4/13/2014 - Christchurch to Queenstown to Te Anau

We took an optional half hour coach tour around Christchurch to view some of the earthquake damage. Some history first. On Tuesday February  22, 2011 at 12:51 PM. This earthquake measured 6.3 and killed 185 people, injuring several thousand. The epicenter was just 10 km from the central business district and was technically an aftershock of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake September 4, 2010 at 4:35 AM. The epicenter of the September earthquake was 37 km west of Christchurch. No one was killed in this earthquake and few were injured because most people were at home in bed. Buildings in the were definitely damaged in the suburbs and Christchurch. After the second earthquake there were landslides, liquefaction of coastal areas, and geysers of sludge the seeped through the cracks in the earth. There were few injuries in residential areas but several thousands of homes were demolished and some suburbs will never be reoccupied. Over half of the buildings in the central business district have had to be demolished. Some multistory buildings pancaked. Many historic buildings were heavily damaged. A half hour was more than enough time to see this devastated area.

Arrowtown

We flew on Air New Zealand from Christchurch to Queenstown. We found our coach and first stopped at Arrowtown - a picturesque gold mining town. In 1862 a small group of miners discovered gold and Arrowtown's population boomed. 

Chinese miners came in after the minors left for the West Coast gold rush. They lived in an area called Chinese Village. Wee visited the small Lake District Museum which shows both Arrowtown and Queenstown's past focusing on gold miners and innovations.

We drove around the countryside and made several stops at scenic spots - beautiful area. We also went to the Five Rivers Cafe for refreshments. We then checked into the Te Anau Hotel and Villas for the night.

A few of us went across the lake to see the Glow Worm Caves. We walked a little through the cave with some very tight spots. Then we boarded a small boat, the lights were turned off and our guide steered along until we were beneath the glowing worms. Very cool. After they showed us a film and we were glad we didn't know what glow worms looked like before the ride!

4/12/14 - Blenheim and Marlborough Sounds

Our flight was delayed a bit so we drove by some houses whose lifts transport passengers from their garages at street level to their houses above on the mountains/hills.

We also went to an overlook to view Wellington and the harbor.


Next we stopped at Old St. Paul's Church which was also a marine church in World War II. It was built out of wood which was available and also because of earthquakes. It was used until the 1960s when the congregation built a new church. The Old Church was almost demolished. It's been refurbished. Inside is beautiful wood carving and stained glass windows that were purchased as memorials throughout the years..

Interesting facts about New Zealand: while dinosaur fossils have been found the islands have no indigenous mammals.

The North Island features volcanoes, geysers, terraces, hot springs and hills. The South Island is characterized by the Pacific and Australian plates smashing into each other. Earthquakes are very prevalent. The two large islands and few small ones are approximately the size of Japan.

We took a charter flight to Blenheim late and then took the coach to Picton. We are in the Marlborough and Nelson region. Here is one agricultural region of the South Island.

Two major wine growing valleys in the South Island - Wairau (80%) and Awatere (20%). The main types are: Sauvingnon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

This area also produces/farms mussels and New Zealand King Salmon. The type of salmon grown are Pacific King salmon otherwise known as Chinook. The New Zealand King Salmon has achieved the world-leading Best Aquaculture Practices certification from the Global Aquaculture Alliance which recognizes high environmental standards. A salmon farm is 98% water and 2% fish.

In Picton, we boarded a catamaran for a cruise around Marborough Sound. We went by several small towns but the real treat was the beautiful landscape. We had a wine tasting and mussle tasting. Also a small buffet lunch.

The type of Mussles we sampled were Green lipped mussles. Yum.  There are approximately 645 mussel farms in New Zealand with 80,000 tons of mussels exported each year. We saw a farm which is in the Sound, and consists of long ropes which have muscles growing from them. 

The New Zealand Greenshell (Green lipped) mussel industry operates within some of the strictest quality standards in the world. Both the mussels and seawater around the farms are tested for biotoxins, bacteria, and heavy metals. The water quality is constantly monitored with tests carried out to the standards set by the U.S Food and Drug Administration, European Union, and NZ Food Safety Authority.

Two additional crops are produced for export to China: pine - lower grade and powdered milk.

We took the coach back to Blenheim to catch our plane to Manapaori. Never happened because the plane needed a part and wouldn't be available until the next day. First real snag in this trip.

Our resourceful tour guide got us booked into the Capthorne Hotel near the Christchurch airport. So we got settled and took a coach for what seemed like 5 or more hours to Christchurch. We had quite a bit of wine from the plane brought to the bus and we made a stop at a candy factory and a stop at some shops to get snacks for the trip.