Visit from Sweden!

Is there anything better than a visit form friends (or family) from back home!?!

For months I have longed to January 29,2011. And the Countdown ended this weekend. I met my Swedish friends at Wellington’s airport and embraced them in a surreal mix of feelings and thoughts.

 

On the top of Mt Vic (Mount Victoria), on Saturday evening.

It felt like it was yesterday I last saw them, but somehow we had moved to New Zealand on the other side of the world, instead of being back home in Sweden. To have them in my house felt wonderful and weird at the same time. What a dream to be able to show close friends how I live on the other side of the world! = o)

Haha! We laughed so hard when this man, who had run to the top of Mt Vic, made funny stretch exercises. Funny... or were we just jealous!?! =o)

After my friends had had a nice shower, we enjoyed some very tasty Tacos. And just so that my friends wouldn’t fall asleep too early, we took a drive up to Mount Victoria and then around the city as the darkness slowly descended over Wellington.

Sunday started with just a little wind in the city, but it quickly picked up...

On Sunday we had a nice breakfast before we went to the market in town on a short visit. Then we went to the Wairarapa region, which is on the other side of the Rimutaka Ranges. A dizzying trip over the mountains, I have to say, but a very nice scenic route that you should not miss if you come to New Zealand. 

The Rimutakas, a very nice scenic route from Wellington Region to Wairarapa Region.

 

Once we got to the Wairarapa Region, we went to the Paua World, which is located in the village Carterton. Paua shells have very beautiful colors and patterns. They have been used both as food and jewelry for thousands of years. Maoris used to decorate their wooden carved figures, with Paua Shell as their eyes. You can buy necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches, knives, magnets … well, everything, decorated with Paua Shell. Even the toilet seats inside the Paua World, had Paua Shells! =o) 

Paua World in Carterton, Wairarapa Region. Even the toilet seats are decorated with Paua shell!

 

We continued on through Masterton and out to CastlePoint. A very nice and cozy place with a large beach and a beautiful lighthouse! It was very windy at CastlePoint. My friends said they had never experienced such wind before. He-he … = o) There’s a first for everything! 

"Home of the Lost Soles", on the beach at Castle Point, Wairarapa.

A Fur Seal that we came really close to when we walked up the path to the lighthouse.

 

By the little path leading up to the lighthouse, there was a Fur Seal! We were 3-4 metres away from it, and it looked like it posed in front of our cameras. Quite cute! =o) We went up to the lighthouse, and then we went a little walk around the tip of the cliff, and back down to the beach again. 

The lighthouse at Castle Point, Wairarapa. Very windy!

A fun sign in the toilets at Castle Point beach.

 

Now my Swedish friends have continued their trip on the North Island, and their first stop is Mount Taranaki in New Plymouth. I believe they’ll have a wonderful trip! =o) I just want to thank them for two wonderful days with so much laughter that my stomach hurts! But I will to see them again before they leave New Zealand, and I look forward to it!

 

You have to try a national beer when visiting a new country.=o) Tui is a popular beer in New Zealand. There is a beautiful bird in NZ called Tui as well. =o)

 

Castle and Penguins

Castle, Albatross, Penguins, seasickness and rain.

Dunedin is in Otago on the South Island in New Zealand. It is the country’s second largest city, and it was also the first city to be built. They’ve found archaeological finds which indicates that Maori people lived in the area around 1250-1300 A.E.

Whaling was a huge industry in New Zealand around 1830, and that was one of the reasons why Dunedin was built. The industry was so big, that the Southern Right Whale almost became extinct. Around 1860, they found gold in the area and that was another reason while Dunedin grew to become a big city.

Whaling was big industry in Dunedin, NZ, in the beginning of the 19th century.

You can also find the world’s steepest street in Dunedin, called Baldwin Street. Unfortunately we never got the time to visit this street.

The world's steepest street.

New Zealand’s only castle can be found in Dunedin. It is called Larnach Castle. The history around the castle is very long and complicated, so I will only give you a short and simplified version. =o) The Australian man, Larnach, came to NZ and he had a little money and decided to build a “castle” for his family to live in. The house was built between 1873 and 1887.

A lot of tragedies hit the family. All of Larnach’s daughters died either from childbirth or sickness. His first wife, died only 38 years old. Larnach married her sister, whom also died at age 38. He then married a much younger woman. Larnach was a politician and travelled a lot. His second oldest son started an affair with Larnach’s third wife. When the son sent a letter to his father, telling him that he’s gotten his wife pregnant, Larnach killed himself. They say that Larnach haunt the “castle” now. Some people have been pushed when they’ve been walking around the house.

 

Top: Larnach Castle. Below: View from the castle's tower.

The castle was almost totally ruined, when Barry and Margaret Barker, a newly wed couple, bought the castle. It took them many years to get the castle back to it’s original state. All that work must have caused trouble in the marriage for shortly after, they divorced. Margaret is still the owner of the castle which is very popular among tourists in the area. Margaret lived in the castle until recently. The castle is very beautiful and you can go on a guided tour in the castle, enjoy a coffee in the ball hall and wander around in the beautiful garden.

 

Nice farming nature in the Otago Peninsula.

Low tide in the Otago Peninsula.

We took a day long guided tour around interesting places in and around Dunedin. After the visit to the castle, we drove around Otago Peninsula and then we saw the Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head. First they introduced us to the Royal Albatross, told us interesting facts etc. Then we walked up a steep hill and I thought we were gonna walk around the hill and see the huge albatross. But we walked in to a little house with big, thick windows and spent 30 minutes up there, just looking. A bit booring. I really wanted to film and stuff. Total anticlimax. If you ever wanna see albatross, I recommend that you see them in Kaikoura on an Albatross Encounter cause then you can get up close and personal with these fantastic birds from a boat.

Taiaroa Head where you can see some albatross from far away. When we went by Taiaroa Head by boat we also saw the lighthouse and Fur Seals relaxing on the cliffs.

Our next stop on the guided tour was the Yellow-Eyed Penguins!!!! =oD Wow, that was amazing to see penguins in the wild! We were a big group of people though, so everyone got but a glimpse of the penguins before we had to make way for the next couple of people. A bit sad. No time to take beautiful photos or film something interesting. I don’t even have enough footage to put together a short video of the penguins. =o(

The Yellow-Eyed Penguin is around 75 centimeter tall and weigh around 5-8 kg. It is a very shy animal and therefore you walk around a network of covered trenches, leading to viewing hides, where you look at the penguins. We saw baby penguins as close as less than 1 metre from us! We could not reach out and touch the penguins even though they were so close, because their beaks are very sharp and can hurt you. Plus, they’re wild animals and they should stay wild as well. They are beautiful animals!

Beautiful Yellow-Eyed Penguins. Both baby and grown-up penguins. =o)

We saw the Royal Albatross Colony again in the afternoon, from a boat. We were on a boat tour around taiaroa Head and then out in the open ocean to look for interesting birds etc. The waves were quite high though and I started to feel a bit sea sick. We didn’t see many albatross on the boat tour either, just a couple flying high up in the sky. We did see the lighthouse though, and Fur Seals relaxing on the cliffs. The Boat Tour took us towards Dunedin Harbour and it started to rain on the tour. Most passengers went inside the cabin and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee, tea or chocolate. Quite cozy. =o)

Just some birds we saw from the boat.

There are a ton of things to see in and around Dunedin. Make sure you have a minimum of 2 days to look around the area. And whatever you do, don’t miss out on a trip to the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Colony!

Northernmost point of South Island

Cape Farewell is the northernmost point of New Zealand’s South Island.

Captain James Cook left New Zealand to go to Australia, and when he looked back to the land masses behind him, he saw the South Island’s northernmost point and said “Farewell” – hence the name Cape Farewell. Or so they say… =o)

This is an image from Google Maps, showing Cape Farewell and Farewell Spit.

I think this rock was called "Face Rock", but I am not sure. We saw this rock when we drove from Cape Farewell to Farewell Spit.

The Tour Company Farewell Spit Eco Tours, took us to Cape Farewell. After visiting this beautiful spot, we continued to Farewell Spit, which is a sort of long beach that is around 36 kilometres long and it is growing every year. They think that “the beach” is gonna grow 2 km in the next 5 years. Farewell Spit is composed of erosional sand from the west coast of the South Island. This sand arrives at “the beach” by coastal drift.

Cape Farewell, the Northernmost point of the South Island.

 

When you go to Farewell Spit you can first visit Fossil Point. That’s where we stopped and photographed and filmed the beautiful rocks and the Fur Seals that were relaxing nearby. You have to be very careful when you walk around the Fur Seals. Never ever get between the seals and the ocean, because if the seals feel threatened, they hurry to the ocean. And they are much faster than you might think.

Cool rocks at Fossil Point, Farewell Spit.

Fur Seal at Fossil Point.

The first 4 kilometres of Farewell Spit are open for the public. After that you have to be with a tour company in order to get further. We went to the lighthouse at the end of the “beach”. At the lighthouse we got off the bus and walked around, climbed up the lighthouse and also had coffee, tea or hot chocolate with some biscuits.

The Lighthouse at Farewell Spit.

The south end of Farewell Spit is relatively sheltered from wind and small bushes and grass grow in the sand. During low tide, the water recedes around 7 kilometres and expose around 80 square metres of sand and mud! It’s a huge plate of food for birds, but also a death trap for whales, who every so often get stranded during low tide.

The north part of the “beach” is very exposed to wind and the wind speed can be as great as 25 km/h! We experienced quite strong winds on our way back from the lighthouse. The sand was “floating” on the ground and created beautiful patterns. There aren’t many things that can grow on the north part of Farewell Spit, and it feels like being in the desert in Dubai, or Africa, when driving on the dunes.

Feels like the desert in Dubai or Mali when driving on the dunes at Farewell Spit.

After this tour, we spent the night at the small town Motueka. Nothing much is happening in that town, it’s more of a “drive through” for tourists going to Abel Tasman National Park, which we visited on the 27th of December. But that’s another story! =o)