Wellington, part 1

The parliament building is known as "The Beehive," for obvious reasons. This section of the city is quite near to the ferry wharf and train station.

















The old and the new. A former bank building is now a pub and offices, and behind it is the IBM building.
























I hesitate sharing this, because I'm sure I'll get past it. I finally got to visit the Dept. of Conservation office this morning, and was surprised when the official discouraged me from doing any tramps by myself, especially in or near the mountains. Maps are no longer free, and topo maps are expensive here, so that was a bummer. Top that off with a frustrating conversation and I'm thinking of spending an extra day or two here in Wellington just to get my act together. I need to buy a tent and stove, anyway, and I want to explore the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, and was planning on being here until Nov. 2nd. Maybe one more day to get organized is best.

I've been trying to arrange transportation to either the Egmont/Taranaki National Park (quite a ways to the southwest) or just a bit north to the Mt. Holdsworth Track (more difficult to get to). There is a train to a town nearby each, but then the local transport is expensive and has been a bit difficult to schedule. Lots of people tramping this time of year! At worst, I may have to camp out for a few days near the towns or at the base of the tracks.

I also read in the local paper in Kaikoura several days ago that the more popular Great Walks were already booked up (Abel Tasman, Milford, Routeburn), but that didn't discourage me because I can always tramp one day and not use any of the huts, or there are other tramps right nearby that are less popular but have their attractions. Camping is even getting tough to book, however!

No worries. At least, not yet. It will just take a bit more time than I'd like, I think, to arrange things.

Picton & the Queen Charlotte Track

A small town, but a wealthy town. It's the gateway into the South Island or to the North Island via the ferry. This is a picture of photo hanging on the wall of the lodge.

Part of the harbor, with the Interislander Ferry coming into port.

The Sequoia Backpackers Lodge is so named because it sits on the edge of Nelson Square, in the center of which is a 110-year-old giant sequoia.

Still, despite the fact that Picton has a skateboard park, it must be challenging for the teens.

Picton is surrounded by hills.

One must take a water taxi to the start of the track, which then picks you up at various points along the way. Thus, one can walk for one day or all three. I chose one. After all, how much coastline and forest does one need to see? :-)

When Captain James Cook first landed here, where the Track starts, he and his crew were so pleased with the site that they named it Ship's Cove. He returned several times, spending some 110 days here all told. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cook

A reproduction of a Maori totem, which actually may have greeted Captain Cook, a story goes.

Looking back from the start of the Track.

Not quite the start of the track, because it was too dark a shot. But it gives you an idea of how "up" it was for the first 45 minutes.

At the top of the ridge is a lookout. Facing north, you can see the North Island way off in the distance. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear very well in this photo. What you see in the foreground is a smaller island off the near coast.

Looking south from the lookout.

The gulches between the ridges contain mostly fern trees.

A couple of weka were walking down the trail towards me, and were unafraid to approach. At lunchtime, I learned why. They know that trampers carry food, and if they hang around long enough, they can sneak up behind you and steal something from your pack when you are not looking. Fortunately, I was looking, and the bird only got a taste of the plastic bag.

The goal was to get to the Furneaux Lodge in time to have a brew before the taxi came to pick me up. Frankly, another hour on the trail would have been nice, but this taxi came at 3 pm and that meant picking up the pace after lunch.

No, I'm not belching. The kiwi and I got distracted when the waitress asked if we wanted anything else, and I decided not to do a retake. People at the other tables gave me a thumb's up!

That kiwi generously told me to go ahead and drink her half.

Kaikoura

The weather may clear this afternoon; the sun is already peeking through the clouds once in a while.





























































I'm killing time while waiting to do some laundry. The hostel restricts the use of the laundry room and I have to wait until 1 pm my time. The local Dept. of Conservation office is staffed only when someone is available. Thus, it was not open yesterday and it is closed on weekends. So, I'll try again when I get to Picton on Monday.


I'm sitting at a computer in an internet cafe of a company called Global Gossip. They have sites all over Australia, NZ and Fiji, and are very convenient. Their equipment is good and the staff are knowledgeable if I run into problems.


It's obviously popular with international travelers, and they make video phone calls home. I don't understand some of the other things they do, however. For example, there's a young lady at the computer next to me watching webcasts of her favorite TV shows that she evidently missed. A curious way to spend money.

The Kaikoura Coast Track

This track is across private land, which was once a large, 57,000 hectare farm. It has been split up for family members and for other private farms. The Macfarlands have owned this land for over 130 years, and since 1968 began developing this track. They eventually built accommodations at the starting point (The Staging Post on Hawkswood Farm) and shelters along the track. If all the tramps in New Zealand were as well organised and comfortable as this, there would be too many people tramping. As it is, this track is limited to 10 people per day and the postal carrier transports your larger pack to the next night's accommodation. Too cool.

There were only 2 other people who tramped with me, so the accommodations were easy to work out and we shared snacks and libations. Beer at the accommodations was only $2 a can, so what the heck. We covered 12 km per day in about 6 hours, including a 1 1/2 hour lunch break. There were some hills to climb and a 642 meter mountain, but it was the norwesterly wind that proved the biggest obstacle. When we were on the ridges, the wind made it very hard to stand up, and when a gust would blow past, we almost fell over because we had to recover so quickly from our leaning position.

Most of the track was gently walking, over a well-laid out pathway with ample signage and well-sited shelters for terrific views as we ate a leisurely lunch. A gas-fired cooker was available for boiling water, and each shelter had a flush toilet.

From open paddocks (fields to you and I) to tussocked hills to fern gullies, the terrain was varied enough to hold our interest.

The yellow above is flowering broom, a variety which is not native to NZ. It is spreading rapidly, but does bring with the benefit that it is an excellent nitrogen fixator. This makes it useful when planting trees, as it shades and nurtures the young plants. In fact, an American has bought up some land (at very low prices) and planted redwood within the broom. Although the harvest is a ways off, it should prove to be an excellent investment. But it was the first night's lodging that simply blew us away.

View from the picture window.

Paul and Helen making the best of our humble lodging.

The second day we walked for 2 1/2 hours along the beach. No dolphin, but we did encounter two seals. This one was napping when we approached. It is best not to get between one and the sea.

After the beach, it was all uphill. Mt. Wilson, with the east coast in the background.

Mt. Wilson has a short saddle with a slightly lower peak off to the west.

The second night's accommodation. The name is Maori, and is pronounced something like "FAR-ray." It means "house."

No Words

Itinerary 22 october through 31 October

22 October through 25 October
I leave for the Kaikoura Coast Tramp tomorrow. The start is about 140 km north of Christchurch, at The Staging Post on a farnmstead. This is luxury tramping. Since it's across private land, there is a limit of 10 people a day. Your main pack is transported for you to the next farm, so all you need to carry is a day pack with rain gear and lunch. Each day is 5 hours at the most, leaving plenty of time for sightseeing (if the weather is good).

Each night there are hot showers and a real bed (in a loft or bunkhouse on a farm). A hot meal is available for purchase or you can use the fully stocked kitchens.

26 October to 27 October
On to Kaikoura for 2 days.

28 October
The Magic Bus to Picton. Overnight at a backpackers'.

29 October
One day on the Queen Charlotte Track. It's a 4-day tramp, but I didn't want to do all of it.)

30 October
Pick up The Magic Bus again and ferry to Wellington (capitol city of New Zealand and on the southern tip of the North Island). I want a few days in Wellington, so I'll pick up The Magic Bus again later.

31 October until ???
Wellington, arranging connections to Egmont in the southwest of the North Island. These will be multi-day tramps through some high country.

Christchurch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch

It's usually windy here, the brochures say, and my Saturday was sure windy. It was also sunny and warm, however, reaching into the 20's (70's Fahrenheit). It's a small city by my standards, but therefore easy to walk around in. There's a free shuttle through the central district, a tram, and good bus service. I did not see all of the tourist sites, like the gondola southwest of town. I may take advantage of that when I end up here in December after the Magic Bus tour (I have to end up where I started).

I am also thinking about a Lord of the Rings tour to the site where Edoras was constructed. It's just a rocky hill, but the tour is supposed to be very interesting, and the views are fantastic.

The famous Christchurch Cathedral, at one end of Cathedral Square.

The sculpture in the Square.

A walk east from Cathedral Square brings you to the market, which is open every weekend, rain or shine. That's saying something, because New Zealand, and especially the South Island, is noted for being wet. What a contrast to Australia.

The Avon flows through the city, and offers paved walkways for strolling and gondola for cruising. Pushing this boat back upstream is a slow and strenuous process for the punter. (Punters are gondoliers who don't sing to you.)

This is a nice example of the care some people take in the appearance of their property. The city is known for its gardens, after all.

But nice landscaping takes vigilance and effort.

This was in contrast to the streets around Cathedral Square. Litter was prevalent, and even the shopkeepers apparently don't sweep up the broken beer and liquor bottles. There are lots of youngin's on the streets at night, but that's no different than the 16th Street Mall or downtown Colorado Springs. It just struck me as too bad, because a little bit of effort could result in a much more attractive walking / shopping area. Do you have to be loud and obnoxious as a youth in order to travel safely and successfully around the world? ("No, but it helps.")

There are a lot of cafes but also a lot of pubs. In fact, today (Sunday for me) an Irish pub called The Bog offered an incentive to come watch the World Cup Finals in Rugby, in which England lost to South Africa. The broadcast here began at 7:30 am. The Bog offered a breakfast consisting of eggs, rashers (bacon to you), hash browns (potato cakes = like fried mashed potatoes = bleah), toast, and a pint! All for $10NZ (less than $9US). The kiwi and I enjoyed that.

"If you see something unusual, enjoy it for as long as you can."

That was the watchphrase for the 3-day boat trip I took around the Whitsunday Islands. We were scheduled to spend at least 2 days over the Great Barrier Reef, but the winds were too strong. The waves out there were over 3 meters (10 feet) and besides getting seasick and not being able to prepare meals very easily, getting back onto the boat would have been next to impossible. So we cruised the islands. This company was not set up to do photography of any kind, so I'll remember to ask that very important question when next I schedule a dive.

A boat similar to what we went out on. 21 people and a crew of 4.

The diving was mediocre because the visibility was limited to about 5 meters = 15 feet. The coral was very prolific and varied, with intermittent patches of sand that contained gobies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goby) nesting. I snorkeled more than I dove (dived?), and swam above loggerhead turtles and rays. We also saw a small school of Maori wrasse and a huge Napolean wrasse (at least 3 feet long).

The first night out, bait fish were attracted to the lights at the rear of the boat. A 2 1/2 foot squid was hunting these fish, which often jumped out of the water to avoid the squid's lunge.

I was planning to dive off Kaikura on the east coast of New Zealand and just above Christchurch, but the water is rather cold there right now. Since that would mean wearing a thick wetsuit, I would have to carry so much weight on my belt that I'd use air faster having to push all that weight through the water. I'm going to wait - until Hawaii, if I have to - for warmer waters. 30 minutes on a dive is not enough! That means I might just stick to a whale-watching cruise.

It's warm here - 85 degrees or more - but humid. I couldn't live here, as I'm too spoiled by Colorado. But it would be fun to have a boat and cruise the islands once in a while. I enjoyed that, especially when we were under sail versus using the engine. Watching the captain and crew set up the boat on our trip was fascinating to me. The boat was a catamaran, which meant two hulls. That makes for stability when sailing with the compromise that in higher seas the boat rolls as well as pitches (up and down). That makes for seasickness, and I had a touch the first day out. After we landed, we met as a group at a bar later that night because the company arranges for a free jug of beer per 4 people, and we all commented about how we felt we were still on the sea. The ground was still rising and falling, and even lying in bed it felt as if I was moving through space.

The 18th, I fly to Sydney and stay overnight. Early on the 19th I fly to Christchurch, where I catch up a bit in time such that I'll be on the same day as the USA versus 18 hours ahead. Arranging my schedule in New Zealand is still taking a lot of time, so with the encouragement of several of the people in my sailing group, I'm going to wing it just a bit more than I'm usually comfortable doing. I'll probably have to camp more often than I expected because certain huts on the tracks may be full (tracks = trails), but I can handle that. Again, while it would be somewhat easier to get around having a car to drive, taking the "hop on - hop off" bus tour is simpler and way cheaper.

Not to worry.

Oh - and what does a beach resort do to prevent coconuts from killing residents and visitors?

My First Ocean Dives

After a 3-hour boat ride out to Wheeler Reef, well off Magnetic Island, we got into the water rather quickly. The first dive was a general tour of a section of the reef that has a shallow portion (no more than 9 meters deep but mostly 3 meters) and a deeper section (30 meters) before sloping off into the deep. We dove at low tide, so some of the reef was actually above water, and the birds had a fun time getting fish that were trapped in the small pools. We also saw large schools of mackerel feeding, but the guides did not take pictures of that.

The crew was not set up for video, as this was a fairly new dive operator. Too bad, but I do have several good pics to share.

That's a bubble by my head.

I don't remember seeing this much of the reef exposed, but I didn't look off the bow. The snorkelers were given floatation "noodles."

Not bad bouyancy!

I was most impressed by the barracuda, the sea cucumbers (they were large!), and the giant clams. They really are giant, measuring over 4 feet across. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam

Yup - he was there, along with all his friends and relatives.

It was great fun to glide through this cloud of fish, have them part, and then form up all around me. Way cool.