The Kiwi Way
A Taste of the Kiwi Way!
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| Karla in front of the Kiwi statue in Queenstown |
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| Mitch at Walter Peak High Country Farm |
Last Saturday (9th) we flew from Sydney to Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand. We are on school holidays after the completion of Term One. We have been looking forward to this trip since we found out that we would be spending 2016 in Australia. The flight took a little over three hours, so it is the perfect trip for us while we are "down under!"
Queenstown is a beautiful mountain village with so much to see and do within a few hours drive. Here is a bit of information on Queenstown:
Queenstown (Māori: Tāhuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island.
It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains such as The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town; Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill.
Queenstown has an urban population of 13,150 (June 2015 estimate), making it the 29th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest urban area in Otago, behind Dunedin and Oamaru.
The Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 square kilometres (3,361.01 sq mi) not counting its inland lakes (Lake Hāwea, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Wanaka). The region has an estimated resident population of 32,400 (June 2015 estimate) Its neighboring towns include Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka, Alexandra, and Cromwell. The nearest cities areDunedin and Invercargill. Queenstown is now known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with New Zealand, Australian and international travelers alike.
Photos of our Time in Queenstown
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These are real mushrooms - look like gnome mushrooms |
On Sunday (10th) we went on a tour of Walter Peak High Country Farm. It was on a steam ship which went up the lake to a working sheep farm up in the high country. We ate lunch and had a tour of the farm which included watching the sheep herding dogs and a sheep shearing demonstration. Speaking of sheep, they are everywhere here!
Monday (11th) was our only rainy day so far on this trip. It would, however, have to have been on the day that we traveled to Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park. Here is a little bit of education on these national wonders:
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km, and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation.
During the cooler past, glaciers carved many deep fiords, the most famous (and most visited) of which is Milford Sound. Other notable fiords include Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. From one of the peaks within Fiordland National Park, a view of Mount Aspiring/Tititea to the far north can be observed.
Fiordland's coast is steep and crenellated, with the fiords running from the valleys of the southern ranges of the Southern Alps, such as the Kepler and Murchison Mountains. At the northern end of the park, several peaks rise to over 2,000 metres.
Ice has carved islands from the mainland, leaving two large uninhabited offshore islands, Secretary Island and Resolution Island. Several large lakes lie wholly or partly within the park's boundaries, notably Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, Lake Monowai, Lake Hauroko, and Lake Poteriteri. The Sutherland Falls, to the southwest of Milford Sound on the Milford Track, are among the world's highest waterfalls.
Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountains; the cooling of this air as it rises produces a prodigious amount of rainfall, exceeding seven metres (over 270 inches) in many parts of the park. This supports the lush temperate rain forests of the Fiordland temperate forests ecoregion.
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| Yes - those are waterfalls coming down everywhere we looked! |
We estimated that we saw 10 times more waterfalls in one day than we have seen in our entire lives. This area is one of the main reasons that New Zealand is thought to have some of the most amazingly beautiful topography in the world! It was truly awe inspiring - even with the rain!
Autumn in Otago
The next day (April 12th) we drove from Te Anau back to Queenstown and then to Cromwell. We took a couple of detours to see some amazing fall color. Since we will miss the fall color in Colorado this coming fall, this will have to satisfy us until Fall, 2017! It was pretty great, though!
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| This is a "fence of bras" near Cardrona. You can google it to see more photos of it! |
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| Street scene in Queenstown |
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| The gorgeous valley between Queenstown and Arrowtown |
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| The sheep are everywhere!!!! |
These are photos of Mount Cook - It was Incredible!
Mount Cook was amazing - Mitch and I commented that it reminded us of the Swiss Alps. Here is some information on Mount Cook:
Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height since 2014 is listed as 3724m (12,218 ft), down from 3,764 metres (12,349 ft) before December 1991, due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favorite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits, from South to North the Low Peak (3,593 metres (11,788 ft)), Middle Peak (3,717 metres (12,195 ft)) and High Peak. The summits lie slightly south and east of the main divide of the Southern Alps, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.
This is Lake Tekapo with beautiful autumn colors!
We loved the names of the villages!
We arrived in Christchurch around 4:00 pm just in time for a walk along the Avon River in the Botanic Gardens. We saw "Punting on the Avon," and the Christchurch Rose Gardens. It was all very lovely. I am also pleased to say that I am getting better at using the selfie stick that the Mortensen PTO Board members gave me for a Christmas present just before we left!
Our Christchurch visit had a bit of emotion added to it due to our knowledge of the devastating earthquake that hit the city in February of 2011.
As a reminder, here is information on the earthquake of 2011:
An earthquake occurred in Christchurch on 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 21 February UTC) and registered 6.3 on the Richter scale. The earthquake struck the Canterbury Region in New Zealand's South Island and was centred 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the port town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-east of the centre of Christchurch, at the time New Zealand's second-most populous city. The earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch, killing 185 people in the nation's second deadliest natural disaster.
Christchurch's central city and eastern suburbs were badly affected, with damage to buildings and infrastructure already weakened by the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010 and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt. The earthquake was felt across the South Island and parts of the lower and central North Island. While the initial quake only lasted for approximately 10 seconds, the damage was severe because of the location and shallowness of the earthquake's epicenter in relation to Christchurch and previous quake damage. Subsequent population loss saw the Christchurch main urban area fall behind the Wellington equivalent to decrease from second to third most populous area in New Zealand.
We saw evidence of the damage and significant rebuilding endeavors. We were struck with how clean everything was - it is clear that the people of Christchurch are committed to rebuilding their community. Here is a photo of the temporary memorial to the 185 people who lost their lives that day.
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| Empty White Chairs Memorial |
This morning (14th) we left Christchurch and traveled first to the port town of Lyttelton. We probably would not have gone here, but I found out that my principal, Malcolm McDonald's father grew up in this little port town just southeast of Christchurch. We decided to check it out and take a couple of photos for Malcolm. We were amazed at the damage from the earthquake that is still evident today. We found the elementary school - it is under construction now. Soon Lyttelton will have a new school for its children!
The rest of today was spent in awe of some beautiful countryside between Christchurch and Picton on the northern shore of the South Island. Tomorrow we will take the ferry to the North Island for the second half of our trip. The drive today meandered through countless vineyards, mountains, lush valley, sheep pastures (of course), and then, as if by magic, emerged the beautiful ocean which flanked us to the east and north until our arrival. Several years ago we drove up Highway One in California from Orange County to San Francisco. That is a gorgeous drive, but I think the one today rivals and possibly surpasses it!
Beautiful Vineyards on Way to Picton
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| Kaikora - On Way to Picton |
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| Near Kekerengu |
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| St. Oswald's Church between Kaikora and Picton |
Tonight we are staying in Picton prior to our ferry ride from the south island to the north tomorrow. We will stay in Wellington tomorrow night and then start our way north towards Auckland. Six more days of this amazing adventure.
As I was riding along the road today, I was moved to gratitude for this experience. We live in such a beautiful world which God has given us.
Just when I thought, "Oh - that is so pretty", I would then be rewarded with yet another of His handiwork - a couple of Shetland ponies, a mother milk cow with her calf, or maybe just a humble sheep with a charming expression looking right up at me!
Have a great week, dear friends!
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