Eagle Rocks Hike

Monday, April 21, 2014 was a cool cloudy day but we covered 5.7 miles without a drop of rain. We started just on the outskirts of Sisters at the Peterson Ridge Trails. Very level walking until we reached the Eagle Rocks Pass cut-off and then it was a very manageable 100 foot elevation gain to be rewarded with an up-close and panoramic view of the three Sisters and Broken Top mountain. Unfortunately, the high overcast totally washed out the contrast and you can barely see the snow covered mountains against the gray sky.

Just as we were getting toward the end of the trail, we came across a white headed woodpecker and I managed to get one decent shot when its head was not buried in the tree.

There were some huge burned out snags that provided wonderful color (and often homes for multiple critters) along the trail as well.

Much of this trail system is also used for mountain biking but we only met up with one biker that day.

Catherine Creek - April 2014

On our most recent visit to see Mickey and Joan in Portland, we were joined by their friend Kashala for a day hike at Catherine Creek, a couple hours east along the Columbia River gorge.

It was a beautiful spring day and we had some panoramic views of Mt. Hood on the horizon above the river and the orchards on the Oregon side of the river.

I loved the derelict old corrals along this trail and took several pictures of them.

We had a nice picnic at the top of the trail and some people even had a little lie down. The tough looking guy in the hat is brother-in-law Mickey...

We saw lots of wildflowers, some in great swaths sort of "flowing" down the mountain.

 

The drive back along Hiway 14 was pretty. The Friday afternoon traffic on I-5 coming into Portland was not!

Tumalo Historic Canals Trail - April 2014

I have decided to start using this blog to post pictures of our activities around Bend as well as our travels further afield. I may do a little retrospective posting, so these are not necessarily going to be in order. Joined Bend Parks and Rec group, led by tour leader extraordinaire Leslie Olson, on April 14, 2014, to hike on the trails located between Hiway 20 and 97 that were once slated to be irrigated developments. The whole thing with the canals, and later with the dams, did not work so well, however--seems that porous lava rock does not hold water very well. In spite of an early April snowfall, this trail was already dusty and dry, but fairly level for the 4 miles we covered. Some nice views of the Sisters and Broken Top from several spots along the trail.

I learned from our volunteer assistant that lichen is a combination of algae and fungus and saw several brightly colored examples along the trail.

Some amazing old junipers were to be seen including one which had grown up through the rocks and carried a piece of rock up into the branches. Also saw some really beautiful twisted old stumps like this one.

 There was also a ruin of a small stone building--not sure if it had been intended as residential or just for hunting.

I think this would be a good trail for winter hiking, but not for summer as it would be too hot.

Last Day in NZ

Our last day in the land of the Kiwis. Many people believe New Zealanders are called "Kiwis" because of the endangered flightless bird that lives here. That's only indirectly true. The nickname was popularized by the Americans during WWII because the NZ soldiers used Kiwi boot polish. The polish was indeed named after the bird, with an image of same on the can, BUT the company was started by an American in tribute to his New Zealander wife!
We were up and packed and ready to go by 10:30. Had to stop and take one final picture of Lake Wanaka as there was a nice band of clouds lying across the range at the end of the lake.

We took the long route to Queenstown, through Cromwell and miles of wine country. It is not such a harrowing drive as going over the switchbacks of the Crown Range but still offers some lovely scenery going through the Kawarau Gorge. Here is a picture of the Kawarau River as it is joined by the "Roaring Meg" stream (ostensibly named after a noisy prostitute in the gold mining era) --they combine to power a small hydro-electric station. Beautiful color of water...

Arrowtown itself is surrounded by sizable hills--isn't everything on the South Island?!  We had lunch in a nice outdoor garden and then strolled around.

It was originally a gold mining town. Hal stands by the spot where gold was first discovered.

There was also a substantial influx of Chinese when gold was discovered; they established a small community in Arrowtown and are still a significant portion of the population.

Much like Sisters, Oregon, they have attempted to maintain the original flavor of the town with the storefronts.

As with any tourist town, lots of tempting opportunities for shopping. We bought a piece of "greenstone" for Mickey at the local jade and opal shop, but refrained from bringing home any sheepskins!

Finally, it was time to drive to Queenstown, fill up the car ($9.00 a gallon), and get to the airport. We couldn't resist digging out the camera to document the formidable trip that lay ahead ;-)

Our route took us from Queenstown to Auckland, then to Vancouver, BC, and finally to Portland. Not fun going through customs two times in Vancouver--note to self, never do THAT again. Finally arrived back on U.S. soil at 3:20 pm on the 17th--about an hour BEFORE we left Queenstown (i.e., 4:40 pm on the 17th). Time travel IS possible!
My appreciations to that small band of "followers" who virtually accompanied us on our journey--you know who you are...

Day 18: Lake Wanaka

Up reasonably early to catch our 9 am departure with ECO Wanaka for an exploration of Mou Waho, the largest island in the lake, and a designated nature preserve. Co-owner and guide, Chris Riley, was friendly, passionate about the area, and well informed about flora, fauna, and geology.

Here he is showing us an example of a plant that evolved to have inedible leaves up to a certain height to prevent the moa (now extinct) from eating them. Above moa height, the original leaves and blooms remain. Pretty amazing!
Invasive species of plants and animals have been eliminated from the island and ECO is part of an ongoing effort to restore the island by planting a native species of tree each time they bring a group.

One of the flightless bird species wiped out on the mainland, the Buff Weka, has been re-introduced to the island and appears to be thriving.

We met Wally, one of the original birds put on this island (he still bears his leg band) and, as you can see, they are totally unafraid of the humans. He joined us for tea, and while I was talking to a fellow traveler, he came right up and stole a biscuit out of my hand.

We also saw some gecko motels, built by local college students, which protect them from being eaten by the wekas.

We saw wood pigeons (below), bell birds, and heard a number of other species that we didn't see.

One of the really unique aspects of Mou Waho Island is that it holds a rain fed lake several hundred meters up from the shoreline.

In the middle of this lake, is a small island that itself sports a teeny little lake when it rains. So then there's a lake on an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the middle of the ocean.

Chris was nice enough to take pictures of us when we reached the top of the island.

The scenery was really wonderful in spite of the overcast day. This photo is from the west side of the island.
We head home tomorrow, so this will probably be the last post for a few days.

Day 17: Wanaka

After two fairly intense days of activity, we decided to lay low. We took a walk along Lake Wanaka past beaches paved with sparkly schist/mica stone and vineyards for Rippon Winery.

We missed our turn on the way back and wandered into Wanaka Station park which had a small rose garden and an absolutely massive redwood.

Hal had a nap. I read. We bought groceries. Then headed to the "i-site" to meet new friends, Margaret and Peter Sage for dinner at The Landing. The food was very good. There was a lovely view of the lake and mountains from the 2nd floor dining room, and we had a great time getting acquainted.

After Peter let it slip that Margaret's pre-retirement career had been as a hired assassin, I readily agreed to publish a picture of their adorable and very smart Norfolk Terrier, Tilly ;-) Hopefully, now that her picture has appeared in this blog, she will become famous as I promised them!

We had an exciting time trying to find their B & B (The Tin Tub) in the pitch dark, and seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, and then headed for home.

Day 16: Doubtful Sound

Everyone's heard of Milford Sound, but did you know that Doubtful Sound is 10 times as big (water area wise)?  We were up at 5:30 and departed a little before 7 to catch the tour bus outside Queenstown. Two plus hours heading south along the shore of Lake Wakatipu to reach Manapouri. Then a 45 minute boat ride across Lake Manapouri to West Arm. Then another coach trip up over Wilmot Pass and down to Deep Cover on Doubtful Sound, followed by a 3 hour boat ride out to the Tasman Sea and back. Reverse the procedure and get home by 9:30 pm.  We are pooped--someone forgot to tell us that it's hard work being on vacation!
It rains 2 days out of 3 on Doubtful Sound, so not surprisingly, it rained the whole day.

It had been raining for 24 hours according to the naturalist; the compensation was that we saw an endless array of waterfalls--we lost count--some of them cascading hundreds of meters down the sides of mountains.

Doubtful is the deepest of the fjords (about 1,200 ft) and is surrounded by towering heights, the tallest being Commander Peak at 1,200 m (3,900 ft).  It's very remote; you can't drive there, but must go by boat with the "Real Journeys" tour company. So it remains more pristine with some of the original forests and with several small islands (over 30), some of which have been rid of invasive species of predators and set up as bird sanctuaries. 

I hadn't really put it together that flightless birds evolved in NZ because, before humans arrived (the Maori) there were no natural predators here. The English brought the stoats, ostensibly to control the rabbits, which instead began decimating the flightless bird populations. So there are now efforts to trap stoats and possums to try and save the remaining endangered species. In fact, possum fur has become a profitable commodity and is used, often in combination with merino wool, for weaving. The local possum is considerably furrier than American varieties.
We met a really nice couple from Stowe (Staffordshire, England), Peter and Margaret, and are, in fact, meeting them for dinner in Wanaka this evening (it's Friday here). 

We also got to see a small pod (maybe 8-12 individuals) of bottle nose dolphins, but I only got one half-way decent picture.

It's amazing to see lots of big trees clinging to the sides of these shear cliffs, and it is a precarious existence. "Tree avalanches" occur when a couple of trees give way and carry everything down below with them into the water. The naturalist on board the boat said that, following an earthquake about 7-8 years ago, there were over 200 tree avalanches on Doubtful Sound alone.

The water pouring off the surrounding mountains percolates through lots of tree debris, picking up dark tannins and creating a layer of fresh water 5-7 meters deep floating on top of the sea water in the sound. The dark color also creates an artificial darkness in the sea water, causing deeper water species to live closer to the surface. Apparently the sound has a substantial population of black coral.
We're going to take it easy today, maybe go for a walk along the lake.