Catch up to where we are!

Blog 32 - A Catch up to where we are in real time!

On Tuesday March 12th we flew away from Christchurch and the spectacular country of New Zealand on our only flight of our 126 day adventure.  The flight was bound for Melbourne Australia to stay for a couple of days with an old friend of Jacky's before going on by train to Sydney. However, as you can see by the date of our departure, I am very much aware that my blogs are now far behind our journey due to various reasons including time and internet constraints. Not to mention having major headaches with hunting for a new lap top power supply and later a corrupted hard drive replacement.. 

The two main objectives of our trip have now both been achieved - to visit a couple of South Pacific Islands and to tour New Zealand extensively. Not wanting to fly long haul meant that the return trip by ship was a bonus, albeit a very  adventurous and exciting one. My blogs have hopefully covered that initial itinerary and in a way I have completed my own challenge - to make in blog form an interesting summary and storyline. 

Of course it is not complete, but on the other hand I do want my regular blog visitors to feel they are really with me on the last leg of the trip. I have therefore taken the decision to become 'Dr Who' and travel through time! Our 'Tardis' lands after magically travelling FORWARD 47 days to sit on the decks of the QM2 as she slowly moves south to north through the Suez Canal, the date is Tuesday 29th April. Future blogs will now follow the QM2 home to Southampton.  I will continue to work and insert blogs of where and what we did and include some stories of those missing six to seven weeks but for now a quick summary of that itinerary… 

Following our lovely stay in Melbourne we travelled by train to Sydney to spend a few days before joining the Ocean Princess for a voyage to Singapore. This cruise included visiting Brisbane, a chance to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef and see Darwin, before a chance to  see the dragons of Komodo Island in Indonesia.  A long sail followed, up and across the South China sea to Vietnam and the Mekong Delta, then onwards,  south west to the Thai island of Ko Samui and finally south to Singapore where we had four nights in a hotel. 

Joining the QM2 on April 10th, we had two visits in Malaysia before sailing across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka and visiting the temple city of Kandy. We then sailed west to Dubai in the UAE, on to the port of Muscat in Oman, turned up the Red Sea to Aqaba to the wonder that is Petra before going back on ourselves and round into the Gulf of Suez (dodging pirates on the way!) and finally transiting the canal itself to our current position, cruising the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy and the port of Civitavecchia, two hours drive from Rome..  

Almost seven weeks from our time in New Zealand and it is simply unreal to us that we will soon be back home in the UK. It has become a way of life on the high seas and to get back to 'normal' will seem very strange indeed.

Blog 33 will cover the transit of the Suez canal……

DKT

Fly away from NZ - reflections

Blog 31 Fly away leaving reflections of NZ

We awake on our final day in NZ. Packing for our one and only plane journey on our whole trip away is a challenge. We have a strict weight allowance and a charge for excess. At the moment we have three suitcases all above the weight allowance of 23kg, two musical instruments (guitar and violin), 2 back packs, and three carrier bags as well. Our early morning was spent in trying at least to cut down the hand luggage and hope for a friendly check-in, knowing that we will be charged  for the extra case.

We have to say goodbye as well to Nancy Nissan.  What a great car, performing without fuss and bother from the moment of pick up in Queenstown 11 days ago. With her we have completed 2000kms (1200miles) over terrain at times difficult for a non 4x4 vehicle. We lunch at the Antarctic Centre, close to the departures building at the airport. There is a museum and special DVD shows dedicated to that continent, but unfortunately we have no time as 'fly away' is fast approaching. 

We third case is approved without extra payment, but we have to ditch some possessions to get under the weight allowance. It is quite a sight to see our clothes and personals laid out on a bench trying to decide what has to go. We give around 6kg of clothes and a handbag to the local charity and we clear customs to sit in the lounge for an hour.

It gives me time to reflect on the all too short 30 days in the land of the long white cloud; to the Maori it is Aotearoa, to you and me Kiwi land or New Zealand. Where does one start? 3500 miles in that short time was a challenge and adventure all on its own. This is a tribute to Jacky for spending hours on research and internet time to arrange the itinerary, booking the accommodation in advance, map reading and being a passenger when at times it was a fingers cross and pray road journey. This trip would simply not have happened without her imagination and ingenuity.  We have made it to plan and this country has changed me for ever in so many different ways.

This trip to NZ was also for Jacky to visit her Lord of the Rings locations. This was certainly achieved and again I am so pleased we did for it illustrated Tolkien's landscapes of 'Middle Earth' exactly- a world of deep hidden valleys, barren wastelands, remote mystical mountains and lush low valleys. 

It is the people I will remember- their struggle with nature, their strength in adversity, their resoluteness to repair and go forward. They are a young nation and as in true Maori folklore they can see and remember their past and their ancestors carve their future. 

NZ do not have time for show offs or flag - waving. Flash and pomp are not in their make up. We can all learn from the Kiwi and their mix of population for theyapple all share one thing, the valuable resource which is their land, their country, their hope for a better world. When all is done and the pages re- written on the modern human endeavour, just look southward to these islands and you will here them say " it was nothing eh"!

I finish my NZ blogs with extracts from two Maori songs / poems: -

The first is translated a Maori song lyric: - The song of the long white cloud (Aotearoa)

                                          Kei tiritiri O Te Moana e  

                     You will find the skies are blue, Folks are kind, friends are true,

                                          Te whenua o Aotearoa  

                              In the Land of the long white cloud,       

                                         Kore rawa rite tetahi whenua 

                        Ev'ryone welcome there, There is none that can compare,

                                         Ki tenei o Aotearoa

                                 To the land of the long white cloud,

                                         Kia kite koe i te whenua

                         Just wait till you see the magic charm of Rotorua,

                                       O te puia me te wai ngawha

                           Just wait till you hear a Maori Haka, and song,

                                   Noho haere ranei e kore e wareware,

                      Tho' you stay, tho' you part, There is a place in your heart,

                                       Koe ki konei ki Aotearoa…..

                                    For the land of the long white cloud…….

The second is translated version from their most famous traditional love song -  Pokarekare Ana: -

                                                          whati whati taku pene

                                             pronounced (fut-ee fut-ee tuck-oo penne)

                                                              Kua pau aku pepa

                                           pro'ed   (Koo-ah põe uck-oo pepper)

                                                               Ko taku aroha

                                               pro'ed   (Caw tuck-oo ah raw-ha)

                                                           Måu tonu ana e.

                                             pro'ed   (Mow tore-noo un-nah e.)

               translated: -

                My pen is broken,

                I have run out of paper,

                but my love for you still remains (for ever)….

 Oh how true these words!!

Now to those faithful followers of my blogs - I have a surprise and a change of direction in my next blog as we fly away from Aotearoa…….  

DKT

Christchurch

Blog 30 - Onwards towards Christchurch

How those sheep have grown overnight!

The Morning clouds over Mount Sunday made the decision of Jacky to climb 'Edoras' at sunset an inspired choice and today we leave for our final leg to Christchurch, the main city of South Island.  Our lodge stay was comfortable and after taking some final pictures we travel back along the same 'unsealed' road through the scenic river valley and past the lakes towards the staging town of Mt Somers. 

Lat look back toward the Mount Potts Station

We know this will take just over one hour as we cannot drive more than 15/20km (8-10mph) along this sometimes very bumpy truck road. Nancy is not a 4x4 but is coping very well with the suspension challenges. 

Mount Somers General Store

We stop at the local historic general store in Mt Somers for a morning coffee and some now obligatory carrot cake before taking the inland route to Christchurch. The scenery is similar to what we have been seeing in the flat lands over the past few days. Rocky, small hills, tussock grass and plenty of my woolly friends for added company along the way. It's very Scotland at times and reminds me just how close relatives these countries are both in landscape and early settler history. 

Views near Whitceliff on the road to the City

We lunch on a children's play ground bench off the inland scenic route at a small settlement called Whitcliff. We had been looking for a quite spot to munch our sandwiches and just happened to turn off this way. Even the play areas have beauty in this wonderful country. Back drops to hills and forest, green lush grass and gardens full of different flowering bushes and flowers, so different from the residential areas of home. 

We arrive in Christchurch mid afternoon and after finding a parking spot head straight for the Cathedral area where four earthquakes hit within a few months of each other in 2010/11 and changed this city skyline for ever. I have to say I was shocked, upset, emotional at what I saw. We in the UK cannot possibly for one moment understand or experience what must have happened here in those moments during and through the aftermath period when further shocks and tremors rocked the city and suburbs for months afterwards.

Christchurch Cathedral

I stand looking at the historic neo-gothic Cathedral, its tower and end wall collapsed showing the inside to the world as if to say "look in, do not fear for you are still in safe hands". It is boarded off with fencing and has large containers all down one side in case the building collapses, when it would literally contain the debris inside the cordoned off areas. We walk around almost in a daze wondering what happened here, how lives had been affected, what the future holds for these courageous Kiwis. 

185 people lost their lives in 24 dramatic seconds at 12.51pm on

Emptiness and silence all around

22nd February 2011, many hundreds made homeless, businesses closed and ruined in an instant of time, a city still in mourning, many buildings just empty, quiet as if expecting another battering. It was erie yet somehow tranquil as we walked around, I have never in my life experienced the almost aftermath of a major disaster; was this the feeling that one has at the NY twin towers or in the London Blitz? Goodness knows what Hiroshima must have felt like - my mind was alive with different feelings and emotions.

The Cardboard Cathedral

We eventually come across the 'cardboard Cathedral' a Japanese design erected out of cardboard, local wood and steel, which looked spectacular amongst the surrounding greyness and emptiness. We were at a traffic light crossroads and on its four corners stood the testament of past, present and future with one panoramic turn of the head. I look in on direction and I see a derelict building site with a small memorial garden and some information signs. This was the site of the former tower block that housed the Christchurch Television Centre where 115 persons working in the building at the time all perished. I am told that the only survivor was the receptionist. This was particularly distressing to me as I used to work in a television centre and to be honest with you I shed a tear and prayed for their memories and loved ones.

The White Chair grass area

I walk to another corner and I see something which will stay in my mind and heart for ever. There is a grass area with 185 white chairs in rows like pews. I read the inscription on the notice board: -

                

             " 181 empty chairs painted white twice in remembrance.

                       181 square metres of grass for new growth.

            This whole area is only temporary like our stay on earth"          

I again was filled with emotion and just needed to get away, to flee. I was being selfish, I wanted to remember my four weeks in this wonderful country with happiness. I wanted to remember the mountains, the lakes, the sheep, the fiords, that wonderful moment at the tip of North Island where the spirit of the Maori passed from land towards their homelands and where I felt so much at peace after the hectic pace and stress of life over recent years. All I was feeling however was sadness and despair. The empty buildings all around awaiting decisions of payouts and / or whether to stay up or pull down just added to the sense of something surreal, it was a hollywood movie set yet it was real, in your face and haunting.   

Inside the 'pop up' cathedral

I returned to go inside the 'pop up' Cathedral and walked around its polished concrete floor with waves of cardboard tubes catching the eye towards the cross and the alter and then I felt it!  A feeling of hope arising - yes hope that our world, our lives are temporary but that does not mean you cannot live it, whatever it throws at you one must struggle on, for without hope you have an emptiness leading to despair. I prayed again for loved ones, friends and family and walked out with a new feeling, a purposeful stride and went in search of evidence of this new beginning for those brave city workers and residents.

Shipping container shopping

I was led almost by a hand on my shoulder a few hundred yards straight to a city centre shopping complex where many shops had collapsed and only a few yards from where a bus had been passing and falling debris had killed four shoppers. Yet there it was, the evidence of hope out of adversity - old shipping containers transposed like magic into shops - all stacked at different angles, painted and bright, alive, bustling with life, vibrant energy and smiles returning. 

We had the future, a remembrance of the past for sure but it proved that hope was here, working and I laughed aloud to some strange looks! Indeed life does go on.  I had written something down earlier when visiting the white chairs and grass area. This was written on a faded piece of paper and pinned on a board by perhaps a family member of one of the victims of the tragedy. (I quote) :-

"If you haven't already, you will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and you never get over the loss of a deeply loved person. BUT this is good news. The person lives forever, in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through, and you learn to dance with the banged up heart. You dance to the absurdities of life; you dance to the minuet of old friendships"  (end quote)…

A wonderful poignant piece from the heart from a person simply known as 'anon'- We have all experienced this depth of grief but I do know from personal experience that time does heal the soul but maybe not the heart. Any person who cares about others in their life cannot help but be overcome by varying emotions, I hope that I am that kind of human person so it was pretty obvious I was going to be upset.  

The Botanical gardens and museum

We walked towards the Botanical gardens and Museum only a couple of hundred yards from the Cathedral and more evidence that miracles do happen. Although the whole area and buildings rattled and many priceless articles and artefacts were damaged beyond repair, the grounds and Museum were open for business and what a joy to find the river had punts reminiscent of Oxford or Cambridge taking visitors on short trips through the Gardens.

The river walk towards the Museum

The Millenium 'chalice'

I was also amazed to see that one of the most recent modern landmarks in the city had been left unscathed although only metres from the destroyed Cathedral. The 18m high metal sculpture - 'chalice' designed to commemorate the new Millennium was standing proud in defiance  - a sure sign that life does and will go on - I was feeling so much more positive now.

The view toward the river estuary

We made the short trip to the south east of the city to our evening B&B in Mt Pleasant - an amazing house on several levels built on the hill overlooking the city with views of the shore line of the city's river estuaries, which incidentally had tilted in the earthquake, causing lots of flooding in the area.

Our host Catherine was so lovely and understood our emotions entirely. She spent a long time telling us amazing stories of courage and how everybody rallied around to give help and support to a battered city. Their own house had been damaged and bridges in the locality had collapsed and sewage and oozy silt rising out of drains and cracks in the road, yet thy coped.

Christchurch rebuild project update

I particularly was amused about the 'farmy army' - The rural heartland from miles around rushed to the city to hand out fresh produce but also brought shovels to stay and help in the immediate clean up process - one nation, one family. The cost of the rebuilding project is £30 billion and rising fast and according to statistics published recently Christchurch is already one of our world's largest natural disasters in respect of repairs and rebuild.  

It was inspiring to hear her talk and the city's 20 year future plan promises to be very innovative with open spaces, walkways, cycle paths along the River Avon and a new low rise city centre. 

I have no doubt at all that this beautiful resilient city will recover and I will leave NZ tomorrow with positive vibes and many fantastic memories.

In Blog 31, I will write a short reflection of our four weeks in NZ and outline the plans for future blogs on our world adventure.

DKT

Mount Sunday

Blog 29  - The Road to 'Edoras' (Mount Sunday) in the Hakatere National Park:

Going to Twizel was all about the LOR location and today we are off to another - Mount Sunday (Edoras in LOR) located in Central Canterbury region and standing in a very remote area of outstanding beauty.  There is a final 20km of 'unsealed road' to contend with before we can enjoy the awaiting prize. Nancy Nissan was performing admirably and we had every confidence that we would make our destination. The driver  - well that is a different story!

A slight delay in setting off this morning as there were a couple of personal lost items following our LOR tour last evening. I left my anorak on the guide's mini bus and Jacky lost her nice Maori necklace purchased in the North Island, north of Auckland. I retrieved my clothing but alas the necklace could not be found which was upsetting.

After a later-than-normal pleasant breakfast in a local cafe in the town centre we started our travel day to Mount Potts Lodge, an early settler merino sheep station deep into a remote high country glacial valley looking towards the eastern foothills of the Mount Cook National Park. This trip is to find Mount Sunday, the mythical Edoras, capital of Rohan, the land of fabled horses and valiant warriors in the LOR trilogy. 

Lake Pukaki

We stop for a final look at Lake Pukaki but can not get the iconic view towards Mount Cook because of the low morning clouds. We may get that opportunity later if the sun breaks through. Sod's law kicks in and a few miles down the road the sun starts to break through; we turn Nancy around and head back to another spot to take some pictures, not quite capturing Mt Cook but other mountains of the Southern Alps create a spectacular back drop to our east as we drive along on now a lovely sunny late morning.. 

View from Mt John to Lake Tekapo

We turn off to climb the steep road towards the summit of Mt John to view the landscape from the observatory site overlooking the Mackenzie basin. This whole area boasts some of the clearest skies in NZ, which are further enhanced by Lake Tekapo's responsible use of town and country lighting and the whole effect is stunning. 

Church of the Good Shepherd

We pass the beautiful lakeside Church of the Good Shepherd built around 80 years ago. This small stone and oak building is placed not coincidentally in a panoramic backdrop lake/mountain setting making it a popular choice for weddings. It is the most photographed church in the country.. 

Nearby is a statue of a collie dog, a tribute to the hard working breed that helped establish the sheep industry, so much associated with NZ.  We are in MacKenzie Country - This is named after a notorious Scotsman called James McKenzie (note the different spelling) who was caught in these parts in the 1840's with a great number of allegedly stolen sheep. His capture, escape and pardon became the stuff of legend and such was his fame that it encouraged other settlers to notice the great potential that the stunning terrain offered for sheep rearing and so a way of life was born..

Brown tussock grass and Merino sheep

We continue to travel through the open brown tussock Mackenzie countryside north east towards and through the 670m Burke Pass. Now pressed for time, we do not stop in the heritage town of Fairlie with its local museum. I have mentioned in previous blogs how excellent these local museums are in respect of their layout, information and exhibits and although disappointed we need to arrive at our unsealed road trip up the valley to Mount Potts station in reasonable light.

Ah the plans of mice and men - who said that?. We were passing through a pretty town called Geraldine and noticed a local shop too good to pass by as it sold locally produced garments made from the famous Merino wool. We both purchased items (that suitcase we bought in Oamaru is filling up nicely with extras, which was not the plan!).  

The now useful possum

I have mentioned before that the Kiwi spirit in the face of adversity is inspiring, I also told you that one of the great problems the environmentalists face here is the threat from vermin, like the possum introduced from Australia by settlers to kill off rabbits, themselves introduced as a food source without understanding the breeding ferocity of our little burrowing friends. Well what do the Kiwis come up with? Combine the fur of the possum with the wool of the merino and you have a fabric that is long lasting, cool in summer and warm in winter. The possum's fur, like that of a polar bear, has hollow fibres which act as insulators to produce this double season use of resources - clever eh?..   

Now we really must motor on to catch up on time. Fortunately the road is straight and flat and within in a hour we are turning off at the small settlement town of Mt Somers.

Hakatere Conservation Park

We are now in an area known as Hakatere Conservation Park; it's a traditional 'wetland' and over the last several years the restoration programme has helped enormously to re-establish the native plant and wild life species only found here in 'kettle holes' along the Rangitata River basin.  These kettle holes indicate a glacial beginning to this valley and river basin. The wetlands were formed when huge blocks of ice broke away from the retreating glacier leaving depressions that sometimes filled with water. The plant species in the holes are mostly very small, 

The Scree Skink

rare and have a special character that adapts to changing water conditions. You will find here the crested grebe waterbird and plant life like the bladderwort or the magnolia-looking flower of the gentian. You may also catch a glimpse of the long tailed lizard, the scree skink, on the rocks. 

Diverse terrain on road top Mount Potts

The whole Park is a criss cross of tracks with several small lakes and hills ranging from a hearty few hundred metres' climb to their summit or in contrast to over 2000m of almost impossible ascent unless you are a Merino sheep or mountain goat!  This was Maori greenstone trail land well before the European Settlers descended with their sheep and the hunt for gold. It was on this part of the journey in the basin foothills that the travellers gathered food for their dangerous mountain crossing to reach the west coast and the collecting of their much valued prize of the jade greenstone.

Mount Sunday (Edoras)

We are taking one of the few 'unsealed' roads in the park, going directly west passed two lakes and a small camping lodge outpost to reach our destination 20k from Mt Somers, a very rutted and rocky road really only suitable for 4x4s. We are able to travel no more than 15 / 20k per hour so after exactly one hour of slow but beautiful evening weather ranging around every corner from alpine cloud and mist to glorious sun over the distant mountains we reach Mount Potts station and our first sight of Edoras (611m-Mt Sunday). This is a stunning rocky moraine outcrop with expansive views of the Rangitata River. The hill got its name from the many boundary riders that used to meet up here on a Sunday to chat about their week's events.

View from the summit of Edoras (Mt Sunday)

Jacky took the decision to walk to the summit chasing the light at sunset while I recovered from the drive with a nice pint and free wifi at the lodge bar. I also took the opportunity to read about the film location. it took 11 months to build the required number of dwellings encircling the hill top and was of great interest to locals and trekkers. One journalist hired a light aircraft and took some photos which became a world wide scoop for his newspaper. When filming was finished on the hill all traces of the film set simply disappeared. An expensive location indeed but what an impressive place this is to see in the flesh. 

An evening was spent in reflection when Jacky got back as the night sky was brilliantly starry  and now so familiar to us. The landscapes may stunningly change but the Southern Cross remains constant to guide and remind us once again what a small but wondrous place Planet Earth is to the traveller.

Tomorrow we travel to our final destination, Christchurch, staying overnight on a southern city hilltop B&B before our one and only flight on our 126 day around the world adventure..

  

Stay with me if you can for Blog 30 - Christchurch and fly away.

DKT

Twizel - Battle of Pelennor Fields (LOR)

BLOG 28 - 

Looking back at Port Chalmers 

We leave Dunedin and Port Chalmers on a short cut route given to us by our delightful hostess of two days Tara and head north up the east coast. Today we are heading to Twizel, a town established in 1968 to give workers who built the major hydro electric dams on the central lakes a temporary home. When that project was completed Twizel fell quiet but as the area developed as a mountain and lake leisure resort fortunes and prosperity returned. Twizel also featured prominently as a Lord of the Rings location (Battle of Pelennor Fields) that Jacky wants to see to tick off her list as an intrepid hobbit fan.

The coast line at  Moeraki

First stop it's another famous Kiwi landmark - the Moeraki Boulders. These huge 1m across marbles are strewn along the windswept coast like large cannon balls; you really have to view them at low tide. They have been formed over millions of years by a layering process a bit similar to how oyster pearls are formed. We were fortunate and took a few good pictures. We had a nice cafe lunch and then headed a few miles north to turn inland at Oamaru . 

The new suit case!

We had been wanting to obtain another suitcase as our purchases and souvenirs had multiplied but we were concerned that we have to load all these possessions on to an aircraft and there was a strict weight limit. We had to have a rethink and different strategy if we were going to get everything on the plane. We spotted an out of town retail park and went to investigate. After a frantic search we saw a case with the beautiful Milford Sound Mitre Peak engraved all over it and that was that - another purchase and another packing headache!!

heritage Oamaru

Oamaru is a pleasant sleepy harbour town famous for its heritage precinct harbour, built on the wealth of grain and refrigerated meat transportation. In its heyday in the 1880s this town was the same size as Los Angeles at the same date.  There are many imposing limestone buildings which show off that prosperity. The bank and opera house buildings are impressive and the harbour warehouses are now a mixture of book shops, galleries and cafes. We had a very pleasant walk and just had to taste the local ice cream as we walked in and out of the quaint lanes and alley ways. It was poignant to see a second hand book shop full of soiled books from the Christchurch earthquake. These Kiwis don't miss a trick and out of the face of adversity there is always a chance to make a living...

We now were heading west along the Waitaki valley towards the central lakes and dams that form the huge water reservoirs that feed most of the Christchurch and Canterbury area with its water supply. Water may be the big liquid here but another is catching the headlines - wine. I have talked in earlier blogs about Otago Pinot Noir and the Gibbston Valley, also Marlborough Region, Hawke's Bay and those wines around Nelson. All great grape varieties that further this country's reputation on the world map of wines. Now you can add Waitaki wines to the ever growing list. Pinot Gris and Riesling are particularly respected here and two of the main vineyards are well named as Sublime Wines and Vintners Drop.

The dam on Lake Benmore

We stop to view some amazing dam structures and earth works which now sub divide the river into several reservoir lakes. Salmon and trout fishing, mountain biking, water skiing, sailing, golf, trekking (tramping) and camping are now popular in this once quiet river valley. These crystal clear lakes are certainly impressive and provide an outdoor enthusiast haven for all the family.. The upper Waitaki hydro electric power scheme created two new lakes and several canal systems and was a major construction feat of landscape engineering which took over thirty years to complete.

We arrive at our hotel in Twizel ( named after Twizel Bridge in Northumberland) in good time to have a nice meal in readiness for our Lord of the Rings (LOR) highlight tour to Pelennor Fields, in actual fact a working sheep ranch. The only reason we turned back inland towards the Southern Alps again to come to this part of NZ rather than continue towards Christchurch was to visit two major ( and picturesque) LOR locations which again highlights and is synonymous with the raw beauty this country has to offer the adventurous traveller.

The LOR location at Twizel and mountain backdrop 

As somebody who has worked in film and TV production I was also really interested in this particular location. The great ability of a film maker is in creation, working in conjunction with a good technical back up team to be able to make best use of a location and utilising if possible the local resources and backdrop. Taking different camera angles at different times of the day, e.g. arial photography, sunsets, mounted cameras, can put several different scenes from various parts of a script 'in the can' from one location. 

Close up shots can then as required be filmed either in Studio or on an external set close to the main central home or unit base thereby cutting down on travel and associated expenses. Even fictitious story telling is in the real world and therefore finance controlled. It was my personal frustration in the latter years of my career that on more and more occasions it was budget that determined priorities and disciplines like health and safety and crew welfare were at times compromised and restricted. Not so however on this film with a £400 million budget to create the three majestic LOR trilogies. 

An example of this good use of resources was in the protection of animals used on this set. 270 horses from all over the country were shipped in to provide mounts for the Rohirrim or Gondorian Warriors for the major battle scenes (increased to look like several thousand horses through the use of a clever 'blue screen' film technique). The whole 32 day filming schedule was dictated by the rest periods and feeding of the animals. Of course this meant that for the film extra this could mean 14hours a day on set, mostly standing around. Being a film extra is based on the premise that you are doing this for adventure, love, glory and being a star for a moment of time, not for the day fee and long hours! A bonus is that you are fed well and what a conversation piece it must have been in the local pubs in the evening telling each other what stars you had been close to and what role you played etc. To make the feeling of stardom complete you would keep your face make up on as much as possible to enhance the exaggerated story  of your day. I should know, I have been a film extra in my day when Crew sometimes have to step in to fill vacant spots.

Sunset on The Pelennor Fields

The filming took place on private land and as such we hired an official guide to take us. The lady had worked as an extra on the film as indeed did  most of the Twizel residents in the year 2000. The backdrop of the Southern Alps giving the LOR Ered Nimrais snowy mountain chain and the grassy plains the remote location battle scene but yet only a couple of miles in reality away from the perfect unit and production base and central accommodation for crew and cast. What a pleasant sunset and as part of the deal we had nibbles and champagne watching the sun going down over the Southern Alps.

Twizel was all about the LOR location and tomorrow we are off to another - Mount Sunday (Edoras) in Canterbury High Country way up in a very remote area of outstanding beauty with a few kilometres of 'unsealed road' to contend with just to get there! Nancy Nissan was performing admirably and we had every confidence that we will make our destination. 

The hotel we were in tonight is very comfortable so I expect a good night's kip for an early breakfast and a trip to the remote valley east of Mount Cook..

DKT

Blog 29 to follow - Mount Potts and onwards to Christchurch

The Catlins and Dunedin

Good Morning wooly friends

Blog 27 -The Catlins, Curious Bay and Dunedin:

We arrived late at our evening lodge at Waipapa Point Sheep Farm so it was a good start to the new day to see lots of my woolly friends munching away in the surrounding fields.

Our time at Stewart Island was most enjoyable and its off-shore island of Ulva will live in the memory as the place where I spotted my first live kiwi. It was fortunate that Stewart Island is the only place that the Kiwi is active day and night. Having no Predator at all it's free to roam wherever and whenever it wants but it's still rare to see one in the daylight; how lucky was I. Nature dominated our visit there and those remote white sand beaches and clear waters were inspiring.

Today it's a trip through The Catlins and on to Dunedin in the south east where we are staying for two nights.  A chance to catch up with washing clothes and explore the busy port city with a real Scottish heritage. 

The Catlins is an area of sweeping coastlines and pristine rain forests. We might spot a yellow eyed penguin but I doubt we will see any little black and white Hector's Dolphin, one of the smallest and indeed rarest in the world. There is also a fossilised forest dating back 180 million years. Its another exiting day so let's get going on another sunny morning... 

In the earlier centuries it was the Maori who lived and travelled here, attracted by the abundance of seafood and the birdlife in the forests, in particular the large Moa Bird now sadly extinct.. The settlers arrived in the 1830s mostly Whalers and Sealers but after the short lived gold rush era it was saw-milling along with sheep farming that were the sustaining industries. These early settlements relied on shipping and good ports such as Invercargill and Dunedin. It was the busy local ports that brought prosperity and the coastal area flourished until railways came along in the 1920s. The smaller ports suffered, got silted up and very much died until ecotourism and fishing tours brought life back again.

Waipapa Lighthouse

We are taking the coast road, but first a stop at the historic Waipapa Point Lighthouse (gosh we have seen a few of those on our travels). The volatile seas along this Southern coastline caused many shipwrecks and among them was NZ's worst maritime disaster. SS Tararua ran aground at this place in 1881 with 131 lives lost. Many of the bodies could not be taken away and are buried in prepared grave yards on the cliffs around here which can still be visited. Following the tragedy the lighthouse was built. (After the horse bolted etc!)

Spot the Sea Lion

Looking down into the bay from the lighthouse cliff I was sure I saw what I thought was a rock or boulder move in the sand and went to investigate. On closer inspection (but not too close) it turned out to be a basking sea lion sleeping off his last meal on the beach. You can get pretty near to them,  but these magnificent creatures can run a bit so best to keep 

There she is!!

a safe distance just in case this was a grumpy one. 

On our drive we pass close to Slope Point with its windswept trees, which is geographically the most southerly land point in the main island, although it's always Bluff that is recognised with the yellow Stirling Point signpost in the tourist guide. I pictured this signpost in my last blog. The distance in Km's between the North of

Looking out over Slope Point

North Island and the South of South Island is in fact measured by the the distance of State Highway 1 (SH1).  

The southern coast route is at this stretch a dirt track and Nancy is bouncing a bit so we keep the speed down below 20kms (12miles) an hour which is delaying our travel somewhat. We arrive in Curio Bay and spend time exploring the Jurassic era fossil forest. We are fortunate it is low tide and get some really good close up views and pictures of the old trees preserved in the coastal bedrock. Technically called a 'petrified' forest these trees which are similar to the giant Kauri lie embedded in the bay.  This phenomenon is of international geological

Petrified Forest in Curio Bay

significance and is in a roped off area. To stand close by something of that age is something special and as a bonus we spot our first yellow eyed penguin just standing as if quite aware he (or she) is being snapped - quite a show off really but lovely..

Yellow eyed Penguin

We are short on time because of the many miles of unsealed road, not shown as such on our maps, so we had to miss out on many other attractions along this stunning piece of landscape. We needed to get to the famous Nugget Point and we knew that was going to be a slow windy drive up to yet another lighthouse. We stopped for a half hour stroll to Matai and Horseshoe Falls and got a real flavour of the forest that used to stretch right down to the shore.

Horseshoe Falls

The road to Nugget Point Lighthouse

Nugget Point and the famous "Nuggets" were spectacular as was the drive and then walk to get there. The Lighthouse was built in 1869 and again we spotted seals and penguins on the rocks below. The last 900m walk had sheer cliff drops that kept my heart racing. A ten minute walk down from a car park at Roaring Bay there is a well placed 'hide' that gives you access to watch the yellow eyed penguin (Hoiho); again we were lucky and got a few snaps. These are a rare sight with only a few thousand now left because of predators like the stoat, ferret and wild dog who kill the young and steal the eggs. The forest at the coast has declined and so there is nowhere to hide. Should the penguins feet be red, it means they are stressed and literally stuck on the spot, which does not help to escape the killers lurking close by.  They are timid and so friendly that they trust us, that's what

The Nuggets

makes it even sadder that they are on the decline. NZ is trying hard to give them a home. I wish them all success as they are very sweet indeed.
The last stretch from Balclutha to Dunedin was back on SH1 and the traffic build up was noticeable in the evening as locals were returning from work.  We arrived just after 6pm in Dunedin (old Gaelic for Edinburgh, hence the Scottish heritage). We are staying with Tara Duncan, a geography colleague of Jacky's, in her house above the harbour. We are to meet her at the University of Otago Campus and follow her back to her place at Port Chalmers. It was at this port in 1848 that the first permanent Settlers, a boat load of

View from Tara's balcony over the bay

intrepid Scottish settlers landed including the nephew of Robbie Burns. From that moment on this place has had a proud Scottish influence and a fierce pride still evident in the local posters advertising highland games and haggis and bag pipe events..

We eat that evening at an old pub called Carey's Bay Hotel which was built in 1874 from the famous locally quarried bluestone. This stone can actually be seen in Southampton as it was used as ballast in the NZ ships that travelled across the world. The pub and restaurant is in the picturesque Carey's Bay which for over 140 years has been home to fishing boats and has been carefully restored to its former glory days. What a nice meal it was too, and it was back to get some shut eye for a full sightseeing day in the city and surrounding district tomorrow...

Dunedin Railway Station

Another sunny day and a chance to look around the city. The Scottish architectural influence is all around -it's like walking around the Sauchiehall Street area in Glasgow - the Town Hall, the Railway Station, the main square with the Burns statue in front of St Paul's Cathedral all imposing, all shouting out that this is a place the Scots built and called home. These Victorian building are still in use today, a credit to the city's planners and leaders who wanted to keep the history and heritage alive rather than just pull down and start again as many equivalent cities did in the 1960s in the UK. With a mix of cafes, bars and restaurants the city is certainly alive and it does not have those all too familiar skyscrapers of other cities                                                      which you either love or hate.

Peter Snell

In the Railway Station on the top floor there is a 'hall of fame' to famous Kiwi sports winners and personalities.. One Athlete was Peter Snell. In the past fifty years and before African dominance of middle distance running, reputations were dominated by Coe and Ovett and before that by Ibbotson and Pirie. Nobody really remembers that the Gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo was won by a tall skinny Snell who had never ever ran in a 1500m race before. In fact he also won the 800m in Rome and retained that gold in Tokyo.  Now those are some achievements and I am amazed he has been relatively unnoticed outside of his native country.

Steepest street in the world

The steepest street in the world (Baldwin Street at 1:2.86 gradient) was an interesting diversion, even more so because we had been to the world's windiest street in San Francisco earlier in our travels. There is an annual race takes place here called the "Baldwin Street Gut Buster" and I can see why! Talk about leading the high life....

We explored the harbour, port and its surrounding countryside, in particular the beautiful Otago Peninsula which runs alongside the water side and where you can watch the big cruise liners coming in to berth at Port Chalmers on the opposite shoreline. The Peninsula is one of NZ's most renowned ecotourism areas and a chance to see royal albatross, penguins and many species of wading birds. I must say that this whole area is very picturesque with the rugged hills and volcanic landforms and well worth a visit by any traveller to NZ. 

Looking back over Dunedin

There is a castle here called Larnach Castle situated 300 metres above Otago Harbour on the peninsular. It's the only one in NZ
and was built by William Larnach for his first wife in 1871. He was a landowner, Minister of the Crown, Financier and Merchant but he died sitting alone in his Parliament room committing suicide by a single shot to the head. It proves that money, estate, position does not necessarily make you happy. Happiness as a
human trait comes in small doses; love and friendship are my top two - what are yours?….

Larnach Castle overlooking Otago Peninsula

There are lovely gardens here and in the UK this would be a delightful National Trust property. We did not have time for a full visit but it sure is a beauty spot and the road to and from the harbour is very pretty indeed..

Otago University 

Tara took us back to the Gothic style 1880 Otago University. It is NZ's largest and has 25000 Students from all over the world bustling around which certainly adds to the dynamics and vibrancy of this modern city, a far cry from the early Scots who popped off a boat to look for gold and a chance of a new life 170 years earlier.

It was all too quickly the end of our time here and tomorrow we are on the last three legs before we reach Christchurch. We are heading back towards Mount Cook in search of another of the Lord of the Rings locations. We are on our way to Twizel. A long and interesting journey so it's an early night.

Blog 28 to follow - -