My New Favorite Country - New Zealand!

Towering mountains and deep fiords.   Flightless birds and nine sheep to every human.  Hundreds of cold cascading waterfalls and hot springs.  The "Penguin Capital of the world".  Blue glaciers pushing into temperate rainforests.  Hobbit homes and movie sets.  Birds with 12 foot wingspans and flightless birds with a wingspan of one inch.  Fur seals and glow worms in caves.   Hairpin turns on single-lane bridges, and driving on the left.  Two names for everything - one English and the other the language of the Maori natives.  What do all these things have in common?  You can find them in New Zealand (known in Māori as "Aotearoa").

These are the facts, but not the experience.  Of all my extensive travels around the world, New Zealand is definitely my favorite country to explore.  Although portions of other favored countries are very lovely and interesting, I found that almost every part of New Zealand is breathtaking.  It has a great abundance of stunning and unusual natural sights that take your breath away everywhere you look!

Wellington Harbour

 

 

Geography:  

New Zealand contains the North and the South Island, connected by a ferry.  To the east is the South Pacific Ocean, and eventually Chile, 5,700 miles away; to the west is the Tasman Sea and Australia (1,300 miles) and further still is Tasmania (1,400 miles).  The flight from Sydney to Wellington takes 3 hours, and there is a two hour time zone change.  The flight attendants welcomed us in the native language ("Nau mai.")

Wellington Harbour as seen from the museum

 

Lodging and Transportation:   

Although Wellington has over 400,000 residents, it seems like a smaller city, and a rental car is not needed in a city designed for walkers or public transportation.  There are many types of accommodations, from backpackers' hostels and budget motels to B&Bs, boutique and luxury lodges.  We chose to rent a two bedroom apartment selected for its location near the attractions we wanted to visit on foot.

Wellington mixes old and new architecture; our apartment was next door in this eclectic area

 

 

Sightseeing:      

Wellington has much to offer visitors, including my favorite, the free world-class Museum of New Zealand, showcasing the country's history and its Maori culture.  One could easily spend a few hours browsing the exhibits, fascinating ancestral carvings, ornaments, garments, and weaponry, plus replicas of a Maori lodge and decorative meeting house.  

Maori Meeting House

 

Cable Car and Botanical Gardens:

The historic cable car lifts riders 400 feet above the city to the lush Botanical Garden.  The cable car propels riders through tunnels lit with decorative colored LED lights.  At Halloween, we were surprised to see LED bats "flying" through the tunnels. The lovely and free garden at the top is a "Garden of National Significance."

View from the Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens contains a Cable Car Museum and an observatory.  There are several extensive walking paths and a Sculpture Trail that winds through native trees, local brush and specialized plant collections, and colorful floral displays to the famous Rose Garden and the city below.  

The Botanical Gardens

 

Culture and Arts:    

The "cultural capital" of New Zealand, Wellington hosts artistic and cultural organizations such as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet, as well as several theaters.  It boasts a great "vibe" and a youthful feel, and is a very walkable city.   The waterfront offers an enjoyable, easy paved stroll along the harbour, passing the historic post office and numerous monuments to the area's history, a park with a children's lighthouse slide, a skateboard park, and shops and businesses lodged in restored early wharfs.

Historic square adjacent to the waterfront

 

Ferry to South Island:     

After several enjoyable days exploring this city that we quickly grew to love, we boarded a ferry for a 58 mile, three hour trip known as one of the most beautiful ferry cruises in the world.  Crossing the Cook Strait via ferry to the South Island is a memorable experience, and there are plenty of seats on the open deck to take in the lovely scenery and snap photographs.  Inside are several lounges and restaurants with more comfortable seating.

Passengers enjoy the top deck ferry view while awaiting departure from Wellington.

The map below shows the route taken by the ferry, from Wellington at the southern tip of the North Island (on the right), to Picton, through the fiords to the northern end of the South Island. The two cities are almost directly across from each other!

 

The scenery is so spectacular that most passengers took many photos.  I snapped over 100!

Although the ferries transports many cars, trucks and campers, there is a lot of foot traffic as well.  Being content to walk in Wellington, we were able to board with our luggage, paying only for a seat.  Many visitors rent a vehicle for their travels on the North Island, return the car at Wellington, take the ferry across to the South Island, and then rent another vehicle there, to save the expense of transporting a vehicle. 

One of the ferries arrives in Picton, on the South Island

Shortly after our arrival on the South Island, we lunched in Picton and picked up our rental van.  Then we steered the vehicle to the left side of the road and pointed it in the direction of our well-planned 15 day road trip adventure.

Join me for Part II of our amazing New Zealand adventure in my next blog!

"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."     Psalm 90:2

 

Visiting Ketchikan, Alaska and Its Fascinating Totem Poles

Alaska offers a wealth of natural beauty and rich cultural sites to explore.  Although it can be difficult to reach Alaska from the "lower 48", one delightful method  of transportation is via cruise ship.  Sailing near the shoreline, passengers and crew are awed by the wonder of this beautiful state and its breathtaking fjords and glaciers.

Arriving by cruise ship


Ketchikan - One of the lovely ports enjoyed on most Inside Passage cruises is Ketchikan, a small town of only 8,000 people.  It has a rich history due to the natives and pioneers who settled the area, as well as the miners, lumbermen, and fishermen.  Cedar, spruce and hemlock trees tower over the temperate rainforest of the Tongass National Forest.  

Ketchikan

Outdoor adventures abound in the charming town of Ketchikan, such as salmon or deep sea fishing, hiking Deer Mountain, or sightseeing from a float plane in the Misty Fjords National Monument, where glacier-sculpted fjords rise to 3,000 feet.  Wildlife often seen by visitors includes black bears, deer, wolves and bald eagles, as well as whales, otters and sea lions on whale-watching trips. 
                               
Totem Poles - A very large influence on the area's history were three different tribes of Natives, and their legacy is evident in the largest collection of totem poles in the world.  Totems, skillfully carved by these native artists, use symbolic characters carved on tall poles.  Totem poles were not worshipped, but were silent storytellers as there was no written language. 
      
Of all the sightseeing and activity options available on our cruise port day in Ketchikan, we chose to spend several hours exploring the Native culture.  Ketchikan has some of the oldest totem poles in existence today, most scattered throughout town, at the Totem Heritage Center, and at several totem parks. Totem Bight State Historical Park is just one location where there is a large display of Native Americans' totems, and we selected to visit it due to its usual lack of crowds.

Totem Bight State Historical Park, Ketchikan, Alaska

The Story of Totem Bight - In the early 1900's, Natives left their traditional  villages and totem poles to find work elsewhere.   What they abandoned was soon overgrown and eroded.   In 1938 , the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hired skilled older Native carvers to  reconstruct these large cedar monuments.  Young artisans learned to carve totem poles, and totems left to rot in the woods were repaired or duplicated.

An Alaskan architect supervised construction of Totem Bight's model Native village.  Old pole portions were laid beside fresh cedar logs and were traditionally copied.   Natural paints were created from clam shells, lichen, graphite, copper pebbles, and salmon eggs; natural colors were then duplicated with modern paints.  The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Totem Bight Park

The Clan House - Several related families, overseen by one chief, shared the Clan House as living quarters.   A community house of this size could contain 30 to 50 people.  This design is typical of many early 19th century Indian villages. 

Clan House and Totem

The painting on the front of the Clan House is a Raven with eyes made into a face.  Designs on house fronts were only for wealthy clans. 

The interior of the Clan House is one large room with a fireplace in the center, surrounded by a platform.  The guide pictured below explained that each family occupied its own space but shared the fireplace.   Housewares and personal items  were kept  beneath the floor boards, and food was hung from the beams.  The totems that uphold the beams are representative of a particularly strong native man.

Ketchikan Tourism - There are many other interesting sites and activities in Ketchikan.  We spent the second half our our day enjoying the touristy but fun Creek Street, one of the most popular attractions in town.  A wooden boardwalk raised above the creek links historical buildings.  There are many shops and artisan stores, spotlighting the work of local carvers, weavers, jewelry designers, painters, and sculptors.  We  bought a mid-weight jacket embroidered with "Alaska" on Creek Street, and it was of very good quality for a reasonable price.

Historical Creek Street - Other tourist favorites include a  tour of a 1930's restored cannery that tells the background of the “Canned Salmon Capital of the World.”  The lumbering  history of the abundant forests is demonstrated in an old-fashioned lumberjack logging competition.  Visit the  Tongass Historical Museum, and for those who love the arts, Ketchikan has a very active Native arts community of weavers, carvers, and dancers.

We enjoyed our day in friendly Ketchikan very much, and would be happy to return to experience more of all that it has to offer.

Have you visited Ketchikan?  What did you enjoy doing there?  I'd love to hear your stories in the Comments section below.  Visit my Facebook Group, Traveling Through This World, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/758160294390257/.