New Zealand 2019

To celebrate Diane's retirement from the Lab, we are taking a 5-week trip to New Zealand. We'll bike, hike and kayak via tours and on our own through two World Heritage sites, several national parks and Hobbit-land. Hope you enjoy sharing our trip! Leia mais

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2 de fevereiro de 2019
New Zealand 2019
Arriving in Christchurch
2 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
As we flew into Christchurch from our overnight layover in Auckland, we could see the rugged coastline and the distant Southern Alps, giving us tantalizing glimpses of sights we will see later in our travels. For the next few days, we are in the city of Christchurch on the South Island.

Walking around the city, we were struck by how much the architecture and trees and gardens are similar to California. There are the turn-of-the century clapboard homes, or else newer large-glass window houses like you might find in affluent coastal communities. Similar to California as it may have appeared to us, Christchurch was modeled on an English city, complete with it's own river Avon, bordered by weeping willow trees and punters taking tourists out.

We spent our first half-day walking through the botanical gardens and visiting the Canterbury Museum -- a treasure trove of displays about New Zealand's cultural and natural heritage.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
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Particle Physics and Maori culture
3 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
Today was a visit to “Rutherford’s Den” at Canterbury College, site of the gold foil scattering experiment by Ernest Rutherford in the early 1900s. These experiments led to our modern understanding of the structure of the atom with a dense nucleus. Rutherford attained a professorship at age 27 and won the Nobel prize at age 37.

We spent a little more time walking around the city and admiring the public art, stopping at an outdoor public market for lunch. The weather has been perfect—sunny and in the low 70s.

In the evening, we went to a Maori cultural center, which demonstrated village life and dances. We also enjoyed a Hāngi meal, traditionally cooked using heated rocks in a pit oven (think luau).Leia mais
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Todd DouglasThose are fierce looking warriors!
04/02/2019Responder
Love the tongue Darryl! -Lora
05/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
Architecture and the Antarctic
4 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
We started the day on a walking tour of central Christchurch with Gordon, a retired architect, who talked about how the city responded to the devastating magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2011. Most of the downtown buildings and surrounding homes suffered severe damage, which the city is still recovering from. Large open spaces, which appear to be nice grassy parks, are places where homes have been scraped away, and gravel parking lots abound where commercial buildings once stood.

In the afternoon, we headed to the International Antarctic Centre, home to the joint Antarctic research programs of New Zealand, United States and Italy. It's a great museum, which chronicles the exploration and discoveries on Antarctica. We got a taste of what the Hägglund transport is like on the rough terrain (bumpy!), and watched penguins being fed and playing in the water. These are "Little Blue penguins," which have been injured and are unable to survive in the wild.

Tomorrow we are off on our biking adventure!Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Alpine Crossing
5 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Today is our first day on our Backroads tour. We met the 20 other travelers at the train station in Christchurch, then boarded the TranzAlpine train (note the ‘NZ’ they like to slip in whenever they can). We disembarked about 20 miles from the west coast and biked through constant rain for 20 miles. We rode through verdant farmland but didn’t stop for photos. Our hotel at the Arthur’s Pass National Park provided free dryers — whew! It took some work to get the water out of the shoes though.

The others on the tour are mostly pretty avid bicyclists, but they are all friendly and well-traveled, and interesting to talk with.

Shuttling up to the lodge after our ride, we were treated with some sunshine and a rainbow. A good omen for our next day!Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Sunshine Ride to the Tasman Sea
6 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Today we shuttled from our hotel to the ride starting point, about an hour. We got to drive past what we couldn't see while biking in the rain yesterday -- green pastures, cows and the Southern Alps in the distance. The 17 mile ride, in comfortably warm sunshine (about 65 degrees), was on lightly trafficked valley roads.

At one point, we rode past a couple of good Samaritans picking up the tire tread left on the road by a passing truck, but what we first noticed was the grouping of cows, all watching the action on the other side of the fence.

The bike ride took us to our lunch spot, where we had a pub-style lunch at Speight's Ale House. (Speight's brewery has a 150-year history in New Zealand.) After lunch, there was a choice of riding back in the shuttle, or biking on another 12 miles. We decided to go back in the van so we could spend more time on the seaside. The little town of Hokitika is an old gold-rush town, which boomed faster than San Francisco and Melbourne combined, according to one of the informative signs along the esplanade. We were delighted to run across a beach full of driftwood sculptures -- many representing Maori symbols. The sea is rough and there have been many shipwrecks over the years. Still, we did venture to put our feet in the water -- cold!

We wrapped up with a delicious dinner at a working farm, enjoying wine and appetizers on the terrace among the pastures and alpacas.Leia mais
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Todd DouglasGorgeous photo biking in the valley
09/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
Pastureland Cycling to the Rainforest
7 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
After breakfast, we set off on a 28-mile moderately hilly ride through three different scenic reserves--dense forest and tree ferns, with mountain vistas and glacier-fed rivers. The forests gave way to open dairy farmland for the last third of our ride. We've still seen more cows than sheep here in New Zealand.

Lunch was at the Pukeko tearoom in Hari Hari. We'd call it more of a cafe with delicious hot and cold lunch choices than a tea room. Diane's sourdough toastie was like a pizza on bread, that turned out to also have spaghetti underneath the roasted veggies -- delicious after a 28 mile hilly ride.

After lunch, five of the men in the group decided to tackle Mt. Hercules -- adding another 20 miles and 1,000 foot climb to the day. The rest of us rode in the van and cheered them on as we drove by.

We have two nights at the Te Waonui Forest Retreat -- a 5-star hotel and spa nestled in the rainforest with views of the Franz Josef glacier. Upon arrival in our sweaty biking gear, we were greeted with warm moist towels and flutes of refreshing kiwi juice at reception. They are very used to receiving outdoor adventure groups. Our dinner with the group was on the "Frond Terrace" of the restaurant — semi-enclosed seating among the ferns. After dinner, we explored the town -- both streets.Leia mais
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Nance and SandeLoving your posts! Can't wait to go there next year.
07/02/2019Responder
ViajanteThanks for including me! Julie
08/02/2019Responder
Looks beautiful! -Lora
10/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
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From the Sea to the Ice--and Everest too
8 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
Today offered several options. Some booked massages at the spa, one took a helicopter ride over Franz Josef and Fox glaciers (extra fee)—we get a glacier tour later in our trip. The rest of us took a mostly downhill 17-mile bike ride to the Okarito lagoons at the Tasman Sea. The scenery started out similar to the day before—ferns and forests, with the added treat of glassy smooth Lake Mapouriki and occasional views of the glacier across green valleys After a smoothie at a food truck, some of us took the van back, while others biked back to our hotel.

Next was a hike to the glacier terminus, or as close as you can get to it today— about 400 yards. Franz Joseph glacier has been advancing and retreating over the years, but as recently as 2009 we could’ve walked right up to it.

Dinner was on our own in a historic restaurant in town, and after dinner we got a treat! Backroads arranged for Mike Mahoney to talk to us about his 1977 expedition to Mt. Everest. He and seven others were the first Kiwis to attempt the mountain. Without sherpas or oxygen, they got to within about five hours from the summit before they decided to call it. They were the first expedition not to suffer any loss of human life, and certainly the smallest and lowest-budget group to make the attempt at that time. His slides documenting the trip and his passion for the success and safety of the ascent were palpable, over 40 years later!Leia mais
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Nice picture of the two of you! - Lora
13/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
Eels, Glow Worms and Avatar
9 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Leaving Franz Josef, we continued south along the west coast, pedaling 39 miles on a fairly level road, passing dairy farms with dramatic views of the mountains all around us. The threatening weather only brought a brief sprinkle on us. Later in the ride we came to more dense rainforest terrain, arriving at a salmon farm for lunch.

Back in the van we drove about 40 minutes to Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki. Our lodge hosts -- Anne Saunders and Gerry McSweeney -- were instrumental in preserving these ancient forest surroundings from development, eventually earning it UNESCO World Heritage status. Soon after arrival, we joined a guided walk through the rainforest of 1000-year-old Rimu trees, tree ferns, silver beech and others native to the west coast of the south island. James Cameron liked one of these trees so much he had it digitized for the movie, Avatar.

Our hosts encouraged us to pet the longfin eels, which they attracted near the shore by pouring blood into the water (from raw meat). We met 'Margaret,' who is about 5 feet long, and estimated to be over 50 years old. These eels can live to be over 100 and weigh more than 50 pounds. They are kind of doughy to the touch, but very slippery!!

After dark, Gerry walked us down the road to view thousands of glow-worms in the steep hillside along the road. Glow-worms are the larvae of any of four types of beetles--among them, the firefly. They are 1-2 centimeters long and only the width of 2 human hairs, growing to 5 hairs before they form a cocoon in preparation for their 2 days as adults before they mate, lay eggs and die. Gerry is quite a character, and very knowledgeable -- it was a magical evening!Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Grab a Paddle, Reach for the Stars!
10 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Today was a day out of the bike saddles -- even the die-hard riders opted to enjoy the on-foot and on-water activities offered by the Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge. In the morning, three of us went with Backroads guide Laura on a leisurely hike through the podocarp forest to the sea. Podocarps are a type of conifer whose cones have modified over time to be more like berries. The berries are attractive to birds, which help to spread the seeds. Some say podocarps are from the time when New Zealand was part of the giant continent of Gondwana, over 85 million years ago. We heard several different bird calls, and spotted a few. The New Zealand fantail was probably the most impressive.

On the beach, we hunted for jade stones. New Zealand doesn't have jadeite, the stone we usually associate with jade, but they do have two other mineral forms of jade, or Pounamu (Maori name), also just called 'greenstone.' Gerry had given a presentation on jade the night before, and said he might find one piece a day, so we weren't too hopeful. Darryl may have found one, and there are plenty of green rocks to be found, which are generally serpentine.

In the afternoon, we did a combination hike and kayak. One of the lodge biologist guides took us through the forest, where we crossed a stream on a cable bridge (like Cazadero, Erin & Ryan!), showed us the eels again, then set us up with kayaks. We paddled maybe for 45 minutes past structures set up for whitebait fishing when they are in season. Whitebait are any of several types of small freshwater fish that are popular on menus in the south island. We haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Wrapping up the night, we couldn't resist joining Gerry's night walk again to see the glow-worms, and because the night was clear and this time we would be able to take in some serious stargazing. Gerry pointed out the Southern Cross, with its pointers -- Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. The Milky Way was vast and clear, and we also spotted the constellation of Serius, with the dog star (dog days of summer). We saw 8 satellites and 4 shooting stars. Another great ending to a day in this wild land on the west coast!Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Wind, Waterfalls, Wanaka
11 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Leaving behind our gracious hosts, Ann and Gerry, we shuttled a half hour down the road to the town of Haast, where we set out on our bikes. One of our solo travelers, Scott, was greeted with a decorated birthday bike by the crew! The ride began inauspiciously, with high winds blowing fine dust across the flat Haast River Plain. Not only did it feel like we were climbing a hill for 2 miles on the flat, our teeth were gritty with dust. Glasses were a must!

Eventually, we made it into the Mt Aspiring National Park -- a forested area that was more protected from the wind. Still following the aqua-colored river, we were treated to the most spectacular scenery. River and river valley on one side, craggy mountains behind it, lower mountains on our other side, and waterfalls of all sizes and shapes every few kilometers. Only moderate ups and downs on that 28-mile stretch, so very pleasant. The lunch stop at a roadside picnic area was quick, as the sandflies were biting. We jumped in the van for a 30-minute ride over the Haast pass (thank you!), in part because of the 1,850-foot elevation, and also because it would be very hazardous road riding.

Back on our bikes, we took the last 16 miles up over steeper rolling hills (6-7% grade at times). It was challenging, but the stunning scenery made it so much easier. It was our longest biking day but our favorite day of riding, we think because of the expansive views, and frequent waterfalls. The biking ended just before we could be rewarded with the lovely downhill ahead. We drove the rest of the way because traffic was increasing as we began to enter the lake town of Wanaka.

Not only is Wanaka always a popular destination in the summer (think Tahoe), but visitors are also arriving for 'Challenge Wanaka' -- New Zealand's largest triathlon festival. Our hotel is on the edge of the lake, about a 25-minute walk from town, so we are out of the fray, but close enough to enjoy it. Dinner at the hotel with our gang was fine dining in a beautiful setting.Leia mais
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It sounds like an amazing trip and such spectacular scenery! Has the weather been hot or cool? -Lora
13/02/2019Responder
Even though the dust sounds unpleasant, it made for an amazing photograph! Looks like perfect scenery for a bike ride. - Erin
20/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
Mount Iron Hike Above Wanaka
12 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
This was another day with lots of options. Many in the group hoped to get a flight to Milford Sound, but the winds weren’t favorable for the flight over the mountains. There was a bike ride option as well, but we opted to hike to the locals’ favorite mountaintop view point.

Mount Iron is shaped like a wedge, carved by a glacier on its steep, river-facing side (our climbing up side), with a more gradual descent on the farmland side.

We stopped for lunch at the top and admired the view for awhile. Back at lake level, we wandered the cute town and enjoyed an ice cream.

Back at the hotel Backroads hosted a blind NZ wine tasting with cheese and crackers. The Riesling fooled us all as it was not sweet at all.

Having been wined and dined for days with Backroads, we opted for a food cart wood-fired pizza sitting by the lakeshore.Leia mais
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Nance and SandeBeautiful!
16/02/2019Responder
Such raw beauty! You should visit us in NY - we have lots of Rieslings that are not sweet. 🙂 -Lora
21/02/2019Responder
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New Zealand 2019
Final Ride - Rivers, Sheep & Song
13 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
We shuttled 30 minutes out of Wanaka to avoid the traffic, got in a group photo at Glendhu Bay, then rode 22 up-and-down miles along the Clutha River to Tarras. Our route passed more pastureland -- finally more sheep than cows! A short shuttle ride took us to lunch at the Carrick Winery in Bannockburn, an area known for its Pinot Noir. There we were fed a fantastic assortment of small-bites, including cheeses, shellfish, local meats, breads and assorted veggies. Intense chocolate truffles and mini creme brulee for dessert!

After lunch, we had about an hour-long van ride on to Queenstown, our last stop with Backroads. Here we had a farewell dinner, and leaders Dan and Laura made up a song for us to sing together. Take a listen to a clip on the video (Darryl and I are at the back).Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Final farewell to Backroads
14 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌧 61 °F
Dan and Laura organized a before-breakfast walk just as the sun was rising over the mountains around Queenstown's Lake Wakatipu. We strolled the quieter lakeside part of the bustling town, pausing at a memorial to victims of the Great War. Also on the walk was a memorial to British explorer Robert Scott, who spent a lot of time in New Zealand preparing for his Antarctic expeditions. We wandered around the (blooming!) rose gardens before returning to our hotel for breakfast and final farewells. Most of the group were returning to the U.S.

We walked over to the Kiwi Birdlife Park, a private, family-owned conservation center, focusing on native birds, some reptiles and endemic trees and plants. The kiwi-feeding was a highlight of the day. These birds are nocturnal, so you view them in very darkened rooms, with just a little red light to see by (apparently they don't see in the red spectrum). We watched one for a long time probing its long beak into a decaying log, searching for bugs.

We got to see several other birds -- the Morepork owl, the Kererū wood pigeon, and the naughty Kea--an alpine parrot that pecks at bicycle tires, seats, car weatherstripping, etc. The tuatara is an ancient reptile, born with a third eye on top of its head -- but it only gets to use it for the first 4-6 months of life. After that, the eye is covered in scales. We cut our visit a little short as the heavy rain was beginning to soak through jackets.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Doubtful Sound, World Heritage Site
15 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌧 59 °F
“This is fine country for the waterproof explorer” — Richard Henry, 1896

This was an amazing day! We are so glad it rained today because Doubtful Sound, actually a fjord (glacially carved and flooded by the sea -- vs river carved), is full of waterfalls when it rains. Only two waterfalls are present when it's not raining. Our boat guide said the temporary waterfalls will dry up within 30 minutes of the rain stopping.

It took some time and logistics getting here from Queenstown -- we boarded a comfy coach bus for a 2 hour trip to Lake Manapouri, then a catamaran took us across the lake for an hour, then another bus drove us an hour to the dock at Doubtful Sound. All of the views along the way made the various legs of the trip worthwhile, and the 3 hours spent cruising down the sound to the sea and back were spectacular.

We saw a colony of fur seals from afar, but did not see the pod of bottlenose dolphins that come into the sound, nor did we get to see the penguins, who have moved on during this season.

A serious feat of engineering took place in the 1960s (idea conceived as early as 1904) -- a hydroelectric plant was built under Lake Manapouri. The plant supplies electricity to all of the south part of the South Island, but mostly to an aluminum smelting plant. Public outcry over the original plans to raise the lake level by 100 feet caused a revision of the plans. Today, the lake level is maintained with a 'habitable zone,' rising or lowering within normal historical limits to protect the shoreline life.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Free Day in Queenstown
16 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
Today was a rest-up day spent checking in on business and family. Thank you, Carol, for covering my ProFacto work!! We also checked in with Erin and Ryan, getting the short version of Erin & Nick's fantastic Tanzania honeymoon (something to add to our travel list!), and updates from Ryan.

Queenstown is a bustling tourist town, with opportunities for extreme sports at every other storefront -- jet boats, skydiving, and of course, bungy jumping! We didn't partake. Within two blocks of the town is a quieter lakefront pathway.

Here we show a couple of photos of Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu, and a couple of memories of our Backroads trip.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Milford Sound with our new tour group
17 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia
Today we joined "New Zealand Trails," a locally-based tour company to do an 8-day adventure tour. It's quite a change from Backroads, in that we have four travelers on this group with one guide, compared to 22 and 4 guides. Courtney Kerin, our guide, is a world champion whitewater kayaker, and full of energy and passion for South Island. Our fellow travelers are a mother and daughter from Wyoming, and are enjoyable travelling companions.

We began the day with a lot of driving to get from Queenstown over to Milford Sound. It is 50 miles between them as the kea bird flies, but going around the mountains takes about 4 hours -- over a large mountain pass called the Devil's Staircase, and through the mile-long Homer Tunnel. Near the top, we stopped for a view, and found a kea bird ready to make mischief with car tires and someone's sandal left on the ground. We also filled our water bottles with clean, clear water from a stream.

Arriving at the Sound (actually a fiord) we went with a nature guide on a walk on the famed Milford Track. We learned about the trees and ferns in the rainforest, and tasted the Horopito, or Peppertree, leaf -- spicy! Last year, it rained 10.5 meters at Milford Sound, and they typically have 200 rainy days in a year. We hit a dry day! We then boarded our boat for an overnight in the Sound. The sunny weather and fair temperatures allowed us to spend plenty of time on the deck and watch the green fern-covered sheer walls of the fiord.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
From Sea to Summit in the Rain
18 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌧 41 °F
We woke to rain in the Milford Sound aboard the Wanderer, so all was right in Fiordland National Park. After a hearty hot breakfast, we put on our wool caps and raincoats to enjoy the new waterfalls emerging down the sides of the fiord (proper spelling in NZ, not fjord). We got to spend time in the wheelhouse with the captain, checking out the instruments and getting warm for a bit. He can sit in his chair and steer the ship's wheel with his foot. The boat cruised out to the Tasman Sea and we kept a watch out for crested penguins heading back out to sea after nesting along the shores over the past few months. The best we could do was see a pair of white blurs swimming under water. We did catch some fur seals up a bit closer than we did on our Doubtful Sound cruise.

For most of this trip, the daytime temperatures have been about perfect -- probably between the mid 60s to the low-to-mid 70s, depending upon sun or rain. We are at the 45th parallel south, which is equivalent to about Portland, or the northern border of Vermont. The long summer daylight hours have made it easy to fit in our outdoor pursuits, but make it a bit late to stay up for stargazing, usually, and the clouds aren't always cooperative.

Back on land by 9:30 a.m., Courtney drove us up and over the pass again, through the national park, to another of New Zealand's Great Walks -- the Routeburn Track. This can be a 3 day/2 night trek, with stops at government-owned huts along the way. Our hike was an out-and-back to Key Summit in the dense rainforest. We donned our rain gear, including rain pants and began the 1000 foot climb over 4.5 miles. Because of the weather, we didn’t get the far-ranging summit views, but the terrain on top was a beautiful alpine rock garden.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Biking the Arrow River Bridges Trail
19 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Our accommodations last night we’re at a Kiwi Holiday Park, a wonderful combination of campground and motel units with a communal kitchen and common room for dining, playing games, etc. Courtney cooked our breakfast before we set off for a 2-hour drive to the gold mining town of Arrowtown. The Arrow River is where they filmed part of the scene in the Lord of the Rings where Frodo crosses the river with Arwen after being stabbed by one of the Black Riders.

We were fitted with mountain bikes for an 8-mile ride on a gravel trail which followed the river to the first commercial bungee jumping bridge. Fun to watch the jumpers!

Driving to Wanaka, our overnight destination (yes, we were there with Backroads!), we stopped to drop a donation in at ‘Bradrona.’ It is a site in Cardrona that became popular for leaving bras on a fence. After the government took it down several times, a local farmer allowed it on their land, for breast cancer donations.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
We Take Flight!
20 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
This was such an amazing day, it’s going to take two footprints to show it all with our photo limit. We started with a scenic flight which followed a braided river into Mount Aspiring National Park. The 4-passenger Cessna plane was snug, but the views were so spectacular!

A braided river flows through a glacial moraine, and most of the water is under the gravel bed. After every heavy rain the braiding pattern changes as the gravel shifts around.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Hike to Blue Pools and Jet Boat
20 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
After the flight, we took a 2-hour hike, passing by Blue Pools, which looked more green today due to the heavy rain overnight.

As we continued on, so many people stopped us on the trail to ask where the blue pools were, as they had passed them by, ignoring the signs because they hadn’t seen any blue.

On our hike we saw a Tui bird and a New Zealand wood pigeon. Great to see them in the wild!

Our hike ended at the river’s edge without a building, boat or person in sight. Courtney pulled a bottle of champagne and plastic flutes from her backpack and we sat on the gravel beach sipping and skipping stones until our jet boat arrived.

Jet boats were designed for New Zealand’s shallow rivers and are really fun, but kind of noisy. The boat driver would signal us to hold on when she was going to make a 360° spin.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Kayak Lake Wanaka; Mt. Cook is Where?
21 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌧 54 °F
We opted to paddle kayaks in Lake Wanaka for an hour this morning. The weather was a bit threatening, but we wanted to work on our paddle skills before we do the Marlborough Sound sea kayaking later in the trip. After lunch by the lake, we began the 3+-hour drive to Mount Cook (Aoraki) National Park.

On the way, we stopped at Lake Pukaki, a lake fed by the braided Tasman River, which has its source in the Tasman and Hooker Glaciers, close to Aoraki/Mount Cook.

We arrived at our lodgings in Mount Cook Village, a sweet chalet with a view of Mt. Cook, if you knew where to look. It was very windy and overcast, and overnight there was a dramatic thunder and lightning storm as well!Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Grounded from Heli-hike
22 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Because of high winds at Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park, we were not able to take the helicopter flight to Tasman Glacier for a hike with an experienced mountaineer and exploration of some ice caves. This was something we were really looking forward to, but weather is so unpredictable in the mountains, you just have to roll with the changes.

Instead, we spent some time touring the Edmund Hillary Center museum. Hillary was born in Auckland, and made his successful ascent of Everest as one of two Kiwis on the British expedition of 1953. He had climbed Mt. Cook and most of the New Zealand peaks before being invited to join the British expedition.

We were still able to view the Tasman Glacier by hiking up the moraine to an overlook of Lake Tasman, formed from the glacial melt. Just two weeks ago, a massive and historic calving event resulted in warehouse-sized icebergs clogging an area at least 1 square mile in area. From our high vantage point, it was hard to distinguish relative size, so we have included a photo from a news article.

While up there, Courtney related rather matter-of-factly that she and 3 others are the only ones to have kayaked down the Murchison river, and no one has done it since.

The afternoon blue skies afforded beautiful views of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains with their own glaciers.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Mt. Cook Morning; Biking Lake Pukaki
23 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
Clearing skies overnight gave us some glimpses of the starry southern sky before bed. This is a designated Dark Sky area. Temperatures in the high 30s F kept us from staying out too long. By morning, we got some nice first-light views of Mt. Cook.

Then it was on down the mountain by van to turquoise-blue Lake Pukaki. We weren’t finished with Mt. Cook yet, though—the lakeside views were amazing!

We met Jude, owner of “The Jollie Biker,” and were shuttled to the start of our ride on the Alps-to-Ocean (A2O) trail. The A2O is a multi-day ride from Mt. Cook out to Oamaru on the east coast—Pacific Ocean. In fact, to really start at the beginning, you need to go by helicopter. We had a short, but sweet, 8-mile ride on the gravel path, which follows the lake edge. Plenty of photo ops.

At the end of our ride, we set off on a long (~5-hour) drive to the town of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, not far from Christchurch. The peninsula is a volcanic outcropping that appeared to be a separate island to Captain Cook when he was originally mapping New Zealand, so he never stopped there.

The Banks Peninsula was an important region to the Maori, for its abundance of foods of the forests, sea, rivers and skies. Part of the Maori name for the Peninsula translates to “The Storehouse.”

Once in Akaroa, we had a delicious final dinner as a group, enjoying local fish and lamb. Our two other tour members, Darcie and her mom, Leigh, have been great traveling companions.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Still Windy—More Plan Changes
24 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌧 55 °F
In Akaroa for our last day with NZ Trails, we were going to swim with Hector dolphins, said to be the world's smallest and rarest dolphin. However, once again, the weather was not on our side! A strong ‘southerly’ from Antarctica brought high winds and swells in the harbor, and no boats went out today.

Plan B was to spend a little time exploring the town, then go to a wildlife park. The French were the first Europeans to settle in Akaroa, in 1840, for the purpose of developing a whaling port, and farming the rich soil. The town still carries evidence of its French origins in the street names and flags flown.

Later, Courtney drove us to the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, just outside of Christchurch. We got to see kiwi birds again, as well as wallabies and many other native birds. Before long it was time to really say goodbye to Courtney, Darcy and Leigh.

The strong winds didn’t delay our flight to Marlborough Sounds as we feared. But we did have to cross the blustery Cook Strait twice—once from Christchurch to Wellington, then back south to the small town of Blenheim at the top of the South Island. A friendly shuttle driver took us on the half-hour trip to the town where we leave for our next adventure. Dave partly lives off the land, raising a few sheep and cattle, fishing and hunting deer—such a pest to the native plants that locals are encouraged to help reduce their numbers. As we drove past industrial-scale plots of grapevines, he said we were looking at about 650,000 grape plants, and a vineyard owner could get a $28,000 return per hectare.Leia mais
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New Zealand 2019
Hiking the Queen Charlotte Track
25 de fevereiro de 2019, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌬 55 °F
Today was the first day of our 3-day trip in the far north of the South Island, with the Marlborough Sounds Adventure Company (MSAC). This is more like an organized adventure than a tour. In the morning at the MSAC office, we were given a packed lunch for the day and instructions for the next three days. Then we were pointed to the water taxi for the 1-hour cruise to the start of another of New Zealand’s great walks, the Queen Charlotte track.

Our tour groups are getting even smaller —Backroads, 20 others; NZ Trails, 2 others; today, 1 other). Our fellow traveler, Matt, is from Auckland. Many others got off the boat to walk the trail too, so we all dispersed and went at our own pace.

The trail starts with a steep, rocky slope in the dense rainforest, with occasional views out over the Queen Charlotte Sound and its islands. From time-to-time we passed waterfalls and through sections with a lot of birdsong (listen on our video). Other times all we could hear was the howling wind. At least there was no rain, and we were fairly protected from the wind while in the trees. Our section for today was about 9 or 10 miles, and after the steep 1+ mile ascent, the trail became more rolling and better maintained.

We arrived at the water taxi pickup spot where we were taken around more of the Sound and dropped 2 km short of our lodging for the night. Luckily our luggage had gone on ahead to the Portage Hotel, named for the land crossing the Maori used to portage their wooden canoes to the Kenepuru Sound. We thought that last hill was hard enough carrying just our daypacks.

We enjoyed a nice dinner and bottle of local Pinot Noir, shared with our fellow traveler, Matt.Leia mais
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