From "Guy Fawkes Day" To Pre-Christmas: Northwest Coast and Golden Bay

We returned from the States to New Zealand the end of September, where the spring is gradually changing to summer. If you have a smart phone app to check the weather in both Timaru, NZ and Fort Bragg, CA, it is amazing how frequently the two are nearly identical; same temperature, same chance of rain or sun, etc. The major difference is the days are getting progressively longer here and shorter there.
The Kiwis don't officially admit to celebrating Halloween, claiming they are celebrating Guy Fawkes Day, commemorating the night of November 5, 1605 when Mr. Fawkes was arrested for trying to blow up the House of Lords.However, the evening of October 31 we saw plenty of children in costumes collecting candy at the annual event for the Timaru Boys School. Hummmm. Sound familiar? They do use it as an excuse to sell and set off fireworks to honor Guy's attempt to restore the papacy to Britain.

Springtime in Caroline Bay, Timaru

One of the joys of small-town rural life is to partake of the local festivals, such as nearby Pleasant Point's annual "Get to the Point Day" November 8, accurately described in their literature as "A fun filled day brimming with community spirit for young and old alike". This included the sausage-eating contest, featuring a variety of rare (as in not fully cooked) meat products, the tug-of-war, and the sheep-shearing competition, scattered amid bounce-houses and food and craft booths.

Sausages

Tug-of-War

Men rapidly denuding sheep

In our time in New Zealand, we have driven almost all of the major roads on both the North and South Islands with one exception: the upper northwest corner of the South Island. I took a few days off in late November to tick that box.

Our path led us across Arthur's Pass to the West Coast. The pass is known for spectacular landscapes, wet weather, and cheeky keas, the native Alpine Parrot.

Kea perched on my rear-view mirror

First on the list of new places to see was Punakaiki, better know as Pancake Rocks, in Paparoa National Park. The limestone rocks were subjected to a process geologists call stylobedding, when pressure, time, and erosion form thin layers of rock. These "stacks" really don't look like pancakes to me, maybe baklava.

Punakaiki

Close-up of rocks

Underneath these formations are sea caves and tunnels which cause impressive blow holes.

Further north is Cape Foulwind, aptly named by the ubiquitous Captain James Cook. There is a large colony of kekeno, the New Zealand fur seal. Once nearly hunted to extinction, the seals (more acurately sea lions) are rebounding nicely.

Cape Foulwind

Kekeno relaxing

In the same neighborhood, Westport, NZ lies at the mouth of the Buller River. The Kiwi town is reputedly the only Westport in the Southern Hemisphere, and one of 26 proud members of the organization "Westports of the World". (I could not confirm if the unincorporated Westport, CA is in this group.) The whole West Coast is isolated, known for rough weather, waning coal and gold mining, and some agriculture. There are a few well-preserved art deco buildings from the 1930's and some surprisingly good restaurants. It reminds me of West Virginia but with better food.

Westport Municipal Chambers

Nearby on a plateau up a very steep hill is the mostly abandoned coal town of Denniston. For 88 years is was serviced by an ingenious and dangerous 45⁰ gravity-powered tramway. It was quite an amazing engineering feat for the time. Visiting these foggy ghostly remains at dusk is unsettling.

The road to the northwest goes up through the Gorge of the Buller River past the site of the ruined gold-mining town of Lyell, where you can take a trail through the regenerating forests and streams.

A bit further upstream, you can cross the 110 meter Buller Gorge Swingbridge, the longest pedestrian swingbridge in NZ.

B. G. S.

Motoring through rural New Zealand is a true pleasure of one scenic vista after another. My pictures only hint at this. Think of the landscape you most enjoy (rivers, lakes, mountains, seashore, forests, etc.): it is all here in abundance, and we were so lucky to have a dry, sunny day for the drive.

Southern Alps around Nelson Lakes NP

View from Hawkes Lookout, Takaka Hill

Crossing Takaka Hill and entering the Golden Bay area completed a trip started in September, 2010 with my sister Angela. We made it to Able Tasman National Park, but time, distance, and inclement weather stopped us short, so she was much on my mind this trip (The link to my old blog-post is here.)

Takaka town is very alternative, arty, and Mendocinoid, with friendly people and an outstanding German bakery. Te Waikoropupu Springs is just out of town, and is not to be missed. Sacred to local Maori, it is one of the largest springs in the world and the water clarity is amazing. As fresh water wells up continuously from multiple vents, it is a kaleidoscope of colors and dancing sands. 

aka: Pupu Springs

As a curious traveler, the thin-fingered 32 km-long Farewell Spit intrigued me. Named by (who else) Captain Cook, the spit is a protected nature reserve that can only be visited via a 6.5 hour escorted tour out of Collingwood. (BTW, for a town of 250, it has a remarkable chocolatier, Rosy Glow Chocolates. Highly recommended! If you are ever in town, do pop in.)
The first stop of the tour is Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of the South island.

Cape farewell

The micro-bus went all the way out to the now unmanned lighthouse, where we had hot tea and biscuits.

Farewell Spit Lighthouse

Unfortunately, many whales get confused and have beached on the spit.

The highlight of the visit is always the wild-life.I created this collage, and will do my best to correctly identify the creatures.

Clockwise from the Upper Left: a shag,NZ fur seal, Eastern godwit, Caspian terns, gannet, seal. C: Oystercatcher

The Best New Zealand Thanksgiving Ever (with one abstention)®

Dr. Hemlock with Tom, the guest of honor

Next, we had to scurry back to Timaru. Most Americans here agree that as much as we like it, we do miss the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, I did some research with a fellow Yank colleague, Dr. Camille Hemlock, and we decided to order a 22 lb. turkey (hard to find here), and suggest our weekly Tuesday night dinner be shifted to Thursday November 27. Things sort of snow-balled, and we ended up with 25 or so people pot-lucking, a mixture of Americans missing the celebration, and others from around the world (even some kids) partaking in their first observance. One young Californian GP even found Libby's canned pumpkin in the gourmet foreign food section of an Oamaru market. I baked a pecan pie, which sadly looked much better than it was (the filling didn't set properly). There was lots of great food and fellowship, and we were even spared trying to watch the 49er game, since it was still Wednesday in the US (I personally am denying that it ever happened). It was almost unanimous: TBNZTE!

Just as it is back home, the end of November heralds the opening of the Christmas season. I'll be here working through December 29th, then back to California for several weeks. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and we hope to see many of you soon!

Stafford Street Timaru Christmas Decorations