16May06 Joan and Wayland

16May06 Tuesday

Today we traveled from Fox Glacier up to Greymouth via Hwy 6.  Late yesterday upon arrival at Fox Glacier a number of the team had decided to take a helicopter ride over the glaciers and around <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mt. Cook.  Joan and I were the last into campground as usually happens and things were all “a twitter”, as someone put it, about taking a helicopter ride.  There was some disappointment in Milford Sound about not being able to take the ride there because of low ceilings and weather.  It was a beautiful day yesterday and it was promising to be a nice day today so the helicopter ride was on. 

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Today dawned with a bright blue sky and no clouds.  We had scheduled the helicopter ride for 10:30AM so that those who wanted to, of which I was one, could go and take the Lake Matheson walk early and be back in time for the helicopter.  The walk around Lake Matheson was very nice, the area was covered with frost with just a little steam rising from the little creek you cross.  The birds were very vocal and the fantails were flittering around.  They are curious about people and tend to follow you as you hike.  One of the locals that volunteered at the Dunedin build said that if you hold out a stick they will sometimes come and land on it.  Lake Matheson is a relative small lake that if you arrive at it early in the morning before the breeze picks up you have a nice reflection of Mts. Cook and Tasman in it.  It’s a very popular place for photographers.

 

The news here this morning was covering the success of the New Zealand double amputee climber who had successfully climbed Mt. Everest last night.  It was a first for a double amputee.  He had lost both legs to frost bite from an accident while climbing Mt. Cook.  Apparently he was trapped for 14 days on the mountain.

 

We met at the helicopter office at 10:15AM and they took us by van a short ways out of town where their helicopter pad was located.  There were two red and white five passenger helicopters waiting so the 10 of us divided up and climbed aboard.  It was the first helicopter ride for both Joan and I and it was great.  The ability to climb vertically and hover is so different than riding in a fixed wing plane.  The two pilots coordinated their paths so that both helicopters arrived on Fox Glacier at the same time and so that all 10 of us could all get out and take pictures and play in the snow together.  On the way up we flew close to the vertical rock faces and had great views of the peaks and snow fields.  He also gave us a close up view of Mt. Cook at around 10,000 ft.  Cook’s peak is at around 12,500 ft.  It was a great ride and if we’re ever back around here again it’ll be on my list of things to do.

 

The drive from Fox Glacier up to Greymouth consumed the rest of the day for us.  We weren’t the last one’s in today as others had done a variety of things along the way.  Those switchback’s on the western side of the Alps kept the left hand busy going through the gears on the manual six speed.  Some slowed us down to 25km/hour or about 15mph.  What scenery though with the Alps on the right with us on them and the Tasman Sea on the left. 

 

Of special note to the 2005 Care-A-Vanners was that today I had a Whitebait sandwich. Last year we tried to find them but couldn’t.  Today Glen and Gwen had stopped to talk with a lady raking leaves in a little town along the coast and the conversation led to finding out that they were fisherman and that they netted fish for Whitebait sandwiches.  She just couldn’t understand that they had never heard of Whitebait sandwiches and that they had to go across the street to the café and have one.  As happens a lot when one of the team stops along the road others usually join as they see the stopped campervans with the number on the back window.  There were soon five campers or ten of us in the café.  The Whitebait fish are about the size of a very small minnow.  To make the sandwich they toss the fish into a frying pan with scrambled eggs cook it up and put it in a sandwich.  Of course the fish are whole and when cooked are white.  Didn’t see them uncooked so don’t know what they look like that way and probably don’t want to know.  It makes a good sandwich though.  I had them toast my bread and the lady said that was a first for that.

 

The campground here at Greymouth is right on the ocean at the end of the airport.  Last year the weather was really socked in with fog and in the morning there were a couple of planes that took off real early right over the campground.  This year it’s perfectly clear out there and if I could figure out where the Southern Cross is located I’m sure that it would be very bright.  Hopefully no planes this year taking off at five in the morning.

 

15May06

15May06

Today was a bit of a long drive.  We had about 390kms to travel and Joan and I reverted to our old selves being the last ones out of the campground in the morning and also the last ones into the campground in Fox Glacier in the evening.  We stop to take pictures and smell the flowers along the way more than most of the others.  The scenery on Hwy 6 is had to describe in normal terms.  The word “incredible” was mentioned a lot.  The drive from Cromwell north along <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Lake Dunstan and then from Wanaka north along Lake Hawea and then along Lake Wanaka is just totally a fantasy scene.  There are snow capped mountains all around.  The sheep pastures leading up to the mountains are green like mowed lawns.  Then the forests up to the tree line which then turn into major vertical rock walls up to jagged peaks.  We can understand why they are called the Southern Alps as they look similar to the European Alps.  Eventually you go over the Haast Pass which is the lowest pass to get to the western side of the Alps.  The vistas on this route are just ‘incredible”.

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We made the short 5km drive south of Haast Village to Haast Beach.  It’s just a General Store and gas station with a parking area on the beach side for about ten vehicles.  It’s then about a 100 meter walk to the beach.  Joan and I spent about 20 minutes or so walking the beach and picking up shells and stones and enjoying the Tasman Sea.  Along the path to the beach is a pasture with sheep anda small pony that Joan took a liking to last year.  The girl in the General Store across the street says that the pony is very old.  Joan had a concern this year that the pony may have an infected tooth as it had a swelling on the side of it’s jaw.  The girl says that it is fed a special diet but Joan did feed him some apples.

 

We arrived after dark into the Fox Glacier Lodge and Campground and were the last one’s in for the night.  Some of the others in the team had decided that they were going to do the helicopter flight over the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers (pronounced here glassi-ers).  Joan and I decided to also go so there will be 10 of the group going.  It should be a real thrill.

14May06 Care-A-Vanners

14May06

The drive today was from Te Anua heading east over to Mossburn and Five Rivers and then North on Hwy 6 on up to Queenstown.  We stopped at a café in Five Rivers for tea and decided that it needs to be mentioned in the itinerary for future trips.  Since it’s about half way it’s a good spot for a stop for tea with the mandatory scones with it.  They also have some nice art displayed for sale.  Heading north from there we stopped at the Kingston Flyer terminal in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Kingston.  The Flyer is a beautiful old steam engine and train that does excursions.  The bartender in the café there said that the engine had been put away until October.  One of the other couples stopped there and talked to someone else and told that it just wasn’t running that day and were invited to take a look at it in the train barn.  It had been used for something and was still heated up.  Guess that I just talked to the wrong person.

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Just north of Kingston Hwy 6 follows the east side of Lake Wakatipu for about 40kms.  Another beautiful drive with the highway following the shoreline up on the side of the Remarkable Mountains.  It was a beautiful day with some sunshine, some rain, some snow, and even a double rainbow.

 

In the evening we rode the gondola up to Bob’s Peak overlooking Queenstown and ate at the Skyline Restaurant.   Everyone had a great time indulging in all the foods and treats on the buffet.  Since it was snowing up on the mountain there was no opportunity to see any southern lights like we saw last year.

9May06 Tuesday Dunedin Build

9May06 Comments

Once again today we started with devotions and Martin’s instructions for the day.  The house is coming along pretty well with a few set backs.  We did get started putting on the metal roof today.  First tarpaper is rolled down over the purlins and then the sheet of metal is slid up into position.  A crew of the women spent quite a bit of time marking where the nail positions were going to be to align with the purlins and then predrilled the holes for the nails.  The nails are about 2 ½ inches long and with a screw type shank about a ¼ inch in diameter.

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The only problem today was the wind which was very strong and one of the panels got away and was blown down on the ground.  Fortunately no one was in the line of flight.  All of the roof was on at the end of the day except he last sheet which we couldn’t put up because we ran out of tarpaper.

 

One mishap occurred when Fred stepped on a loose piece of scaffolding and slipped off.  The doctor reported that he had torn a ligament and also dislocated a kneecap.  The good news was that if he is careful and keeps the leg under light duty for about 10 days everything should be back to normal.

8May06 Monday - Dunedin Build

8May06 Comments

After a weekend of sightseeing it was back to building a house Monday morning.  After devotions Martin discussed the safety issues involved for the day and gave us our instructions on what he hoped to accomplish today.  On Saturday while we were gone Martin and the local crew put up the trusses and did a lot of bracing.  We were instructed to put up the furring strips for the ceiling tiles that will be installed later.  This was a job as they were about the size of 2x3’s and we had to use 4 inch nails and pound them in over our heads.  These were also nailed into the tops of the wall top plates.  About 5 hours of this and the arms could no longer lift the hammer.  Part of the team also put up the house wrap around the outside of the house.

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Joel, Charlene, and Riki (members of the partner family) worked with us most of the day.  Everyone enjoyed getting to know them better.  Riki who is 16 is really a nice young man and a pleasure to have him with us.

 

We had our usual teas at mid morning and afternoon and lunch coordinated by Jean, David’s wife.

 

We all left tired and with aching muscles but with happy spirits having accomplished a lot.

07May06 - Sunday in Dunedin

07May06

This morning we awakened to beautiful blue skies after some rain during the night.  All but one couple and Nancy had decided to go to the church where David Brown is minister.  David is a director with the local Habitat affiliate, chaplain for the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Dunedin fire brigade, and minister of the Dunedin Church of Christ among other things.  We have found him to be a very sincere and dedicated individual.  David’s message today was “Being Christ”.  The associated Bible readings told how Jesus went out into and amongst the people and sinners.  David discussed how we must also be out amongst the people of our communities representing Christ (“Being Christ”) and not stay within our church walls just talking about what needs to be done.  It was a moving message.

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Nancy had looked up the local Quaker church and went there for morning worship after dropping part of the group at the Christ of Christ.  She had an enjoyable time there.

 

Sylvia is Jewish and had looked up the local synagogue and I believe had went there Friday or Saturday.

 

We do have a diverse group.  It is one of the things that makes Habitat such a special organization.

 

After church all of us piled into the two vans and headed up the Otago peninsula to the Albatross Center.  Joan and I had gone there in 2005 on our way out of Dunedin and really enjoyed the drive and also the Center where the life of the Albatross is explained.  The headlands area of the Otago peninsula is the only place on earth where the Albatross nest that is accessible by land.  They are amazing birds with over 10 foot wingspans when fully grown.  We would encourage everyone to research and read about the birds.  There was only one chick still on the nest today but we did see three or four adults in flight.  They are very graceful fliers and never flap their wings but just glide on the wind currents.

 

The drive up the peninsula is just indescribable.  The road follows the shoreline with the passengers on the left side only about a foot or two from the water at most places and the two lane highway continually changing direction with sharp curves.  Across the bay there was a wonderful view of Dunedin lying along the side of the hills.  At the headlands looking out to the Pacific Ocean with the high cliffs along the shore there were more Kodak moments than you can imagine.  I think that I did get some video of the albatross in flight but haven’t checked it out yet.

 

David said that the local crew was able to work Saturday after the scaffold had been raised and were able to put up the trusses and install most of the purling strips in preparation for the metal roofing.  The New Zealanders apparently accomplished a lot so now the pressure is on the Americans to see what we can accomplish by Thursday.

 

An interesting fact about Dunedin is that it is the fifth largest city in the world by area.  The population is about 120,000.  We wondered because a long ways before we reached the city proper we saw a sign saying that we were entering Dunedin but then drove a long ways before we got to the outskirts of town.  We will have to ask David about how this came about.

 

6May06

This morning started out pretty quiet with everyone taking care of personal things.  Joan did some wash and in general we just relaxed.  At about 11 AM we had devotions and then headed down to the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Dunedin train station for a trip on the Taieri Gorge railroad.  It was a beautiful clear day, the rail trip started out Southwest from Dunedin through horse farms and sheep ranches and then turned Northwest and up into the hills.  The country got steeper with deeper valleys eventually meeting up with the Taieri River and gorge.  We passed through twelve tunnels and numerous elevated trestles.  The railroad was started in 1879 and first section opened in 1889.  The viaducts are fine examples of Victorian engineering with lattice girders of wrought iron and piers made of cut rock.  The largest viaduct is 197 meters long and 47 meters above the river below.  We ended up at Pukerangi which was basically a sheep raising station as they call them here.  After a brief rest stop we headed back down to Dunedin.  The trip took about 4 hours round trip and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  The line is now 60km long and is New Zealand’s longest private railway.

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Twelve of our group stayed in Dunedin and went to the Dunedin Casino for dinner.  The Casino is in a beautiful old Victorian hotel with elaborate gilded staircases and ceilings.  After dinner the Casino provided transportation back to the campground for eight of the group and Joan and I and Dick and Anne stayed and tried out the slot machines.  I ended up out about four NZ dollars which were left in the 2 cent slots. 

 

First Dunedin Build Day

5May06

This morning we all packed into the two vans and chugged off to the building site.  We didn’t think we would ever find the site since it entails a trip up and around some hills, a couple of round-a-bouts and a number of turns which we did in the dark Thursday evening following David Brown.  But due to the excellent map that David Brown (HFHNZ) put together we found our way with no trouble.  The one van is a <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Toyota with a small engine and we thought that someone was going to have to get out and push up the hills with eight of us in it but it did make it in low gear.

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When we arrived on the site this morning the sub floor was complete and the partitions and exterior wall sections all framed and waiting on a stack.  We began with devotions by David who talked about how we are diverse group we and while working together to pay attention and rejoice in the differences in thought, personality, skills, etc. between us. 

 

The site is up on a hill in a suburb of Dunedin called Brockville.  There is a beautiful view looking down over Dunedin.  The local affiliate had bought a piece of property that had had a house but had burned down.  By buying a little additional piece from a neighboring property they were able to have enough space to build two houses.  The total price was a little over $NZ30,000 so they got a real bargain for the land.  Land properties here from what we’ve seen advertised are much higher than back in Portage County. 

 

The house is a four bedroom ranch style with the floor built up on stilts to make it level on the hillside.  As a safety issue we are required to have scaffolding around the sides and back of the house and it must be installed by a licensed installed.  Then it is inspected and tagged as being safe before we can work on the house.  It took most of the day to get the walls up and plumb.  The roof trusses were delivered late in the day in a stack and put on top of the walls.  The scaffolding had to be made higher and then inspected again before we can work on setting up the trusses.  Hopefully the scaffolding will be taken care of and trusses started by the local volunteers on Saturday.

 

4May06 - Oamaru to Dunedin

4May06

This afternoon the 2006 Care-A-Vanner’s arrived in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Dunedin.  The drive from Oamaru to Dunedin was beautiful and of increasing rolling hills especially as we got closer to Dunedin.  We began getting some nice vistas of the Southern Alps to the west the closer we got to Dunedin.  Along the way we stopped at the Moerakai Boulders and walked around them in amazement and marveled in how large they are and their almost perfect spherical shape.  The beach this year was covered with piles of very large kelp that had washed ashore.  The local folks think that it was some of the severe storms that had broken them loose and then washed them in from out at sea.  They were the largest specimens that we had ever seen.  After the walk on the beach we stopped at the café there and had sandwiches, cherry and walnut delicacies for lunch.

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A short distance south of the Moerakai Boulders is a road off to the right called Horse Range Rd. that goes through Trotter’s Gorge.  The road is only 1 ½ lanes wide most of the way so some caution has to be used to watch for oncoming cars of which we only encountered 1 through the 5 km drive.  Trotter’s Gorge is a very nice drive through some very interesting scenery.  There are some shear cliffs and vertical walls along with the rolling hills and herds of sheep.  There was some repair work going on to fix some problems created by the rains a few weeks ago.

 

We called David Brown who is our coordinator for the local Dunedin Habitat affiliate.  He came to the Leith Valley Touring Park where we are staying and greeted and welcomed us to Dunedin.  He then went with a couple of us to go down and rent two vans that we are using for transportation to and from the build site.  Once back at the campground we all loaded up and went to Martin’s (the construction supervisor) church and had a welcoming supper put on by the church for us.  It was a very nice welcoming get-to-gather and gave us a chance to meet a number of the Dunedin Habitat members.

 

The combination of the beautiful scenery and the people here makes this a wonderful place to come.  Just a couple stories of hospitality came out in the discussions last night.  A couple who had been traveling in Australia and met another couple who live in Christchurch told about the New Zealand couple insisting that they call them just as soon as they arrived at the Christchurch airport.  They arrived the day before the rest of us got here.  When they called them the couple insisted that they come to their house for a barbecue dinner which they agreed to.  When asked if they had a place to stay they then insisted that they stay with them at their home for the night.  In the end the chance meeting of an American couple and a New Zealand couple in Australia resulted the in beginning of a new friendship.

 

Another couple knew a family in Timaru, a town on the way from Christchurch to Oamaru.  The association was a friendship between their son and wife and this couple when they were both teachers someplace in the mission field.  They had never met but again there was the insistence that they stop and have dinner with them.  The people here are very warm and anxious to create lasting friendships.

 

Our Care-A-Vanner team is a group of eight couples and two single ladies from Ohio (us), North Dakota, Texas (full time RVer’s that use Escapee’s mailing service), North Carolina, Oregon, New Hampshire, California, Pennsylvania, and one couple from Ontario, Canada.  This is also the beginning of some great new friendships as happened last year.  It’s amazing how such a group of strangers can come together with a common interest and purpose and develop very quickly into a working team and friends so quickly.

 

 

Getting Started

Well, finally I got a connection through wifi that I can make entries with.  This is Sunday 14May but will try to put in a couple entries from the start of our trip.  Tuesday 2May06 we arrived in Auckland and met up with Donna Roberts the NZ HFH Global Village coordinator.  She was a brave soul to come out at 4:30AM to greet us and herd us from the international terminal over to the domestic terminal.  The flight was long and uneventful.  Meals were good, 4 movies so-so.  I have a hard time sleeping so read some but did also sleep some.  Joan has no trouble sleeping.  The 747-400 was only about 1/2 or less full so plenty of room to stretch out even in the low cost seats. We took a domestic Air NZ flight on down to Christchurch arriving there about 8:30AM where KEA picked us up and took us to their campervan depot.  We picked up the campervans and we were off for about a 6km ride to our first campground.  It works out well to stay in Christchurch the first day to recover from the 13 hour flight, stock up on groceries and other supplies and have a little time to sightsee.  We just walk across the street from the campground and catch a bus.