Saturday March 12th 2016
So ! We are back in Auckland after our terrific 49 day tour of Middle Earth (North and South Islands), phew, that was fun ! Still, it’s nice to be home as we try to get ourselves back into some sort of routine and wait for the captain to return from his whirl wind tour in Canada.
As I look back at this most recent trip, there are a few things that stand out in my mind:
Firstly: I think it’s really cool that New Zealand was able to provide the kids with some eye opening experiences through the excellent and modern museums, special exhibits cultural events and open air festivals we attended. I think that many of these were similar to experiences they would have had in Canada and which have been lacking from our lives while we visited the more remote places on our trip. Its really nice to have been able to give these types of learning opportunities on top of all the others ones they’ve had in the last two years !
Secondly: I realised that I am TIRED, don’t get me wrong, it has been an absolute BLAST, but traveling everyday on top of teaching and parenting 24-7, sometimes got to be a bit much, and now I ‘m glad to get a bit of rest ! I am proud of what the kids and I were able to achieve together, we managed to have LOADS of fun even with all the *extra unforeseen* little side adventures which inevitably had to happen along the way, (more on that below).
Thirdly: I am SO GRATEFUL that we were able to do this and , WOW was that ever a great trip! I think that over the next few months and years it will slowly start to sink in on just how lucky we were to have been able to do this !
And finally: If I didn’t say it enough already: New Zealand is just such a wonder of a place! I am happy that we got to know it and its people a little bit better. In general I think it is safe to say that Kiwis are kind, down to earth, sincere and humble people. ( that is except when it comes to Rugby, then they're all; " We're the Champions of the World!" n' stuff .) There aren’t too many ‘show offs’ here. There doesn’t seem to be any “Jones to keep up with” People are proud and strong, but no one is shouting from the roof tops about how great they are or how great their country is. They just smile and quietly acknowledge it when you tell them, and they continue to preserve it and protect its natural environment so that others can come and enjoy it. They take good care of it but they are very good at sharing it. I think when people visit NZ for the first time they might be as surprised as I was at the beauty of the place. I suspected it was great, but I never truly understood until I saw it! Ok, I guess we are ready to go and get my “I ❤️ Aotearoa” t-shirt now, because we do, we really, really do love it !
Kiwis make us laugh:
Have you heard of a little place called:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu ?
No, I am not pulling your leg, that is what it’s called, and yes, that is one word. Only in NZ ! This is the actual name of an actual place, it is a hill ( about 300 meters high), on the East coast of the North Island, just North of Cape Turnagain. It is quite probably the longest word in the world, as it barely fits on the Lonely Planet map, without crossing half way across the Pacific Ocean !
Also, seen at the town on Ohope (North Island), a sign on the side of the road which simply read; “Caution ! Watermelons!”
These example are just a sample of the many signs we read on our journey, which made us smile. Those Kiwis are so adorable ! Another day, while I was standing in line at the check in (“chicken”) desk at a campground my eye brows went up a little when I heard the lady ask the three girls she was serving in front of me : “Should I give you (a) beating?” To which they politely replied, “ No thank you”. I am sure that my eyebrows shot right up, wondering what kind of a place this was, then I finally got it. She was asking them if they needed linen/pillows (bedding) for their cabin.
Challenges: It is not an adventure without them. Other than the previously mentionned: "being eaten alive by sandflies" and "bailing out our tent after an epic rain storm which soaked all of our blankets, clothe and pillows”, we've also had these happen:
-Almost loosing our windshield while driving towards Abel Tasman (Turns out it had been poorly glued on when installed a few years back!)
-Having the back hatch on the van open as we were driving up a very steep gravel road and dropping all of our dishes, pans, pots and cuttlery strewn all the way down the hill and in the bushes around.
-Getting my chance to use the benefits of our AAA membership to get a free boost after leaving the lights on the car and draining the battery
-Paying for admission for three to go and see a movie (while we were waiting for afore- mentionned AAA), only to leave in the first 5 minutes because the movie theatre was a very cute and cozy but tiny living room sized room in which Matthew was unable to stay quiet for the other 4 patrons (Meg got to stay and watch the movie though).
-Being pulled over by a police officer for going “a little bit too slow” after leaving a town (that is a first for me!) The officer was very nice and let me off, even giving me tourism information about the next town we were headed towards rather than giving me a fine !
Two rotten Kiwis, maybe, and quite possibly, the only two in existence out there ! Another “life experience" we were dealt while on the trip was a costly one. We “lost” (read “were robbed of”) two brand new ipads (Meg and Matthews) from a campground near Wellington. I had the misfortune of being set up in very close proximity to two very dishonest Kiwis. I honestly didn’t think they existed. Having left the two devices to charge at a plug in the communal kitchen it took a mere 20 minutes for the unthinkable to happen. I admit that this one shook me and, I was anfry for the first 24 hours. It really gets to me when something which belongs to the kids gets taken. We had to get the police involved and hoped for a while that we could get the devices back,(The camp staff and I knew who had done it- long story-but let me just say that it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out) but the officer, although very helpful, could not search the pair without proper proof and we weren’t able to track them down using the usual FindmyPhone apps either (since neither device had this app turned on) and so we had to let them slip away, but, we were determined not to let these two jerks ruins this journey for us, so we just let go and moved on with our trip.
The last leg of our Middle Earth Tour: Abel Tasman, Golden Bay and the Farewell Spit; in the top Western corner of South Island. Throughout our journey around the South Island we met many backpackers from all over the world and a large majority seemed to be headed towards Abel Tasman National Park, to partake in the Great Walk there, so there was quite a draw for us to stop in and see what all the fuss was about. We left Nelson and drove up, stopping along the way whenever we saw something that caught our attention: Glass blowers, seaside town and with cute market places and, tame eels. (This seems to be a big thing here as we encountered no less than 4 different places which advertised tame eels as a tourist destination, so we just had to see this for ourselves!
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| Golden Bay Area, NorthWest corner of South Island |
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Golden Bay
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| Meg petting one of the friendly fresh water eels ! |
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| Tames eel seem to be a big deal in these parts ! |
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| They come to say hello when you approach them ! |
Since we had not been able to book into the Abel Tasman Coast Walk - (The huts are booked as far as one year in advance!) we opted to just do a day hike just a short 3 hour return walk gave us a good idea as to why this place was so popular. It is a longer walk than the Routeburn (60 km vs Routeburn’s 32km) and most of it is along the ocean, walking on pristine beaches and through rain forrest. Some people divide the walk into a part hiking and part kayaking adventure, over 3-5 days. We put it down on our “New Zealand Return Trip Must Do’s”.
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One of the many glass blowing places we stop in. |
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| Abel Tasman walk |
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| Meg found a small whale or dolphin skeleton |
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| MC holds a dorsal fin |
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| Farewell spit, North West Corner of South Island |
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| No, he didn't fall…he chose to slide down this way! |
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| …and then took a moment to admire the world from this new perspective.. |
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| The kids at Farewell Spit |
The Farewell Sand Spit is the South Island most Northern point. There are fewer tourists here but the scenery is just as marvelous as anywhere else. We were pleasantly surprised to see many large cave formations and Arches in the Sea as we had an after dinner stroll along the beach. The Golden Bay area is also worth mentionning, as we stopped in the charming little villages along the way, and there we found a de-li-cious chocolate store called “Rosie’ Chocolates”. This is where we met a former Canadian lady who- as she puts it- “reinvented her life” (from architect in Toronto to chocolate salesperson in Golden Bay!)... Hm, tempting.
Another interesting stop in the Golden Bay area was the Ngarua caves, where we got to see (and touch!) real Moa bones. A Moa was a very large flightless bird which used to live in New Zealand - They were hunted to extinction. The largest of the Moas where even larger than an ostrich. The Moa skeletons found in the cave was from a few of these birds who had fallen in to the cave thousands of years before !
Oh, and we are so glad that we stopped to see Te Waikoropupu Springs (or just “pupu” springs for the locals). This is the largest fresh water spring in Australasia. It is a sacred Moari place and the water is, Oh-so clear !- It was very difficult to resist the temptation to jump in (we didn’t) ! You could see the multicoloured waterplants were swirling around as the spring bubbled, makes me thirsty just thinking of it.
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| Ngarua caves |
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| Meg holding a real Moa bone (a now extinct large flightless bird) |
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| 'Pupu" fresh water springs. The largest in Australasia and a sacred Moari place |
Arthur's Pass
We simply could not leave the South Island until we had driven on the Arthur’s Pass. We had been told over and over just how beautiful this pass across the middle of the Island was. It joins the West Coast to the East, right around Christchurch. We took a day to drive it, slowly and stopped at the many view points. It was a sunny, glorious day and the pass was every bit as beautiful as we had been promised. We are glad we did it ! And, I'm sorry but, when you drive by a town called Springfield and you hear that they erected a giant doughnut in honour of the Simpsons (TV Show), you just have to stop for a photo- op ! Then we drove up the East coast of the South Island for one last look. And then back on the ferry to cross the Cook's Straight once more.
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| Stunning Arthur's Pass |
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| Driving Arthur's Pass |
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The kids hanging out in Springfield !
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| Meg on the beach, East side of South Island |
North Island, almost home. Welli-wood. In the recent past the city of Wellington (capital of New Zealand) has been called Welli-wood in reference to its great success at making major motion pictures, and not just the Lord of the Rings either, many other big names were made here or were enhanced with the help of the Weta studios. On our second visit we discovered just how great a city Wellington is. We took a bit more time to feel the artsy vibe and enjoy its lively water front. We had been told that the National Museum (aka Te Papa) was one not to be missed and so we headed there first.
UN-BE-LIE-VABLE ! A really great museum, probably the best I’ve been in, well, ever, and get this, it is free admission ! We spent most of the day and could have spent another 2 days there for sure ! Here are the kids crawling into a life-sized blue whales heart.
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| Crawling through a Blue whales' heart ! At the amazing Te Papa museum |
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| The “Galipoli; The Scale of our War” exhibit made by Peter Jacksons team |
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| DreamWorks studio exhibit. A temporary exhibit at Te Papa |
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| Meg learns about him animation at Nga Taonga Sound and Vision (Film Archives) |
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| A place for parents to relax with music and be fanned by their children |
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| An eclectic carnival in Wellington. (If you look closely the seats on this kiddie-ferris wheel are actually toilet seats ! |
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| Walking along the waterfront in Wellington delivers great surprises, and interesting architecture |
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| Waterfront in Wellington |
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| Meg sliding down the natural slides at Gisborne's |
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| The Natural waterslide at Gisborne |
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| Matthew on the waterslide |
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| Kaka at the Zealandia Bird Park |
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| Takahē |
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| Meg riding the Big Splash in Rotorua |
Walking along the waterfront in Wellington delivers great surprises, and interesting architecture.There was even a festival happening the week we were there, and the kids got to enjoy the (free) rides at this artful and eclectic carnival. (If you look closely the seats on this kiddie-ferris wheel are actually toilets ! The rides were all run on “human powered” energy, including this great one: A place for parents to relax with music and be fanned by their children! And, I am not sure if this is a thing which has caught on everywhere in the world, but we have seen many of these urban pianos in various places around NZ, and anyone can just sit and play, brilliant, especially when talented artists like this guy have a go !
Since Wellington is such a hub for movie making, it seemed fitting that we stop in at the Nga Taonga Sound and Vision (Film Archives). We got to watch local short films and also short videos explaining how certain animation were done. Complemented with a visit to the DreamWorks studio exhibit (temporary exhibit at Te Papa) Meghan delighted in learning about the process in making some of her favourite animation films such as Madagascar and Shrek.
Our last stop was Zealandia, a large green space and bird sanctuary right in the middle of the city. As we walked along the tracks we encountered a few species which we had not yet seen, including the Takahē (a large flightless bird which is a much rounder and more colourful version of the common pukeko) and the Kaka (native parrot). Nice to see these endangered birds thriving in this protected environment ! (They built a very tall wall around the entire perimeter of Zealandia to keep the cats and other predators out.
After leaving Wellington we drove to the East coast and stayed a couple of days in the town of Napier. We found it to be a great little seaside town. Then we were off to Gisborne where we'd heard about these fun natural rock slides, and we had a go on those ! Of course, Matthew being Matthew he decided that it was more fun to stand in the steepest part of the slipery slopes and slowly walk UP the slide while his mother was screaming at him to sit down, and having a heart attack at the same time. (Of course he made it all the way to the top without falling!)
Rotorua, again. We decided to spend our last day in Rotorua, at the Rainbow Springs Attraction. We chose this place because it advertised a BIG SPLASH ride, and that sounded like a fun way to finish off our adventures. The Big Splash ride was a hit, and because it was a quiet day, we were able to go again, and again, and again, and the kids loved it ! Well, that’s it ! Like I said, we are now just waiting for the return of the fourth member of our crew and decide, where to next ? We shall see! Loads of love, 3Ms (+ 1M on his way back very soon!)
Meghan on Amelie. Abel Tasman National Park and Cape Farewell
Just a few hours away from Nelson is the gorgeous, gorgeous Abel Tasman National Park. Just a one sentence history lesson for you: Abel Tasman (Dutch sailor) was the first European to sail by New Zealand but he never landed. Anyways, he was very fortunate to have this national park to be named after him because I think it has to be on my "Top 5 List" of New Zealand! There is also a Great Walk here, the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which many emphasize is the most beautiful of the Great Walks. We got to do part of the track and it was pretty spectacular! We also got to explore the beach right beyond our campground which was a field of starfish at low tide!
After Abel Tasman, we journeyed a little bit further to Cape Farewell and the Farewell Spit. The Farewell Spit is the long, narrow spit of sand that extends out from the northernmost tip of the South Island and after that, it is nothing but the Tasman Sea. Near Cape Farewell and the Farewell Spit are some really awesome beaches. One had loads of sand dunes, bringing back warm memories of summers we sometimes spent in North Carolina. Another beach was littered with entire pilot whale or dolphin skulls and even some vertebrae (just so you all know, this beach is known for beached whales and dolphins so they definitely died of natural causes). How's that for a biology lesson?!?
Arthur's Pass and Back up to Picton. We had headed north since we weren't sure whether Arthur's Pass (road that goes from coast to coast across the South Island) was a "must see" but as we met more and more people who raved more and more about it, we decided that since we had time, we might as well go back down and drive across it. Really worth it! Once again, we found ourselves amidst the landscape of the striking Southern Alps which I don't think I could ever get tired of.
After a few short stops on the way up, we finally made it up to Picton, the town of the ferry terminal, so we said our many thanks and goodbyes to the unforgettable South Island.
Wellington
Now I see the reason why you always have to visit a city twice to really get to know it. Last time we were in Wellington, we were in a very busy, dirty part of the city and it was very windy and murky (which is why the city is nicknamed "Windy Wellington") so I did not get a very good impression of it either than the Weta Film Studios (read my last blog for details). This time, we were in a different part of the city and, although it was still windy and cold like always, I got a completely different impression of it. It turns out Wellington is like Nelson on steroids! It is all about the arts: movies, visual art, music, and so much more. Just like if I heard someone was studying biology in Galapagos, I would tell them they were in the perfect place, I would tell someone the exact same thing if they told me they were studying the arts in Wellington!
First of all, the number one on the must-see list in Wellington is the Te Papa museum (aka: National Museum). For starters, it is free! It has everything about everything! It ranges from measuring the size of an earthquake to how Dreamworks makes their animation films (this one was a temporary exhibit that does cost a few dollars but it super, super good).
Another interesting site in Wellington is the movie archive centre which contains every single movie ever made in New Zealand (or any movie that has anything to do with New Zealand) which they have on all the computers there! We didn't watch any of the movies but I did look at some of the educational videos about how they make different types of movies, like animation for example.
Also, we happened to be in Wellington at the time of the yearly arts festival. One day in one of the downtown parks, we happened to stumble upon an odd looking playground. It had a ferris wheel with toilets as seats, a merry-go-round with bikes and little airplanes to sit on instead of horses, a can knockdown game where you shot olive pits, and so many more zany rides and games! We played a few of the games and found out that the actors, who were wearing vintage clothing and putting on some hilarious accents, came all the way from Spain! The best part was that all the rides and games were people-powered!
A little bit outside of the city is a nature centre/park which is called Zealandia. It is an open but protected bird sanctuary and we got to walk around the whole place and see so many unique birds we hadn't seen yet in New Zealand. For example, we saw the Takahe which are big, blue birds with very abnormally large feet, which make them walk in a very awkward manner! We also saw the Kaka parrot which look exactly like the Kea parrot and are also clever and mischievous like the Kea (go figure!).
Gisborne-More Natural Waterslides
As we continued north, we reached Gisborne. The town was a quaint, quiet little beach town with not that many tourists. We even had a waitress at a restaurant, when we told her we were "just visiting Gisborne", ask us "Why?"! Anyways, the town was a nice place to just sit and relax for a few days. What really put Gisborne "on the map" for us though, was the natural waterslides just outside town.
Apparently we like our waterslides "au natural" since this is our second one we have been to in less than five months (read about the first one in my Fiji blog)! Anyways, the Gisborne one were quite different than the ones on Taveuni, Fiji. This one was just a long slope covered in moss with the river continually running down it. If you want to know the easiest way to make something slippery, just add moss and water because it is incredible how slippery it is! The only problem was, it was a very bumpy ride down and we had no boogie boards. Not to fear, we always have tricks up our sleeves! We decided to use one of our tent mattresses! Hey, we were not the only crazy ones there: we saw quite a few people who also had bed mattresses!
Rotorua
We decided to make our last stop a hot one: Rotorua. Honestly, don't dig too deep under Rotorua, volcanic capital of New Zealand, or you will find something a step further than hot!
Anyways, we had a blast at Rotorua's Rainbow Springs park where we rode numerous times on the historical log ride that took us through New Zealand's history (and then eventually ended in the classic, big splash!).
Now, we are all back in Auckland, in the boatyard safe and sound. In the first few days back, we marathoned the "Lord of the Rings" movies as we constantly called out, "Been there!," every time we saw a familiar location!
We are trying to finish up the boat projects and we hope to splash (go back in the water) next week. Then, the big question is: where will we head off to? Well, we are going to hopefully visit a few more places in the Bay of Islands, get back up to Opua and then.... Who knows?!? We are still making decisions now but we will have a conclusion soon. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed hearing about the last of our land adventures and happy Easter to everyone!
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| Meg's Easter egg drop for science |
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