Black sheep continues

Our activities with Black Sheep have included...
Swimming with the seals in Kaikura



Whale watching from the air..saw sperm whale and orcas.



Hiking in the forests.


And on the beaches in Abel Tasman national park-the tidal flats


Sea kayaking in the Tasman Sea.



Picnics on the beach.


And crossing paths with old friends.

Kiwi land

Some observations.....
There are almost no native mammals in NZ (fur seals and 2 species of bats). The introduced furry tailed possums are their biggest worry as there are now 70 million (they say) of them and they eat the kiwi eggs among other things. Kiwis go out of their way to hit them on the road and we have decided that they also like to do the same to the tourists who look the wrong way when crossing the street.


Super highways are two lane roads with (occasional) one lane bridges. Heres one that shares with a railroad.



The road surface is crushed chip mixed with asphalt - very noisy to drive on and difficult to bike. Maximum speed is 100 km/hr (60 mph). Gas is $7.50/gal. There is no flat or straight road in all of NZ (it seems).

California pines are planted here by the acres because they grow twice as fast as they do anywhere else. They are harvested and sold to China as is a great deal of the milk.

There are 44 different kinds of ferns and they grow abundantly.


The silver leaf fern is the symbol for the All Blacks rugby team that won the world cup in 2011 when NZ hosted. They are very proud of this feat.
Grapes grow well here and all wine bottles have screw tops.

There are 44 million sheep and 4 million people.

Meals are usually three courses..entrees, mains and deserts. We have enjoyed the crayfish


And other local fish as well as lamb and steak. Pork belly is always on the menu. The meals are beautifully prepared. Tipping is not expected.

Black Sheep begins

We returned to Christchurch from Arthur's Pass via the afternoon train. It was a hard place to leave. A hiking Backroads group arrived our second day and we reconnected with several from our trip. Christchurch was again rainy when we arrived and we ended up with a late dinner at Sophie's which turned out to be a famous spot for mountains of food.


The next day we wandered into the neighborhood mall for some staples. The earthquake devastation was everywhere. Here is a Chinese Methodist church.



The mall was closing because of a recent inspection. The sign in the picture says everything is free.


The black Sheep tour began the following noon.
We met Moira, a woman with Maori ancestry, who is fluent in English as well as the Maori language. Very knowledgable.



We left Christchurch, the third largest New Zealand city with 330,000 people (Auckland and Wellington are 1& 2), heading back north toward Nelson. A wonderful lunch at a former but remodeled train station;


then continued through beautiful mountainous terrain


to a seaside village of Kaikoura, where we boarded a boat for a swim with the seals! A ride through heavy ocean swells to rock "islands", then into frigid water (wearing wet suits). A single seal swam by, although there were more than 100 on the rocky pinnacles. The ocean swim was an adventure, however - lots of fun but tiring. The huge bonus of our sea adventure was the pod of Orcas (killer whales) that appeared next to our boat and swam alongside us for hundreds of yards, sometimes at a distance of no more than 15 yards! No pictures, as our cameras were on dry land...darn!

This is the view out our motel window


Dinner tonight at the White Morph, named after a large Southern White Petrel. Outstanding crayfish, their term for lobster. Tomorrow, an airplane flight to search for whales, then on to Nelson.

Arthur's Pass

We have arrived at a glorious wilderness lodge in the middle of the NZ alps. Our cottage is nestled in the trees and overlooks spectacular glacier topped mountains. Notice the reflection in the window.


And the view...



We began our journey south, after leaving Backroads, by car. Our first night was in Martinborough. Then on to Wellington where we joined the crowds on the harbor as they celebrated Waitangi Day-the national holiday celebrating the 1840 treaty between the settlers and the Maori chiefs.





Tuesday was a mega travel day. First the ferry across Cook Strait to Picton:


A similar (but smaller) ferry, not ours...


With a very comfortable lounge.


Next we caught the trans alpine train for a 5 hour ride to Christchurch also known as chch. We played a good deal of bridge and enjoyed spectacular scenery.






We took a little spin around chch this morning viewing some of the 2000 buildings destroyed in the two earthquakes and took the early train here to Arthur's Pass with more spectacular views. Please notice the blue sky!










Tonight is a visit to the sheep corral for watching the dogs herd some of the 3500 sheep grazing here, watch sheep shearing (small cut on the poor sheep), dinner with the 7 other guests in residence and a viewing of the southern sky complete with full moon. Tomorrow, hikes!

Weather remains remarkable...

Backroads winds down

More biking and hiking the last three days with Backroads. Thankfully they provide options for long or short hikes and biking.
Here is one day's plan laid out complete with sandals for sand and cans for hills.



Our hotel is a lovely estate in the Hawks bay area of the north island. Nancy and Tom had the ultimate suite.


This is a higher end tourist area set in rolling hills. Biking takes us past vineyards and orchards of apples and peaches, and sheep and cows and sheep and cricket games and sheep. The flowers are ever present too.


Lunch stops are always a treat.


Dinner at the Elephant Hill winery included a wine tasting.








Our last morning was a lovely hike in the redwood forest


And rolling hills.



After farewells


we were taken to the Napier airport to pick up our rental car and head to Martinburough and wine country. Tomorrow we're off to Wellington after we check out a few wineries.

Terraced hillsides

Not sure that this will interest anyone else but it did me. Kathy thinks I'm strange... anyhow, many, many hills have a terraced appearance, which initially intrigued me. This is a photo of such a hill, as well as the ubiquitous water tank:





Turns out that the hills are so steep that the animals stand perpendicular to the slope and graze uphill! And, no, one set of legs is NOT shorter than the opposite side.... Next, a 'pic with animals in place:





It's easy to tell when the cows have been transferred from one field to another, since we ride through their fresh droppings after a recent transfer....:)

Farmer Bill

Location:NZ

Back roads continue

Day 4 began with the usual breaky at 7. Grand arrays of fruits and grains and eggs and bacon. We proceeded to the shore of Lake Rotoiti for our kayak trip across the lake. You will notice from the pictures why they call this the land of the long white cloud (aoteroa).


- after about 5 k we had a soak in the hot springs


Then on to lunch and a trip to the agrodone where we had an extreme tractor ride and watched the sheep shearing


I even gave zorbing a try.





Dinner that evening was in the Marae of our new Maori friends. It was a moving peek into their world. Complete with nose press (hongi).


And even included the men presenting their version of the warrior dance .haka.


Day 5 was a real geothermal adventure. The morning bike ride was about 20 miles through lush green farmland and rolling hills.


Lunch was at the hot springs with time to soak.


That afternoon we had a guided walk through the geothermal pots. This area was created by the volcanic eruption in 181ad that created a giant coldera.


But the day's highlight was Bills bunghi jump into the Waikato river in Taupo. He said the first moment of the 160 foot free fall was terrifying but all in all the 5


that jumped were thrilled. I will try to send a video on my next post.