Thursday, Feb 28th, Otononi, New Zealand

Greetings!

Yesterday, we drove south into the Waipoua Kauri Forest.  It contains the oldest trees in New Zealand, some older than our redwood forests giants.  The walk through along the trails felt like the set of the movie Avatar, and the canopy level would have been magnificent.

We're staying at a beautiful coastal resort which doesn't have a speedy wifi, and it took all night to get some photos up on the internet.  This morning, I posted the remaining photos, but there isn't much time left before breakfast and checkout.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Thursday, Feb 28th, Otononi, New Zealand.

Wednesday, February 27th, Kaitaia, New Zealand

Greetings!

Skipping a long driving day, we let someone else do the driving today.  SandSafaris Unique Travels took a group of us north on both the road, and the famous 90-Mile Beach to almost the northern tip of the country.  That privilege is reserved for another point hardly anyone goes to, but Cape Reinga certainly looked a lot like it.  On the way, our guide Garth, provided great insights into the history of the Maori tribal land stewardship and culture.

At an early rest stop, we discovered 45,000 year- old Kauri trees found in peat moss swamps contained valuable gum sap prized in London and America.  Crucial to the production of oil varnish, paints, and even linoleum, gum-diggers provided 450,000 tons of Kauri gum between 1850 and 1950.

As supply diminished, gum-finding practices took a toll on the forests and workers, and government restrictions were imposed in the early 1900s.

Travel to the northern tip was either by the road or the beach, and the tide today dictated the beach came first.  We used the southern-most ramp onto a stretch between sea and sand dune, and we looked for wild horses behind the dunes.  Garth explained that huge dunes constructed of short trees and sand lined the entire route in order to keep the beach from heading inland to the forests of farmed Monterey pines.  Recent floods have damaged the northern end, and freshwater streams cut into them at points.

 One of the highlights of the beach route was a high dune that tours provide boards and instructions to let adults ride down safely.  Pat and I chose to watch and photograph, and plenty of others slid down the sand.

After a provided lunch at a beautiful beach near the point, we arrived where the Pacific Ocean meets  the Tasman Sea.  Maori belief of the first arrival has it that Hawaiian ancestors came through a pathway stopping first at the three King Islands just off the point, and then landing on the point and making their way down the beaches south.

Maori death beliefs hold that on the return trip, individuals pay homage to a Pohutakawa tree near the beach at the tip, then fly to the Kings Islands, where they thank their family and their tribe, before returning to Hawaii.

To view the rest of the photos taken today, click on: Wednesday, Feb 27th, Kaitaia, New Zealand.

Monday, Feb 25th, Russell, New Zealand

Greetings!

I apologize.  Russell (where we're staying) was the Hell-Hole of the Pacific, not Paihia.  I think I must have been associating my anger at having to walk the whole length of it yesterday into its 1830 personality.  Paihia was the peaceful Maori side of the bay, and Russell was the British out-of-control side.

Passing the Hell-Hole Cafe, on our way to the oldest restaurant in the country (which proudly says that it's been serving rascals and reprobates since 1827), I realized my error.

After breakfast this morning, we drove the car around the hill behind Russell.  We discovered a beautiful beach in front of a long grass park with picnic tables and lawn chairs.  One other senior couple drove up, as did a kid on a skateboard, and a father and son.  It was as idyllic a morning beach spot as one could imagine.

Returning to our room, we did the laundry, packed a lunch, and then walked down to the town boardwalk and pier.  We had a arranged a cruise of the Bay of Islands for the afternoon, and didn't want to miss the boat.

Great Sights runs an all-purpose island ferry service, with half-day and all-day explorer adventures.  We took the 4-hour Cream Trip to most of the small islands on the way out to the Hole in the Rock and back.  Though a bit windy out at the Cape Brett Lighthouse, it was relaxing and enjoyable.

On the way back, we got off the boat at Otehei Bay, and visited Project Island Song, a Bay of Islands Conservation effort.

To see the rest of the photos taken today, click on: Monday, Feb 25th, Russell, New Zealand.

Sunday, Feb 24th, Russell, New Zealand

Greetings!

Russell sits on a peninsula in the middle of lots of coves and bays.  Directly across from it is Paihia, a ferry ride away.  At the north end of Paihia is the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, our destination for  today.  In 1840, the Maori tribes called upon the British government to address the "Hell-hole" of British lawlessness at Paihia through a treaty.  Dueling (English and Maori) versions of a document were signed in a ceremony held here, and called the birthplace of a nation.

Crossing by ferry, we walked the couple of miles along the strand to the site.  The grounds contain a museum, ceremonial canoe (largest in the world), and Maori cultural center.  The walk was strenuous, and cruise boats have shuttles.  We tried hitch-hiking back, but the island seems less friendly than Pat remembers in 1971.

It is worth the walk, however, as the history lesson easily understood by the experience is very powerful.  In a time when communication between different cultures is increasingly important, visiting and hearing about a seminal confusing moment in British and Maori history can't be under-valued.  We must pay closer attention to the agreements we forge around the world to address the issues we face.  An inter-dependent set of economies and travelers demands that we understand and accommodate each other's points of view.

We crossed back to Russell, just ahead of a drenching downpour which caught us having dinner on our porch.  We never saw it coming, and had to abandon a wine glass on the patio table in our haste.

The photo album has the first good set of views today, so I invite you to check it out.  Click on: Sunday, Feb 24th, Russell, New Zealand.  

Saturday, Feb 23rd, Russell, New Zealand

Greetings!

I'll bet that only a few of you have ever been to the North Island of New Zealand.  Except for flying into Auckland to go to the South Island, or a three-day visit many years ago in search of my grandfather's sisters, I hadn't given it much attention. 

So we're going to spend the next 24 days exploring the rolling hills, sunny beaches, and crossroad towns which dominate this island.  So far, I can tell you that it's really beautiful.  The kind of beauty you don't find much.  It's attracted lots of retired and aging surfers.  And for those in my home county of Sonoma, imagine three times as many of you - in an area 20 time bigger.   But today, we drove up to Russell from Auckland, and there were only a couple of stops.

One was a surf beach with great bathrooms, lifeguard station, stairs to the beach, and miles of warm surf.  I could easily live here.

We'll stay here for three days, drive all the way up to the northern most tip of the island, and back down the other coast to look at some forests.

To see some of the other photos we took today, click on Saturday, Feb 23rd, Russell, New Zealand.

Friday, Feb 22nd, Auckland, New Zealand

Greetings!

Today, we listened to lions roar, and took the Sky tower elevator to its 60th floor to view Auckland.  Beginning with another train ride into the City, we hopped-on to the western circuit of the City Tour bus, and got off at the Auckland Zoo.   We saw penguins hiding under an over-turned boat, Sri-Lankan elephants in a barn escaping the rain, a serval sleeping in his small den, and two kiwis pecking at the ground in a darkened enclosure.

Not afraid to greet us in the light were two male lions, some meerkat, a southern white rhino, several tortoise, three giraffe, and four zebras.

The Zoo's layout is a fun to walk through, and allows the visitor to get a real sense of the environment in which each animal finds home.  It balances the need for security for the animals with our desire to get as close as possible.  Too many zoos seem to force their captives to put on a show for the visitors.  The reality is that they are not easy to find in the wild, and this zoo makes you understand and appreciate that.

Returning to the Sky Tower, we ascended to the Observation Deck to watch four young people conquer their fears by leaping off the ledge surrounded by video cameras and plenty of safety cables.  Eighty-five seconds later, they were being unbuckled on a platform at street level, and flashing victory fingers to their parents.

Dinner at St Pierre's on Queen Street, we rode the train in the rain back home.  Note to us: buy another umbrella, and a flashlight.

To view the other photos taken today, click on: Friday, Feb 22nd, Auckland, New Zealand.

Thursday, Feb 20th, Auckland, New Zealand

Greetings!

After 16 hours flying, we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday night around 10:00 pm.  Retrieving our luggage and the rental car, the sim card we bought at the airport, and Google Maps, got us to our B&B just in time to check in with our host, and finally fall asleep.

Today, we walked a couple of blocks to the Metro subway line, and rode it to downtown Auckland's Central Station.   A few blocks walk along the harbor, past the old Ferry bldg, we purchase tickets to the Hop-on, hop-off city tour bus for  two days.  Included is a free ticket to the top of the Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere.  We'll see it tomorrow night, when the 90,000 lights on the Auckland Harbor Bridge are lit up.

The next best thing to reading the travel books written about a city you're visiting is to take a city bus tour.  It's not a substitute, but it gives you a chance to place all those esoteric little facts you think you read about the city into real images.  And decide which things are worth getting off the bus and looking closer at.  Today, it was the Auckland War Memorial Museum. 

Two special exhibits caught our attention containing pieces of art and village life for the last 5,000 years from the Maori and Polynesian cultures.  We were just in time for a performance of Maori history, and then walked through its large rooms filled with fascinating artifacts and stories.

Climbing back aboard the tour bus, we made our way to the train station.  Nearby, we found a great restaurant for dinner (Ortolanda), and an excellent Sauvignon blanc (Little Darling).

To see the rest of the few photos we took, click on: Thursday, Feb 20th, Auckland, New Zealand

Travels in 2019-2020

Greetings!
Pat and I have confirmed travels in 2019 and 2020 that will carry us to a few more places we've never seen.  Actually, we start at an old favorite of Pat's.  New Zealand's North Island will be our home for a month beginning ion February 19th.  From there, we're on to Taiwan, and South Korea, and we'll be back April 3rd.

On September 1st, my nephew Cody and his girlfriend Brittany are getting married in Pennsylvania.  After flying out to attend the wedding, we'll stop over in Hudson, New York, to spend some time with my Aunt Kitty. who used her four-year older wisdom to help me survive childhood.

Finally leaving the country, we'll fly through Paris to Morocco, where we'll spend a month in the desert (sans camels).  I'm trying to convince Pat to return home via Portugal and the Isles of Guernsey and Jersey, returning in late October.

We've delayed our trip to Eastern Europe (Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Belarus).  We're waiting for a time when the weather is more supportive.

Next spring, we're flying to India and Sri Lanka on our own tour with an experienced driver for two months.  And I'm still lobbying for adding Madagascar before coming home.

The fall of 2020 will either be a wonderful recapture of the America I used to know and love, or the beginning of a very long series of travels to places we still haven't visited.