Abel Tasman National Park: Views, Ferns, and Birds

Abel Tasman National Park is a New Zealand national park located between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay at the north end of the South Island. It was founded by an ornithologist for the purpose of preserving the habitat of several birds particular to the area.  This is the smallest of the national parks, but is designated as one of the 8 “great walks” of New Zealand and by many accounts the most stunning for view, flora and fauna.  We hiked for about 4 hours and enjoyed beautiful vistas, striking birds we’d never seen before that were not at all impressed by our presence, and ferns and moss of incredible variety.  This is a gorgeous, very varied country.

Enjoy some photos here, and would someone please identify the bird with the tuft on his head that hangs forward? 

I thought it was a whippoorwill, but I wasn’t even close.

Biking and Driving

We took an arduous but rewarding bike ride through Central Otago, riding on the former Central Otago Railway Line which has been repurposed as a bike trail, and then back to our car via a trail with a little more adventure and shade next to the river.  While the biking was challenging in the direct sun of the Southern Hemisphere in December, it was easy compared to my return to driving a car.

  After biking over 20km (see map) and getting the subsequent rubber legs, it was my turn to drive.  I was happy to take my turn, but I soon realized there were several factors that would make this more like a video game where you try not to die while things jump out of the bushes and from behind rocks, very big mountainous-size rocks.

First problem:  the mountains. Where does an Iowa gal get practice driving that crazy winding switchback pattern?  She doesn’t, unless she’s transported to a perfectly lovely scenic place and is enjoying herself until someone asks her to drive. It was the day after Christmas (Boxing Day to this part of the world) so I suppose the traffic could have been far worse, but that wasn’t the problem.  I hadn’t driven in the last 3.5 years so it all felt rather strange to begin with, what with no back-seat-driving to do. The combination of driving on the wrong side of the road, on strange, challenging terrain with signs that posted numbers requiring a mathematical formula to understand all resulted in a rather tense beginning.  Rather like I was hoping not to kill myself and the 2 family members on board, while dealing with a gash on the palm of my left hand (biking mishap/fall) and trying to remember that every time I tried to use the blinkers I was greeted by a wave from the wipers, which are where the blinkers belong. 

It was approaching sunset, well, kind of, because the sun doesn’t completely set here until about 10:15, but nonetheless the sun was in that dangerous place in the sky that creates glare wherever you look.  Plus my sunglasses don’t fit so well, so as I sweated out my anxiety, my sunglasses in turn slid down my nose until I was left defenseless and rather blind. Oh, and did I mention the gearshift is also on my left instead of my right?  I did a lot of shifting in nothing but air for the first few tense minutes, then would do it again with the real gearshift.  After a while it seemed less odd, but never normal. Whatever made the British so contrary so as to decide they should drive the opposite of everyone else, and then spread it around the world when they were busy grabbling land and settlements? Could there be a logical answer?  I think not.

Tui Birds, Lake Wakatipu and Christchurch Art Gallery

Merry Christmas from outside of Queenstown!  After a long bus ride from Christchurch 2 days ago we arrived at a beautiful place to stay about 8 miles outside of Queenstown that I found on airbnb.  We felt like we hit the jackpot with the gorgeous grounds full of garden paths and exotic birds, along with lovely welcoming hosts.  When I first walked up to the porch I heard a very long melodic bird call I’d certainly never heard before, and our host identified it as the tui bird, one of the famous birds of New Zealand.  She added that there is more to the song we can’t hear because it’s too high for human ears.  I made a 4-second video to share, but it's too much for this slow internet.  Maybe when I get back to China....that was a joke for those of you not living in China.

We’ve been very busy enjoying the absolutely stunning weather and scenery of the area, doing a long hike yesterday (https://flic.kr/s/aHskqEHGpP)  in the mountains around Lake Wakatipu, enjoying a charming small town general store in Glenorchy, then a great meal at Vudu Café and Larder in Queenstown. Today (Christmas Day) we had a lovely meal at Eichardt Hotel with soft-as-butter New Zealand lamb as the centerpiece.  After a rest we walked off our meal on another arduous hike (only 4 hours this time!) through some beautiful forested areas with lots of waterfalls and running water.

Tomorrow we are off to Clyde in Central Otago area to hopefully bike the Otago Central Rail Trail, which is a former rail way with the rails ripped up and the trail resurfaced for a great biking trail.  It’s been postcard picturesque here every day and the fresh air and blue skies and waters couldn’t be more lovely.  I can hardly remember where I used to live…

BTW, the day before we left Christchurch we visited an old department store to hear the wonderful boys choir sing again, then headed over to the container mall they have fashioned after the earthquake and finally to the fantastic modern art museum they reopened just the weekend before we arrived.  There was some fabulous art I couldn’t resist photographing to share with all, but especially my Iowa City sister, who loves all things artistic.  The wood engravings were some of my favorites.  Enjoy here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskrEzhwi

NOTE:  This blog appears several days after its writing because of poor internet connection.

Christmas 2015: New Zealand

First leg: Christchurch & Kaikoura

Christchurch is situated in the upper half of the lower island of New Zealand.  It is famous for the enormous damaging earthquake of 2011.  Large parts of the city were totally upended, and they are slowly recovering.  They are striving to be innovative with their “new” city, and have done several initiatives like a container mall, a cardboard cathedral (more on that soon) and other fun ways to manage the rubble that is still evident in many areas.   Still, it looks like a clean, well-kept city with lots of trees and an open feel that many cities lack, due to the recent law of prohibiting buildings to be taller than 7 stories, as a precautionary measure against future earthquakes.  Christchurch lies squarely above the plates from the east and the west, so there is merit in their caution.

The transitional cathedral was an unexpected treat.   A Japanese architect well-known for his work in places recovering from natural disasters designed a beautiful space for the cathedral that involves huge hallow tubes of cardboard, covered with a thin veneer of some wood, and an exterior roof that is torqued in a way that makes me think he has taken the possibility of wind shearing into account.  As we were looking around we heard an exquisite choir practicing and when we asked we learned they were performing in an hour’s time in the cathedral, an evening of 9 readings and carol responses.  They sang 2 songs in response to each reading, and then the 3^rd song was a carol which the whole congregation stood and sang heartily.  I believe this performance attracted exceptional singers, because the people around us were quite fine, and at times I had a hard time hearing myself sing, usually not a problem.  It was a delightful evening.

We were lucky enough to be in Christchurch the day after they celebrated the reopening of their beautiful art museum.  The edifice was beautiful and full of light, and the collection was very interesting, mostly modern, and many Kiwi artists represented.  Follow this link for a sample of some of my favorites.

We also took a day trip to Kaikoura via the very robust bus system in place. Kaikoura is on the coast, to the north of Christchurch, and is known as the place to go to see seals, whales, and several birds particular to NZ.  We decided not to spend the 300 $ for the whale expedition, and instead took a 4 hour hike that ended up being 5 hours because we got lost and had to do one part twice.  We still got back to town with 15 minutes to spare before the bus picked us up for the trip back to Christchurch.

We’re now on the way to Queenstown, near the Fjordlands.  Here we will be treated to a new topography all together, with fjords, straits, water, and a gorgeous sound in Milford Sound.  The day after Christmas we will take a cruise through the sound and enjoy what many readings have labeled the “eighth wonder of the world.”  We are driving through a beautiful pass right now with purple and pink lupines on each side, and if we were going so fast, I’d snap a click for sure.  Trust me, they are beautiful.  PICS HERE.

BTW, a short list we could make very long, but don't want to sound like, well, complainers?!

Things we are enjoying that are absent in China

1.     Magazines in English 

2.     Water from the tap.  Not that it is particularly flavorful, it’s just very convenient.

3.     Not worrying about the likelihood that eating something might result in some unpleasant side effects.

4.     People speaking to me in a language I understand about 99% of the time. It makes everyone seem very friendly, but I realize I’m a bit starved for a conversation over a business transaction beyond “how much” and “thank you”.

5.     Western products you recognize and enjoy, like particular body lotions, toothpaste, etc.
And the list goes on....

The fruits of fall

So I'm just going to pretend I've written all the blogs I've had in my mind the past 3 months, because unfortunately things don't stick around inside my brain for very long.  Let's dive back in with the lovely special fruits of China in the fall.  First the pommelo.  As a huge fan of grapefruit, I thought it held great promise; it was bigger, much much bigger, and so therefore I thought it would be even better.  I was a foolish beginner and bought the whole pommelo; I found out later that there's a reason why they sell them already peeled in the market.  It took about 15 minutes, and it reduced the size of the fruit by at least half.  Check out how thick the peel is.   Then there is all the pulp to contend with.  It is tough and not easy to penetrate.  I stuck with it, and was rewarded with the pretty pink interior.  However, one bite told me it did not hold the delicious sourness of the grapefruit.  It was a pretender to the throne, with not much juice or flavor.  My friend assures me when I go to Vietnam for Lunar New Year I will have a much different pommelo experience, but I'm not buying any that aren't peeled.  Too much work for not enough reward.

However, the persimmon is another story.  First the burnt orange is a perfect fall color, and the skin is very very thin, think tomato-thin, or thinner, actually.  Then when they are ripe, they are heavy and feel like they could burst easily.  Actually, I forgot I bought 4 at the wet market the first time, and failed to put them in the fragile bag.  When I unpacked the produce when I got home, the 4 previous-persimmon were pulp and juice, nothing round about them.  When not smashed prematurely, their taste is wondrous, but difficult to describe.  There is a very soft, juicy fibrous interior, with 4 or 5 more gelatinous seed pods or something inside the pulp.  Those are even more delicious.  I'm not sure what I'm

supposed to eat and what I'm supposed to toss, so I've developed a system of poking a small hole in the very thin skin, then sucking out all the pulp, and avoiding eating the skin.  I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt me, but I'm a beginner, and caution is called for.  I do understand now why so many Asian artists have painted persimmon through the centuries, the combination of their taste and their looks makes them a perfect fall fruit.  I would recommend you try one, but unless you are close to the source, I wouldn't.  

Finally, there is a hamburger-bun looking variety, which I'm not at all sure is a persimmon, but is trying to fool the less-informed.  It's not nearly as juicy, and I may or may not have bought one thinking it was like the smaller round version.  I wasn't impressed, but they are cool looking. That's it for the fall fruit adventures so far.  Except that the mandarin oranges have been in season for about 2 months now and there are

several varieties, and every time I think I have a favorite, another one appears in the market.  The smallest ones of all are now in season, and when our favorite vendor gave us her "bonus" today, it was 2 of those.  They are sweeter than any candy I've tasted, and I have known some candy in my time.  They make those canned versions seem like they are from another fruit.  It's been a highlight of the fall to enjoy some of China's finest fruit.

Japan in the Fall

I marvel at how privileged I feel to have seen Japan during the cherry blossoms of spring and now during the zenith of the fall foliage viewing in November, and within the same year.  There are not words sufficient to describe the marvels around every path, but there is neither a need for words, as I took many photos!  Please enjoy the photos here of one of the most beautiful, civilized, harmonious places I've seen.  Ever.