To the Interislander Ferry and Picton (and the start of an unexpected adventure)

We got up bright and early the next day to make it to the Interislander Ferry that crosses Cook Strait to the South Island. It’s huge, and even though we’d been on it before, it’s always very impressive. We’d even worked out a routine. As soon as we were allowed to leave our cars, we made a beeline to the our preferred seating area (comfy reclining chairs on Deck 7, with a great view out large windows facing the bow of the ship and, mercifully, no TV), and the kids went to check out what movies were showing. Once we got under way, Lucy spent lots of time outside on the observation decks trying to somehow capture it all in photos and fix the breathtaking views in her mind so she could relive it all when she was back again in the prairie!

We arrived in Picton (on the South Island) at lunchtime, so we found our way downtown to a pleasant café where we could sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. There was a nice view of the bay and the ferry landing, and after lunch Lucy and Emily jumped up to go take a quick photo of the WW I memorial in front of the water. Just as in Europe, WW I memorials are everywhere. Curiously, it seems that WW I still occupies a bigger place in the psyches of New Zealanders than WW II, which came very close to their own shores (many of the war memorials have what looks like little addendum inscriptions to the fallen from WW II placed somewhere on the memorials). Apparently, many, many Kiwis fought and died for the Queen in WW I. (I just looked this up, and as a percent of population, twice as many New Zealanders (1.5%) died in WW I as in WW II, so I guess that explains it).

As we ran off to take that photo, Lucy didn’t realize she had left her purse (containing the entire family’s passports) on the back of the café chair. As you might expect, this is only the beginning of the story….

Bungee Jumping and Weta Studios

No, we didn’t bungee jump – but we did stop on the way to Wellington to watch two young women bungee jump together, and that was enough of a thrill! (They were bungee jumping over a gorge where more LoTR scenes were shot, so we got a 2-for-1 deal by taking the short detour!) You can barely see the two women hanging by their ankles and being lowered down to the boat in the river. Apparently, they enjoyed it. Go figure.

When we got to Wellington, our first stop was at Weta Studios, the special effects studio that was responsible for Lord of the Rings, the Narnia movies, lots of Avatar, and many other movies. You can’t tour the studio since they have all sorts of proprietary/secret projects going on, but they have a little museum/shop/theater, and that was fun. It was inspiring to see how a couple of artists were able to build a fun, creative and successful business that supports many other artists and creative people doing fun, original work. A nice inspiration for those of us starting a new business!

On to Mordor

After the much-anticipated Zorb experience, the next stop was the Tongariro Crossing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_Alpine_Crossing) – an all-day strenuous hike across the volcanic Tongariro pass in the North Island (it’s one of the most dramatic hikes in NZ and a World Heritage site). Because of the altitude, December is the earliest that they recommend attempting this crossing, and alas, the weather gods did not smile on us. On the day we planned to do the crossing winds were gusting up to 70 km/hour at the pass, and no buses were running to the trailhead. So we decided to go see the Whakapapa Ski area (which served as Mordor in the Lord of the Rings movie) and then go hiking at lower altitudes. It was really chilly and windy at Whakapapa (in Maori, “wh” is pronounced “f”, so you’ll want to enunciate that word very carefully), and we were quite happy we hadn’t attempted the Crossing! The weather suited the place, though, and it really did look rather evil (the volcanic black rock also added to the sinister feeling). Ben helped us identify exact locations for various scenes. You could almost see the Orcs coming up the hill.

It was relief to descend to lower altitudes and spend the rest of the day hiking in beautiful, warm weather on the Taranaki Falls track. Ben especially enjoyed this hike because it did look very “Lord of the Rings” (LoTR from here on). We even had time after that hike to drive to another LoTR location, which included another dramatic waterfall – Mangawhero Falls. (We were greatly helped in our LoTR location quest by a location book that we bought early in our NZ stay.)

The next day, the weather was better, and some of the hikers who stayed with us at the lodge decided to extend their stay in order to make the hike that day. (One of the hikers was from Germany and had tried to make the Crossing 17 years before, only to be stymied by bad weather. We felt happy for him that he was finally able to do it!) However, we were on a tight schedule and had to leave in time to make the ferry to the South Island, so we couldn’t stay another day (and to tell the truth, it still looked awfully cold and windy!). We did resolve that if our knees hold out, we’ll try to return to make the Crossing sometime in the next 17 years! Next time, we’ll make our attempt in February, when the weather is warmer.

New Year's Resolution

Finish the blog.

In less than six months.

(fingers crossed)

(what was my flickr password?)

Remember, click on the picture to go the photo album on flickr.

Finally! Zorb!

Ben is de-Zorbed after his wild ride.


Ever since we visited Rotorua when we first arrived in July, the kids wanted to try the Zorb (the most innocuous of NZ’s many crazy adrenaline-inducing activities). In Zorb, they put you in this big plastic ball with some water and roll you down a hill…well, you really have to see it to understand the attraction (and no guarantees you will even then). It was too cold in July, and it was still too cold when we drove by again during spring break in October on the way to our Abel Tasman trek. So this was our last chance, and the weather was wonderful! Only Emily and Ben were brave enough to do it, as Terry and Lucy were afraid an old bone might break or an old ankle might get twisted, with lots of big hiking trips still to look forward to. So Emily and Ben each went twice and loved it! Lucy and Terry were happy to watch (and laugh).


Click here for 10 photos.

Off on our Christmas Adventure

With everything packed the night before, we got up very early on Sunday to start ferrying everyone and everything (including 8 huge suitcases plus 4 backpacks, a duffel bag), and laptop computers to the car ferry. Terry’s first trip took Lucy, Ben the backpacks and several of the suitcases, the next trip included Emily and more suitcases, and the final trip brought everything else. All done in plenty of time! Gayleen’s (our landlady) husband, Don, met us at the ferry terminal in Auckland with his pickup truck and helped us take everything and everyone to their house. We put the suitcases and computers in their (very nice) storage shed and stayed for a nice cup of tea and some cake. Then it was back on the road with just the duffel bag and backpacks. What a relief!

All along our trip, we stayed in family cottage motels. They were very comfortable, usually with one or two separate bedrooms, a small kitchen and a living room – all for $80 - $120 US for 4 people. Many of the motels had a play area for kids outside, often with a trampoline (no law suits allowed in NZ, obviously!) Many of the motels carried a line of sugar packets with funny sayings on them – another example of the kiwi sense of humor.



Click here for 3 photos.

Farewell, Waiheke and Time out for Art

In the last 2 weeks before we left, it finally got warm enough for everyone to go swimming at Onetangi Beach. The water was still a bit chilly at first, but most of us (except Terry) got used to it. A big bonus was that the water was crystal clear.

Lucy and Emily took a little time out from packing to visit Kelly ?? at her local studio (you can see some of her art here). Kelly is an amazing artist (she is the partner of one of Terry’s ferry buddies, which is how we met her) and has a studio on the east side of the island. Emily loves art, and Kelly invited her to visit her studio, so with time running out on Waiheke, we drove over to her side of the island. Following Kelly’s advice, we stopped along the way to admire an incredible view…how is it we spent 6 months on Waiheke and never made it to this part of the island? Kelly was so gracious, showing Emily the journals she keeps, which is how she gets her ideas, discussing her techniques and showing her various works in progress. What a great experience for Emily!

After that, Emily and Lucy went by Waiheke High for one last look, and Emily showed Lucy the site of an epic struggle to recover a ball that rolled down a steep embankment into the bay.


Click here for 9 photos .