Serene Charlotte and Wild Wairarapa

Political cartoon by Australian Pat Campbell with fronds of the silver ferns representing the 50 slain worshippers.

My blogging began in 2010 on coming to New Zealand for the first time, a way of sharing and staying close to people near and far. I did not expect then that I would spend a majority of my time here since then. Unfortunately, I need to open this post briefly commenting on the recent monstrous mass murders in Christchurch. That city has suffered earthquakes, floods, and fires since 2010 but this has been the worst for the city and the country. Trying to contemplate this is like staring at the sun. I can only do it in brief glimpses. Looking at photos of the victims, especially the young, and reading about their lives is heart-wrenching and sears the brain.
Many here and abroad thought this would never happen here, and although I didn't expect it, I had no reason to believe New Zealand was immune. But I also expected that, like after the Port Arthur massacre in Australia in 1996, New Zealand would react swiftly and decisively to take steps to protect the innocent from such carnage in the future. Thankfully that seems to be happening.
Timaru Hospital is the closest major facility to Christchurch, two hours south. Some people killed had worked here. My colleagues at the hospital in Christchurch did an Herculean job responding to the tragedy, but the psychic trauma has been so major that they are still not accepting any transfers or doing business as usual. There are so many victims in so many ways. Let us remember and honor all of them.

On an infinitely lighter and more life-affirming note, let me share the goings on since my last blog early in December, 2108. While I usually proceed in strict "missionary-style" chronological order, I will vary that to emphasize two special weeks in February and plan to catch up with before and after in the next blog.

Athena, Margaret, me, and Cheryl: Day 0 in Picton

More than a year ago I contacted my three sisters to see if there was any interest in doing one of the many wonderful tramps in New Zealand. Despite seeing a great deal of the country, I have only had limited but marvelous experiences off the main roads. The 2010 adventure on the Milford Track with Athena and Cheryl was a life-long highlight. Luckily, all three were interested, so we decided to take on the classic Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds. Located in the feathery fingers in the northeastern top of the South Island that project into Cook Strait, I had admired the beauty of the region from trips on the Picton to Wellington ferry.

The track covers 67 Km. (40 miles), usually divided over four days, and we decided on the posh option, staying at very nice lodges and adding an extra day for relaxation. We all met up in Picton on a Sunday night to start out early Monday morning. The geography of the area is so very complex I can't really begin to describe it, a hodgepodge mix of water and land, inlets and ridges, islands and peninsulas. The map below gives you the idea.

A water taxi first stopped at Motuara Island, a predator-free bird sanctuary in the Sound. We had an hour to walk to the summit and see as many native birds as we could.

View across to Arapawa Island from Motuara

Before man, the islands were ruled by birds. I may be getting a bit better at recognizing the locals.
We saw:

New Zealand parakeet/kākāriki

New Zealand robin/toutouwai

New Zealand woodhen/weka

New Zealand pigeon/kererū

The trailhead begins in Ship Cove where there is a monument to James Cook. This was his favorite anchorage on his three voyages, from his first visit in 1770 until his fifth and last in 1777. He stayed there five times for a total of 170 days.

Cook monument

It was a warm and dry day, making it a challenge to stay hydrated on the 14.5 Km leg, but there were ample rewards at the lovely Furneaux Lodge.

A cold brew at the lodge end of Day 1

We arrived in time for a very refreshing swim off the pier. Dinner was top-notch and as we had booked full board we enjoyed all the courses of all the meals with relish. It was a revelation to realize one could enjoy all this without the hike and arrive by water taxi. The next morning before setting off to the next destination, Margaret and I visited the nearby 1,000 year old Puhikereru Rimu tree.

On the 11.5 Km Day Two walk I captured a picture of this New Zealand fantail/piwakawaka.

Another warm day with confusion locating the lodge eventually found us arriving sweaty and tired at the Mahana Lodge where David, the manager and chef, was waiting with ice-cold pints of beer (yum!).

Day 2 on the porch with David and beer.

This may have been the nicest place we stayed, with a very limited number of guests, ten including us. It was quiet and very comfortable featuring a gourmet meal prepared by David. He was a bit of an odd duck, and perhaps didn't care much for me. He argued with me that the Lodge was NOT hard to find and the gate WASN'T locked. Everyone was expected to sit down to dinner precisely on time, and he would reveal the menu when he was good and ready. He snapped at me for looking at my phone while he was announcing dessert (I lied and said I wasn't). We suspected that he may have felt he was too fine a chef to be stuck in the boondocks (called woop woops here), and perhaps some cooking sherry was involved (pure unsubstantiated speculation).
BUT... the food was delicious, the water inviting, the bed comfortable, there were glow worms and bioluminescent creatures in the water, and we would all stay there again!

I said that was hot and dry, but didn't mention that this heat and drought had caused the largest wildfire in New Zealand since the 1950's in nearby Nelson. As a result, part of the Track was closed because of extreme fire danger so we were not allowed to do the full 23 Km Day 3 hike. This may have been a blessing in disguise because we were all somewhat anxious about it. I also suffered a freak tear in my right calf on night two while taking a dip. Prompt icing through dinner (sorry David!) and Athena's PT helped, but I was not going to try 23 Km with one bad leg. Because of the closure, we all had to take the water taxi out from Mahana Lodge.

The Mahana Lodge complex as seen from the departing boat.

Margaret and Athena took the option of disembarking one cove before our lodging and hiking 7-10 Km over the ridge while Cheryl and I continued on to the Lochmara Lodge. Once I got there and settled in, my leg was feeling good enough to give it a try, so I set off uphill to the trail hoping to cross paths with the two wandering sisters. As I carefully walked my calf was less sore and I did get to the top of the ridge where they were just descending.

View of Lochmara Bay from the ridge

Lochmara Lodge is more "old-school" than the previous two, just a bit more worn but the most fun. This would be the place for a family vacation with many diversions for all ages. Their motto is "Once discovered, never forgotten". With water sports, an underwater observatory and stingray encounter, sculpture garden, aviary, eels, Glow Worm Gully, art gallery, spa, plenty of hammocks, pathways and nooks and crannies to explore, what's not to like? It was the perfect place to spend an extra day just relaxing.

Dinner on Day 3

February 20, 2019 Supermoon

A short time later on our balcony

The two nights were especially magical. On land the glow worms sparkled and in the water the microscopic bioluminescent bacteria exploded into cascades of light when the water rippled. This inspired my sisters to verse. Margaret had begun composing haikus while on the trail and this night Athena and Cheryl joined in. See if you can tell which sister composed which poem (answers at end of posting).

1)   A dark night of light

Bright fireworks under water

Glowworms and moonlight.

 

2)   Glittering glowworms
Shimmering moonlight
Itchy sandfly bites.
 

3)   Fern birds aqua seas
Tramping Captain Cook's shadow
Unforgettable!

Like the original manuscript of On the Road, here are some of Margaret's original drafts.

Mermaid on roof

A tui

Banjo

Feeding a stingray

Art imitates life...

with this stick-bug on Cheryl's arm.

Chillin' mid-afternoon Day 4

View of Lochmara Lodge from the dock

Recharged, it was time to hit the trail for the last day and an 18 Km walk to Anakiwa and the boat back to Picton.

I haven't adequately noted how stunning the Charlotte Sound and Track is, but you should get the idea from some of my photos. It was a great trip, a good time was had by all, and I am so grateful all of my sisters took time and made the effort to share this with me. I would not have done it without them.

Day 5, near the end of the Track

On to Wellington and the Wairarapa-
Post-trek we had no trouble catching the ferry to Wellington to meet up with Fayne and help celebrate her birthday. There is always plenty to do in the capital, and the national museum is always worth a visit. Te Papa has a special exhibit on loan from China of some of the thousands of famous Terracotta Warriors. We were lucky enough to visit them in situ near Xi'an, China in 2011. Warrior-inspired lanterns welcome you to the museum, and inside you will find a small but well-curated selections of Chinese artifacts from a similar 3rd C. BC epoch.

Terracotta chariot

Coincidentally Wellie was also celebrating Chinese New Year (Y.O.T. Pig) especially on Party Central Cuba St.

The highlight was a tapas banquet at Ombra for which extra-special guest and dear friend Dr. Florry O'Connell made a special trip from Auckland to honor the Missus.

Dinner with Flo

After dinner we all returned to the Air B&B house for chocolate cake and presents.

We parted ways with the Sisters Wallace early the next morning as they took the train north for more adventures and Fayne and I went off to explore one of the few places in New Zealand we hadn't seen: the Southeast corner of the North Island known as The Wairarapa.

Map Courtesy of Destination Wairarapa

Separated from Wellington by the steep Remutaka Range, it is a sparsely populated area known for sheep and the annual Golden Shears sheep-shearing competition (dubbed " the world's most prestigious sheep shearing event"), picturesque small towns, rugged remote coastlines, and more recently wine, particularly Pinot Noir.
That is all fine and good, but there was no doubt that our first stop would be at Stonehenge Aotorea. Set amongst pastures not unlike the British original, this is described by its creators as:

The vision for Stonehenge Aotearoa was to create a practical open-sky observatory inspired by, and built on a similar scale to, the famous Stonehenge in England.  However, it is not a replica of this mysterious ancient monument but a modern interpretation, based upon the many stone circles and astronomical stone structures scattered around the globe.

For fans of roadside oddities, this is irresistible. It is a passion project of primarily one couple, Richard Hall and Kay Leather, at once deadly serious but perhaps a bit daft. The small ticket kiosk/gift shop was run by a woman who turned out to be Ms. Leather, and most of the books on sale authored by her and/or Mr. Hall. They have created the Phoenix Astronomical Society to help make their dream a reality, and if you join you can have access to the club room and a cup of coffee. They give instruction on the cosmos and talks on how the ancients from the Brits to the Polynesians used the heavens as a guide. The world is richer and more entertaining due to people like them.
We used the small town of Greytown as a base, selected as New Zealand's Most Beautiful Small Town 2017. It is a lovely place,with many surprisingly good restaurants, that has worked hard to preserve many 19th century buildings. It was the major center in the region until the railroad bypassed it for Masterton in the 1880's. At the Cobblestones Museum and Early Settlers' Village you can revisit the past.

Clockwise starting in the upper left: hospital ward, shearing tools, George Wakelin's sculpture of Florence Nightingale, pews in the first church, early schoolroom, stable; Center- Maori river waka (canoe)

We were sure to visit the two Wairapa coastal spots featured on so many NZ calendars:

1. Castlepoint to the north and west, and
2. Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island

Castlepoint Lighthouse

A wild and windy walk at Castlepoint

The drive to Cape Palliser was on a warm, sunny, and clear day. I was surprised to look across Cook Straight  to the snow-crested Southern Alps near Kaikoura. Unfortunately my camera was inadequate to capture what my eye could clearly but faintly see. It could confirm the largest breeding colony of native fur seals on the North Island.

The next challenge was to negotiate the 250+ steps to the 120 year-old Cape Palliser Lighthouse.

On the way back to Wellington there were two other stops. The town of Featherston has the Fell Locomotive Museum. I knew nothing about the Fell locomotive, and once I got there I found out why. This was the only place on earth it really worked.
Developed in the mid-19th century in the UK by rail engineer John Barraclough Fell, it was meant specifically for trains to haul heavy loads up inclines too steep for conventional engines. The innovation was to have a special middle third rail which would engage on the steeper stretches. A device would clamp onto this raised rail for extra power climbing, and more importantly extra braking on the descent. The well-informed guide will patiently explain this to visitors in detail.
Although not extremely high in altitude, the Remutaka Range is quite steep in spots, and in order for Wairarapa farmers to sell products, they needed to get them to Wellington. The train had to negotiate a 1:15 incline (i.e.: for every 15 feet traveled, one foot climbed). Although it was inefficient, loud, dirty, and expensive, it did the trick, and operated here from 1878-1955, or 72 years longer than any other Fell system in the world.

Probably indecipherable in this photo, on the bottom is a mirror to show the parallel white pads used to grip the 3rd rail

After two years of anticipation, our final stop was in Lower Hut, a suburb of Wellington to the northeast. In 2017, when Scarlet Johansson spent time locally filming The Ghost in the Shell, she declared "there was this incredible place in Wellington called Zany Zeus that had the best piece of chocolate cake I've had in my entire life".
The gauntlet was cast! Lower Hut is actually 15 Km out of Wellington so we had to wait until we had a car. After following complex but necessary GPS instructions we arrived at a modest deli run by a Cypriot Greek man known mostly for his cheeses, especially Halloumi.

The small display cases were stuffed with various cheeses, meats, sandwiches, sweet and savory baked goods.....but no chocolate cake in sight! I approached the young lady at the counter and asked "Do you have any chocolate cake?" and she muttered "Scarlett Johansson, right?" We answered in the affirmative and she assured us there was some in the back. We sat at a small table on the sidewalk and ate one piece and got a second to go (or in Kiwi "Takeaway").

We were not disappointed, and felt a sense of pride at having accomplished our mission. Best chocolate cake ever?? It's not for me to say. Try it and let me know. I will have to have several more pieces before deciding.

Answers to Haiku authorship:

1. Cheryl
2. Margaret
3. Athena

P.S.- I plan to compose the next blog soon, covering the following week in Auckland, and odds and ends from December and January. More cake to follow.