Paihia, Russell, and Witangi

Kia Ora!

Our first free weekend in Takapuna, we headed north on Highway 1, planning our trip with the help of the wonderful women at the local i-site. (All towns of significant size, which does not have to be very large, maintain an tourist information center.) Our destination was the town of Paihia noted for nothing more than its history, harbour and beach. We found that when one waits until Saturday morning to make accommodation reservations for that night, there may be difficulty during the summer holiday season. So we ended up booked into a backpacker lodge for the outrageous sum of $115.00 per night and happy to get it. Our room faced a broad enclosed bolanji*.

Despite the room's location at the back of the lodge on 3rd floor, we could hear into the wee hours of the morning, the weekend party on the floor below and in the attached bar out front. That was all part of the experience.

We asked the lodge manager what there was to do here and his suggestion was that we leave! Not too far away, just take the ferry to Russell, a 20 minute sail across the bay. This we did. Russell was the first capitol of New Zealand. It's fame arises not from political action but from the drunken brawls, brothels, and bawdy life of the whalers and other seafarers. It is now a tiny town with a large yacht basin, a deep sea fishing tourist trade, boutique shops, artist galleries and trendy restaurants.

Arriving at the quay, a sport fishing boat had just docked and we got a look at the striped marlin that was

captured, only one of a dozen brought in that day. I felt sorry for the marlin, such a beautiful fish to be destroyed. There has to be something wrong with that!

We walked about the town stopping to browse in a shop with exquisite glass and wood sculpture artistry. It took maybe 20 minutes all told. Then we dined at Isabella's Restaurant celebrating Valentine's Day.



On Sunday, we drove 5 minutes up the road to Witangi/Whitangi. We have been hearing about Witangi for the last three years. Every year about this time, Witangi Day is celebrated. This is an opportunity to honour the first human inhabitants of New Zealand, the Maori. One of our goals in this trip was to visit this famous location. We were surprised and pleased to find it well organized and developed for tourists.

The significance of Witangi is that it was here an historic treaty was drawn up between the European settlers and the Maori, including authority over the land. Unfortunately the English was translated in an ambiguous way so it was understood by the Europeans one way and by the Maori another way. The fight about how the treaty should be interpreted continues.

We wisely paid for a guided tour by a Maori descendant of several historic Maori chiefs tracing her lineage back to the wakas (canoes) with which her ancestors first landed on these islands. A huge replica that could hold over 120 individuals reminded us of the Snake Boats we saw in India. There is a strong connection between the Polynesian peoples and Asians. The Polynesians, of which Maori are one group, are thought to have originated in Taiwan. They have populated parts of Malaysia, Melanesia, Oceania, Hawaii, and New Zealand. Obviously they were skilled navigators and sailors. There is evidence the Polynesians traded with South American tribes as well as with each other. Our visit included visits to a museum and a Maori meeting house.

A cultural performance featured audience involvement, much to the discomfiture of the Kiwi Traveler and

Consort. Performing the haka**, the guys definitely had more fun that the women. The women just twirled balls on a string.   Traditional gender roles in the various tribes are distinct and separate.





















*Bolanji is a family-coined word to describe an outside space that is not a balcony, porch, or patio. In other words, it defies definition.

**The haka is a ritual performed by Maori men when strangers or visitors come to the marae (communal living compound). It is quite fierce, the purpose of which is to discourage and frighten approaching individuals who may have evil intent. The men formed the frontal barrier in the marae and the women and children were behind them for protection. The ancient Maori were warriors and cannibals, tribe against tribe. Now New Zealand rugby has adopted the haka to intimidate their opponents on the field. If you have an opportunity, watch the opening of an All-Blacks international rugby match for a vigorous version of the haka.

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler

Lake Manapouri Power Station

Kia Ora!

Our day long adventure to Doubtful Sound started with a 60 minute crossing of Lake Manapouri cruising past Pomona Island where Geoff, our former neighbor on Exmouth Street spends weekends setting traps to wipe out stoats, a type of rodent. The stoats were imported by humans destroy the rampant rabbit population, another pest imported by humans presumably for food. The stoats quickly learned that it was much easier to catch unwary native birds than chase down speedy rabbits. Then there were two exotic pests running amok. Slowly the island is being returned to its pristine state before these pests took over.

The original plans for the power station required raising the level of Lake Manapouri and the destruction of the surrounding forest and wild life habitat. There was a passionate protest by most citizens throughout the country against these plans and they were scrapped. The redesign of the power station  marked the beginning of an environmental conservation movement, a nationwide sensitivity that continues.

If you look at a road map of South Island, you will find a 21 km. road in the middle of the mountains that appears to start no where, goes no where, and connects to no other road. This is the road we traveled to get to Deep Cove on Doubtful Sound. It was built at great cost to move the heavy equipment needed to construct the Lake Manapouri Power Station.  The equipment was shipped up Doubtful Sound, loaded on trucks and nudged over the mountain to Lake Manapouri. The NZ government continues to maintain the road. The engineering required for the road building, tunneling, and construction of the power station is mind boggling.

The abundant supply of water from the heavy rainfall is captured and passes through remote-controlled turbines that churn the water through and out into races that move it into the fiord. Ironically, the power station was built to provide power to an aluminum smelting plant in Bluff. Only about 36% is available for the general grid.

The trip into a cavern that had been blasted out for the power station in the middle of a mountain, 200 metres

below the level of Lake Manapouri, was an adventure in itself. There was just room enough on the two km road for two buses to inch past each other. Even more challenging was getting the 18 metre bus turned around in an 11 metre space with nary a scratch. John Lockie, our droll driver earned applause for his handling of the bus and his wry sense of humour.

Back in Te Anau, the rain continued throughout the night. The next morning we walked the block to breakfast in what turned out to be a brief respite from the rain. On the way back we were deluged and forced to cancel a planned forest tramp and dry our clothes out. We dried out and turned up for a tour of the Glow Worm Cave only to discover the water level of Lake Te Anau had risen flooding the cave and all tours were canceled. Good reason to return to Te Anau some day, but probably not this year as our shift to Auckland was just two weeks away.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler

Doubtful Sound

 Kia Ora!

Doubtful Sound. Doesn't that sound like it should be a rock group? Not so, read on.

Recently we visited Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Site, on the southwest coast of South Island. I booked an all day cruise of Doubtful Sound and a tour of the power station, a destination of pride for Kiwis. In Te Anau (pronounced tee-annau), the gateway to Fiordland, we stayed at a B&B. Other than the good cooked breakfasts and the pleasant hosts in Merle and Cliff (an international rowing umpire), The Wood House was a mixed experience. We got the last vacancy which was our own separate bungalow a block away from the main house (and breakfast). Unfortunately it was a cold, wet weekend and the only source of heat in the bungalow was a space heater which did not do the job. On the plus side, it was very quiet.

By boat, we crossed Lake Manapouri. Then we climbed on a large 35 passenger coach to take us from the landing on Lake Manapouri through Wilmot Pass to the jetty at Deep Cove. We drove through a mountainous rain forest gushing rain-charged waterfalls every few kilometres.




At the other end of the road, we boarded the ship for the 3-hour cruise down Doubtful Sound to the Tasman Sea. Doubtful Sound is a true fiord with high mountains rising straight up from well below the water's surface. The storied Captain Cook, first European to sail past the mouth of the fiord, is responsible for the name. The scientist on board his ship wanted to sail up the fiord to collect specimens. Cook, fearing there would be no wind inland to take the sailing ship out once they were in, refused to enter. The notation he made on the map by the mouth of the fiord was "Doubtful harbour". In terms of the definition of a sound as a body of water, this was misnamed.

The rainfall in parts of this area is as much as eight metres per year so we anticipated a wet journey and were not disappointed. It rained the entire way. With the blue mountains as background, the overcast sky, and dark water the horizon was a study in shades of gray in contrast to the green of the flora covering the sides of the mountains.


The rata trees in misty red blossom punctuated the green at intervals.

As we approached the Tasman Sea, the ship responded to the ocean swell with increased motion. Beyond the mouth of the fiord, a large rock provides a home for New Zealand fur seals.



 Even more impressive was the pod of bottle nose dolphins who performed a fishy ballet, throwing their bodies into the air as they followed the ship.

In one of the arms of the fiord, the Captain stopped the engines as the narrator advised us to listen. We heard the patter of rain and ... nothing else. One is deep into the wilderness on this body of water. The moment was meditative and the Kiwi Consort thought it was the best part of the trip.


Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler

First Impressions of Life in Auckland

Kia Ora!

So here we are in Takapuna, a suburb of Auckland. We live on the 4th level of a large, 3-block apartment building. I liken it to being a cave dweller. Our cave has 2 bedrooms, one of which is general overflow of laundry, clothes, etc.

The kitchen is designed for a non-cooking bachelor. 
The diminutive oven defies easy operation. I spent much of the first week reading directions for the oven, the iron, the stove top, the refrigerator, and the washer-dryer combination. The dryer function turns clothes out slightly damp and totally ragbag wrinkled. No one is allowed to hang anything on the balcony so I followed the model of other cave dwellers and bought a stand alone clothes rack to air dry the wash in the open door of the bedroom. It works.

Of course there was the usual hassle getting Telecom hooked up for telephone and internet service. There is no way around the $200 penalty for discontinuing service before our one year contract expires. Boo, Telecom!

The complex is built in a semi-circle around a courtyard with a swimming pool and facing busy Anzac Street. This arrangement simulates an outdoor amphitheatre so ordinary conversation in the courtyard carries well. Our first night here was interrupted about midnight when a group of adolescent boys decided to swim in the pool, lacing their loud communications liberally with expletives. The traffic in front of the complex is heavy and continual with buses, trucks and motorcycles in addition to cars. I look with envy at the flats at the back of the building. The occupants oversee roofs of businesses and an alley but I imagine it is quieter than the front of the complex.  I wrote "I HATE this place" in my journal at least twice during the first week.

Now in the second week, I can report things are much better. The internet is up. The Olympics are starting. The boys seem to be swimming in the late afternoon now that summer holiday has ended and they are back in school. I can work all the appliances except the oven; I stir fry a lot. The weather is warm, sunny, and dry. Our warm Southland clothes are packed away until the temperatures cool as fall comes on in April.

All is well.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler
http://vegemite-tales.blogspot.com/

A Final Stroll Through Queen's Park

Kia Ora!

One half block from our Bourke Street flat in Invercargill is the 80 hectare Queen’s Park, part of an extensive green belt that extends through the middle of central the city incorporating Otepuni Park, Thompson’s Bush, and more. This has been a place for exploration, education, and exercise. My final stroll before we say good-bye to Invercargill for this year is extensive as I review scenes from many walks in the park.

Activities abound. One can visit the a-bit-of-everything museum (art gallery, gift shop, travel agency, history, live tuataras), cycle, read, have a bit to eat at the teahouse, or just laze about. The kids love the playgrounds which include a 2-story play castle and a water garden. While strolling the many paths I have come across secret and hidden places, a busy gardener, a tree hugger, and a young man in meditation sitting on a tree stump. (I didn’t want to interrupt to ask for a photo.) The park houses a cricket crease, tennis courts, and an 18-hole golf course.

Captive and free ranging critters abound. The zoo animals are minimal but distinctive. The pigs are a genetically pure breed that evolved in isolation on sub-Antarctic islands and are used for research in pancreatic transplantation. The magnificent elk is typical of those hunted in the bush. I found it hard to photograph the birds but the large wood pigeon high in the tree seemed to pose for me.

 Many of the gardens are formal with some labeled like arboretum specimens, but informal spaces are there to be discovered. One might turn a corner into a shady copse and discover a statue or small pool.  I became quite fascinated by the many different kinds of trees and shrubs in the park and got carried away with many photos of the huge rimu trees. They made me think of the trees from The Lord of the Rings.

 Though I will write more about our time on South Island from time to time, we say good-by to our pleasant time here and our good friends. The Kiwi Consort's colleagues at Southland Hospice gave us a fitting gift and reminder of our time here. Amusingly in honor of all the whining I am sure they listened to nearly every day, we received a 2010 calendar of beautiful photos of New Zealand ... weather! As we left the weather was sunny and warm. Who can remember anything else?

Cheers, Kiwi Traveler