travels with janne

Large rolls of lard with big brown eyes are basking in the sun amid the black rocks and the noisy surf. Seals. Lots of them. They are lolling on the beach, one eye open to keep an eye on me and one eye closed ready to continue napping. These New Zealand fur seals are apparently not afraid of humans and I am able to get quite close and take pictures.

Unwittingly, while sneaking up on one particular seal to get a close-up shot, I almost step on another one that growls at me. I have never been growled at by a seal before. Later, another seal emerges from the water. I stop to change camera lenses but the seal disappears back in the water before I am ready. Suddenly, the seal is once again out of the water but this time much closer to me. On purpose, I think. It barks and growls and starts flopping towards me in a rather aggressive manner, so I back off. I wouldn’t want to get caught between a grouchy seal and a rock – seals do have rather sharp teeth, even though they look cute and docile.

This area is also well known for its Lord of the Rings film locations. In fact, our road map has them marked and you can get brochures describing Lord of the Rings routes. Today, we visit one of the sites – the Putangirua Pinnacles. These strange rock formations that jut up like huge, pointy arrowheads are 12-14 million years old. They are made of gravel and rock and crumble like poor quality cement. The river and rain erode the gravely parts and leave the larger stones but with time these, too, are eroded away. It is an otherworldly walk along the more or less dried out riverbed with the pinnacles on each side.

At times I feel like I am back in my beloved homeland Canada, with its burbling brooks, splashing waterfalls and snowy mountains. At other times I am reminded of walking through the rain forest in Borneo, with its abundance of botanical wonders. And sometimes I think of England – or New England, for that matter, because of the quaint gardens, pots of tea and names like Wellington, Nelson and New Plymouth. New Zealand has an amazing variety of landscapes and flora. It is as though the whole world is packed into a tiny area.

The landscapes remind me of so many places that I have been to before, but somehow I keep feeling that something is off with regard to what I am actually seeing and what I am used to seeing. My perceptions are perplexed. When I see snowy mountains I think of the Rocky Mountains in Banff or the Alps in Switzerland. I think of skiing and hot chocolate. I expect pine trees or edelweiss.

Instead, here in New Zealand, I stand amid fern trees, eucalyptus and palm trees while viewing the snowy mountains. I see ski lifts on slopes where the virginal snow risks a sudden melt from a volcanic burst of lava. I see handsome Maoris and expect them to speak with some kind of Polynesian accent. Instead, I hear the charming dialect of New Zealand.

In the lush, jungle-like forests I expect to hear the screech of monkeys and the strumming of cicadas. I expect to be drenched in muggy sweat and attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. There is nothing big, dangerous or annoying! All we have seen and heard so far is a wide variety of birds, some of them unrecognizable to my ear.