Austrian Bed and Breakfast in Kiwiland - missed opportunity

When I heard the soon to be trans-morphing meremaid was planning to come down under - I charged her with two things before she was due to leave the nest of Austria.

• One - to take a Video of the water going down the plughole  (and take note in which direction it spirals) and 

• Two - to have a good look at the full moon and take note of the "Sandman"

We then were supposed to compare with down under and if we had (which we did not because we were FAR to busy enjoying ourselves with other urm liquid matters!)  We would have noted that

• One - the water here does really spiral the other way down the plug-hole!!

• Two - that the poor Sandman is on a permanent headstand!!

I have included a pic I snapped 2 days back and hopefully you can see the acrobatic hand stand worthy of Olympic status!! And no - I did not auto-rotate the image :D  would I do a thing like that??

Anyhow - Cousin Doris / Wilfried - the same challenge applies to you before you leave Austria . . . . . .


We did also look at the stars and compared notes with the northern Hemisphere
(no dipper down under) but we have the Southern Cross - which is such a dominant feature in the night sky it features on at least two national flags down under!

These two images will illustrate perfectly well how we find due south. Unlike the big dipper which is pretty much  mostly in the same space in the sky,  the Southern Cross does move around and in particular the axis moves around - it really is like a kite in the day flying up and down and across.

However you can see more here down-under then up north of the Orion belt!!  :)

See if you can spot the cross and work out due south :)

Have fun

Austrian Bed and Breakfast in Kiwiland - all empty

Well - all good things come to an end. The mermaid saw the wisdom of escaping the warm late Autumn sun and is heading back to good old - urm = well home, where - so I am told - is some good old warm - urm sun.  :)
Meanwhile we did post a little something for the two intrepid travelers and yes - it won the race.
The clue to its inards are as follows:

"It is in TWO parts - one for you and one for the princess - and although each part is rock  hard  each part comes in many separate pieces . . . .  "

In fact I am amazed it made it half way across the world and not spill its beans - urm - so to speak.

Anyhow - I do hope the two travelers can relate to the internals!!

My last job - speaking to some local albatross guides - and make sure that they can help navigate the big bird back to Europe via a safe overland travel passage.  The local volunteer (he was semi-appropriately named i-map) tuned his internal radar and went for it.  This of course is assuming he can find Australia and Sydney in the first place!!  Some people do confuse Australia as being our 'Western Island'

Meanwhile - Mamabear and myself are contemplating a 'empty nest'. Both Boys are more or less totally independent and with them working we see them very little.
So the question is - what is a childless couple alone at home to do . . . . . .     *grins* - wait - ohhh yeahhhhh    :D  

Anyhow - Martina and Ileana - safe travels back home and yes - one day we will see each other again. 

Have Fun



 

A stroll in the Gardens - minus a Austrian Meremaid

A wee while ago we took a certain meremaid for a stroll through our Botanical Gardens.  The colours were supposed to be autumnal - but they were urm lacking in color back then.  Still it was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed ourselves.
Meremaid exploring the Gardens
 
So after a very energetic mornings activity (and surprising semi sunny weather) I grabbed my gear and drove back into town.  There obviously were better colors!! 

Still - even now the Maple leave section of the Garden proved yet again to be a disappointment!

There are some good yellows at the moment and when the sun is just so and the angle is just so . . . .

I had this under-exposed by two degrees - it gave a richer darker color!! Oddly enough - the other person snapping away was gun - oops camera shy and did not want to share - urm secrets!

The Bonus came further along when I spotted a wedding party - urm - minus the lucky Hubby!!  Then there where about 15-20 cameras - with various bodies behind them! Turned out to be a class from the local CPIT (some educational facility) taking a course in Photography!!  I very cheekily tagged along and managed to get 5 or so shots.
However - I was more or less a spare wheel and not meant to be there -so felt that I could not 'manipulate' the bride into a more urm appealing pose.  I did however manage to get the point across to the budding pic-snappers - that they needed to engage with her more - as she did not look happy most of the time.  One cracking joke later we had smiles all round and THAT did change the images taken considerably! :D 
Now - it has been suggested a new career path - that of Wedding photographer! Hmm - one of my cousins is a Ceremonial bless-them-guy and I do know that the mermaid is looking for a mere-bloke/guy - so I could cut my teeth so to speak on them practicing the art . . . .

Anywhoooo =  back to the grind stone and reality

Austrian Bed and Breakfast - possible Tiki-tour for the guests?

Oooooookay - so these guest's  arriving - need - urm - to see
S O M E  of our beautiful spots (apart from me)!!  I know - having frequently being told - that I am handsome/masculine/stunning and very furry and well - ok - (am not)   :D ,   you get the picture - but I assure you 3 weeks of me is not ideal - soooooo we talked about decisions that need to be made.  After all how much time can one spend doing a proverbial navel gaze?

The meremaid and little princess have an advantage here - having already been on a teeny weeny tiki-tour and almost successfully avoided the Colonel Sand-ers at Milford sound.   The deal with Colonel Sand-ers     (hmmmm - I may have to go down there later in the year and broker a new deal ^^ )!  She may well pass on hints for the others (and I do recommend a daily dose of Marmite), indeed I hope they can meet up at some stage.

Meanwhile - I kinda put together a summary of what many many tourist's are doing. It can be broken down in two groups - those that can spend only about 20-25 days here and then those who can afford to spend way more time - like 4-6 weeks.  In truth even that is not enough to see the bulk of it.  Those with much time fly into Auckland and head north - then double back down through Central Island (often with a de-tour via Coromandel) down to Wellington where they catch a boat and then travel through the South Island.  Here they follow a very well trodden path already.

Then there are those who have 3 weeks time and thy usually fly into Christchurch and head across to the coast - either via Arthurs Pass or Lewis Pass and then south - Franz Joseph - Queenstown - Milford sound - Invercargill back north via Central (Mt Cook / Mckenzie country) and eventually back to Christchurch.  Both images have a red line to illustrate where folks usually travel.

Problem is -
a; - you need time - L O T S of time, and
b;- a decent campervan, and
c; - you still miss 75 - 80% of some of the better sights.

Then there are distances to consider. If you travel from Invercargill in the south to Picton in the north - bank on traveling 2 days comfortably, or if you want to punish yourself - 10 hours with no rests. ^^

What to do - what to do??

Doris / Wilfried - below is a list of places and stuff to do while here.  It is nowhere near complete.  Everything -- place/activity etc you read can be found via google . . .
There are places I can take you of the beaten track that are just as stunning . . . . .  if not better then the "traditional" places tourists go to.
Meremaid - next time - ^^ urm (boys may have left home by then - so there is a semi permanent free room)   :D

Come to think of it - I like the idea of the first picture - I shall get a large NZ Map and plonk that on a wall in our house and then print ONE (only allowed one) image from each place/town/beach/nature hike-walk/ sunset /  we have been to as a holiday or so since I lived here.  It will fill a full 3mx6m wall comfortably.   Now there is an idea - wonder if Mammabear approves ? ?  ? ?




Christchurch -- Botanical gardens / Sumner beach / Port hills etc / Akaroa /

Kaikoura -- Whale watching / Walks / crayfish

Hamner Springs -- Hot Pools / Forest walks / Skiing base in winter

Westport  -- Coal museum / Denniston / Karamea - end of Heaphy track

Reefton -- Electricity / Gold mining

Greymouth -- Shantytown / Coal /

Punakaki -- Pancake rocks / Walks / Paparoa National Park

Barrytown -- Knife making / Beach

Hokitika -- Jade (greenstone) / Gold / Treetop-walk / Hokitika Gorge / Lake Kaniere / White heron / Wild food festival / Start for 'Coast to coast' race

Ross --  Gold / Walks / Beach /

Franz Joseph -- Ice / Glacier /

Fox -- Ice / Glacier / Lake Matheson / Gillespie Beach / Salmon farm / Alpine Fault line

Haast -- Jade / Walks / Fishing / Salmon farm

Wanaka -- Lake / Walks / Skiing

Queenstown -- Tourist Capital nz / Skiing / Walks / Jetboat / Earnslaw / Kingston flyer / Bungy jump / Arrowtown - Gold

Te Anau -- National Park / Manapouri / Milford Sound / Milford-Routeburn-Kepler tracks / Mirror lakes

Invercargill -- Southern Town - Bluff -- Stewart island / Fishing / Oyster capital nz

Catlins - Last wilderness on mainland / Walks / Water falls / Petrified forrest / Disappearing Lake / Beaches!!

Dunedin - Scottish town / Railway station / Larnach Castle / Albatross colony / Penguin colony

Morakei -- Boulders / Fishing

Oamaru -- Heritage buildings / Blue Penguin colony /

Omarama -- Several power-stations / Glider capital NZ

Lake Pukaki -- Mount Cook / Church of the Good Shepard / Mckenzie basin / Lake Ohau / Skiing / hiking / Hot pools / Rowing Center for NZ / World heritage park for Observatory at Mt John

Fairlie -- ex Dam-construction town - access to skifields / summer hikes

Geraldine -- Barkers / Farming town / Strawberry fruits / Bush / Logging

Ashburton -- Farming town /

Akaroa -- French settlement / swim with the Dolphins / Fishing (Akaroa Cod) / French Winery / Cheese /


Have fun - googling places / activities

Austrian Bed and Breakfast - a new customer?

Wohoooo - One cousin safely ensconced in Sydney and enjoying the sunshine A N D  the beach.  Rumor has it the mermaid had to re-aquaint herself with the surf!! Lucky for her I had some discussions with the local head poncho (called the "great white shark")  patrolling the beaches and he agreed to urm not hunt humans, but be more focused on some slippery Lions.  In fact I am very jealous - they have daily sunny temps of 20-26 degrees and here it is heading into winter with often gray drab days and only occasional over 12 degrees but often in single digits!

News coming in from Austria - a old friend - hmmm (well he is older) let's rephrase this, a urm friend whom we have known since 1988 has decided to re-visit Austria - oooops   New Zealand!!!  Naturally we are most excited by this news and have already made some changes to the bedding in the new luxury outdoor accommodation!  Even stacked the firewood :)
Changed also our mindset - on the recent outing we said - "Wilfried will stop here for a photo, and here - oh and over there.  At this rate we never make it to . . . . .  before dinner"  Are we worried - nope - it is after all, all digital now - not like last time where he went through some 1000's of negatives! We will be - after all (sort of)  tour-guide and driver and luggage carrier and in-house-cook and . . . 

BUT - and yes - it is a big Butt (not a physical you understand - mine is just shapely)

I cheekily asked my cousin (yes one of my 30 cousins that I have) IF she would consider traveling with Wilfried.  After a few par-seconds (ok a couple of days or so) there is a image of a ticket on FB confirming the arrival of urm 3 adults!
Woohooooooo!!!!  However this meant that the outhouse is no longer suitable!!  OH DEAR!! 
We will re-arrange the sleeping quarters to something more - urm - spacious or should that be cavernous states.  For myself, I am trying to do the fitness thing - so this location appealed. Wonder how comfortable the sleeping would be -and - yes - could be fun if you are sleepwalking to the toilet (although that would double as a morning shower and exercise all in one?) . Still it has got potential - you know - morning sleep - roll over and do 30 laps in the pool, work up an appetite for breakfast and coffee . . . . .     :)

With all of us traveling we will need to check out modes of transportation.  It has been suggested that the best way of seeing NZ is via Bicycle. Not that I can visualise the 5 of us on the road in a hmm 5-people-cycle.  Although - it could be fun!! 
Those knowing mamabear will know she wants to travel more relaxed and in style.  Indeed it has been suggested that we do sell the house and buy a caravan . . . . .
Suggestions for that are flooding in.  This sample MAY just be out of our cash range - but tempting.  On a more realistic range would be a 4 or 6 berth Camper-van.  The beauty with them is that you can leave your bed up and not have to re-configure every night / morning into a seating table thing. 

Hmmm much to do - must dash and - dash - no wait - WORK other (scouting related) projects

Tudeloo for now - have fun

Jamboree on the trail - a stroll through a local forest

Every year - on the second weekend in May is the Jamboree on the Trail.  It's a thing that started in Canada and took off worldwide.
Basic idea is to get the youth back out into nature after the Canadian winter.  Of course down under - it is a different story - we head towards winter - but not to be outdone we participated in this event.

One lonely venturer, the lovely wife and myself strolled 10km through the local forest - a park often used for mountain bike riding and night orienteering.
Anyhow = we went for a stroll in the timber-land and yeah - found some interesting sights.

We started counting these magic fungi - but stopped when after a few hundred meters we got to over 100.  Smart cookie then extrapolated the figure it would be for the full 11km of the walk.  The amazing thing was that you would think that all would be the same - but not so - the white dot's on the top varied from fully covered to - well - one we saw that had NONE as well as  the red colour changed from a full maroon to a yellowish lukewarm semi brown afternoon cup of tea colour.
Then there were some very slimy looking brown fungus and some interesting white offshoots that could have and probably were fungus of some kind - but hey - you know the rules - unless you are 130% sure you are safe to eat them - leave them alone!!

Then  we saw a most amazing sight - some REALL magic bit. Both - the blind venturer and wife missed it - but I was glad I did not. This particular pine needle just hung in mid air - suspended so it seemed.  Now I know what you are thinking - yeah right - it was indeed attached to a (most likely) a spider thread - but here is the thing, it was so fine - you could not SEE it - no matter which angle you looked from and also - you could move the needle around - but when doing so - you could not FEEL the thread at all. Most amazing!  We did move the thing around gently and never ever felt the thread, or broke it.  We left it hanging there . . .








I swear - scouts honor - we moved this perfectly still needle in the air!!  Later we did find another one - at least there you could see a teeny weeny silver type thread . . . . . . .

This little one was somewhat unusual in the sense that all the others simply grew through the pine needles on the floor - this one however built his own outdoor emergency bivouac.  It clean lifted all of the floor leaving just the stony soil bare underneath.  Something for the scouts to learn perhaps????

Towards the end of the walk - you walk alongside the local golf-course and hehehe they were into their swing.  Occasional you would hear a very distinguished 'Twaack', and (as a former player myself) would duck my head for cover.  However I liked this place for the tunnel type foliage ahead and the "light at the end of the tunnel" look.  S'pose I should crop this image . . . . ..

Another common sight - what must be professional walkers - eg Dog walkers.  Guess we could have brought Max along - but not sure if Mamabear would have approved of me engaging the urm ladies for a chat. But a great way of getting to know the local population . .   ^^
You will be pleased to know that no urm - buttsniffing - took place - we acted civilized all the way

Well that was JOTT 2013 - now for next year and the 2nd of the 5 badges you can earn, wohoooo

Austrian Bed and Breakfast - with a Kiwi kitchen

Each country has its own 'kitchen' eg. its own special dishes.
I have a cookbook from Austria that lists all the traditional dishes one can reasonably expect from said country in Europe.
There is of course the Palatschinken and Schwarzwald Kirsch Torten - hmm Sacher-torte and :-)   I digress (puts all cakes out of his mind and tries to re-focus on more important matters - such as . . . .     wiener schnitzel - eeech more food!!! )

Here down under we have of course several decent menu choices as well.

They range from Huhu-grub - to mutton birds and pavlova, not to mention fresh salmon and various other seafood, including the world famous Bluff Oyster - eaten best fresh and raw - just slurp 'em down honey . .  :)   ) If you ever come to the Hokitika Wild-food festival - these little critters are actually quit tame to eat!!  I did offer Cousin Martina the local delicatessen, and she very politely declined. Can't understand why!!!  After all, they have a peanut butter like taste and are quit fleshy and crunchy and very rich in Protein.  In fact some vegans swear by them.  Of course you would have to go into the Forrest to find them.  Hmmmm   I have another cousin who may well enjoy them, given the diet said cousin is enjoying!!  Ah well, that will keep for later.

The REAL reason I am writing about mouthwatering food and its associated delicious tastes  - is that the mermaid and little princess have indeed enjoyed a Feijoa cake while urm enjoying the sunshine out here.  (Actually so have a certain group of scout leaders on a recent enjoyable trip to the Westcoast of good ol NZ).  Now I am given to understand that you cannot get Feijoa's in Austria (like - REALLY) - so not sure why I am posting the recipe - but anyhow . . .
HERE it is - very, very simple to make and most enjoyable to eat- especially after the second day (once the Feijoa cake has "matured" a bit in the Fridge).  It should be said that some folks add a teeny weeny bit of crushed banana and/or a teeny weeny bit of ground nuts to the cake mix. Myself - the more Feijoa the better.

So - Mermaid - your challenge is to bake a Feijoa cake and then post your taste-findings as a comment below - or even better post a picture . . .    ^^
Have fun


 

Austrian Bed and Breakfast in Kiwiland - new guest arriving soon

Yes well,
after running round like a headless chuck and also organizing the troops for next weekends adventure - it was time to take a bear-nap. 
Not that lasted long.  I did the decent thing and rung my mother - urm - because I will be in a bear-cave on mothersday!  She calmly informs me that she has "one or two" items to give to our next guest arriving from Austria and was there ANYTHING else I wanted that he could take with him.  Suddenly I had visions of - well - really hard to describe. . . . . .
I figured if all 30 cousins came at the same time . . . . I would need a bigger - well --  everything!!  :) :) :)
Would be fun though.
That's not counting the boxes of chocolate I am sure Mamabear would want to eat.  So - I more or less declined. You can get pretty much everything here - even if Cousin Martina had to hunt out decent coffee.

Meanwhile the poor chap is still considering packing and transportation - especially around New Zealand! We do have a good bicycle, not sure though how he likes to carry his gear.  We may have to cut back on one or two items. Still you have to give credit where credit is due, if he can pack as efficient as the previous user of our bike - he will be just fine lugging his 2 shirts and 1000 rolls of Film around.  In this current configuration you are having a roof over your head which means - it is an all-weather bike and later in the evening you can sleep under it and not get wet!! Perfect for our notorious fickle summer weather and especially on the coast. 
Speaking of the coast - I'm over there this weekend and no doubt will have some fun.  I shall look in on our Knife maker and also chat with the Green-stone  (Jade) carver.  I may take some boys there next year.  Martina - if - no no no - not if rather WHEN you come here next time - it is a definite must do thing - deal??

In the meantime - I have to go to a rope making place and secure a couple of kilometres of string . . . . .  to help tying his laces together.

Post script - I keep getting special emails from a certain airline (not mentioning any names - and the image on the left is for pure illustration).  *grins*
I am beginning to wonder if they want to enter into a special package deal arrangement - fly with us and we got your accommodation sorted. Must be - because that's the only reason I can think of, for them to keep emailing me . . .   ^^

Have fun