Trip to New Zealand

11/8-12/3/2002

I have wanted to visit New Zealand for a long time and last year I was able to make plans to visit the country -once again on a Cheeseman sponsored birding trip. They would not be leading this trip but they had met some wonderful local guides to plan our trip. Fortunately my friend Nancy Hay also decided to go so we were able to room together and in addition Judy and Lyall Bishop signed up to go - I met them on the Australia trip and they are wonderful traveling companions and two friends Rich Kuehn and Dean Schuler also decided to go. It is fun to travel with friends. New Zealand is a small country made up of two large Islands - North and South Island, a small island, Stewart Island, and lots and lots of very small islands. New Zealand has no native mammals except for a couple of bats so their birds developed in very unique ways - many are flightless and many are endemic. Now with some introduced mammals, rats, stoats, and the much reviled possum many of their native birds are extinct or very endangered. But the country is working hard on saving many of these birds. Some islands have been made predator free so some endangered species are increasing on those places. In addition to the lure of the birds I had also heard about the beautiful scenery of New Zealand so I was looking forward to seeing that as well. All my expectations were met and then some. New Zealand is a beautiful country and we saw many places and covered a lot of territory. I wish I could share all the details of this wonderful trip but the days seem to blur together and I did not take very detailed notes. So I am writing this with the help of the notes I did take and I will use my photos and other information to fill in some details. I’ll add to it as time goes along as I am reminded of more.

Friday 11/8 The day before we were scheduled to leave a big storm hit the Bay Area and flights were delayed and canceled all day. So we were a little apprehensive when we left because we had to fly from SFO to LAX to make our connection to Auckland. It was not as stormy on our departure day but it was still raining so we went to the airport a little early. We asked the agent if there was room on an earlier flight so he changed us to an early flight that was leaving at 5:20PM instead of our flight which was scheduled for 6:45. Even that earlier flight was late, leaving at 7:00 which gave us plenty of time to catch the flight from LAX to Auckland - especially because even that flight was late. (Incidentally at SFO I met some former colleagues Don and Pauline Gielow who were planning to call me about the Galapagos - so Nancy and I were able to tell them about our experiences there. Then in LAX we met Jerry Day - a friend we had met on our trip to Trinidad - he too was flying to New Zealand so we visited with him for a while.) Eventually - some 21 hours later - we arrived in New Zealand where the time was Sunday morning about 9:00 AM. We were met by our guide Karen Baird and joined by fellow travelers, Sally Rusinski, Clare Pearson, and Jack Daniels (whom I had traveled with last year on my Africa trip). Karen drove us through and around Auckland to the Gannet Colony at Muriwai Beach - which I think is on the Tasman Sea. There we met Karen’s husband Chris Gaskin and the rest of our fellow travelers - the above mentioned people plus Stevie and Bill Ferguson. We are a total of 11 plus our two guides. The Gannet colony was awesome with hundreds of birds nesting there amid the beautiful scenery of the coast. My first impression of New Zealand was green, green, green. From the airplane I could see miles of green, clear to the water’s edge. The green forests and the fields went down to the sandy beaches. Driving through Auckland and through other towns along the way I felt on very familiar grounds. Things looked very much as we see in California - both on the coast and in the central valley. One major difference is how clean everything looked. We had a lovely picnic lunch at a very scenic spot near the gannet colony and then we continued birding as we drove to our place for the next two nights - Waiwera Coach Trails Villas - a lovely apartment like setting - Nancy and I had an upstairs and a downstairs plus lots of extra room. We were near the town of Orewa - on the east coast and the Pacific Ocean. That evening we went to dinner at Chris and Karen’s nearby home and had the first of many excellent dinners. We were also treated to some close views of birds at their feeders plus a lovely little owl called a “Morepork” because that is what his call sounds like.

Monday 11/11 Today we took two water taxis to Tiritiri Matangi Island - a protected and predator free island. Many of the rare and endangered birds thrive on this island and many native plants have been reintroduced here as well. It took us about 50 minutes to get to the island and it was pretty rough We had a very rough landing - we had to be practically pulled from the boat between ocean waves. Our boat driver was a young man who owned 5 taxis and loved his job - he was only 22 years old! It was also raining but fortunately stopped for our hike on the island. We saw lots of wonderful birds here including the very large Takahe (about 7 pounds and 25 inches long). They were thought to be extinct until a few were discovered in 1948 - now there are about 200 birds in the world. This island has about 20 birds and they are breeding here. On this island I saw (with Dean’s help) my 2000 world bird - a Red-crowned Parakeet. (It took me several days to count the birds and figure this out!) I had needed 17 new birds to reach 2000. When we reached the top of the hill we were walking on we had a lovely lunch - even including tea and/or coffee and dessert. A diversion- all of our meals were excellent, wide choice of foods for breakfast, good and fresh sandwiches and desserts and drinks for picnic lunches, and wonderful and plentiful dinners, all served very elegantly. Without a doubt these were the best meals I have had on any trip (and that in no way diminishes meals on past trips - this was just far above the ordinary) - naturally I gained 5 pounds which took me a week to loose but it was worth it! Anyway back to the birding. After lunch and a brief rest we hiked down to the boat dock. Since it was too rough to board at the usual boat landing the boat was waiting for us in a protected harbor but it was at the bottom of a very steep grassy slope which brought back my irrational fears of grassy slopes (from my broken ankle experience). I would have set down and slid but fortunately Lyall took several trips up and down lending his shoulder for us to lean on so we all made it down and into the boat. Oh the exciting adventures we have. We made it safely back to our rooms where we had time to clean up for a very lovely dinner at a restaurant in the town of Orewa.

Tuesday 11/12 We were supposed to take a boat to Great Barrier Island but the weather was just too rough and we would not have been able to do much in the way of birding along the way. So we birded north at Pakiri Beach and then took two planes to the Great Barrier Island. I was in a small (four seat Piper) plane which was a little scary at first but once I relaxed I really enjoyed the flight and I can see why people enjoy flying around in those small planes. The scenery is spectacular and you are so close to the land you can really see things. We were a lot faster than the nine in the other plane and it was fun. I just can’t do justice to the scenery - even photos seem unreal - there is such a variety of scenes, green fields, splendid coast lines with rugged cliffs and smooth - colorful beaches. The mountains of New Zealand mostly just jut up from flat land so even though they aren’t as high as our Sierras they seem higher and they are stunning. I can see why they filmed many movies here including “The Lord of the Rings”. There is a wide variety of scenes to choose from. The flight was not too bumpy - not even when we landed on a grassy field. We had to land at the field that was near the town of Claris because the field nearer our lodge was too windy. The town was very small with not many residents. Many Maori people live here and our driver told us the story of his tribe from 400 years ago. Most of the Maoris on this island are of the same family. New Zealand is in the process of addressing many of the Maori issues and encouraging them to take pride in their culture and history. There are no pure Maoris left in New Zealand but the oral tradition has been maintained. On the way to our lodge we were treated to a stop to watch a man who was carving a Maori style boat from a tree and he was using an adze. His skill was very precise. We drove on to our lodge - Orama Lodge - a secluded Christian camp. We had very comfortable rooms with bathrooms down the hall. There were few other people staying there so enjoyed a lot of freedom. We had a lovely dinner and watched the birds around the lodge. One special bird here is the Brown Teal which greeted us as we had arrived. They are one of the worlds rarest ducks and we saw at least 20 on this island. The other special bird there was the Banded Rail. Rail are usually hard to find but these came out on the lawn in the evening and we enjoyed very good views from the porch.

Wednesday 11/13 We had a long day today driving first to see a large colony of Brown Teal representing a large percentage of the world’s population. Then we had an arduous hike up Windy Canyon which had absolutely awesome vistas. The trails in the national parks are so impressive. They are well constructed and well maintained. Where there are wooden planks for the trails or steps up steep slopes they are covered with wire mesh to keep them from being slippery. I never could have climbed some of this hike without this steps and trails. In fact at one point I decided to just stop and wait for the group on the return trip. I had a few lovely quiet moments to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and views on both sides of the trail and the birds just flew over my head close enough to disturb my hair! What an experience. We got back to our lodge in time to clean up before dinner which was very elegant and included the delicious dessert of Pavlova. Pavlova seems to be a national dessert of New Zealand with claims to having been invented there. We had it several times and it was delicious. It is a large meringue topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream and a fruit sauce - the best being passion fruit. I loved it all. (You can begin to see why I gained five pounds.) After dinner some of the people went on a hike at night to see the Black Petrels fly in to their holes. Since I don’t see well at night I decided to stay back. We did have a small adventure - two of the little girls who lived there offered to show us the Blue Penguins nesting under their house. We did go up with them but the place was very small and involved crawling on some rather smelly ground so we didn’t crawl back to see them - but it was fun to share their enthusiasm. We did see a lovely sunset.

Thursday 11/14 We left early in the morning and flew back to North Island and picked up our vans and left luggage. We are traveling quite comfortably in two 11 passenger vans. Since we only have 5 or 6 passengers (plus driver) in each van we are at most 2 per seat which is most pleasant. We have plenty of luggage room which is great for all of us - especially for the photographers who have a great deal more luggage to haul around. Then we again drove through Auckland south to the Miranda Trust Wildlife Centre. Auckland is a very busy city with lots of people. There isn’t much to distinguish it from any major North American city. It has a beautiful harbor (where we saw Larry Ellison’s boat - the Oracle). We had a picnic lunch at the Miranda Centre and then went out to the tidal flats where we sat and waited for high tide to come so we could see the birds as they moved closer. Miranda is in the Firth of Thames (firth is a Scots word for a long narrow inlet of the sea). We all took advantage of the time to have a little rest out along the shell beach. Karen also introduced us to a special New Zealand treat called Hokey Pokey ice cream so we all had to try it. It was delicious (rather like butter brickle for those of you who remember that and want to know what it tastes like). We continued to treat ourselves to this ice cream as we traveled through the country - everyone had it available. From here we drove south to the Waitomo Caves Hotel - a charming old hotel. We had a very elegant dinner but had to eat in a hurry because we went to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves which were near by. A relative of Karen works there so he was able to take us on a private evening tour after it was closed to the general public. This made the experience almost magical. We went into a limestone cave and enjoyed a quiet walk through there. At the bottom there was a river and we climbed into a boat and were taken into a pitch black part. The driver moved the boat by pulling on a cable that was hung overhead. The ceiling was full of glow worms that actually illuminated the area enough to see shadows. It was a very mystical experience and all the more so because we were the only people there. Glow worms are a very unique creature.

Friday 11/15 We continued driving south stopping at mountain rivers looking for the endemic Blue Duck - a duck that lives on fast moving mountain streams. We did not find one. But we did see many, many other wonderful birds and we are beginning to know the birds now. Since New Zealand does not have such a high number of birds we have the opportunity to see many of them repeatedly so we can actually remember some of them. That is a treat. One town, Te Kuiti, proclaims itself “the shearing capital of the world” They have a rather large statute of a shearer and have lots of statistics - it is rather impressive how much work they do. We had a delicious lunch by the river - great sandwiches and wonderful dessert. We did a lot of driving today and saw many scenes of New Zealand - all green. The farms are all so very green and the sheep farms look just like one would expect - lots of fluffy white sheep with lots of lambs. I noticed that many of the fences were made with regular wire instead of bobbed wire and the top wire was often electric. There were also some farms with cows and many farms with deer - being raised mostly for a European market - also for market in China for some of their herbal remedies that use the antler velvet. In many ways the drive is similar to a drive in the central valley of California in the spring with everything is green. Several farms had large fields planted with trees - all of one species. These would then be sold when mature for lumber - often used as an investment for retirement for the farmer. We arrived late afternoon in Rotorua where we were staying for the night. Rotorua is known for the sulfur hot springs and mud baths and you can certainly smell them when you arrive. We could see and hear them right outside our hotel room. We had one geyser that erupted quite high on a regular basis. For our dinner we were driven to the Tamaki Maori Village were we were treated to a performance of some of the Maori ceremonies and customs and then a good buffet dinner. We also had the opportunity to check out some gift shops in the area. This is all an effort to introduce and explain some of the Maori culture in the hopes of instilling some pride and interest in it. It was very interesting albeit rather commercially done.

Saturday 11/16 Lots of rain today. We flew from Rotorua to Christchurch which is on the South Island. It was a very small airport and security was very little - a nice change. We picked up two similar vans and drove north to Kaikoura raining all the way. Rather than have a picnic lunch we stopped at Waipara Springs winery where we had a lovely lunch - a spread of a variety of meats, cheeses, breads and vegetables. This was accompanied by a wine tasting of some of their better wines. I ended up buying three bottles for dinner so that we could toast my 2000 world bird. We continued on to our lodge for the night at The Convent - an old convent that has been converted to accommodations. That afternoon we went on a boat trip and all I can remember is that it was wet and cold. (We were sorely lacking in the proper clothes as we didn’t expect such cold weather. But we came back to a very elegant five course French dinner that included crayfish. These are very large - almost lobster size and taste somewhat similar. The whole dinner was a real treat and a nice accompaniment to toast the Red-crowned Parakeet - my 2000th bird. We had a fun evening.

Sunday 11/17 Today the seas were too stormy to go out in a boat so instead we flew over the seas off of Kaikoura to look for Sperm Whales. It was interesting to fly over the seas looking and we thought we would miss out but in the last five minutes as we were heading back we did spot one sperm whale. I was able to see it pretty well - even saw it spouting. It certainly is a very big animal. Then we had lunch in the town of Kaikoura and had time to shop. Some people bought warm clothes - I found an inexpensive warm hat that I enjoyed for the rest of the trip. We continued birding along the coast and then went back to our rooms in time to dry up and clean up and even do some laundry in their machines. We had a wonderful dinner again - very French - the cook is a French trained chef and his wife is also French. We had chicken and lots of vegetables. One of the great things about the meals on this trip is that we got lots of fresh vegetables and they were mostly cook beautifully (not mushy like some countries do). Our rooms were very interesting - small for the most part and filled with very old furniture. You could well imagine some nuns living in these rooms in the past. They were comfortable and warm and we had a lovely view.

Monday 11/18 We left early this morning (7:30) after a quick breakfast of cereal and toast. We picked up lunch at a bakery in town and headed north along the east coast to Blenheim. We birded along the way picking up more new birds. After lunch we boarded a boat in Picton and traveled in Queen Charlotte Sound. This is the same area where people can take the ferry to Wellington and the North Island. We were fortunate that we could go out far enough to White Rocks to see the endemic King Shag nesting. On the way we were treated to Hector and Dusky Dolphins - I love watching them swim along the side of our boat. We also walked on the Motuara Island bird sanctuary for more birds. The birds were very tame here. Again it was quite a climb up the tracks but they have done much to make the trails safe and a bit easier. Then we had a two hour drive to our motel (next to Lake Rotoiti) where we had a good but late dinner. The scenery was wonderful - again very reminiscent of California’s central valley with lots of farms with sheep, cows, orchards and vineyards.

Tuesday 11/19 Today was one of the few before breakfast walks. I had expected a loud dawn chorus but it was surprisingly quiet as we walked to and along Lake Rotoiti and the beech forest along its shores. It was a lovely walk with more of the usual birds. Then we went back for a good and welcome breakfast. We drove west and then south along the coast. We stopped at a point where we stood along the fault formed by two plates very much like our San Andreas fault. I believe it is formed by the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plates. The areas we drove through were lovely - partly due to the 18 feet of rain they get per year. The homes were small - more like beach cottages. In fact I noticed that in most of New Zealand the homes I saw were small by comparison to what you see in housing tracks in California - by small I mean maybe 1200 square feet or even less. By and large the residential areas we saw were very pleasant with well kept homes and gardens. As we drove west we followed the Buller River to Westport a coal mining town. We picked up lunch there and took it to Cape Foulwind where we were treated to several Wekas (an endemic NZ rail) while we ate lunch. They were surprising tame for rails. There was also a NZ Fur Seal colony there - that is the way I like to see fur seals - from a distance (having been chased by a fur seal in the Antarctic I don’t like to get too close). Continuing south we arrived at our fabulous motel at Punakaiki. Our rooms are right on the beach with window with a stunning view of the horizon. The window frame was a picture frame of such beauty it was hard to leave it but we did to take a walk up the hill to see the spectacular limestone pancake rock formations. The formations look like one pancake piled on top of another - we walked through a coastal forest to see these and it really was some view. Back to our motel to clean up for a very elegant and very good dinner. I wish I could remember the details of all our meals but I can’t. In general they were prepared and presented very much like you would expect from some of the finer (and trendier) San Francisco restaurants. We had plenty of well prepared vegetables and a variety of meat was offered - lots of lamb of course and also a large variety of fish as well as chicken and beef. After dinner some went on a trek to watch the Black Petrels coming in to their burrows after dark but I chose to stay back and enjoy the solitude, the beautiful sunset, and some reading.

Wednesday 11/20 We drove south along the coast - again beautiful scenery - Tasman Sea on one side - forest on the other. We saw a large gold mining operation near the town of Greymouth - they also have coal mining there. And we got our first glimpse of Mt. Cook. At 12,316 feet it is New Zealand’s highest mountain. (It was 12,349 feet until 1991 when it lost 34 feet in a landslide!) It certainly was an outstanding view of the snow capped Southern Alps on a clear sunny day. The roads that we have traveled are mostly very good - mostly two lanes but one interesting note. There are many bridges because of all the streams and rivers and most of them are one lane! One direction has to yield to the other. In some places where there is a train track they are in the middle too so of course the train has the right of way regardless of direction. Apparently that idea was a money saving function. Fortunately most of the areas did not have a lot of traffic and the bridges were short so the wait was never long. Again we picked up lunch at a bakery (which turned out to be good sandwiches and Lamingtons - a familiar treat from our trip to Australia). We drove to Okarito where we ate lunch and then boarded a jet boat. Jet Boats were invented in New Zealand by Sir William Hamilton. As I understand it they suck up water underneath and expel it in the back which enables them to just skim the surface of very shallow water - no propellor to tangle up in the vegetation in swamps. We were taken on a fast and exhilarating ride down the Okarito Lagoon to see the only New Zealand nesting colony of Great Egrets. Also nesting there were Royal Spoonbills and Little Shags. On the way the driver stopped at one point to give us a view of Mt. Cook. He said it was one of only 3-4 days a year when Mt. Cook was completely clear of any cloud cover. It was a beautiful sight. Incidentally this was my first jet boat ride and I can see what appeals to people about this type of rides. It would not be my style - too noisy and too environmentally intrusive but I can see why some people enjoy them. We spent some time in a “blind” - a wooden shelter with cut out windows - watching the egrets and spoonbills on their nests. It was fun to watch the behavior and to be so close. Also the environment of the lagoon was fascinating - I love being so immersed in nature. It was a pleasant walk from the boat dock to the blind. After leaving here we continued south to Lake Moeraki. We stopped at Fox Glacier where we met the infamous Keas - a parrot known for its mischievous ways, begging for food and chewing on the rubber around car windows. They were there to greet us. We walked in to see the glacier which is interesting so near a temperate forest. On our continuing drive we were treated to a view of the other side of Mt. Cook. We arrived late for dinner so we just quickly washed up because the other lodge guests were also waiting for dinner. Lake Moeraki Lodge is a relatively new lodge and was set up very well for travelers like us. They had a wonderful drying room - which we certainly had to use. They also had washers and dryers, plus the usual tea, coffee, cookies and so forth. Practically every place we stayed at had tea and coffee and some kinds of snacks in our room - really a nice touch that we enjoyed. We had a very elegant dinner once again and then off to bed.

Thursday 11/21 We had an early morning walk around the lodge and then had breakfast at the lodge. Then we went on a longer walk from the lodge and had the fun of seeing a Fernbird a secretive endemic, but we had great views and he danced and sang for us on cue. After a morning of birding in the area we came back for lunch and a rest before heading out to see the Fiordland Crested Penguins. They are also a rare endemic and they breed and molt in dense coastal forest or in caves on rocky shores. We were walking a little used track through the forest to the beach and it was a horrible hike, slippery, hilly, and at least four times crossed streams (jumping from rock to rock). None of that is something I’m very good at but I made it to the beach reasonably dry (until it started raining!) But it was all worth it as we sat on the beach for a long time watching the penguins come in for the night. It is fun to watch them come up out of the sea - it isn’t easy and many of them have to try several times. I found it fascinating to watch - I have always loved penguins. It was interesting to speculate on their behavior. For the most part each one would come out and walk a bit up the beach and then turn around and wait. Eventually another one would come out and then maybe the two of them would march up a path to the forest - or maybe the two would wait for a third one and after greeting each other the three of them would go to the forest. Once three waited for a fourth and after a serious conversation two went one way and two went another. Never saw more than four at once and 2-3 was the norm. Each little group went a different way and disappeared into the forest. On our march back we could hear them making a lot of noise as we walked through the trees. It was really an experience sitting in the rain (on stools that Chris had carried for us), drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies and watching the penguins. Despite the wet I really enjoyed the experience. But I did not enjoy the march back to the cars, in the rain, in the mud, over the streams, but then it was worth it. We had drying rooms for our clothes, hot showers, comfortable room, and a delicious and elegant dinner waiting us - what a life. Being a birder isn’t easy. This night I also tried email for the first (and only) time on the trip. Lots of places have email connections but they are incredibly slow. I wanted to send David an email to ask him to regenerate my sourdough starter so I put in the coin for 10 minutes as I thought that would be enough time to write one email. It took me 8 minutes to make the connection so I quickly wrote the email to him and sent it with 5 seconds to spare. I decided to not bother with email again on the trip. It is nice to be out of touch anyway.

Friday 11/22 We drove south and then west through the town of Haast and following the Haast River. We walked a track looking for the Rifleman - a bird in a new family. We found him and several other interesting birds; it was a pleasant walk. We stopped at a deli along the way and bought our lunch (eating dessert first since we all got an ice cream cone - hokey pokey again for me!). We had our lunch at a pleasant beach. Then we continued on our driving headed to Mt. Cook with beautiful sunny views of Mt. Cook. Along the way we walked to the Blue Pools near Haast Pass - another lovely walk with incredibly blue pools at the end of the walk. Once again the walk was built and maintained very well - some swing bridges, plank trails for the most part and hand rails where needed. The department of conservation certainly helps make some of New Zealand safely accessible. We stopped at Lindis Pass for tea time - our usual tea and cookies. We were also treated to a sheep “muster” where 3 shepherds with 3-4 dogs each moved hundreds of sheep from one pasture to another. The dogs did the work and it was interesting to see how smooth the whole procedure went - no yelling or heavy movements. Oh another note here - most of the farmers were dressed in shorts - even if it was very cold and they had heavy sweaters on top they would still have bare legs - hearty souls. The shepherds have changed the environment tremendously as they burn the fields each year so new food will grow for the sheep. We continued on to Mt Cook where we were staying at “The Hermitage”. This is a huge mountain hotel and very much favored by Asian Tourists. This was especially apparent in the dinning room where the buffet obviously caters to Asian tastes. The food was very good and the setting spectacular with one glass wall that framed the view of Mt. Cook. This place was so large we almost got lost walking around inside the hotel - had a hard time finding our rooms! But we had a lovely view from our room and it was very luxurious. In fact this birding trip I stayed at some of the more luxurious places that I have ever stayed at. Made for a nice contrast after tramping out in the forest all day.

Saturday 11/23 We packed up at 7:00 AM then went for a very lavish buffet breakfast. Lots of people there - mostly from Japan. This place has 400 rooms and they were full up. Mt. Cook is a very popular destination from Japanese travelers - rather like Ayers rock in Australia. After breakfast we went on a three hour hike always towards Mt. Cook with splendid views of the whole area. The track was very well maintained and also included some of those lovely swing bridges - they are a challenge to walk on especially if you want to stop and look at the river below. As we walked we continually heard lots of avalanches and even saw the dust of one. We were lucky that the spring flowers were just starting to bloom We also saw some giant alpine daisies and the Mt. Cook Lily which is the biggest buttercup in the world! From here was drove south and then to the east coast town of Oamaru and then south along the coast to Dunedin. Along the way we looked for Black stilt - there are only 30 breeding pairs left and although they are being helped to increase they are hybridizing with the Pied Stilt so they may soon be gone as pure breeds. We did have the good fortune to see a Black stilt pair. We did have a rather interesting car problem today - the back door of the van wouldn’t open. This was a major problem because of the way the van was configured there was a metal screen between the passengers and the back storage area so this made our luggage totally inaccessible. But Chris handled it in his usual calm and efficient manner. He called the company and determined that a piece of luggage had jammed the inside lock (great design from Ford company!). He took it to a shop while we were looking for the stilt They couldn’t fix it but eventually while we were out looking for a crake he managed to dislodge the luggage from the lock and all was well. This is the same van that started another problem a few days before - every so often it would just “die”... while we were driving along. That must have been scary for Chris. I sure was glad I wasn’t in charge and they were his problem - I had full confidence that he would handle everything. Anyway we continued on to Dunedin (pronounce dun-eee-din) - a very attractive coast side city built on several hills. It is a college town and looks like a pleasant place to live. It developed as a result of gold mining - similar to the development of San Francisco. We continued on to the Otago Peninsula to stay for two nights at the Larnach’s Castle. It really is a castle built starting 1871. We stayed in the annex in very nice and modern rooms with all the luxuries we could want. The owner was a little annoyed because we were “late” so we hurried to our rooms and washed up and went to our very elegant dinner. We were in the music room at a long table - very formal. It was like a scene from the Hearst Castle movies. We were the only party in this room. Dinner lasted for several hours and was quite an experience.

Sunday 11/24 Fortunately we were able to sleep a little late in the morning as breakfast wasn’t until 8:00. We actually ate breakfast in the stables - and stables they were. We had the usual buffet of cereal, toast, and fruit and then the usual huge plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Several of us split the plates. After breakfast we were allowed to tour the castle and it certainly was interesting - not hard to imagine a family living there some time ago. Then we loaded up the vans and left for the town of Dunedin and the museum. Chris helped to design this museum and a lot of his wonderful art work was in the museum. He explained some of the exhibit about the geographical history of New Zealand and then we spent some time checking out the exhibits on our own. It was very interesting and one of the better designed museums that I have visited. From here we went to the the GlennFalloch Garden Restaurant for another wonderful lunch - after we strolled the gardens enjoying the plants and birds we saw. It is fun that now we are beginning to know the birds we see so we don’t have to keep asking for help in identifying them. From here we went to Taiaroa Head to see the Northern Royal Albatross nesting colony - the only mainland breeding colony in the world. The observation room had just opened that day so we were able to hike up and look down on them - it was wonderful. Then we took a boat ride below this colony for more views of the Albatrosses plus shags and fur seals. Then we went to “Penguin Beach” a privately owned area where we were able to see the Yellow-eyed Penguins coming ashore. This place is very commercial - you climb on a bus and are driven to the area. Then you hike in a group and are under ground in a blind the whole time. The whole area has been restored and is being replanted with penguin friendly vegetation. In the meantime several penguins nesting huts have been built so that the penguins will continue coming. We were able to observe nesting penguins very closely and see some exchanges when one parent came in from the sea to relieve the other parent - it was fun. Although the commercial aspect distracts somewhat from the ambiance of nature this is a good way to help people make a way for this rare penguin to survive. After this we hurried back to the castle - late again for dinner. Tonight we dined in the executive suit - very elegant and very good food. But one gets awfully tired of sitting for these long dinners - 2-3 hours sometimes.

Monday 11/25 Left the castle after breakfast and headed south along the coast to Nuggets Point. There we had a scenic and pleasant walk out to the light house. Along the way we could see many New Zealand fur seals with young pups, one was even still nursing. The views were superb of the small islands off the point on which were many nesting shags and gulls. It was also a lovely sunny day. Then we continued to Cannibal bay for lunch with some sea lions. Continuing on through the town of Balclutha and on to Curio Bay which is filled with fossilized stumps and tree limbs, a fascinating piece of ancient history. We continued through the Catlins on to Invercargill and our rooms at Ascot Park - a very large place with many different buildings on the grounds. We were in a motel like setting with large rooms that also included kitchens - all nicely appointed. We had dinner at a somewhat secluded table and again the food was excellent. (Sounds like a broken record but the food was all very outstanding and I made a note about it every day in my notebook).

Tuesday 11/26 We left early this morning with a small bag for Stewart Island. We left our vans near the ferry at Bluff and took the ferry. It was about an hours trip to Stewart Island. We were entertained by a group of about 50 young teens who were going over for a camping trip. Steward Island has about 300 or so inhabitants most of whom make a living from fishing or tourists. There is a small town (center) where the ferry lands and you can walk from there to our accommodations. The ferry makes 2 trips a day and carries most everything that is needed for the islands. They very efficiently load very large containers onto the deck of the boat. We had put our suitcases in a container and then take out the stuff when we arrived. We were met by the owner of our lodge who carried our suitcases back and then made a couple of trips for us. It wasn’t far but it was up a very steep hill - probably a 35% grade so you can imagine how much fun it was to go up and down that hill - good for conditioning though. Our rooms were absolutely charming with a wonderful view of the harbor (which was called Halfmoon Bay). The lodge started out as a home and then they added on the rooms. We had access to a lovely deck overlooking the bay and lots of birds, The dinning room was also a comfortable lounge for sitting when it was too rainy outside. As soon as we were settled some of us were driven over the hill while the others walked to the jet taxi which we took to Ulva Island. We were met at the island by several Wekas who seemed so tame. We had lunch at Sydney Cove and then we walked around the island seeing some more birds, Red-crowned and Yellow- crowned Parakeets among others. Some of the students we saw on the ferry also came and headed for the beach as we were leaving it for our hike. We came back with an hour to rest up for the evening before we had dinner. Before dinner they serve drinks as part of the accommodations which was pleasant. Then we had dinner which again was very good. Margaret & Doug who owned the lodged helped but their son-in-law was the chef and Helen, their daughter was the server - all very nicely done. Oh a mention about the chefs in New Zealand - their pants where large black and white checked (instead of the smaller checks you see in the US). Also they mostly worn black hats that where short in height as opposed to the tall white US hats. Then it was time to go see the Kiwis. I don’t enjoy birding in the dark but one just has to try to see kiwis when in New Zealand. We walked to the dock and got on the boat to go to the beach where they might be. Kiwis are nocturnal birds and they like to go to the beach at night and dig around in the kelp for the bugs underneath. The only problem is that there is less kelp this year so the kiwis are not as reliable. Well the boat took us to the spot - about 45 minute ride to “The Neck” of the island. The climb up to the path was sort of steps built into rocks and then we had a wooden track for most of the way. But it was dark and although we had flashlights we had to keep them off most of the time. Then we climbed off the path and went down to the beach where the search was on for kiwi. Finally we saw very briefly a kiwi at the end of the beach and the leader had the light on him for about 5 seconds before he ran away. What I saw was a dark furry animal but I thought oh well I can say I saw one. But luck was with us - a few minutes later just as we were leaving to go back to the boat a kiwi appeared right next to us. We all froze in place and he stayed around us for a long time and dug for bugs right next to us. We didn’t even need binocs he was so closed. It was delightful to see him. His feathers look more like fur. Anyway now I could happily answer the all important question “Did you see kiwi in New Zealand?” It was very dark when we left and I could hardly see anything other than shapes. I asked Karen to be sure I got off the beach because I was afraid I couldn’t see to get up the slope to the trail but I made it and it was well worth while to actually see the Brown Kiwi. We got back around midnight and we had to get up early in the morning! Birding is hard work!

Wednesday 11/27 Up early for a long Boat Ride - four hours or so looking for Penguins, fur seals and so forth. We got to see the Blue Penguins swimming and the Yellow-eyed Penguins porpoising alongside our boat. What fun. We also saw Cape Petrels which always happily remind me of Antarctica - they were such a common but beautiful bird there. We also saw Shy Albatross - beautiful - my, how I love those Albatrosses. It was raining pretty hard by the time we were eating lunch so we were glad to be inside this boat. No simple lunch for us here - we had a hot lunch that Karen heated up in the oven - something like a pizza, along with tarts, and hot tea or coffee. The tea kettle was kept hot all day on the stove that was on in the cabin. Even though I prefer sitting outside under the overhang it is nice to come inside to warm up and dry off occasionally. When we arrived back it was really raining a lot but some of us decided to check out a gift shop we had heard about - it was up another long steep hill but it was well worth it. They had a lot of nice things and I bought several of my souvenirs there. Glad to have an umbrella because it rained steadily and it was a long walk back -down that hill and then up the one to our lodge. I passed a place where some of the students where staying and all their gear was hanging on the porch in a vain attempt to dry. It is a very interesting island - beautiful and intriguing town. I would love to live there for about 5 months to explore the whole place but I’ll bet you have no privacy there - talk about small towns. We had time for a nice long shower and actually some rest before dinner. By early evening the sky started clearing and twilight was incredibly beautiful - the colors were so sharp. Down here at the 47 degree south latitude the evening doesn’t get dark until about 9:30 or 10:00. Our cocktail hour was on the porch with wonderful viewsß of the harbor. After our delicious dinner we asked the chef to come out so we could thank him. He was very shy but he did come out and blushed to our applause. They certainly take a great deal of pride in their establishment and it shows. I’ll be sorry to leave this place.

Thursday 11/28 Happy Thanksgiving to us! Up early to walk down to the ferry back to Bluff. It was hard to say goodbye - this was such a lovely stay. We had a pleasant hour ferry ride back to South Island, loaded up the vans and drove to Invercargill where we went to the Southland Museum in Invercargill. They are known for their Tuatara breeding program - the only one in New Zealand. They have some 30 tuataras at the museum. Tuataras are the closest living relative (other than birds) to the dinosaurs. We were met by Lindsay Hazley the man responsible for the success of their breeding program and he told us many fascinating stories about his research. Then he brought one out for us to touch and hold. We spent some time here. They had a fascinating exhibit on the story of the people who had experienced living on and sailing near the islands south of Steward island - what a hard life they had. There were also some displays of the wild life which was interesting - you can really see how big those albatrosses are. It was a very enjoyable museum. Then we continued driving north making a few stops along the way. We stopped in a town to get lunch and while Chris & Karen waited for lunch we hit the shops - especially the Paua shop. Paua is a species of abalone that is only found in the sea around New Zealand. It is only harvested by divers who free-dive. The meat is a delicacy and the shell is worked into beautiful jewelry - it is very colorful. I did buy some bracelets and a ring - it is beautiful. A few of us also went into a tradition Maori Shop and looked at their work. We had fun when the lady there showed us how flax leaves where striped and worked to make the baskets and other things they made. At last I understand how it is used - it was very interesting. We continued on and stopped for lunch which consisted of fish and chips - a very New Zealand lunch. We had two kinds of fish, cod and white bait. The cod was like the deep fried fish we are familiar with. The whitebait is different. During the two months the whitebait is in season it is a very popular dish. They are the young of some fish that migrate between the rivers and the sea. Lots of people catch them and make sandwiches and other dishes from them. There are whitebait stands in the area and the whole procedure is very strictly regulated. Our lunch was a whitebait fritter and was very good. We had a real feast with our fish and chips lunch - more than we could eat. We continued on to Te Anau stopping at Lake Manapouri to check out the birds. Lake Manapouri is well know for changing the political history of New Zealand. There was a plan to use this lake for hydro electric power and raising the level of the lake by 90 feet which would change the environment immensely. Eventually environmental sense prevailed, a new government was elected and the level of lake is maintained while still providing electricity through a system that involves a tunnel. Then the whole landscape was returned to its original state and this will be completed in 2003. They even went so far as to save the top soil that had to be removed for the construction and they collected the seeds of the native plants and are replacing all the removed plants with natives. It is most impressive. We arrived in Te Anau our stop for the night in the afternoon. Te Anau is a pleasant resort town on the shore of Lake Te Anau - a glacier carved lake. We had plenty of time so we went into town to do some shopping - found some great gifts including the hat I wanted to get for David. We also bought some merino wool and possum fur socks and gloves. They make a lot of things out of possum fur in New Zealand which would be socially unacceptable in the US but they are very destructive pests in New Zealand. They were introduced from Australia and have no predators in NZ so they have flourished. They eat tons of vegetation every day which destroys the native environment required for the native birds. It really is our duty to encourage the hunting of the possums! So shop we did. Then we returned to our rooms in time for cleaning up for our Thanksgiving dinner - New Zealand style! Karen had phoned ahead and asked them if they would serve us a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner and they did! When we walked in the table was prepared for us with little American flags at each place - I found that so very touching. Non-Americans really don’t understand the significance of our Thanksgiving Day so this recognizing to us was very special. They started the dinner with Waldorf salad followed by turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and peas. It was all very good and so festive. Then for dessert they had pumpkin pie. In a country that serves so much pumpkin soup it is surprising that they don’t also serve pumpkin pie but they did tonight and it was very good. We had the chef come out so we could thank him - he was pleased he had met our expectations. It was delightful. A nice Thanksgiving and we did not have to cook or clean up - ah if it could be that way all the time!

Friday 11/29 Today we headed north west for Milford Sound on the west coast. We only covered about 80 miles but it took us most of the day with all the stops. We were looking for the mythical Blue Duck and stopped at every point we could to search the rushing rivers. We did not find it. The road was narrow and filled with many bus loads of tourists. They leave Queenstown early in the morning and drive to Milford Sound so the people can have lunch on a boat in Milford Sound. Then they head back to Queenstown for the night. So the traffic is very busy in the morning and the evening. Fortunately we were going in the same direction as the buses. You can imagine the fun on all the one lane bridges we had to cross. One of our stops was at Knob’s Flat rest area and we “met” the Prime Minister there. Some of us talked to her. She was with her husband and planning to go trekking. A point of interest - the rest stops along the way are all very well kept and fully functional. It seems as though every town had a public restroom and there were many along the roads and at the beginning of the tracks. Also we were back in sand fly territory so we had to load up with insect repellant. New Zealand may not be plagued by mosquitos or some of the other insects we have but they make up for it with sand flies, two weeks after I was home I still had marks from those bites - they hurt and they itch. Again we had Keas at lunch - I think they were going to work on our car. Which I should also mention has an additional problem - when Chris was backing up he hit an post that wasn’t visible which shattered his back window. So he had to move the luggage to the other van and taped up the back of this van with plastic and duct tape. Well the trip is almost over - at least the timing is good! We also went through Homer Tunnel - a narrow half mile tunnel through the mountain. It really is narrow and dark. I was glad we didn’t meet a large bus coming towards us. Later I had looked up Homer Tunnel on the web and I’m glad I didn’t before hand. Just this year a bus had exploded inside the tunnel and there was some concern about the structural damage to the tunnel. (No one was killed in the explosion - they all got out before that happened.) People were stranded in Milford Sound while the repairs were made because this is the only road route out of Milford Sound. But we made it fine. We had stopped before the tunnel to look for the Rock Wren - another one of those uncommon endemics, Oh joy! Chris found us one right away and we saw a pair for a long time and very well. We didn’t even have to hike very far. The scenery along this road really was spectacular and I just couldn’t get over the amount of water. There were “ribbon” falls everywhere down the granite slopes - lots and lots of water. This area of the Fiordland gets around 350 inches of rain a year! The elevation where we were at Homer Tunnel was about 3000 feet. We stopped at a place called “The Chasm” and walked in there hoping to find a Blue Duck but it was a popular tourist spot, No wonder - really something to see with the huge rocks and the rushing water. Finally we arrived at Milford Sound - which isn’t a sound at all but a fiord instead. A fiord is formed by moving glaciers and a sound by a river. But at the time it was named there was no English word for fiord. We arrived at Milford Sound about half an hour before we could board the Milford Mariner which was docked next to “Lady Bowen” - another ship there. Then we boarded our ship which had about 50 passengers on it. We had a very nice room that was quite comfortable with a wonderful bathroom. Our boat moved slowly through the sound. It is incredibly beautiful with lots of falls and other scenery. We were also treated to great views of dolphins and penguins swimming alongside of us. After we docked some people took kayaks out but I chose to enjoy the scenes from the top deck - it was so peaceful and serene. We had a wonderful buffet dinner and then we went to the Milford Sound Underwater observatory. Because this fiord has a high rainfall (7-9 metres per year) the fiord has a layer of freshwater floating on top of the saltwater. This tannin stained layer creates a light filtering effect for organisms. This allows communities of deep sea animals to thrive just a few metres below the surface. The observatory allows us to walk down about four stories and view these communities - it was beautiful and fascinating. The boat was docked so we could just walk to this observatory. After this we went back and to bed.

Saturday 11/30 In the early morning I went on deck and enjoyed the surreal experience of the Milford Sound. The fog was heavy but not enough to obscure the view as we motoredß out to the Tasman Sea. We were treated to dolphins and penguins swimming with us and the waterfalls down the side were lovely. We went out to the mouth of the sound where the Tasman Sea starts. Then we came back enjoying the views including one waterfall that was named “Lady Bowen Falls”. (531 feet) Naturally I had my photo taken with the falls in the background. I later looked up “Lady Bowen”. She was a well thought of resident of Cairns, Australia in the late 1800’s. There was also a Lady Bowen ship in the late 1800’s that was wrecked. After breakfast we were at the dock where we left and loaded up the vans for our trip to Queenstown. All along the way Chris and Karen stopped at every possible site looking for Blue Duck. By this time it was raining heavily and the rest of us just stopped getting out at every stop to look. Oh yes we did feel guilty - especially when they came back soaking wet but not enough to summit ourselves to the torture. Yes I guess that makes us wimpy birders but so be it. By now we no longer believed in the existence of the Blue Duck - it is just some bird that was invented to keep birders coming back for more! We continued along the Hollyford River, through the Eglinton Valley, back to Te Anau, then north to Queenstown. Our journey on the map takes a U shape - there is no direct road. Queenstown is a resort town; here I saw some of the richer houses that I’ve seen on the trip. In fact the town actually has a problem in that many of the workers can’t afford to live in town. The homes are built on slopes overlooking Lake Wakatipu - another glacier formed lake - with a mountain range in the back called The Remarkables. We had this view from our room also. We had time to clean up and go downstairs for a drink before our good dinner. Queenstown is a large city with lots of shops and activities both for locals and for tourists. There were a lot of advertisements for all kinds of extreme sports. A lot of the thrill seeker type sports were started in New Zealand - once bungee jumping became common they had to go on inventing more and more “sports”.

Sunday 12/1 Today we drove in Karen’s favorite area to Glenochy to the head of Lake Wakatipu looking for our last new bird, Yellowhead. We found him - several in fact. We were at a trail head for Routeburn Track, there was a shelter there for people to rest and get out of the rain for a while. More scenery that was just beautiful, including lots of falls, including the “Double Barrel Falls”. Today for a change it was warm - almost hot for a few minutes. We hiked to Lake Sylvan over our last swing bridge. This is one of the areas where Lord of the Rings was filmed although I sure can’t recognize any of it from the movie. They made everything so dark and sinister in the movie. We stopped on the way back for our group photo with the Southern Alps in the back ground. We used timers so we got all of us in the photo. We went back with a short time to clean up for our farewell dinner. We took two taxis into town and had a marvelous farewell dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Lake. Good food, good company, good service. Stevie read a farewell poem she had composed for Karen and Chris and that was fun. It has been a great trip with lots of interesting experiences and scenes. Nice group of people and great leaders.

Monday 12/2 Today we had a free day in town. I wanted to visit Arrowtown as it sounded like an interesting place with a history of gold mining similar to the Mother Lode area of California. Nancy and the Bishops decided to go too. We thought it might be cheaper to rent a car for the four of us compared to taking the bus. In the morning while we were still sleeping Lyall was out jogging and found a really cheap place so we rented a car for the day for $35 and Lyall bravely offered to drive it (they drive on the left side of the road in NZ) so off we went. Lyall did great and we had a fun day. Arrowtown was a great place to shop for souvenirs and they also had an area with a preserved Chinese settlement that was interesting to walk through. We ate lunch there. We met Sally who had taken the bus to Arrowtown so we five drove back to Queenstown stopping along the way at the historic Kawarau Bridge where bungy-jumping started. We stopped there for a while and watched some young men take the plunge. Boy that is not something I can ever imagine doing - I got a stomach turning thrill just from watching them. I gather it is pretty well regulating and they adjust the ropes for each person so that just the finger tips graze the water. Then they have a boat below that picks up the jumper and takes him back for his long stair climb up. Boy what a trip. Then back to Queenstown where Sally persuaded us to check out the local zoo which we did. Got some close looks at some of the birds we had seen plus a couple of kiwis that they keep in a very dark room to keep them active as though it were night. I actually saw the wild one on the beach better than the one in the zoo. Then we went to the shopping “mall” while Lyall returned our car and did a little more shopping. We ate at an Thailand restaurant that was quite good and then took the shuttle bus back to the hotel. It runs every 30 minutes for $1.25 and stops at most of the hotels and other places as needed. Now that is efficient. Time to pack for the morning flights back to the US.

Tuesday 12/3 All good things come to an end. So ends this trip but first we have to get home. We were scheduled to be picked up by the taxis at 8:45 for our 9:30 flight, at 8:50 I asked the front desk why they weren’t there - someone had changed the pick up time to 9:45! So she phoned and they came in 5 minutes and took us the Queenstown airport. It was a small airport and there was no line so we didn’t expect a problem. But... I was the first one checking in and soon found out there was a problem. After a long wait with the clerk making lots of phone calls I got the whole story. Their plane was stuck in Auckland due to the weather. That plane carried 60 passengers, they had a plane in Queenstown to use but it only carried 45 passengers and because of the luggage could only carry 30. So they were diverting their passengers to the other airline, New Zealand Air as available. So since we had several hours in Auckland to catch our US flight we were not on a high priority. They were very pleasant and gave us full information so that helped. They told us to relax and wait in the lounge area and they’d come and get us when they had a flight for us. We wandered around the airport. There were a few shops and some other services. I had spent all my New Zealand dollars so I had to go change anther $20 in order to buy something to eat and drink both here and ultimately in Auckland. Finally about 11:00 or so they had a flight for us and the nice thing was that we flew direct to Auckland without a transfer in Christchurch as scheduled on our earlier flight. We had less time in the air - more time in the airport. We got to know Auckland airport very well. We shopped and ate lunch there. From there on all went well - long flight to Los Angles, customs there which is so very slow - lots of people - few agents. Then on to San Francisco where the happy sight of Walt and David were awaiting Nancy and me - always a pleasure to greet them. We arrived in San Francisco about 24 hours after we first left our hotel in Queenstown.

All in all it was a great trip - New Zealand is a beautiful country and if my son and his family were to move there I’d move there in a minute. I like the scenery, the people, the towns, the cleanliness, and the emphasis the country has on protecting their environment. I also like their sense of isolation from the rest of the world in regards to politics but yet they are still very much a part of the world happenings and the good advancements going on in the world. The nature is wonderful. I saw 116 species of birds (plus 3 more that have been “split”). This may not sound like many but there are only about 350 species in New Zealand and that includes the sea birds and the very rare birds. (The US has some 900 species) 59 of these were new species for me. I also saw four new families of birds which puts me at 155 families out of about 196 families, I am now at 2042 species of birds out of a possible world list of about 9000 species.

I wrote this mostly from memory with very brief notes and I could not always read my writing.

Penelope Bowen 12/26/02