I haven't bought her any, though...
23 August 2005
NZ +26 (UK -3): Balancing Kiwis
This will only mean anything to my sister, who bought me a set of these when she was here a few years ago. She will be pleased to know that they are still the number 1 gift of choice...
I haven't bought her any, though...
I haven't bought her any, though...
NZ +26 (UK -3): Trains and Boats and 4x4s (and Lions and Witches and Wardrobes, apparently)
An early start today as we caught the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch Railway station at 8.00am.
This goes as far as Greymouth on the West Coast, but we weren't going that far. We were only going as far as Arthur's Pass, the highest point on the route and then onwards by other means.
The train is great, but it's one of only three long distance passenger services left in the country. There's a great buffet on board and the windows are big and spotlessly clean so that you can see the spectacular views as you climb off the Canterbury plains into the Southern Alps...
Now, on a British train, health and safety-wise, this would have to do you. But here in NZ, where the people are perhaps not so litigious (is that how you spell that?) and are not going to say "Excuse me, but I put my hand towards the window and there was no glass and as a result I lost my arm and the majority of my shoulder on a passing tunnel, I am suing you for $Millions in damages..." you can actually do that.
In other words, there is a carriage with no windows where you can go and stand and look at the lovely scenery...
...you can see the big viaducts we go over, more about them later...
...and you can see, and possibly touch if you were stupid, the inside of the 16 tunnels we go through...
It's another "You'd never get away with that in our country" moment.
Including this next photo as the reflection has produced an interesting curtains effect that I thought I should share...
Anyway, we arrived at Arthur's Pass, and it was coming down stair-rods, so no photos of this delightful National Park village as we raced to our next form of transport, which was this...
Yes, it was another 4x4 adventure for us, but not as precarious as the Skippers Canyon one. This time it began as a journey on the main road up to the summit of the pass to look at the road down the other side, which I'm quite glad we didn't go on...
As you can see, it's clinging to the side of the mountain, cantilevered out over the gorge, with a waterfall diverted over the top and a concrete box to stop the rest of the mountain falling on you if you are feeling brave enough to drive underneath. Is there no end to Kiwi ingenuity?
Anyway, what followed was a gentle tramp through Flock Hill Sheep Station, where we stopped to look at the sheep shearing shed (try saying that when you've had a few...) There were, however, no sheep to be had, but the clues were there...
We also stopped at an old miner's cottage...
...which was a little run down since the miner had left. Or died, more probably.
I wonder if every bed comes with a dead bird, a bit like you get a chocolate on your pillow in posher places. Fortunately, even though the accommodation left a lot to be desired...
...it didn't have to accommodate us, and so we moved on.
We crossed streams...
...saw the viaducts we had already crossed from higher up...
...climbed higher into the mountains...
...and (here's where I'm ahead of you...) saw a scene from a film. But not the one you would expect. These mountains and the glacial valleys in front...
...are the scene of a huge battle and some general goings-on in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which will be released later this year. I predict by next year, all the NZ Tourist 4x4s and coaches will have pictures of bloody Aslan and bratty children on the side and be advertising themselves as "The Tour, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Or maybe not. Anyway, will have to see the film now, if only to make the "I've been there! I've seen that!" comments to everyone's annoyance half way through.
We finally made it down to the river's edge. It's the Waimakariri River, and from here, it was either back the way we had come, or more conveniently...
(Don't worry, I didn't have to drive it myself.)
We travelled another 17km downstream on the jetboat - no acrobatics à la Shotover Jet this time, but a speedy run down the gorge, seeing the viaducts we had been across and seen from above, but this time from below...
...going over some fairly turbulent water...
...going quite fast...
(although which of those dials tells you that, I don't know...)
...and seeing more nice scenery, but this time from the water...
Then we had a very welcome cup of tea in the driver's lodge...
...which had the latest Ericsson Non-Mobile Phone on the wall...
(...which is made by Ericsson if you zoom in*, and I think looks oddly like a character from the Simpsons...)
...and then we got a lift back to Christchurch on the main road. Of which there are no photos, because driving along main roads isn't that exciting. Even in New Zealand.
I am going horse-riding tomorrow. Never done that before, so wish me luck!
* My dad has just worked out that if you click on the photos, they get bigger.
This goes as far as Greymouth on the West Coast, but we weren't going that far. We were only going as far as Arthur's Pass, the highest point on the route and then onwards by other means.
The train is great, but it's one of only three long distance passenger services left in the country. There's a great buffet on board and the windows are big and spotlessly clean so that you can see the spectacular views as you climb off the Canterbury plains into the Southern Alps...
Now, on a British train, health and safety-wise, this would have to do you. But here in NZ, where the people are perhaps not so litigious (is that how you spell that?) and are not going to say "Excuse me, but I put my hand towards the window and there was no glass and as a result I lost my arm and the majority of my shoulder on a passing tunnel, I am suing you for $Millions in damages..." you can actually do that.
In other words, there is a carriage with no windows where you can go and stand and look at the lovely scenery...
...you can see the big viaducts we go over, more about them later...
...and you can see, and possibly touch if you were stupid, the inside of the 16 tunnels we go through...
It's another "You'd never get away with that in our country" moment.
Including this next photo as the reflection has produced an interesting curtains effect that I thought I should share...
Anyway, we arrived at Arthur's Pass, and it was coming down stair-rods, so no photos of this delightful National Park village as we raced to our next form of transport, which was this...
Yes, it was another 4x4 adventure for us, but not as precarious as the Skippers Canyon one. This time it began as a journey on the main road up to the summit of the pass to look at the road down the other side, which I'm quite glad we didn't go on...
As you can see, it's clinging to the side of the mountain, cantilevered out over the gorge, with a waterfall diverted over the top and a concrete box to stop the rest of the mountain falling on you if you are feeling brave enough to drive underneath. Is there no end to Kiwi ingenuity?
Anyway, what followed was a gentle tramp through Flock Hill Sheep Station, where we stopped to look at the sheep shearing shed (try saying that when you've had a few...) There were, however, no sheep to be had, but the clues were there...
We also stopped at an old miner's cottage...
...which was a little run down since the miner had left. Or died, more probably.
I wonder if every bed comes with a dead bird, a bit like you get a chocolate on your pillow in posher places. Fortunately, even though the accommodation left a lot to be desired...
...it didn't have to accommodate us, and so we moved on.
We crossed streams...
...saw the viaducts we had already crossed from higher up...
...climbed higher into the mountains...
...and (here's where I'm ahead of you...) saw a scene from a film. But not the one you would expect. These mountains and the glacial valleys in front...
...are the scene of a huge battle and some general goings-on in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which will be released later this year. I predict by next year, all the NZ Tourist 4x4s and coaches will have pictures of bloody Aslan and bratty children on the side and be advertising themselves as "The Tour, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Or maybe not. Anyway, will have to see the film now, if only to make the "I've been there! I've seen that!" comments to everyone's annoyance half way through.
We finally made it down to the river's edge. It's the Waimakariri River, and from here, it was either back the way we had come, or more conveniently...
(Don't worry, I didn't have to drive it myself.)
We travelled another 17km downstream on the jetboat - no acrobatics à la Shotover Jet this time, but a speedy run down the gorge, seeing the viaducts we had been across and seen from above, but this time from below...
...going over some fairly turbulent water...
...going quite fast...
(although which of those dials tells you that, I don't know...)
...and seeing more nice scenery, but this time from the water...
Then we had a very welcome cup of tea in the driver's lodge...
...which had the latest Ericsson Non-Mobile Phone on the wall...
(...which is made by Ericsson if you zoom in*, and I think looks oddly like a character from the Simpsons...)
...and then we got a lift back to Christchurch on the main road. Of which there are no photos, because driving along main roads isn't that exciting. Even in New Zealand.
I am going horse-riding tomorrow. Never done that before, so wish me luck!
* My dad has just worked out that if you click on the photos, they get bigger.
22 August 2005
NZ +25: So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!
So, with only a few days left, we have to pack in as much as possible, so today was a journey out to Akaroa, which looks quite close to Christchurch on the map...
...but is 80km away on windy mountainous roads and takes about an hour and a half to get to.
It's a pretty little town, on the shores of a lake formed by a collapsed volcano crater (aren't they all here??)...
...colonised by the French and the British, so loads of the streets are Rue This and Rue That, and every hotel or guest house has come up with some poncy French name. Some of them have even researched how to spell the words properly.
We were here to do a Black Cat Harbour Cruise and we were promised that if we didn't see dolphins, we got our money back.
Well, the departure building (and obligatory gift shop) had dolphins painted on the roof...
...and I thought we might be in for a whole Kaikoura/Whale experience again, but we set off down the harbour, getting a good view of the town...
Apparently, the population of Akaroa is roughly 400, but swells to about 4,000 during the summer as a result of people having their holiday homes here. Only 30% of the houses in the town are occupied all year round. The area in the picture above, called The Glen by locals, has only five houses that people actually live in as their first home. It's a bit like Cornwall.
Further down the harbour we went, looking at intersting volcanic rock formations on the way...
...and Maori villages in valleys running down to the water's edge...
There was time to experiment with the different modes on the camera to make the rock formations look more interesting...
(they were actually quite interesting anyway!)
...and then, shapes in the water. Was this a dolphin??
Well actually, yes it was. It was several. About 20 altogether. They are special dolphins that you only get here, called New Zealand Dolphins, surprisingly. They're also called Hector Dolphins and they are about 1.2 - 1.4m long. A whole bunch of them swam right by the boat for about 15 minutes...
Now, what on earth you were supposed to do on dolphin-watching expeditions before digital cameras came along, I have no idea. I took about 100 photos in just over ten minutes, in the hope that some of them would show dolphins leaping gracefully out of the water. If I'd had an old 24 exposure film camera, I doubt whether I would have anything to show, wildlife-wise, for my two hours on the water. As it was, I got a few good photos and the experience was really exciting and uplifting!
(Didn't have camera handy when they went through hoops and balanced beach balls on their noses. Take my word for it...)
...but is 80km away on windy mountainous roads and takes about an hour and a half to get to.
It's a pretty little town, on the shores of a lake formed by a collapsed volcano crater (aren't they all here??)...
...colonised by the French and the British, so loads of the streets are Rue This and Rue That, and every hotel or guest house has come up with some poncy French name. Some of them have even researched how to spell the words properly.
We were here to do a Black Cat Harbour Cruise and we were promised that if we didn't see dolphins, we got our money back.
Well, the departure building (and obligatory gift shop) had dolphins painted on the roof...
...and I thought we might be in for a whole Kaikoura/Whale experience again, but we set off down the harbour, getting a good view of the town...
Apparently, the population of Akaroa is roughly 400, but swells to about 4,000 during the summer as a result of people having their holiday homes here. Only 30% of the houses in the town are occupied all year round. The area in the picture above, called The Glen by locals, has only five houses that people actually live in as their first home. It's a bit like Cornwall.
Further down the harbour we went, looking at intersting volcanic rock formations on the way...
...and Maori villages in valleys running down to the water's edge...
There was time to experiment with the different modes on the camera to make the rock formations look more interesting...
(they were actually quite interesting anyway!)
...and then, shapes in the water. Was this a dolphin??
Well actually, yes it was. It was several. About 20 altogether. They are special dolphins that you only get here, called New Zealand Dolphins, surprisingly. They're also called Hector Dolphins and they are about 1.2 - 1.4m long. A whole bunch of them swam right by the boat for about 15 minutes...
Now, what on earth you were supposed to do on dolphin-watching expeditions before digital cameras came along, I have no idea. I took about 100 photos in just over ten minutes, in the hope that some of them would show dolphins leaping gracefully out of the water. If I'd had an old 24 exposure film camera, I doubt whether I would have anything to show, wildlife-wise, for my two hours on the water. As it was, I got a few good photos and the experience was really exciting and uplifting!
(Didn't have camera handy when they went through hoops and balanced beach balls on their noses. Take my word for it...)
NZ +25: An Informed View...
I have finished reading Justin Brown's book about the UK from a Kiwi Perspective. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I might, partly because quite a lot of it was told in dialogue, which, unless he had a dictaphone going at all times, could not have been authentic; and partly because when he had almost got enough money to return back home, he was invited onto Richard and Judy and they let him keep his money and gave him an open air ticket back. Which rather felt like the reader had been cheated.
Anyway, I'm now reading...
...which I bought in Waterstones before I left, but was determined not to read until the last week of being here because I wanted to be able to relate to the places he was describing. He's a 45 year-old British ex-pat who has never quite got around to going back to the UK and has been in NZ for 15 years. His thinks his dog only has a few months to live and so then he won't have any ties here. He hitches round the country randomly, going where his lifts take him and tries to convince himself that he wants to stay. Will let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, I'm now reading...
...which I bought in Waterstones before I left, but was determined not to read until the last week of being here because I wanted to be able to relate to the places he was describing. He's a 45 year-old British ex-pat who has never quite got around to going back to the UK and has been in NZ for 15 years. His thinks his dog only has a few months to live and so then he won't have any ties here. He hitches round the country randomly, going where his lifts take him and tries to convince himself that he wants to stay. Will let you know how it turns out.
21 August 2005
NZ +24: The Island
We went to the cinema again last night. (Did I already mention we had been to see The Fantasic Four? Which wasn't that Fantastic...)
Well, tonight we went to see The Island, with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johananhansssonnn (who appears to have no discernable acting talent).
Certainly not what I expected. If I were the people who made The Matrix or, for those of us who are a little older, Logan's Run, I would be suing.
Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?
Well, tonight we went to see The Island, with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johananhansssonnn (who appears to have no discernable acting talent).
Certainly not what I expected. If I were the people who made The Matrix or, for those of us who are a little older, Logan's Run, I would be suing.
Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?
NZ +24: Is it cold in here, or is it me...?
We've been off into the chilly wastelands of Antarctica today! (Apparently if you go there really, it takes 8½ hours in a Hercules, so we opted for nearly going there instead.)
What we actually did was go back to the airport! It's from Christchurch Airport that most flights to the Antarctic leave. There is even a passenger terminal...
...but you don't need a passport because Antarctica doesn't belong to any one country. It's administered by a treaty signed by lots of nations so, if you withstand the sub-zero temperatures and look good in a parka, you can go.
This part of the airport is surrounded by big hangars looking like this...
...which is where the store all the parkas.
And (this is the bit we really went to see) they have created a Visitor Centre...
...opened by Sir Edmund Hilary who, as a New Zealander and conqueror of Everest and first man to go mechanised to the South Pole, is a bit of celebrity here.
Anyhow, inside, you see lots of audio-visual things and there are buttons to press and there's a huge orrery. I bet some of you have to look that up.
But you also get to go to the Antarctic in a little room. They give you special covers to put over your shoes and a big fleece and then shut you in a large freezer done up to look like the South Pole. (A bit like the Ice Bar in Queenstown, but without the vodka.)
You can ride on a snowmobile...
(Please note the ultra realsitic backdrop!)
...and you can go in an igloo...
(...some of which is obviously made of plastic.)
And then they make it go very dark and turn on these special wind chill fans, and suddenly, it gets what can only be described as "bloody freezing". There are no pohots of that bit, because my fingers would have dropped off - the special thermometer in there got down to -18ºC. I don't think I'm quite cut out for polar exploration, although I did like the next bit...
They have retired one of these...
...which has a special name I can't remember, and they put you in it and take you round the car park. Which is all very fine, but then they take you on the specially designed obstacle course too...
...and then down a Very Steep Hill...
...and then through 1m of water...
...and then, fortunately, back to the safety of the car park!
What we actually did was go back to the airport! It's from Christchurch Airport that most flights to the Antarctic leave. There is even a passenger terminal...
...but you don't need a passport because Antarctica doesn't belong to any one country. It's administered by a treaty signed by lots of nations so, if you withstand the sub-zero temperatures and look good in a parka, you can go.
This part of the airport is surrounded by big hangars looking like this...
...which is where the store all the parkas.
And (this is the bit we really went to see) they have created a Visitor Centre...
...opened by Sir Edmund Hilary who, as a New Zealander and conqueror of Everest and first man to go mechanised to the South Pole, is a bit of celebrity here.
Anyhow, inside, you see lots of audio-visual things and there are buttons to press and there's a huge orrery. I bet some of you have to look that up.
But you also get to go to the Antarctic in a little room. They give you special covers to put over your shoes and a big fleece and then shut you in a large freezer done up to look like the South Pole. (A bit like the Ice Bar in Queenstown, but without the vodka.)
You can ride on a snowmobile...
(Please note the ultra realsitic backdrop!)
...and you can go in an igloo...
(...some of which is obviously made of plastic.)
And then they make it go very dark and turn on these special wind chill fans, and suddenly, it gets what can only be described as "bloody freezing". There are no pohots of that bit, because my fingers would have dropped off - the special thermometer in there got down to -18ºC. I don't think I'm quite cut out for polar exploration, although I did like the next bit...
They have retired one of these...
...which has a special name I can't remember, and they put you in it and take you round the car park. Which is all very fine, but then they take you on the specially designed obstacle course too...
...and then down a Very Steep Hill...
...and then through 1m of water...
...and then, fortunately, back to the safety of the car park!
NZ +24: Things NZ gets right... and wrong... (4)
I don't know if you would call this right or wrong, but it's certainly different and more American than it is British. You can choose your own car number plate here, and it can be anything you like. It doesn't have to have a fixed number of numbers and letters or any numbers at all.
Consequently, in a fairly small car park at the very nice garden centre where we had lunch today, you can see...
...and...
...and...
As you can see from the last one, you seem able to add your own words and letters to make phrases. It's turned into a game now (a) spotting them - we saw SPINE, which was the number plate of a mobile chiropractor, but didn't have a camera handy - and (b) deciding what your own might be...
Consequently, in a fairly small car park at the very nice garden centre where we had lunch today, you can see...
...and...
...and...
As you can see from the last one, you seem able to add your own words and letters to make phrases. It's turned into a game now (a) spotting them - we saw SPINE, which was the number plate of a mobile chiropractor, but didn't have a camera handy - and (b) deciding what your own might be...
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