Safely Home (2020-03-26)

The Canadian government decided to throw us a curve ball in our last 24 hours in New Zealand - they announced mandatory 14-day quarantine (not just self-isolation) for anybody arriving on an international flight and connecting to another city.  Did this include taking the ferry to Vancouver Island?  We searched and we searched online, but could not get clarification to this question, and so we started our journey, half expecting to only be going as far as a quarantine centre in Vancouver.

Margaret drove us to the airport, on nearly deserted streets, as we half expected to be stopped and questioned as to why we were out driving during the lockdown.  Our tickets and passport were kept close at hand just in case we were stopped.  But we made it to the airport, without issue, three hours before our flight time.

Wellington airport was almost deserted when we arrived, so check-in was super fast, although we got concerned when the check-in machine allowed us to enter all required information, before telling us to see an agent at the counter.  At the desk, it was "please stand behind the green line", from where we could barely pass our tickets and passports to the ticket agent, but all was good and we soon had boarding passes for both flights.

Marlene At Deserted Wellington Airport

Armed with boarding passes, we headed outside, where we walked around and around the empty parking lot, to get a little exercise while avoiding people.  Two policemen yelled over to ask if we were okay, and laughed when we told them that we were just social distancing.

Our aircraft to Auckland was an A320, and there were less than 20 passengers on board, so we had nobody for 4 rows in front of us and 6 rows behind us....expensive social distancing for Air New Zealand.  There were no hiccups along the way, and we arrived in Auckland on schedule.

Wellington City In The Rear-View Mirror

The joy of arriving on schedule was that we had more than 5 hours to wait in Auckland, for our Vancouver flight.  We wandered towards the international terminal, and paused in the shade of a pohutukawa tree to eat our packed lunch.  With the lockdown there are no stores or eateries open at the airports, and we knew that it would be about seven hours until we got fed on the plane, so we had come prepared.

Eventually we headed into the terminal, which required verification of passports and tickets, as only ticketed passengers were allowed into the terminal.  This terminal was a lot busier than the domestic terminal, but the extra health inspection involved only answering a few straightforward questions, before receiving a green sticker on our boarding pass, to indicate that we had complied with Canada's new requirement - no fever, no cough, not refused boarding on another flight because of covid-19.

Under normal circumstances, the walk from security to the gates meanders through the duty free stores, but today large moveable panels blocked all view of, and access to, the duty free stores.  When you most need a drink, you cannot get one :-)

The flight to Vancouver was much busier than the flight to Auckland, and almost every seat on the 787 aircraft was occupied.  A lot of the passengers were Brits returning to London, transferring in Vancouver.  Our seat mate was a young woman from Saskatchewan, whose New Zealand adventure was cut short by the covid-19 pandemic.  Thankfully there was no sign of coughing or sickness around us on the plane, but we wore masks the whole time, just for a little bit of extra insurance.  It is sad that although we are all in this together, you have to treat everybody as a potential "enemy". 

Although we were almost an hour late leaving Auckland, we arrived in Vancouver on time, and cleared the formalities very quickly - we had to answer a few additional questions on the electronic immigration / customs machine, and then a CBSA agent read us chapter and verse of the emergency regulations requiring us to self-isolate, and required us to acknowledge that we would do so.  We were asked where we were going to, and when we said "Vancouver Island" we were asked how we were going to get there.  We responded that we were planning to take the ferry, and all was good, we were free to go....almost.

They had problems with the luggage system, so with several false starts it took us almost an hour to recover our bags (almost the last bags to appear on the belt).  But at last, the bags appeared and we headed for the taxi queue.

There was no problem getting a taxi, and we had a good chat with the taxi driver enroute to Horseshoe Bay.  He told us that usually there are over 3,000 taxis operating in Vancouver, but now there are less than 100.  Some drivers are too scared of catching the virus to work, while others have quit driving due to the lack of fares.  Our trip took us through downtown Vancouver, where most stores were closed, but a few remained open, as the closure order is not mandatory.  We made it to the ferry with about two minutes to spare.  

BC Ferries was being very careful.  Foot passengers boarded via the car deck, rather than an overhead walkway.  Vehicle passengers were requested to stay in their vehicles, unless using the washrooms, and almost all of the passenger area was roped off, with passengers only allowed to sit in every second row of a small area on one side of the ship.  All services on the ferry were shut down, but we managed to get two bags of peanuts out of a vending machine, to avoid having to gnaw our arms off....yes we were almost that hungry.  

We took advantage of our time on the ferry to book a shuttle service to pick us up at Departure Bay and transport us home, so there was no waiting around once we got to Nanaimo.

All was good at home, and our friend Darlene had stocked the fridge with groceries, which was excellent, as you have to wait several weeks to have groceries delivered from any of the local stores.

So now we are in 14 days of mandatory self-isolation, but we are at home, and know that as long as we did not pick up the bug on the journey home, in 14 days we will be free to roam like the rest of the population, if roaming is still allowed in two weeks time.  I suspect that restrictions will get tighter before they are relaxed.

All's well that ends well, except for the ten years that I have aged in the past 2 weeks.

Napier - Wellington (2020-03-25)

I hate rollercoasters!

And the past week has been the scariest rollercoaster that I have ever encountered.  The internet has made it all too easy to check for news updates many many times a day, which almost paralyses you, preventing you from focussing on anything else.

We tried to keep ourselves busy with Margaret visiting.  We had several long walks on the oceanfront, I spent a day helping my cousins getting the last items out of their house, right up to the wire of their house sale closing, and another few hours helping them setup in their new home.  We also managed a short out of town trip to the Tangoio Falls Scenic Reserve for a bush walk.

Tangoio Falls

In our last few days in Napier there were also some spectacular sunsets, and I took the photo below from the oceanfront path in Westshore.

Norfolk Pine Tree at Sunset

Five days ago we were feeling good about our chances of getting home to Canada before flights were suspended, and then early on Monday afternoon the New Zealand government announced that at midnight the country was going to a level 3 response to coronavirus, with a move to level 4 just 48 hours later.  At level 4, travel is severely limited.  New Zealand has been seeing a 50% daily increase in the number of covid-19 cases, versus about 15% in British Columbia, so something had to be done to slow the wave.

Thankfully, we had stocked up on groceries (enough to last the three of us beyond Saturday) that morning, so within 15 minutes we had made the decision to immediately head for Wellington.  The rationale (and I think we were being rational) was that we needed to get my sister Margaret back to her home in Wellington, and if necessary we would then drive to Auckland, where we still had a hope of catching our flight to Vancouver on Saturday.  Thirty minutes later we were packed and on the road south.  Having missed lunch, we stopped about 5 pm at a park in Norsewood, where we carved buns and cheese with my Swiss Army knife.  Then we drove on to Featherston, where we had a 10 minute, two metre-spaced visit on the roadside with my other sister Tricia, before making the assault on the Rimutaka Hill in the dark with pouring rain.  Not the most fun part of the trip.

We were almost numb by this time, with 5 hours of reading news and trying to interpret the impact on us, but I was too tired to focus on doing anything about it.  The NZ government covid-19 website was somewhat confusing regarding whether or not foreign nationals qualified for domestic travel under level 4 lockdown conditions, but on Tuesday morning we told ourselves that we could wait a while longer, before driving to Auckland.  Getting to Auckland would be no problem, but getting food to eat for several days once we arrived in Auckland would be a challenge, as dine-in restaurants would be closed, and takeaway restaurants were also being told to close.  We would have to find a hotel with cooking facilities and buy groceries, but didn't know what we would find open when we arrived in Auckland, although we would have 8 hours to figure that out while driving.

New Zealand has a population of less than 5 million people, but the day of the government lockdown announcement grocery stores sold enough food to fed 10 million people.  No panic buying here.

Our rental car was due to be turned in, in Wellington, on Wednesday morning, but we figured that possession is nine tenths of the law, so as long as the rental company did not declare it stolen, we could get to Auckland and drop it there, even if we had to drive it into a wall and pay the $2,000 deductible on the insurance....desperate times call for desperate measures.  At least we were not yet thinking of buying a gun, so not totally devoid of moral fibre.

Tuesday morning arrived cool and crisp, but turned into a beautiful sunny day, so we decided to go on a bush walk up the Koro Koro Stream, a walk that Margaret has mentioned several times over the years, but which we had not tackled.  The grade was easier than we had expected (only 350 ft. of elevation gain), and we had an enjoyable walk up to the dam that had been originally built for the town water supply.  A great stress reliever, and we only passed about 8 people, whom we stayed as distant from as possible, although we could not always manage two metres of separation.

Koro Koro Stream and Path

Outflow from the Dam

But our stress relief was short-lived.  We arrived home to an email from the Canadian High Commission in Wellington (I had registered us on the Canadian government website a few days earlier, to ensure that we received pertinent updates) which included the words - "We encourage Canadians in NZ to travel to their international departure city as soon as possible".  And so the rollercoaster began its rapid descent into the next crisis.  The New Zealand government did however extend domestic travel until Friday midnight, as there were still many locals trying to get home.

It took me three attempts, and more than 3 hours on hold, to reach a live person at Air New Zealand but it was worth the wait.  I explained our situation, and begged for a flight to Auckland by Friday night.  The agent went one step further and got us on a direct Auckland to Vancouver flight on Thursday.  So we leave Wellington at 1:45 pm on Thursday, and should arrive in Vancouver, about 21 hours later (also on Thursday, thanks to the wonders of time zones).

The rollercoaster has now loop-de-looped and ascended to another high spot.  Keeping our fingers crossed that there is not another panic attack to come.  This morning we returned the rental car in Wellington as planned, and are having a lower stress day as we enter our last 24 hours in Wellington.

Stop the world, I want to get off!

Napier, New Zealand (2020-03-20)

What a difference a day makes!

There is finally light at the end of the tunnel.  I had a call from Air New Zealand a few minutes ago, only 30 hours after my conversation with the volunteer call-taker, and we now have a confirmed flight from Wellington to Auckland on March 28th, and on to Vancouver.  There is no chance of a flight home before March 28th, so we now at least have some certainty on our travel plans.

This assumes that they don't run out of aviation fuel, the flight crew don't come down with covid19, the Canadian border stays open to Canadians, and that no other obstacles arise in our remaining days in New Zealand.

Kudos to Air New Zealand for getting back to us as promised and for accommodating our needs, in a time of great stress for everyone.

Now we can relax a little, and enjoy our last week in New Zealand.

Napier, New Zealand (2020-03-18)

How do you spell stress? C-O-V-I-D-1-9

We have been trying to heed the government of Canada's advice, telling all Canadians overseas to head home, but that is not a simple process.

Looking at our booking online, we can see that Air New Zealand has cancelled our Wellington to Auckland flight on March 28th, but our Auckland to Vancouver flight is still okay.  So we at least need to get a flight to Auckland sorted out, even if we cannot get out earlier than March 28th.  To complicate matters, we see different details for our reservation on the iPad than we see on the pc.  The pc shows the flight as booked, but the iPad shows us on a later flight out of Wellington, which would have us miss our connection in Auckland  Grrrrrrrr!

Air New Zealand is asking only people travelling in the next 48 hours to contact them, but we have tried to contact them anyway, on the premise that we would like to travel in the next 48 hours.  Yesterday we called the airline's New Zealand toll free number, but after hearing an initial recorded announcement and a few clicks, it rang busy.  So I tried the Canadian contact number (via Skype), and it just rang and then went dead.  Air New Zealand can also accept contact via social media - email, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc.  I sent them a message on Whatsapp and got a reply within 5 minutes, but after answering a few detail questions, there was no further communication.

There was no response on Whatsapp overnight, so this morning I started phoning again.  I tried the New Zealand number about 15 times, and continued to get the busy signal after the recorded announcement.  Then I tried a Skype call to the Canadian number and on about the third attempt, I got through to the automated assistant....at least I was making progress.

After about 15 minutes, a live person came on the line, and told me that she was a volunteer, who was just taking details, so that a priority could be assigned for an agent to call us back, probably within 72 hours.  I suggested that we would like to travel within 72 hours, and was told that our priority would be increased.  I provided her all the details of the cancelled flight on March 28th, and our desire to fly earlier if possible (but only on the direct Auckland to Vancouver flight).  Knowing the stress that she must be under, especially as she is a volunteer, I wished her an excellent rest of the day, figuring that being nice couldn't hurt our priority either.  We don't want to fly on a multi-leg flight, as that could expose us to more people on the planes and in the airports.  So many things to consider, it makes my head whirl.

At least now we are in the queue for action, and so hopefully will get a call back in the next day or so.  It is amazing how that one live contact with Air New Zealand has significantly lowered the stress level - they now know we exist, and hopefully someone will care enough to call us back.  So now we can relax, and enjoy a few more days in Napier.

In a few minutes we will be heading over to the Napier airport to meet my sister Margaret, who is coming to enjoy a few days with us.  With only twelve virus cases in New Zealand, the risk is small that she will catch it enroute and infect us.  The plan is that we will drive her back to Wellington, when we know what our revised travel arrangements are, further limiting our collective exposure.

I need a drink!

Napier, New Zealand (2020-03-16)

"Should I stay or should I go now?"

These words from The Clash's 1982 hit song echo in my head, as we try and figure out the best plan for returning to Canada.  There are still only nine covid 19 cases in New Zealand, so it certainly seems like a safe place to weather the storm, if our travel plans for March 28th get thwarted by governments or airlines.  The Canadian Government says get home as soon as possible, but we only want to fly on direct flights to Vancouver (to limit our exposure to other people on planes and in airports).  The earliest flight that we can get, as of a few minutes ago, is March 25th, if we manage to get through to the airline.  We have heard horror stories of people being on hold for 15 hours trying to change flights.  But this morning Air New Zealand announced that they are suspending all flights to Vancouver as of March 30th, so we have a very small window of opportunity, to actually get home.  Otherwise we will be here for several more months.

In other news....

My sister Tricia left on the bus to Wellington early this morning, after 8 days of fun.  While Tricia was here we did a lot of walking and biking and went to one movie, "Military Wives", which I would heartily recommend.  But we also managed to help my cousins with preparing for the house move this week - Marlene and Tricia did a day's gardening while I lugged garbage up to the street, onto a trailer, and took it to the dump.  When we got to the dump, Maureen asked me if I would reverse the trailer up to "the pit".  I laughed and told her that I have never reversed a trailer in my life, so probably not a good idea.  Maureen did a fine job herself.

A few days later, we returned to help move potted plants and bricks from the old house to the new house....three trailer loads of plants and five trailer loads of bricks to be precise.  This presented another requirement to reverse the trailer, and given a lack of available candidates, I had to take care of it, which I executed well.  So I have lost my trailer reversing virginity!  We all slept well that night.

The Napier Library has a simple way of getting feedback on which books are good, and which ones are not so good - two return slots.  It might be a bit challenging for some.

Napier Library Return Slots

In our wanderings through Ahuriri I came across some words of wisdom, especially applicable during a covid 19 pandemic.  Thanks to Hair 2 Go!

Words of Wisdom

With this covid 19 outbreak, New Zealand has closed her ports to cruise ships, so the Ruby Princess  (which was also here last week) was probably the last cruise ship that we will see on this visit to New Zealand.  She departed Napier yesterday.

Ruby Princess leaving Napier

 This morning, after Tricia left for home, we decided to bike the 16 km to Clive for a coffee.  It was a good ride, but when we got to Clive the cafe was closed, so we had to bike back to Napier before we got our coffee.  While walking along Dalton Street, another sign caught my eye, and gave us a chuckle in these somewhat humourless times.

All Too True

Once fortified with a drink and a scoffin (a cross between a scone and a muffin), we headed to Countdown and stocked up on groceries before biking home, so we will be all prepared for the upcoming visit of my other sister, Margaret, on Wednesday.

Napier, New Zealand (2020-03-06)

We have settled nicely into life in Napier.  Our days normally begin with a bike ride while the winds are calm, coffee (often incorporated into the bike ride), and then on to other more sedate activities.  We have explored to the North and South of us, and as we have water to the East, the only direction left to explore is West.

But this coronavirus thing is playing heavily on our minds, and does influence our decisions.  Napier will have a total of 17 cruise ships visit during our 4 weeks in town, so there are very few days without a cruise ship in the port.  As cruise ships have been described as floating petri dishes, and there are people are on them from all over the planet, we do everything that we can to avoid the cruise ship passengers, including no shopping in town on cruise ship days, and trying to bike through town either before they unload in the morning or after they depart in the evening.  If we do have to pass cruise ship passengers (easily identified by the coloured lanyards around their necks), we try and stay at least 3 feet away from them.  We figure better safe than sorry!

Ruby Princess backing into port

We also wonder what we will do if the number of coronavirus cases in New Zealand increases dramatically.  Will it be any better in Canada?  Do we fly home earlier than planned?  Do we find a place to hide in New Zealand?  This could totally consume us, so we choose to ignore it and will take our chances.  But Gisborne is off the tourist path, so could be a good place to be if the virus spreads.  

Riding past the beach in Ahuriri last weekend, we saw kids playing with toys in a log enclosure on the beach, and thought that a bunch of parents must have brought their kids and the toys down to the beach.  When we rode past again on Tuesday, the toys were still there, but no sign of kids, so we assume that the toys are a semi-permanent fixture on the beach. Another great kiwi idea.

Toy Collection on Ahuriri Beach

A nearby tree seemed to also come in handy, as a repository for left behind stuffed toys, hats and sweaters.

The Stuffie Tree

 Some places are a little too far to bike to, so on Monday we took the bus (or should I say 3 buses) to Havelock North to visit Jill, a distant cousin of Marlene.  The journey takes about 30 minutes by car, but with 2 transfers required, it took two hours by bus.  We also had to leave for home by 3:30 pm, so that we would not miss the last bus of the day, for the final last leg of our journey, to avoid a one hour walk.  Jill has led an interesting life, and we all got along well, so she is coming over to visit us next week, so that we can chat some more.

We have also managed to have a few coffees with cousins Maureen and Denzil, and we four had dinner together last Friday night at an Indian restaurant in town - Rasoi.  Rasoi translates into English as "Kitchen" (or so they told us), and they even provide bibs to help keep dinner off your clothes.

Ready To Eat

The food was great, and included fish, lamb, chicken and vegetable dishes, with rice and naan.  There was very little left over, and we were plenty satisfied.

Tonight, my sister Tricia is arriving for a one week stay, so let's hope that the rain showers, that we have had for the past few days, decide to move on to greener pastures, so that we can get out and enjoy the area.  Meanwhile, time for dinner.

Napier - Wellington - Napier (2020-02-27)

It has been a week of travelling and family time, so not a lot to talk about, but here goes....

The drive back to Wellington was uneventful, with coffee in Woodville, and a short visit with my sister Tricia at Cross Creek....one of the few times that we have visited Cross Creek that the wind was not at gale force.  I kid you not, we have actually seen the glass in a window bending in the wind there, it can be that strong.  We had time for a drink (tea only) and a snack, a walk in the yard, and picked a few passionfruit off Tricia's vines, before resuming our journey to Wellington.

Once in Wellington, the focus was to get Fredda organized for her flight home to Vancouver.  I made plans with my son in law to swap the SIM card in Fredda's phone once she arrived in Vancouver, so that we could continue to be in touch on her New Zealand phone number until she had left the country, but more on that later.

The other important task was stocking up her suitcase with New Zealand chocolate for the family back home, especially her great grandchildren.  We were glad that we bought chocolate at Pak N Save, as the prices elsewhere were substantially higher.  e.g. a Whittaker's 250 gram chocolate bar at Pak N Save was $4.50, the same bar at New World was $5.29, and at Wellington airport was 2 for $14, or $12 each.  Yes you read that right, 2 for $14, but $12 for 1.  So don't wait until you are at the airport to buy your goodies.

Air New Zealand provided excellent service for Fredda - they provided us with a wheelchair for her in Wellington airport and let us both walk her to the departure gate, boarded her first, and gave her a blanket.  She was met in Auckland, wheelchaired to the inter-terminal bus, wheelchaired from the bus, through the international departure formalities and to the departure gate.  In Vancouver, they wheelchaired her through Customs, got her checked luggage and sent her on her way pushing her luggage trolley, the short distance to where she met our son in law, Norm.

Fredda opted to go straight to the ferry, rather than spend the night with Norm and Heather, as Kinley (our granddaughter) was suffering with a cold.  So all Norm had to do was change the SIM card in Fredda's phone and drive her to the ferry.  The SIM card got changed and test messages started arriving, but it soon became clear that I had given her Marlene's Canadian SIM by mistake....talk about confusing!  I guess I can juggle 2 balls but not 3.  After thinking of the best way to extricate myself from this mess, Norm went to the nearest Telus store and obtained a new SIM card for Fredda's Canadian phone number, and all became fine once again in the world of communications....at least until Marlene gets back to Canada.

With Fredda safely home, we spent the weekend with my sister, Margaret, and then on Monday set off again for Napier, our home for the next four weeks.

We have now settled in to our accommodation (same place that we stayed at 2 years ago), picked up bikes from my cousins Maureen and Denzil, and have even done a few "muscle conditioning" rides to prepare us for longer rides later.  The leg muscles are okay, but the butt muscles protest every time we sit down on the seat.  Our training ride has been around the estuary, through the salt water marsh, a cafe stop, and easy ride home on the paved coastal path.

Marlene negotiating the boardwalk over the estuary

Don't try this portion of trail at high tide

Some of our newe friends in the marsh

It doesn't get much calmer than this - not a ripple

Port and Napier Hill from the easy coastal trail 

We try and get out biking as early as possible each morning (8:30 ish) before the winds pick up, which also gives us the rest of the day to focus on other activities.  I have much family history work to do, a conference to check out online, a possible relative of Marlene's to visit, and I have to prevent Marlene from feeling neglected.  Well 3 out of 4 ain't bad :-)

Nelson - Wellington - Napier (2020-02-19)

With travelling, family visits, and most recently, poor internet access, it has been a while since my last posting, so we have some catch up to do.

Tuesday of last week was our last day in Nelson, so we had one last walk in Queens Gardens, a last visit to River Kitchen Cafe and a last walk on Tahunanui beach in the evening.  Outside River Kitchen there is a unique bicycle repair station, which includes a hand pump and all of the tools that you might need to repair your bike, attached to long wire ropes (to prevent theft).  Makes me wish that I had a bike here, just to try it out.

Bicycle Repair Station

Wednesday was a travel day, so we returned the rental car (no damage noted) early, and lazed around the airport cafe, waiting for our flight to Wellington.  It was a great day for flying, and the pilot flew east to Picton and then north to Wellington, all at 11,000 feet ASL, giving us great views of the Marlborough Sounds and the miscellaneous water craft between Picton and Wellington.  There was no wind in Wellington, so I think it was my smoothest Wellington landing ever (usually we get tossed all over the sky on approach to Wellington).

The following 4 days were very focussed on visiting with my sisters and my nephew Adam and his family.  Adam and Colleen have almost finished major renovations to their house, so we were fortunate to be able to enjoy a relaxing dinner with them, and see the latest in kiwi-style building.  On Sunday, after a long walk along the Hutt River, we ventured into Wellington with my sisters, and visited Te Papa (The Museum of New Zealand).  Tricia wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibit, and Fredda and I opted for the Gallipoli exhibit, while Margaret and Marlene had a waterfront walk.  The Gallipoli exhibit was produced by Peter Jackson  (think Lord of the Rings), to commemorate the allied (mainly New Zealand and Australian troops) landing (and later evacuation) in Turkey in WWI.  Some of the displays are larger than life models of the soldiers, complete with blood, sweat and flies.  It was well worth the price of admission (free), and a great way to pass a few hours in New Zealand's capital city.

Display in Gallipoli Exhibit

Wellington Harbour From Te Papa

When we woke on Monday we were greeted by the first real rain since we left home, so a good time to be heading out of town.  We checked out of our motel, picked up my sister Tricia, and headed north to Napier.  The first stop was in Featherston to drop Tricia off, and then continuing north, we left the rain behind at Masterton.  The plan was to stop for coffee in Pahiatua, a small farming town, but being Monday, the best cafes were closed, and so we continued on to Woodville.  After our coffee (and scone) in Woodville we didn't really need our packed lunch, but made a nostalgic stop just south of Waipukurau, at a road-side rest area, to eat our sandwiches.  My sisters and I were reminiscing the day before about always stopping at this spot when travelling to Napier with our parents, so I just had to do it.  The rest area did not look any different than it did 50 years ago.

Road-side Rest Area

When we arrived in Napier and stepped out of the car, we were hit with a wall of heat.  It was only 28 degrees, but the heat was very intense.  Our motel room is on the third floor, which gives us great views of the kids' bike playground and ocean across the street (excellent location), and if we open the front door and the balcony door, we get a nice breeze through the room (we do have an air conditioner, but when we run it, it does not smell very inviting - thinking maybe an animal peed on the outdoor unit on the balcony?).

View From Our Motel Room

In our two days in Napier we have shown Fredda all of our favourite places, including where we will be staying for the next 4 weeks, had several walks on the waterfront (Ahuriri, Napier and Haumoana), and visited with my cousins, Maureen and Denzil, who are in the throes of building a new house.  Hopefully they will be in their new house before we head home, but there looks to be a lot of work to do yet.

Tonight we had dinner at my favourite restaurant in the whole world, The Mission Winery.  In years gone by, the Mission was a seminary for Catholic priests, but with declining enrolment, the seminary closed several years ago and the associated winery is leased out, including the restaurant.  We sampled the bread with dips, salt and pepper squid appetiser, fish of the day (grouper) for Marlene and Fredda, lamb shank for Jim and a side dish of seasonal vegetables.  The food was excellent, and we lingered over our coffee, not wanting to leave.

Dinner is Served

Mission Winery

Tomorrow, we head back to Wellington, to put Fredda on the plane home, spend the weekend with my sister Margaret, and then we will be back up to Napier for the next four weeks.  The time is going by all too quickly.

Nelson, New Zealand (2020-02-10)

This week we have explored some new areas as well as revisiting some old haunts, and we have certainly preferred the cooler 22-25 degree temperatures....much more conducive to being outside.
The hot dry weather has resulted in many of the local trails being totally closed to the public due to extreme fire risk, including our favourite ridge walk, so it has been good to explore areas that we had not visited before.  The photo below is taken from the ocean-side of the playing fields opposite our Nelson home.  The ridge walk is likely visible just below the trees in the right half of the photo.

Playing Fields and Dry Hillside

The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary is only a few kilometres outside of Nelson, and similar to the Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington, is fully enclosed by a high electric fence, to keep predators out.  New Zealand's native bird population has been decimated by introduced pests such as rats, opossums, stoats and weasels, which eat the eggs of the birds, so these sanctuaries allow the native birds to flourish in the absence of the predators, which are trapped and removed from the sanctuary.  To monitor what species of animals are in the sanctuary, so that they know what type of trap is required to remove them, they set up tunnels with an ink pad and white paper in them, baited with peanut butter - the animals walk through the tunnel and leave their footprints on the white paper.  Mice are the most frequent animal detected, but they do not bother the birds and are virtually impossible to eliminate.

Footprint Tunnels on Trail

Mice Footprints

We walked the wheelchair-accessible trail with Fredda, then left her reading a book at a picnic table, while Marlene and I did a longer more strenuous trail.

Waterfall at Brook Waimarama Sanctuary

The Tuis and Bellbirds stayed fairly well hidden in the foliage, but we did manage to see a wood pigeon more in the open.

Wood Pigeon (Kereru)

Thursday was the 104th anniversary of my mother's birth, but that was not the reason for the public holiday.  February 6th is Waitangi Day, commemorating the signing of a treaty between the British and the Maori peoples of Aotearoa in 1840, which was the beginning of New Zealand as a British colony.  We celebrated by going to the Kai (food) Festival at Founders Park, which is the local heritage park.  Groups from many different cultural backgrounds sell the food of their homeland, ranging from Pacific Islands fare to European, Asian, Indian, and everything in  between.  Fredda went all out and had an American hotdog, I opted for the bratwurst and Marlene for an Indonesian curry dish.  It was a great day out, and only a short walk from our front door.

On Friday we headed out of town to the Gardens of the World, in nearby Hope.  The garden area is not particularly large, but is broken down into different geographic areas, with each area containing plants from that part of the world.  It was great to wander the globe and we even had a picnic beside the pond.  I made a new friend, but no matter how loud I called, he would not follow me home.

Jim and his new friend

Picnic Area

A Bridge in the Shade

On Sunday we headed back to Rabbit Island for a walk, but with the goal of ending up in Mapua for lunch.  It is a 3.5 km walk from the closest parking lot on Rabbit Island, to the Mapua ferry, a pleasant walk along the edge of a pine plantation, and close to the beach.  The 7 km round trip is a bit much for Fredda, so we got her all set for the ferry, and Marlene and I walked (briskly) back to the car, and drove the 20 minutes to Mapua.  When Fredda saw the ferry she thought it looked like a floating shack, and the facilities were somewhat rustic, but it is in only a 5 minute ride across the river mouth, catering mainly to cyclists, so passenger comfort is not a priority.  If it were part of the BC Ferries fleet it would perhaps be named the Coastal Desperation.

Mapua Ferry and Rabbit Island

Onboard the Mapua Ferry

Lunch in Mapua was excellent, sitting on the patio of the cafe, watching the world go by.  It doesn't get much better than that, except perhaps for the ice cream that I picked up after lunch.

Today we explored a new section of the Maitai River walk, before having a coffee at the River Kitchen Cafe (Fredda's favourite coffee location) in downtown Nelson.

Maitai River

We are now off to grab a table and have one last drink at the Sprig and Fern pub, as tomorrow is our last day in Nelson, and there will be much to do in preparation for our departure to Wellington on Wednesday morning.

Nelson, New Zealand (2020-02-04)

We rounded off last Tuesday with an evening visit to Isel Park in nearby Stoke, looking for somewhere shady to walk.  The park was originally the estate of the Marsden family, another of the area's early settlers.  It was a great place for shade, but also some really nice gardens.

Isel House

On Wednesday we took a road trip to Pelorus Bridge, which is about 45 minutes east of Nelson.  The slow-moving river is a popular place for swimming, with several large pools near to the bridge, but the area is also home to several short bush walks, and a stepping-off point for other longer walks.  The river in this area featured in the Lord of the Rings movie, as the place where the Hobbits floated down a river in barrels.  We did several of the short walks, before stopping for lunch at the nearby café - a DOC (Dept. of Conservation) guy had told Marlene that they make the best steak and cheese pies, and I can attest that they were very tasty.

Tree Fern

Bridge over a tributary to the Pelorus River

On the trip home I saw the sign below, in a field in the middle of nowhere, advertising a livestock psychologist.  We had much discussion (and laughs) about what exactly a livestock psychologist might do, and imagined him trying to change the behaviour of the animals.  It turns out that this is exactly what they do - they teach farmers how to read their animals and change any behaviour that they feel is unbecoming to a fine young cow or sheep.  Who would have thought that such job opportunities even existed.

Ad for a Livestock Psychologist

That evening, as we were walking the waterfront path, next to highway 6, I saw that every parking space in a roadside pull-off area was occupied by camper vans of one type or another - freedom campers.  In many areas in New Zealand, overnight camping is allowed in designated areas, but generally the vehicles are expected to be self-sufficient for water and waste.  Of course many people who don't have self-contained units camp in these areas, and you can imagine the amount of waste (human and otherwise) that accumulates by the end of the summer.  Businesses support the idea of freedom camping as it means more potential customers for them, but the everyday kiwi is not as impressed.  I saw one camper with a sign that read "Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I drive by again?" Cute!

Freedom Campers

Rabbit Island was our destination on Thursday, but we did not stay too long as the heat was intense, the breeze sadly lacking, and not a lot of shade.  We did see several wekas walking the parking lots looking for scraps of food, or anything else that they could appropriate.  Wekas are an endemic flightless bird, about the size of a chicken, not to be confused with a kiwi.  Kiwis are nocturnal and wekas prefer the daylight, so you are not likely to get them confused.

Weka foraging for food

Beach on Rabbit Island

We have not experienced any more earthquakes since our first night, but on Rabbit Island there were many signs reminding you of when there might be a tsunami - if the earthquake is strong, or lasts a long time, then head to higher ground.

Tsunami Warning Sign

On the hottest days, we have avoided long walks during the middle of the day, but have enjoyed long walks in the cool of the evening on Tahunanui Beach, a long stretch of sandy beach between Nelson and Richmond.  Here we can walk for several kilometres, dipping our feet in the water as necessary to stay cool - a popular spot this past week.

Tahunanui Beach

Yesterday was a public holiday in the Nelson area, but nowhere else in New Zealand.  Everybody was off work to celebrate the Nelson Province Anniversary Day.  New Zealand was divided into two provinces in 1846, six provinces in 1853 (including Nelson), which over the years grew to twelve provinces, but in 1961, the provinces (which had no governing power after 1876) were replaced by statistical areas, and in 1974 by local government regions.  In summary, anniversary day is just a paid holiday, to celebrate something which has been extinct since 1876.

We took the opportunity to go to the movies as a lot of other places were closed.  Our (my) movie choice was "1917", which we thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to others.  It collected a bunch of awards at the BAFTAs this week, so it seems that it is not just our opinion.

After the movie we planned to pick up burgers to eat at the beach, but our favourite take-out place was closed for the public holiday.  Ditto for our favourite Thai restaurent.  In desperation we went to an acclaimed burger place in Tahunanui, and we did thoroughly enjoy the burgers, but were less impressed with their cash register skills - paid the $44 bill with a $50 note and received $4 change (which I caught and they corrected), but in studying the receipt later, found they had charged us for a tin of ketchup ($2.50) rather than the single serving that we received ($0.50), and our request for a half scoop of chips was processed as a full scoop (which we received).  We wrote it off as a public holiday surcharge, and enjoyed our picnic at the beach.  The sea gulls likely rescued the extra chips from the garbage can in which the well-wrapped scraps were placed.

Today, the heat has finally dropped, so must get out and enjoy the day.

Parksville, BC to Nelson, New Zealand (2020-01-28)

As we will be taking two international trips this year, we have a lot of climate change penance to do, so we began our trip to New Zealand by walking into Parksville, and taking the bus to Nanaimo, to connect with Marlene's mother.  There is no public bus to Duke Point ferry terminal, so the three of us took a taxi to the ferry.

Once safely on the mainland, we spent two nights with our daughter Heather and family, before flying out on Thursday night.  This was our first flight on a 787, which seemed to have more leg room than the 777, so a positive start to the trip.  The flight was uneventful, getting us to Auckland just before 5 am local time on Saturday.

On arrival in New Zealand, the first hurdle is clearing passport control, which is achieved by inserting your passport into a scanner, answering three pertinent questions, and being photographed, all of which must be completed in order to open the electronic gate and let you pass into the baggage hall.  We let Marlene's mother go through first, with Marlene leaning over her shoulder to help.  They answered the first question with a yes, and the second question with a yes, after which they were presented with a "do not enter" symbol on the screen, and were instructed to see an agent.  In hindsight we believe that in answering the second question with a yes, Marlene pressed the button a little after her mother did, by which time the machine had already moved on to the third question (which we did not see), which was "have you ever been incarcerated for more than 12 months?".  It was the yes response to this question that resulted in Fredda being refused entry.  So Fredda had to see an agent, who admonished her for not reading the questions properly, and she was allowed entry.

As we had some time in hand before our flight to Nelson, we spent a while showing Fredda how to get to and from the inter-terminal bus, and to international departures, as she will be making the connection by herself when she returns to Canada at the end of February.  We even had time for a date & pumpkin scone and a coffee in the domestic terminal, after walking in the balmy 18 degree air from the international terminal.

Nelson was very much as we remembered it from previous visits, and after dropping our luggage at our home for the next 3 weeks, we headed to the Saturday Farmers' Market to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables, after which we were ready for a break.  So we walked across the street to the Red Café and enjoyed a light lunch and a drink.

Although fortified by the lunch, Fredda was ready for some downtime, so we took her home and Marlene and I headed back into town to stock up on groceries.  After a quick dinner, we were all ready for an early night.

Just before midnight I was awakened by the building shaking, but it stopped within about 15 seconds, and I was quickly asleep again.  The next day I read of an earthquake in Turkey, which brought my night time experience back to the forefront of my mind.  I checked the GeoNet website and learned that there was a magnitude 5.4 quake at 11:45 pm, centered about 50 km north of Nelson.  Marlene and Fredda didn't feel a thing, so they must have been tired!

Sunday was a recovery day, but we managed to walk into town for coffee and a scone at the Suter Café, but that was about all we could manage in the 30 degree heat.

By Monday we were feeling somewhat normal, and we left Fredda to explore the Queen's Gardens, and Marlene & I set off on a walk up the river path.  We set an alert on my phone for 45 minutes, so that could do an hour and a half round trip.  The path was very much as we remembered it, and we walked as far as the golf course, before being saved by the bell, and headed back to town.

River Walk

When we were in Nelson with Fredda and her late husband about six years ago, one house backing onto the river path was giving away plums from their very large plum tree, and so we collected several bags full over the course of a week.  Nick was so impressed with the plums that he took several plum stones home, dried them, and planted then in pots.  One of the resulting trees is now growing in our back yard, and produced its first fruit last summer.  We are looking forward to it producing plums like its New Zealand parent, and maybe we will get a bag or two while we are in Nelson, as they are looking fairly ripe.

Our Favourite Plum Tree

Every good walk deserves a reward, so after rescuing Fredda from Queen's Gardens, we headed to Melrose House, one of the stately homes from Nelson's early days, and now home to the number one rated café in Nelson (according to Trip Advisor).

Fredda at Melrose House

We sat on the verandah, under an umbrella, and enjoyed a beautifully presented coffee and scone.  It is easy to see why it is the number one rated café in Nelson.

Scone and Latte at Melrose House

On Monday night we had the first disappointment of our visit to Nelson.  On past visits we had enjoyed dinner and a drink at the Sprig and Fern pub on Milton Street.  The pub does not serve food, but in the past you could order food at Milton Takeaways next door, and have it delivered to your table at the pub.  In a previous post I have praised this symbiotic relationship, so I was surprised when the server at Milton Takeaways told me that they can no longer deliver food to the pub as the new pub owners do not allow it.  So we finished our drinks, and then took dinner home to eat at the kitchen table.  We will have to find a new favourite place to dine out.

This morning we turned Fredda loose, heading to the Japanese Garden, which is just a few blocks from where we are staying, and Marlene and I set off on our first hill walk, a loop which would bring us down very close to the Japanese Garden, after about an hour and a quarter of walking, with 560 feet of elevation gain.  It is a ridge walk, with spectacular views of Nelson, the harbour, and Tasman Bay beyond.

Nelson Harbour From The Ridge

In the photo above, you might be able to see where we are staying.  We are in the front flat of a block of three, over the road from a large area of sports fields, close to the harbour.  If you draw an imaginary line from the top of the tallest evergreen in the photo, to the pavilion (toilet block) in the sports field (middle right of the photo), the line will pass over a rectangular building, with an orange-coloured roof.  That is our home for the next three weeks.  Downtown is beyond the left side of the photo, and about 1.5 km away.

Marlene Among The Blue Gum Trees

This afternoon we are taking it easy, as tomorrow we might go a little further afield.