Back to the North Island - Day 19 & 20

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Thursday (Day 19) was a travel day from Picton on the South Island to New Plymouth on the North Island.  The ferry was booked for 9:00 am which would arrive about 12:30 and give us the rest of the day to drive about 350 kilometres to New Plymouth.

Because of mechanical issues, our ferry was rescheduled to 12:00 noon, which meant we had a lot of ground to cover.  To top it off, it was rainy most of the day.  That meant that we had to finish the drive in the dark, which is not much fun in the mountains (at least they seem like mountains in the pitch black).  I think it was after 9:00 pm when we found our motel.  Needless to say, there were not any photo opportunities at all on Thursday.

Friday was different story.  New Plymouth is a small town on the west coast, but they did have an interesting pedestrian bridge, which was awarded several architectural awards.

On a clear day, you can see Mount Taranaki if you look down the length of the footbridge.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a clear day.  

But Mary Ann made some new friends in these wood ducks.

We stopped for lunch in Te Kuiti, another small town on the way to Hamilton.  The restaurant had New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels on the menu, so I gave them a try.  These were the biggest mussels I have ever had, and they were tasty!

The trip north included a stop at the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.  The caves are over 100 feet below ground, and the entrance was a circular ramp down to the bottom of the cave.

The tour of the caves includes a walk through a series of caverns covered in stalactites and stalagmites.

The glow worms are not really worms at all, but the larvae of a fungus gnat fly.  They live in the dark and glow blue due to their bioluminescence.

Back above ground, some of the wildlife in the area was interesting also.

I loved this shot of two trees and the path leading up the hill.

Tomorrow is our last day, so we are headed back to Auckland, with a few stops along the way. Stay tuned.

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If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Whales and Seals - Day 18

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Today was another overcast day for the drive from Christchurch to Picton.  However, the rain held off and we were able to do some whale watching in Kaikoura, probably the whale watching capital of New Zealand.  The area is particularly well suited for male sperm whales who spend about 11 months in the cold waters of New Zealand, then join the females in warmer waters for breeding season.

We were fortunate to see two male sperm whales, one at a distance, but the second was up close, not once, but on three separate occasions.  We learned that sperm whales can dive up to 2 kilometres deep and hold their breath for up to two hours.  Once our whale dove the first time, we thought we may not have an opportunity to see him again.  Lucky for us, we were wrong.

It's difficult to describe the scale of these whales.  Our guide said this male was 17 or 18 metres long (about 60 feet).  I was counting the number of seconds between breaths, usually about 20 seconds, so we could anticipate the next time he would surface for air.

It was also possible to anticipate when he was going to dive, and give us a tail flip.  Once he began to arch his back, we know he was about to dive.

We also found a pod of Dusty Dolphins.  They are small dolphins, and very fast.

This image of the dolphin out of the water was courtesy of Chris. Great shot.

They loved to swim in front of the boat and in the wake.

Once we were back on dry land, it was time to make our way to Picton, for the ferry ride back to the North Island tomorrow morning.

Chris had heard about a seal colony and waterfall just north of Kaikoura.  He heard this from a co-worker, and this was not in any of the guidebooks.

Sure enough, the seal colony was right where it was supposed to be.

And sure enough, the waterfall was about a 10 minute hike from the seal colony.

But the subtle point that I missed was that many of the seal pups play at the waterfall while their mothers are out fishing.  If you look closely, Mary Ann and Chris are watching a seal pup on the rocks on the opposite side of the creek.

There are a few of my favourites.  They were so cute!

Tomorrow is the ferry ride from Picton back to Wellington, then a couple hours drive to New Plymouth. Stay tuned.

Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment.  I'd love to hear rom you.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Akaroa and Christchurch - Day 17

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Today was another rainy day in Christchurch.  We had planned a drive to Akaroa, about 80 kilometres away.  Akaroa is the only French settlement in New Zealand.  The plan was to drive out for lunch then spend a few hours looking around the seaside town.  

Because of the bad weather, or our bad luck, the restaurant we had picked for lunch was closed, and so were a few of the shops Mary Ann wanted to visit.  The only exploring we could do was to visit the Anglican church, St. Patricks.

The weather started to improve on the way back to Christchurch, so there were photo opportunities on the way back to Christchurch.

I'm always on the lookout for interesting landscapes and architecture, but this one caught me by surprise.

It seems that someone has come up with a hotel concept in grain silos, complete with hooks to store your canoe.  Another one stored bicycles.  I wonder if it will catch on...

Once back in Christchurch, we made our way downtown to see the sights.  Christchurch Cathedral was our first stop.

This is an iconic photo of the Cathedral, and the art installation called The Chalice.  At least it was before the earthquake damage in 2011.  The February 2011 earthquake destroyed the church spire and much of the tower.  Subsequent earthquakes caused further damage, to the point that the Anglican Church decided to demolish the building.

The people of Christchurch rebelled against the plan to demolish the cathedral, and challenged the church in court.  The case is still not resolved, but it appears that the church may rebuild.

Virtually every city block downtown has evidence of either demolition or construction in progress, five years after the earthquake.  The damage must have been catastrophic.

However, the city has shown its resolve, by utilizing shipping containers to reopen shopping, banking, postal and other services in the downtown area.

While it was hard to comprehend the amount of damage caused, it was impressive to see the efforts to rebuild the city. 

Dinner was at a local roadhouse, which also had a good selection of craft beers.  Tuesday night is trivia night, so we took part and entered "Team Canada" in the trivia contest.  Some categories were general enough that we could hold our own, but many of the categories were entirely Kiwi centric.  Needless to say, we finished dead last.  But there was a silver lining...

Many bars selling craft beers also sell "growlers" which is a 64 ounce bottle that you can fill and take home.  Because of our dead last finish, we won a "squealer", half the size of a growler.  Chris and I enjoyed the beer, and Jeff will love the souvenir bottle.

Tomorrow is a travel day from Christchurch to Picton. Stay tuned.

Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment.  I'd love to hear rom you.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

One for Jeff - Day 16

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Today was a really boring drive from Oamaru north to Christchurch.  Not that far, only 250 kilometres, but it rained most of the way.

But before we left Oamaru this morning, we visited a museum (I suppose it was a museum) dedicated entirely to metalwork, the more bizarre the better.  So I dedicate this blog entry to Jeff, who loves all things related to metalwork, and would have loved to visit Steampunk HQ.

The building was the old railway station, and had lots of character on its own.

The only way I can describe the place, would be Mad Max on steroids.

I love the detail in the skull and horns.

Chris taking a ride on the Harley...




There was also an old pipe organ which had been modified to play sound clips of music, bells, horns, etc.  Here is Mary Ann showing her musical side.

There were also sculptures by other artists.  These were by Chris Meder.

There was also a room with a time travel machine.

The lights and mirrors seemed like the room went on forever.

Jeff would have loved the place!

Tomorrow is a full day in Christchurch. Stay tuned.

Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment.  I'd love to hear rom you.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Back to the East Coast - Day 15

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Today was an easier driving day, only 290 kilometres through rolling farmland.  Compared to driving in the mountains, it was a piece of cake.

Queenstown is located in an area called Central Otago.  This area also just happens to be the best area in the country for growing pinot noir grapes.  

One of the Central Otago wineries that I had read about is called Peregrine Wines.

Located a half hour from Queenstown, on the highway we were travelling, so it was a easy decision to stop in.

The winery was stunning.  Surrounded by vineyards, with foothills directly behind, it was breathtaking.

Thirty years ago, the property was a sheep ranch.  The old building was a sheep shearing barn.

The tasting room was down a ramp on the left side of the building, in the basement, along with a glass wall overlooking the barrel room.  The upper terrace is used for functions.

We tasted three vintages of pinot noir, a 2014 that was just released, a 2012 (that was fabulous), and a 2010.  Personally, I liked the fruit in the 2012 vintage.

Once we reached the east coast, our next stop was the Moeraki Boulders.

These rock formations are naturally occurring spherical deposits that form over millions of years.  The shoreline is loose gravel and sand, and erosion of the shoreline has revealed these rocks.  They can be as large a 2 metres in diameter, and could weigh several tons each.

There are approximately 50 of these boulders in one stretch of shoreline, most still intact.

Even the ones that have broken apart were interesting.

One of the shots I wanted to try was a long exposure with a 10 stop neutral density filter.  But I grabbed a polarizing filter instead, so I could not get an exposure long enough to turn the ocean into silk.  Realizing that I had nothing to lose, I set up the camera for a 10 shot multiple exposure, and the results were not too far off the mark.

We stopped in the village of Moeraki to check out a seafood restaurant that Chris had heard about.

Located right on the wharf, Fleurs Place was a terrific place for lunch.  The seafood was all local, and very fresh.  Highly recommended.

Our final stop was in Oamaru.  One of the attractions there is a colony of Blue Penguins.  There are organized viewings of the penguins returning to their burrows at dusk.  Photography is not allowed (because of the noise and the possibility of someone using a flash), so my big DSLR gear was out of the question.  But Chris was resourceful, and managed a couple of shots, with his Olympus mirrorless camera.

Photo courtesy of Chris.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Christchurch. Stay tuned.

Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment.  I'd love to hear rom you.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark