The Island of a Large White Cloud
New Zealand
New Zealand has a lot of land, and all of it belongs to someone. In most cases, it belongs to farmers. If you are driving across the country, like we did, on the winding mountain roads that look more like roller coasters, you can watch horses, goats, and sheep peacefully grazing in meadows and hills. While driving, we happened to witness the incredible incident. One runaway sheep jumped out onto the road and was chased by local police officers who swept by us a minute earlier, speeding away, and forcing us to panic, as we thought that we were about to be ticketed for doing some sort of traffic violation. However, the police officers passed by us and personally pushed the lost sheep back behind the road fence, making sure that it no longer escaped. Next, they rushed back onto the road accelerating fast and quickly disappeared. We were amazed! This is how dedicated the local police is when it comes to watching the "live" traffic on the roads of New Zealand.
Wandering Albatross
I wanted to talk about one epic seabird called Albatross. I was surprised to learn that they spend most of their life traveling at sea, circling the globe. These giants are real-world nomads who are capable of gliding around the world in 46 days, due to the construction of their wings. They only return to land to breed and raise their young. Albatrosses mate for life and they are heroically faithful. Courting is something that takes place over a long time and is not taken lightly. Potential mates spend a lot of time getting to know each other. The female has to secure the best provider and also a reliable partner whom she can count on to come back, while she sits for months with the eggs. They work on nest construction for several seasons before they actually breed. Males arrive at the nesting site first to prepare the nest and waits for the female to appear. Royal albatrosses are some of the longest-lived birds in the world, regularly living into their 60s.
Mount Cook, Fox Glacier
During our stay in a village near Fox Glacier, we were approached by a cheerful man - the owner of a tiny restaurant, where we were having lunch. He meaningfully asked us if we were enjoying New Zealand so far. We happily nodded our heads in response. He smiled first, and then replied with the most serious facial expression: “If you are enjoying New Zealand, you will have good karma all year long!” It sounded like a prophecy, so we are hoping to have a fantastic year ahead!
Moeraki Boulders
Eighty kilometers north of Dunedin, there is a real natural phenomenon - Moeraki Boulders. These enormous, round stones are all scattered around the coastline. Their age is about millions of years old, and as modern research has shown, the boulders consist of quartz-bound mud. The ongoing processes of condensation on the ocean floor, over millions of years, gradually formed such spherical configurations. Looking like dinosaur eggs, the stones have a different surface - from very rough to completely smooth. I meticulously jumped from one boulder to another, tried each one by touch, then sat down on one of them and meditated. Suddenly, I began to realize why numerous legends and rumors are spreading regarding the origin of these unusual stones. Here you can really start to believe that these are the remains of some alien spacecraft - their appearance is so impressive! But even the fact that these are compacted formations that have formed at the bottom of the ocean for millions of years makes it clear how unique our planet is, and how little we actually know about it! Having been on the moon, we still have yet to discover the secrets of the ocean life...
Picton – Wellington : A Ferry Ride
Another shock happened when we took a ferry from the southern to the northern island. The boat surpassed all my expectations. It looks like a real cruise ship, with multi-decks, from which you are exposed to the fantastic views. At some point, the ferry headed in the open ocean, and it became a bit stormy. The waves beat right into the side windows, and people were floating in the space. There was a general exclamation when the next wave struck. When we swam into the bay, I was seized with an amazing sense of inner calmness and everything inside shrank from the happiness that I experienced at the sight of all this beauty!
Dunedin
The city is located in the southern part of New Zealand and has a very harsh climate, as it is positioned in the immediate vicinity of the Antarctic continent. Dunedin is surrounded by picturesque and hilly reliefs, entirely mushroomed with static sheep. On the outskirts of the city - the Otago peninsula - there are unique colonies of royal albatrosses, fur seals, and endangered species of rare yellow-eyed penguins. We were lucky enough to cross our paths with one of the penguins. It was peacefully marching towards us. This unexpected clash triggered an indescribable delight among us, and we watched for a while, the penguin slowly distancing away. Unlike their Arctic comrades, yellow-eyed penguins live in the forest, in nests, a few kilometers away from the sea.