Tenth weekend of hiking.
After a long journey from New Zealand to the other side of Planet Earth, we spent Thanksgiving weekend in South Carolina, USA. Based on the beautiful barrier island, Kiawah, I had the opportunity to go for a hike along its pristine beaches and through its maritime forest and scrubland – my tenth weekend in a row out hiking. Admittedly, I traveled less than four miles and only on flat, paved pathways and boardwalks, but it was nonetheless a beautiful opportunity to spend time in nature.
A daylong visit to the strait between south and north New Zealand, steeped in history.
We woke to a beautiful morning as we sailed into Cook Strait, the passage between south and north New Zealand. The Heritage Adventurer nestled into the archipelago on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, a region known as Marlborough Sound. This anchorage gave us an opportunity to spend the day visiting the tiny island of Motuara Island – now a pest-free nature sanctuary – and the nearby Meretoto / Ship Cove, best known as the location where Captain Cook had encamped during his three circumnavigations of the globe. This visit gave us an opportunity to delve deeper into the historic encounters between Europeans and the Māori, and to enjoy the birds, a waterfall, and the beautiful landscape.
A beautiful city, in the process of restoration.
I recall nothing from our prior visit to Christchurch in June 2009, perhaps because we spent little (if any) time in the city itself and instead chose to drive around the pretty Akaroa peninsula to the southeast. So, on this visit, I was pleased to have some time to visit some of the sights in central Christchurch.
Highlights include Royal Albatross, Little Blue Penguins, and fur seals.
We spent the better part of a day in Dunedin, on the southeastern coast of New Zealand. To reach Dunedin, which is at the head of a long, narrow harbor, we sailed along the Otago Peninsula, which turned out to be where we spent much of our time on-shore today. After a brief visit to the historic train station in downtown Dunedin, next to the harbor, we rode coaches all the way back to the seaward tip of the Otago Peninsula… where we had the opportunity to visit two wildlife sanctuaries.
A walk across pest-free Te Wharawhara Ulva island, then through the village of Oban on Rakiura Stewart Island.
As the Heritage Adventurer cruised around the southern tip of New Zealand, leaving the fjords of the southwest behind, we eased into the strait at the southern tip of the mainland (aka, south New Zealand) under a spectacular sunrise. Our goal for the day was to explore two of its offshore islands.
Exploring the Fiordlands of New Zealand.
The early morning light was as gentle as the breeze, as we sailed up into Milford Sound before sunrise. With each passing moment, more delicate layers of the scene came into view as the daylight grew and as the Heritage Adventurer made its way up this narrow fjord in the remote southwestern corner of New Zealand.
First stop on a 10-day cruise around New Zealand.
My feet plunged into a muddy pool as we scrambled along a crude track through the temperate rainforest, surrounded by huge ferns as tall as trees and other unfamiliar flora and fauna. The guides warned us it would be muddy – after all, they measure annual rainfall in meters, here in the remote fjords of southwestern New Zealand. Fortunately, I was wearing calf-height muck boots with waterproof rainpants over those. I was just happy to be in the forest, my eighth hike in eight consecutive weekends, spread across three continents and four countries.
Continue reading “New Zealand – Dusky Sound”A three-day driving tour of Australia’s southwest corner.
After two days in Perth and Rottnest Island, we hired a car and headed south for a quick, three-day triangular route along the western coast, through the forests of the southern coast, and back across the inland plains and their vast pastures and fields of grain. In this blog post, I’ll write an even quicker summary of our tour of this beautiful corner of Australia. Read on!
A quick two-day visit to Perth, in Western Australia, including a day-long exploration of Rottnest Island offshore.
Pam and I had a chance to spend two days in Perth, the capital of Western Australia. I’d been meaning to visit here for more than 25 years, to visit one of my longtime collaborators at the university here. So, after a full day of travel from London, we set out to explore.
Three short outings in three days.
After spending a week in a photography workshop centered on the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and a weekend in Cherokee North Carolina – gateway to the Smoky Mountains – I had the opportunity to spend another weekend near the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina. Although our activities were focused on a family wedding – a Hallowedding hosted on Halloween on the shores of Lake Keowee, SC – I took the opportunity to visit some nearby summits and waterfalls.
David Kotz 