for them is to approach them at high speed and don’t flinch, this gives you right of way. This combined with the need to stop frequently and gawk at the spectacular scenery means you don’t get anywhere fast. Our route took us up the mountains (20 km of hairpin turns which made the passengers quesy), along Lake Wanaka’s shores, through the Haast Pass of the Southern Alps and along the Haast River to the sea. While there was lots to see one particular stop at Bruce Bay was memorable. Here there is a stretch of the highway that follows the beach/coast for about a kilometer where the signage warns to watch for debris washed over the road after storms – and there are plenty of debris. Thousands of travellers have stopped here to write their names or poems on the smooth white rounded marble cobbles and build a structure or cairn commemorating there visit along the side of the road. Of course we stopped and build one of the highest, snapped a few photos and pushed on.
We didn’t arrive in Franz Josef until almost 6:00 at night and I was fried from driving. We camped at the foot of the mountains in the middle of the rainforest where as expected it was raining. We are hoping of a break in the weather tomorrow to hike into the face of the glacier – we will see if Mother Nature cooperates.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Milford Sound - Stunning!
March 28, 2010
Well the weather gods favoured us today – it was frosty and fair here, clear blue skies, puffy clouds rising up out of the mountain valleys and about 8 degrees (we were told to wear our beanies). This is the first day in a week that they have been able to fly into Milford Sound. The Fiordland area which is a coastal temperate rainforest gets rain over 200 days per year totalling over 10 meters of rainfall! It is one of the wettest areas in the world and the Tasman Sea that the fiords feed into ise considered the roughest in the world after Cape Horn with waves reaching 11 meters high. Fiordland National Park is the largest of New Zealand’s parks (about half the country seems to be parkland) and is a World Heritage Area. Well here is where language is going to fail me because there simply are not the words to describe the beauty and majesty of this area. If the number of pictures taken is any measure, Mary Rose snapped 147 today! We did a fly/cruise/fly expedition. You can drive, fly, walk or boat into Milford Sound however the drive is over 4 hours and not recommended for the faint of heart, boating is very rough around the coast so really the most efficient way to go is single engine aircraft (like our Cessna) or helicopter. We had a plane and pilot Blair for the day to ourselves.
The Flight into the sound (which is really a fiord as it is a drowned glacial valley NOT river valley) takes about 40 minutes and is both breathtaking and at times heart stopping. We quickly climbed to about 7000 feet which placed us above most peaks but still below the bigger ones and gave us an eagle eye view of the area. We flew northwest over four different ranges: The Remarkables (outside our campsite), the Richardson Mountains, the Humboldt Mountains and finally the Darran Mountains to reach the Tasman Sea. The mountains change from more gentle rounded schistose mountains, glacial worn with scree slopes inland to the jagged, rugged and higher granitic gneiss mountains of the coast. We saw braided rivers, spires, crags, cirques and glaciers and for those Tolkien fans with our hearts in our throats we flew over Isengard and through the pass where Gandalf makes his escape from the tower on the eagle’s back – WOW! We landed at the head of Milford Sound which involves coming out of the mountains over the sea, turning around, dropping several thousand feet into the fiord and landing on a short airstrip between steep mountains right at the base of Lady Evelyn falls – WOW!
Here while it was still cold the sun was out and we boarded our cruise ship the ‘Sinbad’ for a tour of the fiord. The ship was less than half full and the people really eager to see us as they hadn’t been able to tour for almost a week. The road into Milford Sound has been closed due to rock fall and the weather hasn’t allowed flights in. Our cruise lasted two hours and went up one side of the fiord and back along the other. Describing this trip could take pages but I’ll try to do it in a paragraph. The Sound which is a deep U shaped drowned glacial valley from about 14,000 years ago is filled with sea water but topped with a layer of tannin rich fresh water up to 10 meters deep. The walls of the gorge are covered with temperate rainforest – beeches, ferns, etc. which cling to slopes that are almost vertical. There is virtually no soil so the plants form a tangled root mat and less than 5% of the plants are anchored to the face so plant avalanches are common. If you can see the rock there was an avalanche in the recent past. The freshwater pours down the sides of the fiord from hanging valleys. As the glaciers retreated and melted, the rivers that once flowed on the top of the ice were left perched high up the valley wall and are now spectacular waterfalls hundreds of meters high. All the rain over the past week meant that every river was full to bursting and the fiord was showered with falling water, spray and rainbows. On several occasions our captain, who had a good sense of humour and later let the boys steer the ship hugged the cliff edge and gave all of us outside a good shower under the waterfalls. The sound is host to all sorts of life including black coral, crested penguins and marine mammals including seals which were basking on the rocks and nursing their young. When we reached the Tasman Sea the wind was furious (you could lean into it and it would support your body) but we were told this was a calm day- WOW! Two hours felt like minutes on this cruise and we were sorry to leave except we had the flight back to look forward to.
We flew back over a different route which was less rugged but equally beautiful. This took us over the Milford Track which is one of the most walked ‘tramps’ in New Zealand. In New Zealand they maintain huts along the major tramping routes and you can schedule your walk to take advantage of them. We have added this 4 day walk to our list of things we must do before we die. We flew back down over Lake Wakapitu (the largest lake in New Zealand by volume) and home. Today over Queenstown they were having a parasail festival to remember a famous jumper that died in the skies several years earlier. Every few minutes another parasail would descend to land in the school field just a block away from us. They launch themselves off mount Coronet in the Remarkables just behind our site. We took our Frisbee and Duncan’s boomerang and spent a bit of downtime throwing, watching and soaking up the sun. Supper was at Hell’s pizza where we had simply some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. We wandered the streets, toured the harbour and made our way home. Tomorrow we pull up stakes and head up the west coast to Westland/Tai Poutini National park to climb on the glaciers- WOW!
Well the weather gods favoured us today – it was frosty and fair here, clear blue skies, puffy clouds rising up out of the mountain valleys and about 8 degrees (we were told to wear our beanies). This is the first day in a week that they have been able to fly into Milford Sound. The Fiordland area which is a coastal temperate rainforest gets rain over 200 days per year totalling over 10 meters of rainfall! It is one of the wettest areas in the world and the Tasman Sea that the fiords feed into ise considered the roughest in the world after Cape Horn with waves reaching 11 meters high. Fiordland National Park is the largest of New Zealand’s parks (about half the country seems to be parkland) and is a World Heritage Area. Well here is where language is going to fail me because there simply are not the words to describe the beauty and majesty of this area. If the number of pictures taken is any measure, Mary Rose snapped 147 today! We did a fly/cruise/fly expedition. You can drive, fly, walk or boat into Milford Sound however the drive is over 4 hours and not recommended for the faint of heart, boating is very rough around the coast so really the most efficient way to go is single engine aircraft (like our Cessna) or helicopter. We had a plane and pilot Blair for the day to ourselves.
The Flight into the sound (which is really a fiord as it is a drowned glacial valley NOT river valley) takes about 40 minutes and is both breathtaking and at times heart stopping. We quickly climbed to about 7000 feet which placed us above most peaks but still below the bigger ones and gave us an eagle eye view of the area. We flew northwest over four different ranges: The Remarkables (outside our campsite), the Richardson Mountains, the Humboldt Mountains and finally the Darran Mountains to reach the Tasman Sea. The mountains change from more gentle rounded schistose mountains, glacial worn with scree slopes inland to the jagged, rugged and higher granitic gneiss mountains of the coast. We saw braided rivers, spires, crags, cirques and glaciers and for those Tolkien fans with our hearts in our throats we flew over Isengard and through the pass where Gandalf makes his escape from the tower on the eagle’s back – WOW! We landed at the head of Milford Sound which involves coming out of the mountains over the sea, turning around, dropping several thousand feet into the fiord and landing on a short airstrip between steep mountains right at the base of Lady Evelyn falls – WOW!
Here while it was still cold the sun was out and we boarded our cruise ship the ‘Sinbad’ for a tour of the fiord. The ship was less than half full and the people really eager to see us as they hadn’t been able to tour for almost a week. The road into Milford Sound has been closed due to rock fall and the weather hasn’t allowed flights in. Our cruise lasted two hours and went up one side of the fiord and back along the other. Describing this trip could take pages but I’ll try to do it in a paragraph. The Sound which is a deep U shaped drowned glacial valley from about 14,000 years ago is filled with sea water but topped with a layer of tannin rich fresh water up to 10 meters deep. The walls of the gorge are covered with temperate rainforest – beeches, ferns, etc. which cling to slopes that are almost vertical. There is virtually no soil so the plants form a tangled root mat and less than 5% of the plants are anchored to the face so plant avalanches are common. If you can see the rock there was an avalanche in the recent past. The freshwater pours down the sides of the fiord from hanging valleys. As the glaciers retreated and melted, the rivers that once flowed on the top of the ice were left perched high up the valley wall and are now spectacular waterfalls hundreds of meters high. All the rain over the past week meant that every river was full to bursting and the fiord was showered with falling water, spray and rainbows. On several occasions our captain, who had a good sense of humour and later let the boys steer the ship hugged the cliff edge and gave all of us outside a good shower under the waterfalls. The sound is host to all sorts of life including black coral, crested penguins and marine mammals including seals which were basking on the rocks and nursing their young. When we reached the Tasman Sea the wind was furious (you could lean into it and it would support your body) but we were told this was a calm day- WOW! Two hours felt like minutes on this cruise and we were sorry to leave except we had the flight back to look forward to.
We flew back over a different route which was less rugged but equally beautiful. This took us over the Milford Track which is one of the most walked ‘tramps’ in New Zealand. In New Zealand they maintain huts along the major tramping routes and you can schedule your walk to take advantage of them. We have added this 4 day walk to our list of things we must do before we die. We flew back down over Lake Wakapitu (the largest lake in New Zealand by volume) and home. Today over Queenstown they were having a parasail festival to remember a famous jumper that died in the skies several years earlier. Every few minutes another parasail would descend to land in the school field just a block away from us. They launch themselves off mount Coronet in the Remarkables just behind our site. We took our Frisbee and Duncan’s boomerang and spent a bit of downtime throwing, watching and soaking up the sun. Supper was at Hell’s pizza where we had simply some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. We wandered the streets, toured the harbour and made our way home. Tomorrow we pull up stakes and head up the west coast to Westland/Tai Poutini National park to climb on the glaciers- WOW!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Lord of the Rings safari
March 27, 2010
Rainy to start the day and cold but already the clouds are lifting up the mountains and clear sky is peeking through. We were picked up by Jill and her jeep at 8:30 and headed off for a journey through the Wakatipu basin – an area where many scenes from The of Lord of The Rings was filmed. For the Tolkien fans we are off to see: The White Mountains, Minas Tirith, Pillars of the Kings, Ford of Bruinen, the site of the Warg attack and the Road to Mordor. We headed North up the basin and across the end of the lake which is drained by a single river flowing North up along the base of the Remarkable Mountains (The Misty Mountains) and followed a dirt track up into the mountains. The views were spectacular as we were almost in the clouds. We then crossed the Kawarau River, still heading north and stopped on the mountain side to watch a bungy jumper take the dive into the canyon. This is the site of the origin of commercial bungy jumping, before then it was just some whackadoodle guys that travelled around the world doing it for thrills. AJ Hackett one of the two founders, supposedly hid in a broom closet overnight at the Eifel tower and jumped the following morning in a tux, holding a bottle of champagne with his girlfriend watching. He made lots of press as he didn’t splat and the gendarmes let him leave the country the same day. He now lives in France and seems to do just fine in the bungy jumping game. Connor has expressed his desire to do this and Mary Rose is in agreement as long as she gets to push him off the platform!
Further north we reached Arrowtown. This is a quaint little village, now with a historical architectural designation that was built in the 1860’s during the gold rush. It is now a tourist town and agricultural land supported by massive (unsustainable?) irrigation. Here I pretended to be Isoldore and rode the path where I was to be ambushed and lost the one ring (everyone thought I looked stupid but who cares). We then went off track into the Arrow River itself – great fun with lots of bumps and shooting spray. We stopped for tea and a bit of gold panning and managed to bring home a few flakes. While there is still mining going on in New Zealand there is no commercial fluvial or placer mining left. Finally we headed South again down the other side of the basin to Skippers Canyon. Here another beautiful set of views and a small climb up the hills to a rocky outlook. Again this area opened up for gold mining in the 1860’s and the pass through the mountains had to be hand dug as the rock kept crumbling, it took 7 years to cut by hand! Viewed and climbed out we headed back to town for a late lunch and a bit of a break.
The afternoon was spent in Queenstown in search of greenstone (nephrite jade) for Duncan. The Maori highly prized the jade they found (predominantly in boulders through the upper valleys) for its colour and beauty but also as it was the hardest stone around to make tools with. It was prized, revered and traded by them. We’ve been looking for a piece for Duncan and finally found an amulet made by a local Maori craftsman. According to the Maori people jade should not be bought for oneself, but must be received as a gift so Duncan received the gift of an infinite spiral symbolizing friendship.
Tomorrow it is up and early for another shot at Milford sound. The weather reports look favourable for flying, so we’ve got our fingers crossed.
Rainy to start the day and cold but already the clouds are lifting up the mountains and clear sky is peeking through. We were picked up by Jill and her jeep at 8:30 and headed off for a journey through the Wakatipu basin – an area where many scenes from The of Lord of The Rings was filmed. For the Tolkien fans we are off to see: The White Mountains, Minas Tirith, Pillars of the Kings, Ford of Bruinen, the site of the Warg attack and the Road to Mordor. We headed North up the basin and across the end of the lake which is drained by a single river flowing North up along the base of the Remarkable Mountains (The Misty Mountains) and followed a dirt track up into the mountains. The views were spectacular as we were almost in the clouds. We then crossed the Kawarau River, still heading north and stopped on the mountain side to watch a bungy jumper take the dive into the canyon. This is the site of the origin of commercial bungy jumping, before then it was just some whackadoodle guys that travelled around the world doing it for thrills. AJ Hackett one of the two founders, supposedly hid in a broom closet overnight at the Eifel tower and jumped the following morning in a tux, holding a bottle of champagne with his girlfriend watching. He made lots of press as he didn’t splat and the gendarmes let him leave the country the same day. He now lives in France and seems to do just fine in the bungy jumping game. Connor has expressed his desire to do this and Mary Rose is in agreement as long as she gets to push him off the platform!
Further north we reached Arrowtown. This is a quaint little village, now with a historical architectural designation that was built in the 1860’s during the gold rush. It is now a tourist town and agricultural land supported by massive (unsustainable?) irrigation. Here I pretended to be Isoldore and rode the path where I was to be ambushed and lost the one ring (everyone thought I looked stupid but who cares). We then went off track into the Arrow River itself – great fun with lots of bumps and shooting spray. We stopped for tea and a bit of gold panning and managed to bring home a few flakes. While there is still mining going on in New Zealand there is no commercial fluvial or placer mining left. Finally we headed South again down the other side of the basin to Skippers Canyon. Here another beautiful set of views and a small climb up the hills to a rocky outlook. Again this area opened up for gold mining in the 1860’s and the pass through the mountains had to be hand dug as the rock kept crumbling, it took 7 years to cut by hand! Viewed and climbed out we headed back to town for a late lunch and a bit of a break.
The afternoon was spent in Queenstown in search of greenstone (nephrite jade) for Duncan. The Maori highly prized the jade they found (predominantly in boulders through the upper valleys) for its colour and beauty but also as it was the hardest stone around to make tools with. It was prized, revered and traded by them. We’ve been looking for a piece for Duncan and finally found an amulet made by a local Maori craftsman. According to the Maori people jade should not be bought for oneself, but must be received as a gift so Duncan received the gift of an infinite spiral symbolizing friendship.
Tomorrow it is up and early for another shot at Milford sound. The weather reports look favourable for flying, so we’ve got our fingers crossed.
A day in Queenstown
March 26, 2010
Well like the weather, plans change, as a matter of fact plans change because of the weather. We got up early ready to fly only to find out our Milford sound flight was cancelled. While it looked all right in Queenstown apparently the sound was closed in and windy and no planes could fly in. We swallowed our disappointment, rearranged our itinerary and rebooked for Sunday – the long range forecast for the area looks good. As this is the start of fall we have been warned that the weather is not something you can rely on and so far we have been pretty lucky. This left us with a day to enjoy some of the local sites which started with a gondola ride up the Remarkables. About 300 meters behind our campsite the mountains literally rear up almost vertically. They have strung a gondola cable straight up the mountain behind us at what looks like a 70 degree angle. Suffice to say that the ride makes your palms itch but the view from the top is spectacular looking up and down the lake and all around the surrounding peaks. From the top is also where a number of extreme sports take place. You can bungy jump, bungy swing, parasail or luge – we chose to luge. The luge course is a concrete track of twists, turns and tunnels that you ride on a small wheeled sled controlled with handlebars like a bike. The run is just shy of a kilometer and at the end you grab a chair lift that also hauls your sled up with you. We started with the scenic run but of course nothing would do but for Connor to do the advanced track as well. It was a blast!
We had a lovely lunch at our campsite made up of locally made bread and several New Zealand cheeses we bought in town. It was then off to the mini-golf course. This is the most amazing mini-golf I have ever seen. It is indoor and made up of over 1000 hand-made miniatures. Each hole has a theme (airport, space port, gold mine, etc.) and all the scenery and models are custom built, it is like playing on a model train set. Every hole also was animated so things moved, made sounds and played music depending on where your ball went. The course also was hard and none of us got more than a couple of holes at par. While you don’t come to New Zealand to play mini-golf, this was a unique experience. We toured the ‘mall’ which is the main shopping street down by the harbour then went home for a quiet supper of local cod and N.Z. scallops – delicious. While the weather report is not favourable for tomorrow we are up and out early for our Safari of the Scenes, a 4WD experience into the bush to visit some of the stunning sites where Peter Jackson filmed the Lord of the Rings.
Well like the weather, plans change, as a matter of fact plans change because of the weather. We got up early ready to fly only to find out our Milford sound flight was cancelled. While it looked all right in Queenstown apparently the sound was closed in and windy and no planes could fly in. We swallowed our disappointment, rearranged our itinerary and rebooked for Sunday – the long range forecast for the area looks good. As this is the start of fall we have been warned that the weather is not something you can rely on and so far we have been pretty lucky. This left us with a day to enjoy some of the local sites which started with a gondola ride up the Remarkables. About 300 meters behind our campsite the mountains literally rear up almost vertically. They have strung a gondola cable straight up the mountain behind us at what looks like a 70 degree angle. Suffice to say that the ride makes your palms itch but the view from the top is spectacular looking up and down the lake and all around the surrounding peaks. From the top is also where a number of extreme sports take place. You can bungy jump, bungy swing, parasail or luge – we chose to luge. The luge course is a concrete track of twists, turns and tunnels that you ride on a small wheeled sled controlled with handlebars like a bike. The run is just shy of a kilometer and at the end you grab a chair lift that also hauls your sled up with you. We started with the scenic run but of course nothing would do but for Connor to do the advanced track as well. It was a blast!
We had a lovely lunch at our campsite made up of locally made bread and several New Zealand cheeses we bought in town. It was then off to the mini-golf course. This is the most amazing mini-golf I have ever seen. It is indoor and made up of over 1000 hand-made miniatures. Each hole has a theme (airport, space port, gold mine, etc.) and all the scenery and models are custom built, it is like playing on a model train set. Every hole also was animated so things moved, made sounds and played music depending on where your ball went. The course also was hard and none of us got more than a couple of holes at par. While you don’t come to New Zealand to play mini-golf, this was a unique experience. We toured the ‘mall’ which is the main shopping street down by the harbour then went home for a quiet supper of local cod and N.Z. scallops – delicious. While the weather report is not favourable for tomorrow we are up and out early for our Safari of the Scenes, a 4WD experience into the bush to visit some of the stunning sites where Peter Jackson filmed the Lord of the Rings.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Queenstown - The Southlands
March 25, 2010
Today was a day for driving as we headed south to Queenstown but what a stunning drive it was! This really is Lord of the Rings country. Majestic mountains many of them snow-capped, wide expanses of flat semi-arid plain, rolling foothills cut with turquoise blue braided glacial streams with gnarly old willows growing along the banks. Some of the flats and foothills are farmed mostly with cattle, sheep and alpaca or lama. These ‘stations’ are huge, some of them hundreds or thousands of hectares. The roads are single lane with pull offs and the locals drive 120 kph+ however you can go many kilometers without having any one in sight. We travelled through the McKenzies, along the foot of the Southern Alps to Lake Pukaki. This is another long turquoise glacier fed lake that drains the melt-water from the Tasman glacier, the longest glacier in New Zealand. At the head of the lake you see Mount Cook, covered in snow and capped in cloud. On a still day (which today definitely wasn’t) you can see the mountain reflected in the waters. If at all possible it was even more spectacular than Lake Tekapo.
Heading south we passed through places with names like Twizel, Ohau and Omerama and entered the Southlands. We passed through Landis pass, a windy road following the steep sides of a gorge – simply ‘gorgeous’ but a bit of white knuckle driving. This ends in Tarras where we stopped for lunch. Tarras’s claim to fame besides being beautiful is the site where Arwen calls down the flood to drive off the black riders in the Lord of the Rings. Our route led us through Bendinga and Wanaka which is wine country in the South Island. As we head south through Arrowtown and on to Queenstown we passed through former gold mining country which is now used for commercial skiing and passed over the ‘Roaring Meg’ in Kawaru gorge. This is now part of a Hydroelectric complex (New Zealand has many small private operators on the grid) and supposedly the site where Bungy Jumping originated. You can leap off a platform over the gorge and they measure the cord so you are dipped into the raging waters below.
We made it into Queenstown midafternoon, this will be our base as we explore Fiord land on the Tasman Sea and some of the sites where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. Queenstown is a sprawling village/city along the NE shore of Lake Wakatipu crawling up to sides of the very steep Remarkables range of mountains. It has the look Whistler B.C. and supposedly represents the most expensive real estate in New Zealand with homes with a good view fetching into the millions. It claims to be the world leading centre for adventure sports and I believe the ads. You can ski, jet boat, bungy, helicopter, parachute, hang glide, luge and even golf! This town is tourism based, part hippy, part money and very funky. It was established in the 1860’s during the gold rush however it is a very modern looking city. The Maori believe that Lake Wakapitu (which of course is stunning beautiful) is the imprint of a sleeping demon burnt to death by the lover of a beautiful Maori girl captured by the demon. Because his heart did not perish and still beats, the level of the lake rises and falls as much as 3 inches every 5 minutes. We are camped right downtown with a small creek that has trout spawning in it right behind our trailer. We look up to the Remarkables behind us yet are five minutes from some of the trendiest shops and restaurants. We are all a bit weary from travel and poor Connor has picked up a doozy of a cold which has knocked him out for the last two days, he’s also passed it on to me. Tomorrow we are up early to catch our flight into Milford sound by single engine aircraft (weather permitting).
Today was a day for driving as we headed south to Queenstown but what a stunning drive it was! This really is Lord of the Rings country. Majestic mountains many of them snow-capped, wide expanses of flat semi-arid plain, rolling foothills cut with turquoise blue braided glacial streams with gnarly old willows growing along the banks. Some of the flats and foothills are farmed mostly with cattle, sheep and alpaca or lama. These ‘stations’ are huge, some of them hundreds or thousands of hectares. The roads are single lane with pull offs and the locals drive 120 kph+ however you can go many kilometers without having any one in sight. We travelled through the McKenzies, along the foot of the Southern Alps to Lake Pukaki. This is another long turquoise glacier fed lake that drains the melt-water from the Tasman glacier, the longest glacier in New Zealand. At the head of the lake you see Mount Cook, covered in snow and capped in cloud. On a still day (which today definitely wasn’t) you can see the mountain reflected in the waters. If at all possible it was even more spectacular than Lake Tekapo.
Heading south we passed through places with names like Twizel, Ohau and Omerama and entered the Southlands. We passed through Landis pass, a windy road following the steep sides of a gorge – simply ‘gorgeous’ but a bit of white knuckle driving. This ends in Tarras where we stopped for lunch. Tarras’s claim to fame besides being beautiful is the site where Arwen calls down the flood to drive off the black riders in the Lord of the Rings. Our route led us through Bendinga and Wanaka which is wine country in the South Island. As we head south through Arrowtown and on to Queenstown we passed through former gold mining country which is now used for commercial skiing and passed over the ‘Roaring Meg’ in Kawaru gorge. This is now part of a Hydroelectric complex (New Zealand has many small private operators on the grid) and supposedly the site where Bungy Jumping originated. You can leap off a platform over the gorge and they measure the cord so you are dipped into the raging waters below.
We made it into Queenstown midafternoon, this will be our base as we explore Fiord land on the Tasman Sea and some of the sites where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. Queenstown is a sprawling village/city along the NE shore of Lake Wakatipu crawling up to sides of the very steep Remarkables range of mountains. It has the look Whistler B.C. and supposedly represents the most expensive real estate in New Zealand with homes with a good view fetching into the millions. It claims to be the world leading centre for adventure sports and I believe the ads. You can ski, jet boat, bungy, helicopter, parachute, hang glide, luge and even golf! This town is tourism based, part hippy, part money and very funky. It was established in the 1860’s during the gold rush however it is a very modern looking city. The Maori believe that Lake Wakapitu (which of course is stunning beautiful) is the imprint of a sleeping demon burnt to death by the lover of a beautiful Maori girl captured by the demon. Because his heart did not perish and still beats, the level of the lake rises and falls as much as 3 inches every 5 minutes. We are camped right downtown with a small creek that has trout spawning in it right behind our trailer. We look up to the Remarkables behind us yet are five minutes from some of the trendiest shops and restaurants. We are all a bit weary from travel and poor Connor has picked up a doozy of a cold which has knocked him out for the last two days, he’s also passed it on to me. Tomorrow we are up early to catch our flight into Milford sound by single engine aircraft (weather permitting).
Beautiful Lake Tekapo
March 24, 2010
Well best laid plans don’t always pan out – often for the better! Today we woke to rain (of course all the towels and bathing suits were hung outside to dry) and packed up for our first foray into the real wilds of New Zealand. Our plan was to head inland South about 400 km into the Southern Alps to camp at Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. We made it ¾ of the way to Lake Tekapo as the winds and weather were too fierce at the peak for camper vans. As it turned out this was a stunning place to stay. Lake Tekapo is a long glacier fed lake at the foot of the Southern Alps. It was created during the last glaciation and has the most amazing milky turquoise blue colour as it is filled with rock flour from the glaciers. The nearest equivalent is Lake Louise in Banff.
Our campsite is on a small bluff overlooking the banks of the lake, it is cold and windy here but the view is unbelievable. This area is also known for the darkest and clearest skies in all of New Zealand so the University of Canterbury maintains an observatory complex with 5 domes on the peak of Mount John which overlooks our campground. Mount John is a “roche moutanee” mountain which means it was carved and rounded by the glaciers as they passed over it and it sticks up right in the middle of the basin so it has 360 degrees of visibility. It is a short (1 hour) but steep climb to the top (wimps drive up) for the most spectacular views all around as well as the best night sky viewing in all of New Zealand. At the top the winds were literally howling there were storms all around us in the mountains but we were in a little island of sunshine. Along with the observatory there is a beautiful little café right at the geodetic peak where we sipped hot chocolates and got some respite from the wind.
By now sunset was approaching so we headed back down for a bit of barbecue at our camp. We had to break out the warmer wear as it was getting quite chilly. After supper we trekked just up the road to the hot springs. There three pools of various temperatures from warm to hot to really hot, helped us to soak the days adventures away. Tomorrow we pull up stakes again and head further south to Queenstown where I suspect I will run out of superlatives to describe the beauty of New Zealand.
Well best laid plans don’t always pan out – often for the better! Today we woke to rain (of course all the towels and bathing suits were hung outside to dry) and packed up for our first foray into the real wilds of New Zealand. Our plan was to head inland South about 400 km into the Southern Alps to camp at Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. We made it ¾ of the way to Lake Tekapo as the winds and weather were too fierce at the peak for camper vans. As it turned out this was a stunning place to stay. Lake Tekapo is a long glacier fed lake at the foot of the Southern Alps. It was created during the last glaciation and has the most amazing milky turquoise blue colour as it is filled with rock flour from the glaciers. The nearest equivalent is Lake Louise in Banff.
Our campsite is on a small bluff overlooking the banks of the lake, it is cold and windy here but the view is unbelievable. This area is also known for the darkest and clearest skies in all of New Zealand so the University of Canterbury maintains an observatory complex with 5 domes on the peak of Mount John which overlooks our campground. Mount John is a “roche moutanee” mountain which means it was carved and rounded by the glaciers as they passed over it and it sticks up right in the middle of the basin so it has 360 degrees of visibility. It is a short (1 hour) but steep climb to the top (wimps drive up) for the most spectacular views all around as well as the best night sky viewing in all of New Zealand. At the top the winds were literally howling there were storms all around us in the mountains but we were in a little island of sunshine. Along with the observatory there is a beautiful little café right at the geodetic peak where we sipped hot chocolates and got some respite from the wind.
By now sunset was approaching so we headed back down for a bit of barbecue at our camp. We had to break out the warmer wear as it was getting quite chilly. After supper we trekked just up the road to the hot springs. There three pools of various temperatures from warm to hot to really hot, helped us to soak the days adventures away. Tomorrow we pull up stakes again and head further south to Queenstown where I suspect I will run out of superlatives to describe the beauty of New Zealand.
New Zealand boun d - Christchurch
March 22/23 2010
Well no dramas with this leg of the adventure, despite a very exciting (rollercoaster) landing as we came in over the mountains we arrived in Christchurch. This is the main town/city right in the center of the South Island which only has a population of about a million people all tolled. Here we picked up our home for the next 3 weeks – a Britz camper van. This seems to be a very popular way to travel in N. Z. as you see them all over the roads and camper parks are more common than motels. And while a camper van sounds like sheer bloody luxury compared to what we carry on our average canoe trip, let me tell you that it is compact. The boys sleep in the upper bunk, a double bed/platform with about half a meter clearance (I’m not sure I could get my bottom up there). The main compartment (where the boys sit while we are driving) has our mini kitchen and also turns into our bed at night. At the foot of the bed is the ladder for the loft and the rest of the space is the driving compartment. Our tent has much more space than does the cmper. Everything is compact and well thought out except for one small problem – there is no trunk, like a car so what do you do with your luggage???? When you drive stuff slides all over so everything has to be secure – Mikey one of the first purchases we made was a bag of bungie- cords, invaluable! Driving is a challenge simply as signage, roundabouts and yielding to the right takes some getting used to.
We spent our evening and the next day at the Top 10 Holiday Park. A chain of these exists across the country and they cater to all manner of travellers. The boys loved the water slid, trampoline and the jumpy pillow – a huge inflated pillow in a sand pit that you can jump on until you throw up. We travelled into Christchurch for the afternoon to stroll the streets - everything here shuts up tight at 5:00 during the week. We stopped at a beautiful pub along the Avon River and had our best meal of the trip, local seafood and beef cooked on a hot stone at our table – fabulous. Duncan is in heaven as the fresh seafood here is wonderful. Poor Connor has picked up a dilly of a cold and can barely breathe. The weather here is much like ours in September, warm during the day and crisp at night, the leaves are just starting to turn but there are loads of flowers still in bloom. Tomorrow it is off to Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand for some real camping!
Well no dramas with this leg of the adventure, despite a very exciting (rollercoaster) landing as we came in over the mountains we arrived in Christchurch. This is the main town/city right in the center of the South Island which only has a population of about a million people all tolled. Here we picked up our home for the next 3 weeks – a Britz camper van. This seems to be a very popular way to travel in N. Z. as you see them all over the roads and camper parks are more common than motels. And while a camper van sounds like sheer bloody luxury compared to what we carry on our average canoe trip, let me tell you that it is compact. The boys sleep in the upper bunk, a double bed/platform with about half a meter clearance (I’m not sure I could get my bottom up there). The main compartment (where the boys sit while we are driving) has our mini kitchen and also turns into our bed at night. At the foot of the bed is the ladder for the loft and the rest of the space is the driving compartment. Our tent has much more space than does the cmper. Everything is compact and well thought out except for one small problem – there is no trunk, like a car so what do you do with your luggage???? When you drive stuff slides all over so everything has to be secure – Mikey one of the first purchases we made was a bag of bungie- cords, invaluable! Driving is a challenge simply as signage, roundabouts and yielding to the right takes some getting used to.
We spent our evening and the next day at the Top 10 Holiday Park. A chain of these exists across the country and they cater to all manner of travellers. The boys loved the water slid, trampoline and the jumpy pillow – a huge inflated pillow in a sand pit that you can jump on until you throw up. We travelled into Christchurch for the afternoon to stroll the streets - everything here shuts up tight at 5:00 during the week. We stopped at a beautiful pub along the Avon River and had our best meal of the trip, local seafood and beef cooked on a hot stone at our table – fabulous. Duncan is in heaven as the fresh seafood here is wonderful. Poor Connor has picked up a dilly of a cold and can barely breathe. The weather here is much like ours in September, warm during the day and crisp at night, the leaves are just starting to turn but there are loads of flowers still in bloom. Tomorrow it is off to Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand for some real camping!
Surfing and the last of Sydney
March 21, 2010
Everyone slept in today, however I snuck out at 7:30 and went over to one of the many Sydney Markets – Paddy’s Market in Chinatown. I got all sorts of yummy food for a big Aussie Breakfast in our apartment and a packed lunch for the beach and off to Manly we went again. The surf was even larger today then yesterday and although we were all suffering from the day before back in we went. We all were suffering from surfers rash – you get a rash where you lie on the boogie board and the guys got a rash in there nether regions from the pounding of the surf and being drenched in sand and salt. You definitely walk funny after a bit of surfing. We ferried back to Sydney mid-afternoon as we were sun baked again and wanted to visit the Sydney Opera house before leaving. We walked through the Opera House just as a concert was getting out, you cannot go in without a ticket but we nosed around anyways. We then walked back through the botanical gardens past Parliament house, a huge gothic sandstone structure. We ambled through the streets to a couple of the famous arcades – the Strand and Queen Victoria. These are stunning shopping malls that were built turn of the century (streets they covered over with glass canopies) and are opulently Victorian with stained glass, dark wood, intricate mosaic floors, iron work grills and rails, ornate plaster work and 100 year old lifts that you can use. Fortunately the stores were closed so the arcades were virtually empty and we couldn’t spend any money.
Like the previous day we staggered home, dined on dumplings and hand pulled noodles in Chinatown, then packed for our 6:20 pickup in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to the South Island New Zealand!
Everyone slept in today, however I snuck out at 7:30 and went over to one of the many Sydney Markets – Paddy’s Market in Chinatown. I got all sorts of yummy food for a big Aussie Breakfast in our apartment and a packed lunch for the beach and off to Manly we went again. The surf was even larger today then yesterday and although we were all suffering from the day before back in we went. We all were suffering from surfers rash – you get a rash where you lie on the boogie board and the guys got a rash in there nether regions from the pounding of the surf and being drenched in sand and salt. You definitely walk funny after a bit of surfing. We ferried back to Sydney mid-afternoon as we were sun baked again and wanted to visit the Sydney Opera house before leaving. We walked through the Opera House just as a concert was getting out, you cannot go in without a ticket but we nosed around anyways. We then walked back through the botanical gardens past Parliament house, a huge gothic sandstone structure. We ambled through the streets to a couple of the famous arcades – the Strand and Queen Victoria. These are stunning shopping malls that were built turn of the century (streets they covered over with glass canopies) and are opulently Victorian with stained glass, dark wood, intricate mosaic floors, iron work grills and rails, ornate plaster work and 100 year old lifts that you can use. Fortunately the stores were closed so the arcades were virtually empty and we couldn’t spend any money.
Like the previous day we staggered home, dined on dumplings and hand pulled noodles in Chinatown, then packed for our 6:20 pickup in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to the South Island New Zealand!
Surfing at Manly Beach
March 20, 2010
Today we were Manly bound for a ride on the ferry, a tour or the harbour and some sun, sand and surfing! If you are ever in Sydney one of the best values is the Ferry system, particularly on Sunday of ‘fun day’ as they call it where our family had a beautiful half hour tour of the harbour to Manly for the grand total of $10.00 return. Manly isn’t quite as famous as Bondi beach for surfers, but it is certainly great for families and the surf is just as high. The crescent shaped beach is easily several kilometers long and patrolled all along its length by the Surf/Swim patrol. They are on the beach, in the water in boats, on surf rescue boards and even in helicopters. They clear the water whenever there is danger which they did 3 times today as there were sharks in the area. There were also stingers in the water and Mary Rose got a small sting (probably a tiny Bluebottle jellyfish)
Connor on surfing: I think it is kind of sad that of all the AMAZING experiences we have had, four $15 boogie boards was one of the most fun things we have done. Playing in the waves and body surfing all day left us all sore and sunburned but it was completely worth it! The waves where huge but not so huge that it was frightening and dangerous. It was a perfect day - hot but not too hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. At first it was fun but nowhere near as much fun as when you got the technique for surfing the waves. If you caught them correctly they would send you rocketing forwards and sometimes they would even bring you all the way back to shore. So to sum it all up - we had a blast and I think we are going back today! Mike and Fer – if you are reading this…. This is a destination for you. We know you would LOVE it as much as we did.
We ferried back early evening to see the sun set behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge – sore, sunburnt, exhausted and grinning!
Today we were Manly bound for a ride on the ferry, a tour or the harbour and some sun, sand and surfing! If you are ever in Sydney one of the best values is the Ferry system, particularly on Sunday of ‘fun day’ as they call it where our family had a beautiful half hour tour of the harbour to Manly for the grand total of $10.00 return. Manly isn’t quite as famous as Bondi beach for surfers, but it is certainly great for families and the surf is just as high. The crescent shaped beach is easily several kilometers long and patrolled all along its length by the Surf/Swim patrol. They are on the beach, in the water in boats, on surf rescue boards and even in helicopters. They clear the water whenever there is danger which they did 3 times today as there were sharks in the area. There were also stingers in the water and Mary Rose got a small sting (probably a tiny Bluebottle jellyfish)
Connor on surfing: I think it is kind of sad that of all the AMAZING experiences we have had, four $15 boogie boards was one of the most fun things we have done. Playing in the waves and body surfing all day left us all sore and sunburned but it was completely worth it! The waves where huge but not so huge that it was frightening and dangerous. It was a perfect day - hot but not too hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. At first it was fun but nowhere near as much fun as when you got the technique for surfing the waves. If you caught them correctly they would send you rocketing forwards and sometimes they would even bring you all the way back to shore. So to sum it all up - we had a blast and I think we are going back today! Mike and Fer – if you are reading this…. This is a destination for you. We know you would LOVE it as much as we did.
We ferried back early evening to see the sun set behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge – sore, sunburnt, exhausted and grinning!
Sydney Aquarium, Port Darling and The Rocks
March 19, 2010
We started the day with the famous Sydney Aquarium which is right on Darling Harbour and only a 20 minute walk from our door. The Sydney Aquarium is connected to Wildlife World and the way to do them both is buy a group ticket online – they are dear! Each highlights an Australian environment and showcases the life found there. The Aquarium is spectacular made up of huge tanks (house sized) you can view from above, the sides and through tubes that run through the tanks. Everything from Finding Nemo fishes to sharks and sea turtles. Divers are often in the tanks feeding and interacting with the animals and the close up views are stunning. A high point was the pair of Dugongs, somewhat like Manatees although smaller. Apparently there are only 5 in captivity world-wide and the pair here seemed quite contented and put on a show for us. The Wildlife world was beautifully done however we were a bit blasé having seen so much of it in the wild at Undara and Cairns. The crocodile was huge, about six meters long and apparently they can reach eight. We couldn’t pull the boys from the butterfly gallery at the end, simply beautiful.
We ate a picnic lunch looking at the harbour and then headed north to The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney where the colony was founded back in the early 1800’s. This area was actually slated for demolition and ‘improvement’ in the 60’s and became the site for the green movement in Australia. The working class residents opposed the government plan to evict them and after a bitter battle had the area designated a heritage trust area. It preserved the buildings and many were restored however the area soon became gentrified and the workers were slowly forced out. It is now an area of pubs, restaurants and galleries along the side of hills overlooking the harbour and the Sydney Opera house on the other side. The buildings are beautiful often made up of sandstone and limestone blocks, hand quarried by convicts out of the surrounding bedrock and built right into the hills they were quarried from. The streets are cobblestone and there are steep alleys and stairways all over the place.
We visited the base of the Sydney Bridge (now almost 80 years old) to investigate the bridge climb – about 200 dollars a head for that privilege! I think we’ve written that cheap thrill off. We also visited Cadmans Cottage which is literally a sandstone cottage but stands as the oldest building in Sydney at 1812. We popped into the Rocks Discovery Museum and took their museum challenge to learn a bit of the history of early Sydney then wandered the small steep streets of The Rocks themselves. As it happened it was the evening of the Moonlight Market which happens monthly and all the streets were crammed with stalls and street food. There was music in the squares and people were partying. We shared a lovely Barramundi on an outside table however Duncan’s tastes ran to the Nutella Crepe he had made up in the square. We watched the sun set and the Flying Foxes come out then slogged home for the night. We probably logged 12 km of walking today and our dogs were barking.
We started the day with the famous Sydney Aquarium which is right on Darling Harbour and only a 20 minute walk from our door. The Sydney Aquarium is connected to Wildlife World and the way to do them both is buy a group ticket online – they are dear! Each highlights an Australian environment and showcases the life found there. The Aquarium is spectacular made up of huge tanks (house sized) you can view from above, the sides and through tubes that run through the tanks. Everything from Finding Nemo fishes to sharks and sea turtles. Divers are often in the tanks feeding and interacting with the animals and the close up views are stunning. A high point was the pair of Dugongs, somewhat like Manatees although smaller. Apparently there are only 5 in captivity world-wide and the pair here seemed quite contented and put on a show for us. The Wildlife world was beautifully done however we were a bit blasé having seen so much of it in the wild at Undara and Cairns. The crocodile was huge, about six meters long and apparently they can reach eight. We couldn’t pull the boys from the butterfly gallery at the end, simply beautiful.
We ate a picnic lunch looking at the harbour and then headed north to The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney where the colony was founded back in the early 1800’s. This area was actually slated for demolition and ‘improvement’ in the 60’s and became the site for the green movement in Australia. The working class residents opposed the government plan to evict them and after a bitter battle had the area designated a heritage trust area. It preserved the buildings and many were restored however the area soon became gentrified and the workers were slowly forced out. It is now an area of pubs, restaurants and galleries along the side of hills overlooking the harbour and the Sydney Opera house on the other side. The buildings are beautiful often made up of sandstone and limestone blocks, hand quarried by convicts out of the surrounding bedrock and built right into the hills they were quarried from. The streets are cobblestone and there are steep alleys and stairways all over the place.
We visited the base of the Sydney Bridge (now almost 80 years old) to investigate the bridge climb – about 200 dollars a head for that privilege! I think we’ve written that cheap thrill off. We also visited Cadmans Cottage which is literally a sandstone cottage but stands as the oldest building in Sydney at 1812. We popped into the Rocks Discovery Museum and took their museum challenge to learn a bit of the history of early Sydney then wandered the small steep streets of The Rocks themselves. As it happened it was the evening of the Moonlight Market which happens monthly and all the streets were crammed with stalls and street food. There was music in the squares and people were partying. We shared a lovely Barramundi on an outside table however Duncan’s tastes ran to the Nutella Crepe he had made up in the square. We watched the sun set and the Flying Foxes come out then slogged home for the night. We probably logged 12 km of walking today and our dogs were barking.
Off to Sydney!
March 18, 2010
We are off to Sydney on the last leg of our OZ journey. The Cyclone that has been dogging us to the north seems to have changed course and will miss us but is bringing lots of stormy weather with it. The take-off gives us one last spectacular glimpse of the rainforest and beaches then we wing our way south. Sydney is sunny and beautiful but a very convoluted city to navigate. Because it is a port city and was built pell-mell by convicts that basically had to cut their own roads and quarry their own stone for shelter the roads go every which way. The Aussies then seem to have added raised freeways on top of all this so getting around on foot is a challenge and driving is a nightmare! The city is serviced by all manner of public transit: ferries, water taxi, cabs, three different metro busses, light rail, heavy rail and a raised monorail that really only does a circuit of the city centre. As far as I can tell none of these systems talk to each other and we may need to buy several kinds of pass to get around. Everything a tourist would like to you is central and along the harbours however central covers many kilometers as Sydney is big. Sydney is in the territory of New South Wales which was what the colony was originally called was founded. Central Sydney is broken up into four districts: The Rocks and Circular Quay which is the oldest part of Sydney, The city Centre and Darling Harbour which is where we are staying, The Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain (self-explanatory) and Kings Cross/Darlinghurst/Paddington a dense inner-city residential area where the Victorian homes are mingled with cafes and bars, the gay village and the red light district – very desirable property apparently.
We headed out for supper in Chinatown which is right next door to us. It literally feels like you are in a bustling Chinese city. There are people everywhere and shopkeepers and restaurateurs are all trying to convince you they had the best bargain. We settled on a place that hand-made dumplings to satisfy Connor’s cravings then went to a local food court that was a mad house for Chow-Mien. Dozens of closet sized kitchens turn out Chinese, Thai and Korean food and you mill around trying to snap up the first available table until they ring the bell that your food is ready. Delicious and exciting, but far from fine dining. We headed towards Cockle Bay to see the night life and as we approached the Sydney Entertainment Centre we passed all manner of people dressed to the nines in sequins and outlandish costumes partying – it seems Lady Gaga was in town for two nights only. We toured the bay area which is where many museums, gardens and beautiful fountains are located and somehow ended up in front of the world’s largest IMAX theatre. Well we just had to go see Avatar again in 3D and it was even better than the first time. Exhausted we navigated the maze of streets home for midnight.
We are off to Sydney on the last leg of our OZ journey. The Cyclone that has been dogging us to the north seems to have changed course and will miss us but is bringing lots of stormy weather with it. The take-off gives us one last spectacular glimpse of the rainforest and beaches then we wing our way south. Sydney is sunny and beautiful but a very convoluted city to navigate. Because it is a port city and was built pell-mell by convicts that basically had to cut their own roads and quarry their own stone for shelter the roads go every which way. The Aussies then seem to have added raised freeways on top of all this so getting around on foot is a challenge and driving is a nightmare! The city is serviced by all manner of public transit: ferries, water taxi, cabs, three different metro busses, light rail, heavy rail and a raised monorail that really only does a circuit of the city centre. As far as I can tell none of these systems talk to each other and we may need to buy several kinds of pass to get around. Everything a tourist would like to you is central and along the harbours however central covers many kilometers as Sydney is big. Sydney is in the territory of New South Wales which was what the colony was originally called was founded. Central Sydney is broken up into four districts: The Rocks and Circular Quay which is the oldest part of Sydney, The city Centre and Darling Harbour which is where we are staying, The Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain (self-explanatory) and Kings Cross/Darlinghurst/Paddington a dense inner-city residential area where the Victorian homes are mingled with cafes and bars, the gay village and the red light district – very desirable property apparently.
We headed out for supper in Chinatown which is right next door to us. It literally feels like you are in a bustling Chinese city. There are people everywhere and shopkeepers and restaurateurs are all trying to convince you they had the best bargain. We settled on a place that hand-made dumplings to satisfy Connor’s cravings then went to a local food court that was a mad house for Chow-Mien. Dozens of closet sized kitchens turn out Chinese, Thai and Korean food and you mill around trying to snap up the first available table until they ring the bell that your food is ready. Delicious and exciting, but far from fine dining. We headed towards Cockle Bay to see the night life and as we approached the Sydney Entertainment Centre we passed all manner of people dressed to the nines in sequins and outlandish costumes partying – it seems Lady Gaga was in town for two nights only. We toured the bay area which is where many museums, gardens and beautiful fountains are located and somehow ended up in front of the world’s largest IMAX theatre. Well we just had to go see Avatar again in 3D and it was even better than the first time. Exhausted we navigated the maze of streets home for midnight.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The last of Cairns
March 17, 2010
Today was time for a bit of a down day. We parked the boys around the pool with the computer and two hours of internet time and M. R. and I headed across town to the botanical gardens. These are beautiful, started back in the late 1800’s and filled with rare and amazing plants. From giant two story high ferns to orchids and flowering plants of all kinds this was really worth the walk. Also in the gardens is the arts centre called ‘The Tanks’ – a series of huge old water tanks that have been renovated inside to art galleries and a stage. On the way back we had to pick up a few giant prawns for lunch by the pool. We spent the afternoon in downtown Cairns poking around, buying a few souvenirs and swimming in the lagoon a huge artificial pool of sea water with decks and board walk along one side and a sandy beach along the other – sheer bliss! Footsore and tired out Mary Rose stopped into the night market for a Chinese Massage while Connor shopped and Duncan and I strolled the Muddies and went to the brilliant playground they have along the water’s edge. Tomorrow it is off to Sydney for the last stage of the Australian adventure.
Today was time for a bit of a down day. We parked the boys around the pool with the computer and two hours of internet time and M. R. and I headed across town to the botanical gardens. These are beautiful, started back in the late 1800’s and filled with rare and amazing plants. From giant two story high ferns to orchids and flowering plants of all kinds this was really worth the walk. Also in the gardens is the arts centre called ‘The Tanks’ – a series of huge old water tanks that have been renovated inside to art galleries and a stage. On the way back we had to pick up a few giant prawns for lunch by the pool. We spent the afternoon in downtown Cairns poking around, buying a few souvenirs and swimming in the lagoon a huge artificial pool of sea water with decks and board walk along one side and a sandy beach along the other – sheer bliss! Footsore and tired out Mary Rose stopped into the night market for a Chinese Massage while Connor shopped and Duncan and I strolled the Muddies and went to the brilliant playground they have along the water’s edge. Tomorrow it is off to Sydney for the last stage of the Australian adventure.
The Great Barrier Reef
March 16, 2010
We dragged ourselves out of bed for another early morning, this time for our adventure on the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was hot and humid with a stiff 33 knot wind, at 35 knots they refuse to go out. The water was very rough and the tour operators were offering many people alternate days which a number of people took them up on. Our vessel was a huge three sail catamaran however we powered out to sea as the wind was too great to put the sails up. It was rough, but exciting and none of us felt the need for the ‘breakfast recycling bags’ that were so thoughtfully provided.
We arrived on the Michaelmas Cay after 2 hours of heavy seas. A beautiful little sandy island covered in about 30000 sea birds. Unfortunately the heavy waves had stirred up a lot of sand and the snorkelling was pretty murky. After about an hour of paddling around we headed in for an amazing buffet lunch on board. After lunch we headed back out for another try and the guide pointed us in the right direction where the waters were calmer. Amazing!!! We saw two sea turtles, anemones, corals, fish and MR saw a sting ray. Duncan unfortunately struggled with the surf and Steve was challenged by the snorkelling gear (which was not brilliant). But all in all it was an amazing experience.
The ride back was very exciting as the surf was even higher. I am guessing the swells were 8-10 feet. Connor had an exciting bow ride back while MR kept her eyes on the horizon. It was better than a roller coaster! We all made it back with tummies intact and headed out for a nice dinner in town. Another delicacy Morten bay Bugs! These are sort of a flat headed crayfish or a tiny lobster and are delicious in a sweet chilli sauce.
We dragged ourselves out of bed for another early morning, this time for our adventure on the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was hot and humid with a stiff 33 knot wind, at 35 knots they refuse to go out. The water was very rough and the tour operators were offering many people alternate days which a number of people took them up on. Our vessel was a huge three sail catamaran however we powered out to sea as the wind was too great to put the sails up. It was rough, but exciting and none of us felt the need for the ‘breakfast recycling bags’ that were so thoughtfully provided.
We arrived on the Michaelmas Cay after 2 hours of heavy seas. A beautiful little sandy island covered in about 30000 sea birds. Unfortunately the heavy waves had stirred up a lot of sand and the snorkelling was pretty murky. After about an hour of paddling around we headed in for an amazing buffet lunch on board. After lunch we headed back out for another try and the guide pointed us in the right direction where the waters were calmer. Amazing!!! We saw two sea turtles, anemones, corals, fish and MR saw a sting ray. Duncan unfortunately struggled with the surf and Steve was challenged by the snorkelling gear (which was not brilliant). But all in all it was an amazing experience.
The ride back was very exciting as the surf was even higher. I am guessing the swells were 8-10 feet. Connor had an exciting bow ride back while MR kept her eyes on the horizon. It was better than a roller coaster! We all made it back with tummies intact and headed out for a nice dinner in town. Another delicacy Morten bay Bugs! These are sort of a flat headed crayfish or a tiny lobster and are delicious in a sweet chilli sauce.
Undarra Lava Tubes
March 15, 2010
We had an early start for bush breakfast where again we were the only ones there. This was a lot like our camping experiences except someone besides me was doing the cooking. Toast over the fire, coffee and tea from the Billie can and thieving Kookaburras laughing at us. They are particularly fond of sausage and take them right off the plate if you aren’t paying attention. Eight o’clock saw us mustered for another visit to the tubes with a ranger. This is the only way you can travel in the interior of the park as it is a sensitive environment. Along the way we saw: rose-breasted cockatoos (galas), black cockatoos, black wallabies, eastern kangaroos, pretty face wallabies and lots of magpies. The Tubes are huge, probably 80 to 100 meter s in diameter, however they are filled half way or more with sediment. They actually only flood as they say ‘twice every twenty years’ and last year was the time. By this they mean that in twenty years they get one with enough rainfall to fill the aquifers and raise the water table to the tube level. The following year regardless of the amount of rainfall the water levels stay high enough that some of the tubes are still flooded it is in this year that you can wade in and swim in cool clear water. Until this year the tubes hadn’t been swimmable since 1992. Some of the group wasn’t keen but we were right in the water and with only a headlamp headed in, what a great experience but a bit spooky.
Well we headed back to camp for a short bush walk, some bouldering which was fun and another massive lunch. Connor and Mary Rose both tried the Undara burger about three quartes of a pound of beef topped with onions, beets, a fried egg and all manner of salad. It barely fits in the mouth but somehow they managed it. After lunch it was time for the long trek back to Cairns, this time over a slightly longer route which took us along the coast south of Cairns. We stopped along the way at the spectacular Millaa Millaa waterfall and the Babinda Boulders, a set of massive rounded boulders and pot holes scoured by the raging waters of the Babinda River as it tumbles off the tablelands to the sea. All of these river estuaries are where the crocodile live and they have been recorded to top 8 meters long! The drive was spectacular, but after logging over 800 km in two days I was glad to return the car and have a break.
We had an early start for bush breakfast where again we were the only ones there. This was a lot like our camping experiences except someone besides me was doing the cooking. Toast over the fire, coffee and tea from the Billie can and thieving Kookaburras laughing at us. They are particularly fond of sausage and take them right off the plate if you aren’t paying attention. Eight o’clock saw us mustered for another visit to the tubes with a ranger. This is the only way you can travel in the interior of the park as it is a sensitive environment. Along the way we saw: rose-breasted cockatoos (galas), black cockatoos, black wallabies, eastern kangaroos, pretty face wallabies and lots of magpies. The Tubes are huge, probably 80 to 100 meter s in diameter, however they are filled half way or more with sediment. They actually only flood as they say ‘twice every twenty years’ and last year was the time. By this they mean that in twenty years they get one with enough rainfall to fill the aquifers and raise the water table to the tube level. The following year regardless of the amount of rainfall the water levels stay high enough that some of the tubes are still flooded it is in this year that you can wade in and swim in cool clear water. Until this year the tubes hadn’t been swimmable since 1992. Some of the group wasn’t keen but we were right in the water and with only a headlamp headed in, what a great experience but a bit spooky.
Well we headed back to camp for a short bush walk, some bouldering which was fun and another massive lunch. Connor and Mary Rose both tried the Undara burger about three quartes of a pound of beef topped with onions, beets, a fried egg and all manner of salad. It barely fits in the mouth but somehow they managed it. After lunch it was time for the long trek back to Cairns, this time over a slightly longer route which took us along the coast south of Cairns. We stopped along the way at the spectacular Millaa Millaa waterfall and the Babinda Boulders, a set of massive rounded boulders and pot holes scoured by the raging waters of the Babinda River as it tumbles off the tablelands to the sea. All of these river estuaries are where the crocodile live and they have been recorded to top 8 meters long! The drive was spectacular, but after logging over 800 km in two days I was glad to return the car and have a break.
Off to the Outback
March 14, 2010
Today marks our adventure into the outback, the Savannah really as we drove inland about four hours to Undarra National Park. This had us heading due West, up the Gilles hwy. into the Atherton Tablelands and across the Australian Savannah into the dry. The Gilles hwy. climbs over a thousand meters to the tablelands along 17km of narrow switchback road cut into the mountain. I must admit it was a white knuckle drive as it drops off precipitously to one side and hugs the mountain on the other. The Aussies seem to have no trouble driving its 100 k. speed limit however I couldn’t manage it. The drive through the tablelands is lovely rolling green fields punctuated with lush tropical river valleys. Much of this area is cattle land, however in the lowlands along the coast it is banana and sugar cane plantations. As you head west the land gradually flattens and begins to dry turning into a flat volcanic plain covered with grasslands (thus the bush fire danger) and widely spread gnarly gum trees and huge termite mounds. Much of the soil is that bright red colour associated with Ayers rock, a bit like P.E.I. Not much traffic along this stretch or road, however the Savannah way is the main highway of the Northlands and services the mining industry. Every so often you will pass a road train which is an 18 wheeler plus two extra trailers. These things are over 55 meters long and move along pretty quickly.
As this is the end of the rainy season and the start of the dry, it is low season for the Undarra region. We stayed at the only game in town which is a lease of land on a corner of the National park where you can camp. They have a set of turn of the century rail cars done up as lodges that were simply beautiful. The restaurant which served absolutely gargantuan portions is under a huge tent like structure which catches and stores the rain for the dry. As it was off season we literally were the only ones there for bush lunch. Later a few more groups showed up, however in the summer they have hundreds of visitors staying with them.
The Undara experience could go on for pages however what drew us, was the outback experience and the volcanoes. The Rosella plain (named after the pink flowers that grow on it) is actually a huge recent (the last 190 000 year or so) volcanic flow. It is dotted with cinder cones but the real draw is the lava tubes. The Undara volcano spread lava for over 190 km from the cone, much of it through long tubes that flowed along buried river tracks. When the lava flow stopped and cooled the tubes remained. Where they have collapsed much more lush vegetation grows as the base of them is close to the water table. These tubes are the mating site for hundreds of thousands of bats, and can be visited by tourists like ourselves. Some of the tubes are closed as carbon dioxide from plants and animals builds up in them and others are unsafe due to rock-fall or are filled with water during the wet. We were fortunate in that there was no one there, the rains had just passed and for the first time since 1992 the tubes were swimmable and the bats were at the height of their breeding season.
That afternoon we headed into the park and walked the rim of the Kalkani volcanic crater. Unlike the Undara which was a prolific, fast flowing lava this was a pyroclastic cone made up of foamy, explosive lava ash and bombs. When you think of a volcano, this is the shape that comes to mind. The view was spectacular over the savannah you can see volcanic ‘pimples’ dotted all over. Back at camp after a much appreciated swim to remove the dust we went out on a sunset tour with one of the park guides. This involved watching the sun set to sparkling wine and cheese, but the real reason for the outing was the twilight exit of the bats. We visited Barker tube where the main bat colony lives. These are what the Aussies call micro bats (the size we are used to) and the tube houses a colony of about 50,000 permanent residents. During breeding season however it swells to about half a million bats! At twilight they all come out to feed, thousands and thousands flying around us at the tube mouth we could feel the wind and their wings brush us. Duncan actually got smacked in the temple by one and had a mark to prove it. Around the mouth of the tube, Night Tiger snakes hang down in front of the cave mouth and snatch bats right out of the air. We went into the tube surrounded by bats. It was truly an unforgettable experience like none other! On the way back we looked for wildlife, there are all manner of roos, wallabies, cockatoos and even dingoes about, unfortunately the dingoes stayed well hidden. Back at camp we had a late dinner under the Southern Cross and I got to try ‘the trio’, kangaroo, crocodile and emu all seared on the BBQ. Delicious however crocodile is actually quite bland. We slept in our train car surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies which are all over the place and the sounds of the bush.
Today marks our adventure into the outback, the Savannah really as we drove inland about four hours to Undarra National Park. This had us heading due West, up the Gilles hwy. into the Atherton Tablelands and across the Australian Savannah into the dry. The Gilles hwy. climbs over a thousand meters to the tablelands along 17km of narrow switchback road cut into the mountain. I must admit it was a white knuckle drive as it drops off precipitously to one side and hugs the mountain on the other. The Aussies seem to have no trouble driving its 100 k. speed limit however I couldn’t manage it. The drive through the tablelands is lovely rolling green fields punctuated with lush tropical river valleys. Much of this area is cattle land, however in the lowlands along the coast it is banana and sugar cane plantations. As you head west the land gradually flattens and begins to dry turning into a flat volcanic plain covered with grasslands (thus the bush fire danger) and widely spread gnarly gum trees and huge termite mounds. Much of the soil is that bright red colour associated with Ayers rock, a bit like P.E.I. Not much traffic along this stretch or road, however the Savannah way is the main highway of the Northlands and services the mining industry. Every so often you will pass a road train which is an 18 wheeler plus two extra trailers. These things are over 55 meters long and move along pretty quickly.
As this is the end of the rainy season and the start of the dry, it is low season for the Undarra region. We stayed at the only game in town which is a lease of land on a corner of the National park where you can camp. They have a set of turn of the century rail cars done up as lodges that were simply beautiful. The restaurant which served absolutely gargantuan portions is under a huge tent like structure which catches and stores the rain for the dry. As it was off season we literally were the only ones there for bush lunch. Later a few more groups showed up, however in the summer they have hundreds of visitors staying with them.
The Undara experience could go on for pages however what drew us, was the outback experience and the volcanoes. The Rosella plain (named after the pink flowers that grow on it) is actually a huge recent (the last 190 000 year or so) volcanic flow. It is dotted with cinder cones but the real draw is the lava tubes. The Undara volcano spread lava for over 190 km from the cone, much of it through long tubes that flowed along buried river tracks. When the lava flow stopped and cooled the tubes remained. Where they have collapsed much more lush vegetation grows as the base of them is close to the water table. These tubes are the mating site for hundreds of thousands of bats, and can be visited by tourists like ourselves. Some of the tubes are closed as carbon dioxide from plants and animals builds up in them and others are unsafe due to rock-fall or are filled with water during the wet. We were fortunate in that there was no one there, the rains had just passed and for the first time since 1992 the tubes were swimmable and the bats were at the height of their breeding season.
That afternoon we headed into the park and walked the rim of the Kalkani volcanic crater. Unlike the Undara which was a prolific, fast flowing lava this was a pyroclastic cone made up of foamy, explosive lava ash and bombs. When you think of a volcano, this is the shape that comes to mind. The view was spectacular over the savannah you can see volcanic ‘pimples’ dotted all over. Back at camp after a much appreciated swim to remove the dust we went out on a sunset tour with one of the park guides. This involved watching the sun set to sparkling wine and cheese, but the real reason for the outing was the twilight exit of the bats. We visited Barker tube where the main bat colony lives. These are what the Aussies call micro bats (the size we are used to) and the tube houses a colony of about 50,000 permanent residents. During breeding season however it swells to about half a million bats! At twilight they all come out to feed, thousands and thousands flying around us at the tube mouth we could feel the wind and their wings brush us. Duncan actually got smacked in the temple by one and had a mark to prove it. Around the mouth of the tube, Night Tiger snakes hang down in front of the cave mouth and snatch bats right out of the air. We went into the tube surrounded by bats. It was truly an unforgettable experience like none other! On the way back we looked for wildlife, there are all manner of roos, wallabies, cockatoos and even dingoes about, unfortunately the dingoes stayed well hidden. Back at camp we had a late dinner under the Southern Cross and I got to try ‘the trio’, kangaroo, crocodile and emu all seared on the BBQ. Delicious however crocodile is actually quite bland. We slept in our train car surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies which are all over the place and the sounds of the bush.
The Rainforest
March 13, 2010
We had a beautiful however windy day for a trip North to the Daintree Rainforest. This weather is a result of the cyclone still threatening us to the North. The Cape York Penninsula which runs from Townsville in the south all the way north to Cape Tribulation for hundreds of kilometers is where the forest literally meets the Great Barrier Reef is called the Wet Tropics. An hour north of Cairns which gets something in the order of 4 meters of rain a year is the Daintree Rainforest which is a U.N. natural heritage site and also the oldest rainforest in the world. This is an area about the size of the U. K. and is truly one of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world. It is over 130 million years old and dates back to the break- up of Gondwanaland into the continents we recognize today. Australia peeled off early thus has many unique species many of which are still being discovered today. Port Douglas is about an hour north of Cairns and is on the very southern end of the Daintree. Much of the rainforest is inaccessible from a rental vehicle so we settled on a short trek into the Mossman gorge for a peek. Eventually this is going to be a treetop boardwalk with a suspension bridge over the swiftly flowing Mossman River however this is not as of yet complete so we had to walk along the rainforest floor the old fashioned way. Many people swim in the river and body surf however we were unprepared and stayed dry.
After our hike we stopped at the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary. This is really a zoo, however it is brilliantly done with the Aussie wetlands, rainforest and grassland habitats all recreated outdoors. We had lunch with the Lorikeets in the middle of the park (some white spear beaked bird had my last piece of steak when I wasn’t looking). The animals and birds simply wander about and gave us many spectacular picture opportunities. Mary Rose was particularly taken by the 4 meter long crocodile that rose up out of the water and yawned right beside her. We took in the Koala show with a little guy who has been rescued. At the end we posed for a picture holding the little guy who was most cooperative. They really are soft and cuddly however have amazingly long and sharp claws.
We had hoped to spend some time Four Mile Beach which as it is named, a pristine stretch of sand where visitors swim and surf. Unfortunately swimming was not allowed as the wind and waves were so high that they could not put out the ‘stinger nets’. The area is known for a variety of jelly fish some big to as small as a fingernail however all with stings that range from excruciating to deadly. We settled for a stroll up to the north end of the beach and a climb to a lookout for a beautiful view. When it is calm the seas are a brilliant turquoise blue, however with all the surf everything along the shore is a muddy brown colour. Beautiful sunset however which sent us off home to Cairns.
We had a beautiful however windy day for a trip North to the Daintree Rainforest. This weather is a result of the cyclone still threatening us to the North. The Cape York Penninsula which runs from Townsville in the south all the way north to Cape Tribulation for hundreds of kilometers is where the forest literally meets the Great Barrier Reef is called the Wet Tropics. An hour north of Cairns which gets something in the order of 4 meters of rain a year is the Daintree Rainforest which is a U.N. natural heritage site and also the oldest rainforest in the world. This is an area about the size of the U. K. and is truly one of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world. It is over 130 million years old and dates back to the break- up of Gondwanaland into the continents we recognize today. Australia peeled off early thus has many unique species many of which are still being discovered today. Port Douglas is about an hour north of Cairns and is on the very southern end of the Daintree. Much of the rainforest is inaccessible from a rental vehicle so we settled on a short trek into the Mossman gorge for a peek. Eventually this is going to be a treetop boardwalk with a suspension bridge over the swiftly flowing Mossman River however this is not as of yet complete so we had to walk along the rainforest floor the old fashioned way. Many people swim in the river and body surf however we were unprepared and stayed dry.
After our hike we stopped at the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary. This is really a zoo, however it is brilliantly done with the Aussie wetlands, rainforest and grassland habitats all recreated outdoors. We had lunch with the Lorikeets in the middle of the park (some white spear beaked bird had my last piece of steak when I wasn’t looking). The animals and birds simply wander about and gave us many spectacular picture opportunities. Mary Rose was particularly taken by the 4 meter long crocodile that rose up out of the water and yawned right beside her. We took in the Koala show with a little guy who has been rescued. At the end we posed for a picture holding the little guy who was most cooperative. They really are soft and cuddly however have amazingly long and sharp claws.
We had hoped to spend some time Four Mile Beach which as it is named, a pristine stretch of sand where visitors swim and surf. Unfortunately swimming was not allowed as the wind and waves were so high that they could not put out the ‘stinger nets’. The area is known for a variety of jelly fish some big to as small as a fingernail however all with stings that range from excruciating to deadly. We settled for a stroll up to the north end of the beach and a climb to a lookout for a beautiful view. When it is calm the seas are a brilliant turquoise blue, however with all the surf everything along the shore is a muddy brown colour. Beautiful sunset however which sent us off home to Cairns.
Cairns day 1
March 12, 2010
Off to the North on a 3 hour flight from Melbourne to Cairns (pronounced ‘cans’ they drop the r’s here so Melbourne is ‘Melboune’). Incredible from the air, Cairns is nestled sandwiched between rain-forested hills and the Great Barrier Reef which makes it one of the hot destinations in OZ for anyone doing anything outdoors. All you have to do is walk down The Esplanade and every third shop is a tour operator. You can skydive, sail, scuba, walk, bungee, parasail, explore, pet, you name it the experience is available (for a price). We arrived here early afternoon, picked up a car and I had my first go at driving on the left and navigating round-a-bouts. The left hand thing takes a little getting used to as I keep turning on the wipers when I mean to signal and want to shift my door handle. The round-a-bouts are actually a good idea if you are a lost tourist as they let you make a U turn to have another go. They are not the best things however for pedestrians as you are never sure where to look for the car that has your number on it.
Cairns is relatively small (130,000?) and fairly compact, laid out along the ‘muddies’ which is what their beach is, a long, low muddy flat. Great for watching spindly-legged shore birds, not however for beach combing and bathing. The flats are strewn with fist sized spiral snail, crabs and all manner of birds. The trees are tropical from palm to fig and mangrove and seem to be permanently in flower. While we had been told that Cairns is, ‘a bit of a hole’ we actually find it quite beautiful. It is hot and stinky here with storms rolling in quickly, dumping rain then moving on. At the moment there is a force 5 cyclone to the north stirring everything up, the last of the season and we are hoping it doesn’t make landfall or we will be stuck here. At night the sky is full of tropical birds and huge flying foxes (about the size of a cat with wings). At dusk the Lorikeets start calling which fills the air with screeching which seems to signal the Flying foxes that take to the skies in the thousands. For about 15 minutes they head out to feed and the sky is full of them, I guess the Lorikeets are just staying out of their way.
We strolled along The Esplanade, toured the shops and had a bite along the shore. This being a Friday, the shops were open late and we couldn’t help but do a bit of shopping. We tried some jerky, I liked the Kangaroo, M. R. the Emu and Duncan the crocodile however none of them were really great. Mary Rose is now the proud owner of a Kangaroo hide bush hat. Wild Kangaroo is plentiful throughout OZ (one Aussie to every two kangaroos we were told) and is culled everywhere with quotas controlled by the government. The hide is prized as it has no pores making it tough and waterproof (all leather boxing gloves are made of kangaroo hide). People eat the meat regularly which is touted as being very healthy as it is low in fat. It is actually quite good when served very rare, not too gamey and a rich dark meat.
Queensland and the north are the centers for aboriginal culture and there are literally dozens of different groups indigenous to this area. After centuries of neglect and abuse the rich histories and complexities of the indigenous peoples is just now receiving the respect it deserves. Connor has had his heart set on a didgeridoo and this seemed the place to buy one. After much searching and assailing our ears with trying them Connor settled on the one he wanted and we’ve shipped it home. I think he bought one in the key of D, but I’m not sure. I had best sound proof the basement to protect the neighbourhood!
Off to the North on a 3 hour flight from Melbourne to Cairns (pronounced ‘cans’ they drop the r’s here so Melbourne is ‘Melboune’). Incredible from the air, Cairns is nestled sandwiched between rain-forested hills and the Great Barrier Reef which makes it one of the hot destinations in OZ for anyone doing anything outdoors. All you have to do is walk down The Esplanade and every third shop is a tour operator. You can skydive, sail, scuba, walk, bungee, parasail, explore, pet, you name it the experience is available (for a price). We arrived here early afternoon, picked up a car and I had my first go at driving on the left and navigating round-a-bouts. The left hand thing takes a little getting used to as I keep turning on the wipers when I mean to signal and want to shift my door handle. The round-a-bouts are actually a good idea if you are a lost tourist as they let you make a U turn to have another go. They are not the best things however for pedestrians as you are never sure where to look for the car that has your number on it.
Cairns is relatively small (130,000?) and fairly compact, laid out along the ‘muddies’ which is what their beach is, a long, low muddy flat. Great for watching spindly-legged shore birds, not however for beach combing and bathing. The flats are strewn with fist sized spiral snail, crabs and all manner of birds. The trees are tropical from palm to fig and mangrove and seem to be permanently in flower. While we had been told that Cairns is, ‘a bit of a hole’ we actually find it quite beautiful. It is hot and stinky here with storms rolling in quickly, dumping rain then moving on. At the moment there is a force 5 cyclone to the north stirring everything up, the last of the season and we are hoping it doesn’t make landfall or we will be stuck here. At night the sky is full of tropical birds and huge flying foxes (about the size of a cat with wings). At dusk the Lorikeets start calling which fills the air with screeching which seems to signal the Flying foxes that take to the skies in the thousands. For about 15 minutes they head out to feed and the sky is full of them, I guess the Lorikeets are just staying out of their way.
We strolled along The Esplanade, toured the shops and had a bite along the shore. This being a Friday, the shops were open late and we couldn’t help but do a bit of shopping. We tried some jerky, I liked the Kangaroo, M. R. the Emu and Duncan the crocodile however none of them were really great. Mary Rose is now the proud owner of a Kangaroo hide bush hat. Wild Kangaroo is plentiful throughout OZ (one Aussie to every two kangaroos we were told) and is culled everywhere with quotas controlled by the government. The hide is prized as it has no pores making it tough and waterproof (all leather boxing gloves are made of kangaroo hide). People eat the meat regularly which is touted as being very healthy as it is low in fat. It is actually quite good when served very rare, not too gamey and a rich dark meat.
Queensland and the north are the centers for aboriginal culture and there are literally dozens of different groups indigenous to this area. After centuries of neglect and abuse the rich histories and complexities of the indigenous peoples is just now receiving the respect it deserves. Connor has had his heart set on a didgeridoo and this seemed the place to buy one. After much searching and assailing our ears with trying them Connor settled on the one he wanted and we’ve shipped it home. I think he bought one in the key of D, but I’m not sure. I had best sound proof the basement to protect the neighbourhood!
Last of Melbourne
March 11, 2020
Finally we woke up to a bright, sunny albeit cool morning (in the teens) so we decided to head to the Melbourne Beach at St. Kilda’s. ‘Melbourne’ is a bit like saying the Golden Horseshoe it goes on for hundreds of kilometers in all directions. On a more local level however it is made up of all sorts of little divisions like Toronto and along the bay, St. Kilda’s is one of them. This is where all the industrial container ships comes into Melbourne and also in the past where the royals were welcomed into Melbourne from their yacht’s so it was called the gateway to Melbourne. By Aussie standards this is considered a poor beach but we thought it was lovely with fine beige sand, lots of crushed shells, a few jellies and we even saw a Fairy Penguin swimming in the bay. We didn’t actually swim in the sea as it was cold and windy, instead we wimped out and swam in the sea baths, basically a sea water pool and hot tub – very decadent.
We trammed back into the CBD proper for some more arcade wandering and shopping. Lots of looking but no buying, however the Lightening Ridge opals were very tempting. We finished the afternoon back down by the river in Federation square to take in the ACMI – Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The ACMI is dedicated to the history of the viewed image from the flip book to virtual reality, TV, movies and even the gaming experience. It has only been open five months but it is absolutely brilliant. You can email yourself a film clip doing the Matrix bullet dodge thing, interact with shadow walls that make you monstrous and try out all sorts of old funky equipment including having a round of Pong.
Foot sore and hungry it was off to Chinatown (along Lt. Bourke Street) for dumplings and noodles, then home to pack because we are off to Cairns first thing in the morning.
Finally we woke up to a bright, sunny albeit cool morning (in the teens) so we decided to head to the Melbourne Beach at St. Kilda’s. ‘Melbourne’ is a bit like saying the Golden Horseshoe it goes on for hundreds of kilometers in all directions. On a more local level however it is made up of all sorts of little divisions like Toronto and along the bay, St. Kilda’s is one of them. This is where all the industrial container ships comes into Melbourne and also in the past where the royals were welcomed into Melbourne from their yacht’s so it was called the gateway to Melbourne. By Aussie standards this is considered a poor beach but we thought it was lovely with fine beige sand, lots of crushed shells, a few jellies and we even saw a Fairy Penguin swimming in the bay. We didn’t actually swim in the sea as it was cold and windy, instead we wimped out and swam in the sea baths, basically a sea water pool and hot tub – very decadent.
We trammed back into the CBD proper for some more arcade wandering and shopping. Lots of looking but no buying, however the Lightening Ridge opals were very tempting. We finished the afternoon back down by the river in Federation square to take in the ACMI – Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The ACMI is dedicated to the history of the viewed image from the flip book to virtual reality, TV, movies and even the gaming experience. It has only been open five months but it is absolutely brilliant. You can email yourself a film clip doing the Matrix bullet dodge thing, interact with shadow walls that make you monstrous and try out all sorts of old funky equipment including having a round of Pong.
Foot sore and hungry it was off to Chinatown (along Lt. Bourke Street) for dumplings and noodles, then home to pack because we are off to Cairns first thing in the morning.
The Penguin Parade
March 10, 2010
Well the weather certainly hasn’t favoured us, windy, cold and highly variable – but we are undaunted and sally forth regardless. This morning we wandered down to Federation Square which is the transportation hub of the city as well as the cultural centre. We found an internet hot spot, parked Connor on Facebook and went wandering. Melbourne CBD (city center) is a typical grid design with wide open N/S running streets (3 lanes each way) alternating with narrower streets. It is then cut E/W with streets and lanes used by people, cars and electric trams alike. The naming goes thus: Flinders St., Little Flinders St., Bourke St. Little Bourke St., Collins St., Little Collins St., etc. The rationale for this design was to accommodate Bullocks carts which were used to transport all sorts of goods during the gold rush boom of the 1800’s. While the layout worked great for ox carts, it wasn’t great for people, so the population which was booming started infilling with little laneways. Many of these laneways are now covered over and called Arcades. You can literally wander through mazes of these things winding all through the downtown core. They can be a simple lane with graffiti (think of a Rick Mercer rant) to beautiful mosaic tiled ornately gilded tunnels. This is where you find many of the bars, café’s galleries, designer shops, etc. You could spend weeks wandering the CBD and still be finding little nooks and crannies you missed. Melbourne is really an eclectic mix of the modern and the traditional and a joy to explore. From the High Victorian architecture of the parliament buildings and Flinders St. Station, the neo-classical stone of the State Library of Victoria to the incredibly modern atrium at Federation Square you cannot walk a block without seeing a stunning building or art work.
The afternoon was a different experience entirely, time to get out of the city and see some wildlife. We were picked up after lunch by our tour guide Bruce (‘allo Bruce) and four other adventures and headed due south to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is dedicated to all sorts of wildlife conservation. Birds, kangaroos and wallabies, fur seals, koalas and most notably the Fairy or Little Blue penguins, the smallest penguins in the world (they are less than a kilo and about 40 cm high). Along the route we stopped for high tea at a working dairy farm (fresh clotted cream – yum) and stopped often to view wallabies, kangaroos and birds - the Australian Gray Goose has an amazing chartreuse green bill. We visited the Phillip Island Koala reserve where they have a protected group of about 40 koalas being studied in a natural gum tree (eucalyptus) preserve. You walk through the forest on raised boardwalks and get quite close to the Koalas in the trees. Koalas are cute and cuddly to look at however that’s about it. They spend 20 hours a day sleeping and the rest of it eating. The most exciting thing a koala did for us was chew! But we did see about a dozen of them in their natural habitat. On to a kangaroo preserve where we watched the alpha male fight off challengers to his harem then to a seafood supper of local catch looking over the crashing waves on the volcanic coastline – stunning!
The highlight of the evening however was the dusk penguin parade. The penguins dig small burrows all over the western point of the island which is now a nature preserve. Much of their time they simply stay at sea, fish, eat and sleep on the waves. They come to shore to mate, raise their chicks and hide for 17 days a year as they moult and grow a new set of feathers. When they do spend time on land they rise before dawn and walk to the sea in burrow groups for mutual protection from hunting birds (there’s safety in numbers). They come out at dusk in the same groups they went in with – this is called the penguin parade. The conservation area has set up stands and boardwalks right along the penguin paths lit with blue green light which penguins are colour blind to. We bundled up at dusk and waited for the little blue buggers to come to shore. They pop out of the ocean in groups of tens or hundreds, waddle up over the rocks to the sand, pause for a rest break and to listen for the calls from chicks. Then they waddle along well used penguin paths in groups to their burrows. The older penguins have status and get the burrows closest to the shore. Young penguins travel as much as a kilometer to the furthest burrows. The sound of calling, growling and trilling penguins combined with the comical parade (some of the penguins are so fat they cannot balance upright) is just a delight. You cannot touch or photograph however the penguins are so unafraid of people that they waddle right along the boardwalk looking at the people like little penguin tourists. The penguins hoot and call for a couple of hours as they socialize, mate and feed their young then everyone beds down for the night and it starts all over the next morning. We were all left with permanent grins watching the parade of the penguins then fell asleep in the van during the long ride back to Melbourne.
Well the weather certainly hasn’t favoured us, windy, cold and highly variable – but we are undaunted and sally forth regardless. This morning we wandered down to Federation Square which is the transportation hub of the city as well as the cultural centre. We found an internet hot spot, parked Connor on Facebook and went wandering. Melbourne CBD (city center) is a typical grid design with wide open N/S running streets (3 lanes each way) alternating with narrower streets. It is then cut E/W with streets and lanes used by people, cars and electric trams alike. The naming goes thus: Flinders St., Little Flinders St., Bourke St. Little Bourke St., Collins St., Little Collins St., etc. The rationale for this design was to accommodate Bullocks carts which were used to transport all sorts of goods during the gold rush boom of the 1800’s. While the layout worked great for ox carts, it wasn’t great for people, so the population which was booming started infilling with little laneways. Many of these laneways are now covered over and called Arcades. You can literally wander through mazes of these things winding all through the downtown core. They can be a simple lane with graffiti (think of a Rick Mercer rant) to beautiful mosaic tiled ornately gilded tunnels. This is where you find many of the bars, café’s galleries, designer shops, etc. You could spend weeks wandering the CBD and still be finding little nooks and crannies you missed. Melbourne is really an eclectic mix of the modern and the traditional and a joy to explore. From the High Victorian architecture of the parliament buildings and Flinders St. Station, the neo-classical stone of the State Library of Victoria to the incredibly modern atrium at Federation Square you cannot walk a block without seeing a stunning building or art work.
The afternoon was a different experience entirely, time to get out of the city and see some wildlife. We were picked up after lunch by our tour guide Bruce (‘allo Bruce) and four other adventures and headed due south to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is dedicated to all sorts of wildlife conservation. Birds, kangaroos and wallabies, fur seals, koalas and most notably the Fairy or Little Blue penguins, the smallest penguins in the world (they are less than a kilo and about 40 cm high). Along the route we stopped for high tea at a working dairy farm (fresh clotted cream – yum) and stopped often to view wallabies, kangaroos and birds - the Australian Gray Goose has an amazing chartreuse green bill. We visited the Phillip Island Koala reserve where they have a protected group of about 40 koalas being studied in a natural gum tree (eucalyptus) preserve. You walk through the forest on raised boardwalks and get quite close to the Koalas in the trees. Koalas are cute and cuddly to look at however that’s about it. They spend 20 hours a day sleeping and the rest of it eating. The most exciting thing a koala did for us was chew! But we did see about a dozen of them in their natural habitat. On to a kangaroo preserve where we watched the alpha male fight off challengers to his harem then to a seafood supper of local catch looking over the crashing waves on the volcanic coastline – stunning!
The highlight of the evening however was the dusk penguin parade. The penguins dig small burrows all over the western point of the island which is now a nature preserve. Much of their time they simply stay at sea, fish, eat and sleep on the waves. They come to shore to mate, raise their chicks and hide for 17 days a year as they moult and grow a new set of feathers. When they do spend time on land they rise before dawn and walk to the sea in burrow groups for mutual protection from hunting birds (there’s safety in numbers). They come out at dusk in the same groups they went in with – this is called the penguin parade. The conservation area has set up stands and boardwalks right along the penguin paths lit with blue green light which penguins are colour blind to. We bundled up at dusk and waited for the little blue buggers to come to shore. They pop out of the ocean in groups of tens or hundreds, waddle up over the rocks to the sand, pause for a rest break and to listen for the calls from chicks. Then they waddle along well used penguin paths in groups to their burrows. The older penguins have status and get the burrows closest to the shore. Young penguins travel as much as a kilometer to the furthest burrows. The sound of calling, growling and trilling penguins combined with the comical parade (some of the penguins are so fat they cannot balance upright) is just a delight. You cannot touch or photograph however the penguins are so unafraid of people that they waddle right along the boardwalk looking at the people like little penguin tourists. The penguins hoot and call for a couple of hours as they socialize, mate and feed their young then everyone beds down for the night and it starts all over the next morning. We were all left with permanent grins watching the parade of the penguins then fell asleep in the van during the long ride back to Melbourne.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Melbourne Day 2
We’re still fighting the time difference (15 hours ahead of Toronto) so waking up early is normal, even Connor is up with the sun. Off to the Queen Victoria Market today. The market is huge and occupies an entire city block. It was the site of the Melbourne General Cemetery (1837). The produce market was created in 1877 to some controversy as 3 bodies had to be moved. It became so popular that in 1917 an act of parliament created the permanent market, the cemetery was razed and over 10,000 remains had to be relocated. The market now covers 17 acres with beautiful ornate brick buildings and awnings with open sides that house over 1000 stalls and vendors. We sampled local yoghurt, bought local ham, air dried beef and Tasmanian brie cheese also had a wonderful fish lunch. We couldn’t pass by the didgeridoo vendor without a lesson which Connor picked up in a flash (similar to playing the trumpet). The didgeridoos are wonderful to hear but each is a work of aboriginal art on its own. While there are many fakes available to tourists, the real things are made of Eucalyptus branches, naturally hollowed out by ants than carved and decorated by aboriginal artisans. Connor has convinced us that we must have one, so we may buy if we can figure out how to get it home! Along the way we also stopped in to the Old Melbourne Gaol (not a pleasant place for a night stay) and the City Baths, a beautiful restored Edwardian building built in 1903 and still used as a huge athletic complex.
Our apartment, the Mantra on the Park is in the North West corner of Melbourne city centre, right across the road from Carleton Gardens which we look out on from our 15th floor apartment – the view is stunning. Many cultural events take place in the park and also in the restored Royal Exhibition Building which was built for the 1880 World Fair. It is a sprawling building centered on a dome that is about as high as our balcony. Behind this is the ultra-modern Museum of Melbourne that we spent this afternoon in. This museum opened in 2001 is dedicated to Australian science, society and indigenous cultures. Highlights included the giant squid and Blue whale skeleton, Samoan war canoes, the Forest Gallery that houses the ancient remnant forest from the break-up of Gwondona Land and Bunjilaka the Aboriginal Centre.
After a day of trekking, we headed over to Lygon Street to have supper in Australia’s first pizza parlour. This area is close to the university and popular with students. The area was populated by Italian immigrants after WW II because it was a cheap neglected area of the city. The restaurants cover the gamut from Italian to Middle Eastern to South Asian, however they must be desperate for business as many of the owners stand outside and try to drag passer-by’s in for a meal.
Our apartment, the Mantra on the Park is in the North West corner of Melbourne city centre, right across the road from Carleton Gardens which we look out on from our 15th floor apartment – the view is stunning. Many cultural events take place in the park and also in the restored Royal Exhibition Building which was built for the 1880 World Fair. It is a sprawling building centered on a dome that is about as high as our balcony. Behind this is the ultra-modern Museum of Melbourne that we spent this afternoon in. This museum opened in 2001 is dedicated to Australian science, society and indigenous cultures. Highlights included the giant squid and Blue whale skeleton, Samoan war canoes, the Forest Gallery that houses the ancient remnant forest from the break-up of Gwondona Land and Bunjilaka the Aboriginal Centre.
After a day of trekking, we headed over to Lygon Street to have supper in Australia’s first pizza parlour. This area is close to the university and popular with students. The area was populated by Italian immigrants after WW II because it was a cheap neglected area of the city. The restaurants cover the gamut from Italian to Middle Eastern to South Asian, however they must be desperate for business as many of the owners stand outside and try to drag passer-by’s in for a meal.
No Boomerangs
No Boomerangs Sign by Duncan Riddell
First day in Australia I was walking down the street with my boomerang in my hand when suddenly I noticed a rather troubling sign, it had a boomerang with a red line through it. I stared at it for a moment then another thing caught my eye, it was standard sized car that was black, blue, and white with a blue and red flashing light on the top. It stopped in the intersection in which I was crossing. Quickly I hid my boomerang behind my back but it was too late, the police officer in the car parked quickly and got out. I started to run. He told me to stop but I kept running. I ran into an alley but it was a dead end. I turned to face him, he looked angry. Then without thinking I threw my boomerang at him and it hit him in the head and he was knocked unconscious. That’s when I realized my boomerang didn’t come back! Everywhere we go in Melbourne we keep seeing ‘No Boomerang’ signs.
First day in Australia I was walking down the street with my boomerang in my hand when suddenly I noticed a rather troubling sign, it had a boomerang with a red line through it. I stared at it for a moment then another thing caught my eye, it was standard sized car that was black, blue, and white with a blue and red flashing light on the top. It stopped in the intersection in which I was crossing. Quickly I hid my boomerang behind my back but it was too late, the police officer in the car parked quickly and got out. I started to run. He told me to stop but I kept running. I ran into an alley but it was a dead end. I turned to face him, he looked angry. Then without thinking I threw my boomerang at him and it hit him in the head and he was knocked unconscious. That’s when I realized my boomerang didn’t come back! Everywhere we go in Melbourne we keep seeing ‘No Boomerang’ signs.
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