Author Archives: billNdiane selph

April 27, 2015 Cottonwood and Sedona, Arizona

We are back from New Zealand and glad to be home!! Except for things like high prices for food and gas and unusual food selections, we really enjoyed our time in New Zealand. It was fun and exciting to visit the North and South Islands and live amidst a different culture. It was challenging to drive on the opposite side of the road and learn new traffic laws and patterns. Some parts were easy such as New Zealand being an English speaking country and their monetary system is based on the New Zealand dollar and therefore similar to ours. Before going to New Zealand Bill and I wondered what would happen if we fell in love with New Zealand and wanted to live there. No worries. There is no place like home. America’s greatness far outweighs the problems and Americans are truly blessed to live in the U.S.A. We can also truthfully say that New Zealand, with all its natural beauty, doesn’t begin to compare with the magnificent beauty we have seen in America, from sea to shining sea.
A couple days before leaving New Zealand I picked up a bad cold which made the long two day travel back home especially miserable. The day we arrived back in Phoenix, Bill came down with my cold so we were both down for the count. After spending the night in a Phoenix hotel we hit the ground running the next day despite us both feeling pretty miserable. We got the RV and car out of storage and after checking them out we were relieved to see they both survived the two month storage and were in fine shape. With the refrigerator empty and the pantry pretty bare we had to make a big grocery run.
We then drove two hours north to Cottonwood, Arizona for an eight night stay. When we turned off the main road to drive the two miles to the campground we occasionally had to stop and wait for cows to cross the road since this is an open range area. This “Home, Home On the Range” feeling added to the western charm of the area. We reached the campground which is a Thousand Trails resort with full hookups and a nice clubhouse, restaurant and pool/sauna.
Cottonwood is a small town with a population around 12,000, about thirty minutes from Sedona and the Red Rock Canyon. We had hoped to spend our time there exploring the area, however our colds seemed to get worse instead of better. Except for some short trips into town to get soup, juice, tissues and stop by McDonald’s to check our email, we stayed inside. We went to the pharmacy to ask for advice on what to take to relieve our colds, and the pharmacist told us this was high allergy season in Arizona. The cottonwood trees are in full bloom causing many people allergy problems. Since the town is called Cottonwood, you can imagine how many cottonwood trees there were! So it appeared we were hit with the double whammy of a cold and allergies.
On our last day in Cottonwood we refused to let our colds stop us and we decided to drive to Sedona and the Red Rock Canyon area on the Red Rock Scenic Byway. The beauty of the Sedona area has long inspired artists, musicians, architects and craftsmen to settle in the area. Sedona is known around the world for its unusually high number of active vortex sites and a place for spiritual and holistic healing. These vortex sites are points at which the earth is believed to emit swirling waves of energy and Sedona is one of the few places in the world that emits all three forms of energy; electrical, magnetic and electromagnetic. These sites are thought to enhance prayer, meditation, and stress reduction.
We saw the Chapel of the Holy Cross, one of the seven man-made wonders of Arizona and recognized as a Sedona vortex site. The chapel is built directly into the buttes of Sedona’s red rocks. It is possible to park at the bottom of the chapel and walk up the road to the interior of the chapel with its magnificent views, but we did not feel up to the walk. We settled with stopping long enough to take some pictures.
We passed colorful rock formations ranging from bright red to a pale sand color which change colors as the rays of sunshine and clouds pass over. The rocks are mainly sedimentary and constantly eroding and changing shape. Some locals have named the rock formations with names such as Chimney Rock, Cathedral Rock, Thunder Mountain, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. With some imagination we could see how the formations received their names. This area has served as a backdrop for many Western movies.
With more than 200 miles of hiking and biking trails and two state parks, there is so much of this beautiful area left to explore so we put it on our list of p!aces we definitely want to return to someday. Between the allergy season in the spring and the extreme heat of summer, next time perhaps we will come back in the fall.

April 16, 2015 Mangonui, New Zealand

1 Reply

We arrived at our final New Zealand destination, the tiny town of Mangonui where we stayed in a two bedroom duplex apartment overlooking Doubtless Bay, part of the South Pacific. It was named by Captain Cook and the name stuck. When he saw the bay in 1769 he said, “Doubtless, a bay”. The beach was steps outside our door and we enjoyed walking on the beach. One morning our neighbor knocked on our door to tell us that some dolphins were in ocean right outside our door. We stood and watched the six or more dolphins frolicking and playing in the water before they disappeared from sight.

On Friday we took an all day bus tour of the peninsula. We drove to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. If you recall a picture in a previous blog of Bill standing at a sign at the southernmost point of New Zealand. This sign at the cape shows the northernmost point of New Zealand. We were able to find a geocache at both places. At the Cape is a pohuteukawa tree believed to be over 800 years old. Maori tradition teaches that this tree is where the spirits of the dead leap into the ocean to depart and head homeland. It is seen as a sacred place and you are not allowed to eat at the Cape.

Another cool place we went is called 90 Mile Beach which is really only 56 miles long. Here people can actually drive on the beach. Due to changing tides and the possibility of your car getting swept away or stuck in the sand, rental car companies forbid you driving a rental car on the beach. This is one reason we decided to go on a bus tour. Leave the driving and potential headaches to someone else! The driver drove the bus through a riverbed stream to reach the beach. He said it was quicksand and if he stopped we would actually sink. He told us stories of buses and cars sinking in the sand and we had seen pictures online of this happening. He stopped at a large sand dune area and passed out boogie boards to anyone interested in climbing to the top and surfing down the sand dune. Some of the younger members of the group took him up on the offer. Others declined once the driver told us the company would not be responsible for any injuries and described some of the injuries others had suffered while surfing down the steep dune.

It was fun to speed down the beach in the bus with the waves lapping against the shoreline.

Before we left our landlord made us an interesting offer. He offered to give us the use of his beautiful house, car, boat and a fuel card with as much fuel as we wanted, in exchange for the use of our RV in the States. It was easy to say no because we have no plans to visit New Zealand again in the near future. If any of our RV friends want to take him up on the offer, we will give you his contact information.

We look forward to heading home on April 19th. We will do one final New Zealand post with our final thoughts when we get home. We have a couple long travel days ahead.

April 15, 2015 Tutukaka, New Zealand

Leave a reply

We left Hamilton and set out for a four hour drive to the final area of New Zealand we had yet to visit, the remote Northland. Rain followed us, heavy at times and intermittent at best. We passed through Auckland, the city where we had landed seven weeks earlier. Traffic in this area was heavy and we slowed to a crawl around the city. We had literally come full circle, starting in Auckland seven weeks ago, traveled south down the east side of the North and South Islands and then north up the west side of the South Island. Now in our final week we would circle north of Auckland on the east side of the island and then west down the other side and back to the Auckland airport.

Other than the rain it was a pleasant drive. The Northland area of the North Island is known as “Wilderness North” with more than 100 bays and beaches as well as forests, sand dunes and serene lakes. It is New Zealand’s narrowest region. It is a long narrow peninsula with no place more than 44 miles from the sea and is more tropical in climate. Northland is where the Maori and Europeans first decided to settle and this area is known as the “Birthplace of the Nation”. Some of the country’s oldest buildings are in this area.

We arrived at our first destination for a two night stay in Tutukaka. Our motel was located on a cliff with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. The Tutukaka coast area is rated as one of the Top Coastal Destinations on the Planet by National Geographic Traveler. We could certainly see why with these views!

After a long day of rain as we drove up to the motel we looked out over the ocean and saw a beautiful rainbow, our first one in New Zealand. We registered, went to our room and unloaded the car and then went for a walk. Another beautiful rainbow awaited us and after admiring the view we stopped along the fence to greet some curious sheep.

We loved our motel apartment, a two story apartment with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the ocean on both levels. The upstairs bedroom had a nice balcony. Our only complaint was the only bathroom was on the first floor. I could really get used to those cliff side ocean views! The weather during our stay here was uncertain with rain one minute and sun the next, but the rainbows made it worth the rain!!

We made a trip to Waipoura Kauri Forest to see the world’s tallest and largest living kauri tree. It is named Take Mahuta meaning Lord of the Forest. It is one of the most ancient trees, having sprung from seed around 2,000 years ago. It is 170 feet tall with a girth of 46 feet. While there we also hiked to see Te Matua Ngahere, meaning Father of the Forest, the second largest known living kauri tree with a height of 95 feet and a girth of 54 feet. (Keep in mind neither of these trees are as old or large as the California Redwood/Sequoias.)

At the parking lot where we hiked to the trees there was a man in a truck with a sign saying for $2.00 he would be sure your car was safe. At first we thought he was just trying to take advantage of tourists, but two official New Zealand government signs said there had been a history of car thefts at this car park. The 2.00 charge was for his time. Considering there were at least a dozen cars in the car park and cars were constantly coming and going, he probably did very well. During high tourist season he probably brought in quite a bit of loot for himself each day. All he appeared to do was sit in his truck and collect $2.00 as each person walked by. Didn’t even have to get out of his car. Over the past two months we have seen quite a few signs in tourist car parks warning of break ins, but this was the first time we paid for a watch dog.

Some observations:

Diesel fuel is cheaper than regular but vans and trucks have to pay an extra tax to the government to keep up the roads.
Their natural gas field is about to run out.
In New Zealand they have the Lions Club, Rotary Club and Salvation Army. We saw Salvation Army in almost every town we went in, even the smaller ones.

April 11, 2015 Hamilton, New Zealand

1 Reply

We enjoyed our stay in New Plymouth regardless of the rainy weather. Our last night there Bill was able to connect with some Kiwi ham radio operators on his hand held ham radio he brought with him. He really enjoyed chatting with them.

The next morning the rain continued and we drove to Otorohanga for an overnight stay on the way to Hamilton. We don’t usually stay at bed and breakfast lodgings, but this place had excellent reviews and the choices in tiny remote Otorohanga were very limited. This bed and breakfast was located in the countryside and the proprietors had chickens, horses, a donkey, dog and cat. We had a nice room with an outside entrance and private bath. Breakfast was included in the price of the room so the next morning Bill enjoyed Eggs Benedict made with fresh eggs and I chose croissants with homemade jam. It was nice that the proprietor was a chef by trade.

The next morning we headed to Hamilton for a three night stay. Not far from the bed and breakfast lodging we came upon a field of several ostriches. One was particularly friendly and quickly came over to see us. The weather was horrible for most of the drive to Hamilton with heavy downpours and wind. We planned on visiting a Natural Bridge and a waterfall, both of which required a small hike. We refused to let the weather defer our plans so we put on rain gear and trudged on. We knew we couldn’t say “we would do it tomorrow” or “next time”. It was now or never and we refused to let the rain stop us.

Our first stop was Mangapohue Natural Bridge. A walk over several suspended catwalks and a swinging bridge led us to a beautiful limestone double archway. Due to the lack of sunlight on this rainy day and the cave like interior, it was hard to get pictures to do the natural bridge justice. After a short drive further down the road we came to the trail leading to Marakopa Falls, advertised as one of the most picturesque falls on the north island. This one hundred foot waterfall was spectacular, made even more so by the heavy rains.

We were traveling on back roads and passing through small towns. Our bed and breakfast proprietor did suggest we stop at one tiny restaurant that had great pies. In New Zealand, pie always means a meat pie, similar to a chicken or turkey pot pie in the States. There pies are usually beef, steak, lamb or kidney. They never have fruit pies and you never see a slice of fruit pie on the menu in restaurants. I find this so strange since they have so many orchards and farms here. We stopped at the pie shop and Bill chose a steak and cheese pie which he said was “okay”. I think he expected more since the motel proprietor said they always stop there and buy pies when they pass through the area and commented on how good they were.

We arrived in Hamilton still wet from our hiking excursions and glad to reach the hotel since the weather continued to be wet and miserable. We have been really really lucky with the weather so far so we can’t really complain. Hamilton is a large college city with a vibrant downtown area with many restaurants to chose from. Like most downtown areas with an abundance of restaurants within a small area, we had to circle around for awhile looking for a place to park.

Besides having several grocery stores they also had a Dunkin Donuts, our first since arriving in New Zealand. We were excited and went there for breakfast one morning. It was a bitter disappointment. They don’t use Dunkin Donuts coffee blend which was a huge disappointment to Bill. We buy Dunkin Donuts to fix at home in the States and he was looking forward to some coffee that tasted like home. Instead he got the same stuff he gets everywhere. Second disappointment was the price. $12.50 for a half dozen. Third disappointment was they were stale. Bill mentioned this to the clerk and she said they are made at the Dunkin Donuts in Auckland an hour away and trucked in to Hamilton. On top of that they freeze them. So after almost two months we are still waiting for a good donut and a decent cup of coffee.

Our main reason for coming to Hamilton was to take the tour of Hobbiton in the nearby town of Matamata. We drove on Saturday to Matamata for our 12:30 tour. The Hobbiton bus took us thirty minutes into the countryside to the Alexanders’ spectacular 1,250 acre sheep and beef farm. This farm was selected by Sir Peter Jackson as the setting for many scenes for the “Lord of the Rings” movies. The bus took us on a narrow winding road constructed by the New Zealand army so that the set could be constructed. Sir Peter Jackson sent the Alexander family on an all expense paid vacation for three months and took up residence in their house where Jackson and his team went over daily film takes and conducted business. Sir Jackson was a stickler for detail. He didn’t like the sheep on the farm and brought in black face sheep from England. He had members of the crew walk each day on the path to and from the various clotheslines so the path would look worn down. He had a huge artificial tree built with over 250,000 fake leaves. When he didn’t like the color green of the leaves he had each leaf repainted to the shade of green he wanted.

After the filming ended the sets were all taken down. Then in 2009 the sets were all permanently rebuilt for the filming of ” The Hobbit Trilogy”. Today daily tours are given of the movie set. We had a great tour and at the end of the tour we stopped by the Green Dragon for a complimentary alcoholic beer or non alcoholic ginger beer. We were so fortunate that the rain had stopped overnight and it was a beautiful sunny day.

On our last day in Hamilton we found a geocache, walking on a path covered with fallen leaves with leaves softly falling around us in the breeze. Autumn in New Zealand and springtime awaiting us back home! One week to go!

April 8, 2015 Wellington, Wanganui, New Plymouth, New Zealand

Leave a reply

We left the South Island on Easter Sunday and traveled on the car ferry back to the North Island where we will stay for two weeks before flying home. We have already toured the east coast of the North Island, driven east to west around the South Island, and now we will drive around the central and west side of the North Island to complete our journey.

The ferry ride was very unpleasant for me. It started off fine but once we left the channel and got out into the ocean, the choppiness of the water and rocking of the boat made me feel very nauseous, even with two Dramamine in my system. I spent the last two thirds of the trip sitting outside on one of the upper decks freezing with the cold and wind, but the cold air helped to fight the nausea. How I envy people who read in moving vehicles and sit in the back seat of a car without getting sick!!

We arrived in Wellington late in the day and found an Italian restaurant within walking distance of our motel that was open on Easter. The next day before heading out of town we drove around the Wellington Harbor for a last look at this charming capital city. We were once again captivated by all the houses crowded on the hillsides and surprised to find surfers in the water around the harbor area.

We left Wellington and headed along the coast to Wanganui for a one night stay. The next morning we drove to New Plymouth. We took a slight detour to visit Egmont National Park where we took a short hike to Dawson Falls. Since it was a cloudy day threatening showers, we did not have a clear view of Mt Taranaki in the distance. Mt Taranaki is the North Island’s most majestic peak. It is not often you see a conical volcano rising abruptly from sea level surrounded by beautiful beaches!

We spent two nights in New Plymouth. We had planned to spend some time walking the beach there but our only full day in the town brought heavy rains. The rain gave us a good excuse to have a nice “at home” day to relax and watch some tv, work on the blog and rest.

Some observations:

New Zealand is an agricultural and dairy farming country. So why are milk, fruits and vegetables so expensive?

March 31, 2015 Franz Josef Glacier and Greymouth, New Zealand

Leave a reply

We left Queenstown and drove on the Haast Highway over Haast Pass, stopping along the way to grab a shot of the Depot Creek Waterfall. Since it was a long drive to our next destination, we stayed one night in the one horse town of Haast in the middle of nowhere, and here is the horse to prove it. Haast had just one tiny antique looking gas pump, a couple motels and two restaurants with very limited menus. One restaurant was the hotel restaurant. After checking the menu we decided to drive to the other one down the street. This restaurant had antlers hanging from every available space in the rafters throughout the restaurant. Must have been over a hundred. Eating while looking at partial deer carcasses and a limited menu convinced us to go back and eat at the hotel restaurant. The sign on the restaurant door said “Beyond Your Wildest Expectations”. We laughed. Yep, pretty much described the town! We did drive down to the beach for a look at the Tasman Sea before heading inland. The Tasman Sea is a small sea of the South Pacific between Australia and New Zealand. Since it was supposed to be chilly that night and I am very cold natured, we tried turning on the heat in the room with no response. We asked at the front desk about the heat and they said it was controlled for the whole building by one control and they hadn’t turned it on for the winter yet. When we asked about the electric blankets they advertised having, they said they never had electric blankets. They did give us a small radiator heater to take back to the room. Kind of like a night in the Twilight Zone.

The next morning we continued on to “Glacier Country” and entered Westland Tai Poutini National Park for a three night stay at a town called Franz Josef Glacier. We came here to see the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. We drove first along the seashore and then headed inland up the mountain pass through a rain forest setting with ferns and heavy tree cover. The forests and woods on New Zealand are very thick. The tiny town of Franz Josef reminded me of a ski village since it is tucked in the rainforest foothills of the southern Alps. The town had one gas station, one grocery store and several restaurants. No fast food here, not even a Subway. The gas here was about fifteen cents more per liter than we have paid anywhere else.

Our motel here was made up of ten little cottages and we enjoyed our cottage in the rain forest with a view of the snow capped mountains from our windows.

There are around 140 glaciers that flow from the Southern Alps, however only Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers penetrate as far as the lush lower rainforests only 1,000 feet above sea level.

If you asked any ranger in a national park in the United States or New Zealand they would tell you that due to global warming, the glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate. They say they are getting too much rain instead of snow in the winter and they will show you pictures of previous winters to prove it. Yet there areas of the U.S. for example that are receiving record breaking cold temperatures and snowfall. Global warming or not? The whole debate gives us a headache. We can only tell you what we see with our own eyes and let you decide.

As you look at the pictures of our hikes to see the glaciers, keep in mind we are hiking on land once covered by glaciers. We saw signs showing us where glaciers once were not many years ago. We passed several areas that used to be viewpoints but as the glaciers retreat, the hike is lengthened and the viewpoints moved in order to continue to see the glaciers.

We drove to a viewpoint where we could see Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and the Fox Glacier. We then drove to the beginning of the Fox Glacier Valley Track to see Fox Glacier up close (meaning 200 meters away). Fox Glacier is fed by four alpine glaciers and it falls 8,530 feet over eight miles. The hike was longer and steeper than we expected, with rock hopping over four streams and a very steep climb at the end on a rocky path. Neither Fox or Franz Josef Glaciers are pristine white. In fact they look quite dirty from the dirt and rocks that fall on them.

The next day we did the Franz Josef Glacier Valley Track, a slightly longer hike but less steep and without any rock hopping over streams. What made this hike special were the beautiful waterfalls we passed along the way to the glacier viewing area.

Our time here went by very quickly. On our last day the owner of the motel brought us a basket of scones, still warm from the oven with butter, strawberry and raspberry jam. They were delicious and we wolfed them down.

Leaving Franz Josef, we drove to Greymouth, stopping at Hokitika Gorge for a quick hike to the swinging bridge and a couple pictures. We stayed overnight at a lovely motel owned by a couple originally from the Netherlands. We arrived in Greymouth on Good Friday and discovered almost everything closed for the holiday. The two grocery stores in town, the shops and restaurants all closed. It reminded me of what Christmas was like fifty years ago. We found a McDonalds open and had dinner there. While sitting there eating, a jeep pulled up giving us a full view of a dead deer draped over the spare tire on the back. Didn’t bother Bill but a real appetite suppressant for me!

The next day we drove to Westport. There are approximately 26 towns in the world called Westport, with many of them being in North America. This is the only Westport in the southern hemisphere.

On the way to Westport we stopped by the Punakaiki coastal rocks which resemble huge stacks of pancakes and therefore are called Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. These limestone rocks were formed thirty million years ago and have been sculpted by mildly acidic rain, wind and sea water. The pancake effect was caused by immense pressure on alternating soft and hard marine life and plant sediment. By the time we arrived at Pancakes Rocks there was a steady rain and gale force winds so strong it was impossible to keep an umbrella from turning inside out. I could have possibly flown like Mary Poppins if I had tried to open one. We put on raincoats and ponchos and refused to let the storm stop us. We followed a nice paved trail that wound along the rocks with informational signs. One sign said the rocks are gradually being eroded away by sea and wind. By the time we returned to the car we were thoroughly soaked from the thighs down. Unfortunately we still had an hour drive to Westport in wet clothes on a chilly day. Amazingly even under these weather conditions Bill was able to get some great pictures of the rocks.

This overnight stay in Westport ended our visit to the South Island. We will take the car ferry back to Wellington Easter Day. We will spend an additional two weeks on the North Island before flying home.

Some observations:

Almost all the motels we have stayed at are owner operated. Along with fresh milk they offer laundry facilities. Sometimes the laundry facilities are pricey, sometimes cheap and occasionally the washers are free and you can hang the laundry on their line or pay to use the dryer.
Internet has been much better than we expected and has been free at the motels. Often it is unlimited and some limit the amount of usage. It has enabled us to keep up with the blog and publish posts more often than we expected.
We have noticed a lot of backpacker hitchhikers on the South Island. Someone told us many of the restaurants employ backpackers on a short term basis while they are passing through the area. They will work long enough to earn money for food and supplies before moving on. All the servers in our restaurants have been young people.
Most restaurants add a 15% to 20% surcharge to your bill on public holidays, including Good Friday, Easter, and the Monday after Easter.
While in Franz Josef we met several people from Florida on our glacier hikes including one who lives in Miami as well as several University of Florida graduates. We also met people from Idaho, England and Australia. There are a lot of Australians here on holiday.

March 28, 2015 Queenstown New Zealand

1 Reply

Queenstown is a hilly picturesque town along the shores of pristine Lake Wakatipu. As if that wasn’t enough, it is surrounded by majestic mountains which are reflected in the water on a sunny day. Like many other New Zealand towns, homes dot the hillsides. Queenstown is known as the “Adventure Capital of the World” since there are so many outdoor activities available to choose from. It has a reputation for being the premier four season destination in the Southern Hemisphere and the world’s southern most wine producing region. Queenstown is the birthplace of jet boating and bungy jumping.

We were not feeling particularly adventurous since it was drizzling and chilly when we got there. It cleared up the next day but continued to be very chilly. Autumn comes early to the South Island.

While in Queenstown we drove one day to Glenorchy along the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu with breathtaking views. The Queenstown area, especial Glenorchy, has been the backdrop for movies such as Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit trilogy, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, 10,000 B.C., Wolverine, and Prince Caspian.

We also drove to the Kawarau Bridge Bungy Center. In 1988 AJ Hackett and Henry Van Asch started the world’s first bungy jump facility in New Zealand. This helped Queenstown become known as the adventure capital of the world. We were able to stand on a large viewing platform and watch several people make the big leap.

Queenstown has plenty of tourists and traffic compared to other South Island towns. They have a town center area with tons of shops and restaurants and it is a challenge to find parking during the day since we did not see any parking garages or public lots. You can ride a gondola and there are vendors everywhere trying to sell you any kind of adventure you can imagine. It was common to see street performers and one evening we saw a young man in nothing but a thong singing very badly while being encouraged by a group of friends. Our last night in Queenstown we went to a pizzeria for dinner. We wondered why the crowds along the streets and in our restaurant were so rowdy. We soon realized that New Zealand was playing Australia in the 2015 World Cup Cricket championship game. We watched some of the game from our table. Cricket is a strange game and the only way we knew what was happening was if the crowd cheered or groaned. New Zealand lost, by the way, by seven wickets whatever that means.

Some observations:

New Zealand has its own version of American Idol (called X Factor), Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor. We also can watch the United States American Idol here on a delayed broadcast of several hours.
Kiwis love antique cars. Wherever we are it is not unusual to see people driving around in them. They love to take them out on the open road on a regular basis.
Even Bill is really tired of New Zealand food, especially New Zealand restaurant food. We are both longing for American food right now! Bill had goat for dinner tonight. Sigh….
New Zealand has a ton of lakes, waterfalls and one lane bridges.

March 25, 2015 Te Anau & Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Leave a reply

Yes, it was absolutely worth the wait in the cold rain to see the penguins, but we left them behind and headed to Te Anau. This small town is beautifully situated beside Lake Te Anau, which at 110 feet deep and 40 miles long is the largest lake in the South Island and the second largest lake in New Zealand. Most people come to Te Anau due to its proximity to Fiordland National Park.

Fiordland National Park , New Zealand’s largest, is one of the last true areas of remote wilderness in the world. It lies in the southwest corner of the South Island and is made up of three million acres. Fiordland National Park is an amazing combination of valleys, glacial lakes and magnificent fiords, having been carved by glacial action over thousands of years.

On our first day we drove from Te Anau to Milford Sound. Rudyard Kipling visited Milford Sound in the early 1900’s and called it the Eighth Wonder of the World. This Sound, located in Fiordland National Park, the northernmost fiord in the park, is a 10 mile long fiord over 1,312 feet deep. The area receives over 22 feet of rain a year (over an inch a day average). In the distance you can see mile high Mitre Peak.

It was such a pleasant beautiful drive and we stopped at various viewpoints along the way. Our favorite was Lake Gunn with its gorgeous reflection of lake, mountain and sky.

We had to go through Homer Tunnel, a one lane tunnel built in 1954 that is a little under a mile long. We waited in line with all the tour buses and cars for the traffic light to turn green signaling we could enter the tunnel. It felt more like driving through a cave than a tunnel with dim lighting. So amazing how they blasted such a long tunnel through the side of the mountain. This ten percent inclined tunnel was carved from both ends simultaneously, and they met perfectly.

In Milford Sound we had our first encounter with the dreaded sandfly. We had heard they are very bad on the west coast of the South Island and fortunately brought bug spray with us. Within seconds of stepping out of the car I had five attacking one leg. They have an intense bite and leave itching skin. The bug spray has works pretty well so far.

The next day we had booked in advance a day cruise into Doubtful Sound. We were supposed to go on Thursday, but due to a doubtful weather forecast (pun intended) we were able to reschedule for Friday. Doubtful Sound, also in Fiordland National Park, is three times longer and ten times larger than Milford Sound. It is the second largest fiord of the fourteen fiords in the park.

The area was named Doubtful Harbor in 1770 by Captain James Cook because he thought it was doubtful there was sufficient wind to maneuver his vessel into the narrow reaches of the water. Early explorers wrongly called them sounds instead of fiords. Sounds are caused by river erosion whereas fiords are carved and gouged out by glaciers. This probably happened because most of the explorers were English and had never seen fiords before.

Our cruise started out early in the day when the tour company picked us up at our motel and bused us over to Manapouri where we boarded a boat for an hour ride across Lake Manapouri. It was a beautiful ride with gorgeous views of the lake and mountains.

Once we reached the other side of the lake we boarded a bus which took us through the rain forest over Wilmot Pass. The only way to reach Doubtful Sound is to cross Lake Manapouri and cross Wimot Pass. This steep, winding fourteen mile road is New Zealand’s most expensive road and one of its most remote. It was built in the 1960’s to provide access for heavy equipment during construction of a power station. Floods, snows, mud and landslides lengthened the project from 12 months to 2 years. We had a great bus driver who did a wonderful job maneuvering the mountainous road while keeping us entertained with information about the area.

The bus dropped us off at the dock at Deep Cove where we boarded a catamaran for a three hour cruise around Doubtful Sound. At one point we briefly entered the Tasman Sea. It was pretty chilly but we spent a lot of time on the deck enjoying the views. We saw a pod of bottlenose dolphins. There is a pod of about sixty that hang out in the Sound and seldom leave. These dolphins are among the southernmost in the world. They enjoyed playing around the boat, occasionally leaping in the air. They were quick and hard to capture on camera. We also saw one yellow eyed penguin swimming in the water. Now we know what those penguins do all day while we are onshore waiting for their return.

The catamaran then dropped us back to Deep Cove where we once again rode the bus over Wimot Pass to the boat which took us back across Lake Mansour then to the last bus and back to the motel. A marvelous ten hour day. The tour company, Real Journeys, did an exceptional job and all their employees on the buses and boats were very friendly and helpful They all truly seemed to enjoy their jobs. And since there is no tipping in New Zealand no one was waiting during any part of the trip with their hand out expecting a tip.

We enjoyed meeting and talking with couples from Australia and France on the trip.

Te Anau, Fiordland National Park and all the area around it is truly a beautiful beautiful place!

Some observations:

Diesel fuel is cheaper than gasoline at the fuel pumps.
The South Island is more mountainous than the North Island and has fewer people and more sheep, cattle and deer.
The South Island is colder, rainier and has many more bugs, especially sand flies.
The South Island has more tourists and Americans than we encountered on the North Island.
The South Island has more souvenir shops but less fast food restaurants. Many smaller towns have a Subway restaurant but no other fast food.

March 5, 2015 Turangi, New Zealand

1 Reply

Our next stop was Turangi, about a 45 minute drive from Taupo. We were glad we had timed our visit to Taupo just right since they were having an Ironman Marathon competition there that weekend and hordes of people were beginning to descend on the town, traffic was picking up and the hotels were all displaying No Vacancy signs. I had practiced a little driving while in Taupo and felt comfortable driving to Turangi. Along with driving on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the right, the turn signals are on the right side of the steering wheel with up meaning left turn and down a right turn. The windshield wiper control is on the left side of the steering wheel. The lights on the right. My biggest fear are the round a bouts where you drive on the wrong side of the road going in a clockwise direction in a circle. Back in the States we drive in a counterclockwise direction.

We arrived in Turangi, a sleepy little town known as the “Trout Fishing Capital of the World”. It is known for three things: trout fishi white water rafting, and its close proximity to Tongariro National Park. Can you guess which of those three brought us to Turangi?

We checked into our home for the next two nights which was really a fishing lodge with several cottages spread around the property. We are no longer surprised to receive our complimentary bottle of milk (we always have a choice of whole or skinny). We were pleased with our cottage with a living room area, kitchen, bathroom and separate bedroom.

If you guessed Tongariro National Park as our reason for coming to Turangi, you are correct! Tongariro National Park is the first national park in New Zealand and the fourth oldest in the world. It is a Dual World Heritage Area because of its cultural and physical attributes. It is made up of three active volcanoes, Ruapehu, Tongariro, and Ngauruhoe. It is a 80,000 hecacre park with lava flows, craters, hot springs, forests, and ski areas in the winter. Much of the Lord of the Rings movie was filmed in this park. Mt Ruapehu is New Zealand’s largest volcano with its peak rising to 2797 meters and the largest ski area in New Zealand.

We knew that bad weather was forecast for the next day, so after settling into the cottage we drove part of the way to the park in hopes of getting some pictures of the mountains before they became fogged in the next day. We stopped at an overlook on the way back to grab a geocache and spent a few minutes chatting with some French tourists. We are surprised we have still not met any Americans.

By now we were getting hungry and since the restaurant choices were very limited in Turangi, we decided to stop by the grocery store. There was only one grocery store in town, a chain called New World. They proudly advertise themselves as being 100% New Zealand owned. We prefer Pak n Save since the prices tend to be a little cheaper, but the New World stores are always clean and the people very friendly.

We decided to get some bread, peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches since eating lunch out was getting old and we needed to pack a lunch to take to the park the next day. We noticed you can buy sliced bread for sandwiches or thicker bread for toast. One of the first things we did after arriving in New Zealand was purchasing a large cooler and that has really come in handy as we travel from place to place.

The frozen dinner selections in New Zealand are extremely limited, no matter which store you go to. We settled on a frozen pizza to cook back at the cottage. I needed something to cook the pizza on so it wouldn’t make a mess in the oven, so I walked up to the office and asked the owner for a cookie sheet and a pot holder. He looked at me like I had three heads since he had no idea what I was talking about. After explaining why I needed them he went into his house adjacent to the office and after consulting with his wife he came out with something resembRings (LOTR) a cookie sheet and a dish towel. Guess they don’t use pot holders/oven mitts in New Zealand.

The next day we awoke to clouds and showers and drove to Tongariro National Park. New Zealand does not charge a fee to enter their National Parks. In return you are not furnished with free maps and information on the park like we receive in the States. We passed the beautiful Tongariro Chalet on our way to the Visitors Center. The rangers at the Visitors Center were warning hikers about the forecast calling for heavy rain, cold temperatures and gale force winds, especially on the mountain trails which are famous for their hiking, one being the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. They had stopped running the shuttle that takes hikers to the beginning of the trails in an effort to discourage hiking that day. There were still some die hard hikers who failed to heed the warning and headed out. We contented ourselves with seeing two great movies about the park which explained how in 1887 Chief Horonwku presented the land to the Crown for the purpose of a national park to ensure the land’s everlasting preservation. This area of New Zealand was one of the last to be settled. Development was slow until the railroad reached there in 1909 and the first visitors began to arrive. In 1936 WWII servicemen settled in the remote valleys under a government program to transform the forest into farmland. Though initially prosperous, the farmers eventually gave up due to difficult access for trading and the Great Depression. A bridge called “The Bridge to Nowhere” is a memorial to their dreams. Development began to mushroom in the 1950’s and 1960’s with the building of roads.

After finishing at the Visitors Center we decided to drive the loop road around the park and do some geocaching. We had hoped to take some short hikes, but by now the rain had picked up and the wind was really whipping. With temperatures around 50, not factoring in the wind chill, any hikes were unpleasant. The rain did let up long enough for us to take a short hike to Tawhai Falls and we did stop a few times to grab some geocaches close to the car. With the rain and fog we didn’t have a chance to see much except for field after field of sheep. A lot of sheep! By the time we headed home the rain had turned into a steady downpour. We stopped for a quick dinner at a pub and were glad to get home, somewhat wet and cold.

Some more thoughts on food:

If you want a burger most like back home go to a fast food restaurant. All larger towns have a McDonald’s or a Burger King or both. Wendy’s is most like back home but they are harder to find. If you order a burger in a sit down restaurant it is standard for it to come with an egg, beets, carrots, lettuce, tomato and onion all piled on top. If you ask, they will leave off the egg and beets, but we went in one restaurant where the snarly waitress told Bill that is the only way they fix it and told him to order something else. That kind of rudeness is rare here. Most people are eager to please and helpful.

I am supplementing my diet with shortbread cookies, but I am getting tired of them. They have never heard of White Zinfandel wine here so I have adjusted to drinking Rose and it isn’t bad. Wouldn’t you know my one positive adjustment was wine? And I don’t drink that much.

Bill’s biggest adjustment was the coffee. Both the price and the weak taste. He finally decided to buy some instant coffee at the grocery store and uses the pot furnished in all the hotels to heat water. American beer is also ridiculously expensive here or not offered.

Since we have no way to keep ice cream in the tiny freezers, we have broken our habit of eating ice cream at night. Just as well since the ice cream here isn’t as good as back home. There are no donut shops in New Zealand. They have bakeries but things taste different. I think it is the flour. French fries are always good and mashed potatoes are always fresh, never instant.

Some observations:

The government wants to make the country completely smoke free which makes the tourism industry very nervous because they feel it will keep tourists from coming.

Gasoline is averaging about $1.92 a liter. Half of the money goes back to the government. We got a free card from BP which gives us a few cents off at the pump and gives us more money off as we add up points from purchasing fuel. There is no pre-pay at the pump. You pump your gas first and then go inside to pay.

No 7/11 convenience stores here. They have something similar throughout the country called “The Dairy”.

February 2, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada Part 2

Leave a reply

Another day we headed down to the strip where we walked around beautiful Caesar’s Palace with its statues, fountains, a colorful dragon in the Forum Shops area, and the first curved escalator we had ever seen. With all the twists and turns throughout the enormous Palace, it was very easy to get lost.

We attended a Rod Stewart concert at the Coliseum in Caesar’s Palace. He put on a great show and at one point walked into the audience very close to where we were sitting. The show ended with colorful balloons falling from the ceiling as he performed his closing number. It is hard to believe he turned 70 last month!

After the concert we walked over to the Bellagio to see their nightly water and light show. The Las Vegas strip is an amazing place to see at night with all the lights!

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Author Archives: billNdiane selph

April 27, 2015 Cottonwood and Sedona, Arizona

April 16, 2015 Mangonui, New Zealand

April 15, 2015 Tutukaka, New Zealand

April 11, 2015 Hamilton, New Zealand

April 8, 2015 Wellington, Wanganui, New Plymouth, New Zealand

March 31, 2015 Franz Josef Glacier and Greymouth, New Zealand

March 28, 2015 Queenstown New Zealand

March 25, 2015 Te Anau & Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

March 5, 2015 Turangi, New Zealand

February 2, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada Part 2