Boog's Blog

Off to explore extraction and attraction city. Charges everywhere except the walks and the gardens. First a lake walk and then the garden.

The Queenstown gardens with their roses in bloom, varieties that we do not see at home. Lawn bowling, double bowls, pictured. Well manicured in the English way.

Nice county church after the service crowd milling about.

Off to the kiwi bird house. Kiwis and many other endangered species MBB QB took many pics which are on flickr.

Maori we spoke with have us the spelling of two peppers we tried earlier in the trip. Horopito, brown, spicy, from a pepper tree. Kawakana, green, also as a tea, from another pepper tree.

Tuatara,235 million years old, live to 100-200 or so years. Very rare and last living link to the dinosaurs. Look them up on wiki. Live a very slow life.

Giant eggs of kiwi, similar to a thirty five pound baby. Yikes. Hatch ready to forage.

Dinner at the bathhouse of king George V. Built to commemorate the accession to the throne. We had six tapas dishes sitting at lake edge facing the mountains behind the lake.

Last night we did our laundry. Not usually a remarkable event except that the device was in our hotel room. Each room has one. It is a combo device. Put in soap, press a series of very confusing buttons and it washes AND drys. Takes many hours. Never seen one before.

Went to the home or origin of bungie jumping. Insane crowds, could not have gotten a reservation even if I wanted one.

Queenstown is a resort town. Everywhere they are selling excursions to somewhere else. Bungie jumping, jet skis and boats, trips, Milford sound etc.

In a Starbucks to get coffee and limited bandwidth, 50 MB. Hotel has grudgingly given us 24 hour Wi-Fi with 100MB. Top level they offer.

Good town to walk about.

Another pretty day with an outstanding sunrise. Our hotel room faces east over the lake with a lovely groomed lawn between us and the lake and mountains.

Wanaka is by reputation what Queenstown used to be.

A day of more walks, more town time, and a final evening dinner wrap up with the group. Tomorrow is travel day with a very early predeparture walk.

It is good Fri here. Monday is also a holiday, a four day weekend.

Six hundred for climb to a good viewpoint. Actually a very good view. Learned a bit more about liability. Everyone pays a risk adjusted , based on type of job, percentage of their income into the AAC, accident assurance corporation. In exchange the state pays for all accidents, and all give up the right to sure. Criminal liability remains for negligence.

Wrapping up the tour today with a wine tasting, local wines at their best and then a dinner party.

Over Haast pass to the drier grassland on the east side of the alps. Onto the beauty of the lakes Wanaka and Hawea.

Hike is along the Clutha River into the town of Wanaka. QB dubbed this an almost perfect walk. About 8+ miles, flat, around a lovely lake, good scenery, few bugs. Could have been a little cooler.

One offertory of NZ is their liability laws. Some of the walks have been downright dangerous, never signed a release as one cannot sure local operators. They have no liability if you fall down the mountain, cliff, or river ravine.

At one point on the walk we came to a nice park. Perfect bathrooms and electric bbq grills provided by the rotary club.

Side note. Red pine is the Rimu a fine big tree, another of those that grow to 1000 plus years.

Walk ends in Wanaka a tourist town of several thousand situated on the end of the lake. Yachts, houses in the 800K range beach town.

Sunny and warmish again. So far only one day of rain.

Walk among the largest trees in NZ. The English called these white pine but they are yews.

Rimu,aka red pine, 1000 plus years, tall and home to a hundred epiphytes.

With some sausage from a container Jerry stood at lake edge and attracted eels. About two feet long they congregated , devouring the meat, looked ready to climb onto land. Been known to. They are at the top of the food chain except for the occasional seal coming in from the Tasman sea.

Conservation is complicated here. Four jurisdictions. Water, land, waters edge and forest.

Then a kayak ride on the lake. Rode out to the Tasman sea and dipped my shoe clad feet into the sea.

Fox glacier and a home. around lake Matheson

Lake walk through first and then another good walk to a glacier. Similar to Franz Joseph.

Then up to chalet lookout track, steepest track up. Maybe 600-700ft.

Lake meraki surrounded by one million acres of untouched forest.

More forest at the wilderness Lodge. Dominated by the 1000-1500 year old kahikatea tree. Might have as much as two tons of fruit on it.

Good picture of kuro bush. Symbol of air NZ as well as a very popular mauri carving, especially in jade.

Two nights here with very limited bandwidth, 50 MB and no TV. Lush lush rainforest more than makes up for it. Especially as few insects or bugs.

Early evening birdsong.

Horopito pepper plant. May not be the correct spelling. We need to cook with this and an Indian spice with seeds, dukkah.

Also pukako bird seen. One of my favorite along with weka bird.

Dinner was a blue nose fish. Not a tuna, a fleshy white fish with excellent taste. Not enough bandwidth to research the fish and other items mentioned above.

Heavy rain

Walk to the glacier. Helipad trip canceled due to weather.

Glacier walk in the heavy rain well worth seeing. The ice bridge picture could not have been done a few months ago. The glacier is receding at give meters a day. Yes, really fast. Was growing for a few years.

Walked back to town through the temperate forest. Just lovely though QB got wet through her rain jacket. My cheap yellow tyvek jacket was fine.

Afternoon in the hot springs, basically large hot tubs private and public. Multiple temperature pools one was warm enough, nice for a change. Twice the cost of water course way.

Rain never stopped.

Yesterday was Sat irrespective of what the blog said.

We start from the pounding surf of the wild West coast on the Tasman sea and end in the high alps with their tumbling glaciers. Rainforest, pancake rocks of some game and then to hokitika,a former boomtown during the gold rush. Also a jade area. Finishing in Franz Joseph.

As a reminder comments and suggestions are welcomed either to g + Or by email. Always like to see who is following our adventure.

Beautiful morning surf. No surfers in the early am.

Walk through a semi temperate rain forest, very pleasant because few bugs due to the lack of mammals.

Special BBQ lunch, kiwi style was arranged. Lamb and salad, bbq was thankfully sauce free.

Two hikes and a boat ride. More wilderness of course.

Hike over the pass, lunch at lake Brunner and walk along the shore of this temperate rain forest. Water taxi across the lake and a night at Punakaiki resort.

Green stone walk, same path taken by Mauri for their jade. Then came the real gold rush.

Good walks before lunch but the highlight was the keas. Flying soaring destroying the vans. One pulled off the aerial whole we watched. On further examination it unscrewed the aerial, we were able to reattach.

Good shot of QB chatting with two keas. Some really excellent shots of keas are too be found on our flickr site.

After a walk about the lake, a moss filled forest, many ferns and plants not seen at home, a jet taxi ride across the five km lake to a night facing the Tasman sea. Aussie land is 1500 miles away.

Another great day. Day of long climbs 2800 ft. High forest, did not do the final bit with its thirty percent grade.

Last evening saw the southern sky on a perfectly clear night. No urban or rural lights. Southern cross and spectacular view of milky way.

Climb is to a sheep station hut, nice place for lunch.

Accent and decent are dangerous. Mostly rocks stones roots weeds with some steep grades.

Five hours of hard walking and all we got was a couple of bellbirds and maybe a Wren.

Sheep station visit and demo. Herding, dogs and their training, wool preparation and got to see a blade cut shearing of a merino, sheared as a single piece.a real working farm.

Flickr pics to be delayed as just not enough bandwidth. Good shots from the walk and especially from the sheep farm.