rtw with lucy

Here are some of the highlights of our visit:

*Visited Christchurch, a beautiful city with gardens and old looking English style buildings and the river Avon flowing through it
*drove out to Akaroa, a french historical village. We rode bikes around the beach and the lovely gardens
*walked out off Otago Peninsula and almost missed seeing a fur seal colony–there were about 30 of them lounging around on the rocks, and each seemed to know just which color rock to lay on to best camouflage itself.
*stayed in Dunedin–this town has the loveliest network of city parks I’ve ever seen–there are miles and miles of walking trails in them
*took a boatride out from Milford Sound in the rain–the only way anyone will ever see MS because they get an average of 18 feet of rain per year!
*rainforest hikes
*whitewater rafting at Buller Gorge
*drove into Queenstown, then right back out again when we saw all the tourists–the nerve of all those people to go where we wanted to go! Went to Wanaka instead.
*abseiling with Lucy
*horseback riding for Dad and Erin
*sea kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park
*We went to see the World of Wearable Art Museum and Classic Cars Museum in Nelson. This is the same museum, with something for everyone. The wearable art is indescribable, and I will try to post a link.
*soaked up a couple of hours at the hot springs in Hanmer Springs–it was perfect, the day was cold and drizzly, and the springs were so warm. . .

Well, those are the highlights, and we’re a bit worn out, and are kicking back in our own apartment in Auckland, which feels like a palace after tent camping for so long.
Mom

Well, we’ve just almost completed our whirlwind tour of the South Island of New Zealand, and it was not very much like Oz at all. For one thing, the only animals we’ve seen here have been introduced, except maybe the fur seal. There are lots and lots of sheep here, and NZ has just as much problems with rabbits as Australia, if not more.

The problem is, everything they bring in here just thrives. The roses are the biggest and best anywhere. The dahlias are as big as dinner plates. Fruit trees grow wild everywhere, as well as in the gardens. This is interesting in light of the fact that before the Europeans came, there was almost nothing to eat. The only native land mammal was the bat, for heaven’s sake. There were a few plants that provided food, but all were labor intensive to prepare, so I get the impression that the Maoris mainly confined themselves to seafood and the sweet potatoes that they brought with them from somewhere in Polynesia. (note: if you are a Kiwi, and you know better, please correct me, as this is all gathered from hearsay.) They had tried to bring pigs and chickens, but somehow these were lost and they were cut off from prior contact, so the place, beautiful and productive as it is now, just didn’t grow much beyond mosses and ferns. The moa bird, which is something like an ostrich, only twice as big (no really), were eaten very quickly, and I’m wondering if it’s because they tasted good, or because they were threatening? I mean, what if they had a disposition somewhat similar to that of a goose? I guess I should go back and mention that the Maoris came over here around 1000 A.D., and before that there were no people in NZ at all, so it is the last land mass of any size to be settled.

Well all, we are about to head off to the enchanting land of Thailand. But, right now we are in the comfort of our three bedroom flat. We are going to be in Auckland for 3 days, then fly out. We had a ... [Continue reading this entry]