Last view of the Sounds

I'm back home, but am posting the last views from the tracks around Torea Saddle. The gradual 90 min walk from Torea towards Endeavour Inlet was very enjoyable. Here are some views. However, towards Anakiwa, the track starts very steeply and I gave up after 30 mins!

I returned to Christchurch on the 31st and watched the meagre fireworks from my B & B window which was 2 blocks from Cathedral Square where all the festivities were held. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!

in the Sounds

The Wilds of NZ are not very conducive for blogging. Since the last post, I've been on the Hollyford track and am now in the Marlborough Sounds walking parts of Queen Charlotte Track. Weather is good here, but the track gets a bit monotonous. I'm moving to Portage today and hope the views from the ridge will be better... I was in Furneaux Lodge for the last 3 nights and I think it's more cozy there. It's a bit large and commercial here. It's wonderfully scenic though. Will get on the track tomorrow.
Since the last entry, I've been on the Hollyford Track on a 3 day guided walk. There were 14 of us on the walk, and Bard, the main guide was superb. He is a native of Fiordland (Te Anau) and loves the area. He showed us many native plants and told us fascinating stories of the pioneers in this area. It is just too inhospitable for human habitation, so all plans to develop a township fell through. There are some priceless publications by alice mackenzie who gives first-hand accounts of her life in this area. Her parents were from Scotland/Ireland and she and her siblings were home-schooled.
Anyway, we were not at all subject to the hardships of the pioneers. A bus delivered us to the start of the track and there, in the damp weather, we put on our packs and walked the 17km to Pyke Lodge. It was not a route march. Bard had warned us that we only needed to bring one change of clothing. The whole track was practically flat, we stopped often to look at the flora and also chatted with our new-found companions,. We climbed up to a small pass (168m!) and then were allowed to walk at our own pace.Unfortunately one of the walkers slipped, fell ,and broke her wrist. The guides and a massage therapist, who happened to be one of the walkers helped her to the night's lodging.
The next day it was pouring. "wakey, wakey!" said Bard at 6.45am. "It's a beautiful day.You'll love it!"
The luxury for the day was to have Sean drive us in his jetboat up Lake Mckerrow.It was very muddy on the track and we had several streams to cross. In the end I gave up trying keep my feet dry. Gaithers are the way to go...next time! we ended the day on a Beach at Martin's Bay. Most people continued on to see the seals, but I had had enough for the day. I fed my feet to the sandflies in a moment of forgetfulness! A warm dry Martin's Bay Lodge was very welcome, and dinner was sumptious, with a glorious sunset added to the menu.
The last day was as sunny and beautiful as it can get around here. We walked on the windy grass-tufted dunes, gathered manuka shoots for tea (very fragrant), and took a long walk to the end of the beach if we wanted. the Japanese ladies and I opted to go back to the lodge in the jet boat. The day ended with a magnificent flight in a Cessna along the coast to Milford Sound. I have cruised the Sound so many times, but this was the best weather I've ever experienced there.
Back to civilisation, I stay in Te Anau for a night, resolving to come back for more short walks in the area. I spent 3 days in Queenstown, where the weather had cleared up, after a fall of snow on the Remarkables over the weekend.
Christmas Day found me in Christchurch where I attended the Festal evensong in the Cathedral. Music was beautiful, and so was the worship.
I caught a bus to Picton on Boxing Day and then one of only 2 taxis in town to the wharf. I was just in time to catch the afternoon ferry to Furneaux Lodge where a large group of day walkers had just come off the track and were heading back to town.
I have just uploaded all these photos thanks to wireless connection from my room at the Portage Resort on Keneuru Sound. here's the view from my room.

Christmas 2008 in New Zealand

It's my last trip for my sabbatical year and it's starting in a rather wet Queenstown, where I'm taking it easy, recuperating from the hectic tour to Israel 2 weeks ago. Am quite recovered from the cold that I caught while there.
2 of my favorite eating places in town have gone with the redevelopment of 3 buildings on Beach Street, so have to hunt for some among the new outlets which have sprung up. It's like coming to a new town!
Will be going on a guided walk on the Hollyford track this weekend, spend Christmas in Queenstown/Christchurch and then the rest of the year on the Queen Charlotte Track. Should be good if it doesn't rain!

Wet,cold and hot in New Zealand

Dec 21 (Midsummer's day!), Queenstown, NZ
It has been so cold, I'd completely forgotten that the longest day in the southern hemiphere is already here.
It's nearly time to go home.I have been busy showing Susan and Choo around for the last 2 weeks. We have at last reached our last watering hole and I have some time to do some serious blogging.
My NZ sojourn this year began auspiciously with fine weather greeting me in Paihia as I arrived. The next day was also beautiful for walks towards Opua and to Waitangi. An informal party for timesharers completed the day.
Then it happened...it started to pour and never stopped till I left town. I valiantly went on the sailboat R Turner Thompson and stood drenched the whole day on deck. Kudos to Timberland's rain jacket for keeping me (top half only) warm and dry. The cook did wonders in preparing a tasty curry chicken salad in cramped quarters below deck. Would you believe, there were 16 bunks available, if one wanted to stay overnight! The crew were marvellous and kept up their good humor. Still, it was a good day for the sails in the strong winds.
I had signed up for a tour to Cape Reinga the next day. What a disappointment! The lighthouse was not to be seen, and neither the Pacific nor the Tasman sea! Rock (I think) music blasted away during the whole trip.
I managed to have an enjoyable outing to Kerikeri on my last day there. Definitely more shops to dip in and out of to stay our of the rain. Lunch at Nosh was delectable.
The last insult: all flights out of Kerikeri were cancelled the morning I was to leave. I felt greatly reassured by Air New Zealand staff who seemed to treat this as no big deal. Some were sent to the Whangarei airport by coach, and I was with the group being coached up to Kaitaia. We were met with warm dry weather and a cheerful commiserating staff...wonderful.
I was only slightly delayed for my rendezvous with Susan and Choo in Nelson. Struck up a conversation with a young guy who had been to Auckland overnight to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday. He works in Nelson, and kindly gave me a ride down town.
After a night in a spacious, though out-moded motel room in Nelson, the three of us took a bus to Marahau with a cheerful driver who delighted in giving us misinformation. Fortunately Susan and I knew about pinches of salt.
Old Macdonald's farm...! Yes it was. But the Studio that we stayed in turned out to be a Villa with a LARGE jacuzzi bath and surrounded by glass walls. Choo had her reservations, but later was the one who revelled most in the bath. I took quick showers in the dark!
Our outing in the Abel Tasman Track began in pouring rain...again! Thank God that as soon as we started our trek, the rain stopped and we set off from Tonga Bay to Bark Bay, where we had lunch and the sandflies had their lunch on our legs and arms. 90 mins after lunch we reached Torrent Bay where we put on more repellent and basked in the sunshine..,
The highlight of our stay in Abel Tasman Park was the sighting of a pod of 4 dolphins while returning in our water taxi. Our driver stayed out on the water for an extra 30mins while the delightful creatures frolicked around us.
In Picton, we stayed at the newly-renovated Beachcomber Inn, with nice views of the marina from our balcony. Our guide to the Queens Charlotte Track was Greg. He quickly found out that our old legs were rather creaky and aborted the first leg of the track. We walked on Matarua Island among large tame birds. Then on to Ship's Cove where James Cook spent much time. Resolution Bay was the start of our walk for the day. I was so glad that Greg made the right decision. It was a very pleasant walk and the weather was cool and dry. We celebrated the day's acheivement with a cold drink at Fourneaux's Lodge. I will be back...
We took the train to Christchurch...Bad idea. The train had an accident just that morning with a woman who ran over the tracks. It was 2 hours late in arriving in Christchurch. Had to sms Ambrose several times, but he insisted on waiting for me to eat "mee Sua" together with him.
Unfortunately, it was I (again) who brought the cold weather to CHC! Ambrose and Doreen reminded me about my visit last year. Well.. all I could say in defence was that it was warmer (at 14C) this year!
On to Queenstown...all of us were blown away by the view from the windows of the Ridge Resort. I hadn't been here for 3 years and I sure missed something. For the past few days we have been driving out of town to Arrowtown, Glenorchy and Wanaka for walks. Everyday started out being freezingly cold but ended up burning hot. Then at dinner time we watched the wind howling outside our windows.
Tomorrow we are going by coach to Te Anau. I'm too chicken to drive there and back alone.
Today we had a lovely walk on the Waterfall Track in Sunshine Bay.
Susan and Choo are leaving on Sunday while I look forward to Christmas Eve Service in St Stephen's Cathedral in Auckland, followed by Christmas Day on SQ 286.

Two days in Hungary

It took us all night and half a day to get to Budapest, but the dramatic entry into the heart of the city which is bisected by the Danube was unforgettable. There we were, on the deck of the boat, sailing comfortably past all the monuments and Bridges, as Robert gave a commentary. My previous visit here was in 1985, a quick overnight trip from Vienna. Then, the border controls had been rigourous, and driving into a city with pot-holed roads and buildings still damaged from the 2nd World War was depressing.
We docked conveniently near the Central Market into which we swarmed as soon as we got off the boat. As it was a Saturday, traffic was not too heavy, though we did have to look out for trams which occasionally came on the tracks parallel to the docks. We had to look out for the speeding cars, though.!
Our guide for the city tour was Zoltan. He was a retired engineer, spoke excellent English and gave a very comprehensive tour, giving us a personal insight into the Communist period, as would all the guides in the East European countries.
The buildings have been slowly restored to their former grandeur, but lots of work needs to be done.
Sylvia and I skipped dinner to go to an organ concert in the Parsh Church where Lizst had played. Both the organist and the organ were so-so, but there was a full house, and an appreciative audience.
Those who were on the seven-day cruise disembarked the next day and the rest of us were bundled off to the conutryside so that the crew could "sanitise" the boat for the new group of passengers.
We had an uninteresting drive through the arable land, before arriving at Kecskemeth, the home-town of our cabin stewardess, and of Kodaly. Had a drive around the town, the guide pointing out places of interest.
Onto the grasslands of Hungary...the Puzta... to have lunch and a show featuring the horsemen of the area.
Of course we had Goulyas to start with and then a substantial meal before tottering off to the show grounds. We were entertained with gypsy music and the Saltoons got Sylvia and me to dance the Hora. The costumes and whips used by the horsemen was more interesting than the show! It was very hot and dusty!
Back to the boat for our departure to Kalocsa, which we visited the next day. This is the paprika capital of the world, but first we heard a 30-min organ recital at the cathedral. The organ has 4000 pipes and corresponding decibels. The organist chose a selection of music to show off this capability...very enjoyable!
We were dropped off in the heart of town to wonder around(pretty boring!) and then whisked off to the village of Hungarian houses and the Paprika Museum. Unfortunately we could not go to a parika factory, as the plants were not yet harvested for the year.

Onward to the Austro-Hungarian Empire

On the fifth day of our cruise we docked at Melk. Walking through a forested path, we looked up to see the imposing twin towers of the Melk Abbey looking down on us. A bus was provided for the journey uphill to the Abbey, but after the guided tour, we took an easy walk down the steps from the Abbey to the main drag of the pleasant town, shops and cafes welcoming tourists, and cyclists dropping by from the canal "towpath" on their way from Passau to Vienna.
In the Abbey, there is an excellent display of the collection of some of its treasures, before arriving at the spacious marble salon and then emerging onto the Terrace from where there is a panoramic view of the town. We then went on to the library and finally into the ornate Baroque chapel.

We did not linger long, but hurried back to the boat which left before lunch so that we could later have a good view of the Wachau valley while sitting on the sundeck. Commentary was given by our Cruise Director, Robert.
We saw the fertile vineyards as we approached Durnstein with its association with Richard the Lionheart. Robert gave a powerpoint lecture on the History of Austria after Coffee and cake in the afternoon.
Vienna came into view as evening approached, and after dinner on the ship, Sylvia and I ventured downtown on the U-bahn, the user-friendly subway system. Once in Stephansplatz, we savoured the Viennese air as we strolled down Kartnerstrasse, past the famed Opera House to the Ringstrasse where we caught the tram for a ride past the monumental Museums, Hofburg palace, and Parliament buildings.
Arriving at the Stadtpark, we paid our hommage to the Strauss monument and peeked into the Kursalon where our friends had gone to listen to an evening of Viennese music.

Sylvia went on the city tour the next day, but I went off to see 2 sights that I had missed on every previous visit to Vienna: the first was to walk in the Vienna Woods, and the second to walk up to the Gloriette in the grounds of the Schoenbrunn Palace. I was very pleased to have accomplished both missions. The view was practically zero from the Kahlenberg heights, the morning mists still covering the city. I had a lovely cool walk in the woods and then a very hot walk in the Schoenbrunn palace grounds later in the morning.

DANUBE 2007: the ODYSSEY begins

Here's our ship, the ARTISTRY moored at MELK. Sylvia and I began our cruise on June 10th in Nurnberg and ended 14 days later in Otenita, the port for Bucharest. We collected many immigration stamps in our passports as we passed through Germany, Austria,Serbia,Bulgaria and Romania. We visited 15 towns and cities. It sounds like a whirlwind coach trip, but it was so comfortable to go back to the same accommodation very night instead of living out of a suitcase. While we slept, we were transported to our next port of call. Sometimes we sailed during the day. The highlights of day-time sailing were: viewing the Wachau Valley from the ship, and sailing into Budapest, standing on the sundeck listening to a full commentary by our cruise director.

It was wet in Nurnberg! I wasn't in a photo-taking mood, so the camera stayed firmly in my backpack as we first visited the sites related to the Nazi period (pretty grim way to start a tour!)and then stretched our legs with a walk up to the fortress. We were left to our own devices in the main square but there was little we could do except buy some gingerbread (Nurnberg specialty) and other souvenirs.




We left Nurnberg after lunch and set off for Regensburg. The excitement on that leg was to watch the ship go through the locks of the Danube Canal. This Canal joins the Danube to the Rhine, thus enabling ships to sail all the way from the North Sea to the Black Sea. It is a feat of engineering that took several decades to complete.

There sure were plenty of locks! All afternoon, and all through the night the crew manoeuvred through them, while we worked our way through coffee and cake and dinner. Stefan, the ship's chef was quite a character. He is from Slovakia and is nearly 7 ft tall. Instead of the chef's toque, he prefered a bandana and sported a dark tan cultivated during off hours on the sun deck.
Sylvia and I spent a lot of time sleeping off our jet lag, having arrived from Singapore only 48 hours earlier.
Regensburg came into view at dawn the next day (dawn being at 4am!). Somehow, everyone was eager to get off the ship to stretch our legs. Our guide, Rainer, gave us copious amounts of information of this formerly wealthy town, now left with an imposing Cathedral, elaborate Town Hall, and several italian-style villas built by wealty merchants. We also visited the Thurn and Taxis Castle, very glad to get out of the rain that suddenly poured down halfway through our visit of the town.
Early the next morning we docked at Passau, the town at the confluence of the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. Sylvia went off with a fair number of the passengers, on a bus trip to Salzburg and the Austrian Lake District. I went with Inge's group for a fairly dull tour of the non-descript town.
The deck chairs were finally out as we left Germany behind and entered Austrian waters. We reached Linz late in the afternoon and I rushed off the boat for a "run" around town, aided by the tourist train which was helpful in providing a quick overview, including the house where Mozart wrote the Linz Symphony. After dinner, Sylvia and I went for another walk.