Brian & Geri's Big Adventure (in the car)

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We've covered a lot of ground since we updated yesterday. While still on the Banks Peninsula yesterday, we visited the Maori and Colonial Museum in the tiny town of Okains Bay (the next bay over from Le Bons Bay, where we were staying) on the recommendation of our host Garry. When we got there, the only person in the office was a funny little girl who was humming to herself and watching us but not talking. We wandered around a bit, looking for a more official museum staff, but realized when the girl followed us around, that she was it. She was clutching some money and informed us "my mum's gone to the store and left me in charge." So we paid her and she proceeded to show us around the museum, a collection of small buildings housing Maori and Colonial artifacts in a hodgepodge random fashion.

We learned the little girl was named Sam and was 6. She told us all about her family, introduced us to her cat Mittens, gave us each a daffodil and also showed us her favorite items in the museum. She climbed all over what we assumed were sacred carvings in a Maori meeting house, and treated the exhibits as her personal playground. We bumped into the museum custodian, and the little girl's mom, who proceeded to tell us not only about the entire history of New Zealand, but of her life as well. It was a valuable experience, not so much for the museum pieces, but for getting to meet Sam and her mom.

We headed back to Le Bons Bay for another stellar dinner by Garry and Kate, and met a new batch of guests from the UK, the US, and Germany. After dinner and dessert, Brian washed dishes, as all guests did. Geri sat around the fire with another guest who was on her way to the South Pole research station for five months. Turns out she is from California and went to college at California State University Sacramento, just 15 minutes from UC Davis. She was the second person we've met on their way to Antarctica, because the base of operations for the station is in Christchurch.

Today we woke up to a less stunning sunrise (the mountains were completely obscured by mist and fog) and joined the rest of the house for breakfast around the big table. We planned our route, bought a cookbook so Geri can recreate the famous Pumpkin-Feta salad, and headed off. We drove south, and our first stop was the Peel Forest. We walked a short track to the Big Tree, a 1,000 year old totara tree. Next stop was Lake Tekapo, with beautiful views of Mt. Cook, NZ's tallest mountain. Unfortunately, the prime place to take in the view, an old church on the shores of the lake, was completely overrun by buses full of rubbernecking tourists, so we moved on quickly and took in the view from Lake Pukaki. (Geri thinks this sounds dirty.)

We proceeded to drive through an expanse of plateau that New Zealanders consider desert. Brian thought it was fascinating - sparse tufts of vegetation surrounded by snow-topped mountains. Geri thought it looked like Utah. We descended from the plateau through Lindis Pass to our final destination today, Wanaka. Wanaka is a town of about 3,000 situated at the base of the mountains and on Lake Wanaka. It's turned into a resort town with the feel of Vail, CO. We're headed to dinner at Cinema Paradiso, a theater that serves food and wine. We were told that locals go for the food, and the movie is incidental.

Tomorrow we're headed to Te Anau, near the Milford Sound. We'll update more later.

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Photos

Sam & Geri
Sam, our tour guide, and Geri at the Maori and Colonial Museum in Okains Bay.

The Big Tree
Geri in front of "The Big Tree," a 1000 year old totara tree in Peel Forest.

Mount Cook
Mount Cook, New Zealand's tallest mountain, from across Lake Tekapo.

Lindis Pass
Lindis Pass, in the center of the South Island.

Comments

[Momkat]

What day is it?
I'm not sure what day you are experiencing in NZ but here in the USofA it is Monday, October 3rd, which means that tonight is Erev Rosh Hashonah. We'll miss having you both with us but know that you are having a fabulous time. Shana Tova. Mom

[MOM]

See you on Sunday
Brian and Geri- It has been so exciting for all of us to share(in a small way) in your honeymoon. We will see you on Sunday at Baggage Claim. Love, MOM