Nautical Adventures in the Northern Half
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2005
1
20
24
Trip End
Aug 02, 2005
South Island,
New Zealand
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
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Kaikoura
We woke up early to go to Dolphin Encounter to see if the swimming with dolphins tour was operating that day - the weather looked terrible - cold, rainy and foggy. Of course, it wasn't so we signed up for the next day's early tour at 8:30am. Now, Kaikoura is known for swimming with dolphins, whale watching and seal sightings. We decided not to do the whale watching because of the steep price so finding seals was our only option . . . that is until we made a stop at the tourist information center. You might not believe it but right there in NZ there was a basic color brochure advertising a sheep shearing show - go figure the locals cashing in on tourists with the livestock they already have at the ready. We couldn't resist, it was cheap at $10 each and would provide fun photos and laughs on a rainy day
Kayaking in Abel Tasman Park
. We didn't neglect the seals though. We drove down the peninsula to the seal colony to have lunch and watch out for the seals. We didn't have to wait at all. They were already there posing for pictures and looking quite photogenic. There had to be at least 5 really large NZ fur seals, some on the grass and others lazing on the rocks. One in particular was a poser. Tourists, especially the Japanese, were swarming and of course not heeding the 20m distance that the Dept. of Conservation requested that humans maintain between themselves and the wildlife. The seals didn't seem to mind though and everyone came through unscathed.
After lunch we met Peter, the sheep shearer, for our private sheep shearing show. No one else showed up for the 1:30 demo. He donned his coveralls and leather moccasins for more traction. He first brought out his resident ram for us to feed along with Blackie, another sheep that had chocolate brown and black wool. She was intent on getting at the food pellets while Pete gave us pellets to feed to Ram Man. He had just been sheared the day before so he was feeling a little chilly. After the feeding, Peter described the shearing process to us and then brought out a ewe who needed shearing. He said that he would hold her in a special position so as to make her more comfortable (don't know how it was more comfortable - see photos - but we rolled with it)
NZ crayfish was a little bigger than expected
. He took 3 minutes to shear her from bottom to top producing quite a lot of wool and a freshly shorn ewe. He took her back to her stall and then came out to us to tell us the rest of the his process before sending the bales of wool off to be processed. Evidently 70kg of wool is pressed into one bale - all he had on the table was 3 kg which looked like alot. Peter then took us over to another part of the shearing shed to wrap up the presentation. Think of the guy in the picture above giving this story: "Now folks, you see, there are four different kinds of sheep prevalent in NZ. First you got your Merinos, they like the high country and produce fine wool. Then you got your Drysdale, they produce in 6 months the amount of wool that another sheep would produce in 12. Next you have your NZ Romney, most common sheep and good for both eating and wool. Finally you have your black-faced South Suffolk which are usually mixed in a bit with the NZ Romney since they grow faster in order to get your NZ Romney lambs to grow faster in order to ship them to the processing plant earlier. Works like a charm!"
Being fully educated on sheep shearing and the four main types of NZ sheep, we received a souvenir - some delightfully soft, freshly shorn sprigs of Drysdale wool in a plastic bag complete with the wool type and name of the owners on a slip of paper
One uncomfortable sheep
. After our culture lesson we decided to head up the coast a little ways to the roadside shacks, notably Cays Crays, and check out the local crayfish to add a zip to our dinner. Well . . . NZ crayfish are not the kind of crayfish you might think of from New Orleans - larger prawns. These crustaceans are in fact NZ spiny lobsters. Don't worry though it was nothing in comparison to sweet Maine lobster. The tail meat was quite substantial, but had quite a fishy taste. Full of lobster we went to sleep with dreams of dolphins leaping in our heads.
June 5
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Kaikoura --> Abel Tasman National Park
Awaking at dawn and blindly pulling on our clothes we made our way back again to the Dolphin Encounter office. There was a bit of a delay while the skipper radioed in the final decision for the tour that morning. In the end all systems were go. It would be a bit choppy but ok for the boat to go out. We suited up in wetsuits, took our hoods, gloves and booties with our snorkel gear, got our briefing and boarded the boats. We had agreed to subject ourselves to 53 degree water with 5-7mm wetsuits on a cloudy, misty morning. Did we want to swim with wild dolphins or what!? We motored around the bay for a good hour and even had a small plane circle the area to see where the dolphins might be. Our Dolphin Encounter turned into an Albatross Encounter because we couldn't find any dolphins but there were albatross everywhere (usually it is the other way around). Go figure!
Roadside fence somewhere in NZ
! We had tried our darnedest to swim with dolphins but evidently it wasn't meant to be. We got great albatross and seabird sightings out of the hour plus boat ride though and only had to pay US$14 for both of us. (They charged us an "operational" fee even though we didn't swim with the dolphins). Dolphin Encounter was a professional outfit though and quite sorry for us that we hadn't found any dolphins -- the even sent up a plane to look for dolphins while we were cruising around. Since the dolphins are wild they couldn't have predicted their behavior which is understandable.We decided to keep moving and try swimming again in the Bay of Islands north of Auckland at the end of our trip - in warmer waters. The campervan then made a break for Abel Tasman National Park where we had booked a full day kayak trip for the following day. We couldn't resist stopping at a few wineries in the Marlborough region which is famous for its Sauvigon Blancs as we passed through on our way towards Nelson and the park. We picked two that seemed interesting. Both were excellent - Cloudy Bay and Seresin (winery owned by Michael Seresin, maker of Harry Potter movies, among others) - and they both distribute in the US. Our drive took us up to our next day's jumping off point, Marahau, before we stopped for the night.
June 6
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Abel Tasman National Park
Another early, chilly morning greeted us but with the sun promising a lovely day of kayaking
Seal pup hopped on the front of our kayak!
. We had chosen Kaiteriteri Kayaks on recommendation from the couple, Sarah and David, who we had convinced us to rent the campervan in the first place. Their brochure was fun and colorful too, so why not?! Our 1-day "Royale with Cheese" trip was guided by a friendly and boisterous Maori guy. He greeted us with a huge "Kai ora" (Hello). It was a fantastic day and much better than our last kayaking foray in Halong Bay. The sun was out and our guide led the trip in a Maori fashion - that is with chants, singing, and lots of background on Maori culture and tradition. We ate a delicious packed lunch on a beach and topped it off with a mochachino prepared by our guide on the spot. After lunch was the big excitement. We found a group of 5-month old seals playing in a sheltered pool off Pinnacle Island. Evidently this was unusual both that the baby seals were there and that we could get close enough to play with them (in summer its too crowded and very regulated but no touching though). They loved our paddles and swimming around our boats in circles. They were so inquisitive and a couple even jumped right up onto our kayak - one in the back by Amy and one right in front of Alex and his camera. It was an incredible experience and the absolute highlight of the day. At the end of our leisurely paddle up to Bark Bay in the afternoon we hopped a water taxi back to base and got out of our wet socks and booties. Our guide ended the day with a Maori farewell called "hongi" - the ceremonial touching of noses
Seal pups chasing Amy's paddle
. Alex had personal-space issues.June 7
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Abel Tasman --> Wellington
After our last adventure on the South Island, we were ready to head up to the North Island. Our ferry from Picton left at 1:30pm so we were up early cruising the scenic, winding road to make it on time. The ferry was almost the size of a small cruise ship and had quite a few of the same amenities but obviously not as luxurious. The crossing through the Queen Charlotte Sound (in the Marlborough Sounds) was calm and scenic, but once we hit the Cooks Straits is was extremely windy and choppy. Neither of us were seasick thankfully. We arrived in Wellington in time for an hour or so at the Te Papa Museum - NZ's national museum. It was an interesting stop with lots of Maori culture to learn about but it also seemed like a great spot to visit with kids with all the interactive exhibits. We hit the Maori exhibits primarily and then headed to our lovely Top 10 campground for the night. More to come on our Griswald-ish foray on the North Island . . .
Campervan update
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Alex was a little nervous that the van would break down in the middle of sheep country, so when we heard a noise coming from under the front seat (where the engine is), we were a little nervous. Alex has no car repair skills, whatsoever. We had tried our best to make sure that the van was well maintained. Alex even had the oil checked (by removing the front seat and checking the dip stick) shortly before the rattle started. We gave it about 30 minutes to settle and it did not go away. Alex stopped the van, whipped up the engine compartment open and found the culprit. The guy who had checked our oil a few miles back had let a coke bottle fall onto the engine and then shut the compartment on top of it. The coke bottle came out a little melted and sticky -- it could have been a lot messier. Alex "fixed" the campervan, folks.
