Glenorchy

After the day at the glacier, we drove to Glenorchy, about a 40-minute drive up the side of Lake Wakatipu. It was a nice drive along the cliffs with views of the lake, a couple islands in the lake, the mountains, and the hillsides.

The town itself was fairly small. We continued past it on our way to a couple Lord of the Rings and Hobbit locations. The first was around Paradise where Beorn's house, the land between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, Isengard, Amon Hen, and Lothlorien were filmed. Unfortunately, we were stopped partway through one of the forests by a creek too large for our car to be able to ford. The scenery was pretty, but I couldn't help but notice how similar it was to some of the coast of California. I think someone coming from a city or the plains would have been more startled by all of the features. It made me appreciate my experiences in California, for sure.

Paradise 1

Paradise 2

where Isengard was digitally added in LOTR

Back in Glenorchy, we parked in a lot by the lake to eat our lunch (in the car, because it was sprinkling and very windy out). I noticed a big black dog on the beach barking as it tried to get two ladies to play fetch with it. I assumed the dog was theirs and was feeling up for some socializing. We got out of the car, started throwing the stick for the dog, and struck up a conversation with them about the dog. Turns out, they were tourists and the dog actually belonged to locals and knew it could get people to play with it by visiting the beach area (a new crop of tourists every day!). Later it was joined by a golden retriever. One of the ladies was from Australia. Her friend was from the U.S., and it turned out she had a PhD so we talked about the lousy job market, and she offered advice on how to get ahead once we received our degrees. It was a very encouraging encounter -- one of those occasional travel experiences you don't seem to get as many of when you're stuck in your daily routine. We parted ways, then as we were filling up at a gas station down the main street, she ran into us again and gave us her business card so we could stay in touch.

On the way back to Queenstown, we stopped to hike at a couple other LOTR locations near Closeburn and Twelve Mile Delta: Ithilien, where Sam saw the oliphants, the place where Sam cooked the "coneys" or rabbits, and the spot where Frodo, Sam, and Gollum watched the battle between Harad men and the Rangers of Gondor. It was here that we unknowingly were bitten by bugs on the trail and had to deal with a few itchy bites on arms and legs the rest of the trip.

in the Twelve Mile Delta area 

Buildings, Boardgames, and Birds

With housing sorted out, here are some other things we've been up to.

We visited our cat at the cattery, and he is doing fine. He loves eating the grass. As soon as I opened his cage door, he bolted out to the enclosed grassy area and started munching. No care that we were there to visit him. Typical cat.

We saw a building being demolished, and you so rarely get to see the innards of a building, I had to take a picture. Assumption is that there was too much earthquake damage to repair it.

Yesterday we went to another garage sale not far from here and bought a stand-up fan (for the few days it actually gets hot here), a new sweater for me, some Tupperware containers, and a small baking pan. I'm really hoping the number of sales increases as the weather warms up, because it's a real deal to get things for way under retail here because of the price of imports.

Next we went to an organized game day put on by the boardgame group that our homestay is a part of. We sort of got stuck with a nerdy high schooler, but he wasn't too bad. We played Salmon Run, Wasabi, Ave Caesar, King of Tokyo, Love Letter, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and then a tournament game of Carcassonne (didn't win, unfortunately).

beautiful tulips

Today we went to the huge park here, Hagley Park, to see sled-dog races (without snow) as part of the opening of IceFest, Christchurch's way of celebrating its part in Antarctic exploration. There were all kinds of dogs, not just Huskies, and people were on bicycles and scooters tied up to the dogs so they could race around a track. The dogs not racing were barking up a storm wanting to be freed. It was cold out today and did rain on us a couple times while we out. We went to the Canterbury Museum for a little bit (it's free so we will be back to see the rest) and enjoyed the tulips and birds in the park. 

After coming back while sitting in the living room, we heard a "cluck" coming from outside.
A lone (wild?) rooster was roaming the streets, and a neighborhood cat was staring at it but then got scared and ran away. While we were getting in the car to pick up Domino's, the rooster came out from a yard and starting walking toward me with a purpose so I jumped in the car before its evil machinations could manifest themselves.

rooster near bottom, gray cat on walkway in the adjacent yard

at the park: different kinds of ducks here

black and white ducklings!

black swan with its gray babies

Transporting Your Pet Cat from the US to New Zealand

Transporting your pet cat (or dog) from the United States to New Zealand is a major pain and quite expensive. But if your pet is family, you do it anyway. Although Air New Zealand requires that you contract with a pet transport company anyway, you still end up responsible for a lot of the legwork yourself. I wanted to provide a summary of all the steps I went through in moving my cat plus the costs I paid so you know what you're getting into beforehand.

Links:

New Zealand Government Biosecurity - personal pets
Air New Zealand - travelling with pets
USDA APHIS office contacts by state
Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory

1. Get your cat microchipped. (~$75) My cat had been microchipped years earlier with the US standard which is 125 kHz. The New Zealand standard is 134.2 kHz, so I thought I would have to get him a second one. Thankfully, the pet transport company said it was okay to use the US microchip (keeping in mind that vets in NZ will not likely have a reader that can read the US one if your cat gets lost).

2. Get your cat a rabies vaccine 6 months to 12 months before departure. (~$75)
Every vet visit must also include a full regular exam to check the pet's health and see if there are any fleas or ear mites, so you must pay the exam fee plus anything extra that needs to be done.

3. Get your cat an approved travel carrier/crate. ($60)

The cat must be able to stand fully upright and have room to move around. The pet transport company can give you further guidance on how big you need to get for the size of your cat. I ended up buying a small-dog size carrier from PetCo that had the holes for them to be able to zip-tie it to seal it, as well as the appropriate latches along the sides and the door. 

4. Prior to 3 months before departure, get your cat's blood drawn for a rabies titre test. Also get your cat a FCRVP vaccine. ($79)
The other vaccine was required by the quarantine facility I selected.

5. Mail the blood tube to the Kansas laboratory authorized to run rabies tests for international transport. ($64)

It was significantly cheaper for me to package the blood tube myself and give to UPS than to have the vet mail it for me (they quoted me around $150). The people at UPS were confused on whether or not they were allowed to ship it since it's hazardous material and had to consult with managers, but thankfully I had already researched it on their website and as long as it is packaged according to their instructions (inner seal, outer seal, absorbent padding, etc.), it can be shipped just fine. After checking their procedures, they finally agreed with me and accepted it. 

6. Pay the Kansas lab fee for their rabies test ($85).
This fee can be paid online.

7. Mail the results to your nearest Official Vet office to receive an official endorsement/seal of approval. ($127)
After a few weeks, the Kansas lab will send the test results back to your vet's office. Assuming your cat tested in the acceptable range for the rabies antibodies, you now need to mail that paperwork plus some other paperwork to your state's USDA APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) office for their seal. I had to call and email several people to figure out which office was the one that handled pet transport seals.

8. At least 6 weeks before departure, make a reservation for your cat at the quarantine facility in the city in NZ you are moving to. ($500 deposit at my facility)
There are only a few authorized quarantine facilities in the main cities. To pay the deposit, I had to make a wire transfer at my bank. Facilities have limited capacity, so I booked my cat's spot months ahead of time.

9. At least 6 weeks before departure, apply for an import permit from NZ authorities. ($150 [$167 NZ]) 
They now allow this paperwork to be submitted electronically, so you scan and email the required paperwork to them.

10. In the 30 days prior to departure and at least 2 weeks prior to the 2nd treatment, get your cat its 1st external and 1st internal parasite treatment. ($82)

You must use Frontline for this, so make sure your vet carries that. I had to go to Petsmart and buy an expensive 3-pack and bring it to the vet's office since they normally use Advantage. Your cat will have to swallow one or two pills of Dropal for the internal treatment.

11. In the 4 days prior to departure, get your cat its 2nd internal parasite treatment.
This can be done at the same time as the next step.

12. In the 2 days prior to departure - can also be on the day of departure - get your cat its 2nd external parasite treatment and its inspection and official certification by a vet that your cat is ready to fly. ($140)
As I was not flying out of my home city, the pet transport company allowed me to get both parasite treatments done by its vet office. I also had to go with them to the USDA office to have them read my cat's microchip before they would sign off on the paperwork. Fortunately we were one of the first there in the morning so it didn't take too long, but I was told that sometimes there are lots of pets ahead in line and it can take hours. The pet transport company also took care of notifying the NZ authorities at the port of arrival that my cat was on schedule.

13. Pay the myriad other fees associated with transportation. ($1570)
These were all calculated and paid to the pet transport company ahead of time. Customs/USDA ($450), Cargo on Air New Zealand - varies by pet weight and kennel size ($670), and Pet transport company handling fee ($450).

14. After 10 days of quarantine, pick up your cat and pay for the remainder of the quarantine fees. ($700 [$825 NZ])
Since I didn't have a certain type of work visa, the NZ authorities charged a 15% customs tax on my cat!!

Total cost in US dollars to transport my cat from the US to NZ: over $3,700.

Fortunately, my cat made it safe and sound to New Zealand, although I am having to spend even more money on boarding him at a cattery while I look for pet-friendly housing. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to contact me.