2020

Friday Fotos – Maori welcoming ceremony in New Zealand

December 18, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

Part of the Maori welcoming ceremony — While small, this Maori welcoming ceremony was well done and they were so friendly!

One of our interests while traveling to New Zealand was to learn more about the Maoris. Fortunately, we had several opportunities to visit historical sites or events such as this Maori welcoming ceremony. And though the experience isn’t the same as it would be in a remote area or perhaps a hundred years ago, it’s as close as a modern tourist can get.

The really nice thing about this particular ceremony was that it was done by a small, local group and was not highly commercialized. I attended another of these ceremonies at a larger venue and, while it was extremely well done, it reminded me all too much of a commercial venture. This one, on the other hand, felt authentic and real.

Want to see more photos from our trip? Here’s a link where you can check out all the entries in our travel journal.

Friday Fotos – under the shade of the kiwi vine

December 11, 2020 By Terry 1 Comment

Under the cover of kiwis — This is, quite literally, one of the coolest places to be. The valley where this kiwi farm is located was very warm, but the shade of the kiwis was very pleasant.

One of the coolest places we visited during our 2019 trip to New Zealand was a kiwi farm. It was a hot day in the valley where this farm is located, but under the shade of the kiwis, it was cool and pleasant. We weren’t allowed to pick the fruit, but we did get an education about kiwi fruit and how this golden kiwi is one of the best.

By the way, the kiwi is actually a Chinese gooseberry vine. Even though we didn’t get to pick right off the trees, we did go to a local store where there were all kinds of products to tempt the palate, including ice cream!

Want to see more photos from our trip? Here’s a link where you can check out all the entries in our travel journal.

Click here to learn more about the story of New Zealanders and how they came to be called ‘kiwis’.

Friday Fotos – looking inland from Queen Charlotte Sound

December 4, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

Looking inland from Picton Harbor and Queen Charlotte Sound — It looks like this little town has almost as many boats as houses.

Last week I shared Friday Fotos – Picton Harbor calling, so here’s one looking the other direction. Picton is located at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. One thing I didn’t know was that this little town has one fifth of New Zealand’s coastline. It’s also close to Marlborough’s wine region.

While there, we were itching to do something that would let us walk. After all, we’d been on the MS Noordam for a while by this time, so we took a walking tour that followed a path parallel to the marina. Our guide was excellent and we learned more than our brains could retain about the local plants and wildlife. Our guide was actually from Great Britain, but was friends with the owners of the tour company and flew in to work seasonally. (Definitely not a bad gig if you can get it!)

Learn more about beautiful Picton and the Queen Charlotte Sound at visitpicton.co.nz.

More photos from Picton, New Zealand

Picton - entrance to the park from downtown — The arch is the entrance to the park from the quaint downtown.

Picton - harbor showing some of the boats in the harbor — Boats in the harbor at Picton, where tourism is big business

Picton's bay under blue skies — The blue skies lasted most of the day, which was unusual. The flat water is supposed to be normal.

Across the harbot toward Picton — The harbor at Picton has a good sealife population, so these waters are clear several feet down.

Looking inland from Picton Harbor — It looks like this little town has almost as many boats as houses.

Picton - a small seaport village — Picton is a gorgeous little village of only 4,000 people, but it has a lot of boats!

Friday Fotos – Picton Harbor calling

November 27, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

During our 2019 tour of New Zealand, we had the pleasure of visiting beautiful Picton. This gorgeous small town is located in the Marlborough Sounds and is reminiscent of days gone by, a time when it was easy to walk around and stroll from shop to shop. The locals in this area say the harbor has more boats than there are permanent residents.

The thing about this small town is that tourism is big business. Without it, the town would be much smaller. There is skiing nearby, but when the cruise ships stop coming, the town becomes quiet. Learn more about the area on the Visit Picton website.

If you want to see more of our trip to New Zealand, check out last week’s post, Friday Fotos – Zealandia is a wildlife refuge for the future.

More photo from New Zealand

Plenty of places to sit and have some tea — Outdoor tables are common and the atmosphere is relaxing

Oldest church in New Zealand — Established in 1836, this is the oldest church in New Zealand, and it's still beautiful inside.

Art in the town garden — Here's another of those beautiful pieces from the central garden

Strings first, then glue — Once glue had been applied to the binding, the pages set

MS Noordam in background — Just beyond the anchored sailboats is the MS Noordam waiting for all of us to see the sights.

Sunrise as we arrive in Russell — This was an early morning shore excursion, so we had to be up bright and early!

Napier - Art deco 5 — Art deco is king in Napier.

Friday Fotos – Zealandia is a wildlife refuge for the future

November 20, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

Zealandia took over this structure — This “lake” is actually part of a dam, which became part of Zealandia when it began.

Welcome to Zealandia wildlife refuge!

Don’t get this Zealandia confused with the continental shelf by the same name. This one is in Wellington, New Zealand and we visited during our 2019 trip to New Zealand. This was a great experience. Much like all other organized tours, there simply wasn’t enough time to see everything we’d have liked.

The Zealandia wildlife refuge is a fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary. They have a 500-year vision to restore the valley forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state. An organization with a 500-year vision is very unusual, but they are intent on reintroducing species of native wildlife, some of which have been absent from mainland New Zealand for more than 100 years.

Check out last week’s Friday Foto, Friday Fotos – Hawkes Bay Express is a stylish ride.

More photos from Wellington, New Zealand

The Beehive — This building is called the Beehive. It's where the Executive Offices of the New Zealand Parliament are located.

One of New Zealand's endangered — Unable to fly, these birds fall prey to mammalian predators.

Terracotta Warriors exhibit was on display — This is a very popular exhibit and requires separate tickets, which we didn't have. It was also sold out!

Te Hono ki Hawaiki - Maori meeting house — Our guide told us she was bothered by this interpretation of a Maori meeting house for several years, then one day had an epiphany and now understands it.

Stained glass at the museum — This beautiful stained glass was in the same area as the Maori 'house'.

Friday Fotos – Hawkes Bay Express is a stylish ride

November 13, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

Hawkes Bay Express 1 — The ‘steam engine’ for this local tour service was hand-built by the owner.

In last week’s post, Friday Fotos – Napier is the Art Deco capital of New Zealand, I mentioned that the train in Napier was a fun way to see the sites. Well, here it is, the Hawkes Bay Express! Isn’t this a beauty? The owner hand built it and it truly is the perfect complement to the old-timey Art Deco atmosphere in town. The insides of the Hawkes Bay Express are decorated in vintage style, and the owner is dressed appropriately for the era.

Want to learn more about Napier? Click here to visit their website..

Friday Fotos – Maori welcoming ceremony in New Zealand

Friday Fotos – under the shade of the kiwi vine