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Published: March 27th 2006
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Team at Maori Cultural Center
The team with Picton Rotarian, Jo Huntley. It has been awhile since I left Christchurch and headed west, so long that I'm digging deep to recount the events of the past two weeks as I experienced the West Coast, the Nelson Region, and now the Marlborough Region. At this point, much of what I have to say about the people, the food, the scenery, etc might seem repetitive. However, I must say yet again that the people have been wonderful, the food is great, and quite frankly, the pictures on this site don't do justice to the beauty of this country. New Zealand is truly a hidden treasure in this world and most of the people here don't mind - they would rather keep it a secret.
Greymouth During my short stay in Greymouth, I was hosted by Tony & Allie Sullivan - along with Brock. Aside from Brock and I, Tony and Allie were also hosting a Japanese high school girl for 10 days so we experienced Grand Central Station. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, I didn't do a good job of listening to directions and somehow managed to get myself lost on a morning run through town. The idea of holding up
the team when we were destined for the Glacier sure made me run faster. I know I can speak for Brock in saying that we had a great time with the Sullivan's and even more, we had a great experience in Greymouth, especially the trip to the Glacier and our time at Shantytown.
Westport I was hosted by Peter and Sue Robertson while in Westport and one of the highlights of my trip thus far was an evening trip to the top of the "incline." Westport, more specifically Denniston, is known for its days as a coal mining town and most of the coal was mined at the top of the hills surrounding the city. Denniston used to be a thriving town, and during the coal boom, unbelievable engineering was used to transport the coal down a dangerous 45 degree incline to board a train and head toward the port. Imagine a cable system that pulled empty coal cars up a track in perfect synchronization with heaping full coal cars going down. Today the track is gone, but the ruins remain and the memories live on. Fortunately for me, my host's father, Frank Robertson, worked at the mine his entire
Atop the Incline
Pictured with Frank Robertson at the top of the Denniston 'incline' where Frank worked in the coal mine for 30+ years. life and we spent an evening on top of the incline, talking about the 'good ole days' and looking out over the city of Westport. Peter and Sue were gracious hosts and I was properly introduced to 'Whitebait' which we enjoyed for dinner one evening together.
Motueka After spending almost a week on the west coast in Greymouth and Westport, we slowly headed north to apple country and Motueka. Motueka is often overlooked when included in the Nelson region, yet Motueka certainly had much to offer. Brock and I were teamed up again and lucky for us found a bed at the home of Dan & Diane Strong - and their daughter Penny. Dan and Diane own and operate a rather large apple orchard and at the end of our stay, once Monday rolled around, Brock and I experienced apple harvest. Pickers were busy in the orchard, apples were sorted, graded, packed, stacked and shipped away - many to the US. In fact, Costco showed up while were there to inspect New Zealand apples and determine if they were suited for the US market. Motueka also offered an interesting trip to a hops farm that sells part of their production
The Tasman Sea
Pictured with the Tasman Sea in the background. to Coors in Colorado, a quick tour of a local nursery where we enjoyed ripe raspberries, and finally a rather informative tour of the local Talley's processing facility that processes fish, mussels, oysters, scallops & ice cream. My experiences in Motueka were very educational and above all proved that we are all part of a Global market. Aside from the vocational visits, I also enjoyed a beautiful walk through Abel Tasman National Park which once again offered a majestic view of the sea and the native 'bush.' Brock and I had such a wonderful time with the Strong's that we really weren't ready to leave, however, if we would've stayed any longer, I'm certain we would've been picking apples with the rest of the crew!
Nelson Because Motueka is essentially in the Nelson region, the city of Nelson is just around the corner. My hosts in Nelson were Mike and Christine Day who not only opened their home to me, but also opened their boat to our team over the weekend. The Day's also lived up to New Zealand tradition and served a wonderful lamb roast for dinner which was also enjoyed by Gordon and his host. The events in
Walking in Westport
One of the many walking trails in Westport along the Tasman Sea. This trail included a overtop view of a seal colony and ended with lunch at the world renowned Bay House Cafe. Nelson included a tour of the largest medium density fiber board and veneer plant in the southern hemisphere...it was huge. My time in Nelson also offered the opportunity to view the various museums and art galleries and even the jeweler that made the 'ring' which was used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Nelson is a wonderful 'small' big city which was evident by the many backpackers walking through town.
The Sounds GSE tradition offers a mid-trip break which typically allows the GSE team an opportunity to have a couple of days without a schedule. Fortunately for our team, we were dropped off at a rather remote bach (basically a cabin, beach house, weekend home, etc) at the edge of the water in the Sounds for the weekend. We were given groceries and the key and it was perfect. Mike and Christine Day stopped by with their boat and gave Brock an opportunity to water ski. A late night adventure in the dark to find glowworms left me with a swelled up ankle on our trek down a steep and rocky road and of course that ruined my opportunity to water ski in New Zealand. The only scheduled event
Bill Gates?
While walking in Able Tasman National Park, we stopped to view this beautiful private property. Rumor has it Bill Gates is the new owner. The house is hard to see but the view of the water isn't. of the weekend was an afternoon trip on a fellow Rotarian's sailboat, "High Society." None of us had experienced sailing and we definitely had a true sailing experience by the time we arrived back at the dock. Once the sails were up, a few strong gusts had the boat rocking and eventually left me with wet jeans from my position operating a winch. Brock had the best view from the high side, especially watching Gordon and Cindy fall into me while Sarah attempted stay the course at the helm. It was funny and I suppose scary all at the same time. We were basically guaranteed the sailboat wouldn't tip over but we weren't promised we would be dry when we returned! Overall we had a great weekend at the bach and it was a nice change back to reality to cook for ourselves, do some reading and enjoy the time to reflect on our experiences so far. For me, it was a good opportunity catch up on sleep and get rejuvenated for another couple weeks in New Zealand.
Blenheim We are now in Blenheim - wine country - and I'm staying with Jim and Vivian Murray who own and operate
The Swing Bridge
Crossing the water in Able Tasman National Park a winery. I am looking forward to an education on wine-making here in New Zealand and the opportunity to learn more about the timber industry on Wednesday. By the end of the week we'll be heading south towards Ashburton and Rangiora and will eventually end up in Christchurch where we started. I can't say that I'm ready to leave New Zealand, but I do miss Missouri. It won't be long and yet we have so much to see and experience in the next couple of weeks. Until next time...Cheers!
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