Ann-alog, a Pixel Remix, where Ann Torrence blogs about photographing for a book on U.S. Highway 89, the greatest road trip route in America. Photography tips, locations, trip reports, and real life.

The eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean, relatively peaceful as we near the jaws of doom

Dragonboats in Auckland's viaduct

Merry Christmas to all our loved ones from Ann and Rin Middle Earth. The NZ Christmas Tree, also known as the pohutukawa, is a myrtle, Metsiderosis excelsa, adapted to volcanic rock and wind-swept coastal regions. It is a delight to behold these December giants arcing over the volcanic coast or on hillsides near Rivendell.

The Cricket : (an official R Report)

We're hooked. Cricket = baseball + brunch + a day at the park + drama + civility. Now when we vacation, all idle moments involve cricket on TV, replays of Australia's 2003 victory, the great Pakistan players of 70s & 80s, on and on. We arrived early in Hamilton for the second day of the 5-day test match between Pakistan and the NZ Black Caps. NZ loves black - they are the Raiders - with a similar record. A silver history and tarnished but hopeful present.

Despite NZ being a western-style social welfare democracy, we daily confront cultural differences that remind us that Americans are not at the center of the universe. Driving rules: When you approach an intersection and you are making a left turn, you must yield to any oncoming traffic making a right turn, which means those crossing your lane, were you to travel straight, have the right of way. I have not mastered this subtlety, but neither have many drivers in Auckland, so everyone is confused at intersections most of the time.

The grocery store has endless entertainment opportunities in every aisle. Lovely venison, whole goat legs, fresh green-lipped mussels, endless varieties of cheese, mango and passion-fruit juice. Cherries are NZ$20/kilo (a lot), blueberries are cheap at NZ$2 per "chip". Cannot buy fresh or frozen cranberries at any price, but they do have whole turkey and cranberry sauce in a can. A popular dessert is pavlova, which is a cake-sized meringue cake topped with whipped cream or custard and fresh fruit. My favorite aisle is the pet food refrigerator case, which I mistook the first time for the frozen ground beef wares. While they sell dried kibbles, these rolls of pet food must be pretty popular.

Winna, Butch, and Basics brand dog rolls, along with Perky Venison in 90 gr packages.

We went to the Auckland Domain, a luscious green, spotless central city park, for the annual Christmas sing-along and celebration with our host & hostess Michael and Effie, Michael's fabulous daughter Kristen, and Brendan & Keeley O'Brien. Big party in the park. The grass was soft and cool. At sunset, an amazing rainbow developed over the harbor. 100,000 people all being friendly. The police reported 'No bad behaviour.'

And then there was the singing. Of course everyone around the world sings that Christmas favorite 'Disco Inferno' (...burn baby burn, burnin', burnin'...) just before Santa arrives in a metal-flake custom sleigh shooting 30 foot sparkler jets out the back, suspended 50 feet in the air by a mechanized cherry-picker. Just like being in a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

The Rainbow at the Auckland Domain

On Friday the 5th, R had his temporary cast removed and went straight into a moon boot. The orthopedics specialist was satisfied with the xrays and wound healing, told him to put weight on it as soon as he can tolerate it. So we are off and running. Michael drove us around from one A&M clinic to another so we could get a new moon boot issued on the insurance scheme. The nurse did not want to sell him a used boot with a surgical wound when he could get one for free.

Michael's daughter arrived with Michael on Thursday, and one thing Kristen loves is boogie boarding. We planned an outing to the Tasman Sea west of Auckland for Sunday that would have something for everyone - a visit to a gannet breeding colony, boogie boarding, a stop at Beesonline (Effie's relations in Greece keep bees) and finally a cafe at a winery.

Adult Australasian Gannets, known as Takapu in Maori and Morus serrator to the biologist.

For those of you who want the short story, R broke his ankle on day 3 of our South Island safari. We were evacuated by helicopter to Invercargill, where he underwent surgery to pin the fibula back together. We flew back to Auckland as soon as they would let him leave, and he is doing great. We both tried to take what was given to us and make the most of it, and the story is linked from here.

Captured during surgery to assess the realignment of R's fibula

Today Invercargill has its Christmas parade at 2 pm. Maybe, just maybe, we can get R settled and I can go take pictures. The tickets arrive in a beautiful red NZ Courier pouch before I check out. I make it to the hospital in time for rounds, see the surgeon finally, but she doesn't speak, not to me and hardly to R. The other doc agrees to discharge him after the physical therapist signs off on R's crutching skills. R has to wear my pants with the side zippers - it's the only clean thing left in the bag that will go over the cast. He gets breakfast, a shower, and now we need NOT to rush, since the new motel can't take us before 1:00.

Invercargill competitors.

We forgot it was Thanksgiving Day yesterday. The docs decide to keep R on bed rest until Saturday. I appreciate the care and caution on his behalf, but I am struggling a little, knowing that in the states he would probably been sent home within hours of the surgery. R didn't get much rest in the hospital with his chatty roommates, so it is probably just as well. I manage to get the physicians to snap to the need to make plans on a longer-range than day-to-day and they agree that tickets for Sunday is a reasonable decision.

An art shot entitled: Three Men's Legs

I spend the early hours of the morning sorting gear back into the duffle bags so that I can manage them in the room and at the airport. I'm hoping that they will release him on Thursday. Watch the morning news, learn that the Swiss have selected Valencia, Spain as the host city for the America's Cup. I miss morning rounds, but R tells me that surgery is scheduled for 9:30 and that they want his foot elevated for 24 hours before he goes on crutches. He certainly won't be released before Friday.

Entering the surgery "theater"

R sleeps some, more than he thinks, but his leg muscles twitch and wake him up. He only complains in his sleep. At 3:00 am I am awake. I lie next to him, thinking about how it could have been worse, trying not to remember the first few seconds when he fell. At 4:00 am, I get up for the toilet. I remember that the Southern Cross should be visible, but there is a light cloud cover and I only see a few bright glowing spots in the clouds that should be stars, probably Alpha Centauri. I fall back asleep until the dawn chorus at 5:30 am, stay quiet until 6:45 when R wakes up. Ruth had instructed the rest of the team to get on the trail by 8 am and they are starting up water for coffee.

Doc relocating the helicopter at Green Lake

Up to another great day. Cannot believe how lucky we have been with the weather - 4 days in a row without rain - hope it holds until evening. I have some trepidation about doing this hike, the off-track part is beyond my experience. The pack feels tall but not heavy. I borrow a walking stick from the company gear pile.

Tussocks, billowing clouds, easy hiking on the ridge line

Ruth wakes us up with coffee at tent-side at 5:00 am. The goal is to get to the kayak service by 7:00 and be on the water before the flightseeing craft arrive like mosquitoes later in the morning.

Clouds hang on the peaks and skim the mountainsides. A rosy sunrise that deserved a box of film, instead I was allowed 2 stops. The road reaches Milford Sound via a 1+ km tunnel, opening into a valley of waterfalls.

Helmsman's view of Milford Sound

We meet Ruth the trip leader at the Queenstown Information Center at 8:00 am. She has stowed the rest of the crowd in a cafe a few doors away. A Dutch couple, Marco and Marleen; 2 German molecular biology students, Sabastian and Marcel, traveling together before they become roommates; and 4 women traveling alone, Sarah, an American, Natalie from Switzerland, and two Enlish gals, Naomi and Dawn. Ruth, a blond Kiwi, looks well-suited to shepherding this pack of kidlets around, and young they are, other than us, as the average age is probably less than 25 if you take us out of the equation.

the trip starts out with some anxiety because, as Ruth calls base to find out where our 11th group member is, she picks up three messages from Michael in Auckland, trying to reach us. R's sister has called to say that their mother is in ICU in Denver. We connect with Diana on the cell phone, and after finding out that Marilyn has stabilized, he decides that we continue the trip that we haven't really started yet, and check in on Day 4 when we get more groceries at Invercargill.

Snowy peaks in all directions, it is just spring up here.

Landing in ZQU is a nerve-wracking affair, dropping into a small bowl surrounded by snow-capped mountains. From the air, the impression is that spring has not yet arrived because the native vegetation is a tussock grass that doesn't really green up. The tree-line is quite low and the margins of the valleys are yellow-gold from gorse planted by the settlers and gone wild. Due to the cloud cover on the flight down, we don't see Mt. Cook or much of the southern alps, but it breaks up just as we reach Queenstown.

Lawnbowling is a quiet sport, no beers on the playing field.