Oh the places you'll go ....
Quiz time!! I know, I know....here you are taking the time to look at some pictures and read about our adventures and here I am making you take tests....Just isn't fair is it? Ok, turn off your google machines and tell me...What is the capital of New Zealand? do do do do, do do do....are you hearing the Jeopardy music? Go back and listen again...I'll wait.
The answer is...Wellington. It used to be Auckland but they changed it. Just another enchanting stop along our way thru New Zealand. A perfect, natural deep water port. Look at a map and you will see what I mean.
Question 2: What is the name of the National New Zealand rugby team? Ok, easier one, I know. Answer.. The All Blacks.
Here is a harder one. Thinking of the All Blacks....what is the name of the National Basketball team....No one will get this one....Ok, give up? Anyone, anyone? Answer: The Tall Blacks. True story.
Question 4: What is the official nickname of the New Zealand football (soccer team)? Another hard one... No google allowed.....anyone get it? Answer: The All Whites. Again, true story.
Ok, how many did you get right? One? two? three? Good job. Test won't count against your final grades.
But I didn't sit down here to test your New Zealand sports knowledge. We have already told you about Auckland and Tauranga. Two absolutely wonderful places. Wellington is the third and final city we stop on the upper island. Today Vialula and LeRoy are going on a seal coast safari. New Zealand is part of the Pacific Rim. You remember that this huge boundary is made up of volcano islands and New Zealand is no different. Large, tall mountains of dormant volcanoes with fertile valleys and picture perfect natural deep water ports. All along the coasts are beautiful beaches made up of dark sand, large rock croppings and shear cliffs. Here wildlife find secluded beaches and places to live. Goats, sheep, and cows make up the main livestock but few of them are in fenced fields. They are pretty much left out to roam and forage on mountain sides until the farmer decides to come get them for whatever purpose they intend. Dairy and beef cows are the main money makers. It was once dominated by sheep and the wool they provided. But in this day of synthetic fibers and cotton the once needed wool is not so much anymore. Today the wool is basically worthless, but the sheep are still wanted for the meat. And mutton and sheep meat isn't cheap.
Also on the beaches are seals. They don't have the huge colonies that the sea lions of Peru had, but they are still plentiful. Seals are pretty much night time hunters and during the day they come up on the rocks and beaches and sleep in the sun. They don't like to be bothered too much, and the guides we had wouldn't let us get much closer than about 20 feet or so. I have a feeling that I could have probably gone up to any of them and lay down next to them and sleep. They don't make the noise that the sea lions did. In fact, I never heard any sound from them.
Anyway, we were met at the ship by these Toyota Land Cruisers that had been altered a little to open the back up and put bench seats facing each other. Then they load up about 800 people in the back of each one and take off up the mountains, down the mountains, over the rocks, onto the sandy beaches and to the seals. It is beautiful scenery all along the way but because of the sardine effect of how they load us in the back, no one could maneuver an arm or camera up to a window to get any pictures. To remedy this, they have designated stopping places along the way. They pull over, open the back doors and promptly get out of the way so that they don't get crushed by the "cargo" as it gushes out like soda when you shake the can and open the top.
One of the stops out in the boonies was a farm,or a station as they are called here, that raises red deer. This is not like a white tail deer we all know and shoot in the woods. I am not really sure what their purpose is but I am assuming it is for the meat. Anyway, these deer know why we are stopping next to their fence. They have baskets of old lettuce, greens and stuff for us to feed. They have a large herd of about 40 or so deer waiting for us to hand feed them but none of them come close enough until the two big ones get theirs first. I don't know how these two walk around with their heads up. One has a rack with at least 16 points and the other has 18 or more. They rule the roost, and who is going to get in their way? Big boys. So, everyone feeds the deer and get their pictures, etc. and then it is time to "load up" again. Now, by now I am thinking that just hopping up on top of the roof and hanging on is a better option but the guide won't hear of it and so I scrunch myself back inside the truck with the other 799 folks and she slams the doors closed and goes screeching off again.
We pass large wind turbines that are about as big as our boat standing on end. They are up in the mountains facing the near-by coast and capture the wind converting into electricity and tapping it into the national grid. They told me how much each turbine could generate but two people were standing on my head so I couldn't hear the answer.
When we get down to the coast, our driver becomes Evil Knievel and takes all our lives into her hands and guns the truck thru the sand and rocks. She has to keep up a certain speed to keep from getting stuck in some of the sandy areas. I had thoughts of maybe suggesting that a lighter load of "clients" might lesson the chance of getting stuck but I kept that to myself. But we do all survive the trip and make it to the last stop where a large grouping of seals are basically all laying around getting ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Apparently, the hair on them acts like a sunscreen so they don't do what I do and burn and peel. A nice stop for pictures, and coffee and a muffin before we open the can opener again and draw lots of who gets the one good seat and we head off.
My jokes about the trip are just that. Although somewhat accurate, they are only to entertain just as we were entertained on this trip. Everyone enjoyed it and by the end of the trip we all knew each others names and deodorant types. Just kidding. In all honesty, I really don't think you can beat New Zealand. It would be on my shortest list of places to live. I know I still have a lot of journey left to live but it will be hard to top any of the first three stops. It isn't a cheap place to live. Many things are provided by the government but taxation is a bit steep. Still, an enchanting place. We are off to explore the south island now. Our only stop in the south is in Picton. We are taking a bike tour of a couple of wineries along with tastings. Looking forward to pedaling under the influence there and sharing it with you See you there. Until then, study up on Australia. It is where we are headed after tomorrow.
LeRoy
The answer is...Wellington. It used to be Auckland but they changed it. Just another enchanting stop along our way thru New Zealand. A perfect, natural deep water port. Look at a map and you will see what I mean.
Question 2: What is the name of the National New Zealand rugby team? Ok, easier one, I know. Answer.. The All Blacks.
Here is a harder one. Thinking of the All Blacks....what is the name of the National Basketball team....No one will get this one....Ok, give up? Anyone, anyone? Answer: The Tall Blacks. True story.
Question 4: What is the official nickname of the New Zealand football (soccer team)? Another hard one... No google allowed.....anyone get it? Answer: The All Whites. Again, true story.
Ok, how many did you get right? One? two? three? Good job. Test won't count against your final grades.
 |
| Arriving into the harbor |
 |
| Home of the "All Blacks", NZ's national rugby team |
 |
| Leaning lighthouse - how many seals do you see? |
Anyway, we were met at the ship by these Toyota Land Cruisers that had been altered a little to open the back up and put bench seats facing each other. Then they load up about 800 people in the back of each one and take off up the mountains, down the mountains, over the rocks, onto the sandy beaches and to the seals. It is beautiful scenery all along the way but because of the sardine effect of how they load us in the back, no one could maneuver an arm or camera up to a window to get any pictures. To remedy this, they have designated stopping places along the way. They pull over, open the back doors and promptly get out of the way so that they don't get crushed by the "cargo" as it gushes out like soda when you shake the can and open the top.
One of the stops out in the boonies was a farm,or a station as they are called here, that raises red deer. This is not like a white tail deer we all know and shoot in the woods. I am not really sure what their purpose is but I am assuming it is for the meat. Anyway, these deer know why we are stopping next to their fence. They have baskets of old lettuce, greens and stuff for us to feed. They have a large herd of about 40 or so deer waiting for us to hand feed them but none of them come close enough until the two big ones get theirs first. I don't know how these two walk around with their heads up. One has a rack with at least 16 points and the other has 18 or more. They rule the roost, and who is going to get in their way? Big boys. So, everyone feeds the deer and get their pictures, etc. and then it is time to "load up" again. Now, by now I am thinking that just hopping up on top of the roof and hanging on is a better option but the guide won't hear of it and so I scrunch myself back inside the truck with the other 799 folks and she slams the doors closed and goes screeching off again.
We pass large wind turbines that are about as big as our boat standing on end. They are up in the mountains facing the near-by coast and capture the wind converting into electricity and tapping it into the national grid. They told me how much each turbine could generate but two people were standing on my head so I couldn't hear the answer.
When we get down to the coast, our driver becomes Evil Knievel and takes all our lives into her hands and guns the truck thru the sand and rocks. She has to keep up a certain speed to keep from getting stuck in some of the sandy areas. I had thoughts of maybe suggesting that a lighter load of "clients" might lesson the chance of getting stuck but I kept that to myself. But we do all survive the trip and make it to the last stop where a large grouping of seals are basically all laying around getting ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Apparently, the hair on them acts like a sunscreen so they don't do what I do and burn and peel. A nice stop for pictures, and coffee and a muffin before we open the can opener again and draw lots of who gets the one good seat and we head off.
My jokes about the trip are just that. Although somewhat accurate, they are only to entertain just as we were entertained on this trip. Everyone enjoyed it and by the end of the trip we all knew each others names and deodorant types. Just kidding. In all honesty, I really don't think you can beat New Zealand. It would be on my shortest list of places to live. I know I still have a lot of journey left to live but it will be hard to top any of the first three stops. It isn't a cheap place to live. Many things are provided by the government but taxation is a bit steep. Still, an enchanting place. We are off to explore the south island now. Our only stop in the south is in Picton. We are taking a bike tour of a couple of wineries along with tastings. Looking forward to pedaling under the influence there and sharing it with you See you there. Until then, study up on Australia. It is where we are headed after tomorrow.
LeRoy
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