March 26 – Punakaiki to Wellington

March 26, 2016 – Punakaiki to Wellington
We left Punkaiki at 7:30am. The morning is slightly overcast as we head toward Christchurch.
We stopped for a quick break at Arthurs Pass. It is a popular camping and hiking stop. We passed through more Lord of the Rings filming locales. After Porters Pass we headed down out of the mountain range separating the east and west sides of the South Island.
At 11:15 we arrived at the Rubicon Valley to visit the sheep farm. Chris, the owner, was our guide for the farm. We started out feeding three older sheep that they keep as pets. Chris has 3,000 sheep and 5 border collies. Blue, his 9 year old dog, and Chris demonstrated how the dogs herd the sheep. It was very impressive. The dog answers only to Chris’s commands. Chris also has alpacas. The sheep wool is sold for carpet wool. The young male sheep are sold as export meat. The older sheep when their wool is too thin get sold as mutton. We got to see a lamb sheared for the first time. We had a very nice lunch which included a chocolate mousse cake for Bill Bandy”s birthday. This is the 3rd birthday on this trip. I think we exceed the normal statistics for birthdays. 3 out of 14 but also 2 on Feb. 23 and 1 today Feb. 26.
On the way to Christchurch we went through Sheffield which was having a county fair. We were unable to stop but it looked like fun.
When we got to Christchurch Airport we went to the Antarctica Center. This is an interactive experience museum about Antarctica. First we went into a room to experience the cold and wind in Antarctica. We put on heavy coats and then the wind increased and the temperature dropped. The wind chill temperature was below 0°F. We were told that if we were really on Antarctica that the snow would be blowing and we would not be able to see in front of us. Next we saw the penguins that are cared for and live at the museum. They are ones found injured in the wild and brought in. Last we saw a film that showed different places on Antarctica.
Flight to Wellington was uneventful and we got to the hotel by 6:30pm.
Tomorrow is a city tour in the morning and the rest of the day is free time.