Mission Concert

Our neighbor gave us tickets to go see Olivia Newton-John and Chris De Burgh at the Mission Estate Concert. The Mission holds a concert every year at this time and seems to sell out every year with a crowd of 25,000 people. Now for those that might be saying who are these people? I will fill you in. Olivia Newton-John is the woman that was the lead in Grease. She put on a great show. Of course she sang some of the famous Grease songs but she also sang a few songs off her new album, which she wrote when she was fighting Breast Cancer. She looked great and sounded great.

Chris De Burgh is known for his song "The Lady in Red". I love this song. Chris put on a very diverse performance. He started the show singing solo just him and his twelve-string guitar. His voice has quite a range and he had full command of the stage. He then finished off the show singing with his back up band and the Victor Wellington Orchestra. Most of the songs he sang were his own but there were a few covers. He told a few bad jokes as well but for the most part he we enjoyed his songs.



We went to this concert with our friends Roger and Helen, from England. They knew Chris De Burgh's music well and they were quite surprised that he sang cover songs. We all figured it was so he could please the audience. The Kiwi's seem to love Cover bands/songs. We see posters all the time reading for example Roy Rogers playing at the Municipal Theatre (of course this is just a look a like singing to piped in music). Very Strange?!

This weekend we also decided it was time to give our old car a new look. So Sunday we started sanding and spraying on primer. The car is looking better but that was not too hard.:) I have a blister on my trigger finger. We still have more painting to go so we will keep you posted.

P.S. Glenn has kept his beard (somewhat out of peer pressure) that he
grew on the trip down South. He will be getting it shaved this Friday
on EIT campus as a fundraiser for cancer.

Fun filled weekend

This weekend we had a great time. Saturday we went to our friend
John's house and he took us out sea kayaking. We paddled for about
two hours. At one point both Glenn and I felt a little queasy but we
managed to paddle through and make it to leveler waters. Just as we were getting close to your pull out point we saw some planes flying over head. There were four and they started doing the loop deloops. With smoke trailing behind them they made amazing patterns in the ski. It was the big Art Deco weekend in Napier. Our plan was to go down to Napier and do some street performing but after kayaking
we were pretty tired. So we decided to just walk around town and see the
sights. The town was buzzing with people. It was a great day for people watching.



This is a family all dolled up for the Art Deco Weekend. Everyone was wearing their fancy Art Deco outfits and driving their classic cars. This event happens every year in Febuary, as sort of commemoration of the big earthquake that hit this area in 1931. The city was rebuilt after this earthquake in the art deco style. Really it is just a good reason to dress up and have fun. There were even steam engine tractors on display.

Sunday we went on a hike with couple in a place called Boundary
Streams. This is a bird sanctuary, known as a land island, because
there are fences around the area and traps keeping the predators out.
Thus the bird numbers are much higher. One of the native birds called
a Tui has very unusual call, part of its call is like a coughing
sound. We saw and heard quite a few Tui that day.

Trip to the South Island Dunedin to Nelson

Dunedin was wonderful. We had a tough first night because the room we stayed in at the backpackers in town smelt of mildew and the mattress on the bed had spronged its springs. The next morning Glenn and I got up early, no reason to stay in bed, and went out for a walk through the city. The feel of the city was European with cool old buildings. Like the one in the picture. This is the train station located in the center of town. A pretty fancy place much nicer then most airports.



We then returned to the backpackers to check out. As we were checking out our friend Louise called. Louise was down visiting Dunedin for the holidays and she wanted to see if she could show us arround Dunedin. She met up with us at the Backpackers and took us to the Botanical Gardens a very nice spot to have lunch. We also got to meet her brother, a painter, who lived above a music shop in town. She even took us out to one of the beaches it was a very nice day and we enjoyed taking a walk. Louise had to get back to visit her mom so she left us at a Holiday park were we would stay the night in a little cabin that smelled great and had a good mattress on the bed. There was even a nice trail into the woods that surrounded the park. We took a walk that afternoon. Then for dinner we were invited to a potluck out at Mike's place. Mike is one of the main guys that organizes the Festival and he told us this potluck was a traditional pre-festival festivity. We ended up walking to Mike's place which took about two hours but was a good walk none the less. We even got to meet some of the local fisherman as we had to stop for directions at a local bar. After getting a criptic map that looked somewhat like a treasure map we continued on our way. Luckly we passed another couple on the road we asked for more clarification. Once we made it to Mike's the feast was on the table. We were pretty worn out by this time and hungary but we enjoyed the company and meeting new people. There we met Geoff and Lois who told us to come and stay with them. We told them we had a place for that night so they gave us a number to call the next day so they could come and pick us up when ever we wanted. Once we got back to the holiday park that night we remembered the guy at the desk had told us earlier there were glow worms along a path into the woods just five minutes walk. We decided to go take a look. It was amazing the cliff was just lit up with glow worms. What a great way to finish off our first full day in the South Island.

Dunedin

The next morning Geoff and Lois came out to the Holiday park and picked us up. People are so amazingly friendly and helpful here. They took us out to Geoff's fathers house where we would be able to stay for the next couple nights. Geoff even offered to take us to the Whare Flats Festival.

Les, Geoff's father greeted us at the door and preceded to tell us we would be eating lunch shortly. Geoff smiled and said, "After lunch we will give you a tour of the Peninsula."

Geoff was so happy to show us around and point out the wildlife that inhabited the Peninsula. One of our first stops was on a beach full of seals. We could not believe how well the seals blended in with the surroundings. You really could not see them until you were almost stepping on them.



We then went out to the end of the peninsula. This location is famous for its bird inhabitants. There we saw penguins and albatrosse.

A view from the end of the peninsula.



The bird in this picture is a Royal Albatrosse. There is a large colony that nests at the end of the Peninsula. They were absolutely amazing. If you see pictures of them you might think oh they are just like sea gulls but when you actually see them they are like Pterodactyl. The Royal Albatross weighs almost twenty pounds and its wing span is close to four feet. Incredible!



This is the beach were we got to see the Hoiho, yellow-eyed penguin. Geoff was quite excited that just as we got down the trail there was a couple peeking over the grass. The motioned for us to come and have a look. We crept slowly over to join them and peering through the grass we saw a mother Hoiho feeding her chic. There was really nothing that could describe this powerful image. After waiting for a bit more time there we saw more hoiho returning to their nests hidden in the grass. Geoff just could not stop beaming as he explained this is a rare most people do not get to see this. We felt honored.

Our tour of the Peninsula was amazing but we had to get back for dinner we were sure Les would be waiting. Of course Christmas was only a few days prior so Les had heaps of food in his fridge and he did not like wasting things. Luck of us dinner was not as big as lunch (we were still digesting). The meal time was so fun for Glenn and I because during the meals there was quite a bit of bantering between Les and Geoff or whomever would put up a fight. So by the end of the meal we left the table buzzing from all the good food and laughter.

Les's house was on a hill side. He had built most of the area around his house himself, putting in rock walls to support the earth and a laying bricks for the driveway. It was a beautiful place with an awesome view of the harbor. Les was a keen gardener, his yard was mostly garden and he also had a greenhouse. When he found out we did not have a garden he was disappointed. Time to start my garden. Below is a picture of the greenhouse guard.




The next day Glenn and I decided to take a walk up the hill Les's house was on. At the top Geoff told us you could see the whole town and the water surrounding. Geoff and Les came outside to see us off telling us to just follow the line of trees and we should be right. We had to cross quite a few paddock with sheep and cow and watch out...No sudden movements...There is a big bull! Thank goodness we were not wearing red. We made it pass the bull and we can see the war memorial which had a nice viewing stage from which we could see all directions. A view of Dunedin from above, it was a little windy up there.



We noticed by direction the trees grew that the Dunedin must experiences a fair amount of wind.

Whare Flats Folk Festival

This is Geoff and Lois the great couple that made our experience in Dunedin so memorable and fun. They also made the folk festival most memorable. They had to be out to the festival site a day early because they were part of the organizing crew. Since, we got a ride out to the festival from them we also became part of the set up crew. It was nice to be helpful and we felt more a part of the festival because we met people early and were able to contribute. Glenn loved helping Geoff out in the kitchen and I liked being a part of the tent assembly crew. We also got to tour around the Whare Flat Boy Scout Camp. We found some nice swimming holes and a ropes course. Here is Glenn trying to do the ropes course.




We met some amazing musicians at the festival. Ronan Martin was the first we met. He was a fiddle player from the Isle of Skye. We had a bit of a jam session in his cabin later in the day. He told us that his younger brother was going to be showing up as well sometime and he would be wearing a kilt. Hanna from Sweden was the second great musician we met. We were playing tunes for the folks in the kitchen and she popped her head around the corner to say hello and see what was happening. She played traditional Swedish tunes on the soprano sax.

Good music good friends. Ronan and Hanna with the giant guitar--does not look so big next to Ronan.




We danced in the New Year listening to a local Dunedin band called The George Street Patsys. What a fun night, as were all the nights at this festival. We were up to the wee hours every night of the festival I think we spent about eight hours in our tent the four nights we were at the festival. After all the workshops and concerts throughout the day there would be a session in the evening.




Jaque is playing the squeeze box, he is a pig farmer living in Dunedin. Ronan is the fiddle player on the right and the one that is a blur is his younger brother. He finally show up and he was wearing a kilt. It was fun to listen to the brothers play together because they both had their own style. Incredible.

After Festival

After festival we were luck because we had at least five offers from people that said we could stay with them. We ended up staying with a couple named, Jill and Brian. We stayed with them for two nights after the festival. They were great people and we had a nice space to our own so we could rest up. Jill was a retired nurse that now works in her garden and makes pottery. Her yard was beautiful. She took me around to see one of the local galleries it was great fun and had some really nice work. Jill was working on a series of teapots made in a mosaic style. Brian is a teacher and loves to drive his motorcyle. I got to take a ride.




Even though it was hard we had to say good-bye to Dunedin and continue our journey. We really fell in love with this town and the people. What a great experience.

Catlins

Luck for us Hanna and Ben were traveling in a similar direction to us. So we asked if they would mind having us as passengers. They thought it would be great to have us as they went through the Catlins.

Our first stop in the Catlins was a walk to a waterfall. Here is Ben, a painter and the reason Hanna is in New Zealand and Hanna, a Swedish folk musician that plays the soprano sax and Glenn ofcourse.




We had some trouble finding our campsite for the evening but we were glad we made the effort.




This was a stunning beach and we enjoyed watching all the surfers catching waves. This beach seemed to be a very popular place to surf. We built a little fire when it got dark--around 10pm days got longer the further North we went. The lady in the campsite next to us even joined us for a glass of wine. She also brought us two bottles of her homemade ginger/elderflower and red currant wine. It was quite good but oh so potent.

The next day we made our way further down the Catlins. We heard from someone that we should stop at a place called the Lost gypsy. So we did and we spent at least an hour there. Inside this parked gypsy caravan (mobile home)was all sorts of kinetic and interactive sculptures. Before entering you are tempted with a sign reading "I know that you want to push me," and a button below. When you push the button a stream of water comes shooting out of the mouth of a mask stuck on the side of the caravan and you get wet.



Inside the lost gypsy the workshop.



The experiments and funny gadgets inside the Lost Gypsy.




After our curiosity had been fully satisfied in the Lost Gypsy. We continued down the road. Our next stop was a walk to a cave.

The cave was a huge and you could easily walk through it, actually four or five people could walk side by side and there would still be room. There were also some colorful rock growth...




It was a windy day. Here is a shot of Ben as made our way back to the car along the beach wind swept beach after seeing the cave.




We wanted to find a campsite before it got to dark so we settled on a fancier campground, with showers, kitchen area and laundry. After setting up our tent Glenn and I took a walk and explore the beach area. There we saw a Spoonbill, this has to be one of the coolest birds I have ever seen. Its feathers are all white and kind of wispy especially those on its crown, making it look like Mozart. Its long legs and spoon shaped beak are solid black. Wow.

That night after dinner and Ben taught us how to play a card game called Anarchy. It was an evening of laughter.

The next day it was raining and it the temperature was getting colder. So we decided we would make our way to Invercargil were we could stay with a guy we had met at the whare folk festival. We did make a few more stops on the way. One being the Southern most tip of the South Island. There we saw some huge waves and a young seal that seemed to be lost or maybe just mad, because he was waddling after cars and barking at them.

Invercargill

We made it to Invercargill that evening and of course played tunes. Chris was nice to let us stay with him. The next day we headed into town to tour around. It was a cute little town it seemed that every building had a mural of some sort. After checking e-mails we met back up with Ben and Hanna. Together we decided we should go down and see Bluff. We had read in a guide book that this town was known for it oysters.

Before looking for a place for dinner we took a walk along the coast it was a nice day. At the start of the trail we found this sign that let us know all the various distances to places.



Sadly, we were not able to find a place that was serving oysters. We found a place to eat and filled up on chowder and fish. Our waitress told us that it was not oyster season. We had a great meal and enjoyed our last meal with Hanna and Ben. They were fun travel partners.

The next day we said good-bye to Ben and Hanna as we loaded up our econo-rental car. Glenn and Hanna had fun sharing tunes. Here they play one last tune.

On our way

We took our time driving up the coast from Invercargil and stopped at a few of the beaches along the way to swim and do some beach combing. This picture is a house that I thought was nicely camouflaged into the side of the cliff.



We spent the night at DOC campsite on Monowai Lake. This was a pretty secluded camp site and the only people we met were hunters. The lake was beautiful and we had good shelter under trees. We also spotted an Australasian Crested Grebe floating and swimming around a marshy part of the lake. The next day we woke and made our way towards Mildford Sound. It was a rainy day but we thought we would see how far we could get maybe we would stop.



We had to bunker down for the day and play cards. The rain only got harder and there was no way we would see much of anything if we did go into Mildford Sound. So we remembered talking with someone at the folk festival that had mentioned some cabins just off the road near Hollyford track. We spotted a sign and decide to spend the rest of the day and night there. We got a cabin to ourselves and it was equip with a bunkbed, a nice little table and chairs, a checkers game, a sink and coal burning stove on which you could cook up your dinner. Glenn beat me a few times at checkers and I beat him a few times at cards. The next day we woke to sunshine yippee!

Mildford Sound

There was one rather long one-way tunnel on the road into the Mildford Sound.



The drive into the Sound was spectacular and we made a few stops along the way to soak in the views.



Breath taking.



The pictures really never can capture the beauty of this place. We were glad we decided to take this the drive into the Sound. It just seemed to be endless and really took your breath way.

Once we got into the Mildford sound we decided to take a cruise. The day was clear as can be.



We look bundled up but we have learned to be prepared for any weather when you live on an island. On the cruise we saw a school of dolphins leaping their way into the sound and seal colonies soaking in the sun on the rocks. There were more waterfalls then you could count although our captain repeatedly told us that we should have seen it the day before--"The waterfalls were in the thousands and they were going up as well as down the cliff side." As it was pissing down rain the day before we decide we were happy to have a few less waterfalls to see.



View of the Mildford Sound.



After the cruise we hiked up the start of Routeburn Track. The day was so clear we were told that you could see all the mountain ranges from the top of Key Point. It was such a nice hike and the view was phenomenal. We felt like we were looking at the Tetons, Sawtooths and Rockies all at the same time.



Us at the top of Key Point.



We slept well that night and were entertained that evening by what we think was a New Zealand Robin. He seemed to be quite curious and would fly right up to us to have a look.

Wanaka

We were absolutely shot by the time we made it to Wanaka and all we could think of was getting something to eat. We thought food would give us more energy but it only made us more sleepy. Unfortunately, we did not have a plan or even a clue where we were going to sleep that night. It was late so we were worried it would be hard to find something and it was. Most places here in New Zealand are not open 24 hrs. Your luck if they are open 9 hrs but that is good because people can be home with their families and life does not revolve around work. But when you are trying to find a place to sleep for the night this is bad. We did find a hotel eventually but it was the most expensive place we stayed our whole trip and not the nicest but it had a warm bed and a shower. Glenn had to move buildings to find it as well so what can you do...

Westcoast here we come

Haast Pass was amazing. There were quite a few little hikes off the road and we stopped at quite a few. One of them was the Blue Lagoon which was very nice but part of the fun was crossing the long suspension bridges. Here is Glenn making his way cautiously across the suspension bridge.




Outside of Haast we found a DOC campsite on the side of a nice lake. It reminded us of Priest Lake. We both had a nice swim. It took Glenn a little longer to get in the water but he made it. I nice view at sunset.

Fox Glacier

We had woke early to get up to Fox Glacier. We found that getting to places earlier allowed you to bet the crowds. It was a short walk up to Fox Glacier but beautiful. The mountains that were in this area actually reminded me of Japenese landscape paintings.



We were the only ones up at the glacier that morning. It was nice as well because the sun was still behind the mountain so the lighting was good for pictures.







I am always amazed by the blueness of glaciers to me the are like kryptonite, Superman beware. A view as we hiked out and the sun peered over the mountain.



We got back to the car park just as the crowds were arriving. We then went to Franz Joseph for lunch. Instead of going to the Franz Joseph glacier we decided to take a walk around one of the lakes near by. It was a nice lake and the day was pretty warm. So when we came to the waters edge I said "Nice day for a swim," but then I looked in the water and saw this....




...well maybe not.

Okarito

Okarito was where we spent the night. There we stayed in a little old school house. It was a quiet night. There were a few other people staying there but that night after everyone ate people sat around and did not speak a word. I figured it must have been because it was a school at one time and people felt like they needed to be quiet.



The next morning we woke up pretty early and took a walk along the beach. It was a pretty amazing beach. Here I am posing on a huge piece of petrified wood we found. Too bad it did not fit in our bag.:)



A misty morning view of the beach.

Hokitika

Hokitika was a great little town on the coast. We found a delicious European style bread shop and where we had lunch. We walked around the town and stopped into a few cool artisan shops. One was owned by a Maori carver named Ben. He and Glenn talked for quite sometime about the different types of Maori instruments. Ben was very interested in making instruments and was just starting to explore a variety of native flutes. We then found out that there had been a drift wood sculpture contest on the beach a few days prior most of the sculptures were still up.



One of the kinetic drift wood sculptures.



Ack I am being swallowed by a giant drift wood fish skeleton....



After spending a few hours in Hokitika we made our way to Blackball (tehe). Blackball is known because it was the first place to have electricity in the South Island. There is also a famous motel known as, Formally The Blackball Hilton. Rumor has it that some big shot that worked for the Hilton asked them to change the name so they added--formally. That is where we stayed and wow what a place. Each of the rooms were painted a different color, we had the orange room of course:) And there was art and memorabilia all over the place. Below is a shot of Glenn playing at the bar/cafe. Blackball is also known for great sausages and salami, go figure. We of course had to get some and man I am now a blackball salami fan. We even stopped back through the next day to pick up more.