Report 14

A large part of the SW coast of the South Island is the Fiordland National Park, a land of majestic mountains rising from the sea interspersed by long glacial fords. (Some people say the Chevys are also glacial.) The 3-hour drive from Te Anau to Milford is quite scenic as you climb past mountains and lakes, culminating in a long rough-cut tunnel through the coastal range.

The most photographed and visited site in Fiordland is Milford Sound. This picture is not mine – no snow yet – but was clipped from the website:

http://www.newzealand-escape.com/mitre_peak_new_zealand.htm. My shot of the sound and Mitre Peak is below.

We took a 2.5-hr. boat trip on the sound, all the way out to its opening on the Tasman Sea and back. As Susie said, Can you believe this! I just can’t believe this. CAN you believe this? Can YOU believe this?, …

It was a lovely, clear day, which is unusual because this coast is one of the rainiest locales in the world. For you statistics buffs, Mitre Peak rises 5600 ft. above sea level; other surrounding peaks reach to 6000 ft. The sound, deepest near its head, has a max depth of 900 ft. and it is 10 miles in length.

A constant roadside scene throughout our ten days on the south island was sheep. Mike Blackledge, webmeister for my book club (http://mike.blackledge.com/LTBC_home.htm -- check it out bibliophiles) refers to our trip as Rob and Susie among the sheep. Well, going up to Milford, Susie had seen a particularly photogenic sheepsite, so we found it on the way back – the sheep had hardly moved! – so here’s the appropriate place for this shot. Incidentally, we heard there are 50,000,000 sheep here and they just celebrated reaching 4,000,000 human population. I doubt that anywhere else can match this sheep to human ratio.

(Susie says: we also were introduced to what we thought were deer farms, and after asking around, sure enough they were deer farms. A local merchant said they were raised for export of meat and skins. Rob even bought a Bill Lacy type hat made of deer skin. It is as smooth as the top of Bill’s head).

On the topic of sheep, friend Shirley Smith sent us this gem on NZ slang:

I've loved the language lessons!  …   A teacher from New Zealand was at La Cueva the first year it opened.  She gave us, in an In-service-day interest group presentation, an expression that we probably all still remember--"rattling your dags."  I think I'm now unclear what it means, but it has its lovely origin in the way the do-do that dries on the sheep's behind sways and jiggles when it walks.  Have you encountered that one yet?  I was wondering if, when you confronted the rector, you were "rattling your dags,"  or maybe you were rattling his!

To answer Shirley’s question: No, we haven’t encountered that phrase, but we’ll watch for it and the opportunity to do it or say it. (Incidentally, several of you responded to our recent plea to hear from you and we enjoyed hearing from you greatly.)

Note. Correction to previous report: On one of our treks we visited a macadamia nut farm, not pistachio as was erroneously reported several reports ago. Macadamia shells are decidedly not the sort of thing you can pop open with your thumbnail. In fact, the farm’s parking lot was paved with macadamia shells. (Susie: This was the report where I raved about the delicious carrot cake filled with pictachios—so I goofed—but you can imagine how much better it was with macadamia nuts.

On the terminology front, I had also wanted to mention that there is regularly a sign on buildings, in shopping centers, etc., saying “Plunket Room.” After questioning a local, I found out that they are daycare centers. The children can be left for one hour to several hours. “Plunk down the kid and plunk down the $$$$$$.” Sounds like a good deal to me as long as I am the Plunker depositing the Plunkee and not the recipient of the Plunker’s Plunkee. Been there—done that!)

Next stop, Queenstown, adventure capital of NZ.

Cheers.

Rob and Susie

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