Monday, January 30, 2023

New Zealand Day 18

Today, we visited Zealandia in Wellington, a 225 hectare (500+ acre) eco-sanctuary, which represents a groundbreaking conservation project that has reintroduced 18 species of native wildlife back into the area, some of which were previously absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years.  Zealandia is the world’s first fully-fenced urban reserve, with an extraordinary 500-year vision to restore a Wellington valley’s forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state. 

But first, we had breakfast at Floriditas, featuring "green eggs and ham."

Our hotel, The Mercure City Center, is the tall, teal and purple building in the middle.  We are on the ninth floor, (each floor has only 3 rooms.

Down at street level, this is a Wellington manhole cover.

After breakfast, we all gathered and walked through the city to a cable car station.  For NZ$ 6 apiece, we rose about just short of 400 feet vertical along a straight path of 2,000 feet.  It is a single car and smoothly glides upward passing a sister car coming down.  It is on a single track except for short middle section where the cars pass each other.  This is the view back down to Wellington from the upper station.  The day started with low clouds and high humidity, but never rained.

A poster of the indigenous birds of NZ that are present within the sanctuary.

Zealandia is actually a continent formed by the up-lifting of land at the junction between two tectonic plates.  Most of the continent is under water - the areas in white are above water and this map clearly shows the two islands of NZ.  The fault line is also clearly delineated.  It is along this line that earthquakes occur regularly.


We were guided by Paul, a volunteer for Zealandia, on a two-hour walk around the lower quadrant of the sanctuary.  Obviously he was our birdlife spotter and very good at identifying bird calls.  The sanctuary has a pair of these takahe that are at least 20 years old.  They produced a number of chicks in their earlier years.

This is a tiny orchid that lives symbiotically with the forest floor fungi.  It is not a great photo since it is so small, and the flowering is past.  It was called a potato orchid, because the Maori considered the below-ground tubers to be edible.

One of many interesting looking fungi growing on a tree.

Bird's nest fungi - it is about the a dime size across, and note the "eggs."

The best shot I got of a Kaka in the trees, a large parrot.

This is Toutouwai, or a North Island Robin

Another Kaka, near a feeding platform.

There are two dams in the narrow valley comprising the sanctuary.  This shows the upper reservoir, which is kept at 1 meter in depth,  as a safety precaution to prevent a catastrophic flood downstream if an earthquake damaged the dam structure.   The former sides of the reservoir were planted with native vegetation which is visible in this picture.  The tall pine trees in the background are Monterey Pines planted when the dams were built and the reservoirs filled over a hundred years ago.  The reservoir system was part of the domestic water supply for Wellington, from 1873 until 1991.

There is a special enclosure for Tuataras, rare, medium-sized reptiles considered a "living fossil." 

Tui, with a small white dewlap on its chin.

Another Tuatara, looks like an iguana.

The valley is named Karori.

After leaving Zealandia, we had snacks at the Cable Car Cafe, then walked downhill through Wellington's Botanical Garden and back to the hotel.

Agaves in bloom.


The rose garden and metal 'trees'

We emerged from the garden in our descent and came out by the "Beehive, "  the ministerial building adjacent to the Parliament Building, which includes the Prime Minister's Office.  Most other MPs have offices in traditional stone buildings, just to the left.  You might be able to see the upper part of the sky bridge that connects the offices with the meeting space within the Beehive.

We ended up walking over 7 miles, and spent a couple of hours in our respective rooms to rest.

For dinner, we went out for Malaysian food but the first restaurant was packed (all 6 tables), so we went further afield, up Cuba Street and found the Satay Palace.  It clearly was a family-run place, not much bigger than the first one, but they shifted tables around to accommodate seven people.  They had an extensive menu and the food was great.  Mom was the wait staff, Grandma and Dad were the chefs, Granddad helped move tables and the like, and 2 sons (maybe 2 and 4 years old) ran around but stayed out of trouble.  After dinner, we strolled down the length of Cuba Street, looking at the old building fronts, and doing a little people watching.  We called it night since we have to get to the train station to catch an early train to Auckland.

New Zealand Day 17

Today was another new transportation day - we are continuing to rack up different modes of transportation.  We call this "multi-modal."  So far on this trip, we have taken city or local buses, light rail, airplanes of varying sizes, taxis, trains, bicycles, shuttle vans, water taxis, intercity bus, ferry and Uber.  Today we added a ferry and Uber to the list.

We were up early for breakfast, which was 'take away' treats from a well-known bakery in Picton.  We enjoyed it in our hotel room with orange juice and coffee made there. 
 

We next walked ourselves and our luggage to the Interislander Ferry pier to check-in.  We were scheduled on a ferry to Wellington, first leaving at 2:30, then 11:00 am and finally at 1:00 pm.  The company kept sending me emails updating the scheduled departure times (possibly due to mechanical issues).  After checking our luggage, Betsy and I took one last walk around the Picton marina, looking at the boats on the water, and sting rays and starfishes in the water.





Our Hotel from the marina - our room was on the top floor, far right side.




After some waiting in the terminal, the ferry arrived, disgorged passengers and vehicles, uploaded different vehicles and finally passengers.  We filed on and secured 7 seats on the upper deck in a a secluded area next to the first class lounge and the "truckers" area.  This was our base for the 3 and 1/2 hour transit of the Cook Strait to Wellington.  The seas were very calm, making for a smooth ride.  We  took turns exploring the various outdoor decks and enjoying the breeze.  Because of the schedule delay, the boat offered everyone a free order of "chips," which we in the US know as French fries.   I got two orders after standing in line for some time, obviously.




Twin light houses at different levels inside Wellington Harbour

An obscenely large ship that was tied up in Wellington  

We arrived in Wellington at 4:30, reclaimed our luggage, and after some investigation as to where we were and where our hotel is, decided to order an Uber.  We had to travel about 2 miles to the hotel along busy freeways into the city center.  It was a wise decision to Uber.  But it required two pickups (i.e., two cars) to cover all 7 of us.

We got checked in, and promptly went out exploring separately, primarily along the waterfront.  We saw some fun public art and a small group of young people practicing busking skills, including tight rope walking (over the water), juggling, and acrobatics.  We then gathered at BrewBar for drinks and ultimately decided on a light dinner there - salads and taco plates.  The walk back to hotel went via an interesting overpass and through some blocks with more neat art.  Wellington has a lot of tall buildings of various architectural styles and the streets are not grid-like.  It is built up between the harbour to the east and some hills to the west and has the feel of being tucked in.  Tomorrow, we will be adding a cable car to the multi-modal list - more on that tomorrow.


Note the ball - it appears to be floating with visible means of support.


An iron tree fern.

??????  "the hand of man?"


Sunday, January 29, 2023

New Zealand Day 15 and 16

Last day on the Abel Tasman Coast Path - today was 10.7 miles and nearly 1,650 verts.  All told, over the four days, we walked (by my count) 35.6 miles with vertical ascents and descents of 3,600 feet.  The group, other than Betsy and I, probably walked a couple of miles further since on the second day we were dropped off a little ways from where they started, a result of the water taxi transfer -- we stayed at a B&B back in Marahua.

Abel Tasman was an early Dutch explorer and is credited with being the first European to discover New Zealand in 1642, sailing from Batavia, which is now Jakarta.  He sailed around Australia, bumping first into Tasmania, and then into New Zealand at what is now called Golden Bay but his landing boats were chased off by the original inhabitants of New Zealand, the Maori, who had lived on New Zealand for a long time.  It is believed that the Maori were protecting a valuable agricultural area.  Tasman named the bay "Murderer's Bay."

A group photo at the Northern Terminus of the Path, where we started the fourth day.  We walked back to where we finished on the third day.  So, while we covered the entire path, we did not travel from the south end to the north end in a continuous line.  The northern part of the park is just as scenic and much less busy, as the water taxis don't come this far.

Sailing in New Zealand requires patience and knowledge of tides.

Great wood carvings

Ditto

A panoramic view of Golden Bay.  I was told that the sand comes from the break up of separation granite which contains iron and thus creates the "golden" color.

Magnificent Tree Ferns

One large fiddlehead and many smaller ones.

Whariwharangi Homestead -- "Wh" is pronounced as "f".  Now a hiking hut for 20 people.


Dramatic coastal trees edging the beach

We walked a side path out to Separation Point, adding about a mile of extra distance to today's length.

Impressive coastal cliffs

Fur seal basking in the sun

The lighthouse at Separation Point - note the white caps on the water, the wind was gusting upwards to 50 to 80 mph (per Jan).

A Pied Shag, showing off a great waddle.

Wind driven waves crashing on the beach at our lunch site.

A little bit of round rock scrambling from the lunch spot (the line of bushes and trees in the background)  to the path (I am standing on the path).

Say goodbye, on the top of the last major ascents.

You may have noticed that I mentioned that the wind was blowing.  It blew strongly from the north northeast, kicking up some sizable swells on the open ocean and pushing up fair-sized waves onto the beaches.  Our original plan after reaching Totaranui was to board a water taxi which would take us back to the main base and starting point for the walk at Marahau.  But,  the wind conditions and the large swells made it too dangerous for the water taxi services to operate.  So, we lingered for awhile after getting the word that our tour supporter was sending a bus to pick us up.  And, that is what happened.  We went from Totaranui to back to the hotel at Pohara to pick up our overnight bags.  We then had a long drive south and up a steep winding road to the east side of the peninsular.   Near Riwaka we transferred to another van along with the original "checked" or held suitcases, for the ride back to Nelson.  Our outfitter, Abel Tasman Guides, had done a terrific job of covering for the suspended water taxis.  We arrived in Nelson by 6:30 pm.  And our hotel awaited us.  We checked in, went for pizza at Stephano's (over the movie theatre), and did laundry (the hotel has washer and dryers in every room - very sweet).

New Zealand Day 16

We were up by 7:00 am, breakfasted in time to walk to the bus station for a 9:45 am intercity bus from Nelson to Picton.  The bus was nearly full and left on time.  It made three stops before reaching Picton, at the main ferry dock.  It stopped at Pelorus Bridge, dropping off 2 backpackers, in the rain.  This was after climbing over a mountain range east of Nelson.  The second stop was the Woodburne Airport, which serves the larger city of Blenheim.  The third stop was in Blenheim at its train station.  Picton was the final stop after another 20 minutes.  It rained for most of the journey.


The ferry leaving with Kathy and Mark on board; view from our hotel room balcony.

Varis found green-lipped mussels for lunch (photo by Dennis)

Our Harbour View room

Our view from the Harbour View room balcony

ditto

On our 2020 NZ tour, we stayed a couple of nights in Blenheim, touring in the area we traveled through.  One notable place that we recognized from the bus today was the town of Havelock, the mussel capital of NZ.  Here is a photo from the previous trip.



After arriving, we walked to the Harbour View Hotel, our accommodations for one night.  We checked and immediately went out in search of Kathy and Mark, the last two folks who are joining on this adventure.  They have a self-contained rental van in which they are touring on their own.  We join them in 4 or 5 days in Takapuna, near Aukland.  They were waiting for a ferry to take them across Cook Strait to Wellington, on the North Island.  We make that crossing tomorrow.


A food cart owner recommended that we go to the Irish Pub for dinner, but it was closed on Sundays.  So, we opted for a second choice - the Escape from Picton, a rather upscale restaurant and a little pretentious.  They had very fine green-lipped mussels but only Ron opted for them.  The menu offered interesting preparations for the fish of the day - cod on top of vegetables, as well as lamb pies and seafood chowder.  A few of us went to the local grocery store for Magnum Bars for dessert and for breakfast supplies.  The town is quiet under thin cloudy skies, and we are enjoying the coolness,  as we gaze out over the marina with its many cruisers.  A half moon is visible through the clouds.

The lamb pie, with mash, peas and mint jelly.

Nighttime view over the marina.

Editors' Note:  Auto correct made some errors in the last blog - we did not see a "pesky week" but rather a "pesky weke," and it was not a wood "penguin" that I photograhed but rather a wood "pigeon."  Most other similar typos, past or future, are blamed on the auto correct feature.  Good day!