Goodbye to a dear friend

When I travel, for the most part, I don't really miss home. But today, I miss home. Today, I learned that a friend, colleague and mentor has lost a very long and voracious battle with cancer. I deeply regret that I won't be able to say a final goodbye to Robin and lend what meager support I can to her family. For now, this is my only forum for sharing my sadness with those of you who knew and loved her. The world had lost a beautiful light, and while still a wonderous place, it shines less brightly tonight.

Caving...

December 14 - Waitomo Caves

Few pictures today I'm afraid (although there are now almost 3000 of them, so I'm not sure it's a big tragedy). I forgot the camera and Kohji was spelunking through caves in a wetsuit, so no real room for one. I did grab a couple on the iphone, but they're pretty hazy.

We started the day under cloudy skies with occassional drizzles. I'm going to try to make the best of it, but I can see that 10 days of this will get to me after awhile. The drive out of Auckland was by far the busiest we've experienced. It's obvious that the North Island is more populated, and Auckland in particular fits the bill for any large, international city.

The scenery rolling along was not particularly noticeable, other than I did note it was a tad browner around here. We were, however, on a 4 lane expressway for the most part, so it's generally not conducive to looking around. I will say it was nice driving something other than the campervan - round-abouts are way easier. We're driving a Forester (the kids keep calling it the Nana-car because my mom had one) which I would said was a larger car prior to 3 weeks driving a campervan.

Our destination today was the Waitomo Caves - an area riddled with networks of limestone caves. We figured it would be not a bad place to spend a rainy day or two. Other than cave touring companies, there isn't much to the town of Waitomo Caves itself. It's obvious though that cave exploration for tourists is a pretty booming business around here as there are a number of companies offering tours in their own branches of the network. We're still staying in the camperparks, but without the camper. A lot of this places have small cabins as well, and so for the northern leg of the trip we decided to give them a whirl. So far, it's pretty much the same experience as the campervan with more maneouvrability and more luggage lugging.

We arrived in time for lunch at a little restaurant right beside the camp park. They had the best kids menu ever, including beans on toast and leg of lamb, which is what our kids wanted. Kiyomi has become a lover of lamb down here. Not sure if she's aware what exactly she's eating, but she gobbles it up.

After lunch, Kohji headed out for a 4 hour spelunking tour. I will allow him a guest spot on the blog to fill you in on that.

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How very generous of my wife. This is pretty much the first time that I've had a chance to touch the computer the whole trip! Well, not quite.

The caves were pretty darned amazing. I've always wanted to do some real caving and this was my chance to do it as it can only be done in a few places in the world. I went with a company called Waitomo Adventures (I wasn't going to do it on my own - too risky), and picked a tour called Haggis' Honking Holes (not sure why). After our group of six North Americans including a guy who works as an in-water surfing photographer (cool job), got fitted for our wetsuits and our rubber boots (I never imagined doing caving in rubber boots but they did an amazing job of gripping the wet limestone - apparently they were designed for meat cutters who are always on wet concrete floors), we took a quick rapping course and then we walked through a sheep field to a hidden hole in some bushes. A scramble into a narrow hole was followed by a rappel down through a waterfall tube (complete with waterfall!) and we were deep in the pitch-black cave.

We didn't know which way we were supposed to go at that point until we realized we had to go through the waterfall to a hole behind it. Along the way, we saw stalactites (the sticky-downy thingies) and stalagmites (the sticky-uppy thingies) as well as glow-worms up close, oyster fossils, really cool "blooming" stalactite formations, etc etc, all in a very natural state. Unlike the caves we had been able to see in Guangxi when we picked up Ren, where there were walkways, coloured lights lighting up the rooms etc, in this case it was just us walking, climbing, sliding, crawling, and squirming on our bellies like marines, through a narrow three-dimensional maze and just our headlamps for lights. There were a few rappels, a couple of rock-climbing sections, a few ladders over abysses and climbing up vertical holes, all over about 3 hours underground. The first 2/3 was wet work - no actual swimming but lots of crawling through water and waterfalls. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed and I was too cheap to pay $25 for the pictures that the guides took, so no photographic record.

Definitely worthwhile, and a highlight.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

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The kids and I napped, did homework and headed out for our own little cave exploration adventure on the Ruakuri Bushwalk. The short 30 minute hike was about a 5-10 minute drive from the park and turned out to be awesome. A looped track that takes you through a dense forest canopy peppered with limestone rock faces. Walkways and stairs lead up along the rock faces in some sections and take you past and through small caves. The kids had a great time playing in the caves pretending to be bats. They even wanted to investigate a large one, but I convinced them it wasn't the best of ideas without flashlights (despite the perfectly good set of stairs leading into a pitch black oblivion). There were stalagmites, stalagtites, rushing streams bubbling into what appeared to be bottomless caverns. All perfectly suitable and viewable by a 3 and 6 year old.

After our own little version of spelunking, we picked up the kids and I picked up groceries and made dinner in the camp kitchen. This one was a tad busier than some of the others we've used on this trip, but as usual it worked out well to not have to look for or endure (if the kids are cantakerous) a restaurant. On the whole, I'm finding the kids can handle one meal a day at a restautant, otherwise, they are too impatient to wait for the food, wait for us to finish.

Things to note: I am finding that the night sky (when it's not obscured by clouds of course) is way different. Not being an astronomy buff, I couldn't point out what's different, but it is very obvious the stars are different here.

Kids unleashed from the confines of the campervan

Slurping frothies (steamed milk with chocolate sauce on top)

Hugging a stalagtite

"Bats" in the cave

Heading North, the rush is on...

December 13 - Auckland

Well, it's official, we circumnavigated the South Island. We have literally gone from the northern most point to the southern most point, with what felt like a billion stops in between. And now, we're in Auckland, ready for an assault on the North Island. This was, of course, after a couple days in Christchurch to regroup, recoup and generally do a little lazing about before we tackle the North Island.

The last couple days have been relatively uneventful. We left Mount Cook in blazing sunshine to work our way down into a more plains like area on our way to Christchurch. We drove towards an expanse of clouds that seemed to be gobbling up the landscape, including cascading down over a moutain range. The clouds were actually flowing like a waterfall spilling down into the valley... and we were headed straight for them.

Arriving in Christchurch around 3:30, we made our way straight for the motor park we stayed in the first night of our campervan adventure. The kids were thrilled (it has a jumping pillow and an indoor pool) and when we opened the door they took off like captive antelope released from a cage. They were rather thrilled to have the afternoon to run, jump, slide and swim without having to be anywhere or do anything. They also seemed to be excited about being someplace familiar. Yup, as I mentioned previously, we're saving up for the therapy bills down the road for everything we've put them through on this trip.

For good or bad, the camper park was much busier than last time we came through here (hard to believe it was only 3 weeks ago!) The school holidays are approaching (secondary schools start this week and primary on the 20th), so we're expecting that things will be a lot busier on the North Island. Thus far, we've played most things by ear, usually deciding the night before where to move onto next. So, the last couple days has been spent doing laundry, trying to finish off the remaining food (dinner last night was canned soup, left over curry, a block of cheese and sliced ham), trying to catch up on homework for Kiyomi, planning a bit of a North Island itinerary.

We did spend part of Sunday at the at the Orana Wildlife Park. On the outside, it looked like a small, slightly tired zoo, but it actually was quite interesting. There are animal feeding times throughout the day, so if you follow the feeding schedule, you get a pretty good view of the animals. The coolest was the tiger feeding, where the meat is left on a high tree stump and the tiger leaps onto it to retrieve it. The giraffe feeding was a close second as we actually got to hold the branches, make like trees and the giraffes ripped the leaves from our hands. They are amazingly strong and have really big heads, especially that close, with long, luscious eyelashes.

This morning, we packed up the campervan, which took a couple of hours given that we had things tucked away in most of the nooks and crannies, dropped our fondly loved (or at least really well used) campervan off (minus a couple of towels that were pinched from the communal clothes line at the campground), and hopped a flight to Auckland. I should note, it was a brilliantly sunny, warm day in Christchurch. Auckland, and all of the North Island, however, is supposed to be wet for at least the next 10 days. Does not bode well for some of the beach adventures we were thinking of. It was fairly inevitable though. We had great weather for the most part the entire 3 weeks we were in the south, including along the west coast and Milford area which are renowned for wet weather. It seems our weather luck has run out.

We're also staying in a hotel tonight, and I'll confess, I like not having to walk across the campground to take a shower or use the washroom (or "go to the toilet" as they say here). We're only here for a night before we head down to wet Waikato (caves), rainy Rotarura (hot springs) and cloud-covered Cormandel (beaches). It's possible we'll be back in Auckland before we know it, just looking for dry-land.

One interesting thing is that on three seperate occassions today, we were told by strangers that our kids were really well behaved. I almost burst out laughing. A very different impression from the one most of the people in the campervan park acquired, especially this morning with a first thing in the morning concerto of crying and yelling, early morning, featuring our sweetly behaved Ren! It seems about once a day, he's got to let out a little frustration and will yell, cry (and almost spit) for a good long time. The great thing for us about getting it over with first thing in the morning, is that it's likely not going to happen again. If it doesn't happen all day, we know we're in for a very unpleasant bedtime. Kiyomi, who has been sharing a bed with him, generally shrugs and makes comments like "Wow, that's loud!". That's not to say that she doesn't have her moments, hers are generally more of the grown-up variety ("I don't have to listen to you!" said very matter-of-factly in the same tone I use to tell her to get her shoes on for the 400th time). Ah, traveling with kids.

Something to note: as some of you know, I have an obession with slurpees. Not expecting to find anything like that here, imagine my joy when I saw a poster in a convenience store window for Frozen Coke! Well, it turns out, frozen coke is just that, coke that's been frozen (as opposed to the syrupy-based concoction that make up slurpees at home).

Just cause he looks like he's having so darn much fun

Clouds cascading into the valley

Lupin

Lunch!

He's looking skeptical

Had to get in a sheep picture in

Ah mountains...

Ho-hum, another spectacular view in New Zealand. We left Oamaru relatively early, and rather skeptically. We decided to make the gambit and try to get into Mount Cook to get some views of the country's highest peak. The weather forecasts were good, supposed to be highish clouds and "fine" as they say here. But, in Oamaru, it was overcast and cool.

About 45 minutes into the 2 and some hour drive, the clouds strarted to lift, blue ski started to poke through and we saw the sun for the first time in a few days. For most of the drive, we crossed farm land, including our first real sight of commercial size farms. Then the peeks started to appear on the distant horizon, faintly smudged by a light haze, but unmistakably snowy peeks. The road seems relatively straight for the most part, but at one point, a bend provides you with the first view of the imposing breadth of Mount Cook, dominating the valley and plain in front of it (or at least the windshield).

Getting closer provided equally impressive views, but oddly, as we got closer, it seemed that the mountain was smaller. There is a single road leading into the Mount Cook area that skirts the edge of Lake Pukaki and along the road, views of Mount Cook materialize and fade behind trees or bends. Surprisingly, our whole time driving in was sunny and rays bouncing along the snowy peak and shoulder of the mountain.

While Mount Cook was impressive, when we finally reached the end of the road, it was Mount Sefton to Cook's left that trully impressed us. Shroud in cracked glaciers and snow, it looked like it was about to tumble into the valley below at any minute. A thick blanket of white settled precariously on the mountain's shoulder. We arrived a mid-day, so had a pic-nic under the watchful eye of Cook and Sifton.

After lunch, we headed for a hike into along Hooker Valley. A relatively mild ascent, but some fun rock hoping and suspension bridges. The total hike is 10 kms round trip. With Ren in the carrier, we headed off for the first section of the hike making it until we rounded a unamed hill to get a clear view of Cook across the valley. At that point, the kids and I turned back while (probably about 3 kms in), while Kohji finished the round trip. Both kids did great on the hike, despite the fact that it was hot and some challenging bits. Kiyomi managed the whole 6 kms (with some tired moments and well timed snacks), while Ren sat comfortably in the carrier telling me repeatedly he was a "baby frog and you mommy frog".

At the campground, you can acutally see Mount Cook from the kitchen area. Kohji got some great shots of the kids jumping on a trampoline with the mountain in the background.

Another amazing day, but it's fair to say that the kids are reaching a little bit of burn out. Bribery with chocolate only goes so far. Tomorrow, we're thinking of making our way back to Christchurch to regroup before tackling the North Island for a couple of weeks.

Of note: Wild lupin grows everywhere on the South Island, especially along the highways. It is a beautiful, but very invasive flower. The colours range from orange to dark purple, and interestingly there is a variety colour in all the patches of it that we've seen. The colours complement each other really well, and so it really is a pretty patchwork. It's when you see a wild field that is completely overun with it that you realize was an easy spreading and dominating little plant it is - pretty, but watch out if if ever gets a foothold!

First views of the range (note the penguin companion)

Lunch under Mount Sefton

Hiking towards the Hooker Valley

And I wonder why my kids are doomed

Fun bridge crossing

Mount Cook looms

... but looks less imposing from a trampoline

Oamaru (try saying it fast 3 times)

December 9, Oamaru

We started the day exploring Dunedin a little. Parked by the train station, which is a rather impressive piece of Victorian architecture and wondered through the central area looking for the Otago Museum. Our search brought us along side part of the Otago University campus, which is one of those ones well integrated into the city. The vintage and feel actually reminded me a little of the Bannatyne Campus of the University of Manitoba - right down to the smell of the hospital cafeteria.

The Otago Museum itself is rather impressive. Unfortunately, with kids in tow, we didn't really get a chance to fully appreciate the collection, but we did see some items (including a scarf and ice ax) beloging to Sir Edmond Hillary, who apparently had a long-standing relationship with the museum. The hightlight for all of us though was a visit to the tropical rain forest room and the thousands of butterflies that inhabit it. The room itself is a multi-story atrium literally teeming with butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colours. There are a few other creatures as well (some turtles, tarantulas, goldfish), but really it's the butterflies that capture all the attention.

After a quick lunch at a Cambodian noodle house, we stumbled upon the graduates parade from the local Polytechnic Institute in Dunedin. A piper band led the parade of graduates all in cap and gowns down one of the central streets of town. The kids, of course loved a parade, and I found it exciting to see all these fresh, young faces beeming with pride.

While Ren napped in the crow's nest of the van, I perused some of the local shops (nothing much to report other than a bag of early season cherries) and then Kohji and Kiyomi checked out Cadbury World (yup it was a chocolate factory). It turned out that Santa was visiting the factory as well, so Kiyomi got to hop on the jolly man's knee and came away with a box of goodies for both her and Ren.

By late afternoon, we were on the road again, bound for Oamaru to see the resident little blue penguin colony. We had a fascinating stop at Moeraki Beach to check out the naturally formed boulders that lay casually strewn across a section of the soft sandy beach. They are rather out of place and have been sculpted by the tide to a smooth, round finish. They aren't even really visible at high tide, and when the tide is out a little, you get to climb all over them, which is of course what we did! It is also a rather lovely beach with a gentle slopped sand bar and awesome beach combing finds, including rainbow coloured little snail shells.

Our ultimate destination for the day was a night viewing of the little blue penguins as they come ashore to nest for the night. A very different experience from the yellow-eyed penguins at Curio Bay. Because the blue penguins here arrive every day at dusk and follow the same route to the nests, there has been an entire tourist center set up for penguin viewing, complete with a grand-stand. The penguins did arrive right on cue, but it took a little away from the the natural simplicity of it to be surrounded by a couple bus loads of Chinese tourists and a narration by the Center's staff. It was definitely an interesting parade, watching the penguins surf into the beach in groups (apparently they gather about 500 meters out in small groups to come in together), struggle their way up the rock embankment, preening and drying off as they climb, and then, making a beeline in a triangle formation to the nesting area (which is all fenced to keep out tourists, but also let in penguins. I will say that they are cute little buggers (the little blues are the smallest penguins) and their waddling formation is worth watching, but I can't say that it felt like we were watching them in their natural environment.

Things to know: little blue penguins are the smallest of the breed. Males are distinguishable from females as they have longer bills and are more aggressive (not that you could tell the difference as they were scuttling along up the rocks).

Goofing at the Otago Museum

Watching buttafies

No words needed

Cool rocks (Moeraki Boulders)

Rock hopping

Finally, Kohji gets to summit something in NZ

December 7 & 8 - We've made our way a little ways along the eastern coast to the university town of Dunedin. Leaving Curio Bay relatively early by our standards, we headed out through narrow, twisty roads through that can best be described as Shire land. Rolling greed, with stubby bushes and the occasional deep canyon plunging from the road side. I'm not sure there is a truely straight road anywhere on the South Island.

The views were lovely, but I think it's fair to say that our awe-meters have been overloaded by the rugged beauty of the West Coast and the wow-factor of Milford Sound. There has been a noticeable reduction in shutter clicks, despite the fact that the scenery is still quite stunning.

Having left early enough, we took a a slight detour (14 kms up a gravel road) to see Nugget Point - a short trek up to a lighthouse viewpoint. Just as we arrived at the junction fro Kaka Point (unfortunate name), we saw a couple girls hitchhiking their way up to Nugget, so we offered them a ride. Turns out they were from New York (Brooklyn and upstate) and are studying at Cornell. They're in NZ on an exchange for a semester and have spent the last couple weeks cyclying through the south part of the South Island. We were duely impressed. They say contentedly on the a back listening to Kiyomi chattering to them about having found dead animals on the beach, skiing back in Canada, being in grade 1 and any number of other things, all with the Wizard of Oz as background music of course. I think Kiyomi was thrilled to have someone other to talk to than us, and we were kind of happy with the temporary babysitting.

The point itself was a precipitous drop into swirling sea, with large rock nuggets (which were actually massive rock islands of several stories high) tossed near the shore line like jacks. The sky was a pale grey overcase, making the seas a bluey-grey. While you could easily make out where sky and sea met, it appeared as if the lines were perfectly blended on a chosen palette.

Lunch was at the rather Scottish sounding town of Balclutha. Much of Southland, as this part of the Island is calle, is heavily Scottish influenced. Pulling into Dunedin was a bit of a shock as the drive from Balclutha was the first time we experienced any real traffic, including quite a few trucks. Coming into Dunedin was the first time since we arrived that we experienced an expressway. The town itself is built on a hill going down to the sea and has a downtown built around the Octogon. Coming into town actually initialy felt like arriving in any North American city wit wide streets lined with a variety of businesses, including take-aways and any number of quasi-industrial feeling buildings. But, as you get closer to the center, it's like the city dips back in time to a center with Victorian architecture and a campus feel.

We arrived at the camp park in the late afternoon and decided to give the kids a bit of a break from touring about. There was a heated (barely) indoor pool and playground, so we took them swimming, got cleaned up and made dinner in the campground kitchen. Here we ran into our Belgian friend (we had initially met him up in the kitchen at the Milford Lodge). He's a landscape gardner from the Southern (Dutch) part of Belgium and is travelling for 7 1/2 weeks all on his own in a make-shift converted van. He looked hungry, so we invited him to join us and the Kiyomi enjoyed grilling him about his age and why he was all by himself. Actually, I would say that on this trip, she has gotten a lot more comfortable chatting with grown-ups. Including that evening chatting with a Danish lady who we met and telling her all about the gloworms and how it is cold getting out of the pool and so we all went to the baby bathroom (there was a bathroom with a small tub for families) and how daddy got in the tub with her and Ren because he was cold, and there wasn't enough room... (anyway it went on for awhile, so you get the picture).

It turned out that lady had a little girl (5 1/2 years) who came to the campervan the next morning to see if Kiyomi wanted to play, and boy did she! They become fast friends in minutes and were running around the playground hand in hand. Her name was Anna Cicilia and Kiyomi even invited her to breakfast where she happily sat with Ren and Kiyomi eating away and chatting (even though none of us had a clue what she was saying).

After saying goodbye to Anna, we headed for the Otago Peninsula. Dunedin actually sits on the knuckle of this peninsula which sneaks out into the ocean. This, more than any other part of the country, made be think of the Shire, with cascading greens and browns, as well as sheep. It should be said however every part of this country is dotted with sheep. There has not been a single day where we haven't passed fields of grassing sheep. I haven't looked it up, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were more sheep than people on this Island.

Our first stop was the University of Otago marine research center in the small tiny port of Portabello which doubles as a small boutique aquarium. It wasn't particularly large, but it had one of the best touch pools I've ever seen and the kids spent almost an hour exploring the pool, touching the sea creatures and checking off sea creature sigthings on their little brochure. After a brief lunch in Portabello (and a relatively brief Ren meltdown), we headed for a short hike that provided one of the best views on the peninsula (though it did also make for a very challenging sheep dung obstacle course). The 3 km hike off Highcliff Rd provided a couple of view points with dramatic drops into a precipitous sea. Ren slept in the carrier while Kiyomi dodge the sheep doo, loudly proclaiming that we should not be hking anymore in a sheep toilet!

Dinner was at an acutal grown-up restaurant along the beach at St Kilda beach in Dunedin called Esplanade (no the irony didn't escape me that I work in a place nik-named l'Esplanade). I tried fresh NZ muscles and they were yummy - much larger and more flavourful than what I'm used to. It turns out this beach is a rather busy surfing spot (despite the frigid temperatures), so we were treated to a bit of a local scene with surfers playing in the water and a bit of a gathering along the boardwalk of locals who seemed to be a part of the scene.

Things to note: As a Canadian, it's hard to get my mind around the notion that the further south you go, the cooler the climate and it's been a lot colder here than I expected it would be. Probably goes down to below 10 every night. I seem to be one of the only people around who finds it frigid though as most people are walking around in spring clothing. Some I note, however, are wearing puffy jackets over top of their shorts though, so I can't be that out of it.

The lighthouse at Nugget Point

The nuggets

Can't tell whether they're trying to get in or out!

View of Otago Peninsula

Hiking at the head of the peninsula

See, it could totally pass for the Shire

Big sky at the beach

We saw penguins... finally...

December 6 - On the road again this morning for about a 3 1/2 hour drive, this time with the destination of the most southern part of the island. Seems fitting as a couple weeks ago we were on the most northerly part of the island. Curio Bay isn't exactly the most southerly point, but it's close enough to the actual one that I say it counts. It would seem that we are indeed going to practically circumnavigate South Island at least.

We stopped in Invercargill for lunch. This is the second largest city on the south island and is supposed to be exceedingly proud of its Scottish heritage (I think the name is a give-awat for that). We stopped in a rather nice park in the middle of the town known as Queen's Park. With sandwiches in hand, we set ourselves down by a rather impressive play castle complete with tourrets. While we lunched, we saw school kids come marching out from a line of trees which circled the little area we were in. First, it looked like a group of grade 5s or so. Their teachers settled them under a nearby tree. Curious, we thought. And then, they just kept coming. Like a line of marching ants out from the trees, generally in descending order of age, over to the tree, until what looked like the kindergarten group brought up the rear and were marched into the castle. This is when we realized that the castle doubled as a stage and we sat there for a little while watching the kindergarten kids rehearse for their Christmas concert. Lunch and a show, not bad for a picnic.

After watching the concert for a bit, we headed for the nearby play structures where Kohji made a bee-line for a rather impressive geometrical structure with climbing holds all over it. Almost immediately, he picked up a fan. There were a group of students (perhaps in the 11 to 13 range) tearing around the place and one of them had noticed Kohji clambouring up. He immediately walked right up to Kohji and asked him if he was a free climber. Kohji declared that he used to be, and the kid was excited to find a kindered spirit. I wasn't privy to the conversation, but even from a distance, I could tell that the kid was mighty impressed with Kohji. I later learned that the kid told Kohji he was really happy to find someone who shared his passion! The kid even led Kohji to a special climbing area that he had been been bouldering on.

The penguins, however, were are ultimate stop, so we left Invercargill for a further hour or so drive to Curio Bay. The penguins are what brought us here, although our timing is a tad off. There isn't much to Curio Bay - a few buildings, most of which seem to be b&bs or other accomodations - but it is home to a small colony of Yellow-Eyed Penguins. There are the rarest penguins in the world with only 4000 worldwide and 1000 of them in mainland NZ. The penguins attract enough visitors that there is a small campground (surprisingly complete with power sites). At first, we thought we were out of luck as apparently it's nesting season and so there is less coming and going across the rocky shelve that stands between the bushes where the nests are and the open water. We headed down as soon as we arrive, and while Kohji managed to catch a glimpse of one, the rest of us did not (despite my trying to rush across about 300 meters of rocky bedrock with one kid in my arms, holding another's hand so she doesn't trip into a tidal pool, a fallen boot in one hand and a recalcitrate stuffed penguin in the other). We headed back up to the camp ground accepting that we probably would not get to see one of the little guys after all.

Just in case though, Kiyomi and I headed out after dinner to see if we could try our luck. And wouldn't you know it, after about 20 minutes, we noticed a small handful of people with pointed cameras and the general expression of contented tourists, so we headed over ourselves to see a couple of penguins perched on the edge of the bushes preening and generally hanging out. I actually looked like one of them may have been feeding the other some regurgitated left overs and I wondered whether is was a male returning with some goodies for the female.

When we got back to the van, Kohji headed down (Ren wasn't so interested in standing in the windy cold just to see a little flightless water fowl) and was treated to a little show as one of them popped out of the water not far from where he was and waddled his way to about 10 meters away from Kohji. It would seem humans are not a particular concern the this particular variety of penguin.

The rocky shelf over which the penguins clambour is actually a 170 million year old petrified stump forest. From the viewing platform up high, it looks like any sea shelf, but when you walk across it, you can clearly make out the tree stumps as well as fallen logs.

So, we retire all feeling that the drive (which was effectively an hour detour) was well worth it.

Of note: A little over two weeks into the trip and we have taken over 2000 pictures. Not sure if that's the country or a testomonial to how truely shutter happy we are.

Standing on a petrified tree

Watching for penguins

Success

This one came to check out Kohji

... and then left.

Blog catch-up

December 5 (adding the dates because I'm a few days behind in blogging since we've been out of internet range off and on, so am throwing up a few posts in one night to catch up)

Woke up this morning to a suprisingly second sunny day in Milford Sound. Kohji was up at the crack of dawn, drawn by the prospect of sun rise over the mountains. When he got back, slapped on the running shoes for my 3rd run here in NZ. I must say, it's easy to take your mind off how painful running is when your destination is the wharf at Milford Sound as the morning sun starts to break over the crest of mountains.

After ridiculously expensive bagles at the Milford Lodge, we headed back for Te Anau hoping. The drive back to the Homer Tunnel was as stunning as the day before, almost more so as we realized that what surrounds the mouth of the Tunnel is almost a 360 degree rock amphitheater. Rather spectucular coming and going.

This time, we stopped at a couple of pull-out spots. The first was a little canyon called the gorge - basically a rocky gorge with a waterfall flowing that cuts through the rain forest. There is a short walkway leading to a bridge that spans the gorge, giving a great view of the torrent of water spilling under your feet. The kids had a great time tearing around the little bridge loop.

The second stop was a snow field right after the Homer Tunnel. We explored it a little bit, walking across the snow field that sits underneath a spectacular (have I overused that word yet) rock wall teaming with water falls. There were even small snow caves, which while too small to crawl thru (and hard to really look into because of steam billowing out) were fun to discover.

We arrived in Te Anau in time for a late lunch and went back to the same campground we stayed in a couple nights ago in time for nap and homework. It felt funny coming back to the same place. So much of this trip has been about moving forward. Interestingly, Kiyomi found a friend that she had initally made in Kaikoura (oh so long ago now). A little German girl named Noelle. Kiyomi doesn't seem bothered in the slightest about the language barriers. In fact, she's getting quite good at using hand signals to get her point across, better than me.

After throwing together some leftover bits and pieces for a quick on the move dinner, we headed for a short boat ride across Te Anau Lake to see a gloworm cave. The Lake itself was beatiful with large rounded mountains dominating the site lines. Had we seen it two days ago, we would have been blown away. But after Milford, it is merely beatiful (although we agreed a tad more magificent than the Ottawa river).

The caves themeselves are almost 7 kms long (we only went into the first little bit). Apparently, Te Anau means "cave of swirling water" and a local adventurer spent 3 years mapping the coast line of the lake and researching Maori legend in order to discover the caves in the mid-40s. The whole center is geared towards grabbing the tourist dollars, complete with the obligatory photo that gets taken as you arrive and presented to you in a neat little package before you leave. That said, it is definitely a worthwhile experience.

The walkway through the cave alone is pretty cool. Carved limestone walls gouched by a rushing undergound river. The acidity of the water within the cave means that the cave is in fact always changing as it continues to eat away at the limestone. There are a couple of underground waterfalls and a stunning whirlpool. But, the main attraction are the gloworms that reside inside. Tiny little things about an inch long and the width of 3 hairs. They can be spotted as you head into the cave along the walkway, but the fascinating part is when you board a little boat (that seats about 12) and you're taken into the Gloworm Grotto. The boat floats along in complete darkness. The only light comes from the tiny little gloworm bums - which light up to attract insects. I wasn't sure how the whole episode would go, especially with Ren as the excursion didn't even start until 7. However, he and Kiyomi sat silently as the boat drifted along. The guide pulls the boat along using a guidewire (or at least I think that's what happened as I couldn't see a thing). It's a little disorienting in the complete darkness, and at one point I was completely unaware of my bearings (not that that is really so hard to do with me). In the grotto, the worms appears like stars in the night ski above and below (through reflections in the water).

All in all, a neat experience.

Things we've learned: the oft mentioned plague of sandflies (known as blackflies back home) here is very much real. The little buggers were everywhere in Milford and have been feasting on my ankles and feet for much of the trip. Other than in Milford I actually didn't notice their presence other than the tell-tale itchy lumps covering my feet. Apparently, one of the Maori legend notes that when the area now known as Milford was first discovered by man, one of the dieties released the sandflies to make sure they wouldn't stay permanently.

Searching for the snow cave

Chatting with a Kea

Rainforest moss

On the boat to the gloworms

Milford Sound

The last couple days have seen us travel from Queenstown to Te Anau to Milford Sound, and in the process going from pretty to out of this world spectacular.

At this point, I should confess that while we've all been generally having a good time, we have indeed experienced some meltdown moments as is inevitable when travelling. Each and everyone of us has lost our cool, gotten frustrated or, in the kids' case, a few major meltdowns. Travelling like this is indeed fun, but takes a toll as well. The kids have been generally taking things in stride, but Ren in particular has had a few dramatic moments with full scale tantrums, so we've had to on occassion curb our plans or just plain wait it out. This evening, for example, we're staying at a local lodge that lets campers have access to a full kitchen. We've been bringing the kids to these camper park kitchens and letting them play with toys while we've made dinner. Ren, however, was having a difficult time tonight. There was some yelling, there was some tantruming. Unfortunately, unlike the family parks, this place is primarily adult travellers (aka young people doing the backpacking thing) and so the looks accorded to a tantruming child were akin to the ones you give that brown gooey stuff on the bottom of a shoe after the oh so recognizable squish. It was tempting to just let him have the run of the place, if for no other reason so that these youn'uns would have a great travel story about the horrid brat that ruined their first meal out from the bush (I mean, it's the suffering stories that really stick with you isn't it?) Plus, I could have the satisfaction of knowing that most of them would experience the same moment in the future with their own kids. But, my Canadian conscience got the better of me and so Ren and I headed to the van so that I could be treated to my own personal tantrum symphony (sigh...)

I'm hoping that the money we're setting aside for their education will be sufficient to cover the therapy bills that will undoutedly ensue. I can hear the first session now - ".... and then, my parents dragged me to the end of the earth, driving for hours just to go look at some big hunk of rock, or stare at another ridiculous gaggle of fur seals!"

We spent yesterday morning down by the wharff in Queenstown perusing a local weekly artisan market and just getting a feel for the town. Despite being significantly smaller, it actually felt busier and more vibrant than Christchurch. Not sure if it's because it really is a tourist destination (reminiscent of Whistler or Tremblant) or because Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake and has a bit of a hollowed-out fill about it at the moment. The wharff area has a small rocky crescent beach with a few shopping concourse streets emanating out from it like spokes. There was a very relaxed vibe to the place and it would have been nice to hang out in a while longer, but the weather forecast for Milford Sound was looking promising for the next couple days, so the promise of fine weather lured us away. Lunch was at a little Japanese bento restaurant, and was actually surprsingly good. In fact, we've been finding that both the Japanese and Indian restaurants here are really tasty.

And so, we bid a fond adieu to Queentown (we barely knew you) and hit the road for Te Anau, the feeder down for the Fiordlands National Park. Compared to what we'd been experiencing, we were fairly convinved that at least this drive would be ho-hum. I will concede, it wasn't mind-blowing, but it still had its own beauty with tantalizing peeks at rocky, snow topped mountains, more glacial stream cut valleys and rolling green and brown hills.

We arrived in Te Anau by late afternoon giving enough time to do some laundry, let the kids run around a local park and actually get fed and cleaned-up before dark. The town itself is literally the gateway to the Fiordlands and so has a number of ameneties and tour companies operating.

Now, when we set off this morning it was more with curiosity than anticipation. Much of what we'd been through (the north and west coast, inland glaciers), is not really mentioned in the guidebooks and travel brochures. Oh sure, the highlights are in there (Able Tasman, Pancake Rocks, Franz Josef, etc.), but the amazing scenery that stretches in between in marely mentioned, despite the fact that it is jaw-dropping beautiful. The Fiordlands, however, are launded about to the point of hysteria. More than one guidebook noted that if you see nothing else in NZ, make sure you see the Fiords. So, could it live up to the hype?

Those of you who have been here know the answer. Those of you who haven't, I'm not sure my words can come close to accurately describing it, nor can the pictures do it any justice. We set off from Te Anau heading across primarily rolling farmland, replete with the requisite cows and sheep. It's not that long into the 119 kms drive, however, before you start to see the outline of craggy peaks with little rivulets of snow webbing the crowns. The road follows along a valley floor and even a short toilet break turns into a photo opportunity. The one we stopped at was a camp site, which for me, rivalled the beauty of some of the campgrounds I've had to schlep a back over several kms and meters of elevation to get to.

But that is literally only the amuse bouche. The valley walls start to close in and as they do, plummeting water falls, blistering white glaciers and surreal rock walls start to dominate the landscape. As we approached the Homer Tunnel, we were surrounded by the walls of a steep alpine valley. The Tunnel itself is indeed an engineering marvel - a single lane tunnel blasted through the bottom of the mountain. While I've experienced these before, this is the first one that felt like it went throught the heart of the mountain, and that the mountain may have put up a hell of a fight.

When you emerge from the other side, you understand what the mountain was guarding. But, it really is the opportunity to view the Sound from the water that really allows you to appreciate what is hidden behind the ring of mountains. All the adjectives apply - majestic, towering, powerful, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping - and yet there still are not enough words to truely convey what this place looks like. The moutains of Milford Sound, dominated by Mitre Peak, are indeed sentinels and guardians of the place. They plunge commandingly into the water, but unlike most mountains of their scale and majesty, they are softened by rich moss and vegetation scalling the walls and any number of waterfalls cascading from the shoulders and crowns. Because of this, there mountains seem older than time itself, absorded by life around, yet nonetheless a permanent part of it all. They are the backbone of the landcape - exuding strength and permanence, yet content to stand guard letting the world wash over and around them, confident in the knowledge that nothing can alter their roll as guardians of the sound. The boat also takes you close to one of the permanent waterfalls, and despite the fact that the mist soaked the boat, Kiyomi stayed on top deck happily watching for rainbows in the spray. Ren, meanwhile, ran around the back deck laughing everytime a gush of water hit him.

Rain falls around this part of the world for over 200 days each year. Somehow (actually thanks to our resident weather tracker) we were lucky enough to experience it on a gloriously blue ski day. That said, this place would be equally majestic on a wet day, with the waterfalls that much more significant and the green more vibrant. All I can say, if you haven't spent the last 10 minutes planning your trip to NZ, you've wasted the last 10 minutes.

Our mind's literally blown by what we've just seen, we are now set to bed down by the aforementioned lodge and give our brains a chance to truely process what it was that we've seen today.

A couple things worth mentioning: Kiwis seem to name every little rivulet and stream. Every single one that we've crossed has a little sign with a name. You'd think that it would be impossible to think of enough names, but thus far I haven't seen so much as a trickle without one. The highway system here is very utilitarian and takes up as a little space as possible. The cuts through the forest are narrow and in fact, the tree canopy is cut just enough to allow traffic to pass under. There are also a suprising number of small sections where the road is reduced to a single lane - you need to pay attention to what's coming at ya and who has priority (hint, if it's bigger than you, back up!)

Reflection in Mirror Lakes

First taste of things to come

View emerging from Homer Tunnel

The Sound

I'm thinking this will be our Christmas card picture!

Heading into the Sound

Stirling Falls

Stirling up close

Just a good final shot