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New
Zealand by Frank Scragg When the theatre group we belong to started to consider going to New Zealand for a month, we asked to be kept informed. The upshot was that, one day at the end of January 1999, we were coaching to Heathrow from Taunton bound for Singapore then onto Christchurch for our 'trip of a lifetime'. Apart from a business trip to Hong Kong and a fortnight in Tunisia, this was our first trip beyond Europe. We enjoyed our two days in Singapore and did the usual things, including tea at Raffles and a visit to the Orchid Gardens and the various ethnic quarters. Then it was onward to change planes at Auckland for a local flight to Christchurch. We were driven to our hotel, the gloriously named 'Chateau on the Park' and we recovered on the largest beds most of us had ever seen. We did the city tour of course and visited the Antarctic Experience and found it very Informative and we were able to slide down a snow slope and try on Polar type clothing. We walked across the park to the centre of the city, which boasts a tram service and some beautiful gardens, where we marvelled at roses in full bloom in January! I was interested to see the statues of Cook and of Scott, the former in Victoria Park and the latter in the town centre. We visited the Cathedral, which has some lovely stained glass and I went up the tower with its views over the city. Next day we crossed the mountains by train and coach to arrive on the west coast and the reconstructed gold mining settlement Shanty Town - rather touristy, but good fun, even in the pouring rain. We panned for gold and visited various public buildings, all fitted out with contemporary artefacts. That was the only time in a month that we had rain for any length of time. We spent the night in Hokitika; there was so little activity there that we almost felt we were in a ghost town! We found some folk at the Jade Factory and saw the New Zealand greenstone being worked before we left to travel south along the coast. In the next few days we did some jet boating and took a helicopter trip up on to the Fox Glacier; expensive, but it is not every day that one has the opportunity! On our way to Queenstown, we saw the bridge from which the first bungy jumps took place. Apparently, over sixties can jump for free, but unfortunately (?) we didn't have time! Our hotel in Queenstown overlooked the lake and the Remarkables, a row of mountains that caught the evening sun to glorious effect. We sailed across the lake to a sheep station for our evening meal and sailed back as the daylight gradually faded; a wonderful experience! On the other evening, we took the lift up to 'The Gondola', a restaurant and viewpoint high above the town. Next stop was Milford Sound, where we were lucky enough to have perfect weather for our cruise through the Sound and out to sea. We saw dolphins that raced along in front of the ship and seals on the rocks. We dined and slept on the ship and woke to an absolutely still morning, with the water like a mirror and the mists slowly using from Mitre Peak at the end of the Sound. I believe the ship 'Lady of the South Pacific' no longer cruises the Sound. What a pity! It was a wonderful experience: perhaps some enterprising person will find a replacement. Going farther south we sailed, if that is the right word for a hydrofoil to New Zealand's third island (If you don't include West Island [Australia!]). Stewart Island in the far south, next stop Antarctica, is a dreamy place with little traffic and some eccentric inhabitants. We had a restful time there, including a cruise among the smaller off shore islands and visited a bird sanctuary and a salmon farm. Some brave souls went out on a guided midnight expedition to see kiwis in the wild and they did get a quick glimpse, but not the kind of sighting that David Attenborough had the previous year! We travelled back to the South Island to a glorious lunch at a cattle station in the Catlins. Even those, myself included, who found the return trip on the hydrofoil rather fraught, tucked in to the beef and 'wenisom' The mid-European helper served up, and there were delicious sweets to follow. We overnighted in Dunedin. We will have to go back and have a better look sometime. The next couple of nights, the party split into small groups and stayed on farms in the Mackenzie Country. It was nice just to sit in the garden relaxing with a glass of wine and a book after we had been shown around the farm and the neighbourhood. Then it was on around Christchurch up to the Wine festival at Marlborough before ravelling on to Picton for the crossing to Wellington. The ferry was a couple of hours late sailing, but we had probably the most colourful sunset I have ever seen to compensate for the delay. It was a wrench leaving South Island. I haven't mentioned the albatrosses, the lakes, Mount Cook waterfalls, more and closer seals or the views and all sorts of geological features. I won't mention the folks who went whale spotting by plane and just saw dark shapes way below... In the North Island, we visited or stayed at several towns from Wellington up to Rotorua, enjoying particularly the Art Deco town of Napier largely rebuilt in 1933 (a very significant year for me!) after an earthquake. I remember it well, as I had to visit a dentist there and the temporary filling I had has lasted two years! Rotorua is too well known to go into much detail here, but it should really be seen. We had a Maori evening with all the dancing, spear-waving, ball swinging that you would expect with a rather long history lecture which gave one the feeling that perhaps it had been delivered before! Of course, we saw the hot springs and the bubbling mad and some of us noticed a slight aroma in the air! Some of us ventured into the hot baths then back to the hotel for a shower. We were taken by off-road vehicles to the top of an extinct (so we were assured) volcano. Next, we went to the beautiful Bay of Islands. Here we saw the Treaty House, and we had a free day to explore the area. Pam and I took the ferry across the bay to Russell, a small picturesque town once known as the 'Hellhole of the Pacific' in the whaling days. Others took boat or light aeroplane excursions. Now, sadly, we turned back south to Auckland and the end of our holiday. Auckland is a bustling city with an interesting waterfront and a high tower with a revoking viewing platform including a partial glass floor that gave one a rather odd feeling if one looked down past one's feet! Overall impressions? A wonderful place for a holiday. There is so much variety in a comparatively small area; much of it largely unspoilt (for how long, with an increasing number of cruise liners arriving?) We found the people charming and always ready for a chat. They were becoming a little concerned with the Maori situation. On the one hand, we were told that it was the half-castes who were the potential troublemakers and on the other that there were very few full-blooded Maoris left! Certainly the impression we were left with was that things were changing and not for the better. Still, there are few places in the world that do not have that said about them! Them are
so many places in the world we would like to see while we am still able
to travel, but I am sure we will be going back to New Zealand before long.
There are some places and things we haven't seen, such as the romantic
sounding and (I am told) beautiful Coromandel Coast, the Pancake rocks
and penguins! First published in VISA issue 41 (summer 2001). |