Birds (so far)

Thanks to those who checked in to see if we'd been affected by the horrendous rains and flooding near Auckland.  We're still on the South Island, so have dodged bad weather, so far.  We're hoping the skies will clear in the north by time we land in Wellington on 11 Feb.

This is a simple post ... some of the birds we've seen so far.

Marsh harrier, one of the few raptors down here

New Zealand sacred kingfisher with dinner

New Zealand sacred kingfisher pair on the hunt

Silvereye, cute little flicker

Pukeko, ground dwellers but they do fly

Bellbird

Black-billed gulls feeding in the surf

White-fronted tern

Little pied shag (cormorant)

Fantail

California quail, a long way from home!

Northern giant petrel

Paradise shelduck

White-chinned petrel

Pied (shag) cormorant

Weka, flightless bird, likes shiny things

Variable oystercatcher

Black swan

Shags on the wing, unknown species

Red-billed gull ... they're everywhere!

New Zealand pigeon ... big and colorful!

South Island oystercatcher

Eurasian skylark

Welcome swallow pair ... you're welcome!

Yellowhammer in song

Little owl - here's lookin' at you!

Food fight! White-capped albatross

Hunting in pairs - White-faced herons

 

Sensational Cetaceans

On the way from Akaroa to Nelson (still on the South Island), we made a 2-day stop in Kaikoura, a beach town frequented by both young international travelers and Kiwis on holiday.  It's especially known for whale watching and swimming with dolphins.  We booked a tour with a Maori-owned company that took us out in the waters above the Kaikoura Canyon, a 60-kilometer long trench that reaches depths of nearly 4000 feet. 

The canyon is rife with sea life and, so, a feeding haven for sea mammals, especially huge sperm and blue whales.  [I was especially excited to see blue whales, largest animal on earth, since I have this enduring memory of seeing one as a kid hanging from the ceiling at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.]  Well, we didn't see any of these giants - although our captain did get a report of a blue whale sighting - but boy did we have a show!  A family of about 10 pilot whales hung out with us for quite a while, and then a huge pod of dusky dolphins, maybe a few hundred, performed for us like a Disney World act.  Awesome!

Here's a few shots of our pilot whales and a short video of the pod alongside the boat.

The dusky dolphins were clearly the stars!  Video here and photos of the acrobats below:

Dusky the Clown

Rockets away!

Incoming!

All together now!

Splash Splash!

Sky Pilot

From Earthquake to Volcano

Where Christchurch was built on a marsh, Akaroa sits in the crater of an ancient volcano.  Essentially just over a 3000' ridge from the big city, Akaroa is a world away ... indeed, Christchurchers (Christchurcians?) go there for rural day trips and longer holidays in their vacation homes.  It's beautiful!

 

We stayed in "The Rectangle," a Home Exchange hosted by a lovely couple (doesn't that sound New Zealandish!), Alison and Ross.  We enjoyed getting to know them a bit, learning about their own travels and their adult children (daughter lives in Bend, OR, son lives in Barcelona). They lived through the 2010/11 earthquakes in Christchurch; neither was at their home there, which was fortunate, as it had been badly damaged and was uninhabitable.  Though it was eventually rebuilt, they hightailed it to Akaroa to start new lives, which they seem to have done with grace.

Akaroa has some very good restaurants and coffee shops, but it's known for its abundance of nature. We took a tour of the long harbor to spot Hector's dolphins, among the smallest in the world. We were fortunate and saw many, as they seemed to enjoy swimming around and under the boat. The dorsal fin was described to us as like Mickey Mouse's ear ... you decide. 

Hector's dolphins are not to be confused with Hector's gin, their namesake, made by a local craft distiller that donates part its profits to a trust committed to protecting the little critters.

We kayaked in nearby beautiful Pohatu B
ay, led by two guides who work for a local organization whose mission is to protect another little critter, the Blue Penguin - also one of the smallest penguin species in the world.  We did, in fact, see one of the penguins in the water, but with it bobbing, our kayak bobbing, my camera hand bobbing, the photo is way too blurry.  We did, however, get good views of many fur seals (like the baby above), spotted shags (cormorants), and even a few more Hector's dolphins.

But here was the star of the show ... a 4-week old baby Blue Penguin in its nesting box (it will be ready to venture off on its own at about 8 weeks).  The organization builds these shelters to protect the penguins from predators, including rats, possums, weasels, stouts, all introduced by Europeans for one foolish reason or another.  We've seen many traps on our hikes in an effort to make New Zealand predator free.

On a hike above Akaroa ... the fellow who bought the land and maintains it for public use adorned it with animal statues like this rhino ... also giraffes, sheep, and a crocodile. Go figure!

We've seen lots of English gardens in bloom like this one in Akaroa.

A local sculptor has spent 20 years creating "The Giants Garden" full of her imaginative and bizarre ceramic sculptures.  It was like being in Alice's wonderland!

Quake City - Kiwi adventure begins

We left Anacortes on a partly sunny day, about 47 degrees, and arrived in sunny and 70 degree Christchurch about 24 hours later. Thus began our 3 month exploration of Aotearoa New Zealand, with a 2-week side trip to visit some old friends in Australia. Kate had this country on her radar since before Covid; for me, it’s a return visit after 40 year.

Our 13 1/2 hour flight from San Francisco started out quite bumpy, as we flew through the leading edge of what was and still is (!) a series of “atmospheric rivers” that have flooded California.  All we suffered was some spilled wine.  We missed our connecting flight from Auckland to Christchurch … but no worries, mate, the oh-so-friendly Kiwi staff got us rebooked on the next flight just an hour later.

Christchurch - a Seattle sister city - was one of the few times we will be without a car, so we walked everywhere.  And our old knees, feet, and backs are feeling it!  It’s a city of contrasts now: some beautiful old and new buildings, amazing playgrounds, a vibrant riverside market, fun public art, a very cool library; and buildings still showing major damage from the 2010/2011 earthquakes.  Some blocks and structures reminded me of photos from war-ravaged Ukraine.

First Kiwi beer, neighborhood pub

Kate under a 140 year old Himalayan cedar in Christchurch’s botanic gardens 

New Zealand fantail

Christchurch’s main cathedral, huge reconstruction project after the 2011 earthquake … still!

Trompe l’oeil near Christchurch’s central
market … that building wall is actually flat!

The earthquakes have left more than physical scars. At the Quake Museum, we watched some amazing video interviews with people who lived through the quake and its aftermaths, powerful personal stories of trauma and loss, and rebirth. On our last day, we bicycled for about 22 km and saw some of the “redlined” areas, whole neighborhoods - as usual, mostly lower income - whose houses were destroyed by liquidating ground, leaving huge tracts of land uninhabitable (the city offered substantial financial support for these homeowners, but whether it was “just” I just don’t know).  But now these areas are being protected as nature reclaims them.  

Redlined former neighborhood

Christchurch Art Gallery

Great interior architecture in the city library

All in all, a good start to our trip.

[P.S. I’m struggling with formatting, hopefully will improve on future posts.]