Matt asked me to draw him a fantail, a NZ robin, and a saddleback. The saddleback is a really rare NZ bird that is almost exclusively found in predator-free sanctuaries. We saw two a few weeks ago on Motuara Island. I just finished drawing the saddleback last night and I think the head on this one came out particularly well.
Carrie
This (Northern Hemisphere) summer is shaping up to be pretty exciting for me. I received a full scholarship to attend an intensive 6-day workshop about bats at a field station in Arizona. I’ve never been to Arizona so I’m excited about that. But I’m even more excited about catching LOTS of bats and getting ideas for my own research.
In order to handle bats all workshop participants must receive the rabies vaccine. I looked into getting the shots before we came to NZ, but we didn’t need to vaccine to work with bats in New Zealand because they don’t have rabies here. Pretty much anywhere else in the world you need it if you’re going to work closely with mammals.
It’s a series of three shots over the course of a month so I don’t have time to do it in U.S. after we get back and I have to do it in New Zealand. It is also slightly cheaper to do it here.
I got my first shot on Tuesday in Christchurch. Since rabies doesn’t occur in New Zealand, the only reason people get it is for travel abroad. The nurse asked me where I was traveling and I explained that I was going home to the U.S. (but that I had to get the shots to do a workshop with bats and I didn’t have enough time to get the shots in the U.S. when I go home and it would be more expensive anyways). We talked about rabies, the vaccine, possible side effects and adverse reactions, etc. I was amazed at how much time this woman spent with me when all she had to do was spend two minutes prepping and giving me a shot in the arm. Then she proceeded to go through all the recommended inoculations for travel to the U.S. to make sure I was up to date on Hepatitis A & B, tetanus, mumps, etc! I wasn’t quite sure how to react… after all, I was just going home. Who needs extra vaccines to go home? I thought I’d had every shot possible to go to Ecuador and Kenya. She was surprised that no one had recommended I get a flu shot (although now I really think that’s the only vaccine I haven’t had).
The nurse gave me a printout of the travel alerts and health & safety recommendations for travel to the U.S. We got a kick out of reading it. It really helps put such things for other countries in perspective.
The nurse spent about 25 minutes with me (or out of the room getting things for me) in all. I can’t remember the last time a nurse or doctor spent that much time solely devoted to me. She did tell me after the shot that they try to keep people around for 15-20 minutes afterwards to check for immediate adverse reactions, but I think in the U.S. they would’ve just left me alone in the room (hopefully with a magazine) and came back later to check on me. So far my limited experience with the New Zealand universal health care system has been wonderful. My nurse was delightful and friendly and she didn’t seem overworked. I’m kind of looking forward to next Tuesday when I go back for my second shot.
Carrie
This is week-old news in New Zealand but I thought some of you might find it interesting.
Mt. Ruapehu [39°16'43.35"S, 175°34'1.44"E] is an active volcano in Tongariro National Park (middle of the North Island). It last reupted in 1995-96. The eruption created a dam of ash that held water in Crater Lake on top of Ruapehu. On Christmas Eve, 1953, an eariler dam on Crater Lake broke and let a bunch of water loose, creating a lahar. The lahar damaged a railway bride downstream just minutes before a train from Auckland to Wellington tried to cross it. 151 people of the 285 people on the train died in the accident.
Since the last eruption 10 years ago they've been keeping an eye on the newest dam and the water levels in Crater Lake. Scientists predicted another lahar would happen inevitably- it was just a matter of time. So, they devised a warning system to alert people at risk, close roads, and stop trains. On March 18, the inevitable happened and everything went according to plan!
Here are some links to articles about it with images and video:
Mt. Ruapehu
Crater Lake status (images and video)
Article about lahar
It's just so great to hear about an emergency response plan that worked!
Carrie
We ended up spending the night in a backpackers in Nelson (which is a lovely city) and then, after a bit of creative directional driving we took a brief stop back in Picton and headed south to Kaikoura. Our plan had been to stay with a help exchange hostel for several days while we went out in search of whales. After one night and (therefore) one day's work we decided that the situation wasn't going to work out. As far as we could tell the entire hostel was run by one overworked and over hyper woman 24/7. Let's just say that her style of work and ours did not go well together. Instead we got a room at another hostel in town.
We have been searching for whales since we first left Los Angeles in the plane. Neither of us had ever seen a whale. Whenever we were within sight of the ocean one of us would usually say something like "Ok whale, breach... Now!" We did this not because we believe that we have the power to command the whales (if we did we would be one of the planeteers and together we could create Captain Planet) but rather because just imagine how cool it would be if it worked. However, much to our chagrin, it never worked. Whenever we would talk with people along the way we would eventually mention how much we wanted to see a whale and invariably they would say "Well, have you been to Kaikoura?" The way we "planned" (stumbled through) our trip we had entirely avoided Kaikoura which is here (42°24'8.30"S, 173°40'50.03"E). Kaikoura used to be a whaling town (back in the day) but now a days they have figured out that they can make tons of money by taking tourists on boats and showing them whales.
We have, in our trip, tried to keep our totally touristy things to a minimum. I'm from Washington, DC and I know that while 20 millions tourists visit DC each year hardly any of them ever leave the National Mall. As such they miss out on tons of the really great stuff that DC has to offer. This being said the National Mall is full of really incredible stuff that shouldn't be missed. In the same vein there are things in New Zealand that are so popular for a reason. We believe that whale watching in Kaikoura is one of them.
So on Friday the 23rd we set out in a boat with about 50 other people to look for the (it turns out not so) elusive Sperm Whale. The reason that Kaikoura is so good for whale watching is that right at where Kaikoura is there is a huge, very deep sea canyon only a short distance off the coast. You can sort of tell how dramatic the sea shelf is there by looking here on Google Earth (42°31'40.52"S, 173°34'36.89"E). The light color is about 60-80 meters deep the dark spot is about 2,000 meters deep. On board the ship they had a very cool animation where they show where we were on the water and then they drained the ocean and showed what it looks like topographically. It is stunning how quickly the land drops off. This super deep water is what attracts marine mammals to the coast there. There are several sperm whales that live in these waters year round. The canyon is also a very popular migration route for all sorts of whales.
On our trip we saw two sperm whales. There is something truly awesome about seeing something alive that is so big. The whales come up from the bottom after about 30-45 minutes of diving and then they float on the top for about 10 minutes while they catch their breath. Then it is a deep breath and right back down again. While they are breathing you can see them and they are amazing but not all that show stopping. They mostly just sit there breathing from their blowhole. Since the vast majority of the whale is below the surface the bit we see is perhaps less striking than hoped. However, they really make up for it when they dive because when they do they always give a beautiful view of their huge tail. It was amazing.
After some time spent watching the whales it is hard to believe how anything could surpass the thrill of seeing such huge creatures but the real show stealing performance came next. The whales are not the only creatures that are attracted by the deep ocean and the food it brings. Kaikoura also has a resident population of Dusky Dolphins. There are between 800 and 1000 dolphins that all live right there. Dolphins are cool enough as it is but this particular species is know for being incredibly acrobatic. It is hard to convey the scene even with pictures but try to imagine 1000 dolphins all jumping and leaping, some doing single and double flips, in every direction. It was spectacular! However, our trip to see the dolphins with the whale watch boat was not the best experience of our Kaikoura stop.
Last Thursday was my birthday (happy birthday to me!) and for my birthday Carrie gave me a dolphin swimming excursion! So this morning at 5:00 (very very morning) we got up and took off for our 5:30 dolphin encounter. Once again we donned the stylish look of the wetsuit and snorkel (I think it will catch on some day before long) and took off in search of marine wildlife. Being up so early we got to see the sunrise over the ocean which was really nice.
The people who took us out to the dolphins do not bait or entice the dolphins at all. Pretty much if we want them to pay attention to us we have to make ourselves interesting. The boat dropped us off into the water and we all started swimming in circles and diving down a bit and making noises through our snorkels. These are all things that the dolphins seem to enjoy. One woman said she sang the Welsh national anthem through her snorkel to critical acclaim. I'm sure that some of you out there reading this have had this or a similar experience but aside from having done it yourself I just can't describe it sufficiently. Like I said above, there were between 800 and 1000 dolphins in the water with us and in the 45 minutes that I was actually in the water I don't think I went more than a total of 30 seconds without having dolphins all around me. They were incredible. They like to swim around you in a tight circle and see if you can keep up. I thought I was doing pretty well until they would switch up the direction all of a sudden and that usually resulted in water in my snorkel.
After the actual swim they drove around in the boat at slow speeds and we got to take pictures and watch the dolphins from above water while the guide told us interesting facts about their behavior and ecology. I'm going to post the best of the pictures here. Some of them are from this morning and some of them are from the whale watching the day before. In the two days combined I think I took about 650 pictures.
This morning we went sea kayaking for the first time. Our hosts, Helen and Derry, are kayakers and graciously let us take their kayak to sea! Matt and I have both done a little bit of lake and river kayaking, but this was our first time on the ocean. We paddled around two small islands near shore that are full of birds. Heaps of spotted shags hang out there and some are starting to make nests so we saw them fly right in front of us with beakfulls of nesting material. We also watched some terns diving into the water for fish. 
Shortly after our little kayaking trip, Helen & Derry headed out for a two-day kayaking trip. We've had an excellent time exploring Golden Bay from their home. The weather has mostly been beautiful. Takaka, the nearest town with a grocery store, seems to have a lot of artists and hippies so it makes for interesting shops.
For the Glenview-ites reading the blog, you'll understand that I just had to follow a sign that said "The Grove, 1 km." 
It turned out to be a beautiful little scenic reserve full of nikau palms (NZ's native palm), rata, and other native plants. We had a great time watching fantails flit around us looking for insects to eat. There were also awesome limestone formations. It would be an excellent place for kids to play all sorts of imaginitive games.
We also visited the incredibly clear Te Waikoropupu Springs (Pupu Springs for short). They said it is the clearest water in the world, second only to water under the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
This picture hardly does it justice. People used to be able to dive or snorkel at certain times, but it is now closed to all human contact with the water. The springs are sacred to the Maori and they are trying to control the spread of a noxious algae, didymo. You can't touch the water, fish in it, or fill your water bottle from it let alone fall in it because didymo can reproduce itself from ONE CELL stuck to your damp bathing suit or shoes and take over a river.
Tomorrow we're leaving Golden Bay and heading towards Kaikoura. We're planning to spend tomorrow night in Picton and drive the rest of the way to Kaikoura on Wednesday. Whales, here we come!
Carrie
Kerry (aka the batgirl) emailed us today to say that they caught a young male bat last night and named it "Grosso." Kerry has been naming the bats in alphabetical order by sex, so Grosso is the 7th male bat. I'm not sure what letter they're on for females, but it was 'E' when we visited a few weeks ago. I actually got to briefly radio track the bat named Carrie. They've been flying through the names (i.e. catching a lot of bats) since we left in December. In two months we only caught Bernie and Carter!
Carrie
Last weekend the U.S. sprung forward one hour and tonight New Zealand falls back one hour. So in just one week, we went from being 6 hours behind (but a day ahead) to being 8 hours behind (still a day ahead) of U.S. Eastern Time. Isn’t time a crazy thing?
Carrie
Sandy’s stuffed. No kidding. She lasted 23 days. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! With the $1200 we paid for her (plus dead Lu) and the $100 for towing at her death and the mechanic’s time for exploring the extent of the problem, it works out to $56 per day for Sandy (not including diesel). We could’ve rented a car for less than that. We felt like Lu’s time had really come when she conked out and we hold no grudge against her for dying. But Sandy, c’mon. You were a diesel engine with only 250,000 km which means you were supposed to last a lot longer.
Here’s how it happened. While couch surfing in Nelson with a cool guy named Steve, we met a French couple, Emilie and Jerome, who were also staying at Steve’s place. They just got to New Zealand a week or so before and were having a bit of bad luck (they bought a van from another French couple in Christchurch for $2000 and less than an hour outside of Christchurch on the SAME DAY the thing kicked the bucket and they had to hitchhike back). We really liked them and wanted to help them out, so we offered to give them a ride on Wednesday to where they were headed next. It was right on our way anyways. We were headed to Golden Bay (west of Nelson) to stay with some Quakers.
Sandy was really full with four people and accessories but we made it work. We even fit in Jerome’s guitar. We dropped them off in Takaka and wished them better luck for the rest of their travels. About 20 km from Takaka the engine just shut off as Matt was driving along. He didn’t notice until he tried to give it gas and nothing happened at all. We rolled over to the shoulder of the road and tried to restart the car. Nada. It sounded like the battery was dead. We popped the hood and there was some smoke (not steam) coming off the engine (we didn’t think that was a very good sign). We couldn’t check the water in the radiator until the engine cooled down quite a bit, so we left the hood up and got back in the car just as it started to pour rain. Wednesday’s weather was pretty crazy and fierce. It was alternating wind, sun, drizzle, and driving rain.
When it cooled enough to get the radiator open, we added about 2 liters of water. After a few minutes a whole bunch of steam came out which seemed like a terrible sign to me because that suggested that it had been empty. We noticed that the little piece of cooling system pipe that Colin replaced for us (see Optimist’s Week and Pessimist’s Week ***Colin- we want to you know that our car did not break because of the hose you put in! Sandy's problems were unfortunately larger than that.***) right after we bought Sandy had now completely burst, so water was pouring out of it. We still couldn’t start the car.
I called the Quakers we were going to stay with because it looked like we would be late for dinner. Jude gave me the number of the Collingwood mechanic and told me to call them straight away because it was 5:05. We caught them just as they were about to leave for the day and they came out with a truck about 15 minutes later. It turns out we’d nearly made it to Collingwood; it was just about 2 km down the road around a bend where we couldn’t see it.
Craig, the mechanic, added more water to the radiator and jumped the car (the battery was dead). Much to our relief, it started up. He told us to follow him back to the garage but pull over if the heat gauge goes above halfway. After about 400 m of driving the gauge rapidly went up so we pulled over and Craig towed us with a rope the rest of the way while we steered the car. We left Sandy at the garage and they gave us a courtesy car! We were completely amazed that this mechanic in a tiny town had courtesy cars, but that was great. So we continued on our way to the Quakers (and proceeded to go the wrong way because I thought they were in the wrong town…) and we eventually made it.
We were hopeful that Sandy was ok (except for a burst hose and maybe a worn-out battery or something). We called on Thursday and the news wasn’t good. From what they could tell without taking the engine apart, she at least had a cracked head gasket (minimum $1200). But it could cost up to $3500 if it was a cracked head. Obviously not worth it. AHHHHHHHHH!
We couldn’t afford another $1200 lemon. So we mentally prepared ourselves to go carless. It would mean sending a lot of things home or to Christchurch where we could then fly them home. It also means less independence for the rest of our travels. We could rent a car for short periods of time when we want to go off the beaten track. But it would change our trip somewhat.
When we went to the mechanic to collect our small library and the rest of our things from Sandy, Craig (the great mechanic) said he’d already looked around for another car. Lo and behold, there was a little red Nissan Sentra hatchback for $500. We’re now a bit gunshy, but the cost of bus and train tickets for the rest of our trip would probably add up to more than $500. So after a test drive to the nearest ATM to withdraw the cash for our THIRD car in New Zealand, we decided to go for it.
So, welcome Susie the Nissan Sentra. Coincidentally, all three of our cars now have been Nissans. This is probably the least risky car we’ve purchased in NZ since the same mechanics have worked on it for the past 3 years and the garage has a great reputation as being good and honest. We were lucky with Lu and unlucky with Sandy. We’re really hopeful that this will be our last car on this trip. If this one fails us, I think we’ll hitchhike or buy bikes.
Craig said that Sandy’s fatal overheating wasn’t our fault and the cooling system was probably already damaged when we got her. He also said that these particular diesel engines are total crap and it probably went further than most. So Sandy’s not worth anything for parts but she is going to a good cause. The Collingwood Volunteer Fire Department recently purchased The Jaws of Life and Sandy is going to be practice fodder for training their firemen. A fitting end, I think.
All this car madness has put us waaaaaay over budget so we’ve got some lean times ahead. We can’t sleep in this car (the mattress definitely didn’t fit), but we are presently benefiting from the wonderful hospitality of Quakers in the Golden Bay area.
Carrie
On Wednesday we took the ferry back across the Cook Straight and we are now on the South Island for good. Wednesday night we spent at a DOC (Department of Conservation) campground outside of Picton (which is where the Ferry lands).
Thursday morning we got up early, rented a tent, and took off for the Queen Charlotte Track. The way the track works is that you take a boat from Picton (41°17'18.41"S, 174° 0'29.73"E) to Ship Cove (41° 5'39.28"S, 174°14'3.22"E) and then walk back towards Picton along the sound until you are picked up and returned to Picton. On Google Earth you can actually see the track. It is the small white line starting from Ship Cove. Instead of just taking a boat to Ship Cove we decided to splurge a bit and go on a "eco-tour" on the way out there. We saw 7 bottle-nosed dolphins which was the closest we have come to seeing whales so far so that was really exciting! The Dolphins were right under the bow of the boat where we were sitting. They were so close we could have grabbed on and gone for a ride but our guide said no (you have to pay extra to go swimming with the dolphins).
After the dolphins we went to Motuara Island (41° 5'40.16"S, 174°16'22.42"E) which is a wildlife (which means birdlife) refuge. DOC has removed all of the vermin from the island and released native birds there. I don't know if we've mentioned it before now but ever since Bill and Jay from Earlham were here Carrie and I have been having tons of fun birding. We've seen 77 species so far since Christmas and this one morning gave us the last 7! We saw 5 King Shags (which basically only live on this rock (41° 4'38.21"S, 174°21'40.10"E) and there are only about 300 of them so that means that we saw 1.67% of these birds), Fluttering Shearwaters, New Zealand South Island Robins (which are really cute and not shy at all. They eat the bugs that our walking disturb so they are often on the path around people), Wekas (which look like ducks without bills and were pretty demanding when it came to our lunch), South Island Bell Birds (which have a gorgeous song!), one Yellow-Crowned Parakeet, and two South Island Saddlebacks (which was amazing because these birds are very rare!). Ok, I know that was a really long and convoluted sentence but I don't feel like going back and rewriting it. Feel free to liberally insert punctuation as you see fit.
This is a weka under our picnic table.
You get the idea how close it was to the camera from this one.
After such a stellar morning it was going to be hard for the next three days of hiking to live up and that proved to be the case. The weather was perfect and the track was beautiful but terribly boring. I don't actually feel like going into all of the details but essentially it was three days of uncomfortable sleeping, long walking, and the same view over and over again. It would have been more fun as a bike ride. Oh well.
Now we are in Nelson couchsurfing here (41°16'40.79"S, 173°17'10.17"E) with a great guy. We will be here tonight and tomorrow night and we'll be leaving Wednesday. We have great internet here so we'll update accordingly. Hope you're all well.
Matt
P.S. I just went and figured out how to insert links to the posts so I hope all the blue text is more helpful than annoying.
We have spent the past three days in Wellington visiting friends (most of whom are Friends). Tomorrow we will say farewell to the North Island for good (basically). With only 64 days left we need to cover the remaining corners of the South Island (mostly the North-west clockwise around to Christchurch), spend some time with our friends in Waimate, visit with Elizabeth (who is returning to NZ for a month in April), sell our car and all our stuff, and end up at the Christchurch airport. We have now spent more time on the North Island but somehow (I suppose it is because we began our journey there) it feels like we are returning home to the South Island.
We'll be out of internet contact until at least Monday because as soon as we land in Picton we'll be heading out to walk the Queen Charlotte Track which is a four or five day hike through the Marlborough Sounds (41°10'53.24"S, 173°59'11.68"E). It should be beautiful and I'm sure we will have much to report when we get back online.
Until then, farewell and to make the time pass more quickly I leave you with this picture of the hill we visited that holds the Guinness Book world record for the longest place name (40°20'45.49"S, 176°32'24.50"E). By the time you are through pronouncing it out loud we should be done with our hike.
Matt
p.s. I set the above image as the image when you look up Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu on wikipedia. I'm a published photographer!
On our way South from Napier we stumbled across the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere. It was really amazing to see. From what I understand one of the biggest resistances to wind farms is that some people think they are ugly to look at. I guess there's no accounting for taste but I thought the sight of these enormous windmills turning on the hills above us was beautiful. There is something eerily futuristic about them. I don't know if they make modern wind mills in any color other than white but I've never seen them if they do and the white just looks so clean and striking.
This wind farm has a place where we could view them and we were allowed to walk right up to one and stand beneath it. When you are really close the sound is impressive and if you stand directly underneath the blades it is actually very scary to look up.
From what the sign said EACH of the windmills in the farm generates enough electricity to power 900 average NZ homes. I thought that was pretty impressive. Anyway, I found the experience of seeing these huge futuristic devices really powerful. And somehow seeing these clean machines really fills me with some sort of hope.
Matt
An addition to the Optimist’s Week
We heard an unfamiliar noise the night we stayed at the campground in Northland where we met the American Ultimate players the first night we had our new car Sandy. It was a series of ascending, rapid notes that repeated a few times. We thought it might have been a kiwi but just filed it away in our heads until we could check.
On Friday we visited Opossum World, a shop in Napier devoted to all things made from possum fur and skin. They had an exhibit with native bird sounds to demonstrate what the night time forest should really sound like, instead of the just the sound of possums screaming and eating all of the native plants. Matt asked me to pick which sound we heard a few weeks ago without seeing the labels, and it was definitely a kiwi!
We haven’t seen a kiwi yet on our trip and this was the only time we’ve heard one. Matt is holding out to see one in the wild, but we might just have to see one in captivity. I saw one at a zoo (Brookfield Zoo?) as a kid but that was ages ago. We’ll keep looking.
Carrie
Luckily they have free internet access.
So after we had a less than stellar week in Northland we came back through Auckland (staying with our friend Paul) and then on to Tokoroa for two nights to see Kerry and to recharge again. From Tokoroa we took off to the North-East and followed the coast around the East cape. The scenery out here has been beautiful and we have been enjoying ourselves a great deal. We checked out another huge maze.
We visited the Easternmost point in NZ. There is a lighthouse (37°41.338' S, 178°32.895' E) there 757 steps up from the carpark. That was a fun climb.
We also found a super cool 60 meter rock waterslide. That was awesome! While we were there a guy showed up guiding a tour of the waterslide. It is his job to slide down the rock over and over again every day. It seemed like a great job for Mark Andreas.
I am certain that there are tons of details that could stand to be told but for some reason none of them are coming to me right now. We are currently staying in the city of Napier (39°29.083' S, 176°55.135' E) in a backpackers hostel that used to be the Napier Prison. It is actually pretty a cool place. We are in the Warden's hut but most of the rooms are old cells. We are here for the night and next we'll be headed further South until we end up in Wellington again. Then its off to the South Island and more adventures. We will be online again in Wellington so we'll update again from there. Cheers.
Matt
