Taupo, North Island, New Zealand

Our day began early, as we headed toward Picton on the north end of the South Island. Our first surprise came only a few minutes after we left our accomodations in Kaikoura: a fur seal was hitching a ride along the highway. (Well, not actually, but it did look like it.) We arrived at the Interislander facility over an hour early and waited to drive our rental car on board the Atares.

The Atares, the ferry we boarded, was cut completely in half in dry dock just over a year ago, had thirty meters added to her midsection, and welded back together.

While on board, I purchased a Wi-Fi certificate, and uploaded photos to Facebook and to my blog page. Unfortunately, during the past week, I had forgotten that I had lost my after-hours check in information for our condo in Taupo when all my email had disappeared in Australia. I had forgotten to copy down the information from the email from Lakeside Villas.

Thank the Lord that I met a very helpful woman, Amanda Thatcher, who worked in the gift shop on board. I planned to purchase a phone card for their pay phone, but she got permission for me to use the ship’s phone to call our condo in Taupo. I got through the first try and got the code for the lock box so we could get access to the key to our unit. I found out that she loves Facebook, and she is now my first Kiwi Facebook friend!

The ship’s galley offered American hotdogs on their menu so I thought I’d have one since it’s been quite a while since we’ve been home. Perhaps to a Kiwi what I was served tastes like a hotdog, but to me it was quite tasteless; like biting into a sausage with substance but no flavor at all. The bun, ketchup and mustard were about the same as in the US but I had to throw out the hotdog after one bite, I just couldn’t stomach it. But it kind of proves a point about the food in both Australia and New Zealand—a lot of it is very bland, made without many spices, salt, pepper, or sugar. (We’re pining for the food we’re used to—which isn’t to say that the food here isn’t good, it’s just different from America.)

We docked in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, after a three hour crossing that was rough at times. The wind was blustery, especially through the channel between the islands, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. Once back on the highway, we headed north to Taupo. It was a fairly uneventful drive. New Zealand probably has only about 100 miles of four lane roads in the entire country. All national highways, like SH 1, have two lanes and most of the time you are driving left or right around curves or up and down mountains and hills. The speed limit is 100 KPH which is a touch over 60 MPH, but the Kiwi’s drive much faster around the curves than I felt comfortable doing.

The most prominent geological figure between Wellington and Taupo is Mount Ruapehu. (Don’t ask me how to pronounce it. The names in New Zealand are harder to say than those in the Old Testament.) It’s an extinct volcano that covers an enormous area and extends 2797 meters (close to 9000 feet) high. The top is covered by snow and clouds swirled around the peak as we caught glimpses of it as we drove to the tops of some of the hills that surround it. It’s part of Tongariro National Park, which is a big ski area for the Taupo region.

The city of Taupo sits on the northeast corner of Lake Taupo which is about thirty miles wide and thirty miles in length; the largest lake in the North Island. (Alana, our Lord of the Rings guide, said that New Zealanders are very literal. When they give a place a name, they don’t use a lot of imagination, thus: North Island and South Island for the two main islands of New Zealand.) Most of the names of places in New Zealand were named by the Mauri people who came to the islands in 1251 AD from Hawaiki. (I think that’s the correct place.) I’m not sure that all of their names are that much more imaginative either. Today we toured the Waitomo Glow worm cave and we found out that in the Mauri language wai means water and tomo means hole: thus—water hole is the name of the cave. (A small river runs through the cave.)

Monday, October 15, our first full day in Taupo, we spent getting ourselves organized for the rest of our holiday. The one place we did visit was Waikato Falls (The word for water is in this again.) which is just north of Taupo. Water from Lake Taupo flows north and there are at least seven hydroelectric stations along its length that provide 15% of New Zealand’s energy. The large majority of power generated here is hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind. The air and water are very clean here and the Kiwi’s want to keep it that way. The falls are only about twenty or thirty feet high, but an enormous volume of water flows over them through a narrow limestone channel.

Tuesday, since the weather report was for a mostly sunny day (what the weather reporters call fine) we decided to travel about two hours northwest to Te Kuiti to visit the Waitomo Glow Worm cave. Glow worms make their nests on the top of the cave above the river. They create “fishing lines” from mucus and drop the threads about six to twelve inches from the ceiling. The water brings insects, mosquitoes mostly, into the cave and they are drawn by the light the glow worm emits. Once caught on one of the lines, they are hauled up by the worm swallowing the line and the captured bug. Glow worms use the same chemicals to create their light as do fireflies, but their light is steady. Inside the cave, the glow worms look like stars in the heavens, the roof is just covered with them and there is utter silence in their environment—pretty eerie in a way, but beautiful and unique. Glow worms exist in New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania, but nowhere else on earth. They were quite an inspiring sight.

Rainstorm/Snowstorm: Driving from Queenstown to Kaikoura

Cold, dripping rain, and dampness greeted us on Saturday morning, October 13^th when we got up. After checking in at the desk, the hostess informed us that we may need chains to get through the mountain passes to the east. Having only driven is a small amount of snow before, the announcement spoiled my breakfast before I’d even had to chance to eat. “Chains?” I asked. “I’m from Florida, I’ve never driven with chains!” 

I did manage to eat a little breakfast before we caught the bus to the airport to pick up our rental car. Not only was I going to be driving on the wrong side of the road, through the mountains, but it was raining already and snow was expected. I made certain there was a set of chains in the trunk before we left the airport and turned east into the mountains. The rain continued, steady and fully encompassing the entire region, and as we gained elevation, it melded into show showers, and finally, into full-blown snow. As we reached the top of the pass, ice began to form on my windshield wiper arms, and snow had collected on both the sides of the road and the highway itself. We passed a snowplow on the side of the road, the crew most likely taking a break. Shortly after we crested the top of the pass and headed down, conditions improved somewhat, the snow disappeared, and full rain returned.

We drove for ten hours, through continuous rain and strong, gusty winds, maneuvered through some partially flooded roads and arrived in Kaikoura, on the Pacific Coast at about 7:00 PM. Route One follows the east coast for quite a distance, but at times it turns west and snakes through the coastal mountains that run right along the coast. They rise nearly 7,500 feet high and the ocean is as much as 3,800 feet deep only 500 feet from shore. It’s a dark, ebony volcanic beach and rock strewn, dangerous surf, with the two lane highway winding close to the wind swept waves and through several single lane tunnels. A tremendously wondrous and beautiful drive, but you dare not take your eyes off the road for more than a couple of seconds.

Kaikoura is world-famous as a whale watching destination, but neither boats, helicopters, nor planes ventured out in the type of rainy, gale thrashing winds that swept the whole of New Zealand on Saturday.

Tomorrow we head north again to Picton, where we will board a ferry for the three hour trip across the Cook Straight. The forecast for tomorrow: morning showers and snow in the central highlands of the North Island, but clearing in the afternoon.

And the Lord came and stood, and called as other times, "Samuel, Samuel." And Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant hears."  1 Samuel 3:10

New Zealand—Queenstown

The Queenstown area was completely covered with clouds when we flew in. Once the jet got below the level of the clouds, we got our first look around. We were nearly even with the tops of the surrounding mountains before the plane ducked below the layer of clouds.

Once again, the runway was only just long enough. The plane had to use a full reverse of engines and brakes to come to a stop before the end of the runway. We exited down stairs onto the tarmac and walked inside for a short customs check. Once in the lobby, I decided to use the ATM to get some cash in New Zealand currency. No luck, the ATM wouldn’t dispense any funds. We learned two days later, after three calls to our credit union, that our debit card would not work in New Zealand. (Even though originally we were told it would.) Luckily, we were able to get a cash advance on our credit card on our third day in Queenstown.

Our second day, we arranged for a tour of Milford Sound on the southwest coast. The total time for the trip was about twelve hours. Five hours to the sound, an hour for lunch, two hours cruising out to the Tasman Sea, and a four hour return trip. On the way out, we stopped at several scenic spots for photos, while on the way back, we simply drove to get back to Queenstown.

Two days after we took our tour, a heavy snowstorm hit the Milford area and caused an avalanche above the highway, bringing down tons of rock and trees. Some of the boulders are so large, holes will have to be drilled for explosives so they can blow them up and remove them. This could take several days. Some tours were trapped at the sound during the bad weather and may be trapped there until the road is opened. (Two days later and that could have been us!)

Our Milford Sound cruise was quite chilly and somewhat overcast, but the scenery was extremely beautiful. (as you can see from the photos posted on Facebook.) We enjoyed the commentary of Ian McIntosh, our tour guide, as he was knowledgeable about the history, legends, animals, botany, and current affairs of the area.

The following afternoon we took a half day, Lord of the Rings tour around Queenstown. We learned from Ian, the day before, that the third largest industry of New Zealand, after agriculture and tourism, is movie production. They have an abundance of beautiful scenery at a reasonable price, compared to other countries. Not only were many of the scenes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy filmed around the Queenstown area, but also some from The Hobbit, Wolverine, and Narnia. We were able to view a number of the locations where scenes were shot. One scene from Wolverine, which some of you may remember, was filmed on a one way bridge, supposedly in Canada. New Zealand has hundreds of single lane bridges and the roads at either end are marked with arrows designating which side of the road you should return to. You drive on the left in New Zealand, in Canada it’s the right. If you remember the scene, Wolverine moves his truck to the right, but the arrow is plainly visible, directing drivers to the left. The scene is obviously not shot in Canada—a minor blooper.

The one lane bridge leads onto the Paradise Ranch and Sheep Station, a thousand acre spread completely surrounded by a national park. Jim ?, (can't remember his last name.) the owner, charged Peter Jackson, (a native New Zealander from Wellington) three thousand dollars a day to use his ranch to set up and film several scenes from the Lord of the Rings, and later, The Hobbit. Locals from Queenstown, (about 30 percent of the population of 13,000, were movie extras, orcs, and uruchi. Horsemen from all over southern New Zealand formed a group of 250 riders that appeared in many of the scenes of the LOTR. Peter Jackson simply had them digitally duplicated in the larger groups needed. (Next time you watch, see if you can pick out the copies!)

Our whole LOTR tour was wet. It rained the entire afternoon, and clouds hung so low over the mountaintops that some of the locations were practically invisible. The last ford in one of the streams our four-wheel drive was going to cross, was too deep so we were unable to see Chinaman’s Bluff. Our guide, Alana, told of the time after gold was discovered in Arrowton, the next city east from Queenstown, and several Chinese men tricked some white miners into abandoning their claims in Arrowton in favor of some out on the other side of Paradise. They succeeded and moved to Arrowton where they staked valuable claims while the white miners were duped—thus Chinaman’s Bluff. It was a kind of payback for their earlier bad treatment by the white miners.

On the way back, we stopped in the Mount Aspiring National Park, got a look at the tree that inspired some of the ent faces in The Two Towers, walked through the woods where Boromir was shot and Pippin and Merry were captured by the Uruk-hai, and also sampled an edible leaf that was as spicy as a jalapeno. We needed a cool drink to wash the heat our of our mouths! All-in-all, it was an incredible two days of sightseeing and soaking up as much of the culture and history of the area as we could.

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And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.      Revelation 21:4

Ballarat, Victoria - Center of Gold Mining

West of Melbourne the land turns somewhat drier. Prickly Pear cactus grows head high in the more arid areas, and the land rolls away to a range of low mountains. Stubby wiregrass grows anywhere there is a small amount of moisture and proliferates in the lower cuts and marshes. The land is better for ranching: sheep, cattle, horses or rabbits, than it is for growing crops. In some areas, erosion has exposed the gray and white slate and limestone rocks on the surface. Stands of eucalyptus gather in groups around low ponds and gullies or otherwise grow anywhere they can find a foothold in any soil that provides a small amount of moisture.

Firs and pines grow beside eucalyptus along the higher elevations but are scarcer in the lowlands. As you approach Ballarat, the land rises in a series of rolling hills and low mountains. The soil turns to brown and is excellent for growing hay and pasture grasses.

The train station in Ballarat is a long walk from anywhere. At least that’s the impression we got after getting directions from the stationmaster to the Best Western on Barkley Avenue. The stationmaster sent us on a long detour by mapping out things on our path that weren’t there: from streets to even a McDonald’s Restaurant. I didn’t think anyone could misplace a McDonalds! Luckily, we passed a tractor dealer who steered us back on the right path, unfortunately we retraced almost half the distance we had walked before we found the actual location of McDonalds. From there it was a mere two blocks farther.

Ballarat is, and was, the center of gold production in Australia. It may also have been where my ancestor, Herman Koester,  as a 15 or 16 year old boy ended up in the 1850’s mining for gold. This is the reason we came to Ballarat: to get a flavor of the area and what it may have been like during the mid nineteenth century. To assist with that, we visited a recreated site of the 1850’s called Sovereign Hill in which the original city was reconstructed over the top of one of the early corporation gold mines in the area. During our visit, cold though it was at Sovereign Hill, (It was like a cold, rainy, Florida winter day. (40 degrees, gusty winds, and rain)

We watched a wheelwright construct a wagon wheel from the basic components of wood and metal. His is the only shop in the world that still creates wheels the way it was done in the mid nineteenth century. Following this, we took a tour into the mine, going down 100 feet below the surface. Independent miners were able to mine the quartz rock, from which they recovered gold after crushing it, from a depth of up to 300 feet. Below that they hit the area’s water table and could go no further because they had no way to pump out the water. Corporation mines invested in steam equipment capable of pumping out enough water to allow them to tunnel down to 1100 feet.

Independent miners, and corporations as well, left some of the gold bearing rock where they were digging to hold up the ceiling. The timbers and trees that were also placed in the mines were simply to warn the miners that a cave-in was coming by the loud creaks and groans they would issue as the ground was collapsing above. It didn’t always provide enough time for them to escape, but it was the best warning system they had at the time.

In the mines around Ballarat, from each ton of quartz rock brought to the surface, the miners could expect to get ½ ounce of gold. Although, at times nuggets, such as the Welcome Nugget, could weigh up to 1200 ounces, they were rare and few miners could count on finding such a windfall. A regular miner working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day for the corporation made about $5.00 a week. (Which was a high wage job for the time and men flocked to the gold fields to get one, leaving Melbourne with a labor shortage.) Their day began when they came down the elevator and reached the first level of the mine. Their 12 hour day ended at the same place. If the elevator wasn’t operating, they had to climb out, which may take over an hour. (This was considered their own time and they weren’t paid for it.)

Ballerat has about 75,000 people living there today. Their downtown area is a mixture of small shops, public buildings, hotels, and banks, with a strip of parkland in the middle of Sturt Street which is also home to a band-shell, statues, and fountains.

There is a city bus but we (Cindy would say I) decided not to use which resulted in us walking about 15 miles in the two days we were there, many times in the rain. The weather was cool to cold and rainy, most of the time we were there.

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Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6