Welcome in Winton

Tuesday 22nd March 2016.

Left Curio Bay by 10am  and cruised into Invercargill quite early. We had a cuppa and then went into town and called in to OPSM there. Ralph Patterson was having a day off but we spoke to his wife and after  some lunch we went out to see Ralph.

Fortunately his place is on the way to Norman and Glenys's. (Norman is Duncan's cousin) 

Norman makes us very welcome as Glenys is at the dentist. We had lots to catch up on over drinks and nibbles on the deck and then a delicious BBQ meal.

Wednesday 23rd March. Duncan's birthday.

Got up about 8 this morning - but the sun got up about that time too.

After morning tea we headed off through Riverton to Colac Bay. Glenys, who is really into her floral art collected some thick, tortured seaweed.

Norman and Duncan

We had lunch at the Pavillion in Colac Bay but it was very disppointing as some dishes (like the seafood chowder) are not ready and others (like the lamb pies) had been prepared days ago.

We called in on Norman's sister Isobel who is a weaver and lives at Colac Bay. Our next stop was the Tuatapere Cemetery and using the very comprehensive guide we found Duncan and Norman's grandfather and grandmother's grave. They knew that she was older than him and calculated by 19years!! Then Glenys scraped the moss off and we could see it was only by 1 year, so we had a few laughs about this error!

We drove along by the Scott farm with the wee Otahu Flat School in the front paddock. Just one room with a fireplace, but it was well maintained and possibly going to be repurposed. We could look up the valley to the original Scott homestead.

Scott homestead in the centre at back

Inside the schoolhouse

Duncan and Norman outside the school which their mothers would have attended.

It is good to drive through the countryside with a knowledgeable person. The large sheds are for overwintering stock, and the hay bales are in the fodderbeet paddocks because the cows need more roughage in their feed when they are on winter rations.

We had an excellent meal at Elegance before heading off to Sole Mio. Even though we had booked late we had a good view and of course the quality of the singing was exquisite.

Here's cheers!

Norman and Glenys

Birthday selfie

Sole Mio

The stage lights made it quite hard to photograph so I didn't waste too much time doing that.

There were also screens that you could watch but we didn't really need those.

The rain was pouring down when we went in, but eased off by the time we left, but it was a bit slow going home - most in Winton must have gone into Invercargill for the show.

Thursday 24th March - Day 31.

A nice relaxing morning - caught up on a bit of washing. Then we explored Norman's shed - a typical ex-farmers hoard!

The new tractor or is it a digger?

The old tractor

The poptop caravan, the quadbike, the boat, the kayak.....

Their son Jared joined us for lunch - his wife is expecting a baby any day. I had admired one of the tops that Glenys was wearing and so we went into town to Glowing Sky Merino and I bought a twinset in a watermelon colour. Then we restocked  for the caravan at the supermarket. Another gourmet evening meal and then Norman got out his mother's Super 8 movies. Of course movies being a novelty, many of the shots are actually quite still so I took a few photos on my camera. They were of the Bushes, the Dowlings and the Gorries in the 50's and 60's. Not much of Duncan, but easy to spot as he seemed to wear the same jersey throughout.

Alf,  Grandad and Norman's father coming out of the Cardrona Hotel

Duncan's sister Robin and a robin

Phyll and Robin

Duncan and Norman are in the back of the boat.

Duncan in the wine coloured jersey

Auckland zoo - see jersey. Gorries, Dowlings and Bushes.

Ulva Island 21st March 2016 Day 28

After a fitful sleep on the sagging wirewove with chatting going on at close quarters we were both a bit snappy with each other this morning, but we return to the South Sea Hotel for a slap-up breakfast and then sit out on the patio as we have a couple of hours to go before our next trip to Ulva Island. Duncan goes for a bit of a walk and then we go to the DOC centre which has allsorts of interesting pictures, exhibits and videos.

The trip to Ulva Island is in one of the big catamarans. Part of the way over we stop the boat to feed the Buller Albatross slightly smaller  than some, but still majestic on the wing. We also see Mutton Birds (Titi). We pass by what has been a thriving boatyard in whaling days.

I thought this white covering of the rocks was bird shit but it is a white lichen.

We land at Ulva Island and go with Anne - an older woman - on our forest and bird walk. Anne is extremely knowledgeable and as soon as she starts out she thinks she can hear a saddleback. But I am a bit sceptical, but by the time we have finished we have seen the black robin, tui, kereru , kaka, mohua (yellowhead) and saddleback! Anne also explained the ecological protection and the changing nature of the forest.

Very inquisitive black robbins

It came way to close to my shoe!!

The tracks were clearly laid out, but it was easier with a guide

Anne talking about the hollowing out of trees

The russet orange of the saddleback

We had a quick change onto the other catamaran that takes us on another smooth trip back to Bluff.

Its a bit of a drag back to Curio Bay and we started to theorise  some other ways we could have organised this trip without doubling back to the caravan. In the end we realise it doesn't really matter now.

Stewart Island 20th March 2016 Day 27

Up early and pack a bag for Stewart Island. This rainbow was spectacular! From one side of the horizon to the other, a complete bow and a faint second bow as well. I have not worked out how to take panorama pictures on my camera yet. I felt sorry for the couple on deckchairs with an umbrella to shelter them from the misty rain watching the sun come up over the horizon - because behind them was this!!

Notice the flax dividers in the camping ground

The trip down to Bluff is quite easy - but buying diesel there is not!

We board the catamaran - the weather is calm and cloudy. The sky is steel grey, the sea is elephant grey and the hills of Stewart Island are graphite grey. The trip takes about an hour and then we walk around to our accommodation at the back packers. There is a bed. It is a wirewove - probably older than we are!

This is a picture of the wharf and the harbour at Oban. The museum is quite small and reflects the shipping and seafood interests of the island. This model is of the Wairua which plied Foveaux Strait for many years, and then Duncan found himself on it going to  Tokelau on it for one of his Voso vision trips. From all accounts it seemed to induce seasickness in all that travelled on her! The catamarans are so much better.

Half Moon Bay

This is the predator proof fence to stop vermin from getting from the town into the wild

We decide to go on a bus trip to introduce us to the island and Maia is our guide. Soon we can conceive of the bustling boatbuilding, milling town of previous years. She surprises me by says the population is only 385. Maia's interest is botanical and she tells us about the flora and fauna as we go on a number of short walks. Maia had spent time studying the mosses of the island  - during which she tramped at "about 200m per hour" (My kind of speed!)

The mountains in the background are uninhabited.

Maia and the maps showing the small settlements and the huge about of undisturbed land

When Maui fished up the North Island he used Stewart Island (Rakiura) as his anchor stone. This symbolic anchor chain gives a chance to retell this legend, and you can see the other end of the anchor chain as you leave Bluff.

Nice sandy beaches.

This type of cobweb was common throughout the South Island

Large cray pots and a cage for catching and keeping the blue cod fresh

The predator proof fence really gives the kiwi a chance - the estimates range from 20,000 to 30,000 of them live here

We have dinner at the South Seas Hotel and then as darkness falls we board Wild Fire for the trip to the Neck for a kiwi spotting trip. It is a 40 minute walk over the saddle in the dark on a forest track. I manage to keep up most of the time. We walk along the beach and soon its torches off and only the guide keeps his on, and we see her (longer and more curved beak) eating the sandhoppers. We follow her along the beach until she comes to a little stream and she wades in up to her "knees", lays her beak in the water and scoops up the water and lets it drain into her mouth. We have a cuppa and a gingernut on the way home. We talk to a young Netherland couple who say how rare it is in Europe to be able to see native animals and birds. We are so lucky.

Abalone Duo for Duncan - the creamy slices were far better than the paua fritters

Blue Cod for me - one of the fish I really go for. I think the batter helps!

This is really weird. If you move your face closer and closer to the screen at about 4 inches you will see the grainy outline of the kiwi in the centre.

Kiwi Tracks in the sand

At the stream - her head is bent forward as she scoops up the water. Go in close again.