Journey Toward Wholeness

At the start of this week, Loren and I took the early ferry from Oban, on Stewart Island back to Bluff on the South Island. The Maori story we had learned in Auckland when we first arrived to New Zealand is that the South Island was created in the image of a waka – a traditional Maori canoe, and, the North Island was created in the image of the fish that the Maori were attempting to catch from it. While in Oban, we learned too that Stewart Island represents the waka’s anchor. There are large symbolic chain links that disappear into the Foveaux Straight on the Oban and Bluff coasts to exemplify this part of the tale.

A new young friend changed her ferry crossing date to join us in traveling to Dunedin. Our route included the Catlins Coast and we stopped briefly at Curio Bay. Here, had the weather been nicer, perhaps we could have swum with Hector’s dolphins. However with the continual rain all day there was nary a dolphin to be seen. We did appreciate seeing the fossilized forest on the beach. We passed on stopping at Nugget Point – where sea lions live, for the same reason of the weather. It was nice for us to have company for the long drive. After settling into our respective hostels, we had sushi dinner out with her. 

The next morning Loren and I were off again, northward bound to Timaru. We stopped at Moeraki boulders, which are quite the curiosity. Then we spent some time in Oamaru, where a dilapidated pier has become stomping grounds for any number of sea birds.

 

Highlights in Timaru included a walk to a visitor center to see Maori rock art, and, stopping at an aviary on the way back.

  

We went on a wild-goose-chase drive as we never did find the recommended hike to sandstone walls for more Maori art. Nevermind, the weather was nice and on the way back we stopped to photo farm Elk, or what New Zealanders call Red Deer who were rutting. That night it poured. Each time it appeared to let up, it poured again, ad infinitum, all night long.

On leaving Timaru we learned that our destination of Tekapo, near Mount Cook, had a temperature of 0° Celsius – 32° Fahrenheit, and would only reach a high of 4° C – 39° F, during the day. As the skies were clear we still drove first to Mount Somers, but the remnants from the overnight rains precluded our hike to see the falls – the heavy rain we had had in Timaru had of course dropped fresh snow in the mountains. We further drove on to Peel Forest, but could not find the walking trail there… our lot this week it seemed. We had our picnic lunch inside our car instead of on the trail, and enjoyed some time along the drive where the sun broke through the clouds.

 

We were successful in finding the Garage Gallery for a break to browse their art, literally in an old garage. We arrived to clearer skies before sunset at Lake Tekapo. Our intention had been to hike around the Lake and up Mt. John… with the cold we were simply happy to sit near the heater in our small cabin. That is, until dark when we braved the elements for our tour at Mt. John observatory.

This area is one of only 11 Dark Sky Reserves in the world. When we arrived at the tour office, we learned that due to icy road conditions on Mt. John, our tour was canceled. Since the skies were clear though, they offered an alternative to stargaze from Cowan observatory with their loaner parkas, which we accepted. The most impressive sight for me was of Jupiter and 4 of its moons through the telescope, as clear and bright as if I were looking at Earth’s moon, though very, very tiny. 

The next day dawned with sunshine and we drove around beautiful Lake Pukaki to hike two different easy trails to see Mount Cook.

One was the Hooker Valley Track. We were fortunate that the cloud cover lifted for us to see Mount Cook’s peak! 

 

The other was Blue Lakes Haupapa/Tasman Glacier trail, affording a view of another side of Mount Cook.

The next morning red skies foretold more rain to come. We bade farewell to the ‘Starlight Highway’ and made our way to Christchurch. Here we drove around Banks Peninsula to Akaroa, and I was delighted to snap a photo of a White-Faced Heron. 

 

That night Loren and I enjoyed a lovely dinner with my Bikram Yoga teacher training friend who I met up with in Wellington last month, who lives in Christchurch. She and a friend made Japanese and Indian dinner, then introduced us to feijoa for desert – a fruit somewhat similar to guava. It was all delicious!

On our last full day in Christchurch, we drove to see New Brighton pier, then drove through the tunnel to have coffee in Lyttleton with views of the harbor. Then we drove back over the hill and turned in our rental car. I am reflecting on the New Zealand roads. There is no equivalent to the US Interstate system here. Most of the highways we traveled are two lane, with the occasional brief extra lane or dotted white lines for passing. I recognized that I have become somewhat adept at navigating the regularly encountered roundabouts found in the intervening towns or larger cities, while driving on the left side of the road. Now we are on foot again near downtown Christchurch. I have heard the surprising sounds of Canadian Geese honking overhead several times in New Zealand, and now I have a photo of them on the Avon River to prove it.

On a sad note, we are remembering a family friend who lived in Christchurch and who died with his son in an avalanche on K2, doing what they loved, climbing the peaks of the world’s largest mountains. And another is how while driving and walking some of the streets here I have been reminded of New Orleans after Katrina, and New York City after 9/11. Christchurch feels somehow barren in the midst of a sprawling metropolis, with new construction apparent and signs of further work here, there, everywhere. It was sobering to come across a Memorial for the February, 2011 earthquake, honoring the 185 people who died.

Later, it was heartening to find a park with a structure displaying virtues from stories that come from members of the community.

 

Loren and I took a short walk along Fraser’s Beach at the beginning of this week, which we had seen signs for all the while we were staying in Manipouri and were glad we finally investigated. Then too we went to the local theater in Te Anau to see Fiordland on Film: Ata Whenua – Shadowland. One of our new Italian friends joined us for the 30 minute movie. It actually felt longer than a half hour with thoroughly captivating scenery, parts of which we have seen and parts seeing for the first time. That evening we had a fun BBQ with all our three Italian and one American friends here, it was a bittersweet farewell-for-now evening.

  

After an overnight thunderstorm we awoke to much colder weather. We still had a lovely time on the Gunn Lake Nature Walk as, after the rain, the old growth forest seemed more awash in brighter green mosses that are towered over by so many ancient Red Beech. 

Loren and I have appreciated being able to discern some of the innumerable varieties of ferns and mosses from what we were taught by our day hike guide in Milford Sound last week. My favorites include Crown fern – for its grand symmetry, Button fern – which to me looks like strands of shiny pearl necklaces, and Umbrella Moss – in which I see little green sea anemone. Then there are innumerable varieties of fungi and lichen here too…

  

We had wanted to hike to Earland Falls on our Godson’s recommendation, but, after driving over a long stretch of gravel road, and not being sure if our maps app was accurate about the Falls, we abandoned our plan and hiked the section of the Routeburn Track called The Divide to Key Summit. I actually made it to the top because it was a gradual uphill for an hour and a half, which is my favorite type of trail next to flat or at least undulating. We later learned that Earland Falls was along the Routeburn, and that Key Summit was merely a side track. It was our loss, a reason to return here someday…

I must mention – before moving on from sharing about Fiordland – that one thing I have neglected to record thus far are what the locals call “tree avalanches.” The mountains here are mostly granite, giving the tree roots little earth to sink into. We were taught the theory that when one tree gains a little footing, the neighboring flora flourish by clinging to that one’s fragile root system. When a storm or severe winds kick up, the footing can be easily lost, causing a slide on the mountainside where tree and all the attached come crashing down to litter road, trail, or water below, that exposes the sheer rock face and leaves a sorry pile of debris at the bottom. It can take 5 years for the undergrowth to return and many years to fully fill in again. This is common throughout this region.

We left Manipouri to drive to the Southland region city of Bluff, where one end of State Highway 1 originates/terminates. We had a delightful AirBnB hostess who had alerted us beforehand to the closing hour of a restaurant where we could enjoy oysters – what this town is famous for. We stopped in, made a reservation, then hiked more than a couple of hours around Stirling Point to work up our appetites. A Tui bird stayed put long enough for me to take a photo that just barely shows the white tuft at the front of its neck but more clearly captures its beautiful blue feathers. Later that evening I enjoyed filling in the last of a jigsaw puzzle that our host had put out for us to complete if we wanted, a nice way for me to reminisce about and anticipate more what is coming on our time here.

  

The next day Loren and I took a boat over to Stewart Island. It was a single story seating style catamaran, meant to handle the winds and confluent swells of the Tasman Sea to the west, the Southern Ocean to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the east. As our AirBnB host had warned, it is a rough ride even in good weather – which we were grateful to have. My stomach dropped deep more than once on our hour long crossing of the Foveaux Straight. That evening Loren and I went on a guided nocturnal Kiwi Encounter outing, and, we had the privilege to find three of them active in the wild! 

The next morning was overcast and the forecast on my weather app called just for wind. We proceeded with our plan to take a water taxi to Port William Hut wharf, then to hike back to Halfmoon Bay on part of the Rakiura Great Walk track. We had magnificent views along the bush covered trail, with periodic camping sites which also partially protected us from the several strong downpours that occurred during the day, and affording an opportunity for meaningful conversations with some other trampers.

  

After a quick change of clothes, we made it in time to the theater to see the film, A Local’s Tail, featuring true stories of Stewart Island people, history, and recent events, narrated through the eyes of a local pooch. It exemplified our experiences of what the Stewart Island Promotion Association website describes as “a simpler, slower lifestyle, in rhythm with the sea and the tides, attuned to the natural world of bush and beach.” There are an approximate 400 residents on the entire island of an approximate 1000 square miles. 

The next day we took in a workshop with a master carver of jade. It was our incredible fortune to have planned to be indoors as torrential rains poured down several different times – so much so that all the three scheduled ferries to and from Bluff were canceled. In the evening we enjoyed dinner at our Backpacker lodge with our young American friend who has also made her way to Stewart Island.

 

In addition to enjoying her company again, we have met some wonderful, mostly younger, people on Stewart Island –  other travelers whose values and philosophies in life resonate with ours, despite the differences in age. 

We spent our last full day of visiting Stewart Island by taking a guided walk of nearby Ulva Island. It is a nearly 100 percent predator-free sanctuary, ensuring that the native plants and wildlife that are threatened on the North and South Islands thrive in more abundant. This Stewart Island Robin invited us to take its photo.

On the way to Ulva Island our boat had also briefly stopped for us to take in the White Capped albatross flying about, and a flock of Spoonbill on a tiny “one-tree island.”  In all, this has been a lovely way to celebrate my birthday week! A special thank you to you both near and far who have helped me celebrate!

Happy Easter! It is a bit strange for us to not also want to say Happy Spring because, in New Zealand, we should say Happy Autumn. However the playful bunnies we saw on Roys Peak might lead one to believe differently.

 

 

It finally stopped raining enough in Wanaka earlier this week for Loren and I to take a couple of short hikes – one to the Blue Pools, and on our way back we walked along part of Hawea River Track. We also stopped to see That Wanaka Tree – well, we thought we had found it from our Google maps, though what we saw was actually two, unmarked, remarkable for their size, evergreen trees. That is Loren standing to the left of them.

 

We awoke to our first glorious sunshine and partial blue skies peeking through the remaining clouds and fog in what had seemed to be a long time. This was the day that we had planned to attempt the 6 hour Roys Peak Track. Loren has remarked several times how much this area reminds him of Scotland. As we began to hike, the clouds re-amassed leaving scant blue sky to be seen. Reaching the misty fog-line after nearly 2 hours of trudging up, up, and up, I called it quits. Still, I had had some fabulous views of the area.

Loren continued into the fog-obliterated unknown but, unlike Scotland, the track was clearly defined so the chance of losing one’s way was minimal. I felt confident to let him continue with other undaunted hikers, as he so wanted to summit this one to make up for not having “bagged” a Scottish Munro. It took me an hour to return to the car, and I took Loren’s suggestion to head to a coffee shop. When I returned at our agreed meet up time I was delighted to see how the clouds had cleared off for his continued hike, and, that he had befriended one of the few others who were about our age out on this tramp.

 

 

On our way out of town we stopped to photograph the three enormous Coastal Redwoods that have reminded us of California. That same day we drove the 3 hours to reach Manipouri, in the Fiordland region on the southwest of NZ’s South Island. As Loren’s Physio had said, we did saw The Remarkables along the way. They are unique in being a range of such uniform size and height. We have noticed the terrain change on each stop we made in New Zealand, and here it is true too. But, boohoo, after we left Wanaka I discovered what the real That Wanaka Tree looks like, which was not what we had seen.

 

 

 

Now we are in Manipouri for a week. Our lodging is walking distance to the harbor for our Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, which thanks to a dear friend we had booked. To reach our ship, we first took a boat ride over Lake Manipouri, then a bus over Wilmot Pass. I kept hearing our first Captain talking about the Pear Station this, the Pear Station that. What I discovered he was talking about was the Power Station, which had made a big impact on the surrounding area some years ago. It took concerted effort on the part of the locals to prevent them from drowning the whole area by connecting two lakes…

We cruised the whole length of the sound out to the Tasman Sea where we saw a colony of fur seals. We learned that this waterway received its name because Captain Cook was doubtful that they could sail it with success. You can notice how the weather slightly changed in a short period of time by how a unique pair of rocks looked both before reaching the sea and after we returned by them on the way back inland again.

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our adventure, sitting for a serving of soup, afternoon tea, and dinner with the same three other passengers. We also kayaked a couple of hours through on and off light rain. But overnight it teemed. We awoke to what the naturalist on board described as the most waterfalls she had seen here – each hillside showed one to several. Loren and I were grateful that we had the two days to see the major difference over time.

 

Manipouri is close to Te Anau, where our Italian friend who we had met in Scotland is now working abroad. So far, he is the first person who we have met up with in three different countries on our Journey! After Loren’s appointment with a new Physio here, we joined our friend for a homemade gnocchi dinner, at the home where he lives with his co-worker housemates – an American and two Italian. A lovely and delicious evening.

 

The next day it was pouring, but Loren and I went through with catching our bus for a Milford Sound Trek Guided Day Walk. It rained heavily throughout the morning, then cleared after lunch. I think that had we not had this commitment, but were planning to tramp alone, that the weather would have put us off and we would have missed out. We experienced the rain forest with a knowledgeable guide, a nice group of people, and even met a local Robin who was more than happy to pose for us.

 

The next day Loren had another appointment with his Physio in Te Anau. Afterwards we went for a long hike on the Kepler Track. Once again I bailed after a strenuous stretch of uphill hiking. Loren and the rest hiked above the timberline, then they bailed – except for one of the young men who continued on to the caves, and would hitchhike home. A common tradition here that is also reminiscent of earlier times in the US, is hitchhiking.

Our last big adventure this week was with taking a two hour Cruise on Milford Sound. It was a two-and-a-half hour bus ride each way to arrive at the ship, and we made a couple of stops for taking scenic photos along the way.

This cruise took us out to Tasman Sea as well, where we saw more dramatic waterfalls and more fur seals. But, what makes Milford more famous than other fiords in the area – like Doubtful Sound which has more arms, or Dusky Sound which is the largest, is that Milford has the steepest mountains along the length of the narrow waterway. Here you can see the last remnants of the mighty glacier that had originally created this sound. 

  

While onboard we met a group traveling from Taiwan who taught us their hand symbols for I Love You, which the man is the photo is demonstrating, and Two Hearts which the three of the women sitting next to him are showing. We also had our first glimpse of the green Kea – three were foraging along the highway on our return bus ride. Kea are the only parrots who live in alpine terrain. 

 

Loren and I finished this delightful week with a final visit to the Physio. One helpful policy for us in New Zealand is that because Loren suffered his injury here, he is entitled to discounted therapy visits. Then, we strolled through a Bird Sanctuary for injured species. This is where we saw our first Kaka, another local variety of parrot, with  a distinctly bright red breast.