Mon, 20 May 2002
After sitting in a marina, working on boat projects, running errands and building a new nesting, sailing dinghy, we were ready to explore more of the delights of New Zealand.
New Zealand consists of 2 long, narrow main islands and a much smaller one, plus numerous islets. The northern tip of the north island is over 1000 miles from the tip of the south island, yet no point of land in New Zealand is further than 68 miles from the ocean. The north end of the north island is subtropical, growing citrus fruit like California while the southwestern corner of the south island has spectacular fiords and glaciers (pronounced glassiers by the Kiwis). Consequently, weather systems sweep quickly across this narrow country making for changeable conditions and we need be prepared for anything. The diversity of the geography makes for interesting sightseeing, and the multicultural diversity make for an interesting cultural experience.
New Zealand is filled with many of the original Maori peoples that inhabited the islands before the Europeans arrived. The Maoris are related most closely to the Polynesians of the Cook Islands, and Polynesian place names are pervasive throughout the country. Pacific Islander immigrants from throughout the South Pacific live here alongside Dutch, Irish and Scottish immigrants and even more recent immigrants from India and Southeast Asia. The mix is similar in ways to the U.S. melting pot, but with a very different flavor. We notice the cultural diversity most when we are walking around downtown or taking the bus. The festivals here reflect the cultural diversity as well. Maori Kapa Haka Festival and Pasifika Festival for all the Pacific Islanders featured traditional dance and music as well as foods from the islands, including the all pervasive staple: canned corn beef.
With my mom coming, we had a perfect excuse to play tourist for a while. We made arrangements for a (Kiwi Experience company) bus-fly pass to tour the south island of New Zealand, hitting as many highlights as we could on a reasonable budget in a short period of time. After seeing a few highlights around Auckland (America's Cup Viaduct, the Sky tower, a rainforest waterfall, black sand beaches and coastal views of the Tasman Sea, and several award winning wineries), we flew to first to Dunedin, a Scottish university town, in the Southeast of the south island.
We were shocked by the low temperatures when we arrived in the South Island - nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Auckland. In Dunedin, we tried to tour the Cadbury Chocolate factory but were disappointed to find out that it was closed. Instead we visited the Speight's brewery and the Dunedin art gallery and wandered around to see the town's charming Scottish architecture. From Dunedin, we took the bus southwest past many farms then through the Catlins Forest Park along the southern coast (on many gravel or unsealed roads as the Kiwis call them). We detoured along the way to hike out to a picturesque lighthouse and along several beautiful beaches to a rare dolphin breeding ground, and to where sea lions were lazing about and occasionally fighting for territory. We stopped to see penguins and a petrified rainforest on the coast and drove along numerous beautiful lakes. We visited a bird sanctuary featuring many flightless birds unique to New Zealand, including the famous Kiwi and Kea birds. Near the southwestern coast, we drove through dramatic fiords, looking up at gushing waterfalls from the moist cliffs above and down into an incredibly deep yet narrow chasm carved over centuries by water rushing down the mountainside.
The area was a photographer's paradise and we took hundreds of shots. Countless hikes could have kept us busy for weeks, in an area that has no notable predators - There are no bears or cougars in this country. No mammals are indigenous and all the creatures that reside here were introduced by people in the last few hundred years except for flightless birds.
We enjoyed a pleasant cruise through beautiful Milford Sound on a small launch, although we must honestly admit that after sailing Velella through pristine Princess Louisa in Canada, a motorboat cruise through Milford Sound just couldn't compare. From the fiords, we headed east across plains that looked just like Wyoming to scenic Queenstown, where bungee jumping became famous. Queenstown is an adrenaline junkie's dream and features countless temptations. We did our best to hold onto our wallets, but managed to splurge for the relatively affordable luge rides down the scenic mountain. In the wintertime, Queenstown is also a ski resort, and its year round attractions have managed to lure several Hollywood stars into the local real estate market. Definitely a place we'd like to revisit with a bigger wallet.
From Queenstown, we headed northeast past a number of turquoise lakes, mountains and the 12,000 foot Mount Cook nestled in the clouds. We continued through many miles of farmland and ranches raising cattle and deer as well as sheep. We saw more sheep than we've ever seen in our lives and managed to get stuck in a traditional Kiwi traffic jam - during a sheep stampede. Our final stop in the South Island was Christchurch, which was settled by Anglicans from England and retains a strong "English" flavor with its neo-Gothic buildings and gardens. In the town square we watched a life sized chess match in front of the gothic cathedral. We toured the Arts Centre market, in the charming old stone buildings that once housed the University. Then we wandered the impressive botanical gardens and historical museum. I poked my head into the art gallery briefly and found even more reasons to want to return to Christchurch. We had a tough time deciding which was our favorite place that we visited on the South Island, torn between the charming towns of Dunedin and Christchurch and the adventure capital Queenstown as well as the countless locations of breathtaking scenery and hikes. We were certain that we wanted to visit to New Zealand's South Island again.
Once we returned from our short stint as tourists we needed to get back to work on the boat. We took a mini 150 mile cruise (between gales) to a cheaper haul out yard in Tauranga just south of Auckland for yet more boat work. (It never ends.) While you may think our lifestyle is glamorous, when we were working on the boat in the boatyard for a month it didn't feel very glamorous. The boatyard was filthy dirty, next to a smelly fertilizer plant and a busy highway. (And, every boat project seems to require sanding, no matter the job.) Some cruisers on higher budgets hire out the work and live in a hotel, but unfortunately we're not on that plan. We must confess that many of the things we did were enhancements that were not completely necessary, and that we were a bit ambitious. We like to have a nice looking, well performing boat and do our best to work to that end, although it is hard when it gets such constant use.
To preserve our sanity, we broke up the grueling boatyard visit with a few pleasant diversions. Walking along the beach, watching the surfers, and visiting the hot saltwater pools, shops and restaurants in the nearby resort town of Mount Manganui did wonders for our state of minds. We also each took a trip up in a glider plane: After bumping behind a Cessna (towing us) down a grassy field, we soon were airborne and then set free - with an instructor, of course; The instructor pointed out the beautiful landmarks and shallow waterways below and even let me steer the plane. A girlfriend and I took a day trip by car along the coast we had just sailed down, fearing we'd run out of time to cruise it thoroughly, and boy are we glad we did. The Coromandel Peninsula has some beautiful places I'll want to revisit, including Hotwater beach, Cathedral Cove, and Whitianga.
Once we splashed the boat back into the water, but before we were ready for sea, we were trapped at anchor for days in an industrial setting, broadside to 45 knot gale winds in a ripping current. A sandstorm from the cement plant across the water coated our freshly washed boat in fine dust, but fortunately we hadn't yet put up our newly cleaned white dodger and awning. With every gust we healed dramatically and appreciated our reliable Spade anchor. We took spray all the way back to our cockpit and our dinghy half filled with spray within 24 hours. We could hardly wait to get back to cruising again but this was a tough way to start. We had a wet sail into the wind and chop back up to Auckland to finish a few more things and say a final goodbye to friends we're leaving behind, but had a delightful moonlit sail into the tranquil Waitemata Harbor after sunset.
Many Kiwi-isms give us a chuckle. Sayings like: "Good on ya, mate" (good for you), "no worries" (you're welcome), "sweet as . . ." (meaning great, or cool), "heaps" (a lot of something) "you'll be right" (you'll be fine), "flash" (flashy), "trundlers" (grocery carts), plus all the funny pronunciations, like the long E in Eexcellent or Weesterly winds and toym (time). We see people here walking around in bare feet all the time, even in chilly weather and in stores (reminding me of the "no shirt, no shoes, no service signs that emerged in the U.S.). Meat pies, pavlova, gourmet pizzas featuring an odd combination of ingredients, sausage rolls and chicken flavored chips are popular for snacks, or tea time. Surfing is big, since nearly the entire country is along the coast and the southern ocean can serve up some big waves. The Kiwis were absolutely obsessed with the Academy Awards since they had a chance at some of the awards and are very proud of the Lord of the Rings. Generally they are quick to claim credit for any famous Kiwis. A practice of not tipping the wait staff when dining out, the result of a Polynesian cultural attitude makes dining out significantly more affordable. New Zealand lodging is generally much cheaper than in the U.S., especially since there is a focus on offering affordable lodging for backpackers. Buying a car is less than half the cost of the U.S. and many cruisers bought them from any of numerous weekly car fairs and auctions for use during their 6 month stay. But mostly imported electronics and marine items are about a third more expensive.
Less endearing, the Kiwis are pretty aggressive drivers. After being around such friendly easygoing people, it is a shock to encounter them on the road. Here pedestrians and bicyclists don't have the right of way and get hit frequently. We have noticed an almost "open season" perspective towards pedestrians amongst Kiwi drivers. Even in the grocery store, the aggressive driving is evident. Traffic is bad here, even compared to Seattle. In many ways, the infrastructure here reminds us of the 50's in the U.S. yet the population has strained the resources.
We've really enjoyed our time here and plan to return since there is still so much more to see of this country. But it is getting cold here as winter sets in and we need to depart before the winter storms begin and to give our bank account a rest. We plan to depart in the next few days for Fiji, once we have a good weather window, now that our highest priority projects are done. After Fiji, we plan to continue on to Vanuatu and New Caledonia before returning here at the start of hurricane season in the South Pacific, hopefully in time to catch most of the Louis Vuitton challenger series for the America's Cup, beginning in October.
Cheers,
Wendy Hinman and Garth Wilcox
S/V Velella (Wylie 31)