The Road Leads On

Adventure, adventure, adventure. The road leads on and we are in the far north of Northland.

We've moved to Kaitaia and I feel as if we've moved to an entirely different New Zealand. This is a rural NZ. Hot and wet, full of flat, green valleys between low rounded distant hills and one populated by its original settlers: the Maori. Everything here is in both English and Maori and 8 out of 10 faces that pass you by on the street clearly show native heritage.

The town is full of contrasts. The people are open and friendly, but the town is poor and blighted. It has nearly everything you could want in terms of stores and amenities and yet with heavy and light industry mixed with residential there seems to be nothing but rundown emptiness. Before we came, a friend described Kaitaia as "rough" and I think it is an apt description because it captures the gritty feel and smell of the town with its gravely roads, unkempt sidewalks and the smell of industry mixing with the deep fried oil of the takeaways on Main Street.

To arrive, we drove north from Christchurch to Picton and crossed the ferry into Wellington. We were in a bit of a hurry to arrive, because Steve needed to start working so we couldn't linger and sightsee. We will make a north island tour later during our visit. As we drove out of Wellington northward, I was immediately struck by the absence of the grand Southern Alps. In the south island, whether it is the Alps or some other mountain range, there is always in sight an immense body of rock which rips at the sky. Here in the north, there are mountains, but they seem to simply rise from the ground and roll in green waves toward the clouds. They look older and softer than the naked rock of the south.

We made for National Park and I must say we probably missed the best of the scenery because we traveled till 12:00 am and so it was dark when we arrived. Sadly, the next day was cloudy and we couldn't see Mt. Rapehaeu (spelling?) known as Mt. Doom to you Lord of the Rings fans, but hopefully we'll see it on the big tour.

We drove to Auckland the next day and did stop (at my incredibly geeky insistence) at Matamata: the home of Hobbition. We had great luck, because for the last couple of years Hobbiton was mainly just a couple of hobbit holes left over by the filming crew that they didn't get to destroy because of rain. Now though, because they are gearing up to film THE HOBBIT, they have completely rebuilt Hobbiton and the Shire and more. I took heaps of pictures, but due to confidentiality agreements that we signed, I am not allowed to post them. Suffice it to say The Shire is as cool as it looks in the movie.

Auckland was a big city. We had a great, totally authentic chinese meal out, slept at a youth hostel and then got out of Dodge without anyone breaking into our moving trailer.

The next day we made for Whangerei and then Kaitaia. It was a long three days, but the kids are such pro's at long car trips now, and we all enjoy being on the road and traveling on.

My father is in country and coming up here to visit day after tomorrow. We'll see what he thinks about rural northland. Till then.

Milford Sound

I only have a few minutes on my internet card. If you are ever in NZ you must see Milford sound. It is really a fjiord. A river between massive mountains carved by a glacier that lets out into the Tasman sea. It rained, of course, Fiordland is a rainforest, but that only meant that the hundreds of temporary waterfalls snaked down the immense cliff walls like silver threads spilling into the calm blue water. It was spectacular. I cannot begin to put words to the immense scale of the place. A wonderland for the gods. I'll post pictures once I can upload them to the computer. Tomorrow to Wanaka, then home. Good travels my friends and for those of you in Maine - stay warm.

More about Paragliding and other stuff

To answer a couple of questions about paragliding that came up in the previous post:

The pictures don't show the big semi circle of a parachute that is above us making for a gentle ride to the ground. While it is a bit like hang gliding (I imagine, never having gone hang gliding, as you can steer and ride the lift). It is done with a parachute, hence the name paragliding. To get airborne you take a few walking steps, then a few running steps, then a few steps that aren't, off the side of a mountain. It is very peaceful and I felt like what I believe birds must feel like gliding over great forests of pine, high in the sky.

Today we are in Te Anau and took a boat ride across the Te Anau lake to see the glowworms. Again a facinating and mystical experience in its own right. First we walked, then we took a boat in utter dark and utter silence to a grotto at the end of the cave. The glowworms entice insects off the river that runs through the cave by lighting a small bit of its tail and then capturing the insects in threads that hang from the ceiling. All the lights together in the dark of the cave fool the insects into thinking they are flying into the night sky. They fooled me too. I felt we had floated into another universe with unknown constellations gracing a distant black expanse. I can see why the Maori of old thought the place was sacred. I felt like it was magical. It must have been. My children were silent for over twenty minutes.

Tomorrow we are off to Milford Sound.

Cheers.

Adrenaline City

If you can bike it, hike it, row it, pedal it, ride it, jump off of it, hang out of it, slide down it, dive under it, float on top of it and scream while you are doing it - you can do it in Queenstown. We've been here since yesterday. So far we have ridden the luge down a mountain track and while eating lunch on the hill watching the paragliders jump from the edge of the mountain into the abyss, made a split second decision to take the plunge ourselves. It was brilliant as you can see.

I'm not sure what else we will do while we are here, because while anything extreme is possible in Queenstown, it is not only the adventure that gives you an adrenaline rush, it is the price as well. We may yet take a boat ride on the turquoise blue, glacial Lake Wakatipu or a hike through the mountain range called the Remarkables. We'll see. Tomorrow afternoon we head off to Te Anau to see Milford sound for two nights and then back toward Christchurch via Wanaka.

After that our south island adventure really comes to an end at that point as we have made a decision to move to the north island. Steve got a job in the last town before the end of the north of the north island. It is a place called Kaitaia. It is around 70% Maori. A very different place than very English Christchurch. He will be working in a regular general practice with very regular hours and the kids will go to school there for a term. We expect a different experience, but beyond "different" we have no idea what it will be. Anyway, just about out of money on the card for the computer. If you ever get the chance to jump off a mountain. DO IT!

Back from the Void

Sorry about the silence on the blog. I got really depressed for a while and couldn't think of anything to write that wasn't negative, so I stopped posting. I found posting removed me a little from the 'here and now' and I had an attitude of judgement and watching instead of doing and being. That wasn't helpful when I was feeling bad, but I am doing a whole lot better now and really enjoying myself.

 

The kids are off school for 6 weeks of summer vacation. We have done some traveling. We went to the west coast one weekend, to Greymouth (about three weeks ago) and it poured (it is a rainforest over there, so it often pours), but we were expecting it and were prepared. We went to a place called Shantytown, where you get to experience what the pioneers in the 1800's live like. The kids panned for gold and saw a sluice gun and other cool stuff. We went to a place called Pancake Rocks and saw the natural formations and the blowholes when it was hightide. We learned about Pounamou or jade which is an important part of the Maori culture and is found in that area. On the way back, there were historic 150 year floods. It was cool to see the rivers in flood stage and see their raw power. It did add about 4 hours to our driving home as passes and roads were closed due to wash outs and rockfalls, but made us go a way with the great hot springs in Hanmer, so we stopped there and had a good time for a couple of hours.

 

We went again to the west coast this past weekend to see the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. This time the weather was magnificent. We walked as a family to the terminal face. Ruby was too young to walk on the glacier, but E, Sam and I took a four hour tour and it was really neat. (Though coming from Maine, there were parts that just felt like walking on the front lawn in Feb.) The Franz Joseph is the more spectacular of the two. It is in a massive valley. The scale of everything is so large that it is deceptive. The terminal face of the glacier looks like it is just a few minutes walk through a dry river valley away when in fact it is over two kilometers. The walls look high, but not two high compared to the glacier, but they are about 9,000 feet. When you see the helicopters that land every few minutes against the glacier, they appear as only a dot. That gives you an idea of exactly how large everything is. It is a valley of the giants.

 

Next week, we are taking the grand southern tour. We are going to Twizel to see Mt. Cook and Lake Punakaki for two nights, to Queenstown to take in the adrenaline for two nights, to Te Anau to explore Milford Sound for two nights and then stopping in Wanaka on the way back for a night to break up the nine hour drive. It should be fun.

 

After that, everything gets a little crazy. Steve is moving to the far north to start a different job. The kids and I are staying in Sumner because my father and stepmother are coming to visit and have arranged their whole trip. The kids will start school here and go for a month, then after my Dad and stepmom leave, we will move up north also and they will transition into school there.

 

I am excited about going up to a new place. There are some amazing things about Sumner: it is beautiful, a small village with everything you need and a lot of independence for the kids, but the people are just not genuinely friendly. They are very closed and insular. I am not sure if this is Kiwi or Christchurch, with Sumner as the epitome of Christchurch, (as I have been told it is.), so the chance to be in a totally different place will be nice. I don't want to leave NZ thinking this is what Kiwis are, if in fact this is just what Christchurch is. Also, up north is a lot more Maori. Christchurch is almost exclusively white and the most British city outside of England (so it is said). It will be interesting to get more exposure to Maori culture. The job is for three months unless we like it and want to extend it. After that, we are working on going to Samoa for three months too. Of course we still have to see Australia. Working there takes six to nine months to arrange, so I think it is out of our time frame. We will just visit.

Our plan at the moment is to return to the States in time for the kids to start school in Sept. So that is it for now. I will try to post more regularly and keep you all up on our adventure.

Miscellaneous Updates

Well it seems summer is finally upon us here in Christchurch. (At least I hope.) It has been in the low to mid 20's for the past two days - Celcius. That is in the 80's and gorgeous. This is a shot of Sumner from the Captain Thomas Walking track in the hills behind it. Steve was working an evening shift, and we had the chance to hike during the day when the kids were at school. As you can see, it is a little place nestled in the hills right on the beach. Our house is by the water on the right side of the picture. The big square of open field is the horse paddock where, next week I will once again resume my horseback riding pursuits. Below is a picture of Steve's newest pursuit. (That is not our house in the back.) I took this as he was walking home for lunch.

Here is a picture from Ruby's first day of school, with his brother's riding off to school. Aren't they are set in their little school uniforms. It is a brief, wonderous moment in time that all three are in the same school, on the same schedule, walking distance. Ah...in Feburary, Sam will go off to a different school and blow it all out of the water. I will savor the elegance of the school solution till then.

Well that is it for now. We are groovin in the beach scene and trying to find our way here in NZ. Cheers.

The Pictures That Go With the Previous Post

Go read the previous blog entry first for the narrative then come look at the pictures. It will make better sense that way.

Leaving from Kaiteriteri Beach to head out on a boat to Abel Tasman National Park to hike for the day.

On the boat. It looks calm, but this was open ocean and to walk around was to take your life into your hands and get flipped over the side.

Stunning views and colors.

Split Eagle Rock. A million year old piece of granite split by time and weather along a fault line.

Part of the coast of Abel Tasman National Park.

The boat drops us on the shore to hike at Bark Bay.

Just through the trees on the other side of the track is the coastline in all of its glory.

Swinging on vines.

A walk through paradise.

Peeking out into a hidden bay.

On the way to Takaka. A stop at Ngara Caves.

Happy Birthday to you.....Ruby is five in Annie's Nirvana.

Catching Salmon at the Anatoki Salmon Farm and then smoking it and eating it. Mmmm good.

Hand feeding the eels in the Anatoki River that have been fed since 1914. Raw meat on a stick. Mmm... good.

Walking across the swing bridge to Wamuri Falls in another part of Abel Tasman National Park.

Lots of fun.