NEW ZEALAND – NORTH ISLAND

                Races over, we had a free day and spent it in Auckland.  Lots to do there, lots of athletes still competing, we made it to the Zoo, the Maritime Museum, and the Sky Tower for panoramic views of the small metropolis. 

For those who need adrenaline, there is bungie jumping from the Sky Tower

           My faves at the zoo were the baby wallaby and the 20 year old emu who was in the process of laying green eggs!  (Both animals are native to Australia).

Baby Wallaby

20 year old Emu

                The Maritime museum had a large section dedicated to the Polynesian canoes (and we didn’t bother with the boats used during and after colonization).

Canoe bailer - clearly the male motif  

Voyaging canoe – we had been on this boat in July 2011 when it came to Hanalei along with six others from New Zealand on a world tour documenting and promoting awareness of the watery continent of Polynesia.

That evening in Auckland, the Anuenue group had an appreciation dinner for all members and those from NZ who had hosted the canoe racing.  It was a great finish.  Waiting for dinner time, we hung out at the huge “hub” provided for the athletes. 

Metal man – at the opening ceremonies these metal representations had been trapezed through the air across the auditorium as each sport was announced; it was fun to see how big they actually were.

After wine and beer tasting, we relaxed on the waterfront.

Next day it was time to enjoy one last breakfast at the French bakery around the corner.  I had my usual ramekin of chicken and spinach in a lemon sauce and added a cherry tart for good measure.  Gil had a chicken pie and something gooey to sustain him while driving. We then hailed our first Uber to pick up the rental car by the airport.

Tropezienne Bakery  

Leaving Auckland – crossing the harbor bridge

Our entire trip really only grazed the surface of the upper 2/3 of the North Island.  If we return it would likely be between November - February, summertime, so we could also visit the south end and South Island (not shown) . . .

Northland – Northern North Island

Bay of Islands

  Nice to drive away from the city.  Two Days in Paihia, nice accommodations with view, kitchenette.  The fall holiday was over and local families returned to their routines.  Gorgeous place and VERY quiet.  We do like travelling off season.  I got a couple pics from the car as Gil concentrated on not only driving on the left side, but right side steering, left hand shifter, hitting the wipers instead of the indicator, fun stuff.

E coast, glimpse toward Whangarei area

Misty

                To be in Bay of Islands is all about taking a boat trip out among them.  We loved it and, once again, the predicted rain did not come.  The cruise stopped at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island after visiting the famed hole in the rock.  We had a BBQ and hiked to the top for panoramic views.

Explore had these nice medium sized boats, we were very happy with this choice

So many dolphins

Past the "hole in the rock" you are out of the Bay of Islands and into the South Pacific

Narrow island

Water color is delicious

BBQ provided at Otehei Bay

Hill Top

This guy stayed with us all the way back, enjoying the cold wind we were shivering in!

(but no rain)

                We also visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and got our first exposure to Maori (mao-dee) culture.  The war canoes, history between natives and colonists, plants, a performance, etc.  Great afternoon.

Waitangi forest

War canoes in the looooong house

Kapa Haka (performance)

Note:  the fabric at left mimics the traditional garment covered in the hair-like Kiwi feathers

                We left the east coast and headed cross country to the Tasman Sea.  Barely out of Paihia we turned off to see Haruru Falls.  When we got back to the car it felt like we were on Kauai (the only place we saw wild chickens).

Haruru Falls

Haruru Chickens

Omapere is a village across from huge sand dunes that protect a deep inlet extending halfway across the Northland.

Gap to Tasman Sea, 
After lunch, we drove out to Arai Te Uru Reserve, point at left

Gulls at Opononi, with Opo the dolphin (bronze) who had lived in the bay and frolicked with locals for many years

Gil’s favorite picture of me (right?), the Guinness was really good, so was the hot stone they brought the lamb skewers on so I could cook them myself

Gil on Tasman Sea

Manuka – source of sweet smell prevalent in NZ and pride of honey production

Kauri Forest 

The next leg of the journey took us into the Kauri forest, some trees so big and so old they have names. Tane Mahuta (ancestor of the forest) is 2000 years old.  Buried under the oldest forests lay trees over 100,000 years old and below them Kauri dating back over a million years.

Tree ferns (not palms) from car

Tane Mahuta - note folks at the bottom for relative size!

An entire forest lives in the upper branches, plants seeking light.  The weight eventually breaks the branches.

After the ancestral visit we went on to find our very remote B&B near a junction called Donnellys Crossing!  The only rain we had the whole trip was the several days in the rain forest.  Perfect!  It didn’t stop us from taking a red shaded torch into the woods looking for the nocturnal Kiwi birds.  We heard both male and female calls but never saw them.  Sometimes it is enough to just know the wildlife is there.  It was very exciting to walk the boardwalk in pitch dark and we did see our first glow worms!

Birdnest cottage – a 2 bedroom accommodation aptly named, would be much better in the warm season to take advantage of their lovely outdoor spaces

We returned next morning to re-trek Trounson Loop so we could actually see the forest – loved it.  As we traveled on, we also happened on the Kauri Museum and it was a true eye opener. 

Looking up - amazing

Looking down - forest floor, yummy

This tree had been 26 feet in diameter (80 foot circumference) Staggering!  

           The museum was fairly gut wrenching in terms of commercial greed, a true celebration of the rape of resources, honoring man’s ingenuity to use it all up as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

One of the additional fascinating aspects of the Kauri tree (beyond its own majesty, the respect from the natives, and lack-of by westerners) is that the tree produces a healing gum that pours into its own wounds.  Over time, bits of this begin to fossilize (though rarely as hardened as its Euro cousin amber). This too, became a source of industry for colonists. While pieces were readily picked up off the ground in Cook’s time, within 100 years long, deep trenches were being dug to find it.  Its uses were endless until synthetics replaced its role in products like varnish and even linoleum in Britain.

Kauri gum where a branch had broken

Gum collection

As an old rock hound, I was drooling 

However, contemplating the greedy fever behind this was quite tear jerking

                After the museum, we stopped at a roadside café and I had, perhaps, the best salad, ever! Our destination was Thames, at the base of The Coromandel (rhymes with handle). 

Tui bar – Paparoa

Salad - Lamb rump (za’atar spiced), warmed balsamic figs, toasted walnuts, watercress, zucchini ribbons, feta, and lemon mint dressing. OMG

The Coromandel Peninsula – North Island

Our longest driving day of the trip but we reached our next hilltop bungalow before dark and then weathered the storm that threatened to blow out the windows (they were actually flexing during the night).  Next morning, you would never know looking out over the Firth of Thames (or maybe we only dreamed it). 

Firth of Thames with tide out and squalls coming

Next morning, tide in - all is calm

Fanciful Grafton cottages.

                It wasn’t really far to our next lodging outside the town of Coromandel, so we took our time all along the winding coast and then off on a gravel track to another Kauri forest littered with waterfalls.  Much of what I had heard before coming to NZ, was about their conservation efforts.  We were happy to clean our shoes on both entering and leaving these ancient forests.  There is considerable activism against mining on Coro, with strong commitment to protecting the forests - good on ya!

Boot cleaner – the brush is used after either standing on a large spongy pad filled with anti-fungal fluid or squirting your soles with a nozzle from a closed container.

Kauri and more Kauri

The great thing about the boardwalks is that they not only allow walking in inclement weather, they keep people on course without trampling sensitive flora.

We checked in at our Hush cabin then went to lunch in town and decided to drive further north.  The coast was tree lined with native Pohutukawa trees (very few of the red blooms now), botanical cousins of our Ohia Lehua. 

                As all of NZ, the countryside is just gorgeous.  From coastal beaches to rolling hills, to vistas of sea and islands – it seems endless.

                This was the coldest night we had in NZ and were happy to get up and go next morning.  We ventured west to east across the peninsula, with high vistas and then gorgeous beaches.

Whangapoua (fong-a-pu-a)

New Chum beach

               We actually made new chums here, two young women and a young man who had played softball in the Masters for Australia, but were actually Kiwis planning to move back here within a couple years.

               We had lunch in a sports bar and watched some rugby.  In the hall I found two posters that were really humorous.  In case you don't know, the Lions are all the UK teams that the NZ All Blacks love to beat.

                Moving on, we looked at Mount Paku from Tairua and then drove to the trail and climbed it for panoramas.  We really like Coro!

Mount Paku - more volcanic history

 

Gil up the trail

Shoe Island

Tairua with the Pinnacles (mountain crest) behind, another time – great hiking there

So pretty below with the tide out

                It took us all day to get to the next lodging in Whangamata (fong–a-ma-TAH).  As the day got short, our GPS kept trying to send us walking through private property to the beach reserve we were hunting down.  After several times interrupting the same hawk trying to eat carnage on the dirt road, we found the entrance – well worth the hunt. 

Opoutere Reserve

The beach was reached after walking through the trees

Gil and I and a couple oyster catcher birds - phenomenal 

Our B&B had a terrific view over the town, aptly named Mandhari which means “the view” in Swahili (they lived many years in Nairobi).  Funny, because I somehow thought it was an East Indian name, I got hungry for Indian food and what we found in town was excellent.  Next morning we spent a couple hours with the owners, lovely couple who sent us off with a large bag of our new favorite fresh fruit feioja and a couple baggies of dried persimmons from their yard.  We also had a nice discussion about world politics and they fly the new (unapproved as yet) NZ flag!

Feiojas  
Sometimes called pineapple guava or guavasteen – great citrusy pulp without the seeds

Whangmata below

Protea with happy bees


Pink Manuka (also loaded with honey bees)

The silver fern (one symbol for Aoteoroa) replaces the union jack, the stars remain the same
This couple bought three of the flags in case it takes that long for the vote in favor of it to make it more available.

Central North Island

             Driving through the pastoral countryside had many rewards.  Both dairy and beef were prevalent and the further down we went, the sheep increased.  We saw both alpaca that supplement the wool industry and a venison farm that I couldn’t bear to photograph.  Logging continues, though whole new stands of trees are planted as well.

Cattle - beef here but dairy cows are about equal (milk is dried for exportation)

Horses and sheep 
Wool is coming back into fashion after synthetics interrupted production of past.

More cattle on far green hill

Turkeys

We may have left home in the spring but down under it was fall and we enjoyed watching the colors change.

Ridges are formed by decades of grazing.

Rotorua for three days

                With our late start we headed straight for the Hanurama Springs walk, north of town.  This turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.  This is the clearest water in the world; looking into or across it is mind boggling as it seems the water is not there at all – hard to describe.  About 100 years ago, California redwoods were planted and the walk among the trees alongside the strangely beautiful stream was dreamlike. 

Gil among the redwoods (the only trees in the world bigger than the Kauri)

Unbelievably clear water

The spring bubbles up here at a rate of 4.5 million liters per hour, and at  a constant 50°

Looking down into it was mesmerising (sorry the video doesn't play here)

Time to go into the core of the island, literally.  This is where the Pacific plate pushes up on the Australian plate creating mountains, volcanoes, and an immense geothermal arena.  The town of Rotorua is on the lake of the same name which is actually an old caldera and quite shallow.  Not only the clear springs enter the lake, but also mineral springs – some sulfuric with their classic odor and other types of minerals that make the lake appear cloudy.  We stayed upwind of the sulfur but enjoyed the parks and spa at the edge of the lake.

                Government Grounds is a large park with a huge museum and other architectural relics, a children’s marathon was going on, and lakes and enclosures held mineral waters.

Museum at Government Gardens


Not the first time we have been detoured by sporting events, the marathon in Nice, France; the Giro Italia in Italy, but this was the first time it was elementary school kids – cool.

Oak leaves in mineral rich pond

May colors

               Rotorua is a pretty cool, young town and Gil googled Eat Streat – a restaurant mall!.  Had a great pre-fix meal.  The nearby park had a bicycle tree that was pretty impressive.

Bike Tree

                The Polynesian Spa was fantastic.  It is right on the lake and we could have had a private room but by joining the general adult group, we had access to pools fed by both the Rachel Spring for skin health and the Priest Spring pools for muscles.  Yum.

Polynesian Spa theme

Not exactly crowded, most people come at night

Gil with his halo

                We enjoyed Yellowstone so much a few years ago, we were looking forward to seeing at least one of the geothermal parks here.

Wai-O-Tapu

Devils bath

Geyser

Primordial mud

Plop
Watching them surface and pop was oddly exciting

There was a loop drive near the park and we drove to Blue Lake first, literally.  Green Lake followed but the obvious colors are visible from the air, due to different bottoms, sand vs. pumice.  Both are remains of volcanic craters and fairly shallow.  This is a popular hiking area, though too late in the day for us.

Blue lake from the car

Green Lake (appears green from air)

The Iwi, or Maori tribes, have regained many of their lands and while most are inaccessible to outsiders, others have made villages and offer meals and entertainment to share the cultural past and create cash flow.  Our understanding was sketchy it was interesting.  One of the most obvious differences with native Hawaiian culture (both Polynesian voyaging cultures and the language is similar) is that in this area, ground ovens may have been used but the thermal waters and steam were also used to cook food – a much easier process.  While the food served, lamb and chicken were not traditional, the kumara or NZ sweet potato is a significant ingredient throughout the country and is delicious.  The Mitai Village included two walks through the little forest, one before and one after dinner, with a war canoe demo as well as reenactment of village life.  We met interesting people there, the first place women’s softball team from Canada and a couple from Hawaii Island that were there to study geothermal energy systems and pentane.

War canoe along another incredibly clear stream

Napier – two days

                We headed back to the coast, this time the far end of Hawkes Bay.  We have friends that really enjoy the little town of Napier in the heart of wine country.  I was hoping to see birds at the large Gannet colony but did not realize they migrated.  I thought they were year round like our Boobies are here.  So we saw the cliffs where they nest minus the birds.  Quiet and sleepy now, Clifton is probably a madhouse during the season – may have to come back in a caravan sometime (that’s a camper).

 

Sponge on beach

                The town of Napier was severely damaged in the 30s by an earthquake and when they rebuilt, they chose art deco as the theme.  This has now turned into an attraction and vintage clothing and old cars are venerated.  The long strand was pebbles and the shore waves made a fine rumble each time in and out. (Gil really got into his phone camera slo-mo again, but files are too big to blog). 

The sound of the pebbles rushing back and forth was really cool.  
The water pretty, but not inviting

Napier is a charming town but the marina area was more interesting to us.

Another of the voyaging canoes we had been on when it was in Hanalei in 2011 – fun to stumble onto a second one in NZ

Paddys pub

The fire was quite welcome in our snug

Ahuriri Estuary

We took a nice drive south past Hawkes Bay and came across Ocean Beach.  These outrageous panoramic expanses of beach are part of what everyone loves about visiting Aotearoa (New Zealand).  Of course, if you are from Hawaii it is easy to be impressed by the hygiene of public restrooms and consciousness about recycling – something that seems impossible on a very small island that is part of the US.

Ocean Beach from above

Sharon

Not Sharon

That's what I'm talking about

Lake Taupo 

                Getting a bit nostalgic because our days are ending, we move inland to the more mountainous Taupo.  Nice drive.

Forestry lines evident, mist in valley very nice

                The town of Taupo (toe-pau) is situated on the largest lake in the country, yet another volcanic caldera, but deep this time. Famous for its trout fishing, I was disappointed to learn that unless you catch the fish you cannot have it.  It is neither in stores nor on restaurant menus, although a restaurant will cook it for you if you bring your catch in.

On our way in, we stopped at Huka Falls, on odd natural phenom.  As the water leaves the lake, the banks are 100 meters apart but it soon races through a narrow volcanic ravine.  A free tourist attraction, you can stand on the bridge just where the impressive green-blue waters fall.

The constraint is behind trees; the waterfall ferocious

Rushing, hard to describe the power of seeing 220,000 liters of water pass under your feet, per second, just before it plummets!

                While Lake at Rotorua was cloudy from the minerals, Lake Taupo is incredibly clear – much like the springs we had seen elsewhere.  

                Surrounded by mountains, including a snow clad peak soaring 7500’ we just got glimpses as the cloud cover was high, but not that high.  I had hoped for a pontoon plane ride there to finish off the trip, but couldn’t justify $700 for an hour.  And the clouds made the pill easier to swallow.

Float Plane

                We did an afternoon boat out to the Maori carvings instead.  Only about 40 years old, they are quite authentic to Maori legend and really fun to see.  We had no sooner gotten started when out came the wine and beer!  Lovely trip – so cold!  Rather than more spirits, we opted for hot tea on the way back in.

Ernest Kemp (seemed like Popeye should be on board – what a hoot) staff was fab!

Drinks as soon as we were free of the dock.  The kid in shorts was really sorry.

More colors

Lake islands ahead, plus mountains in the clouds at other end

These white cliffs were so unique

Face carving

Other carvings

                We met a lovely couple from Perth, Australia on the boat.  Jenny had been in the Masters as well and won gold in field hockey.  Andrew shared his photos of the mountains we couldn't really see well, taken on a sunny day.  Shame they weren’t clear for us but our weather had been so good we cannot complain.

A Astle 


A Astle
Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings; actually called Mt. Ngauruhoe


Last night, sunset from our Taupo balcony

Waitomo

                Still one more day in NZ with travel to the airport for our 9pm flight back.  Advice from locals suggested we go to the Waitomo Caves, which I thought we had missed.  What fun, millions of glow worms from a boat.  We also climbed to a lookout above the caves.  Hard to imagine what the first people thought when they saw these creatures.

The worms send out sticky strings, then glow to draw prey.  Strange and beautiful.




A bit more forest, farmland, and strange rock formations.

                

Nice flight home. 
Air New Zealand is very comfortable, great entertainment, two meals, good NZ wine . . .  

Really weird to leave Tuesday night and arrive 9 hours later on Tuesday morning.