Some Great Shots of the New Zealand Scenery

Beautiful New Zealand


Cheryl took this fabulous shot of the hikers cabin on the Hooker Trail - Mount Cook and this next one which clearly shows the river flowing from the Mount Cook Glacier



This shot is of the lighthouse off the Otaga Pennisula, near Dunedin, an Albatross Conservatory - picture by Cheryl



Moody Doubtful Sound - Manipouri





countless waterfalls








A moody sheepscape



With deceptively beautiful scenery at every turn, a new nuance of this incredible country




yet seemingly everywhere - sheep and more sheep





The Beautiful Abel Tasman Coastal Preserve



Magnificent Kaikoura






Impressive Auckland Harbour





Gorgeous Raglan



Awesome Views from Mount Tongariro National park



Awesome Haka Falls





People on Franz Josef Glacer



Advanced Horticultural Irrigation at work on Pasture Land


Omarau Junk Art on the main Drag


Fleur's Restaurant - Moureki



Approach to Mount Cook

The kids are back in town

We left Kone in New Caledonia at 7:00 AM Saturday 24th and arrived in Ottawa, Ontario at midnight on the same day! How? heading east we cross the international date line into the previous day.

Needless to say, having just traveled for almost 24 hours,and feeling a bit like the back of a new york cab, we have a snack and head to bed, healthy, sleepy and exhausted.

What a trip!

Pictures to come.

For you other would be travellers, we have to claim our checked bags in Los Angeles ( move it from one conveyor to another) and then again for canadian customs in Toronto. As you can guess, as the day wears on, this wears a little thin.

But we do get our bags in Ottawa and take a cab home.

Last Full Day in New Caledonia

In the distance one can see the encircling coral reef. It helps keep the whales and sharks away from the beachs. The diving and snorkeling can be very good out there.




This is rough country, with the mountains running down the spine of the country but the ocean is never far away.





New Caledonia, in the early days, was a Penal Colony. Subsequently, mining was the incipient industry, the Nickel ore is very rich here and Xstrata is in the process of developing a huge nickel deposit with a crew of 4000 workers. Once operations begin, it should whittle down to 1000 on the mine site and hopefully for the indiginous Kanaks, there will be spin off jobs servicing those production employees.

We take a hike up one of the deserted mine roads and get to see the terrain from a good height, maybe 1500 feet. The weather clears and we get to see the ocean and barrier reef in their more resplendent green hues.



We have happily visited with the extended Nakamura clan but tomorrow we drive back to Noumea to catch our flight back to Auckland as part of our main journey back to Canada via Los Angeles. It will be long but these last few days have given us a chance to rest up, and we'll have all these great memories and many many pictures to review when we get back home.

What's a Sargeant Garcia?

This green coloured concoction is not listed on the major drink mixing sites, its a blend of curacoa, grapefruit juice, tequilla, triple sec

add ice, shake and slurp down...

East Coast of New Caledonia - Some Beach and a Great Polynesian Restaurant

Its French, of course there are bagets!




We are chauffered across to two mountain ranges that run down the spine of New Caledonia. When we arrive at the east coast we stroll along the beach. The beach drops off quite steeply, a swimmer would encounter undertow/rip current right in front of the restaurant.

The hotel and restaurant as seen from the roadway:


The fare: Mahi Mahi, served with a "Sargent Garcia"




Followed by a walk along the beach



A chance to get your feet wet - water temp, around 18 degrees C.

End of day one in New Caledonia - a hike into the water fall

We hike into a waterfall just to the north of KONE. It was obviously an old mine site. The amount of iron ore in the rocks is obvious by the rusty red appearance of the bedrock.

We climb to the side of the mountain where a stream falls down the mountain forming pools. The rock is embedded with nickel ore which is lustrous green and worn smooth by the water's action.

We bath in the pools and enjoy the tropical climate.1

Kone - as seen looking southwest

"
We hike up the local hillside where the water tower was located and take this picture of the family jewels including the well travelled "rosie the dog'"


This afternoon we'll hike up to some waterfalls and pools in the mountains and when we get back Cheryl and I will make some home made perogies using some fresh New Caledonian/French Cheddar cheese.

Looking West, the Ocean is always near, New Caledonia is only 70 kms wide.