For the 4th of July weekend, I went backpacking in Yosemite with Megan and Kenny. We had a really good time! It was a nice trail, the weather was warm, and though there were lots of mosquitoes and coming back out was all uphill I think we did pretty well for ourselves.

On Thursday I busted my butt and got off of work early. I also managed to save a Dublin survey for the last thing in the afternoon, and since I took my car to do it I was already on my way out of town at 2pm! Traffic was backed up anyway though, at least until I got to I-5. I was exhausted by the time I got to the campsite - probably about 6:30pm? I only stopped once, at the lookout to see Half Dome.

I couldn’t park at the campsite, I had to park at the wilderness center, load up my pack, and hike about half a mile in to the backpacker’s campground. It was on a hill above the RV campground, and a bit hard to find. I pitched my tent and dove inside to hide from the mozzies that were trying to eat me alive. Megan and Kenny showed up around dusk. We chatted for awhile before going to bed… I didn’t sleep though.

The next morning we re-loaded packs back at the cars, and then headed out to the trail. It was surprisingly un-crowded, it seemed as though everyone waited until Friday to leave home for the park. The hike was really pretty, along Tuolumne Meadows and Tuolumne River. It was fairly flat to begin, until we reached the canyon and it started heading downhill. I had neoprene braces on both knees, and didn’t have any problems (except that they were effing hot!). The river was gorgeous.. and huge.

Saw lots of pretty birdies on the way! We passed through some aspen, manzanita, and chinquipin - the birdies like these things. It was nice because they were being cooperative, and Megan and Kenny could actually see them too. Those two get a huge thumbs-up on the birding scale, they let me stop whenever I wanted and didn’t yell at me to hurry up!!! Happy Robin.

We hiked past the High Sierra Camp and down onto the flat area (Glen Aulin). There were lots of mosquitoes here, but it was also a perfect place to camp. There were lots of “campsites” people had made - flat areas cleared of leaves and rocks for tents, and little rock campfires with logs placed around them (these weren’t official sites by any means, just modified by other backpackers - we were totally in the backcountry). The site was right next to the river, and there was a nice waterfall around the corner.

Kenny caught us a huge trout for dinner. I had dehydrated food as well… I think I’m not so fond of that stuff. I’d rather just bring packaged soups and stuff from the grocery store. Though I’ll say the veggie ones are better than the meat ones.. the meat always tastes really funny. Western tanagers and other cool birds were foraging in our campsite at dusk, and there was a downy woodpecker nest in a snag right by our cooking circle (she didn’t like us very much). We went to bed pretty early, it was nice and warm and I didn’t even need to haul my rainfly. I slept a little… woke up a lot, but at least I got sleep.

The next morning after breakfast we headed farther down the trail. It was all downhill and followed the river, with huge waterfalls along the way. There were lots of little lizards on the rocks, and cool native plants, and mosquitoes. Not too many other hikers, but a good amount. We stopped at most of the falls for pictures, and to eat trail mix. It got really really hot after about noon, and when we finally reached Waterwheel falls I was pretty tired.

We hiked all the way to the bottom of Waterwheel Falls - I was getting a bit concerned that I wouldn’t make it back up if my asthma kicked in, but I actually did really well. We stopped at the bottom to pump water for drinking and dunk our sore feet in the frigid river water. Megan was funny and fell partway in, but given the temperature this wasn’t a bad thing. We finally started back up, stopping now and then, and we made it back to the campsite by around… oh, 4pm? I also ran into another birder on the way and exchanged bird sightings

Kenny failed to catch us a second trout, but that was ok. I made non-dehydrated soup and ate some other things to avoid the nasty food. The birds came back again, and we made a campfire at dusk. I fell asleep pretty early, but Megan and Kenny stayed up to stargaze. I slept a lot better this time, though I still woke up a lot.

On the last day I struck my tent early, cooked breakfast, and was ready to head out! Megan and Kenny took a bit longer (silly people stayed up late) but we were out of there pretty early. I went a bit slow up the hills, and it was a few hours of uphill before we got to the top of the canyon. It was pretty easy past that point, except that it was still gradual uphill and we’d just walked up a huge canyon, plus it was really really hot. We saw lots of deer in the meadows, and lots of backpackers hiking in. We even ran into a PCT-er walking from Mexico to Canada. We made it back to the parking lot at about 1pm, and I drove home - arrived back at about 6:30pm (traffic was really bad).

All in all a good trip! I’ve decided that I need a hiking buddy that I can share gear with, my pack was way heavy because I had to haul my own tent and cooking gear and such. I think I could also use an Ultralite for weekend trips… my pack is about 5 lbs and that’s quite a lot of weight that I don’t necessarily need. I did well with my other gear… tent, clothes, stove, etc. Megan and Kenny loaned me a bear canister, it was hard to open but I figured out that it worked if I sat on it ^_^

Oh, and what’s with the flying unicorn, you ask? Megan saw some random animal (a marmot), jokes were made that it wasn’t a bear, and it was theorized that it might be a unicorn. A flying unicorn, summoned telepathically to haul Megan and her pack out of the canyon and back to the car. He, he.

I got to hang out with Stephi for a whole 9 days! *eeeeeeeeeEEE*

I met Stephi and Brian in the Calgary airport. We picked up a rental car and drove to the town of Banff for our first night. Banff is about 2 hours west/northwest of Calgary. It’s a really nice town, surprisingly large, and it was swarming with tourists. All the streets were named after mammals, which was excessively confusing. We managed to find our hostel, and we ate dinner on the balcony of a nice restaurant downtown called the Oar and something. We also wandered around downtown for a bit. There were loads of nice shops, though lots were touristy stuff. It was probably the best shopping in the parks, if anyone else happens to head up that way. Anywho, we stayed at HI Banff. It was ok, the doors in the hallway slammed kind of loudly all night and kept me up. And the room was stuffy. But otherwise it was a nice hostel.

In the morning, Brian got up early and went for a walk. Stephi and I got up, dressed, packed, spent 20 minutes looking for him, and loaded the car before he wandered back. Much harassment ensued, hehe. We drove to the trailhead for the C-level Cirque. It was quite an uphill hike for the start of the trip. Near the top was a natural amphitheater, where we saw golden-mantled ground squirrels and pika. Stephi liked the pika. Like, a lot. Like, obsessive a lot. Brian dragged us even farther down the trail up a really steep part, but I was too out of shape to quite make it.

After hiking back to the car, we drove to Lake Louise where we were spending the next 3 nights at the HI Hostel. This was a freaking awesome hostel. The room had a loft! There was a bunk bed on the bottom floor and twin beds in the loft. We played cards and spoons and were hyper all evening, and ate at the little hostel restaurant.

Quotable Quotes: Stephi and Brian while playing Egyptian Ratscrew.

Stephi: Where the hell’s my queen?
Brian: She’s with me.
Stephi: Oh, so that’s how it is.

Day 1 birdies: Rough-legged Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Northern Flicker, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, American Crow, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco

The next day, we hiked to Lake Agnes, the Plain of 6 Glaciers, and around Lake Louise. There were two teahouses along the way, the first was at Lake Agnes and had cute squirrels that jumped on me and stuffed their cheeks with peanuts. We hiked from there up to a viewpoint called the Little Beehive, where Gray Jays dive-bombed us for food. Seriously, they flew at our heads. We hiked from there to the Plain of 6 Glaciers. It was… far. And pretty. Brian at least seemed invigorated. After hiking all the way to the end (I made it!!) and collapsing, we hiked to the teahouse and had tea and cake and biscuits. Then all the way back to Lake Louise. Was very sore and had shin splints by the end.

Quotable quotes - Stephi, reading the map: “Wait, why are these all in kilometers?”

Day 2 birdies: Common Loon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, American Crow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Dark-eyed Junco.

The next day we hiked to Lake Helen. I liked this hike! There were lots of birdies and it didn’t hurt my legs as much as the day before. We saw hoary marmots and more squirrels and pika. The hike took us above the treeline to rolling tundra-type vegetation. We ate lunch at Lake Helen and watched the marmots gambol about. Brian decided to hike (at light speed) up the steep, steep trail to the next ridge and walk around for awhile. Stephi and I napped and watched furry things while he tired himself out.

Stephi and Brian were really, really patient with the birding thing. They rock! They let me wander off for 10 minutes or more hunting birdies. And made up funny names for them when they couldn’t remember what they were called (see blog title). I think they learned the difference between a crow and a raven on the trip though! Maybe.

Quotable quotes: Stephi and Brian during “brains in gutter”-type conversation. In the hostel with the loft.

Brian: “But that would just make me excited, and frustrated.”
Stephi: “You have the whole downstairs to yourself, just be quiet.”

Day 3 birdies: Bufflehead, Barn Swallow, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Butterbutts!), Wilson’s Warbler, Western Tanager, Dark-eyed Junco.

The next day we drove from Lake Louise to Jasper. The drive took up most of the day, with a stop at the Icefields Parkway. We took a special bus out onto a glacier at the edge of the Columbia Icefields and walked around. It was cold. But pretty, glaciers have cool blue-colored ice. We also stopped at Athabasca Falls. My shin splints appreciated the day off very, very much. In Jasper we stayed at the Seldom In, which was actually a house where they rented out rooms. It was nice, I slept on a cot on the floor but that was all ok.

After our nice day of rest, we got some advice from the hostel owner as to where to go hiking next and she suggested Bald Hills. This was a nice hike too! It started way down at Maligne Lake and went up an old fire road, though we took a fork farther up that was more of a real hiking trail. I saw a Boreal Chickadee!!! It was so close that Stephi and Brian got great looks at it too. Cute!!! Lifer!!! And a Gray Jay that was dive-bombing us for food came and landed on my hand! Robin the bird whisperer. Towards the top there was lots of ice on the ground, and it got rather cold and windy. By the time we reached the top it was really windy and standing on the hill was becoming unpleasant. We hid behind a bush and ate lunch while watching rain clouds pass over the valley we’d hiked over. We considered hiking farther but the cold weather and lack of interesting viewpoints farther on wasn’t motivating enough, so we headed back. We hiked to Moose Lake instead (Stephi and Brian were hoping to see a moose, but no luck). Then back to our hostel in Banff with dinner and some shopping.

Day 5 birdies: Common Loon, Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Rock Pigeon, Northern Flicker, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Boreal Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Wilson’s Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, House Sparrow.

Our last hike was the Mt. Edith Cavell trail. We’d been really lucky with the weather the previous day, all the clouds had bypassed our trail and hugged the surrounding mountains. Not so lucky today. There were lots of clouds, and there was snow on the ground. Predictably, the snow got chucked in ball form. I hit Brian square in the face twice! Muehehehehe. Stephi helped. I saw more cool birdies. We went up to one of the viewpoints, and when we got to the rocky habitat above the treeline we saw White-tailed Ptarmigan! Another lifer birdie! Stephi and Brian seemed to like them too, they looked like rocks only they moved. At the top of this trail there was half an inch of snow on the hill and it was slippery hiking up. It was pretty windy and actually snowing. Cold again. We didn’t eat lunch at the top this time, and decided to head back down. At the bottom was a glacier that was melting into a pond/puddle thing that had floating icebergs. We could hear the ice cracking as we hiked. We at lunch there before heading back to the car, and on to Pocahontas.

We stayed the night at Pocahontas cabins, which were really nice. They had heaters and I had a separate room from Stephi and Brian. We went to the Miette hotsprings in the evenings, which was wonderful. They had two giant heated pools and we soaked in them for an hour and a half. Happy sore hiking muscles! Of course, at that point in the week mine were pretty well built up and complaining at me much less than they’d been our first day. But I wasn’t complaining. I won’t go into details about the guys in speedos who shouldn’t have been and the naked european women in the locker room. That evening we sung along with my iPod and played some more cards before going to bed.

Day 6 birdies: Common Loon, Mallard, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Rock Pigeon, Gray Jay, Common Raven, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco. Also a probably White-winged Crossbill, which would be a lifer if I could confirm it.

Our last day was spent driving from Pocahontas back to Calgary. We stopped in Jasper and Banff for souvenir shopping. I spent too much money on art prints. Really nice ones. Of birdies. And horsies. Our hostel was Auberge Chez Nous in Calgary. It was ok. Reception was excessively annoying, they were positively incompetent when it came to directing us to street parking and we didn’t come back from that for an entire hour. We slept in dorm rooms and had 2 other roomates, though they didn’t bother us any. I actually slept surprisingly well despite general noise (earplugs happy) until I woke up early freezing my ass off due to excess air conditioning.

Flying out of Calgary was a bit more irritating than flying in. You have to take your bag through customs after you check in and get your boarding pass. That and the security line took forever. Stephi and Brian left first, so I stayed with them until their plane boarded. I flew to SLC where I had a long layover. On the flight back to SFO the couple behind me let their toddler climb all over the seats and cough on my head. I have a cold now, and I really wish I’d grabbed the little diseased pest and strung him up from the overhead bins by his ankles. Grr.

For photos of our Banff trip, click here!

The night of the 5th I slept like the dead. I woke up at about 7:30am, had breakfast and used the phone to call Kaikoura. The whale watch tour lets you cancel at the last possible second and get a full refund! That just rocks.

We headed down to the city and wandered around for awhile. I put a few dents in my Christmas shopping. We went to an internet cafe for an hour or so. Dunedin had lots of pretty churches, and like your typical college town was built on an incredibly steep hill. I liked the city, it was well organized and not overly crowded with people.

We hiked back to the hostel early in the afternoon. I paid for our rooms and hopped on the internet again to try and finish my blogging (I didn’t). Then the phone was available so I called mommy and Justin!

At about 3:30pm we left on our tour of the Otago Peninsula. Elm Wildlife Tours picked us up and took us to Taiaroa Head, where we got to see Royal Albatross! We paid the extra $30 to take the tour up to the viewing platform where they were nesting. Not only were they flying around right by us, but we got to see about 6 birds incubating eggs. Mostly they just sat there and slept, but one was walking around, one sat up and preened a bit, and one pair switched over while we were there. The oldest birds nesting were in their mid-30’s, and the youngest were 9. The juvys also hang out and socialize to eventually form pair bonds. There was also a colony of Stewart Island Shags feeding chicks just below the albatross colony.

We then drove to a farm and walked past lots and lots of sheep and down some very big hills. At the bottom we saw Yellow-eyed Penguins! They were right in the path and walked towards us - they were only about 15 ft away. One was an adult and the other a juvy (less yellow around the eyes) and they stood and posed/preened for us. We took a trail around them and went down to the beach to see NZ Sea Lions. The males get together in pairs and have ‘practice’ homosexual relationships (there aren’t any females around this time of year), so we saw an older male with a younger one lying together on the beach, asleep. There was also a small fur seal, apparently the sea lions will eat the fur seals sometimes.

At the other end of the beach they had hides set up that we could view more penguins from. We saw them heading up from the beach to their little burrows, which were really high up on the hills. They were rock-climbing penguins! The one we watched would look at the step and think… think… hop! So cute.

Then we hiked to another hide at the top of the hill and saw pengins nesting. They were feeding huge fat fluffy brown chicks! There was a nest camera set up but you could see several burrows from the viewing hide. The penguins usually lay 2 eggs so there were often two chicks (if there’s enough food they’ll fledge two). And the parent penguin was preening fluffy baby penguin. There was also a burrow right next to the hide - we could see the parent and chicks through the bushes. The penguins wouldn’t need burrows except the chicks don’t have their waterproof feathers when they hatch. There were also some juvys hanging around.

The DOC, farmers, and tour company give both the penguins and albatross a lot of help. If the penguins’ nest is abandoned they find foster parents for the eggs. Trapping is a given. With the albatross they handle the chicks from day 1 - albatross have no fear of humans, but sometimes the chicks get nervous so tehy want them to get used to being handled. This way they can weigh, band, and measure the bird without trouble. They also have a fostering program, they place eggs filled with wax (because they heat up when the bird sits on them) under a parent if its real egg dies. That way the parent can raise a foster baby if something happens to another parent. There’s also a sprinkler system so that the nesting birds don’t overheat. There were only about 60 birds breeding at Taiaroa Head (~20 nonbreeding) and all of this is done to sustain the population for related tourism. I guess natural selection isn’t as important as tourist dollars these days?

Next we walked back up the big hill and then down the other side. The sheep were nicely lit since the sun was going down so I finally took a gratuitous NZ sheep photo. The fur seals we saw had little black pups that made loud silly noises. Some of the males were injured from fighting. There was a Black-backed Gull nest with eggs in it, and another down below that had chicks. We saw a lot of chicks today, there were Pied Stilts, Pukekos, and Paradise Shelducks with broods earlier in the day.

From the fur seal viewing point we saw Shy Mollymawk, Northern Giant-Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, and Dusky Dolphins! The dolphins were leaping out of the water and doing flips and acrobatics. They may have been feeding on a big ball of fish.

That was an awesome tour! We got back late around 9:30pm, I made soup and packed up for the next morning. Was very, very tired.

The next morning we got up at 6:45am (ughhhh…) to catch our 7:45am Intercity bus to Christchurch. The guy from the hostel was awesome and gave us a ride to the bus stop, which was really far from the hostel. The ride from Dunedin to Christchurch was about 6 horus, with stops on the way (I had lasagna at a cafe for lunch).

In NZ, bus drivers are also mailmen. They stop at locations along their route and drop off mail or newspapers all the time. Even tour bus operators do this.

We arrived in Christchurch at about 1:45pm. Our bus for Kaikoura didn’t leave until 4, so we left our luggage at the dropt and wandered around the main square for a few hours. I did some xmas shopping and we had bagels for lunch.

The bus rides were pretty boring, I didn’t even see that many birds (though I was exhausted). We got to Kaikoura a little before 7pm. The hostel screwed up our booking and then tried to put us in a room that had people in it but wasn’t supposed to…. and we wound up getting a friggin’ sweet ensuite twin upstairs, complete with tea and TV. We went to the grocery store, bought and ate dinner, took showers and then crashed early.

I put my motion sick patch on before bed. It stung a very, very tiny bit and it made me a little dizzy by the morning, but otherwise it was ok. Operation of all large motorized vehicles was delegated to Vanessa for the day.

Anyway, we got up at 5:15 am. I’m getting bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. We had to walk a really long way to the tour company, but we made it by about 6am. We were the only ones on the tour, which was awesome. The boat we went out on was pretty small, and although the water looked nice and calm from the bay it was actually pretty shoppy. There was a little bit of wind and rain as well, but nothing too bad.

We saw a Northern Giant Petrel eating a dead Hutton’s Shearwater. The skipper took us out to three places (different distances from shore and different depths - there’s an offshore canyon at Kaikoura). At each one we’d stop and wait for stuff to land, and we’d throw out an ice block of chum. One of the first birds to arrive each time was Albert the Wandering Albatross (apparently he’s a regular). There were also tons of Cape Pigeons, and plenty of Northern Giant Petrels, Hutton’s Shearwaters, and Westland Petrels. The birds were so close to the boat that you didn’t need binoculars to ID them. Albatrosses that came in were Royals, Black-browed, NZ White-capped, and Salvin’s. The Salvin’s were really pretty, they had grey heads. We saw one Southern Giant Petrel (they have a greenish tip to the bill instead of grey), some White-chinned Petrels, some Buller’s Shearwaters, Flesh-footed Shearwaters, and even some Short-tailed Shearwaters (they look like Sootys, only smaller). Total there were 9 lifers plus one lifer subspecies.

And the best part? My motion sickness patch WORKED!!! I got to watch birdies instead of spending the whole time retching!! It was just awesome, yay!!

I tried to take lots of pictures of the birdies, but not very many came out in focus (boats, like, move a lot. So do birdies). It was so cool to have everything come that close to the boat though.

Since our bid book was published the Mollymawks have been assigned their own genus (Thalassarche) and Shy Mollymawk now has separate species for NZ White-capped and Salvin’s.

After at least 4 stops to watch birds (we also stopped at a fishing boat) we headed back in. Our guide was great, he knew all of the species and subspecies and was excellent at soptting things. The company gave us a 10% off coupon for their gift shop for doing the tour.

We wandered around town and headed over to the Whale Watch company. They were nice and double-booked us just in case our tour didn’t run the next day (the weather looked iffy). Considering how much of my money they’re getting I’m really glad they have good customer service.

At the hostel we ate lunch and went online. I took care of a bunch of logistical stuffs. Then Vanessa fell asleep and I went shopping, I bought some xmas presents and a t-shirt for myself. Nothing much exciting happened for the rest of the day.

The next morning we got up at 6:30am and walked to the Whale Watch office for out 7:15am report time. Unfortunately the tour was cancelled due to weather, but since we were double booked for the next day we just have to wait until then.

We walked back to the hostel and ate breakfast. I went back to bed, I didn’t really sleep but it felt good to close my eyes for a few extra horus. The motion patch made my eyes really dry and itchy. This combined with sleep deprivation meant I looked like utter crap.

It rained a lot for the rest of the morning. When it let up a bit we walked into town. I bought another xmas present and bought myself a really nice, expensive hookie. Vanessa had some problems with her credit card and couldn’t buy anything so we went back to the hostel again. I went online for awhile and then called mommy. We went in the hostel’s jacuzzi later in the afternoon (yes, in the rain), and spent the evening watching news.

The whale watching tour went out the next morning! We even got a ride to their office with some nice people staying at our hostel. The tour left at 7:45am and we were back by 10:30. There were probably 30 or 40 people on our boat (there was plenty of space for everyone to watch whales from the railings). They made us sit inside the boat’s cabin while in transit, there were comfortable cushy chairs that all faced forward. The water was really rough, the boat kept getting air and dropping over the large swells. As you can imagine this was a bit hard on the stomach. My motion patch helped but either the rough ride was too much or it was less effective on the third day (it’s supposed to last 72 hours), but I wound up barfing. I wasn’t the only one, most of the people on the boat were feeling some degree of discomfort, and many threw up. Fortunately the only thing in my stomach was a banana (smart, smart Robin). It didn’t impeded my whale watching though, I felt well enough to go out on deck each time we spotted a whale.

The sperm whales were all solitary, and all male. There aren’t any females at Kaikoura because the water’s too cold, and the males have a thicker bllubber layer than the females do. The reason there’s so much marine life in general is because there’s an offshore canyon, which provies an all-you-can-eat smorgasboard (a lot like Monterey). We saw 3 whales, they sat at the surface for about 10 minutes, and we could see their heads from their blowholes to their dorsal fins. Eventually they’d duck under water and dive, showing us their tails on the way down. They usually stay down for around 45 minutes, but can stay down longer than 2 hours.

We also saw a pod of Dusky Dolphins. They were everywhere around the boat, many were leaping out of the water. They swam right up to us, too. For some reason I seem to like seeing the dolphins better than the whales. Dolphins are just too cool.

On the morning of the 28th we were very tired. We got up at 6:45am so we could pack and turn in our key. And we had to walk for more than 20 minutes to get to the bus stop (in the cold, of course). Our Intercity bus left Te Anau at 8am. It was a double-decker bus (we sat on top). We saw lots of birds on the road. We had a transfer in Gore, where we headed south to Invercargill. Our hostel was a short hike from the i-Site. It was a really nice hostel, in a little house and with a friendly owner.

We walked to the internet cafe and went online for 2 hours. I checked my e-mail and blogged (marathon blog entry!) and did other logistical things. I had our photos backed up on DVD while we went to Hell’s pizza for lunch. Their veggie pasta was really good, but the serving size was really small.

After that we went to the grocery store, and the post office. I mailed some postcards, and the stupid ATM gave me $300 in 10’s. We dropped off our groceries at the hostel and went to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Vanessa got to hold a Tuatara and meet Lindsay Hazley, and I did some xmas shopping. We also asked about Stewart Island activities.

We spent the evening talking with some Dutch travelers in the hostel. I hopped on the computer - The Brown Kiwi said that I could have my replacement bird prints sent there! Yay!!!

That night I slept really well. Our hostel was awesome, it was really quiet and the bed was fairly comfortable. I had a chocolate muffin for breakfast (yum!) and hopped on the computer for a few minutes. We left the hostel early with our packs loaded down with groceries, and waited at the i-Site for about an horu before our bus came. Campbeltown Passenger Service took us to Bluff (~20-30 min) where we checked in for the ferry. We were really lucky, the previous day the weather had been so bad they’d had to cancel, but that day was fine.

Vanessa and I stood out the back of the ferry in the rain with our binoculars identifying bird species like total dweebs. I saw a juvenile Shy Mollymawk and lots of Common Diving Petrels. There were also sea lions, one came really close to the boat.

Our socks and jeans were soaked by the time we got to the hostel. The place was ok, kind of big, but the rooms had shelves and heaters. There were Kaka (parrots. loud ones.) everywhere outside.

We went over to the DOC for info on local walks, and checked out the shops in town (yay, progress with xmas shopping!). Then I went through my pack and organized everything, as it had gotten knid of messy over the past few days. Had cheesy pasta for dinner and took a hot shower.

Kiwi food isn’t as good as American food. Their pizzas especially, they’re too small and have weird toppings. But with meals at reasturants you never get enough to eat, and they charge you too much for the small portions.

The next morning I was awakened by children and parrots. The two have more similarities than one might think.

After breakfast we decided to go hiking. We walked from Bragg Bay to Horseshoe Bay via Horseshoe Point. It was about 3.5 km and very easy, but we walked slowly because Vanessa’s knees were hurting (I think I broke her on this trip) and because I was diligently searching for Stewart Island Shags. There were lots of Dunnock and Redpolls along the way. It was mostly sunny, but with intermittant rain, so I tried to take some pictures of the pretty coves and beaches.

Horseshoe Point was an awesome birding spot. I found a Stewart Island (SI) Shag in the water, it looked like a miniature loon. We got really close looks at Shy Mollymawks as they followed the fishing boats that passed just udnerneath us. There were lots of Spotted Shags around as well, and lots of gulls harassing the fishing boats. There were several Red-crowned Parakeets in the bush along the trail. And the Tuis were as thick as the sandflies in Fiordland.

We hiked back from Horseshoe Bay and stopped for groceries. I went over to the DOC and checked the weather, since it was supposed to be sunny on Friday I booked a water taxi to Ulva Island.

I was exhausted and spent most of the evening trying not to fall asleep.

The next morning I was awakened by scuba divers who liked to slam doors at 6:30am. Do people learn manners anymore?

We hiked over the hill to catch our water taxi (Seabuzzz) at 9am. From Golden Bay it was about a 5 min ride to Ulva Island. The island is free of rats (all of SI is free of mustelids) and there are populations of Saddlebacks, NZ Robins, and Yellowheads on the island (unfortunately we were skunked by the Yellowheads again). Other birds we saw were Red- and Yellow-crowned parakeets, Kaka, Bellbird, SI Shag, and finally some nice looks at Brown Creeper. There were also Blue Penguins in the water offshore and penguin tracks in the sand on the beaches.

Every time we stopped or sat down we were harassed by Weka. I think they have radars for detecting people with snacks. One tried to jump in my lap and wound up sitting on the bench with us trying to reach across our laps to steal our biscuits. We got great photos of them by rattling a plastic wrapper - they come trotting right up when they hear that sound. One also hopped on our picnic table and tried to steal my peanuts. They certainly are persistant.

There were SI Shags along the coast - I got some nice looks at them on land and in the water. I spent lots of time with my head craned looking for Mohua, but without any luck. There were parrots absolutely everywhere, the Kaka liked to rip bark off of trees to look for bugs.

I think SI may have been formed by volcanic activity, instead of by glaciers like the south of Fiordland. There were tons of volcanic rocks there.

It started raining around lunchtime, and we were getting rather cold and wet so we headed back to the beach and hid under the shelter for awhile.

The track on the island was well-maintained and easy. There was lots of native fern and rimu forest, and some endangered plant species. All of the endangered birds on the island were banded - even the young ones.

Our water taxi picked us up at 3pm. We walked up to Observation Rock and stopped at a gallery called the Fernery - they had a really nice collection of art I couldn’t afford. I bought something small, I wish some of their art prints hadn’t been so expensive though. One artist I liked was Mary Taylor, hopefully I can look her up online later.

The lady at reception at our hostel let us swap rooms!! This was happy because after the children moved out, the NZ army moved in. My got they were loud. Vanessa was feeling sick and wanted to sleep all evening. I slept well (but I slept well most of the nights we were there).

In the morning I mailed some postcards and changed our ferry reservation to a day earlier. We decided to stay at Southern Comfort again on Dec 4th because it was nice and quiet there. That should make the morning of the 5th less stressful and let us get more sleep, too. I couldn’t reach the bus company though, so I was crossing my fingers that we could still get a ride.

Since Vanessa wasn’t feeling well I went hiking alone. I walked along the Ryan’s Creek Track, which took about 4 horus. The first part was failry easy and I saw lots of birdies (mainly Tui, Bellbird, and Tomtit). Once the track reached the coast though it turned to pure mud. My boots were caked, as were my last pair of clean-ish pants. There were some shags in the water but I didn’t see as many birds after that. It was a pretty hike - through ferns and native forest.

I went into town again after I got back. Apparently there had been a sea lion in town chasing people around the pub and the post office, but I didn’t see him. I made lunch, this took awhile because the army guys and the group of 8 Israelis all had kitchen monopolization problems. I wouldn’t say the hostel was worse than the one at Te Anau, but I was glad we cut our stay short.

On the 3rd we did nothing. I started at the wall for most of the afternoon. This was punctuated by periodic visits to the kitchen, but for the entirety of the morning and afternoon I was bored out of my mind. We did RP a little - we’re on our second book now.

At about 7pm we headed out to Ackers Point. At dusk the Blue Penguins and Muttonbirds (Sooty Shearwaters) came in to their burrows, and we wanted to see them. It was an easy 90-min walk out to the point.

We saw lots of pelagic birds before the sun went down. There were lots of Shy Mollymawk, some Whilte-fronted Terns and Spotted Shags, a few SI Shags, Sootys, and Blue Penguins, and one Cape Pigeon. Yay, lifer!

We listened for Kiwi on the way back, but didn’t hear any. We did see a possum, a rat, and some other strange introduced mammal thing that ran very fast. And bats! And the moon was nearly full, it was so bright we could see our shadows. It was still light enough to see without a headlamp when we got back at 11pm. It will be nice to have short, normal-length days again soon.

On the morning of the 4th we stayed in bed until after 9am. I was tired. We had to be out of the room by 10am though, so we got up and packed.

Most of the time between then and our ferry departure (3:30pm) was spent in the hostel lounge RP’ing. The army guys were all there watching TV, of course. I made pasta for lunch. so I wouldn’t have to carry the extra pasta jar.

The seas on the ferry were really rough. Not anticipating this I didn’t take my meds, and wound up throwing up. That was fun. The crew on the boat was on the ball about it though, they had towels and extra bags ready for me (yes, I made the bag). Fortunately the ferry ride was only an hour so it was over quickly.

There was no problem with the bus and we were dropped off right at our hostel. We met a bontanist from Newfoundland on the ride who told me a little about NZ tree ferns (that’s where the silver fern comes from).

I still felt sick when we arrived and I severely needed food so I cooked myself something to eat while Vanessa went grocery shopping. I hopped on the internet for a few minutes as well. Then I washed some laundry, although everything we own was dirty and the washer was really small so we’re going to have to wash stuff again soon.

Neither of us slept well that night. I had a combination of stomach uckiness and too much pent-up energy from doing nothing all day. I finally fell asleep, but it was really really late.

I got up at about 9am. We’d elected to hang our clothes to dry in the room instead of paying for a dryer, and of course they hadn’t finished drying yet. I packed and had toast and tea for breakfast. We headed over to the i-Site at about 10am, and our tour bus (the Catlins Coaster) left around 10:30.

The tour took us to Dunedin via the Southern Scenic Route through the Catlins. There were only 4 of us on the bus, which was nice. We stopped at a lighthouse and saw NZ Sea Lions (Hooker’s) and I collected paua shells. There was a male sea lion following a female sea lion, but she wasn’t interested. There were alos a whole bunch of idiot tourists walking right up to the sea lions, but no one got chased down or bit.

We stopped at Curio Bay for lunch. We were given a short guided walk there, the lady told us how the Maori used flax for everything and showed us the gum inside the flax that works as an insect repellent. She took us down to an ancient petrified forest that was buried by ash and lava. It was right on the coast, the waves were splashing over the petrified trees. Ferns were imprinted in some of the rocks.

We also stopped at a pretty waterfall, and then went to another lighthouse at Nugget Point.The point itself was really pretty - there were huge rocks sticking out of the water and their strata were vertical. If you looked through binoculars at the rocks you could see fur seals way way up along the sides and the top. They’re rock-climbing fur seals!!

Near Nugget Point was a hide where you could view Yellow-eyed Penguins. We got there at a perfect time - we saw three! They were walking along the beach and in the grass up to their burrows. This time of year they have chicks so the parents take turns going to feed during the day. The penguins were big compared with the Blues and had yellow irises (on the adults).

We got to Dunedin at about 7:30pm and were dropped off at our hostel, the Elm Lodge. It was ok, a nice old house, and there were only girls there the first night. It wasn’t the cleanest place and the walls were paper but there was a jacuzzi and a local phone (YAY!).

On the 17th of November Vanessa was tired so I let her sleep in until 9. We had breakfast and ehaded to the itnernet cafe where I took care of logistical things for a few horus, blogged, chatted, etc. We went shopping and I got my hat and gloves, and a duffle bag. We at lunch at a Chinese restaurant, it was expensive and not that great. Then we wandered around Queenstown for a few horus before going back to the hostel. It was still overcast and a little rainy so outdoor activities didn’t appeal much.

On the 18th we slept in again. I had eggs on toast for breakfast. I left Vanessa at the internet cafe and went shopping, but mostly I just walked around downtown. I joined Vanessa for an hour or so - sent some e-mails and uploaded some photos. We went for ice cream at a chocolate shop called Patagonia - it was delicious, I had dark chocolate on a waffle cone. I also bought 2 bars of dark chocolate with mixed nuts - can’t wait to try them.

Topline Tours took us to Te Anau at 2pm, the bus ride was a little over 2 horus. Saw lots of birdies along the way (including a NZ Falcon!) and tons of sheel. I like the Merino sheep, they’re huge and wolly and their expressions have attitude.

We arrived in Te Anau and checked in with Steamers ($56/night, ouch). We also checked in with the kayaking company and went to the grocery store.

The 19th - IT WAS SUNNY!!!!! We had an awesome day. We got up at 6am and were picked up by Fiordland Wilderness Experiences at 630. The road to Milford was about 120km (2 hrs) and it was gorgeous early in the morning. There was some fog hanging off the mountains which were amazing - cut out by glaciers. Between them ran ice-blue rivers, they’re that color because they’re fed by melting glacial ice combined with reflective colors of the rocks (such as granite) that are found in NZ’s rivers. We stopped at the mirror lakes for a hot drink and a short walk, I took lots of pictures and we saw some birdies.

We didn’t stop anywhere else on the drive up, but we did go through the Homer tunnel (2 km) which was an incredibly long, dark hole in a rock. THey have a yearly race through it on April Fool’s day where you strip down naked and run through - you’re allowed either running shoes OR a head torch. I guess the women wear the shoes because they know the guys will go for the torches.

After we reached the sound we were given a huge pile of gear to wear and a safety briefing. I loved the polyprop shirt and leggings they gave us - they were warm despite much splashing. The kayak skirts were also better - later on I was absolutely submerged in water and I barely got wet.

We launched our kayaks next to the fishing boat port. Vanessa the control freak was in the back again, of course. There were only 8 people in our group, plus two guides. At first the water was really calm, and I took some great photos. But as we paddles out into the Sound the waves got choppy and it was really windy. The swells were probably 1m+ in places - it was happy bumpy splashy fun! We crossed the channel towards a waterfall and headed along the coast. It was a lot of work fighting the wind and the waves, but Vanessa and I were having less trouble than other people. I was really impressed that I didn’t get motion sick on the choppy water.

We stopped for lunch across from Mitre Peak, which was a welcome relief from the choppy water. All of us were glad to take our wet clothes off and put on a warm fleece. I kept getting splashed in the face by the waves since I was in front (I got a lot of air time on the big waves, too - whee!). They had hot drinks for us again, and we took a bunch of photos.

Once we launched again we headed straight across toward Mitre Peak. It was really windy and insanely choppy, and a lot of hard work to fight the waves and the wind! Because it was so bad we didn’t make it out as far as we’d planned, and we rafted up out in the middle. We had to keep the raft together for around 20 minutes (ow my arms!!!) in the choppy water before the guides had the next part ready - but we got to go KAYAK SAILING!!! Oh my god, whee! I was in front and had to hold boats together while holding a sail rope - this didn’t work so well since I was the only one with upper body strength. It worked better once they let me drop the middle rope. So yeah, 4 tandem kayaks held together by arms, 2 guide kayaks tagging along, sail mast was ropes tied to paddles in the back. Wheeeeeee! Kayak surfing!!

We broke apart right before we got to the cove, and wound up paddling to turn ourselves around. It was nice to be in calm water again. We paddles around for awhile and tookmore photos before getting out of the water.

Much time was spent re-packing gear, changing, and cleaning things. I paid for the 2 trips - they gave us the quoted price intead of the current season price (phew).

On the drive back we stopped at the chasm, which was a deep carved-out path for the river in the rock bed. We also stopped to see the Keas! As promised they were actively demolishing vehicles when we arrived. They were inquisitive and wanted food - made for good photos! Silly destructo-parrots.

We also stopped at a big grassy field where it was nice to lie down. Again we were given hot drinks. We also saw Black-fronted Terns foraging in the grass - they dove into it to catch what looked like lizards!

20th Nov - I decided I despised our hostel. I couldn’t sleep well and there were a hundred things about it that just sucked. In the morning we rented a locker from them ($10) and checked in at the DOC for our Milford Track hut passes. We wandered over to town and bought supplies (groceries, etc.). As we were wandering we spotted Australasian Crested Grebe on the lake. I also bought pasta so I’d have lots of carbs in me on the first day.

In the afternoon we went to see glowworms with Real Journeys at Te Anau Caves. We tok a boat from Te Anau across the lake (they routed for scenery, which was nice). While we waited we saw a DVD with pictures of the glowworms. The larvae glow, and they use the light to attract insects in the cave into fishing lines that they dangle downwards. They’re territorial, and there are more larvae in the summer (January) than in the winter because their survival is higher.

There was a walkway leading into the cave, and there were lights so we could see parts of the cave and down into the river flowing through it. There were two layers of rock - limestone and sandstone, adn no stalagcites (sp?) or other formations. The water was clear and you could see through to the bottom, there were fishies in it (brown trout). The cave rocks sparkled, it was a really pretty cave. There was even a waterfall, which was really loud. The tour guide pointed out glowworms and fossils, showed us insects on the cave wall that the glowworms eat, and shined a light on some of the glowworms so we could see their fishing lines.

We then got into a boat and rode through pitch black darkness to see the glowworm colonies better. They were little specks fo green light that looked like star constellations on the cave wall. We got close enough to make out their little bodies and to see their fishing lines. The hungrier glowworms glowed brighter. Some of them were smart and clustered around the artificial lights in the cave.

We came back to the boat and headed home after that. Much-needed laundry was done and spaghetti was consumed.

Milford Track

Day 1. It was sunny!!! We packed up in the morning and put our extra gear into a locker at Steamers. The bus left from the DOC at 9:45am. It dropped us off at Te Anau Downs where we got on a boat for Glade Wharf. We met another American who was hiking by herself, her name was Celeste. The boat ride was about an hour, Lake Te Anau is extremely large (>300m deep in places). The ride was choppy at first but the wind calmed down later. There was free tea and I talked with Celeste for most of the way.

The hike from Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut was supposed to take only about an horu and a half, we might’ve taken a bit longer with stops for pictures and birdwatching. Saw some good birds (Rifleman and Robins) and took lots of pictures since it was sunny. The track followed the Clinton River which was that gorgeous aqua blue/green color. We took the short side trip wetland walk and saw carniverous plants. At the hut we claimed some decent bunks - they were actual bunkbeds this time instead of platforms! I made pumpkin soup and the hut warden let us listen to some bird calls she had on tape.

At 4:30pm the hut warden, Ruth, tok some of us on a nature walk. She showed us a stoat and a stoat trap, the different species of beech trees (red, mountain, and silver), had us chew on a Pepper Tree and smell a Stink Tree (it was vaguely pumpkin flavored), and called in some birds using styrofoam and her watch.

I had Korean noodles for dinner. At the hut talk the warden played us a kiwi call and called in a Weka! It was under the porch outside - a dark morph of the Western subspecies.

Day 2 I slept like the dead until Evil Snoring Guy woke me up very, very early in the morning. We left the hut aruond 7:30am, and walked pretty slowly for most of the day. The track followed the Clinton River gradually uphill to its source at Mintaro Lake. The first part of the hike was through beech forest. We spent some time sorting our birdsongs of Tomtits, Grey Warblers, and Fantails. We saw Yellow-crowned Parakeets and Keas. There were also a ton of NZ Robins and Bellbirds. Since it hadn’t been raining the streams were dry, and most of the walk was fairly easygoing.

At Pompolona the bush opened up, and we crossed a large open valley. There were several small lakes and lots of pretty views of mountains with waterfalls cascading down them. After crossing the valley we wentered beech forest again. As we were walking a short ways past mile 11 (the track was marked in miles, not km) we heard a very, very large crash as an avalanche decided to come down the mountain to our left. We saw a huge white cloud and snow/water pouring down, so we started sprinting up the trail. After around 100m we realized that it was all running down the other way, and we were fine. We watched it go and I took some photos. That was one of the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard! We think that some ice broke causing a lake of melted snow to pour down.

Shortly after that we saw a Weka (lighter this time) and crossed a lot of small bridges. We headed through more beech forest uphill for 30-40 minutes and took a break before arriving at the hut. I made pumpkin soup again, and we walked to Mintaro lake and listened to more avalanches. The hut warden (Allan) took us back down the track to look for Blue Duck. We walked about 30 min back until we came to where the track crossed the river. From there we rock-hopped to the far side fo the river, and then hiked upstream. We rock hopped, rock climbed, waded, and tree climbed our way upstream for quite a ways. I think poor Celeste thought we were insane. It was fun! No Blue Duck thoguh he was probably sitting on a rock nearby watching the silly humans and laughing.

I had freeze-dried pasta for dinner. It was edible, but not that great. Allan gave me newspaper delivery duties for the next hut.

Day 3. I slept like crap. In the morning we left the hut around 8am and started heading up the mountain. It was raining. Periodically quite hard. The uphill climb wasn’t actually as bad as I was expecting, we managed it quite well. At the top the winds were gusting really hard and stopping for any period of time made us quite cold. THe sun actually came out for 30 seconds and there were rainbows! Followed by hail. Very. High-speed. Hail. We walked to the little shelter at the top of Mackinnon Pass (1069m). It was a pretty useless shelter, we wound up getting chilled becaused we stopped. The views from the pass were amazing, we could make out huge snow-capped mountains through the fog and rain. And we could see huge waterfalls cascading down the moutnains along the valley we’d walked through the day before. There were a lot in the next valley as well.

The trail down was composed of rocks and boulders. This was likely to prevent erosion, but it was really hard to walk down. Occasionally we crossed little creeks, once we crossed one of the huge waterfalls, and sometimes small rivers would follow the trail for awhile and we’d have to wade through them. It was 8km from the pass to Dumpling Hut, and all of the was down. Knees hurt, feet hurt, legs hutt, down. I tried to be careful and not impact my legs too hard, but it still hurt like hell. Vanessa was dumb and refused to wear her knee brace and wound up injuring her knee pretty badly.

We saw Keas in the trail, and baby Wekas. I got a slightly better look at Brown Creeper. Other than that, not too many birds came out in the rain.

Celeste and I went to see Sutherland Falls, but Vanessa couldn’t go because of her knee. It was a 1 hr 30 min walk (return), and my legs and feet were not happy with me for torturing them further. But it was NZ’s highest waterfall (580m) so we went. It was a huge, gushy waterfall…. as advertized.

It was a very long horu’s walk from there to the hut. We hung clothes and boots to dry and tracked down Vanessa in front of the fire.

Day 4. Slept wonderfully. Got my period in the morning (joy!). We got up before 7am and headed out in the rain around 730. The track was long but not that hard, Vanessa’s knee slowed us down a lot - she could barely walk.

Aside from the rain it was a nice day. There were waterfalls everywhere and we followed a river again. No luck looking for Blue Duck. The forest had huge, green, mossy trees, lots of those NZ fern trees, and then smaller ferns. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to wakl to Sandfly Point, stopping occasionally for photos. We waited in the hut shelter until the boat came at 2pm, we were lucky and caught the early boat even thoguh we’d booked the later one. Unfortunately we couldn’t get on the early bus as well, so we were stuck in the tour building at Milford Sound all afternoon.

Milford Musings: I enjoyed backpacking significantly more with a lighter pack. I should’ve brought a bit more food, thoguh. Wool is a wonderous substance and I should hug a sheep the next time I see one. Sandflies, on the other hand, are horrid little vampiric invertebrates. Ah yes, and the bugs in my sleeping bag are happy, fat, and well-fed.

Once we (finally) got back to the hostel around 7pm we checked in and retrieved our stuff from the locker. We had just enoguh time to change clothes before Celeste picked us up. We went out for Chinese food for Thanksgiving! It was mediocre (except for the wontons, those were yummy) but I ate everything. It was really funny when the 3 of us got up and limped stiffly back to the car.

Shower felt good. Heater happy. Bed happy. Yay.

The 25th was a happy, sunny, do-nothing day off. I slept beautifully all night. We did laundry and hung all of our stuff from the Milford out to dry (this was like, a lot). I went to the DOC office and reported the avalanche and gave them my photos. We walked into town (very slowly) and went shopping, to the post office, and out for a burger. We also took care of some shopping for our kayaking trip.

At 5pm we went to a meeting for the kayak trip - they went over the sort of gear and supplies we needed to bring. Afterwards we came back to the hostel and packed and took showers.

I didn’t sleep so great during the night, and we had to get up at 5:20am. Ugh. We were picked up at 6am by Fiordland Wilderness Experiences - our guide’s name was Adrian. There were 8 people in our group, two we hiked the Milford track with. We headed to Lake Manapouri where we got in a small boat and headed for the other side (~1 hr). THe morning started off ncie with sunshine, and snow on the peaks of the mountains (it had been cold and rainy the night before, and there was now at ~900m).

After the boat ride we loaded all the gear into another van (keeping everything clear of the Kea) and headed on a road over to Doubtful Sound. Adrian stopped a few times so we could take pictures. When we arrived we hauled kayaks and changed into our gear, and got the usual safety briefing. The sun threatened to come out a few times but mostly it was raining.

As we paddled out into the Sound the water was pleasantly calm - definintely a change from Milford Sound. They gave us plenty of warm gear for paddling so the rain wasn’t so bad. We headed out to an island to look for Fiordland Crested Penguins - and we saw some!! One on land back in the trees and several in the water. They make funny noises when they pop up so they can find each other. I like penguins, they’re cute!

We paddled down the first arm of the soun - the water was still really calm. We stopped at a beach for lunch and some hot drinks. Afterwards we paddled all the way to the end of the arm and even into the forest a bit because the tide was so high. Vanessa and I were dumb and paddled into the moving water that ran us into trees… whoops.

Our campsite was fairly nice. There was a tarp-covered shelter, little walkways, and a composting toilet. We pitched our tents in the rain and changed into happy dry clothes, after which we enjoyed warm drinks in the happy dry shelter. Everyone cooked dinner, I was the gourmet of the group with my pasta and mushrooms. We got our water right from the river - the water there was pure and drinkable.

Unfortunately it was raining so we didn’t get to see/hear a kiwi. A weka answered Adrian’s kiwi call, though.

The next morning was COLD. Brrrrr. Toes not happy. Fingers not happy. Cold. I couldn’t even get completely warm inside my sleeping bag. The trees dripped all night so it rained quite a bit. Adrian got us up early, it took awhile to get dressed and pack up gear inside the tiny tent. Outside of the tiny tent was cold. We gathered in the little shelter for breakfast - I had granola bars and hot tea. Then we had to change back into our wet gear. This was sheer torture. I was so cold, I was shivering and I couldn’t feel my toes and fingers. Then we hacked the tents down, which didn’t really make me any warmer. We packed the gear and the kayaks down to the water and loaded up.

Once we were out of the trees we noticed how low the snowline was - I would guess 200-300m. No wonder it was so friggin cold!! All the trees looked like they’d had powdered sugar dusted on them the night before.

I warmed up a bit inside the kayak cockpit and once we were moving. We paddled behind dripping water and into a cavelike overhang and hung uot. Then we paddled back down Hall Arm, across the channel, and around Elizabeth Island. There were occasionally very happy patches of sunlight and we saw Blue Penguins and Fiordland Crested Penguins. My arms were a bit sore from paddling the day before and I didn’t have a lot of energy. Our guide told us a bit about the area, there was a LOTR film site at the top of one of the mountains above Brown River/Falls, the scene where the Fellowship comes out of Mordor.

Overall, Doubtful Sound was much calmer and quieter than Milford Sound - very few boats and almost no aircraft. It was lovely paddling, we were just really cold.

We stopped at a beach for lunch but I’d just had some scroggin (NZ gorp) and I was too cold to have much appetite so I just sat and absorbed heat from the sun.

Vanessa and I got extremely close to a F.C. Penguin. We coasted right up to him and we checked each other out for awhile before he dove. Penguins are cool.

We started paddling back to the harbor but there wasn’t any wind for sailing. Eventually there was a little wind so we gave it a go - one sail to two boats this time - and had limited success. There wasn’t quite enough wind and the sail kept falling on my head. We managed to sail back to the harbor thoguh, albeit very, very slowly.

Adrian was awesome and let us change into dry clothes right when we landed (I was bloody freezing) so the girls claimed the van for a changing room. We packed up all of the gear and stowed the kayaks. As we were doing this a boat came in with a freshly-killed headless red deer tied to the bow. This was hilarious, I’m used to seeing them tied to cars and trucks in Montana.

We drove back over the pass, and there was at 4 inches of snow at the top. Snowball fight!!! Adrian instigated this. And Vanessa built a mini-snowman. The snowball fight continued into the van - we drowned a few sandflies with our snowballs.

Hot drinks again once we got back on the boat. Lake Manapouri wasn’t too rough but the ride back was at least an hour. We were dropped off at Steamers again. Vanessa and I were craving meat after staring at the yummy headless deer so we walked to the grocery store and bought steak. I cooked, ate, cleaned, and then packed everything up since we had an early bus in the morning.

Yay, HOT SHOWER!!!

On the 12th we packed up and said goodbye to Verena (but left her our contact info) and got a ride into Collingwood. Our bus left at 11am and arrived in Takaka at about 11:30. Since we were early we walked to the cafe and ate a huge bowl of Kumera (”Kum’ra”, aka sweet potato) chips (fries). The bus for Motueka (”Mot”) left at noon, we ran into Eric the bicyclist from Oregon again.

The bus dropped us off at our hostel, we stayed at the White Elephant again. We went to the internet cafe for a few hours and then went grocery shopping. Evening was spent at the hostel re-organizing packs and filling out postcards.

The next morning was cold!! We got up at 6:30am and packed, our bus left from the i-site at 8am. We arrived in Nelson a little after 9am, and after some trouble finding a phone number for the rental car company we were picked up from the i-site. The car we got was really really nice!! It was a 4-door Nissan and it was huge compared with the last one. It drove nicer, too.

We headed south on highway 6 and took the inland road to Greymouth, and we arrived in Whataroa about 6 hours later. Not much exciting to tell - stopped for soda and gas once.

The White Heron Tours cabins were ok. Small and with a kitchen, though the toilets were outside and in the cold. I made pumpkin soup with potatoes for dinner (YUM) and we role played all evening.

It rained lots all night, and I slept really well. In the morning unfortunately it was still raining, so we didn’t get to go kayaking on the lagoon. We went to Okarito though and spoke with the company, they said we could go the next day if the weather improved. They also gave us directions to where we could see Fernbirds, so we drove back up the road and walked on a short little trail looking for them. It was still raining and there weren’t any Fernbirds. There were Brown Creepers, but due to rain, lousy lighting, and foggy binoculars we got only horrible looks at them.

Since we had nothing else to do we headed to Franz Josef. They had a nice visitor center there and I bought some stuff. We went shopping in town and had lunch at a cafe, but didn’t go see the glacier because of the weather. We headed back to the cabin and were bored for most of the afternoon, and I called mommy.

I slept well again and we were up by 7am. The weather was awesome - sunny with clouds hanging on the mountains. We headed back to the trail off the Okarito road to look for Fernbird. We had to wait awhile, but I got to see one!! They’re hard to find and they don’t hold still for very long, but we heard them dueting and that helped. There were also Redpolls feeding on seedheads, I hadn’t seen those before either.

Despite the good weather we decided not to go kayaking, mostly because we had a long drive to Wanaka ahead of us and in order to make it there we’d have to leave by 2pm - meaning we’d only have 3-4 hours to kayak. We stopped in Fox Glacier for gas and breakfast - I had a bagel. We drove south down the very sindy (but pretty) highway and stopped at Lake Moeraki. It was windy and there wasn’t much to see in terms of birds. We went south again through Haast pass which was absolutely GORGEOUS. I haven’t felt more like I was in Middle Earth from the LOTR movies than passing through those mountains. There was a wide, rocky river that was this amazing blue color, and waterfalls cascading down the mountains absolutely everywhere. A lot of the mountains were snow-capped.

After the Haast Pass we stoped at Makaroa, where there was a 20-minute bush walk. We didn’t see anything terribly exciting… there were lots of tuis. Then we drove down along Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea - both of which were sapphire blue and surrounded by high snow-capped mountains. Wanaka is at the south end of Lake Wanaka, it’s a smallish city and it’s really nice.

We stayed at Wanaka Bakpaka, which was a pretty hostel right on the lake. We went downtown to check out the shops and wound up in a store that sold Icebreakers. A really nice sales lady talked Vanessa into buying a wool shirt. I considered getting one because I know the Milford is going to be cold!! The lady also looked at the hole in my Icebreaker leggings and replaced them for me! Wow!!

We went to the grocery store and then out to eat at an italian place where I had a very filling spaghetti with meat sauce.

The hostel was really noisy during the night, the doors were loud and easy to close too hard and people slammed them at 1am. I slept ok but Vanessa didn’t. We checked out and went to cafe, we were hoping that the sports store in Wanaka would open at 9am so that I could buy my shirt. It didn’t though, so we took the shorter route to Queenstown (to save gas) and parked the car so we could go shopping. I found another store that had the shirt I wanted and I bought a black Icebreaker crewe. I also did some xmas shopping. There’s a NZ artist I really like who paints horses - Rosemary Parcell, but I haven’t been able to find prints. If someone wanted to get me a xmas present I would really like a large 12×13 print of Half Pass Grey on Gold (it’s on the website).

I still need to find a hat, gloves, and a duffle bag, but I plan to buy those tomorrow and shop around for good ones today. We returned the rental car and I (stupidly) went and figured out how much the car rental had cost me altogether for this trip…. owie. I had pumpkin soup for dinner again, I should bring some home to the states so everyone can try it.

On the 3rd of November we went sea kayaking in the Marlborough Sounds. We went with Adventure Guides and Southern Wilderness NZ, they picked us up at our hostel at 8:30am and took us to Anikiwa where we got a briefing on how to kayak, safety instructions, etc. They gave us sea kayaks where you sit inside instead of on the top and there’s a rudder on the back - I’d never been in one of those before. Vanessa sat in the back and I was in the front (I think I prefer the back, though).

We paddled around Ngakuta Bay for the day. First we crossed the channel (it was a litle choppy) but we mostly stuck close to the shore on the far side where it was sheltered from the wind. We saw Fluttering Shearwater, Blue Penguin, Pied Shag, Little Shag, Spotted Shag, both heron species, and the usual rest. After lunch we paddled back to Anakiwa - we got back around 3pm. Went grocery shopping and arrived back at the hostel after 5pm.

The 4th we took off from being touristy. We slept in, I rearranged some stuff in my pack to get ready for the Abel Tasman track. We got a ride into town and puttered around for a bit, and bought some groceries for the great walk. We did laundry in the afternoon, and spent some time RP’ing. We talked with the guy who ran our hostel, Graham, he was pretty hilarious. We were taking an early bus in the morning and he really didn’t want to get up that early to drive us into town. He was threatening to do nasty things to us in retaliation and we were threatening to tie all of our sheets together in the room. (No worries, we got the shuttle company to pick us up)

The 5th of November we woke up really early and were picked up at the hostel by Atomic Shuttles at 7am. The driver took us to Nelson where we were supposed to visit the market but it turned out to be only on Saturdays (it was Sunday). We bought a mess kit and some matches and sat and drank sodas until the internet cafe opened. We spent 2 hours online ($10 - not bad) before we had to leave to catch our bus. Abel Tasman Coaches picked us up at 3pm and took us to Motueka. We got directions at the i-site and bought a camp stove on the way to the hostel. We stayed at the White Elephant - it was expensive but pretty nice. We spent the evening packing, fortunately we were able to store lots of stuff at the hostel.

We got up early on the 6th and finished packing - my pack was a lot heavier than I expected. Food and water weight a freaking TON. Plus I pulled something in my back mysteriously the day before, so that plus hauling all of my stuff around town made me prematurely sore. Anyway, we caught our bus (Southern Link) and arrived at Marahau on time. There was a payphone at the trailhead and I succeeded in calling Justin, yay! He finally picked up his stupid phone. He has a new job in Big Timber that he just started, he was running a game station.

We walked from Marahau to Anchorage Hut (11.5 km) in about 4 hours. It was a very long 4 hours. My pack was very, very heavy. The next time I plan to pack a lot less (of course, next time I only have to pack for 4 days and not an entire week). The weather was overcast but nice, and it was hot while we were walking. We took one short break along the way and arrived at the hut around 1pm. Along the way we saw some birds (nothing exciting), pretty trees and ferns, beaches and coves, and waterfalls. There was some sort of black fungus infecting the trees that we wanted to ask about but forgot.

At the hut Vanessa went swimming - I didn’t because the ocean was exceedingly cold - and she saw a stingray. After that we RP’d outside for awhile but it started raining and the sandflies were eating me. Sandfly bites don’t swell up and itch, they just sort of sting initially and bleed a little.

There were lots of people at Anchorage hut, but most of them didn’t walk there like we did, they came on boats instead. A nice couple gave us some plastic forks (we were dumb and forgot forks). There were lots of Germans and one girl from Israel who asked about our storywriting. We spent the afternoon in the kitchen with the gas heater on trying to stay warm. It was raining a little outside so we didn’t do any more hiking (our feet hurt, too).

The bunkhouses on the track weren’t quite what I expected - platforms with mattresses where everyone sleeps right next to each other. I didn’t sleep so well, it just wasn’t comfortable. The people in the bunkhouse went to bed at about 8:30 or 9pm (which was pretty funny, we were all so exhausted) but they weren’t very noisy during the night or anything. My sleeping bag is infested with bedbugs - I need to do something about this!!!

The 7th was a very, very long day. We walked FAR. In RAIN. And my feet HURT. And my hips HURT. And my shoulders HURT. And by the end of the day I was walking like a freaking PENGUIN.

We left the hut a little before 7am to make the tidal crossing next to Anchorage Hut - it cut an hour off our walk. The mudflat was large and my sandals stuck and got pulled off my feet. From there we made good time to Bark Bay. Since there was a tidal crossing that we had to wait for we hung out in the Bark Bay hut with the heater on and role played. At about noon we left and headed for the crossing. The hills between Bark Bay and Tonga Quarry kicked my ASS. Along the way we hiked over a really high suspension bridge. Most of the hike was away from the water, so the scenery was all pretty fern forest. We saw a few species of birds, but for most of the hike we were too exhausted to look at much.

For a lot of the walk we hiked with two other women - Adi from Israel and Verena from Germany (Adi was younger and Verena was older, she has kids and is a midwife).

After Tonga Quarry was ok, and at the Onetahuti Bay crossing we walked along the beach for a few kilometers. It started raining hard and the wind picked up and I flipped off the clouds. The crossing itself was past our knees, because we hit the tide a little early. Afterwards there were more hills, but I did a lot better with those. We decided to go to the Awaora Lodge for something to eat. I got beef lasagna and Vanessa had a panini. It was warm, filling, yummy, and wonderful. The hut was only about 30 minutes from the lodge. Right after we got there it started pouring. Yay for timing! I took a little shower (it was cold) and we sprawled all of our stuff by the fire. Vanessa taught everyone how to play poker (kinda). It was a really nice night because there were only 4 of us in the bunkhouse.

Funny evening conversation! ***It was POURING RAIN*** outside and someone comes in our hut. Us 4 girls had just gone to bed. Verena went to see who it was.

Verena: “I think it’s a man?”
Someone: “What’s he doing out there?”
Verena: “I don’t know. I didn’t look, I think he’s undressing.”
Adi: “Oh, so it’s a naked man!”
Someone: “He’s probably more nervous of us than we are of him.”
*man enters hut*
Verena: “Hi! … Is it still raining?”
*riotous giggling laughter ensues from all 4 women, lasts for 1-2 minutes*
Verena: “We haven’t had a long day or anything.”
Poor guy.

I was kept up yet again by itchy bedbug bites. Stupid infested sleeping bag, grr. We got up at about 6:20am, had breakfast, and packed up. The ranger came over at about 7am to show us where the tidal crossing was. At its deepest the water was past my knees and below my cutoff shorts, but besides being frigid it wasn’t too bad. We stopped on the other side to change into boots.

A little ways later we arrived at a gorgeous sandy beach - and it was sunny! Verena decided to stay there for awhile and the rest of us went on ahead. We got over the hill and to Totaranui, which was where Adi’s water taxi was picking her up. There was a DOC station there with phones and a parking lot.

After Totaranui we headed over another hill to Anapai Bay. There were penguin tracks in the sand! We took a short break before going over a bigger hill to Mutton Cove. Here we stopped at a campground and a little Chaffinch hopped onto our table looking for peanuts. Finally we headed over the last (and biggest!) hill, though this one wasn’t so bad because the climb was more gradual. The top of the hill was really really windy. On the way down I tried spreading my arms into the wind to gain lift and make my pack lighter but it didn’t work. We got to the Whariwharangi hut a little after lunchtime. We claimed a little bunkroom with only 2 beds in it and Vanessa chopped wood. I made soup and ate peanut butter and napped in the warm sun.

We spent the evening huddling by the stove for warmth. The wood stove didn’t want to burn and it didn’t heat the hut very well. I slept better than the previous night, but my feet were still itchy. Everyone else froze from the cold - I love my down sleeping bag!

Our final day on the Abel Tasman track was the 9th of November. We walked more than 50 km total and I smelled really bad by the end. We got up early yet again to a very cold hut. Verena was insane and went swimming at the beach. We packed up and were out by 8:30am. It was overcast and chilly as we hiked up the hill. It was a long climb - 600m - but gradual. When we got to the top it started raining a little, and we could see snow on mountain peaks in the distance. There were lots of birdies as we hiked down. We got to Wainui carpark at about 10m, but the bus wasn’t due until 11:20. So we waited in the really cold wind and rain under the elaborately-carved but useless little shelter (a roof with information panels) and froze our assess off for more than an hour until the bus arrived.

The bus dropped us of right at our hostel in Takaka. Golden Bay Barefoot lost our booking but they gave us a bunkroom to ourselves. We took hot showers, drank tea, and huddled by the wood stove. Then we were starving so we went to the cafe downtown for some food. We stopped at the grocery store and ducked in a few art stores that were in town.

In the evening we watched an old Johnny Depp movie called ‘Dead Man’ - it was humorous, and there was lots of symbolism (I think it may have been based off of a book). We met a biker from Oregon who was really nice. Picked up ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ - it was good! I need to read it when I get home.

I didn’t sleep well, probably due to drinking tea too late in the day and to the room being a bit cold. In the morning we tried to sleep in but didn’t succeed very well. We crawled out of bed at 8:15 to pack up our things. The hostel had free fresh bread - yum! The bus picked us up in front of the hostel a few minutes past 9am. We drove up to Collingwood and were dropped off in ‘downtown’. Collingwood is a tiny town right on the water. There are only a few shops and information is at the post office / gift shop.

We called the Innlet but I got the answering machine, so we decided to walk (1 km). It was a really pretty walk and there were plenty of birdies to look at, though it was a bit windy. Fortunately when we got about halfway a lady picked us up and gave us a ride (yay!)

The Innlet was absolutely gorgeous. I could move there! Maybe I should look for a grant to study birds on Farewell Spit. We had our own little cottage out back with a kitchen. The main house had a deck wrapping around it with lots of places to sit. There was a garden and a little creek out back just below it. Two bathtubs were by the creek, they fill with hot water and you could soak in them. There was a composting toilet (= really really nice biffy) and the beach was just a short walk away.

We decided to walk down to the beach around midday. It was high tide but there weren’t many birdies around. After awhile we headed back. We would have done the nearby bush walk but Vanessa’s knee was hurting her, so we RP’d instead. At 6pm we went back to the beach and followed directions from the hostel owner to dig for clams! Or cockles, as they’re called here. We dug next to the low tide channel until we found a clam bed. After 20 or 30 minutes we had more than 40 clams (I found most of them - I am a clam-digging fiend!!). We brought them back and put them in boiling water - clam feast! I think that was my first time catching my own dinner, I’m really glad Vanessa wanted to do it. The clams were really good - one had a little crab inside, but they weren’t sandy.

I put my sleeping bag in the refrigerator in an attempt to kill the horrible biting insects residing inside of it (no idea if it worked yet). Oh, and surprise!! Verena followed us to the Innlet. Yay!!

Ok, so Moana Lodge had the bestest bathrooms EVER!! And the best reception. We got up on the 31st at 6:30am to find out if we were going to Kapiti Island. It turned out that the boat we’d arranged couldn’t go, but John called the other tour operator for us and booked us with them instead. He also drove us to the train station because we got the spots at the last minute and would’ve had to run otherwise.

After all that trouble we made our train and our bus from the train to the boathouse and arrived at the Boating Club in Paraparaumu at precisely 9am. The ferry was $45/person. They packed us into the small boat and launched it with a trailer. It was only about a 15 minutes ride to the island.

On arriving we were given an orientation talk - don’t light fires, don’t introduce rats, don’t feed the Kaka or Weka, etc. Afterwards we were sent out on our merry way to hike about the island. We were dropped off at Rangitata Point and had two trails to choose from - we decided to hike up the Trig track (which was steeper) and down the Wilkinson track. The track was steep and muddy with lots of stairs, and took us to a lookout (Tuteremoana) 521m high. There was a tower at the top with gorgeous views of the ocean.

We met a Kiwi traveler who worked for the DOC and chatted with him as we walked for the rest of the day. At the top of the hike we finally saw North Island Weka!! They came and tried to steal our lunches. Other birds we saw were NZ Pigeon, Kaka, Parakeets, Shining Cuckoo, Whitehead, NZ Robin, Kokako (heard), Stitchbird, Bellbird, and Saddleback. The east side of the island was native forest and the west side was windy with shrubs. Near the bottom was the Rangitata Flat where we saw Takahe and another Fluttering Shearwater.

The boat came at 3:30pm and took us back to the mainland, where we at Fish and Chips (again) with our DOC friend. He was really nice and dropped us off at the train station, where he finally told us his name was Shannon.

We took the train back to the Moana Lodge where we enjoyed cushy beds and warm showers.

The 1st of November was a slow day. We slept in (sort of - didn’t sleep well) and got a ride to Wellington around 11am. We sat in the ferry station until the ferry left (late) at 3pm. We RP’d, bought food, and I called home in the meantime. The ferry ride was kind of fun - we got spots on the bow and watched birds the whole time. The ocean wasn’t too rough. Most of the interesting birds were out inCook Strait. The only lifers I was comfortable counting are Northern Giant-Petrel and Sooty Shearwater. We also saw Shy and Buller’s Mollymawks, but I couldn’t tell them apart. Birds I’ve seen before were Fluttering Shearwater and Flesh-footed Shearwater. Also saw Prions, but couldn’t ID to species. Vague sightings were possible Little Shearwater and Westland Petrel.

Bayview Backpackers picked us up from the ferry and took us to the grocery store. We had a steak dinner and were very tired. Had cheesecake for dessert.

This morning we slept in (kinda) and ate a REAL breakfast - I had eggs on toast! We walked to Picton (~40 min!) and checked in with Dolphin Watch Marlborough and the Sea Kayaking company we’re going out with tomorrow. We also stopped by the i-site and made bus reservations for the Abel Tasman area. And we went shopping, I bought a few things.

Our boat tour left at 1:30pm. It was a small catamaran with only about 10 people on board including crew. On the way out we saw Fluttering Shearwater, Blue Penguin, diving Gannets, Pied Shag, Little Shag, Spotted Shag, White-fronted Tern, and Caspian Tern. We also saw two NZ Fur Seals!

The boat dropped us off at Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary where we had a guided walk. We saw Bellbirds, South Island Saddlebacks and South Island Robins. There were nest boxes for Blue Penguins and we could peek inside to see the chicks.

After the island we saw nesting Pied and Little Shags, a King Shag in the water, and a Reef Heron. Aaaaannnd…. Dusky Dolphins!!! I like dolphins!! They were feeding on a ball of fish and there were seabirds all around them. We watched them swim around for awhile and I got a few decent photos. Sometimes they came up to the boat and checked us out. I saw another pod as we headed back to port, too.

We caught a ride home on the Bayview shuttle and we’re putting a dent in our food stash for dinner.

On the 28th we decided to hike to Cape Kidnappers to see the Gannet colony. Cape Kidnappers is 10 km out on a point by the ocean, and you can either pay $33 NZD to ride out there on the back of a tractor or you can walk it. Well, we’re on a budget, so we walked the 10 km out and 10 km back. At the end of the day, my feet were bloody killing me.

Because the hike was along the beach it was dependent on tides, so we had to wait until 3 horus after high tide at 1:30 pm to head out. Hence we spent the morning RPing and lounging around the hostel. It took us a little more than 2 hours to walk the 10 kms (it was flat, as the walk was along a beach). There were gannets and terns and gulls nesting down by the beach toward the end, and we could see all of the above and shearwaters diving for fish far off the coast through our binoculars. The mainland gannet colony was at the top of a tall grassy hill that had sheep grazing on it. The DOC lets you walk right up the edge of the nesting colong - I was surprised because it actually seemed to bother the birds, they became aggressive when people got too close (not that people seemed to notice this). It was neat to see them so close though. They were still building nests and/or incubating their eggs, we didn’t get to see any chicks.

We walked the 10 km back from 5-7pm. We were very tired by the end and my feet and legs were sore. We came back to the hostel and I cooked a yummy dinner. We stayed in Stables Lodge again - we were surrounded by Germans!! Actually we have been the entire trip, there are a ton of Germans on holiday in NZ right now.

It rained during the night in Napier, but was sunny when we got up. Unfortunately it was raining again when we got over the west side of the mountains. The drive was ok - I zoned out for a lot of it. We had a Rook (European corvid/crow thing, introduced species) fly over the car somewhere near Dannevirke.

We stopped at Horowhenua Wetland Reserve and went on the short walk, but didn’t see anything new. A more interesting stop was Nga Manu Nature Reserve. There was a $10 admission fee, and we got to see HUGE NZ eels as they were fed by the keeper person (they were fed leftover mouse butts from the lizard cages, lizards seem to like the heads). They were NZ long- and shortfinn eels, and they breed somewhere in the South Pacific and migrate to NZ to live. When they’re ready to breed they migrate back, but only a few of them choose to go. They can get really big - some were about 2 meters long! They guy let us pet one, it was really smooth before it started exuding slime (they do that so they can cross land). The reserve had a lot of birds as well - we got to see Blue Duck (not wild), which was a lot darker than the bird book shows it (we’ve decided the bird book is not that astounding). They also had Kea and Kaka - a Kaka landed on my HEAD!! It hopped onto Vanessa’s, too. There was a nocturnal hosue with kiwi, morepork (an owl), tuataras, and geckos. We got to see a Mute Swan (introduced) in the pond and a Dunnock (introduced) in the Kea house.

We headed to Paraparaumu where we spent the night at Barnacles Seaside Inn. It was pretty cozy and the reception lady was really nice. We had Fish and Chips for dinner and it rained hard all night.

Unfortunately our ferry to Kapiti this morning was cancelled due to rough seas. Since we were up early we took our packs to Moana Lodge in Plimmerton and got a tour of the hostel. We then drove to the i-site in Wellington and got directions to the Karori Reserve a “mainland island” above Wellington that’s surrounded by a predator-proof fence.

The reserve was $10 admission. We wandered about from ~10am to 1pm looking for Weka, but with no luck. It rained on us a bit and we saw a few good brids - nothing new though.

Afterwards we returned the rental car - no scratches or anything!! Just lots of dirt and bird poop. It’s a big stress relief that the thing is gone, I don’t have to worry about not having insurance on it or about my navigator getting cranky with me over my conservative driving. We’ll have to lug all our stuff around now of course… but we’ll be staying in one place longer from now on.

Omega Rentals dropped us off in central Wellington (nice of them!) where we hunted down some asian food for lunch. We shopped around but didn’t buy anything, and took the train back to Plimmerton ($6).

The guy at the desk at the hostel (John) was really nice - he’s trying to get us on a boat to Kapiti tomorrow, weather depending. And if we can’t go he’ll send us up to a nearby estuary so we can watch birdies!! This place is awesome.

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My first NZ pickup line, from really drunk guy walking outside of our hostel in Tauranga: “Hey, if you want a real Kiwi experience, follow us!”

Yeah….

On the 24th we left Coromanel and headed southeast toward Tauranga. About 45 minutes later we realized we were heading northeast up the peninsula. Whoops. Bad, bad navigator. Poor exhausted driver had to drive an extra hour and a half after getting no sleep….

We stopped in Whitianga to look at the bone carving studio. The guy did amazing work but didn’thave many pieces there, so I got the name of store he sells to in Auckland.

After Whitianga we drive to Hot Water Beach, where you’re supposed to be able to dig to find hot spots under the sand. It was the wrong tide but we tried digging anyway, no luck though. The beach was gorgeous nonetheless.

We stayed overnight at Loft 109 in Tauranga. The hostel was nice but the city was huge and there wasn’t any parking — we had to park in a paid lot way down the street. We ate overpriced pizza for dinner and went to an internet cafe where I blogged from the last time.

Of note, while driving I’ve nearly hit a sheep and had to dodge loose cows, goats, horses, sheep, pukeko…. there are obstacles here!!

We left Tauranga early at 8:30am and headed to Rotorua via a small country road rather than the main highway, which was actually faster. We drove around the north end of lake Rotorua and finally saw some ducks! (Up to then, only 1 species). We tried to drive around the other lakes (Rotoriti, etc.) but wound up on a country road that eventually headed north to the Bay of Plenty and had little scenery other than sheep. So we turned around and found the i-site in ROtorua (i-sites ROCK) and got directions to the lake to the southeast of the city. We checked in with our hostel, Funky Green Voyager, and headed outto the other lakes. There was mostly more of the same species of birds out there and not much hiking, so we went back to Rotorua. Went to the grocery store, post office, etc. We also bought notebooks so we can RP by hand when we’re bored (we’re sad and pathetic life forms, aren’t we?).

On the 26th we left Rotorua early after sleeping really well. We drove southeast towards Te Urewera NP. The road through the park was unsealed for about 90 km, that was exciting. THe rental car is very dirty now. THere were lots of cows and horses loose on the road, and once we actually had to stop to move rocks out of the road from a landslide so our tiny no-clearance car could pass.

Lake Waikaremoana was really pretty! It’s in Te Urewera, and we spent the night there. It had calm blue-green water and was quite large. We stopped at the visitor center on the way in and asked about a hike we could do for the afternoon. Then we checked in at the office, we stayed in a little 4-person bunkhouse/hut thing that had 4 beds, a table, and cabinets for food (that was IT). It was ok, it looked out onto the lake and we could see boats and duckies. The bathroom was close and actually pretty nice, and there was a kitchen but we didn’t use it.

We drove back to the trailhead and hiked to Lake Waikareiti. We walked for about an hor through native forest - and on the way we saw a cuckoo and a rifleman. The cockoo was pretty, they’re shining green on the top, and the rifleman was a really really cute tiny bird that I just wanted to stick in my pocket and bring home. We saw kaka (native NZ parrot) on the bay back - at least 3 of them. They’re very vocal and are really pretty, with bright red underparts and grey on the top.

Last night at the lake was cold, I did ok with my down sleeping bag but Vanessa didn’t sleep well. We could see stars for the first time though - I found the Southern Cross for Vanessa and we could see the Milky Way. There was a huge meteor, too. In the morning we headed for Napier. The road was long and windy with lots of rocks and cliffs.

Napier is a cute little port city. We’re staying at Stables Lodge which is awesome and has horsies all over the walls. We went to the DOC and the i-site and decided to walkt to Cape Kidnappers tomorrow to see the gannets instead of taking a tour (it’s 10 km each way, but we figure we need the exercise before the great walks). We had Mongolian BBQ for a late lunch and have been RPing and using the free internet this evening.

Are the only people who read this mom, Freesh, Char, and Melissa? Leave more comments so I know I’m loved and well-read!

We headed south from Paihia on the 19th of October, traveling down Hwy 1. We stopped at Waipu Cove again looking for Fairy Terns but didn’t have any luck. We did see an albino Varied Oystercatcher, that was pretty cool. Just north of Orewa we passed Wenderholm, which was on my list of birding spots but we hadn’t gone because we couldn’t find it on the map. As we had plenty of extra time we decided to stop. When we drove into the parking lot about 4 or 5 Mallard ducklings ran under our car. I was laughing really hard when I got out to shoo them away.

There were birds called tuis absolutely everywhere - they have really cool songs! There are also little birds called fantails that come out and dance and display all around you, they’re really cute. We went on a hike up a nearby hill through native forest that took about an hour and a half. The walk was very uphill but there were wooden stairs for a lot of it. I finally got nice looks at NZ Pigeons too, they’re so much prettier than our stupid Rock Pigeons.

We checked in at Pillows Lodge in Orewa. Even though I’d booked a double they gave us the dorm loft at a cheaper price, and we had it to ourselves. Unfortunately the walls were like paper and there were bedbugs that chewed on my feet all night, so it didn’t turn out to be the greatest hostel. We went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner, it was pretty good.

On the 20th we followed directions to Gulf Harbour, which was about 20 minutes away. Our ferry ticket was waiting for us and we were early. While we were waiting we met a nice couple from England who were also in the country for birding. Did you know that birders in European countries are known as “twitchers”? Well, not birders who sit at their windows and watch bird feeders, but ones who drive across country to see rare birds and such. Like me. Twitcher.

We took the Kawau Kat ferry over to Tiritiri Matangi island at 9:50am. On the way over we saw Fluttering Shearwater (shearwaters are really hard to ID, be proud). We dropped our stuff off at the bunkhouse and went hiking on the island. The track we picked didn’t have any other people on it because it was the longest one, which was awesome. We saw lots and lots of pretty birdies, mostly forest ones.

That night we went out on the island with the English couple to look for kiwis. We saw Blue Penguins coming in for the night to their little burrows along the shorelines (they make loud funny moaning noises), a Tuatara (a reptile that looks like a lizard but isn’t, it’s in its own Order and can only be found in NZ), bioluminescent algae in the waves, and 4 Little Spotted Kiwi!!! We also heard an owl and Grey-faced Petrels.

The bunkhouse on the island was pretty nice, it had a great kitchen and though the bunks and toilet were a bit primitive they sufficed. We got in late after Kiwi-seeking but I got up early anyway and went to watch birds in the yard. Later Vanessa and I walked around and looked for more birds, we did pretty well. I spent a bunch of money in the gift shop of course =)

The ferry came for us at about 3:30pm, and once we were back on the mainland we drove down to Miranda (about 2 hours). For dinner we had a very greasy but yummy Fish and Chips at a local shop. The room at the Shorebird Centre was nice, it was ensuite with its own bathroom and kitchen.

Stuff about birds some people may want to skip:
NZ Robins are fairly uncommon, but we saw some on Tiritiri. All of the ones on the island are banded. If you shuffle the leaf litter at your feet the robins will come right up to you and feed at your toes. There are also Saddlebacks which are extremely cranky and sensitive, they yell at everything that comes near them and they sound like they’re laughing at you. Stitchbirds are gorgeous - the picture in the book doesn’t do them justice. They make a high-pitched shrill call. The Tuis are crazy, they fly into bushes at full speed and collide with the branches. They also have a nose-dive display where they fly straight up into the air and then nose-dive into the bush (crash!). They also have an awesome song that’s loud and liquid-sounding. Kokako are rare and hard to find. We saw several pairs on Tiritiri feeding on berries and leaves. They have really long legs and their song is almost whale-like. Fantails are probably my favorite, because they come right up to you and display right next to you with their little tails all fanned out. They’re pretty spastic and have a display that’s like a leaf falling in the wind. There are also parakeets that are pretty shy, they like to feed on large flowering plants. The Takahe are large flightless birds that are highly endangered, they have bills the size of Puffins’. They seem shy as well but there are signs all over the island that say “Beware, Takahe will steal your food”.

The next morning in Miranda there were House Sparrows scratching at the ceiling when we woke up - they have fledglings over the bathroom. High tide was at 8am and that’s when the Wrybills were supposed to be out, so we went out on the trail to look for them. Right by the Centre we caught a brief look at a Banded Rail, which we hadn’t seen before.

We walked all the way out on the trail and ran into a group of birders who’d driven there with spotting scopes. We saw quite a few species of shorebirds. The Wrybills are tiny shorebirds with bills that curve slightly to the right - this is unique to their species.

As we walked to the road my violent sneezing (bad allergies at Miranda) managed not to scare off a second Banded Rail (yay!). The little bird caught a worm in the mud and we watched it take it back into the mangroves where it probably had a nest. Also, on the way back to the Centre an Australasian Bittern flew right overhead. This was amazing, I haven’t even been able to see an American Bittern because the bloody things are impossible to find. Yay!

Since we had our own fridge (Wow!) I hard-boiled some eggs for lunch. We made some logistical decisions about the next couple of days and then headed out to look at birds again. The tide was really low and we couldn’t see much though, and it was really windy. In the evening we went back to the Fish and Chips place because it was insanely cheap. When we got back we were introduced to two real NZ twitchers- they run a birding tour company. We then went back to the sandspit but it got dark quickly so we didn’t see much.

On the 23rd it rained. A LOT. We left Miranda late after sleeping in and headed toward the Coromandel Peninsula. There were tons of Spotted Shags (a shag in NZ is a cormorant, and Spotted ones are really pretty - a grey color with blueish backs and a racing stripe down the side) along the coast. The road sucked, it was realy narrow with lots of one-lane bridges and one area where there was only room for one line of cars and of course I didn’t have the right of way. The peninsula was pretty though… very green.

We stayed at the Lion’s Den in Coromandel. This hostel was awesome! It was really cute with an African theme and a pretty garden. There was lots of space on the deck to relax and hide from the rain. The town itself was ok, there were some nice art stores and places to eat.

I haven’t journaled for today so that’s it for now! We’re staying at Loft 109 in Tauranga and tomorrow we’re going to Rotorua.

A recap of our trip thus far in New Zealand:

We arrived on the 15th. I remember that was a Sunday because everything was closed until 10am. Our flight of course got in at 6am, and we made it to the Brown Kiwi by 8am. We wandered around the city somewhat aimlessly for awhile and bought field guides at Borders when they finally opened.

The facilities at TBK were less-than-impressive. The manager wasn’t always around when he was supposed to be and the shower was essentially a concrete slab surrounded by aluminum siding. The “hot” water was lukewarm, and the kitchen resembled the aftermath of a small bomb. The room was really nice though, and we slept like the dead.

On the 16th we woke up around 4 or 5am (we went to bed at 8:30 pm, we were tired). We checked out and made our way to the rental car place. Our car is a little white Toyota Starlet with the horsepower of a flea and the trunk space of a kangaroo rat… but it runs! We headed out of town to Muriwai Beach where we saw a nesting colony of Australasian Gannets, in addition to lots of White-fronted Terns. It was extremely cold, windy, and rainy and we froze our butts off.

We followed Hwy 1 North - Northland is gorgeous, it’s very green with lots of cows and sheep - and stopped at Waipu Cove. We ran into a lady from the DOC who let us look through her scope and helped us ID some bird species. It started pelting rain again and we got soaked through. We headed to our hostel in Paihia - the Peppertree - which is a really nice place.

On the 17th we got up at 6:30am to head up to Kaitia for a tour of 90-mile beach. THe drive there was absolutely gorgeous, the northern portion of Hwy 1 passed through a lush jungle-like area with these really cool-looking fuzzy palm trees. There were lots of showers and rainbows on the way. Our tour was with Sand Safaris. We stopped at a Kauri (an endemic ancient tree) gift shop and then headed up 90-mile beach. There weren’t many birds along it, but we stopped for some good photos in places. Our guide was Maori and sang us Maori songs on the bus. At the end of the beach we stopped at the sand dunes and went tobogonning.

Cape Reinga itself was pretty, but very windy. There were huge waves where the Tasman Sea met the Pacific Ocean. We stopped at a nearby bay for lunch and then headed down to the Gumdiggers park where we had a guided tour. I wasn’t paying 100% attention though because there were cool birdies (fantails! they’re pretty!). Vanessa also got to see some NZ Spotted Geckos.

After the tour Vanessa drove back to the hostel (only moderately scary).

Today we went on a day sailing tour of the Bay of Islands. I was a little worried about getting motion sick but I did great - the bay was calm and we were on a very smooth Catamaran. The weather was a little sucky - mostly cloudy with occasional rain. And we didn’t get to see any dolphins all day. But there were several good pelagic birds that kept us occupied, and we saw Blue Penguins. We got to hike on an island and lunch was a “barbie” on the boat.

This evening I did some shopping in town. Tomorrow we head south and the day after we go to Tiritiri Island.

Hi everyone, just wanted to leave a brief note that we’re alive and we’ve arrived safely in Auckland! We are very very tired and spent the day wandering around the city. It’s windy and a little rainy here, but WE’RE IN NEW ZEALAND!!!!!! I’ll be in touch in a few days with some more detailed journaling. Toodles!

I thought I’d use my first post to provide a rough itinerary and some maps of where we’re planning to go.

We’re flying out on Air New Zealand from SFO on Friday, October 13th at about 10pm. The flight is 14 hours long and should arrive in Auckland, NZ very early in the morning on October 15th. The first 2 weeks of our trip will be spent on New Zealand’s North Island.

We’ll be spending the 15th of October in Auckland, checking into our hostel and doing some shopping for basic staples (food, bird books, and from what I hear the best long underwear you can buy on the planet). On the 16th we’ll be renting a car and driving up to Northland, and we’ll stay in Paihia at the Bay of Islands for a few days. Our plans up there include a catamaran trip to see dolphins and a bus tour of Cape Reinga. We’ll also be taking a ferry to Tiritiri Island, which is a bird sanctuary.

Next we’ll head back through Auckland and over to the Coromandel Peninsula. We’ve allotted several days for this, and plan to gradually make our way over to Tauranga. Once there we’ll head down through Rotorua and Te Urewera National Park. On the other side we’ll be staying in Napier, where we’ll be going to see a mainland Gannet colony.

Our next main destination is Kapiti Island, so we’ll be cutting across Southland and staying in a town right across from the island. Kapiti Island is also a bird sanctuary, and we’re taking a ferry over there for a day. When we get back we’re heading south to Wellington where we’ll drop off our rental car.

On November 1 we’re taking the Interislander Ferry across the strait to Picton, where we’ll be spending several days. Plans here include a birding tour and sea kayaking before heading over to Abel Tasman National Park. We’ll be moving a lot through the area, but plan to walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Track while we’re there - this is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. It’ll take us 4 days to complete and it’s about 50 km long.

Next we rent another car and head south to Okarito, which isn’t a big tourist destination unless you’re into birds. We’ll be kayaking on the Okarito lagoon and looking at herons and spoonbills. Then we head through Wanaka and down to Queenstown, where we drop off our rental car. After a day in Queenstown we hop on a bus down to Te Anau.

Te Anau is definitely one of the most exciting destinations for us. We’ll be going on a kayaking tour of Milford Sound, a boat tour of the Te Anau Glowworm Caves, and another kayaking tour of Doubtful Sound. We’ll also be hiking the 4-day Milford Track, which is another of New Zealand’s Great Walks (and the most famous).

From Te Anau we head south to Invercargill, which is the southernmost city on the South Island. From there we take a ferry to Stewart Island, where we’ll be spending several days. Plans on the island include a great deal of hiking and bird watching, as well as a short jaunt to Ulva Island, another bird sanctuary.

Back on the mainland we’ve booked a bus tour of the Catlins, a forest park east of Invercargill. The bus takes us all the way up to Dunedin, where we’ll be staying for a day to see the penguins and the albatross colony. We’re then taking a very, very long bus ride from Dunedin up to Kaikoura in one day. In Kaikoura we’re going on two boat tours - one to see albatross and one to see sperm whales. Then we take a bus back to Christchurch, where we fly back to Auckland. After some final time there we’ll fly back to SFO on December 15th.