The Destination

Air New Zealand - Click for larger

That's the fun part. I love planning trips and actually being at the destination experiencing the new place. Getting there and back is not as much fun. I was a little concerned when we were waiting in the Auckland, NZ departure lounge. Sports teams. 10-year old boys… frightful! I think I would rather fly in turbulence than a group of 30 or so ten-year old boys. They were excited to be going to Vancouver for a hockey tournament. Yes New Zealanders play hockey. Who knew? The boys didn’t sleep a wink. They were great kids, just so many of them were running around all night. Some of them however did not move that much except to grab another vomit bag. One poor kid across from me had a stack of 10 or more bags. He used them all and still was covered in it. Sigh. Needless to say it was a long flight. Makes me think that my mother is a saint. She had four boys in one house (five if you count Dad who was the biggest kid of all). I’m not sure how she put up with it for all those years. I had trouble with 12 hours.

On a positive note, we had a wonderful tour of a glowworm cave in Waitomo.

Footwhistle Cave, Waitomo, New Zealand - Click for larger

This was our last real day before we headed back to Auckland to return home. We booked the 9 am, one hour tour hoping it would not be too busy. It turned out to be just Lori and me. Our Maori guide was great. He did not rush us at all. I could shoot as many photos as I wanted whenever I wanted. Once we got to the end of the cave, we sat in an area called the cathedral and talked. We talked about life, history and about our cultures. This was truly one of the best experiences we had on the island. A real Kiwi experience.

Glowworms in a Waitomo Cave, New Zealand - Click for larger

After 2 hours, we headed back and started driving toward Auckland.

Auckland, New Zealand - Click for larger

We are home now. Still a bit jet lagged but grateful for our own bed and a pillow that doesn’t collapse into nothing when you lay your head on it. We are not in a hurry to go anywhere for a while. Although, Ireland might be fun in June!

The Home Stretch

Just 2 more days till we are back in Auckland. We fly to Vancouver on Wednesday and back to Toronto on Thursday. Our time here has flown by. We have slowed down the last week. It’s nice to linger and get off the beaten path a bit. We have traveled through some very rural areas where the tourists don’t usually venture. We have also been through some very busy areas. Both have been enjoyable.

Herding Sheep in New Zealand - Click for larger

Marlborough, NZ Vineyards - Click for larger

Church of the Good Shepherd, NZ - Click for larger

We had a chance to tour through the New Plymouth Prison which is New Zealand’s oldest prison. This Victoria (1870’s) era jail had just closed days before and still had some of the bedding from recent residents. The cells were very small, just 7 X 10 feet. It must have been a very unpleasant place for the prisoners.

New Plymouth Prison, NZ - Click for larger

New Plymouth Prison, NZ - Click for larger

New Plymouth Prison Window, NZ - Click for larger

We are at the Waitomo caves area tonight. This afternoon we did a hike through some caves.

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand - Click for larger

Tomorrow we have a guided tour booked through a larger cave system to see glowworms. We will then head a bit closer to Auckland.

Away from Home

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand - Click for larger

It’s a funny feeling to be so far from home. No matter how often we travel there are times when you long for your own bed. The New Zealand experience has been interesting. It certainly is a very different culture. I find some of the locals very charming and welcoming. Others are short with us and make me feel very unwelcome, like we are in the way or somehow invading their space. For a country that depends on tourism, it puzzles me when I see someone in the service industry that clearly does not like people. That can’t be good for business. Of course we run into this kind of thing travelling in our country too. Especially when we say where we are from. You can see our fellow Canadians’ backs go up the moment we mention Toronto.

Curio Bay, New Zealand - Click for larger

One thing for sure, New Zealand is a beautiful place.

Sandfly Bay, New Zealand - Click for larger

Haast Beach Sunrise, New Zealand - Click for larger

Blessed Be The Light

No, I didn’t find religion in case you were wondering. It’s all about light for me. For a few glorious moments this morning standing at the head of Milford Sound, I felt blessed, happy to be alive and full of wonder. Milford Sound on New Zealand’s South Island is like that. I did shoot last night. But I won’t show those images. It just didn’t happen. We went to bed early and got up in the darkness. It was clear and the tide was out. As the light came up it was perfect for reflections. I have struggled to get images most of this week. This morning it felt great to shoot, especially here!

Milford Sound, New Zealand - Click for larger

Falls Creek Waterfalls, New Zealand - Click for larger

We are booked on the latest afternoon cruise. Think Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, AB with hordes of people arriving on buses. The afternoon boat is usually less crowded so hopefully we will have room to move around. I usually don’t go for the tourist stuff but we are here and may never be again. So why not? We feel rushed a bit with just a little over a week left on the South Island. It takes a long time to get places with mountain switchbacks and narrow winding roads. Sometimes it takes 2 ½ hours to go 100 km. We will continue south and then head up the east coast back to Picton to catch the ferry back to the north island. Time sure is flying by.

Milford Sound, New Zealand - Click for larger

The Beach

At the end of the road at the top of the south island we have a campsite that is about a 20-minute walk from one of the most spectacular beaches in the world. Wharariki Beach is wild and pristine yet the trail starts in a field of grazing sheep.

Wharariki Beach, New Zealand - Click for larger

Photographer on Wharariki Beach, New Zealand - Click for larger

Low tide was at 7 pm last night, which was perfect for photographing the arches and caves dotted along the coast. The Farewell Spit to the north is a sand spit that juts out into the ocean and can only be walked for about 4 kilometers. From there you need to ride a horse or go with an eco-tour operator to get to the tip. I think we will spend our time at Wharariki beach. It’s located about 5 km south of the spit.

Variable Oystercatcher - Click for larger

This beach was on my “must photograph” list. It was difficult to photograph here though. The wind last night was so strong I had to hold onto the camera and tripod to keep it from blowing over. The strong gusts of wind mixed with sand and sea spray is tough on cameras. From here we will make our way down the west coast to Milford Sound.

Follow Your Nose

I’ve noticed many common expressions in New Zealand. “Follow your nose” the man said as we asked for directions. The people here are laid back. That is if you can find someone who is actually from here. I think we have met more Canadians than anyone else. We did get to chat with some locals at a campsite last night. They were very sweet and friendly. There are two cultures that seem to dominate here in New Zealand - the beach and the café. Drive down any main street in any town and look for the crowd around a sidewalk Café and you will find great food and coffee. I’m still trying to figure out how to order coffee. Sometimes I get a Canadian style, sometimes I get an espresso, or sometimes it’s more like a Greek coffee from the Danforth in Toronto. It’s all good.

We are really enjoying our time here and had a fun experience at Hot Water Beach. You dig a hole in the sand at low tide and it fills with hot water. Low tide was at midnight but we could find hot water by 10 pm. As we dug a hole the surf would fill it in. Finally I dug enough to get a hot pool. It was burning hot. When the cool water from a wave mixed with the hot it was very pleasant. The beach was filled with flashlight toting, intoxicated people from all over the world. We walked back to camp in the dark with a billion stars over our heads.

We got up the next morning at 5 am and hiked to Cathedral Cove in the dark. When the light hit, we felt like we had landed in paradise! It’s a wonderful place.

Cathedral Cove, New Zealand - Click for larger

Cathedral Cove, New Zealand - Click for larger

Today we visited Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) Thermal Wonderland in the Rotorua area. It is a very touristy place with a geyser. Normally it erupts for over an hour however currently there is a drought and they said it would only erupt for one minute. We decided to skip it and shoot the Champagne pool. Everyone else rushed to the geyser so we had the pool to ourselves. Clouds of sulfur fog washed over us. At times it was hard to catch your breath.

Champagne Pool, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, New Zealand - Click for larger

Not sure where we will end up tomorrow. We are making our way toward Wellington to take the ferry to the south Island.

Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand - Click for larger

It was a rough ride over. I found myself in the washroom on the plane with my pants down when the worst of it hit. The turbulence was severe at times. Somehow I managed to hold on. I made it back to my seat just in time to close one of the overhead compartments as it flew open. After a couple of hours the turbulence mostly smoothed out. Our flight from Vancouver to Auckland was long but we managed okay. The plane landed at 4:30am, more than an hour earlier than scheduled. We were happy to find our hotel room was available, and were checked in by 6:00am. We will have the next couple of days to have a good tour of the city.