New Zealand South Island Nov 30 to Jan 11 -Part 1

We flew to Christchurch from Auckland instead of taking the ferry. It turned out to be a good idea since we never did make it all the way to the south end of the North Island!

The first leg of this journey had no rental car booked because we prebooked 7 consecutive nights of camping in Abel Tasman Park. We started at one end and ended at the other end so wouldn't make sense to have a car unless someone could drive it up for us! Car rental rates in New Zealand are very reasonable. One warning we received though is that insurance is not mandatory and many Kiwis don't carry insurance! Also, rental cars are not allowed on certain beaches because they get stuck and the tide comes in...oops!

When we arrived in Christchurch we changed our minds and got a car for a few days but didn't go very far. It rained quite a bit! We stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park ( like KOA's I think) and upgraded to a cabin to dry out on the last day! It was definitely duck weather! Matthew spent a considerable amount of time following around a one-legged duck and videotaping how it walks!

Christchurch is a nice city (pop around 350,000) We explored downtown a bit and went to the botanical gardens (where Sarah took many nice pics of flowers) and cathedral. We found the first Starbucks we've seen since arriving in New Zealand! It just wasn't the same as the choices for coffee were 'flat white' and 'long black' just like everywhere else here. I still don't understand the difference between a flat white and a latte. Anyway you have to order coffee like that if you want milk in it. Rob has had a few black coffees since we got here because it took us a while to catch on!

Heading North to Nelson!

We hopped a bus Dec 3 to get to Nelson which is about 6 hours north of Christchurch. More narrow roads along cliffs. Sarah and I didn't enjoy the views that much from motion sickness. I had to run to a pharmacy on one of the stops (Kaikoura, a nice whale watching town) to buy some pills! I guess it helped that we took the cheap bus too!

Nelson was a nice town. Sort of a gateway to the northern parks so lots of outdoor stores and good restaurants. It's also known as the City of Trees.

The nice owners of the campground we stayed at in Nelson (actually it was another holiday park and we upgraded to a cabin again because of all the rain!) kept our extra belongings that we didn't want to take tramping since we would carry all our gear on our backs for the 7 days.

And off we went, with lots of backcountry type food - readily available in most grocery stores everywhere, especially Pak'n'Save!

Abel Tasman National Park. 7 Night Tramping the Coastal Track:

It rained on us for the first tramping day. We were pretty soaked when we arrived at the first campground. We were also the only ones staying there as it was just before one of the bigger ones. The beach was nice and it stopped raining a while after we arrived. A man came walking down the beach and offered to us to stay at his 'bach' (cottage) just a couple hundred meters down the beach. We declined since it stopped raining but wonder if we should have taken him up on it. First we were suprised that people own land in a national park but these are families that owned the land before the park existed. We walked down to take a look later and his place was bigger than our house!

We ended up having a good night on the beach but broke our campstove. Rob, the lucky one, went all the way back to the closest town the next day and was able to buy the part we needed! That was a big day for him!

Being too concerned about running the batteries down before the last day, I took way too few pictures on this tramp! The views were amazing and the campsites were all very nice. Well, except for the one with twigs and sand in the water. We had to treat our own water for drinking at a few of the sites.

There were a lot of kayakers on the trail as well as trampers. People have a variety of options as there are water taxis to some of the sites so you can do just a couple nights or you can have your pack sent up so you don't have to carry (sounded really good to us as our packs seemed heavy sometimes....especially when it rained). There are huts to stay in if you don't like tenting. The cost is per person so seemed too costly for the four of us to sleep in rooms full of other snoring, smelly trampers. We did stay one night in a hut when the park ranger insisted that our tent was inadequate for the amount it was raining. He was right!

All this fun and we hadn't discovered sandflies yet.....I would describe a sandfly bite like a mosquito bite but over and over again for about a week!

Some days we had to time our walking with the low tide as there were two places that could not be passed at high tide and a couple others that were longer if you had to take the high tide track...ya, call us lazy!

We learned abour estuaries as well since most of the tidal crossings were across an estuary. Matthew usually found some birds to annoy without trying since they nest and feed in these large sandy areas. The Oystercatcher was a favorite and we sometimes accidentally came between the parents and babies. They didn't like that!

The whole trip was 51 km. Great for the kids as we didn't go too far on any day. There was never any rushing and we stopped a lot to enjoy the wilderness and views! We are proud of the kids!

Well, I'm out of time for blogging. More on the South Island will follow later...stay tuned!

New Zealand North Island Nov 16 to 30

We met some great people while in Samoa. Clare and Kerry live in Auckland and invited us to chill out and clean up at their place when we landed. Yay for great people!! Clare and I bought the same sunglasses (sunnies they call them here!) Here we are showing them off!

So the first day we are there, Clare and Kerry both had to work. They generously gave us control of their house and washing facilities so what do I do? I break their washing machine! Sorry about that. It was Kerry's birthday when we arrived too. Good thing we picked up some "Royal" coffee from the Kingdom of Tonga. Happy birthday Kerry....glad you like coffee. The picture of Kerry didn't turn out but he's a nice New Zealand mate.

We had a nice dinner with Chis and Jenn Breen. They have a great house in Auckland! Thanks for the nice meal and visit! The kids had a nice visit also! Left to right: Sarah, Matthew, Ronan, Shayla....I hope I spelled the names correctly! Sorry if not. What a nice family!

Then, on the experienced advice of Kerry who is from the North Island - off to start our camping adventures in KiwiLand!

Here is our first campground. We try to stay at DOC sites (Department of Conservation) as they are nice, sometimes nature reserves, and cheap! Of course you get what you pay for. Once in a while you pay a few more dollars and get a cold shower (if the water is working!) We were there slightly before the summer season started so had some really quiet stays at most camps! We also could hear Kiwis during the night...they are nocturnal birds and extremely threatened due to introduced predators such as possums from Australia. (People here don't like possums!)

Some of the campgrounds were on the beach and some were at lakes.

This one is MaiTai Bay...we stayed a few nights even though the water stopped working because of the neighbor who is bitter at the government who took their land away and ......well there is a story I guess...land rights are complicated. Anyways, nice beach pretty-well empty with lots of sea life and birds. Matthew's favorite: the dead, rotting eel we found on the rocks at low tide. I'll spare the readers by not posting any of the eighteen photos Matthew took.

We made it to Pakiri Beach on the advice of the book "101 Things to do Before you Die" Sarah and I went horseback riding down the beach. It was stunning and we forgot the camera so no beach pics. We saw a dolphin while on the ride too!

We also saw lots of Pahutakawa trees starting to bloom. They have brilliant red flowers that bloom at Christmas time. Also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree!

Here is us at Kai-Iwi Lakes. There was a school group there also but we didn't hear a thing because they are far away!

We enjoyed many short hikes and lots of beautiful beaches with sea life and surfers! The drive north was sometimes on narrow curves and I thought it was funny most of the time to see a speed limit sign - 100kph - we were doing good if we could do 60! Oh yeah, nice to be in a metric country - I just wish I paid more attention to prices of produce 'per kg' at home so it would be easier and faster to know what is a good deal.

Some of the slow driving was through the Waipoua Forest where there is a 2000 year old tree named Tane Mahuta. It's alot bigger than it seems in the picture. We weren't allowed anywhere near it and the paths are all built up so the roots of these trees don't get damaged.

We didn't quite make it all the way north to Cape Reinga which is the tip and where the Tasman crashes into the Pacific although it is said to be spectacular to see. We also decided not to go tabogganing down slopes of sand as you can also do here. Maybe next time or just trust that it's fun! A favorite touristy place was Matakana. Lots of vineyards and just a nice area.

We drove through Auckland going south to go see some volcanic action. Visited Thermal Wonderland where we saw lots of color and smelled lots of sulphur. Wow!

The Redwood Forest just outside Rotarua was really interesting. These are California Redwoods that were planted about a hundred years ago just for enjoyment. They grow really fast here....I am a tree hugger just to show the size!

Rotarua was a great place for learning about volcanos and New Zealand in general. The museum had a video about the last eruption in 1886 of a local volcano with shaking and noise to make it real!

We visited an Agridome with a show about sheep (there are LOTS of sheep here!) and toured an organic farm with cattle, sheep, ostrich, emu, llama, alpaca, kiwi fruit, olives and some other fruit that I didn't know but it is only in season for about two weeks and doesn't keep so they don't export it. Kiwi fruit on the other hand is picked unripe and lasts up to 8 or 10 months which is why we can almost always get it at home. The camera battery was dead for this trip...dang!

Here is some bubbling mud at Thermal Wonderland. Pretty cool. I'm sure a bath in this would be good for the complexion! The Rotarua Museum was also the old 'bath house' where people from all over the world flocked to for treatments for all sorts of ailments. There were even natural mineral spas cascading down the mountainside but were destroyed in the 1886 eruption.

We stayed again with Clare and Kerry before flying to Christchurch on November 30. Goodbye North Island!

November 11 to 16 - Tonga

Happy New Year!!

I'm going to attempt to catch up in the few hours that I have here since we have a good, unlimited internet connection for today! Though it was a while back the memories haven't faded and the only reason we can't get all details into the blog is simply due to time constraint! It looks like Diane is the official blogger going forward for the same reason and I drew the short straw. (Just kidding!)

HERE GOES.....

November 11 we flew from Samoa to the main island of Tonga, another South Pacific BEAUTIFUL island with great people and lots of South Pacific stories and legends passed down from ancestors. Tonga is a little more developed and touristy than Samoa but not much! And the usual European influence was present (we had Pizza at a real Italian Restaurant/Hotel owned by an Italian/Tongan couple.)

We crossed the International Date line and the time to us remained the same as Samoa but one day into the future! Yippy, one day of aging gone forever!!!

We had decided to stay only four days in Tonga but would go back for three weeks anyday! It was beautiful and there are so many islands to choose from. There's snorkeling, diving, hiking, relaxing, touring and it's so interesting! There's even an island with wild horses! Lot's of New Zealanders and Aussies visiting here. Tongans and Samoans both have a large population in New Zealand as it is easy to get a visa and citizenship.

Matthew and Sarah also had many interesting temporary pets in Tonga including hermit crabs, drunken geckos (they like wine), cats and dogs that are so cute! We even saw the most wild looking sea worm....or snake....or something....it was eating off sea plants on the beach. I thought it was a piece of rope!

We had a chance to go sightseeing in a rental car one day (first time driving on the wrong side of the road!) and visited one of many Captain James Cooke landing spots. One highlight for our little stay was the market downtown where Rob and Matthew had hotdogs for 50 cents (ask Matthew about his little stomach problem!) We brought fresh fruits including a yummy watermelon.

We also drove on a really cool bridge naturally formed of coral and visited a structure known as Stonehenge of the Pacific.....the "stones" used are actually coral weighing about 30-40 tonnes each! It is dated around 1200BC and as usual, there are legends around it's origin. One nice one about brotherhood. Interesting that the centerline matches the sun's position at equinox.

The island is surrounded by coral and there are many blowholes around. Our "beach" was inside the coral "wall" and the water from the waves comes rushing through natural vents in the coral and blows into the air. Very cool!

I should mention that this really interesting Swiss couple who have been travelling for 25 years around the world (in their Landcruiser!) were staying at our resort in Tonga. That should give an idea of how 'budget' we were getting!! Check them out, their names are Emil and Liliana Schmid. The side of their truck lists all the places they've been with dates! I think they were the reason we actually had wireless internet there because they carry their own router. It was still really slow though!

Needless to say, no formal schoolwork was done this week by the kids but we all saw and learned so much! By the way, trying to fit Math and English in while travelling must be an acquired skill and we are getting slightly better at it but it really gets in the way somedays! Other days, there is just no time!

Okay, goodbye Tonga. We are off to Auckland!

November 4 to 11: Savaii, the other big island of Samoa

Took the 1 hour ferryboat ride over to Savaii. We stayed in beach fales at Lauiula Resort. Nice people here. Very relaxed and quiet...except for the university students that should have been booked in down the beach at Manese. Very beautiful beach to ourselves with lots of coral and pretty little fish just off the shore!

Met some nice people from New Zealand! Clare and Kerry. (We later stay with them in Auckland.) Also a nice man from the Toronto area. Micheal.

We toured around with Micheal for a couple days in his rental car....very nice of him to invite us. He is on his way to Auckland to visit his son who is living there.

We visited lava fields....very hot and black. There are even villages with houses built on these hot, black platforms!

We happened upon a village with all the women having a weaving day. The picture is Micheal dancing with one of the women...the others were singing and laughing. It was really fun! Rob got dragged in and had a turn also but my camera battery died.

We also had a couple of cave visits and swam in a beautiful waterfall! We also hiked to an ancient tomb made of many many lava rocks that must have been carried up by hand a few thousand years ago.

Then saw these 'blowholes' on the shore. Water comes into underground channels and builds up until it 'blows!' The locals put coconuts on and they fly into the air at least 100 feet!

There is Sarah with a lady weaver.

We also tried out a traditional Outrigger Canoe...we saw them out everyday fishing with this boat.

The owners of Lauiula gave us a cooking demonstration using a traditional Samoan "Umu." Complete with dressing the pig, squeezing coconut to get yummy coconut cream...Rob tried his hand at husking a coconut...not as easy as it looks! The result was a traditional feast and we were very full!