New Zealand - Wrap Up

On Wednesday it was with much reluctance that we gathered up our things and prepared to head to Auckland's airport for a short flight back to Christchurch.  We spent some time talking to one of our hosts about their bee keeping operation since we were given a parting guest gift of some of their honey.  The valley on their property is littered with manuka tea shrubs.  Unless you were paying close attention, it was difficult to see the honeybees and they zipped up and down the hill all day long.  It was fun to observe during our stay.  At the lodge our hosts had only been "renting" the bee boxes that are managed by a neighbor.  In one year the four boxes had become home to some 60,000 bees and the result was something like 40 kilograms of honey.

Our hosts' "bee expressway"

After departing the B&B the rest of the trip was pretty much a slog of airplanes and layovers.  After a four-hour hop back to Fiji and a three-hour layover, we took off on Thursday night and landed in LAX on Thursday afternoon.  That's what happens when you cross the International Dateline in an easterly direction!  We landed in Baltimore at around 6 am on Friday and have spent the weekend so far trying to be on as normal a sleep schedule as possible.  It's a little tough for me because I have to fly BACK to Los Angeles for a few days of training for work.  Boo....

I don't have much else to add here except that this vacation has been amazing in many different ways and I'm thankful that Hans and I had the time and resources to make this trip happen.  Not paying for airfare helped a lot.  Cashing in our air miles meant that we had to travel during the shoulder season, which means chillier weather for sure, but it was so worth it!

The people of New Zealand were absolutely lovely and I liked their no-nonsense approach to everything.  As for the scenery, it just doesn't get much better.

To end this trip, I've decided to include some pictures that didn't make the cut for earlier posts for one reason or another.  Collectively I'm sure we took over 3,000 photos (and I am being conservative here) so there was a lot to sort through and when you're on the road sometimes images get looked over.  I enjoy keeping this blog while traveling but it is definitely a lot of work.

Downtown Christchurch

Trying to plan the next day after jailbreak.

A hot water bottle was a must in the chilly cell.

Passing the other Interislander in Cook Straight

The tour entrance to the Weta Workshop

Panorama inside the archway at Cathedral Cove

A little touristy fun on our first night in Christchurch

Thanks for following along, everyone!  If you want to return to the start of this trip and re-live the awesomeness, click here.  To read about past trips, click on the Archive link at the header of this blog.

New Zealand - Lord of the Forest

No, the title of this post is not a Lord of the Rings reference.  The Lord of the Forest is a very large Kauri tree within Waipoua Forest, which has trees that have been growing since before the days of Moses.

Before we get to that: After a very lovely breakfast that was brought to us in the lodge by our hosts, we went out to a scenic recreation reserve at the entrance to Hokianga harbor.  It was a fine clear day so the walk was very enjoyable.  This is the closest to the equator we'll be on this whole trip and we could definitely feel it under the sun.

A short drive away is Waipoua Forest, one of the oldest living forests in New Zealand.  Within the woods are two of the largest living Kauri trees.  These giant trees were prized for their straight tall trunks that could be used for ship masts and the Maori used to carve whole canoes and other water craft from the trunk of one tree.  European over-logging seriously threatened the forests of New Zealand until conservation movements were effective.  At Waipoua there are several short walking trails that allow you to see some of the older and larger trees.  There is a human-transported blight infecting the delicate roots of the trees so each trail as a shoe-cleaning station that you are asked to use before and after visiting the trails.

I'm standing next to the 7th largest kauri tree in NZ, Yakas.  

Yakas is about 43 meters tall and the trunk is about 12 meters around.

Kauri tree bark

Top of Tane Mahuta

Tane Mahuta, or Lord of the Forest, is the largest known living kauri tree.  Its total height is 51 meters and its trunk is 13.7 meters around.  It is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old!  I realize that these trees aren't as large as California's redwoods but they are still really impressive!  Can you find me in the below picture?  I'm standing on top of a bench so that I'm not dwarfed by the forest undergrowth.

Seriously.  Incredible.

 Keepin' the kauris safe

Had to do fried fish takeaway here again because it is too delicious! 

(The gulls know this fact too)

 Not the best picture, but it was the view from our dinner table at the quiet hotel restaurant in town.

Hans had the lamb shank and I had the shrimp linguine.  Lovely true last evening of vacation.

We have one more full day in New Zealand tomorrow but it will be mostly taken up by a drive back to Auckland and then a short flight to Christchurch where we'll stay the night not in jail.

New Zealand - Making Our Way to Northland

Sorry, it was another long day of driving but it has been totally worth it!

We're spending the next two nights at a very special B&B.  It's a one-room lodge that is built into a hillside overlooking a large estuary and the Tasman Sea.  There are panoramic windows on all sides facing the water and a gorgeous large bathtub with fantastic views also.  Our hosts are just the sweetest people and really know the area well and have been great about recommending things to do or see.

We got in during the late afternoon so we spent some time unwinding before heading into town.  We were the very last customers at a fish and chips place before they closed and our food was prepared before our eyes by a very sweet lady.  We took the parcel down to a picnic table by the water and had some of the best darn fried white fish I've ever had in my life!  Dang.

The clouds cleared in the evening and we were gifted with a spectacular evening of star gazing from our balcony.  We set up the tripod as quickly as possible (we dragged it all around New Zealand for this exact purpose and hadn't had a chance to use it yet) and had a great time looking at constellations with the help of a star-gazing app on my phone (highly entertaining if you've never tried it).  We were poorly positioned to see the Southern Cross, unfortunately but it almost didn't matter because there was so much else to see.  There was a half-moon in the sky that did block out some stars but when I awoke in the middle of the night the moon and set and I was treated to a magnificent view of Perseus right outside the windows.  It was magical. 

View from the deck 

Fish and chips takeaway 

Fetch me the bubbly....

The dune, illuminated by moonlight

Moon lens-flare!

The night sky with Scorpio constellation

New Zealand - Coromandel Peninsula

Last night we arrived to and cooked dinner at our rental "bach", a New Zealand vacation house.  This place is beautifully designed.  There is enough room to sleep four, a washer/dryer, modern bathroom, leather couches, and grand views of popular Hot Water Beach.

Hot Water Beach sits over some geotherms that are quite close to the surface, the result being that as the tide recedes, water in the sands gets heated quite vigorously.  Locals have been coming to this beach forever and have figured out that at low tide you can dig your own "hot tub" in the sand!  When we first arrived last night we could see the activity from the house so we walked down to the beach to check it out.  Everyone was soaking in steaming pools in the sand and having a grand time.  As it had been a long day we walked back to the house, had dinner, and went to bed.

Since we're entering the final days of vacation it's time to start slowing things down and take it easy.  There is a LOT to see in this country but as you may have noticed it requires a lot of travel from point A to point B.  I chose this location for its proximity not only to Hot Water Beach, but another popular spot called Cathedral Cove.

Fifteen minutes away is a marine refuge with pretty beaches and a 2.5-kilometer path that brings you to a soft pink sand beach and a natural archway (hence, the "Cathedral").  It was overcast so the sea wasn't very brilliant but you could tell that under bright sunshine it is a nice blue/green color like at Abel Tasman.

We basically did this easy hike and played a game of NZ-themed Monopoly where Hans brought me nothing but financial ruin which I though was a little suspect since it was because I couldn't afford the likely-over-inflated rent at Christchurch Cathedral (too soon?).

In the evening at low tide we went down to the beach and dug our little "hot tub".  It was actually a little trickier than I thought because you want to be close enough to the geotherms to keep your pool warm but not so close that you get scalded, which was definitely a risk.  After squishing our feet into the sand to find the best hot spot, I stepped onto one patch of beach surface and actually had to jump away because it was super hot!  We moved over a few yards and dug in.  It was a very intersesting experience.  Hans of course was more interested in running out into the Pacific so he had fun doing that.  I went out and dunked my whole body and head under so I could say that I did but it was freakin cold!  Regardless it was all a lot of fun but we were glad that it was a short walk to the beach house at the end of the night.

 View from the living room last night

Walking along the beach last night 

 Views this morning

Egg scramble, local bacon, and gold kiwifruit 

Looking through the archway at Cathedral Cove

Hans found the tiniest, bluest spiral shell piece

Flowering manuka that provides the famous honey

Crazy flower in the garden

NZ Monopoly pieces: Yute, sandals, sheep, surfboard, dog, airplane, and jar of Marmite

Doing laundry like the locals do

New Zealand - Rotorua and Other Things

This morning we awoke to strong winds and overcast skies.  Even if we'd planned today as our plan-B hiking day it wouldn't have worked out!  Nevermind, there were other things to do.  As we headed towards Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake, you could really see the wind effects.  The water inside the old volcanic caldera was incredibly choppy and the clouds overhead were moving fast.  We drove past many an intrepid cyclist on the highway around Taupo.  I can't believe they had any forward momentum with the rough headwinds.

A couple of hours later we were in the outskirts of Rotorua, an area famous for its geothermal activity - which causes the town to have a distinct brimstone odor.  It's a pretty touristy area, thus most of the geological features of interest are pay-access only (think Niagara falls).  But we ARE tourists and we were there to do touristy stuff, starting with Te Puia, a Maori run-center that focuses on the the cultural significance of the natural wonders.  The southern hemisphere's largest still-active geyser, Pohutu, was once threatened by aquifer-depleting bores but since locals campaigned to stop practices that threaten the natural geysers, Pohutu has returned to it's full glory of propelling water up to 30-meters high.  There were some boiling mud pits and a few hot pools.  One was used by early Maori as a giant cook pot because its water is contaminant-free.  Today the pool is still used for fancy cooking demonstrations.

We also attended a Maori dance presentation, where were demonstrations of a stick game and how to properly twirl a poi, which is very similar if not exactly like an Inupiaq "yo-yo" that kids play with in Alaska.  It shouldn't be surprising given the ancestral connections between most Pacific peoples.

For the finale, we had an explanation of the haka, which is world famous because New Zealand's national rugby team does it before each match.  It is the Maori war dance intended to pump-up the warriors and also give them a fierce demeanor with the bulging eyes and extended tongue (supposedly to make the opposing tribe or team run away in fear).  Audience participation was requested for this part.  Hans very bravely got up on stage with other fellas from the meeting house where the performance was being held but those pictures will never see the light of day (unless an appropriate sum of money is offered to me).

 It was time to get some lunch and head out of town.  We stopped at an Argentinian tapas restaurant where we ordered way too much food by accident.  I thought the tapas were DC-sized but they were full meal sized, so when three came our way along with Hans' plate of 600-grams of meat we were thoroughly horrified.  The restaurant owner came by to chat and said "well done" when we'd finished most of the food but all I could think was "no, this was embarrassing".    We hadn't really eaten breakfast and clearly dinner was going to be a light affair later...

We drove to the public park in town so I could check out the free public gardens and museum building, which is the last remaining structure from a public baths facility that was raised in 1906 and made to look Elizabethan (it was known locally as Tudor Towers).  In the wide-stretching grounds before the museum there are several bowling greens (like bocce) and croquet lawns.  Oh, so very English.

 

As we left town there was one more stop: Zorb!  I'm not made for bungee jumping or most of the other extreme sports that are abundant in this country but I am totally game for the latest activity that was invented here.  You take a large double-walled plastic ball, add a little bit of warm water, jump inside, and go careening down a hill!  Before you're cut loose the opening is zipped shut so I guess eventually you'd suffocate but the ride is only a couple of minutes so it's very safe.  Hans and I each Zorbed individually but we both chose the zig-zag hill that spins you around like crazy.  It was such a weird but fun experience!  We laughed like maniacs the the whole time.  I have to say it was very comfortable too.  As long as you're okay with spinning and a little g-force, the ride is very soft, squishy, and warm.  The end feels a little undignified because they unzip the hole in the Zorb ball and you sort of fall out onto the ground along with all of the warm water you rode down with and it feels like a very awkward birth.

For the rest of the afternoon we drove up the Coromandel Peninsula to the house we'd be renting for the next couple of days.