Milford Sound

Sunday, February 27, 2011  2:00pm Melbourne, Australia time

Saturday, February 26, 2011 10:00pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time

The events described below took place in New Zealand

After our day of adventure we drove out to Milford Sound which is really a fiord but there is no english word for fiord so they called it a sound.  (A fiord is cut by a glacier, a sound is fed by a river)  The water is calm in the fiord because of the terminal glacial moraine dumped at the mouth which protects it from ocean swells.  We took an overnight cruise in a cabin smaller than a closet.  It had no closet because it was already closet with a bed and bathroom inside.  We had beautiful weather.  I spoke with the skipper who has been on the ship for 11 years, running the exact same route every working day (seven on seven off).  He admitted that it does get boring.  I think his biggest skill is answering the same questions over and over without sounding impatient.  Every guest who came into the bridge asked:  "How long have you been here?" and "Where do you call home?"  He was a good sport.  Maybe he is a robot?  Same food every day, too.  How would you like the same buffet seven days in a row every other week for eleven years?  Maybe the captain brings his own grub.  He was not overweight.

It was slightly breezy.  Please keep your wardrobe comments to yourselves.  I'm wearing a clean shirt and clean underwear.  If you want a fashion show you can come along as my valet.  We're 9 kilos of baggage overweight already ($120 excess baggage fee for this one flight.  That's with our coats on and pockets fully loaded).  We're mailing our cold weather gear to Sydney (last stop) when we reach Melbourne (first Aussie stop).  I paid extra for exit row on this flight so a family of four is in the row behind us where the crew just completed a white bag clean-up.  I thought this was a massage chair and tried to turn it off but it is the lovely, kicking, screaming, puking child behind me.  (Thank G-d I'm not that parent.)  I hope I don't have to wash my hair after the flight.  This is why we took a road trip last summer.

Milford Mariner.  The sails are for display only.  We are on a nature tour but all they talk about is the ship and move us around so we can get photos of her from different angles.

Our spacious cabin.  My back is against the door.  The bathroom (thank G-d we have one "ensuite") is to my left.  The walls are not soundproof so you will know the size of your neighbor's bladder by morning.  We were advised to pack light.

The crew was amazed that the weather was so good.  I think it rains over 220 cm a year (over 7 feet).  That's why they call it a rain forest.  We will not be so lucky in Melbourne.  We have been flying over one solid cloud on the Tasman Sea since we left New Zealand two hours ago.

That's it for now.  This concludes the adventure portion of our journey.  I expect our Australia experience to be much more sedate, but who knows?  I still have two car rentals ahead of me and driving on the left is certainly an adventure.

Regards,

Steve and Laurie

PS:  We are at our hotel in Melbourne, Australia.  We left the sunshine in New Zealand.

PPS:  The drive to Milford sound was spectacular but everything here is spectacular.

Day of adventure

Sent Friday, February 25, 2011, 1:40 am New Zealand time

Thursday, 7:42am Eastern Daylight savings time

Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand.  Yesterday we took our helicopter ride.  If you're looking th get your adrenaline flowing and your heart pumping (or stop it from pumping) this is the place.

Our day began with a Jet boat ride in shotover canyon.  This boat draws very little water and evidently is very maneuverable.  We went very fast past some rocky walls.

If the rocks were fake and boat was on a track it would be scary. But the rocks were real and hard, the river is real and therefore variable and we rely on the skill of our driver. Laurie lost her hat, I think when her hair stood up on end.  The driver had a talent for splashing the rear passenger which was me so even though I was wearing a rain coat my pants ended up wet in a very embarrassing way and I swear it was river water.  We bought the video but can not post it yet so you'll have to wait.

On to the next adventure.

Our tour group went to see the bungy bridge.  That's the way they spell it here.  Any way you spell it it is a giant rubber band.  According tt the pictures in the ad, the jumper is attached at the ankles. Since my left knee is not properly attached I had visions of my shins bouncing back up with the bungy and the rest of me continuing into the river below. Swimming to the boat (assuming I survived) would be challenging without feet. I didn't want to pay for my jump for the next 50 years so I had already decided to pass on this option.  We also heard you can get a detached retina as the pressure builds up in your eye and I was thinking about that fish which our prevoius captain caught and wouldn't want to end up like him (not that I would end up on the captain's plate).  Laurie and I opted for hang gliding instead. It seems much more gentle and a great new experience.

Back at the bungy bridge Laurie was getting coffee so I went to the observation platform.  A young girl was ready to jump and she was clearly harnessed at her waist. Off she went not so gracefully and I knew I could do better than that.  This led me to the information desk. The kind young lady confirmed that the harness bears the weight. Time was short (we were there with our group to observe) but I heard another of our group had signed up so with no time for thinking out came my credit card (no refunds if you get cold feet) and I was committed.  My pants were already wet from the jet boat ride.  The first part of registration is filling out your toe tag. They have a real sense of humor.  Next you empty your pockets so they can weigh you. That's when Laurie came out of the rest room and saw me emptying my pockets onto the counter.  They write your weight on your hand and print out a boarding pass. No liability release.  

I tossed the contents of my pockets, which included a spare camera battery, into Laurie's bag which is reminiscent of a black hole.  I also gave Laurie strict instructions on how to shoot a video of me and to practice on the victims prior to me.  Off I went to the bridge to wait in line for my turn.  That's where I learned that the waist harness is a backup only.  If your feet somehow slipped out of the binding (or your legs disconnected) it would come into play.  No refunds, remember.  The team leader in charge assured me that nobodys legs had come off yet and if I could jump off a four foot platform and then run away (not a bad idea) I should be OK.  I had forgotten about the detached retina thing completely.

As I was next in line I leaned over to see if Laurie was OK and she informed me that my camera battery had just died (we got great videos of the previous jumper) and she could not locate my spare.  Too late now, she turned to her own camera instead.  My ankles were wrapped in a towel and I was tied in what looked like a secure knot.  You are given the option of having your head dipped into the river.  I opted to stay dry.  

When they stood me up and I hopped up to the platform, holding on for dear life, I looked down and thought what the hell am I doing up here?  It is only 43 meters to the water.  This happens to be the mild option offered in Queenstown but that is irrelevant.  It's a long way down.  They tell you to look at their camera for a picture (nice shots) and then he loosened my death grip on the rail and told me to go.  They said if you jump far out it is a more gentle ride.  Normal people instinctively don't jump off bridges and I thought of myself as normal.  They are not allowed to push you.  I wasn't about to turn around and there was nowhere else to go so I took a nice forward leap and off I went into thin air.  

It was a gentle ride and you bounce up and down a few times (hanging by your ankles) then you are met by a boat which they lower you into.  I was surprised to find myself out of breath, and pleased that I could see the boat and finally walk back up to the bridge.

Go here for some entertainment:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7JawroeQvs
The video they shot is pretty good.

"What was I thinking?"

Here goes nothing.  They told me the farther out you jump, the smoother the ride.

Nice view for a short while.

Thank G-d it's over.  Thank G-d my legs are still attached.  I think my arms are stuck though.

On to the next adventure.

Laurie and I had Indian food for lunch back in town then met the van for our Paragliding adventure.  We were signed up to glide, seated, with a pilot behind us.  Laurie and I had separate rides.  The "wing" is much like the kite for kite boarding and I hoped I'd have better luck at this.  Our pilots were French.  They drive you up to the top of a mountain used for skiing.  The wind seemed good but it was cloudy.  Three riders took off before us.  Laurie and I were supposed to take off simultaneously but I looked back and she wasn't in the air.  She had some trouble taking off which is why she is icing her knee tonight.  It is on the opposite leg of her sore ankle.  I think she is feeling somewhat better now.  

The ride is lots of fun.  I just felt like I was sliding out of my seat and didn't want to test the harness so i slid myself back as far as I could.  My pants had dried by now.  it is a fantastic ride and because I tild my pilot I was OK he thought it would be cool to make some tight turns.  I bought that video too even though I was able to use my own camera (replaced the battery).  They have a camera out on a stick which is a nice vantage point.

I don't think Laurie had as much fun as me

Easier that kite boarding.

Adventure #3.  Paragliding. Laurie's knee is almost all better.  I have videos (both mine and purchased) which I will post eventually.  Avoid them if you are prone to motion sickness. The ride does not make you sick but the video will.  Our pilots thought it would be fun to swing us around a bit.

Tomorrow morning we check out of our hotel, put our bags into storage to spend a night on a boat in a fjord.  Then we check back into the same hotel for our last night.  They would have let us keep our stuff in the room but the need the room for Christchurch people.  We're exhausted and I've been up way too late.  We'll have no internet for a few days and I wanted to get these reports off.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie.

Underworld Cave Rafting

Greetings from Fox Glacier, South Island New Zealand

Sent Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 11:00pm New Zealand time
Monday, February 21, 5:00am Eastern Daylight Savings time

The Cathedral steeple shown in my prior email has indeed collapsed. We saw footage on TV. We are very lucky to have gotten out of there. You can find out more on your TV or internet.

Last we heard this is considered an aftershock to the September quake although nobody died in that one and the death toll is 67 so far. The city is devastated. People are not allowed to shower or flush toilets. At least 30 aftershocks to this one, some pretty big.

Our tour goes on.

Yesterday we participated in underworld rafting. We're lucky we are not on the adventure tour because this is more than enough adventure for us. Upon arrival at the underworld office and turning in our liability release, we are "kitted out" and measured for booties and wetsuits. A prior occupant of my wetsuit saw fit to crawl over rocks on his knees and butt. My initial concern over these openings later turned to relief.

All valuables (cameras, etc) are left in our van. Our leader opted out of this adventure and we know why. We haul a bag with our wetsuits, boots, booties, gloves, life vest and helmet (quite a full bag) along with a bag with a change of clothes for later to the underworld van for a ten minute drive closer to the underworld. We then board a home-made train for a 4 km trip even closer to the underworld. We then haul all of this gear through the rain forest to the open air changing area. We are all wearing bathing suits under out clothes. The interesting part comes later.


Home made train

Everyone changes into the underworld gear (so named because it is hot as he--) leaveing our dry clothes in the “bush” and we proceed on a little hike, over a suspension bridge where we are issued our former truck inner tubes.  We then schlep all of this through the forest for about an hour, during which time we climb the advertised 128 steps (actually 132 but they don’t count certain stones as steps).  This is when I appreciate the ventilation left my the former underworld participant.  Fortunately, it was overcast and relatively cool outside.


Prior to the big schlep.  That's why we're still smiling.

Next, we enter the actual cave and get some cave history.  The cave gate is unlocked (access is restricted) and the gate is locked behind us lest anyone has a change of mind.  There are handy lights on our helmets as this is an authentic cave with no electricity or boardwalks.  We are instructed to keep our hands off the stalactites (growing from the roof) or stalagmites (from the floor) as they have a long growing cycle, about one inch per thousand years.

I know this looks like a hokey Catskills resort shot but we are in a genuine cave.

We all shut off our lights to experience total darkness.  We are never usually in total darkness as some light creeps in from under a door, alarm clock, etc.  Total darkness is really dark.

Moving along becomes more difficult (helmet lights are no now) as the ceiling gets lower and lower.  And lower. It is cool inside the cave and there are some neat formations, some of which are 250 thousand years old.  There is a crack (fault) along one ceiling where an earthquake shifted the cave a long time ago.  This brought up the obvious question, even before today’s earthquake, what do we do in the event of an earthquake?

a.  Panic
b.  Don't panic
c.  Get out
d.  Hold your breath
e.  Recite the Sh'ma  (say your prayers)
f.   Call your Spelunker

As it turns out, a cave is a very safe place to be in an earthquake.  They are in a mountain and very stable.  If they were not, they would already have collapsed and would not be a cave.

Finally we reach the river area with the glow worms which we came all this way to see.  We back into our tubes in the cold water (welcome, cold water) everybody shuts their lights off and we follow the constellation of glow worms on the ceiling toward the exit.  If you stop seeing glow worms you have drifted under s rock shelf and you should re-direct yourself.  One in our group got lost and left behind and she was not too happy about that.  The guide did not see her because it was dark in there.  Always count your guests.  

Bring on the glow worms.  Note the ventilated knee.

In all honesty, the glow worms are cool but it would take about 100 of them to equal one lightning bug.  We learned some glow worm facts which are interesting but I will spare you.

The river is low because it will not rain until tomorrow so we can miss our helicopter over the glacier.  That means we get stuck on rocks all the time which is a pain.  It is nice to emerge into daylight and all the neat green vegitation.  We get into and out of our tubes to drift down the river.  We are advised to raise our butts when we go down the rapids to avoid a "river spanking."

They forgot to tell us about the sand flies.

After walking down the river of round rocks because the water is so low (our guide apologizes) we drop off our tubes (woo-hoo) and proceed to the open air changing area to remove our gear and get into dry clothes.  No swimsuits this time.  There are some handy modesty bushes available and all goes well.  It is finally over.  We return by home made train to the van and finally turn in our gear.

Next day, Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Plenty of rain so the river is up but we are on our way to the glaciers.  Our helicopter ride is cancelled but we do get to hike (rain stopped) to the Fox Glacier.  It is cool.


That's the Fox glacier behind us.  Not to worry, it moves pretty slowly.  Although we heard another nearby glacier calved tons of ice as a result of the quake giving some tourists a pretty good show.  


Close up of folds in glacier.  It is very big and I am still very far away.

That's it for now.  We have to be at the helicopter office at 6:40 tomorrow morning as a double bonus for missing the flight today.

Only 5 more nights in New Zealand then we control the schedule.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie

PS:  Go to www.caverafting.com form more cave rafting info.  We are on the February 21, 2011 afternoon group.  It's under the "online photos" section

If you want to reply, please do so by clicking  smillerdad@comcast.net

Christchurch earthquake update

We were in Christchurch three days ago. They had a 6.3 earthquake today around 12:51pm local time, 6:51 Eastern Daylight Savings time, another 5.7 earthquake 5 minutes later. We were having lunch at Franz Josef glacier,of the South Island on the opposite side when it occurred. About 120 miles away. Some of our party felt it. I didn't think I felt it but it felt like my phone was ringing so I think that was it. My phone was off.

From what we hear the cathedral above has been destroyed. I could have the wrong cathedral because we haven't seen pictures. We are now in our hotel in Fox Glacier (we haven't seen any glaciers, the weather is rainy and foggy.) The hospital and airport are closed. The city has run out of ambulances.

We were supposed to take a helicopter ride to the glacier but it was cancelled due to weather, not the earthquake.

Aftershocks are in not in the same area, but around it. Many buildings have collapsed. People are trapped.

More news to follow. It has stopped raining here.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie

Missing report

Tuesday, February 22. 7:30am New Zealand Time
Monday, February 21, 1:25pm Eastern Daylight Savings time

First, I forgot to mention that we took the Tranz Scenic Railway from Darfield to Greymouth through the Southern Alps. Jan from our Farm stay dropped us off at the station and the train passed very close to their home. There are some observation platforms where you can stand outside the train to get great photos. We were lucky to have great weather, although it was chilly at times when the train was going fast and I eventually learned to stand under cover when we were in tunnels to avoid getting dripped on.

This is the platform I stood on. We are stopped at a station or I'd have been on the train.

Busy platform when the scene is right.

There was actually a single track but there were some spots where trains in opposite directions could pass each other.

Here we are crossing a trestle (bridge). The fence is to protect railway workers from getting blown off the tracks in a gale.

Second,

I have to run to the next activity. stay tuned for the cave rafting report yet to be written. We visit a glacier today (by helicopter)but it it pouring. Fun.

We had a chance to video chat with Jamie, Howie, Nikki and non-stop Jake.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie

Greetings form the west coast of New Zealand

Monday, February 21, 2100 10:10am New Zealand time
Sunday 4:10 pm Eastern daylight savings time

Greetings form the west coast of New Zealand. Very rural. Punakaiki, NZ

Previously one of our group questioned whether there was a tsunami warning system in use and the answer was no. Our motel in Kaikoura is directly on the ocean and we are on the ground floor. So when we were awakened by sirens (not the female type) at 6:15 this (yesterday) morning I was not concerned. We determined it was the beautiful sunrise alarm. We threw on some clothes and got some great shots.

Today we drove to Christchurch, the largest city on South Island. Out of one million people, three hundred thousand call Christchurch home. Are there any synagogues in Christchurch? There are at least two, Canterbury Hebrew Congregation, and Chabad of New Zealand. Note that nobody chose the name Chabad of Christchurch. (Note: A massive earthquake would strike Christchurch three days after our visit, reducing the church pictured below to rubble)


We had three hours in Christchurch so we did some shopping, had come snacks and visited the gardens.

Part of our New Zealand experience included a Farm Stay where we stay in the home of a New Zealand family. In our case we stayed with Bill and Jan Stewart. We learned how small the world really is. You may (or may not) recall that one of my apartment mates at University of Florida in Gainesville was Bill Stewart (a different one) and the New Zealand Bill Stewart has a son living in Gainesville, Florida. They also have machatunum in the Philadelphia area, Villanova. Jan, Bills wife, works in a department store two days a week (sound familiar?). Jan had her work cut out for her preparing a dinner for Laurie as well as our one of our fellow travelers who had some food allergies. Jan had to look up “vegan”on google. Dinner was appropriate for all and delicious.

Jan and Bill have two dogs, one of whom was comfortably resting on my lap during the televised rugby match.

Speaking of rugby, it is a confused form of football. For one, these were major matches and the stands were half empty. Tickets are only $30. There are some other interesting differences between the games.

One, there were no commercials broadcast although they have company logos painted onto the field as well as ads flashing across a fence along the side of the field.

Players are not allowed to use any pads or helmets. Some players wore a device on their heads to protect their ears.

A tackle does not stop the play. Players must be tackled by grabbing them around the knees. A tackled player can toss the ball backward to a fellow team member who can then run forward with the ball. Players can transfer the ball to another teammate as long as they throw it backwards.

It seemed that nobody would touch a fumbled ball. I saw one player kick the ball forward then run and catch it himself after it bounced and he continued running forward.

There are a few more things I did not understand. To begin a play, both teams face each other, touch hands on command, then plow into each other and just keep pushing. Meanwhile the ball is not involved and is held by someone outside the pile-up watching. Also, there is what looks like a tip-off in basketball where each team holds the legs of a teammate and pushes him up.

The blue team won. There are team names like the All Blacks and the All Whites but I haven’t seen a team photo to see if they are discriminatory or something else.

They also have boxing day down here which is not what it sounds like to us. Everybody boxes up food for the poor.

Back to our farmstay. On the way to the house, Bill took us by some of his friends farms. The first farmer lives alone because his kids grew up and moved our then his wife moved out. He is raising deer. These deer have respect for the fence. A Pennsylvania deer woundn’t know a fence was there and could hop over it without a thought. The deer moved as a herd. They all came over to greet us, they all ran away, they all came back and so on. Plenty of deer exercise. Bill doesn’t care for the taste of deer. The farmer is breeding them.

The deer had their antlers removed last week. I don't think they liked the process.

Next was the Alpaca farm. Alpaca were more wary of us. There were some young alpacas in a separate fenced in area and they just kept running back and forth. The others just stood away for a few minutes but eventually came over. They were black, white or shades of brown depending upon what color sweater you wanted.

All Laurie saw was a future sweater.

Next we visited a sheering shed and saw where the sheep came in, etc. Professionals do the sheering and can sheer a sheep in three minutes. The wool is put into a compacter and baled once it is off the sheep.

Sheep get shorn once or twice a year depending on the breed. He showed us the farmer’s pride and joy. He has a steam engine tractor which runs on coal. He has to fire it up a few times a year to keep it in shape. It looked like it just left the factory (although somewhat dusty it was probably the least dusty thing there) so it will probably end up in a museum some day. (My guess) He shared with us the farmer’s estate planning philosophy. He had four daughters, and only one grandson burt a few granddaughters. “I’ll live here until I die then let somebody else sort it out.” What a great way to foster hatred among siblings.

Our farm stay couple Bill and Jan are in the middle. Beren & Gill (pronounced Jill) are on the right. They are fellow tourists. The Millers are on the left.


I would love to tell you more but I am out of time. We are ubing through a cave to see glow worms today. Wetsuits are provided (more cold water) but cameras are not allowed. Sorry.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie

Motueka to Kaikoura New Zealand

Sent Saturday, February 19, 2011 12:30 am New Zealand time
Friday 6:30 am Eastern Daylight Savings time

Greetings from Motueka and Kaikoura New Zealand,

Sea kayaking. For two and a half hours. In the cold. Doesn’t sound like our thing. We tried to avoid it but went along with the group. But here was the plan: Wake up early, when it’s still cold. Then go to the beach and out in the ocean which means getting wet no matter what (still cold), paddling for two and a half hours. Lunch on the beach. Then when it finally gets hot out, go for a two hour hike. Sounds backwards to me. Packing list: long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, shorts, jacket, tee shirt, bathing suit, camera, sunglasses, sunscreen. But pack light because you are going to have to carry it all on your hike.

We were picked up at 7:45am and transferred to the Sea Kayak company. After a short briefing and release signing we were transferred to the Abel Tasman water taxi. Life jackets were distributed and the water taxis (boats) are loaded (with passengers) on dry land then backed down a ramp into the water. The water was actually up to the ramp as it was high tide.

We saw some dolphins along the way. Finally we were dropped off at a beach through the surf. Not dry. We were issued dry packs but our change of clothes etc. do not go in the dry pack. Camera, wallet etc does so no photos along the trip. There is a dry locker on the kayak which we were told was dry 99.9% of the time. After questioning why we had to sponge water out of the 99.9% dry locker (I guess that is the .1% water) I was told they got wet on the way over to the beach we were on. Oh well, "no worries" as they say in New Zealand.

We were issued a kind of skirt which you wear under your life vest and water resistant (not water proof) jacket which was very welcome. The skirt keeps splashing water from filling up the compartment you are sitting in. Somewhat. However there is a catch. Sometimes the kayak will flip over in which case the passengers will be under water.

Orientation was straightforward until we got to the test:

What is the first thing you do if the kayak flips over? Choose from the options below.

a. Panic
b. Don't panic
c. Get out
d. Hold your breath
e. Recite the Sh'ma (say your prayers)
f. Call your lawyer

The correct answer is d. I guessed c. However d is a better idea.

What do you do next?

a. Panic
b. Don't panic
c. Get out
d. Hold your breath
e. Recite the Sh'ma (say your prayers)
f. Call your lawyer

The correct answer is b. I guessed c again.

Then?

a. Panic
b. Don't panic
c. Get out
d. Hold your breath
e. Recite the Sh'ma (say your prayers)
f. Call your undertaker

Finally, c is correct. However, that handy skirt is held on by a tight elastic band over a lip on the kayak which may hinder the actual performance of c. Sometimes it just pops off due to water pressure, or more likely due to a. If it does not pop off, you may proceed directly to e.

We never got to the part where they tell you how to get back into the kayak in the middle of the ocean. It was hard for me to get in on the beach. I can tell you that I was not flipping over because I would get all wet which would be unpleasant with all the gear I had on.

Laurie was in the kayak with our kayak guide, Harley, because she had a sore wrist (cause unknown (later determined to be new iPad Zagg keyboard used on lap)) and they thought he would be better paddling for two than me since my previous paddling experience was 5 minutes 20 years ago. I was in a Kayak with Beren, another member of our group because his wife decided to stay on the beach with a book. She is very smart.

We paddled out to an island and saw some fur seals. On our way back to the landing beach, we passed a small penguin lollygagging along the way. He was cute but would have been cuter waddling on land. He was alone. I do not have a picture for reasons stated above. (see note below)
Harley continually told Beren and I to slow down. I was paddling like he-- because my legs were killing me due to my position in the kayak and I couldn't get my legs into a comfortable position. The faster we got to the beach, the faster I would get relief so it was full steam ahead. Harley wanted to keep the group together so he could deal with an emergency but I had my own emergency. We could have towed a skier the way I was paddling. I would have been happy to tow all 5 kayaks if it would have gotten me to the beach sooner. Instead we waited.

Upon reaching the beach I had no problem extricating myself. We were treated to a fair lunch with excellent carrot cake which filled the void.

The two hour hike was a breeze despite the steep hill climbs. I would tell you more but I'm already days behind. It was a beautiful area and a nice path. I took a few pictures. After the hike there was another hike to the "restroom." Nasty but welcome. We had to wait for our water taxi pick up on the low tide beach which gave us a chance to get our dry clothes wet as our taxi driver didn't come in far enough and the tide was coming in.
Tractors waiting to haul more passenger laden water taxis out of the sea. Low tide is really low here. The actual ramp is a few hundred meters away.

There is more to say but not enough time.
In Motueka we stayed at the Nautilus Motel which was much nicer on the inside than it looked from the outside.

The most spectacular tree I have ever seen is in town. It is in front of a church. They probably settled the town just to admire this tree.

All I can say is that it is worth a trip to Motueka just to see this tree. It is an Araucaria bidwillii also known as Bunya Bunya.
It ranks up there with the Great Wall of China. I came back to take more pictures the next day.

Friday we moved on to Kaikoura. Nicer motel with a great beach view.

This morning (Friday) we went on a bird watch cruise. (The other option was swimming with the seals but the seals have fur coats and lots of blubber and we left our furs in Florida). That involved getting wet in cold water with a wetsuit and getting up close to sea creatures with teeth. Don't be fooled thinking staying on a boat will keep you dry however. I will be more careful with my electronic equipment in the future. Luckily my camera is still working.

Birds negotiating access to bag of chum

Anyway they throw a net bag full of chum behind the boat which attracts birds but the real attraction was the fishing boat we stuck close to as they reeled in an endless net full of big fish. The fishermen evidently had no use for the entire fish so they were trmming off guts and heads for the birds. It was actually more interesting watching these fishermen pull fish after fish out of their l-o-n-g net as they reeled it in. It was a deep net and one fish fell out and was retrieved by our captain by hand for his dinner. It was a deep water fish and according to the captain he was "in a bad way." Poor Mr. fish did not de-pressurize properly since he was not planning to surface so his eyes bugged out and his internals embolized (captains description). He was still alive which was bad news for him.
Captain with his dinner.

Welcome aboard.

Hanging around the fishing boat was more fun than poking into our chum bag.

However we came to watch birds which also put on a nice show. One bird had a reddish beak and knees which meant she had a new chick being watched by her mate

We stopped by a seal colony on the way back but I was busy drying my camera so I didn't get good shots there.
Some mini dolphins stopped by but we weren't supposed to stop to see them for some technical ecological reason. They are really tough to photograph.


Next activity was a whale watch flight. Even less security than New Zealand air. No carry ons so weight doesn't matter. They did weigh the passengers though. And it was right after lunch. So cruel.
Whales were hanging around for us.


Anyway it's easy to find the whales by air. Just go toward the whale watch ships. We saw some sperm whales which are very big. The whales have a predictable behavior pattern. They hang around the surface catching their breath. Around one breath for each minute they plan (do whales really plan?) to dive. Then one big breath blow out, the tail goes up and the whale dives straight down into the Hikoringi trench just off the coast of Kaikoura. The trench is about 6 kilometers deep. Mr whale will usually stay down for around 45 minutes feasting on giant squid (not fried but still probably tastes like rubber bands).

We had to be on the lookout for our whale friends as was our pilot but more important was being on the lookout for the whale watch helicopter. With everybody looking at the whale those two pilots better be looking out for each other.

The whales put on a nice show for the boats, plane and helicopter although they are probably wondering what all the hub-bub is at the surface.

We passed a school of Dolphin on the way back. There was plenty of jumping and there was a white dolphin but I don't think I got him in a shot.

Next activity for the day was a one hour hike but I'll spare you the photos because this email has gone on long enough. Nice views along the way and more seal action. No wonder we're exhausted.

Tomorrow night we reside at a farm-stay with a family. Our host is named Bill Stewart and his wife works in a department store two days a week. Should be interesting. Check back for the next installment.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie

Note: Kayak and penguin photos courtesy of Tom Goldsworthy who had a waterproof camera case.