Shepherd's Outback Adventure: April 2015

April 28- New Zealand continued.

Hello again! If you read the previous blog then you understand why I had to split it up into two:) After leaving Te Anau we headed to Lake Tekapo. Again no one knew what to expect as we left it up to our tour guide, Chris. We stopped to get the key to the house we would be staying in, and then followed the owners down a winding dirt road for about 20 minutes. We arrived at a beautiful house, literally in the middle of nowhere. It is called Isolation Bay, which makes sense:) We later found out that no development is allowed on most of the lake which explains the seclusion even more. It was perfect because I think we were all ready for a few days of rest and relaxation. The house had amazing views, which is why I have so many pictures of it, and to the kids delight, a trampoline. It was great for the kids, because they had acres of land to just go out and explore. The home also had a wood burning fireplace, which Chris kept burning day and night. We played a lot of card and board games and mostly relaxed. We did take a day trip to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park which was beautiful!. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island of New Zealand. We did not hike up Mount Cook, but instead did a track through Hooker Valley and across Hooker River, and the whole time had beautiful views of the Mount Cook Range. We hiked 1.5 hours, across three swing bridges, and arrived at Glacier Lake, a very blue lake, surrounded by the Alps. What an amazing site! We then hiked back to the car and had a quick picnic lunch and started up a new track to Tasman Glacier, New Zealand's longest glacier. This was a quick hike, but again ended with a beautiful view. The 1.5 hour drive from Tekapo to Mount Cook National Park was amazing the whole way. We even got the kids to look out their windows a few times to enjoy the views:) I do have to give the girls credit though as they were troopers when it came to hiking. We would often hike 6-10 miles in a day, and the girls did this with little complaining. We discovered that as long as Danika's mouth was moving her feet were also moving. She kept me entertained throughout most of the hikes, as I got to learn all about the forest fairies and all the top secret missions she goes on with her imaginary friends:)

We stayed in Lake Tekapo for three nights, but I think we all could have stayed longer. On our way out of town, we drove up to Mount John Observatory, and were blessed with beautiful 360 degree views, of Lake Tekapo and below. The girls were also very excited because they got to feel snow for the first time since winter 2014. Who would have thought? This part of New Zealand is known for its star gazing thus the reason for the Observatory. We had two clear nights where the stars were absolutely amazing. We also heard that the Southern Lights appeared one night but we missed that. :(

We also stopped at a small church called, Church of the Good Shepherd, which was the first church built in this area in 1935. The altar is in front a window that frames stunning views of the lake and mountains. After leaving Tekapo, we made our way north to Christchurch.

As many of you know, Christchurch endured much damage after being hit with an earthquake in 2011. Chris had been to Christchurch on a previous visit to New Zealand, and he was amazed at the difference between then and now. Many buildings are still abandoned and construction is all around as the rehabilitation process is still very much in the works. To our surprise, the hotel we were staying in was having its grand opening that night, since being closed since the earthquake. Luckily things ran smoothly and there were very few kinks to work out:) We enjoyed, yet were saddened at the condition of Christchurch. It was good for the girls to see. The Christchurch Cathedral was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathderal Square. It was known as the hub or gathering place for many. It survived many small quakes, but after the quake in 2011 it was severely damaged. Unfortunately they have now determined it is will need to be completely torn down. The people in the town still seem very optimistic, that in time, things will return to the way they were prior to the quake. Christchurch used to be one of the top tourist destinations, but when we were there it seemed quite desolate. I found one of the most interesting things was a project they began called Re:START. They realized that a lot of the buildings were going to take many years to rebuild and therefore businnesses would remain closed. They decided to take old shipping containers and turn them into storefronts so businnesses could quickly reopen there doors. Very creative and innovative!

On our second and last day in Christchurch, Chris needed to Dunedin to do some business for the day, so the girls, Chris' parents and I decided to spend the day exploring The Inernational Antarctic Centre. The Centre is home to New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic programs. We were entertained all day by viewing a 3D and 4D movie, endured a simulated arctic storm, and visited little blue penguins. We also took a Hagglund Ride on an outdoor course, that mimicked what it would be like to ride over Antarctica's terrain. You never know what to expect from museums, but I will say this was well worth the money. We had a great time and it is as close to Antarctica as I ever plan to be:) Chris flew back to Christchurch that night and we made our way to our next and final destination in New Zealand, Kaikoura.

Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The Kaikoura Penisula extends into the sea south of the town and the currents bring in an abundance of marine life. Chris had booked us on a dolphin encounter, because there are often schools of wild dolphin that you are able to swim with. Unfortunatelty, due to sea conditions, the trip was cancelled each day we were there. Regardless, there was plenty more to see and do. Kaikoura, to me, represented how I pictured New Zealand would be. This town had a little of everything, green rolling hills, mountains, ocean, and plentiful sheep, cattle and farms. On our first full day there, we hopped in the car to drive down the coastline. Within minutes, we pulled to the side because we saw a few big seals lying on rocks by the roadside. We were very excited and took many pictures, thinking these we be the only seals we would see. Then we traveled a few more minutes down the road and were met by several sheep blocking our way. Within minutes, the Shepherd and his dog were rallying the sheep and driving them towards the farm. We drove another five minutes and parked and found ourselves surrounded by mature seals and baby seals. The girls were so excited and fell in love with the seal pups. We did have to warn them not to get to close because they do bite (and hiss as Kylie discovered:). We were thoroughly entertained watching the seal pups wobble around chasing each other. We then took a hike up along the cliffs that ran along the coastline. The view was beautiful. We again saw many seals below us lying on rocks. The girls found a "path" (not quite sure this was actually a path) down the side of one of the cliffs and insisted we make our way down to the bottom so we could see more seals. So we walked, stumbled, slid, rolled our way down, and just sat and watched the seals for awhile. I was amazed at how close we were. Maybe too close? After making our way back to the car, we headed to a farm for Sheep Shearing 101. You cannot leave New Zealand without shearing a sheep! This was very entertaining. There were three sheep dogs on the farm and the girls enjoyed playing with them. As though that was not enough for the day, we drove to a place called Ohau Point, located right off the coast. As we began our hike we saw a few seal pups playing in a stream across the road from the coast. We continued our way upstream and our hike ended at a beautiful waterfall. In the pool under the waterfall were about 20 seal pups, splashing and playing. It was so funny and unexpected to see them so far upstream, in the middle of this hill. Very cute! We later learned that the stream is a sort of day care/school for the seal pups and not until they get older do they actually go out to sea. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner. I had fish, everyone else enjoyed the lamb! On our last full day in New Zealand, we slept in, did a smaller hike and relaxed. Chris and I ended the day with a date night, as his parents watched the girls. We left New Zealand the next day and headed back to Sydney.

We our now back to our usual routine. When we returned from NZ, we had two days of cyclone weather which was definitely interesting. The girls did not have school for three days as it was damaged due to the winds. Today is sunny, girls are at school, I am writing the blog and Chris is working:) It is hard to believe we are coming to an end of our Australian adventures. I keep reminding myself of the things I miss back home in Indiana, so as to ease the sadness we will feel when we leave here. At least we can take the many wonderful memories with us!

Miss you all and hope this finds all of you healthy and doing well!

Till next time,

Cindy xx

Our house on Lake Tekapo, Isolation Bay.