Traveling Beyond the Postcard
Sometimes getting lost is the very best thing...
11 April 2016
We said our goodbyes and made our way to the Ferry Terminal to begin our journey to the South Island. There was an earthquake that morning about 7:30 am north east of Wellington but we did not feel it. The weather forecast was for some rain and wind but the 3 hour ferry ride over to the south island was smooth and uneventful. The ferry is huge carrying cars, people and luggage from the North Island. It has a movie theater and several eateries and bars. Much more comfortable than the airplane!
It took awhile to get our car but we finally left Picton at 2:00 pm and started our drive to Westport. It’s not very far but the mountain roads are slow going. It was a beautiful drive through the Marlborough wine region then over the mountains to the west side of the island. We went through the beautiful Buller Gorge, with fern covered limestone cliffs and herds of cattle, deer and sheep. Yes, deer. There are fenced pastures full of deer, we assume being raised for food as there is a lot of venison on the menu here. Why they don’t jump the fence and leave we are not sure unless they like being fed?! (It turns out that the fences are high enough that the deer cannot jump them. I thought deer could jump higher than they apparently can!)
Westport is a tiny little berg. The main street is about 13 blocks long. There were a number of restaurants in town but only 4 of them were open at 5:30. We chose one and had a nice dinner. American sized portions meant we were too full for desert but they had boysenberry pie on the menu so we asked the nice young waitress if we could get it for take out. She said something that neither of us understood and then said she would be back. We were both cracking up because we had no clue what she had just said to us but when she returned we figured out that they did not have take out containers. She asked us if we would bring the dishes back before leaving town tomorrow. We agreed and got pie to go in ceramic bowls
12 April 2016
Westport to Hokitika today. After returning the dishes to the restaurant, we followed the coast and stopped in Punakaiki for coffee and the pancake rocks. We were lucky to see blowhole activity.
We made several stops along the coastline to take pictures and then stopped in a little place called Shantytown to visit a family owned Maori carving shop, Garth Wilson Jade. Garth and Joanne, were so nice. We watched Garth do some carving work and talked with them about the stone and the Maiori customs surrounding it. Pounami jade only comes from this region and only the Maori people are allowed to mine it. It is very strong and was used by the Maori for weapons, tools and ornamentation. Lynnette and I both left happy, our wallets a bit lighter!
Joanne gave us some tips on places we should not miss and one of them was the glow worm dell in Hokitika. It was a very short drive from our hotel so we visited it after dinner. We were so glad we did! We used a torch and walked into this grove of trees that created a tunnel, completely dark. The worms hung in the trees shining their star like light all around us. Above there was a small break in the foliage that revealed a patch of sky with real stars shining in abundance. It was magical and I will remember it forever! This was far more impressive than the cave tour we paid to see.
The next morning we had breakfast and did a bit of site seeing and shopping in Hokitika before leaving town.
8 April 2016
Today everyone went to the botanical gardens. It was great to have everyone together for the day! On the way there we passed by an area where the streets were blocked off and we saw the top of a large green screen. They are currently filming “The Ghost in the Shell” in Wellington starring Scarlet Johansson (Hamish is working on the film.) and filming was taking place today! We couldn’t see anything due to the large screens installed to prevent such viewing but we were excited knowing that we were in close proximity to the shoot!
We lunched at the Botanical Gardens and then enjoyed wandering through them.
Afterwards we drove through an amazing old cemetery in Wellington and stopped to take some photos. Bizzy fixed us a nice dinner and we and watched Star Wars The Force Awakens. It was a lovely day, nice weather and wonderful company.
9 April 2016
Today we visited the Te Papa Museum’s Gallipoli exhibit. The sculpts represent real people; their photos used as reference for the sculpts. Each of their stories is told in audio and visual as you pass through the exhibit. The personal stories give a real sense of the sacrifices made and the personal tragedy of war. The figures were about 3 times larger than life size; the detail was incredible down to body hair, perspiration and tears. It was so moving; I left feeling sad and inspired by their stories and I am so glad we were able to see it. Lindsey designed some of the figures in this amazing exhibit.
We all met at The Park Kitchen in the Miramar district of Wellington for a special dinner, part thank you and goodbye to Lynnette’s family and part early birthday celebration for me. Afterwards back at the Bakers, Lynnette and I watched “The Martian” with Lindsey and Andrew. I was touched and surprised by an autographed copy of the “Hobbit Chronicles” as a birthday gift presented to me by Lindsey and Andrew. They both signed the book a did a drawing. I will treasure it always.
10 April 2016
Bizzy was under the weather on Monday, which we all attributed to the fish dish she ate the night before that featured squid ink. She said it was delicious and she ate every bite; but really, should squid ink be consumed? Lynnette and I think not. We were leaving early Tuesday morning so we packed everything up the night before. Lynnette had a Tetras puzzle trying to fit the trolls she bought at The Weta Cave into her bags but was successful after ditching the boxes. Andrew prepared a phenomenal meal for our “last supper”. He made a savory filling of kumara, onion, golden lentils and I don’t know what other deliciousness, wrapped it in phyllo dough and topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. It was wonderful! Handsome, sweet, talented and he can cook too! Chiba seemed to sense our departure and gave us extra love all evening sleeping in our bed for a time. We miss them all, including Chiba! Thank you Andrew, Lindsey, Bizzy, Hamish, Friday and Chiba for taking such good care of us and showing us a fabulous time.
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7 April 2017
Today Bizzy gave us a guided tour around Wellington while Lindsey and Andrew were at work. We went to the Mount Victoria Lookout which gave us a fabulous 360 degree view of Wellington . It was windy as all get out! Bizzy tells us that Wellington is the windiest city in the world.
We had Thai takeout with Lindsey and Andrew for dinner with some lovely conversation and then an early bed time.
8 April 2016
Lindsey and Andrew took the day off and arranged a private tour of Weta Studios for us. We had to sign to a non-disclosure agreement before we could go in so we can’t tell you everything we saw but it was completely amazing and overwhelming!! I was so awestruck and overwhelmed with the vast awesomeness that I can barely remember what we saw anyway! We met some of the sculptors and saw what they were working on. We also met Greg Broadmore, creator of Dr Grordbort and a lead concept designer at Weta. He is the nicest person you can imagine. Everyone was so generous; happy to show us their work and take time to talk with us. Our jaws were on the floor the whole tour looking at the costumes, full size sculpts of dinosaurs, trains, weapons, creatures, body sculpts, etc. We saw the face casts of all of the actors in the Lord of the Rings movies which was so cool. We also saw Weta Designs main conference room which holds their Oscars, other awards and floor to ceiling memorabilia and design work. Next up was the Weta Cave, where you can buy really cool stuff. Clothing, statues, jewelry, books from many of the Weta projects such as The Lord of the Rings, Tin Tin, The Hobbit, Dr. Grordbort, and many more. I bought a tee shirt featuring Smaug’s head (Andrew’s design) and Lynnette bought a set of three trolls from the Hobbit (Also Andrews design). Andrew signed them for her making them extra special.
5 April 2016
Today we leave Rotorua and make our way to Palmerston North for an overnight. Rotorua is full of geothermal vents that release steam. Everywhere you go there is a place that steam is coming up through the ground and the faint smell of sulfur – so trippy! On our way out of town we stopped at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. It has incredible mud pools and craters with sulfur water and multi-colored mineral deposits. The mud pools here have HUGE mud bubbles, sometimes sounding like someone threw a large rock into the muddy lake. The “Devils Bathtub” truely is bright lime greenl! The water bubbles in from another pool and keeps the sulfur stirred into the water. It was overcast when we were there but the guide said when the sun is out it looks positively radioactive!
Something to keep in mind if you are visiting a thermal park where there is steamy sulfur; if you are wearing jewelry that you don’t want covered in a lovely dark patina, you should remove it. We had a heck of a time cleaning up Lynnette’s necklace!
We had some beautiful scenery on the way to Palmerston North. As the sun got low in the sky the native grasses were illuminated and the sky dramatic. The road was narrow and windy with nowhere to pull off , so we will have to remember how it looked – sadly no photos.
By the way, the geniuses at Google are our heros! Using offline maps with the GPS on our phone has made navigation a breeze. After our first day, once in our hotel with Internet access, I downloaded the maps of the areas on the north island that we would be visiting. We haven’t been lost since! Technology is wonderful!
The hotel and the proprietors of Aubyn Court Motel where we stayed the night were lovely and there was a washer/dryer there so we have clean cloths! Also a huge jetted bath tub making me very happy! The accent of the man who checked us in was quite pronounced and not at all New Zealand. He is from the Perth area in lovely Scotland!
John Cleese calls Palmerston North “the suicide capital of New Zealand” and says, “If you wish to kill yourself but lack the courage to, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.” It is a small town to be sure (although not so small by New Zealand standards; there IS a stop light here!) but seems to have much more charm than Bakersfield Ca where I am originally from. Mr. Cleese has likely not been to Bakersfield!
6 April 2016
Palmerston North to Wellington today where we will be staying with Lynnette’s family for a few days. En route we stopped and visited with John and Marita Baker, extended family of Lynnette. What gracious people, it was the highlight of our trip! We sat on their lovely back patio for a visit and lunch.
Once in Wellington we stopped first at Bizzy and Hamish’s house for a visit with Bizzy and Friday and then on then on to Lindsey and Andrew Baker’s where we will be staying while in Wellington.
04 April 2016
Monday we drove back to Matamata for the Hobbiton tour. What an amazing place; we were so glad we didn’t miss this! The country side is incredibly beautiful; we can see why Peter Jackson chose this area for the Shire. His attention to detail is mind boggling! It feels like you are walking through a village where people live and work. There are gardens and laundry on the line, fish drying; all making it feel real.
Peter Jackson wanted a tree on the hill above Bag End. For the Lord of the Rings movies he found a huge tree, had it cut into sections and reconstructed on the hill. When it came time to make the Hobbit the original tree was dead and he needed it to be younger (smaller). What to do? You build a tree of course! The tree looks real, you wouldn’t know that it didn’t grow there; the leaves blow in the wind like all of the real trees around it. Each leaf was hand stitched and painted twice, we were told, because the color wasn’t quite right the first time.
The tour ends at the Green Dragon for a glass of beer, or ginger beer if you are underage or driving.
On our way back to Rotorua we stopped at the Mamaku Blueberrry Experience for a small bite. The food and coffee were excellent. The unsweetened pure blueberry juice was so good we both bought a jar. YUM!
03 April 2016
Lynnette and I spent Sunday afternoon exploring the Geothermal Valley at the Te Puia Cultural Center. We saw geysers and mud pools, a Kiwi Bird house and explored the gift shop.
It rained off and on and was very hot and humid when the rain stopped. The geyser was quite active while we were there so we had a pretty good show for awhile. There were two other geysers that had been quite active at one time but are now dormant, they believe, due to drilling done during the expansion of the city of Rotorua. Steam rises from the ground all around you and you hear the blurp, blurp of mud bubbles breaking as you walk this other worldly landscape.
We were excited to see the Kiwi bird. They are unusual looking to say the least! Flightless, they came close to extinction when the islands were settled and predators introduced. Their feathers look like fur! They are nocturnal so their enclosure is quite dark and your view somewhat obscured.
We went back to the room for a short rest before being picked up for the Te Po tour. There were 4 other people in our little van and we became our own little tour group, making friends and sticking together for the evening.
Our tour guide’s family has worked at Te Puia for 3 generations. He told us about the Maori culture and way of thinking. One thing that surprised me was learning that they keep the history and traditions of the islands of their origin. The traditions have adapted to their new environment however. An example of this is the tattoo. Their peoples tattooed the chest but it is cold in New Zealand and so the custom adapted and the tattoos moved to the arms and the face. We toured the carving and weaving schools which was very interesting.
The show demonstrated the native dances and humiliated mostly willing audience members by getting them up on stage to give it a try.
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The dinner or hangi was prepared in the traditional way by cooking it for a long time in the ground on hot stones. There was also lots of food from other cultures so that the tourists all have something to eat and not to complain. The food was very good.
Traveling Beyond the Postcard 