Exploring New Zealand From the Left.

[luthj]

Tekapo

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By Jen.

When trying to figure out where would go next, Jonathan saw a campsite near Lake Tekapo that had pretty pictures, so we thought, why not?



The lake itself ended up not being as scenic as depicted, but there was plenty of other things in the area to occupy us. First off, since I am a fan of kayaking, we decided to kayak along Lake Alexandrina instead of walk along it. The lake itself was super calm that morning.

A grebe shared the lake with us. They build floating nests and carry their young on their backs, since they are terrible on land!


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Then we decided to walk up to the top of Mt John, which overlooked Lake Tekapo. Before we got there, though, I found some beautiful flowers!

This might actually be a native pine. The needles were super soft.


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From there, we thought we would relocate to another camping spot down the road. On the way, we passed by Lake Pukaki. From here, you can see Mt Cook/Aoraki, NZ’s tallest mountain, on the other end.

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[Arjan]

Awesome !

Mny thanks - pls keep them coming !

The Mrs. is going to the North Island to play with horses...

 

[luthj]

Ben Ohau, Clay Cliffs, and Rock Painting

As per our standard operating procedure, we picked a fairly remote track up a tall hill or mountain. Mt Ben Ohau is located amidst several man-made lakes. Connected by canals (several of which have salmon farms), these lakes are used for hydroelectric power.




About half way up and the view is pretty good. We have been exploiting the impact of geography on the weather to stay clear of the rains. Looking west you can see the tattered remnants of a storm system as it clears the dividing ranges, having long since dropped with rain payload.






Three quarters of the way up and the view is just about perfect. Even at this height and distance, the drone of unmuffled jet boats breaks the near silence.


Right at the limit of the camera’s 40x zoom, you can see a blue smudge. I was not looking forward to the walk back down.




The top half of the track is visible as a slight line on the hillside.


If you look closely you might see a 4x4 track switchbacking its way up the mountains across the lake.






The following day we visited some 30-meter tall cliffs. Made entirely of a siltstone conglomerate, they are only slightly harder than common clay. The resulting canyons and formations are quite striking.

 

[luthj]

A bit further east and south we detoured to look at some Maori rock art. Not much survives long on the soft rock and wet environment, but these are at least several hundred years old.

 

[luthj]

Oamaru to Dunedin

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By Jen.

Next stop was Oamaru. This fun town got its riches from refrigerated-meat shipping. Apparently it was lucrative enough to support building huge Victorian stone buildings. In its heydey in the 1880s, it was as large as Los Angeles was at the time. However, it overreached itself and teetered on bankruptcy. In the most recent decades, there has been a repurposing of the buildings, leading to quite some fun places. In fact, it totes itself as the steampunk capital of NZ!

The main streets have beautiful stone buildings.


Check out the detail in that stonework!




Even McDonald’s was decked-out to try and fit in!


Inside St Patrick’s Basilica.




They even have a 4-person, tandem-bike vehicle!​

The other thing Oamaru is known for is penguins! They have two colonies on their shores. The little penguin (same as the ones we saw in Australia), as well as the world’s rarest penguin species, yellow-eyed penguins. We tried for a while to spot some, but didn’t ever see any. And gave out to the cold wind (brutal chill on-shore breeze) and retreated to the van. We did see some NZ fur seals, at least.

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We decided to keep moving on and inspect Moeraki Boulders. They are spherical rock-concretions that reach over 1-m in diameter. They were formed by lime holding together mud, pebbles, and shells that were buried under the ocean floor long ago.

This is one that was split apart.





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[luthj]

Then we landed in Dunedin. After doing some much-needed work (like laundry and washing the van), we thought we would hit up Baldwin Street, the world’s steepest residential street, according to Guinness Book of World Records.




It starts off pretty tame, but gets pretty steep at the end.







Look! I am taller than Jonathan, even though he is directly behind me!

 

[texasnielsen]

Hobbiton and Hamilton Gardens

By Jen.

Next day we arrived for the first tour of the morning at Hobbiton. The advantage of that was at least there weren’t crowds in front of us spoiling the pictures (only the gardeners). The downside was that it was still really busy and they kept you moving. From what I understand, the original decorations were all removed, but the holes themselves were allowed to be kept. Then they got permission to recreate the scenery. So, while not original, everything is still exactly like it was in the movies with amazing detail. Quite fun!




Besides all the cute hobbit decorations, my favorite part was the flowers and gardens!














They even had the Green Dragon Inn, where you could get a hobbit-like drink. They were alcoholic or carbonated, neither of which I like, and Jonathan wasn’t thirsty, so I can’t really comment on taste.




The nearby town, Matamata, has embraced the Hobbiton heritage, even remaking their visitor centre to look hobbit-like.
From there, we decided to head to Hamilton, where there were some gardens I wanted to see. Plus, they had a cakery open on Christmas Eve, where we could buy a cake. Since we were away from friends and family, we thought we might try something a bit different and decided to try out the recent Japanese tradition of having a fancy cake for Christmas with your lover. We ended up finding one at The Cake Box, which had a lovely selection. We finally decided on a Lemon-Raspberry Gateaux, which had a very light texture and a nice blend of flavors.



Then, we wandered about the Hamilton Gardens, which has different sections which they use to showcase different types of gardens.


Traditional Japanese.


Traditional English, Part 1.


Traditional English, Part 2.


I think this one was Indian?


Italian Renaissance.


Fortified productive Māori garden, featuring kumara, a sweet potato introduced from trading with South America before the Europeans arrived.



It was fun to take a stroll through so many different varieties of gardens. I think my next home ought to be situated near such a garden place so that I don’t have to do the work and can have all the options!

Enjoying your narrative. We were in NZ just before you apparently, arriving on 8/12. The public gardens in Hamilton were a treat and your photos of this location and others up north brought back some wonderful memories of our trip. Can’t wait to see what you’ve written about parts south!

 

[luthj]

In Search of Albatross

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By Jen.

Otago Peninsula is supposed to harbor some of the most accessible wildlife on mainland NZ. They have NZ fur seals, albatross, and penguins to name a few. However, a lot of the wildlife requires expensive tours to see them. Since it was our first try at it and we still have plenty of time before we leave, I figured we could make a go of kayaking and see what animals pop up along our route. We put out first thing in the morning from the little beach at Harington Point. It didn’t take long before we started to see some wildlife, and we were able to get up close to many of them. It was truly delightful, flowing along at our own pace and interacting with the wildlife from the safety of our kayak.

First, a juvenile seal taking a break in the morning sun.




Then an adult, getting its scratch on.


Then some black-backed gulls and their chicks.


Then we had a couple of seals in the water by us. One of them warned us to stay away.


They had an interesting roll that they did when they swam. We assumed it was so they could see both in the water and out.




These guys were talking quite loudly.




Birds nesting up on the hill.

You can tell this is a frequent spot.




Couple of times we got swarmed by red-billed gulls.


More chicks.​

 

[luthj]

On our way back to the beach, we actually saw an albatross drifting along the currents right above the water. It was a massive bird, similar in appearance to the black-backed gull. They actually rarely flap their wings, instead locking them in place to effortlessly glide the currents. Its flight was quite majestic. It was already upon us by the time we realized what it was, and by then I was too slow with the camera to get a photo and it didn’t swing by close enough again. Since we were already in the area, after stowing they kayak, we went up to a viewing platform to see if we could spot any more. We didn’t see any others, but we did see some other birds, even watching a black-backed gull swoop down and grab a red-billed gull chick!

These are called spoonbills.


Red-billed gull chick (don’t worry, this one only got fed, not eaten).




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The wind was super strong over the cliffs. The birds would just hover in the air for a while before landing or flying away.​

Next, we gave Sandfly Bay a go. Surprisingly, the bay was not named after the annoying insect, but rather after the blowing sand.

The wind made footprints disappear pretty quickly.

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While walking to a rock to get sand out of my shoes, I almost walked right up to a seal! He had been reclining in the rocks and I didn’t even see him until he lifted his head. Rather than take a picture, I got out of the way, so as not let him feel threatened.

This brute walked up on the beach ahead of us. They have a funny gait!
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Check out those flipperprints!​

After that, it was time to head back into town and get some fuel.

 

[luthj]

Christchurch In The Rain

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Our next stop was Akaroa, a small town on one of the harbors east of Christchurch. Since the 2011 earthquake, Christchurch has had no place to dock and land cruise ships, so most of them anchor at Akaroa. A friend happened to be on a NZ/AUS cruise, and had the day free, so we joined her and toured Christchurch together.

Here is the harbor at Akaroa, the lighthouse was moved here from the mouth when it was retired in the 50s. We waited until the smoking and massive cruise ships left before we took this photo.





After negotiating the horde of tour buses and vans, we picked up our friend. The cloud cover was low and threatening to rain at any moment. So we decided to drive the long scenic route to Christchurch. The photos weren’t any good, as we saw nothing but cloud for almost 2 hours.

With a break in the rain we did a bit of walking about downtown Christchurch.

This is the interim Cathedral. Built when the original Christchurch Cathedral was badly damaged in the quake, it consists of cardboard, concrete, and lots of plywood and was erected in 11 months. Built on a 3-meter-thick concrete slab, it is probably the safest building in the city.








To counter the destruction of the quake, public art installations were thrown up all over the city.









Here is the original church. The damage is extreme, some effort was made to support it, but has since succumbed to the aftershocks.


With the rain starting to come down, and a evening sailing, we headed back on the express route to Akaroa.

We took an evening stroll after the rain had finally stopped through the local reserve to the graveyards. It was very interesting to see separate areas for non-conformists (non-Anglicans) and Catholics as this was a British colony, with a state religion.

 

[luthj]

Nelson, and a Pair of Shoes

Heading west from Christchurch, was made a beeline to Nelson. My new hiking boots (finally) had arrived there.

We took the Lewis Pass Route. Some big mountains hiding in the clouds.


After what felt like eternity (ordered on 12-Nov, received on 12-Jan), we found some parking, and retrieved the boots. Classy, eh?


To start the break-in on these green-tinted, and Italian-made beauties we hiked up a local hill, which is the self proclaimed “geographic center” of New Zealand.







Jen wanted to stand **********-dab in the middle of New Zealand.


We stopped by a Kauri Tree on the way down. Now rare in NZ, these native trees can live over 1000 years, and grow to immense sizes. This sapling is only 67 years old! Most old growth Kauri have long since been logged for timber. Only a few isolated pockets on the North Island and one section of protected forest in the South island have large stands of them. Interestingly, it took activists chaining themselves to these trees in the 70s to convince Parliament to protect what remained.




New Zealand Q&A
By Jen.

Since this is a fairly short post, I thought I would take some space to answer some common questions we get about our travels in NZ.

1. When did we arrive? Dec 4, 2017.
2. When did we get the van? Dec 13, 2017.
3. Where did we arrive? Auckland on the North Island.
4. How long do we plan to stay? Hoping until August. Van has to be out by Aug 18th, 2018. We will probably try to stay until about the end of July, beginning of August, unless we run out of money first.
5. When did we go to the South Island? Dec 26, 2017.
6. When we will we go back to the North Island? Don't know... whenever it gets too cold down here or we run out of things to do.
7. What is our itinerary? We don't really have one. I have a list on Google Maps that identifies the locations of the POIs that we are interested in, we pick one the day of or the day before based upon where we currently are and the weather.
8. Where are we going after New Zealand? Back to the USA, we will be out of money and need to find a home and work (and now there is a wedding to attend! ?). We are currently researching places to live that meet the following guidelines (yes, I know I am picky and asking the impossible, Jonathan informs me everytime we have this discussion):
   1. Outdoorsy: I want to be able to hike, kayak, and play sports in the evenings and on the weekends.
   2. Nice weather for being outside: No warmer than 80s in the summer, low humidity, preferably short or warm winters (willing to compromise a bit on the winter weather).
   3. Friendly, like-minded people.
   4. Recycling options.
   5. Jobs: Engineering or technical positions where we can find good-paying work.
   6. Cost of living: looking to be able to work, possibly purchase a home, have projects (van reno #2!), and still be able to save for travels and retirement. So, relatively low cost of living compared to income potential would be great.

 

[asht3n]

I am going to be taking a solo trip to New Zealand after quitting the job at APKNite and am just looking for some suggestions on must-see location or must-do experiences. I plan on staying anywhere from 2-4 weeks
Places I have already decided to see:

• Auckland- sky tower, museum and Harbor Bridge (probably for a bungee jump)
• Wellington- Hobbiton movie set and Waitomo Caves
• Lake Tekapo and Aoraki for stargazing.

Any input would be much appreciated. ??

 

[luthj]

I am going to be taking a solo trip to New Zealand after quitting the job at APKNite and am just looking for some suggestions on must-see location or must-do experiences. I plan on staying anywhere from 2-4 weeks
Places I have already decided to see:

• Auckland- sky tower, museum and Harbor Bridge (probably for a bungee jump)
• Wellington- Hobbiton movie set and Waitomo Caves
• Lake Tekapo and Aoraki for stargazing.

Any input would be much appreciated. ??

This is a trip log, start your own thread in the planning section if you want detailed feedback. I have the entirety of my trip on the blog in my signature. Feel free to peruse that for ideas.

 

[luthj]

Marlborough Sounds

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By Jen.

We decided to stay in the area after picking up Jonathan’s shoes, as we knew that we would want to meet up with friends who live in the area who were due back from traveling soon. So, we decided to head to Picton. Once there, we discovered the Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary was within kayaking distance and also free, so we decided to give it a try. The hardest part was figuring out where to put the kayak in. The sanctuary is on a peninsula sticking out between two harbors. On the less busy side, you couldn’t access the harbor because it was either private property or restricted, secured access. On the busy side, the only place to put in was a small beach on the far side of the harbor, requiring you to pass the busy boat traffic down the middle. Jonathan was dubious about it, but I figured it wouldn’t be too much of an issue. After checking the kayaking rules for the harbor, he gave the OK, which was good because we were set for another wonderful kayaking/hiking experience.

A sound on our way to Picton.​

Shortly after putting in, we discovered the sound was filled with clear, purplish jellyfish. Thousands, perhaps millions of them. I guess the wind and currents were just right to send them into there. We hadn’t expected it, since we thought the water was too cold for them there.

Jonathan pulled one up for me.

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The wildlife sanctuary is protected by a predator-proof fence. So, as soon as we crossed over to the peninsula, we started seeing birds nesting along the shore.


Oyster-catcher and chicks.

On the walk, we weren’t able to spot as many birds as we were hoping, but it did have a lot of interesting native plants and informational signs.

View of the Queen Charlotte Sound from the peninsula. Yes, it is getting ready to rain in a bit.


The black stuff that we mistook for ash on a previous walk is actually a mold that is the result of “honeydew” excreted by scale insects that feed on the beech sap.

These are called kereru or wood pigeon. They are the largest living species of pigeon and are surprisingly quiet. You mostly just hear their large wings flapping heavily through the trees.


We also managed to see some little penguins in their nesting boxes. One was molting, the other was possibly nesting.


On the way back, we spotted a black-backed gull and chicks.

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We didn’t quite make it back before it started raining. With the rain and the exercise (kayaked over 4 km and walked 2.5 km), we were done for the day. We had heard that the Queen Charlotte Track is lovely and a recommended hike. We didn’t quite feel like tent sleeping yet, though, especially with off-and-on rain. So, we decided to walk a small portion of it between the Torea and Te Mahia saddles. It was a nice and sunny morning, and plenty warm.

The clear skies showed off the beautiful color of the water.




We took the detour to Onahau Lookout, which gave views down the sounds.




While we were sitting at the picnic table, deciding if we wanted lunch, a weka appeared.


Another one appeared as well and walked right under the table next to Jonathan. Apparently people have been feeding them here.


They make interesting noises; you can barely hear it in the video. Jonathan thinks he heard one a few days ago under the van, but didn’t know what it was.​

Wekas are a bird that are high in fat. The Māori had a technique for cooking and storing it in the water, that because of its high fat content (like a duck) enabled it to be preserved safely for up to 2 years.

While there, we received notification that our friends were back in town and wanted to see us soon. That gave me an excuse to leave the hot hike and head back into Nelson for a game of Ultimate Frisbee, which I didn’t think I would be able to get to play until next week.

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[luthj]

Queen Charlotte Sound and Blumine Island

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With our departure from the South Island approaching, we were trying to knock items off our lists. Jen had a stronge desire to see the very elusive and endangered Yellowhead and Orange-Fronted Parakeet (native birds). So we arranged for a Picton-based nature tour boat to drop us off on Blumine Island for a hour or two (predator free and home to these birds). Most of the time is spent on a boat going up/down the sound. Fairly rich with wildlife, they are a worth a visit.

Some seals on the hunt.




Cormorants (shags).




Here is a king shag (largest species) which is found only in the sounds.


Australian Gannets. Check out that blue eye shadow.






A few Hector's dolphins made appearances, but they are way too fast for us.

On the island, several trees were fruiting, so a large number of Kereru (wood pigeon) were going about their business.






The largest member of the pigeon family, these birds play a critical role in native forests. The seeds of most podocarps here are too heavy to disperse in the wind, and too large for most birds to pass them undamaged. With the Moa hunted to extinction, only the Kereru can spread the seeds of these trees in its droppings.


A few weta boxes were along the track. Members of the weta family (something akin to a cricket) are the heaviest insects on the planet. These smaller members are sleeping the day away in their man-made holes. Predation by introduced mammals has dramatically reduced their numbers, but on predator-free islands like this one, they can be found in just about any dry nook or cranny.


These guys are about the size of my thumb. Pretty beefy for an insect.




We saw a good variety of other native birds, but the Parakeets and Yellowhead evaded us. With our ride on its way, we headed back to Picton.


On the ride back were offered some local wine and mussels. Neither of us are wine drinkers, but we did try some vinaigrette-soaked, smoked, green-lipped mussels. These mussels are a NZ delicacy, and are grown in farms all along the sounds. They have a different flavor, and the smoking method made them a bit chewy for my taste. Jen couldn’t handle more than a nibble, I managed a whole one.