Auckland and the Wine Country

We knew we wanted to visit the North Island but there was little time before we had to catch our return flight from Sydney to the US.  We flew to Auckland on the last day of the tour (Sunday, January 27) and spent three nights in the beautiful home and vineyards of Judy Fowler.  We had met Judy some years ago in Charlottesville--she is American and owns property next door to some friends in the countryside.  Decades ago, she moved to New Zealand and established a vineyard and winery called Puriri Hills.  It was there that we spent a much needed, restful respite before our long journey back home.

Judy and Phil with their darling westies

Phil pouring some very elegant Bordeaux-style Puriri Hills wine

View from their front porch

Early summer wine grapes--looking good!

Judy's wines are very well regarded both in New Zealand and in America where she exports some of her finest.  We really enjoyed her delectable meals and wine during our stay. Traditionally a white wine fan, I now have some serious interest in the smooth creaminess and complexity of the Bordeaux blends that Judy produces. (Regrettably, they are in the $50-90 range, so only on special occasions).

During our short stay in Auckland, we took a ferry over to the "wine island" of Waiheke.
In the heart of Auckland’s sparkling Hauraki Gulf, Waiheke Island is a picturesque blend of farmland, forest, beaches, vineyards and olive groves. We spent a gorgeous day there tasting wines, walking amidst the vineyards and enjoying the views.  We had lunch at one of the highest rated restaurants in New Zealand--Te Whau.  Here are a few photos from our fun day on the island.

Views from the road

Wine tasting at Obsidian

Lunch of bay scallops pineapple and peppers

The view and vineyards of Te Whau

So as a fitting closure to our nearly 4 week adventure Down Under, we relaxed in comfort (large suite with jacuzzi and private sitting area), slept in (no 6 am wake up calls!), casually walked (no 6 hour mountain hikes) and enjoyed the beauty and hospitality of the North Island.  We look forward to visiting again...

Braemar Sheep Farm

We left Milford Sound early on Thursday morning (January 24) and drove to a beautiful lake district for a quiet night (this after the backpacker lodge).  The view from our room was glorious and it was a very modest motel.  In fact, I commented that if this had been the US, there would be Ritz Carltons and Westins everywhere.

This was a travel day basically so we spent most of our time on our bus, fondly named Bruce!  With all the winding curves and steep drops, we were quite happy to have Bruce and our excellent driver, Ben. 

View from our little motel onto Lake Manapouri

Bruce...our very special bus!

After a long day of driving -- by the way, most people including us, don't realize what a huge country New Zealand is.  With limited roads, it takes a long time to get around mountains and lakes-- It took us many hours of driving(some on gravel roads) to come to our home for two nights-- a sheep farm, in the middle of nowhere, with thousands of sheep, beautiful scenery and the brightest stars I have ever seen.

Our hut is on the left

Braemar Station is very modest. It is actually a shearer's station during the season with a variety of bedrooms crammed together in a small house. We were fortunate to stay in a cute little hut away from the main building (and the bathrooms!) but it was wonderfully quiet and peaceful with views to die for!   The million-dollar views made up for the fact that we had one bathroom for all 14 of us, which we could reach only by walking outside in the middle of the night in total darkness!

Here are a few photos of the views from our hut and also our hike in the Mt. Cook area during our stay here.

Mountains everywhere and a very tired Robin

Glacier River to cross (we walked over 3 suspension bridges)

Friendly Kia bird

Our challenging but beautiful tour was coming to an end, so we celebrated our last evening with a picnic, overlooking the gorgeous mountains.  Ben and Christina did it again with grilled lamb chops, veggies and salads.  Topped off with the quintessential New Zealand dessert--a pavlova cake!

Last night on the Adventure Trip (I look happy, yes?)

A most beautiful picnic spot!  Overlooking Mt. Cook.

Pavlova with kiwi fruit--yum!

Living in a Picture Postcard World

50 million sheep in NZ to 4.5 million people!

It is not an exaggeration to say that every turn in the road, every room, every bike or kayak seat, every hike affords stunning views!  And you never, ever get tired of this, really.  Here I am going to post some photos of views we have seen from the bus, or out our room window or from the seat of a bike.  I should add that I have only a small Canon with which to take these and I am no professional!  That just reinforces the fact that this is one beautiful place!

One of many sunsets

Waterfalls on the road to Milford Sound (from the bus)

Mt. Cook and Lake Te Anau (on the bus)

Lake Manapouri (from our room)

Another view from the bus!

A quick hike in the rain forest

Roughing It!

If you know me at all, you know that I am very used to creature comforts.  In fact, a joke in my house is that a Holiday Inn is a camping experience for me!  So, when I booked this trip, I knew we would be staying in modest accommodations.  What I didn't know is that some of these modest accommodations meant we had shared bathrooms--and not just with another couple but with everyone on the trip, and even dozens of people we didn't know!

Let me explain....
The remote areas that we visited often had limited accommodations.  For example, in Milford Sound, there is only one lodge and it is very popular with backpackers.  It is beautifully situated in the woods just minutes from the Sound, but all the rooms are tiny and we had a guys bath/shower and a gals bath/shower.  Which we had to go outside to get to.  Not a problem!

Milford Sound Lodge

 

But the most amazing place we stayed in was up in the hills overlooking Mount Cook. I will write about Braemar Station and our wonderful final days in another post but I just have to rave about the views from our hut.  Our little hut was so cute and comfortable, but there was only one large bathroom for everyone (14 of us) and we had to walk outside in the middle of the night to get to it!  Ben, our guide was so funny when he said "I think you folks are mature enough to figure out who can use the bathroom when." Well, it was worth it.  Here are a few of our views.  I did not take a photo of our bathroom.

On a walk near our hut

Our little hut (on the left)

View from our porch

Kayaking in Milford Sound

Most visitors to New Zealand see the gorgeous Milford Sound in New Zealand's fjordland from a cruise ship or bus, which visits for an hour or so.  We were very fortunate to stay in some rather rustic accommodations (more on that later) but with an early morning kayaking trip with noone else but the dolphins, birds and occasional penguin.  Our group got up very early and headed over to Roscoe's Sea Kayaking Adventures where we get set up for a morning on the water.  Our guided tour took us over 12 kilometers of crystal clear water, closeup views of stunning waterfalls, rainforest trees clinging to the side of steep cliffs, and playful dolphins. The peace and quiet on the water was really incredible!

Waterfalls were everywhere

Mark and Cory from Canada

Almost mystical

Queenstown Extreme

Queenstown in the southern part of the South Island is known for its extreme sports.  It is a beautiful town situated on a turquoise blue lake surrounded by mountains! Our group of 12 are hardy souls and most were looking forward to spending our free day in Qtown doing extreme sports!  Ana, from Israel, went canyoning (jumping, sliding, swimming, rappelling, and ziplining through some of the most spectacular natural canyons); Paul and Greg, from DC went ziplining, then mountain biking down steep slope; Rachel from New York went sky-diving for the first time; Brian from Canada went white water rafting.
What did Bill and Robin do?  We had our own challenge...eating the humongous Fergburger.  
 
It is so famous in town that the line begins forming as soon as they open and goes on throughout the day.   It was delicious for sure and as you can see, quite huge.  Bill and I shared one :)

Actually, we did do some other fun things. The night we arrived, we took a 100 year old steamboat out onto the river.  The TSS Earnslaw is very authentic complete with strapping young men putting coal into the 500 hp steam engines.

The trip takes us to a homestead where we have a delicious dinner (lamb and beef of course) and then take in a sheep show.  The dinner is followed by a sheep shearing exhition which is a riot.  First we see how the sheep are herded by....sheep dogs!

Then we go into the shearing area and watch this funny guy shear a huge sheep (as large as he is) in about 2 minutes.  The sheep doesn't mind at all, in fact it is almost like they look forward to being manhandled and sheared.

Sheep shearing

It was a fun show in a beautiful setting. 

We also took a gondola ride up to the top of a mountain and rode a luge down.  Here are some photos from that extreme sport!

New Zealand Continues to Surprise!

New Zealand continues to surprise. We had an incredibly rainy and chilly day on Saturday...for our kayaking adventure. Most everyone came back chilled to the bone but Bill and I (who chose not to go out) had a nice pot belly stove and hot tea at the ready. We took a walk around the village but not before capturing some of our fearless tour members heading out to kayak. The village of Okarito is very small but its residents include a recluse award-winning writer and a well known photographer. It is really at the end of the road!

Let's do it!

Rachel wondering if she really wants to go kayaking

We had an amazing roasted lamb dinner tonight. Which brings me to mention our incredible guides, Cristina and Ben, a couple who are from Canada and New Zealand.  They have bussed us, hiked us, fed us and generally cared for us for over a week now with grace and charm. They seem to never sleep. Every morning we wake up to a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs or burritos, muesli,  fruit and hot coffee. Lunch is usually sandwiches and salad or meat pies, a specialty in NZ.  Dinner...well, Cristina is a great cook and has prepared for us Moroccan chicken tagine, Thai pasta, grilled fish and vegetables and the above referenced roast lamb with roasted parsnips, pumpkin and potatoes. Very delicious! Wish I could say that with our exercise I haven't gained any weight but I can't...

Ben and Cristina--our guides and fabulous cooks

Part of our group awaiting lamb dinner

After we left Okarito, we headed to Franz Joseph Glacier.  The Glacier was first discovered in 1865 and photos show that it has lost a lot of its ice over the past 50 years  Still impressive though.  There were several hikes offered, including a heli hike which 6 of our group opted for. Bill and I took a long meandering trail to the glacier, a walk of about 9 kilometers combined with a side trip through "the bush".

Bill by the waterfalls

Robin at the glacier

Unfortunately the heli hikers were not able to get up because the weather changed so quickly. The others went on a very strenuous climb to a lake and view of about 3.5 miles...much more rugged than ours.

The amazing thing about the flora here is that right next to the Glacier was a lovely tropical rain forest hike..

New Zealand is as beautiful and awesome...in any type of weather.  We haven't had a single day when we were disappointed.  We can't wait for the next week of exploration!

The Sun Will Come Out....Today!

When it is sunny in New Zealand it is gorgeous.  We had a wonderful sunny day as we traveled to Nelson Lakes National Park to pick up the hikers and then continue to the coast for an overnight. 

Beautiful Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lake NP

Along the West Coast on the Tasman Sea

We took a long walk around a lake in the Punakaiki area before visiting the Pancake Rocks in the Paparoa National Park. Through a layering-weather process called "stylobedding" the limestone has formed what looks like piles of thick pancakes!  When the tide is high, you also can see fantastic blow-holes.

Snow Sleet Freezing Rain--this is NZ Summer?

Our tour group split into two groups for three days on Tuesday.  Six of us went on a biking holiday around the Marlborough Sound in the North, staying at a cute bed and breakfast.  The other six backpacked into the Nelson Lake National Park.  We had thought of going backpacking but I was worried that I couldn't hike....straight up....for seven or eight hours...with a 25 pound pack.  Silly me!

Our view of Marlborough Sound from the B&B

Anyway, Bill and I are now so happy to have made this decision to bike because the weather for the hikers was horrendous.  The first day they had torrential rains (we did too which is why I didn't bike that day).  Now that we have remet the group, they tell us that they hiked through rivers (not streams) that came up to their waists.  They arrived at their hiking hut after 5 hours with their clothes completely soaked.  The hut did not have showers, hot water or toilets. My goodness.  The next day, they hiked again about 7 hours with some rain, more streams and arrived at their hut which was heated by a fireplace.  Nice, eh?  The bedrooms were actually rooms with mats on the floor and they had brought their own sleeping bags.  The next day they awoke to a blizzard!  35 mile winds, no visibility and blinding snow.  But they had to hike out because they had to reconnect with the rest of the group (us) and so they hiked through the blizzard for seven or eight hours.

When they finally got down off the mountain, we tried really hard not to tell them of our B&B's hot tub, the delicious meals we were served or the sunny hot days we had after the first rainy day

Here are a few photos of our beautiful biking day:

Bill fixing his bike

View from the Biking Route of Marlborough Sound

Our Fun Biking Group