Our travels have taken us to the very southern tip of the South Island. First stop was in Riverton, a small coastal town where beach homes line the bays and we routinely saw people gathering oysters at low tide. There aren't many "touristy" things to do here. It's a place to unwind , take a few walks and just watch nature in all of her glory. The sunrises from our kitchen table were absolutely stunning every morning of our stay.
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| Morning Glory |
The beaches along this coast are sandy but also covered in smooth rocks like the kind we would find on New York's coastline. Shorebirds certainly outnumber human visitors in the area!
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| Variable and Pied Oystercatchers resting |
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| Coastal views on our morning walk through a preserve |
Next we headed to Stuart Island which is only accessible by ferry. It is 90% national parkland and only the 400 permanent residents are allowed to have a vehicle on this island. Tramping (backpacking) is a major tourist draw for this island as it offers 3 to 10 day hike options. New Zealand does a great job of providing Tramping Hut's which are areas where backpackers can overnight, get water, cook, etc. We didn't do any backpacking but we certainly did a bunch of hiking. Besides the incredible beauty of the flora of this island, it is a native NZ bird haven. With a great deal of work, the Dept. of Conservation (aided by NZ volunteers) has managed to eradicate the rat and stoat population on the island which has destroyed so much of New Zealand's bird life. Kiwi's (the flightless birds NZ is famous for) live here in relatively good numbers so we were keen to find them during our stay. Lucky for us, we spotted 4 different Kiwi's and a number of other new species. A boat trip out to the ocean helped us find albatrosses, giant petrels, 3 different types of penguins, sea lions and fur seals.
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| White capped albatross have 7 foot wing spans |
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| Rimu trees can grow to 165 feet tall |
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| Daisy's crown the landscape |
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| Sea Lions frolicking |
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| The big boy on the beach! |
With only 3 restaurants on the island, you soon run into folks you met earlier on a walk or tour. For non-native New Zealanders, the talk always circled to the virus and how it was impacting people's travel plans. We met a wonderful couple from Germany who was trying to figure out how to get home after the EU announced that it's borders would be closed. Flights seem to be cancelled with little notice so folks are trying to deal with ever shifting circumstances.
Since our original plan was to leave NZ in late May, we aren't feeling the stress of a looming date. Our next journey is intended to take us to Malaysia, but it seems probable that this will be changed. For now, NZ is a relatively risk free country to be traveling in. The borders closed here on May 12th so only Kiwis are returning. To date, public places are open and schools are still in session. The total virus case count for the entire country is at 50 with no known community contagion cases. We are grateful to be "stranded" in such a beautiful corner of the world.
Next stop are the fjordlands and Southern Alps of NZ.
Wishing you each good health and peace of mind during this crazy time.
This is a test to see if I can post to the blog.
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