I’m sorry it’s been more than two weeks since I posted.  Sorry, not for you (though you surely have been waiting with bated breath), but for me.  You see, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the “South Island” of New Zealand is bigger than New York State (but with 5% of the people).  I decided to save my next post until we finished NZ, not realizing that it would be 17 days of spectacular scenery.  Now I’m overwhelmed with pictures, videos, and memories that can’t possibly be given justice in this blog.  So I think, rather than make a video, I’ll close this posting with the best photos I’ve managed to assemble in the country.  I’ll include a few “story” pictures in the blog, but the best will be in a slide show at the end.  If you don’t like to read, skip right to the slide show, but I hope you’ll view them on a computer or ipad to see them in full size.

After Wellington (last post), we crossed the narrow straight between the islands to Nelson on the North side of the South Island.  The ship was scheduled to travel down the East side of the Island.  But Debra and I decided to leave the ship and drive a bit of the West coast, then take a scenic train over the mountains and meet up with the ship again in Christchurch.  So we booked a couple of nights along the way and rented a car.

First stop was the Abel Tasman National Park, a place that is very popular for it’s pristine forest, hiking trails, and golden beaches in the summer – but winter is approaching down here so it was pretty cool. Never-the-less, we chartered a catamaran and took a tour of the coast. The sun co-operated and strong winds made for a very enjoyable afternoon.

That night we stayed in an amazing “lodge” called Eden House in the Orinoco Valley.  (I know this is detail most don’t need, but we want to remember the names of our favorite places in case someone else wants to go).

We think of it as a high-end B&B, but fine dining is included for all meals.  It’s owned by a lovely couple who worked in London and built a beautiful home in this NZ valley.  They had so many friends visit, that they decided to make it a Lodge and made it their career.  They hired a great staff and provide everything you could possibly want on a get-away vacation.  When we woke up in the morning, the view from our window was stunning – like Vermont at peak autumn.

From there, we drove to the West Coast. It was as if we drove through the valleys of New England in October, then through the hills of Wyoming, and then down the rugged coast of Oregon to Big Sur in California – all in three hours! Driving on “the wrong side” through some white knuckle turns, I wasn’t able (allowed) to take any pictures. At last we found a small restaurant and had a relaxing lunch and watched the waves of the Tasman crashing against beautiful black rock formations. Further down the coast is a former mining town called Punakaiki, now famous for weird rock formations on the beach that they call “pancake rocks” because they look like stacks of pancakes (not to me). The West Coast of NZ is really rugged on the South Island. There’s really not much civilization, and very few places to stay. We stayed at the best on the coast – think Motel 6 with a view. But they did wrap the plastic cups in plastic bags. That always cracks me up – like they wash, sanitize, and re-use them?? Also, note to self: when ordering a mixed drink in a new country, ask how big their shots are. In NZ, at a bar that makes them measure, 15ml is one shot, 1/3 of a U.S. shot. I stuck with beer!

Next we boarded the Tranz Alpine Railway to cross the island through Arthurs Pass. This ride is rated as one of the top train journeys of the world. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty ugly. It was still very scenic and I managed to get some pretty good photos because they have a special car with NO WINDOWS for taking pictures. You can stick your head or camera out in the open and get some great shots – or have your camera (or head) ripped off entering one of the 14 tunnels. Seriously, you could easily touch the tunnel walls if you had a death wish.  And no liability forms to sign.

We stayed the night in Christchurch. You may recall that when Debra and I came to NZ 3 years ago, Christchurch had a very damaging earthquake the day we landed in Auckland. Sadly, the town is still struggling through reconstruction. Seemingly they had limited funds from the government, and while they have a wonderful master plan laid out, it’s mostly a vision. Entire blocks are fenced off and condemned, almost every street has construction equipment working on basic infrastructure. They did get very creative and built a lovely shopping area using cargo-tainers. Really very clever. And everyone seemed in good spirits, committed to the town. Just sad that after 3 years it has made so little progress.

We re-boarded the Ship after Christchurch to continue the trip down the East coast. We both volunteered for a role in a dinner murder-mystery enroute to Akaroa. Debra was the wedding planner (naturally).

I was the priest (naturally). Debra got her hair done up in a “do” right out of central casting. (At the end of the evening it took her 20 minutes to pull out all of the bobby pins. She was quite a sight in the morning for sure!) There was a huge turn-out for the event and it was a lot of fun.

On our sail south to Dunedin, a new friend from South Africa insisted we join a small group that was flying to Queenstown for a round of golf at the “most beautiful course in New Zealand.” After Cape Kidnappers (earlier post), I couldn’t imagine that we hadn’t seen the best. The weather forecast was for cold, wind, and rain. We almost declined. I’m sure glad we didn’t.
We took a small plane over the mountains at sunrise to an airfield at the end of Lake Wakagipu in a valley surrounded by trees in full autumn bloom and snow covered mountains. The weather was perfect. The golf course “The Hills” was even better.

It was built originally for Michael Hills as his own private course. He is an owner of a number of very successful jewelry stores in New Zealand (partly funded by Debra’s recent purchases). It is an extremely challenging course, with gorgeous views from every tee. But wait, there’s more! He commissioned large sculptures on almost every hole. Some were modern, some were wind activated, but my favorite was a field of huge horses. Debra loved a hole that had large dragon flies hovering over a lake just in front of the green (in the slide show below). She called it the most beautiful course by far. I’m still not sure vs. Cape Kidnappers – though I played well at Cape but had 9 penalty strokes and lost 9 balls at The Hills, so that may have influenced my assessment. I am embarrassed to admit that I thought the U.S. had the monopoly on the world’s the most beautiful courses. I was wrong about that.
The flight back to Dunedin was at dusk, and the views over the mountain and countryside were breathtaking. My favorite photo of the whole month in New Zealand is the one after the slide show (how’s that for a teaser?). I’ve never had a good shot from a plane before. I think this was the best day of our 2 month trip so far.

Next we stopped at Stewart Island, a little island at the very southern end of New Zealand (population 381). A few of the regulars on the ship started a rock band a few years ago and call themselves the Fabulous Fossils. They play their limited set of songs every six months or so for fun. Two years ago, when the ship was in Stewart Island last, they played at the tiny hotel/bar and were joined by a local named Friday (think Johnny Cash with a much lower voice). It was a big hit, so they did it again when we were in port. All the locals came out – some real characters. I decided to video the whole thing and put together a movie. I added a “50 years ago” story line using screaming Beatlemania footage. I must say, it came out great. So we hosted a “World Premeire” showing in the ship’s movie auditorium and made a big event out of it, red carpet, screaming groupies and all. It was a real hoot.

Our final New Zealand stop was in Milford Sound in the Fjordland region. It was cold and rainy, but then it rains 286 inches per year there! We went on a Zodiac tour of the area despite the weather. Magnificent waterfalls and mountains soaring from the water to the sky. The thundering falls only added to our awe.

New Zealand, in summary, has got to be one of the best places on earth. I came a number of times on business and was always struck by how friendly everyone is. I first came in 1985 as a supplier trying to fix a quality problem at Fisher and Paykel, the country’s biggest appliance manufacturer. Two guys from F&P I worked with treated me like a long lost cousin and we became good friends. Three years ago when I brought Debra to NZ for her first time, they insisted we stay at their respective beach homes with them though I hadn’t seen them in 10 years. When we went for lunch in an empty little Stewart Island bar, a couple from Auckland came in and plopped down at our table to visit. After a 30 minute visit, they had to leave to catch a flight out, but they insisted we take their contact information and visit them the next time we’re in NZ.
But I don’t think I ever appreciated the beauty of the South Island. I’d heard about it, but not being a big outdoors type (hiking, fishing, etc), it wasn’t on my bucket list. Writing this post makes me realize there just aren’t enough superlatives in our language for New Zealand. When I edit my first draft, I’m sure I’m going to find I have to rotate among ‘stunning, spectacular, magnificent, etc.’
It’s just that kind of place – really.

 

Some of my favorite photos:

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