Monthly Archives: February 2015

Life in New Zealand, Day 2 2/17/15

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This is our second day in New Zealand and I’m enjoying noticing the similarities and differences between here and the US. The one difference that is often in the front of my mind is that they drive on the other side of the road here. So far, we’ve been either driven or walked everywhere we’ve gone because neither of us is ready to get behind a wheel yet. Nevertheless, as we walk, we walk on the left side of the sidewalk and try to envision driving on the left as we go along. Even though it is so present in our minds, it is so engrained to look left when stepping off a curb instead of right for oncoming traffic. It really takes a lot of focus just crossing the street. As well, when we see cars coming around a corner, it still makes us jump, thinking that they are on the wrong side of the street. But alas, they are on the correct side!

We rented bikes today and plan to take a ride tomorrow. This should help us to reorient to left-side mentality. We are about 3 blocks from the edge of the University of Canterbury campus and we see a lot of people riding bikes and walking. There aren’t any bike paths near here but the campus has paths and small streets that might provide a good practice area for us.

I’m enjoying the modified English accents here. It’s funny, my thinking voice is starting to have a NZ accent – but it hasn’t started expressing itself out my mouth yet, at least I don’t think so! There are a few words that catch my imagination every now and then – like common sayings and such. The word “fortnight” is one that I have to google when I’m done writing. Also “whilst” is used instead of while. At the grocery store last night, the cashier referred to the shopping cart as a “trolly.” I like that there are a lot of Maori (pronounced mowry with the o like in “power”) words that are part of the common language here.

As Ithacans we feel comfortable here with the way that garbage and recycling are handled. In the house and everywhere we’ve gone on campus, there are three differently colored bins. Yellow bins are for recyclable material such as paper, cans and bottles; Green bins are for compostable material; and red bins are for the “rubbish” which is anything you couldn’t get in either of the other bins. They have weekly curbside pick up of these bins, which is very cool if you ask me. Unfortunately, NZ has not woken up to the scourge of plastic shopping bags. Last year, Hawaii banned plastic shopping bags and a year later they have pretty much disappeared. People are encouraged with discounts to bring their own bags, use the store’s boxes, or use the paper bags that the store provides. This is working well for Hawaii but here in NZ, the grocery stores are pumping out loads of the plastic bags. Granted, they are nice to reuse around the house for various things, but they are pretty nasty for the environment and its critters.

I’m really enjoying seeing different birds here and trying to identify them when I get back to my Birds of New Zealand book at the house. A brand new bird for me that we saw yesterday was the Magpie. This is a rather large, crow-looking bird that is mostly black with large areas of white markings. They were hanging out in one of the fields on the UC campus. We’ve also seen the Blackbird here, which has a yellow beak, is much larger and moves very differently than our Red-winged Blackbirds back home. The male is all black and the female is a brownish color.

Solway House, where we are staying had some damage from the earthquakes that shook Christchurch back in 2010 and 2011 but almost all of it has been fixed and repaired. The house looks great and is very comfortable. The Ilam (pronounced with a long I sound) area where we are located was spared the worst of the quakes. We were in the city center today and saw serious evidence of the damage to buildings that are still being repaired and rebuilt. Approximately 185 people in the Christchurch area lost their lives on February 22, 2011. I can sense a bit of sadness and longing from locals when they talk about the event. The city’s namesake church and several of its oldest and historic buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. It’s commercial center just stopped happening that day and has still not really recovered.

I’ve had the pleasure of noticing that New Zealanders, aside from being very friendly and willing to help strangers, also have more eye contact than I’m used to receiving from New Yorkers. They seem to take that extra few seconds to really look you in the eye as they talk and when you speak in return. I find it refreshing and I really like this aspect of the culture here. I often feel like people around me are moving so fast through life and conversation with others that they seldom actually look others in the eye and make sure that they are connecting.

The weather has been really nice. Temperatures have been into the high 40s at night and in the low 70s during the day. Yesterday, the breeze was quite cool but the sun was intensely warm, so if you stood in the shade, it felt pretty chilly. Today it should get into the high 70s. I’m looking forward to exploring more of Christchurch and taking some pictures to share.

The Lovely Laysan 2/10/15

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The Laysan Albatross or Moli is truly an amazing bird. Well actually, I find all birds pretty cool, but the albatross I find particularly intriguing. Here at Ali’i Kai, I’m seeing these beautiful birds fly by every day as they fish on the water and catch the wind currents coming up the cliffs. They are basically built like sailplanes and spend most of their lives, for years at a time, 1,600 miles away on the open ocean in the North Pacific. The Princeville and Kilauea areas of Kauai are particularly blessed because the Laysan Albatross return each year to nest above the cliffs. This gives people like me the opportunity to see them up close as they sit on their eggs and tend to their chicks.

Photographing these birds in flight is not an easy task but I have managed to get a few good shots that thrilled me. At Kilauea Lighthouse/National Wildlife Refuge these birds as well as the Red-footed Booby and Great Frigatebird fly by quickly, riding the air currents rising from the ocean. My friend Jody who works at the Refuge showed me the best spot to stand to get a good shot at catching them as they soar by.

Laysan Albatross, Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai

Laysan Albatross, Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai

The Laysan’s body is 31-32” long and its wingspan is 78-80” – that’s over 6 ½ feet! Long, thin and pointed, their wings are built for seemingly effortless soaring over long distances. When you see them from a distance, what you notice is their large white body and dark wings. These birds feed primarily on cephalopods (mostly squid). On land, the albatross is pretty clumsy and walks with a humorous waddle – sort of like a toddler with a big diaper! Due to the their silly way on land, people used to call them “gooney birds.” Laysan Albatrosses vocalize with a collection of whinnies, wines and moans. They also snap their bills together a fair amount.

Our friend Jody knows a volunteer researcher, Cathy Granholm http://www.albatrossdiary.com who is protecting and recording the behaviors of the albatrosses while they nest and fledge in Princeville. Jody and two of her friends invited Bill and I to join Cathy on Friday as she made her rounds. This was a wonderful opportunity to see these birds up close including chicks that were just a day or two old. Believe it or not, these birds were nesting right in a residential area amidst people’s bushes and on their lawns.

Laysan Albatross, Princeville

Laysan Albatross, Princeville

The adults arrive in November to start courting and nesting. They lay just one egg, which becomes the center of their lives for 65 days of incubation until the chick hatches – then the real work starts. At first, one parent is always with the chick while the other is finding food. Eventually both parents leave the nest, sometimes for several weeks at a time, in order to find enough food for the growing chick. Cathy estimated that they may go as far as Alaska to get enough food. It takes about 160 days for the juveniles to fledge which happens in July or August. Once the juvenile fledges, it will be out at sea for three years before it returns to its colony. Albatrosses don’t start mating until they are about 7-8 years old. Most albatrosses live to be about 40-60 years old. The oldest living Laysan Albatross is 63 years old and her name is Wisdom.

Cathy has been documenting their activity for 10 years so we learned a lot about them as we walked around her neighborhood meeting these feathered visitors. It turns out there are a lot of misconceptions about these birds. Many of them mate for life but it turns out there is a lot more drama in the albatross world than most people realize. Courtship can be intense, and since there appear to be more females than males, this adds to the albatross soap opera in Princeville each year. Quarrels, divorces, and deaths are common occurrences as well as female-female nesting pairs. When two females get together, they usually each lay an egg and incubate one of them but since it’s rarely fertilized, it never hatches. Cathy told us about this with a bit of sadness in her voice. She knew most of the birds we encountered along the walk either by their names or their ankle tag numbers and had stories – some heartwarming and some sad – about these birds that return year after year.

Nesting Laysan Albatross, Princeville

Nesting Laysan Albatross, Princeville

The chicks are grey and fluffy and super cute, in an albatross kind of way! The ones we saw were cared for/doted on so lovingly by their parents – it was very sweet. Sometimes a father or mother will refuse to get up off the nest and give the other parent a chance to dote on the egg or chick. Cathy was careful not to upset the birds too much but needed to make note of each nester’s band number.

Laysan Albatross Day-old Chick

Laysan Albatross Day-old Chick

Laysan Albatross and Parent, Princeville

Laysan Albatross Chick and Parent, Princeville

During their nine-month process from courting to fledging, albatrosses kind of define this Princeville neighborhood. It was nice to see that Cathy’s neighbors were looking out for the birds and enjoying watching their progress. Sometimes people get to name birds that hatch in their yards.

On our walk, we got to see the cliff edge where the fledglings take off for their first flight. When we got home, I watched a video on Cathy’s site showing the numerous attempts that a particular juvenile “CJ” made before he took flight for the first time. It was very exciting. Since they are not able to get enough lift by running, like their parents do, the juveniles need a cliff edge where there is a breeze to provide the lift they need. Cathy told a story of one juvenile that didn’t quite get it right and ended up stranded in the ravine. She ended up climbing down a very steep edge in order to save the bird. It was so tired when she grabbed it that it didn’t resist her clutch at all. However, as soon as she got the bird to safety, it bit her. Oh well, all in a good day’s work protecting and saving wild and beautiful creatures!

Many thanks to Cathy for her important and valuable work and for editing this article for accuracy.

Milford Mind 2/8/15

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So, we’re going to New Zealand. NZ is one of those places that I’ve seen pictures of many times and just marveled at the incredible beauty of its valleys, mountains and fiords. I remember seeing pictures and videos of New Zealand and being blown away. Upon hearing about how far away it was, I thought I’d never make it there in my lifetime. I figured the cost and distance were too much. Well, here we are, Bill and I are heading there in less than a week and it still seems surreal to me.

One of the things that is particularly unreal is this amazing adventure we have planned while in New Zealand – hiking the Milford Track. The Milford is a 33.5-mile trail that goes northwesterly from Queenstown to the Milford Sound at the coast. When Bill and I watched a video of this trek, the beauty of it brought tears to my eyes. Gorgeous valleys, steep, otherworldly cliffs, waterfalls and pristine rivers are its jewels. It’s a one-way trail that only 50 people per day are allowed to start. Tent camping is not allowed, you have to stay at designated cabins and lodges along the way. Many people do this trail with backpacks weighted with food, sleeping bag, clothes, and everything else needed for the four-day adventure. Bill and I knew that we were not up to backpacking at this point in our lives, so we signed up to do this trek with a guide company that will tell us about what we’re seeing along the way, feed us, as well as provide a hot shower and bed to sleep in.

I’m excited and also fearful about this most wonderful adventure we are going on. It will be a challenge to hike with a small pack for 8-13 miles for several days in a row. Bill and I have been doing hikes nearby with intent to build up our stamina and prepare for Milford. We’ve hiked a few times on the Wai Koa Loop Trail which is five miles long and winds through a beautiful mahogany plantation, community gardens, a dog park, an organic farm, lagoons and a beautiful garden. The loop trail is part of the Anaina Hou Community Park that also includes a farmers’ market, skate park, café, mini-golf and botanical gardens. The land was donated by the owners, Joan and Bill Porter – the latter being the founder of E-trade. Before or after hiking, sometimes we enjoy a round of mini-golf, which incorporates educational signs about Hawaiian plants, culture and agricultural practices at each hole.

The Milford Track is known for its very changeable weather and we’ve been told to prepare for everything – rain, flooding, sun, snow, and sandflies. Packing and otherwise preparing for this trek has been a bit of a challenge – being a worry-wart and all. When I’m able to tell my worrying mind to take a back seat, I’m able to visualize a challenging but fun and amazing trip through beautiful mountains, valleys and fiords. And if I’m lucky, I’ll lose my worrying mind somewhere along the way.

Life at Ali’I Kai

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Life is beautiful and ominous here at Ali’i Kai 7203. The wind is almost always blowing and the waves are constantly coming in. I watch them through a small ravine that cuts through the cliff and leads down to the ocean – but I can see the great Pacific before me. It has so many moods and is forever changing and moving. Right now, the swell is pretty small but the wind waves are creating a lot of chop on the surface of the water and making white caps that appear and disappear. The swells here travel thousands of miles away from storms on the Baring Sea.

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View from Ali’i Kai

I love going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean. There is a constant water-rushing sound but then also the crashing of waves on the cliffs below. I always think of waves as the ocean’s way of breathing. It’s the back and forth of the waves and the constant exchange of oxygen as the foam forms and releases. When the surf is high, it’s actually so loud I need to shut my windows or else I’ll get woken up by the continual pounding. High surf hitting the cliffs sounds like when a freight train is slowing down and all of the cars bang into each other in a thunderous succession as the waves roll down the shoreline.

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Humpback Whale waving its dorsal fin

Whales are a near constant sight out in the deep water. They have all sorts of movements that no doubt are meaningful to other whales but not to me. They sometimes stick their dorsal fins clear out of the water and wave them around before whacking them down on the water. Yesterday, I watched an individual stick his tail out of the water, wave it and slap it on the water surface at least 6 times in a row before going back under the blue abyss. After coming up for air, sometimes they display their whole tail as they dive deep under. The most exciting show is when an individual ejects itself completely out of the water and slaps down making a huge splash. This event can be seen for quite a ways off and I have discovered the difficulty of trying to catch such an event on film because you never know exactly where they’re going to come up.

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Red-crested Cardinal

So many birds are present here at our condo. We’ve seen the Red-crested Cardinal, Northern Cardinal, Pacific Golden Plover, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Common Myna, Cattle Egret, Nene (Hawaiian Goose), Chestnut Munia, Nutmeg Mannikin, Moa (Red Junglefoul/Wild Chicken), Great Frigatebird, and last but certainly not least, the beautiful and graceful Laysan Albatross. The albatross ride the wind currents rising up the cliffs along the shoreline. Their long pointed wings allow them to move through the air barely having to beat their wings. Less than a mile from here, the albatross’ are laying and sitting on their eggs.

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Ne Ne (Hawaiian Goose)

The Nene (pronounced like “nay nay”) is a silly and fun bird to watch. They almost always travel in pairs. In the mornings, they sometimes fly in groups of four or five and will land on the grass between the condo and the cliff. They make a big racket for a few minutes after they land, honking and squawking at each other with head down. On the Big Island and Maui, these birds are hard to find, but here they are plentiful, especially on golf courses and other grassy areas. These birds were nearly extinct on the Islands but they were reintroduced on Kauai years ago and have really become very plentiful here. They’re smaller than our Canada Geese back home and are quite beautiful to look at.

Na Pali, Take Two

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On Tuesday 1/14 we put on our hiking shoes, packed water and snacks, and headed to one of the world’s most beautiful and treacherous hikes – the Kalalau Trail. To get to the trailhead, we went through Hanalei on the Kuhio Highway (not really a highway by New York standards!) and followed the road along the bay and north coast until it ended, literally. You cannot circumnavigate Kauai; the reason is the range of mountains (formerly volcanoes) that are part of the Hono’Onapali Natural Reserve area and Na Pali Coast. A series of connected natural reserves encompass approximately 40- 50% of the Island of Kauai. Because Na Pali’s cliffs go directly into the ocean, there is only a foot trail that will take you part of the way down the northwestern coast. Kalalau is 11 miles long, one way, and ends at Kalalau Beach. Along the way, hikers experience the most amazingly beautiful views, waterfalls and beaches – but it comes with a price.

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Warning signs at Kalalau Trail head!

 

Backpacker magazine calls the Kalalau one of America’s 10 most dangerous hikes, and for good reason. The trail winds along the side of mountains with 300’ cliffs that dump into the ocean. If heights don’t have an effect on you, the fact that the trail is rocky, crumbly and slippery might give you pause. Nevertheless, signs at the entry to the trail don’t seem to stop people from venturing on in flip-flops and looking otherwise completely unprepared for this kind of trek. Despite all of the opportunity for Kalalau hikers to unwittingly jettison themselves off of a cliff, there have been very few known fatalities on the trail itself. The much larger danger is associated with going in the water from the few, small beaches along the way – especially in winter. The surf can be seriously treacherous at times and over 100 people have lost their lives from being pulled out to sea while trying to cool down after a hot day on the trail.

Despite all these warnings, we decided to make a short trek of it and just go the first 2 miles from Ke’e Beach to Hanakapi’ai Beach. I have to say, this is definitely the most rugged trail I have ever been on. Some of the trail is dirt, but a large portion of it is uneven, smooth rocks that get very slippery when wet, even with my aggressive-soled hiking shoes.

I had a few moments of thinking about my favorite trail back home – Treman State Park – which can get kind of squirrely in parts. I often find myself complaining about the lack of money that New York State has for maintaining its state parks. I found myself wishing for even a taste of something like the most wrangled trails back home! For me, every step had to be thought about carefully in order to avoid a twisted ankle, a slip, or a fall. To tell you the truth, it was kind of tiring and I had to take more than a few short breaks along the way.

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The Kalalau Trail

 

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Beautiful Na Pali Coast

 

The views of the cliffs, the ocean and Ke’e Beach far below were so beautiful that it took my breath away time and again. I snapped a few pictures along the way but, just like when we took the catamaran cruise and viewed Na Pali from the water, photos just don’t give it justice. Looking up you see tall spires and peaks shooting up hundreds of feet. Looking down you see the terra cotta jagged cliffs that end on the rocky shore hundreds of feet below. From one vantage point, the trail widened and took a turn south and provided an incredible view down the Coast. On both the way out and back we found a few rocks to just sit and ponder this amazing place.

Hawaiians, who grew taro and other vegetables into the late 1800’s, inhabited several of the major valleys along the coast. They also created trails to link these settlements that are now part of the Kalalau. Since the early Hawaiians were expert sea navigators, they used canoes to access Na Pali’s remote valleys and to travel all over Polynesia.

So, some people were trekking along at a pretty good clip, and others, like me were taking it slower and with more caution. I noticed that it seemed the younger the hiker, the faster the pace! I guess getting older comes with a heightened weariness to falling. As well, being short has its positives and negatives in this kind of walk. Being 5’2”, I have a lower center of gravity, which adds to stability — and, I suppose I have less far to fall if I did. However, at 6’2”, Bill’s long legs definitely gave him an advantage on the steep drops and climbs. The whole time we were hiking, I felt very aware that there was a very steep and long drop just a foot or two off the narrow trail.

It seems like my confidence on the trail should have built over time, but instead, the further I went, the more anxious I got. A few tiny trips and slips on the rocks made my heart skip a beat and my adrenaline surge. At somewhere around ¾ of a mile, I realized that my shoulders were up somewhere around my ears and thought that perhaps I’d had enough for the day. Even though my body was perfectly capable of trekking on for several more miles, somehow my psyche was not. I remembered that this was not the first time I’ve had a reaction to high altitude and steep cliffs so I think it was good to call it a day.

As we headed back down to Ke’e Beach and revisited all of the beautiful vistas along the way, I reminded myself that we have time to come back on another day and go further on the trail. So I bid adieu to Na Pali and promised to come back for more of her splendor.