From North to South

Some Observations:

We have seen a whole lot of cows here and they are eating of all things…GRASS! We have not seen a feedlot. We saw a very overweight Maori who wore a t-shirt that read ‘I’m in shape. Round is a shape’. While driving on the Coromandel Peninsular we came across many one lane bridges. It is fall here but I have spied many New Zealanders aka Kiwis going barefoot. People are quite friendly here. Complete strangers will greet you on the street.

April 15, 2013

Today we drove to Rotorua, about a 3.5 hr drive south. We have our first rain since we arrived and it is a storm from the north. The scenery continues to be fantastic. We are driving through small towns and farm land. We checked into our motel that has a large bedroom with a full kitchen and a ‘hot tub’ of sorts that’s just a soaking tub. Our host said she would fill it in the evening for us. Rotorua is a geothermal area so it smells like rotten eggs before you reach town. Our hot tub will be filled with water that smells of sulfur but who cares. It will be hot!

We headed a short way out of town to visit Te Puia, a Maori owned but

government financed facility that has a carving school that accepts five students a year for a three year apprenticeship, a weaving school where items are made from the flax plant, a kiwi house and a geothermal area with geysers and boiling mud.







We had an hour long tour then headed to town to check out shops selling

carvings.  We didn’t like what we saw with one exception.  We saw a mask in a shop window and discovered it was on sale for 50% off. Unfortunately the sale price was $1,000. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and had a great meal. I had a pumpkin risotto with scallops and Ron had a zuppa de pesce. We went back to our room and sat in our private hot tub. It took about 40 minutes after we got home for the water to cool enough for us to get into the tub. We were asleep by 9:00.

April 16, 2013

We woke up at 6:15. We did some stretches and floor exercises, made our breakfast and turned on the TV and learned about the bombings at the Boston marathon. What a sad day.

We went to the Rotorua Museum which is housed in a 1908 bath

house. This is a beautifully restored magnificent building that has one wing devoted to the Maori history with wonderful carvings by famous carvers. There were photos, greenstone (jade) items, and canoes. Another wing gave the history of the bath house. We took an hour long tour and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards we went through the museum shop that had authentic Maori carvings (not tourist souvenirs). We found a mask to add to our collection. It was expensive but we decided we didn’t want a mass produced item.

We grabbed a quick lunch at a Thai restaurant and headed one hour south to Singapore. The storm is still with us but the rain is not dampening our spirits. After checking into our hostel, we headed for Huka Falls, about 10 miles out of town. The Waikato River is one of NZ’s most voluminous rivers. The river funnels into a narrow chasm before dropping over a shelf that is nine meters high at the rate of 300 tons of water per second. That is enough to fill an Olympic pool in 12 seconds. 

We took a good walk down one of the trails. We came back to town and picked up some groceries then relaxed in our room before going out for another great meal.

Taupo, located on the largest lake in NZ. The lake is 616 sq kilometers and 185 meters deep. It is the size of

April 17

We headed out to Napier after visiting a small museum to see the Reid carving by the master carvers Tene Waitere. We saw a lot of sheep on the drive. There were very high hills, pine plantations, and a waterfall along the way. 

 We checdked into our art deco hostel and set out to enjoy what Napier had to

offer. In 1931 Napier was destroyed by a 7.9 earthquate that lastws two and a half minutes. What wasn’t destroyed by the quake was burned to the gorund by the ensuig fires. The town through pure determination was rebuilt in two years. The popular architecture of the day was Art Deco so this is the place to see some beautiful examples. We bought a self guide tour book and spend the rest of the day reading about and viewing some really sweet examples of Art Deco. The town is small so it was easy to do a walking tour. Of the original 164 buildings 140 remain. We visited a store specializing is possum products. Apparently possums are in abundance here and do a lot of damage to farmers’ crops. A pair of wool/possum socks was $47  so we passed up that opportunity. Napier is located right by the ocean and we could hear the crashing waves. No one swims here due to the very dangerous undertow. The beach consisted of millions of very smooth dark gray stones. We were asleep at 9:30 after a yummy dinner.

The theme also continues to signs and manhole covers:

 

April 18 

We walked along the beach on a board walk after breakfast then drove over to the National tobacco Co building, a very fine example of Art Deco architecture and detail. Across the street was a great antique store chocked full of fun things to look at.

               

We drove to Hastings, another Art Deco town and enjoyed walking around the downtown area. We continued our drive, arriving in Wellington at the very southern tip of the North Island. The drive was spectacular with very green pastures, lots of sheep and huge rolling hills.  We passed through a town settled by Danes and one by folks from Norway. We stopped in one town to use the public toilets. After I closed the door a voice instructed me how to lock the door by pushing a button and warned me I had the use of the room for 10 minutes. Then when I flushed the toilet I was told how to unlock the door. Too funny. It was a rainy day bur we stopped for a quick picnic by the roadside and finished before the rain returned. We rarely see litter here and billboards are almost not existent other than small ones that give drivers safety tips. Many small towns make use of traffic circles rather than traffic lights. This saves money for the cities and time for drivers. It is fall here so we got to see trees changing from green leaves to yellow, red, orange and rust. What a treat.

In Wellington, we stayed with some people we met when we attended a security training in Washington DC before we left to live in the Rep of Georgia. Roy works for the embassy and Debra holds down the fort with tow wonderful kids, Krishna and Dhara. Debra and I have been email buddies since our first encounter. They had invited us to visit them when they served in Sri Lanka. We stayed in their home there when they were in the US on home leave. Debra had prepared a fish curry, dahl, papadums and salad.

April 19

We took a train into town to avoid the hassle of finding parking and getting lost. When we arrived at the place to catch the train we asked a woman who was about our age which side of the platform to catch the train to Welly. We chatted for a while then boarded the train when it arrived. When we got off the train our new friend was waiting to catch us so she could take us to exit where we would easily find Parliament.

Welly is a very walkable city. We first took a tour of Parliament. Parliament consists of three very distinct buildings: a very modern stepped truncated cone that was completed in 1982 and is called the Beehive (executive offices). Next to it is the Edwardian Neoclassical Parliament House and that stands next to the Parliament Library which is Gothic Revival. We were fascinated by the earthquake retro fit whereby the building rests on rubber and steel cylinders that can flex in an earthquake. After the tours we went around the corner and ate a wonderful lunch outside at the Ministry of Food, a cute name for a café located in the heart of the government district.

We then walked to the cable car that takes us up to a view point over the city and to the botanical gardens. We stopped along the way to consult our map in order to find the cable car. A young man walked up to us and said “Is everything all right?” We said we were just trying to find the cable car. He gave us directions and continued along the way. We have been so taken by how friendly Kiwis are. We rode to the top and were treated to a wonderful view of the city and the ocean. We walked through the gardens briefly and Ron popped into the Cable Car Museum. Back down the hill we walked to the waterfront and visited Te Papa, Welly’s fabulous museum with Maori displays, and so much more. We only visited two of the six floors as we were growing tired of being on our feet all day. We walked back to the train station. We visited with Debra when we got home then we took the family out for Malaysian food. Roy is Indian and was born and raised in Singapore. He said this was as closed as we could get to Singaporean food.

After dinner we walked through a pedestrian area known as Cuba Street where there are some great older buildings. The area is a favorite of young people who dress in wonderful costumes or have cool hair colors like purple or hot pink, etc. We went back home and visited until way late.

April 20

We got up on Saturday to more rain. We decided to go to town anyway. We walked from the train station in Welly to Civic Center where we had lunch and saw a kinetic art show in a gallery near where we were to catch the bus to Zealandia, a bird sanctuary. It started raining harder and I decided I didn't

 want to stand in the rain for an hour looking for birds so we changed our plans and visited the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. This museum focused on Welly’s social and maritime history. We went back to the house and helped with dinner preparation. Again we visited then Ron and I packed for an early start the next day.

April 21

Ron and I left the house at 6:30 in order to catch the Interisland ferry to Picton on the south island. ThisPacific ocean meets the Tasman Sea in the Cook Straight.  It is a three hour crossing and we were fortunate that is was a calm although rainy day. We split a date scone with clotted cream which was divine. Apparently sometimes the crossing is rough. In 1968 there was a horrific storm and a ferry floundered and all 734 passengers and crew had to abandon ship. The seas were so rough that some lifeboats overturned. In all 51 people died due to hypothermia, drowning or injuries. The Cook Strait is where the Tasman Sea and

is where the

At Picton we treated our selves to fish and chips wrapped in

newspaper and sans sauces which I desperately wanted. None were available at this take away shop. We drove about two hours to get to our destination of Kaikoura on the coast. We passed many vineyards where the grape leaves were turning yellow and many of the trees were in their fall colors. There were high hills on our right with the sea on our left. We saw pastures that we very green and there was a small creek beside the road. We climbed up a narrow valley with some brown grass rolling hills with almost no trees. There were more vineyards and the hills on our right were extremely high. There were only a few places where we could pull off the road and one of our stops was to view a seal colony. We checked into our charming motel that consists of eight cottages. We have a kitchen and two bedrooms, a shower and toilet. We drove around the small town and went out for a seafood dinner. I had steamed green lipped mussels with a sauce that sent me into orbit. Ron dined on a seafood chowder and for dessert he had a dish that the chef’s mother had created: fig salami, walnuts with a honey drizzle and blue cheese that was so soft that it resembled whipped cream.

April 22 

Today we got up had hoped to go on a whale watching trip. The trip was cancelled as the whales had moved too far off shore so we will try tomorrow. The day ended up being a blessing as we slowed our pace. We visited the Fyffe House, a piece of whaling history and then we walked around the area where there is another seal colony. We went up on a bluff over looking the area. Back to our room we did laundry and relaxed. In addition we changed our itinerary to take in more os the southern east coast where we hope to see Penguins.

New Zealand beckons!

We arrived in Auckland at 5:45 a.m. after a 12 hr flight from LA. Auckland is 19 hrs ahead of PDT so we lost a day coming here (left Sunday night and arrived Tuesday morning).  The row we were in had three seats and just the two of us. The seats had the ability to make into a bed of sorts by lifting the leg rests into a horizontal position. If we nestled like spoons on our sides with our heads at the window we could lie down. The problem was that it was very tight and I had seat belt buckles pressing into my body at various points. Neither of us slept well even when we faced the other way. My body was totally torqued from the experience.

Our backpackers’ hostel was great. We had booked a double en suite room and we loved it. High ceilings with a veranda overlooking a park. We are in a great neighborhood with nifty shops and restaurants. After checking in we showered and found a lovely place nearby for breakfast. Food is expensive here. Our breakfast was about $35 US.

We walked into the heart of downtown, sight seeing along the way. Auckland’s Town Hall, a lovely art nouveau building, the Civic Theater, The Sky Tower, the University Clock Tower, the Old Government House, a former synagogue from the 1800’s and We saw a copy of Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses in a park, We walked to the harbor and had a delicious lunch at a seafood restaurant that had been recommended by friends in Portland. We sat on the veranda overlooking the harbor. What a lovely city and our weather was perfect: sunny and warm. We walked back to our hotel using a different route and were quite tired by the time we returned to the hostel around 4:00. We took a nap and went out for Thai food for dinner. By 8:30 we were asleep.

Auckland is a very clean city and appears to be quite prosperous. On

our second day we made breakfast in the kitchen of the hostel. We had bought some coffee, granola, and fruit the night before. We took a bus to the Auckland Museum which houses one of the best collections of Maori artifacts and crafts. The carvings are fabulous. We hope to find a mask we like to add to our collection.  We watched a live performance of Maori song and dance at the museum.

We ate lunch at the museum café and spent a little more time with exhibits before heading out and walking down Parnell Road. We visited St Mary’s church, the largest wooden Gothic Revival Church.  We continued walking, stopping into several antique stores. We stopped for tea and pastries and to rest our weary feet. We walked to the car rental so tomorrow we could find it easily as we will head north early. We took a bus back to our hostel and rested before heading out for dinner.

April 11, 2013

We took a bus to the car rental agency and picked up our car. On the way back to the hostel we thought we were lost but it turned out we weren't.  We checked out of our lovely hostel and headed north to Paihia on the east coast about 3.5 hrs north of Auckland. It is lovely here. This area is called the Bay of Islands as there are a few larger islands and hundreds of smaller one. It reminds me of the San Juan Islands in Washington. The town where we are staying is a charming beach community unlike most of our tacky beach communities. We are in another great hostel, this one is a converted motel and close to the beach. We did a load of laundry so we are set for another few days.

Along the way we stopped in a small town known for a local artist who decorated parts of the town, including the public toilet.

We took a ferry to Russell Island and walked around then had a
sumptuous dinner is historic Marlborough Hotel, almost 200 years old. Our lamb shoulder had been cooked for eight hours and melted in our mouths. Back onto the ferry and another early night to bed.

April 12, 2013

We had planned to sleep in, but woke up at 5:00 AM. Guess jet lag is with us still. We drifted off briefly but eventually got up, did some stretches/floor exercises then showered and had breakfast. Afterwards we walked into town along the beach. It was another beautiful day. We got back in the car and headed back south and stopped at an art studio of a famous NZ sculptor and admired his very large kauri sculptures. We continued south stopping at Whangerei and walked along the harbor admiring yachts after visiting an art gallery. We did some quick grocery shopping for more breakfast items and hopped back into the car. Later we stopped and had a picnic lunch with some of last night’s leftovers. We made a short espresso stop at a sweet little café on a hilltop. We arrived at Orewa, a small beach community in mid afternoon. After checking in at our hostel, we took a long walk at a lovely reserve that was like a dense rain forest with huge tree ferns, palms and kauri trees that can reach 150 ft in height and 24 feet in circumference.  We returned to our room and rested a bit before walking to an Indian restaurant
for a yummy dinner.

Every place we have been we find clean and tidy towns. Rarely do we see litter or any signs of poverty. It appears prosperous here.  I am eager to see our friends in Wellington to find out more about the economy here. I am struck by the flora here. I have seen bay laurels, Scottish broom, conifers, trees ferns, all kinds of palms.

April 13, 2013

Today we got up early and drove to Otara, just a wee bit south of Auckland where there is a large Maori Saturday market. We hoped to find some wood carvings but alas there was only one booth with carvings. Half of the other booths were cheap clothes: socks from S Korea, cheap imports from China, Polynesian themed shirts, etc.  The other half was food booths smelling of rancid oil. Not very appetizing. We zipped through and got back on the road.

We arrived at Thames which Captain Cook named after the Thames of England. Not sure what he had in mind! It was a sweet little town and they were having a Saturday market as well. The vendors lined the main street and we bought some salami and fresh rye bread for picnic lunches and I found a lovely bone carving for my cousin in SC. We stooped for a coffee and muffin, yum and then perused some shops. We found a great antique store with fine wood furniture. We went back to our hostel and chatted with a young Belgian man who had broken his ankle while hiking here. We had an interesting conversation about how the world has changed. He lamented that now people didn't trust one another and that neighbors didn't know each other.

Afterwards we went back to town for lunch and took off to take some shorts walks in the nearby forest. We visited a model dam that were used to log the kauri forests. These trees live for 2,000 years and reach a height of 150 ft and up 12 ft in diameter. The peninsular was heavily logged for 100 years and the forests all but disappeared as a result. Now they are trying to replant but these trees grow very slowly. We took another hike to Hoffman’s pool where there were remains of an old railroad trestle.

We rested briefly back at our hostel then walked to town for the third time for dinner. We retired.

April 14

At 6:00 a.m. we were awakened by a town alarm to call volunteer firemen. We decided to get an early start so we could explore the Coromandel Peninsular. We were on the road by 7:30 and took a brief detour to take a short hike to see the Square Kauri. This is a tree that is 1,200 years old and nine meters wide (over 27 ft). It was spared from being logged due to its angular shape. What a tree!

We arrived at Coromandel Town early so our room wasn’t ready. We dashed over to the Driving Creek Railway and Pottery. This is a labor of love, a lifelong work of Barry Brickell. He started this project in 1971 to be able to haul clay on his property to his workshop. It grew with time. In the 1990’s he realized that maybe people would be interested in riding on this railway and opened it to the public. The income from the tourists allowed him to expand the line. His first year there were 1,500 riders and  this year there were 60,000. The railway is now 3 kilometers long and climbs over 120 meters. There were incredible views from the train and quirky treats with various ceramic sculptures along the way, walls made from bottles or tires, and hand made brick walls.

 Ron took lots of great photos which he will post. As touristy as this sounds it was a humbling experience. Barry and his crew have planted over 9,000 kauri trees on his 60 acres as well as building this railway which was an engineering feat. They also have built the railway cars. He initially funded this by the sale of his pottery so it was slow going but after he opened it up to tourists he was able to do more. He does not take a salary from the ticket sales. He still earns his money from his pottery sales. He has a staff of 12 who do everything was driving the trains, making pottery, building and maintaining the railway and ticket sales.

We stopped in town to get some groceries and headed across the peninsular to explore. What a drop dead gorgeous place. We climbed over the mountainous spine and saw beautiful farms along the way. Today is the first time we actually saw a house or two that  needed painting. Most of the time, we have seen well maintained homes and farms. We are eager to meet with some New Zealanders and find out more about the state of their economy, tax structure and the like. Half way to the east coast of the peninsular we stopped by the bay and had a yummy picnic of bread, cheese, salami and corn ships topped off with dark chocolate. We had planned to see the Cathedral Cove but when we arrived on the other side we discovered that in addition to another 40 minute drive it entailed an hour and a half walk. Given the time of day we decided to not go. We were content with the scenery we viewed along the way. We came back and did some laundry and hung it out to dry. The hostels that provide washing machine often do not have dryers. I hung out the laundry and when we went to dinner I brought the clothes into our room and hung them on chairs and towel racks to finish drying. This area is noted for their green lipped mussels so we went to a café that served fresh seafood and had a famous meal of mussels: chowder, baked mussels, marinated mussels, and mussel pate. YUM!