Tongariro National Park

We took a short walk in the morning.

Oour hotel on the slopes.

Near Nelson

Abel Tasman National Park

and our hotel in Nelson-lookslike an English Cottage

Wellington

Wellington Harbor in background

Saturday December 29,2007

Can you believe we have been here more than a week??? I am amazed and a little sad at how quickly the time is flying by. This time next week we will be finished with the sightseeing portion of our journey and will remain in Christchurch for 4 nights doing day trips to LOTR sights. Yesterday we travelled from Wellington to Nelson. Wellington is the capital of the country and the southernmost port of the North Island. We boarded a ferry accross the Cook Straight to Picton where we rented another car and drove to Nelson.

Today we find ourselves in the city of Nelson (actually just outside Nelson in a town called Stoke) where we are staying at what appears to be a timeshare. Very nice with loads of wood complete with heavy doors and windowframes. We went to a farmer's market/streetfair today and picked up some really good deals. munchies, and chatted with several nice New Zealanders. Janis, you are going to love what mom picked up for you.....

Then we drove out to the coast to the Abel Tasman National Park and experienced some breath-takingly beautiful beaches, waded into the Tasman Sea, picked up some interesting seashells and just had a wonderful time exploring the countryside and the coastlines of South Island. Afterward we went to the Cinema and saw "The Golden Compass". Nice flick.

Thelma says: What am I going to say? It has been a good trip. I am enjoying New Zealand. I am glad I came and I am feeling great, except my voice still has not completely returned. The thing I like most about NZ is the beauty of the landscape and the friendliness of the people. A lady helped us find a movie theater today when Georganna just kind of asked nobody in particular where it was. You know how you wonder out loud "where do we buy the tickets at?" This nice lady came up to her and pointed and said "right over there". If anyone else says there are a lot of sheep here, believe them. If they took all the sheep out of New Zealand the elevation of the whole country would probably increase by several feet. I am doing more walking. Tom got tired of pushing me and made me push my own wheelchair as a walker. The steps are somewhat tricky, but I am getting the hang of it. The coffee sucks here, but they have great hot chocolate. They put a small amount of espresso in a coffee cup then add hot water and call it coffee. Starbucks should be able to make a fortune here.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Tomorrow we head south toward the glaciers. We are all concerned about the weather as it has been colder in summer here than it is at home in winter. We will post again in a day or so.

TGT in NZ

December 27, Wellington

As promised, today was finally gorgeous. We looked out the window of our hotel (the Chateau) and saw snow covered mountain tops-one of which is actually Mt Doom!! It is covered with snow, but unmistakable. Tom and Georganna did two short hikes before breakfast-one to a nice little waterfall, then we gathered up Thelma (after Tom scraped ice off the windows of the car) and headed for Wellington and the south end of the north island. After many tries, we finally found an open quilt shop and some very NZ fabric and the special brand of thread the quilters back home are anxious for.
Tomorrow is the 3 hour crossing to the south island and two nights in Nelson. Maybe some short hikes for Tom and Georg while Thelma rests up. She is doing better than when we started-this afternoon she pushed her wheelchair up the ramp and down the hall to her room. She is game for most activities that do not have long walks involved.

Boxing Day

OK, so if anyone tells you summer in NZ is warm, laugh at them and remember that on the fourth day of summer we saw SNOW. OK, so we are on a mountain side in the Targariro National Park, but it has rained, hailed and snowed on us nonethless.

We were in Rotorua last night, right in the middle of some serious geothermal activity-we spent a nice hour in the hot spring water at our hotel while Thelma had a massage and got some of the “kinks” out from the last few days of getting on and off boats, in and out of many buses, through a limestone cave, and walking quite a lot. We tried to see a whole park full of boiling pools and geysers, but it being Christmas Day, most everything was closed. We did see some very gooey hot mud pools though.

Some interesting things about NZ:
“Mayonnaise” is really salad dressing.
They have two kinds of flushes on their toilets-half flush for just liquids and a full flush for solids. Very clever.
We’ve not seen one homeless panhandler (or even one with a home).
No one seems to know what the heck “Boxing Day” is, just that it is a holiday.
“Tomato sauce” is ketchup.
They will put sliced beets on your hamburger if you let them.
They put baked beans, corn or spaghetti on their toast!
Pasties are pastries, not those things strippers glue on their boobs.
A Quarter Pounder is called a Quarter Pounder, but a double cheeseburger is a Cheese Royal.
And a rocket is a type of dinner salad.

Despite some elaborate planning, Georganna has not been able to get into a quilt shop-they have all been closed for the holidays. Darn. Tonight we are at the Bayview Chateuau in Tongariro NP, Mt Ruapehu. Very ritzy place. just like the pre-WWII resorts. We witness times gone by here. You can look it up on the web. Today’s weather is too overcast for a photo to do it justice. Tomorrow is on to Wellington-home of WETA studios and the Lord of the Rings productions-the impetus for the whole trip.

TGT in NZ

P.S. We continue to be disappointed in the internet connections at the hotels. Sincer we are in Tangariro National Park there is quite literally no other facility. We are alone in the countryside. Therefore we are again at the mercy of the hotel to connect. We did post two photos today but we will be required to wait until we can find another internet cafe to post more incredible photos. Please be patient and keep checking this blog.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Day, 2007

Merry Christmas everyone. It has been three days since our last posting to this blog. We last posted in Paihia where we located an internet café with a high-speed capability. Today we are somewhat at the mercy of the hotel as we are going to attempt to call Japan and wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy Birthdays.

Weirdly enough, Japan is 4 hours behind us now on the international clock. It must have something to do with NZ being so far south that we must have several timelines all bunched up here. We set up a Skype internet phone account just prior to leaving home and tested it a few times so we should be able to accomplish a call. If you don’t get a call from us, it will be due to technical difficulties along with Georganna and Tom yelling at each other due to technical difficulties. We are also going to call Janis and Jennifer tomorrow as we are 22 hours ahead of them.

Wow!! Yesterday we drive to the Waitomo Glowworm caves. We took a walking tour down into the limestone cave 250 ft below the surface. Tom pushed Thelma in the wheelchair almost a mile. We saw stalactites, stalagmites, dripping water, an underground river, little worms with blue lights on their butts, the whole shebang. Then we pressed on through some very beautiful rolling hills and farmlands to Rotorua, and after a brief respite, we were picked up at our hotel and transported to an authentic replica Maori village for a cultural exhibition. It was very interesting as the tribe danced and sang while we took several photos, some of which we will attempt to post here. The Maori warriors were covered in tattoos on their face and hips. Some of the warriors had their entire face covered. The women wore tattoos around their mouths and down their chin. Part of the exhibition was a demonstration of the weapons used by the warriors and how they were used. While I was sitting watching us, I recalled the scene with Harrison Ford in the first Indiana Jones movie where the Arabic warrior performed his two-sword bravado, then Indiana Jones pulled out his pistol and shot him. After the exhibition, we had an authentic Maori feast provided for us, followed by a nighttime tour of the Kiwi research and preserve. Tres Magnifique!

We now stay two nights in Rotorua, which is located pretty much in the midpoint of the North Island, also known as the Bay of Plenty. There are geo-thermal springs and geysers here, so today is meant to be a relaxation day. We have reservations at a Polynesian Spa. Mom has commented she may enjoy a massage, and tom is always up for a massage so we may just veg here all day. Another option is to explore some of the thermal hot springs and geysers.

I guess that’s all for now, we’ll talk to you again soon.

TGT in NZ
Merry Christmas

December 22, 2007

We are in Paihia, Bay of Islands. NZ is truly a beautiful country with really pleasant people, just like everyone said it was. But they often have slow internet connections. Yesterday after our arrival we attempted to post to this blog, but the computer connection was so dismally slow that we were able to only view 2 emails within the 20 minute billing period. Both of us cringed at continuing to pay connection charges while getting nothing done. So we didn’t post; instead we wrote this message offline and will post it later.

Friday was a long day of overland travel for us. While the drive from Auckland to Paihia was uneventful and not overly stressful, both Georganna and Tom took turns driving. We are still getting accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road and the most difficult part, believe it or not, is getting used to the directional signals as they are on the opposite sides of the steering wheel. Every time we wish to signal a turn we get our windshield cleaned instead.

Having Thelma along has given us many opportunities to see parts of a country we normally would not. Reminiscences of family driving vacations abound as a small voice from the back seat informs us of the need to stop precisely at the mid-point between two rest areas. Coupled with remembering to conduct a U-turn to the right instead of to the left AND remaining on the left side of the road once we completed the turn has proven to be a fine challenge indeed.

Apparently there was an earthquake Thursday evening shortly after we finished posting our blog. We thought about going back to the internet café and re-posting, or even connecting in the hotel room, but frankly we were too tired to do either. The quake was nowhere near us at the time however we are scheduled to drive through that area later this week.

Today we went on a day cruise in the Bay of Islands and spent some time in a former whaling village called Russell. We lunched there, shopped, and toured until the ferry arrived for the return to Paihia. Tonight we expect to find dinner at some smaller café, which by the way is what seems to be the most prevalent of dining choices….cafe’s.

We will post again before Christmas…hopefully.

TGT in NZ

Thursday December 20,2007

What a day!!

After a splendid breakfast we did a little bit of shopping near the harbor and Thelma bought a great hat. When the blustery wind proved too much for Thelma we took her back to the hotel for some more R&R. After that, Georg and I went to a "hole-in-the-wall" food court and had some "authentic" Thai food, then caught a taxi to the Auckland Museum.

The museum was really cool, even for Tom. The Maori cultural artifacts were amazing especially the "2x4 over the head variety" namely a war canoe that was 25 meters long carved out of a single tree with some very exacting adze work. Naturally Georganna found quilts, while Tom passed them by without notice. While on the drive up to the museum the taxi driver suggested we check out a greenhouse sort of place he called the "wintergarden". So after the museum we did. OMG it was incredible!!! This place is a conservatory for flora from all area of the world. It even had something called a "fernery". We took some photos and we are posting two of them here. We pass through here again in a few days, and we will make sure that Thelma sees the wintergarden as well.

After a taxi ride home and a brief nap, the three of us went to dinner at a upscale Thai restaurant attached to the hotel. So far the food has been excellent if a bit pricey, yet at the same time we have only experienced the bigger city and airport dining choices.


Tomorrow we head north to the Bay of Islands for two nights. Namely we will be in a town called Paihia for those of you who want to look on a map to follow our progress.

We made it safely to NZ.

We made it safely to NZ. Flights weren't so bad and driving on the wrong side of the road is a trip. Georganna was taken by the Fili police officers. Well, actually she was taken by their uniforms and demanded she take a picture of them. You will also need to ask her about the smuggled banana and her narrow escape from the New Zealand Gulag.

We picked up a cell phone in country for emergency contacts. Thelma is still coughing but her spirits are high. We intend to use the next day to recover from the traveling. We may go to the National Museum and then just go get lost for a while.

Georganna says she wants to go back to Fiji as it was warm and muggy just like Costa Rica and Belize. Then there are the men in skirts...doesn't that sound like a TV show?

Stay tuned for our next post and photos may be attached eventually.

That's all for now,

TGT in New Zealand.