2024 New Zealand/Australia: Days 23-26 Cairns and Home

We are visiting Cairns in the rainy season, and it will not let us forget it. 

Day 1 - Rainforest

Cairns is hot and humid. We’re only 1170 miles from the Equator. Despite it being summer in NZ, this is the first place I’m happy I packed shorts and capris. Glasses steam up when you exit air conditioned buildings. When it rains, it feels good; a raincoat feels oppressive.

This delicate butterfly shaped flower was alongside the sidewalk in town. It’s big - 6 inches top to bottom. Anyone recognize it?

One of the world’s oldest tropical rainforests is just outside Cairns. A World Heritage site, the Wet Tropics is 80 million years older than the Amazon rainforest. We chose to visit it from above the canopy, taking the 7.5 km Skyrail cable car from Smithfield to Kuranda. (There is an option to take the Skyrail one way, and a train back. But the train is reportedly quite warm - and has been out of commission since December because of mountainside collapses caused by Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

Interesting video on construction of Skyrail: https://youtu.be/2xPc2B9pf70?si=2Nht8frmnzs2dD6A

Due to the length of the ride, there are two stops along the length to change gondolas. The first stop, Red Peak, offers a ranger-led walk to learn about the highly competitive plant life in the rainforest.

Strangler figs grow from the top down, after a bird, bat or marsupial drops a seed near the top of the host tree. The bark of this host tree, a Queensland Kauri pine, can barely be seen at top center left. Eventually the tree will die and the strangler fig will survive around a hollow core where the tree used to be. 

A 400 year old non-strangled Kauri pine, probably spared from earlier lumber harvesting because it curves at the top. A mature Kauri pine can be 160 feet tall with a diameter up to 10 feet, and can provide lumber to build an entire village. 

There is a boardwalk at Barron Falls, the second stop. But good views were also available from the gondola. The 410 foot falls were in fine form, with recent rainfall providing an extra punch. 

The cable dips down towards the mist from the falls.

No, it’s not real. Screenshot of VR cassowary on Greg’s phone.

The Skyrail ends at Kuranda Village, a heavily touristic little rainforest town with eateries, markets and attractions you can tack onto your journey. Some things were closed down from the cyclone. We visited a little zoo that featured several species of Australian wildlife. 

This koala imposter is a Quokka. But just as cute.

Wallaby

Eastern gray kangaroo. (We also saw some wild kangaroos in a field while returning on the Skyrail)

Getting its beauty sleep. Koalas sleep 22 hours a day

Day 2 - Great Barrier Reef

After checking in at 7:15 this morning, we boarded The Endeavor with about 140 other people for a day at the Great Barrier Reef. It took about 2 hours and 55 km to reach Saxon Reef. The weather alternated between rainy, choppy and moments of sun. Some people were sick; most took the pill recommended by the crew and did ok. 

I’d signed up, with some trepidation but a fair amount of determination, for an Introductory Dive. Think: tandem parachute jump, but with 4 novices attached to the instructor by linking arms and swimming together underwater.

There were 25 people signed up to dive which meant one odd man out. Fortunately, it was me. So I went last and had the instructor all to myself. We had a presentation explaining what we’d be tested on with our equipment before we could leave the boat, and had ample time to be nervous. 

I snorkeled around the reef a couple times while waiting for my turn to dive. I’d brought my own snorkel and mask. The ship provided the same for all their guests, as well as fins and non-flattering full body stinger suits for protection against critters in the water. The crew was super helpful for all snorkeling levels, and pulled around people with no experience or confidence while they hung onto big inner tubes.

The dive was amazing! I loved being the only novice with Aaron. We saw giant clams, tons of colorful waving plants, sea cucumbers, tiny and very large (bigger than me) fish, sea anemones, etc. When we got back to the ship. Aaron said it was the longest, deepest (12 meters; 39 ft) and oldest (we don’t need to go there, but the dive crew obviously knew) dive of the day. Also, the least stressful…probably because he had only one person to adjust the pressure vest for each time we went deeper. The other divers went to only 8 m; I’m sure being solo was a fortuitous benefit. 

My favorite fish siting was an enormous humphead wrasse (up to 6 feet long and 400 pounds) that cruised languidly around us. They told us not to smile while diving as it can cause your mask to leak, but I couldn’t help it. 

(Stock photo)

We sat on the ship with a pair of 30-ish brothers from Taiwan, and really enjoyed talking with them. Maybe we’ll see them in Taipei on a future trip! Thanks, Jason and Leo.

Cairns is spread out along a long coastline. The main industry here is tourism, followed by sugar cane. All sugar sold in Australia is produced in-country. The cyclone that hit in December is still impacting tourism. Tours to the Great Barrier Reef leave from here or Port Douglas, a coastal town 60 km north. The road between the two cities was closed for some time; parts are still one lane. Communities lost water supplies, were flooded, hills collapsed, and people were cut off for days. But Cairns is cleaned up nicely.

Across from our hotel is the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, a huge public saltwater pool next to the ocean. Surface area: 52,000 square feet. 

The darkest strip above the aqua waters of the Lagoon is the ocean. 

   

This 22 inch tall doe-eyed nocturnal bird froze and stared at me when we startled each other. It’s an Australian Bush Stone Curlew. They are ground dwellers, but can fly in a pinch. They freeze, even the chicks, in often-amusing poses when they are surprised. This works well with humans and flying hunters, but not so well with predators that hunt by smell, like foxes. 

Day 3 - Walking the esplanade

One of the most popular and notable features of Cairn is its recently renovated Esplanade. The 2.5 km park features the above-mentioned Lagoon, playgrounds, memorials, free fitness classes, BBQ facilities, artwork, toilet/showers, and a beachfront promenade with benches and historical/nature signage. We spent the morning taking in the sites, birdwatching and doing some geocaching. 

Cenotaph commemorating regional forces killed in World War I. The clock face is painted to represent 4:28 AM, when the ANZAC forces first landed in Gallipoli. The statue of a “Digger” (soldier) on top is unique. 

There was a cache outside Saint Monica’s Cathedral, so we stopped inside. Also known as St. Monica’s War Memorial Cathedral and unassuming from the outside, it has an amazing series of stained glass windows. It was dedicated as a memorial to the WW II Battle of the Coral Sea. 

      
The memorial windows at the main entrance. New life embracing detritus of war. 

The creation story is portrayed in the windows flanking the nave. The effect is stunning. 

Dozens of rainbow lorikeets congregate in the big trees across from our hotel at dusk, making an excited racket before winding down for the night. And I saw some more of my new favorite bird, the Bush Stone Curlew. This one was kneeling - something I’ve never seen a bird do before. Or maybe it just froze in an awkward position when it saw me.

We went to the Salt House for a ridiculously big seafood sampler dinner. (Ended up giving some of it to nearby diners; we knew we wouldn’t eat all those oysters). And then back to the hotel to pack up for our 4:00 pickup tomorrow morning. Three flights and 30+ hours later, we should be home in Pennsylvania. 

2024 New Zealand: Days 21-22 Trans-Alpine Railroad and farewell to New Zealand

We drove three hours through drizzle to Greymouth, a former gold rush town that now serves as one terminus of the TransAlpine scenic train between Christchurch and Greymouth. After covering 2,000 miles between the North and South islands over the last 3 weeks, we dropped off the car at the Greymouth train station. The car was a great way to cover a wide range of the country, allowing for flexibility and spontaneity as we chose our route. The only limitation was self-imposed: no driving after dark.  Except for major highways in the immediate vicinity of cities like Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, all roads are two lanes. Bridges in the mountains are often one-lane, with cars yielding to oncoming traffic. There are occasional passing and slow-vehicle lanes in the mountains, which most drivers are considerate about using. Nearly all intersections are traffic circles.

The TransAlpine railway, completed in 1923, is considerd one of the world’s great train journeys. It takes almost 5 hours to cover 139 miles, crossing 4 viaducts and 16 tunnels. There are horseshoe bends, rapid glacial-blue rivers, tiny towns (one had a population of 1) and historic sheep and cattle stations. The route was a challenge to build and continues difficult to maintain. Floods, snow and rockslides can disrupt travel for days. The route runs along a long fault line; on one occasion, the tracks at the end of a bridge had moved several feet to the side. 

One of the sheep stations we passed is the third largest in NZ. With the advent of good synthetic fibers, the sheep industry has decreased dramatically. Forty years ago there were 25 sheep for every person in NZ. Today, there are only five. The commentary on the train said that deer (venison) are now the largest meat export from the country, though we did see a lot of cattle and sheep. 

There is a running commentary activated by GPS location available in each seat. You can listen in English or Mandarin (there are a LOT of Chinese tourists in NZ). The narration covers history, geology and industry along the route. The railroad provides headphones so you can tune in as much or as little as you like.

When we reached the 5.3 mile Otira tunnel, the dining car and toilets were closed. The train stopped to add an engine at the rear to help push the train fifteen minutes up the 820 ft climb to the other side. The weather on the eastern end of the tunnel is often dramatically different; they get more rain and it’s greener. These photos are in no particular order - just sights out the window as we chugged along.

We stayed in the same Christchurch hotel as we did a couple of weeks ago. It’s pretty easy to find:

We were free the next day until our 1 PM airport transfer. We visited Quake City, a small museum commemorating the experiences and heroism of the February 22, 2011 Christchurch earthquake. We weren’t sure what to expect, but found it interesting and moving. There are eyewitness testimonies (with10-year follow-up interviews with some of the subjects), photos, and real-time videos. They have hands-on demonstrations of liquifaction, explanations of fault lines and artifacts such as the fallen spire from the Canterbury cathedral. There were 1,800 damaged buildings in the center of Canterbury. Almost everything you see there today is either new, or in the case of some heritage buildings, restored. It is hard to believe this happened only 12 years ago. 

The rest of the very long day was dedicated to travel: By the time we completed our flights to Brisbane and Cairns and checked into our hotel, it was 3 AM Christchurch time (midnight in Cairns) and we were quite done for the day. 

We did enjoy the cheeky luggage carousel delivery system at the Cairns airport. 

2024 New Zealand: Days 19-20 Fox Glacier

Had a leisurely drive from Wanaka to the tiny town of Fox Glacier today, stopping for view points and in no rush. 

Ninety foot high Thunder Creek Falls is the terminus of a small tributary draining into the Haast River.

Near the trailhead of the Blue Pools hiking trail - currently closed as the bridges are being replaced.

Coastline north of Haast, on the Tasman Sea.

Fox Glacier is basically a T-shaped intersection near the same-named glacier with a few little hotels, cafes, and lots of glacier-themed adventure outfitters. There are helicopter and small plane sightseeing flights, heli-hikes, bike rentals, hiking trails, etc. We checked into our hotel and drove a few miles to Lake Matheson for a 2.5 miles circuit hike around the lake. 

Lake Matheson is a kettle lake formed by a decaying glacier. It’s in a temperate rain forest, a few miles from the Southern Alps to the east, and the Tasman Sea to the west. On a calm day, it’s a perfect reflecting pool NZ’s highest mountains, including Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. Alas, with low clouds and slight breeze, it wasn’t a perfect day - but it was still a nice walk. 

Day 2 - on which we plan see the glaciers up close

Greg had a heli-hike scheduled for this afternoon at the Franz Josef glacier. I’d opted for a less strenuous morning glacier flyover and landing on the Fox glacier. 

The company had changed my flight time twice, saying they needed to move me around to accommodate larger groups. Greg and I walked over at 7:20 this morning, only to learn that low clouds had cancelled all the early flights. They said to come back at 8:10.  We went back to the hotel for breakfast. The next flight was also cancelled, so we walked to a geocache. Third time was the charm, as I took off with a family of 5. 

We wove through the Fox glacial valley under the clouds. Until 2013, you could walk to the glacier terminus. Today, it has receded far up this gravel-coated valley and you can reach the glacier only by helicopter. 

This is NZ’s second biggest glacier, 8.1 miles long. Its average depth is 325 feet. 

We broke through above the clouds and landed on the Fox Glacier 32 sq km accumulation basin.

We’re at about 6500 feet. Mount Tasman, directly behind me, is NZ’s second highest mountain at 11,365 feet. 

We flew north to the accumulation field of the Franz Josef Glacier and headed down its flow towards the namesake town. 

It’s a half hour by car back to our starting point in the town of Fox Glacier, but only 3 minutes by helicopter. The clouds were coming in quickly and they grounded the flights after we landed. So, lucky for us. 

Greg and I drove to Franz Josef for his three hour heli-hike, but it was cancelled due to the lowering heavy clouds. He got on a cancellation list for a later flight similar to mine. We had a nice lunch in town, watched a film about the Westland Tai Poutini National Park (where we’re located), and went to check the status of his new flight. Unfortunately, by then it was raining steadily and all flights were cancelled for the rest of the day. So we headed back to Fox Glacier village and settled in for the evening. 

2024 New Zealand: Day 18 - Wanaka

We had an early start this morning to get to Wanaka in time for our 9 AM excursion. We barely made it, with an exciting drive up and over the Crown Range. It would make a fine NC stage climb for the Tour de France, steep switchback after switchback. It’s the highest main road in NZ, with sheer drop offs and amazing views to the valley below. Greg found this link showing part of the drive - the first bit shows the climb up the mountain: https://youtu.be/gJswAVVOKu8

We took a small boat (10 passengers) on Lake Wanaka to Mou Waho Island for a nature walk. Our skipper/guide, Chris, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, our best guided excursion so far. Mou Waho is a predator free nature preserve managed by the Department of Conservation, a fitting designation for an island whose name is maori for “hard to get to”. There is a flightless bird called the buff weta which had been extinct on the New Zealand mainland since the 1920s. Many years ago the Maori took a dozen buff weta to an island far out to sea from Christchurch, hoping to save the tasty species. Populations were subsequently twice introduced to islands near Wanaka, but each time a stoat swam to the island and wiped out the population. 

A note about stoats: Europeans brought rabbits to New Zealand, which proliferated to the extent that sheep grazing lands were decimated. The solution: bring in ferrets and stoats in the 1880s to kill the rabbits. Unfortunately, they also kill birds, especially the flightless birds which are easy prey. We’ve seen stoat and ferret traps everywhere we’ve hiked here. We’ve also seen a couple signs asking people to report any wallabys they see. At first we thought it was a joke, but apparently they’ve also been introduced to the South Island and they, too, need to be eradicated. 

In 2004, thirty buff weta were introduced to Mou Waho, and they’ve since multiplied 10-fold. We were hoping to see one of the fearless and curious chicken-sized birds today.

We climbed 650 feet, with several stops to take in the changing views and learn about fauna and flora on the island. 

Above the lake on Mau Waho, glacial striations cut into the bedrock by gravel or stones carried in the ice. The island was covered by a vast glacier until 15,000-20,000 years ago. 

The tour company, Eco Wakana, plants a native tree on the island every time they visit. Chris said the small lancewood tree we planted today was over 9,500 for him. (Fun fact: Gandolf’s staff was made of lancewood.) It’s a clever tree, which evolved over millennia to protect itself from the now-extinct moa. The leaves on the lower three meters (as high as the moa could reach) are serrated like long hacksaws. Once the tree gets taller, it branches into more tender leaves and flowers. 

At the top - an island in a lake on an island (Mao Waho) in a lake (Lake Wanaka) on an island (South Island, NZ) in an ocean. We saw falcons soaring and diving from here. 

The critter on the top is a mountain stone wētā (not to be confused with the buff weta). They are cryogenic, and survive in a frozen state for about 5 months of the year. The water in the cells freezes extracellularly; they can be frozen in a block of ice and gradually become active again as the ice thaws. They are of great scientific interest; NASA has been studying them. The lovely thing below is an unhappy New Zealand gecko, which kept biting Chris. Better him than me.

On the way down, Greg detoured with our guide to pick up a geocache, and I tagged along hoping to see a buff weta. And sure enough, Sally (who’s raised 29 chicks!) came over to check us out. 

We were treated to three more buff wetas at the gathering spot near the boat dock. 

I was a happy camper; just sat on the grass and watched. They are as fearless as penguins.

We drove through the lakefront town to see the most photographed tree in New Zealand, “that Wakana tree”. It improbably sprouted from a makeshift fence post, and now seems to thrive in the lake.