Friday, 17 Feb. Nothing extraordinary today.  Countryside is mostly brown.  Mountains still seem surreal.  Got a chance to walk around Queenstown for several hours.  Nice garden.  Visited a winery that has no shipping charges!  They have a stash in a warehouse in Napa.  Good tasting.  I bought a case.  Visited a distillery that only opened a year ago.  Apparently the only one in NZ.  They’re selling expensive vodka and gin.  I’ll have to return in 2025 for their whisky.

The west coast looks strongly like USA’s east coast, from Virginia down to Miami.  Except for the absence of high-priced homes.  Windy.  The road was okay.

Queenstown

True.

Waaay up there. Bungie jumping. No Thanks.

Darts on TV. Riveting. Really. How they can hit their targets are amazing.

Note that you cannot see any part of the hidden section. In the states, you can see the outline. Lights.

Wyoming, right?

As i was leaving, one lady was clearly looking for her size to pose with.

Thursday, 16 Feb. This was a fairly lazy day.  I paid prime money to do a jet boat ride, mostly to get to see an area that was in the Lord Of the Rings movie.  Jet boats are exciting, but I’ve done exciting.

It was educational.  I got to see what is literally a better mousetrap, designed by college students to help cure the NZ problem with possums, which are much smaller than American possums.  (Backstory: NZ once actively tried to introduce new animals to encourage game hunting.  It did not end well.)  The boat ride illustrated the difference between glacier-fed water and snowmelt water.  It was amazing how long the two types kept themselves separated in a single river.  Also interesting was that the jet boats HAD TO go full speed for planing above the rocks.  Doing 360 degree spins in the deeper water was fun for those who haven’t done cooler things, but not spectacular for me. It wasn’t Milford Sound, but it was fun.

I spent some time just walking around.  Then crashed.  Got up to see the Southern Cross.  Ho hum.

I thought it was cheese. Actually it’s lightly cooked eggs.

The little tree. Next to it they built a house. Several months, over a $100,000, five seconds in The Hobbit. Movies.

The trees hollow themselves out, which is in fact a feature in the Lord of the Rings.

Cattle approaching. Even the tour guide didn’t understand why.

Clean snow melt water. Glacier melt is much more cloudy.

Wednesday, 15 Feb.  Simple, beautiful drive over countryside that was similar to Pennsylvania in color and Montana in hills.  Drove through Queenstown, but couldn’t find a place to park.  I did pay for one hour of parking, so I got a sense of things.  The place is a major jumping off point for multiple activities.  Bungie jumping, mountain bikes, parasailing, warm weather luges, hiking (Tramping), etc.  It’s also a launching point for day trips to Milford Sound, entailing 8 hours on a bus, to give a sense of how fabulous the Sound is.

Glenorchy is a small tourist town (350 people). Besides the wonderful setting, there’re boat rides, horse rides, and walking tracks.  I got some great pictures of cattle and sheep with much greater views than they deserve. BTW, the sheep you eat are of a species that produce poor wool.  They still have to be sheared twice a year, but the product is placed in carpets and such.

No more than four feet away. I kept waiting for mommy to snip at my toes.

I’d like to say the door opened up to a toilet. But no.

New Zealanders repeatedly exhibit a sense of humor I adore.

You lookin’ at me?

Again: You lookin’ at me? Same moment in time, different angles.

The white on the right are clouds. I like the perspective.

Monday, 13 Feb.  

It was an overall dismal day. But this picture was great!

There are much prettier ducks in NZ than in America.

This little knobby is the “helm” of the boat. That’s just wrong.

Visiting New Zealand without touring Milford Sound is like going to Arizona and skipping the Grand Canyon. The size was hard to grasp.  Snow capped mountains soar 4,000 feet up.  The cliffs had waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls.  You could almost say it was one waterfall with some bare cliffs showing.  The boat did an imitation of Niagara Falls’ Maid of the Mist.  Twice.  These falls are 500 feet tall!  Some falls are called “disappearing” because the wind blows the water into mist before hitting the Sound.   Even with poor weather, it was unforgettable.

It’s called a Sound for the simple reason that when the country got around to naming things, they didn’t know the word fjord.

The 120 kilometer drive was full of scenic views.  I took 148 pictures!  Many are junk or dups, but still.  My wifi is slow, so these are all I can upload.  More will follow.  Maybe even a photo of me.

That is not a small ship.

We’re approaching the falls. I’m on the bow. I get soaked. Fun!

Sunday, 13 Feb.  Left early in a drizzle, which continued for much of the day, though for one glorious stretch the sun was out.  Drove the Scenic Route from Dunedin to Invercargil to Te Anau.  Other than a 20 kilometer gravel detour, it was a perfect motorcycle ride.  Not bad in a car either.  (Note about the roads: Their white dotted lines are extremely liberal.  They seem be based on the premise that the driver isn’t an idiot and won’t try in pass when they shouldn’t.  So the lines allow passing on a curved, uphill stretch, assuming the thing being passed is a very slow tractor.)

Pictures tell a better story than words.  A perfect beach.  Sheep in the road. (I have a video, but can’t upload it yet.) The World’s Fastest Indian.  Trees blowing in the wind, HOWEVER, the wind wasn’t blowing on this particular day. They just grow in the wind and therefore grow in a bent position.

The terrain is very similar to Scotland, though the manmade structures are too modern to suit me.  There are no ruins.  (Amazing to consider that New Zealand wasn’t occupied in any meaningful way until the 1830s.) Some places have the perfect color of green that I love so much.  I’m in Te Anau for two days.  Tomorrow I drive to Milford Sound and take a boat ride.  Te Anau is a simple little resort town that’s the closest one to the Sound.  Otherwise it would have little to brag about.

A million dollar view. Very happy cows.

Someday I’ll upload the video. A lot of baahs.

“The world’s Fastest Indian.” This is Burt Munro’s bike.

I emphasize that the wind was NOT blowing this day!

This town is about as far south as you can get on the island.

An 1899 wooden bridge that was incredibly still used in 1978.

A cow tunnel under the road. There were several of them.

Sunday, 12 Feb.  First, the signs:

“Horse Poo. $2”

“Lonely Goat Winery”

Outside a produce market: “Local, Fresh Gossip, available every day.”

It was a too-many-pictures day.  Got out of Christchurch at the break of dawn.  First stop was Lake Tekapo, which came to view all at once from the top of a hill.  Breathtaking.  Just dazzling jewel blue.  Words don’t describe it, and actually pictures don’t either.  The wind was blowing like crazy too.  You had to be there.  There was a statue of appreciation for Collies and a tiny chapel with a large window facing the lake.  If the wind hadn’t been blowing so hard it might have felt serene.

Drove up to a university observatory station.  Tremendous views all around.

The next lake, Pulaki, was also intensely bright with monster waves.  The glaciers that feed both lakes are at the farthest end, so they weren’t visible.  Because rain seemed to hide that side on the lakes there was a sense of foreboding, like “There be Dragons”.  This area was used for several scenes in Lord Of The Rings.

Saw a sign for “Elephant Rocks”, so that’s where I went next.  It was used in the movie Narnia.  Cool rocks outcroppings.  (Sheep are just everywhere.  I asked about sheep on the road and was amazed at the surprised looks.  Apparently not a problem.)

Visited a small town museum, which was very similar to USA small town museums.  I do usually find something unique, and this was no exception.  A wooden “vacuum cleaner”.  A rabbit skin press.

Got to Dunedin, then got lost.  Apparently it has new roads because my GPS went bonkers several times.  It was also very cold (15C), whereas I was dressed for the lakes (27C).  Visited the train station, then called it a day.  I’m staying in a small cabin tonight, using a sleeping bag I brought.  Sheets cost extra.  Community bathroom.  I used AirBnb in Christchurch for the first three nights.  It was fine, though there was also a shared bathroom.  Tomorrow I’ll be in a regular hotel where I won’t have to be fully clothed to use the bathroom.  It’s the little things that count.

(I believe you can track my movement by clicking on “Track” on the Menu Bar.)

No, I didn’t eat it all.

Saturday, 11 Feb.  The International Antarctic Centre has various displays that gives the visitor a sense of what Antartica is like.  It’s less about the history than I thought it would be.  The Canterbury Museum that I visited yesterday has more of the early history.  But it was fun.  They had a cold room set at 17 degrees, then added a strong wind to get the wind chill down to zero.  They have a penguin exhibit that contained only disabled penguins.  They even listed each one’s disability.  One didn’t like to swim!  There was a ride in an Hagglund all terrain amphibious vehicle over a simulated Antarctic track, which put to shame all roller coasters for bumps.  If it wasn’t a real life example of an actual experience, I don’t think a safety inspector would have approved.  The driver pointed to the warning sign in advance and stressed “Read it!”

I found a fine whisky store.  Bought my souvenirs.  I mentioned my trip to Scotland and my visit to the Douglas Laing offices.  The shop manager was well aware of the company and the people that I met in Scotland.  Small world, the scotch community.

Went back to the Canterbury Museum to don Oculus VR headsets for a three minute demo presented by Air New Zealand.  They “remove” the airplane to give you a simulated view of just hanging in air.  Other virtual views follow. Very cool.  Also visited the Antartica exhibit again.  I walked into the Art Centre, but didn’t go through it.  Abstract art makes my head hurt.

Had dinner at the Astro Lounge, which is dedicated to all things scifi.  It’s behind “Cook N with GAS” restaurant.  They really know how to name things here.

I walked around the grounds of a big outdoor event featuring the city’s symphonic orchestra, whose last number was to be from Fantasia with synchronized fireworks.  Food everywhere.  Very green; cardboard boxes, wooden forks, etc.  I left before the concert.  I’ve got an early start tomorrow.  Christchurch is simply fantastic, but I’m hankering to get into the countryside.

This cold room only brought back childhood memories of waiting for a school bus in the winter. Sometimes the bus wouldn’t arrive!

Penguins With Disabilities. One simply wouldn’t eat in the wild. Considered a freeloader.

This one might give me nightmares.

What do you play for an angry bull?  Darth Vader’s theme would probably work.

I’m often not sure of the point of abstract art.

I really like the last sentence.

I mentally compare this vehicle with early, difficult versions of software. Peachtext rings a bell.

Crowds are crowds worldwide. Favorite t-shirt: “Science is not a liberal conspiracy.”

Synchronized swimming.

Friday, 10 Feb.  Found more colorful street art.  Saw more results from the devastating earthquake.  Visited “The Museum”.  At least that’s how everyone refers to it.  Very nice.  Visited the Botanical Garden, which had an amazing meadow surrounded by very large trees from throughout the world.  It was fascinating to consider the genius who, decades ago, thought to plant the saplings.

In the afternoon I did a wine tour.  Four places with varying results.  The third one had wines that tasted incredibly similar to California wines.  Honestly, after the first two wineries, it was kind of disappointing. (I can’t believe I just wrote that.)  The drive was great.

Had pizza with lamb topping.  Excellent.  Back was sore from all the walking, so I passed on another night of bar hopping.

It’s worth noting that the reinforcing structure was installed after the first earthquake. The damage came from the second one.

The only problem with this statue is . . . .

It’s not there.

I don’t know.

A Tree Museum.

Outdoor church

Winery

The most beautiful street in New Zealand. Or so they say.

Departed LAX at 11:30PM on Tuesday, after a “suspected mechanical issue” was checked out. I worry about the motivation to get the plane airborne when these arise.  But we got to Fiji okay.  The continuation to Christchurch was fine.  While landing, the first live creature I saw was a sheep.  (There’s a sheep shearing contest this weekend, but too far to attend.)  I’m 21 hours ahead of San Diego time.  At no time was I on the ground on Wednesday.

I’m using a new passport with a new photo, which is horrible.  Christchurch has a streamlined entry process, which apparently uses a computer to compare the passport photo with the holder.  I flunked.  Not surprised.  New Zealand is very antsy about biodiversity.  They don’t want pesky foreign biological anomalies getting into the country.  Such things as camping gear and even golf shoes are inspected.

Driving on the left isn’t a problem.  Using the turn signal is.  I turned on the windshield wipers about six times.  The rental company gave me an unannounced upgrade to a bigger car.  I was too tired to argue, but my gas budget is blown.

The city had a devastating earthquake six years ago.  A lot of the city is new, other parts are being repaired, some are just sitting in destruction.  Lots of contrasts, but overall I think it’s got a very positive attitude.  Found a wine bar and had some excellent wine.  Had perhaps the best burger ever.  BBQ bacon cheeseburger.  Juicy.  Talked motorcycles.  Everyone is incredibly friendly.

Note the wagon attached. Cool idea.

New Zealand was the first nation to give women the right to vote.

This are mini-donuts with a hard coated shell, Delicious doesn’t do the taste justice.

Reminders of the deadly 2011 earthquake. Some areas of the city are new and beautiful.