Tuataras and Glow Worms

Kia Ora!

What did we do in Invercargill, you may ask.

We planned to visit the totara trees near Oreti Beach where Burt Munro developed the World's Fastest Indian, famously depicted in a movie of the same name. Certainly KC and I would hike our familiar beloved tracks near the beach. Maybe we would taste some whitebait, which is in season right now. Whitebait are tiny fish that swim up the rivers to spawn each spring. Kiwis (the human kind) jockey for good whitebait sites and dip their nets to haul in buckets of these creatures. Food with whitebait is available in most restaurants in spring.

Four Women on an Adventure

Embarrassing to admit, we did none of it. We visited the i-Site to plan the rest of our journey. NZ towns of any size support an i-Site. These sites function as tour agents for activities, transport, hotels, and restaurants in their district. Some charge a modest booking fee and others do not. Sarah and Sue in consultation with Barbara and me planned most of the rest of our trip. By 3 PM the four of us were on the Intercity bus heading out of town. (Not before I did a major shopping at the store for Glowing Sky merino wool ware. I had a list prepared and got that shopping done in 30 minutes.)

This tuatara is over 100 years old

Because this museum maintains a breeding program for the rare tuatara, we took the opportunity to visit the tuatara room as well as other cultural displays. A tuatara is an endangered lizard-like creature that survived when the dinosaurs died out. The museum has been successful in breeding them in captivity and the Department of Conservation is releasing them on islands without predators.

After a quick lunch, we packed up and headed for Te Anau on an Intercity bus. KC was left by himself in Invercargill as we four tourists carried on.

Te Anau is the starting point for exploring Fiordland. I had an express wish to visit the glowworm caves in Te Anau. KC and I had reservations to do so a couple years ago but heavy rain flooded the caves and that tour was cancelled. I thought glow worms were the same as lightening bugs. Wrong! They are threadlike creatures that hang web lines from the roof of the cave to attract insects for dinner. Sue thought the whole thing was Disneyesque. I thought the patterns on the roof of the caves looked like star constellations. No photos allowed.

Posted in tour meeting room. Description is NOT accurate.

More will follow ....... in due time. We did so much, moved so fast, enjoyed ourselves to the max, and I did not have time to share these experiences in a more timely way. The visitors have already returned home to the USA.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler

Welcome to my Neighborhood

Kia Ora!

Our home in Invercargill this year is on a portion of Bourke Street that goes between Queen's Park and the upscale Windsor shopping area. I love this location as I am independent as long as my feet stay happy. I can even walk as far as centre city from here, but who needs to? I can get most things I want in Windsor. Take a tour of Windsor with me starting at "Sally's" on the upper end.


Even upscale shoppers like to shop at "Sally's". The Salvation Army has
thrift stores throughout the city and this is the Windsor Sally.

 Instead of government owned post offices, it appears independents take on the job of "postie". At this site, we can post letters and parcels, but also buy periodicals, books, greeting cards, and stationary supplies.

Directly across the street is the ubiquitous corner dairy store which carries the things one runs out of at the last minute as well as fish and chips and  ice cream. I buy the daily Southland Times here.

We visited both churches in Windsor last year. The Anglicans are struggling with diminished attendance, but this church voted to go their own way rather than become a joint church with the "big" church in centre city. Such is the sentiment about losing the community focus. Liz, one of the priests here, is a most delightful and welcoming person.

The Presbyterians have the church one block down Windsor Street. We found the congregants a bit dour, but they are probably Scots, what can  I say? (I can say that; I have Scot ancestry and I can do dour too).There must be more to it than that as they have a good outreach and community spirit. They sponsor a little shop where all proceeds go to Save the Children. Recently they removed the old manse and created a lovely little community park in its place.

Several businesses are lovely gift shops. Woodstock on Windsor is only one of them but it is distinguished by the beautiful garden of white tree roses and tall white snapdragons in front.

 I must admit that the Windsor Wine Shop is a frequent stop for me. You may think it is just for the wine but there is an additional attraction. A lovely French man with the cutest accent and encyclopedic wine knowledge sometimes tends the store. 

Beyond the wine shop are three occasionally visited places, though you may have trouble spotting them in this photo. First, Organica where I find organic, dietetic, and specialty foods; next a food import shop with imported coffee, chocolate, and much, much more; then The Village Green, one of three restaurants in Windsor, all worthy of a meal. I buy Belgian chocolates at the import shop as a hostess gift when we are invited out to someone's home, which happens rather frequently. I asked the quite portly store owner of the shop if she had sampled her chocolates. "Well ...... yes", she replied with an amused, guilty smile. I buy the ones she recommends.

D'Coy is just one of the dress shops. It looks pretty extravagant; I have never been there.

Our good friend, Dr. Kim Nestor, has her Catherine Street Clinic in Windsor. Concerned about what to do if I should need medical care, I asked Kim if she would take me on as a patient should that be needed. "Well, we are one of the oversubscribed practices in the city, but yes, I would." I felt relieved and hoped our relationship would stay strictly social.


 Three blocks down Windsor is the New World grocery where I do most of our food shopping. Directly across the street is Ian Wallace's pharmacy. Ian has been helpful in the past accessing needed personal medication and recommending effective over the counter remedies (Rheumon topical gel) unknown to us in the US. The stores seem to have some kind of agreement on who carries what. You won't find toothbrushes in the pharmacy nor dental floss in the grocery here.

 Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler

At Home on Bourke Street

Kia Ora!

Our wee flat on Bourke Street has been an ideal location for me. The flat itself is quite adequate; it only takes an hour to clean the whole thing.


A dearth of cookware has also limited my creativity in the kitchen allowing time for other interesting things like perusing Windsor Road (1/2 block north) and trolling through Queen's Park (1/2 block south), and writing.

The neighborhood is older with quaint cottages.









Though our front garden is the size of a postage stamp, the weather-beaten rose is blossoming its heart out.

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler

Our Invercargill home

Kia Ora!

Date: October, 2009

We arrived in Invercargill via Air New Zealand at 7:30 PM. Three lovely women were awaiting our arrival: Nicki Kitson, the hospice CEO; Kate McIntosh, the nursing supervisor; and Judith the spiritual director. Jim and I each had two large pieces of luggage and it two cars to move us and those cases from the airport. After "tea", as the evening meal is called here, at Jagz, Nicki drove us to the house that will be our home for the next 6 months.

The house is unexpectedly lovely and large, with 4 bedrooms. It appears to have been recently completely redecorated: new carpet, wall covering, drapes and bed linens. Three smaller bedrooms, hooks for outerwear and a large bathroom are off a corridor as one enters the front door. The next section of the house is the kitchen and dining area opening to an outdoor patio on the north side and into a formal parlour on the east. Proceeding west is what appears to be a later addition of a small bathroom, tiny office, and large master bedroom which also opens out to the patio.

The patio extends into a large garden (yard) extending back 2 lots with with 2 small glass houses (though one is plastic), as they are commonly called. More about the grounds in another post. For now, I think we will be very comfortable here.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler