Go carts and Botanical Gardens, Christchurch

Last photo of Big Blue taken in Doug's driveway with Cass Bay in the background.

Gregory loves the go carts! Supa Karts Indoor Raceway, Christchurch

Speed Racer

Mike and Doug ham it up before take off.

Mike finished with the fastest lap time.

Gregory is the cheering section.

Air Hockey with Doug

Doug pulls in to the pits.

A beautiful coffee

We love this t-shirt display rack made from a bike.

Interesting table made out of palettes. Doug thought it might be Rimu.

Kereru (Wood Pigeon) at the Botanical Gardens

Arbutus Tree (We used to live on Arbutus Ave. in Chico, California.)

Eucalyptus ~ Food to the Australian Koalas

Cypress

Bonsai

Breathtaking Begonias

"Rio" Begonia

"Angela Jane" Begonia

Fountain at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens

(Above) We stopped to admire the view of Cass Bay (where Doug lives) and Doug decided to wave at the tour bus that was passing by... (Below) We are sharing an evening with Doug's neighbors Jo and Alex. Doug looks a bit scary here but he is just being the kooky Scotsman that he is! Alex and Doug are both dedicated cyclists so we are showing them pictures from our cross-country tour of America.

April 9, 2010 (continued)

After we were finished taking care of selling the car, we addressed Gregory’s priority for the day and that was the indoor go-carts (Supa Karts). He drove about 25kph (15.5mph) in this terrific racing cart for about 15 minutes and had a blast. Of course he wanted to go again when it was all said and done! Mike and Doug got to ride in the big boy carts and about 5 other people were on the track with them (whereas Gregory was alone). It is just the way things worked out with others walking in the door. Mike got the highest lap speed at 19.793 seconds and Doug came in third with a time of 20.817 seconds. They were both fired up after this and getting tips from the track owner about how to increase the speed. Of course they had to point out that having others on the track slowed them down… Doug was about ready to go again.

We had a lovely coffee and lunch at the “Jailbird Coffee Shop” (Addington Coffee Co-op) as Doug called it, with their t-shirts screen printed with a little man in a striped jailbird costume.This is a regular stop for him and I can see why. The atmosphere is very relaxing and the coffee and food divine. I had a delicious roasted veggie sandwich, Mike chicken ciabatta, Doug a walnut slice (as in a slice of cake) and Gregory a fruit smoothie and bagel. We loved the t-shirt rack that was made out of a bike that was sawed in half, flipped upside down and a bar inserted between the two halves.

For me we went to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. I know we only scratched the surface with an hour and a half but it was absolutely amazing. The massive redwoods, cypress, eucalyptus, sequoias, spruce and other trees were grown from seed! The hot house with begonias was so exquisite I could barely drag myself away and I indeed went back a couple of times. We also marveled at the bonsai and cactus exhibits. I didn’t want to leave. I thought I might like to be dropped off for the entire day tomorrow.

Back at home I whipped up some of my black bean burritos for our host Doug while he got in a two-hour bike ride. We had a nice dinner and then spent the evening visiting with the neighbors Alex and Jo. Alex is a cyclist (as well as Doug) so they were interested to see some of our pictures from our ride across America. They are all such enjoyable company and we had a great visit.

Last Full Day in New Zealand (with trip expenses)

View of New Brighton and Sumner from Summit Road

Paragliding up off of Summit Road on the way to Godley Head

Doug and Mike watching the paragliders

Awaroa/Godley Head ~ Gregory, Doug and Mike

Kite Surfing

The Terror Tube ~ Gregory says, "It was pitch black and there were all these lights flashing around me!" (QE II Park Recreation & Sports Centre)

The Cruise

The Toilet Bowl Whirlpool

Clockwise and Counterclockwise Drains

Yes, water really does spin down drains clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of it. This happens because the water, going down the drain, is pulled by gravity toward the earth’s core. The earth always rotates toward the east. If you stood on the North Pole and looked down toward the earth’s core, the earth would appear to rotate counterclockwise. If you are on the South Pole, the earth would appear to rotate clockwise. Stir a glass of water counterclockwise. Now hold the glass above your head, and keep stirring in the same direction. As you look up, the water will appear to be turning clockwise. (Taken from: New Zealand, Enchantment of the World by Donna Walsh Shepherd)

This place was massive. That is Gregory in the center crossing the pool.

Lazy River

April 10, 2010

Today was our last full day in New Zealand so we had to take care of last minute packing (Mike made sure all bags met weight requirements), we did laundry, homework and I have been furiously trying to post all of my New Zealand journal entries before we leave the country. I need to start with a fresh slate.

Doug went on another long bike ride this morning (he is serious about his biking) and we had the afternoon together. He took us on a drive with stupendous views and we got to see over half a dozen paragliders sailing over us. That is one sport I would be interested in taking up. It would be so quiet and peaceful up there. We also saw kite surfers skimming across the water with their brightly colored sails whipping about in the sky.

After being very patient Gregory even got to go to the QE II Park Recreation and Sports Centre (aquatic park) where there were five hydro slides!! He also enjoyed the Lazy River and Whirlpool (that looked like a toilet bowl going counter-clockwise of course since we are in the Southern Hemisphere), and a water wonderland playground. Mike and Doug chatted in the bleachers at the lap pool while I took video and pictures of Gregory having the time of his life.

We picked up some fish and chips on the way home all deliciously steaming hot and wrapped in paper like a present. Though I know deep-fried is bad for me I partake once in a while and it was oh so good but oh so much. We were stuffed and couldn’t finish the enormous portions of chips (fries). Now if we were biking I might have been able to. Mike says we need to go on a diet in Australia. I’ll believe that when I see it. Does that mean no more chippies (potato and corn chips), biscuits (cookies), chocolate and ice cream for Mike?

This morning I ran a total on our expenses over the last 47 days and we averaged about $90US per day. That includes buying (and selling) the car, petrol, food (including ice, chocolate and beverages), lodging (camping, 2 cabins and a caravan) and misc. expenses (chilly bin, insect repellant, postage, books, wetsuits, t-shirts, batteries, kayaking, admission to museums and aquatic parks and other activities, etc.). We spent $29.11/day on food, $37.61/day on misc. (includes car), $11.91/day on petrol and $11.57 on lodging. Now you must keep in mind that we stayed with many SERVAS hosts, in a couple of baches (holiday homes), freedom camped and stayed many nights with friends. I guess I should figure out an average for how many days we paid for lodging. I’ll have to get back to you on that! Anyhow, we feel pretty good because we were targeting $100US per day. We expect it will be more expensive in Australia so we are glad we came in under budget for New Zealand!

Lake Tekapo and Christchurch

Gregory makes a collage in his journal.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki

Lake Tekapo

Gregory's Heart on the banks of Lake Tekapo. This stone is called Greywacke.

Church of the Good Sheperd ~ Lake Tekapo

Exploring the banks of Lake Tekapo

This is an example of how the Dairy or Takaway shops are set up. I think of it as "cafeteria-style" with cases that you open and select what you want. On the left are steak pies, chips, nuggets and other hot foods, in the middle are pre-made sandwiches and on the left are muffins, cakes and other desserts. The carrot cake looked divine. It was topped with pumpkin seeds and bits of dried apricot. This is Robbie's Cafe and Milk Bar in Geraldine where we stopped for lunch.

The single scoops are generous! Gregory is partaking in a bit of Boysenberry. (Note: Mike is in the background window shopping.)

Kiwi Coins

Visiting with our Christchurch host Doug. We met Doug up at Tahuna Beach in Nelson. He was on a fishing holiday with his brother Frank and his girlfriend Kate. They are from Scotland and Doug has lived in New Zealand for about 8 and a half years.

It was another glorious day for our drive from Twizel to Christchurch. We stopped at Lake Tekapo and spent a bit of time along the shores of this bright turquoise blue lake and stopped at the picturesque little stone church on its banks. The church was swarming with tourists with more buses arriving all the time but we still had a moment in the pews and then went down to the shore to climb on the rocks and watch the ducks.

Rarely do we eat out but today we stopped in at a takeaway shop in Geraldine where Mike had a meat pie (pies are really big here and can be found everywhere), Gregory had some chicken nuggets and I had an enormous blueberry muffin. Gregory topped things off with a very generous single scoop ($2.50NZ or $1.75US) boysenberry vanilla swirl. We also went to the post in Fairlie (found inside the hardware store) and posted our first postcards of the trip.

The landscaped seemed to change each time we turned a corner starting with views of Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki, then Lake Tekapo and then lush green farmland eventually turned to a more arid and rocky landscape. Occasionally you’d find a patch of pine trees but mostly rolling hills and yes plenty of sheep.

Once in Christchurch we washed the car at the ezi wash and then went by Doug Drake Motors to see about selling the car back to the dealer we bought it from. We’d just missed the “boss man” but our salesman, Jason thought that he would buy it back for $1,500 and that we should just drive it until Sunday (day we fly out) and then bring it by.

We were eager to settle the deal, and not leave it to the last minute, so the next day we drove over with our host Doug (a friendly Scot and fellow cyclist that we met at the Tahuna campground in Nelson) and finalized everything. It was so simple. We just dropped by and within a few minutes we had a check in hand, no paperwork. We went to cash the check, at the bank the check was drawn on, and Mike said he found that the cashier’s boss was Jason’s girlfriend (our salesman at Doug Drake). The cashier had also bought a car from Doug Drake Motors. Again, it just goes to show it is a small world!

Mike had done research the night before and found that many Nissan Bluebirds were on the market on “Trade me” the website used for selling cars, so we were happy to get $1,500NZ ($1,050US) even though we paid $2,700NZ ($1,890US). We spent $840US to drive the car for 48 days so that works out to $17.50 a day. We met a lady who was paying $2,600NZ to rent a van for 42 days and she would recoup nothing so we figure we did pretty well!

Twizel, Aoraki/Mt. Cook, and Tasman Glacier

Gregory makes a fort out of the clothes horse at the Sutton bach in Twizel. (I understand that Darryl Sutton used to do the very same thing.)

Playing in Twizel with Judy and Keith Sutton. We had a lovely walk and lunch at the Musterer's Hut.

Looks like FALL!

Gregory playing Downfall with Judy. We played this during our entire stay.

Mike and Gregory on clean-up duty in Twizel.

It is no wonder New Zealand is called Aotearoa ~ Land of the Long White Cloud. This is Aoraki/Mt. Cook on a fine April day.

First views of Aoraki/Mt. Cook on our drive up from Twizel. The mountain is faint but over my right shoulder.

We saw these in the shop at the Glentanner Flight Centre shop. We haven't seen it played but it looks interesting. Will it catch on in America? Or am I out of the loop and it is already played there?

Double click to read more about Golf Cross.

This map shows the Aoraki/Mt. Cook Village at the bottom (where we had our picnic) and the surrounding mountains and glaciers. From here we went back to Tasman Valley Road (shown on the bottom right) and we drove in about 8kms on unsealed road to get to the car park for the hike to the Tasman Glacier viewing site.

Sheep dog assisting his musterer (who has just gone behind the hill).

Snow-capped Peaks

I love this. Gregory looks 10 FEET TALL!

Avalanche Advisory is Low ~ Many climbers have lost their lives climbing Aoraki/Mt. Cook. Sir Edmund Hillary is one of the famous climbers to have climbed this mountain. He is on the Kiwi $5 bill.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Picnic with a view of Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Reflection at one of the Blue Lakes

Many Textures

A Prickly View

Looking back at the valley on the hike up to the Tasman Glacier viewing spot.

Where's The Glacier? This is exactly what Gregory was wondering.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook is on the left and Tasman Glacier is on the right at the head of Tasman Lake (formed by the glacial melt).

Iceberg by Gregory (Great chunks of ice have broken off the face of Tasman Glacier and are floating in Tasman Lake.)

Once again, Aoraki/Mt. Cook on the left and Tasman Glacier on the right. We had to have a family photo also.

Now that is what I call Gray Water.

Well, we finally got our sunny day after sitting tight in Twizel for a couple of days. For lovers of the picturesque this was a top-notch day. The alpine scenery was spectacular with Aoraki/Mt. Cook glistening white in all of its glory. As I mentioned before it is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 3, 754 metres (12,316 feet). Our drive up to the Aoraki/Mt. Cook visitor centre took us along the glacier-fed Lake Pukaki with its sparkling bright turquoise-blue waters. We drove past a musterer with a large mob of sheep and pulled over to watch and listen as the dogs moved the sheep along the rugged mountainside.

We spent quite a bit of time at the visitors centre learning about glaciers and the history of climbing in this area and watched some videos on the subject. There were exhibits on the rocks and minerals, birds and other wildlife and Gregory also enjoyed the puzzling area where he learned how to remove a small ring looped around bits of chain centered between two horseshoes. Don’t ask me because I haven’t got a clue how he did it! We had a picnic while taking in the sun and the views of Mt. Cook and the Southern Alps. We could also see Tasman Glacier, the largest glacier in New Zealand. At its max speed it recedes at 200m (656 ft.) per year.

We decided we’d like to see the glacier up close and personal so drove the unsealed Tasman Valley Rd. up to the car park and the walk up to the viewing point. We side tracked a bit and walked down to Blue Lakes first. The Blue Lakes were actually more green than blue, but since it was about 4 P.M. and the sun was shining just right I got some beautiful photos of the reflection of the mountains in the water. When we reached the Tasman Glacier viewing point Gregory was at first amazed by the “icebergs” in Tasman Lake. We explained that these were chunks of ice that had broken off of the glacier and though the glacier didn’t look like much, because the ice is covered with about a metre or two of “rock rubble strewn across this hummocky landscape (called surface moraine),” where it meets the head of the lake the glacial ice is 200 metres (656 ft.) thick. Mt. Cook was peaking up to the left adding to the interesting features of this landscape. The other not so interesting thing was the sand flies! I just healed from the last round of bites and now I have more on my neck! My own fault for not putting on my tropical strength repellent but the sun was shining when we left the car park and I wasn’t thinking about sand flies and a chilly dusk.

We had a relaxing drive home, with the sun setting on Lake Pukaki, and stopped to look back at majestic Mt. Cook just one more time before we returned to Twizel. Tomorrow we will drive to Christchurch and Sunday, April 11^th it is hello Australia!