Catching up on September

While waiting for Susan's surgery date to roll around, we continued to do some do some more birding and other activities nearby. The weather made getting out a challenge, and locals insist it was the wettest September ever. We saw the Riverside Amphitheater flood several times, even on into October.

The day after our Wairau Bar outing was still very windy, but Susan was able to hang out some laundry to dry without having it end up in the Wither Hills. In the afternoon we picked up a few things at Countdown, the closest thing to a Walmart in New Zealand, and we saw our first signs of Christmas. Near the checkout, they were selling Advent calendars with those little chocolates behind the dates. In the middle of September. No sign of Halloween commercialism, and of course no Thanksgiving Day hype. Christmas comes early to NZ, possibly because so many people have loved ones living across the miles and mailings need to be done early.

Montana/Brancott winery

In the afternoon we went to Montana/Brancott Vineyards for our first wine tasting and also paid admission to take tour of their facility. It turned out to be a private tour because no one else showed up. While it was interesting, it would be better when the various machines were in use. We sampled some really good wines complete with instructions on how to properly "taste" it, followed by lunch in their beautiful dining room. The large winery filled up a little when a small tour bus, foreshadowing the New Zealand summer, arrived.

Mike has been working hard to organize our New Zealand bird life list with unique photos. I think we were up to 37 out of about 300 or more possible species at this point. On Friday we got spreadsheet serious about classifying the various similarly marked cormorants, or shags as they are known in New Zealand. Learning to correctly classify them has been difficult, and some species go by 2 or 3 similar names. To further complicate the issue, some species look like another when they are immature or in a different color phase. After this exercise, we were pleased to be able to accurately label our photos.

The afternoon winds were still howling so we looked for some indoor activities. The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre right here in Blenheim has a surprisingly good and creatively displayed collection, including the only Caproni Ca 22 remaining in the world and artifacts belonging to the Baron von Richthofen. This has to be one of the best WWI-era aviation museums in the southern hemisphere. Mike says, "My dad would've loved this museum!"

Ocean view at "The Store" in Kekerengu

Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at Wither Hills Winery on the way home where we tasted a new 2010 Rarangi Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. We were also treated to a 2000 Pinot Noir, although the younger 2008 was excellent, too. As usual, we enjoyed chatting with the staff -- a longtime Kiwi and a recent transplant from Victoria, BC. No other visitors in sight made the place feel kind of ghost town-y but our ability to enjoy the wine under these circumstances was not hindered.

On Saturday, after a bit of visiting with Haley and the kids, and then our neighbors David & Yvonne, we visited the Dry Hills winery and thus managed to avoid the wind for another day.

Sunday we drove to Christchurch on yet another windy day, stopping again at our favorite “The Store” in Kekerengu for brunch. We also revisited seal pup pool, and this time got off the trail to do some birding where Mike shot some fantails.



Click here for larger images with captions.

After checking into our Christchurch accommodation in Merivale, we took a little drive out to Lyttleton and Governor’s Bay, then headed back towards ChCh for dinner, choosing The Old Vicarage restaurant in Halswell because it looked cute from the street. At our table, we looked through windows bordered in colorful stained glass onto a lovely garden patio where adorable red-haired children wearing sweaters and leggings romped. Another idyllic NZ moment.

Getting back to dinner, we ordered an appetizer to precede our "mains" or entrees. Entrees in New Zealand means appetizers, but so does starters, and we're still not sure of the difference. But anyway, the garlic bread was tasty and we saved some of it to enjoy with our meal. For which we waited and waited and waited. We finally realized the server was waiting because it is customary to finish one's entree before serving the mains.

The Wobbly Kea in Arthurs Pass

Tuesday, September 28 -- Happy Birthday Mike! Your present from Susan is that her surgery is over. She woke up feeling surprisingly good so we decided to take a drive instead of going directly home. We headed out toward Rakaia Gorge, then opted to see if the weather would hold up at Arthur’s Pass. It did not, but we enjoyed the drive anyway. Lunch at a the Wobbly Kea was fun, then we checked out the APNP Visitor’s Center where we learned about carnivorous Sun Dew Plants, controversial 1080 drops to kill introduced predators, and bought our first souvenir, a Kiwi tea towel. We also talked to a DOC staffer who much prefers skiing in Colorado not just because of our better snow, but because we have trees. All the runs in NZ are above treeline, and are shorter than in the Rockies. On the other hand skiing here is affordable and uncrowded, but pack your snowshoes because you won't always find a lift.

Driving home from Christchurch, we stopping to check out Saint Annes Lagoon. It looked like a great picnic spot and we saw lots of bird activity. We spotted our first New Zealand Shovelers and Gray Teals here. Further up the road "our" Spotted Shags near Ohau had laid some eggs, and one nest had tiny chicks. 

The next week was dedicated to R&R, which was easy because the rain just kept on coming down. Mike took good care of me and even hung laundry on the clothesline when the sun came out. We managed to get all caught up on our TV viewing queue and discovered that we like the sitcom Flight of the Conchords after all.

After a few more days, we went back to the Wairau Lagoons because we'd heard of a Glossy Ibis spotting. No luck with the Ibis, but we did see our first Black Fronted Dotterels. Then across the road, a small flock of Bar-Tailed Godwits showed up. These birds make a non-stop migration from Alaska and Siberia to New Zealand every year. The bells of Christchurch rang to announce their arrival a few days later, but we saw them first in Marlborough on October 1!