Friday Fotos

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

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..

More New Zealand photos

Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand

Upon our arrival in Napier, we discovered that it was a very cool little town with a surprising past. The architecture is amazing, and it all came about because a natural disaster gave the town an opportunity to remake itself into something truly special.

Unfortunately, the day we were in Napier the weather was cold and windy. We weren’t feeling much like braving the elements and decided to take a tram ride so we could check out the downtown area and see the sights. The train was another treat. It had been hand built by the owner and was the perfect complement to the old-timey atmosphere. Want to learn more about Napier? Click here to visit their website..

Did you miss last week’s photo? You’ll find it in Friday Fotos – Russell shore excursion began early.

More Napier photos

To the best of my recollection, this was a bit of a blustery day. It was also the day that everything changed. First, let’s start with the photo. The wind didn’t seem to bother these two carefree little girls as they played along the shores of Lake Wanaka. This, however, was the day that everything on our land tour changed.

This photo was taken on Day 9, but the problem is that we were never supposed to be in Wanaka. On Day 9, our next stop was supposed to be at the end of a train ride through the New Zealand Alps. However, a 100-year storm wiped out the only road and the railroad tracks to our destination. Imagine the frantic tour guide and his home office trying to find accommodations for 50 people for a one-night stay with less than twenty-four hours to spare. That would definitely be stressful!

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Lindis Pass was a change in plans

This was a windy stop on our road trip, but Lindis Pass was the only way to get from Queenstown to our next stop, which was a change in plans after the road washed out due to torrential rains. As a matter of fact, not only did the road wash out, but so did the railroad tracks for the train trip we were scheduled to make. The tour company did an amazing job of finding accommodations for about fifty people in a matter of hours.

We considered ourselves fortunate, however, because the people on the tour ahead of ours (which had started about a week ahead of us) were stranded in a high school gymnasium.

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