I’m sitting on the deck of the cook mountain lodge having an iced coffee just ready to go on a short hike and thinking what a lucky bastard I am . I told my 4wd guide that today and he said “luck belongs to the prepared “. Weirdly I have a poster that says that very thing. My guide was from Nepal . He came here as a young man to guide mountain treks and fell in love and stayed. As a child in Nepal he was raised in small village where a school was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary and it fostered in him a love of mountain climbing and outdoor adventure. He received a scholarship to come study here in NZ Hillary’s home and never looked back. He said he too was a lucky man. I’m not sure how I prepared but I’m grateful for the lucky life and the people who have loved and I have loved and who have supported my dreams and goals.   

Tonight I’m off on the stargazers hike. I’m bringing my binoculars..after all luck belongs to the prepared 🤓 . In the meantime let’s go 4 wheeling ! And talk about lucky bastards ..how about the guy who left his car parked in the no avalanche parking zone for two days! 

So between the 4wd experience which was awesome and the stargazers hike and the glacial lake adventure I wasn’t feeling I was getting my daily hike in . So today after the 4wd thing I grabbed lunch at Hillary’s cafe ( everything is named after Sir Edmund Hillary as this is where he trained to climb Everest) I headed out for a 4 mike jaunt to Kea Point . This is apparently the nearest walk to the mountain without putting on crampons and scaling up the pass. The views everywhere are spectacular and the trail is well maintained. A gentle uphill climb going out that I have to admit had me huffing and puffing a bit at the very end but that meant a breeze on the return trip. Total of 4 miles but because of the views it seemed short . Bizarrely the trail was deserted which meant I had the views all to myself although on my way up I passed a group of Japanese ladies coming down . They were carrying sun umbrellas and singing . I passed no one else and I could hear their voices singing for some time as I climbed to the point . The Maori call Mt Cook “Cloud Piercer” Aoraki .  You can see why.  We were blessed with amazing weather and crystal blue skies ! 

When my nephews and Alix were little kids my Sister, Dave and I took them to Brittany for a few days to stay at a French farm. I remember them loving it and running around in the warm French sunshine . There was lavender everywhere and lots of bugs which my nephew Peter wasn’t too fond of. There were goats and baby lambs and lots of critters. This is a picture of them taken there. It was only two nights but I remember that trip with them like it was yesterday.

When I pulled into Te Pohue Farmstay yesterday I suddenly had the same feeling I had at that French farm all those years ago. A real farm that is busy being a farm but offers you a slice of that life if only for a few days . 

It’s an amazing place run by Pete and Sam and it’s a working farm. They have 50 head of beef cattle and close to 1000 sheep on 750 acres set on an amazing piece of land with a private beach 

It’s the kind of place both solo travelers couples and families can enjoy. I only stayed two nights there but would love to come back for a week and hike the trails , kayak the water and enjoy the great food. Pete cooked dinner each night and everyone sits down to a home cooked meal family style with quite lively conversation. Most of the food comes dorectly from the farm. After weeks of travel it was nice to just relax, eat well and recharge. I’ll be back 

Amazing walk today. I decided to take the gondola outside Christchurch to the top of mountain and  then walk down the old bridle trail.  The trail has been  in use since the 1850s as early settlers used it to walk between the harbor in Lyttelton and over the ridge to Christchurch. Got to the Gondola at 10 am sharp only to be told that it needed maintenance and would open at 10:30. There  was a little 6 year old who was having a birthday party and he and his mates were very upset as this was obviously something he was really excited about. At 10:30 they announced it would be 11:00. Apparently the kids had to be at school at 1:00 so the party was cancelled . Now if it had been my kid and he was crying as loudly as this one was I would have said something but not here. These NZ folks are so laid back and understanding about everything.  Anyhow eventually they got it running.  

The 360 view really is amazing.  Those aren’t clouds in the distance but snow covered peaks. I snapped a few pics, had a coffee and then started walking back down. Wow those pioneers must have been really fit. The trail was incredibly steep and once or twice I slid on my ass and even damaged my shin ( picture provided ) but I persevered and eventually reached the bottom of the hill. Of course it was a bit humbling when the group of seniors passed me going up the hill. These folks are really fit ! I don’t know who George Seymour is but I was grateful for his bench.  Now off the the sheep farm for a two night stay!  Anyhow pics of the view , the trail , the seniors and even George’s bench. 

I’ve always heard how pretty Christchurch is . How it was like a small English city situated on a plain surrounded by incredible mountains. So I was prepared for the quaint houses and amazing views. What I guess I wasn’t prepared for was the incredible and lingering damage done to the city by the earthquake in 2011. The quake essentially leveled downtown or forced the razing of most of the central city and killed 185 people . Since then they have rebuilt slowly but surely yet the downtown is still littered with vacant lots and boarded up buildings. Cathedral square the heart of the city is a building zone and the iconic cathedral is still in ruins.   They plan on starting  to rebuild it this year at last. The city is still beautiful and portable and permanent buildings have popped up in the last few years but the impact is still heavy. In 2011 Christchurch was the second largest city in NZ. It’s now slipped to third as many people and jobs moved elsewhere. I still loved it ..it’s vibrant with lots of funky cafes and great shopping. I stayed in a hotel that once was the Christchurch Council building and survived the quake unscathed while the cathedral next door collapsed.  I loved the resilient feeling in the city and hope to come back when it’s fully rebuilt.   One particularly poignant place was the memorial to the victims of the quake. 185 small crosses next to the river.

Ahh a car ferry through the Cook straits. As you know I love a car ferry …this one has amazing views. Jagged mountains plunging into the clearest ocean I’ve ever seen. I love wandering around a car ferry. You get the people going on vacation all excited and the ones finishing a vacation a bit depressed. The regulars who drink coffee and seem oblivious to the incredible scenery. I took a coffee and went out on the deck. Everywhere I looked was an amazing picture so I didn’t bother taking any because none of them capture the beauty of it. 

Finally 3 and a half hours later I’m on the South Island and then later after an incredible drive along the coast I’m sitting in Nelson eating dinner in the sun. A great day . I’ve stored it all in my memory . I’m coming back 

I love small compact cities. It’s what I love about Philly. You can easily walk anywhere and everything you need is close by. Take that compact nature of the city then add a spectacular harbor and mountains and crystal clear water and you get Wellington. I could live here. Don’t worry John it’s very hard to get a visa to retire here lol I spent two days just wandering around and absorbing the city and of course there is that cable car    I 

A massive waterfall and a jet boat..a perfect combination. Bizarrely, next to the jet boat port was Prawn World . Prawn World is a place dedicated to farm raised Shrimp Cocktail !! Well, I love shrimp cocktail so when I think of prawns I think of shrimp cocktail . Anyhow back to the adventure. Americans were well represented on the boat. Just as I was ready to jump on a mini bus pulled up with 11 dairy farmers from Oregon. Apparently they were on a 5 day fact finding mission to observe dairy farms in NZ at our government expense. Hey, I like dairy and let’s be honest if someone told you that they would pay for you to go to NZ to learn about dairy of course you’d go . Not sure what the jet boat had to do with dairy..  
Anyhow , jet boat was awesome, the Falls majestic and the prawns tasty ! 

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Rotorua is the center of the Maori people in New Zealand. Being the typical unaware traveler I always assumed they were an indigenous people whose culture was under threat and dying caused by the evil of European colonialism.

Yes and no 

First, if you visit the Maori cultural centers they point out that the Maori people were colonizers themselves. While some disagree on the exact date the first verifiable migration to NZ of the Maori was in the 1300s not all that more recent than the Europeans.  Though in long canoes it required a lot more guts . 

Secondly, despite land grabs and dirty dealings by the Europeans the Maori have actually managed to maintain land holdings and their culture is being preserved and maintained by their own commitment to education and cultural preservation.  

Of course their is still a lot to do 

Anyhow, I spent a day at the Maori Village where they try and maintain and educate people about their culture and then I went to the glitzy over the top throughly entertaining Maori Dinner and Cultural show. Sort of Las Vegas Of Polynesia but done very well and throughly captivating Usually these things depress me but in this case I was actually happy to see how integrated the Maori is in NZ life and culture and how they refer to their way of life in the present not as a thing of the past. It was an interesting and entertaining day ! Plus those Maori Warriors…I mean when they paddle up in the war canoe who isn’t gonna love em! The village is built around the mud holes and steaming geysers of Rotorua which made it even more interesting especially as they have channeled that geothermal power to use in everyday life.  Rotorua gets an A! 

I love cable cars ,gondolas,funiculars…if it runs on a cable or wire I’m there. When I was a kid I used to make my folks stop at every sky ride and off season chair lift. 

The cable car in Wellington goes right up the hill and then an easy saunter down through the botanical gardens.  I took it three times lol. Lots to post but this is a teaser to keep you occupied 🤓

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