Queen Charlotte Track - March 2009

In March we headed over to the South Island to hike the Queen Charlotte track with the Howarth family for a long weekend. We learnt that the ferry actually travels West to get to Picton in the South Island and not at all South due to the how the islands are both at an angle.
Two days of hiking...starting at Endeavour inlet to Resolution Bay (3 hours) and then the next day Endeavour inlet to Camp Bay (4 1/2 hours).

Sue and John and James and Meghan

We stayed at a lovely house with the kids all in one room and two rooms for the adults.

It is so set up for tramping here. The water taxi takes you to the start of the hike so you don't have to carry more than your day pack. And you can order on line at the grocery store to have the water taxi deliver your food.

This is a Weka bird that lived by our house and was eager for scraps

Tree Fern

Red mushrooms!

Rebecca asleep on the water taxi.

Tramp - City to Sea, Wellington, February 09

A 3 hour tramp close to Brooklyn neighbourhood....really really windy and way up high. We had take away (kiwi for take out) curry in a little valley that we brought in with us.
There are a few 'Great Walks' in New Zealand like the Abel Tasman and Routeburn track - but if you go anywhere in fact there are beautiful walks. When we went to the travel section for New Zealand in the library it was chock a block full of little tramping guidebooks entitled "my favourite hikes in ....fill in any small town/countryside". It really is a national passion to go tramping.
The city itself has a green belt that goes crisscrossing it with a whole series of tramps...the Northen Walkway that Hannah and I did at school, the City to Sea Walkway that this was a part of and the Southern Walkway which we are doing next week with Rebecca's class. So everywhere you look are green hills and ocean bays that are connected via walkways





Windy ++++
Classic New Zealand breathtaking landscape. That was our trail.

Fellow Canadians eh?

Hiking with fellow Canadians..Fred and Janet Caldwell (friends of our friend Christine Roarke in Hamilton) and their three girls out in Johnsonville near their house. Really gives you an idea of typical Kiwi topography..huge green steep hills and lots of space. That's the girls all at the top!
Fred and Janet are moving back to Canada after three years here.

Ohiro Bay, january 2009

Around 1km down the road from our house along Happy Valley Road is Ohiro Bay. On a clear day you can easily see the white capped hills of the South Island. We've been there lots looking for Paua shells (like Abalone), climbing the rocks looking in the tidal pools and we also sadly saw some dead little blue penquins. The dogs on the beach were the likely culprits.. Just around the bend is a seal colony but we haven't seen any seals.

Hannah climbing up with her rope.

Mt Victoria, January 4th

Picnic near the top of Mount Victoria. This is part of the Southern Walkway. Wellington's forefathers had great foresight and designed a serious of green belts throughout the whole city connecting all the areas. James ....hmm...not sure the forefathers could explain this photo!
More carrots!




The Beaufort scale...well known to all Wellingtonians as it quantifies the wind! The wind blows straight between the North and South Island along the Cook Straights and through the city. It has literally blown my glasses off and skirts without leggings seem too risky here. Umbrellas tremble and give up. On the positive side, there is no use trying for a sleek hairdo which is a relief. And the views are amazing!

Karori Wildlife Reserve Dec 31st, 2009

This Sanctuary was built in 1995 to restore the area to its original state. Most of NZ's indigenous species are birds and have little defenses against foreign small mammals so this reserve has an amazing fence built all around it to keep out predators and small mammals that eat the foliage. Some of the birds that were extinct on the mainland were brought back from smaller islands and now repopulate this area. During the day, many of the birds fly out of the sanctuary over the hill to where our house is to feed and then return to the safety of the sanctuary at night and to nest. Stephen Fry was there the day we were and we totally missed seeing him as we were peering about looking for birds.
KaKa parrot. Indigenous to New Zealand
Sue and I on the tramp
Hihi bird...another indigenous bird enjoying flower nectar
Fern trees are so cool...a series of unwinding of circular stems and then leaves.
Saddleback.
The wonderful sounding Tui bird.
Happy trampers!! Kids hike best in groups...and do circles around us!

Ohiro Stream

The friends of Owhiro Stream have worked hard to make this little city stream healthy with native plants. We saw a huge eel and tramped down the stream for over a km. The stream runs right past our house to the ocean.