Sorry - technical glitch again with half the photos not loading in the first version - this one worked I hope!
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Our final night in Toronto my friend Cybele had made us a cake decorated with hilarious tiny figures depicting our neighbourhood gang as characters from Lord of the Rings.
We were excited to visit the scenery made famous by the movie and had decided to experience as much of it on foot as possible.
Our first stop was in Wellington, where weather much colder than that of Melbourne awaited us. Our plan to travel with the summer seemed to be falling off the rails the further south we went. So far our carefully chosen trip wardrobe was up to the challenge, but we were a little concerned about how it would go if the temperature dropped even lower. We even turned on the heat in our two bedroom apartment, located in the centre of the city with big windows on every wall letting in the light and the view of busy Willis Street below.
In the morning our introduction to the country got off to a great start as we got fully immersed in the Kiwi love of rugby. Though we had missed the excitement of the Blue Jays ascent back home (sadly cut short by defeat), the All Blacks had just decisively defeated their arch rival Australia to win the Ellis Cup (akin to soccer's World Cup), and the victory parade went right by on right our doorstep. We got prime viewing spots at the front (thanks kids) so could watch as the full marching band started off
the celebration.
It wasn't hard to get caught up in the excitement of the throngs of people.
Star players signed autographs for fans and took selfies with their phones.
The cup was held high in triumph to the cheers of the packed streets, and after its passing the streets slowly returned to normal as the crowd followed the parade to its conclusion, at a pub no doubt.
We bought lunch from a Greek food truck at a waterfront park, looking out onto the water glinting in the sunshine,
and visited the Te Papa Museum.
We toured a great exhibit on Gallipoli. Each section of the exhibit began with one giant startlingly lifelike figure of a soldier filling the room,
or in one case a nurse, and then the subsequent rooms would tell the story from their perspective, personalizing the history of the battles. The narrative was somewhat different than the accounts we had read when we visited the peninsula in Turkey, but the general feel of it was the same - a senseless tragedy on a grand scale.
After learning about the NZ animal and bird species from exhibits inside, we wandered through the outdoor garden filled with native plants, where the boys could fight amidst flowers and greenery.
We saw the murals on the outside walls but had no time to enjoy the interiors of the many bustling bars in the core,
We were bound for the South Island, where geographical wonders awaited, so our short time in the urban centre came to an end when we boarded the ferry to Picton the next morning. We enjoyed smooth seas and sunny skies for the voyage, which has a reputation of normally being very rough. The scenery from the deck was breathtaking,
and we arrived in peaceful Picton harbour
with plenty of time to set up our tent before walking over the bridge into town for fish and chips. On our stroll along the pier we were accompied by a stingray who glided gracefully beside us.
We booked passage on the Magic Mail Run the next morning, a water taxi that dropped mail for residents of the Marlborough Sounds as well as hikers like us who wished to explore the Queen Charlotte track.
The boat took us back out along the waters of the day before, but at a slower pace,
and we slowed to watch a pod of dusky dolphins swim by.
During a forty minute break at Motuara island we peered into predator protected nesting boxes that provided a safe home for little blue penguins.
The lookout at the top of the island showed us the shores we'd soon be walking on.
We were dropped off in Ship's Cove with all our gear,
and hiked over the hills
to arrive at sheltered Schoolhouse Bay where we set up camp. Bold Jacob went for a quick swim,
while Kyra and Tom examined seashells along the water's edge.
There was no one around except for a couple of boats moored offshore.
We had a terrific sleep. I dreamed that I was listening to a beautiful orchestra of bells, horns and wind instruments, and slowly came out of my slumber realizing it was actually a heavenly chorus of bird song. The bird populations of New Zealand have been decimated by introduced pests such as opposums, stoats and rats (as well as feral and domesticated cats and dogs) but the many traps along the path we saw seem to be helping bird populations to make a comeback at least in that part of the track. Apparently when Captain Cook first came to New Zealand he could hear the birds from a mile offshore, how wonderful that would have been to hear.
The next morning was cool and grey, and though we missed Australia's heat a little bit, it was such a relief to exit the tent at night and in the morning without needing to check our boots for poisonous spiders or worrying that a venomous snake awaited us on the path.
We had arranged to leave our packs at nearby Resolution Bay for the water taxi to pick up and transport to our next campground so the walk that day was easy.
We had been visited and robbed of our dish soap (we later found it in the bushes) by the friendly but mischievous weka the night before, and came across more of the ground dwelling brown birds on our path.
It was a little too cool for swimming, but the calm water was great for skipping stones.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, emboldening us to jump off the Miner's Cove pier into the bracing water,
before leaving our bags again for the water taxi and setting off for the final day's hike.
The coastal walk was along sandy paths
and we arrived four hours early for our boat pickup at Punga Cove. We took the time to read
and play tag,
before cruising back to Picton.
We now needed to gear up for our next big hike, the Abel Tasman coast track, rated easy to medium, but made more difficult for us by the fact that we'd be unable to have our gear transported as we did for the previous two treks. We spent the morning shopping in Picton and then, after our bus ride to Nelson, the afternoon doing laundry and sorting out all our food, including removing as much of the packaging as possible since we would be carrying out all our trash from the hike. We found it frustrating the amount of time we needed to devote to such logistics, meaning there was no time to look around Nelson, but tried to console ourselves with the fact that it was a necessary evil - prepping equipment and especially food for five people for six days is a not inconsiderable task.
Our transport to Marahau the next morning was via a small minibus taking hikers along a small twisty road to the start of the track. A quick snack of muffin, cheese toastie and smoothies at the delicious Park Cafe fortified us and we quickly set off.
Massive fern plants lined the paths through the coastal forest,
and during our lunch stop, Canada Geese - our only sighting so far on this half of the trip - showed up to remind us of home.
The trail meandered from lowland to lookouts,
and finished that day at busy Anchorage Bay, too cold for the rest of us but Jacob is rarely deterred from swimming.
The next morning was an early start with a walk along the beach
and we hurried to cross the estuary before the tide got too high, trodding on mini mountain ranges made by crabs.
Fording an inlet that deepened by the minute wasn't an issue for Jacob, Kyra and I but by the time Paul and lagging Tom arrived the river was thigh high. Paul carried Tom along with his heavy backpack.
We were relieved we'd made it in time, because when we resumed our walk after having the breakfast we'd skipped, the entire area had been flooded by the high tide.
We set our packs down and took a side trip up the riverbed to the clear, shockingly cold Cleopatra's Pool that made us gasp, but kids stayed in long enough to slide down down the rock slide.
The sun warmed us up afterwards while Tom fished with his walking stick, tied with line of grass attached to a leaf at the end that he'd drawn a minnow on so as to attract a bigger catch.
Later we made another side trip to Cascade Falls, where moss covered every rock.
Back on the main track, we came to a suspension bridge with a maximum load of five people, so Paul stayed behind til the first of us had safely crossed.
The colour of the river we passed over was lovely.
Early the next morning I woke to the sound of the birds and ventured out to watch the sunrise over the sea.
The water made little rivulets as it came in with the tide.
Our third evening we camped on a hill by the coast, reached by walking along the high tide mark.
It rained all night and into the early morning. As soon as it stopped we packed up in a hurry for another crossing that had to be done at low tide, which was at 6:15 a.m. The mists
and mountains of the morning more than compensated for our fatigue at the early start time.
and weather. We explored rock formations on the beach,
and swam when we got hot. Once we emerged from the water and got ready to move on,
we saw a dolphin leap from the sea in a high flip, then a dozen more surfaced. We watched as the pod made its way across the bay before disappearing around the headland. Later we looked down from the cliff-top path and spotted a seal frolicked in the surf as we looked down at the sea.
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Our hut that night was the Whariwharangi historic homestead, where early settlers had lived, ekeing out their existence hunting, fishing and farming the land around them.
It was a luxury to have beds to sleep in, a big pine table to eat on, and a warming fireplace to keep us all cozy as we read by candlelight in the evening.
The next day took us through more greenery in the hills (Jacob is there across the divide on the path)
and scenic outlooks.
Reaching the end of the hike we felt grateful for the experience, excited for the return to hot showers and a break from oatmeal, and triumphant that we had made it.
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