Not to worry, there was more to the Golden Bay than just swans along the shore. The northwesterly lobe of the South Island, known as Cape Farewell, offered rolling sand dunes, wide expanses of surf, wind and water sculpted rock formations, caves the tide threatened to swiftly fill, and an awesome place to explore on a bright afternoon.
Read MoreAre any birds lovelier than swans? I've only had a few swan encounters before: a white swan in a pond outside Trinity College in Dublin, or in the theater, where white swans and black swans try to pirouette their way into a prince's heart or chasse themselves out from under a sorcerer's spell.
Read MoreWhat a birthday Dominic had! It was February 28 and our first day on the South Island, the forecasts had been for heavy rain, so we treated ourselves to two nights in an AirBnB. Then a New Zealand miracle occurred: the day was overflowing with sunshine! Plus, we discovered our weekend home just happened to be at the start of the Queen Charlotte Track, one of the more celebrated hikes in New Zealand—nothing left to do but pull on our hiking boots and hit the trail.
Read MoreIn the mood for another bird blog? If so, it's a good thing because we just got home to Helios after four-ish weeks of scenic exploring and sandfly swatting on the South Island...adventures that left very little time for photo uploading or memory recording (especially as public internet access is somewhat stingy here: "free wifi" at a cafe is generally limited to 100 megabytes, less than a single photo upload or podcast download!).
Read MoreA few photos of our avian friends from Wenderhelm. Above is a goldfinch, only one of two we have seen in New Zealand (or ever); below is an eastern rosella, challenging to photograph due to their speed, but impossible to miss due to their bolt of rainbow-lightning fly-bys.
Read MoreJust north of Cape Palliser there is a small rocky cove that serves as a nursery and playground, or rookery, as it's known, for a colony of fur seals, a species whose numbers are making a huge resurgence these days after being nearly hunted to extinction.
Read MoreAfter a morning among the pinnacles, we hopped in the car and drove as far south as we could until we arrived at the Cale Palliser lighthouse. We hoofed the 258 stairs to the top and enjoyed views of the Cook Strait and the countours of the South Island in the distance.
Read MoreWe continued our tour of the North Island by heading southwest from Rivendell onto a peninsula that extends outward to form one of the most southerly points of the island. As we drove, the fields filled with cows and sheep looked increasingly dry and windswept, and increasingly like the coastal landscape we are used to driving through in central California. Our next stop were the Putangirua Pinnacles, an area of sandstone that a few thousand years of wind and rainfall transformed into gothic spires and cascading cliffs.
Read MoreAfter a few days in Wellington, the forecast was on our side so we did some exploring around the southern peninsula of the North Island. Naturally, when we saw signs pointing toward Rivendell (aka Kaitoke Regional Park) we had to stop...
Read MoreAfter leaving Tongagriro, we had a quick lunch in Whanganui and then made our way farther south to Wellington.
Read MoreSurprised by the lack of birds on Mt Doom? I was! We saw but one wayward seagull circling above the Emerald Lakes. Not to worry, there have been plenty of avian delights to behold elsewhere. Like this couple of white faces herons, who spent their Valentine's Day necking on the pilings beside Helios.
Read MoreIn the land of Mordor where the shadows lie, there is one hike to rule them all, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. As serendipity would have it, between the excellent conditions last Monday and the fame of the 19.4 kilometer trek, we arrived at the base of Mt Doom on the exact same day as our cruising buddies Dirk and Gretchen of s/v Peregrine.
Read MoreWe kept a quick pace moving south from Wenderhelm, running a few errands just north of Auckland, enjoying waterfalls, zip lines, horses prancing beside the road, counting cows, cows, cows as we went. We spent a night in King's Country, and then spent a morning enjoying the views of Lake Taupo and a fabulous lunch in the hills of the Acacia Bay.
Read MoreWe started our camping adventure in Wenderhelm, about 90 minutes south of Whangarei and just north of Auckland. The park is small as far as land preserves in New Zealand go, but the campsite offered all the fluffy emerald grass we could imagine, as well as sweeping views of the estuary and hillside. There was also a lovely mountain to be hiked that looks over the beach and the historic home on the grounds. We shared the space with a number of families getting out of town for the weekend and a few flotillas of seasoned camper van travelers.
Read MoreWe are ferrying between islands right now, a three hour experience that no guide book we've seen does justice (or maybe we are just excited to be back on the water for the first time since December).
Read MoreWe have had a spectacular week driving, camping, and tramping our way south through New Zealand's northern island. Rain is in the forecast for next week, and I am secretly looking forward to the AirB&B indoor time with wifi to share photos of the jaw-dropping scenery we have been enjoying.
Read MoreJust a few quick camera phone pics of our first campsite, Wenderhelm Park, just north of Auckland. It was beautiful, social, and beachy...an idyllic first stop. Bonus—the birding was killer.
Read MoreWe are super jazzed because today is the first day of our New Zealand road trip! We spent the last very rainy week wrapping up boat projects and getting organized to hit the road—car purchased, tent acquired, boat re-moored....good to know we are at the point in our journey where a four-ish week road trip only takes a few (kinda busy) days of preparation and feels like no big deal.
Read MoreBeyond hiking, our weekend was full of sunshine and social delights. On Friday night we met up with friends for two-for-one burgers (barbecue chicken with pineapples and bacon…yes, please!), and we started our Saturday bright and early at the farmer's market.
Read MoreOur weather held through Sunday, and we enjoyed our February 14th hike on a cool, sunny day with partial cloud cover—absolutely lovely. Editing and posting the photos has been an excellent antidote for a rainy Monday that I've spent mostly at the sewing machine. Enjoy a few photos!
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