The Wild West

Continuing our exploration of the west coast of the south isaland, we spent 2 nights near the Paparoa National Park's picturesque coast.

The park is also home to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, bizarre formations representing more than 30 million years of geological history.

This area has a colorful history owing to its gold and coal mining elements. This is rugged, isolated and harsh terrain with remote settlements tucked into the hillsides.

The West Coast Gold Rush from 1864-1867
populated the area which, up till then, had been visited by few Europeans.  At the peak of the rush in 1867, there were probably about 29,000 people in the area---around 12% of New Zealand's European population at the time. One in five of the European men in New Zealand were on the "roaring" coast.

The town of Reefton is dedicated to preserving the gold rush era.  We stopped there to have coffee with local "miners" and get a lesson in panning for gold.   We also got a guided tour of the town's museum and met The Guiness title holder for New Zealand's Most Traveled Man in the World, John Bougen. (191 countries in a 151-day journey)

Tim, our tour leader, (left) and John Bougen

Coal production and its hazards both to miners and the environment are "hot botton" topics in New Zealand politically.
An explosion in 2010 that killed 29 miners brought the issue to the forefront again.

The Southern Alps

For the past few days we've been traveling along the west coast of the south island which has cooler weather than we've seen recently.  The mountains are breath-taking and are known as the Southern Alps including Mt. Cook.

We explored "the Mario Andretti of glaciers--Franz Josef Glacier ".  After steadily advancing down the valley since 1982 at the astonishing rate of about 17 feet per week,  it reversed course in 2003 and is now in slow retreat.

Kiwi Food Day

We are traveling along New Zealand's west coast taking in the spectacular scenery.

Wednesday was "kiwi food day". Our first stop was at an iconic fruit stand. ($1 US = $1.36 New Zealand).

Next up was a boutique winery.  We sampled 3 wines and nibbles.

Rachel, the owner, discussing wine with Debbie

Then we drove along Lake Wanaka and found a lovely spot for a picnic of traditional meat pies, L&P soda, and fruit.

Terri, Judy and Margaret having lunch

My lunch of mushroom and chicken pie and lemony L&P soda

Finally,  a real delicacy, white bait.   Yes, we actually ate the tiny fish and they tasted like a fried egg, if you can get past eating the eye.

Step one:fresh white bait

Step two:fry on griddle

Step three:Randall watches the sandwich being made

Step four:Mel enjoys

Queenstown on the South Island

We flew from Auckland to Queenstown and are now on the South Island. It seems strange to those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere that the further south you go, the colder the weather is. But that's the case. However, we've had nice, brisk, sunny days since we arrived here a couple of days ago.  The scenery here is spectacular.

Our hotel sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. The majestic mountains called the Remarkables are in the distance, snow-capped.
Because of the lake's unusual shape, it has a "tide" which causes the water to rise and fall about 10 cm (about 4") every 25 minutes or so.

View from our hotel room

Rotorua and the Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Rotorua is the center for Maori culture. It is believed the Maori People settled on the North Island about 1000 years ago and they have firmly held to their identity and traditions here. Nearly a quarter of a million indigenous Maori still maintain their unique lifestyle and culture.

Saturday evening we attended a dinner show much like the one we had seen in Hawaii at the Polynesian Cultural Center. This one, however, concentrated exclusively on the Maori traditions, including a "hangi", a traditional feast that's cooked underground.

             

                                          

 Rotorua is often called a thermal wonderland because of its volcanic activity.  Mt. Tarawera erupted in 1886, resulting in the region's bubbling mud pools,  geothermal geysers and steam vents.  After a hike in the lush green valley, we took a cruise on Lake Rotomahana where we learned more about the history of the geothermal sites.

Auckland to Rotorua

Friday we drove from Auckland to Rotoua with several stops along the way.  One of them was in Hamilton at the Hamilton International Gardens.

Then we drove through beautiful farmland where there are many dairy farms.

We stopped at a small dairy farm and had lunch with Ray and Dorothy who own 130 cows that produce certified organic milk.  They told us about the history of their farm and the stringent requirements for organic status.  Much of their milk is sold as cheese in the U.S. in Wholefoods and Trader Joe's stores.

Ray was a gracious host

Dorothy served wonderful muffins 

Greetings from Kiwi Land!

We arrived in Aukland, on the north island, on Wednesday and have been on the move ever since.  Our first impressions of New Zealand are of the spectacular green, rolling farmlands and cool, wet weather.

  

Kiwi bird

One of our first activities was a visit to the War  Memorial Museum which houses the largest collection of Polynesian artifacts in the world.

The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand who arrived in the area between 1250-1300 A.D. Their warrior culture was thriving when Europeans began arriving in the 17th century.

After leaving  the museum, we spent time with Prince, a member of the local Maori tribe, and his wife who told us about some of their customs and modern-day challenges and served us golden kiwi and other snacks.  The kiwi was much sweeter than the ones we're used to. 

The traditional greeting is to touch noses twice.

A Final Look at Australia

*The first human habitation of Australia is estmated to have occurred 42,000-48,000 years ago by people from present Southeast Asia.
*In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia and claimed it for Great Britain.

Our hotel in Port Douglas

*Between 1768 and 1886, 162,00 people were transported to Australia from England as convicts to create numerous settlements. In 1788 the first fleet of 11 convict ships arrived at what was called Botany Bay, present-day Sydney.
*The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government.  Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia.  There are 3 branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.

*Australia is one of the most expensive country's in the world to live in.  US $1 =AUS $1.25.  3 Krispy Kreme donuts cost Aus $10
A burger,  fries and a soft drink costs between AUS $15-20.
*The school year runs from February -December with 4 terms of approximately 10 weeks each.  The UN Education Index rates Australia first in the world along with Demmark and Finland. Government schools are free and educate 65% of the country's students.  Catholic and Independent schools educate 34%.

Bondi Beach, Sydney

*The socialized medical care is funded by a 1.5% tax on income over $15,000.

Sydney, our last stop

Sunday we flew to Sydney, our last stop in Australia before heading to New Zealand. Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales. Its population is about 4.6 million.  Because it is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world and the cost of the average home is 1 million dollars, about 75% of the dwellings are apartments.

It was settled as a penal colony (as was much of Australia) by England in the 18th century.  The city is best known for the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and fine beaches, to note a few.

Here are photos from Sydney.  (We've had beautiful weather, as you can see.)

Inside a mall

My crocodile burger.  Does NOT taste like chicken.  It was mild-tasting  and a bit salty. 

A special treat for us was a guided tour inside the Opera House.