RestlessNatives.net NativeGuide to
NEW ZEALAND
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George worked in Auckland over the (southern) winter of 1994 and took several weekend trips around the North Island and a one week trip to the South Island. We spent two weeks driving throughout New Zealand in November 1997. We also went to the North Island for 11 days in 2004. (The photos to the right are not the good ones, just a few that happen to be digital from our most recent trip.)
Of all the places we've visited, New Zealand is our favorite, and this page will tell you a little bit about some of the things and places we like the best.
Kiwi stuff
The colloquial phrase for a New Zealander is "Kiwi," like the bird or the fruit. Most Kiwis use this term, but there are a few more uptight folks who try to insist on New Zealander. Well, this is our page, and we say they're Kiwis.
The original inhabitants of New Zealand were a group of Pacific islanders: the Maori. Many place names are Maori (since these places had names long before the Europeans showed up), and New Zealand itself is also known as Aotearoa, meaning "Land of the Long White Cloud." The Maori greeting kia ora is sometimes used in place of "G'day." Throughout the country, it is easy to find various Maori cultural sites, and handicrafts such as wooden and jade carvings.
The All-Blacks are famous for performing the haka as a pre-game ritual - it is a sort of scowling, eye-rolling, tongue-wagging, body-slapping challenge, and is performed at the opposing side. George heard a story about a Maori unit fighting in WWII which landed on a beach in Greece or somewhere and did a haka -- the opposing units supposedly decided to leave rather than fight a bunch of raving lunatics for the beach. (After a bit of research: the 28th Maori Battalion reportedly did do some hakas during fighting in Crete and North Africa, along with some spirited bayonet charges. Rommel apparently nicknamed the battalion "Scalp Hunters".)
Maori culture is an important part of New Zealand's national identity, and a crucial part of the unique feel of the place, so we felt like we should mention it. However, we can't give an in-depth explanation here, so we'll just suggest that you do some reading on your own -- trust us, a lot of it is really interesting. There are a few well-known movies that focus on modern Maoris: Once Were Warriors, a disturbing but powerful movie that we strongly recommend (and there's a sequel now, which is a little more upbeat), and Whale Rider which is a LOT more upbeat.
As for the Europeans, it was actually the Dutch who arrived first. Thus the name New Zealand - Zeeland being a part of Holland and Dutch for "Sea Land." As with New Amsterdam, however, the English showed up and made New Zealand theirs. At least they didn't rename it New Orkney or something. New Zealand remains part of the Commonwealth to the present, although there does seem to be a movement (as in Australia) to ditch the Queen once and for all -- being Americans, we whole-heartedly support that idea.
Today, New Zealand seems like the adventure capital of the world – bungee jumping, abseiling down or jumping off buildings, skydiving, whitewater rafting (over 21 foot waterfalls), river surfing, caving, black water rafting - you name it, the Kiwis have made a sport of it. And there are lots of more usual activities like skiing and sailing. One theory about the Kiwis' love of adventure is that they perceive New Zealand as boring and are desperately trying to make up for it. That could be true - many seem to have the notion that the rest of the world thinks of them as a dull little sheep farming island on the far end of nowhere (granted, much of the rest of the world does think that).
Kiwis also enjoy watching sports, mostly of the British colony variety – rugby union, cricket, netball, etc. We usually don't go for those sports, but we have been bitten by the rugby bug which is nearly a religion in New Zealand. Despite being Americans living in Australia, we are die-hard fans of the All Blacks, and also follow the Auckland Blues and Auckland (NPC) teams. Short version of the explanation for that: the first rugby games that George attended were All-Blacks tests against France and South Africa. (We also went and supported the American Eagles when they came to Sydney for the Rugby World Cup, but they hardly ever play where we can watch them.)
As a rule, there is a whole lot of drinking going on in New Zealand. The explanation that we got from a Kiwi is that the bars used to close very early, so everyone would run to the bar after work and try to get all their drinking done before closing time. Now people are still drinking like they only have an hour to get loaded, but the bars are open much later, so they keep doing it for hours. We don't know if that's true, but they do drink quite a bit (and no, it's not just the people we hung around with). They also make quite tasty wines – more on that in the Napier section below.
What better to go with your beer than good old fashioned fish and chips? You can't take a step in New Zealand without tripping over a fish and chips shop, which we consider a good thing. Most places have a choice of at least three kinds of fish (typically snapper, john dory and tarakihi) and it is incredibly fresh. You might not think it would make much difference which fish gets fried to a crisp, but it does. Usually it's even served in a newspaper with vinegar the way it should be. (If you're thinking of using ketchup in New Zealand, by the way, be warned that it is sweeter than in the US (Deb used to work with the folks at Heinz and they ‘fessed up that there are different recipes) - and, as George once discovered to his horror while making spaghetti, it is called "tomato sauce").
Speaking of fush and chups, Kiwis have a mad accent – we think they may have given all their vowels to the Pacific Islanders (Kiwis tend to stretch their one vowel sound beyond all reason) and they often speak at the speed of light (on the flip side, they think we speak veeeerrrryyyy slooowwwllyyy). We’ve finally gotten the hang of it, but it wasn’t easy.
Middle Earth
We used to be a little bit disappointed in the Kiwis for allowing the filming of such drivel as Xena and Hercules in their country, though we realized that if things like the awful Dr. Quinn were filmed in the US we didn't have much room to complain. But they have thoroughly redeemed themselves by allowing Peter Jackson to bring Middle Earth to life. We didn’t go out of our way to visit Hobbiton or Rivendell, but there are guidebooks that will tell you how.
Critters
New Zealand doesn’t have the array of cool critters that Australia does. The Maori long ago hunted the giant, and evidently tasty, moa (resembled an enormous emu) to extinction. Before the Europeans arrived, the flightless kiwi bird was New Zealand’s answer to ground-dwelling forest mammals, but its numbers have dwindled alarmingly with the introduction of actual mammals like cats, dogs, and possums. And kiwis are nocturnal, so you’re unlikely to see one except in zoos or wildlife parks. The kea (a kind of native parrot) is considered by many to be the smartest parrot in the world – you won’t doubt it when you see them, as they are clearly just looking to get into as much mischief as possible, just for the hell of it. Their favorite activity in the wild is chewing rubber off of cars (we’ve lost our fair share of rental car trim that way). The most interesting thing about the introduced animals is their sheer number: there are 60 million sheep and 50 million brush-tailed possums (introduced from Australia, where they are endangered), as well as an awful lot of farmed deer (which makes for very tasty venison). Tourist shops sell possum-fur EVERYTHING, and a number of otherwise mild-mannered and peace-loving New Zealanders will encourage you to run over as many possums as you can.
Driving in New Zealand
We've done our fair share to support the car rental industry in New Zealand. While it is certainly possible to explore New Zealand without a car, especially if you have ample time, we enjoy driving ourselves. It gives us great flexibility in our schedule, and it gives us the chance to see many different parts of the country. It also gives us the occasional near-death experience, but we'll get to that later.
Auckland
Auckland is the first and last stop for most people who travel to New Zealand, and it was for us as well. In a country of about 4 million people and 60 million sheep, Auckland has a population of more than a million people and only a few sheep (yes, there are sheep in the city). As you would expect, there is a marked contrast between Auckland and the rest of the country.
Tall buildings, for instance. Auckland has quite a few, the latest addition of note being a huge metallic needle-like monstrosity that rises far over the rest of downtown and is part of a casino. It does achieve its primary goal of making the Auckland skyline recognizable. Unfortunately, it also looks horribly out of place. We admit that it has grown on us a little, and we suppose it'll seem acceptable sooner or later, but the place looked better beforehand.
Auckland is full of good restaurants, wine bars, jazz clubs, good bands, funky shops, and other stuff that we consider cool. It was mildly surprising to us to go someplace that seems so distant, with such a rural reputation, and find out that it's so hip.
It has its tourist attractions, as well. Kelly Tarleton's Underwater World was, we think, the original walk-through aquarium - an enormous aquarium with a clear plastic tunnel running through it to give you some unusual perspectives on the sharks, rays, and other fish inside. Now it’s been copied the world over. For a different side of Auckland, you could try jumping off of the Sky City tower (attached to a wire – Kiwis aren’t THAT into adventure). We watched someone do this and get stuck part of the way down; he was left swinging in space for a few moments, a hiccup which made the whole prospect look even less appealing. Auckland also has nice parks (some of these have wandering sheep which keep the grass cut), a good zoo with lots of space for the critters, a young volcano in the harbor which makes for an interesting hike, and plenty of sailing and sailing-related activities (which, unfortunately, we don't know much about).
North of Auckland
North of Auckland, the country eventually narrows into a long, thin peninsula that ends at Cape Reinga. Between the Cape and Auckland are a couple of areas of interest. The main draw in this area is probably the Bay of Islands, which is just what it sounds like. The area is home to several sites of historical interest as well as lots of water-based activities. There are also a couple of decent waterfalls and hiking trails at some parks a little way inland.
We went dolphin watching, which in better weather can actually turn into swimming with the dolphins (if they're agreeable - we were told that we would not be allowed in the water if the dolphins were feeding or resting; inasmuch as we're pretty sure we don't want to be in the water when they're mating, we're not sure what that leaves). It was mighty cold when we were there, however, and the dolphins kept moving (feeding) rather than hanging around us anyway. Regardless, it's a treat to see animals like dolphins in the wild. We saw large pods of two different species of dolphin, as well as some bonus wildlife including a baby hammerhead and some sea birds diving for fish. The guide was knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife, and kept us from being too bored between dolphin sightings.
One of the historically important sites mentioned above is the Treaty House at Waitangi. It sits on a rise overlooking the bay, and was built in commemoration of the treaty signed between the British and the Maori. Unlike every other treaty that we've ever heard of between a colonial power and an indigenous people, this one was actually kept. It is to this day enshrined as constitutional-level law in New Zealand. (In case you're interested, the gist of the treaty is that the Maori submit to the sovereignty of the British crown, but retain certain rights in regard to land, etc.). The Treaty House itself is built from native timbers and adorned with fantastic Maori woodcarving. Nearby is a gigantic ceremonial war canoe, which itself is a great piece of artwork. There is a small admission fee to the area, and some displays about the treaty and Maori culture in general.
The other place that we've visited in this area is Russell, a little town that must have been one of the first English settlements in the country. Here you can find the oldest continually operating licensed hotel in NZ, with the oldest bar located across the street. The hotel restaurant serves a killer rack of lamb, and the bar isn't touristy at all (almost all locals when we stopped in). There's also a little museum with exhibits on the history of the area, especially maritime artifacts. Access to Russell is by a short ride on a small car ferry, unless you want to take a long winding drive out onto the peninsula.
Cape Reinga and back
Cape Reinga is the very northernmost tip of North Island, and quite picturesque. A small lighthouse sits out on the rocks at the end of the Cape, and visitors can see the line of waves caused by the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea (the sea that separates Australia from New Zealand).
On the west side of the long, very thin peninsula south of the Cape is Ninety Mile Beach. It is not actually ninety miles long (that's an old guesstimate based on the fact that it took a certain number of days to get from one end to the other by horse), but it is a very long continuous beach. The darkish sand is so firm that vehicles can be driven on the beach, and in fact even fully loaded tour buses do this (specially equipped to some extent we presume), though it is not uncommon for some bonehead to try it and actually strand his car out there. The beach is bordered by enormous sand dunes, perhaps 100 feet high, which look cool and apparently make for good sledding (one of the more popular tourist activities here is to ride down the dunes).
The road which loops toward the west coast as it makes its way back to Auckland passes through a large densely forested area. One of the sights to be seen here is the Giant Kauri, which is a really big tree. It actually doesn't look quite the same as other kauris; it's kind of stockier and gnarlier. Kauris don't make it to quite the same height as giant redwoods, but they're mighty large. The wood is highly prized (like redwoods), so presumably the Japanese are doing their best to kill off the kauri forests along with the redwoods (and the whales, and the tuna, and the dolphins...).
Coromandel
The Coromandel is a thin peninsula that begins southeast of Auckland and juts northward; it’s where every Aucklander with money seems to have a beach house. It is forested and mountainous, and the shoreline is composed of limestone(?) cliffs which drop into the water and shelter small coves and beaches between them, such as Cathedral Cove. The forests are dense, with stands of massive native trees like the kauri. The scenery is spectacular, and there are great places for hiking or picnics. Our favorite odd spot was Hot Water Beach – if you dig a hole in the sand in a certain area of the beach, hot water bubbles up to create your own little hot tub. (We saw some holes in which the water was actually boiling.)
Napier
We spent a few days in Napier, which is a pretty little art deco city in sunny Hawke’s Bay. Napier was hit by a devastating earthquake in 1931 (7.9 on the Richter scale), which heaved an extra 40 square kilometers of land up from the ocean, so many of the buildings are relatively new because either their previous incarnations were destroyed in the quake, or the land on which they sit simply wasn’t there 75 years ago. Art Deco was all the rage at the time of rebuilding, so that style is well-represented (and the city makes a fairly big deal about it with festivals and so forth).
Hawke’s Bay is one of New Zealand’s premier wine producing regions, and a winetasting tour let us try several of the local wineries. The region grows more Chardonnay grapes than anything else, but we aren’t big Chardonnay fans. We had some very good Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and even some good old-fashioned peppery Shiraz (Australian wineries these days seem to be competing to make Australia’s signature grape into the biggest, heaviest, tough-as-leather wines possible). Unfortunately, the mean Australian customs people make sure it’s not worthwhile to ship to Australia, so we brought only a few bottles back and will probably spend the next couple of years wondering what occasion merits cracking one open.
Rotorua
Rotorua is built around the shores of Lake Rotorua and is full of cool geothermal stuff – volcanoes, bubbling mud pits, deathly sulphur springs, big geysers and all the resulting rock formations. We’ve been to most of the major geothermal sightseeing areas, including Hell’s Gate, Wai-o-Tapu, and Whakarewarewa (which is short for Te Whakarewarewatanga o te Ope Taua a Wahiao – say that five times fast). Many of the local hotels get into the swing of things, with spas fed by hot springs in each room. The downside is that Rotorua’s pervasive sulphuric odor can sometimes be a bit much.
Rotorua is also home to a major Maori arts center, and you can visit the leading school to learn more about Maori wood and jade carving as well as attend loads of Maori cultural events. And of course, there are plenty of local shops selling handicrafts as well.
On the sillier side, there is a giant maze to find your way around in. As far as we know everyone has made it out alive.
Waitomo
We made a side trip from Rotorua to visit Waitomo, which is famous for its caves. Glowworms are the big attraction here, though if you know what they are they kind of lose some of their appeal. They're basically some kind of larvae that dangle a mucus string out of their body and then shine a light down it to attract mosquitoes or flies or something, which they eat. But when you get a few zillion of these things hanging from the roof of a cave, it is quite a sight. Like a starry sky, little points of light all over.
Just seeing caves didn't really cut it for us, so we chose to go cave canoeing. The basic idea being that you go canoeing, in a cave. While we were waiting for our guide to show up, we visited a couple of the minor attractions in the immediate area. One was an angora rabbit business. We met the huge fluffy white rabbits and watched one get sheared. This involves what looks like a medieval rabbit torture device, and it's safe to say that rabbits aren't really comfortable spread-eagled, but overall it seemed to be a fairly harmless process (which it wouldn't be if the rabbits weren't firmly secured).
We also drove around a little and admired the local scenery, which included a huge archway/cavern with a stream running through it. Cool looking, though the drive probably wasn't worthwhile in the end.
Cave Canoe Guy met us at the appointed hour and took us in his truck to the back acres of a big sheep farm in the vicinity. After changing into more suitable clothes - boots, helmets, etc - we walked down to a big hole in the ground. By big we mean maybe a hundred feet long, forty feet at its widest, and a hundred feet deep. Our guide rigged up a line at one end so we could abseil down (that's rappelling for us Yanks). At the bottom our plastic canoes were waiting beside the stream that flowed in through a hole in one narrow end of the cave and out through the other.
We got in and, to our surprise, went upstream. We came to a place where we tied the canoes and continued on foot, and then we sat down to rest. Our guide had us turn our lights off, and we got a good view of a low-ceilinged cave full of glowworms. It's something worth seeing.
We went back downstream, but our guide decided that we'd be better off without the canoes for the next bit. The guide apparently wasn't thrilled with our kayaking skill level and was concerned about safety on the whitewater section. The "blackwater" was part of the reason we signed up, and we may not have gotten a fair shake on the skill thing, but given how sharp and numerous the rocks were, we didn't argue. We walked downstream for a ways, which was harder than it sounds, and then again rested in the dark. The guide served some kind of hot lemony beverage out of his thermos. We don't know if we were just incredibly thirsty or what, but it tasted great. After several comments to that effect, we asked what it was. Turns out it was heated Tang. Yep, we must have looked like a couple of real boobs.
We walked back to the canoes, but before changing back to our clothes and ending this adventure, one thing remained - getting out of the hundred-foot pit. This required a climb up the steep, wet, slippery rockface. George went up like a monkey boy and was pretty pleased with himself. Deb at least didn't succeed in her attempt to fling the guide to his death.
Taupo-Wellington
Lake Taupo is a lake that is just small enough to seem really large. You can see mountains, for instance, far in the distance on the opposite side of the lake. At first glance, this somehow gives a larger impression than a lake like Lake Michigan, which is so big that the horizon doesn't show even a hint of land, maybe because it actually makes you think about how far away the other side of the lake is. We’ve only zipped through this area (twice now) so it’s definitely in the cards for a future visit.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, and - like a lot of capital cities - doesn't have as much to recommend it as the other large cities do. There's a Muttonbirds song in which they sing "I wish I were in Wellington" in much the same way that you might say "I wish I were in the lowest pits of Hell."
We were only there overnight, but a night out in Wellington suggested that it's not as bad as some folks seem to think. Generally trendy and bustling. Maybe they just try harder because of that bad reputation.
From Wellington we caught the ferry to South Island. The arrangements worked pretty smoothly - we turned in our rental car in Wellington, took our bags across on the ferry, and picked up a new car on the other side. This avoids the need to actually ferry the car across, which is a pain in the neck and costs an arm and a leg (so, hard on the body parts).
We were on board pretty early and spent a while walking around the ship while they finished loading the automobiles and other cargo. The ferry is large, closer to the size of a small cruise ship. The route that the ferry takes avoids all but a small area of what we might call open sea. We spent the first part of the trip in sheltered waters near Wellington, and got a good view of Wellington from the water. Another portion of the trip winds its way through the islands and fjords that dwindle out from South Island, which makes for some good scenery. On a nice sunny day, this is a very pleasant trip, and a fairly quick one.
Abel Tasman
This is a cool place. We would love to come back and spend a whole vacation around here. The park is located along the shores of the far northern end of South Island. Trekking trails wind along the coast throughout this area, offering days or weeks of continuous hiking/camping if that's what you're into. As usual, we didn't have enough time to do any serious hiking, but we did a couple of day hikes. On the best walk, we were dropped off at one beach and picked up at another a few hours later. Walking trails is definitely more fun when there are nice beaches involved. Very photogenic too, nice sand and beautiful water.
Be warned, though: that water is cold. We were there in the spring, and we needed 5 mm wetsuits to be able to stay in the water. So, you ask, why go in the water? To swim with seals! There's an island nearby that is home to a colony of fur seals, and a local operation runs little trips out there to swim with them. The seals are protected, so there is No Messing With Them. You have to get in the water and swim around near their island and hope they want to come swim with you. So we swam, and swam, and swam some more. Since it was early in breeding season, the females and their pups were nestled away up in the rocks. After about an hour, just as we thought our hands might actually freeze off, one of the males came out to pay us a visit. He's apparently one of the more social/curious ones, according to the guide. We forgot all about the cold. It’s weird having an animal as curious about us as we were about him. He looped around us and swam very close, peering into our face masks. After a while, George remembered his camera and made a dash back to the boat for it, but the seal wandered off and we never did get any decent shots.
West Coast
To be added: glaciers, helicopter, keas, train to Christchurch, driving over passes
Queenstown
The area around Queenstown (and its neighbors Arrowtown and Wanaka) has a distinctly Colorado flavor to it. There used to be gold mining in this area, and there is still a fair amount of ranching, but today it is probably best known as a ski destination. Queenstown in particular is fairly Breckinridge-y. The attractions here include skiing and snowboarding at nearby mountains, of course, but also whitewater rafting, jetboating -- hurtling around a river gorge in a speedboat that can turn on a dime is just plain fun -- and all sorts of adventure tourism possibilities. There is also a fledgling wine industry here.
Ski season was about over when we visited in 1997, and we were looking for something different to do. We ended up river surfing, which is basically whitewater rafting without the raft. Instead, you get a 6mm wetsuit (that gives you an idea of how cold the water is), fins, helmet (veeerryy important) and a boogie board. After getting suited up, about eight of us (including two guides) marched down to the river to get started. We passed by a group of Japanese tourists launching their raft, and they looked at us like we were mental asylum escapees. After a few minutes in calm water, we headed downriver. We soon encountered our first whitewater, some little class I or II waves. We tried to get used to the idea that you have to duck into the wave in order to get through it, but it's awfully tough to lose that instinct to lean back from it. We also played around in some little whirlpools by the side of the river (good leg workout getting out of those), and the guides showed us how to dive under using the boogie board. We also made an effort to do the cool thing and sit on our boards as we passed under the big bungie jumping bridge high above - the people on the bridge seemed relatively impressed by the fact that there were idiots in the river.
The highlight of the trip is a Class IV 500-meter long rapid, which shoots through a narrrow gorge and then makes a 90 degree turn. This is a thing that you can hear well before you can see it. We were given a chance to opt out at this point, and Deb decided that watching George attempting to drown himself would be much more amusing than trying it herself.
George listened to the guides explaining how to best negotiate the rapid (“start all the way on the left, kick hard toward that rock until you get around the corner, blah, blah, blah”). That all went out the window as soon as the first four-foot wave loomed up in front of him and he started to think that staying alive would be a good goal to aim for. After ten seconds, that seemed ambitious. Somehow he maintained his death grip on the body board, kicked like Flipper, and came through on the other end. He was starting to think about hot chocolate when the guide suggested that they climb up the rocks, jump in and do it all over again. This involves jumping fifteen feet into the middle of the rapids and riding the second half again -- and it was more fun that time. (If you've seen the Mountain Dew commercial where they jump into a river with boogie boards, then you've seen exactly what we did – it was filmed at that spot).
Deb’s adventure with the Class IV rapids began and ended when Tony the crazy river surfer explained that it was possible to opt out of that leg of the journey. Yay! He continued: "You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Deb glanced at the rapids. "No," shaking her head vigorously. "Great, all you have to do is climb up that sheer rock face..." (evidently he hadn’t spoken to Cave Canoe Guy recently). With one last look at the rapids to steel her nerves, she slung the body board over her shoulder and gamely climbed up a ladder which was tied to said sheer rock face, which in turn hung out over lots of other, not so sheer, rocks.
After completing the rapids, the bedraggled surfers found Deb on this overlook basking in the sun with a smug grin - which disappeared when Tony the crazy river surfer further explained that she would, in fact, have to do the second part of the rapids if she ever wanted to see her home again. "All you have to do," he said, "is jump off this fifteen feet of rock ...." She expressed some concern about this proposal, which elicited an exasperated "I thought you weren't afraid of heights!" She explained that, at the time the question was initially posed, there had been no mention of deliberately jumping off of a height into swirling rapids. He finally admitted it would, theoretically, be possible to crawl down some ways and jump from a slightly less insane height. At long last, she jumped -- straight into a whirlpool. When she finally emerged sputtering and spewing water, she heard the guides cackling with glee – apparently they ALWAYS try to jump in the middle of a whirlpool, because it’s more “fun”, but it’s very hard to do. Tony had one last parting request (other than the unspoken one to never set foot on his river again). "There's just one more thing you need to do before I let you on shore," he said. "What's that?" Deb queried, completely fed up with the entire adventure. He smiled kindly. "It's just that you'll probably want to wipe the drool off your chin before the others see you...."
[to be added: Lake Wanaka, skiing, driving stories]
Milford Sound
Milford Sound has been called the eighth wonder of the world, and with good reason. It is absolutely the most impressive natural scenery that we have ever seen. On his first trip to Queenstown, George tried to take a small (4-seat) plane from Queenstown over the mountains to Milford Sound - for scenery and because he didn't have time to drive or take a tour bus. The weather was so bad, however, that the pilot had to turn around halfway there. Which was a little white-knuckle in addition to the major problem of not getting to see Milford Sound. So we decided to drive ourselves when we visited in 1997.
It's a pretty long drive from Queenstown, but there's not much of interest in between, so that's where we started from. We did it as a (looong) day trip because we were starting to get pressed for time, but staying at least one night at the little town near Milford Sound would be better. The drive itself was pretty dreary for most of the way, especially since our view was comprised mainly of tour bus rear ends. It started to get more interesting when we got into the national park. The fjord itself is a long way from the main road, on the other side of some substantial mountains. The road to it winds through rocky canyons, punctuated by a couple of fairly long tunnels. The canyons are basically one big rockslide zone, so you don't want to stop and screw around, but there are a couple of sites of interest (reflecting pools, water falls, that sort of thing) that we stopped at on the way back. Again, beware the mischievous keas.
Milford Sound is not really a sound, it is a fjord, formed by glacial activity (if we remember right). The mountains rise directly out of the water to loom along all sides of the inlet, which is truly awesome scenery. We were a little irritated that the day of our visit was overcast and drizzly, but as it turns out, this was a good thing. As great as the mountains look when they are completely visible, the effect of rain on the Sound is not to be missed. There are a few permanent waterfalls around the Sound, but the majority appear only when it rains (this is due to the topography at the top of the mountains, insufficient soil to hold the water between rains or something like that). And we're talking big waterfalls, hundreds of feet high, cascading out of the low-lying clouds, that we would have missed if we'd come on a sunny day. Well worth a little bit of damp in our opinion.
Dunedin
We passed through Dunedin very briefly, pausing only to visit the albatross colony and the seal colony found at the tip of the peninsula. Finding the proper road to get out there was a little challenging for us. Next time we go, Deb will probably make George look at the map.
Once we found our way to the albatross colony, we learned that viewing the albatrosses was something that could only be done on a tour. We couldn't wait for the next one, since we were running on a tight schedule at this point (though we did see some albatrosses in flight nearby afterwards). The colony nests up on a cliff that is also home to some WWII gun emplacements, so the tour covers a sort of combination of the two, as we understand it.
We were happy to see that our trek out there wasn't in vain, however, since a colony of seals could be found just down the road. A dirt road, in fact, through someone's private sheep farm (pretty standard in NZ). And that was something for which we weren't required to have a tour guide. This was one of several times that we saw seal colonies, but they were always interesting to watch, especially since we visited during the breeding season when there were plenty of pups.
If you follow the highway north from Dunedin to Christchurch, you'll pass Moeraki, which is famous for its boulders. These boulders are oddly spherical, and sit at random spots on the beach. There's a Maori story about them being the legendary bowling balls of the gods or something, and there's a scientific explanation that the softer earth around each boulder eroded over time, eventually causing the boulder to drop out of the cliff face onto the beach (we forget why they're spherical to start with). In any case, we didn't stick around to do a lot of investigating, because the thing that Moeraki should really be famous for is sandflies.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the second-largest city in New Zealand, and has the country's other major airport. A convenient place to drop off that rental car and fly back to Auckland.
Christchurch is within reach of ski mountains and other South Island activities, and has a few minor attractions of its own, like a cable car ride up the mountain that overlooks the city. And there's some interesting architecture and picturesque parklands. But this was the end of our trip and we spent most of our time here wandering around the city eating and window shopping. As in the rest of NZ, the food was good and the duty free shops were plentiful. The city definitely has a different feel from Auckland -- quieter, more historic/colonial, less cosmopolitan.
We didn't see the Wizard of Christchurch, incidentally. He's basically some guy who took it upon himself to act silly and did it so well for so long that he was officially recognized by the City. We just don't care.
There's more
We feel that we've seen about everything that we could have, given our time constraints, but there are a few things that we had to skip. (And of course, we would love to have the time to go back and spend more time in almost every location that we've already seen.) There are large swaths of the country that we haven't seen at all, particularly the major wine-growing regions of the South Island, and the outlying islands. And there are several big areas that we have only seen glimpses of, like the country between Lake Taupo and Wellington. So we aren't quite sure what we're missing there, and would like to find out someday.
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