Te Anau, New Zealand

Judy figured it out first. At about 3 AM this morning my iPhone started to flash and beep with CNN bulletins and then came a text message from Jeff: “Hey are you guys all good after the earthquake?” We assured him that we hadn’t felt a thing and knew nothing about the quake.

Turned on the TV: nothing, just the usual 3 AM programming. Found a few sketchy reports on CNN and other sources, reporting a 7.8 event north and east of Christchurch. It made our hearts sink: we had just been in Christchurch; we knew people there, slightly: our B&B hostess, the young Massachusetts native who was our Red Bus tour guide.

Then, in the morning, we learned that virtually every place we’d been from Wellington to Christchurch, but particularly the seaside town of Kaikoura were affected. On the 6 PM news, which we have on as I type, the situation in Kaikoura is especially bad. HW 1, New Zealand’s main north-south highway (think Interstate 95 up and down the east coast of the USA) is closed due to mud slides and pavement breaks. And in many towns such as Kaikoura HW 1 is the only road in and out. No one knows how long it will be before people, including tourists like us, can reach the outside world. The ferry from Wellington to Picton that we took from North Island to South did not run today. And the earthquake region is forecast to receive a severe storm with high winds beginning this evening.

All of which gave us an excuse to sleep in a bit this morning since our night had been interrupted. Judy was ready for a breakfast of eggs. Enough with danish and juice from the supermarket. She wanted to sample the free-range eggs that we’d been told were extra special. The hotel restaurant had finished serving breakfast by the time we got our act underway but the staff directed us to the Boatshed Cafe and Bistro where we fulfilled Judy’s every wish. A great way to start the day and yes, the eggs are bright yellow and very tasty.

Today’s mission: find our way to Te Anau, the jumping off point for the Fjord Land National Park and Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound, places we plan on visiting over the next three days. Incidentally, Doubtful and Milford are really fjords, not sounds. These terms are often confused in common usage. Generally, I understand, a fjord comes from glacial action; a sound is larger than a fjord and generally involves an ocean inlet that is formed through the action of a river. But read up on it for yourself before you take the SATs.

The trip today was pleasant. The first part of the route followed the east shore of the southern arm of Lake Wakatipu to Kingston and then further south through farming country to Te Anau. The most interesting part of this leg was a visit we had with a couple about our age from England. They were traveling by RV and following the same general route we are: Auckland to Dunedin and ending in Christchurch. They’re doing it in six weeks versus our four. We commiserated about our similar predicaments: Brexit and Trump’sIt. “It’s going to be an interesting couple of years for both our countries, isn’t it?” he said.

Here in Te Anau we checked in to the National Park Information Center and found a pie store where we had meat pies (lamb for Judy, steak for me) for lunch and then went to find our hotel. It’s another nice one with a view of the lake. The only fly in today’s ointment is that it’s turned cold (12 c) with light rain. That resulted in the first parting in the way for us in this entire trip: an afternoon nap for Judy and a walk in the rain for me. Sensible versus crazy, some would say.

On my hike in the rain I took my telephoto lens and found some nice birds to shoot. The real neat find, however, was a pair of pretty looking ducks, she (I presume) sitting on a nest while he (I presume) swam around the nest site, dove under the water and brought a mouthful of weeds back, which he placed on the already substantial nest.

The difference in the forest here is marked: no more jungle-like feel that we’ve seen further north. The path I followed today here in Fjord Land is much more like what I’d expect in northern woods back home: more evergreens, no palm trees and only smaller ferns. We’re getting closer and closer to the South Pole!

So tomorrow we’re off for Doubtful Sound and our overnight cruise. You’ll be happy to learn, as was I when I inquired, that sea conditions on the Sound will be calm and serene. The only wave action expected will occur when we venture out into the Tasman Sea for fifteen minutes or so. I should be able to hold my cookies that long and come away with bragging rights: “I sailed the Tasman Sea.”

Internet access on Doubtful sound is, well, doubtful so my next posting may be a day late or so.

Queenstown, New Zealand

Last night, planning for our day of rest on Sunday, we figured a nice restful cruise on Lake Wakatipu would be just right. And how about the optional sheep station visit (what we call a “farm” Kiwis call a “station”)? Only $20 and it includes lunch. We booked the 1 PM departure, which meant we had the morning for a leisurely breakfast and a nice restful stroll through the Queenstown park. Our lake trip got us back at 5 PM, leaving a leisurely 45 minutes before we have to leave for the Queenstown Skyline Gondola ride at 6, which will get us to the top in time for our 6:30 PM dinner reservation at the Stratosphere Restaurant. See what I mean? A nice relaxing day.

Queenstown is a real happening tourist town. Lots of shops and restaurants along the lakefront. There is an endless number of thrill rides, adventure outings and calm, serene boat trips for old folks like us. But it’s a neat and clean city and everyone seems to be having a good time.

Finding a parking spot took a bit of exploration. There were lots of spots on the street but all short term – from 15 minutes to 2 hours. We found a parking ramp and for $10 left our car there all day.

The best part was what we found when we came out on the street from the parking ramp: the Balls and Bangles shop. To call it a bakery shop doesn’t do it justice. The donuts are crammed with all sorts of interesting stuff and formed into a ball. We had one ball that was macadamia nut, butterscotch and chocolate and another that had cranberries, pistachios, strawberry and chai custard. The custard came in a syringe so you could inject the goo where ever you wished. Juice and a bagel made for an unexpectedly fun brunch.

The weather today is fabulous: temps around 15 (mid 60s), light wind and sunny/partly cloudy skies. That made for a nice walk in the park, which juts out into the lake on a peninsula adjacent to downtown. Lots of folks enjoying the day and lots of gardens that in a few weeks will be in full bloom.

The boat left at 1 PM and took us up the lake to the Mt Nicholas Farm, one of New Zealand’s largest “stations.” It’s the real deal with 29,000 sheep and 5,600 beef critters. They have a smattering of reindeer, tourists and a corporate retreat and wedding function business. Our guide told us that Google brought employees there for team building exercises.

— Break in the Action – – – time to go for dinner!

We’re back from dinner. A nice ride up the gondola (steepest one in the Southern Hemisphere) to the restaurant. Dinner was cruise-ship style: two seatings with an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food was good and the desserts overly tempting. This turns out to be a complex of tourist attractions. In addition to ride-and-eat there is a mini golf course, a Kiwi viewing opportunity (kiwi sighting 100% guaranteed), a luge ride, and a bungee jump and/or rope swing. Of course a gift shop. There’s also a cemetery at the bottom but it’s not clear that that’s part of the thrill ride although it might come in handy.

Where was I? Oh yes, sheep farming. This two-animal operation is a complex business. Our guide says that, of course, dollar yield per hectare is the name of the game. Equally important is to achieve the yield in a sustainable way. All that grass we see doesn’t just spring up on its own; it’s planted and must be fertilized and watered. And the crop has to be rotated with different grasses or, in this station’s case, planted to turnips and other crops that can be fed to the cattle and young (“two toothed”) ewes. The station is still in family hands. The current manager is a great granddaughter of the founder.

We had a demonstration of a working herd dog, a border collie, I believe, She ran across a field at least 100 yards wide and, at the handler’s command, cut out a dozen or so sheep and brought them across the field to where we were standing. The dog was perfectly in tune with the handler’s hand and voice commands and the sheep were totally obedient to the dog’s hearding.

We also had a brief demonstration of sheep shearing. They have three groups of tourists that come through every day and this isn’t prime shearing season (it begins in March here) so a single sheep must serve a number of performances. A few snips and the demo was done. We’ve seen much more shearing at the Hillsdale County Fair. Our guide, who did the shearing demo, told us about the professional shearers who come in for the season A good shearer can do 250 sheep per day. A top hand can do over 300 and might make $125,000 per year shearing here and elsewhere (Australia, for instance).

Our guide confirmed that sheep herds in New Zealand have declined from a peak of 80 million to 24 million animals today. Beef and dairy animals have increased to 56 million. Why? Prices and cost to produce, naturally.

So back we cruised, took a quick break, had our dinner up top and here we are ready to move on to Te Anau in the morning. We have a reservation to do an overnight boat trip on Doubtful Sound on Tuesday night and want to do something (kayaking?) at Milford Sound on Thursday. The weather forecasts, which have been totally inaccurate so far, are doubtful, calling for a rainy spell for the upcoming week. We’ll see and trudge on regardless!