New Zealand Diary - Monro Beach, The Fox Glacier

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Sunshine greets us as we start out this morning. We head north for our glacier adventure. A ways up the highway, we stop to look out at the Knights Point Lookout. We can’t get out on the deck that is there due to some problems with it cracking but we manage to walk back and forth along the fenced area and take a few pictures. Bob spots what he thinks are penguins and when he asks a maintenance worker the young man says if we want to see penguins, we should go to Monro Beach.  We ask Lady Garmon if she knows where Monro Beach is but she doesn’t come up with it so we just drive on.

Suddenly Bob slows the car and prepares to turn. I see it too. A park sign that says Monro Beach Track. We park, grab our gear and head off for a one hour return walk. Return is the word used for roundtrip. It is a great morning for a walk. The sun filters through the trees highlighting mossy tree trunks and all sorts of ferns and leafy plants. We can hear several different birds singing. I love the melodies of the New Zealand birds.

We finally get to a wonderful sandy beach and find an interpretive sign that tells all about the penguins that are in this beach area. They have feathery yellow horns above their eyes. A little fancier than the yellow eyed penguins we have seen.

The beach is empty. We search the grassy area where the sand meets the plant growth to see if we can spot a penguin on a nest. This is nesting season and at least one of the mating pair sits on the nest while the other gathers food in the sea. Try as we may, we can’t see anything. We do find a seal further down the beach in a rocky area. The rest of his colony must be out fishing. It is hard to be entirely disappointed. It is a nice walk and the beach is pristine.

Lady Garmon shows that it will be lunchtime when we get to Fox Glacier which is a little town that takes its name from the glacier nearby. We pass up the turn to the glacier in order to find a restaurant or café for lunch. We find a café and enjoy a light lunch before we set out for our glacier walk.

The walk to the glacier is a bit treacherous and mostly uphill which at times is very steep. The rocky path crunches and slips beneath our feet. I worry what it will be like going back down. We finally get to the top and have a terrific view of the face of the glacier. There is a large cave at the bottom from which water is pouring out. Some of the water is being fed from waterfalls on the side of the glacier. It must travel underneath but as it does, it collects gray silt and stone so the water coming our looks like a watery cement color.

There are lots of blue crevices where the snow and ice have packed so tightly that the only color that gets refracted by the sun is a deep blue. We’ve seen it in the glaciers in Alaska. It is an awesome sight. Pictures taken and enough of a rest for the return, we head back. As we do, a misty rain begins. The sun has hidden behind clouds that have moved in and it looks like we are in for a damp trip back.

By the time we reach the car, it is raining steadily. Our motel is in the next glacial area called Franz Josef and the rain comes and goes over the thirty minutes it takes us to get there.  We check in and find we’ve been upgraded to a king-size suite. It’s very nice and we plan to enjoy it since it is our last two-night stop.

The rain lets up long enough for us to check out the Information Center but unfortunately it is too late and the center is closed. We wander around a bit looking at options for dinner and settle on one that is nice and toasty inside.

There is a short walk nearby that is supposed to have glow worms along it so we scope it out right after dinner. If it’s not raining we plan to go back after dark to see the glow worms. We walk the track to the end and back and the only places we see where there might be glow worms are in several huge trees that have been uprooted and the roots are so huge they are like small caves. We look around for the telltale strings that the worms put out but don’t see any. Still, we decide to return after dark weather permitting.

After our coffee and dark chocolate Tim Tams (we are officially addicted to these cookies now) we watch a bit of TV until the sun sets. Flashlight in hand, we start down the track again. It’s a bit ominous as the trees are black and look like any movie set for a horror picture. Plus it’s only a few days to Halloween. Should we really be during this?

Thankfully the largest tree-cave is not that far along the trail and we study the roots. Suddenly we begin to see them. Little blue pin pricks of light. We fiddle with iPhones and my camera trying to get pictures but it isn’t easy. Bob ends up with a blue dot on a picture on his iPhone and we are satisfied with that. Our step is a little quicker as we return. It’s getting darker and the rain is starting again. I think this night qualifies as our Halloween fright night as we finally leave behind the black forest and make our way to our room to turn on the electric blankets and slip into a warm bed.

Through My Lens - New Zealand Flowers

New Zealand Diary - Haast, Jackson Bay

Monday, October 28, 2013

Haast, our destination for today, is a very, very small town. We stop this morning at the grocery store before we leave Queenstown to replenish some of our breakfast supplies. Coffee, English muffins and a big container of spring water to fill our drink bottles with and we are on our way. We barely make it to the edge of town when I insist I need to get a few pictures. The sun is shining brightly and the new fallen snow has made the mountains gleam white in the sunshine.

We stop at McDonald’s for one last coffee. Who knows when we’ll see a McD’s again? Pictures done. Coffee in hand. We finally leave Queenstown behind us and head for Haast. Just past the Arrowtown turnoff we took yesterday, Lady Garmon asks us to go up the Crown Range Road which will take us a shorter way but will require us to go higher up in the mountains. Knowing there is fresh snow we pull off into a graveled area to make our decision.

The graveled area is a place where cars can put on their chains if they are needed for the road ahead. There is a sign that tells us the road is open but to expect some icy spots with grit. We suspect that the grit is sand or fine stone that is spread like we would spread salt back home on our snowy/icy roads. The sign says nothing about putting on chains so we decide that we will take that route. The scenery will probably be really nice and Bob promises to take it slow if necessary.

Sure enough not far along we see a grit truck. It resembles one of our snowplows only it doesn’t have a plow in front, only a spreader in back that is spewing something on the pavement. Grit, I’m sure. With the sun shining so nicely the roads seem dry for the most part. The only place it looks wet is in the shade of trees or mountainside. . .until we get up higher.

Higher up and in the shade of the mountainside we find a bit of icy road but not dangerously so. And there is grit on the road. You can hear the tires grinding it in. Bob slows down around the curves and since there is no traffic behind us, we don’t feel pressured. We were correct in assuming the views would be worth the trip. We are right up in the snow-capped area of the mountains we are traversing. The pine trees we see on the mountain sides around us have that dusty snow look. Just like any early spring snow, the trees that have budding leaves are heavy where the snow has hit them but we can see the sun doing its work as the melting snow drips from the leaves and branches.

Blue Pool

Our trip through the mountain ridge is over rather quickly and we are back down to a greener altitude. Before long we are in the Aspiring National Park, named after the mountain peak that is in the middle of it. A heart shape shows up on Lady Garmon’s display and I ask Bob what he’d saved as a destination here. He forgot that there was something called the Blue Pools here to see. When we find the park sign for them, we pull off to explore.

The path leads down. That means one thing to me. Coming back it will lead up and my knees groan at the thought. It is a gentle slope though and as we walk along, we find signs that tell what kind of native trees and plants are growing there.

A boardwalk, a suspension bridge and another bridge and we are there. Below us on the last bridge is the blue pool. Well it’s supposed to be blue but the recent rain activity has brought so much silt and other stuff down from the mountaintop that the pool is more green than blue and the trout that are supposed to be there aren’t. Still, it is a nice walk and the return to the car is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

We see a sign for the Fantail Waterfall and pull into the car park for it but it appears that to see the waterfall we would have to cross the river that is swollen with water. There is a trail marker on a tree on the other side. I’m sure that most of the time the river doesn’t run this deep or fast. We pass.

Thunder Falls is marked on our map and we find the sign for the turnoff a short time later. This time we are sure we will see it as it is visible through the trees from the road. A short walk and we stand in front of a huge waterfall that is indeed thundering over the cliff before us.

It’s noon and we still have a ways to go before we get to Haast. We open a bag of salt and vinegar chips and start snacking. I put it away before we end up finishing the bag again. We can’t keep eating chips for lunch. Once we finally reach Haast, we find our motel, drop our things in the room and aim for a place called Jackson Bay.

In Jackson Bay, there is a small restaurant called the Craypot where we want to eat. It turns out to be a funky kind of place that is actually in a large old railway carriage. A small kitchen turns out quite a menu including whitebait patties which have been recommended to us several times. This is the season for them. We place an order and sit at a small booth, one of six at one end of the trailer. There are places to eat outside but it’s a little too cool and windy to do that.

The whitebait patty sandwich is more like an omelet with the little whitebait fish in it. I don’t taste the fish so much. Just the egg. The fries (chips) are great. Done just right and our pot of tea warms us up. I overhear the owner talking to a local about how the season is about to kick off. This is summer coming up for them and there will be lots of hikers and fishermen I’m sure will stop by her place.

Jackson Bay isn’t much of anything that we can see but there once was a settlement there. In 1875, as one sign tells us, the New Zealand government sponsored an ill-conceived program to settle more than 400 European immigrants at Okahu (Jackson Bay) and surrounding districts. The difficult country, inhospitable climate, inexperience of many settlers, lack of a wharf to export their produce soon finished the scheme although descendants of some of those early pioneers still live in the area. Along the way back, we stop at an old cemetery that holds the graves of some of those early settlers.

 Back in Haast, we stop at the Wildlife Information Center. It sits off the road and you might pass it if you don’t look for the sign. It is a great display of history and nature of the area. We learn that the cone shaped nets we’ve seen attached to what look like flimsy docks along the area where ocean meets river are for catching whitebait and this is the season for them.

Live Whitebait

Arriving back at our motel, we find a gentleman sitting outside his room with nets and a plastic container that appears to be full of water. Bob asks what he’s got in the container and he smiles and says, “Not much.” He takes the lid off and we get our first close up glimpse of whitebait. They are small (2-3 inches) spaghetti-like fish that are silvery but clear. You can see through them. They look like x-rays of fish.

Bob asks how he fixes them and he tells us how to make whitebait patties. When Bob asks if you gut the fish, he smiles again. Nope, he says, you just use them whole. Bob decides he doesn’t want any more whitebait no matter who might recommend them. We end up with vegetable soup for dinner at a small nearby restaurant.

After dinner, I make coffee for us in our room and we wait until it’s almost time for sunset. We go down to Haast Beach and watch the sunset into the Tasman Sea. No green flash but the sun reflecting on the surf is pretty. It’s chilly and we don’t linger. Time to rev up those electric blankets.

Wordless Wednesday

New Zealand Diary - Arrowtown

Sunday, October 27, 2013

There is often payback for feeling smug which is what I was when everyone reported the early snowfall back home. We awake this morning to not rain, but snow! Great big flakes of snow. When we look up to the mountains behind the motel we can see the dark pine trees are dusted white. I’d like to say it’s pretty but not if I have to be out in it.

During breakfast we explore our options. Certainly we don’t want to try the gondola again today. We can still visit historic Arrowtown which is just a half hour away. It’s not snowing enough to make the roads bad. And then I’ve found a church nearby that we can go to this morning. We haven’t had the opportunity to go to a worship service since we started this trip because we’ve always been on the road. It’s quickly settled.  We decide to have a second cup of my good plunger coffee and go to the Presbyterian Church around the corner at 10:45 then on to Arrowtown if the weather holds.

It is a great service. A little church like ours back home with very friendly people—even a couple of people there who are from Arkansas we connect with. The service is over by noon and we walk out to a drier day. The snow has stopped and there’s no rain. We set Lady Garmon for Arrowtown.

Arrowtown has only a couple of streets but they are lined with buildings from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The buildings now all house restaurants and shops and a museum or two. We find a nice pub that offers a large tomato soup for me and seafood chowder for Bob for a good price and we enjoy lunch.

By the time we finish, not only is the rain completely done but the sun is out! We pop in and out of some of the shops and look over the historic buildings. At one end of the town is an old settlement where once there was a group of Chinese who were invited to come to seek their fortunes in the gold fields. Between the late 1860s to 1880, many Chinese immigrants set up camps and settlements such as this one in Arrowtown and abandoned them when the gold ran out.  

The little homes that are left are smaller than the apartment sized room we are staying in. I smile when I see a preserved outhouse with a historical sign posted on it. Unfortunately as we get half way through the tiny settlement, it begins to rain and we hurriedly see the remaining buildings and hustle back to where we are parked. But we are content that we spent the sunshine hours doing some sightseeing and enjoying a good part of the day.

Back at the apartment, we get out the dining pamphlets we’ve collected for Queenstown and find a spot for dinner—another pub. After a few hours of relaxing and warming up again, we set out for the Pub on the Wharf. The pub is crowded, probably because the prices are good, and we have a hard time finding a seat. We finally ask a couple that is sitting at a larger table if we can join them. They are on a short holiday from Christchurch. This is Labor Day Weekend in New Zealand and many have Monday off. We get some great suggestions on places to eat and see for the rest of our trip. We offer suggestions for their anticipated trip to the States—the most obvious being, drive on the right side of the road.

My sweet sticky pork ribs are great and Bob enjoys lamb again. The man just can’t seem to get his fill of it. After dinner, we take a walk through a pedestrian area of Queenstown and note that the city is mostly a place of restaurants small shops and the ever-present booking agent who insists it’s not raining too much for bungee jumping and no one is too old to enjoy it. Sure. We’ll think about it on our way out of town tomorrow morning.

New Zealand Diary - Queenstown, TSS Earnslaw

Saturday, October 26, 2013

One of the places Bob wants to eat at while in Te Anau is Miles Better Pies. He found it to be the number one spot on Tripadvisor. They make fresh meat pies daily and are well-known. Unfortunately they were closed before we got into town the first afternoon and we were in Milford Sound all the next day. So we have decided to forgo a hot breakfast at The Shakespeare House and stop for breakfast pies on the way out of town this morning. We fill our old McDonald’s take away cups with our B and B’s great coffee and find our way to the pie place.

Yesterday morning we had noticed a huge line as we passed by but this morning there are only a couple of people there when we arrive. We ask for bacon and egg pies and each is put into a small brown bag. Each pie is about five inches in diameter with a crusty top and bottom that flakes better than the best filo. Since the rain is still with us, we sit in the car and eat our pies and enjoy our second cups of coffee. When we’re done, we have to turn on the defroster and clear the windows. It got pretty steamy in there—from the pies!

We set Lady Garmon for our Queenstown destination. Except for a couple of minutes of sunshine, we have rain most of the way. There is no stopping for a morning walk today. We are tired of the rain and cold so we just continue on until we arrive at Queenstown.

Queenstown is a surprise. The city is full of all sorts of motels and hotels and accommodations of all kinds. It is a resort town and mainly for the winter months when the surrounding ski areas are open for business. It sits on a large lake, Lake Wakatipu. The views of the surrounding mountains are spectacular when the clouds part and let you peak at them.

We check in to our room at the Amity Lodge Motel and to our delight find that it is more like an apartment. As we assess its size we agree, it is probably bigger than the first apartment we lived in back in our college days. This will do nicely especially since we probably won’t be out and about a whole lot unless the weather improves.

The Information Centers in town (one for the area and one for the city) don’t offer us much hope of something to do, good weather or bad, unless we want to bungee jump, do a canyon swing (swing over a canyon on some contraption), go shopping, experience a jet boat ride. . .well, you get the picture. It’s a resort town and they have to offer something when the skiing is done. The gondola ride to the top of the mountain would be great if you could see the top of the mountain.

Eventually we opt for a ride on an old steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw. The ride takes you on a forty-five minute trip to the historic homestead of Walter Peak where you can see sheep sheared and have tea at the cafe there and wander around the homestead. We opt out of that part and just purchase the ride tickets to stay out of the rain.

As our steamship pulls away from the dock, we are wished farewell by a band on wheels. There is supposed to be a jazz festival on the city square this weekend but it too has been dampened by all the rain. Gotta love their enthusiasm though.

The TSS Earnslaw is certainly worth a good look around. The TSS at the beginning of the name stands for Twin Screw Steamer. It was built in 1912 to service remote farming areas around the lake. In the early days it was mainly a cargo ship and once the road access to the area improved, she was used less and less. In 1969, Real Journeys, the tour company that now operates her (and the one we used for Milford Sound), purchased the steamship and began operating her as a tourism venture. The decks were restored to reflect the earlier period . TSS Earnslaw is named for the mountain at the end of the lake and she has been dubbed “the Lady of the Lake.” 

The middle of the upper salon is open to the engine room and you can watch the engines at work as well as the fellow who shovels the coal into the three furnaces that keep the steam heated. It is amazing how fast this boat moves with the steam power. The wood and brass trim as well as the upholstery in the fancy salon on the lower deck are reminiscent of the period of the beginning of the steamboat’s service 101 years ago.

We pass a peaceful hour and a half going to the homestead and back and most importantly, staying dry. On the way back there is a piano player in the front of the salon but his music is hard to hear over the steam engine between us and him.

Back on land, I suggest we get some takeaway for dinner. We have a microwave we can warm things in and I really don’t want to go out again once we get back to the apartment. I am chilled to the bone. In a small mall, we find a food court with a Japanese takeaway and order two meals plus miso soup. It’s a bit of a walk back to the car with all of it but we make it back to the motel and it is still plenty warm.

The TV turned on and the heater turned up, we spend the rest of our afternoon watching some movies and catching up on our blog posts and reviews and Facebook of course. Along with this spacious apartment, we’ve also gotten a very generous 2GB of internet and it allows us both to be online at the same time as well.

Dinner done, I snuggle under a throw that is on the couch and read while Bob gets a good dose of TV sitcoms. The electric blankets are turned on to warm the bed—we each have our own control, and it isn’t long before we tuck cold feet into the preheated sheets hoping for a warmer and less wet day tomorrow.

New Zealand's Afghan Cookies

We were introduced to these wonderful cookies, or biscuits as they're called in NZ, at the Lilac Rose Bed and Breakfast in Christchurch. As we were checking in, our host was baking and brought us some of these chocolate delights to have with a cup of tea. Later we began to notice them more and more in bakeries and even in McDonald's McCafes (which are totally unlike our fast-food version). Here's the recipe for all you cookie bakers. It's the right time of the year to be sharing this!

By the way, no one knows where the name Afghan came from. The recipe is very old and appears in many past issues of the popular Edmonds Cookery Book of New Zealand.

Afghan Cookies (Biscuits)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Biscuits
200g butter (7/8 cup), at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups cornflakes (unsweetened)
Chocolate Icing (see below)
walnuts, optional
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Sift flour and cocoa.

2. Stir into creamed mixture. Fold in cornflakes.

3. Spoon mounds of mixture onto a greased oven tray gently pressing together. (Some recipes suggest they should be rolled into balls and then pressed. The cornflakes will make them easily break apart.)

4. Bake at 180C (375F) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned and firm.

5. When cold ice with chocolate icing and decorate with a walnut piece if you like.
Chocolate Icing:
200g (7/8 cup) dark chocolate
1/2 cup cream
25g (2 TB) butter

1. Break chocolate into top of a small bowl. Add butter and cream.

2. Set over hot water and heat, stirring constantly, unit it has melted and smooth. Alternatively, microwave on MEDIUM power for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

3. Beat until thick before using.

 Now make another batch because these will disappear quickly!

New Zealand Diary - Milford Sound

Friday, October 25, 2013

Today is our trip to Milford Sound. The southern end of New Zealand is full of fjords. They were named sounds but they are truly fjords carved out by glaciers long ago. On our cruise to New Zealand a few years ago, we cruised through the area and into Milford Sound. I remember it being as magnificent as the fjords in Norway.

The forecast doesn’t sound like it will improve and we start out in rain. We have opted to take a tour bus for the two hour ride to the Sound. The roads can get nasty if the weather turns cold at those altitudes and if it does, chains are required for driving—that’s if the road stays open. Rather than take a chance on booking the scenic cruise through Milford and not being able to get there because of bad roads, the tour bus was a better deal. If they canceled for weather, we’d get the refund.

The bus comes from Queenstown, another two hours north of us. When we board, we have a difficult time finding seats together until the driver asks some passengers to double up instead of sitting singly. The commentary from the driver is in English but there is a guide who is translating in Chinese for the large tour group that is aboard. We meet a nice couple from Indiana who sit behind us and swap football news.

Clouds and rain shroud much of the scenery along the way. There are several stops with five minute walks for picture taking that turn into ten or fifteen minute stops as it takes that long to get people back on the bus even in the rain. The stop we enjoy the most is one in an area where there are Keas. As we pull in there is a Kea walking around the parking lot oblivious to the buses and people milling about until the crowd closes in on him with their cameras. He hops on top a car, takes a couple of pecks at the rubber around the door frame and then walks back and forth as if to say, “Okay, here I am. Take your pictures and if you want to toss me a treat, okay.”

The advantage to the rain is that there are hundreds of waterfalls along the way to see—waterfalls that fall from so far up the mountains that you can’t tell where they begin. Soon we are right below the snowline of the mountain tops. After we pass through a long tunnel, we begin our descent to the sound and the dock for the scenic cruise boats.

We arrive five minutes before the boat is ready to take off and hustle down to the one that is doing the nature tour. Actually the scenic and the nature tour boats take the same route minutes apart from each other. We’re not quite sure what the difference is unless it’s the commentary. Even before the boat is on its way, we have our box lunches and hot soup before us and enjoy every bite.

Heading toward the Tasman Sea is a bit wild as we are going directly into the wind. Each time I go out to take a picture, I have to position the camera so the rain doesn’t get the lens wet. It’s not raining so hard now but the wind is blowing so strong that we surmise the “rain” is actually the mist from so many waterfalls that have sprung up with all the precipitation.

The boat takes us to the first permanent waterfall, the Fairy Waterfall. It is huge throwing tons of water over the cliff and into the Sound. The captain tells his passengers that those who are brave and not afraid to get wet should stand on the bow of the boat. Slowly he noses the tip into the waterfall and eventually the half dozen people who braved the wind are scattered as the water hits the deck around them. Our nature commentator tells us that the Fairy Waterfall is so named because the Maori claimed that if you went under the falls, you could see fairies dancing there. The waterfall is lacy and reminds me of layers of tulle on a wedding dress.

The sun shines occasionally here and there as we make our way out to the Tasman. At the entrance to the Sound from the Tasman is a small island that is sacred to the Maori. It is prohibited to take any of the orange colored boulders from there. The boulders when cracked open contain the greenstone or jade that southwest New Zealand is famous for.

Waves bounce the boat as we turn around to head up the other side of Milford Sound. There is no lack of waterfalls today. We stop near some rocks to see a seal or two resting. And then nearing the end of the cruise, our nature guide spots some penguins. The boat slowly edges near them as passengers vie for position at the bow to take pictures. Luckily I happened to be near there when the announcement is made and get a couple of good shots.

One last large waterfall and a dousing for the brave who stand at the bow again and we are back at the dock area. There is a very nice ticketing building there with restrooms, a waiting area, and a gift shop. There may have been a café but we are in a hurry to get back to the bus and don’t explore. The majority of our bus passengers took the scenic boat trip and were due back before us. The bus driver asked that we not keep them waiting too long.

It is another long ride back to Te Anau. The little respite we got from the weather while on the boat doesn’t last and the rest of our bus trip is rainy and chilly. Still it is amazing to look up and see the towering peaks of snow covered mountains above us as we climb up to them and then go back down. I am so glad Bob hasn’t had to drive.

We arrive in Te Anau about five-thirty and get off the bus thankful that we don’t have another two hours to ride as most of the others do who are going on to Queenstown. On the way back to the Shakespeare House, we take a moment to check out a place for dinner. We decide on a place called The Ranch which is a lot like a pub but has table service. They serve several different kinds of roast: lamb, beef, pork. The lamb roast comes with some roasted potatoes, cheesy cauliflower, a piece of roasted pumpkin and peas. A hearty and delicious meal at a great price of $20 NZD. We can’t believe our good fortune. Now if only the weather would get better.

New Zealand Diary - Nugget Point Lighthouse and Te Anau

Thursday, October 24, 2013

I guess we should have expected a little rain on our trip. After all it is spring. We start out in a light drizzle for our drive to Te Anau. While Lady Garmon says our drive is only three hours, it can be a tedious three hours if the roads are curvy and wet and we do have one stop to make that’s a bit out of our way.

About an hour into our trip, we turn off on the road that leads to Nugget Point. There is an iconic lighthouse sitting there. The area gets its name from the rocky islets dubbed nuggets that surround the point.  The lighthouse was built in the late 1860s and first lit on July 4, 1870.

The road turns to gravel and even though the sun is out again, it has not had a chance to clear up all the puddles. Goodbye to the clean car. We park and begin our trek.

The walk is refreshing. These morning climbs are becoming habit. Maybe it will help work off some of the meals I’ve had like the Beef Schnitzel last night. The lighthouse is picturesque as are the surrounding cliffs and seaside. You can easily see why there needed to be a lighthouse here. It is now fully automated (1989) although there is still a house for a keeper. And I discover that it was also a post office at one time. It would have been a long trek out to the point to check on your mail.

There are supposed to be several different kinds of wildlife here including seals, gannets, and some other water birds but we are so high up it is difficult to see them. The binoculars are back in the car. We linger long enough for Bob to post his Facebook check-in. He tells me if we ever go missing that Facebook will be the place to tell them where to start looking. Okaaay. My question  is how long before anyone realizes we’re missing?

Our allotment of sun ends shortly after we get back to the car. It drizzles and rains all the way to Te Anau. Thankfully the road is mostly flat and straight the whole way. We pass acres and acres of pastureland with sheep grazing and several areas where there are deer being raised. I make a note that I have to try some venison. Maybe it tastes different when it’s domestic rather than wild.

We arrive at the Shakespeare House, our bed and breakfast for the next two days. It is a strange configuration. I think that the rooms were built all on one level to join two houses together. A large conservatory runs the length of the building and has comfy chairs and tables. Our room looks like it was once a living room and possibly a small dining area. We have a queen sized bed and an extra twin and lots of elbow room, a welcome relief after the small compact studio we have just left.

A trip into town reveals a plethora of choices for eating. This is a resort town and they cater to tourists with lots of souvenir shops and eateries. We decide on something Italian and choose a place that we will return to at dinner time.

The sun is out again and there is a wildlife park we want to see. We drive the short distance and find it easily. Our B and B host told us that it has rained here for a week. The lake is six feet higher than normal and the wildlife park is quite squishy as we start to explore it.

Several large arboretums are set up and the one we are drawn to is the one holding two Kea. The Kea is the world’s only mountain parrot. It is also known as the clown of the mountains. They seem to have an uncanny ability to adapt to their changing environment and are extremely intelligent. So much so that there are warning signs to look out for your personal items when they are around—especially if those personal items are edible. It has distinctive orange feathers under its wings otherwise it blends into its forest surroundings in the wild quite well.

We didn’t get to see the Kea in the wild at Arthurs Pass when we took the Tranz Alpine train. It takes a few minutes before they come out of their tunneled habitat but once they do, the show begins. One of them does quite a dance.

A few other areas contain some other parrots called Kakas and we briefly look at them but the drizzle begins again and we decide to call it a day. We go for dinner and then return to the Shakespeare House and our room, Henry V, which is right next to Romeo and Juliet. Down the hall are the rest of the plays and in the morning, we will eat in The Globe room. Clever. Very Clever.

Wordless Wednesday

New Zealand Diary - Otago Peninsula, Penguins and Albatross

Wednesday Afternoon, October 23, 2013

After exploring Larnach Castle and enjoying a wonderful bowl of Kumara (sweet potato) and apple soup for lunch, we continue out toward the end of the Otago Peninsula that is near Dunedin. That is where we hope to see the Albatross colony but along the way we find an interesting stop, the Penguin Place. I wonder if this is going to be another extravaganza like we’d found before.

When we look in the reception area, we find pictures of a large field that has been equipped with hides or blinds as a hunter might call them. They are like bunkers that allow you a view of penguins without disturbing them. We probably won’t see blue penguins because it is daytime and they are out fishing but the yellow eyed penguins are nesting so one of them has to stay on the nest. We're hooked.

The Blue Penguin

A short drive in a mini bus and we set out on a trail that takes us along a cliff where we can look down and see some fur seals lounging in the sun. There is bull kelp growing on the rocks as well. It is huge and looks like giant strands of thick hair swishing back and forth in the surf.

Suddenly Harrison our guide puts a finger to his lips and motions us to quietly move forward. There is only one other couple with us so it is easy to be quiet. Harrison points to a wooden box and we look in. “It’s a blue penguin,” he says. “Don’t know why he’s not out with the rest.” While we have a hard time really seeing him, we can still say we saw one. Tick that off the list.

We enter a trench that has a green netting over it supporting a lot of vines and is camouflaged well. There are several paths leading to various hides. The opening to view the penguins is perfect for picture taking and as long as we don’t use a flash it is permitted.

The yellow eyed penguins, Harrison has told us, are very anti-social even among themselves. They mate and sort of stay in their couples to themselves. The first wooden nesting shelter reveals a penguin who graciously gets up a couple of times and stretches so we can get a good look. We move on to several others all of whom are named and have charts on the wall to show who they have mated with and how many times they have reproduced.

Harrison points out with a wry smile that although the experts say they mate for life, their observations have been that many of the males have a wandering eye and one female has cheated on her mate several times. By the time he’s done with his stories, I decide he should write a soap opera.

We didn’t expect the penguin experience to be as good as it was so we are not disappointed when we learn that the Albatross are not nesting and really can’t be seen up close. They are flying around though so instead of spending the huge entry fee to go through the museum and then go to the observation area to see them fly, we opt to walk out to the viewing area that is free down by the cliffs.



Above our heads there are several Albatross that pass over and I manage to get a few shots of one. While these are a bit bigger than those we saw in Galapagos, they are still every bit as beautiful.

The wind and cold chases us back to the car—unscathed I might add since the sky is full of sea gulls as well as Albatross. We take the low road back into Dunedin and enjoy the scenery once again. The Otago peninsula is absolutely breathtaking in places.

After a quick freshen up at our motel, we head off to Speight’s Ale House. We have found that the most economical meals and some of the best tasting ones are in the pubs. I want to try the Beef Schnitzel that’s on the menu. I love Wiener schnitzel (veal) but I’ve never seen beef schnitzel before. It turns out to be very good, a thin piece of beef dipped in crumbs and fried. The beef comes with the biggest glob of mashed potatoes I’ve seen in a while and an equally large pile of peas that taste fresh cooked. Ooooh, how much weight am I going to gain on this trip?

New Zealand Diary - Larnach Castle, Otago Peninsula

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Just outside of Dunedin is the Otago Peninsula. As we cross the bridge to the peninsula, we turn to take the high road. It will lead to the castle we want to see. We are early so we decide to follow the road out to a track which we can walk to a lookout over Lover’s Leap—with absolutely no intention of leaping.

The road we need to take to the track turns to gravel and as we round a bend, we see a truck stopped alongside the road. A lady signals us to stop. We see why ahead. There is a huge flock of sheep crossing the road and heading to the farm buildings down the hill. Bob puts the window down and the lady apologizes for the delay. We tell her it’s fine, we will enjoy the parade, and I get out and take a few pictures. The farmer’s wife goes back to watching to be sure that no strays try to wander up the road instead of off to be sheared for the season.

A few minutes later several herding dogs and the farmer on a four wheel ATV bring up the rear. Their morning duty of rounding up the sheep accomplished, they follow the flock through the gate. The lady turns and waves us on with a big smile. She didn’t have to chase any wayward sheep.

At the parking area for the track, there is a sign indicating that two of the tracks are closed due to lambing season. Now if you are a city girl like me you might ask what is lambing season? Apparently the farmers can control the time when the lambs will be born. I’m guessing that’s got something to do with keeping  males and females separated until the appropriate time. When the ewes give birth, and especially if it is to twins or triplets, they need time to bond with the young. During that time if they are disturbed, they might reject their off spring. To avoid unnecessary disturbance, the tracks through the fields of moms and their young are closed for several weeks during that season.

We decide to go on up to the lookout that is open. Another morning. Another uphill climb. This is getting to be a habit. Good or bad, I’m not sure.

The views are wonderful the higher we climb and we are encouraged by them to make it to the top. On our way here, as we were driving along, we had passed a jogger. Now as we look down at our car, we see him and expect him to turn and head back as he comes to the end of the road. When I look back again a few minutes later, I tell Bob I think that the jogger is coming up. He shakes his head, disbelieving. No way, he says.

As we are taking pictures at the top, we turn to see the jogger right behind us and not even out of breath. He is sweating so I feel a little better. He talks a few moments telling us he jogs up most every day and then he turns and begins his run down. How he ran down is as amazing to me as how quickly he ran up. The way down is steep. I barely trust my step and I’m taking little ones. Our jogger is still on the road as we pass him on our way to the Larnach Castle. I can’t imagine how far he must have gone—horizontally as well as vertically.

 I’m excited about seeing this castle. It has quite a history. William James Mudie Larnach was of Scottish descent but came from Australia to New Zealand to take manage the Bank of Otago in Dunedin when gold was discovered on the peninsula in 1867. He also built a very profitable career that included farming, shipping, landholding, politics, and speculation.

Larnach was a man who within one decade had to deal with the death of three family members. His first wife, Eliza, with whom he had six children, died in 1880 at the age of 38. He married her half-sister, Mary Alleyne, who died in 1887 also at the age of 38. And then his oldest daughter, Kate, died of typhoid in 1891. He married his much younger third wife, Constance, and amid rumors of her having an affair with his son, a severe financial loss, and bouts of depression, he shot himself at Parliament on October 12, 1898. After his death, there was turmoil in the family over his possessions. The basement of the castle where we begin the tour details much of this and makes for interesting reading.

The building of the castle actually took place between 1873 and 1887 and Larnach dubbed it The Camp. He moved into it in 1874 while it was being built and expanded. Supplies from all over the world were used to build it and over 200 workmen had a hand in it. After Larnach's death the castle had various other uses including a retreat for nuns and an insane asylum. In 1967 it was purchased by Margaret and Barry Barker who over the years have lovingly restored it to its present beauty. 

We explore the rooms floor by floor and eventually make our way up to the tower by way of winding narrow stone steps. Have I mentioned that going up and down narrow winding steps can make you dizzy? The effort is rewarded however with a wonderful view of the Otago peninsula and harbor area.

Back at ground level and outside, a large group on a tour of various gardens floods the outdoor garden in front of the castle. Eventually they thin out and begin to explore the several themed gardens that surround the structure. We follow suit and begin to wander through the garden walks. Bob finds a funky wishing well. I’m not sure it’s a period piece. I’m enjoying the gardens but what I’m really doing is stalling so we can eat lunch here in the café. Something called Kumara and apple soup caught our eye. We enquired as to what Kumara is. Turns out it’s a sweet potato. Can’t pass that up. The soup is every bit as good as I’d hoped, delicate and delicious. Okay, now I’m ready for the rest of our day.