May 7, 2008 - Queenstown to Fox Glacier

May 7, 2008 – Queenstown to Fox Glacier

Weather:  First half of day mostly fine and then rain and more rain.

 

Today’s drive from Queenstown up to Fox Glacier was pretty much uneventful.  We started out in partial sunshine and ended up in continuous rain.  Just north of Queenstown we stopped at the AJ Hackett bungy jumping center but they were just opening up and no jumpers in sight.  It was cold and gloomy so we didn’t hang around.  Since Joan wasn’t interested and I wasn’t interested (too cold, weak excuse huh?) we headed for Wanaka and points beyond ending up at Fox Glacier.  The trip over Haast Pass was wet and rainy but no snow.  We got into Fox in the daylight and stopped by the glacier but we only walked part way to it.  Way too wet.  We couldn’t get any worthwhile pictures.

 

Everyone arrived safely so it was a good day.

 

Kiwi Word of the Day:  Hottie – Hot Water Bottle

May 6, 2008 - Te Anau to Queenstown

 

May 6, 2008 – Te Anau to Queenstown

Weather:  Mostly Fine, 7C

 

Today we drove from Te Anau up to Queenstown which is a relatively short drive of 166km.  We went directly to the gondola for Bob’s Restaurant and purchased the tickets for the team.  Dawn had already made the reservations for us. 

 

 

Kingston Flyer Locomotive - talked to mechanic about an hour.

 

 

 

Downtown Arrowtown

 

 

Kingston Flyer Car

 

 

 

Lake Wakatipu south of Queenston

 

 

 

Rush's enjoying view of Lake Wakatipu

 

After checking into the campground Roy, Marjory, Joan and myself all loaded into our RV and drove up to Arrowtown which is about a 20 minute drive north of Queenstown.  Arrowtown was a gold mining town originally and is a quaint little town now with a lot of nice shops and an interesting museum telling the history of the gold rush in the area.  You can still pan for gold in the stream there and the story is that a few years ago someone found a nugget that they ended up selling on eBay for $12,000.  We didn’t even try.

 

Later it was back to Queenstown and a trip up on the gondola to Bob’s Restaurant overlooking Queenstown.  It’s a great sight at night with all the lights on in the town.  Of course on the way up you can enjoy watching the paragliders floating down to town and the bungy jumpers that apparently try to jump towards the gondola on their giant rubber band.

 

The restaurant was a little disappointment this year as they were remodeling their main dining room and they had put the buffet and dining into a smaller area and no live entertainment.  They still had a lot of food and very large selection of desserts.  We left overstuffed.

 

Life is good.

 

Kiwi word of the day:  Chilly Bin – Picnic Cooler

 

 

May 5, 2008 - Milford Sound Trip

May 5, 2008 – Milford Sound Cruise

 

Weather:  Beautiful (fine as they say here) and about 6C.

 

As a footnote to yesterdays comments about the Croydon Aircraft Co. I wanted to comment that in the shop there was a bright red Beechcraft Staggerwing biplane having it’s annual inspection.  It was also there last year at this time having last year’s annual done.  The interesting part is that the owner is an American and a retired airline pilot in his early 70’s.  He is going to fly it back to the States by way of Europe and take 2 to 3 years to do it.  Would that be an adventure or what?

 

Today we went on the Milford Sound Cruise.  The bus picked us up at the campground at 9:30AM for the ride to Milford Sound which takes about 2 hours.  It sure is better on the bus than driving the motor homes out there.  Then we take the boat which includes a buffet lunch on board.  This trip the weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky.  Coming back in the Sound we saw a lot of dolphins, probably 30 or 40.  We had never seen them on the trip before.  No fur seals this time though.

 

 

 

Joan Searching?

With the weather so nice a lot of the charter planes were flying in and out of the Milford Sound airport.  The planes looked so small flying along the vertical mountain faces that line the Sound.  The airport is at the inside end of the Sound and it appears that there is only one chance at landing straight in.  As we were leaving though it appeared that it may be possible to head into the inside end of the Sound and still be able to make a 360 degree turn and get back out.  Very interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

Milford Sound

Life is Good.

 

Kiwi term of the Day:  Knackered - Exhausted

May 4, 2008 - Dunedin to TeAnau

 

May 4, 2008 – From Dunedin to Te Anau

 

Weather:  Mostly fine day (NZ term) cool, about 7C.

 

What an exciting day it was for me (Wayland).  We had stopped a couple of times before at the Croydon Aircraft Co. close to Mandeville on highway 94 in past years but this year was different.  It’s just past Clinton and Gore by the way heading west.  At Croydon they rebuild any antique aircraft made of wood and fabric from the ground up.  There is a building where they do the rebuilding which currently has about 10 planes in various stages of reconstruction.  They also have a new museum building where they have a number of vintage aircraft on display.  I think that I counted around 4 or 5 DeHaviland Moths and 3 or 4 other twin engine vintage craft beautifully restored.  They have a Fox Moth that was the first aircraft used for mail delivery in New Zealand.  All the finished aircraft there are in perfect condition and are flown.  It is really cool to just wander around in their buildings and look at work they’re doing and the aircraft.  They also have a beautifully conditioned grass airstrip that they fly from.

 

What was different this year was it was Sunday, it was a beautiful day, and they were giving rides in a Tiger Moth biplane.  The Moths were post WWI and used by the Brits for training.  This was the day to go for a ride in a Tiger Moth.  Ryan was the pilot in command and sat in the rear seat and I got to ride in the front seat.  This is an open cockpit biplane so Ryan loaned me a leather sheepskin jacket and a leather helmet with goggles.  Very cool attire.  The only disappointment was I didn’t have a long white scarf. Oh well!

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan got me all belted in and then hand propped the engine, yanked out the chocks, climbed in the back seat advanced the throttle and we started taxiing in the grass. Ryan lined it up with the runway, the tail popped up quickly and off we went.  New Zealand is even more beautiful from the cockpit of a bright yellow biplane flying low.  We followed the Mataura River back to Gore where he gained a little altitude and then said over the intercom those great words “you’ve got the plane”.  I did a few turns and some up and down and then at Ryan’s direction headed towards a low mountain ridge that runs parallel to the river.  Ryan took over again and put us at tree top level along the ridge.  He said that many times there are wild mountain goats to be seen there but none today.  As we were heading back to the airport he put the plane into a shallow dive and then pulled up into a loop and then after going around once went directly into another loop.  What a thrill having never done any aerobatics before.  It’s interesting seeing the horizon disappear beneath you then all blue sky and then the horizon appear upside down, then all earth and then the horizon back to normal.  After that a roll and then down into a right hand pattern, line up with the runway, a slip to reduce airspeed (no flaps), kick it straight, and then a smooth touchdown.

 

 

 

Ryan and I walked back to the office chatting about flying and then he put the time in my logbook and signed it.  I have been taking my logbook along to New Zealand every year with just this sort of thing in mind and finally made it.  It has taken a while to get down to earth and wipe that silly smile off my face.

 

What can I say other than – Life is Great.

 

Will tell about the red Staggerwing at Croydon and pilot in another installment.

 

Kiwi Word of the Day:  Bach or Crib – A small holiday (vacation) home.

 

What could be prettier than NZ sheep in front of the Southern Alps?

 

Our team at the Olive Tree in Te Anau.

May 3, 2008

May 3, 2008 – Oamaru to Dunedin

 

Weather:  Mostly sunny and about 5C.

 

Today was a short drive day with only about 120km to go.  The day was nice for the most part with some drizzle but mostly sunny.  We made a stop at the Moeraki Boulders to view these amazing spherical stone boulders.  Most are about 4-5 feet in diameter with some smaller and some larger.  The Maori legend is that these were the fruit that fell out of their ancestors wakas (large sailing rafts or boats) and ended up on the beach and became petrified.  There is a scientific explanation but the Maori legend is better.

 

 

 

Just south of Moeraki we all took the Trotter’s Gorge side road.  We had great views of the gorge as we drove through.  This also gave a little bit of practice driving on narrow curving roads for the team getting ready for Rte 6 over the Haast Pass and west coast.

 

As we headed on down to Dunedin we started seeing snow along the road.  We had never seen snow here at this time of year before.  The residents are saying that they went directly from summer to winter this year.  We are hoping that the snow holds off until we get our touring done on the south island.  Roy, being kind of a warm weather guy, said that he thought since we were going south it would be warm.  In New Zealand the further you go south the colder it gets and the further north the warmer so we’re hoping for warmer weather on the north island.

 

After getting Jack and Shirley’s LP gas smell problem analyzed we piled into our camper and Jay and Joyce’s camper and took a drive up the Otago peninsula to the Albatross Center.  It’s the only place in the southern hemisphere that you can see albatross nesting that is accessible on land.  They currently have three chicks on nests two of which you can see from the viewing blind and one that is over the edge of the hill that you can watch on a video cam.  The last time we were there we saw three or four adults in flight but this year we didn’t get to see any.  Later we were talking to an Australian lady in the campground rec room and they saw adults flying about 1:30PM.  We weren’t there until around 3PM.  Just like fishing – “you should have been here yesterday, two hours ago, etc”.  There is also a large group of shags that nest there.  They build their nests out of mud and grass and very close to each other closer to the water.  The whole presentation done by the Center is very educational.  If you get a chance look up albatrosses sometime and read about them.  Too lengthy to go into here.

 

Coming back to town we drove through the center of town, through the octagon (the center) and then through the Otago University area.  Earlier in the day someone had driven close to there and got into a large traffic jam because they were having graduation ceremonies at the university.

 

 

 

Life is good.

May 2, 2008

May 2, 2008- First Day of Travel

Weather:  Varied, started out sunny, became cloudy, 2 kms of driving in rain in route, thunder, and freezing rain, then partly sunny but then rain in evening. 

 

Shirley and Jack had decided that they wanted to see the International Antarctica Center at the Christchurch airport and since we had never been there either decided to also stop before leaving town.  Roy and Marjory had decided to follow us today so the six of us stopped there.

 

They have nice displays of the activities that have gone on over the years in Antarctica.  They also have some blue penguins there with some close up viewing of them.  We enjoyed talking with one of the caretakers about the penguins.  They also have a widescreen projection of beautiful photography from Antarctica.  At the gift shop we got talking with one of the salesladies there about traveling in NZ and about Habitat.  She was very interested and at the end of the conversation Joan and I both got hugs from her and wishes for safe travels.  You meet very nice people here and it’s great to have conversations with them.  It was a good short visit and we departed there about 11:30AM for Oamaru. 

 

We had a commitment to meet the Penguin Express at the campground in Oamaru at 4:45PM so only took time to stop for lunch at the Berry Barn in Geraldine. It was the third time that we have stopped there and even though it’s a little off the main route the scenery and small town atmosphere is worth it.  Also the meat pies and pastries at the Berry Barn are excellent.  As Joan, Marjory, Roy and I were having some good things to eat in came Jay and Joyce.  It can be a small world here in NZ.

 

Along the way it started to rain and then about 4-5km of kind of a wet freezing rain snow mix.  Along with it was some lightning and thunder.  After that it brightened up some.

 

We pulled into the campground about 4:30PM put on some warmer clothes and met the Penguin Express driver at 4:45PM.  It turned into a tightly scheduled day.  On the way to the penguin viewing at Bushy Point he gave us a nice tour of Old Oamaru and the docks area where a lot of grain was shipped out years ago.  Now it is pretty much a historic district with a lot of the old buildings made of whitestone that was quarried in the area.

 

It started raining and by the time we were at Bushy Point to see the yellow-eyed penguins it was raining, cold, and very windy.  We made a mad dash for the viewing blind but along the way there were two yellow eyed penguins nesting about 5 meters off the path.  This was a great close up encounter with them.  According to the guide there are only about 5,000 in the world and about 1,000 of which are in or around NZ.  From Bushy Point the guide took us down to the blue penguin viewing area.  It has a small amphitheater with roof which allows some protection for us penguinites (must not be a word, Word keeps underlining it).  The blues come into shore in a group called a raft.  Since the blues are one of the smallest of the penguins (about 45cm tall) they think that by swimming in a group it looks like a larger fish to the seals and other predators.  In all we got to see about 35-40 of the blues come to shore and make their way up the bank to the nesting area off to the side of the viewing area.  Two of the penguins became very romantic - nature is wonderful.

 

On the penguin tour I got talking with an Asia couple that was seated next to me and found out that they were from Japan and on their honeymoon.  They were a nice young couple and lots of congratulations went to them.  One of the great things about traveling are the people you meet.

 

On the way back to the campground it was raining and then all night it was raining off and on.  The stream at the rear of the campers plus the rain on the roof of the camper was very pleasant to hear when you would wake up at night.

 

Another good day – life is good.

April 29, 2008

April 29, 2008 – Departure from LAX

Weather – 101F in Indio and 96F in Phoenix and 74F in LA with clear blue over all. 

We had a nice flight from Phoenix over to Los Angeles on Southwest.  The weather was very nice and could see all the geographic references on the ground all the way into LAX.  We got in about 2:45PM but then had to wait for the 10:30PM flight to NZ.  Just hung around the airport and eventually met up with the rest of the team.  We left about on time at around 10:45PM.  Air NZ flew a 777 on this flight which we don’t like as well as the 747 as the seats are really packed in.  It’s not at all comfortable for a 13 hour flight.

 

One good thing about the Air NZ flight is that they feed you well.  About an hour after takeoff they provide a very nice evening meal and then before landing I had an omelet, sausage, yoghurt, fresh fruit cup, coffee, etc.  In between the meals I tried to sleep, watched two movies, read, and kept readjusting my position to distribute the numbness in the part touching the seat cushion.

 

In route someplace over the South Pacific we got into some turbulence that bounced the plane around a bit but other than that it was a good flight.

 

It was a good day and night overall.  The numbness should go away soon.

 

April 30, 2008 – Lost Day at International Dateline Crossing

 

May 1, 2008 – First Day in NZ

 

Weather:  Raining in Auckland, but nice sun with broken clouds in Christchurch, 11C.

 

After meeting Dawn at the Golden Arches at the airport in Auckland and picking up our packets of information we departed in heavy rain but as we flew south to Christchurch the sky became mostly sunny and most of the day was very nice.

 

The first place that we usually stop when we leave the KEA depot is a grocery store to stock up for at least the first few days.  By the time that we went about 3 or 4 kilometers and stopped at the New World grocery store Roy was having problems with the clutch on his motor home.  We couldn’t even get it out of gear and the odor was terrible coming from under the hood.  We called KEA and they dispatched a mechanic who came and agreed that the clutch was gone.  He took Roy back to the depot with all their luggage and refitted him with a different KEA.  After that we caught up with the others at the campground.  After that it was pretty much getting clothes and food stashed away, hot showers, a little reading and then to bed.

 

It was a really long day but life is good.

 

Our KEA's in Christchurch campground.