Bye-bye New Zealand, Saturday 12/03/16

It's time to wrap up our two-week New Zealand adventure ... we are sorry to see it fly by so fast. This morning after breakfast at the hotel, we brought our luggage to the foyer by 8:45am.  BTW, breakfasts in our hotels have traditionally been buffets, some better than others.  Every one featured (watery-looking) scrambled eggs, what appeared to be steamed bacon, sausages, broiled halved tomatoes, maybe button mushrooms, and baked beans, each in it's own warmer.  Others featured more foodstuffs.  Plus, of course, delicious fresh fruits, yogurts, juices, toasts, croissants, cereals (warm/cold) and so on.  Always plenty to chose from.  The best ones were those that had omelet bars, where you could order what you wanted.  I skipped those warmer pans, but enough about food.

At 9AM, we boarded our comfy coach and were off on a field trip around Wellington's fascinating coastline.  Hamish Campbell was our eminent leader on this outing.  A PhD in paleontology and a geologist, he's a long-time instructor for RS, and he was a bundle of energy, info, and fun for us.  A founding member with GNS Science, as well as the Awesome Sciences exhibit in Te Papa Tongarewa, Hamish gave us a great morning.  All our lecturers have been excellent, and pardon me for not mentioning everyone's name.

We had a lovely drive around the bay.

Our first stop (and a potty stop) was at the Shrine of the TEV Wahine, a passenger/vehicle ferry caught in Tropical Cyclone Giselle and sunk in April 1968.  The winds in Wellington during this storm were the strongest ever recorded, reaching 171mph at one point.  Of the 734 people on board, 53 people died from drowning, exposure to the elements or from injuries sustained in the hurried evacuation and abandonment of the stricken vessel.  Relics are still washing up on the beach.  Above, we're looking at flotsam and jetsam, shells and sea glass.

Lighthouses in the distance watch over Wellington Bay.

We don't see signs like this in California!

Hamish Campbell at Te Kopahu Reserve, a former quarry site, talking about tectonic forces that have shaped New Zealand.  I wish you could have listened in.  About this juncture, we followed him up a hill for a first-hand look at New Zealand faults.

Look at the (fault) crack running from top left toward bottom right.

I crawled up in the joint (where the man in blue shirt is heading) to have my photo taken, but I guess it was with someone else's camera.  Anyway, I don't have it.  The fissure is deep. Once we began looking at the erratic cracks or fissures or faults, whatever you want to call them, we spotted quite a few, just on this one cliff face.  Not often a person can squeeze into an earthquake fault. But it might not be on everybody's bucket list!

Here we're hiking back down toward the water where our packed lunches were waiting for us! Sitting wherever we could find a bare spot to park our heinies, we ate like champs. Juices or red and white wines were served with sandwiches, fruit, crackers and cheese, and I forgot what else.  Very yummy lunch.  Jimmy and I opted for juice, and the entire gang of us toasted everything New Zealand.  We polished off gallons of water, too.  

New Zealand flax, gone to seed.

The plant and animal life here is one of the most unusual on earth due to its long isolation from other continental landmasses.  In NZ, there were no, repeat NO, terrestrial mammals before human occupation, except for two species of bats. Two, that's it. Certainly that changed with the arrival of the Polynesians (Māori) between 800-1000 years ago and later European settlers, who brought new species and plants that overwhelmed their natural competitors.   Many native species were lost forever. 

This is a relatively new country, Homo sapiens-wise, compared to the rest of the world. Today, 25% of NZ population is foreign-born, but English is the major language used.  Māori were never subjected to segregation or placed on reservations, and Māori is an official language.  They have seven political parties ... with 121 Members of Parliament -- 1/3 are women; 1/5+ are Māori, five Asian, eight Pacific Islanders, and one deaf person.  Perhaps America should take note.

And a Very Welly Christmas to you!

It's also small.  California is 163,696 mi².  New Zealand, measures 103,483 mi², for both islands, with 8,700 miles of magnificent coastline.  It's beauty is unmatched!  Those Southern Alps and fiords beg to be explored.  Maybe it's the totality of the smallness that is so endearing.  It's cities are vibrant, snugged into blue harbors, with wide green spaces and usable parks and museums.  All that green freshness is especially appealing to a gal from the Golden (think: brown and dry) state.  Sailing and trekking and cricket (cricket?) and sports are a big part of Kiwi life. 

While we walked along Wellington's waterfront one afternoon, several of us wondered aloud about Wellington Boots or Watches or Beef Wellington, etc., and if they were named after the city or just what. As it turns out, of course, they're based on the Mother Land: England ... New Zealand's Wellington wasn't involved in any of the above ... but it made for some fairly funny comments.

He really did jump in that cold water.  Said a bad word when he popped up!  But who could blame him? Then he turned around and jumped in again.

There is so much more to New Zealand than I can tell you in a post or two.  Like how from 1992-95 Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library were separated from their original foundations and placed on more than 400 rubber bearings, using base isolation techniques to reduce the transfer of earthquake forces from the foundations to the buildings above.  It was special to see this in Parliament's basement when we were there.  As a 30-year resident of shaky, quaky (mostly southern) California, I can appreciate knowing how others handle earthquake protection.

We boarded our coach after lunch, luggage already aboard, and transferred to Wellington's Airport. Today we said goodbye to seven of our good NZ mates:  The two Chens, CBS, Norman, Melodie, April and Katie.  They aren't traveling to Australia with us, so we are down to 15 in our group ... they'll be missed.  We fly out around 4pm to Sydney, Australia (2pm Sydney time; we gain two hours).

The Kiwi's have been very good to us, hospitable, friendly, with a love of their country they are happy to share.  I wouldn't mind returning to spend more time.  Oh, and more good news:  Albert, our Kiwi group leader, goes with us to Australia!  Yay!

Haere Ra, New Zealand.  Goodbye for now.

Te Papa Tongarewa, 12/2/16

After lunch, our RS group walked to to the National Museum of New Zealand, for a guided tour, which, along with the hearing devices we wear, allows us to get a real feel for what's being presented. Our tour guide, per usual, was spot-on. 

Just inside the entrance, is the impressive Gateway Arch, which was way too big for my camera, but you can see at least a little.  It's an amazing work of art.  The round disks are Pāua shells (the Māori name for abalone).

The tall critter on the right is an extinct Rhea.  I'm still chugging along!

Boo!

The sign on top left reads:  The name of the meeting house is Te Hono ki Hawaiki, which means the link with the ancestral homelands.  The carvings depict the ancestors who make this living link.  This is a depiction of a native meeting house.  You can Google this to learn more about it.

Look at the wonderful custom-made carvings.

* * * * *

Now on exhibit at Te Papa is the Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16.  Jimmy and another RS veteran, Ron, wanted to see it, which they did after our guided tour was finished. Everyone else scattered to check out what was particularly interesting to them.  I stayed away from Gallipoli (of which I knew nothing beforehand); it would be too hurtful for me to see. However, when it was time to leave, I had to find the two guys (who were still in there), and I was dumbstruck by the larger-than-life figures and the agonies they showed.  Yikes, pass the tissue! 

Gosh, what humans can do ....

Meanwhile, I was standing by the earthquake "center," aghast at the quake statistics for the day, below. Please notice the yearly total for last year ... 29,106 earthquakes!  Remember, this museum we're at is in Wellington, which really felt that big earthquake a couple of weeks ago.  Luckily, we didn't feel any earth movement while we were in NZ.  Sorry about the quality, the screen was hazy.  If you enlarge it, it's easier to look at.  Tomorrow should be a fascinating field trip as we go on a "fault" explore.

In late afternoon, we made our way back to our hotel, ogling these strange RV contraptions on display near the waterfront.  We'd had a terrific day, walked our little feet off again, and were ready to plop down and be fed (at the hotel dining room).  I recommend the museum if you're ever in the vicinity!

Ohhh, nice bay window!

We like Wellington!

Zealandia, Friday, 12/02/16

Kia Ora!  Haere Mai!  That's the Kiwi way of saying, Hello! Welcome!  You should hear the Kiwi's pronounce them -- they know how to roll their r's, something most American's can't do, or at least do well.  (We are all from the US in our RS group.)  But, most of us have given it the gung-ho try.  Haere Mai sounds like (high-reh-my) -- ok, enough already.

Our coach lifted us off to Zelandia at 8:30 this morning, located only ten minutes from central Wellington!  I was really looking forward going.  Here's why -- "Zelandia is the world's first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary, with an extraordinary 500-year vision to restore Wellington valley's forest and freshwater ecosystem as closely as possible to their pre-human state." (so sayeth their brochure) And this: " ... a 555 acre groundbreaking conservation project that has reintroduced 17 species of native wildlife back into the area, six of which were previously absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years."

We split up into two small groups. Our guy, Chris, was a super tour guide, and we were lucky that the morning was cool and overcast.  Why?  Because that meant the bird world was alive with song, while everything else was still.  It was like being transported to a magical land of exotic plants and wild birds.  Everyone was awed.  When we talked, we spoke in hushed tones.

Zealandia has a perimeter fence that keeps out all those pesky introduced predators that decimated native NZ flora and fauna.  Those that had been inside the fence were eradicated. We had a fabulous time here!  For those of you who look at these pictures, thinking "what the heck is that?", I've added descriptions.

Here's my favorite -- a Tui perched on a stalk of New Zealand flax; its nectar is the bird's preferred food.  The mark on top of its head is pollen from the flax, and the white marshmallow-looking tufts are part of the Tui!  If you enlarge the photo, you can see his multicolored iridescent sheen.

The ferns!  Oh, the ferns!

The New Zealand endemic pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) is large (understatement) with a bright white belly.  Commonly called wood pigeon, these huge guys are distinct from the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) of the Northern Hemisphere, which is a member of a different genus. They sound like a jet engine when they fly off!

Returning to "native."  Green and beautiful.

This is a Pied shag (Phalacrocorax varius), with it's baby ... the parent never turned around, but the li'l one did.  Another name is Pied cormorant.  A small flock of shags had nests along this lake.

Here's the Takahē again (Porphyrio hochstetteri). This strange-looking flightless bird, indigenous to New Zealand belongs to the rail family.  It was thought to be extinct after the last four (only four!) known specimens were taken in 1898.  However, after a carefully planned search effort, the bird was rediscovered near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains on the South Island, in November 1948.  Hey, that's where our RS group was a couple of days ago!  A nearby sign reads:  Takahē have very sharp beaks.  Keep your distance (and your fingers safe!)

We saw a lot of these; reminded me of a North American yucca.

A Saddleback with its distinctive red wattle and saddle.  Saddlebacks belong to New Zealand's wattlebird family, an ancient group that includes the kōkako and extinct Huia. This guy was always moving ... I was lucky  to get a shot at all.

Bernice and Albert stroll along.

This friendly little fella followed us, branch to branch, singing up a storm.  Chris identified it immediately -- a North Island Robin (Petroica longipes).  We reminded him that it didn't look a durn thing like our Robin redbreast in the US, but, of course, he knew that.

Whoa, check out this endangered large parrot, the New Zealand kaka, also known as kākā. While it has disappeared from much of its former range, it's thriving in Zealandia.  Notice the pretty orange coloring under it's wings.

As we stood on this bridge and looked down, we gaped at the size of the tree fern pictured below. Honestly, a diameter of 20-30 feet wouldn't be an exaggeration.  New Zealand is an island of gigantism, which (in a nutshell) is a biological phenomenon in which the size of animals (and plants) isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to their mainland relatives.  Because NZ was cut off from any mainland millions of years ago, its flora and fauna remained isolated.  (we've heard a lot about Gondwanaland, as well)  Island gigantism is usually an evolutionary trend resulting from the removal of constraints on the size of small animals related to predation and/or competition. Lest I stick my foot in over my head in a short space, I'll quit here.

Yet this tiny Fuschia flower comes from the great big tree you see below!

Such an Island of contrasts!

People standing, far left, to give you an idea of size.

Oh, these bright green parakeet dudes were so danged cute:  Kākāriki, native to New Zealand, they're endangered as a result of habitat destruction following human settlement and nest predation by introduced mammals (cats, rats, stoats, foxes, etc).  Seems to be common thread.

Native orchids.  Left is a Pterostylis (Greenhood), but I'm not sure which one,
and right is unidentified.

Wow, Bernice, good show! -- you pitched that trunk up out of our way!

Aha!  A living fossil named Tuatara.  They're rare, medium-sized reptiles found only in New Zealand, and they're the last survivors of an order of reptiles that thrived in the age of the dinosaurs.  This is a female (males have white spots on their backs).  They can get big, too -- mature tuataras usually measure between 12 and 30 inches long and weigh between 0.5 and two-and-a-half pounds.

And then there's this about gigantism, again.  Gentle giant, huh?  Scary-looking!

Think I'll leave the photos on a another fern green note.  A short movie was presented afterwards, depicting the settlement of NZ and the impact of Māori and European settlers on the NZ environment (which we found sad), followed by morning tea.  (I spilled my coffee, oops)  Whew, what a grand morning! Imagine, after our lunch, we'll have another adventure.  Stay tuned!