Wellington to Christchurch

July 12, 2008
Te Papa. Today we visited Te Papa, the national museum. It is a spectacular museum and by the end of the day our brains were leaking out of ears. We dedicated the entire day and it really wasn’t enough time. They should have little rooms set aside so you can nap between the different floors as each level presents an unbelievable array of cultural artifacts, natural wonders and attendant information.
We started out on the second floor which houses the “Amazing Forces” and “Mountains to Sea” exhibits. The Amazing Forces is entered through a doorway in a huge model of the earth. Inside there are incredible interactive displays detailing the various physical processes that formed and continue to shape the earth. Among these was an earthquake house with footage from the 1961 Edgecombe earthquake; a model of the tectonic plates, models of the various types of faults with photographs of their effect on the landscape. They also had a huge video panel model of the layers of the earth, reflecting onto a mirrored floor and wall to produce a 3-D flaming globe effect. There were countless other fascinating exhibits; a jumping floor where you measure the size of earthquake you have the force to produce, a winch you turn to store enough tension under the surface to produce an earthquake and a fascinating display called, “New Zealand, Naturally Disastrous” sponsored by the Earthquake Commission. I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you. It was completely amazing.
“Mountains to Sea” was a native flora and fauna wonderland. Models of NZ tree types were set up like playscapes to walk through and around while looking at various displays of the creatures they play host and grocery store to. Interactive panels, video, sound effects and a large hands-on component made this area engaging for all ages. We learned such useful information as that duplicity is an adaptation that has allowed species such as mistletoe and the cuckoo to survive. The mistletoe produces beautiful berries which entice birds to eat them. The berry is expelled in a viscous fluid that sticks to the birds’ posterior and must be scraped off on a branch. This ensures the ideal placement of the seed on a host plant. The mistletoes “tricks” the birds into helping destroy the tree that they depend upon.
Each floor also has a “Discovery Place”, a kids’ center filled with games, activities, books, computer stations and touch tables relevant to the materials on display in the galleries. These centers were incredible! The one on this floor had projecting microscopes, a variety of pelts, and a series of projects created by NZ schoolchildren on various natural history topics.
They final area we visited on this floor was the “X-Ray” room. Dozens of skeletons from marine mammals – whales, dolphins and seals – are displayed here.
Next floor was “Blood, Earth and Fire” and was dedicated to the ways in which invasive species have impacted NZ. This was really fascinating. Zada particularly enjoyed the large “cargo hold” that you crawl through and inspect to look for signs of these invaders. She found bats in boxes of bananas, maggots in tomatoes, mosquitoes in tires, beetles in wood carvings and termites in a load of furniture. The depredations of these and other exotic s are truly dreadful. The native species had very few if any predators and little competition. They were very poorly equipped to deal with the invading hordes and many have been pushed to the brink of extinction.
The 4th floor dealt with the human population of NZ. There were several galleries of exquisite Maori carving – beautiful greenstone pieces, bone and intricate weaving. They have an elaborately carved meeting house, a model sleeping house and food storage house all of which allow entry. An amazing section showcased models of sailing vessels. They had a huge traditional canoe and then these scale models of modern constructions of traditional Maori long voyage vessels. This attempt to recapture the past skills of their ancestors has resulted in several successful voyages across the Pacific – one from NZ to Hawaii.
This floor also had a marvelous gallery dealing with more recent immigration. There was a very popular kiosk where you answered a few questions to see if you would have rated free passage in the 1800’s and then another were you see if you could immigrate today. They had a very amusing computer game where you were the captain of an immigration vessel and made several choices regarding route, sickness, cargo and so on to see if you could get to NZ and earn the company bonus.
The Discovery Place on this floor had costumes, sticks and balls on stings called Pui Pui and instructions for how to perform the dances they go with. Flash card games and shopping lists introduced Maori words in a fun format as did several genealogical exercises.
I’ve completely left out the outdoor component on each of these floors – well there was a lovely garden, sculpture court or combination on each floor. The remaining floors were art galleries. Needless to say, we crawled out on our knees. I have only skimmed the surface here and done a rotten job of that even. This place needs to be seen.

July 13, 2008
Wellington to Picton on the Inter Island ferry.
We had another perfect day and the Cook Strait was very lovely. The voyage was uneventful – with one brief exception. The PA announced, “Whales on the starboard side!” Everyone dropped everything and ran for the decks. You’d have thought the boat was on fire. It is a testament to the effective loading of the cargo and vehicles that the ferry didn’t tip over. Anyhow, “Whales starboard”, is apparently some sort of maritime code for uninterrupted vista of water, rocks and trees.
We drove to Kaikoura, with a brief stop at Oahu Point to check out a seal colony. They were lolling about on the rocks looking adorable. There were several pups playing and splashing in tide pools as their elders rested.

July 14, 2008
Sperm Whales and dolphins and seals, Oh my!
We got up considerably before dawn to get over to Whale Watch and check in for our trip. They have a lovely facility with a gift shop full of stuffed whales. The staff, like every place we have been in NZ, was extremely friendly and competent and all the service excellent. The entire nation is also pristine – no litter anywhere! The views from the boat were magnificent. The views from the shore were magnificent. Even the views from the parking lot of the grocery store were magnificent. The Seaward Kaikoura range glowed in alpine splendor to our left and the Pacific sparkled in marine sublimity on our right.
Anyhow, out we went and saw several seabirds –albatross and the like. Those birds are incredible – you would never guess the size of their wingspan when they are sitting quietly in the water. Next we came to a group of NZ fur seals capering about. Their population has rebounded amazingly since being protected. Our captain used an underwater microphone to listen for the whales. This company uses only passive methods to find the whales – no sonar or radar or anything that might interfere with their communications. He picked up the distinctive “clicks” emitted by sperm whales on the hydrophone and started tracking the whale. He was feeding and they warned us that sometimes the feeding dives could last an hour of more. We were fortunate and fairly soon the frequency of the clicks increased which generally means a return to the surface.
Zada was the first to spot the plume of spray that accompanied the whale’s surfacing and we were seeing our very first sperm whale. One nice feature of the sperm whale is that when they surface, they spend a good 10 to 15 minutes re-oxygenating before they dive. Very cooperative of them, unlike their baleen cousins the humpbacks, who often are only up for a second then dive again. This whale stayed up and allowed me to take 387 pictures, about 14 of which don’t look like a floating log. Truly a magnificent creature. I find it incredible that people hunt them. I’ve been on several whale viewing trips and have been lucky enough to see 4 different species and the reaction of everyone aboard – including the operators, who must see them almost daily – is always joyful, giddy awe. How can someone see one of these magnificent animals breach the surface and reach for the harpoon gun?
After he dove again we headed out to look for dolphins and almost instantly came upon a mammoth herd of about 400 dusky dolphins. These exuberant animals were tremendous fun to watch and almost completely impossible to photograph. Thank heaven we live in the age of digital photography. I cannot image how anyone ever captured images of wildlife before. I took hundreds more photographs as we were ringed by these marine acrobats and seriously 95% of them turned out to be pictures of ocean. They were up turning flips and leaping everywhere and gone again in less than a second. We spent a good 25-30 minutes being captivated by their antics before we headed back to Kaikoura.
When we reached the shore we headed out to local seal colony at the end of the peninsula. When we arrived I was seriously annoyed to find no seals. The tide was out and we explored tide pools filled with snails, huge periwinkle type things and sea stars. The rock shelf exposed by low tide showed the most bizarre erosion channels. Only as we were walking back to the campervan did we notice that the parking lot was surrounded by seals. They were right there. We had been looking out away to the rocky promontories off shore and they were lying on the grass and sandy beach beside the parking lot. You are warned not to get between them and the sea and to stay about 10m away. We tried to abide by this, but while I was contorting myself around a boulder to get a shot of a large bull sunning himself I heard a squealing sort of snort and looked over my shoulder to see an EVEN larger bull rolling in the grass not 10 feet away.
After that we loaded up and headed off to Christchurch. Christchurch has lovely buildings, a gorgeous cathedral and a charming greenspace beside the river Avon winding through town. It is however the only dirty place I have seen in NZ. Litter everywhere - styrofoam boxes floating with the ducks on the river, sidewalks covered with cigarette butts, graffiti on building walls. It was appalling after a week’s worth of pristine perfection. I haven’t seen as much as a gum wrapper in a parking lot and now this! I realize that as an American, this is the height of hypocrisy. I am sure the typical NZ landfill looks better than any of our cities, but it was surprising to see that this city is so out of step with the rest of the perfection program.