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Snow-covered hills in southern Asia

We were scheduled to get up at 0445 for our morning flight but it was flagged as delayed but not rescheduled.  We delayed an hour and a quarter but since the internet was not accepting our check-in decided we'd best get to the airport.  In the event our flight was two and a half hours late leaving Hong Kong but, thankfully, both we and our luggage made the connection at Heathrow. From northern China to Eastern Europe, snow could be seen on the ground, sometimes a thin covering, sometimes blanketing the terrain reminding us that winter wasn't over in many countries.   It was raining in London but we arrived home to a sunny and spring-like Aberdeen. The daffodils are in full bloom in our garden.

Back home

It was a fabulous holiday.  The weather had been pretty good to us in spite of the locals complaining of a poor summer.  Everyone had been friendly; we'd had good food everywhere and found lots of well signed and maintained walks in every area we'd been to.  Minor irritations were that the internet access was slow, very slow from motels and most things were more expensive than at home with today's exchange rate.  We'd love to return to New Zealand sometime and stay longer in some of the areas we'd visited. Sorting out his thousands of photos will occupy John for some weeks to come.

Hong Kong Day 2

Star Ferry Terminal in Kowloon

We went to sleep overlooking the glittering light display of Hong Kong buildings but awoke to find them shrouded in fog. Rats! This was the day we had planned to go up Victoria Peak and view the city from above. We dallied in the hotel for a bit after a magnificent breakfast, hoping the fog would lift, and set out in late morning to make the best of a misty day. We decided to go on the third bus tour first, so crossed over on the Star Ferry to the tour start point on Hong Kong Island. This tour took us through the 1.9 km long Aberdeen Tunnel which links the north and south parts of the island.

Repulse Bay

Aberdeen Harbour

Once through the tunnel we found that the sun was out on this side of the island. We headed to the south east coast, past Ocean Park (water-themed fun park), Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay (where the British repulsed Chinese pirates) to Stanley where, as well as a lovely beach, there is a popular market. These are where the rich Hong Kong residents have houses, Repulse Bay in particular. Luxury apartment blocks sprawl up the wooded hillsides, looking down on golden sandy beaches. The bus stopped at both Repulse and Stanley, allowing people to hop off to explore and then hop back on a later bus, but, as we were planning to fit in a Sampan ride, a harbour boat trip and a trip up to the Peak, we hadn't time to do that as well.

Boarding the Sampan

After Stanley, the bus retraced its route back to Ocean Park and then headed west to Aberdeen. The harbour at Aberdeen is where the boat people live and scenes from here have been used in many films, including James Bond. What struck us first was the high density of huge skyscrapers surrounding the harbour. Not the shiny, business towers of central HK but huge, thin residential blocks. John was particularly fascinated by these buildings. We disembarked from the bus here to take our sampan ride. A no-nonsense, non English-speaking, Chinese woman  marshalled us from bus stop to Sampan and helped us aboard. This gaily decorated craft was captained by an amiable, non English speaking Chinese man who took us on a tour of the harbour, pointing out the sights by means of gestures and somewhat incomprehensible comments.

Kowloon viewed from the boat

Strangely, this boat ride was one of the highlights of our visit. It was full of contrasts:  the famous Jumbo floating restaurant (also featuring in many films) with its beautiful Chinese decoration on the public side, housing the restaurants and bars, and scruffy, utilitarian kitchen block built out the back; sleek motor cruisers contrasting with rusty, working fishing boats; cramped houseboats overlooked by ranks of tower blocks. Little boats were buzzing everywhere, ferrying people to the floating restaurant, moving goods from here to there and going about their business, whatever that was.

After the Sampan ride we hopped back on the next bus and returned to the Ferry Terminal in HK city and went on the Harbour Boat trip. This one hour trip took us on a circular tour of the Victoria Harbour from which we were able to view the buildings of HK city and Kowloon from the water. The mist had descended again by this time, however, so views were a bit hazy particularly over Hong Kong island.

View from the Peak over a misty city

Next we took the public bus from the Ferry Terminal up to the start of the Peak Tram and then rode the tram up to Victoria Peak. This tram is a Hong Kong favourite. First opened in 1888, the tram is cable operated, a bit like the one in Wellington. From the top we had a misty view of the city and harbour below. While not as clear as it might have been, it was still a magnificent view. We wandered around for a bit and then watched as the sun set and all the buildings lit up, getting increasingly brighter as the darkness fell. We shared this experience with large numbers of other tourists, since this is another Hong Kong favourite.

Evening view from the Peak

Then it was back down on the tram and bus and then our last trip across the harbour on the Star Ferry. Just missed seeing the Symphony of Lights from the ferry but saw a bit of it from the shore as we were waiting for the ferry and noticed the absence of the lasers this evening. We guess this must have been due to the mist which would have dispersed the laser light too much. Had dinner outdoors in a lively bar/restaurant in a neon-lit square not far from the hotel. Then back to our hotel for our last view of the skyline of Hong Kong.

Star Ferry

Hotel Icon - our room was on the 20th floor

Hong Kong Day 1

What can I say about Hong Kong? Skyscrapers - Shops - People - all in overwhelming numbers. Quite a contrast to New Zealand.

Looking across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong City

Our flight arrived early in Hong Kong, at ~4.30am, before any of the airport shuttle buses or airport express train started operating. Just pondering what to do when we got into conversation with a limo driver whose client hadn't turned up and he offered to drive us into town to our hotel for a bargain price. Slightly nervous in case we were about to be kidnapped in a strange city, we accepted the offer and were transported in style direct to our hotel in Kowloon. We checked in and, much to our surprise, were able to gain immediate access to our room. We had expected to have to use their travellers' lounge until our room was ready later in the day. This was the first example of the superb service we received from the Hotel Icon.

Street sweeper in Kowloon

Our room was on the 20th floor, looking across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island with all its neon-lit skyscrapers. The view was amazing and the room extremely comfortable. (I'd splashed out a bit for our final two days.)  We crashed out for a few hours, then hit the streets of Kowloon. I felt like an ant, in comparison to the enormous buildings. The streets were all immaculate, maintained by an army of street sweepers, each with brush and pan and coolie hat. The weather was overcast and quite cool. We wandered through the streets for a bit, soaking in the atmosphere, then headed for the promenade, along the harbour front. This led to the 'Promenade of Stars', HK's version of Holywood Boulevard, with hand-prints of stars in the pavement and various statues and themed-objects, all crowded by Chinese tourists taking photos of one another. We were to walk along this promenade several times during our two days in HK and never once did we see it without queues of people waiting to take photos beside these rather kitsch icons. Kitsch appears to be another defining attribute of.HK.

1881 Heritage Building in Kowloon - former HQ of Hong Kong
Marine Police, now an upmarket hotel and shopping centre

As we began to appreciate the scale of Hong Kong, we realised that we'd need to sort out some kind of transport if we were to see all we wanted to and, given the short duration of our stay, we took the easy option of signing up for the 'Big Bus'. After a bit of humming and hawing, we secured the two-day pass for the price of the one-day one and got the harbour boat tour thrown in as well. The pass gave us three open-topped bus tours - one of Kowloon, one of Hong Kong city and one that went across to the other side of Hong Kong Island to Stanley Beach and Aberdeen Harbour, where a sampan ride was part of the tour.

Ladies Market in Kowloon

We did the Kowloon tour first. This took us around the streets, markets and shopping malls of Kowloon. Given more time, we could have hopped off at various places to explore a bit more but didn't do this. Next, we took the Star Ferry across to HK Island, for our tour of the city. The Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour is one of HK's highlights. These old boats ply their way back and fore across the harbour, providing a quick commute along with fabulous views.

"Koala" buildings in central Hong Kong

Golden Bauhinia Square

The HK city tour was equally fascinating. It took us through the central and commercial districts which are dominated by enormous, gleaming skyscrapers, up to 100 stories high, then up into the mid-levels where scruffy residential skyscrapers are interspersed with the shiny business ones. Very occasionally, there is a low-level building, dating back to earlier times. One landmark on the tour was Golden Bauhinia Square where the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China took place on 1 July 1997. A Golden Bauhinia sculpture marks the spot.  The bauhinia is the national emblem of Hong Kong and is included on the Hong Kong flag.

Hong Kong trams

Trams rattle through the streets. These were under threat when the MTR system was planned in the 1970s but were retained by popular demand. Walking the streets is seldom practical. Instead, buildings are linked by arial walkways and escalators. One of my regrets was that we didn't have time to explore this pedestrian maze.

Building work is going on everywhere: new developments, refurbishment of old buildings and new MTR stations. We noticed this on all three of our bus tours and were fascinated at the use of bamboo scaffolding up to 30 storeys high and beyond.

Erecting bamboo scaffolding high above the street

New building work in Kowloon

The density of shops and vast shopping malls In both Kowloon and HK city is overwhelming. Designer label shops are everywhere. Think of an expensive designer (Versace, Guchi, Armani, etc.) and it's there. Not just in one outlet but in multiple outlets, all with huge, glossy displays and western mannequins. I was struck by how few advertising hoardings and shop displays used Asian models. Curious since the majority of the population and the people we saw in the street are Chinese.

Queen Elizabeth docked in Kowloon

Hong Kong is on the cruise liner circuit. The Queen Elizabeth was docked in Kowloon while we were there. The liners dock right next to one of the biggest and most expensive shopping malls and we were amused to see that the gangways from the boats appear to funnel the passengers straight into the shopping mall. Perhaps this has a bearing on why the shops don't tailor their displays to Asian models.

We took the ferry back to Kowloon and went for something to eat in a real Chinese restaurant, not far from our hotel. Very little English spoken there. Then we made our way back to the Avenue of Stars to watch the evening's Symphony of Lights. This is a son-et-lumiere display involving the skyscrapers on either side of Victoria Harbour. The buildings light up with multi-coloured neon displays in time to music and lasers lights are shone up into the clouds from the very top of some of the highest buildings. It happens every evening though, as we were to discover the following evening, the use of the lasers is weather dependent. By now rather weary after our very long day, we headed home to our hotel for an early night.

Symphony of Lights

Leaving New Zealand

Gordon instructing Mickey and Jez to look at the camera

It was a lovely sunny day for our farewell to NZ. Said goodbye to Gordon as he left to go to work, then squeezed the last few things into our suitcases and bade farewell to a mournful looking Mickey. As our flight wasn't till 2.30pm, we decided to go to the International Antarctic Centre in the morning, the Centre being conveniently next door to the airport.  A full ticket costs $65 per person (about £35 at today's exchange rate) but we purchased an Express ticket at concession rate of $30 since we had only an hour and a half before having to hand back the car.  The Centre had more 'experiences' than a museum, such as a simulated year at the old Scott base, what it felt like to be in a summer storm in Antarctica, feeding penguins and other activities.

Little Blue Penguins in Antarctic Centre

Highlight for Aenea was the little blue penguins. The Centre has a group of ~50 penguins all rescued from accidents or other misfortunes and, consequently, unable to survive in the wild. 10.30 am is feeding time, so we were able to watch as they dived for fish thrown to them by one of the keepers and then the keeper hand fed one of the penguins who is blind and so unable to catch fish in the water. They are so cute!

Penguin being hand fed

John went for the summer storm experience in a large room kept at -8 degrees Celsius with plenty of real snow and ice around.  Fans were switched on, the lights dimmed to represent storm conditions and loudspeakers reproduced such a wind generated roar that it was difficult to hear your neighbour speak.  Those in the room had been issued with overshoes and a lined, hooded jacket but the wind-chill was such that it was clear one wouldn't survive long in a real Antarctic storm without gloves and full thermal clothing.

Braving the Antarctic Storm 

A full ticket includes rides in an Antarctic tracked vehicle but we finished our reduced tour by watching a 17 minute film on a giant screen of a helicopter flight from the present Scott base where NZ scientists work (our Dunedin hosts amongst them).  Some of the film shots showed stunning landscapes but we weren't induced to book an Antarctic holiday or regret that we hadn't joined the British Antarctic Survey.

We returned the car unscathed by us but had a somewhat protracted session about a dent we hadn't spotted when we picked up the car but noticed was there on our first stop, more than a month ago.  In the end it was resolved in our favour.

View over Christchurch from the plane 

Our flight out was on schedule and quickly took us over desolate looking regions of NZ we'd never been to.  This blog comes courtesy of free WiFi in Sydney airport, where we have 6 hours to kill before boarding for an overnight flight of 8 hours 45 minutes to Hong Kong.  Suddenly the 4600 km we travelled in New Zealand doesn't seem exceptionally far after all.

Remote NZ seen from the plane

Christchurch

Paua House

Christchurch Museum

Our last full day in New Zealand. Did some blogging and some laundry in the morning, then headed into town. Went to the Christchurch Museum which is an interesting regional museum. Exhibits included a reconstruction of a Christchurch street in the late nineteenth century, the Paua House, a famous example of kiwiana, consisting of a living room decorated entirely in paua shells, moved from a real house in Bluff and temporary exhibition by WOW, World of Wearable Art, which was a collection of outrageous costumes. We also enjoyed galleries of natural history, geology, Antarctic exploration and Maori history.

Botanic Gardens

After a quick snack in the Museum Café, we went for a stroll in the Botanic Gardens which are next door to the Museum. It was a lovely sunny afternoon as we walked along the banks of the River Avon which winds through the gardens. Nice peaceful gardens, though a bit short on labelling of the plants and trees.

Our final bit of sight-seeing for the day was to walk back into the very centre of the city, to view again the earthquake damage and the container mall. Then we headed home for a pleasant evening with Gordon and packing.

Container Mall in centre of Christchurch

Arts Centre with turret removed after earthquake damage

Christchurch and Banks Peninsula

View over Akaroa Harbour

Overcast morning. Spent a little time sorting photos (John) and catching up with the blog (Aenea) [Note to self: we need to take two netbooks with us the next time we keep a travel blog - one for John to organise his photos and the other for Aenea to write the blog.] Set off mid-morning for the Banks Peninsula and Akaroa. Guide book suggested a route via Sumner and over the Port Hills and Gebbies Pass but, after consulting the map, we reckoned this might be a bit too much driving for our part-day outing so we stuck to the main road. This took us out through the sprawling suburbs of Christchurch, through the flat plain south of the city and along the shores of Lake Ellesmere to the south coast of the Banks Peninisula. From here the road travels inland along the shores of Lake Forsyth and then starts climbing up into the hills.

Akaroa Bay

The end of the Banks Peninsula is an old volcano crater, the rim of which is almost entirely complete. So our road took us up to the rim of the crater, from where there was a stunning view down to the waters of Akaroa Harbour, which fills the centre of the crater, with several inlets and little villages on the shores. [Note: NZ uses the word 'harbour' to denote a large sea inlet, not just the port.]  Stopped for photos, coffee and carrot cake (one of the best) at the Hilltop Inn. Wound our way down the other side, then up and down and around the inlets to reach Akaroa, in a picturesque setting on the eastern side of the crater. By now the sun had come out and stayed with us for the rest of the day.

Akaroa house (notice French flag in garden)

Wandered round Akaroa which is a pretty little seaside town with a French influence. Back in 1838, the French bought the lands of the Banks Pensinsula from the Maoris. This gave the British a bit of a fright but, before the French returned to secure their purchase, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British and the Maoris and the British planted their flag at Akaroa. Matters were also complicated by the Maori re-selling the area several times. So, instead of a colony, the French ended up with a small settlement. Akaroa retains French street names and plays up its Gallic past for the benefit of the tourists.

Akaroa Lighthouse

View from walk

There are several nice arts and craft shops in the village and Aenea had to keep a tight hold of the credit card. Bought a nice wooden bowl as a belated wedding present for Gordon & Pauline. In the afternoon we walked along the shore to an old lighthouse, moved to its current spot from its original location on the outer headland, and then went for a longer walk up the hillside behind the town. This turned out to be a steeper climb than we had expected but provided us with good views of Akaroa and the waters of Akaroa Harbour. Then it was time to head home as we'd arranged to go out for a meal with Gordon that evening.

Oamaru to Christchurch

Old whisky warehouse in Oamaru

Old bicycle shop

Spent some time in Oamaru in the morning as many of the old buildings in Harbour Street were opened up and, as well as artifacts and mementos from the past, there were stalls selling arts and crafts. Then it was time to rejoin Highway 1 and head for Christchurch.

Steampunk display in Oamaru

We  had been warned that this section of road was rather dull and boring and, if we'd had time we'd have taken an inland route through the mountains but that will have to go on the agenda for our next visit (along with all the other things we'd like to do and see). So we zoomed up the highway through the flat, unremarkable landscape. Took a break at Raka, home of the longest bridge in NZ but no photos.

Demolition in Christchurch

Arrived in Christchurch in mid-afternoon and drove into the centre. We'd been told that this weekend would be one of the last opportunities for the public to see the earthquake damaged cathedral before demolition started. The cathedral was a well-loved historical landmark in Christchurch and its imminent demolition is very controversial. Once we started walking towards the centre the earthquake damage became very apparent. One of the first things we saw was a huge machine in the process of demolishing a multi-storey concrete building. In other places there were gaping holes where buildings used to be.

Part of a large crowd viewing Christchurch Cathedral

We joined the crowds making their way towards the cathedral. A fenced walkway with a single entrance/exit point had been set up leading to Cathedral Square from where we could view the devastation wrought on the cathedral. The whole front of the building has collapsed and the spire completely demolished. A sad sight. We walked back through the "container mall", where the shop buildings have been replaced by metal containers, out of which the shops are operating. They are all brightly painted and cheerful looking, despite the circumstances.

Shored up building beside the river Avon

After this we drove out to the northern part of Christchurch where we had been invited to stay with Gordon Milne, another old friend from Aberdeen Physics. This part of the city was, thankfully, not badly hit by the earthquakes but the roads are noticeably bumpy in places. We got a warm welcome from Gordon, Micky (the beagle) and Jez (the cat). We were sorry not to see Pauline (Gordon's wife,) who is working on a contract in Sydney, but she said hello to us over Skype.

Dunedin to Oamaru

Pat & John beside Beverly Clock

Spent the morning in Dunedin. Pat took us on a drive up Mt Cargill but, sadly, the cloud didn't lift and we didn't get a view over Dunedin. Then she took us into the University to see the Beverly clock. This clock was made by Arthur Beverly, a Dunedin benefactor, born in Alford, Aberdeenshire and is special in never needing to be wound.

Moeraki Boulders

After lunch we set out for Oamaru. Back on Highway 1 again. Countryside continued quite pastoral, with some hills appearing in the background. Stopped to look at the Moeraki Boulders - quite fascinating. These huge spherical boulders were formed millions of years ago, when layers of calcium formed around a central pebble or shell, rather like pearls but on a much larger scale. The boulders were buried in mudstone till, millions of years later, as the land rose, the sea began to erode the mudstone, exposing the boulders.

Harbourside Park in Oamaru

Arrived in Oamaru ~4pm and checked in to Heritage House, our B&B, an old house with plasterwork ceilings, wooden panelling and a beautiful wooden stairway. Our room was on the first floor and had a glassed-in veranda, overlooking the town, that housed the loo and bath, as well as a desk and easy chair. It was a 'loo with a view'; great fun.

Oamaru Athaneum

Walked down to the harbour and walked along the quayside. Had a coffee in the Portside restaurant, beside the penguin viewpoint, and booked a table for dinner so Aenea could go and see the penguins afterwards. Walked back into to town and looked around some of the old buildings which are built out of Oamaru limestone and were designed to impress. Whole town has the air of past wealth but now needs some money spent to spruce it up again.


After dinner at Portside restaurant (very good but very slow service) John went home to play with his photos whilst Aenea went to see the penguins. This was on a completely different scale to the previous night. The area where most of the penguins come ashore has been cordoned off so the only access is through the visitor centre (for which you have to pay, of course). A large stand has been built overlooking other beach and hinterland and sodium lights illuminate the area so the penguins can be seen clearly. Although the  penguins are sensitive to light and dark and only come onto land as it gets dark, they don't seem to be aware of the sodium lighting and the crowd of people watching them.

Little blue penguins (library photo)

We had a bit of commentary on the life of the little blue penguin and then watched fascinated as they came ashore in 'rafts' and flopped and hopped their way up over the rocks to their burrow and nestboxes, hidden in the bushes on the hillside behind the beach. All told we saw about 50 penguins that evening.