After a very quiet weekend of preparation for Cappy’s visit, during which time I finished my fingerless mittens (they are great for typing in a cold room or reading in bed),
life got quite a bit busier this week. On Tuesday evening I rehearsed with Scola Cantorum in the Anglican cathedral downtown. Doug’s colleague, Susan had said they could use another soprano in the early music group she sings with. After rehearsal we got a behind the scenes tour of the organ loft and the area below the altar. The organ is perched up in the middle of nowhere so no acrophobics need apply for the job of organist. I had not planned on needing the usual concert dress black so I borrowed Doug’s black shoes and pants (belted with a sleeping bag strap) and got to go clothes shopping for a black sweater. The lighting in the Cathedral isn’t so bright so I think I got away with the outfit. The regular Cathedral Choir of men and boys was touring in Britain for several weeks so we were the guest choir for the Choral Evensong service on Thursday. The congregation was small but it was a thrill to sing in the Cathedral. Most of the music was a cappela or responses with the cantor but the organ was also magnificent. I’d like to get back for another service to hear the Cathedral choir.
Cappy arrived Friday afternoon and she took the afternoon to adjust to the new time zone. Saturday we whisked her off to Kaikoura, a spectacular peninsula about 2 ½ hours north on the east coast of South Island where the mountains come down to the sea.
We timed our visit with low tide so we could walk along the shore, a rocky shelf that is underwater at high tide. Note the oyster catchers on the rocks.
The tide pools were fun to explore.
The rock formations were incredible.
We passed several fur seal colonies.
The seals were very unconcerned by our presence.
These are red billed gulls which dive bomb the black backed gulls.
Around the headland of the peninsula
we climbed up to the top of the cliff
and returned back to the carpark through farmers paddocks climbing a few stiles along the w
ay.
We lunched al fresco at the Kaikoura Seafood stand along the road right on the beachfront. There is no better setting for eating fresh grilled seafood than having than the smell of the ocean wafting by.
After lunch we went to the University of Canterbury Kaikoura field station to find Susan who was there on a field trip with her class. Susan and a few of her students joined us on a forest walk up Mt Fyffe just inland from Kaikoura. It was an area of native bush with many huge trees and several species of tree ferns.
Susan is on the right, Doug is on the left, and Cappy is in the middle, wearing the green shirt I appropriated from Ross.
We crisscrossed a stream with several waterfalls
life got quite a bit busier this week. On Tuesday evening I rehearsed with Scola Cantorum in the Anglican cathedral downtown. Doug’s colleague, Susan had said they could use another soprano in the early music group she sings with. After rehearsal we got a behind the scenes tour of the organ loft and the area below the altar. The organ is perched up in the middle of nowhere so no acrophobics need apply for the job of organist. I had not planned on needing the usual concert dress black so I borrowed Doug’s black shoes and pants (belted with a sleeping bag strap) and got to go clothes shopping for a black sweater. The lighting in the Cathedral isn’t so bright so I think I got away with the outfit. The regular Cathedral Choir of men and boys was touring in Britain for several weeks so we were the guest choir for the Choral Evensong service on Thursday. The congregation was small but it was a thrill to sing in the Cathedral. Most of the music was a cappela or responses with the cantor but the organ was also magnificent. I’d like to get back for another service to hear the Cathedral choir.Cappy arrived Friday afternoon and she took the afternoon to adjust to the new time zone. Saturday we whisked her off to Kaikoura, a spectacular peninsula about 2 ½ hours north on the east coast of South Island where the mountains come down to the sea.
We timed our visit with low tide so we could walk along the shore, a rocky shelf that is underwater at high tide. Note the oyster catchers on the rocks.
The tide pools were fun to explore.
The rock formations were incredible.We passed several fur seal colonies.
The seals were very unconcerned by our presence.
These are red billed gulls which dive bomb the black backed gulls.
Around the headland of the peninsula
we climbed up to the top of the cliff
and returned back to the carpark through farmers paddocks climbing a few stiles along the w
ay.We kept an eye out for whales but alas did not spot any. There is a deep trench just offshore that encourages deep water pelagic species in closer to shore here.
We lunched al fresco at the Kaikoura Seafood stand along the road right on the beachfront. There is no better setting for eating fresh grilled seafood than having than the smell of the ocean wafting by.
After lunch we went to the University of Canterbury Kaikoura field station to find Susan who was there on a field trip with her class. Susan and a few of her students joined us on a forest walk up Mt Fyffe just inland from Kaikoura. It was an area of native bush with many huge trees and several species of tree ferns.
Susan is on the right, Doug is on the left, and Cappy is in the middle, wearing the green shirt I appropriated from Ross.
We crisscrossed a stream with several waterfalls
and got high enough to get a good view back down over Kaikoura.
SH 1 to Kaikoura was pretty amazing and Doug loved the drive. At high tide the spray comes up over the road.
The tide on the way home was high so we couldn’t explore the sea cave along the highway.
SH 1 to Kaikoura was pretty amazing and Doug loved the drive. At high tide the spray comes up over the road.
The tide on the way home was high so we couldn’t explore the sea cave along the highway.
Doug was able to get up close and personal with a juvenile Pied Shag (cormorant).
Along the road we saw a dead possum impaled on a road side marker as a message to other possums in the area. Possums are an introduced scourge on the local flora. At 70 million strong they consume tons of foliage every night and heavily outnumber the 4 million Kiwi citizens.
Sunday saw us heading back west to My Hutt for another day of skiing. Skiing in Aug is really cool. We started with a beautiful sunny day. Visibility cannot be too highly overrated. Knowing the area and being able to see it made for a much more pleasant day of skiing.
It was a bit colder than two weeks before but there was about 8 cm of new powder on the packed 2.5 metre base at the ski field as well as light snow cover all across the plains. The new snow meant chaining up at the base of the road. This time we were on the big bus.
Doug and Cappy tackled the South Face first and then got me over there. After a long traverse across an incredibly steep slope with me praying the whole way that I didn’t fall, the stunning view was totally worth risking my life for. I felt like we were on top of the world. 
Once we headed down it was steep but steep is irrelevant when the snow is fabulous. Here I am getting ready and heading down. Where is the helmet when you need it?
It was a bit colder than two weeks before but there was about 8 cm of new powder on the packed 2.5 metre base at the ski field as well as light snow cover all across the plains. The new snow meant chaining up at the base of the road. This time we were on the big bus.
Doug and Cappy tackled the South Face first and then got me over there. After a long traverse across an incredibly steep slope with me praying the whole way that I didn’t fall, the stunning view was totally worth risking my life for. I felt like we were on top of the world. Once we headed down it was steep but steep is irrelevant when the snow is fabulous. Here I am getting ready and heading down. Where is the helmet when you need it?
The ceiling descended after lunch so we spent most of the afternoon skiing the lower slopes but went up to the summit one last time when the clouds parted slightly. We could see all the way to the coast even under the cloud cover. The topography here still amazes me. Yes, that is the ocean in the distance
At the end of the day while waiting for the rest of the bus occupants there was a flock of kea, a large, very bold parrot begging for handouts in the parking lot.
At the end of the day while waiting for the rest of the bus occupants there was a flock of kea, a large, very bold parrot begging for handouts in the parking lot.
Monday, Doug worked ½ day so we left at noon to drive 3 hours south along the coast to Oamaru in search of penguins. The weather was variable with alternating passing rain squalls then sun on the drive. There are two species of penguins in the area – little blue and yellow-eyed. First on the agenda was the hunt for yellow-eyed. We waited in the hide on the bluff above Bushy Beach. 
We arrived at the cove about 3:30 after getting advice at the information centre in town. We couldn’t go down to the beach as they close it in the early morning and late afternoon when the penguins are on land. The yellow-eyed are very shy. We had been told that they come ashore between 3:30 and 5:30 after feeding at sea for the day. While we were waiting, a fantastic rain squall swept north with fierce winds. 
We had to shelter behind the hide but still got very cold. About 5:30 Doug spotted the first yellow-eyed penguin in the surf. It took a while for it to make it onshore. The tide was pretty high so we couldn’t see it for very long before it hopped up into the brush. I couldn’t get a good picture of the speck on the beach. Binoculars confirmed that it was in fact a penguin with yellow stripe and eyes. We decided that one yellow-eyed penguin was enough and headed back into Oamaru in search of a place to warm up. Two hours out in the wind was enough. Oamaru is a quaint little town with old buildings and lots of character. We found the Clarendon Hotel Pub with several locals partaking of a pint on their way home from work. Cappy and I ordered Devonshire Tea – and were pleasantly surprised when a huge pot of tea and fabulous scones with butter, clotted cream, and homemade strawberry jam arrived. We were in pig heaven. Doug ordered soup and chips (fries) with gravy. It wasn’t fast-food and we had a time constraint to make the little blue penguin viewing at 6:00 so Doug forgo his soup and we dumped the chips in a bag and raced over to the little blue penguin viewing. The little blue colony is in an old quarry right in Oamaru harbour and has been quite commercialized. There is an amphitheatre built along the ramp the penguins come up to get to their burrows in the protected colony. Dogs are strictly forbidden as they eat penguins. The ramp is lit up at night with orange lamps – penguins cannot see the yellow light so they think it is dark. The little blues gather off shore and come ashore in groups called rafts. We saw about 32 penguins in 2 rafts come in. They are the smallest penguin species and hopped right up the rocky ramp. They were a bit nervous about a fur seal lying across the top of the ramp but eventually several got brave enough to hop on by. They were very noisy, calling back and forth to each other and to the penguins that had stayed in the burrows for the day. No pictures were allowed here so these were taken at the Canterbury Museum in ChCh.
We arrived at the cove about 3:30 after getting advice at the information centre in town. We couldn’t go down to the beach as they close it in the early morning and late afternoon when the penguins are on land. The yellow-eyed are very shy. We had been told that they come ashore between 3:30 and 5:30 after feeding at sea for the day. While we were waiting, a fantastic rain squall swept north with fierce winds. We had to shelter behind the hide but still got very cold. About 5:30 Doug spotted the first yellow-eyed penguin in the surf. It took a while for it to make it onshore. The tide was pretty high so we couldn’t see it for very long before it hopped up into the brush. I couldn’t get a good picture of the speck on the beach. Binoculars confirmed that it was in fact a penguin with yellow stripe and eyes. We decided that one yellow-eyed penguin was enough and headed back into Oamaru in search of a place to warm up. Two hours out in the wind was enough. Oamaru is a quaint little town with old buildings and lots of character. We found the Clarendon Hotel Pub with several locals partaking of a pint on their way home from work. Cappy and I ordered Devonshire Tea – and were pleasantly surprised when a huge pot of tea and fabulous scones with butter, clotted cream, and homemade strawberry jam arrived. We were in pig heaven. Doug ordered soup and chips (fries) with gravy. It wasn’t fast-food and we had a time constraint to make the little blue penguin viewing at 6:00 so Doug forgo his soup and we dumped the chips in a bag and raced over to the little blue penguin viewing. The little blue colony is in an old quarry right in Oamaru harbour and has been quite commercialized. There is an amphitheatre built along the ramp the penguins come up to get to their burrows in the protected colony. Dogs are strictly forbidden as they eat penguins. The ramp is lit up at night with orange lamps – penguins cannot see the yellow light so they think it is dark. The little blues gather off shore and come ashore in groups called rafts. We saw about 32 penguins in 2 rafts come in. They are the smallest penguin species and hopped right up the rocky ramp. They were a bit nervous about a fur seal lying across the top of the ramp but eventually several got brave enough to hop on by. They were very noisy, calling back and forth to each other and to the penguins that had stayed in the burrows for the day. No pictures were allowed here so these were taken at the Canterbury Museum in ChCh.
By 7:00 we felt we had seen enough penguins and knew we had three hour drive home so off we went. The full moon was peeking in and out of the clouds during the drive. We did stop at the 45th parallel sign alongside the highway. The stars were amazing with the Southern Cross and the Milky Way splashed across the sky.
Cappy got some computer time Tuesday morning to catch up on her blogging and then we went into ChCh to the Cathedral, Rutherford’s Den, and the Canterbury Museum. Wed morning she finished her blogging and it was off to the airport to send her on her way.
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