Ned Luce

The second week of our grand adventure in New Zealand featured some characters who may actually represent all of the disparate people of the country.

We spent five days traveling from Christchurch to Queenstown to Franz Josef to Greymouth and back to Christchurch, giving us plenty of opportunity to interview the most popular folks for tourists, the bus and van and Uber drivers who serve as tour guides. Those people have great stories about themselves and their country.

The first person was Tony who picked us up at 6 a.m. in a 15-person-van at the bus station in Christchurch. Tony was a personable retiree from Christchurch whose business career was in “International business,” a term he never really defined but he did reveal he had been in the U.S. a couple of times, if Las Vegas, Nevada qualifies.

He took us to Lake Tekapo on the way to Mount Cook. There he turned us over to Hannah, a delightful 35-year-old woman who lives in Queenstown. She is from Australia, drives a tour bus, parasails, skis, and is a primary school teacher. She dropped us off at our hotel on the top of a hill near the waterfront in town. This location required a walk down the hill to find a restaurant and a cardiac-challenging “tramp” or hike back up the hill after dinner. We did not “tramp” that hill again.

The next day we wandered back down to the waterfront to shop the vendors. It was like Pike Place Market with wool. BJ did find a sweater which her friends in Port Ludlow will surely “ooh and ahh” over. By this time in our journey, I had already purchased a hat, two T-shirts and a sweatshirt. It was her turn.

At noon we climbed aboard the TSS Earnslaw, a steamship commissioned by the New Zealand Railway to service the communities around Lake Wakatipu. Every description I read or hear about this ship made mention of the fact that its first year of service, 1912, was the same year the Titanic sank. Is this really a highlight for your ship?

We headed to the Walter Peak Farm for a tasty barbecue lunch, a sheep-shearing show, and a fascinating demonstration of the sheep management skills of a border collie. Back to Queenstown, dinner, and a taxi ride up the hill.

The next day was the four-hour trip out to Milford Sound, which is actually a fjord since it was formed by glaciers. Our driver and tour guide in the 50-plus passenger bus was Luke. He is 25 years old, from Denver, Colorado and went to Gonzaga! His degree was in environmental science and he was awesome in his descriptions of the trees, flowers, and mountains.

A boat ride around Milford Sound is listed in most tourist guides as being one of the “things to see” in New Zealand. We agree. It is a stunning place. Luke was headed home to Denver the next week for the first time in three and a half years but will be back within a month since he is applying for permanent residency in NZ.

Then it was just BJ and me in a mini-van with “Lyall” driving off to Franz Josef and a view of the glaciers. We stopped for “tea and a pee” in Wanaka, one of the prettiest places on our trip. Great lake, beach, and shops.

Lyall took us to the viewing location in Franz Josef and encouraged a “wee walk” to get a better view of the glacier. Those of us who have seen Hurricane Ridge, the Rocky Mountains, and the Columbia Glaciers are somewhat jaded when it comes to glaciers. However, I should note that Franz Josef may not exist but for the tourist appeal of the glaciers.

Bill picked us up the next morning for the last leg of the driving tour around the South Island. He is local by most measures but by his accounts and my assessment he has traveled the world, mostly as a wood salesman. We headed for Greymouth and the Trans Alpine Train with more stunning scenery. We thankfully did have a personal privilege stop at his home in Hokitika to get some paperwork.

The incredibly informative tour guide on the train from Greymouth to Christchurch came via a recording. Not quite the personality of her predecessors although there was an occasional light-hearted comment. 

The drivers and service folks were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly as they provided commentary along the way. Unsurprisingly, Bill and Lyall were interested in my take on the politics of the U.S. We also learned there are 26 million sheep in NZ, down from 70 million. There are deer farms in NZ with approximately 800,000 residents. The dairy industry is the strongest of those not named tourism. About 75 percent of economy is based on tourism so you can understand how COVID impacted the country with some places literally shut down. It is coming back, though, just like BJ and me.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great adventure.

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident, and now, international correspondent. Contact Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)