First Day on the South Island

2015-03-06

Departing Hawera, we packed most of the afternoon and drove through the evening
to Wellington.  We stopped there for the night to be close to the ferry.  It was kind
of a long drive and definitely a short night.

The 7th of March had us out of bed early and we hustled over to the ferry
terminal, and waited.  Our tickets to the South Island were on the Interislander
ferry and we upgraded to a cabin.  I took the boys out to explore the boat to
give Laura a chance to sleep, but the passageway was too loud.  The boys and I
sat in the lounge and had snacks.  I was a little worried about the ride,
because the weather looked sketchy on the forecast with wind and rain in the
Cook strait, but the crossing wasn't bad and the ride was smooth.

Best part of the ferry? Bunk beds!

Windy on Deck 10

We landed in Picton and drove downtown for lunch.  I visited the new Whale
Center across from the restaurant and chatted with the nice docent for a bit.
After lunch we hit the road as our goal was to make Greymouth.  Laura wanted to
check out a winery in the area.  The north part of the South Island is known for
its wine (Sauvignon Blanc) and that was evident driving.  There were rows and
rows of grapes for many kilometers.

Jack enjoying some (hard earned?) nachos

Rainy day in Picton

Winery stop

The winery stop was a pleasant diversion, but our next task was a winding trip
through the mountains to get over to the west coast.  The area has had a good
bit of rain the past few days and slides are always a possibility.  We made it
through the twisty roads at long last and were greeted with some amazing views
of the beaches and surf of the west coast.  The storm that had been raining on
us was still coming ashore. We didn't see many beaches that you could walk on,
but watching the surf lash the coastline was breathtaking.

Wind lashed coastline

We made stop at Paparoa National Park to take in a well regarded sight, the
Pancake Rocks.  A short, well maintained path leads to some fantastic limestone
rock formations and several impressive blow-holes.  The best time to visit is at
high tide, but with the storm offshore, we still got a good look at the blow
holes and surge pools around the area.  The photos don't do it justice because
the sound is part of the experience.  Deep booms resonate in the area when a set
of waves come in and bash the blow holes, kicking spray twenty or thirty meters
into the air.  It was really, really fantastic.  Jack remarked he could stand
there for hours watching the blow holes.

Entry to the Pancakes

Note the pancake appearance

Blowhole

Make up your own picture

The approved solution

The last forty minutes into Greymouth were uneventful.  We had dinner at
Speight's Ale House and retired for a good nights rest at Apostle's View motel.

South Island Trip

March has almost gone and we've been going full blast.  We took our grand South Island tour this month, visiting nine cities on the South Island in 18 days.  It was an incredible trip and I have a ton of photos to get through.  I'll start getting the posts up documenting the trip in the next few days.  As a teaser, here's a shot of the ferry that took us across Cook Strait.

Kaitaki

Hawkes Bay

We traveled across the North Island to Hawkes Bay the first weekend in February
and spent three days touring around Hastings and Napier.  Our South African
friends went over as well and we all stayed in the same motel.  It was great
having them with us as the kiddos had built-in playmates in the evenings.  The
kids were the rowdy cut-ups of the motel parking lot and the management was
probably glad to see the back of us.

It was a fun weekend and we got a good look at Hawkes Bay, the bread basket of
New Zealand.  We left a rainy Hawera on Friday and retraced our route to
Masterton, except we turned after north crossing through the Manawutu Gorge.
Friday was a national holiday, Waitangi Day, and we spent several hours taking in
the National Aquarium in Napier.  The stars of the show were the cute little Blue
Penguins, most of which are rescued birds with injuries.  We also saw our first
Kiwis!  Kiwis are nocturnal birds, native to New Zealand, and they only survive
in zoos and fenced enclosures.

Robinson helo slinging a fertilizer bucket

Taking a bite of the pre-historic

An American gator

Riegardt and David

Kids at the penguin feeding

Cute little birds

Enhanced photo since the enclosure is really dim

Studying the water wheel

The rocky beaches of Napier

The kids play...

...while tea is prepared

Day two had us at Splash Planet in Napier.  The park has both dry and wet rides
and the kids loved driving the go-carts.  The boys and I rode all the slides,
but New Zealand isn't the greatest location for a water park.  Even in
mid-summer the water was really chilly.

Jack Foyt

Bumper boats

On Sunday, we went to the Silky Oak Chocolate company for a tour of their
museum.  This was the first of several chocolate factory tours we have planned.
We're planning to see Cadbury on the South Island next.  After chocolate
overload, we went for a tractor tour of Cape Kidnappers to see the sights and
the Gannet colony that roosts at the far end of the cape.  The cape tour was
like a long hayride without the hay.  Old tractors pull trailers along the beach
and through the surf out to the end of the cape.

Chocolate souvenirs

The geology of the cape is really interesting.  The end of the cape is being
pushed up by tectonic activity and the sandstone layers are very clearly tilted.
In a couple of spots along the cape, slip faults are visible in the layers,
another witness to the geologic activity of the region.

The hike up to the Gannet colony took about 45 minutes and the views were
spectacular.

Waiting on tractors

On the trailer

Our tractor driver, Collin

Tilted layers

Slip fault

The view toward Napier

The end of the cape

Marching to the birds

And they stink

Pano of the colony

Down the hill

Playing in the surf

Waiting on a ride home

Tractor through the surf

Another view of layering

Sign on the shack reads, "Topless bathing permitted"

Mufti Days

Occasionally, the school will allow the kiddos to show up in street clothes, vice wearing uniforms.  These days are call Mufti Days.  Generally, the school uses Mufti Days as motivation for fund raisers, so the kids can wear street clothes if they bring in a canned food or some such.

We had a Mufti Day last week to help out a student's dad injured in a motorcycle accident.  It's always a little bit of a shock to get to school and see no uniforms.