New Zealand South Island — Final 2 Days
Our last two days on the south island began Sunday morning as we set off from Hasst to travel up the west coast of the south island. Our destination was Greymouth for the night. I wasn’t feeling well either day with worsening chest wall pain but improving elbow pain. I had a persistent cough that made the pain in my chest worse. Also, the pain kept me from having a deep cough so I was coughing more often!
We drove down the coast and paused to walk out to the beach. The Tasman sea is that part of the Pacific between New Zealand and Australia. And, a cyclone had come through New Zealand recently. The seas were very rough. It was obvious from the driftwood thrown up on the beach it was NOT safe to go swimming! Here are some photos of the beach just north of Haast.
We spent most of the day driving northward and stopped to view two glaciers in the area, Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier. The walk up to the glaciers was long and uphill and the pain in my chest prevented me from making the entire journey. But, here are some photos of the Fox Glacier. Look carefully and you will see a tiny line of red and blue dots mid way up the glacier. Those are a separate party of brave individuals hiking across this massive glacier.
As we traveled on toward the north we encountered the snow covered peaks of the Southern Alps.
That night we arrived at Greymouth, a city at the mouth of the Grey River. The next morning (today— Monday, St. Patrick’s day) we arose and headed for Shantytown. Shantytown is a recreation of an old gold mining and lumbering town that flourished from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. Here are some photos from our visit. Some are serious. Others, well I’ll let you be the judge!
Waiting on the train to take us out into the bush.
A public toilet.
Once we left Shantytown, we headed up the coast to Punikaiki to the pancake rocks and blowholes. This very unusual arrangement of rocks along the coast was fascinating.
We drew closer to our final destination on the south island, Blenheim but saw a sign for “the longest swing bridge in New Zealand”. How can anyone resist?
Our final two hours of driving took us across the north of the south island from west coast to east coast through winery country. Once again, I was stunned by the awesome beauty of this country. At every turn, there are sights that defy description.
North Island Highlights
We are now heading up the west coast of the south island back toward Napier. I have many pictures I did not share because of wifi access and time pressure. Today, I want to show a map of each area of our journey and a few pictures I haven’t shared before.
We started out spending two days in the largest city in New Zealand, Auckland high up on the northern tip of the north island.
Here we are in the Skytower.
My new friend, Grant.
With Alex and Grant on the ferry from Auckland to Devonport.
On Day 3 we traveled to the Waitamo Caves where we were not allowed to take any pictures. Then on to Alex and Grant’s friends house — Russell and Linda. We spent the night there just out of Hamilton/Cambridge area in the midst of farmland and then set off the next morning for my most anticipated destination, Hobbiton.
In the real garden at Hobbiton.
The bridge to the Green Dragon pub.
Our guide, Shawn handing out cider at the Green Dragon Pub.
We left the Hobbiton area and headed for the thermal playground of Rotorua.
Here we spent two days in the area seeing the sights and sounds while I got sick from the virus that had shut down Sherry for the past two days.
In our “shared” condo in Rotorua.
Riding the gondola in Rotorua and then riding back down on the Luge.
After two days, we headed out of Rotorua toward “home” to the Sitchbury household in Napier. Along the way, we stopped at several thermal “playgrounds” with hot bubbling mud pits, volcanic steam vents, and colorful chemical pools.
We arrived for our first weekend in Napier and settled in for two nights at home. Here we traveled up to Te Mata, the high peak overlooking Hawke’s Bay and Napier.
Sunday evening, we headed out for Palmerston North to meet with the Stitchbury’s oldest son, Sam. We spent the night there and got up on Monday morning and headed on into Wellington.
Here we visited the WETA workshop and rode the cable car up the side of the mountain overlooking Wellington and its harbor. On Tuesday, we boarded the ferry to cross the strait to the south island.
And there I will stop for today and continue our review of the south island later. For now, my feet feel as tired as Bilbo’s feet.
The Gates of Haast — 2nd Saturday New Zealand
Beware intrepid traveler for you have little time to reach the Gates of Haast before the road is closed. Night is coming and there is the falling of the frost which will make your journey filled with danger and snares.
Our second Saturday, and 14th day in New Zealand started out with bad news. Our loyal steed, Lucy, the car was ailing. Grant had called in AA (New Zealand’s AAA) to check out the car to make sure it could travel on. The verdict — be gentle with it as Lucy will overheat on mountain roads. Really? Guess where we were going today? On mountain roads. In fact, it’s hard to go anywhere in New Zealand without traveling along a mountain road!
We spent the late morning and afternoon in Queenstown. We rode the Skyline gondola up the mountain and watched intrepid souls paragliding over the lake. It was gorgeous and beautiful in spite of a slightly overcast sky. Grant gave me the news that a cyclone (or for us in the US a hurricane) was moving in over Auckland and would move down one of the coasts. We were planning on heading back up the western coast so we prayed for our car and for the weather.
Here are some photos of the view from the Skyline gondola of Queenstown.
An old cemetery at the base of the gondola. No, I don’t think the paragliders and bungee jumpers end up there.
We spent the day wandering the shops of Queenstown and a local art fair. Queenstown is just a lovely place. The air was crisp and cool. We finally loaded up in the car and headed for Arrowtown. Arrowtown, another quaint little town that once boasted a gold rush was filled with little shops and outdoor cafes. There was this park surrounded by trees just changing to yellows and reds (this is New Zealand’s autumn) and I could have slid into a hammock and read a good book with a cup of their best coffee.
But, we pressed on to Wanaka, a slightly larger town on Lake Wanaka and discovered that the road to our destination on the west coast, Haast, would be closed by 530 PM because of a “frost”. It was already 4 PM and the drive was a little over two hours. We reluctantly put Wanaka in the rear view mirror, said a prayer for our little intrepid Lucy car and headed west toward the coast.
Along the way, we saw mountain and valley after mountain and valley. We drove past two huge lakes, Lake Hawea and back to Lake Wanaka. Both lakes were huge as you will see in these photos taken from the highway of both lakes and the mountains surrounding them.
Here is the strange thing. These mountains and the hillsides were brown and dotted with low growing flora. But, we passed over the Haas pass and suddenly everything changed. Suddenly, the hillsides were green and filled with lush trees, ferns, and all kinds of green vegetation. Streams were everywhere. Take a look at these trees.
Is my precious in that cave/
I often wondered where Peter Jackson found the thick forests and huge trees we see in both of the movie trilogies. Well, New Zealand has everything you can imagine. And, finally we reached the Gates of Haas by 530!
And there, perched on an empty stream bed was Gandalf and the dwarves!
Now, it was downhill at a leisurely pace with Lucy purring like a kitten toward the west coast. And, just when you thought you had seen everything — all the green and streams and ferns, we literally rounded a curve and saw this:
We had found the heart of the southern Alps. Imagine along that snowy ridge line is where Frodo dropped the ring into the snow. It is where Boromir retrieved the ring and held it longingly until Frodo, backed by Gandalf took back the burden. There in those high snows is where that scene took place.
We are now in our motel room in one of only two motels in Hass just 7 kilometers from the western beach. Tomorrow, we will visit these snowy mountains and see glaciers. But for now, I can only relax and look at the bruise on my elbow and rejoice that both Lucy and Bruce survived another day in our Kiwi journey.
My battle scars from defying gravity a strong wind and a large boulder!
New Zealand — Milford Sound
Just a note here. I managed to catch up and post two blog posts in 12 hours so make sure and check out the one before this one!
I don’t know where to start. I’m trying to sift through the 350 photos I took on Friday. We left Queenstown at sunrise on a bus driving 4 hours to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the most beautiful spots on the earth. It is a “sound” carved out of the rock by glaciers thousands of years ago. Properly, it is a fjord. And the entire lower, outer segment of the south island is Fjordland National Park. It was here, while on the way to Milford Sound that we saw the true Southern Alps covered with ice and snow. After arriving at Milford Sound around 130 PM, we set out on the water for a 3 hour tour (don’t go there!). Then, we left Milford Sound for the bus drive back to Queenstown and arrived at 830 PM. A 13 hour day!
I was exhausted from very little sleep the night before. As I mentioned yesterday, I fell off of a really large boulder and the pain in my left elbow and in my chest kept me awake most of the night. Fortunately, the bus ride was sedate and the tour of the sound allowed me to stand or sit so we did very little walking.
Here is a photograph of the map of the national park. Queenstown is in the far upper right hand corner and if you follow the red line down through Te Anau and around and up again to the far left hand corner, you will see the route we took.
Te Anau on the way to Milford Sound
The beginning of the Southern Alps
Sherry and Alex. It was cool especially when we got on the water.
Along the way, we stopped at the Mirror lakes!
A river along the way showing the snowy peaks in the distance.
Finally on the boat on the sound heading out to the Tasman Sea, the part of the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Australia. The wind was unbelievable here up to 80 knots!
Words cannot describe this beauty!
The “Queens of duh woyld!”
We saw several of these white streaks on the mountain. This is where trees, barely perched on the thin moss and rock, break loose and tumble down in an avalanche or ‘treevalanche”.
One of several falls on Milford Sound.
As well as seals sunning on a warm rock.
Could this be the elven door to the Mines of Morea? Speak “friend” and pass!
Heading back toward port from the open sea.
That’s enough scenery overload for today. I am now caught up with my blog posts. Today, here is Saturday, America’s Friday and we are touring Queensland before heading back up the west coast toward the north island. We have now come from tip to tip of this wondrous land and the final leg of our journey is about to begin.
Say a quiet prayer for our vehicle. It was smoking Thursday night upon arrival here and I can’t blame the poor thing!
Tomorrow, I hope to show you some maps along the way and throw in some photos you haven’t seen yet as I recap the journey so far.
Kia Ora!
New Zealand — 2nd Thursday
I begin today’s post in great pain. I am writing this on Friday night (our time) about our trip from Geraldine along the east coast of the south island to the central portion of the southern tip of New Zealand. We traveled to Alexandra (Alex’s namesake!) and then on to Queenstown.
The rolling green hills of the farm we stayed at.
Imagine driving out of those wonderful green hills dotted with cows and sheep and having an abrupt change in geography six different times in three hours! It is amazing the changes in the topography and the mountains and valleys in this country! One minute, you are surrounded by lush green hills. The next, brown grassy hills covered with sheep and cows. Next, an emerald green lake surrounded by rocky, brown hills. Next, towering peaks with blues and greens and grays. Next, the southern Alps not yet covered with the coming snowy mantle of winter. Next, a virtual rain forest!
As a man said to me on the cable car in Wellington — the south island is scenery overload!
So, we paused several times to take pictures and there was this huge open plain of brown grassland surrounded by towering gray and blue peaks with a touch of snow on one side and harsh rocky brown mountains on the other. I recognized it instantly. I had purchased a Lord of the Rings guidebook in Wellington that showed were all of the scenes in the movie were shot. Here in the vast plain surrounded by mountains I once again imagined the oliphants, those giant elephant like creatures rampaging across the battlefield toward the Riders of Rohan. I saw the ring wraiths swooping on their reptilian beasts attacking the fellowship of the ring. Here was the location of the final battle in the third movie, The Return of the King. In this vast area somewhere between the towns of Twizel (Twhy-zull) and Methvyn this epic battle was shot using many of the locals as extras. So, we stopped and I stood by a fence that overlooked this area.
The wind was amazingly strong. We started down the road and stopped again as we got closer to the mountains used as a backdrop for the battle. There, sitting just off the road was a huge boulder with an inviting flat top. I grabbed my camera and hopped up on the boulder only to be grabbed, I thought, by the claws of the nazgul, only to learn it was the wind and tossed off the boulder like so much chaff.
I fell onto my left elbow and my camera and dug the lens into my upper left ribs. I was stunned and in so much pain I could hardly breath. I just knew I had broken or dislocated by elbow and had cracked or broken some ribs. I still have an indentation in the skin from the lens of the camera. It is now blue and green.
So, I have been trying to recover from my fall on the battlefield. Where was Gandalf when I needed him?
We soon found a lovely tiny stone church sitting on the edge of a huge, emerald green lake. 
This was the Church of the Good Shepherd erected in 1935 and we later met, purely by chance, a young woman in Milford Sound (on our tour) who got married in this idyllic setting. Nearby was a statue of a dog erected in honor of collies and their hard work in the area. We couldn’t get a good picture due to the heavy tourist load.
Soon, we pulled into Alexandra, a quaint little town on the way to Queenstown. Alex was ecstatic and we drove around the small town.
We traveled back toward Cromwell and stopped to take a look at the crossroads sign above the convergence of two rivers that created a huge lake.
The Kiawarau River is a large body of water that dumps into this gigantic lake. Near Alexandra in the city of Clyde, this huge lake flows through a hydroelectric dam. This river was the sight of the Argonaths — the giant king statues on the water at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring.
As we headed for Cromwell and on to Queensland, we encountered more geography and a very common road sign that is self explanatory.
Here are some high speed pictures of the river near the area where the scenes were shot with Frodo, Sam, Legolas, Borimir, Gimli, and Strider in boats fleeing the orcs. The orcs were heard running along the edges of this river. The actually area used is on a private farm where the river cuts deep into the rock to make the tall cliffs seen in the movie. Portions of this area were used for the forest scenes in all three movies and the scene with Arwin on the river where she confronts the nine ring wraiths to save Frodo.
And then, over a hill we started to witness the beginnings of the Southern Alps. These tall, majestic mountains were the sight of the opening scenes in the first movie as the camera soared over the snow covered peaks. These mountains had little snow this time of year, but you can still appreciate the sheer, amazing size of these mountains as the rose up from the flat plain to over 2000 meters!
As our day drew to a close and my pain began to intensify, we checked into our hotel in Queenstown on its lovely lake and ate on the hotel’s veranda. This was our view as the sun set. I will post more pictures of Alexandra and the trip later as soon as my pain permits.
New Zealand — Our Second Wednesday
The mail run on Tuesday ran longer than we planned. We were supposed to be back at our car by 430 for a 3 hour drive to Hamner Springs in time to “have a spa” meaning get in the hot tub! But, the mail run lasted until 6 PM and now we had a long drive along the east coast at sunset. What we did not anticipate was the rain, fog, and very winding roads.
Grant started out driving but he had been awake since 330 that morning so he switched out with Alex. I have been on many harrowing drives. I’ve bested the road to Hana on the island of Maui. I’ve been up the switchback out of Cade’s Cove in Tennessee. I’ve driven on Louisiana highways since age 15! But, this was like nothing we had ever experienced. Hairpin curve after hairpin curve assaulted our hosts first in the dark, then with rain, followed by FOG! I was hanging onto my shoulder belt in the back seat like a harness on a parachute! We prayed and Alex got us through this incredibly dark and stormy night with only 13 one lane bridges along the way. We pulled into this tiny but very nice motel at 11 that evening and had to rouse the host out of her bed to let us in. We were all exhausted.
Wednesday morning we set off for the Christchurch area and eventually to a farm in Geraldine. Along the way we saw many sights along the east coast. Christchurch is still recovering from a massive earthquake so we did not go into the city. In the tiny town of Geraldine, we set off into the country side for David and Nikki’s farm. Friends of the Stitchbury’s years ago, the couple now reside on a 400 acre farm. David raises cattle and deer. Yes, deer! Upon our arrival, we mounted up on ATV’s and David gave us a tour of his farm. The huge, rolling hills were amazing. Divided into paddocks, the farm has an area for cattle and an area for deer. There is a separate section with trees and brush. When fawns are born, the mother and fawn are put into this paddock so the mother can hide the fawn away in the bushes!
David and Nikki also have other activities on the farm such as kayaking, canoeing, and watching cows being milked, among other things. They took us down the valley to the pond where an eel lives. Fantail sparrows sang in the tree overhead while David cooked us a meal on an open fire. I don’t particularly like venison but his venison was outstanding! As the sun set, a three quarter moon rose over the hills. And shooting through the amazing dark sky was the Milky Way, something we never see up north. We returned to our cabins only to find that Alex and Grant’s cabin was infested with spiders.
So, let me pause for a a moment. We would never have survived the evening in Louisiana. New Zealand has no snakes! I kept glancing at the pond waiting for a water moccasin to crawl out. But, no worries! No snakes! And, they have no fire ants or ticks or bird sized mosquitoes! And, they have only one species of poisonous spider. No black widows! No brown recluses! But, the spiders in the cabin, regardless of their benign nature were too much for Alex and they soon joined us in our cabin.
What a strange and wonderful experience! The next morning, Alex, Sherry, and Grant went to view the cow milking while I finished up editing my depression book manuscript for B&H Publishing.
For your enjoyment, some Kiwi sayings:
Tea, as I mentioned, means supper.
Crisps are French fries.
Have a coffee means lunch time. At lunch you can have a “pie”. This is not a fruit pie but a meat pie and it looks like a small apple pie only filled with beef or chicken and cheese and mushrooms and it is to die for! Definitely a trend we need to start in America. Kiwi fish and chips are served in plain butcher paper and you have to ask for (and sometimes pay for) tomato sauce (ketchup). Don’t bother asking for ice tea or yellow mustard. A schnitzel can be beef, pork, or chicken and is basically a chicken fried steak only with leaner batter. You always order your food at the counter and you always buy your drink from the bar. The water is self help. And, there is no tipping! That’s right! It took me days to get over this, but there is no tipping. Period. Nada.
You leave your vehicle in a “car park”. Stores don’t have bathrooms unless they are huge stores. Instead, there are public “toilets”. These are surprisingly clean and fresh. Some charge a fee. Others sing to you! And, they won’t unlock until you wash your hands. Most toilets are bigender — not particular for man or woman. And, I will say this. New Zealand is neat as a pin. Clean as a whistle (that’s for you, Alex). I have never seen a country so universally neat and clean. Everyone is proud of keeping things up. Everyone picks up trash and recycles. It is amazing and so refreshing. America could learn lots of lessons on this one issue alone!
And, every downtown area no matter how small or large has tiny, quaint storefront stores. Even the malls are integrated into the storefronts and are found inside the storefronts. It is like going back in time to Mayberry. There are even barber shops that still have the red and white rotating pole! And, of course, every 10 meters, there is some kind of coffee shop with the most amazing goodies to eat and coffee to drink. I don’t think I can ever go into a Starbucks again. Unless they start serving flat white!
One town so beautiful, so amazing awaited us and what a surprise it would be – Akaroa. More on that later. Here are some pictures:
After losing a salmon to Gollum earlier, I found one that would choke even him!
Safety first!
A new experience for Sherry!
One of the one lane bridges we passed in the dark the night before. It was used for bungee jumping!
View before your last jump!
Sherry says, “No way!”
Rain clouds still brewing but they held off as we headed for Christchurch.
Many rock formations look so familiar as they appeared in the Lord of the Ring movies.
This amazing valley was farm land and we wove our way from that far mountain top all the way around until we found . . .
Akaroa, just over the mountain top. A wonderful town perched on an inlet from the sea. This was an amazing sight and the photos don’t do it justice. We wound our way down the mountain side and around the lake to that far cove.
I have my own hotel in Akaroa!
The water side was dotted with lovely cottages beneath amazing mountains and hills.
The water was even more beautiful than any I have ever seen in Florida.
Everywhere you looked, you could make a postcard.
I could easily make this my writer’s retreat!
Finally, we tracked down the elusive pukeko (pooh-keck-oh) a wild bird that most Kiwis try their best to ignore!
More photos tomorrow as we leave the farm and head for the crown jewel of the south island, Queenstown.
New Zealand — This Past Saturday and Sunday
Sunday and Monday in New Zealand saw our intrepid travelers leaving the fair city of Napier and journeying southward to Palmerston North. There we spent the night after visiting with Alex and Grant’s oldest son, Sam. Monday morning we headed into the winding hills and mountains of the southern part of the North Island toward Wellington.
Wellington resides on the sea with a large harbor. We will boarding a ferry in the morning for a three hour journey across the sea to the south island. Pictures below are from Saturday and Sunday in Napier and Monday in Wellington.
Napier is a beautiful and quaint town as I mentioned in my previous posts. We drove southeastward to Te Mata, a large mountain overlooking Hawke’s Bay. It was a beautiful sight as you will notice in the photographs below. We took some time to walk the streets of Napier, do some shopping at a market place and ended up at the beach. Then, we drove to the top of the “bluff” a precipitous cliff in Napier proper overlooking Napier’s harbor. That evening, we had a Kiwi barbecue with grilled chicken kabobs, steak, sausage, patties and “jacketed” potatoes and lovely desserts I mentioned earlier.
Sunday, we had the privilege to worship at Napier Baptist Church. I have met only a handful of New Zealand natives in Napier. But, when Sherry and I walked into the church, we felt instantly at home. When we were greeted by the members, it was like rekindling an old acquaintance. I had an opportunity to talk very briefly about my depression book and had several conversations with members of the church after the service during the “tea”. We sang several worship songs. Two young people were baptized and the pastor invited friends and family to come and stand around the baptistery during the ceremony. He also invited anyone who wanted to share a prayer, Bible verse, or a word of encouragement just before the actual baptism. It was stunningly moving and profoundly beautiful.
It seems the modernized world is now turning against Christianity. Even here in New Zealand, Grant tells me that persecution is beginning. We are already facing persecution in America and I would say the Christian’s greatest mission field IS America. We are called judgmental, intolerant, legalistic, hate mongers, and man other names I will not repeat in this blog. It is true that there are many who claim to be Christians whose behavior warrants such prejudice. But, true followers of Christ; true disciples of Christ are compelled by unconditional love, not hate. It is this love that pulled us into the church family instantly. In fact, I would say that a Christ follower could walk into any real, committed gathering of other believers (called a church) and feel the same kind of caring and acceptance we felt here in New Zealand. Wow! It was a balm to soothe my soul. It tells me that we must press on with our love and devotion to the Creator God of the universe who is also flesh and spirit among us. It tells me that we are more than a footnote in history; more than a cult of strange folk; more than a smokescreen for hateful fundamentalism. We are called Christian because we are like Christ!
On to Wellington. Just a few words about this city. It is much smaller than Auckland but a large city in its own right. It spreads out over lush, green hills overlooking the harbor with tight, narrow streets surrounded by tall modern buildings and preserved historical buildings. I fell in love with Wellington instantly. It reminded me of London while Auckland reminded me more of Paris. I would go back to London and Wellington in a heartbeat.
A small surprise was WETA, the special effects workshop for all of Peter Jackson’s films! I was so excited, but I was not allowed to take pictures in the actual workshop!
I am now sitting in my hotel room, tired, weak, hopefully coming out of this cold I’ve had for five days. I am praying for safe waters in the channel tomorrow as we journey to the south island. I am praying for a healthier tomorrow. More will come in the days ahead as we hit the South Island. We me a couple returning from the south island today and they told us to be prepared for “scenery overload”. Bring it on!
Below are pictures from Te Mata, the highest peak overlooking Hawke’s Bay and Napier. Followed by this are photos of Sherry at the beach. And Alex’s favorite flower. Finally, the sheep you see are right across the street from the Stitchbury house!
Second Week in New Zealand
Wellington from the ferry.
Sailboat on Queen Charlotte Sound
Ship’s Cove in the sound where Captain Cook landed on New Zealand and made his home there on return trips.
Sherry and Alex napping on the Mail Run boat.
The Mail Run is to deliver mail to homes around the sound without roads. This is a famous New Zealand author.
In Queen Charlotte Sound South Island
I have been unable to post for several days. The wifi is spotty at best and there are limits on uploads and downloads. We left Napier this past weekend and set out for the south island. Below are some photos of Wellington and the trip across Cook Strait to the south island where we landed at Picton. We set out on the “mail run”, a four hour boat trip through the coves and bays of Queen Charlotte Sound. Truly a wondrous site, I am already suffering from scenery overload. I’ll bring more notes on our trip later. I have a narrow window to post these photos. Oh, yes, we visited the WETA workshop in Wellington where all of the props for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie were made. I met Bilbo’s trolls while there.
New Zealand Day 6 — Napier
“We spent two days in Auckland when we could have been here?”
Sherry nailed our reaction once we arrived Friday evening in Napier. We’ve spent the last two days at “home” with Alex and Grant’s family here in a city known for its art Deco appearance. In 1931, an earthquake hit Napier and the city rose several feet above sea level. Much of it was rebuilt in the current architectural style leaving behind a delightful town perched on the emerald green waters of Hawke’s Bay. The moment we saw the ocean, we knew we should have been here long ago. Don’t get me wrong. Auckland was exciting and bracing and something to be seen. But, in all of our travels, Sherry and I have always found the smaller towns more inviting than the busy, bustling cities. My one exception would be New York City and London. We loved both cities but they are creatures unto themselves.
Napier resides on the eastern coast of the North Island tucked into Hawke’s Bay. Just south of Napier is Hastings and surrounding this area are mountains and wine country. We passed through orchards and vineyards and more rolling hills dotted with sheep. As we drew closer to the east coast winding our way up and down through these wonderful mountains, the hills grew greener and more lush. The tall, waving fronds of the silver fern — the symbol of New Zealand — were soon replaced with tall pine trees. We instantly felt at home with my thoughts drawn back to the pines of our Louisiana. The only difference would be the lack of a thick film of yellow pollen we would hopefully miss out on this year. March is the autumn for New Zealand.
We met the family at a Kiwi barbecue on Saturday. The meal was sumptuous, delicious and capped off with several huge desserts ranging from trifle to banana cream and upside down chocolate pudding cake and cupcakes. Everyone here is so friendly and so open and accepting. As I mentioned in my last post, this is the culture we have lost in America. Grant assured me New Zealand was about 15 years behind America in adopting our ways. Let us hope and pray New Zealand does not catch up with us. Here, civility, manners, kindness, friendliness, hospitality are all a way of life. In our own country, we are in danger of forgetting these virtues.
Before I go on about our trip in Napier to the mountaintop of Te Mata or to the beach in downtown Napier I want to finish out our first week in New Zealand with a few photographs from the past seven days.
- Our first stop was for coffee last Sunday and now I understand how much they love their coffee!
- Medication we have gotten to know all too well!
A hobbit’s work is never done!
But, there is the promise of the Green Dragon pub.
Oh, well, they put me to work at the pub!
The Green Dragon Lantern
Alex popped in for a bite!
At the Mitai traditional Maori cultural experience
Okay, a giant pukeko (pooh-keck-oh) made of corrugated iron.
Sherry did see the sign at Hobbiton.
The New Zealand opossum. More about this later.
New Zealand Days 4 and 5
It is Saturday morning here in New Zealand, Friday America time and I just witnessed one of the most moving and beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. We are now in Napier at Alex and Grant’s house. I’ve gotten behind on my blogging so I wanted to catch up on the photographs.
Let’s see, on Tuesday we drove to Waitomo cave area and went through the cave with the glowworm grotto. The glow worm is a fascinating insect. The female lays an egg in the caves then dies since the adult male and female insects have no mouths! The egg hatches and the larva emerges as the glow worm. The worm has a bioluminescent tip that glows in the dark. The worm spins a long single thread. The thread is sticky and the light attracts moths and insects in the cave. When the insects fly toward the glowing light (and this also includes the aforementioned adult insects) they get stuck on the thread. The glow worm then pulls the thread up and feasts on the insects. This fat and happy life lasts for 9 months. But, eventually, every larva turns into an adult. The male adult is waiting patiently for the females to emerge from their cocoon and impregnates them immediately before they die from starvation. What a life!!!
I could not take an photos within the glow worm grotto. A river passes through the cave and at the bottom of the cave we loaded onto a boat in almost total darkness. Our hostess, Dorene then pulled us quietly through the grotto. In the hushed silence where only the occasionally tinkling of water drops from the stalactites broke the dark solace, we moved through the grotto like the Phantom of the Opera gliding his boat across the waters of Paris underground. Above us were thousands of tiny blue green glowing dots. To me it was a wondrous site. To the glowworm, it was just life. Just a passing through this world from egg to larva to pupae to adult. All on a 10 month cycle. The difference between the glowworm and me, of course, lay in my ability to appreciate the beauty of what I was seeing. More on that later.
Here are some pictures from our cave trip.
Witomo Glowworm Cave
The Cave Names I can’t quite yet pronounce.
Maori
In the Caves
More caves
On Thursday and Friday, we traveled to Rotorua where the lake filled a huge extinct volcano crater. But, the volcanic activity was far from dormant. Below are numerous photos of the thermal “playground” around Rotorua. The air was cool and crisp but tainted with the odor of sulphur. Our room was situated overlooking the beautiful lake. By now, I was getting Sherry’s cold and I spent the first night in Rotorua shaking with a high fever. Alex, a more than capable nurse, watched over me as we sat on the patio overlooking the lake beneath a billion glowing stars. I was shocked to recognize Orion’s belt and Scorpio and there, above me was the Southern Cross ruling the southern hemisphere sky as our Big Dipper and Polaris, the north star, ruled the northern sky. Alex talked me through my fear of having some kind seizure due to my high fever. Here I was sick in a foreign country my mind filled with fears that most people would never think about (as a doctor, I know too much!) and yet, I was at ease with Alex just a few meters away. I was very thankful she was there to watch over me. I made it through that first night. Thursday and Friday were busy days visiting Rotorua and its many hot springs, geysers, and steam vents. Here are some photos from that visit.
The Thermal Playground
A Caldera
The Artist’s Palette
The colors are from different chemicals
Sulphur deposits
The Devil’s Bathtub
Bubbling hot mud!
Huka Falls
The Jet Boat at Huka Falls
Sherry at Huka Falls
Lake Taupo
Waipunga Falls
I will pause now for a day or two. We are resting up here at home in Napier before tackling the South Island. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will go to church with Alex, Grant, and their boys and I’ll have more to say then. For now, I am resting and trying to heal.
Bruce Hennigan 
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