What is Earth From Down Under

Earth from Down Under is a blog about our twice in a lifetime retirement visits to the Antipodes with stops in Hawai'i. To stay in touch with friends and family while on our trip, we will post updates as often as possible. (Click on the photos to enlarge them for the full effect.)



Sunday, March 28, 2010

Observations of Kiwis by Two Foreigners

Notice in NZ Health Food Store

Signs at Dyers Pass

Just Two of the Cyclists on the Dyers Pass Road

Kiwi Personality
If prizes were given, New Zealanders would get the gold for the friendliest people on earth. I mean genuinely friendly, not just your North American, “Have a nice day,” superficial friendliness. In shops clerks frequently ask questions such as, “And how is your day so far today?” And they seem like they really hope it’s a prize winner. If you pause and look confused in the slightest, you’ll attract genuine concern, locals come over and ask if you’re all right, or as in Christchurch, say, “You look lost, where is it you’d like to get to?” or something similar. It’s happened more than once. People working in bookstores seem more serious minded and show more concern than shopkeepers in general. We walked by the busy bus station and a bus driver stopped his bus as he was pulling out of a bay and waved us across. Can you imagine a TTC driver doing that? I’m not sure we’re going to be tough enough to return to Toronto after this trip.
Kiwi Humour
I’ve been struck by the Kiwi sense of humour while here – evident in signs and labels. I include a picture of a health food store window display to show you what I mean. I believe this is fairly typical. Also I’ve copied the label from a soft drink I enjoyed yesterday. We’ve seen similar labels on beer and other drinks. Imagine this read with a Kiwi accent:
You know that when Mac’s puts its mind to making a bottle of apple, we’re not going to come up with some sickly concoction for the faint of heart MAC’S GREEN APPLE is made from the juice of real Hawke’s Bay Granny Smiths. It will make your eyes squint like a gunfighter and your mouth pucker like a cat’s bum. All with natural flavourings and completely free from any added preservatives, as it ought to be.
Kiwi Honesty
Today is our last day in NZ, and I can say we’ve become almost blasé about security. We’ve not even seen any suspicious looking characters, it seems ridiculously safe in the cities, even in the seedier areas. Rob Two Names, our helicopter pilot, proclaimed the virtues of living in Te Anau. He said that people living there still don’t lock their doors at night.
When we went to the Royal Albatross Observatory we learned that the Albatross has no fear. When they go to weigh the chicks, the mothers are very trusting and let their keepers handle the babies without a fuss. As such they are very prone to predators. I’m wondering if Kiwis are like the Albatross, they seem so trusting, are they gullible also? In New Zealand, they probably have very few dishonest predators, but it makes me wonder if they run into difficulty when they do their OE (overseas experience). Do others take advantage of them? What happens to them in London, Paris, New York, Montreal or Toronto?
Kiwi Civic Pride
There is almost no graffiti in New Zealand. We noticed this and our Canadian friends remarked on it too when we had dinner with them recently in Christchurch. The cities are pristine both large and small. New Zealanders must have a high level of civic pride. How do they instill this value in their young people, that’s what I’d like to know. Our neighbourhood in the Beach and just about every other one in Toronto fights a losing battle with the young over graffiti. Tagging is hideous and commonplace in North America and Europe. Perhaps New Zealand is a bit behind the times in this area, let’s keep it that way!
Kiwi Fitness Levels
We’ve noticed that Kiwis are off the streets at about 5:30 p.m. When we went into Blenheim at 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, it was difficult to find a restaurant open. We went into Christchurch around 6 p.m. to meet Toronto friends for dinner, and all the shops were closed already. We were in Dunedin on a Saturday and after the weekly market closed at noon, the streets were left to tourists. I know there are far fewer people in this country, but where do they all go for thrills when the work day is finished? This is the place where someone invented bungee jumping for goodness sake.

I know that Canada won 14 Golds at the recent Winter Olympics but if medals were given for general levels of fitness, Kiwis would win hands down. I simply must take a photo of a Kiwi riding a bicycle straight uphill and I mean UPHILL to show to you. We are staying on the Banks Peninsula across Dyer’s Pass. When we want to get to Christchurch, we must make a hair-raising 45 minute journey on this steep winding road with no shoulders. Last night we met at least 12 Kiwi cyclists on their way over the pass, then followed one for a considerable distance down the tortuous road, crossing switchbacks etc. It would have been foolish to try to pass the fellow and the speed limit was 25-35 km anyway, so it was fun to follow and enjoy the scenery. Now these people are NOT twenty somethings either. We’ve seen a few people our age doing this, and we’ve NEVER seen a Kiwi get off the bike and push it up the hill. I’m sure only tourists and those who have mechanical problems with their bikes are allowed this luxury.

One is almost forced into action here, surrounded by mountains, the sea and gorgeous scenery. In Wellington at lunch time there were men and women on their backs near the waterfront, being led through a public fitness regime. I made a movie of it to share. On our way back to Charteris Bay we passed through an upper middle class suburb at about 6:30 p.m., and there were legions power walking, jogging, cycling, you name it. There I’ve answered my own question, Kiwis aren’t out carousing in the bars after work, drinking all those empty calories, they’re all out going for the gold medals. Look out Canada – those Kiwis are determined to capture those medals next time...

Today is our last day in NZ. We’ve had a wonderful time here in this place so far from everywhere else. We are off to Sydney and Australian adventures. We’ll keep you posted...
Noon in Wellington

She Chocolat





Well we had great aspirations to explore on our last day in NZ, but we didn’t get very far. For the past two days we’ve been passing She Chocolat at Governor’s Bay on our route over Dyer’s Pass. As we were in exploration mode and it was coffee time, we succumbed to natural curiosity.
One look at the menu and we changed our minds. We decided to stay for brunch. Here is what we ordered:
Chocolatier’s Brunch
Organic house breads, summer fruits, yoghurt, chocolate and hazelnut pate, chocolate and raspberry jam and cheeses. Chocolate and cheese is amazing together (their words, not mine)! Complete with She Chocolat’s Chocolate Trail Mix which includes rainsins, seeds, nuts and cacao nibs, all rolled in the finest Belgian chocolate. As you can see – it was really quite modest – and we shared it!
Well we just finished it. Duncan said, “What a great send off for our last day in NZ. Claudia said, “I wouldn’t mix the chocolate and the cheese, the cheese taste is dominated by the chocolate,but maybe that’s what chocolate lovers like about the combination.”
Another exerpt from the menu:
How to Eat Truffles
Close your eyes and allow each truffle to take you – first with the snap of the shell and then through the disappearing into the sensual inner that has been blended to perfection. No two truffles are the same and each demands complete presence. Eating truffles is about chocolate presence; there is nothing like it for chocolate lovers!
Too bad we are not here on Mondays. The founder of She, Bernie Prior, teaches The Form to clear the mind, create abundant life energy, create a space of deep relaxation and opens the heart to experience more joy. The sessions are by donation and I’ll bet they give you a truffle upon completion.

A Visit to the South Pole


Pedro

As the weather prediction was dire, we decided to head into Christchurch on our 3rd day to visit the International Antarctic Centre. We phoned ahead to book an opportunity to get up close and personal with the little blue penguins. We viewed an excellent introductory film then met Jordan, our blue penguin expert. All the penguins live at the Centre because they have been injured in the wild; some were missing limbs and sight in one or even both eyes. They live here permanently because they could not survive long in the wild. The Centre can house up to 25 penguins at a time. Jordan took us into the penguin enclosure along with another couple from California. He pointed out the difference between the blue penguins and the white flippered penguins, and he warned us to keep our hands out of their pond as they tend to bite, especially the innocent looking female named Turk. Then we went into the lab and met Pedro, a little charmer who stood very patiently as we snapped lots of photos. We watched feeding time where they throw out sprats and record how many each bird eats. Each has its own identification ring to make the task easier though the keepers recognize them by their obvious disabilities. Next we moved on to Antarctic Base Camp where we donned boots and warm coats for entry into the Antarctic Storm Centre. We stood shivering as the winds roared to 45 kph and the temperature dropped to -18C. We weren’t that impressed as we’ve experienced much worse in Montreal and Toronto in the dead of winter. The darkness was creepy though; I couldn’t stand all those months with no sunlight. Finally Claudia rode on the Hagglund (Swedish made) ATV Ride of Terror. A notice warned those prone to seasickness to avoid the ride so Duncan decided to stay behind and take photos. The ride simulated conditions found in extremes of temperature and terrain from 50C to -50, from desert or icecap. We jerked over hills, round steep curves and into a pond 2 metres deep. Our yobbish driver took great pleasure charging around. I wondered why he didn’t join the military instead of driving the same course at the Antarctic Centre day after day, maybe he’s done that already.

Akaroa Day

Feeling Old and Not so Bold
Made It!
Akaroa from the Top

The morning was brilliant so we headed for Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for the day. Akaroa was a French colony and still retains a French flavour that includes French tourists looking for good food and wine. Unfortunately our destination French Farm just outside town was closed on Tuesday so we headed into the village for lunch. Though the destination offers myriad distractions for the tourist, the town is still charming.
We bought a day hike plan from the tourist information office and began our relentless 1 ½ hour ascent on the Heritage Tree Trail for a stunning view of the town and harbour. Along the way bell birds serenaded each other and provided some distraction. This was another of those Kiwi hikes that warned: moderate fitness level required. Were we up to it?
We made it to the top, snapped a few photos then headed down. We enjoyed the descent through Tree Crop Farm fields that were posted with signs such as Feeling Old and Not So Bold? And Chickens Come from Broken Homes. We love that Kiwi humour.
We stopped at Pepper Tree Cafe for a delicious Schwepps Lemon Lime Bitter beverage in tall glasses of ice and were entertained by the resident Chihuahua, Bruno, who took great pleasure in terrorizing a three year old patron. We also saw a native New Zealand Wood Pigeon – a huge bird. The birds in this country seem to be on steroids, the Weta, Pukeko, Wood Pigeon, KaKa, Kea and, of course, the infamous Kiwi. I guess they grew to such a size over the centuries because they had no natural predators. Some are developing wings again, to escape the possums, ferrets and stoats etc. Smart move.

Dinner with Toronto Friends



Luckily we checked our notes and didn’t miss our dinner with Ros and John Dekker on the Tramway Restaurant. I do admit I was a bit sceptical of this concept. A small tram car continually circles the city as one dines. However the whole experience was charming, the wood paneled tram car was most attractive and the food was tasty though too plentiful. It was excellent connecting with Ros, a former colleague from Bloorview school, and her husband John. They are on a 5 week holiday to the Antipodes and before we left Toronto, we compared itineraries and hoped to rendezvous in Christchurch.
A fellow Kiwi diner very kindly took our photos, and we hope we were weren’t too loud for this young couple who sat across the aisle. It was great fun to compare notes and hear of their luxurious flight over in business class. We hope to see them again near the end of our travels in Adelaide. I’ll always remember walking behind Ros at school wondering how on earth she kept her svelte figure. I’m still wondering; how can she eat all her potatoes and look so good?

Banks Peninsula

Charteris Bay Cottage
Chateris Bay Interior
Vietnamese Porker

We arrived in Christchurch in the early afternoon, shopped for provisions and got our bearings. To our surprise we found that our dinner on the tram with Ros and John Dekker, friends from Toronto was scheduled for that very evening. We would have to go to our cottage in Charteris Bay and return again – good thing we looked it up or we would have missed our rendezvous. How one loses track of time and appointments when on holiday.
Our cottage turned out to be attached to a beautiful home on a hillside. It was a self-contained 1 BR apartment with a large front room divided into sitting room and kitchen. It had absolutely every convenience and even a resident spotted Vietnamese porker, the daughter’s family pet. We enjoyed feeding him scraps from our dinners. The cottage was an excellent base for exploring the peninsula and getting back into Christchurch, a 45 minute drive over harrowing Dyer’s Pass. The owners had emigrated from the UK in 2006. The husband, a navy man, had been based at Yeovilton right near Duncan’s birthplace, Yeovil in the West Country. Small world! The wife, Belinda, looked and spoke just like Luisa Glasson from my favourite TV show, Doc Martin. She was friendly and bubbly and did everything she could to make us feel welcome including procuring a NZ DVD, Heavenly Bodies, about a murder that took place in nearby Victoria Park in 1954. Two teen-aged girls murdered one of the girl’s mothers and went to prison for premeditated murder. They’ve both been released and the British one is a famous crime writer in the UK now, Anne Perry. I’ve seen her books but never read one. I guess she knows her subject well.

Geraldine

We stayed at a very strange place in Geraldine. This ended my winning streak of choosing immaculate B & Bs in NZ using the Internet. This was a venue for weddings and seemed a bit grand, but I had difficulty finding lodging in this area. The owner made us feel welcome with a large bouquet of Casa Blanca Lilies in our room and wasn’t too upset that we had eaten at Riverstone Cafe when we had arranged to eat there. The bed was large and comfortable and we slept well. However – the downside: there was a little mouse in the corner of our room when we arrived and when we tried to push him out, he protested vociferously. We believe he was poisoned and experiencing the death throes, he certainly didn’t run for it, like his Canadian cousins do! The owner explained that they come inside when she opens the door to air the room. There was a spa or hot tub behind our room but when we lifted the lid, we decided to give it a miss. The highlight of our stay here was one of the family dogs, a perkey little fox terrier. He could use his nose to keep a balloon aloft for an impressive 5 minutes. He had us in stitches. I made a video to remember him by. (Sorry it is sideways!)

An Afternoon in Oamaru

Dry Goods "Clerk"
Tiger Lily's
Janet Frame House
Riverstone Cafe
Summer Fruit Pannetone
Apricot-Laced Meringue


We headed out for Oamaru because we read about a farm shop we wanted to visit to stockup for our last few days in NZ when we would be in a self-catering cottage on Banks Peninsula. The farm shop listed in Tastes of New Zealand, a free tourist publication, was said to be 6 km south of Oamaru on South Main Rd. Well we couldn’t find it so headed to the Green i in Oamaru to get some help. The girl there had never heard of it either so we decided to skip it and head for the Whitestone Cheese headquarters in town. We’ve been tasting our way through their cheeses since we arrived on the South Island, having difficulty deciding whether Windsor Blue or Vintage Blue is the best.

Before leaving the tourist information station, we viewed a 10 min. film and about this extraordinary town. If Dunedin is the quintessential Scottish town in NZ, Oamaru is the English equivalent. It looks like a town that time has forgotten – great white Victorian behemoths line the substantial main street. We learned from the film that the streets were built so wide to allow teams of oxen to make U-turns during the 19th century. Oamaru was quite the place during Victorian times but then suffered during an economic recession and never recovered. It conveys a slightly sad derelict air which the locals work their darndest to dispel. Retirees man the local radio station – we saw the DJ at work spinning his discs, tunes from the 50s, folk tunes, country and western – you get the picture. For fans of 96.3 Classical FM, he was the John Van Driel of Oamaru. Others worked in the vintage clothing shop, Tiger Lily, spinning yarn and manning the counter of an old time dry goods store. There was a stone carver, tile maker, penny farthing antique bicycle shop and genuine bakery that made excellent Hot Cross Buns.

Unfortunately the cheese factory was closed, but as the cheeses are widely available, and we’ve visited cheese factories before being true foodies, we weren’t deflated. We headed back toward town to investigate a sign pointing to the Janet Frame house. Janet Frame is a famous NZ writer, much revered in the country. I haven’t read any of her books yet, but I knew of her from Jane Campion’s acclaimed film adapted from her book An Angel at My Table. I’ve seen her books everywhere but haven’t bought one because they are usually in hard cover and too heavy to carry right now.

We were in luck, the house is open each afternoon 2-4 p.m., and it was now 3 p.m. We were met at the door by a lovely serious-minded volunteer, a true devotee of Janet Frame. She explained that though this was a childhood home, the furnishings were not original. Locals had procured and arranged them to create the atmosphere of a 1931-1943 home. There were framed quotations from Janet’s books and poems throughout, and we listened to a recorded radio broadcast of her reading an excerpt from To the Is-Land. The volunteer said that she often switched it on when there were no visitors just to hear the author’s voice in the house.
After viewing house and garden, we chatted with her before leaving, and she advised us to stop at the Riverstone Cafe on the outskirts of town on the main road.


We seemed to go a long way but didn’t give up hope as we hadn’t passed the airport on our right yet. Sure enough after about 15 minutes, we found it. We were a bit sceptical because there was a wooden castle-like structure in the large chicken pen that also housed a resident peacock, and a sign boasting the best gift shop for miles around. The gift shops were cluttered with all manner of gifty detritus throughout. However we made our way to the cafe and immediately knew we had struck pay dirt. This was no ordinary cafe and since we had been disappointed to miss Fleur’s in Moeraki, we decided to have dinner even though it was only teatime! The food was heavenly. I had the famous local green lipped mussels in a Thai coconut, lime chilli broth, and Duncan enjoyed deep fried zucchini-blossoms stuffed with 3 cheeses. We decided to be gluttonous and have our own desserts rather than sharing as we usually do – I, the apricot laced meringue with fresh cream, and Duncan, the summer berry panetone with homemade vanilla ice cream – the kind where you see the flecks of vanilla bean in the cream. I read the recipe for Duncan’s dessert in their cookbook, the crème anglaise was made with a litre of cream and 6 eggs! Mine had to have fewer calories. Needless to say both were heaven sent and heavenly. I wrapped one of my mussel shells in a serviette as a souvenir, I’ve never seen anything like them before, when cooked the edges turn a brilliant emerald green, too beautiful to discard, I wish I could have kept them all. (Later I discarded it, Australia doesn’t allow shells through customs.)

Moeraki

Posturing on the Boulders
Chick Hatching?
Moeraki Boulders
Maori Story (click to enlarge)

A very sweet fellow working at Penguin Place asked about our trip and advised us to stop at Moeraki to see the famous Moeraki Bboulders. There is a Maori myth about the origin of the boulders and rather than restate it, I will include a photo and you can read it.
It was a stormy Sunday when we left Blackhead Cottage, and we went into the village of Moeraki before going to see the boulders at the nearby beach. We instantly discovered Fleurs Place, a famous ramshackle restaurant at the water’s edge. We wandered inside and realized that this was definitely someplace special. Because we had just eaten breakfast, we opted for coffee and date scones. We didn’t have a reservation anyway and the place was fully booked for lunch. While taking photos of the outside, we were waved in by a NZ couple we had sat with on our Milford Sound trip. They raved about the food, and it looked fantastic. It will go on my list of places to return to on the next visit. Lizzie, Doug and Debs take note – this place is very atmospheric and looks well worth a detour.
I looked at Fleur’s cookbook with a testimonial on the front cover by Rick Stein of the famous Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, UK – a good sign. We ate at his restaurant about 25 years ago when on holiday, and the meal was one I’ll never forget, ever. I don’t think I ordered the platter but the Fruits de Mer was huge and didn’t have little bits of things on it as in North America, there was a whole lobster, clams, mussels and chunks of fresh fish. It looked spectacular and also a challenge to eat because one has to remove the shells etc. I always make a mess with dishes like that and as a consequence never order lobster or crab unless I’m sure all the shelling has been completed already. We also ordered crème brulee, a too well-known dessert today, but 25 years ago, I’d never had it and was very impressed with having to crack the top with a whack of my spoon. Fortunately Duncan was well versed in the joys and etiquette of crème brulee. So I take a blurb from Rick Stein very seriously indeed. We bought Fleur’s savoury scones to take with us and ended up eating them for lunch several days later. They were heavenly with potato, cheese, fresh herbs and a curry flavour. I later bought Fleur’s cookbook, and my spouse is lugging it all over the Antipodes in anticipation of my actually using it when we get back home. He is a long suffering fellow to do the carting, but my suitcase won’t hold another item. I actually split the zipper open at one point but luckily with a bit of fiddling, it repaired itself.
The Moeraki Boulders were really terrific as was the beach. All the tourists were having a great time posing on them so I did too. Duncan being more reserved than I, was a bit embarrassed by my popping out of one as if it were an egg. I’ll let you be the judge as to whether I am a convincing chick!

Tunnel Beach

Brave American Girl (not me!)
Duncan in the Tunnel
Hiding Behind the Rocks at Tunnel Beach

After tea we went for a drive and walk down to Tunnel Beach. Be warned, it's 20 minutes to walk down and 45 to get back up. In the 1870s a local named Edward Cargill hired someone to cut through the solid sandstone to build a passage to this beautiful beach for his family to save them the up and down climbs. We stood in a protected area behind huge boulders watching the waves crash around us.
A brave American girl entrusted her expensive camera to us and stood out on a point as we took her photo. She was so close to the edge, it gave me the shivers. The next day the Christmas family, our hosts at Blackhead Cottage, told us that the teenaged Cargill daughter had actually drowned at this spot. How eerie and sad.

Dunedin

Check out the wingspan of the northern albatross
"Stalking" Yellow Eyed Penguins! Beautiful Dundedin Art Gallery
We were both looking forward to Dunedin to see the wildlife. There is a Royal Albatross Observatory where we could see the famous northern albatross and Penguin Place for viewing the little blue penguin and the rare yellow-eyed penguin in their natural habitat. We were met by the owner of Blackhead Cottage, our farm stay B & B, a very friendly Kiwi who advised us to head out that afternoon to see the Otago Peninsula at its best as the weather was due to change the next day.
The drive was spectacular, and we made it to the RAO just in time for the 4 p.m. tour. It was fascinating to learn about these magnificent birds. The young ones fly around Antarctica searching for food without landing except on water - the equivalent of flying up and down the NZ coast 84 times in one year without touching land. They have a wingspan of 3 feet, their wings fold in like jackknives, and they are able to cruise on the winds without tiring themselves.
After the observatory, we hustled 15 minutes down the road to Penguin Place before it closed for the day. This is a privately owned establishment totally dependent upon tourist revenues so the price was fairly steep. The family construct a network of trenches that enable humans to run from point to point observing the penguins without stressing them. They’ve also created box nests for the blue penguins that are in residence at night and during moulting season. We saw two quietly crouched in their boxes; they must stay off the water when moulting as they are unable to stay afloat. Our Asian guide carried a walky-talky and received regular updates from “penguin central” as to their location. It was hilarious to chase the penguins for views, but worth the effort. We saw 3 pairs of yellow eyed penguins; one came hopping over the hills from the beach calling for and meeting his mate. We saw a private moment as they seemed to enjoy a penguin “hongi” billing and cooing.
The following day the weather was stormy so we went to the Dunedin Farmers’ Market in the morning to stock up on provisions for the next little while as we are staying in a cottage on the Banks Peninsula. Dunedin has a strong Scottish presence with those solid stolid buildings and wide streets. We enjoyed visiting their impressive art gallery then returned to our little farm cottage for tea and a ginger slice from the market. I just love these and have never had them elsewhere. They are definitely worth the calories.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Doubtful Sound

Champagne and Smoked Salmon on the Deck
NZ Fur Seal Colony
At the Tasman Sea
Black and White

Have no doubts, the weather was at expected at Doubtful Sound. Thank heavens we seized the impulse and went for that glorious heavenward ride last evening. The rain started as we disembarked at the dock at Lake Manapouri and didn’t let up until our return trip – diabolical. Duncan says our photos are great but they are all in black and white! Ha, ha!
Doubtful Sound by the way is so named because Captain James Cook decided to give it a miss fearing he could get into the fiord (not really a sound) but would be stranded inside because the prevailing winds don’t generally blow in the direction he would need to get out. He also gave Milford Sound a miss opting for Dusky Sound. Fiords are land extending into the sea that were pushed up by volcanic action whereas a sound is formed by river action carving into the mountains.
We enjoyed our long day in spite of the weather; we met nice retired tourists from the UK, Canada and Australia - Alice Springs and Bundaberg in Queensland. We saw a NZ Fur Seal colony, and the pilot turned off the engines to enable the boat to float soundlessly in the Sound to experience what it would have been like sailing on the Endeavour with Captain Cook, with only the sounds of the sea, wind, rain and bird albeit far fewer of them. It was another magical moment, all those who had ventured onto the deck seemed to feel that way. The pilot said he’d never had anyone melt in the rain so we had ventured out with about 1/3 of the boats’ occupants. The remaining passengers cowered inside out of the weather.
The 3 hour trip went quickly, and the bus ride back was amusing. Because we were at the end of the line for our bus, Duncan and I were divorced (the words of my Aussie seatmate). He and his wife regaled me with stories of Australia for the return trip, and it went by in no time. When I mentioned the cool weather, he said that up in Kuranda if the weather is 26C, inhabitants put on their coats! When I mentioned how friendly and welcoming the New Zealanders have been to us, the wife said she hoped the Aussies would be the same, but she couldn’t guarantee it! She said some were quite brash and her husband added, “And fat too – they eat too much of that KFC!”
We toured the Manapouri Underground Power Station – a feat of engineering – to build power turbines underground to leash the power of the waters of Lake Manapouri flowing to Deep Cove. An American firm built the road, and it took 2 years (1/1/2 years longer than anticipated) at a cost of $5(NZ) per inch!
For dinner back at our farm cottage, we enjoyed an omelette made with fresh farm eggs, Wither Hills Pinot Gris , local strawberries with fresh cream, Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Reisling and some local Whittaker’s Ghana Chocolate bar. God is good!

The Whirlybird

Drinking from Glacial River at Campbell's Kingdom
Align Center
Incroyable!
Rob Two Names and Dunc at Campbell's Kingdom
Claudia and Duncan at Mt. Kidd - see heli in background
Alpine Vegetation seen by few humans!
Doubtful Sound from the air
Glacial Cirque

This helicopter ride differed considerably from our first and was every bit as memorable. Our pilot, Rob Two Names as he is known locally because his surname is Hall-Jones, (a bit of Kiwi irreverence) is the son of a famous local doctor, who gave up his practice at age 60 to document the local history of this area. In fact, as we discovered later, we’d been given his book by Sara at our B & B and had enjoyed reading sections of it. Rob had 44 years of flying experience and was closer to our age than Ben (our pilot in Hawai’i). In fact he worked for 6 years with Jacques Cousteau flying him on some of his many expeditions. The helicopter was a tiny Tonka Toy that seated 4 people though Duncan and I were the only passengers. Duncan graciously granted me the front seat next to the pilot and the role of official photographer as he had taken the pictures over Kaua’i.
Rather than inspiring piped music in our earphones, we had a running commentary from Rob about the geography and history of the area. We flew over Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, and he pointed out the route we would take the following day across lake by boat, over the Wilmott Pass by bus then up Doubtful Sound by a larger boat. We were taking the current flight because we were doubtful we would see much of the sound the next day, given the weather forecast we had read in the tourist information office.
The sensation in this little helicopter vs. the Hawai’i helicopter was like the difference between driving in a little Volkswagen vs. a sedan like our Honda Accord at home. We were buffeted a bit by the wind though the evening winds were fairly calm. This ride was more how I imagined a helicopter ride would feel. Rob touched down at Campbell’s Kingdom in a secluded valley so that we could get out and drink the crystal clear water from a glacial river. We both felt a sense of awe to be in this place that relatively few people could ever see – only those who could afford or were foolish enough to pay for this extravagant magical hour.
Up we rose to view Doubtful Sound then headed toward the Murchison Range for our second wilderness landing at Mt. Kidd. This was a glacial cirque – the remains of the head of a glacier with a crystal clear pool in the centre. We dutifully waited for him to help us disembark and we steppe into an alpine wonderland. I was taken by the miniature alpine vegetation surviving so high in the world. This was truly one of life’s great moments. My regret was that I couldn’t stay at least an hour rather than 5 minutes to better absorb the experience. We were surrounded by exquisite beauty and feeling rather small and insignificant. To quote the Maori: Toitu he kainga: whatungarongaro he tangata: Long after people have disappeared the land will remain.
As we (reluctantly for us) returned to Lake Te Anau, Rob informed us that he felt very privileged to do his job. The company operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week as pilots are on call for rescue work. I asked if he ever took flights on his day off, just to enjoy the remote locations and he said, “No, too expensive.” Tell me about it! I said if I were younger I would consider learning how to fly one of whirlybirds and he informed me he’s had people flying in 3 ½ weeks if they completed all the book work beforehand. Hmmm - I’ll have to think about this, where doe one go to learn to fly helicopters in Toronto, I wonder...

Glow Worm Caves

Can you see her face in the mountain peaks?

Our second day in fiordland dawned with cloudless blue skies. We had the morning free so we explored the charming little village looking for long underwear as summer has morphed into autumn. Claudia found some Krazy Eco Bivouac polypropylene underwear at the local camping store. Since we needed some for cross country skiing back in Canada anyway, we each bought the delightful tops and bottoms. Every section is a different colourful pattern, arms, legs etc. Krazies will serve as PJs for the rest of the NZ trip as it’s nippy down here now, much like the beginning of Oct. back home.
We despaired that we were going to caves on this brilliant day, not to Doubtful Sound. The weather was due to close in tomorrow for that trip. We debated about whether to skip the caves in favour of a helicopter ride if we could get one, but frugality willed out – we had already paid for the worms and the boat was leaving before we could discuss the matter any further. We were amusing to our fellow travellers as we grumpily questioned why we were going into caves anyway as we both feel claustrophobic underground. The boat took off with us aboard and the trip across this sparkling glacial lake was fun. Actually the caves and the glowworms were fascinating. The young guides enthusiastically displayed their knowledge about these resourceful little creatures that glow to attract food and emit long strings of saliva to catch any hapless fly or moth that might venture or be washed underground into their limestone grottos. Staring up into the black maw of the cave, the worms glowed like myriad small constellations. Water from the glaciers above rushed down through the limestone to remould the eerie caverns constantly.
On the return trip I asked a young employee who looked like he could have been Maori, whether the Maori have any story to explain the glowworms. He said he wasn’t aware of any but that they had a story to explain the origin of the lake. To summarize: a Maori chief was the only one who knew the secret of a spring that held healing powers for his people. He entrusted the location to his wife when he was called away to solve a dispute between two neighbouring iwi or tribes. He warned her not to disclose this secret location to anyone. He was away such a long time that she took a feckless lover and relinquished the secret when he begged to know. The incompetent lover was unable to stop the waters flowing from the spring rather like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice so Lake Manapouri was created. The wife lay down in misery and was turned to stone and you can see her profile in the mountain.
When we returned to shore, we went to the Green i office (Tourist info) to inquire about helicopter rides. The company that produced the film was fully booked but there was another company with their landing pad conveniently right next door that had space so we happily made our way for an early evening flight over Doubtful Sound with two wilderness landings. Don’t even ask about the price!

Milford Sound

We awoke the next day to some clouds in Te Anau and headed off down the road to Milford Sound. The driving down was hauntingly beautiful, like a scene from Lord of the Rings. Mountains rising steeply, great black behemoths slick with rain, mist, clouds and thundering waterfalls. The word “awesome” overused by the current adolescent generation as ours used (and still use)“cool” is the perfect adjective to describe these mountains here. The mist turned to rain by the time we reached our destination, after passing through the impressive 1.3 km. Homer Tunnel blasted through solid rock. We had enough time for flat whites before hiking in the rain to our boat. All our trips were booked with Real Journeys – a great NZ company. We had met a couple at the Fox Glacier B & B who had hiked the track and informed us that it’s not bad to have the rain at Milford because that’s the way to see all the waterfalls. There are actually only 4 permanent waterfalls in the fiord, all the rest appear during the rainstorms. Apparently it rains 220 days a year on average, so we saw an “average” day. The rain came down in sheets and the “temporary” waterfalls streamed. It was actually very exhilarating standing on the back deck of the boat breathing the fresh sea air. Duncan had taken Sea Legs again so I’m not sure if he was totally compos mentis but I was dancing around trying to keep my balance, avoid falling overboard and get the best shots. I’ll post one of the short films of a waterfall to give you the idea!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Fiordland National Park


Glacial Rock Farmstay Cottage

We haven’t blogged in a while because we’ve been so busy in this extraordinary part of the world. We have reached the ½ way and the southernmost part of our 3 month journey Down Under. I’ve been looking forward to Milford Sound for many years, ever since I saw one of those Discovery Channel type programs about the best hiking trails in the world. Apparently 16,000 people hike the Milford Track during a season. We couldn’t do it this trip over – no time. It poses major challenges – weather, bugs etc. The Kiwis have this area so well organized, I’m sure it would be great to take the softie route, hike with a day pack and have our luggage transported for us. You also stay in nice lodges rather than in huts. It’s really expensive, and it is guaranteed to rain constantly. This is one of the wettest parts of the world – the cool temperate rain forest.
We stayed at Glacial Rock B & B – a farmstay about 5 minutes from Te Anau. Spritely Sara Murphy, wearing short denim overalls and big Wellington boots, greeted us warmly, and went over our action packed program. We’d agreed to her prebooking all our expeditions for us, and we had a full agenda for our 3 days. Tues.: Milford Sound Cruise with a 2 hour drive each way to get to the embarkation point, Wed.: boat ride across Lake Te Anau to the Glowworm Caves, Thurs.: Discovery Sound Cruise, starting with a boat ride across Lake Manapouri, 45 min. bus trip across the Wilmott Pass to the embarkation point, 3 hour cruise through the fiord to the Tasmin Sea and back, bus ride, trip into the Manapouri Underground Power Station, boat ride back across the lake – 8 hours in all. Whew! This is why we don’t take organized tours generally as we like to set our own agendas. However we wanted to maximize our time here and, as you will see, we fit in a few other activities too!
Upon her recommendation we headed for the local cinema to see the stunning film Ata Whenua (Maori for Shadowland). The film was produced by a local helicopter pilot who collaborated with members of the film crew from Lord of the Rings to produce this beautiful documentary about the region.
The pilot had flown during the days when they did deer recovery down here which we found was not (initially at least) recovery at all but the slaughtering of the invasive Red Deer that populated the mountainsides. Europeans had introduced many harmful predators to these shores trying to create England/Scotland in NZ. Species including the deer, possum, stoats, rats, dogs and cats have decimated the native bird species, and there is a big effort now to rectify the situation. In the 60s there was a bounty on the deer as they have no natural predators here. Then the Kiwis found there was a market for NZ venison and started hunting them down in droves using small planes and later helicopters. We saw a film entitled Venison Hunters all about this endeavour – it was like something out of the wild west in North America! I kept wondering what my dad would think had he been here as he loved to stalk deer. Would he think this was just too easy or would he sign on and think it was one of the most exciting things he could have done in his younger days – shooting deer from the air – rather like shooting fish in a barrel – leaping out, gutting them, tying them in bundles to the helicopters and flying them out. I suspect he would have enjoyed the latter. Later the Kiwis changed strategies and wrestled with them, carrying them out live to sell to farmers as livestock. Our farm had many paddocks of the beautiful creatures, probably descendents of the fiord herds. It’s certainly easy to see that one mustn’t mess with Mother Nature introducing alien species is not a bright idea, nature is very delicately balanced!
Because the pilot couldn’t find much of a market for his film, he built the local cinema and screens it almost every hour interspersing two first run films, one in the early afternoon and another at 8 p.m. This was the nicest cinema I’ve ever visited with comfy arms chair seats where one can enjoy a beer or glass of wine with the film – so civilized! As the film began I was immediately back in that helicopter with tears in my eyes. If helicopters are beyond your aspiration or budget, watching the film on the big screen with surroundsound is as close to the real experience as possible. I found myself in tears again at the beauty of this enchanted place. I immediately started plotting to get back in the air. Fortunately my partner was in agreement this time, both in reaction to the film and aspiring to enjoy another ride in a chopper!