Saturday, September 22–Mike had said that we would have to use machines to check in, but somehow he used his magic and got us all checked in by people. The airport at Sydney is enormous and very full of shops of all kinds. We had a long walk to our gate, but all made it. The flight was about two and a half hours and landing in Auckland and getting through customs was lengthy, but not difficult. Everyone seems to do it better than the U.S. Tim met us and we all went in a very nice and big bus to the Amora Hotel. We checked in and left our bags and went immediately by bus to the Neptune restaurant on the Princess Wharf by the shore where we had a good meal. Tim gave us HOP cards for transportation. Tom and I both had salmon, which was good, but not as good as that at the Tower yesterday. We rode the bus back to the hotel and I started the laundry in our washing and drying machine in the room.
Sunday, September 23–The first thing we noticed this morning was that the clothes weren’t dry so we started the drying again—we hope. Then we went to breakfast at 7:00 so that we’d have plenty of time before the briefing at 7:30. Afterwards Tom went looking for a grocery store while I stayed in the room to write on this. The briefing involved each person telling about his or her best experience in Australia as well as what they expected in New Zealand. After a brief visit to our rooms, we began a walk around the area that included a walk through Myers Park right beside the hotel.
There was a very steep hill down to the garden. Tim had passed out bus cards so we took the public bus down to the docks where we walked around, explored the Auckland Fish Market.
(For more pictures of the Auckland Fish Market, click on the image above.)
Then we walked along the waterfront and ate at one of many restaurants along the dock called the Sea Cow where we had fish and chips.
(For more pictures of the waterfront, click on the image above.)
After lunch we walked up a long set of steps to Bastion Point where we met a Mauri girl, Aurtumn of the Ngati Whatua Maori tribe, who described her tribes customs as we visited the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, which was beautifuly plantedl, and then followed her for an exhausting walk farther up a roughly cut very tall hill to see where her people lived and their meeting house. She mentioned that her people worshiped god’s similar to those of the older Greeks and knew a lot about her people’ customs, but little about anything else.
(For more pictures of the walk with Autumn, click on the image above.)
We were happy to come down the hill and get to the bus stop.
We found later that dates were not important in the Maori culture. We were all tired after the walk and the clouds were turning dark, so Tom and I gave up on going up the Tower in Auckland especially since we couldn’t get reservations in the revolving restaurant. We looked at the restaurant to which Tim was taking the group, but decided it was too far to walk and it was a glorified food court so we decided to try the French restaurant suggested by OAT, le Garde Manger. To get to the restaurant, we had to walk down to Myers Park beside the hotel and back up the other side to Queen Street. We had a delicious meal. Tom had the fixed price meal of onion soup, which we shared, roasted lamb, and crème brûlée. I had duck confit and then a simple crêpe with butter and sugar. The most enjoyable part of the meal, however, was talking with an Australian couple, Lucia and Warwick. She worked for ABC,and he was a lawyer. We discovered that they also thought Trump was not good for the world. They were traveling for golf. Next to them, was a couple from Germany who were on a six month trip.
Monday, September 24–So far the weather has been good. But we are expecting a change. As I write this we’re on the bus going to Rotorua with our driver, Logan, and it is raining a little. We passed some interesting signs.
We had to call the desk to have someone open the washer/dryer in our room. We had tried to wash a load of clothes and when they weren’t dry, I started them drying again as we went to breakfast. When we came back to the room, we tried to open the door to the washer, and when we couldn’t we called the office for help. They were prompt in coming although they had never cleaned the room the day before. We stopped for a rest stop and some purchases. I bought postcards and stamps for the grandchildren. After getting back on the bus we drove through Hamilton, which is one of the larger towns in New Zealand before going to the Hamilton Gardens.
(Click on the image above for more pictures of Hamilton Gardens.)
These were a group of themed gardens collected in one place. We saw and enjoyed the Japanese garden, the Chinese Scholars’ Garden, the Modernist garden, the Indian Char Bagh Garden ( beautiful flowers and backing up on the river)’ the Italian Renaissance Garden (also backing to the river), the Te Parapara Garden (Maori), the Tudor garden, and the tropical garden before returning to the bus and driving past a large exhibition center that we saw from the top of the hill.
Then we drove on to the organic dairy farm of Dorothy and Ray Higgins for lunch.
(For more pictures from the farm, click on the picture above.)
They served several types of sandwiches: cheese and tomato, sprouts and chicken, beet root and chicken, ham and something. Each sandwich was made with three pieces of bread and cut diagonally. The crust was cut off the bread and Dorothy had used the crusts in a bird feeder which the birds seemed to really like. She had also made some delicious tarts for which I took a picture of the recipe and some cookies for dessert. After we ate Roy talked to us about his farm operation and answered questions. They have about 130 jersey cows on 150 acres and are able to do this because the land is so good for raising grass. Their farm is organic. We took a tour of their garden and saw some of the farm. The garden was lovely with many flowers including azaleas and camellias blooming to remind us that it’s spring. They also had lemon, orange, plum, and other trees blooming.
(For more pictures of the Hatchery, click on the image above.)
When we left their house we went to Rainbow Springs Kiwi Hatchery, a kiwi preservation and hatchery where we learned about kiwis, the Battle for the Birds as the efforts to increase their numbers was explained to us, and saw three kiwis. We all had a good shopping time at the gift shop, and Tom bought a beautiful Marino and possum sweater. They forgot to give him the promised 10% discount and two of the clerks found him in the store and gave him the discount in cash. We next and took a short ride to Rotorua where we rode down the shore of Lake Rotorua to a large building that had been a museum, but had been closed because supposedly it wasn’t earthquake safe. We walked through the garden there and then went to the hotel where we had a couple of hours to rest before supper in the hotel. The hotel there was the Wai Ora Resort and was beautiful.
Tuesday, September 25–This was to be a very busy day. We started at 8:00 and didn’t expect to finish until 8:30, which is about what happened. We had a walk down past various hot springs and geysers of Waimangu Thermal Valley through an area that was one of the newest areas of volcanic activity.
(To see more pictures from the Waiangu Thermal Valley, click on the image above.)
At the bottom a bus met us to take us to a boat which toured Lake Tarawera, scene of a large eruption in 1886, for about an hour.
(For more pictures from the boat, click on the image above.)
After that we took the bus up to the starting point for a lunch in the cafe there. We had chosen our lunch earlier and it was waiting for us when we arrived. We alll left on the bus, and ten of us were dropped off for the Canopy Zip Line tour with the others (including Tom) staying on the bus to either be dropped off in town or go back to the hotel. Tom was able to go back to the hotel and have a good nap. A big event for the day was the Canopy Zip Line tour. Tom was sorry he hadn’t gone after he heard how much fun it was! We had six lines. Our guides were Shane, Tom, and Tanisha, and they were very careful with each connection each time. Even those of us who started slightly afraid lost their fear by the end of the run. We were supplied with waterproof jackets and pants as well as helmets and all the gear we needed. We had rain, and some said hail although I didn’t see it, but our gear kept us comfortable, and it was almost better to see this virgin rainforest with the rain. We could look down and see the tops of the fern trees since we were above them or up and see the larger trees towering over us.
(For many more pictures of the zip line tour, click on the image above.)
Last, we went to a Cultural Welcome ceremony at the Mitia or the Home of the Te Arawa Maori tribes. There was a welcome by the chief and then Tom, whom Tim had asked to be the chief of many nations and another young man who was chief of other many nations, performed their tasks. They had to stand perfectly still while a ferocious young man seemed to threaten each of them, but dropped a peace offering. Then the other young man and then Tom were to each pick up his peace offering and then back up to the side of the stage again. Next, they each made a short speech thanking the chief and the tribe for their hospitality. They each did well. After the welcome, some men and women demonstrated some of their dances and customs. Then we all went back to the dining room to eat a hangi—food cooked in the ground for four hours but modernized for safety’s sake.
(For more pictures from the Cultural Welcome ceremony, click on the image above.)
At the end of eating, Tim had arranged for OAT to go first for a short walk to see the very clear Rainbow pool and the glow worms. We went to the bus and went to the hotel.
Wednesday, September 26–Tom and I were slightly late—one minute—for the bus at 8:30 because we thought it was at 8:45. We had a short ride to the airport with only a little trouble checking in. There was no security check at the airport and only three gates. Tom and I had some lunch before we went through security. Tom had a salad and vegetable drink while I had a Reuben and Diet Coke. We joined the rest of the group after we left security and had only about ten minutes before boarding. There was a Krispie Kreme donut sign, but Tom was very disappointed to find that it was opening later in the year.
After landing, we explored Arrowtown and some of us visited the Chinese Goldminer’s Village. I saw it, but Tom didn’t. Some of the buildings were still there, but an outhouse was particularly interesting. It was stone, very permanent looking, and built on a slope.
Dinner was included and at the Nugget Point Resort Hotel where we stayed. Tim had upgraded the rooms, and Tom and I ended up in a two bedroom two bath suite that was right off the main lobby and had a really great view.
Thursday, September 27–We had to be at the bus by 7:00 to drive with Pam so breakfast was at 6:00. The drive started with beautiful views of the Remarkable Mountains and the lake. We were on our way to Milford Sound, which we were told was 100 km as the crow flies, but unfortunately takes four to five hours to drive.
We entered the Fjordland National Park, and we stopped at Te Anau for a break and, at Tim’s insistance, we frolicked in Egglington Valley.
We passed a hatchery for Takaha birds which were almost extinct but now have around 400. We stopped at a small town for a break and to do some shopping. We stopped a few minutes later at Mirror Lake which was a series of smooth lakes in which the mountains were reflected. The first one was slightly disturbed by ducks swimming in it.
(For more Mirror Lakes picturres click on the image above.)
We then went on a few more minutes to Knobs Flat for a bathroom break. It was about 11:30. We passed the Hollyford Valley after crossing the continental divide. We’re traveling onto the west coast. Fustian trees look like large bonsai. This is waterfall country because when it rains it raiins hard and creates waterfalls . The melting snow also adds to the waterfalls. We made a stop at Monkey Creek where there were two kea birds which are supposed to be the second smartest birds in the world, or about as smart as a two year old child, with one kind of crow being smarter. It was interesting to watch all the tourists trying to get a picture of them. Under their wings when they flew we could see bright colors.
We reached the boat through Homer Tunnel, which took about 25 years to build, about ten minutes before our sailing time of 12:55 and had time to use the restroom before sailing on the Milford Mariner Nature Cruise. Tim had arranged tickets and box lunches for us so the first thing we did was pick up our lunches and sit at the tables to eat them—or most of them since I saved nuts, chocolate, crackers, and apple to eat later. The weather was somewhat cloudy on the drive down, but the sun came out as we neared the dock and stayed out for the cruise.
(For more pictures of Milford Sound, click on the image above.)
Tim said that the only way the weather could have been better would have been if it had rained hard before we came and cleared above 30 minutes before we sailed so that we would have seen more waterfalls. To get to Milford Sound we crossed the continental divide through a one way tunnel. Milford Sound is on the western side of New Zealand, and the mountains come right downtown the water. I was surprised that the ocean (Tasman Sea) was as calm as it was. Tim had warned us all to use the toilets before leaving the boat so that we could leave quickly, and it seemed we did because I think we were the first bus to leave. Saw a movie “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” on the bus as we drove back. When we came back to the hotel, we were going to start our laundry, but the one machine was in use and Pam was ahead of us so we went in the hotel dining room to eat supper while we waited. We ate a every good chicken salad. I tried to determine how it was seasoned and found out the next day talking with the Burmese chef that it had cooked onions and fish sauce. After supper we did our laundry.
Friday, September 28–This was our morning to take it easy since we didn’t have to be ready to go into Queenstown in a group taxi until 9:30. Some people decided to stay in the hotel until noon when a bus from the jet boat people would pick them up. We went into town where Tom had a haircut and I shopped for sweaters. Tom’s barber was a young woman from Scotland who had been working in Australia and New Zealand for a couple of years and planned other countries. I found one red sweater that I liked, but I wasn’t too sure I wanted it, so I asked them to hold it until 6:00 pm when I knew we’d be back in the area for supper. After Tom and I reunited, I did some more shopping and found a very nice sweater on sale and a scarf for Carolyn. At about noon we boarded the bus for the Dart River Jet Boat ride in the Mount Aspiring National Park. We rode about 45 minutes to the site of the ride start where we were supplied with beanies, neckware, and waterproof coats to try to keep us warm and dry.
(For more pictures from the Jet Boat ride and the walk afterwards, click on the image above.)
The ride was fun, but cold and wet when the driver executed 360 degree turns. After more than an hour we disembarked and went for a 20 minute walk in the nearby beech forest. The guide showed us pictures of the many movies that had filmed there—including the Lord of the Ring series. Several of us sat for pictures in the very large chair that had been used in the movies. We took the bus back to Queenstown where I went back for the sweater I had asked them to keep for me and also bought some gloves for presents. Tom and I ate a very good dinner at nearby Farelli’s, an Italian restaurant. Tom said the tiramisu was as good as any he’d ever had. We went back by the sweater store so I could exchange some of the red gloves I bought for gray ones and bought one more pair. The clerk at the store called a taxi for us and we returned to the hotel. As we were getting out of the taxi, Tim called to us from his balcony. At first I couldn’t see where he was, but he must have waited up for us.
Saturday, September 29–An early start this morning at 7:30! We made several stops. One was a place where they had bungee jumping, Kawerau Bungee Bridge, and where Mike, our guide in Australia, jumped. (Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTtGBoaCBO0)
Our next stop was Mrs. Jones’ Fruit Stand where most of us bought food supplies since they had many fruits, nuts, etc.
Then we went to Aurum Wines, an organic winery where we tasted Pinot Noir and Gris and Port Moyneu (sp) and delicious nibbles as Brooke explained all to us. I bought some chutney.
We stopped at the village of Wanaka where there was a beautiful lake. Tim suggested that we take a walk along the lake, including seeing the Wanaka tree, a tree growing in the lake. I walked down to see the tree and returned to the bus. Tom returned to the bus after just starting to walk.
We rode in the bus back to town where we bought a tea and a coffee and waited for the others to return. Tim had thought we might picnic here, but decided it wouldn’t be too comfortable so we’ll be eating in a cafe. We stopped to take pictures of Wanaka Lake. There was an island in the lake which contained an island which contained a lake.
We stopped at Makarora Country Cafe for lunch. Tim had told us that we each had $15 to spend so we had to be somewhat careful. I had a venison pie and hot chocolatier Tom had quiche and vegetable soup. It started raining, and we expect it to continue for awhile.
We stopped at the Hastings Visitor Center for a bathroom break and to see the very nice museum. This area is known for its rain!
Haast was the European who came to this area and made a trail that others followed. Next we’re going to a whitebait tasting. We’re back at the Tasman Sea! The trees here are rimu trees which are much smaller here than inland where they don’t know the wind. Captain Cook cooked the leaves and used them to make a beer that kept his sailors from getting scurvy. We stopped at Curly Tree fisheries for a demonstration of cooking whiebait—tiny fish—mixing them with eggs and grilled. They used a few drops of mint sauce on the patties of those who wanted it. The fish itself had very little taste.
We saw the fault line between the Pacific plate and another plate. We are more or less following that fault line.
Tim pointed out white flowers, clematis, that would not be here if there were many possums. Drivers here supposedly try to run them over! Possums are considered a major pest here since the eat the eggs of the birds. These possums are different from ours and have bushy tails. Their fur is mixed with Mureno wool to make all kinds of clothing. We passed the Lake Moira Lodge which was started as a working mans camp for the men working on creating the road along the coast and then turned into a very upscale lodge, the Te Weheka Hotel, it was on the Moerig River. We went over several one lane bridges mostly over braided rivers built with only one lane because of cost. We had supper in our hotel.
Sunday, September 30—there was rain so no helicopter ride. We took a thirty minute bus drive to the Fran’s Josef Glacier walk start where Cliff spoke to us about the weather and the glacier. He talked about the Pacific and Australian plates running into each other varying which one was on top of the other. The glacier fluctuates between advancing and ebbing. There is concern about earthquakes and cyclones. So much concern that they are considering moving the town, Franz Josef. It was raining steadily, but all but four of us started walking to the first observation point to see the glacier. Tom, Jim, Dana, and I stayed on the bus with the driver, Pam. Since it was raining so much, Tim changed our plans so that rather than eating lunch at the Landing Place in Franz Josef, we had coffee, etc. and went on our way to the hotel. After lunch we travelled to Punakaiki (Where there was an interesting men’s bathroom)
stopping at Pukeura to hear Pete Salter, the bushman, talk about possums and 1080. He was very much against the spraying program that the government has of dropping poisoned pellets from airplanes. The 1080 is purchased from a company in Oxford, Alabama.
(For more pictures from Pete and his wife’s place, click on the image above.)
We were scheduled to see the Pancake Rocks on the Punakaiki Rocks Trail tomorrow, but the weather was pretty good and we had time to see them before we checked into the Punakaiki Resort and had an included dinner. Tom decided not to go on the walk and went straight to the hotel.
(For more pictures from the Pancake Rocks, click on the image above.)
The hotel had a beautiful view, but our room was not as nice as the suite we had earlier! The view was lovely, but we had to walk outside to go to the restaurant.
Monday, October 1–This was a restful day. Since we saw the Pancake Rocks yesterday we had some extre time and were allowed to sleep late with a departure at 9:45 for Hogotika. Tom decided not to go, but spent the day resting and walked to the Punakaiki Rocks trail to see the Pancake Rocks. Our first stop there was at Jeurgen (a photographer) & Monica’s Wilderness Gallery. I saw a beautiful picture of a waterfall and ended up buying a very small copy of it on a block for $79. We then went to Ann and Pete’s house in Ruatapu for lunch.
She made it very clear that although they shared a house, they were just friends. She created her art with cloth, mostly applacé, and he painted and made prints and had put together a press for his prints. After lunch, we went to the jade cutters shop, Surgenors’ Fine Jade Carving, where I bought a mere. It had been made that morning by his daughter, Brittany. It started out at $600, at least she said $600, but the owner of the shop reduced it to $500. I asked Brittany to sign it for me and she did. She also signed the adze that the owner threw in.
We then drove back to town where we had about 45 minutes to look around. I almost forgot the picture I had bought earlier and left to be wrapped, but as I was going to pick it up, Tim came out with it. Pam and I went to the ice cream shop next door and bought some peach ice cream. I had mine mixed with hokey pokey. The drive back was beautiful along the western coast even in the rainy weather.
Tuesday, October 2–We left early at 7:30 so had breakfast at 6:30. We drove along the west coast.
Our break at an hour and a half was at Otira Stagecoach Hotel where there was a man, Lister, who collected all kinds of old gadgets and “quirky” things. Tim told us not to try to ride the bicycle! There were no scones, but there was coffee and hot chocolate with one white and one marshmallow that turned pink as it dissolved. Tim told us after we left how Lister hadacqired his wealth. It seems that he had inherited a very rich title in England,and is now Lord Roundtree.
(For more pictures of the Stagecoach Hotel, click on the image above.)
After climbing a very steep road (Tim claimed it had a 17% grade) behind a double truck that was very slow and that pulled over at the top so we could pass and looking at hills that had washed down into the valley, we descended out of the rainforest and cloudy weather into the beech forest and the bluest sky we’ve seen in days.
im pointed out the erosion on the hills which is causing the mountains to almost dissolve onto the plains and Lake Pearon. We passed a plain below mountains that was where a part of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was filmed. We passed another Lord of the Rings filming site near Castlerock as well as several ski fields. We began to climb to go over Porters Pass, which at 3200 feet was the highest point for the day before we emerged on another plain.
One of the hills had a 19% grade. We had to stop for a passenger train, the something Express. Tim just said what is the key to the appeal of New Zealand—that you find so many different climates and scenerys within such a small area. We passed a cow tied loosely on the side of the radthat Tim called Betsy and said was often tied by the road during the day. Tom was excited to see a train on the narrow gauge track.
We’re going to the Rubicon Valley Family Sheep Station. There we met Chris, who grew up on a sheep farm but who’s father sold the farm when Chris indicated he wasn’t particularly interested in keeping it. Chris joined the police for 20 years and then after about three years started this show on someone else’s farm. We began with lunch cooked by Chris’ son. The egg salad was particularly good, but there ware also Angus beef patties, lamb sausage, stuffed potatoes, slaw, and salad. After lunch we went out to pet and feed the sheep that were penned near the office and then farther away to watch the dogs herd the sheep. He used two dogs to herd seven sheep, but indicated that one dog could handle about 100 sheep, and he has five dogs. After the dog demonstration, one dog jumped on a rock to take pictures with us and then we moved to the alpacas for more pictures.
(For more pictures of the sheep ranch, click on the image above.)
We went back to the office to get in a four wheel drive bus and tour around the farm to see the sheering shed and the sheep pastures. This farm had three shearing stations.
There would also be someone to sweep the floor, someone to pick up each fleece (about one every 90 seconds), someone to remove the dirty fleece, and someone to grade the fleece. I had bought one scarf for myself, but when we came back through, I bought another one for Dorothy. When we returned to the office we boarded our bus to start toward the airport in ChristChurch.
We said goodbye to Pam, our driver, and flew to Wellington to stay at the James Cook Hotel. This was another airport with no security so it was easy getting through the check in process.
Tom and I ended up in the first row seats, which were an exit row so we had plenty of legroom. The only problem was that we boarded from the back so were last getting off. We were met at the Wellington airport by Graeme, who drove us about 30 minutes to the James Cook Hotel. It is a nice hotel, and we’re on the 17th floor which is where the restaurant is. We all, except Betty and David,walked to the harbor and ate at an Italian restaurant called Portofino’s. Tom had tiramisu. My stomach was hurting so I only ate a salmon appetizer. We were the last to leave the restaurant and walk back to the hotel.
Wednesday, October 3–Graeme picked us up at the hotel at 8:30 and drove us around the city to show us various sights until we reached Mount Victoria, which is a very tall hill overlooking the city and the harbor. We could see how short the airport runway was and how either end ended in the water of the harbor. Wellington is also called “The Windy City” as is indicated by this sign.
(For pictures from Mount Victoria, click on the image above.)
Unfortunately we were essentially in a cloud, so our view was not clear but it was still impressive. We drove by some large buildings that used to be warehouses but are now filming studios for the movie makers. We drove on to the art deco Roxy Theater where Jamie Selkirk told us about getting the movie industry in New Zealand started.
(For more pictures from the inside of the Roxy Theater, click on the image above.)
He and Peter Townsend co-directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy and received an Oscar, which is in the Roxy Theater. We sat in one of the theaters in the building and saw a well put together movie collage demonstrating the history of special effects. Afterwards we had coffee or tea and scone or sweet thing. We left the Roxy theater and drove to a Wholesale Souvenir shop where Tom bought a Pink mug, and I bought New Zealand baseball caps for sons and son-in-law. Our next stop was the Weta Cave which had a documentary showing the development of the movie industry, especially special effects and computer graphics in Wellington apparently mostly under the direction of Peter Townsend. I did not know that Miramar Productions was in Wellington—actually, it’s not. We learned later that Miramar is where it is located, but the production company is Weta.
(For more pictures from the Weta Workshop, click on the image above.)
Graeme then dropped us off at an Anglican Church that is no longer a church, but is beautiful.
It was near the Thistle Bar, which is the oldest bar that has been in one location in New Zealand and has been in that location since the 1840’s although the building burned once. When it was first built, the water came up to the bar, and boats moored to the bar, but the land has risen since then and the coast is now farther away. Only a wall of the old building has been incorporated into the new building. There is a glass window in the floor that shows some of the artifacts from the older building.
Tom and I had lunch there and then left the Thistle and went to the Parliament Building to take the tour, but discovered that all the tours for the afternoon were full so we booked a tour for 3:00 the next day. Since we couldn’t do the tour, we decided to take the cable car to the top of the hills behind our hotel and then to walk down through the Botanical Gardens.
The cable car was easy, and seemed very short, but the walk became a little complicated when we had some trouble finding the correct paths.
We did finally emerge at the rose garden as hoped, but of course there were only a few roses at this time of year. There were a few tulips. We walked past a cemetery on the way down and noticed that one side was labeled as the Jewish Cemetery. We also noticed a monument to the longest serving prime minister of New Zealand, Richard Seddon. At the bottom of the hill we had a little confusion about the route to the hotel, but figured it out and made it back. Dinner was on our own, and we weren’t too hungry after the lunch we had, but decided to walk down to the wharf to see what appealed. On the way down we started talking with a New Zealand woman who suggested that we try Shed 5, a somewhat upscale restaurant, rather than Dockside, which had been suggested by Tim. We later learned that some of our group went to Dockside and weren’t totally pleased, but we did enjoy Shed 5. Tom had salmon, and I had a scallop appetizer that was very good and also just the size I needed. We walked back to the hotel and went to bed.
Thursday, October 4–We were going to the Te Papa Museum today, which was only a walk away, so we didn’t have to meet until 8:30. On the way we passed a sign for WOW (World of Wearables) to which Tom and I had tickets tonight.
We had an hour and a half tour with the guide, Roger, who was really good.
(Click on the image for more pictures of the Gallipoli Exhibit.)
As Tim said, he wrapped up a lot of what we’d heard in our stay. OAT is going to turn the tour around next year, and that seems to most of us a mistake. Wellington is a good end point—especially with this tour. After the tour, Tom and I stayed in the museum to see the Gallipoli exhibit, which is only temporary and they haven’t decided what to do with it after it leaves this museum. It included six figures made by the Weta group and which were totally fantastic. The detail in these figures is unbelievable. Each one is about twice life sized and has hairs, veins, and other details meticulously placed. After that it was too late to get a long lunch and still make the Parliament Tour so we ate a quick lunch in the museum cafe and took a taxi to the Parliament Building for about $12. Our tour was interesting, although I’d taken my hearing aids out for the museum tour since we used Whsperers and forgot to put them back in, so I had some trouble hearing the guide. We saw the Parliament Building, the Beehive (executive building), and the library. All were beautiful buildings. We then decided to take a taxi back to the hotel since we were running a little late to make the group meeting at 5:00. The taxi driver called us back because Tom had left his gloves on the seat. We changed clothes for the final debriefing meeting and the WOW performance we were going to later.
After the meeting—we were the only ones who didn’t have at least one haiku—we all walked to the farewell supper at The Quackery, a restaurant in a building that used to be a doctor’s office. They were supposed to give us our supper quickly since we were the only ones who were going to WOW, and they did pretty well with the meat pie, but that did not get to us in time for us to have dessert. Tim was very upset at the menu since it seems that he thought OAT had contracted for a menu of salmon, steak, or pasta when what we received was meat pie or hamburger. The meat pie wasn’t too good, but edible, and I wasn’t hungry enough to eat more than about half. Tim had told us how to walk to the WOW performance in the Arena, so we left the dinner about 7:15 and had no trouble making it in time. We didn’t know what to expect, but the show was like rock show on steroids with the busiest stage I’ve ever seen. The opening number was to the song “Que sera” and the last one was “I’ve got Rhythm", but in between was mostly jungle beat. Unfortunately our seats were at the top of the auditorium up steep steps in the last row, which had very little leg room, and so far back on the side that we had to turn more than 45 degrees to see the stage. I appreciated a woman who offered me a hand to hold on the way down the steps! The show itself featured the costumes that had been designed, a lot of dancing, and some imaginative lighting and stagecraft. Afterwards we walked to the hotel and went to bed.
Friday, October 5–Jim and Rob’s birthday! We weren’t leaving for the airport until 10:50, so we slept till 8:00 and then went for breakfast, Janee and David, Caroline, and Suzy had all left at 5:00, but we saw the others at breakfast and were able to say goodby. I gave Pam the WOW program so she could share it with her daughter who is into fashion design. Tom enjoyed another talk with the waiter, Lance, who seems to have been everywhere and done many things including riding on many trains. We went back to the room to finish packing and then came down at 10:30 so that Tim could put us in our ride to the airport. There were no real problems at the airport although we did have to get help to check our bags all the way through to Jackson. Unfortunately we’ll have to take them out in Houston for customs. I was able to check my carry on, but Tom decided to carry his since he put almost all of his mugs in it. In the airport we talked with a group who’d come over for WOW, and on the airplane I sat next to a woman who’ d also come over for it with a group of friends. It really is a big thing in New Zealand. In Auckland we found the lounge and enjoyed a late 3:30 lunch and the Internet with comfortable places to sit. The pods on the plane were different from those on either of our other flights, and not quite as comfortable. We had to ask the stewards to make up the beds when we were ready rather than doing it ourselve as we had on the Quantas flight. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:35 which was later than our air itinerary had said. Because we landed in Houston going through customs was particularly easy. For some reason, we didn’t have to fill out the usual declarations form and everything went very smoothly. When we reached Houston we had very little time to reach the flight to Jackson, we had to walk a couple of terminals to our Jackson flight, and were the last ones on board. Josiah picked us up at the airport and took us to St. Catherine’s. Neither Tom nor I felt particularly jet lagged or tired (thanks to business class!) but when we went to bed, we both slept about 12 hours. Tim’s diary click here.