In Dunedin we went to the Orokunui Ecosanctuary - a lovely place with hundreds of native plants and birds. It took us an hour or two to walk through and it was delightful to hear all the amazing bird sounds that I’ve never heard before. We saw lots Kaka (parrots) and others as well as the rare Takehe:
They were thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1948. Still only about 500 in existence.
Just like the Giants Causeway there is an area here made up of those same hexagonal columns called 'The Organ Pipes'. When I saw it on the map I thought it was something we had to see. Unfortunately it involved a climb not unlike the one at Mt Cook - hundreds of stairs about 1 km straight up and when we got there it looked like the 'organ' had suffered a massive earthquake and all the 'pipes' were in a big heap. There was a nice view though.
Onward to Queenstown and a stop at the famous Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge where we could watch this craziness:
This was the spot for the world’s first bungy jumping and the gorge is beautiful. They had a steady flow of participants (at $320 a pop) but it'a definite NO for me.
Queenstown has a place where you can indoor skydive - tunnel flying- and it’s open for viewing. It looks pretty fun and a lot safer than the bunjy!
Ice bergs aren’t the first thing you think of when you think of NZ. But we found some!
Mount Cook is the highest mountain in NZ at just over 12,000 feet and we had a spectacular view driving to it (it’s often shrouded in cloud). The mountain range is the Southern Alps and spans the entire south island. Driving along Lake Pukaki.
After reaching the Mount Cook village we hiked up to get a view of the lake formed by the Tasman Glacier (largest glacier in NZ) and sure enough there were ice bergs floating in the lake. That’s Ross up there on the right
Then another hike up about 300 stairs to view the actual glacier (somewhere behind us) and with very strong wind gusts we didn’t stay long. Ross wasn’t taking any chances with his hat. In his words - better to risk melanoma than lose a Tilley!
There are several glacier fed lakes in this area which are reminiscent of the ones in the Rockies - that beautiful turquoise. Lake Tekapo is one of the largest and covered in lupins this time of year.
Unfortunately the glacier is retreating about 180m a year average and at that rate won’t be around much longer.
It was a beautiful day and we spent another part of it just wandering the downtown area. Although the population is 380,000 it seems like much less. It’s quite spread out and there aren’t any high rise buildings - I think because of earthquakes. There is a park that runs the length of the river through the city and lots of public art, a lot with indigenous themes.
We had to pick our car up from the airport so figured out how to take the bus there for $2. It just so happened that today was the first day they instituted paying by tapping with credit cards and we were the first to do so. Because of that we were ‘interviewed' by a transit employee. After telling her we were from Canada she said she spent 6 months at a small ski hill called Silver Star - yup small world. She’s also a singer in the only professional choir in New Zealand.
After we got the car we headed to Lyttleton, the port, and hopped on a ferry over to Diamond Harbour. There’s a nice park but not much else within walking distance.
As you might expect we managed to find an Irish pub which coincidentally had a session this afternoon. Ross persuaded me to go (nothing to do with the Guinness of course) and they were very welcoming. I knew quite a few of the songs and one guy was even from Cape Breton. Irish music surprisingly has a large presence in NZ.
I’ve always imagined that the islands in the South Pacific were so exotic - beautiful beaches, clear blue water, fruits in abundance, gentle breezes. Well I wasn’t wrong. We came here to celebrate our 50th anniversary with our family. Although we did celebrate in August, farming got in the way of doing anything too adventurous. So with 6 adults and a 2 and 4 year old we set off for Fiji for 6 days.
The house we’ve rented is beyond my expectations. Four bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, large well equipped kitchen, pool, spacious decks etc etc. and the view is incredible.
Our weather mostly has been a mix of sun and cloud, some occasional rain, and humid but with the breezes, tolerable. We did watch a big storm roll by one afternoon.
Just down the hill is a public beach with a jetty that goes out about 100 feet. Good area for snorkelling too - might have to try it.
Sugar cane is still an industry here. There is an old railroad that used to carry the sugar cane from the field to the processing plant and it has been converted to a tourist attraction called Ecotrax. They have built these electric bikes the run along the tracks. We were fortunate to get a spot since we were on a waiting list even though I tried booking in October. There are 2 bikes side by side, which are pedal assist, and we cruised through beautiful forests, over rivers, through villages, to an amazing beach. About half way there it started to rain and we were 'able to experience' a Fiji downpour. They had ponchos for us but we were mostly soaking wet by the time we got to the beach. We stopped for a bit, had fruit, then headed back into another rainstorm. Super fun though.
The only complaint we have is that we were just a couple of weeks too late for mango season. So we’ve had to settle for delicious pineapple, papaya, and those little, sweet bananas.
We feel very fortunate that we’re able to spend this time with our family (and that they want to spend time with us!) and in case you’re wondering, in the highlight reel of my life, this trip will be included.
