Introduction to the South Island

While we have greatly enjoyed Australia and the North Island of New Zealand, nothing prepared us for the majestic beauty of the South Island.  Everyone who has been here told us, and we thought we understood.  But seeing the beauty, hearing the stories of the native people, and feeling the spirit of the South Island is – to our ability – simply indescribable.  We will share our descriptions and pictures, but until you’ve experienced its wonder, you will likely not comprehend the magic. 

 Our first glimpse of the South Island was as we flew along Cooke Straight, which connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast.

 We were met at the airport by drivers and nice cars that Intrepid had arranged to take us to the Fable Christchurch Hotel, conveniently located in the city center.  We walked down a street with nothing but restaurants on both sides for lunch, after which Margo retreated to the room to rest while Mark took the Christchurch Tram for its tour of the city.  The tram is very historic and resembles an old trolly car.  There are only six left in working condition.

The tram ride was about one hour long and winded through the city, with the driver pointing out points of interest.  At the stop where Mark got on, the conductor said he would give us a deal.  We could both ride for the fare of one person, 35 dollars because it was their last loop.  When Margo said she was not going, he looked at Mark and said just to get on.  Mark got a nice tour of the city at no cost.

Christchurch is a mixture of new buildings, empty lots, and projects to earthquake-proof historic buildings. The 2013 earthquake devastated the city, and many buildings left partially standing had to be torn down.  New buildings, like our 20-story hotel, have been built on rubber pads to protect them from earthquakes.  

On Thursday, we boarded the bus at 8:30 am for about five hours of driving for the day with many stops along the way. 

The South Island is geologically much younger than the North Island. The Southern Alps run north to south and are spectacular.  Very high and rugged.  The mountains are relatively young, with steep sides and sharp peaks rather than rounded for older mountains. Snow was still on the Southern side of many peaks (a Southern Hemisphere phenomenon).  We have ridden a motorcycle through the American and Canadian Rockies, which are very impressive; however, the Southern Alps leave you breathless.

Our first stop was Castle Hill, a film location for the first Narnia movie, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  The grand limestone rock battlements led early European travelers to name the area Castle Hill.  Histories indicate that in Maori times (original inhabitants) the Castle Hill area was called \’te Kohanga\’ or \’birthplace of the Gods\’ and was of astronomical prominence as a key \’observatory\’ for predicting the coming seasons and weather.

Walking through the massive rock sculptures, Margo expected to see The Lion or The Witch pop out from behind at any time! One person said that in the movie, the scene where the lion makes his first appearance was filmed here.  Others say that the final battle where the lion is killed was filmed here. They may both be accurate.  Now we’ll have to add this to our movie list to rewatch so we can identify the places.

We then traveled on to the beautiful town of Punakaiki, stopping for lunch at Lake Brunner in Moana and then stopping in Greymouth for a brewery tour and tasting.  The brewery tour was underwhelming as it wasn’t a working brewery, but each person was given a six-pack of the beer of their selection.  Margo decided that the 1868 Black beer (Stout) is nice; Mark enjoyed the hard apple cider.

The next morning, we boarded the bus for another 8:30 am departure en route to the Pancake Rocks.  “What,” we asked, “at the Pancake Rocks?”

 You’ll see,” our guide replied.  “They are beautiful.”

 We had a short walk along easy terrain to get views of the ocean and the rocks protruding from the water.  Walking along, we were both thinking how wonderful it was, and it reminded us of a bit of the Pacific Coast high in northern California and Oregon. 

And then, we saw rocks unlike any we had seen before!  Thin layers on top of thin layers, seemingly perfectly placed on top of one another.  The Pancake Rocks are limestone formations that began forming 30 million years ago when lime-rich fragments of dead marine crustaceans were deposited on the seabed.  Layers of soft mud and clay later overlaid these. Earthquakes then raised them from the seabed to the level we see today.  While geologists aren’t certain how they formed, Mark, with his undergraduate Geology degree, has it all figured out! However, when asked to explain it by our fellow travelers, he responded something along the lines of, “Well, it’s complicated.”

After admiring the phenomenal creations, we drove to Greymouth, where we visited the Shades of Jade shop. The shop owner briefly talked about the 100% West Coast pounamu.  Traditionally, they called the stone Greenstone.  We learned about the colors and designs of the beautiful features in the store.  Maori craftsmen made all the jewelry.  We bought a necklace for Margo in the Pikorua design.

The twist resembling two intertwining fern fronds represents the importance and strength of relationships.  It reminds us that we support and are supported by those we love.  The twist can symbolize the union between life partners and the treasured relationships between friends, family, and cultures.

 The fantastic day continued with a trip to the Westcoast Treetop Walk in Hokitika. Mark does not like heights, so he chose to stay at the café with the others in our group who were uncomfortable walking along the tops of rainforest giants.

Margo enjoyed the 500-yard walk, 65 feet high, looking down and around the dense forest.  It was a seemingly well-secured steel platform that offered a climb to the top of a 52-foot-high tower (she passed on that opportunity) after gazing up at it for a long while, contemplating how badly she wanted to see it.  She decided, nope, 65 feet was high enough; she didn’t need to go another 52 feet in the air. 

She did venture out on the Mahinapua Springboard cantilever, which gently swayed as you walked along it.  She felt very comfortable and in harmony with the swaying until some kid decided it would be fun to jump across it and increase the swaying. She decided that was Not Fun, and quickly exited back to the stability of the fully connected and secure walkway.

It was fascinating to look at the different layers of the forest – the small plants and mossy ground covering, the growth of new trees, and silver ferns that were ten feet tall or higher. All of this was overshadowed by the indigenous Kamahi tees, which towers over it all, growing to 80 feet, and the Rimu, also known as red pine, one of New Zealand’s most popular native timbers.  It is said that Captain Cook used the bark and leaves of rimu and mānuka to make a \’spruce beer\’ for his crew to prevent scurvy (and lift spirits).

Margo slept on the two-hour bus drive to our next destination, the West Coast Wildlife Centre, where we heard about and saw Kiwi and Tuatara.  We described the Kiwis in an earlier post.  Mark saw one kiwi on the North Island; here, we saw both a female and male kiwi.  They are fascinating!

 Here is a story, as shared by the Polynesian Culture Center and our guide, of how the humble kiwi bird saved the forests of Aotearoa and became the national symbol of New Zealand.  (Aotearoa is the Māori-language name for New Zealand.)

One day, as Tānemahuta walked through the forest, he looked up at his children, which were the trees, reaching for the sky. Sadly, they had begun to sicken and die. Insects crawled the length of the trunks, eating away the life of the trees.

Tānemahuta talked to his brother, Tānehokahoka, who called together his children, the birds of the air. Tāne-mahuta spoke to them.

“Something is eating my children, the trees. I need one of you to come down from the forest roof and live on the floor, so that my children can be saved, and your home can be saved. Who will come?”

Not a single bird spoke.

Tāne-hokahoka turned to his son, Tūī (the mockingbird)

“E Tūī, will you come down from the forest roof?”

Tūī looked up at the sun filtering through the leaves of the trees, then down at the forest floor where all was cold and dark. Tūī shuddered.

“Kāo, Tāne-hokahoka, for it is too dark and I am afraid of the dark.”

Tāne-hokahoka turned to Pūkeko (the Pukeko bird)

“Pūkeko, will you come down from the forest roof?”

Pūkeko looked down at the cold, damp earth and also shuddered.

“Kāo, Tāne-hokahoka, for it is too damp and I do not want to get my feet wet.”

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tāne-hokahoka turned to Pīpīwharauroa. (Shining cuckoo)

“Pīpīwharauroa, will you come down from the forest roof?”

Pīpīwharauroa looked up at the trees, then looked around at his own family and children.

“Kāo, Tāne-hokahoka, for I am busy at the moment building my nest.”

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke. Great was the sadness in the heart of Tāne-hokahoka, for he knew, that if one of his children did not come down from the forest roof, his brother would lose his children, and the birds would have no homes.

Tāne-hokahoka turned to the Kiwi bird.

“E Kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?”

Kiwi looked up at the sunlit trees. He looked around and saw his family. Then Kiwi looked at the cold, damp earth. Looking around once more, he turned to Tāne-hokahoka and said, “I will.”

Great was the joy in the hearts of Tāne-hokahoka and Tāne-mahuta, for this little bird was giving them hope. But Tāne-mahuta felt he should warn Kiwi of what would happen.

“E Kiwi, if you do this, you will have to grow thick, strong legs to rip apart the logs on the ground. You will lose your beautiful colored feathers and wings and will never be able to return to the forest roof. You will never see the light of day again.”

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

“E Kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?”

Kiwi took one last look at the sun filtering through the trees and said a silent goodbye. Kiwi took one last look at the other birds, their wings, and their colored feathers, and said a silent goodbye. Looking around once more, he turned to Tāne-hokahoka and said,

“I will.”

Then Tāne-hokahoka turned to the other birds and said, “E Tūī, (mockingbird) because you were too afraid to come down from the forest roof, from now on, you will wear the two white feathers at your throat as the mark of a coward.

Pūkeko, (Pukeko) because you did not want to get your feet wet, you will live forever in the swamp.

Pīpīwharauroa, (Shining cuckoo) because you were too busy building your nest, from now on you will never build another nest again, but will lay your eggs in the nests of other birds.

But you, Kiwi, because of your great sacrifice, you will become the most well-known and most loved bird of them all.”

After a full, inspiring day, we drove to Franz Joseph for two nights at the Rainforest Retreat.  We were both concerned when we read the lodging described as “Rainforest Retreat Deluxe Tree Hut” and could envision us trying to climb the rungs of wooden steps nailed to a tree as we ascended to our tree house.  Thankfully, that is not what we found!  More on that tomorrow.