Stewart Island

We have a new entry on our "favorite places on earth" list: Stewart Island. Our week here was one the most enjoyable we've had anywhere. It's a quiet, peaceful little slice of paradise that's about the same size as the island of Kauai, but with only about 500 permanent residents. Most of the island is remote, isolated bush with lots of tramping tracks and loads of threatened and endangered critters - there are 15,000 Kiwi birds here for example, thanks to the fact that they've made it a national park and have severely restricted development.

The photo above is the view from our "bach" or cottage.


We had several Kakas come by every day to say hello. Very melodic songs and not shy about coming close for a handout, as you can see. It was a treat just to sit on the lanai and watch them.



Did several hikes. On one we came across the remains of an old whaling station. Here's the detritus from past days - a trypot (for reducing the oil from the blubber) and some anchors, windlasses and other assorted junk.



Just one of the many beautiful vistas on one of the hikes.


The rural natrure of the island is best represented by the photo above of a roadside call box - an old fashioned hand-crank telephone in the middle of nowhere.


Took a boat trip one day along the southwestern side of the island. One of the most remote areas on earth. Here are a couple of shots from the trip.



One of the grottoes we went into on the zodiac.



Our Kaka buddies.


Also spent one day over on Ulva island - in the inlet that forms the bay of Stewart. Lots of birds, including the ground nesting Weka shown here. Must have seen 20 of them during our tramps, and they're usually quite difficult to see in the wild.


Some of the typical jungle we wandered thru for a week. Was a bit drizzly and cool for the most part, but not enough rain to keep us indoors until our last day when the sky really opened up.

In Queenstown now where we'll be for 10 days.

Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

We're just finishing up a week in the southern NZ city of Dunedin - we're actually staying on the Otago peninsula nearby, an area that's known for its wildlife and natural beauty. There are both blue and yellow-eyed penguins that nest on the beaches here and colonies of Sea Lions that also haul out on the sand. The weather hasn't cooperated too well - chilly and showery for the most part, but we have managed to get out & about in between the showers.

Dunedin was originally settled by Scottish emigrants back in the 1850's. In fact the name Dunedin is the Gaelic version of Edinburgh - their place of origin.


The Victorian facade of the train station in Dunedin


We've been able to do some hiking around the peninsula - an area that very much reminds us of Ireland, right down to and including all the sheep in the paddocks as we pass. As you can see it's been bundle-up weather for the most part. Hard to believe it's the middle of their summer.

This is a local landmark we hiked to earlier today called "Lover's Leap". Rita's afraid of heights so wouldn't get too close to the edge of the viewing platform.



Along the way we passed thru a picturesque section that we called the Orc Forest, since it reminded us of some of the scenes from LOTR.




You almost expect Frodo and Sam to come thru the trees in some places.




The hike today took us to one of the pretty sandy beaches along the southern coast. Pretty blustery but worth the effort. The prevailing winds from Antarctica have created some spectacular dunes - even rivaling the Nohili area at Barking Sands on Kauai. Going down was pleasant enough but the slog back up hill to the car was a royal pain. Thank goodness it was a cold day - we worked up a pretty good sweat trudging thru the ankle deep sand.



No beach trip here is complete without some critter sightings. This Sea Lion hauled himself up on the beach just after we walked by, and wasn't too happy to see us there when he looked around. Unlike fur seals, which are quite shy around humans, the sea lions aren't afraid of people at all. Quite the opposite. They get pretty antagonized if people get close and are known to chase you for 30 or 40 yards. If they catch up to you they pack a pretty severe bite too.


Stopped to eat lunch at one end of the beach and out of the wind. Wandered around a bit and came across this baby sea lion up in the dunes, apparently sleeping off his lunch.

We depart for Invercargill on the far southern tip of the South Island on the 22nd, then catch a flight over to Stewart Island for a week. The island consists almost completely of Rakiura National Park - one of the few places in New Zealand you can routinely see Kiwi birds and Wekas (a close relative) foraging for food in the open. Both are flightless, ground nesting birds and are endangered species. No dogs or cats are allowed on Stewart in order to keep predators away from the birds and the other wildlife that live on the island. No internet connectivity where we're going so we'll be blacked out for a week, until we arrive in Queenstown on the 29th.

Christchurch

We depart Christchurch today after spending 6 days in this beautiful city - the most "English" city in New Zealand according to the local visitors bureau, and I think that's probably true. Fundamentally different from the other large cities in NZ, it's relaxed pace and compact layout make it a walker's delight. Even the weather has cooperated this week: sunny every day with high temps around 70 deg. Made a couple of trips out into the surrounding hills and suburbs but mostly just stayed close to home and enjoyed the city.

Here are a few random views.





One of the Christchurch trams - takes the tourists on a 1.5 hour circuit of the central city. Not as schlocky as it sounds.



One of the Victorian era streets in the central part of "old town". Reminded us of the Singapore shop houses.


Rita in the botanical gardens.


The river Avon winds its way thru the central part of the city, Hagley Park and the botanical gardens. You can get a local "punter" to pole you around for an hour or so.




One of the side trips was to an animal park on the edge of the city. Was actually quite well done. Went to see the Kiwi's primarily, but saw a few other creatures along the way.







Talk about a face only a mother could love...


Heading south today to Dunedin and the Otago peninsula. Weather is supposed to turn a little rainy and colder the farther south we get.

The Robinson Family of Niihau

Captain and Mrs. (Eliza) Sinclair in 1843


Thought our Kauai friends might be interested in this: I mentioned in the previous blog that while in Akaroa last week we visited their local museum. One of the interesting sidelights of the visit was that, while going thru some of historical photographs of the early settlers to the region, we came across these two: one of Capt. and Mrs. (Eliza) Sinclair and other of their daughter Helen. People in Hawaii know the Robinson name from Gay & Robinson - one of the original Kama'aina families which bought vast holdings from the King back in 1863. They're the family that own the private island of Niihau as well as around 20,000 acres on Kauai where they've been growing sugar for almost 150 years. Thing is, they originally came from New Zealand - and from this particular area. We came across some historical records here in addition to the photos that told the family history on Banks peninsula, back when this was the first (and only) European settlement on the South Island.


Helen Sinclair, who later married G. A. Robinson


The Sinclairs arrived in Wellington from Scotland in 1841. After some unsuccessful ventures there Capt. Sinclair, who had fought for England in the Napoleonic Wars, built a small ship (a 12.5 meter sloop called the Richmond) and began trading up and down the east coast of both north and south islands. On one of his voyages he first saw Pigeon Bay, which was next to Paua Bay (where we were staying) in 1843, and was immediately attracted to it. Shortly thereafter he moved the family to the Banks peninsula and purchased land from the French, making them some of the first British settlers in the region. They established a farm, which they called Craigforth, and apparently operated a pretty prosperous business for a few years until May 11, 1846 when the Captain and his son were lost at sea during a storm while ferrying supplies to Wellington. Mrs. Sinclair remained in New Zealand for several more years before selling off her holdings and purchasing a ship to carry 3 families: the Gays, Robinsons and the Sinclairs to British Columbia where she intended to buy land in the Vancouver area. Enroute they passed thru Honolulu, remained briefly while resupplying, then continued on to the Pacific Northwest. They were unfortunately disappointed in what they saw there - either too expensive or too cold & rainy I guess, and turned around intending to try their luck in Australia. Again they passed thru Honolulu where King Kamehameha enticed them to remain by offering large tracts of land, including Niihau, which they ultimately purchased.

Eliza Sinclair was the matriarch of the family in Hawaii for many years. Their Makaweli homestead became well known - both Mark Twain and Isabella Bird visited and wrote about it.

Helen Sinclair married a man named Robinson, the first magistrate of the town of Akaroa, before they all departed in 1863. One of the other daughters (Jane) married the Captain of the whaling ship Offley, which visited Pigeon Bay in 1849, named Thomas Gay. So...that's the short version of how the Robinson family wound up in Hawaii, and why the company name on Kauai is Gay & Robinson.

One of the interesting side notes about the Sinclair family history on the Banks peninsula was their close and warm relationship with the local Maori, something they would carry with them to Hawaii where their relationship with the native Hawaiians has always been noteworthy.

Banks Peninsula and Akaroa

Just finished up a delightful 5 day farmstay on the Banks Peninsula near the little town of Akaroa - one of the prettiest little towns we've seen. We stayed on a working farm that runs beef cattle, sheep and deer. The farm has been in this family for 6 generations, and they can trace their ancestry to a blacksmith who first came here on a French whaling vessel in 1837. It was still a colonial age and at the time both France & England were vieing for dominion over New Zealand. The Captain of the whaler, seeing the potential that existed in this area, returned to France to secure a Royal charter from the king and then organize a party of colonists to return and cement French claims to the South Island. The British became aware of the scheme and rushed to secure a tretay with the Maori tribes to consolidate their own claim, which they did with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 - the document that essentially established the commonwealth of New Zealand under British dominion, while at the same time securing Maori land rights.

Talk about historical coincidence (and bad luck) - after a 6 month voyage the French settlers arrived in Akaroa only 6 days after the treaty was affirmed. So, having a British North Island and a French South Island was avoided by only the narrowest of historical margins. The settlers nevertheless elected to remain and have a go at establishing a settlement, albeit under British rule, and the result was (and is) a French-themed area within an English territory. The streets in Akaroa all have French names, as do most of the businesses. The little town makes the most of its heritage these days in catering to the tourists who pour in here every weekend during the summer months - it being only an hour's drive from downtown Christchurch.

One of the colonists on the French ship was the original ancestor of our host. We visited the local museum and did a walking tour of the town and his family name (LeLievre) came up again and again throughout the history of the area.

Sue and Murray Johns were two of the nicest people we've ever met on our travels. He graciously gave us a tour of the farm, including a sheep shearing demonstration in his shed as well as demonstrating the shepherding capabilities of his dogs, which was amazing to watch.



View of the main house and our apartment from across the valley


Didn't have to go very far for some interesting walks. There was a farm trail right outside our door leading down the valley to a secluded beach where there were basking fur seals and, occasionally, penguins. It was pretty steep in places, but the day was glorious so we just took our time and enjoyed the views - grassy paddocks everywhere with sheep dotting the hillsides. In fact the area reminded us very much of western Ireland - without the thousand year old ruins.



Going thru the gates on the way to the beach

We were looking to stretch our legs on a longer hike our second day there and so headed for one of the hillside walks that eventually connects the north and south sides of the peninsula while passing over the spine of foothills in the center of the old volcanic landscape. Did I say foothills? The walk began in the town of Akaroa and went straight uphill for about 2 hours - as challenging as anything we've ever tried in the gorge. Never a break either - no level spots to catch your breath. Went from sea level to about 2100 ft in less than 2 miles - really a steep grade and hard on the knees and legs. We were plenty pooped out by the time we returned from the summit.



Slow but sure up the mountain - this was the only semi-level place we could stop for a photo


After the hike we were pretty done-in and went looking for a more relaxed pastime the next day to rest our aching legs. Our host had previously shown us this bay, located next to his property and in fact bounded by part of his farm. It was a nice, sandy beach in a perfect little bay. We drove down, waded in the surf for a while (and were surprised that the water wasn't terribly cold), then found a shady spot on the grass to flake out and read a book for a few hours. Apparently these waters are so pristine that you can pick Paua (abalone) off the rocks at low tide. There's also a yellow-eyed penguin colony in the cove around to the left.


Two tourists in paradise



Looking down on the bay from the road above


On our last morning Murray took us down to the shearing shed for a quick demo. He also told us the history of his family on the peninsula - really fascinating. Here's a shot of Rita trying to rescue the sheep from the shears of the shearer. Just kidding - apparently the trimming is actually beneficial to them, especially in the heat of summer, and must be done every 6 months or so to ensure the health of the sheep.

Murray told us that at the moment the world market for wool is quite poor, making it difficult to show any profit after the caring, feeding and general upkeep of the little guys is taken into consideration. His most profitable venture at the moment is with the deer. He apparently crosses red deer does with Wapiti Elk stags to produce an excellent venison which (for the moment at least) commands good prices.


These few days must rank as one of the highlights of our travels - not just in NZ but around the world. I doubt it's possible to find two more accommodating hosts than Sue and Murray Johns. We really hated to leave.


Christchurch is up next - only an hour's drive but a world away from Akaroa. We'll be there for 6 nights.

Hanmer Springs

Looking down on Hanmer Springs from our Townhouse

Spent a couple of nights in Hanmer Springs on the way from Marahau to Christchurch. It broke up the drive into 2 easy days rather than one long one, plus we wanted to spend some time in the area which is known for it's thermal springs and is a resort area for the Christchurch area.

It was hotter than blazes when we arrived. Mid 90's with the wind blowing like crazy - felt like Los Angeles during a Santa Ana. Apparently there was a front passing thru. After it did the temperature dropped dramatically and the second day was really quite nice although still a bit blustery. Went on a short hike in the hills but cut it short when it started to look like a thunderstorm might be moving in. All in all a pretty relaxing stop along the way as we move south towards the Banks Peninsula - about an hour east of Christchurch city where we'll be staying on a sheep farm for about 5 days. Hope the weather cooperates. It's supposed to be a very scenic area.