Christmas in Paradise with dolphins and kiwis

Last light, Doubtful Sound © Caroline Fraser

As you know, I am working in New Zealand for a few months, in order to do some photography and get paid enough to stay here for longer than the average 2 week holiday.

I am not one to sit in a plane for 36 hours twice within two weeks.

But my lovely family are doing just that, in order to spend Christmas in Paradise with me.



The road to Paradise was sunny and busy with people carrying selfie sticks.

people in Paradise

But if you looked the other way it still looked like paradise to me.

Paradise and the Dart River © Caroline Fraser

The waters of the river were cool and crystal clear.

Dart river water

But I don't want to rub in the beauty of this place.

Other Half is waiting for some words from yours truly.



I hesitate to write this next part for I have just discovered that he ( my other half)  has only 3 months left on his life insurance policy, and I will be a much richer widow if he pops off before his next birthday.

We discussed together a few ways that I could hasten his demise ( in jest, of course).

I will name a few;

• heart attack climbing Ben Lomond. .............FAILED ....... it was me that nearly had the heart attack due to extreme heat.

• falling off a cliff on the road to Paradise......FAILED........ people with selfie sticks would have heard the screams

the road to Paradise

Nice place to die though.

everybody loves a selfie

• death by helicopter ride over the mountains.............FAILED

• death by great white shark.......... not attempted, but a fairly gruesome way to go. And what if he was only maimed?

shark cage divers

death by sand fly attack...........quite possible..........probably both of us........which is not the point....

death by chocolate..... not allowed.....




So we carried on with our adventures and it seems to be the wildlife that is taking most of our attention right now.

We have found albatrosses at Doubtful Sound and Stewart Island

albatross

Seagulls of the friendly variety

Crayfish of the most delicious kind;


lunch

lunch

A stray octopus;

not lunch

octopus

Blue cod;

dinner

blue cod

OH wants you to know that he caught 5 fish..........they were used as bait...... pacific perch not considered fit for lunch or dinner

bait for fishing

he is now complaining that you can't see his fish properly..........


So here he is....

OH caught a fish

And most exciting of all we had a baby dolphin along with many others, also on Doubtful Sound, swimming alongside our boat.




everybody say 'ahhhhhhh"

baby dolphin

and for the grand finale



THE NEW ZEALAND KIWI!

kiwi on Ulva Island

rarely seen in daylight, or even at all.


OH nearly tripped over it on Ulva Island having been out for 3 hours in the dark the night before on a guided 'find the kiwi at great expense' tour and come back with a photo in which there may have been a kiwi, but neither you nor I could really tell.


We have a few days left of exploring this paradise together, and then it will be back to work and there will be time for a different kind of photography.....the kind where I am allowed to stand in one place for more than 2 minutes before the next hill or mountain has to be climbed.

A trip to Stewart Island - Rakiura

Stewart Island

Before any more time passes, I must tell you about my weekend trip to Stewart Island, as despite rather grey skies it was, to use a Kiwi phrase 'awesome'.

I opted to fly, not being one for high seas.

The flight leaves from Invercargill airport, famous only for its car hire company and twin palms.

Rent a Dent, Invercargill

Departures and arrivals bench, Invercargill airport 

We were delayed for 90 minutes due to a band of rain passing through. For it is a very small plane, and easily affected by weather .

the cockpit

the pilot

The cockpit looked old. The pilot looked far too young to be responsible for my life and that of the 7 other passengers. he advised us that we could escape by pulling the window out if necessary, but requested that we save this for emergencies as it is 'very hard to put them back again'. When we arrived he morphed into a baggage handler and bus driver, delivering us to town.

Town being Oban. It is not possible to escape Scotland in New Zealand.

Oban township

Oban is the hub, where the ferry arrives to, and the tourist trips depart from.

fishing co-op and ferry terminal, Oban

Visitors are not allowed to bring cars, and most travel is by boat.

I travelled to Ulva Island; one of the highlights of my trip down under thus far.

Ulva island ferry; one of several small operators

Ulva island ferry ticket

Muttonbush leaves were legal post here until the 1970's, being plentiful and easy to write on.

Muttonbush

Why is Ulva Island so wonderful?

Because there are no predators there; rats and possums have been eradicated and a careful watch is kept for new invaders arriving by boat or by swimming.

And no predators means wonderful bird life.

check yourself

I duly checked myself for rats on arrival.

near here lies a rat trap

a rat trap

The vegetation had me in heaven again.

The absence of a tripod was an issue however.

vegetation, Ulva Island

more greenery, Ulva island

A Tui bird

Kiwi's about

I didn't get to see a Kiwi, but did get a close encounter with a Weka, another flightless bird.

Weka

Mostly I just enjoyed the birdsong and the ferns and creepers.

And the beach at Sydney Cove

Sydney Cove

I wandered lonely as a tourist,

then back to reality after a fews hours for a slap-up lunch on the sea front, and some more sightseeing.

never say I am not good at recycling……… 

Dundee Street

the petrol pump. If you want diesel, its on the tanker

Kiwi aversion training for dogs

The bowling club; surreal in my view.

The phone 'box' - trunk calls only

A memorable trip, thanks to Stewart Island flights and the ferry operators to Ulva Island.

heading back home

the plane 

Not a weekend for major photographic achievements, but certainly one for good memories.


 I like this quote that I found on the Stewart Island website in regard of Ulva Island.

Have a care for this island. Sanctuaries such as these are imperative. There is no song of Bellbird or Tui on the moon.

Olga Sansom, 1970

Past Curator, Southland Museum and Stewart Islander

You can listen to the bellbird song in my previous post; it really is uplifting.

For now 'over and out'   ( OH will spot the deliberate mistake here….. )

I'm off out again to look for something to photograph.

some sand from Sydney Cove

abstract from a boat