New Zealand Fur Seal Pups

Kaikora is a small seaside town known for their year round sperm whale population and local crayfish (lobster) delicacies. We stayed at the Artist's Retreat owned by local artist Karen and her husband Bob. Our hosts had several farm animals that Natalie got to feed each morning (donkey, pigs, sheep, and goats). After making sure all the animals were full, we ventured over to the local seal colony. We had low expectations since we see a lot of seals in California. We were surprised when we saw seals mere feet from the parking lot, some even sauntering in between the tourists to get to their favorite nap spot in the grass (excuse me, pardon me). The occasional overly interested tourist would test the boundaries of how close they could get only to be warned off with some loud seal barking. They were amazing.

The next day we took the 10 minute waterfall hike in search of seal pups. We saw 5 of them playing in the stream, so cute and feisty. In the wintertime the stream will host hundreds of seal pups.

On the way to our next destination we stopped at Yealands Vineyard per Bob's suggestion. The vineyard is carbon zero and has a driving path around the vines. At the cliff top ocean lookout they even piped in classical music to enhance your vine andview. Natalie had fun feeding the chickens.

On the deck of the house. Photo Credit: Natalie Sojka

Tossing bread to the pigs.

Jub

Harley

View from the front deck.

New Zealand Fur Seal (to the right)



Fur seal lounging on the grass.

Wildlife photographer at work.



Our Kaikoura house (Natalie in top window).

Waterfall on seal pup hike. Seal pup in picture below.

 

Yealands Vinyard. Carbon Zero certified and organic.

Overly friendly chickens getting fed on the vineyard.

 

 

Kia Ora or Hello in Maori

You can smell Rotorua long before you can see it. Ah, sulfur (think rotten eggs on a hot day). That smell lets you know that geothermal beauty is close by. Fortunately, Jeff had the foresight to rent an apartment (with a hot tub) north of town protecting us from the stench.

Natalie fell in love with Marley, the owner's dog, who loved to play with her and wagged her tail whenever she saw Natalie. We used the kayaks and row boat at the house to explore Lake Rotorua and the local stream. Natalie manned a kayak on her own paddling in a Z formation, hitting the bank or wall on either side of the stream, but making progress nonetheless.

The highlight for me was our visit to Te Puia, a geothermal and Maori center. Rotorua has a rich Maori heritage that was on display at Te Puia. This former Maori settlement has a very active geyser that goes off twice an hour, bubbling mud pits, and many steam vents. Our tour guide told us how the haka (or war dance) prevented many battles. He also described how the thermal pools are still used for cooking (and heating much of the town) and the way of life his people established in this area after the long journey from Tahiti to settle there.

There is a national carving and weaving school on the property that had artisans at work that we could observe and talk with. The craftsmanship was astounding, with such intricate detail.

The meeting house required a tribal invitation (and a ticket) to enter. A chief was selected from the audience and the Maori performer presented him with a fern and performed the Karanga or welcoming ceremony. Upon being granted entry, we all headed inside for the performance. There was a lot of jockeying for position amongst the crowd, so we were relieved when kids were allowed to sit on the floor up front. The performance had a wide range of themes from: the music of star crossed lovers, the fun play and rhythm of the stick tossing game, the fierce haka dance with warriors tongues sticking out to ward enemies off, fighting displays, and the poi ball dancing. Natalie took Polynesian dance classes and had performed poi ball dancing herself. She was blown away when the dancers each had 4 poi balls flying through the air at once, since she works with 2. The tribal chants and informative commentary left us with a real sense of wonder and appreciation for the Maori people.

Pohutu Geyser

Karanga Ceremony

 

Clean up time. Can she carry it all?

White Water Rafting

The minimum age for white water rafting is 10. Jeff called the company and explained that Natalie was 9 and would turn 10 in June - full disclosure (followed by some discussion of her rafting "skills", hmmm). They said that was fine (because Jeff is good at talking people into stuff) and so we were off and running.

They picked us up at our hotel and took us to the office to fill out the paperwork. We were given wetsuits, a fleece, helmet, life jacket, booties, and a waterproof jacket. Hmmm, that water is going to be cold. After getting Natalie dressed, I hustled to get my gear on. I still managed to be the last one ready with my pull over jacket somehow on backwards. Even the hung over stag party guys beat me to the bus. I raced on the bus right behind the others (and turned my jacket around on route).

At the river we hauled the raft to the edge (those things are heavy) and got on board. We learned the commands our guide would be calling out. Hold On, Get Down, Paddle, Back Paddle, etc. We would go down 60 Rapids in this section of the Turangi River for the next 2 hours, class III.

Natalie was seated right in front of the guide with Jeff across from her and me in front of her. She did an amazing job, only struggling when we had to lift the paddle over our head for the picture for an extended time. The rapids were exciting, but we managed to not flip the boat. Though we did slam into rocks and bounce off plenty (mind the bump). The river was beautiful and we even saw 3 of the endangered and elusive Blue Ducks.

We stopped for an opportunity to jump off a cliff into the lake. Jeff and Natalie took the plunge holding hands. I stayed dry instead. I had not been at all cold on the river with the sunny day, but wanted to be sure to stay that way. Onward we went with cliffs rising up on either side of us. After what seemed like a long time, we were at the half way point and were treated to chocolate fish and the stag guys pushing each other out of the boat. Their female guide just laughed.

Later downstream, Jeff was reprimanded by our guide as Jeff took one stroke for the 2 of the lady in front of him. We were supposed to match the stroke of the person in front of us, but she paddled short and quick. As always, Jeff did not want to conform. She later complained her paddle was broken and changed her paddle 3 times.

Natalie did such a great job continuing to paddle through the rapids. Even keeping a hold on her T grip after getting back into position, when other adults did not. The day exceeded my expectations and showed us yet another amazing side of New Zealand. She does not disappoint.

Routeburn Track

New Zealand has a system of national tracks (aka trails) with huts along them for backpackers to use instead of tents. The huts have bathrooms, kitchen facilties, and a bunkroom. You have to reserve your spot months in advance, so we have been hiking only small parts of these tracks.

The Routeburn Track is 32 km in total. We hiked only to the first hut, but the scenery was stunning. From the parking lot you could see a double waterfall cascading from the mountain above, not a bad way to start. We crossed the swinging bridge and the track hugged the crystal blue river. Miraculously a couple of hours into the hike a port-a-potty appeared. It had an amazing view and Natalie, of course, needed to use it. We stopped for lunch by the water where we had 3 waterfalls to view from the bank.

After the hike we got in the car and headed back to Glenorchy. On the way Jeff saw a lone female hitch hiker, so he, of course, felt compelled to pull over. Julie was from France and had lived in New Zealand for a year. We asked if she had been on the track today. "Yes, I actually hiked all 32 km of the Routeburn Track today. I started at 7 AM." Here we were so proud of our half day excursion when Julie had done 32 km in 8 hours and was walking back to town! Well, it was still breath-takingly beautiful for a 6 or 32 km hike.

Bathroom Break

Unplugging in Glenorchy

The house in Glenorchy had great mountain views, but no internet. So it was time to unplug (never mind that Mrs. Wooly's General Store had some wifi where we could check email). The mountains loomed large out our back windows. We had lots of rain, which made for snow capped peaks and many mornings where we were greeted by rainbows.

Jeff talked to the principal of the local school and managed to get Natalie an invitation to be a New Zealand student for a day. So with her lunch, swimsuit, and backpack in hand she headed off to meet some new friends at the small local school of about 50 kids. They all swam during the day, had math, history, and even gardening. She had a great time meeting new friends and had a playdate later.

Later in the week we went to the world's smallest church! There were about 10 pews and 15 people in attendance. The Presbyterian minister gave a sermon and afterwards we were invited to tea at a local artist's home. We met some new people, drank tea, and looked at the artwork. We were asked if we wanted to stay for tea, which was confusing since we just had tea. As it turns out there is tea and there is tea. The second tea was actually a potluck dinner that we were generously included in despite the fact that we brought zippo. So nice to be included in community.

School for a day.

Reading Tintin

Inside the tiny church (not on the day we attended, I would not wear that to church).

Lord of the Rings Fun!



Our house in Glenorchy