South Island!

It's taken a while - two years, in fact.  But finally I've managed to get (back) down to South Island.
We've had quite a few guests stay with us, who then drive the length and breadth of South Island and come back with 'have you seen?' and 'what did you think of..?' questions.  And each time I've had to say 'Dunno; only been to Blenheim/Picton and driven through Nelson to the Abel Tasman for a night...'  (which, as any self-respecting tourist to New Zealand knows, is not really 'South Island' at all.)

The real South Island is rugged, wild, mountainous - and uninhabited for the most part.  Blenheim, in the heart of the northern Marlborough district, is vineyard country, and primarily on flat land.  Unlike Queenstown, which is where we flew last week.  Time to celebrate those 32 years of marriage I mentioned the other day.  A little late, but it was the first weekend we were both free to travel.

Thursday afternoon we landed at Queenstown airport and collected the hire car.  Given that we are no longer in our 20s, and tend to prefer a good night's sleep to a night on the town, we headed straight for Arrowtown for our first night.  It's only about 20 mins or so north east of Queenstown, but what a difference.  It's much smaller, quieter, and altogether more 'us'.  Reminded us of Keswick, actually.  Arrowtown began life as a gold-rush community in the 1860s.  And it's managed to retain much of that old-world charm (though whether it was 'charming' at the time is another story!).  One main street through the middle, a beautiful avenue of oak and sycamore now nearly 150 years old, some small, original clap-board buildings and, if you take away all the cars, you could imagine the horses riding up and depositing their owners at the stores and bars....Yes, we liked Arrowtown, nestling as it does at the foot of the mountains.  We chose a good time of year to visit: in high season the normal population of 3000 rises to nearer 7000 - the population of the town at the height of the gold rush ....

[Buckingham Street, where everything happens]

[The 'Avenue of Trees' which appears on so many Arrowtown postcards]

The following day we walked up Tobin's Track for 35 minutes for a good view of the valley:

[Arrowtown nestles in the valley]

Then we drove back through Queenstown, which sits at the side of Lake Wakatipu, and offers every kind of adrenalin rush you could possibly want - and probably a few others beside (definitely in my case).  We stopped briefly on Lake Esplanade, because the views were simply too beautiful to pass up:

[Looking back at Queenstown]

Then we headed off to Te Anau.  The drive takes around 2 hours, and the snow-capped mountains are ever present.

[Looking across Lake Wakatipu to Half Way Bay]

Te Anau, known as the gateway to Fiordland, sits (not surprisingly) at the edge of Lake Te Anau, the second largest lake in New Zealand.  [Taupo is the largest.]  The town suffers in some ways because so many of the tours to Milford Sound go by coach from Queenstown and bypass Te Anau altogether.  Plus enterprising (greedy?) developers bought up huge chunks of land around the edge and built the requisite residential roads, but have managed to sell only a handful of sections for houses (and pretty unimaginative bungalows on the whole). So there's a random, sporadic feel to the newer bits.

[Lake Te Anau, with evidence of some boating, which pleased Roy]

An early start was needed to get to Milford Sound the following morning, to beat the inevitable traffic. It might only be 120km but it takes nearly 2 hours nonetheless, and that's without stopping. We duly set off at 0730.  The guide books say that the drive to Milford Sound is as spectacular as the Sound itself.  They're right!  There's a bit of everything - lakes, tree tunnels, wide alluvial plains, rivers, and of course mountains, sometimes a way off and sometimes really up close and personal. 'Dramatic' doesn't begin to describe it. Enhanced by low clouds, occasional rain, and wisps of mist, the atmosphere was compelling and at times threatening. I found myself saying Mordorrrrr quite a bit at odd intervals; in fact I half expected to see a horde of Orcs descend the mountains at any time....

[See what I mean?]

The road to Milford wasn't built til 1952; before that you had to get there by boat, or on foot.....  But they pushed through the mountains with the Homer Tunnel, and made it possible for countless coachloads of tourists to access the Sound every day - unless the road is closed, of course, which happens a lot in winter when the snowfalls, avalanches and landslips routinely occur.  It was shut the week before we arrived: we saw evidence of the huge landslip which nearly took out a bridge.

Eventually we arrived at 'The City of Milford', so named by Donald Sutherland (yes, a hardy Scot) who was the first settler in 1877.  Beware the sandflies, we were told.  I came prepared, luckily.  Insect repellent applied we boarded the Lady Bowen for our 2 hour cruise and slipped quietly into the Sound.

It isn't actually a Sound at all: it's a fjord (or, as they have it here, a fiord).  There's some technical distinction to do with glaciers and sea that I wasn't too sure about; something to do with its being a drowned glacial valley, rather than a river valley. Anyway, I now know it should really be Milford Fiord.  But it isn't.  What it is is more scenes of dramatic cliff faces, which rise up to 1200m, some sheer, some covered in gravity-defying pohutukawa and bush; there are seams of minerals and gold; there are waterfalls, seals and Fiordland Crested penguins, which we glimpsed fleetingly (though sadly no dolphins on our visit).  And pretty much nothing has changed in thousands of years.  Captain Cook never entered it, the entrance being nicely camouflaged from the Tasman Sea.  It's a piece of timeless, savage beauty.

[Sinbad Alley in the distance; a helicopter circles]

We also paid a quick visit to the underwater observatory and saw some black coral (which is white).

We stopped a couple of times on the way back to sample some of the recommended scenic stops:

[The Chasm, where crystal-clear water pours down the mountain side

 and eats its way through the rocks; the photo doesn't do it justice]

[A Kea; one of three we saw in the car park. They're the world's only alpine parrot, 

now protected, and only found in South Island]

[The Mirror Lakes.  Apparently on windless days you get excellent reflections.

This was not a windless day]

 Then it was back to Te Anau and a loooonnnnnggggg bath with an excellent book:)

Another early start on our last morning meant we were in and through Queenstown in time to go up the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy, a small unpretentious community at the head of the lake, from where several of the mountain tracks begin.

[Lake Wakatipu, on the way to Glenorchy]

[You can see Pig and Pigeon Islands near the top end of the lake]

After a Fairtrade organic coffee at The Trading Post, we strolled to the edge of the lagoon, and back.

[Thought there should be one of the two of us together, in Glenorchy :)]

 We picked up an Israeli hitchhiker en route back to Queenstown, a professional photographer taking a sabbatical.  He's offered to show us round his kibbutz should we ever find ourselves in Israel.  Now there's an offer...

As we arrived in Auckland I looked out of the 'plane window and said (rather lamely), 'It's so flat - and populated...'.  Which it is - compared with South Island, anyway.  Joe Bennett had it about right: it is indeed 'A Land of Two Halves'.

Tall Ships and things maritime

There’s something rather incongruous about a bunch of Tall Ships against a modern city background.

Auckland has played host to the Tall Ships Regatta this past weekend. These 9 ships gathered first in Sydney, where they were part of the recent Fleet Review.  Then they raced (literally) across the Tasman Sea to the Bay of Islands, before making their way down the coast to Auckland.  They arrived last Friday afternoon, ready for a Labour Day weekend of festivities.

Roy and I went down on Saturday to the opening ceremony at The Cloud.  There they were, moored alongside, looking weather-worn and a bit battered, but resilient - after all, many of them are circumnavigating the globe.  Turn back the clock 150 years and none of them would have looked out of place….

We particularly wanted to see the Lord Nelson.  The British 55m three-master belongs to the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a UK charity that promotes the integration of people of all physical abilities.  So this ship is particularly special because she’s crewed by disabled and able-bodied crew together, who are buddied up together.  The youngest allowed is 16, and there's no upper age limit.  The current oldest crew member is apparently in his late 80s! The ship is now half way through her maiden 50,000 mile round-the-world voyage, planned to take 23 months!   

She joined forces with the other eight for the race, but sadly had to withdraw because of rigging problems.  It's gruelling stuff being at sea in such a boat (so I'm told, anyway, having not done it myself, nor likely to, either!), and for Lord Nelson's crew there are even greater challenges.  She is well-crewed numerically, however, unlike the Dutch vessel Oosterschelde, with just a captain and a crew of 6...

My favourite turned out to be another Dutch ship, the Europa, nearly 100 years old, and classically graceful, with a traditional (if rather politically incorrect) figurehead; sorry, didn't take a close up but there was much nakedness involved :)

The opening ceremony involved a Maori powhiri.  The welcoming party, with its Maori warriors, greeted the manuhiri (visitors).  [You can just see them gathered in the distance.]  The warriors demonstrate their strength and reassure themselves of the peaceful intent of the visiting party, before the karanga (call) is made, and the visitors are invited to make their way forward, very slowly.

Inside the centre the ceremony began with the hongi (pressing of noses and foreheads in greeting), before speeches and prize-giving.  Prizes were given for the usual first-over-the-line honours, etc, and then there were the more creative awards for best blogs en route, best fancy-dress costumes, youngest crew, etc...  The award for the best overall ship, voted by peers, went to the Spirit of New Zealand, a popular choice;  not one of them is over 25:

After coffee and a quick chat with other guests, we wandered the exhibits in the venue, which included an inflatable taniwha (sea monster) brought by Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The museum also had tables with various crafts and activities aimed at children, and was enthusiastically staffed by museum team members (they really are, genuinely, enthusiastic, even when Roy's not there).  We stopped by, of course, to say hello and congratulate them on their popular stand.

Naturally, given the maritime theme there were several others involved in hands-on activities.  This guy was demonstrating the making of life-like model boats:

Nearby was this beauty - a brand new, solid wood skiff, built to a Scottish design.  It belongs to the brother of our host from last week's Hillary film evening.  You'd think one skiff would be enough, but it seems he's also had another nine made!  Apparently so far his wife only knows about this one.... uh oh....
He plans to get different organisations to race them over the summer.  Good luck with that.  Those oars each weigh heaps!

After watching the lifejackets film (see previous blog) we ventured outside to discover that the sun was finally shining :)

Two days later, on Labour Day, we headed over to Devonport to North Head (one of the 2 extinct volcanoes in Devonport), which offers a great vantage point for all things maritime in Auckland.   Walking round the mount gives you several different views.  I love this one of the city.

Didn't I mention something previously about Roy and picnics?  Well, he made another excellent one, with camembert and tomato sandwiches, and he even packed a bottle of Speights each :)

It was actually pretty windy up there.  Then there was a squally shower, but being Auckland it didn't last long, and 10 minutes later the sun came out and we were treated to the glorious spectacle of these magnificent vessels making their way down the harbour .....

[that's Europa in the centre, Spirit of New Zealand has the lead]

and then round past Rangitoto.

Another successful Auckland festival, in the city that's just been voted 10th most liveable city in the world :)

Heroic films

I've been thinking about this for some time.  You can't help it, really, living here. But this tiny nation of only 4.26 million inhabitants (census figures recently released - and fewer than the 4.5m anticipated), boasts an astonishing number of world class figures in its history.

Sporting events, definitely .  Sailing for recent starters.  As you may be aware, Emirates Team New Zealand recently lost the America's Cup over in San Francisco -  by the narrowest of margins, which was frankly pretty hard to take from this side of the ocean.  [And I'd rather not hear choruses of 'you were 8-1 up!', because in the end the might of Larry Ellison's dollar was just too great.  But don't forget that Oracle's winning boat was actually built here in NZ, and there were Kiwi sailors and engineers on Oracle's team.  And though you might not have been that interested over in the UK, I can tell you that here a whole nation spoke of little else for 2 weeks...hence the disappointment.  And had the rules of the game not set a maximum time of 40 minutes for a race, Team NZ would have won the whole thing, being only 2.5 minutes from the finish line when the race was pulled.  Just saying....]  They have, however, already won it twice (which is two times more than UK has).

Then, of course there's rugby, and the ongoing domination by the world champion All Blacks, who've beaten every competitor this year - Springboks, Wallabies, Pumas, and French.  And yes, we are waiting to see what will happen once they get over to Europe and play England, Ireland and France (again) ...  But the rugby has been amazing, especially the last match against the Wallabies.

Current World Champions in other sporting arenas are also plentiful - Lisa Carrington and Teneale Hatton (canoe), Valerie Adams (shotput), Murray, Drysdale and Bond (rowing), to name but a few.

But this is a maritime nation.  And until yesterday neither Roy nor I knew that a New Zealander also invented KAPOK LIFEJACKETS.  Yup.  And guess what?  That New Zealander was a WOMAN!  Way back in the early 1900s, following the dreadful loss of life on board the Titanic, the British Board of Trade held a competition to see if people could find a better method of making lifejackets than with the more porous cork.  And the person who came up with the answer was called Orpheus (Beaumont), after HMS Orpheus which so tragically foundered off Manukau Harbour in 1863, when 189 sailors lost their lives - and not one of them wearing a lifejacket.

Orpheus pioneered kapok lifejackets known as 'Salvus' (meaning 'safe').  And this is what the Salvus looked like:

The invention of the lifejacket was the subject of a 20-minute film called The Drowning Country we watched yesterday down at The Cloud, events centre. [New Zealand has the unhappy misfortune to be 3rd in the drowning stakes in the western world :(  Not such a good record to hold.] The woman waving aloft an original prototype is Caroline Fitzgerald, the maker of the film, and the great-granddaughter of Orpheus herself.  Orpheus Beaumont patented the Salvus lifejacket in the US and in 1919 received an order from the UK Board of Trade for 30,000 lifejackets!


From inventor of lifejackets to hero of the mountains. Three days ago we were also invited to see the Auckland premiere of Beyond the Edge, a clever and moving film about Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Everest in 1953.  Unfortunately Roy was en route back from Canberra, via Sydney (because, of course, you can't fly there directly), and was so badly delayed at every stage he ended up missing the film.  It also meant he missed out on the Gold Lounge experience at Event Cinemas, where the rest of us were treated to huge reclining armchairs, and waiter service with food and drink throughout the film!  It was a great evening.


Orpheus Beaumont and Sir Ed Hillary to add to the list of greats.

Should Peter Jackson, maker of films about mythical hobbits, dragons and wizards, also get a mention?  You tell me....

Coastal walking (2) and (3) - Maraetai and Muriwai Beach

Still in June and much closer to home we headed out to Maraetai, coastal walking on the Tamaki Strait (still east coast), 40 mins from St Heliers.  The sun was shining for a change - for a while at least.  And Roy makes a mean picnic.

For a small nation New Zealand does some things remarkably well.  DOC (Dept of Conservation) has care of pretty much all the land everywhere that's not privately owned.  That's a shed-load of land to look after!  But everywhere we've been we've been surprised at how well-managed it all is.  Maraetai was no exception.  A wide tarmac path, suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, has been put in for miles along the coastline.  It's impressive commitment to local communities.

Once we'd found where to start the walk (they updated the walk website following Roy's feedback) we enjoyed the cliff views, then sheltered under some thick trees for one very heavy rain shower...

[That's Waiheke Island in the distance]

[much more mud and less sand along this bit of coast]

The following week, a change of coast.  We drove over the harbour bridge and this time turned left.  Muriwai Beach gannet colony was our destination.  The books all wrote it up: windswept (what else?), spectacular...  Problem was there were no gannets!  Apparently during the months of June and July all the gannets head off to do their OE - 'Overseas Experience' - in Australia... No kidding!
 No-one has yet managed to explain to us why, but this is what they do.  Most Kiwis tend to go further afield for their OE (and I'm not referring to the feathered variety here).

Hence not a solitary gannet.  Just lonely bare cliff tops ... waiting....

[note the blue sky, for a change]

The young gannets stay over in Australia for 2-3 years.  Around 30% of them survive, which is frankly a rather alarming mortality rate; then from August they return to Muriwai when they're old enough to start breeding.  So, we decided to return in October (ie last weekend) and see if they were indeed back.

Yes they were.  About 1400 of them!  Lots of courting going on and nest building, in what seems a particularly precarious environment.  We watched them wheeling and calling, and then intertwining their necks in warm welcome as they landed next to their mate.  There was quite an odour...

[this is volcanic coast so the sand is really dark grey]

Never seen so many gannets before in all my life. They are indeed majestic and graceful birds.  Happily it seems the colony is continuing to grow.

The guide books also say that seeing the gannets at Muriwai is one of the top 10 things you should do in New Zealand.

Tick :)

Coastal walking (1) - Ruakaka/Mangawhai Heads

The first in a series of shorter catch-up blogs.

One of the many things about living in Auckland is the number of beaches you can access within an hour or so of driving.  And that's beaches facing both the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, depending whether you turn left or right from SH1.  So, when sailing hasn't always been possible over the winter months (too much/too little wind; occasionally too wet...) we've sometimes climbed in the car, thrown in waterproofs and 'trampers' (NZ walking boots) and headed off to walk another bit of coastline.  Actually that makes it sound more like the more adventurous antics of daughter Philippa!  We have tended to pursue our activity more leisurely, and with smaller Bergens...

In June Roy attended a museum conference in Northland.  We decided I'd go too (it involved a Thursday night) and we'd stay an extra night and relax in a B&B near Waipu, on the Bream Bay coast.  Not quite in the Tera del Mar league...

[Island View Lodge - does what it says on the tin]

It was on the top of a hill, and there was an indoor pool.  Plus we did have pretty good views from all those windows:

 [looking over at Bream Head]

As Roy was busy most of Friday I spent part of the day reading, and then took myself off to explore the beach at Ruakaka, taking my life in my hands as I crossed the SH1 on foot.  Wasn't much of a walk, really, though I saw plenty of birdlife - kingfisher, fantail, heron, shelduck, black-backed gull and oystercatcher.  But the beach was beautiful - wild and empty (well, it was June):

We dropped into Waipu the following morning and browsed their sweet little museum, where we learned about the redoubtable Reverend Norman McCleod.  In the 19th century he lead one of the most extraordinary Scottish migrations following the Land Clearances - all the way to New Zealand, via Nova Scotia and Australia!  They built and sailed their own ships, determined to find a better life for themselves and their families.  The museum tells the story really well.

[A face to be reckoned with]

Around 1000 Scots arrived in Waipu in 1853 where they settled down most industriously.  There are tens of thousands of descendants from those original migrants. Today the small community still celebrates its Scottish ancestry by holding annual Highland Games every January.

[Waipu High Street]

We drove further down the coast to Mangawhai Heads, at the northern-most tip of Pakiri Beach (the one we visited when at Tera del Mar, 17km long):

Though it threatened to rain all day we got off lightly.  Just lots of great gun-metal skies :)

We drove the rest of the way home and celebrated our adventure by purchasing a Nespresso coffee machine!

Newsround from across the oceans

Oh dear.  Such a long silence.  So sorry.  Nothing written for 3 months, and not a word about all the goings-on since my return on 9 June.  Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.  But seriously, what a whirlwind it's been!  Enough activity to fill a dozen blogs, but you see I have to be in the mood.... and when I'm really busy it's hard to find the right emotional space, believe me.

Anyway, here I am again.  Very much still alive and kicking - even if one of my feet is still recovering from a torn ligament gained on the tennis court 2 weeks ago. Ouch!  Looking forward to being able to wear actual shoes again soon, but at least I got off the crutches pretty quickly, thanks to the (painful) ministrations of 'magic John' (who treated Louisa when she dislocated her toes a year ago).

So, what gives?  Best I give a summary, I think.  Otherwise we'll be here all day.  And the longer I go without posting anything, the harder it is to get started.

My return from UK back in early June heralded the last 5 weeks of Michael's vicaring at St Philip's.  It was a bit of a roller coaster.  My heart grieved for his going, and for the parish, all whilst I was learning as much as I could from him, and trying to make his last weeks as easy as possible (after my 7 week absence).  And he wasn't very well either, which didn't help.  Lots of farewells, culminating in a final weekend of festivities and gifts... and then they were gone, Michael, Rebecca, wee Sophie and Isabel.  And suddenly where once there had been 3 of us (with Nyasha), suddenly there was an empty vicarage and just ME!

Luckily that didn't last long. Revd Dr Helen Jacobi, former Dean of Napier cathedral, arrived as our priest-in-charge the following Sunday.  She has a wealth of experience, a priest of over 20 years, an equipper, a teacher, a woman of enormous capacity with several degrees under her belt - including a doctorate of ministry in preaching.  No pressure, then!  Funnily enough, my weeks of grieving ended as Michael left, and I found I was quickly able to adapt to the new dynamic.  Helen and I have been enjoying working together now for over 3 months; she does 3/4 time, and I work around 30 hrs a week. There have been lots of laughs, and lots of learning (for me, anyway).  It's different, but it's still really good, thankfully.  [We've also been joined this year by Jaz, our Youth Minister, who's only in her early 20s and has a great passion for young people, especially in their teens.  Just what we need.  Youth Club is slowly growing again.]

Ministry has been punctuated by a mixture of diocesan and other events:

Ministry conference - 2-day teaching event held this year in Holy Trinity cathedral. Subject matter? Preaching!  And Helen was our speaker all of day 2.  First time I'd met her, and after a day's teaching from her I just knew we would be just fine :)

Synod - 2.5 (long) days, again in the cathedral (which, though modern, is pretty jolly cold in winter; very glad I took my merino and possum shawl).  Covered a whole load of different topics, but the most controversial involved debates on same-gender relationships and how the church should respond, with a motion supporting gay marriage (narrowly defeated) and one promoting gay blessing (majority supported).  Exciting times, with paper ballots and divisions.  Felt like parliament at one stage, and lots of 'going into committee'.

Post ordination training, twice - It's been the year of the 'Chris', all of them covering leadership. These sessions were delivered by Christopher Luxon, CEO Air New Zealand, and Chris Clarke, CEO World Vision NZ, both excellent value, both discussing leadership/Christian values/change to good effect.  Though I have to say delightful though they were, they didn't tell me much that I don't hear from Roy regularly over the supper table!  In the evenings our ministry educator encouraged theological reflections on the films Lincoln and The Intouchables.  Excellent stuff!  Amazing how many 'ologies' and  'isms' can be found in most films :)

Healing conference - down in Matamata, last week.  A stimulating few days with the international Order of St Luke. Some great moments; others less so.  Met some interesting people, but I don't think I'll be joining the Order...

I've added 'marriage preparation' to my repertoire now, walking alongside a couple I won't be marrying, sadly, as they'll be down in Nelson for the big day.  But that's quite an education - and a responsibility.  And I have my first wedding coming up!  Not til next April, admittedly, but still...  Exciting.

And there've also been a few tricky pastoral situations recently that have used up quite a lot of emotional energy and head space.  I don't like it when people hurt other people, intentionally or otherwise (though I guess it happens often enough).  It's been challenging.

Winter has been pretty kind to us this year.  In fact the records have continued to grow.  To 'worst summer' (2012), 'coldest June' (2012) and 'best summer' (2013), we've now added 'driest July' and 'mildest winter' (2013).  So when you ask us, 'what's the weather like in summer/winter/whatever?' you can see why it's not very easy to answer!  What we do know is that 2012's Sauvignon Blanc is particularly sharp, unlike 2011's, and we're waiting to see how 2013 fares.... Think I might be changing from 'Sav' to Pinot Gris, Roy's favourite.  Would make buying wine easier.

Now Spring is very much here.  Trees are in leaf again, birds nesting, and Roy's been swimming (albeit in wetsuit) several times already.  Not me.  I'm waiting yet awhile.  But as your days draw in we are beginning to enjoy daylight until gone 7pm, and the prospect of summer dresses is just around the corner.
I'll be putting my fur boots away..... soon.....

Can't leave you without any pictures at all, can I?  So in response to the many requests I've had, here's one of our adorable granddaughter, Elizabeth, now nearly 7 months, whom we skype weekly.  Thank you, Lord, for the miracle of modern communications.

And one of me and my beautiful roses and lovebirds cushion (for my sore foot!) Roy brought home for me on our 32nd wedding anniversary :)

Next blog, some of the places Roy and I've visited recently.  Definitely more photos!