Mauri carvings
Mike and I (and Nick) spent Christmas and New Year back in New Zealand with friends Liz and Garry, Alex and Matt (and Gary’s nephew Jamie).
Christmas Day
A couple of extremely tame black swans visited - they were astounded to find themselves able to walk on water. And did you know that there are only black swans in NZ?
Fun on the water - rented ski doos in the bay at Opua.
Matt and Nick on the golf course at Pahia
This year we didn’t work much - mainly enjoyed their glorious (heated) pool and the company of Matt and Alex. Of course - Mike being the sociable sort quickly became friendly with the two sheep that live in the bottom field. We were very lucky as we were able to use one of their campervans for a while.
We went off to explore some of the south island for a couple of weeks early in December. What a beutiful country New Zealand is - lots of hills, mountains, lush pastures, a stark high country in the south, vineyards, forest, waterfalls and lakes.
Mountains and lakes in the south island
We did a circuit - Christchurch, Queenstown, Milford Sound and back over the hills to Christchurch. Nick joined us - quite unexpectedly - and enjoyed many of the sights with us.
A Mauri drawing - from ancient times.
We found this under a cliff - now a protected area Could this be a sailing boat?
I think Nick may have got a bit bored with the slow pace (not slow driving - Mike had us up and at it nearly every day!) but we don't do bars and nightlife, and weren't kitted out for the hill walking that NZ is so famous for.
Nick nearly rushed out and buy a gold panning pan, all ready to hike out into them thar hills!
He really enjoyed panning for gold (near Greymouth - something a little similar to Black Creek in TO.) I still have the little specs of gold that we washed and collected.
The Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers were spectacular - especially as we learned that they have both expanded and receded several times over the last several decades - and are currently expanding. Hard to believe that in the general warming of the world.
Unfortunately we weren't able to get really close to the Franz Joseph glacier as the ground is quite unstable.
Milford Sound was just as unspoilt and beautiful as the postcards depict. Unfortunately we weren't able to do any of the treks that are so famous as we did not have the right gear with us.
It was quite cold and our warm weather clothes were not quite waht would have been needed.
We did an ”eco” tour on a boat out onto the sound and found that very interesting.
At one point the driver manoeuvred the bows right under a waterfall so that the water filled some glasses and we could have a taste of cold, pure mountain h2o. We saw seals and even a couple of penguins sunning themselves on the rocks.
Nick did do a big bungy jump - over a river. Quite terrifying! 450 feet of terror to my mind!(I think he thought so too, at first).
Nick did do a big bungy jump - over a river. Quite terrifying! 450 feet of terror to my mind!(I think he thought so too, at first). Mike and I watched Nick do the jump from the safety of shore
We drove over the mountains through earthquake territory and Arthur’s Pass before returning to Christchurch.
We dropped off our campervan in Christchurch and picked up two other vans that hadn't been fitted out as campervans and took them on the ferry to the north island. Luckily the water was as smooth as glass, we have heard some terrible bad weather stories.
We dropped off our campervan in Christchurch and picked up two other vans that hadn't been fitted out as campervans and took them on the ferry to the north island. Luckily the water was as smooth as glass, we have heard some terrible bad weather stories.
In Wellington we visited Meg on Celtic Castle, a cruiser friend, for lunch on the boat, (co-incidentally her husband Brian was visiting ofriends in the marina where CC was at the sime time!).
We saw several thermal springs and spouts at Rotarua, learned a little about the Maori traditions, some that are still followed.
This geyser of hot steam is named after a fleu-de-lis as it is a similar shape when is blows.
We had spent time on a previous visit in Rotarua with Diane and Kevin (Diane is a friend of many years.) We had visited the city parks where we were amazed to see thermal springs and mud pool around every corner. We went on a boat ride to a nearby lake and even there we found pools of hot water – some too hot to touch on the lakeshore. We also found out that there are only black swans in New Zealand – no white ones at all. How peculiar is that? This time Nick and I visited Te Pau. This is an area where one can see the amazing hot geysers erupt, mud pools and many different hot springs. In addition it is a popular Maori attraction, being an area that has long been part of their culture.
Auckland city is very pleasant and actually perhaps a bit reminiscent of a Toronto a few years
ago. 
With, of course, the new technology and lots of traffic.
With, of course, the new technology and lots of traffic.There is a large wellprotected harbour and several hundred yachts are to be found in the different marinas.
The Kiwis have just built their first electronic toll road – it cuts 15 minutes off the journey into town from the north. On the first day (which was free) there were huge traffic jams on it. They don’t use transponders like we do (did?) in Canada – you sign on using the Internet and get a monthly statement – pay before you drive.
Tourists like us (many hundreds in cars and campers) are expected to buy a 2.00-dollar one way ticket at a booth before getting onto the highway. Unfortunately there are only 2 booths at either end – one in a service station – and the other in a small lay-by where it appears that it will be less than easy to re-enter the mainstream traffic.
We had spent time on a previous visit in Rotarua with Diane and Kevin (Diane is a friend of many years.) We had visited the city parks where we were amazed to see thermal springs and mud pool around every corner. We went on a boat ride to a nearby lake and even there we found pools of hot water – some too hot to touch on the lakeshore. We also found out that there are only black swans in New Zealand – no white ones at all. How peculiar is that? This time Nick and I visited Te Pau. This is an area where one can see the amazing hot geysers erupt, mud pools and many different hot springs. In addition it is a popular Maori attraction, being an area that has long been part of their culture.
Kiwi and it's very large egg
We didn’t see the show, but we did visit the kiwi house. I had never seen a kiwi, partly because they are nocturnal and notoriously difficult to find and partly because one always has to pay to see them. We went into a little building, seemingly quite unattended, and realized we had to go into a really dark room – pitch black in fact.
Tentatively, we followed a blue beaded string of light leading up a gradual incline around a circular corridor and found ourselves in a more open area, this barely twilight. After a moment we could just make out the forms of bushes and undergrowth. I nearly jumped out of my skin when something thudded onto the ground just beside me. It actually hit the glass but it took me a moment to realise that. I hadn’t even though there was glass there – but that something had been thrown at Nick and I!
It turned out (as the attendant appeared out of nowhere) that the male kiwi was busy digging a burrow for his lady friend exactly where we were standing. After that it was quite funny to see how busy he was – little clumps of earth flying from his feet! He was larger than I thought he would be – about the size of a chicken. Kiwis have long beaks with nostrils at the end so they can sniff out the bugs and grubs they eat. They can’t fly and nest underground in dense undergrowth.
Now they are a very protected species, but of course cats, dogs, possum and other wild creatures hunt them even if humans don’t. Their feathers (which don’t look like feathers, more like untidy fluffy string) are much prized by the Maori and are used for adornment. A whole cloak made from kiwi feathers was on display in a museum. I heard that any kiwis found dead must be taken to the authorities, presumably for research purposes. 
Kea bird - we saw many of these in the south island. Some were very tame as they have discovered that the tourists like to feed them.
Nick and I also went to look at the king of Kauri trees – over 3,000 years old and over 16metres girth. The kauri trees are much prized hardwood and nowadays, much protected. There are amazing pictures and a museum showing how they felled the trees (using long 2 man hand saws) and teams of horses to pull the gigantic logs out of the forest. Must have been a hard life.
Vineyards cover the countryside from horizon to horizon in the south islands
