New Zealand

Wiatomo

This YHA was the most remote one I had stayed at and in many ways, had the least amenities. It did have a full restaurant, at which I had excellent pizza, salad and wine for dinner. Towels were only given to you if you had a YHA card, otherwise you had to rent them. Kitchen utensils were also doled out at the front desk. A little strange, but I was only going to be there one night.

The next morning, I left my luggage at the YHA for safekeeping and took my towel with me for black water rafting.

I had thirty minutes to spare before I started my tour so I found a little internet café. From behind me I heard the words, ‘I knew it was you by your hair” and it turned out to be Robert and Ron from Doubtful Sound. They had done the cave repelling the day before and thought I needed to do that. It was lovely to see them and I know that I will make sure to contact them when I am in Adelaide

Black water rafting/Glow worms caves – Sue Karutz was right, it was hysterical to watch and very fun to do. We were bused (8 of us, 3 from Japan, 3 from Aust, 1 from Wales and me) 15 minutes to the shed were we changed into our wet suits. Bottom layer, your swimsuit and socks. Next layer, a clammy, cold farmer john wet suit. Next layer, your wet suit top and your very fetching, white Wellington boots. Finally, your white helmet with headlamp. We had to walk down the “wee hill” to the staring point and they pointed out our exit point to our right. We went down a ladder into a black pit and the adventure began.

It was probably a good thing that they did not give detailed explanations of all the things we would have to do, because some of us would not have gone down into the hole. We began by walking in the dark down the river to the stop point. We had two guides, a Maori named Dee and Dangerous Dan. Eventually we were walking chest high in the water and holding on to the walls. We came up through a tight area and then they helped us up onto a rock on our stomachs. Since the rock was covered in mud, they pushed us and we slid down a slide of mud on our bellies. I ended up scrapping my hand as I landed, but not bad. Then we ended up crawling through a narrow muddy tunnel on our hands and knees to be surprised by Dee on the other side telling us to smile at the camera. The mud was light yellow. Dee said that there were eels in the water but if we painted our faces with mud, they would avoid us. We painted our faces. Then the guides told us how the wet suits work. You have to get a small amount of water between your skin and the wetsuit. You then close the wetsuit and your body heats the water and keeps you warm. In order to do this, we had to stand in a circle in three feet of water, open our jackets at least 8 inches from our neck, hold hands and then all squat completely into the water until our heads are covered. VERY CHILLY, but it worked. Once the water was there and the jackets were closed, we did feel warmer.

Then some more hiking in the dark until we came to a place where a glow worm was right above our heads. Glowworms are really fly larvae that do not have a butt and have bioluminescent poop. They weave webs like a spider, but they look like laundry lines with threads hanging down. The catch their dinner and eat for about 8 months. Then they cocoon, come to life a as a fly, breed like mad for three day, lay eggs and die. Hmmmm? I don’t think I will choose to come back as a glowworm.

At two points, our guides sent us up a track by ourselves, once with me in the lead, and we ended up turning around as we hit a dead end. After that, I became very wary of things that they encouraged us to do.

Finally it was time to see the glowworms we each grabbed an inner tube and lined up for launching lessons. Step one, climb up three steps with your inner tube. Step two, face the wall and put your inner tube on your butt with the thickest part on your back. Step three, bend down, stick out your butt, tuck your chin and jump backwards into the water at least 6 feet out to the avoid the ledge you just climbed up and land butt first in the river. It sounds harder than it was and we all made it no worry. I have the picture to prove it.

The guides wisely advise you to not wear your glasses, so knew that I would not get to see them very clearly. They were so high above my head, so it was a good thing that I got to see them up close earlier.

In our inner tubes and holding on the rope, they formed us up into a little train with me as the caboose. I put my feet on the inner tube in front of me and that person put her arms over my feet. We held on to the rope on our right and down the channel we went. It was like looking at constellations at night. It was beautiful.

Out of the inner tubes, we hiked a little more and then it was time to run the rapids. We could hear a little waterfall and they had us step down into a hole and at the bottom, we had to face our feet down the water and cross our arms over our chest and they pushed us feet first down the little water fall with very narrow rock walls on either side of us. Our next mission was to swim, without using our legs about 20 feet because it was too deep to walk. If you used your legs, you lost your boots and then had to dive down and get them. No one used their feet to kick.

A little more hiking, look at the huge Weta (large cricket type insect only found in NZ) then we were out in the rain. Again, just a “wee hill” to climb to get back to the shed. We took pictures to prove we had made it and then the bus ride back to Wiatomo.

Bottom line – the next time I am back to NZ, I want to see the other glowworm caves and see what they have to offer. It was fun, a little cool, a little scary at times, but I never felt in danger and had any of it had seemed like too much for me, I am sure they would have been able to offer me a less challenging alternative. IT WAS WAY GOOD FUN. DO IT AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CAMERA.

Because of my YHA member, my copies of the photos were free. YAAAH!

After the caves, I had a quick lunch of a curry meat pie and tea, did a quick gallop through the cave museum and learned all about the life cycle of the glowworms and then caught the shuttle to the town of Tirau where I would be picked up by another shuttle and taken to Auckland. Nice scenery, very hilly and lots of sheep.

When we stopped in Tirau, Pete of Guthrie’s Coaches met me and the buses name was Tilly. We would have a two-hour drive to Auckland so we took a dinner break. During the dinner break, I took pictures of the local architecture with buildings made out of corrugated sheet metal and made in the shapes of a sheep, sheep dog and Pukaku.

Pete was very talkative and kept up a commentary for most of the way. We hit dark a half hour into the drive, so not much to see. Pete was originally from England, had been in NZ for 30 years and was really a good egg. He said that when he makes the run by himself (8 hours between Auckland and Wellington) he never listens to the radio. He uses that time to think. He was good fun.

When I arrived, Bette had left the key under the mat, as she had a work engagement. I read and went to bed early.

Auckland with Bette

I woke up the next day and found I was pretty sore from my BW rafting. A good sore, not a devastating sore.

Rachel’s 40th at the Wiaheke Island Winery – I was invited and accompanied Bette with 13 other people to the ferry for the crossing to Wiaheke Island to celebrate Rachel’s 40th birthday. The weather was absolutely lovely, sunny, breezy and mild temperatures, very rare for this late in the fall for Auckland. The party had been arranged by Mandy and she carried a mysterious shopping bag with her. The winery was up on the hill and had beautiful gardens with lavender and overlooked the harbor. We were all at one table right next to the window and I had the prime view from my seat. Rachel is very vivacious, was given a beautiful pink maribou tiara to wear and as the wine flowed, the jokes and giggling got higher and higher. At one point, Rachel was lured away from the table and the shopping bag was opened. We were each given a fan on a stick and the fan was a life size color photo of Rachel smiling face and a similar pink tiara. She was a very good sport about being met with a sea of her face and the party continued. There were many jokes where the Rachel faces would talk to each other and by the end of the lunch, the shout to “Raise Your Rachel in the Air, As if you Didn’t Care”, would illicit 14 Rachel faces waving in the breeze. The food was wonderful. After lunch, we taxied back to the wharf to wait for the next ferry and ended up in a bar with the Reggae band that had shared our ferry across. By this time, I was getting late and several of the ladies had dates for the evening so we boarded the ferry. It was a fun time, but I admit, I was pleased to be home for a quiet evening.

Travel Dr - My Rabies titer came back elevated, but not enough to show protection. So, up went the sleeve for another rabies shot. I decided to do the doxy, as it was so much less expensive. I will just need to invest in lots of sun block when I am taking my malaria pills.

Today was a day where I had lots of errands and some last minute shopping. I went to the Apple store and bought a flash stick, screen cleaner and head set so that I can use SKYPE and talk to Bette for free. It is a free service where if both parties are signed up, on line at the same time and have a headset that has a mic, you can speak as you would on the phone for free. I also had to go to the post office and get the forms so that Bette could mail my three packages home. After those errands, I was up at the side of town were the Benediction, one of my favorite restaurants. As I sat eating my chicken salad sandwich, ginger crumble and latte trim, Mandy who had arranged Rachel’s fortieth B-day party, showed up. I have to admit, I love seeing people that I recognize along the trip.

On our last night together and my last dinner in NZ, I treated Bette to dinner at a restaurant very close to home. The food was great and we had a lovely evening. Before dinner, we were in the bar area having a wine and our diminutive waitress came out with 4 large glasses on her tray, 2 water and 2 wines. As she unloaded Bette’s wine, the tray slipped dangerously and down came the other three with a crash and a splash. We moved to another table and had a different waiter for the rest of our stay.

Bette is such a good friend. I loved her infectious laugh, her love of life, her zest for adventure and her lovely heart. She is also an excellent cook, knowledgeable vacation consultant and an excellent cool head and clear thinking when you become fuzzy. I look forward to our next time together.

New or Different New Zealand Vocabulary

Hotties – Hot water bottle, usually with a very colorful cover
Good as gold – it’s all right
#8 Wire Technology – Similar to our reference of you can fix anything with bailing wire, means that Kiwi’s rise to any occasion and can fix anything with #8 Wire.
Stunties and Digities (Acties?) – there seem to be a pattern of using a diminutive ending on many things in NZ and Oz as well. These references were from my LOTRings Tour where stunt people were called stunties, digital wizes were called digities and therefore, I took a leap an assume actors would be called acties.
Gorgeous – Describing something that is delicious – the dinner was gorgeous
Cheers – Often a response when we would say Thank You.
Brilliant - a superlative - My interpretation is used when we might normally say fabulous or wonderful.
Misrepresentations commonly made by Kiwi’s –
1. It is only a wee hill – do not believe them – it is a huge hill!
2. It will only take 30 minutes – do not believe them – it will take longer!

What I know of myself after NZ

Nation of two people – While not a 100% all the time, this appears to be a nation where both races are in harmony and take/accept/understand what is the best of both and yet maintain their own identity. The European Kiwi’s know the Maori songs and do the haka (the Maori War chant). At the start of the sporting events, the national anthem is sung in both languages.

After three months of traveling in different countries, I needed a place where I could drink the water and understand the language. I also very much needed a break from the blog and just time to doodle around. I spent a lot of time reading, walking and looking at things. As Bette and I looked at my photos, I am generally more rested looking and relaxed in cooler climates. I guess I really am a cooler weather girl at heart.

I got pretty lonely one day, but had not been able to express it to myself or to anyone around me. I felt I was not being effective in my vacationing and felt I was wasting time. There wasn’t anyone I wanted to play with, but I was lonely. (I just realized, the night before that day I had dinner with Kirsty and it was so much fun, it put the next day at a supposed disadvantage). What I learned from this was that I should not to read my email when I am having a down day, or for heaven’s sake, don’t answer it! As soon as I had sent the disastrous emails and realized I really needed people around me, I went down stairs and booked myself on a LOTR tour of Wellington. I instantly felt better and then went to the theatre that was fabulous. What a difference a few hours and decision-put-into-action made and how much more balanced my email responses would have been. I am not sure why I continue to surprise myself when I find out that I thrive on a schedule and planning and get lost (emotionally) without it. My profound apologies for anyone who received a response to their email on the date of May????

ISites – still excellent information – vary on if services are free or if they charge for local brochures and booking. Some offer receipts and coupons, others just the voucher that you must surrender to the supplier. Bette explained that they are all funded differently and some struggle and that there is no overall umbrella organization that standardizes forms and procedures. Some of the larger shops had better and more in depth information on both islands, where most of the smaller ones had more experience with their locale or only their island. STILL YOUR BEST BET FOR INFORMATION AND BOOKING ASSISTANCE WHEN YOU ARE IN THE COUNTRY. They are a can-do group of people and everything they set up for me was seamless!

YHA Membership – Global lodgings available and definitely worth the price of admission $30 US annually. Discounted first night, $10 phone card and with due to the membership, I received free photos from my blackwater rafting adventure.

Rankings of the YHA’s I have used to date.
Queentown – best room with tv and in-room tea service, centrally located to everything that was fun to do in Qtown and very friendly/helpful staff – downside noisy Sat night
Wellington – best bed – very comfortable and best sleep, able to pick up small breakfast needs at front desk – resident cat Thomas, centrally located and very close to food store, downside – not evenhanded on who they suggest as options for tours.
Wiatomo – best on-site restaurant – pizza was marvelous, since it was remote, beautiful views and quiet for sleeping. Downside – squeaky bed, you had to collect your towel and dishes from the front desk, no soap in the room, and desk staff sort of vague and not incredibly helpful.

Let people help me – Man do I have a control complex! Bette very generously offered to assist me with getting my packages to the post office after I had already left the country. I spent the last day getting all the forms necessary and trying to see how much they would cost. Considering that I had three boxes and two that were heavy, it was a very nice offer and I gladly accepted.

Items that are no longer in my luggage as I get ready to go to OZ.

Nine items of clothing including my spare baseball cap and bandana, umbrella are being mailed home.

Bette is holding on to the additional supply of contact lens that I had brought with me, in case I need them later.

Items that are no longer in my possession (wash cloth that was left in Dunedin) include the outer coat I had brought. Although I will miss the 7 pockets, practicality indicated that it was unwise to continue to carry a coat that was not water repellent. My extra dental floss, extra MK EE night cream, emergenC and my Peruvian toilet paper are now in Bette’s possession.

Both pieces of checked luggage were then only 27 kilos together. Yaah.
I find I fight with myself a lot of the time on this trip, feeling I should be able to do my trip with only one medium size suitcase and alternately wanting to travel with steamer trunks of wonderful and multiple sets of clothes. Next trip, who can tell which it will be. As long as I don’t have to always travel one way, I know I will be fine and will enjoy the travels for years to come.

Kia Orana, NZ. You are still one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Dunedin

I had stayed at the Albatross B & B the last time and I was looking forward to being back. The first thing I did was take a lovely warm shower! Ah, the joys of being clean!

I wanted to walk that day to make up for the lack of walking the day before and I left messages for both Charles and Tim from the Thailand Earthwatch project in February. Charles, the primary investigator was free the next day for lunch and Tim agreed to meet me for drinks that night.

The city had not changed much, in fact the only thing that I found different was the location of the yarn shop where I had shopped last time. It was still close to the Octagon, sort of the center of town. There wasn’t much on at the main theatre, but the alternative theatre looked good and I decided to watch Keeping Mum. I also located the wonderful University Bookstore again and got my bearings of where to find Charles tomorrow. I went to the Isite in Dunedin to make some reservations for the Wellington and to confirm my bus ride from Waitoma back to Auckland. The Thai lady who was helping me was having a very bad day and although her voice was pleasant enough on the phone, she did a lot of eye rolling. We kept working on my little list of things to accomplish and by the end of our time, I think she was having a much better day and I gave her a hug.

I met Tim at the Octagon for a little drink, but I ended up ordering hummus and bread, as I did not have lunch. It was good to see him and see what he was up to. We ended up at another bar for a glass of wine and then I was invited back to his apartment to meet his roommates and eat cake. Grad students in NZ live and look just like grand students in the US. Thrift store furniture, bookshelves made out of planks and blocks, ramen for dinner and interesting books and videos. It was fun to talk to them. On the way to his apartment, we went to the local grocery store and Tim advised me about the distinctive NZ candies to sample. Pineapple lumps, Maro bars, peanut slabs and various other Cadbury’s that we can’t get in the States. Pineapple lumps are pineapple-flavored candy (sort of the shape and consistency of Bit-O-Honey) covered in with a thin layer of chocolate. I really liked them and after I had opened them, I had wished I had bought some more. Mayby Australia will also have them. It was a great evening.

The next day I sort of doodled around until it was time to met Charles. I went to the good bookstore and picked up a book by Charles so that I could get his autograph. It was fun to be on the campus and to stand on a bridge over the New river, which was a thoroughfare for the students across campus, and just watch the students. Again, the uniform of the NZ student is very similar to the US. The main color is black, the main look is baggy, and it is not uncommon to have 2 if not 3 different colors of hair on both sexes.

Charles has officially retired from his chair of the department, but is still adjunct faculty. His office is small with lots of papers and one reconstructed pot from Thailand. It was a cold day so we had soup and wine at Butterfly’s. I sure hope that I can make it back to work with him next year in Thailand for the last year of his data collection.

Next I revisited the Otago Museum, one of my favorites from my last trip to Dunedin. There were many of the same exhibits, but with more knowledge under my belt, I saw them with a different eye. By the same token, with more knowledge under my belt, the museum did not take as long or hold my interest as it had before.

I went to the little, tiny alternative movie theatre near campus and saw a documentary called In Search of Mozart. I was the only one at the viewing and had a cup of tea while I watched the film. The seats were incredibly comfortable and wide and in front of the first row, there was a pile of huge red cushions and two red couches where you can stretch out.

I needed to do some laundry and just up the hill from the Albatross, was a coin operated laundry facility tied to local Mediterranean eatery. I ordered a chicken wrap and got change for the machines. The wrap was excellent and the machines did not take too long. I was able to catch up on last year’s gossip from a NZ Woman’s Day magazine (similar to our People Magazine). By the time I got home and was folding the laundry, I realized that I had left behind my washcloth. I am not sure if it didn’t make it out of the washer or the dryer, but when I went back the next day, it was gone for good. I had left a black glove in Dunedin before, so maybe it is off to join it.

I have found a British TV show that I like called Judge John Deed. When I can, I try and catch it wherever I am and it was on the telly that night.

On my last full day in Dunedin, I took on two new places I had never been, the Cadbury Factory and the historic Olveston House. The Cadbury Factory gave us a tour of behind the scenes of chocolate making. After donning our very attractive hair nets, and beard nets for the gentlemen if needed, and collecting our little goody bag that we would add to along the way, we followed the young man in the purple overalls around the factory. (The hair net will be available for inspection once I get back home). We learned about all the ingredients that go into the chocolate – milk, cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar. I also learned that the US leads the globe in annual chocolate consumption (16 kg per person or 35 pounds of chocolate per year). At several stops, we were given small bars of chocolate of various types. We were told that there was also a shop at the end of the tour that only ticket holders could patronize. We learned that the hollow eggs that are bought around Easter are all made between the months of June and January. Obviously, that division was not working as we went past. Actually, the only line running was a boxing line and we watch small bars of the Dairy Milk bars being loaded into boxes. Finally, we were about to enter the large purple silo. I asked if this was where the Umpa Lumpa’s lived, but apparently not. This was the chocolate waterfall. Sure enough, he opened the shoot and out poured 100’s of gallons of liquid chocolate. I ended up being collected and recycled and was changed out every year. It was fun and it smelt wonderful.

I went off to the little shop, but based on what I had bought the day before, I selected a few of the sample size of both varieties I had never seen and old favorites such as Crunchy, and paid my $1.80 NZ (slightly over $1US) and left.

Like most cities in NZ, Dunedin surrounds water and climbs steeply up the hills that line the natural bay and harbor. The Olveston was up one such hill and it was just one of those “wee hills” I had heard so much about. As I was coming down the hill towards the Albatross, I saw a student was a huge backpack trudging up the hill almost parallel to the incline. If you have ever seen the pictures of women carrying sticks on their back, that is was the student looked liked. Just a wee hill!!!

The Olveston House was built between 1904 and 1906 by an English architect for a Jewish Family of four – dad, mom, son and daughter. When the daughter died in the 1960’s, she gave the house and contents to the city and with the stipulation that it be turned into a museum. It was absolutely gorgeous. At the time of its initial occupation, it had very modern conveniences included in-door plumbing and even a shower, electric lights and an internal phone system between the rooms. As it was a kosher house, there were two sets of copper sinks in the butler’s pantry and kitchen for washing the meat separately from other items. The family traveled extensively and collected many things including pictures and ceramics from around the world. My favorite room was an alcove they called the Persian room as it had a peak out window that overlooked the formal entryway and staircase.

The grounds were beautiful and the antique car was in a glassed in garage.

I went home to pack and get ready to fly to Wellington the next day.

Wellington

I love Wellington. It was the first city that I really got to know in NZ and it is small enough to feel intimate, yet large enough to have everything you want.

I stayed in my second YHA and found it very nice. It was the largest with 150 rooms, no tv in the room, but an excellent book exchange, central location, very quiet and an excellent bed. I also learned that when you have a shower curtain with a squeegee but no tub, even though the floor slopes to the drain, it is best to wait to put down the bath mat until after you have showered and squeegeed the floor. This YHA also had two tv lounges and a video selection, but the rooms were very small and were usually filled with tons of people, some of which needed a shower. They also had an internet room with phones and also an internet computer up in the laundry room on the 6th floor, also with a TV.

I always pick up the local tourist info when I arrive at an airport, and on the shuttle ride to the city, I learned that Te Papa (the National Museum) had a special exhibit of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) Movie Memorabilia. Some of you may know that I am a huge fan of these movies, so that was a definite must see for me. I learned in the brochure that there were special guided tours on Sunday only, (I arrived on Sunday) and I was going to just be able to make it as my YHA was just around the corner.

I had a wonderful time on my tour. My tour leader, John, was originally for Portland and had a bit of a stutter. I was the only one on his tour and as I had viewed most of the extended DVD’s with the making of the movies, I was pretty up on the back-story. It was a fabulous exhibit and very well done, with movie clips to illustrate certain things and interviews with the actors and technical crew. When we got to the palantir (the all-seeing-glass ball), John admitted that he was the glass artist who made the balls for the movie. One of my favorite displays was the wax image of Boromir in the canoe that they sent of the imaginary digital water falls. The guide said that at times, his hands seem to move due to the humidity in the room and the heat from the lights. If you look long enough, you really do expect the figure to breath because it is amazingly life-like. The scale models were very intricate, even to see the miniature washing hanging on the lines.

There was one area where you could have your picture taken with a friend, and you would appear to be similar to Frodo and Gandalf in the cart. The man who works that station had been in the movie and had been just to the left of Sean Bean in the counsel of Elrond. He sat with me and I have the photos, one with me hobbit-size and one of me Gandalf-size. It was good fun. They also introduced me to a Maori gentleman, who was both a guide and a film instructor in college. He had many stories to tell about the movies. Everyone I met in the exhibit was wonderful and I had a totally enjoyable three hours. So much fun.

After the museum, I stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the YHA and bought yoghurt, fruit, cheese and apricot bars for my snacks. I had bought tea and a little cereal from the front desk at the YHA, so I was set for a while.

That night I decided to henna my hair, as it was looking very dull. I spent the evening blogging in my room and waiting for the Henna to finish.

The next day I did a little shopping, got a ticket to the play that was on right next-door, called Kirsty who I had met in Doubtful Sound and arranged to meet her for dinner. I checked into the other theatres but did not find anything else that I wanted to see.

I went to the art gallery and saw a modern photo exhibit and revisited my favorite museum, the Wellington Museum of the City and Sea. It still had the delightful hologram movie of Maori legends.

I met Kirsty for dinner and we walked to a little café near my place. It was wonderful to share a dinner with someone who was close to my age and who was having her own adventure in a different culture and country. I ended the evening feeling wonderful and very happy with the world and myself.

The next day I had planned to take a trip on a local train to an outlying suburb of Wellington called Porirua to see an art exhibit. I had spotted this brochure in the airport when I arrived. On the bus to get to the train station, the bus driver got into an altercation with a car in front of him. Not good energy after that on the bus.

The train was fun and very easy, but I could not see much on the landscape as we went through lots of tunnels. I followed by vibes and very wisely asked for directions to find the art gallery, as my first inclination would have taken me in the totally wrong direction. The gallery was small and had two exhibits, one with ancient Maori totems that had been presented to an Englishman who was in NZ in the late 1800s. There was also an excellent exhibit about the Tiki image and how it had been taken into popular culture. I wanted to take a specific train back in order to try and get to the Katherine Mansfield house, a famous NZ writer. I ended up getting back with only an hour to go up a step hill and tour the house, so I went back to the YHA instead. I did not have anything planned for the next day and was beginning to loose power over this. I felt I was not spending my time in NZ wisely and was getting lonely. My time with the groups recently had shown me again that I was missing people to share things with.

I went back to the YHA and got onto the web. In my present mood, emails that were really no big deal, felt scary and I made the mistake of answering some of them, not always with a generous heart. I finally realized what I was doing and gave myself a good talking to. I realized that I needed a routine for tomorrow so I went downstairs to see what they could recommend. There were brochures for half-day trips to the recently opened natural gardens, but that was only in the afternoon. I needed a full day. I found a tour of local LOTR’s sites, but the person at the front desk said that it was full. I found another brochure for a very similar tour and I asked them to call and see if it was available. It was, so I was all set up. Instantly, I felt much more grounded and happier. I was also going to the theatre that evening and was very much looking forward to that. I realized at this point that reading and/or more importantly answering my emails when I am not in a good space is not a wise idea.

When I arrived in the theatre, I went up stairs to the drinks lounge and there was a lady with white hair playing beautiful classical piano pieces. I had a glass of white wine and talked to the orange tabby cat that was on the landing.

The play was called Mum’s Choir. It was about the 5 children, 3 girls – 2 boys, of Mum who were returning to the family home to coordinate Mum’s funeral and wake. Mum’s sister, Auntie Nola, was also going to be there. There was a large grand piano on stage and from time to time, almost all of the actors went over and played a song on it, or sang at it. Mum had been very musical and over the course of the play, you found out that all during their childhood, the siblings had sung and put on musical productions. One of the sisters was unmarried and had been living close to Mum and taking care of her. The oldest son was a music teacher and had promised Mum that the kids would sing Favre’s Requiem at her funeral. That did not go over well with the group. The youngest sister was heavily pregnant and the middle sister kept hoping her son who was in the army would be able to make it back for the funeral. He did in the second act. The younger brother had emigrated to Aust and had a lovely tenor but appeared to be the black sheep and was the only one who had not made it back to her bedside before she died.

Auntie Nola was a stitch and commandeered Mum’s electric lounge chair before anyone else could put his or her name to it. There was a wonderful scene with her sitting in it for the first time and using the mechanism that would both eject you out and recline you back in the chair. At one point she was totally reclined and dozing when the phone rang. You can imagine how funny it was to watch her try and get out of the chair, when she could not remember were the switch was to get the chair to sit up straight.

Early on in the play, the casket with Mum was brought in center stage and they opened the casket. From then on, during all the musical numbers they would gather around it, pose by it or actually sing into the casket.

Before all the kids knew that Auntie Nola had arrived, she appeared from the kitchen in one of Mum’s polyester dressed, with matching cardigan and hanky in the pocket. She gave the one’s who did not know she was there a fright. Mum had a special cookbook that they all wanted and the sisters were all arguing about who made the best meals and argued themselves off stage to the kitchen. The next thing you knew, out came the sisters in Mum’s dresses, cardigans with hankies, hose that ended at the knees and bedroom slippers and gave us an Andrews Sisters song.

The actors were great and the voices were of normal people, not trained MT performers. The actress that played the youngest pregnant sister was the actress I had seen the last time I was in Wellington. It was wonderful.

Long story short, they made it through the Favre, the spinster sister gave a wonderful eulogy that had me in tears and the play showed the tender and yet funny side of a family dealing with the death of their mother. At the end of the show, the entire cast, including the Maori man who played the middle sisters son, sang a Maori song with movements and invited the audience to join in which they did.

I am not sure if I mentioned this, but sing-a-longs are ever present and very popular in NZ and Aust. Music is big and people don’t seem to care how they sound, they just sing along. Does that happen in the US in anyplace other than churches and baseball games?

This experience brings to mind again how different it feels for me to watch white European people know, sing and feel in touch with Maori music and culture. Do we do that in the US? I know some of the words from God Save the Queen, and I am of English ancestry, but I don’t feel incredibly closes to the UK. It is interesting to watch.

I was up and ready the next day by 9am for my LOTR’s tour. Again, I was the only one on this tour. I constantly amazes me that in NZ, tours go with only one person. I love it and really feel that I get a wonderful insight into not only the tour but also the NZ culture. Ted was wonderful. His brother works for WETA Digital, the side company that did all the digital computer work on the LOTR and King Kong movies. We drove around to various sites, most of which are totally restored to their former look after the movie finished filming. We went to several parks and even three years later, you could see the exact branches and plants that were in the film. Quen had his picture taken in the Frodo Tree and Quen and I sat where the four hobbits had hidden under roots as the Black Rider went by.

I had a wonderful day. Note to self – Not too many days back to back without an agenda from here on out. Flexibility is great, but I am better on a least a tentative schedule, especially when I am on my own.

The next day, I had an 8-hour train trip from Wellington north towards Auckland. I was going to get off the train in Otorohanga and then take a shuttle to Wiatomo where I would get my tour the next day of the black water rafting and glowworm caves. There was nothing exceptional of usual about the train ride, it was very pleasant and I had both seats to myself. Most people slept so I spent the time with my knitting and remembering how to knit in the continental style. We did have a bit of a delay and I was a little concerned that I would miss my shuttle but Bill, with the shuttle service, met me at the train and took me to the local grocery store to stock up on food and money as it they would be closed when we made it to Wiatomo. He had lots of local history to tell and very cute humor. I love NZ and Kiwi’s.

Vacation in New Zealand – April 17 – May 9th

I took three weeks of vacation in NZ and did not attend to my blog on a daily basis. I have summarized where I went and what I did. I found I needed a break from the typing as I began to see my trip through my viewfinder of my camera and more alive on the computer than I was experiencing on a daily basis. The vacation allowed me to reverse the order and see how it fits.

I ADORE NEW ZEALAND! IT IS JUST A BEAUTIFUL, EASY TO TRAVEL AROUND, AND INTERESTING AS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME.

Auckland

Bette – What a love! She is an excellent hostess with the right balance of helpful advice, solicitude and allowing you to move at your own pace. The most wonderful thing was that she had wireless so I could do a lot of my computer work at her place and that saved me buckets of money. Wireless café’s are abundant, but not always reasonably priced. Bette had to work quite a bit when I was with her, but we still managed to have fun times, meals and giggles. She was also excellent as a second set of eyes to help me decided what I could ditch and what would be good to continue to carry as I continue my trip. It was great to be able to discuss it with someone who has done lots of international travel. She commented that I did spend a lot of my time organizing things. It was so wonderful to have the time and space to focus on things that needed time to plan and implement. As you can imagine, for me, some of the fun of my trip was the year of planning and the assessment of what still needs to be done in a timely fashion.

FEDEX package from Thailand – Well, after more phone calls to Fedex and the US embassy in NZ, Bette advised and I decided to ask FedEx to mail the returned box from Thailand to NZ. I would be away when it arrived, but Bette said she would wait for it. Sure enough, it arrived, safe and sound and has been repacked with my stuff from Cook Island and NZ. The stuff sure looked innocent when I unpacked it. I will send it through the NZ Post Office and see it that helps.

Travel Dr – I had an appointment with an international travel clinic to see if I could get a prescription for Malarone, an anti-malaria med. I had been on doxycycline for Cambodia, but wanted to see about malarone because doxy increases your sun sensitivity and you have to take it for an additional 28 days after you have left the malaria risk area.

As with any responsible clinic, they processed me as a new client and reviewed my entire record, including shots. After review, they did not feel that I was protected for Hep A and they wanted to do a rabies titer on me to see if I was protected. Regarding Malarone, I could get it, but it would be $500 US for all the pills I would need, vs. $48 for Doxyclycline. So I rolled up my sleeve and gave a blood sample and had a Hep A shot and told them I would decide about the anti-malaria pills and if I wanted another rabies jab when I returned to Auckland at the end of my time in NZ.

McDowells – When I lived in Thailand, the representative from NZ that worked with Dad was Max McDowell. He and his wife Eleanor still live in a suburb of Auckland and I contacted them to see if we could get together for lunch. I knew him immediately when he came to pick me up at Bette’s. A little grayer, but still Max. Eleanor also was easy to recognize and although she has experienced some hearing loss, was still lovely and chatty as ever. They have two adorable cats, LULU – black, elderly female with only one eye due to cancer, was a love and liked her pets. Max is her favorite and they have a daily yoghurt sharing ritual. Tawny is a pretty red marble tabby and very photogenic. She is more selective in her pets and I was warned that she did not like people to become overly friendly with her. We had a lovely lunch and caught up on what was new with them. I had another trip down memory lane as Max brought out the photo albums from Thailand. Lots of picture of Mom and Dad and even Annie. It was wonderful to catch up with them again.

Ferry to Devonport book colony – Auckland reminds me of San Francisco in that it is a city that wraps around a bay. Sometimes, it is easier to catch a ferry directly across the water, than it is to drive. Bette and I had a ferry ride over to Devenport, a residential community that is attached to the main land, but more quickly accessed by ferry. It felt like a real neighborhood and had the most delightful collection of bookstores. I could have dropped a lot of money there, but with the weight allowance, I was very restrained.

Mrs. Henderson Presents – I love going to movies in other countries. I really enjoyed this movie and the seats were incredibly comfortable, more like cloth armchairs than theatre seats. I also enjoyed one of Annie’s favorite candy treats, Jaffa’s. Think of a milk chocolate ball with orange flavoring and covered with a red M&M shell, and you have a jaffa.

Queenstown

I adored Queenstown the last time I was in NZ and I was very much looking forward to returning.

On the shuttle to the airport, all 4 of us were going to Qtown, a couple to tramp and camp, a man who would spend 4 days mountain biking, and me. The man, Brandt Dunstan was very chatty and I ended up having lunch with him before the plane and sharing a shuttle with him into the center of town. It was autumn in Queenstown complete with cooler weather, lovely color in the trees and the need for long sleeves and sweaters. After the heat for the last few months, I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!

Bette had advised that I consider staying in Youth Hostels for two reasons – they are less expensive and they tend to be a great place to meet people who are traveling like I am. The QTown central YHA was a good first choice as it had all the usual things that a YH has (communal kitchen, TV lounge, laundry facilities, lockers and luggage storage, travel booking assistance), but it was also a former motel so the rooms that tv’s and in room tea service. I had joined the association when I booked so I had reduced rates for all nights, one night free, $10 in phone cards and my membership would give me discounts at many suppliers.

I left the YHA to get my barring and figure out what I wanted to do before I did my trip to Doubtful Sound in two days. I had decided to do the HMS Earnslaw (A coal fired steam ship) sail on the lake the next day and to go to a little gold mining town near by called Arrowtown. As I was wondering around having done some window-shopping, I ran into Brandt again. We ended up at a curry house for dinner and then moved on to a coffee bar that he highly recommended. It was fun to have someone to talk to and to share stories with. Sure enough, you do meet interesting people when you travel by yourself and strike up conversations with people around you.

Arrowtown – Arrowtown was delightful and absolutely stunning with color. It was very similar to any small mountain mining town in Colorado in the fall. There were lots of art galleries and a metaphysical fair going on. I also enjoyed a stroll by the river to enjoy the leaves, the smells and the feeling of fall. I found a marvelous chocolate store called Patagonia. Yummy! One art gallery owner, was especially nice and gave me excellent recommendations for coffee and lunch options. Quite a sage, we discussed taking what appear to be big risks and the benefits for the jump once you can see it from the other side. I picked up a brochure from a realtor that he recommended. Whether for good or for a short time, living in Arrowtown would be a wonderful place for retreat and contemplation.

HMS Earnslaw – This old steam, coal-fired boat was charming and the wind was brisk as I returned from Arrowtown for my tour. We began at 4 and steamed across the water to the other side. There was a beautiful farm that is still functioning, but we only stopped to pick up people who had gone for a day trip. On the way back, we all gather around the piano and joined in the sing-a-long. The pianist was excellent and could sing a song is any language represented. We did Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Maori and English. The American contingent was asked to stand and do Take Me Out To the Ball Game. In between songs, I was charmed by a littlie of under 2 who was very friendly when I offered to share my potato crisps with her. It was good fun.

I was very much looking forward to my overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound in Fiordland National Park. If you remember, Milford Sound was a highlight from the last trip. Doubtful Sound is considerably larger than Milford and the thought of being able to spend more than 2 hours on a sound was very exciting.

Doubtful Sound

I boarded the bus in Queenstown for a trip to Manipouri, where we would be taken by boat across the lake. Then, we were bused up over the hill to board the boat for the cruise.

The first people I met on the bus were two gentlemen from Australia, Robert and Ron, who were traveling all over NZ. Very lively and talkative, they were a stitch and very happy to be on the road. Ron was in the dark about where we were going and Robert had scared him to death telling him that there would be no food until 7 pm that night.

Before we got to Manipuri, we took a tea break in Kingston, which was on a lake. There was a steam locomotive that would take you 30 minutes down the road and we were given the option of riding the train or staying on the bus and then driving and waiting for the train riders. Robert, Ron and I opted for the train. We were in a proper compartment with leather seats and a closing door and a table. We chatted and laughed for 30 minutes, and hardly looked out the window and sure enough, the bus was waiting for us.

In Manipouri, 16 of us alighted for our tour and the bus and the rest of the original riders went to Milford Sound for an overnight. We would join up with them tomorrow when we were dropped off in Te Anu.

On the boat ride across the lake, our group of six formed and they ended up being the people with whom I spent most of my time and shared meals and giggles.

Kirsty, is a British woman who is working in Wellington for a year in an IT firm. In her spare time, she keeps her hand in the professional tailoring world, which is what she had been doing in London before she moved to NZ. She had quite her ‘real job’ as a corporate trainer several years earlier and had done a course and internship with tailors in London.

Robert and Ron, my wild gentlemen from Adelaide Australia. Robert had done the Doubtful trip a few weeks earlier and loved it so much, he convinced Ron to do it. More on them later.

Steve and Kate – a friendly couple from Melborne, he Australian and she Kiwi, who have traveled widely and are delightful.

You will get to know these people as most of my pictures from the trip with people include at least part of this group. We ended the trip with each other’s emails and I intend to try and see Kirsty in Wellington and Robert and Ron when I am in Adelaide

After the boat ride, we loaded into two huge buses and went up over the pass and back down to the start of the sound. We are a group of about 65 with several families with kids between 1-13. We have one toddler who was auditioning for the upcoming opera in loud, happy tones and a pack of little girls who are either all sisters or cousins. We made sure that we were in the bus without the kids. We got out and took pictures of the first glimpse of the sound and I also took the time to take a photo of the back end of one of the buses. The grill openings were in the shape of little Kiwi’s, which I thought was charming.

Once on the boat, they separated the group of us that were sharing a quad bunkroom and bathrooms. Down we went and I found I was in a compartment with three sisters – Francesca – 8, Emily – 10 and Madeline – 12. They very graciously allowed me one of the lower berths. The room had a curtain for a door, two sets of bunks, one set of stairs and a porthole with the water lapping at the bottom edge. There were 8 total quad rooms that shared 4 toilet cubicles and 4 shower stalls with outer locking doors.

We all scrambled back up stairs because we were underway and there things to see. We did see some dolphins, from a distance, and we hoped for more later. There was one penguin, but I was on the wrong side of the ship and by the time I got around, he was gone. Farkle! We finally slowed down and stopped and there were two activities to choose from; a group tour in a boat with the science crewmember, or kayaking. As I had not brought a complete change of clothes, I opted for the dryer option, the group tour. We all went to the back of the ship and donned life- jackets and waited. I met Dave (Dad), Hope (5 yrs), Noah (4yrs). Dave is also the dad of the opera audtioner , but I never got his name. He really was the happiest, loud baby I had ever met and I never heard him cry in anger the entire time we were on the boat.

Noah and Hope posed for photos for me and they were really sweet. I saw them lots during the cruise and they were fun.

Richard was our science guy and the group tour was fun. We heard about how the sound (which is really a fiord and not a sound) was formed, how the trees thrive and what early explorers said of this amazing place. A fiord is glacially formed and has salt water throughout, were as a sound is typically formed by a river meeting the ocean.

After the boats were back and the kayaks stored, there was one more activity that we could do, but only the younger set took part. It involved getting into your swimsuit and immersing yourself in the VERY COLD WATER OF THE SOUND. We heard one loud screech, which I think was from Francesca, and that was the end of that activity.

Similarly to my experience at Milford, I spent as much time at the front of the ship as I could, but the wind and the cold was quite fierce at times. I kept returning in doors to get cups of tea and warm up. I wanted to be on the top most deck for the best view, but when we were underway, there was absolutely no cover. I held out until the last rays of the sunset and took many photos. Hopefully some of them will be worthy of the landscape.

Dinner was a lovely buffet and the group of 6 was at one of center tables with Dave, Hope, Noah, the opera star and the mom, who again I can’t remember her name. I was following the family group through the buffet and Dave was helping both Hope and Noah load their plates. At one point, Hope wanted an offending piece of food removed immediately, but Dave did not want to hold up the line. At once, every bone in her legs disintegrated and she collapsed into a sobbing heap at my feet. Luckily, Mom was right there to remove her, but it was a stitch to watch. These are great parents, not only to their kids, but also to the group around them. While the kids had lots of energy, they were great kids and never got beyond the breaking point.

The food was great and Kirsty and I celebrated the dinner with champagne. The first to eat the dinner were the last to received dessert, but they did not run low on anything, except pudding sauce, which Robert commandeered for Kirsty.

After dinner was Richard’s (science crew member) slide show of the fiord nature and wildlife on the world’s oldest slide projector. As the anchor had been lowered, we were parked for the night and it was time of stargazing. It was lovely, freezing but lovely, but would have been better had all the ships lights been turned off. That probably happened later, but I was too tired and cold to go out later. We had been advised by Robert to be up prior to sunrise to see the colors change and the crew invited us for naked anchor raising just prior to 7am. We’ll see.

I slept pretty well, but wished my bunk had a continuous lip on the outer edge so that I could have braced myself in the bunk. When I faced out, I felt I was falling out. I kept being hit by the falling duvet from the bunk above me, but was not disturbed by the girls. I only heard the snoring from the next cabin when I woke in the middle of the night for a potty break.

I got up early, but had missed the naked anchor raising. Dave, Noah and Hope were out on deck when I arrived and Dave said he had just returned to deck having donned his clothes again. It was fantastic to watch the sun rise, (which it had already risen, so we were really only watching the sky continually lighten) and to hear the birds come to life. As you may be aware, the majority of the native birds are in low numbers on both islands due to nest thefts from cats, possums and other non-native birds. The best thing about being this remote and close to uninhabited islands is that the native birds have a chance to come back.

Breakfast was again a buffet. After breakfast they took us up one of the arms of the fiord and asked all the quiet people to come on deck. They very nicely asked the children who might be unable to hold still, to remain inside during the 10-minute “Sounds of Silence”. They asked us not to talk, or take pictures and to just sit and listen. It was magical and very soothing. 10 minutes went really quickly and I look forward to the time when I can return and do it again.

It was time for us to return to the dock as we still had a 5-hour bus drive back to Queenstown. RECOMMENDATION - When you come to NZ, pick one of the fiords that sounds the best to you and do an overnight. You will adore it.

We reversed the order in transportation and I had to say good-bye to Kirsty in Manipouri, to Steve and Kate in Te Anu, and Robert and Ron at the Qtown airport. I knew I would probably see Kirsty in Wellington and hopefully, Robert and Ron in Adelaide.

Robert, Ron and I had our lunch break in Te Anu and had been told about a wonderful video of the fiords. As we were walking to the cinema, we ran across Steve and Kate again. The more I travel, I find it is not uncommon to see people again and again. It is always a welcome surprise and really helps me feel connected.

It was nice to be back at the YHA and after I retrieved my luggage from the lockers, I thought I would take a little nap and then go find dinner. I woke up 14 hours later.

Trip to Dunedin

I had until 3pm the next day to do a little shopping before I took the Atomic Shuttle for my 4 hours trip between Qtown and Dunedin. It had rained all night and I woke to find that all of the peaks that surround Qtown with a dusting of snow. ABSOLUTLEY LOVELY! It looked more like Aspen than before.

I found the original Patagonia Chocolate store in Qtown and on that cold morning, they had four kettles of flavored hot chocolate to chose from; regular, ginger, chili, and the one that I selected Lavender. It was fabulous. I spent my time in the store helping to shoo the sparrows back outside. They kept running into the glass and becoming stunned. Luckily, by the time I left, all were free again. I asked Lilith and Francis to step in and help them understand where they needed to be, which was outside.

I arrived at my rendezvous location in good time and when the shuttle arrived, the driver upon exiting the bus said that we were not going to Dunedin. All the rain during the night had caused many roads to flood and nearly all the routes to Dunedin were closed. Norm, our driver, said that he had an idea of a road he could take. So in his hands, the bus and our group of 16 headed approximately southeast to Dunedin. We took our dinner break in Rockburgh, and I sat with two young women from Hong Kong and Norm tentatively booked rooms for us for the night. We decided to continue down the road in hopes that by the time we got to the flooded area, the waters would have receded. Norm kept radioing ahead to get news and it looked like we would make it. We turned a corner and there was a cop at a roadblock. We stopped and Norm talked and we ended up going through the blockade. Again, the thought was that the water might go down before morning.

We ended up fording over-the-axle stretches of water with Norm exclaiming, “As long as I can see the white line, we’ll be right!” Well it was getting dark, so seeing the white line would be ending soon. There was a permanent roadblock at Milton, because a bridge was out with road erosion on either side of the bridge. As we stopped and Norm talked to the officials in charge, on to the bus came a local farm woman who said this might be the last food we would get through the night and offered us the British/Kiwi/Aussie favorite, beans on toast with cheese. We all took one and were touched. Norm said this was an example of Kiwi #8 Wire Technology in action. (Basically, you can repair anything with #8 wire and also the rule of the rural communities that during a time of crisis, everyone pitches in and does what it takes). I must admit, as I had just eaten my dinner, my piece of toast ended up in the trash.

Norm gave us the choice of going back to Rocky where he had tentatively booked rooms, staying in the bus all night, or going out of our way to a town called Balclutha where we might be put up in the community center. I asked if we weren’t better off staying closer to the water instead of going back North another 30 km to Rocky. The bus opted to go to Balclutha and we ended up in individual dorm rooms at the Telford Technical College. My room had the mechanism to turn on the heater on the same wall as my bed and the heater at the foot of my bed. So all I had to do was sit up in bed, hit the button, and I received another hour of heat. Wonderful.

The ladies form Hong Kong indicated that they did not sleep very well as they were uncertain how to work the heater. They fed us tea, coffee or chocolate and toast and butter and jam. We ended up leaving the next morning at 8, and then were stuck in a long line of traffic for about an hour as only one lane was allowed to go a once. Too many cars going too fast would lead to waves forming. Once we were in the flood area, we understood exactly how high the water was and how much damage had been done and was yet to be discovered. The amount of water that was flowing over the very flat pastures and cascading like a dam into one pasture was amazing. No loss of human life, but hundreds of sheep drowned and millions of NZ $ in damage to the area.

We did not know until after the fact that on the computer in the office of the College, there was a program showing all the rivers in the surrounding area and which of them were past flood stage. All but one of them were in flood status the night before and Norm told us after that fact that if the last one had gone into flood, we would have had to load into the bus and go to higher ground in the middle of the night.

I had called my lodging in Dunedin to tell them I would not make it that night and they said that they had people who were stuck on their end as well. I was again amazed that this very small and connected community in NZ had the most incredibly accurate and connected network of information flowing. I finally made it to Dunedin at 10:30 the next morning and walked from the rail station. It was great to finally be there.