Glowworms in NZ

Glowworm is a term I was not familiar with until my son Paul asked me whether I had plan to visit caves with glowworm in our trip to NZ. Only then that I began to do some research about visiting a glowworm cave.

It turned out Waitomo Caves which is famous for glowworm is just 90 Km southwest of Hobbiton. So, after touring Hobbiton Movie Set on 16 February, we immediately drove to Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

NZ glowworms in fact are the larvae of a species of fly called fungus gnat. It has a unique ability to produce light called  bioluminescence. The light on their tails is used to attract prey. Glowworms make sticky silk threads which hang like fishing lines. Small insects are attracted by the light of the glowworm and get caught in the threads. The glowworm lives above the the threads inside a tube it makes out of silk and mucus. Interestingly when the glowworm is hungry, it's tail light will glow brighter!

NZ Glowworms are not fireflies that we are familiar with in Sabah. Our fireflies are entirely of different insects - they are beetles that fly around at night with their tails flashing.

The Waitomo Visitor Centre is indeed a very impressive and grand structure. Each tour is led by experienced guide who provides informative briefing. This is one trip where photo taking was not permitted. The reason being the glowworms are very sensitive to light and noise.

The boat ride to see the glowworms was done in pitch black darkness. Thousands and thousands of glowworms lined the cave ceiling creating the scene of a spectacular stars-lid sky!

Photo reproduced from whenonearth.net

Photo reproduced from Machprinciple.com

Suspended threads to trap insects.

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In contrast, our local tours to see fireflies are quite different. We sail in a boat in open air along a river banks normally at night. The visual effect is liked seeing many Christmas trees hung with many flashing lights. Of course, the darker the night, the brighter the flashing of the fireflies!

Boat ride to see fireflies in one of Sabah's rivers.

Eating Out in NZ

NZ is known to the outside world more for its natural beautiful landscape rather than its food. Still, there are food and delicacies that visitors would find unique and worth tasting, just like in any part of the world!

Back home in KK, we have eaten mussels imported from NZ. So when friends who are familiar with NZ food knew our intention to visit NZ, they reminded us not to miss trying out the mussels in NZ.

We did a bit of price checking of mussels sold in NZ and learnt some tips on the nutritional benefits of eating mussels - low fat, low calorie, low cholesterol, high in Omega 3 fatty acids and other essential minerals such as Selenium, Iodine and Iron.

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Our search for mussels finally ended at La Dolce Vita, an Italian Restaurant in Te Anau. Not only once, we ordered the same steamed Greenshell Mussels twice in two outings at the same restaurant. The Boss was so pleased with our re-visit that he moved us to a table next a window with exterior view - an area reserved for frequent and special guests!

First Visit

Second Visit

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We searched and tried out various types of pies: minced meat, pork, beef and Venison. We still find the beef pie in "Miles Better Pies" in Te Anau unbeatable. Their pie is sufficiently big and the meat is chunky and flavorful!

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We were not disappointed when we decided to try out the Indian Restaurant called The Spice Room in Wanaka. This is authentic Indian food but modified to suit local taste particularly the degree of spiciness.

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Just before flying off to NZ, I was reminded by a friend who visited NZ last year to try out the "famous" burger in Queenstown. Somehow, by the time I was in Queenstown, I could not recall the name. So after dinner, we walked around town and saw the "Devil Burger" outlet. We bought the smallest size just to try out. I could not say whether it was exceptional but probably rank it at 8 out of 10!

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Whenever we checked into a Hotel or Motel and had no idea of where to eat, we would ask the owner or staff for some suggestions as to where are the good places to eat.

In Picton, the owner of the Motel suggested us to try out Jolly Roger Bar & Restaurant which is just a short walking distance away. We were told that we would be entitled to a 10% if we mentioned the Motel's name.

The ambiance of the Restaurant was good. Part of the restaurant is an external outdoor deck built over the edge of the Waikawa Bay just next to a Mariner. We had Fish & Chips that evening.

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After exploring Auckland City and while on our way walking back to our Motel late evening of 6 March, we saw these two men who manned a road side food outlet urging us to buy probably the last Baked Lamb Shoulder at NZ$40. We were debating among ourselves in front of "Pedro's House of Lamb" whether the portion was too much for us. Finally, we took the offer and it turned out to be the best baked lamb we had ever tasted!

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While waiting for the opening time of Paqocha Alpaca at Gibbson Valley in Queenstown scheduled at 2pm on 25 February, we found this little "General Store" by the road side selling NZ wines. Gibbson valley is one of the winery areas in NZ. We stopped for a short break to enjoy a cup of the coffee as well as the vast scenery of the hilly landscape and wineries.

Milford Sound, NZ

Long before the idea of visiting NZ came to mind, I had no inking of what Milford Sound is all about. I would think of it as something to do with music rather than a location at some corners of the earth.

Milford Sound, a declared world heritage site is said to be the most famous tourist site of NZ. Almost everyone who visits NZ would include Milford Sound into the itinerary. 

Milford Sound is a fiord at the southwest of NZ's South Island. It runs 15 Km inland from the mouth of the fiord at the Tasman Sea. Sheer rock faces rise to height of 1,200m and higher along both sides of the fiord.

We spent a night in the cruise boat called Milford Wanderer. We decided for an over-night stay in a cruise boat to enjoy the full beauty of Milford Sound rather than a day trip. Other than the afternoon tea, dinner and breakfast and a 1.5 hours of jungle hiking offered in the cruise, the obvious difference was the chance to see the sunrise in the case of an over-night stay. But then, what one actually sees is very much dependent on the weather at the time of the visit. The waterfalls at the cliffs may look mild after fairly prolonged dry spell.  Some however prefer to tour the fiord after heavy downpour simply because of the countless of spectacular waterfalls pouring down almost throughout the cliff faces all round!

Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in the world with an annual rainfall of 7,000mm. By comparison, Kota Kinabalu has an annual rainfall of just 2,600mm! It rains almost 200 days a year in Milford Sound. We were fortunate to enjoy the spectacular views because of clear sunny weather at the time of our visit. February is reckoned to be the driest month of the year.

Stirling Falls

Stirling Falls

The splash and sound of Stirling Falls can only be experienced by being at IT.

Lady Bowen Falls

Seal Rock

Sunrise in Milford Sound

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The only out-of-boat activity was hiking at the widely known Milford Track immediately after the afternoon tea. We were taken to a 1.5-hour hiking along part of the "Milford Track". Milford Track which is 33.5 miles (53.5 Km) long starts at Glade Wharf at Lake Te Anau and ends at Milford Sound. NZ really looks after their forests seriously. Before we set foot on land to do the hiking, all our shoes had to be disinfected.

In a motor boat from the Cruise boat to jungle
tracking of Milford Track.

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Milford Wanderer

Afternoon Tea

Main Course for Dinner

Dessert

Impression of Churches in NZ

As we traveled around NZ from the North Island to South Island, we noticed that there are significant numbers of church buildings built in very strategic locations. Many are literally in the town centers. This is understandable once we get to know a bit of the history of the founding of NZ. NZ is a nation founded by immigrants from the UK. They brought along their faith and set up churches. Three denominations are distinctly noticeable: the Anglicans, the Roman Catholics and the Presbyterians.

The First Church of Otago in Dunedin is a Church I planned to visit and which I did. The second Church is a historical small church in Franz Josef called Our Lord The Alps Catholic Church. Unfortunately, I did not manage to see it. After we checked out from the Motel in Franz Josef on 24 February, it slipped my mind that I was supposed to visit this little church before we moved on towards Lake Wanaka. By the time I did remember, we were way too far ahead to return.

Since I was not able to capture a photo of "Our Lord The Alps Catholic Church" in Franz Josef, I have reproduced a photo of this Church from www.alamy.com.

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I was quite surprised to see so many churches of exquisite and magnificent design and architecture in this part of the world. I can only surmise that since the ancient of time, adherents of a religious faith would pool great resources and seek out the best of talents to build their places of worship.

Said a prayer in The First Church of Otago, Dunedin, NZ.

Said a prayer in The Knox Church, Dunedin, NZ.

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On the Sunday morning of 6 March 2016, we attended the International Service of St. Andrews First Presbyterian Church in Auckland. This Church was recommended by Desiree after we told her we liked to attend a Sunday service in very traditional setting. It has been such a very long time since I last attended a worship service that sang hymns in the worship service. In that particular Church, a pipe organ was the sole music instrument for accompaniment. This was a far different atmosphere from the all-stand throughout of the Praise and Worship format many are used to today.

I could sense NZ churches are also changing to cope with the change in the demography in NZ churches. The introduction of International Service and other non-English speaking services (such as Indonesian Service) into the Sunday services are ways to cope with the decline in attendance by the local New Zealanders.

Attended the Sunday International Service
on 6 March 2016 in St. Andrews First
Presbyterian Church, Auckland, NZ

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St. Luke Anglican Church, Oamaru, NZ.

Oamaru is a town we passed through on our way to Lake Tekapo after leaving Dunedin. We were surprised to see a medium size seaside town with so many magnificent buildings. The St. Luke Anglican Church is just one of the many stunning buildings we saw in this town. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to go inside and have a closer look of the interior.

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Tokomairiro Community Church, Milton, NZ.

Then on our way to Dunedin from Te Anau, we stopped at a little town called Milton and saw this magnificent grand church building in the middle of the town. I visualized that at one time in this town, people professing the Christian faith made up the bulk of the community. This church building is a good indication of the impact and contribution of Christians to the local community.

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The red colour appearance of St. Luke's Union Church  is equally strategic and prominent as we set foot onto the town centre of Masterton.

St. Luke's Union Church, Masterton.

Lake Presbyterian Church, Te Anau, NZ.

St. Paul Anglican Church, Murchison, NZ.