The Saxtons vs. The Stars

It's our anniversary this weekend (14 years baby!) and we wanted to do something a little romantic and fun to celebrate. One of things I have wanted to do for a while is go to Mt. Cook. Every time we have driven by the Southern Alps it has been overcast and we haven't had a good view of Mt. Cook, which is the tallest peak in the range. 

I did some research and found a fun package at The Hermitage, a well-known hotel at the foot of Mt. Cook. We booked the 'Stay and Gaze' package, which included the Big Sky Stargazing tour and a pass to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. (For those of you who don't know, Sir Edmund Hillary was in the first team of mountain climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.) 

Needless to say, the stargazing tour got us really excited because the area around Mount Cook is one of the only International Dark Sky Reserves in the world. This means that the sky here doesn't have the "light pollution" that cities do and you can actually see many more stars than in other areas due to the darkness of the sky.

Our journey started early Friday afternoon and to our delight, one of the radio stations was playing the top 90 of the 90s on the radio. So we got to spend the first couple of hours reminiscing some of our favorite songs from our adolescence. It was awesome! However, our good moods were tempered a bit as we got closer to the Southern Alps and dark clouds were hanging low. By the time we arrived at The Hermitage, it was raining. Our stargazing experience was in serious jeopardy.

We checked in and made a reservation for dinner. We had a very nice buffet that covered both traditional kiwi foods (think lamb, pork, roast veggies, etc.) and Japanese foods (sushi, mussels, and some other things I didn't recognize). It was a very good meal. As we looked out the window, we noticed that snow had started to fall. 

I went outside and took this picture. No, those aren't stars in the dark sky, those are snowflakes! The flash on the camera made it look pretty darn close to a night sky though.

Shortly after dinner, we reported for the stargazing tour. The tour started off with an orientation of sorts in the planetarium, which lasted about 45 minutes. It was okay, but the guide was a little dry. Brian really didn't like that he kept referring to different aspects of the universe as "stuff". Like the rings around Saturn are made of "stuff". Unfortunately, the storm persisted and we didn't get to observe any of the stars we had just learned about for ourselves.

The good thing is that I'm pretty sure we will now be able to locate both the Scorpio and Southern Cross constellations, so that's a plus. With the disappointment of the evening, we decided to call it a night and hope for some excitement tomorrow.

The purpose of this picture is to show the snow on top of the car. It's about 11:00am so it had already started to melt, but this was the only time in the 20 months we've been here that our car has had snow on it haha.

Saturday morning we started off with a very yummy breakfast in the buffet restaurant again. At least the food here was excellent! We then watched the 3D movie about Mt. Cook in the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. The movie covered the Maori history of Mt. Cook (the Maori name is Aoraki) and then showed some aerial views of the Southern Alps. We really enjoyed the part about the legend of Aoraki so I'll share it with you as well!

The legend of Aoraki/Mount Cook comes from the Maori tribe, Ngai Tahu, and is the story of Aoraki and his three brothers. They were the sons of Rakinui (the Sky Father) and they were on a voyage around Papa-ti-a-nuku (the Earth Mother) when they were caught in a big storm and their canoe became stranded upon a reef.

Aoraki, his brothers, and their crew climbed on to the top side of the canoe but the south wind froze them and turned them into stone. Their canoe became New Zealand's South island (Te Waka o Aoraki is the oldest name for the South island). Aoraki who, was the tallest of the brothers, is now seen as the majestic Aoraki/Mount Cook (which is the tallest peak) with the Souther Alps as his brothers and other members of their crew.

After the movie we decided to take a little drive over to see the Tasman Glacier based on a recommendation from a work friend. It wasn't too far away, but we had to hike about 25 minutes each way to get to the Tasman Lake, which the glacier melts/runs into. Here's a couple pics we took along the way.

Brian refused to look at me for this picture!!!

At least we could actually see the peak of Aoraki/Mt. Cook today!

It was quite cold as we started out on our walk and there was a decent breeze hitting us once we reached the lake, but the clouds started to dissipate and it gradually got warmer. One of the reasons for taking the trail to the lake was that we had heard pieces of the glacier sometimes break off as little icebergs in the lake and when they get turned over they are a really pretty blue. We were out of luck again as there were only a couple of dingy icebergs floating in the lake.

We did get some really great pictures of the scenery though. And apparently I have a fascination with clouds, because some of my favorite outdoor pictures are the ones where the clouds are doing something interesting.

This picture looks behind us away from the glacier where you can see the valley cut by the glacier and the debris it left behind over thousands of years.

Brian is "crying" in this picture. He says it's because the wind was hurting his eyes, but I think it's because he knew we still had to hike back to the car hehe

Tasman Lake - with no icebergs...

We made the trek back to the car. But I didn't want the trip to be a total bust so I decided I wanted to hike the other trail. Brian was too tired, so I made the trip on my own to the Blue Lakes and a view of the Tasman Glacier. What a hike!

I took a picture of part of the trail I hiked up so you could see how steep it was!

My first stop was a vantage point of the Blue Lakes. I tried to get all three little lakes in this picture below. I've also included the explanation of how they got their color (because I think it's interesting).

I finished hiking to the top of the ridge and was rewarded with some gorgeous views.

Wide view of the glacier and Southern Alps. Mt. Cook is the peak on the far left.

So the Tasman Glacier is in the valley emptying into Tasman Lake

Up close and personal with the Tasman Glacier - if I didn't know otherwise I wouldn't have guessed it was solid ice

I also got a pretty nice shot of the summit of Aoraki/Mt. Cook while I was up here on this little ridge. Can I just point out the mostly blue sky? Why couldn't it be clear 16 hours earlier!!!?

Haha - since I was by myself, I tried to take a selfie with my big camera. It didn't really work...

After I slowly made my way back down to the car, we decided to start heading back towards home. The drive was beautiful, especially going past Lake Pukaki. The water was such a beautiful turquoise blue it could have passed for the ocean. We stopped at an overlook and took a couple more pictures to finish off the day.

Did I mention Ike came on this trip with us? We had to leave him in the car for most of it because he's not allowed in the national parks, but we were glad he was with us for the 4 1/2 hour drive each way!

One more view of the majestic Aoraki/Mt. Cook. This view did it way more justice than the others when we were closer.

That's all for this trip folks! Luckily the trip wasn't a total bust and we saw some pretty amazing things. But I'll always be sad we missed our stargazing tour...

Happy 14th Anniversary to us!

You gotta get up and "try", "try", "try"

It's time for the big game! We have been really excited to see the All Blacks play live, but first, a couple of interesting facts about the current All Blacks team.

• The All Blacks are the national rugby team in New Zealand
• Their history goes back almost 130 years and they are (reportedly) the most successful international rugby team of all time 
• The All Blacks are the current Rugby World Champions (2011)
• The team hasn't lost in New Zealand since 2009 (that's 22 consecutive home wins)

We arrived at the stadium around 6:45 - early enough to catch the pre-game warm ups and the haka before the 7:30 start. 

Already dark at 6:30 - no daylight savings yet. But doesn't it look great?

Pre-Game

We are obviously in the first lot of people to show up - but I'm in my All Blacks jersey (borrowed for Aaron Downes) and ready to go

Warm ups. All Balcks in black (obviously) and the Springboks are in lime green

After warmups, the players are ready to take the field again in their game jerseys.

Springboks captain, Jean de Villiers, got a special round of applause as it was his 100th cap

I put in this picture because I thought it was cool that the Kiwi's sing their national anthem in both Maori and English. And people knew the song in both languages - it was awesome

The Haka

Haka is the Maori name for dance and is generally the part of the Maori dance reportoire where the men perform the dance and the women provide vocal support only. The All Blacks have been performing the haka before matches outside New Zealand since 1888!!! But it wasn't until 1987 that they began performing it in New Zealand as well and ensuring the players performed it with precision and detail. It's pretty intimidating when they get into it.

Gotta love the tongues sticking out and the crazy eyes

Well, I took about 110 pictures during the game trying to make sure I got some good clear shots throughout the game, so I've cut it down to show a couple fun things about rugby.

Show Time!

And it's time for the game to begin. The All Blacks were the first to score.

The Scrum

A scrum is when the 8 forwards pack together in a mass to go head-to-head with the other team. The ball is then placed in the center and the players try to gain control of the ball with their feet and legs (kind of like foosball). You can't use your hands.

Here we see team captain, Richie McCaw, directing his team as they get ready for a scrum. (By the way, Richie has the most caps in All Blacks history - 131, making the team at just 23 years old!)

The scrum gets amazingly low to the ground. If they fall over, they have to start it all over again.

The Lineout
When the ball goes out of play, the players line up in two lines and leap to catch the ball when it is thrown in. The leaping involves other players lifting one player high into the air. It's pretty cool.

Penalty Goals
You get 3 points for kicking the ball through the uprights on a penalty, much like a field goal in football.

Can you keep track of the ball as it goes through the uprights? As you can see from the score, it was a very close match at this point and the extra 3 points gave the All Blacks some breathing room.

Scoring a "Try"
A try is similar to a touchdown, where the ball has to cross the line into the in-goal area and then be grounded. It's worth 5 points. If a team scores a try, they have the opportunity to convert it by kicking the ball through the uprights for an additional 2 points. So scoring tries is a must to win games.

The Springboks are working to cross the solid line. They scored a try in the 1st half.

Richie McCaw (#7) scored the only try for the All Blacks. They didn't convert it, but they also scored 3 penalty goals

Passing

The ball can only be passed backwards, which is a little counterintuitive if you think about it. Even falling forward is considered a penalty.

Although the Springboks held the ball near the in-goal area for about the last four minutes of the game, the All Blacks were able to hold the line and win the game. The All Blacks got the win with a final score of 14-10. The nearly sold out crowd totaled 35,747.

What an incredible experience! We had so much fun even though we didn't understand most of the calls. (We also ate a lot of donuts haha). I'm so glad we took this opportunity before we move back to the U.S. in a few months.

Wellington: Middle of Middle Earth (Part 2)

Shopping

Yes, the first thing we did Saturday morning was go shopping. And yes, Brian came along willingly! I'll clarify by saying that we actually were just heading to a Samoan store where I had previously ordered fans for our Dad's for Father's Day because we wanted to get a few more without having to pay for shipping. But once we got inside, we started having fun with the clothing there. Because the majority of members in our church in Christchurch are Samoan we have really come to enjoy their Sunday best. So Brian got a nice black lava lava that he can wear to church and I got a traditional Samoan dress. I'm a little hesitant to wear it here, so maybe I'll wait until we get back to the U.S. We'll see. Either way, we had a blast - and I never, ever thought I would say that Brian could have fun while shopping. 

Mount Victoria

Our trip continued when we took a drive to the top of Mount Victoria, which overlooks Wellington. It was pretty tricky driving up the steep slopes and narrow roads, but we made it with some good navigating by Brian. It was a little overcast, but we still had pretty good visibility.

Near where we parked, there was a sort of sculpture that looked pretty interesting. It turned out that the stones in the structure are from glaciers in Antarctica and it pays homage to a NZ air force guy that did a lot for the exploration of Antartica (or something like that - can't quite remember now...oops). But the stones are definitely from Antarctica because I have the picture to prove it haha.

These stones from Antarctica were the most beautiful and brilliant hue of blue

We then made our way up the stairs to the summit of Mount Victoria. About halfway up we stopped to look at a replica cannon. Apparently, the cannon used to be fired daily and that's how the residents kept time back in the day (similar to Mary Poppins).

 There was also a Maori carving that was pretty cool too.

Up at the top we got to read about the Maori legend of how Wellington harbor was formed. I always find the legends fascinating. The legend says that Wellington harbor was originally a land-locked lake that was home to two large and very active sea monsters (taniwha). One taniwha, name Ngake, was able to forge a passage to the open sea creating the entrance to the harbor. The second taniwha, named Whataitai, tried to follow but wasn't as strong or agile as Ngake and became stranded and died. The Maori believe that Mount Victoria ( the Maori name is Tangi-te keo) was named after the soul of Whataitai.

I love the enthusiasm of this sign!

We also learned about the land bridge that the airport sits on was actually created from an earthquake. 

Looking over the land bridge out to the Cook Strait. Hard to believe all that land between the two hills was created from an earthquake.

The great thing about Mount Victoria is the 360 degree view of amazing landscapes. Directly behind the land bridge, is the inside of Wellington harbor, which boasts an amazing view of downtown Wellington as seen below.

Overlooking the harbor with the rugby stadium in the background. We'll be there later that night!

Close up view of Westpac Stadium - rugby

View of the cricket stadium. It's a full circle! The interesting thing about this stadium is there is basically a huge roundabout that goes around the stadium.

Te Papa Tongarewa Museum
After we had enjoyed the amazing views on Mount Victoria, we made our way back into the city for some culture. Te Papa is the national museum and it was huge! We only took a few pictures as a lot of things are quite similar to the Canterbury museum, but it was definitely worth taking a look.

I don't think I quite fit in this hut

Hungry, Hungry Hippo!
Yes, that is a golden hippopotamus you see in this picture of Brian. 

Anyone who knows Brian well also knows that the hippo is his favorite animal. So much so that his ringtone in the U.S. was "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas"...all year round. So when we saw this hippo while driving around, there was no question that we needed to make a special stop for a picture with it. Just look at that cute grin on my boy!

Still can't believe I got Brian to pose for this picture. He did a good job of being fun and putting up with my need to take pictures. Thanks honey!

After all that fun, we decided to go back to the B&B for a rest before the rugby match that night. I wish we could have made it to Weta Cave, but there just wasn't enough time. Oh well, it was still a great day of sightseeing!