From the Mountains to the Sea

Zigging back across New Zealand, we seek out the eastern side of mighty Mt Cook and more glaciers. Did we mention that glaciers in the South Alps move much faster than in other parts of the world? The mountains here are so steep that the ice travels downward at an average rate of a meter per day (as opposed to, say, Alaska or the Swiss Alps at a few inches per day). That’s fun for the viewer because if you spend more than a few seconds gawking at the power and majesty of it all, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll see some sort of avalanche.

Leaving the area we encounter a New Zealand traffic jam: hundreds of sheep being herded down the road. Protocol says to just drive slowly on through them. Mostly they veer out of the way, but look out. Individuals suddenly remember they forgot their purses and turn back to retrieve them.

We veer off course ourselves for a quick side trip to Antarctica, not that far from NZ. Here you see our rental vehicle and basic accommodations. Too cold, though, especially when the wind kicks up! Not too chilly for the diminutive blue penguins, though.

In Kaikoura we go to meet the dolphins. Well! This is no resort show with trained animals. Our boat, holding about 12 people, motors far off the coast. Suddenly there are hundreds of dusky dolphins leaping about. We slide into the water in wet suits and snorkels, and these playful animals swirl around us, clearly in charge of the fun. We are lucky in our timing. Gale force winds and rain (snow in the visible mountains) kick up as we are returning.

Here are a couple of benign-looking fur seals chatting about brands of shampoo. Later we meet their ill-tempered counterparts as we round a rocky outcrop. One is low, the other high on a ledge, effectively blocking our passage unless we care to swim. There is a knock-you-over aroma of fishy urine. As we attempt to sidle by, they issue growls of warning with an impressive show of teeth. Okay, okay, back we go to explore other options. These guys are called fur seals, but actually they’re sea lions, which is noteworthy because sea lions can actually move quite swiftly and adroitly on land. Ultimately we perform impressive climbing feats as we scale a narrow rocky ledge, clinging to clumps of grass, to pass above them. Sorry, no photos….

And so we close our time on South Island. A couple of days later we board the ferry for Wellington, along with a double tractor-trailer truck of cows who are not at all sure it’s a good idea. Probably on their way to a barbeque.

We leave you now with
this very sensible message.

The Far South

In Fiordland Nat’l Park we travel by boat into glacially-carved Milford Sound one day, then Doubtful Sound the next. Cruising among the precipitous mountains, we are joined by dolphins both days. A group races with our boat, swimming faster and faster as we accelerate. After the dolphins leave, our captain congratulates everyone on snapping fine photos of water. He’s right. You had to be there.

Heading for the southern tip of the island we pause to watch herding dogs at work and to help the farmer shear a sheep. This is really sheep country, with large flocks dotting the hillsides, sometimes surprising themselves with an unexpected escape into the road. “Help help, we’re outside the fence; what shall we do?!!” Sheep are not the brightest of constellations….

Did you know that penguins come in several varieties? Neither did we, but we’re learning. Yellow-eyed penguins are endangered and reclusive. And climbers! They nest in steep hillsides, going out to sea each morning and returning each evening to their waiting chicks. We watch from a “hide.” We have photos, but we’d have to write: “See that white speck there? That’s a penguin halfway up the mountain.” The next night we watch blue penguins returning from a day at sea in churning packs of about twenty. In the shallows they pop upright like corks, then waddle inland. We count roughly 70 total. Later, as we walk back uphill, a quarter- to a half-mile in, we suddenly see three penguins directly ahead of us, heading into the bushes to their nests. Shortly afterward there’s another, solo, flustered by our presence. S/he works vigorously to enter the tall grass, and then we hear a lively penguin discussion going on about the “terrifying near miss with the humans.”

This is nesting time for the endangered albatross. They have a wingspan of about ten feet. Note the bird on the nest with a chick.




And of course, the ever-popular sea lions. We even see pups, including this one having lunch on Mama. (Fur seals are actually sea lions, too. Capt James Cook, who laid claim to most of NZ for England, misnamed quite a few things – including sand flies, which are actually voracious black flies with an itch that doesn’t quit!)

We hike out to a remote, windswept cape and find a sign announcing the southernmost point of the South Island. We’re lucky we aren’t blown off to Antarctica!

Glaciers and odd birds

At Nelson Lakes Nat’l Park we climb into the stratosphere. If the world weren’t so round we could’ve seen as far as the USA!




At Hakitika Gorge we suspect a dye trick. This is our first glimpse of the brilliant, aqua glacial water from the Southern Alps.



The weka is making sure we don’t get out of line. These flightless birds are bold and fearless and silly.






Two huge glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox, push downward to coastal rain forest from high in the Southern Alps. We accidentally climb over the barrier fence at each one and walk over rocky moraine for about a mile to the toe, out of which flows a torrent of melt-water. In case anyone wonders who’s in charge: Mother Nature or mankind….


This Russian has been traveling around the world since 2000. His goal is to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first deaf mute to circle the globe by motorcycle.



We have been told that Fiordland Tufted Penguins live south of Haast, but who would imagine we’d actually see one, yellow eyebrows and all? This fellow is escaping the heat of the sunny shore by working his way up a forested stream.



In Wanaka we step into an MC Escherish illusionary experience: Puzzling World. Things are definitely not what they seem (or ARE they?) as our perceptions are twisted and knotted.

East of the Southern Alps the mountainous terrain becomes very arid. Trees and ferns are replaced by low tusssock grass, so we can see for many miles. Heading to Fiordland, we stop to walk up a rise to a stunning overlook. The track continues. We decide to walk to the next rise. Then the next. Then the next. Till there are no more….

North end of South Island

We drop off our rental car in Wellington, take the 3-hour ferry to NZ’s South Island, pick up a different car, and head northwest, continuing to tramp the countryside day after day from Marlborough Sounds to the northernmost point at Cape Farewell. It’s glorious!

In this region there seems to be considerable environmental interest, concern about all the chemicals on crops, genetic engineering of foods promoted by the US, efforts to conserve water, etc. In Nelson we go to the well-known and wonderful open-air Saturday Market for fine produce.
In Tasman we stop at the Jester House Café. Its “light earth” wall-construction is similar to straw bale, they have composting toilets inside, a meandering sculpture garden outside, and a stream full of eels that we are invited to feed!

The tiny town of Collingwood on Golden Bay proclaims itself as NZ’s first town to be plastic shopping bag free. And everywhere we go there is scenery to take our breath away, from seas and estuaries to mountains and rain forests.

A major treat is the surreally landscaped, totally un-peopled (except for us) Wharariki Beach where we happen upon a fur seal colony shortly after dawn. Or maybe it’s the day-care center: there are about 10 babies and 2 adults. We approach closer and closer without alarming them. The 2 adults even go off into the sea for a swim and bodysurf (really!) while the children frolic in a small pool at our feet.

Did you know that you can just click on any photo here to enlarge it?