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We Return to Wellington

1/26/2014

Following an incredible 2-week trip to the South Island, we returned to Wellington on January 25. After spending one night with Jody's workmate, Judy, in her home we moved into our new apartment. Lodging is very expensive in Wellington and New Zealand in general. We lucked out in that we got a very spacious two-bedroom apartment in a 100-year old home for the same rate as most people are paying for 1/3 the space. It's quite suited to parties (which we love) and is very comfortable. Following are some pictures of where we're hanging out until August 31 waiting to see if Jody gets a Fulbright to go to Australia on September 1, 2014.

General living area.

And now, February 26, with our new 40" widescreen :-).

Our bedroom.

Kitchen

Sunken Guest bedroom

Dining area

Backyard

Jody and I spent the week of January 26 getting the apartment in order. Got a new 40" LCD widescreen TV for a steal as the old tube TV was not equipped to handle digital signals. The home is now pretty much the way we want it and we've even hosted our first dinner party.

Swimming with Dolphins

1/24/2014

On our next to last day on the South Island, we traveled from Christ Church to Kaikoura to swim with dolphins. This required us donning wet suits and going out on a boat to meet the dolphins. We took 3 separate dives in 60 degree water and basically snorkeled as entire schools of dolphins swam around us. They came within inches of us. It was an exhilarating experience and one of Jody's dreams. Unfortunately, most of our documentation are videos and I haven't as yet worked on getting video onto my Blog. But, the following pictures give you an idea of what we saw and experienced.

To quote the music group, YES, "Mountains rise out of the sky and just stand there."

Return to Christchurch - Day 13

1/23/2014

As we return to Christchurch, the start of our 15 day journey, we have one more, major adventure left - swimming with dolphins. But first, a nice seashore dinner in Christchurch by a restaurant we found by accident while searching for a scenic site to dine.

A moody wharf at sunset, but we were nice and toasty inside, well wined and dined.

Before leaving Dunedin

1/23/2014

Before leaving Dunedin, Jody visited St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown Dunedin while I drove around the block. A lunchtime performance of Bach was being performed and she thoroughly enjoyed the performance in this beautiful cathedral.

On our way to Christchurch I had another treat. We drove through Omaru, a town with a terrific museum showcasing art from the art form "Steampunk." Without boring anyone with the details, here is the website that describes Steampunk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk. As an off-shoot of Sc-Fi and Fantasy, I had a blast both inside and outside the museum. The following pictures just give a little flavor.

The Otago Pennisula

1/23/2014

Jody and i continued exploring the Otago Pennisula in search of penguins. We did find them. However, it was a little fur seal that captured my heart and enhanced my view of mankind and the animal kingdom.

Upon leaving the castle, Jody and I drove around the hills of the region and found this pristine view of the Pacific Ocean.

As the weather got more moody, we went on an organized penguin hunt with an excellent local guide. Before finding the penguins, however, we visited fur seals up close and personal along the shoreline.

Fur seals everywhere lounging on the rocks, just as we had seen them on our trip to Milford Sound. Moms, dads, and children together.

Mom seal with her flipper around her pup.

It was then that our guide motioned to us to quietly follow him as we approached a fur seal and her pup not more then 10 feet away.

Those of you on Facebook are familiar with this picture of "Sparky" (the name I have given this little guy). I get very emotional looking at this picture of Sparky and must say that encountering him was one of those truly life-enhancing moments for me. As we approached Sparky, and as you can see in the first two pictures, he sat up straight and took notice of our approach. His mother was somewhat blase', I'm sure because she is used to humans getting near them for a looksee. But this little guy seemed very, very curious. He began moving his front flippers up and down, reminding me of little dogs when they are excited to see another person or animal. He would shyly lower his head and then raise it to look at us. He seemed, at least to Jody and me, like he very much wanted to come over and visit us. But, he would look at his mother and not move in our direction. He then cocked his head to the side as you see above. I don't think that I have ever felt that kind of connection with an animal in the wild. That look bridged worlds for me. I instantly fell in love with Sparky. I do believe there is a soul-to-soul connection between all living creatures on this planet. I am not so naive to not think that all animals are safe to be around. But, we acknowledge their presence and they acknowledge ours. The fact that 2 out of 3 fur seals never escape childhood is a sobering fact. I can only hope that Sparky will make it. If he can have such curiosity about creatures from another species, why can't we humans have the same level of curiosity about people who are different from us IN OUR OWN SPECIES? Sparky greets me every time I gear up my computer or smartphone. He makes me smile and be humble. To me, he is the light into the animal kingdom.

Hello! A penguin stares directly at us as we observe him from a distance. What a treat! We understood from our guide that he was alone on shore only with another penguin who was somewhere in the surrounding foliage. Our guide then gave us our next little surprise.

As we walked along a wooden tunnel built to allow the park rangers to move along the shore and to not disturb the wildlife, our guide had us open up a little door in the wood. Behind it was a little hatchery of newly hatched penguins. Behind it was the slope of the beach. The penguins were not in captivity, but could be safely observed firsthand by us from this protected view. No glass stood in our way. The penguins observed us without fear and a great deal of calm. Again, that sense of connectness was very, very strong.

Before leaving this section of the Otago Pennisula, we also briefly visited an area known for albatross sightings. While their, we were greeted with the scene of a Russian cruise ship sailing along the coast.

Dunedin

1/23/2014

We left Queenstown and continued our trip back to our starting point at Christchurch. Our next stop was Dunedin where, despite moody weather, we had some more fantastic experiences.

Although we had not planned ahead for a trip to the only castle in New Zealand, there it was in Dunedin. On a day that was overcast and somewhat gloomy, it actually made for a very enjoyable, mysterious experience. The Larnach Castle was built by a New Zealand businessman and has quite the tragic family background, including incest, suicide, and various family issues. I couldn't help but wonder if this castle was one of the inspirations for Shirley Jackson's famous novel and then movie, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. You be the judge. Feel free to do your own research. Here is a link: http://www.newzealand.com/au/article/new-zealands-only-castle/

View from the castle.

Jody and Alice. Fortunately, Jody kept her head about her as there was no Queen of Hearts around this day.

Had to have my picture with Alice as well.

Remind you of , say, the beginning of THE WIZARD OF OZ in Kansas?

Like I said, MOODY!

Just beautiful gardens completely surrounding the castle.

I don't know what it is about the very wealthy that they always have to have lion statues around. I guess it's because the lion is the "king of beats" and the statues make them feel "kingly."

And now it's time to go inside.

"Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she changes from day to day. Sometimes I love her a lot, but I've got to get a belly full of wine. Her majesty's a pretty nice girl and someday I'm going to maker her mine, oh yeah, some day I'm going to make her mine." The Beatles, ABBEY ROAD album.

Nothing better than a little John Donne to fit the mood of this lonely castle.

Beautiful, heavy furnishings everywhere.

We found the above and following statues in one of the bedrooms and intentionally or not, found them incredibly creepy.

"Can I knit you a shaw, deary?"

Shudder!

Please, don't even ask, I don't know. It did come as somewhat of a shock upon first viewing.

A child's bedroom. Gave me the creeps as well - perhaps due to the British movie, DEAD OF NIGHT. Chills!

One of the more recent owners had an oil painting done of herself and then had real fabric clothing attached to it and framed. Un Huh! As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "the rich are different from you and me."

Once we reached the top of the castle, a proper fog rolled in. Really, could this weather have been more appropriate?

And of course before leaving one must have some dining in the dining room and a stop by the gift shop.

So, as we take our leave of Larnach castle, I feel as if I've been on the sets of THE GREAT GATSBY, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, THE INNOCENTS, and maybe even a little, THE SHINING. A high point for this old fantasy and horror literature/film man.

Wine country in Queenstown

1/22/2014

We squeezed soooo much in Queenstown during our three days there. Before leaving, we also went into wine country and stopped at two vineyards. We had lunch on top of a large hill at the second vineyard and it was probably our favorite meal on the South Island. Breathtaking views, warm sunshine, and serenity.

Paragliding in Queenstown.

1/22/2014

The next morning we set out to do our own daredevil activity - paragliding off a mountain, 2800 feet up, in Queenstown. Jody always sets the bar high. What an exhilarating experience.

Jody getting ready to video record her own paraglide experience.

Not too shabby a view from the top of the mountain.

My pilot, Jim, and I before the flight.

Just a little high.

Jim let me take the wheel and direct the flight. At one point he had to tell me, "now don't fly us into the mountain."

Jim's a cool guy. What a pose. It really is a small world. Jim loves paragliding and returns to Orlando, Florida in June to do the same (thus avoiding the NZ winter).

Back on Terra Firma. And in case you're wondering, all pictures and video of our flight was filmed by both Jim and me by holding a long pole with the combination still/video camera attached. You can see its shadow in front of me in this picture.

I love this picture of Jody and her guy, Clark.

Jody took off with Clark right after me.

Macho Clark.

I'm watching Jody descend.

All of us safe and sound on the ground. What a great way to begin our day.

Milford Sound in all its glory!

1/21/2014

We arrive in Milford Sound just in time to board our ferry which will take us on an incredible trip through the Sound.

The first of many majestic waterfalls we encountered during the boat ride through the Sound.

The above picture so reminds me of the gigantic statues of Isildur and Anarion, otherwise know as The Pillars of Kings from The Fellowship of the Ring movie (actually from The Two Towers in the book).

Do you ever feel really small?

We encountered numerous families of fur seals during the trip. They were simply sunning themselves on the rocks and as our boat went directly alongside them they paid us no mind. Just another day in the life of a fur seal being gawked at by curious humans. Ho-Hum!

Looking out to sea at the end of the Sound and preparing to turn around and return to port.

Little did we know that the cruise ship's captain was getting ready to take us directly under this approaching waterfall.

Jody happily soaked.

And me as well.

Just about home.

Trip to Milford Sound

1/20/2014

While in Queenstown, we made a scheduled 5-hour drive to Milford Sound, a simply must see experience. I have been fortunate to see some majestic scenery in my life, but this trip tops the list. Seldom do you take a long trip that is almost as incredible as your destination, but this one qualifies. Majestic snow-capped mountains, mirror lakes, fabulous tunnels through mountains, and incredibly good weather made the trip to Milford a wonderful experience.

Just starting out with our destination in the distance.

The Mirror Lakes are exactly what they are and we got there at the perfect time as the following pictures can attest.

Leaving the Mirror lakes behind, we continued our approach to Milford Sound and the mountains began looming above us we drove.

In line as we prepare to enter the long tunnel cut through the mountain.