Day 39 – Feb 13 – Stewart Island, NZ

Unbelievably perfect day.  At the dock, I was very fortunate to have met a New Zealander hiker who told me about a track that was doable for me in the time that I had to spend on Stewart Island.  He regularly comes to this remote destination to hike the trails of the National Park.  He suggested a hike that went through a lush forest along the rocky shore, along the way I would see two historic sites and a lighthouse.  I happily tramped through a fishing village, various bays and inlets and finally took a dirt road back into the center of Oban (the major town).  This gave me four hours of the kind of hiking that I was looking for, no summit was reached but many ups and downs along the way.  Enough for me to get a good pace going as I marveled at the foliage and the views out to sea.

  The Golden Bay Track was graveled most of the way and very well marked.

Ship seen from the track.

The Fantail Bird

Check out the huge seaweed.

I was tempted….

Goat tied up along side the road.

Ackers Stone house.  An early settler, William Acker, an American who was a former whaler and his Maori wife lived her with their 9 children.

Former Island transportation.

Leask Bay

Rakiura, the Maori name for Stewart Island means “shimmering sky”

These Australian fisherman asked me for directions!!!

I had a quick lunch in front of the grocery store and had a good time watching the locals, hikers and tourists.  A town of 390 doesn’t require a lot of services.

Kiwis (the birds) outnumber people on this island.

Eventually I had to start heading back to the ship and leave this pristine place of such natural beauty.  However, I took one more track through the rain forest to hopefully keep it all in my memory.

I was so glad to see at the dock once again the nice man who earlier in the day gave me such a wonderful trail suggestion.  His name is Alastair and he lives in Wellington, NZ.

Here’s the map that I followed with the trail marked from Golden Bay to Ackers Point Lighthouse back to the town of Oban

Day 38 – Feb 12 – Port Chalmers and Dunedin, NZ

Today I had one major disappointment which was quickly followed by a unique traveling experience that once again demonstrates for me a benefit of being a solo traveler - things happen to you that just don’t occur if you are with someone else.  I was planning on doing a hike to Sandfly Bar on the coast which is an hour bus drive from Dunedin.  However, the “Walking Bus” which the Lonely Planet book on NZ mentioned doesn’t operate any longer.  So there I stood at the Visitor’s Center looking “dazed and confused” as the Information Specialist conferred this news to me.  I pulled myself together and joined the street fair market that was going on around the “Octagon.  I grabbed a bit to eat at a Korean food stand.

  I had 5 small Vegetarian Won Tons.

Then an “Angel” in disguise as a middle-aged New Zealand woman sat next to me on the steps.  She was eating ice cream.   Her name was Claire.  After I shared with her my sorry state of affairs, in hopes that she could tell me about a closer hike, she surprisingly offered to drive me around Dunedin and show me the sites of her hometown.  I was shocked but I didn’t hesitate to say a resounding YES.

   Claire works at the University Administrative center which is right behind her in this picture.

What a stroke of luck for the both of us because I think she enjoyed it almost as much as I did.  I learned so much about the area, NZ politics, her family, and the local college. 

A cricket game in progress.

St Claire Beach – 10 minutes from the down center.

Claire then drove me to the “Steepest Street in the World” - Baldwin St.  She told me how once a year the Cadbury Chocolate company which has a factory in town has a contest to raise money for local charities.  They take a hundred thousands of Jaffa’s red candy balls filled with chocolate, stamp each one of them with a number and then roll them down this street.  The holder of the number on the first candy down the street wins.  What a mess that must be but oh so much fun.  A little like our “rubber ducky” race on the Nubanusit River in Peterborough.

 

Kids having fun,what would their mothers think???

Then we saw this adorable Mailman walking his route.

He told me that he was OLD and missing his front teeth (which he showed me).  What a sense of humor this Kiwi’s have…

We drove through the campus of the University of Otago and it looks like students all over the world love their old sofas.  So it’s not just a UNH custom.

I don’t think the tour bus would have come down this street.

One of our last stops was at the summit of Signal Hill to see what Claire believes is the best view of Dunedin.  I couldn’t agree more.

Plaque on the monument at Signal Hill with displays the Scottish Thistle, the Irish Shamrock and the English Rose.  What is there not to like about this city???

View of Port Chalmers where our ship is docked.

We said our good-byes after exchanging email addresses.  She had told me earlier that she sings in a Gospel Chorus.  I had been wondering how I was going to repay her for her wonderful kindness.  She wouldn’t let me take her for lunch or even a cup of tea.  It dawned on me that I could purchase a copy of the CD that her chorus group has made as a way of showing my extreme gratitude.  I don’t think that was an even exchange because besides experiencing a tour unlike any others, I will now have a CD of Gospel Music song by the lyrical voices of New Zealanders.  I am one lucky woman.

This wonderful day was preceded by me once again spending part of my morning on the internet.  But this time the location was special, not a cyber cafe but at the “Seafarers Society Club” in Port Chalmers.  Port Chalmers is a sleepy, sweet town with not much going on.  Some shops and cafes and this “club”

 

They offered free internet usage for crew members but cruise ship passengers were asked to give a donation.  It reminded me of the USO places that I had seen in France many years ago to provide a home away from home for the men and women serving their country.  A big room with a warm easy feeling; shelves of books, computers, a TV, a ping pong table and a pool table.  A lovely Kiwi woman was chatting it up with me and the sailors.  She had just become a grandmother and was beyond herself with joy.  She made me a “tinned” (instant) cup of coffee and offered me a biscuit (cookie).  Everything works out for the best because if I hadn’t spent time there I may have then gotten transportation for the hike.  One missed opportunity for another one, I can see those endangered Yellow-eyed Penguins any ole time.

At the dock, we were sent off by two lovely female bag-pipers.  “Dunedin” is Celtic for Edinburgh. 

Day 37 – Feb 11 – Christchurch, NZ

Yep, we are still in New Zealand.  I believe that this is the first time that any Holland American Ship has had so many ports in NZ, so once again I feel very fortunate.  You get a real feel for the coastline and a brief overview of the cites and towns.  I had been told that Christchurch is the most British-like city outside of England.  I could definitely see the resemblance (the red two-decker buses, the big Episcopal cathedral, the stature of Queen Victoria and the lovely roses).  However, Christchurch has become very popular lately.  It is a bustling city filled with tourists and hikers.  In fact, a highlight for me was going into the Information center and finding all kinds of information on hiking in NZ.  It looks like they have a very active hut system that cover the mountain ranges for both islands.  This provided me with research literature for hopefully my next trip here.

     Sunrise over Christchurch

  Combining the modern with the original peoples.

The busy Cathedral  square.

Garden displays by children.

Rugby dominates this whole country…

and so does environmental and community issues.

I spent most of my time roaming around the Christchurch botanical gardens. 

Hobbit Trees.

It was windy and in the 60’s hence the hat and sweater.

My favorite area was the one devoted to New Zealand plants and trees.

A stout Queen Victoria at Victoria Square.

It was here at Christchurch that I saw the first signs of suburbia as we were driven back to the port.

Day 36 – Feb 10 – Wellington, NZ

Sharon woke up this morning with muscle spasms in her back.  She decided that this might be a good day for her to just rest and to not take the excursion on the “Seal Coast Safari”.  She said that she was fine that she just needed to lay low, so she offered me her seat on the tour that she had booked.  That was a wise decision for her, even though the trip was an outstanding wildlife experience the ride was quite bumpy and I doubt very much if she could have navigated the shell and rock covered beach with her walker.    I thoroughly enjoyed it but more of that later.

After using their computers at the port visitors center, I took the shuttle into the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.  As we have been heading south our temperatures have been dropping, today it was 68 degrees and sunny.  The city has been nicknamed “Windy Welly” because of the omnipresent winds that come wiping through Cook’s Strait.  It didn’t take long for me to realize what a sophisticated city Wellington is:  high end clothing and jewelry stores, fine restaurants and cafes; and also a McDonalds, Subway and a Borders.  I had many choices as to how I was going to spend my time, but I desperately needed a hair cut and to get out into nature.  I asked the girl at the well managed Visitor Center to recommend a good place for an hour hike and an inexpensive beauty parlor.  I took her advice and first went to “Adrian’s” to have my hair taken care of by Tommy Lee a young man from Hong Kong.  He did a great job but was very slow and meticulous.  I felt myself getting impatient because I didn’t want to be spending my time in Wellington sitting in a beautician’s chair.  But it all worked out since I got a good cut and also had a wonderful hike.

      The woods are called the bush here and I can certainly see why.  This trail is also used by mountain bikers.  I haven’t seen any litter on a trail and I usually have the trails to myself.

They are very serious about helping the native plants and animals to survive, so they set traps for the rats and possums.  In all my hiking days I have never seen such signs.  Interesting.

I then was pushed for time and almost missed the bus as I ran to the bus stop.  I had to make it back to the pier to take the safari tour.  They are not kidding when the use safari in the title for the tour.  We were driven in dirty rugged SUV’s with serious tires.  After going through the city, we headed up a mountainous range toward the wind turbines.

Our drivers Billy and Kent were very funny, outgoing and fast talkers, in fact a rollicking good sense of humor seems to be trademark of all of our Kiwi guides.  They told us interesting stories about the early Maori and farmers of this area.  Showed us a deer farm and a couple of ostriches.

  Wild horses

The drive out and back along the coast line to the seal colony was unbelievable.  It was a “hold onto your hat ride ‘m cowboy” type of a ride.   We gasped and were thrilled as we drove over this sandy and rocky track that was often wet in spots.  In fact the morning group couldn’t get through because the tide had risen faster than expected.  This is a private track that is closed off to the public for most of the way.   

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The seals didn’t seem impressed with our efforts to see them.  These were Fur Seals that were hunted almost to extinction, what a lazy life they lead.  I felt very fortunate to be in such a remote location and to be able to get up “close and personal” to this curious animals.

A cup of native herbal tea and muffins were provided by the guides while we took pictures and bonded with nature.

So once again we say good-bye to another NZ port city that was filled with many adventures.

Another interesting couple has joined us at our dinner table, they run a travel agency and are taking 50 people on this cruise.  He used to play major league softball in Christchurch, so I’m sure he will have many stories to tell.

Sharon and I saw a very good variety show this evening with a comedian from the UK.  He made fun of our captain and us, the passengers, of course all in good taste and politically correct.  I was in tears with laughter.