Wine Country - Gibson Bridge

The Marlborough region is renowned for its fine wines. Some of the very best are never exported. We picked up a winery map at the local quilt shop, the Quilt Barn, and I asked what they recommended of the many that were in the area. Gibson Bridge, in Renwick, had won numerous awards, including Marlborough's Best Cellar Door 2010. It was settled and we were off to find them in our rather large bus.

Well, we didn't realize the size of the winery we were about to visit. They had never before had a large bus stop in front of their tiny showroom. Owned by Howard and Julie Simmond, their 6 acres of grapes are mostly Pinot Gris with quantities of Syrah, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Gewürtztraminer. It didn't take Howard long to collect his thoughts and then treat us to one of the most remarkable wine tastings I have ever experienced.

The 6 acres of grapes are hand picked and pressed. Only the best for the Gibson Bridge grapes. Two bottles went home with me that day, with special packing to pad them in my now seriously overweight suitcase. It's so worth it for something this special. Another suitcase and an extra bag charge, but two precious bottles now reside in New Mexico waiting for that special occasion to arise. I already know how good it will taste!

Good-bye Wellington, Hello South Island

What a dramatic view from the ferry that would take our group to Picton on South Island.

Mary, who hails from Dallas, TX thought the ferry was terrific.

Marci and Ina, from Albuquerque, were busy taking photos.

And Shirley and Judy, from Prescott, AZ, just relaxed and watched the scenery. It was on this ferry ride that we saw Blue Penguins as we motored through the Marlborough Sounds. And, a King Shag!

Zealandia

We learned much about the threats faced by New Zealand's native birds when it comes to introduced predatory mammals, rats, cats, stoats, and possums. The NZ Department of Conservation spends millions of dollars each year, trying to control their populations. There are several predators free preserves on off-shore islands, but Zealandia is one of the first predator-free, ecological preserves on the mainland. With a predator-proof fence that keeps the mammals out, the birds are free to come and go. The difference is immediately apparent on approach to Zealandia. Riotous bid song fills the air. The cacophony is much like what must have greeted the earliest settlers to the unspoiled island. Kaka are plentiful at Zealandia, boisterous and confident.
A pair of Takahe had been recently introduced to Zealandia. Takahe were thought to be extinct until a small population was discovered in the Murchison Mountains on South Island in New Zealand.
Looking up toward the top of the valley.
Zealandia also boasts a breeding population of Tuatara, ancient reptiles native to New Zealand. Tuatara can live 100 years or longer.
We saw many native species that were impossible to catch with the lens of the camera, Stitchbird, Saddleback, Tomtit, New Zealand Scaup and, of course, the inimitable Tui. A pair of New Zealand Falcons has a nesting territory in the park, but they were not evident during our visit. Zealandia - a must see location when you nest visit New Zealand!!!

Wellington Quilter's Guild

The Wellington Quilter's Guild hosted a pot luck dinner for our group and what a spread they provided. We really enjoyed their hospitality and the "show and tell" they had arranged. Sadly, I forgot my camera that night so don't have any pix, but as it turned out we seemed to run in the Wellington girls quite a bit in Queenstown, so I was able to snap this image of Sheryl Anicich and her quilt, "New York Garden". The quilt was part of the traveling exhibit and book, "Made in New Zealand II".

Wellington/Minerva/Ann Scott

Anne Scott is the publisher of New Zealand Quilter magazine and the owner of Minerva in Wellington. Here, Ann shows off one of her quilts, that was part of the traveling exhibit, "Made in New Zealand".
Anne's shop has tons of quilting and fiber books as well as a gallery with rotating displays.
"Welcome to My Pacific", another quilt in the traveling exhibit, was created by Carol Newsham
Minerva had a doll exhibit during our visit, big ones, tall ones, short ones, small ones.

But, this is the little fellow who stole my heart!

The Black Swan

Lake Rotorua hosts a population of the Australian Black Swan, one of only two species of swans that are not white. There are seven species of swans in the world.
Since the tour was now well-indoctrinated into my passion for all things feathered, they were pretty darned excited to see and photograph the black birds.

Te Puia Geothermal and Cultural Area

Once our weaving class ended, we were treated to a tour of the Te Puia geothermal area.



We stayed for dinner and were treated to Maori traditional dances. This woman had the most amazing voice, like that of an angel. Note the flax skirt around her waist and the second one around her shoulder.

Maori men performed warrior dances

They invited their visitors up onto the stage to learn the dances too. Not as easy as it looks.

Madeline took it all in.

The two brave ones in our group, Karen and Madeline, got up on stage to dance the woman's dance using these swinging balls, again much harder than it looks. After a great dinner, we headed back to our hotel near stinky lake Rotorua.

Te Puia

Te Puia is the heart of the Maori Cultural World. Their mission is to be the centre of knowledge and excellence for the preservation, presentation, education and growth of traditional expressions of Māori arts, crafts and culture. This woven flax garment is simply incredible.
Their gallery features some incredible weavings, all done from flax leaves, including the floral arrangement.
We took a weaving class, so we too could learn this art form. Looks pretty easy in this picture, where our teacher, Teresa Murray, whipped out this sample in no time at all!
Teresa showed us how to score the flax leaf and then use a paua shell to remove the fiber.
Once the fiber was removed, the remaining strands were rolled along the leg to form a twisted rope. It takes hundreds of these strands to make each grass skirt. Our team got started! It is not nearly as easy as Teresa made it appear. In fact, I toiled for two hours, inadvertently destroyed several flax leaves and, finally managed to get two strands done.
Next, we all went down to the boiling pool, to boil our flax. Teresa showed us how it was done.

Dave was one of her helpers.

Karen, a New Mexico native, was the other helper. Here they are removing the boiled flax. This is the collective work of 18 students! The lesson that I learned here is that if you ever want to own a grass skirt, just pay whatever the asking price is! It will be worth it!

Flax weavings hang beneath the roof along the walkway at Te Puia.

We saw this ancient Chief's cloak and woven skirt in the gallery too. It would have been used by a Maori chief and was adorned with real Kiwi feathers.

Rotorua

Our hotel was located at the southernmost end of Lake Rotorua, in an area known as sulphur flats. (read stinky). But once you got used to the aroma of rotten eggs, the birding was rather good! The inland lake has a good population of Black-billed Gulls, a species that frequents inland lakes and is the most threatened gull species in New Zealand. Good numbers of Pukeko were present foraging among the gulls. Check out this funky PukekoMania blog with lots of humorous images and not so funny hazards. We saw Pukeko in wetlands throughout New Zealand, a truly gorgeous blue rail with a bright red bill, and legs.

Sunrise was spectacular!

Sulphur Flat is home to many endemic species, including New Zealand Dotterel, White-fronted Tern, and Black-backed Gull.
At Rainbow Springs, we visited a Kiwi breeding facility where eggs are removed from nests located in the wild, hatched and reared in captivity, and then released near their nest sites when they are large enough enough to defend themselves from stoats, rats, cats, and possums. We also got to see the native Tuatara, the ancient reptile, unique to New Zealand.
Dave and Betty, who hail from Wisconsin, posed in front of the giant kiwi at the park.