Mount Cook

The Elephant Rocks in the Waitaki Valley on the way to Mt. Cook

Mount Cook from our window

Moeraki Boulders

The highest mountain in Australasia. It's magnificent. Our room looks out and up to the snow- capped top of Aoraki, the Maori name. Bill and I hiked up the Hooker Valley trail this morning. We walked over two swing bridges and saw the river below the glacier which is shrinking , of course, everyday. It is warm here, with a little breeze in the afternoon. Actually, this morning was hot in the sunshine, although the air was cool and dry. We got back in time for lunch at the Old Pioneers cafe.

On the way here yesterday, we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders on the coast and the Elephant Rocks in the Waitaki Valley. Both are so unusual and beautiful. The geography and vistas change so fast in NZ. You can drive from the beach to the snow covered alps in less than 2 hours.

The Hermitage Hotel where we are staying is the only act in town. There is only the one other restaurant, and the hotel is not a luxury stay, but at luxury prices. There are lots of tour groups here (many from Japan) and a big buffet restaurant, which we have avoided so far. We are posting this in the cafe/bar which is really nice, and where the wireless internet is available at a price, also BIG screen TV with the All Blacks playing. We will go get a pizza back at the Old Pioneers cafe for supper. Tomorrow, we'll try another hike or two. The weather is supposed to be warm and beautiful again.

Hope your weather is warm and beautiful, and that you are doing as well as we are. Thanks for your comments. Love you all.

Seals and Aramoana

We drove out to the end of the northern shore of Dunedin, Aramoana, where we found cliffs, sparkling beaches, warm sea air, and seals rolling lazily in the kelp and napping on the "mole" or jetty. Picnic lunch in our room and then a stroll through the excellent Dunedin art gallery, which is very impressive for a city of 20,000 residents (and 25,000 wild things who attend the University of Otago.)

Off to Mount Cook tomorrow.

March 6: Real Date

View from the top. Tunnel Beach

Otago Farmers' Market

Dunedin Train Station

I notice that Blogger hasn't been posting the dates correctly. Unless I am very confused, today is Saturday, March 6, here. Now, I'm sure you are confused, too. Nevermind. We'll just muddle along.

We went to the famous farmers' market today at the historic Dunedin train station. What a treat. If we lived here, we'd shop once a week at this market. Lots of fresh meats from local farmers, and as we are at the height of the fruit harvest here, we found apricots, plums (including our favorite, the ones that are the color of red beets inside), strawberries that taste like old fashioned strawberries, apples of many varieties and pears. There were also several fresh bread bakers, cheeses, dried fruits, pastries, jams and relishes, etc. What a good time, and now our motel room looks like a fruit market.

It was still cold and cloudy this morning, but this afternoon, we drove south to Tunnel Beach, found sun, and hiked down to the Pacific surf along a steep path (500 feet altitude change) through a tunnel (75 steps) built by a rich Victorian business man (Cargill) for his family so they could picnic on the beach. They must have had lots of very fit servants to carry all the picnic baskets up and down! The views were spectacular, and the Pacific is such a lovely aqua ocean.

We'll continue to muddle along to dinner again at our favorite Dunedin restaurant, The Reef. More fresh seafood, but no fruit.

Otago Peninsula

We drove through mist and light rain this morning out to Lanarch Castle on the Otago Peninsula, and then all the way to the eastern end where the Royal Albatross Center is located. It is a beautiful landscape, even in the rain. The colors certainly would have been brighter with sunshine, but it was well worth the drive. The Albatross Center has a fascinating exhibit about the seals, penguins, and albatross that breed on the cliffs. We saw NZ fur seals, two different kinds of gulls, and an albatross winging out to sea for a fresh seafood lunch. We had lunch, too, before returning to our motel in Dunedin.

The gardens at Lanarch are small but lovely. The family that have owned the castle since 1967, the Barkers, have made a real effort not only to preserve the original Victorian gardens but to plant and cultivate NZ native species, 80% of which exist no where else in the world. The photo above is the NZ Hibiscus. And, the view is across from the peninsula to the north shore. Ships come in and out to a large container port further east in the sound.

The peninsula has several large sheep stations with native stone fences built by the original thrifty and industrious Scottish settlers. It is very green and very steep with some lovely white sandy beaches and heavy surf in places. The road winds along the sound on one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. A wild and wonderful place.

Dunedin and a Great Flight on Air New Zealand

We spent Tuesday in a "foreign" country, south Los Angeles. It was a learning experience. Our hotel was only 2 blocks from the MTA, so we decided to go on with our quest for the best pastrami sandwich in the world. We found what we were looking for at Langer's Deli in downtown LA, and discovered the "tired and poor" on the Metropolitan Transit Authority's trains. We never felt threatened, but it was amazing to see the variety of economic-, health-, and future-challenged individuals traveling who-knows-where with lots of babies and young children in tow. There were old people, too, some on crutches or wheel chairs, some with grandchildren. There were hookers, teenagers, and hustlers. One young man with a big smile was peddling fruit sticks, "six for a dollar, all fresh." It's illegal, but he was a real entrepreneur and obviously successful, as we saw him later, and his big jar was almost empty. Everyone had a cell phone. What a country we live in.



The pastrami was hot, sweet, tender and served on home-made rye bread. It was definitely the best we've ever eaten. If you go to LA, go to Langer's. Some handsome young firemen, on their lunch break enjoying the sunny weather outside their department downtown, gave us directions. Everyone knows Langer's.



Our flight left right on time, 7:30 p.m. We had a terrific four-course dinner with generous pours of Marlborough sauvignon blanc to wash it down. Air New Zealand does everything they can to make passengers welcome and comfortable on the 12 hour plus trip across the Pacific. After retrieving our bags in Auckland and clearing customs and immigration, we walked to the domestic terminal for our flight to Dunedin. It was a beautiful flight across both islands. The sun was just up, and the view of Queen Charlotte Sound, Christ Church and Mt. Cook from the air was spectacular. Our rental car was waiting, and Bill successfully navigated our way to The Bluestone Inn in downtown Dunedin. The Tom/Tom was right on target. What a miracle.



It is still a beautiful day, clear and crip with lots of sun. The light here is so different from other places. Everything seems so sharp and colorful. Dunedin is a lovely Victorian city with lots of gorgeous public buildings and neighborhoods. The college students are all just back for their fall term (25,000 of them) so the streets are filled with raggedy tee-shirted and be-jeaned twenty-somethings.



After a rest and a glass of wine, we'll go find dinner and have an early night. There's lots of hikes and wild-life here (besides the college students). We'll go see what we can find tomorrow, and I'll post some pictures.



We are 18 hours ahead of Eastern Standard time, so it is Thursday afternoon here - about 4:30, as I write. Good night to you all.

Morning in LA

We have made it to LA quite successfully. In the middle of a delayed flight (1 hour) out of Atlanta yesterday, one begins to wonder if it is all worth it. Why do people travel for fun? When do we start having fun? Why is flying such a tedious and undiginified mode of travel in the space age? And, why can't a big competent (?) airline like Delta figure out that it is best not to load 250 people on a huge 767 aircraft when the pilot and crew all know that there has been a mechanical difficulty that must be resolved before take-off? Also, why does it take 45 minutes for any lugguge to reach the carrousel (aptly named) after the plane lands?



Well, we could have stayed home and complained about the snow which is falling today, or the traffic in Greenville, or the reconcilliation process in DC. (There are young tv commentators who keep calling it re-concilliation. Is that right?) We soon reached our brand new Hilton Express hotel, found an incredibly authetic Mexican restaurant just down the street, and drank two Margaritas, and began to have fun! We were the only gringos in the place, and the food was fresh, made-to-order, and delicious.



After an early night and sleeping well (thanks to the M's), I think we are adjusted to LA time. We have to do some exploring and walking this afternoon, as our flight doesn't leave until 7:30 pm. It's listed as "on time," and our hotel has a complimentary shuttle to the airport. What more could you ask? Bill wants to find the best pastrami sandwich in the US, which is supposedly served in Langston's in downtown LA. If we can get there, we'll find out and let you know. And, that will be fun!

Back to New Zealand

Bill and I are leaving March 1 for a one month trip to New Zealand. We hope you will follow our blog, and that I will be up to writing every couple of days. We have said so often in the past two years, "let's go back to NZ!" especially during all the political turmoil our country has endured during that time. The political climate hasn't seemed to improve, even with a fine new president, so off we go. Maybe Congress can get its act together while we are gone.

It's said, "you can't go home again," and often we've found visiting a favorite restaurant or city is not as great as one remembered from a previous visit. We hope this is not the case for this trip. We are visiting different cities and sites than we did the first time, and plan on doing more hiking and less vineyard visits. I will let you know if we find NZ as lovely, friendly, and delightfully easy-going as we found it the first time.

We will start in Dunedin, a city settled by Scots on the South Island, and finish on the Coromandel Peninsula near Auckland, a favorite of the Kiwis. We'll look forward to your comments.

Bill and Roxanna