MONDAY--MARCH 28, 2011

MAUI SUNSET

MAUI SUNSET

Today, my routine has become walking the beach, enjoying the sun, pool, and hot tub as well as attempting to catch up on my blog.



SUNDAY--MARCH 27, 2011

HARBOR VIEW FROM WHALER'S VILLAGE SHOPPING AREA

I am enjoying the sun, the beach, the pool, and the hot tub here at The Mahana Resort in Maui.  The sand is a rich almond brown.  There is coral directly out from the beach entrance.  So, to enjoy being in the Pacific Ocean, I must walk about one hundred yards north or south from the main beach entrance.  Since arriving, the winds have been very strong making walking difficult at times.  Spray from the ocean and sand from the beach is often picked up by the winds.  The beach angles maybe twenty to thirty degrees which makes it a challenge to walk upright.  I used the public bus transit to ride to Whaler’s Village which is a nice shopping area south of my resort and close to some other resort hotels.  There are several nice restaurants in the Village.  I then rode the bus on to Lahaina Village which is another shopping area farther south.

SATURDAY--MARCH 26, 2011

ISLAND OF LANAI TO THE SOUTH OF MY BALCONY

ISLAND OF MOLOKAI TO THE NORTH OF MY BALCONY

SAILBOAT PAST MY BALCONY

JOHN READY TO ZIP LINE

VIEW ACROSS VALLEY FROM START PLATFORM TO TOUCHDOWN

LUNCH BREAK AFTER FOUR ZIP LINE RIDES

YES THAT IS JOHN

AND HALF WAY ACROSS

ALMOST TO TOUCHDOWN

Today, I experienced my first excursion scheduled with the concierge.  I went on a zip-line excursion with Sky Line Eco Adventures.  Having no automobile here, I rode by taxi to the office a few blocks away.  There were twelve of us scheduled for the 9:00 am zip line excursion.  By van, we were transported up the mountain dirt roads through many gates set to deter cattle wandering up the mountain.  During the next four hours, we enjoyed eight zip-line rides beginning with one at five hundred feet in length and ending with one at twelve hundred feet in length.  Between rides four and five we were treated to lunch on the mountain.  The view into the valley to the beach was really beautiful.  And, the rides were a lot of fun.  As we progressed through the eight rides we were instructed on additional zip-line skills.  Since the clouds were hanging low with very light rain or mist most of the morning and throughout the day, I sat posting on my blog for a great portion of the afternoon.  I have located one spot on my balcony with a strong enough internet signal without going down to the lobby.  

FRIDAY--MARCH 25, 2011

VIEW FROM MY BALCONY

VIEW FROM LIVING ROOM

NEARBY HOTEL RESORT

WHALE TAIL FROM BALCONY

WHALE TAIL SLAP

TAIL FLUKES ARE ABOUT FIFTEEN FEET WIDE

WHALE TAIL SLAP

BEAUTIFUL MAUI SUNSET

PEOPLE ENJOYING THE BEACH AFTER SUNSET 

I am very comfortable in my one bedroom condo here at Mahana Resort.  But, the sound of the waves below me awakened me several times during the night.  I thought at first I was hearing the sound of the strong winds which were here during the day, only to learn the sound of the crashing waves is endless.  The balcony off of the bedroom and accessible from the living room has a remote controlled motorized screen that lowers to decrease the effects of sun, heat, and wind.  The Mahana Resort has a concierge who is an agent for Expedia.  She is well informed about available excursions with reduced rates when booked by her.  I scheduled some excursions with her, but mainly wish to enjoy the sun and the beach and the pool.  I walked the beach today at great length and spent time in the pool and the sun.  I have been able to view whales from my balcony.  When the tsunami came recently, the whales moved farther out into the ocean.  Just in the last couple of days the whales have appeared much closer to shore.

THURSDAY--MARCH 24, 2011

Leaving Greymouth this morning, we traveled through the mountains by way of Arthur’s Pass.  The very early departure in the darkness did not permit us to see much of the breathtaking mountainous views.  As I leave Christchurch by Qantas Airlines today, I fly first to Sydney, Australia, where I will board Jetstar Airlines at 6:00 pm.  Ironically, because of time zones, I will arrive in Honolulu, HA, on March 24, at 6:45 am after 9 hours and 45 minutes in the air.  I will arrive in Kahului, HA, on the island of Maui at 10:12 am on March 24, before heading toward my condo on the beach.  Although my travel agent was given a code to enter the door to my condo in January, the code had been changed with no notification.  So, after what seemed like two days of travel with little rest on the airplanes, I finally was able to enter.  What a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean I have from my sixth floor windows and lanai (screened balcony).  To the south, I can see the Island of Lana’i and to the north, I can see the Island of Moloka’i.

WEDNESDAY--MARCH 23, 2011

ROCK FORMATIONS ALONG COAST

PANCAKE ROCKS

PANCAKE ROCKS

ROCK FORMATIONS ALONG COAST

KEWA BIRD (SCAVENGER)

CHECKING FOR FOOD BENEATH TABLES

We traveled north this morning stopping near lunchtime in Hokitika which was a great place to purchase jade.  I actually visited a glass blowing shop where I purchased a small yellow-eyed penguin statue.  We drove on to Greymouth where some of our group separated from us at the train station since they had purchased passage on the TranzAlpine Train.  We drove on along the coast to Punakaiki which is the location of Pancake Rocks.  These rocks near the Tasman Sea in their formation appear to be a stack of pancakes from the side.  We also looked for Blowholes as the tide came in but none were evident.  We returned to Greymouth for a night of rest at the Kingsgate Hotel before a 4:15 am wake-up call.  We must arise so very early to travel east tomorrow across the Southern Island to Christchurch where some in our group have an early afternoon flight from the Christchurch airport.  My Qantas Flight leaves at 3:05 pm.

TUESDAY--MARCH 22, 2011

VIEW IN SOUTHERN ALPS

THUNDER CREEK FALLS

FOX GLACIER FROM VALLEY

JOHN IN HELICOPTER

FOX GLACIER FROM HELICOPTER

FOX GLACIER WHERE IT MOVES THROUGH NARROW PASS

JOHN ON FOX GLACIER

JOHN WITH EIGHT WHO FLEW TO FOX GLACIER

FOX GLACIER VIEW FROM HELICOPTER

FOX GLACIER VIEW FROM HELICOPTER

WINDING RIVER THROUGH VALLEY BELOW FOX GLACIER

We left Queenstown today with our first stop in Arrowtown, a quaint little tourist trap full of shops.  We traveled many winding up and down roads through the Southern Alps (highest about 12,600 feet) on our way to Fox Glacier.  We drove through Haast Pass viewing sensational sights of river and mountains.  We stopped at Thunder Creek Falls which appeared to have a pipe as a spout for the water shooting out before falling.  I think I am weary.  Our journey today seemed very long.  We finally arrived at the village of Fox where we will stay at Heartland Hotel.  Four of us each rode in four helicopters to fly over Fox Glacier.  This is truly an awesome sight.  We could see Mount Tasman and Mount Cook covered with ice.  I had no idea that the helicopter would land on the Glacier and we would be able to walk on the Glacier itself.  We were about 6,500 feet up the mountain.  This was a day of clear weather which enabled such spectacular viewing of the Glacier.  Surprisingly, the temperature on the Glacier seemed as warm or warmer as that in the valley.  The annual rainfall on the glacier is about fifteen meters which produces about forty-five meters of ice and snow.  The glacier has about a ten millimeter net movement during the year, at this time.  During the past couple of years, the net movement has been different.  This helicopter ride over Fox Glacier ranks as the most significant natural experience on this trip, so far.  Being able to stay with and visit with friends of previous years in Auckland has been the most rewarding.  

MONDAY--MARCH 21, 2011

JOHN ALL READY FOR JET BOAT RIDE

JET BOAT

JOHN IN GONDOLA

VIEW OF QUEENSTOWN FROM GONDOLA

JOSH KEELER IN BUNGY JUMP

JOSH KEELER IN BUNGY JUMP

LAKE WAKATIPU FROM RESTAURANT NEAR GONDOLA

LAKE WAKATIPU FROM RESTAURANT NEAR GONDOLA

JOSH KEELER MAYBE??

JOHN ON RESTAURANT BALCONY

GONDOLA RIDE DOWN MOUNTAIN

Today, is a free day without excursions planned for the entire group.  I walked down the hill into the downtown area of Queenstown.  I sat in a coffee shop where I purchased internet time to post on my blog.  After I used all of my mega-byte time, I walked to the dock where I purchased an hour ride on a Jet Boat.  Fourteen of us rode in the jet boat at speeds as fast as eighty-five miles an hour.  The jet boat has a flat bottom with no propeller below the bottom of the boat.  The jet boat requires only two inches of water beneath it.  We traveled on Lake Wakatipu and Shotover River which has a very rocky bottom.  Our very skilled driver maneuvered the boat within inches of many different items along the river, turning the boat to skim sideways a number of times, and turning the boat three hundred sixty degrees maybe as many as six times.  Needless to say, we received a wet spray a few times.  We were each equipped with a hooded rain slicker which helped keep us mostly dry and warm.  Many of us chose to ride a gondola to the top of Bob’s Peak for a delicious buffet at the top.  This gondola ride is the steepest in the southern hemisphere.  One of our tour group members, Josh, chose a bungy jump which we could observe from Bob’s Peak.  

SUNDAY--MARCH 20, 2011

BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN VIEW FROM COACH WINDOW

LOW FOG OVER MIRROR LAKES

JOHN WITH SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAIN PEAK

DEVIL'S STAIRCASE

DEVIL'S STAIRCASE

MITRE PEAK

WATERFALL INTO MILFORD SOUND

WATERFALL INTO MILFORD SOUND

MILFORD SOUND OPENS TO THE OCEAN

LAKE WAKATIPU

QUEENSTOWN AND LAKE WAKATIPU

Leaving Te Anau, we traveled south on winding roads through fog and mist before arriving at Devil’s Staircase, a truly stunning bit of nature with roaring water over and through rocks and boulders.  Although we could not spot the Kea, mountain parrot, we did hear it singing in the treetops.  We drove through the mile long Homer Tunnel which was completely hand hewn during many years.   We drove on into the mountains to reach Milford Sound for a beautiful cruise with Mitre Peak visible, as well as, some waterfalls.  Following the cruise on Milford Sound we drove back through the Southern Alps along the shores of Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown where we will stay two nights at the Mercure Hotel with grand views of Lake Wakatipu.  Technically, Milford Sound is a fiord since it was carved by a glacier and not a river by definition for a sound.  As we drove through the Southern Alps, we could observe “U” shaped valleys carved by glaciers (rivers carve “V” shaped valleys).  Although we did not see an ice/snow avalanche, we did see evidence of tree avalanche, and rock avalanche.