Road trip to west coast, pt 2

Carrying on with our journey...

On Sunday morning we drove a short ways north along the coast and then turned off onto this unsealed road into Jurassic Park.
We half expected T-Rex to come out from behind a fern and swallow the Honda Fit. But that didn't happen. We just drove along very slowly, bumping up and down, scraping the crap out of the undercarriage of the little car. At one point we heard something dragging and panicked, but it was only a stick. phew. This drive made us really miss our old Subaru Outback. Oh 'ru, how we loved you. But nevermind.

We made it to the trail head. This is the start of a walk to Cave Creek. DOC (NZ's department of conservation, the poster of the sign) says it will take an hour, which probably means more like 30 minutes. DOC's estimates always seem to be for the slowest, most disabled walkers.
Lots of greenery along the way. We saw a few flowers blooming too, including buttercups and these pretty white flowers growing on a vine.

We made it to Cave Creek in about 35 minutes. Cave Creek was a pleasant surprise. It was a gorge full of giant, moss-covered rocks. It was a fantastic place that made you kind of feel like a midget.


On the way here, we had seen a plaque memorialising the death of 14 people. There was no information about how they had died. Gareth investigated when we got home and learned about the Cave Creek Disaster. The 14 people died while standing on a wooden viewing platform that had been negligently constructed by DOC. This was a bit disturbing as we had climbed down wooden stairs to get to Cave Creek. It sounds like they've sorted it now and stopped using nails in place of bolts... But this is an important reminder of the other, darker side of the Kiwi "she'll be right" attitude - sometimes she isn't right.

Moving on...

We then took our packed picnic along with us to Truman's Track. This was a short stroll through the bush to Truman's beach. For me, this was the highlight of the weekend. This beach was just awesome.

We found this great big flat boulder to sit on for lunch. Perfect!
There was a lovely little waterfall trickling down from the cliff above. We explored the area, finding pretty rocks and shells and other, less pretty things. Kirsteen holds up some dead seaweed.


The ocean was pretty rough and crashing against the shore and rocks. Again, probably not a good swimming beach. It was more the kind of beach that you just sit back and look at.
On Monday, we had a nice pancake breakfast (gotta have pancakes at pancake rocks) and then headed back home. We stopped here first though. This place was called "foul wind bay" or something. The wind seemed alright to us though. And apparently it seemed alright to the seals who have set up a colony there.

We were getting a little camera weary by this point and didn't take too many photos of the journey over Lewis Pass. Actually, we didn't take ANY photos of that part of the journey... I can tell you though that it looked a lot like Idaho and that it was gorgeous. We saw some nice areas along the way that deserve further exploration, so we'll definitely be back in those parts. And we'll bring the camera...

Road trip to west coast, pt 1

Monday was Labour Day in New Zealand. We went away for the long holiday weekend with our buds B & K. We drove about 3 hours west to Greymouth, on the west coast, and then a bit north along the coast to Punakaiki, home of the 'Pancake Rocks.' There are 2 routes to Greymouth, so we took one route on the way there and a different route on the way back.

This installment includes photos from the journey to the west coast and the pancake rocks.

On the way there, we drove the Arthur's pass route. The scenery was other-worldly. The low hanging clouds added to the effect.

Our little Honda Fit managed the mountainous journey like a champ! We were packed with 4 adults and a boot full of camping gear, but chugged along just fine.

This is one of many, many whitebait fishermen we saw over the weekend. Whitebait fishing is big business for lots of south island folks. We saw many people sitting by the sides of rivers with their whitebait fishing nets, waiting patiently. Whitebait are tiny white fish, about the size of a little worm. The cafes in Greymouth sell whitebait fritters.
We've made it to camp now! We set up on this grassy spot at the Punakaiki Beach Camp. We couldn't see the ocean from the camp site, but we could hear it. It was about 100 meters away. That's B & K's tent in the front, and our tent (which before this weekend, seemed huge, but after being parked next to B & K's tent, not so much) behind.
These little flightless birds were all over the place. We learned they are called wekas. They are not shy at all. I fed one a cracker. It ran away into the bush with it, and then came back a second later for more. Pretty cute little dudes.
This is the coastline just by our campsite. Not the kind of beach you'd want to swim in - a bit chilly and very wavy. Very nice to listen to and to look at though. And the crazy kiwis probably do swim in it...

And now here we are at the Pancake Rocks. These rocks are some sort of geological mystery. They kind of look like pancakes. They're pleasing to look at, especially on a sunny day.
During high tide, the waves are supposed to crash up with a blow hole effect. We came right after high tide the first day, and then went back right at high tide the second day. Still, not much blow hole action going on. We think the weather was too calm and sunny for the show to really happen. Still, it was pretty.
More pancakey rocks... would you just look at that blue sea?!? Divine. Way, way in the distance is Australia (not shown here).

We walked back along the rocky beach. This is rugged coast. Think stones, not white sand.
B & K found some choice rocks. If we had a rock polisher and cutter, we could make nice green stone jewelry and sell it to tourists.
The men prepare dinner. Note Gareth's newest toy - the yellow gas stove. We're rocking TWO burners when we camp now, not just one. And dinner was twice as good.
Next up: our hike to cave creek and some other nice things you will want to see.

A cultural clash

The dilemma:

Lindsay wants coffee bad. But Lindsay does not want to caffeinate the little tadpole growing in her belly. There is no decaf in the house and New Zealand coffee shops do not sell decaf. They only sell espresso drinks, like "long black" and "flat white."

The solution:

Starbucks! While this journey into assimilation has included foregoing American corporate behemoths like Starbucks, these are not ordinary times. Lindsay is pregnant now, and all bets are off. Lindsay remembers that Starbucks sells American-style, filter coffee and that they probably do decaf too. Lindsay heads straight to one of Christchurch CBD's two Starbucks.

The scene:

A virtually empty Starbucks at 8:15am. A strange sight. The Phoenix Starbucks would have had a line out the door at this time. Still, it's the same familiar and oddly comforting Starbucks that I know and (used to) love.

Lindsay: Do you do decaf coffee?

Barista: Yes, we do.

Lindsay: Great! I'd like a tall one please.

Barista: Ok, what drink would you like?

Lindsay: didn't we just cover this? (out loud:) Just a decaf coffee please.

Barista: Right, what drink?

Lindsay: ...

Barista: A tall black?

Lindsay: No, just a decaf drip coffee please.

Barista: Oh, we don't do that.

And there's the rub. "Coffee" in New Zealand doesn't mean American-style filter coffee - that kind of coffee is almost non-existent here. "Coffee" means either an espresso drink or even instant coffee (blech!).

Of course I knew this, but in Starbucks I thought I could order a coffee. In Starbucks, the freaking American Embassy of coffee shops, you would think you could ask for a coffee and be understood. But alas, no. You can't.

Lindsay: I'll have a decaf Americano please...

NZ made us fertile

It's been a little quiet on the plantation as Lindsay has been busy feeling sick and Gareth has been busy cooking for Lindsay and making ginger tea for Lindsay and making sure that every one of Lindsay's needs is taken care of.

We're having a baby!!

Not right now, but in 7 months or so. We're due on the 18th May.

We're still finding it hard to believe that this has actually happened. We had been trying to get pregnant since 2006. For almost 3 years we were trying until we had just reached a point where we thought, you know, life without kids really isn't half bad. We've got all this disposable income and disposable time. We've got freedom.

And then of course, just as we'd come to appreciate all the advantages of a 'child free' lifestyle, the pregnancy test came back positive. That's mother nature for you.

We think New Zealand is going to be an excellent place to have a kid. There are more parks per capita here than any place we've ever been. And when we go by the parks, they always seem to be full of mums and dads and kids. Families are everywhere doing family stuff. And it's not just because we're pregnant now that we're noticing this - we've been paying attention to these things for the last 3 years and have noticed big differences between here and where we used to live.

The other great thing is that kids run around barefoot here. You see barefoot kids everywhere - outside, at restaurants, in the airport. They're kids! They don't need to be confined by shoes! Let the kids be kids. We love it.

We're going to have a little kiwi.

Sirocco the frisky kakapo

There is a rare parrot here called a kakapo. There are only 124 of them left in the world and they live in 2 offshore islands of NZ. One of these kakapos made the news recently when he was 'interviewed' for a British tv special. Meet Sirocco the frisky kakapo:

We're not really bird people, but this was just too funny. We could maybe get more into birds if they're this entertaining. Apparently there is world class bird watching available in New Zealand. Maybe something to save for when we retire...

Kennedy's bush

We were supposed to go to the seaside village of Kaikoura today for a culinary festival called Seafest. But we procrastinated and by the time we got around to ordering tickets, it had sold out! So, Kaikoura another day. On to plan B.

We went for a bush walk instead. Kennedy's bush is in the port hills on the side facing the Canterbury plains. We had just a few glimpses of the plains before descending into the bush. We saw lots of ferns, trees, and other bushiness. It was very bushy. And there were some crazy bird songs going on.

Here's the view from the parking lot - not bad, eh?

This (below) is called Sign of the Bellbird - it's not a sign at all though, it's a building. There are a few "sign of"s in the port hills - Sign of the Kiwi, Sign of the Takahe. They're rest houses built in the early 1900s for the early settlers who walked these tracks.

Here are a few photos of the bushiness.

An ad break

There are a few commercials on tv here that make us laugh every time. Thought we'd share a couple with you.

First, this guy. Political incorrectness warning: If you were offended by Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's, you might not like this ad. But we think it's pretty hilarious.

This pair was an instant classic too. They have a series of ads together. Come to think of it, I'm not really even sure what they're advertising. (Just asked Gareth: it's lotto.)