Home Again (2016-05-15)

We have been back in Canada for a month now, and home for 3 weeks, but I have heard a few comments that my postings just stopped, so thought that I should wrap up the New Zealand trip with one last post.

 

Our last few days in New Zealand were spent with my sisters, talking walking, and doing a few little projects - tree trimming and replacing some rotted wood near Margaret's front door, and a last few Windows 10 lessons for Margaret.  But leaving was still difficult....we were ready to come home, but not ready to leave.  But we are already planning next year's visit.

 

The trip home was uneventful, with both flights on time.  The photo below does not really do it justice, but we were blessed with one last New Zealand sunset as we flew north from Wellington to Auckland.

 

 

Our Last New Zealand Sunset

 

We arrived back in Vancouver on the Wednesday afternoon, and by Thursday morning Norm and Heather had set off for a short holiday in Uclulet, leaving us jet-lagged with two young grandchildren.  But somehow we survived, and even enjoyed the annual nature walk and salmon release in a local Delta park on the Sunday.  The grandkids loved it as they each got to release several buckets of young salmon into the creek, and watch them swim away.

 

So now we are back home, have caught up on most of the things that just have to be done right now, Marlene's Mom has had her hip replacement surgery and is recuperating at home, so life is almost back to normal.

 

Friday was a beautiful day, so we rode our bikes down to Rathtrevor Park and back.  The views toward the mainland and the coast mountains were amazing.  When we have scenery like this at home, why do we travel.

 

The Coast Mountains from Rathtrevor Beach

We have no other international travel planned for this year, but possibly a road trip in the summer.  Stay tuned....

Whanganui - Palmerston North (2016-04-09)

This week we did another road trip, travelling to Whanganui and then on to Palmerston North.

 

Searching for Wanganui online can be confusing as it is in somewhat of a transition from being Wanganui to being Whanganui.  All of the highway signs point to "Wanganui", but most tourist information refers to "Whanganui".  Why the change, you might ask....it all has to do with pronunciation.

 

Current linguistic theory suggests that W in Maori is pronounced as W, as in water, while Wh is pronounced as F, and some bright spark has decided that Wanganui should be pronounced with an F sound, so therefore should be spelled with a Wh.  So Whanganui joins Whakatane (Fok-a-ta-nee) and Whangarei (Fon-ga-ray) and is pronounced Fon-ga-new-ee. 

 

But, in school (50 years ago) we were taught that the Maori had no written language until the European missionaries created one, so why would English-speaking people have written down an F sound as Wh, when they could simply have written it as F, or at a stretch as Ph, as in Physician or Pharaoh?  My guess is that the actual 1800s Maori pronunciation of the Wh sound was probably something other than a simple English F or W, but until we can travel back in time we will never know for sure.  Meanwhile we continue to be confused, but as I like to live on the bleeding edge, I will use Whanganui from now on.

 

We have passed through Whanganui many times and even overnighted there a couple of times, but we have never explored the city or surrounding area.  This time, with two nights in town, we had time to see what the city had to offer, which is actually quite a lot for a provincial city.

 

If you are into architecture, you would enjoy Whanganui, as it has retained many of its older buildings.  Take a walk up Victoria Avenue from the river, and turn right onto Guyton Street, keeping your eye on the upper floors of the buildings and make sure that you walk both sides of the street.  If you cannot visit, you can do the same walk on Google street view, and see some marvelous older buildings.



Whanganui Architecture





The downtown area also has lots of open spaces, with Queens Park and Cooks Gardens being only a few blocks off the main street.  The area from Victoria Avenue to Queens Park has quite a European feeling as you walk through Majestic Square and up the steps to the Sarjeant Gallery.

 

Sarjeant Gallery

The Whanganui River is the longest navigable river in New Zealand, and in days long past, river boats were the only method of moving people and goods into the areas inland of Whanganui.  One such boat was the MV Wairua, which was built in London, England in 1904, and plied the Whanganui River until in the 1950s it sank at its moorings.  In 1986 a group of enthusiasts recovered the Wairua from the bottom of the river, restored her, and they now offer rides about 7 miles up river to the village of Upokongaro.  We took the trip and enjoyed learning more about the boat, the river and the history of the surrounding area.  We ate lunch at Cafe 4Forty4 in Upokongaro and had time to explore the village before returning down river to Whanganui. 

 



River Boat MV Wairua

When you see a speed limit sign in New Zealand, don't be lulled into thinking that you will be able to travel anywhere close to the speed limit and survive.  Just outside of Upokongaro I spotted the sign in the photo below, on a road that is too narrow to have a centre line, has a hill on one side and a cliff on the other (with no guard rail), and the posted speed is 100 kilometres per hour.  The sign indicates the maximum permitted speed, not a safe speed or the maximum survivable speed.

 

NZ Speed Limit Sign

 

While we were in Whanganui we experienced an earthquake, while sitting eating breakfast.  It sounded like a large truck approaching, then a sudden jolt, and it was all over.  It was only magnitude 3.3 and centered about 20 Km from Whanganui.  Thankfully there was no damage.

 

From Whanganui we headed into the Manawatu region to stay with our friends, Marilyn and John, who live on a farm between Palmerston North and Fielding.  Enroute we stopped for lunch at a cafe in Bulls.  Bulls is a small town where the Whanganui highway splits from the main north-south highway, and the town has tried to capitalize on its unique name (its only claim to fame), including signs as you come into town, telling you that it is "A Town Like No Udder".  Throughout town there are other "Bull" signs pointing at various locations around town.  Trying to cross the highway in the middle of town is not for the faint-hearted as there are no pedestrian crossings in town - unbeliev-a-bull.

 

 

Bulls Signs

We enjoyed 3 nights with John and Marilyn at their new farm, caught up with their extended family, and learned some more about farming.  We even visited the Fielding Sale Yards for the Friday stock sale.  The Fielding stock sale is the biggest in Australasia.  Animals are sold by the pen lot, with a sheep pen having as many as 400 animals per lot, but cattle are sold in much smaller volumes.  Pricing is per animal for sheep and by the pound for cattle. 

 

We sat and watched the cattle auction, which was a very efficient operation - a pen lot of cattle is herded into a pen at the entrance to the sale room, where the pen lot is weighed and the average weight per animal displayed on an overhead screen.  The animals are then moved into a second pen in the centre of the room and the auctioneer begins the bidding process, while a new lot is moved into the scale pen.  Bidding is per Kg, and the price varies depending on the size, condition, and type of animal (cow, bull, steer).  Within a minute or two the lot is sold, and it is driven out the other side of the room and onto waiting trucks for transportation to its new home.  There were about fifty trucks parked at the back of the sale yards, ready to move in to pick up a load, all very real time. 

 

Fielding Sale Yards

 

While in Palmerston North we visited Auntie Bridie, my Mom's sister, who celebrated her 95th birthday this week.  She was in great form despite all her visitors and the excitement of the week, and still as sharp as a button.

 

Enroute to Wellington, we met Margaret & Tricia in Foxton, and with help from the local funeral home we interred the ashes of my Auntie Noeline who died last September.  Noeline is now at rest with her parents and brother in the family plot.

 

We now have only a few more days before we fly home, and these will be spent with Margaret and Tricia, having a final catch-up, although we have several activities already planned, so I had better get on with it.

 

Wellington (2016-04-02)

This week we heard the interim result of the great New Zealand flag referendum, and there will be no change of flag. 

 

The Prime Minister (and big business & national sports teams) wanted a new flag, as the current one is very similar to the Australian flag.  The PM claims that they followed a "world-class" ($26 million)process, but in my view it was anything but....

• The government appointed a committee, stacked with business and sports people, to review new flag designs submitted by the public (a biased committee - strike 1).
• The committee chose 4 designs out of 10,000 submissions,for the public to vote on, through a mail-in ballot, but a lobby group complained that their flag was not included, so a 5th choice was added (did not follow their own process - strike 2).
• The ballot involved preferential voting, so the flag that got the most first choice votes, was not chosen as the possible new flag, after adjusting for the voters' second choices (the flag that was first choice of the most people was not chosen - strike 3).
• The final step in the process was a second mail-in ballot, where voters got to choose between the current flag and the selected alternate flag.  There was good voter turnout and 57% voted to keep the existing flag.

 

This is a great example of the people refusing to change something just because the politicians and businesses decide that it should change.....Power to the People!

 

The Old & New New Zealand Flag



We have had a less active but more cultural experience this week, seeing two movies and visiting a museum.

 

First up was the New Zealand movie "Mahana", a serious show about the intertwined lives of two Maori families, based on the book "Bulibasha" by Witi Ihimaera, who also wrote "The Whale Rider".  A good story and a well-done production.

 

Mahana Poster

Next up we attended the more light-hearted New Zealand movie "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" on its opening day.  This show was based on the book "Wild Pork and Watercress" by well-known New Zealand author Barry Crump.  This is a hilarious show, about a boy in foster care, and is destined to become a kiwi classic.

 

 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Poster

Jim and Marlene would give both movies two thumbs up!!  Now lets see if either one makes it to Canadian theatres.

 

Today we visited the World War I exhibit at the National War Museum.  It was a very well done exhibition with much detail of New Zealand's involvement in the war.  New Zealand suffered the highest loss of life of any nation in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, losing 1 of every 3 fighting soldiers (compared with 1 in 7 Australian soldiers).  The Gallipoli exhibit was of particular interest, as I had a Great Uncle who fought there, and survived, only to die two years later at Ypres in Belgium. 

 

To end on a lighter note, I have posted details of a couple of the many words that we have inherited from WWI.

 

 

Pushing Up Daisies (Becoming a Landowner)

 

Bumf (Bum Fodder)

 

We now only have about10 days left in New Zealand and we will be on the road again on Monday, but more on that trip next week.

Gisborne - Rotorua - Turangi (2016-03-24)

We are now back in Wellington after a great week travelling to Gisborne, Rotorua and Turangi.

 

In Gisborne re re-visited the Eastwoodhill Arboretum (Arboretum of New Zealand) and enjoyed several hours walking various trails.  We were almost the only visitors on the day of our visit, and only saw one other family (as we were leaving), so it felt like we had the place to ourselves.  If you are interested in photos, check out the posting from our visit in 2014.

 

We also checked out something new in Gisborne, the Footrot Flats statue which has recently been erected temporarily in a riverside park, while it waits for its permanent home to be redeveloped.  Footrot Flats is a cartoon by New Zealander Murray Ball, a local Gisborne boy, and was very popular in the 1980s and 90s.  The main characters are a farmer named Wal, and his dog named Dog, who lived at Footrot Flats.  In the photo below I tried to do my best Wal pose.

 

Jim, Wal & Dog

 

While cruising the residential streets of Gisborne, I spied the road safety sign shown in the photo below....food for thought.

 

Road Safety Sign

 

From Gisborne we headed to Rotorua, where our destination was the Blue Lake Holiday Park, which is a little out of town, beside the Blue Lake, and close to the Green Lake and the Buried Village.  We only had two nights in Rotorua, but managed to fill our time well.  On day 1 we visited the tea house at the Buried Village (great scones) and later did the walk around the Blue Lake, which stayed close to the lake, and was primarily in native bush. 

 

Blue Lake, Rotorua

 

On our second day in Rotorua, before heading to Turangi, we walked in a Redwood Forest, amongst the massive trees, which reminded us of the Douglas Firs on Vancouver Island.  There was a great network of trails within the forest, and certainly more for us to explore next time.

 

Redwood Forest, Rotorua

 

Turangi was intended only as an overnight stop to break up the journey from Rotorua back to Wellington, but it turned out to be a highlight.  Firstly, our accommodation at Creel Lodge was a great surprise - an excellent unit in a quiet location, with direct access to 15 Km of walking trails along the Tongariro River.  If only we had brought our fishing rods.....next time maybe?

 

As children we enjoyed several summer holidays in a bach (holiday house, pronounced "batch") at Pukawa, a few miles from Turangi, on Lake Taupo, and we decided to go and see if it was still there.  Fifty five years ago, Pukawa consisted of 3 houses somewhat back from the lake and 1 house on the lakeshore, with no electricity, all accessed down a narrow dirt road if it had not rained too much.  Today, the area is covered in houses, fully-serviced with utilities, accessed down a 2-lane asphalt road.  Without too much trouble, we managed to find the childhood bach, tucked in behind a Maori marae, and the other 3 houses were also still standing and recognisable.  The area brought back many memories of our childhood holidays, making for a very nostalgic visit.

 

Bach at Pukawa

Before heading out the next morning, we did a short walk along the Tongariro River, but again, much more to explore on our next visit.

 

The trip back to Wellington was uneventful, with coffee in Taihape and lunch at a (noisy) picnic area along the Himitangi straight.  We delivered Tricia to the 5:30 pm train back to Featherston, and so ended another great family vacation.  I wonder where we will go next year?

 

Always being on the lookout for items of interest, I noticed the sign below in a Kiwibank branch.  Interest rates in New Zealand tend to be higher than Canadian rates at the moment, as the New Zealand economy has not needed as much stimulus, although that is likely to change.  The 2-year mortgage rate of 4.39% is a little higher than the current RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) rate of 3.25%, and the 150-day term deposit rate is substantially higher than the RBC rate of 0.35%.  But what is most noticeable is the difference between what the bank charges in interest on loans and what they pay as interest to depositors - Kiwibank survives on a 1.14% spread, while RBC takes a whopping 2.69%.  It is worth noting that RBC also charges a monthly fee to deposit our money with them, but Kiwibank charges no account fee.  I know where I would rather keep my money.

 

Kiwibank Interest Rates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waikaremoana (2016-03-17)

On each visit to New Zealand we try and do a short touring holiday with my sisters, and each year it gets harder to include places that we have not visited before.  This year's trip began with a new place for us all, Lake Waikaremoana, which lies within the Te Urewera National Park, about 65 Km inland from Wairoa & 160 Km East of Rotorua.  Te Urewera contains some of the most rugged and remote areas in the North Island, and was a place of refuge for Maori warriors during the land wars of the 1860s. 

 

Not knowing what services to expect, we bought lots of groceries, filled the car with petrol and set off from Napier, up the East coast towards Wairoa, our destination being the Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park. The guide books and maps tell you that the road from Wairoa is sealed all the way, but the reality is that a large portion of it is actually gravel / very clayish looking earth.  Our accommodation, the only game in town, was far from new, but was clean and functional.  Margaret & Tricia took the beds and Marlene & I took the mattresses on a sleeping platform which was up a ladder in the peak of the room (our tree house).  Our mattresses were very comfortable, but it was somewhat difficult to get Marlene's large suitcase up there.  At the holiday park there is no television, no internet and no cellphone service, so we were forced to disconnect from the world.

 

Lake Waikaremoana is the site of one of the New Zealand Great Walks, a multi-day hike on the West side of the lake, but we contented ourselves with several of the shorter walks on the East side of the lake, close to the highway.

 

Tuesday was forecast to be the best weather, so we did four of the walks in the vicinity of the holiday park.  First up was the Aniwaniwa Falls, a series of 3 waterfalls that cascade down from the visitor's centre to the lake.  After crossing the river on the road bridge, the walk was through dense native bush.

 

Aniwaniwa Falls

We four below Aniwaniwa Fall

Next up was the Papakorito Falls, on the same river, but upstream from the visitors centre.  Access was on a quiet gravel road, then a short bush walk to the falls.

 



Papakorito Falls

After lunch we followed the Hinau Walk from the holiday park, past the site of an early hotel, then continued on the Tawa walk, to visit the largest Rata tree in New Zealand.  The Rata is an interesting tree as it begins life as an epiphyte, growing in the fork of an existing tree, and then extending its roots down, eventually smothering the host tree.  This large specimen is estimated to be 800-1000 years old, and is about 13 metres (43 feet) in girth.   As shown in the photo below, this tree has grown very tall atop its long-dead host.

 

NZ's Largest Rata

 After heavy rain overnight, Wednesday brought fine misty rain, and walking was much more difficult on the bush trails.  In the morning we walked a short portion of the great walk, to reach the Armed Constabulary Redoubt, the remains of a fortification from the land wars of the 1860s.  Soldiers of the time carved dates and their names / initials in a nearby rock face.  A short walk from the redoubt took us to Lake Kiriopukae, a pretty little lake surrounded by large rocks, and the site of a cemetery with graves from the time of the land wars.  As we pulled into the car park, our cell phones beeped and chirped, telling us that we had service again, so we all rabidly checked our emails, texts and the latest news.

 

After lunch we did the much more adventurous Onepoto Caves walk.  Lake Waikaremoana was formed about 2200 years ago when a large rock slide blocked the end of the valley, causing it to fill with water.  The rockslide was 200-300 metres thick and consisted of large slabs of sandstone.  The piling of large slabs of rock resulted in gaps between the slabs, now known as the Onepoto Caves.  The area is littered with bluffs, holes and caves, and the path winds its way amongst them.  Being wet, the path was very slippery and we had to be somewhat careful to avoid sliding off the path into the holes.  We all agreed that the walk challenged us in several ways, and would not be a good choice with young children.

 

One of the Onepoto Caves

 The rain continued through Wednesday night and into Thursday, but on our way out of the park we did the Lake Kaitawa, Green Lake, Fairy Springs walk.  This took us around the two lakes and the springs which are fed by water from Lake Waikaremoana, forced up through gaps in the rock.

 

 

Swans on Lake Kaitawa

By 11 o'clock we had checked Lake Waikaremoana off our bucket list, and headed back to Wairoa, then North to Gisborne, our home for the next three nights.