New Zealand, South Island (Mar 12 - 22)

Our visit to the South Island of New Zealand is hard to describe. We saw so much in such a short time that it was a bit crazy and not how we would normally like to explore an area of this size. Our plan was to circle the island mostly driving the coastal highways and then to stop and explore certain key points of interest along the way. We accomplished what we set out to do but also have determined that if we are fortunate enough to return we will focus our time on a couple of areas as opposed to trying to see the whole island again.

The South Island was incredibly beautiful. When we lived on the North Island years ago, people kept telling us that we needed to see the south, primarily to see the majestic mountains. We thought that because we lived in such close proximity to the Rocky Mountains it would not be that impressive. We were wrong. This island continually impressed us with its glaciers, snow-capped peaks, rich agricultural valleys, fjords, fresh water lakes, waterfalls, spectacular coastlines, great hiking and walking trails, and much more.

We are attaching a few photos to give you an idea of some of what we saw. It was hard to decide which photos to include, there was just so much variation in the landscape and we took so many photos.

Starting out on a day hike of Abel Tasman Nat. Park

Good trails, easy walking

Typical of the views from the trail

Coves and beaches along the way

Swingbridge over the Buller Gorge

Pancake rocks at Punakaiki

We were fascinated by the rock formations and blowholes

Pancake rocks

Franz Josef Glacier

Hike up to the Fox Glacier

Walking bridge over the Oahu river

View of Mount Cook

So many incredible views like this

Steep winding highways

Many lookouts to see the agriculture in the valleys below

On the way to Milford Sound

Enjoying a cruise up the Milford Sound

One of several waterfalls in the Sound

 Sandfly Point - good place to spot penguins

Round rocks found at Moeraki

One of numerous fur seal colonies on the west coast

Vast estate wineries - we have sampled a few wines

Highlights of our visit: a day hike of the Abel Tasman National Park (we hiked 12.5 km along the coast, then caught a boat back to our car), crossing the Buller Gorge Swingbridge and doing a hike there, observing the blowholes and pancake rocks at Punakaiki, staying at a backpackers hotel and visiting with all of the 'younger' travelers (this was our first backpacker stay), hiking to see 2 glaciers (Franz Josef and Fox) then driving through the slide area in the Haast pass late in the day, driving into Queenstown with a badly running rental car and exchanging it, cruising the Milford Sound (it is actually a fjord) early in the day and then driving across island to Dunedin for night, going out to Shag Point to observe the seals sunbathing on the rocks (this was one of numerous fur seal colonies along the coast), stopping to see the fascinating rock formations at Moeraki, and many short hikes off of the highway to see waterfalls and lookout points.

We crossed back over the Cook Strait on Mar 22 and plan to drive up the west coast, working our way back to Auckland.

New Zealand, North Island 1 (Mar 3 - 11)

Twelve years ago we had the opportunity to live on the North Island in NZ for a year so coming back to the country felt a bit like "coming back home"! We landed in Auckland on Mar 3 and were met at the airport by Saniya, an Airbnb host who rented us a room for a couple of nights in the city. This gave us some time to get our bearings and make arrangements for a car rental for the month.

We left Auckland on Mar 5 and headed for the Coromandel Peninsula. The road, almost all the way up the west coast portion and parts of the eastern side, was winding, narrow, and had steep drop-offs with no shoulder, so it was a slow drive but very picturesque. Every few kilometers there was a "curved road ahead" sign and after driving this road for an hour or two, we decided it might be more helpful if they would rather have posted a sign indicating an upcoming "straight stretch" of road ahead since it was all winding!

Coromandel Peninsula

The north island of NZ impressed us again with its beauty. The hills were so green, there were so many sheep dotting the hillsides and the ocean views were spectacular. We also observed again the prevalence of possums (there are estimates that NZ has between 50-70 million possums). For those old enough to remember the Beverly Hillbillies tv show, Granny Clampett's would of had a heyday in NZ making possum stew from roadkill!

On the eastern side of the peninsula, we stopped at a place called Hot Water Beach. When the tide is out, you can dig your own little pool on the sandy beach and due to the hot springs underneath, it fills with hot water allowing you to enjoy a hot soak.It is fascinating seeing people from all over the world (like us) who came here to soak in the hot pools.

Hot Water Beach

Sitting in sandy hot water pools

Further down this coast, near Tauranga, we had another opportunity to housesit, this time taking care of 2 dalmations, Jake and Kassie, for a few days. The homeowners build their own small planes and were off to a gathering with 100+ other small plane builders in NZ.

Jake and Kassie, very affectionate dalmations we took care of

While at this house, we took a day trip to hike up Mt. Maunganui and to explore the small island just at the base of the mount. My sister and nephew (who had come for a visit when we lived in NZ) and our kids will remember our last visit and the piles of sea shells that we observed; this time they had disappeared and were replaced by an expanded beach.

View from the top of Mount Maunganui

At the completion of the housesit, we spent the early afternoon in Rotorua, the geo-thermal city and were fascinated again by the bubbling mud pools, the strong aroma of sulphur, the birds on the lake and the flower gardens. We were planning to stay the night but changed our minds late afternoon and decided to drive on to Gisborne where we had lived previously. It felt good to be back and even moreso when we were able to make arrangements the next morning to meet with one of Olive's friends (Jackie) for lunch and my former boss (Chris & Mary) for an afternoon drink. We really enjoyed both of these visits and were able to catch up on changes in Gisborne and the whereabouts of many of our previous co-workers.

Beach in Gisborne looking out at Young Nick's Head, the rocky outcropping. We spent many hours playing in the water when we lived here 11 years ago

From here we made our way down the east coast to Napier, the Art Deco city where we browsed the shops along the promenade and stopped in at the Opposum Museum, probably the only museum in the world dedicated to the eradication of its subject of interest. We continued on to Wellington for the night and caught the interisland ferry to the south island the next morning.

We have not been to the South Island before so it will be a new experience. Our plan is to be on the South Island for about a week and a half and then to head up the west coast of the north island

By the way, we keep hearing that the North Island will be hit by a cyclone this Friday, Mar 14. We plan to be well out of the way down south.

Melbourne, Bendigo & the Great Ocean Road, Australia (Feb 22 - Mar 3)

We flew to Melbourne ("Melbun" in Aussie English) on Feb 22 where we met up with Jen, a life-long friend of our daughter Christina. Jen grew up in Kamloops, BC (where we previously lived for 14 years) and was often in our home. We became friends with her family through the girls involvement in sports and school activities. Jen is engaged to Wez, an Aussie, and they are planning their wedding for later this year. They rent a little "character home" in Melbourne and offered to let us stay for a few days.

While the rainforest around Cairns was very green, the fields around Melbourne were very brown due to a prolonged dry spell


A Lorikeet feeding on a pear in Jen & Wez's back yard

On Sunday the 23rd, Jen took us to see a few sites in Melbourne. We started off visiting the St. Kilda market where each Sunday morning they set up booths with interesting arts and crafts. The area is so picturesque (reminded us of White Rock, BC) and has a long promenade where you can stroll along the ocean front and watch people who are out in the water, or enjoy picnics or playing at the beach. From St. Kilda, we made our way back to Federation Square, stopping for a time at the large Shrine of Remembrance and walking through the Queen Elizabeth gardens. We continue to be amazed at the diversity of the plant and animal life that is so different from what we are used to in Canada.

Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne

View from a climb up the Shrine of Remembrance with Jen


Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Melbourne


Huge Melbourne Cricket Grounds in the background - locally known as the "G"

The next day after supper, Jen and Wez took us to a national park just on the outskirts of Melbourne where on previous visits, they have spotted wild kangaroos. Sure enough, just at dusk, we were fortunate to find a mob of kangaroos and it was great to see them in the wild.

One of a mob of wild kangaroos


Jen & Wez with wild kangaroos in the background

On Feb 25, Olive's sister Violet, and her husband Peter came to pick us up for a visit to their home. They live about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne, in a city called Clifton Springs. Peter had booked time off of work to do some exploring with us and so on Feb 26, we set out for the city of Bendigo where Peter had lived as a youngster.

Bendigo was once a gold mining town and remnants of the importance of the gold rush still exist. In a city park, we climbed up the Poppet Head lookout tower and were able to get a good view of the city and surrounding area.

Poppet Head Lookout tower in Bendigo

In a nearby park (Rosalind Park) we were amazed to find some of the treetops dotted with large bats hanging upside down and appearing like hanging fruit. The bats, called either fruit bats or Grey-headed Flying Foxes, remained in the trees all day long and then became active at night.

Fruit Bats also called Grey-Headed Flying Foxes in the trees in a city park


Look at the "look" I got from this Fruit Bat

Other things we saw in Bendigo included Peter's elementary school (Camp Hill State School), the Police Barracks, the Conservatory, Botanic Gardens, a pottery shop, and a Chinese museum and temple. We took an afternoon road trip to nearby Lake Eppolock, a dam and reservoir where Peter watched boat races as a boy. The other thing we really enjoyed in Bendigo was the pathways around Lake Weeroona, located directly across the road from our hotel. On our walk we were able to spot numerous birds and a water rat. Peter  had an immense knowledge of local flora and fauna and it was great to learn from him the names and bird calls of most of the birds.

Pair of Red-Rumped Parrots (you can only see their red rumps when they fly)


A rare spotting of a River Rat

From Bendigo, we made our way to Echuca where we took a lunch cruise on the Murray River on the paddlesteamer, the Emmylou.  This offered another opportunity to see more interesting wildlife and trees in addition to enjoying a scrumptious lunch. Echuca reminded us of Barkerville (a town in BC that represents the goldrush days) as the town has a saw mill, blacksmith shop, museum and numerous shops with gold rush memorabilia.

Murray Riverboat Cruise with Vi & Peter

 

A Darter on the Murray River

One other trip we also did with Vi and Peter was to take a drive out to the Great Ocean Road with stops at Apollo Bay, Bells Beach (a famous surfing beach in Australia) and Lorne, a beautiful resort town with numerous Yellow Crested Cockatoos in the town.

A kookaburra that Olive spotted in Echuca

With Vi & Peter and the Great Ocean Road in the background

Yellow Crested Cockatoo in the town of Lorne

Another rare spotting - an Echidna beside the Great Ocean Road

Geelong is well known for its wooden Bollards

Vi's son Adam joined us for supper - at the Promenade in Geelong

Next stop - New Zealand