Long gone, but now back… sort of. :)
The next morning (see previous New Zealand posts), we took the narrow-gauge TranzAlpine Train across the Southern Alps, from Christchurch to Greymouth, and back — an all-day outing. Wikipedia: “The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world’s great train journeys…
After the long, scenic, but sedentary ride from Picton to Christchurch (see previous New Zealand posts), we spent most of the next day on foot, exploring the city. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island; and one that’s had more than its share of heartbreak in recent years. It’s in a lovely location, just…
We were up at 5AM to catch the dawn bus for the long ride to Christchurch. (See previous New Zealand posts.) The above photo is actually from later, after we were well on our way. Yawn. The Piwaka Lodge was packed with hikers (“trampers”), but we were up early enough to avoid the rush for the…
The next morning, we headed to the South Island (see previous New Zealand posts). There are two main car/passenger ferry lines operating between Wellington and Picton; the Interislander (which we took), and BlueBridge. Both cover the roughly 100km/60mi route — half on the open waters of the Cook Strait, and half zig-zagging among islands and…
After a very busy week of guided touring (see previous New Zealand posts), we’d built in a day of slower-paced sightseeing-by-foot in Wellington. We started the day with a change of hotels, leaving the excellent YHA Wellington, which had been booked for us as part of the organized tour. If I’d known in advance how nice…
Yes, those are hobbit feet — Bilbo Baggins’, in fact. I’ll explain in a moment. The final day of the North Island tour was a long ride down to Wellington (see previous New Zealand posts). Here’s a very rough approximation of the full week’s driving, with an estimated total time-in-transit. I’ll admit the bus was…
In the morning (see previous New Zealand posts), we headed to Taupo (“toe-paw”), but first took a brief detour to the Murupara Area School, where we delivered extra hangi from the previous night’s feast. (We’d all pitched in to help package and refrigerate the leftover hangi, after the meal.) The Murupara area has many Maori…
Taupo (the town and eponymous lake) was our next stop (see previous New Zealand posts); a 2-night stay that would allow the group to scatter for planned or ad hoc activities. But before I get to that, let me jump ahead a bit with this silliness: On the afternoon when we arrived at Lake Taupo…
After lunch in Te Puia (see previous New Zealand posts), we next headed out into the very rural countryside, to the Kohutapu Tribal Lodge, where we’d have a communal Maori meal and stay the night. On the way to the lodge, we stopped for a brief hike to some stone carvings made by the original…
We didn’t have far to go the next day, so we had an easy, 10AM start in Rotorua (see previous New Zealand posts). Piling back into the bus, we rode the short distance to the Te Puia Maori complex, featuring a “living village;” an outstanding cultural center; traditional schools you can tour (e.g. watching master…
