Southeastern Pennsylvania

I seem to have been travelling a bunch, but blogging very little....my life is either too busy or too boring.

Since my last post I have been to Philadelphia, Rochester, NY, back to Bad Axe, and this past week I was back in Southeastern Pennsylvania, to exciting places like Exton, Brandywine and King of Prussia.  I have visited this area many times in the past 8 years, but have never seen much more than the hotel and an office.  This time I took a drive in rural Chester County and found the rolling hills, small villages and Amish farms quite interesting.

Being just outside Philadelphia I should probably have been eating the famous Philly Cheesecake sandwich, but I found something more to my taste in King of Prussia - The Cheesecake Factory, home of "Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp", one of my favourite dishes.

I must also admit that I have recently developed a love for the "Coconut Shrimp" at Outback.  My record is 4 dinners at Outback in 3 cities all in one week.  My favourite was Rochester, NY, but the shrimp were good everywhere.

 

Where The Heck Is Bad Axe

I recently spent a week in Bad Axe, Michigan, a place that you are unlikely to visit unintentionally, unless you are lost.  It is situated due North of Detroit, near the top of the "thumb" of Michigan, a little North of Ubly and East of Pigeon, so not a place that you would pass through going somewhere else.

Bad Axe is home to about 3,000 people, situated in a largely agricultural area, but the nearby beaches are a popular summer destination.  It is one of the most difficult places to get to from where I live on the west coast - leave home at 4 AM for a 6 AM flight, and arrive in Bad Axe at 11 PM, after an hour and a half drive from Saginaw airport.

I have visited Bad Axe on business several times over the past 5 years, and this visit was likely my last.  The town has changed a little in 5 years - Walmart has opened a large store on the north side of town, and today there are a lot of empty business buildings along North Van Dyke.  I am not suggesting that Walmart is to blame, but it does not seem to have much competition.  Electricity generating wind turbines are springing up like mushrooms outside of town, and the resulting increase in visiting labour, has stretched available accommodation in the area.

After "where the heck is Bad Axe?" the next question that I am asked when I tell people that I have been to Bad Axe, is "why is it called Bad Axe?".  It seems that early surveyors camped in the area and found a broken axe near their campsite, and so Bad Axe was born. 

Farewell New Zealand

Today we are heading home. After a coffee and date scone at Revive, we had a walk along the Petone foreshore and then back to Margaret's for lunch and to finish packing. We headed to the airport at 2:45 pm for a 5:30 pm flight and Air New Zealand moved us up to the 4:00 pm flight. So we had more time than planned in Auckland airport....time to blog.

Just a few minutes until we board our flight to Vancouver, so time to share a few last photos.

New Zealand is capitalizing on the Hobbit being filmed here. Wellington airport has been renamed as the Middle of Middle Earth and Air New Zealand calls itself the official airline of Middle Earth.

Happy Easter

The last 10 days have flown by and Easter is upon us already.  We now have less than a week left in New Zealand before we head home.

New Zealand is in a transition to digital TV, and I helped Margaret get a new antenna installed to receive the digital chanels.  Choices for digital TV are - Sky TV or Freeview.  Sky is a satellite service offering many channels and you pay a monthly fee as we do in Canada.  Freeview is a free service offering about 10 TV channels plus some radio channels, and is provided via satellite and from ground-based transmitters, depending on your location - all you need to do is install a small antenna or dish.  I like the idea that you can get a reasonable selection of channels on Freeview without any monthly fees.

Last Saturday afternoon we picked Tricia up and the three of us had a great trip to Napier and Palmerston North, seeing several relatives and friends.  In Napier we stayed two nights with my cousin Denzil, visiting with her and Maureen, and also managed to spend an enjoyable afternoon with Glenys and her husband Alan.  Glenys and Marlene have kept in touch since Heather was a baby in Palmerston North.

In Palmerston North we visited Auntie Bridie and took her out for lunch to celebrate her 92nd birthday, which is coming up on the 5th of April, and also got together with Judy Eden, a neighbour from our time living in Palmerston North in the late '70s, and also with her extended family.  We also managed a few walks and a little shopping.

On the way back to Wellington we spent a night at Tricia's home outside of Featherston.  The main focus was the building of two raised garden beds so that Tricia can grow some vegetables in her retirement, which starts on August 1st.  It was 28 degrees in the shade that day, so even though I started early in the morning, it was a tiring job.

I find it interesting to see how various cities and towns market themselves, or what they are known for -

• Napier, in the heart of sunny Hawkes Bay, is the Art Deco capital of the world - the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1931and was rebuilt largely in the then-current Art Deco style.
• Waipukurau, a farming town in central Hawkes Bay, having no other claim to fame, stresses its location on the 40th parallel - this sign is in the Latitude 40 Cafe.

• Woodville, the southern entrance to Hawkes Bay, seems to have an over abundance of antique stores, but at least one business is trying to portray the livelier image seen in the photo below.

• Palmerston North, capital of the Manawatu region, has a slogan of "Young Heart, Easy Living", capitalizing on the large numbers of young people attending the local university.  But it is much better known for its wind, hence the hundreds of power generation windmills on the hills above the city.

Tricia is joining us at Margaret's today and will stay for most of next week, so that we can all spend some time together before we head home.  It will be a crazy busy week, with lots of visiting and chores still scheduled to be completed.  But if we do not get them all done, there is always next year!

 

 

Goodbye Nelson....Hello Wellington

Pam and Brian drove us to the airport on Friday, as we departed Nelson and headed back to Wellington.  We had of course left enough time for a farewell coffee before our flight departed.

We really enjoyed our 6 weeks in Nelson, and look forward to another long-term visit in the coming years.  With 45,000 people Nelson is big enough to have all of the city-style amenities, yet small enough to not feel crowded.  There is good hiking in town and even better hiking in the surrounding area, and the people that we met were very welcoming.  Cafes abound, with a good variety of sweet and savoury snacks, and with 41 fine days out of 42, we certainly could not complain about the weather.  I would vote Nelson to be New Zealand's most livable city.

We decided early in our stay that when there was a rainy day we would go and sit in the public gallery at the local courthouse and watch a few court cases, but the rainy day did not come, so that will have to wait for another visit.

Since we arrived back in Wellington, the weather has certainly changed - not just in Wellington but all over New Zealand.  We have had two days of rain, and a cooler southerly wind.  The sun is now out again, and it is forecast to be fine for the next week or more, but temperatures will not get much above 20 celsius.

Wellington City was down to 12 days of water supply remaining on Saturday, so we hope that they were able to harness some of the recent rain to provide bit more of a buffer.  It would be a shame if there was no water for coffee, but I guess we could drink wine and beer.  The drought is estimated to cost New Zealand between 1 & 2 billion dollars, mainly due to the impacts on agriculture. 

We will have a few quiet days with Margaret this week, and then on Saturday we are heading up to Napier and Palmerston North with Tricia for a few days.  Our trip is rapidly coming to an end.

Cable Bay Walkway

Our last hike in the Nelson area was the Cable Bay Walkway, which we walked with Pam and Brian.

The walk itself is about 3 1/2 hours each way, and thanks to Alison, a friend of Pam and Brian who drove us to the start of the walk, we were able to walk it one way and avoid a round trip.

Cable Bay is so named as it was the point of landfall in New Zealand for the first international telegraph cable, when it was installed in 1876.  The rate for the first 10 words to Sydney was 80 cents (8 shillings back then), so not much different to a 10 word text message to Australia today.  Maybe our cellphone rates aren't all that bad, considering inflation?

The beginning of the walk was a very steep climb from sea level, through farm fields with sheep and cattle, but there were some great views from the top. In the first photo you can see the north end of the boulder bank that extends all the way from Nelson.  The estuary on the right is actually filling from the right, around the back of the "island" in the foreground of the photo.




We paused along the way to watch the local farmer moving a flock of sheep using two sheep dogs.  The farmer stood at the top of the hill and called and whistled to each dog in turn, and in no time the dogs had the sheep where they were supposed to be.  It was amazing to watch how effortless it was (for the farmer).

The second photo shows Marlene almost at the top.  If I had pushed the shutter release a little faster, or a little slower, the photo would have been of Marlene and Pam, but I managed to hide Pam almost completely behind Marlene.



After the first peak, the trail undulated through native bush, until we reached the second peak, where we had planned to stop for lunch. 

It seemed that we would be sharing our lunch spot with 90 intermediate school children who were headed in the opposite direction, but thankfully they were almost finished lunch and moved on about 5 minutes after we arrived, leaving us to the views and peace and quiet.

 

The last photo shows the view looking south towards Nelson.  The curved white line in the water is the boulder bank.  You will notice how short and how dry the grass is.  After 5 weeks with no rain, this area, like the rest of the country is hurting, and the entire North Island has been declared a drought area.  My cousins in Napier have taken weeds, hedge clippings and vegetable toppings to feed their nephew's lambs, as there is absolutely no feed on their farm.

The balance of the walk was entirely downhill, following a farm track that wound around the hillsides, almost back to sea level, and then we headed back into town for the now customary coffee.

 

 

Abel Tasman Adventures

On Sunday we were out the door at 7 AM and drove to Marahau for a day's adventure in Abel Tasman National Park.  Margaret, Marlene and I had spent several days in Abel Tasman back in 2001, hiking various sections of the coastal walk, and so with only one day available we wanted to hike the best section on our reunion trip.

We boarded our water taxi on a trailer towed behind a tractor at the Aqua Taxi office, and we must have looked a little weird wearing our life jackets as we cruised down the main road of Marahau towards the boat launch ramp.  After years of providing this service the company has obviously figured out the most efficient way to get 5 or 6 boat loads of people, many with kayaks, from the office and into the water within a few minutes of the scheduled 9 AM departure time.



We had opted for the Seals and Sand trip as it was cheaper than the two one way rides that we needed, and so the first stop was to visit the much photographed granite boulder in the next bay, known as Split Apple Rock, for obvious reasons.



The water taxi was powered by a single 225 HP Honda engine and we were soon skimming across the waves towards our first stop at Anchorage, where most of the passengers disembarked, either to start the 11 Km walk south back to Marahau, or to begin a kayak trip.  We stayed on board until the next stop at Torrent Bay.

From Torrent Bay we hiked north along the well-maintained trail through beautiful bush toward Bark Bay, 7.7 Km away.




About halfway to Bark Bay the trail crosses the Falls River on a suspension bridge.  From the centre of the bridge I chatted with a lone kayaker who had paddled in from the river mouth at Sandfly Bay.

 

Bark Bay had a beautiful sandy beach so we had lunch and a wade in the shallows.  As we ate our lunch we watched a seagull remove a brown paper bag from someone's backpack and start to make off down the beach with it.  I managed to recover the bag and put it back in the backpack before the owner returned, but the seagull tried a couple more times before finally giving up.

After lunch we continued north for another 6.1 Km to our scheduled pickup at Onetahuti, another beautiful sandy bay.

 

The trip home began with a visit to nearby Tonga Island, where we spied a few seal pups among the rocks at low tide, and then after a pick up at Bark Bay, and a drop-off at Kaiteriteri, we returned to Marahau.  As the tide was well out beyond the boat ramp, the trailer was waiting in the water and the skipper drove straight onto the trailer and we were immediately hauled up onto the beach for the return journey to the office.

It was a great day's hiking, and with none of us too tired, we stopped at Mapua on the way home and enjoyed fish and chips out of the paper on the dock.

 

 

 

Counting the Country, Company Coming & Carbon Conservation

Two years ago when we were in New Zealand there was a census scheduled but the census was cancelled due to the earthquake that had just occurred in Christchurch, the home of the department responsible for the census.  The census was taken on March 5th of this year and was made really easy as you could fill in the census forms online.

Wanting to do my bit for future genealogists, I ensured that we filled in the forms, but a part of me did it just to confuse those same people who will not find us in any other New Zealand census in the past 30 years.

Last Thursday my sister, Margaret, arrived for a visit and we did the airport perimeter walk while waiting for her flight to arrive.  We were surprised at the lack of security fencing around the airport and just how close we could get to the departing aircraft, something that we haven't seen in Canada in decades.

Those of you with shares in Bombardier, or who are proud Canadians, will be pleased to see that Air New Zealand is operating a fleet of Q300 aircraft on its regional routes. 

Nelson is the 9th largest city in New Zealand, with a population of 43,000 people, but has the 4th busiest airport in the country, so is well served with flights from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.



We went through the whole of February without using any form of motorised transport, not even a bus, so we have been doing our bit to reduce our carbon footprint, but we broke down this week and rented a car for 6 days so that we could do some out of town trips.

On Friday we went to Pelorus Bridge, a scenic reserve about an hour east of Nelson.  There are numerous trails of various lengths, and we opted to do the waterfall trail.  Unfortunately both waterfalls were very unimpressive due to the near-drought conditions.  But we walked through native bush and black (Honeydew) Beech forest which provided much appreciated shade and had some great views of the Pelorus River and surrounding area.  We enjoyed it so much that we did another shorter walk as well.

I never thought that I would be discussing erogenous zones with my sister, but truth is stranger than fiction.  On Friday night we went to the local Repertory Theatre's production of Erogenous Zones, which we thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend seeing it, even if you are with your sister. 

Saturday was market day and the now habitual coffee with Pam and Brian.  Over the past 6 weekends we have gotten to know several of the organic farmers and we will certainly miss our weekly trips to check out what is in season this week, and to chat with the vendors. 

 

 

 

A Wonderful Walk and Woollaston Winery

Yesterday we ventured out of town for a walk with Pam and Brian, southeast of Richmond. 

The walk up Hackett Creek took us to the "Whispering Falls", and with the lack of rain in the past month, the falls were barely whispering at all.  But it was a nice walk, primarily in native bush, with great views of the creek and surrounding hills.

The track began by crossing a suspension bridge (max 5 persons on bridge).




We then crossed another bridge (max 2 people on bridge) just before the falls.  We stood below the falls and watched a group of mountain bikers ride across the bridge and try to make it up the hill on the falls side....it was even scarier when they rode down again, towards the bridge.



We will probably visit this area again next week, as the trails were in good condition and there were lots of places to explore.  But today we did not have time, as we wanted to be at the Woollaston Winery at 1 PM.

Woollaston Winery is about a 20 minute drive west of Richmond, and they were hosting a Music on the Lawn event, featuring a Christchurch singer, Graham Wardrop.  The winery is located on a hill with commanding views of the surrounding area.

We arrived a little before 1 PM but all of the seating around the edge of the lawn was already taken, primarily as the trees and umbrellas provided some shade from the relentless sun.  We parked ourselves in front of the perimeter people, on folding chairs that Pam and Brian had borrowed from their landlord, where we were able to get some shade from the trees, and had a great position to see the entertainment. 

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, listening to a good mix of music, and watching the locals.  While the others sampled the local wine, I downed a bottle of Stoke Dark (beer).



All in all, a great day out.

 

Two Thirds and Half Way

We are now two thirds through our stay in Nelson, and half way through our time in New Zealand.  Oh how time flies when you are having fun.

Qualicum Beach friends, Pam and Brian, arrived last Friday, and so we met them for coffee after the Saturday market, and scheduled a walk for Sunday.  We took them on a walk up the Maitai River to the campground, then had lunch at the Suter Art Gallery cafe.  My motto is fast becoming "no lunch, no walk", but Marlene seems to view it more as "no walk, no lunch".  Oh well, as long as I get lunch I am happy.

On Thursday we rented bikes for a ride to Richmond, which is about 15 Km away.  We had seen bikes for rent beside the river for $60 per day, but decided to visit a local bike shop, which we found wanted $45 per day per bike.  The math really does not work - you can rent a $15,000 car for $42 per day, but you have to pay $45 per day to rent a $500 bicycle.  Who do you think is making more money?

Being unwilling to pay $45 per day, we decided to try the $25 per day deal at the local backpackers hostel.  The guy was very friendly and told us that as well as a trail to Richmond, there is now a trail from Richmond to Rabbit Island.  He provided us with a map, lock and helmets and off we went, thinking that we had got a much better deal.

Our first stop was at that bike shop that we had visited about half an hour earlier, to put air in the tyres (not to be confused with tires).  This should probably have been our first clue as to the condition of the bikes.

The trail from Nelson to Richmond is a paved shared use trail that primarily follows the route of the old railway reserve, so it was a safe and relatively easy ride - I will blog another day about Nelson and the railway, as it is an interesting story.

We both ran into problems as soon as we tried to change gears - either it would slip to a different gear or would not change at all.  I ended up manually putting the chain on the most appropriate front and back sprocket on both bikes and we rode without gears.  It reminded me of the bike I rode growing up, which by design had no gears.  We also found that the front brake worked really well, but the rear brake did very little - thankfully we not planning on doing any racing, or we might have been flying over the handlebars when trying to stop.  I guess you do get what you pay for!!

But it was a beautiful day, and the ride was otherwise uneventful.  We stopped for lunch in Richmond, and then decided to take the trail to Rabbit Island.  This trail was gravel and wound around the edge of the estuary with lots of bridges and sections of boardwalk.




Being marshy there were lots of wading birds, but the only creatures that would stay still long enough for a photo were these 3 steers, who didn't seem to care that we stopped to take their photo.

We found that the trail had not been completed all the way to Rabbit Island, so ended up riding on gravel beside the road which was not a lot of fun, so we turned around and headed back towards Richmond and home, and got some nice views of the hills along the way.




By now we were in the heat of the day and found ourselves facing a head wind as we biked north, so were both happy to stop for a drink in Stoke, which would not have otherwise justified a visit.

They say "if it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger", so we must now be a lot stronger as the ride up Beatson Road darn near killed us, with no gears.  We ended up walking part of it.  But then we were over the hump and could almost coast all the way back to Nelson.

When the guy at the hostel asked how the bikes were, I told him that we had a little trouble with the gears, but otherwise they were great....after all, I wanted my damage deposit back and did not want him to think that we had broken anything.  I wonder how many previous renters have done the same thing? 

After walking back up the hill to our apartment we were both happy to veg for the evening.  Needless to say we both slept very well....exhaustion will do that.

 

Last night we went to see an English movie, "The Sweeney", at the local movie theatre (mindless violence) and then to a Thai restaurant (the #2 rated restaurant in Nelson according to Trip Advisor)for dinner.  We agreed that we preferred Chokdee where we ate last week - food had more flavour and much better value for money.

Today being Saturday we are off to the market and then coffee with Pam and Brian.

 

 

Sun! Sun! Sun!

Another slow news day, so I will talk about that old standby - the weather.

The 10 day weather forecast for Nelson is for sun, sun and more sun, with temperatures up to 26 degrees.



26 degrees may not seem overly hot, but the sun is more intense in New Zealand than in Canada, with higher UV indexes, meaning that you burn much faster.  I have to re-apply sunscreen every hour or I burn badly, and leaving my head with its thinning hair exposed, results in my scalp getting burned really quickly.

Supposedly there are three reasons why you burn faster in New Zealand -

• The ozone is thinner.
• The earth's orbit takes the southern hemisphere closer to the sun in summer than the northern hemisphere.
• Less pollution means more UV gets through.

It is therefore no surprise that New Zealand has the highest incidence of melanoma skin cancer in the world.

Despite the heat I still managed over 24,000 steps yesterday, so I am not getting much of a reprieve. We walked up the valley to check for more mushrooms, but only found 4 which garnished our dinner tonight. 

We finished the day with a Penang curry at a local Thai restaurant, Chokdee, which was very enjoyable.

Today we had a quieter day, with coffee at the Suter Art Gallery, where we sat on the patio overlooking a park and pond.  Then Marlene headed off to get her hair cut and I spent some time at the local library.

But hey, it can't be exciting every day.

 

Asteroids, Vegetables and Opera

Saturday began with us wondering whether asteroid 2012 DA14 would actually miss our little blue planet, or if perhaps the scientists could be wrong.  Thankfully, the scientists were right and the asteroid passed exactly as predicted, just after 8:30 AM local time.

Having survived a potential armageddon, we decided that we needed vegetables if we were to survive another week, and so we set off for the farmers' market.  We visited all of our usual (it is our third week) organic vendors and picked up at least a week's worth of fruit and vegetables.  The farmers' market operates year-round, with whatever is in season available in any given week.  Thankfully we are here for apples, plums, nashi and summer veges and not silver beet and cabbage.  We always hear a variety of foreign languages being spoken at the market, among both the vendors and the buyers, so it all seems quite international.

In need of fortification for the trek home we stopped at the Red Gallery Cafe for a drink and date scone (the best scones that we have found in Nelson).  Marlene tells me that she likes the organic coffee and organic milk that is used in their lattes, but I think the real reason that she likes it is that they use double shots of espresso.  For me, it is definitely the date scones - I love this cafe culture!

Then Saturday night was Opera In The Park, presented by the Nelson City Council in Trafalgar Park, which is the local rugby venue.  This is the 14th year that the event has been held, and we were not disappointed.  The music and singing were great, but we were also impressed with the organization and the behaviour of the crowd. 

The gates opened at 5 PM for a 7:30 PM show, so lots of time to stake out a spot and have a picnic, while listening to the pre-show programme.  The park was divided into sections for picnic blankets and legless chairs near the front, a special section for the elderly and disabled (this would not work in Parksville....everybody would be sitting in the elderly section), with standard height chairs behind.  Walkways were well marked with white lines on the grass and the ushers were helpful at finding you a place to sit.  You could bring your own picnic, including beer and wine, or you could buy food and drinks from several vendors around the venue.  There were people there of all ages, and everyone was well-behaved, despite the availability of alcohol, and lack of visible security personnel. 

Despite it being an open-air event, smoking was not allowed in the park, and the target was zero waste.  There were no rubbish bins (that is New Zealand speak for garbage cans) and the expectation was that you took everything with you that you brought in.  They did provide food composting bins, and my chick pea curry and rice was served on a paper plate with a wooden spoon.

We sat in the front section on a blanket borrowed from our apartment owners, even though it was almost 7 o'clock when we arrived.  The ushers would ask people politely if they could squeeze up a little and make room for the extra people, and people complied.

If I was ever to be evacuated to a park because of a disaster, I think that Nelson would be a good place for it to happen, as everybody seemed to get along.






What about the show you ask?  The show was a mixture of opera (Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, and others) performed by two sopranos and a tenor, accompanied by Orchestra Wellington, plus some more contemporary music performed by local New Zealand artists, also accompanied by Orchestra Wellington.  A total of 23 pieces were performed, with a twenty minute interval in the middle of the programme, over 2 and a half hours, and all for $15 per person.

We thoroughly enjoyed the show and the whole experience and we will be looking for similar events in the coming weeks.

 

The pictures below are a little blurry (night time photos on an iPhone held above one's head are not great) but they will give some idea of the stage area with the big screen so we could actually see the performers up close.

The final piece of music was "Montagues and Capulets" from Romeo and Juliet, which played during the fireworks display.

After the fireworks, everybody left the park in an orderly manner and we headed up the coastal pathway towards home.  We passed a skateboard park, and despite it being 10:30 PM, the lights were on and there were two boys doing stunts on scooters - not something that would be tolerated in Parksville. 

As it was a clear night, we then sat outside our apartment for a while checking out the stars using the Starmap app that I had downloaded on my iPhone.

Altogether a busy day that mixed asteroids, vegetables and opera, but we enjoyed it all.

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was a relatively quiet work day, so by 10:30 AM we were on the trail of those elusive mushrooms.  It was a cooler day today, low 20s, with quite strong southwesterly gusts, so very pleasant for hiking.

It took about an hour and a half to get back to where we had seen the mushrooms on Sunday, and although they were not overly abundant, we did find enough to eat for dinner tonight.  What we need is some rain to go along with this warm weather, to generate a better crop, but unfortunately there is none in the ten day forecast.

After harvesting the day's mushroom crop, we sat on a log beside the trail and ate a picnic lunch, before heading back down the trail into town.

In town we bought tickets for Opera in the Park on Saturday night, checked out the cafe at the Suter Art Gallery (great lunch items, but more on that another day), and grabbed a few groceries before heading back to our apartment.

So, another 20,000+ step day, and a successful day's foraging....not bad.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

 

Gong Hey Fat Choy

Happy Lunar / Chinese New Year!!

Today being Sunday in New Zealand, there was no real work pressure so we decided to do a longer walk (hike).  We set off up the hill towards the Centre of New Zealand, and from the top of the ridge we had some great views up the Maitai Valley, which was where we were going.

From the top we headed down  into Branford Park and then walked up the Maitai River.  Water levels are low at the moment so there are signs warning against swimming due to bacteria in the water, but some of these pools certainly looked inviting.

We walked upstream, past the golf course, and when we thought we were at the end, we found that we were at the Maitai Valley Campground and the parking lot for the Dun Mountain Trail and a series of other trails for hiking and mountain biking.  The prospect of a coffee at the golf course was enough of a lure to prevent Marlene from suggesting that we hike a little further, but when we got to the club house we found that they only offered bar service and that did not include coffee. 

So we rejoined the trail and found a shady clearing to eat our snacks.  While munching away we saw two couples come out of a side valley carrying plastic bags full of field mushrooms, so of course after eating we had to investigate.  We found a few mushrooms big enough to eat and quite a few more that still had some growing to do, so we might have to revisit this spot after Tuesday's rain, in hopes of a more bountiful crop.

Since we had missed the mother lode of mushrooms, all that remained was to head for home.  Along the way we passed this trap, which was likely for rats or stoats.  New Zealand has a huge problem with imported pests including opossums, rats, stoats and weasels which eat the eggs of the native birds, significantly reducing their quantities.  It is therefore not unusual to see traps and poisoned bait in the woods to catch those pesky varmits. 

Tonight we tried a somewhat unique dining experience.  We ordered fish and chips at the Milton Street Fish Shop and had it delivered to a table on the deck at the Sprig and Fern pub next door.  Quite a civilized idea really, letting both operations do what they do best, while attracting more customers to both of them.  The Sprig and Fern has no TVs, no pool tables and no slot machines (pokies in New Zealand parlance), preferring to encourage conversation.

We sat with a retired couple from Glasgow, a young man from Stoufville, Ontario, and a young woman from Minneapolis.  Not exactly hanging out with the locals, but good food, a half pint and some adult conversation made the experience worthwhile.

All in all a busy day with 24,000 steps, making it a record day for 2013, and I doubt that we will be staying up too late tonight.

 

All In A Day's Walk

Today I finished work before lunch and so we decided to take a walk into town and along the waterfront, hoping to find a good place for a date scone (for me) and coffee (for Marlene).

Off we went, down the hill, through the Japanese Gardens, along a pathway beside the highway, across the Maitai river, and eventually on to Wakefield Quay.  We found a few places that were more restaurants than cafes (certainly their prices and selections suggested so), but nowhere that served the elusive date scone and coffee.

So....we kept walking, all the way to Tahunanui Beach!  Still no sign of a date scone, but Marlene did get her coffee fix and we snacked on the cheese, cashews, banana and apples that she miraculously pulled from her backpack.

We were going to take the bus back to Nelson, but we would have to wait for an hour, so we decided that we could walk back.  But this time, Jim suggested going over the hill rather than around the waterfront.  I am still not sure if that was smart (a shorter walk) or stupid (quite a climb), but we did it.

This first photo is Tahunanui Beach from Bisley Avenue.  As you can see, we had climbed quite a way from sea level.






We continued walking uphill and took this second photo from a lookout on Princes Drive, which was almost at the highest point on our walk, and had some spectacular views down into Nelson Harbour..

Parking is at a premium in several New Zealand cities, especially those built on hills, but I certainly don't envy this guy's parking space - down hill from the road, up the ramp onto the platform, and not a railing or barrier in sight.  If you don't stop quick enough, you drive right into your house below.

We found several hidden walkways along the route, linking one street to another below or above it, and so we weren't on the road all of the time.  Thankfully our gamble paid off and we arrived back in Nelson at Yello Cafe, still hoping for that date scone.  It was late in the afternoon, and so they were sold out, but we did enjoy a delicious cheese scone before buying a few groceries and heading home.

Do you remember a week ago I was moaning about the walk up the hill laden with groceries and having to have 3 or 4 stops on the way up?  Well we have come a long way in a week, and can now walk up the hill, laden with groceries, without stopping.  Yeah!!

So I feel like I have walked 500 miles, I couldn't walk 500 more, and I darn near fell down at the door, but I did it.

Tomorrow is the Farmer's Market, so it will be another adventurous day in Nelson.

 

Historic Nelson Walk

Today was a busy, but productive, work day which didn't end until about 3 PM, after which we decided to do a historic walk around central Nelson.

The walk took in the Anglican cathedral and other historic sites, including South Street, which as shown in the photo below, is a short street of houses from the 1860s.  They have all been lovingly restored and several are available as "Executive" (read "expensive") rental units, for about 4 times what we are paying for our cozy apartment on the hill.

Being a slow day for photographs, I have added a few more gastronomic delights from the past week.  First off, a baguette that Marlene had for lunch at the Yello Cafe (fast becoming one of our favourites).  The sandwich contained roasted pumpkin, onions, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pesto and feta cheese.  I can attest that it was good, as I had to finish it for her.

And secondly, I managed to snap a photo of a Cadbury marshmellow easter egg, before Marlene devoured it.  Note that it comes complete with yolk.  We also saw a dark chocolate peppermint marshmellow egg in a store, which sounds great, but we haven't tried one yet....there is always tomorrow.

Happy Waitangi Day

February 6th is Waitangi Day in New Zealand, a public holiday to celebrate the signing of a treaty in 1840 between the British government and New Zealand Maoris, effectively making New Zealand a British colony (and totally coincidentally the anniversary of my Mom's birth).

Yes, this is our second public holiday this week, but don't go thinking that New Zealanders are always on holiday.  They only get 11 statutory holidays, so no more than in Canada.  But they are smart enough to take 8 of them between Christmas and Easter, during the best weather.

We walked down the hill to Founder's Park to attend the International Kai (that is Maori for food) Festival.  It was a good deal as normally entry to the park is $7 for visitors, and today we got in for a few dollars - note the "Gold Coin Koha" wording on the sign (basically make a donation of a $1 or $2 coin).  We have seen a few "gold coin" donation events in our travels.

We sampled a variety of foods, with Marlene particularly enjoying the coconut buns being sold by a Samoan church group.  I went for the full meal deal and had the hangi prepared by the local Maoris.  A hangi is similar to a Hawaiian luau, where the food is slow cooked in flax baskets over hot stones (or in this case pieces of railway track) in a covered pit.

When it was ready there was a mad rush to get served, and I had about a 15 minute wait in line to get my food, but it was the best $5 that I have spent in a while, with pork, lamb, chicken, cabbage, potato, pumpkin and kumera (New Zealand yam), all served "by hand" by the locals.

Another treat that was very popular was a small watermelon cut in half, with some of the melon removed and replaced with ice cream, all served with a little drink umbrella.  Unfortunately I didn't save room for this delicacy.

There was quite a crowd present but we saw no issues while we were there, just people of all ages, shapes and sizes out to have a fun day in the sun.

Notice the sign in the photo below advertising the Maori Roll or General Roll.  In New Zealand, Maoris can choose to vote in one of the 4 electorates reserved for Maoris, or they can vote in their home electorate.

All in all it was a great day out.

 

A Rainy Holiday Monday in Nelson

Today started with rain, which is forecast to continue until early tomorrow morning, heavy at times.  But then we are supposed to get at least a week without rain and temperatures in the mid-20s (I don't know if that is good or bad).

You might think that this means a day indoors, but not if you are travelling with Marlene.  The plan is to walk into town and go to the movies.

Yesterday we ventured out early, before the heat of the day, going up the hill, past the Centre of New Zealand marker, and down the other side into Branford Park.  There are many trails in the area, but the destinations are well signposted, so not much chance of getting lost.  From Branford Park we crossed the Maitai river and walked back down the trail on the other side, into the centre of town.  We saw cormorants and trout as we walked, and even a few humans.   The picture below is a deep swimming hole (Black Hole Park) that we passed along the way.

No walk would be complete without a stop at a local cafe.  New Zealand has a very strong cafe culture, and so there are lots to choose from.  We chose an outdoor cafe on Hardy Street and enjoyed a drink and a date scone after our morning hike.

New Zealand's Maori people do not sit on the same surface that they eat off (quite healthy really), so when you visit New Zealand avoid sitting on the top of the picnic tables or any other tables, as you will offend the locals.

This seagull seems to have missed the memo.

We then wandered around town, and did a little shopping, including buying us each a chocolate marshmellow easter egg (sorry there are no photos....we ate them, but trust me they are good).  Then we trudged back up the hill around 2 PM (in the heat of the day) and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Once the heat was out of the sun, Marlene had me out walking again.  This time to a Japanese Garden that is just below where we are staying.  It was a very peaceful place.

Our First Full Day In Nelson

Yesterday afternoon we said goodbye to Margaret and Tricia and flew to Nelson, our home for the next 6 weeks.

We took a taxi from the airport to our accommodation, which we had booked several months ago over the internet.  We have a one bedroom self-contained suite, which is located under a fairly new house on Walter's Bluff, about a 30 minute walk from downtown, 70 metres above sea level, overlooking Nelson Harbour.  There are no houses over the road from us, so we get great views of the largest fishing port in Australasia (that's collectively Australia and New Zealand).




In an attempt to lower our carbon footprint and get me in better shape we will only rent a car when we need to travel outside of town, so the first order of business was a walk into town to stock up on groceries.

The trip to town was easy (downhill and an empty backpack), and we stopped at the Maitai river to watch the ducks.




The trip home however was not so easy (uphill with twenty pounds of groceries in our backpacks). The walk is quite similar to the walk from downtown Petone to Margaret's house - an easy twenty minute walk on the flat and then 10 minutes zigzagging through the bush on a series of switchbacks, in this case a small forest of gum trees (no, there are no koala bears in New Zealand).




Today was our first full day in Nelson, and Marlene was not letting me waste any of it.  After 2 1/2 hours of work, we headed into town to go to the farmer's market which is held in a parking lot every Saturday in the summer months.  We stocked up on fruits and vegetables and had a coffee and date scone at the cafe in a local art gallery (recommended by a local store worker and one that we would not have otherwise found) before trudging home with our backpacks only slightly lighter than yesterday.




Another 2 1/2 hours of work, barbequed the sausages, onions and corn for dinner, and then we went for a short (in Marlene's mind) 6,000 step walk further up the hill to the Centre of New Zealand marker - it marks the geographical centre of New Zealand and it just happens to be on the top of a hill close to where we are staying.

I'm looking forward to Monday, so I can use work as an excuse for staying home!!