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.
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