The Road Less Traveled

In addition to getting ready to head back to the States, we’ve been squeezing-in a couple last trips - the caving trip Sarah and I did, and a family trip to Tiritiri Matangi.

The past couple weekends were our last chances for a family excursions before heading back to the States. We had been wanting to visit a couple of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf - Waiheke, which sounds a lot like Bainbridge Island, Rangitoto, a recent volcanic addition to the Gulf (only 600 years ago), and Tiritiri Matangi, a nature preserve. One weekend Cindy had her last miniature group meeting, so Sarah and Max and I were going to go to Rangitoto and hike to the top. It turned out to be quite rainy, so we went to a movie instead. But then the weather looked good this past weekend, so we all headed to Gulf Harbour to catch the morning Kawau Cat ferry over to Tiritiri.

Tiritiri used to be farmed, but since the 1970’s has been a nature preserve. A huge effort by volunteers and the Department of Conservation have eradicated invasive species that have devastated the native bird populations (rats, stoats, possums), and re-planted native trees over most of the island. The volunteer group, the Supporters of Tiritiri, maintain a great website with information on all the native birds and trees restored to the island. They also conduct tours on the island, so we went along with Vic and Des, who told us so much about the plants and birds over the next couple hours - fantastic! With their sharp eyes, we spotted many species during our walk around the island.

After warming up over lunch and hot tea in their visitors center, we had a delightful wander along paths back to the afternoon ferry and the trip home.

Photos are here.

I know I’ve already mentioned the cold weather and the beautiful weather, but when renting a typical Auckland home with little or no insulation and no heat, getting down to 2.2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight really consumes your thoughts while shivering around the house. I suppose we are simply wimps compared to the native Kiwi’s, but what about the palm trees? You know, tropical beach palm trees? They live here, so it can’t be that cold!

Now of course, I’m no stranger to the cold (sub-zero weather and snow at college in New England and occasionally around Seattle), but it just really surprises me that the norm isn’t insulation and central heat. The climate in Auckland is along the lines of Seattle or San Francisco in many ways - temperate marine climate - but people get along with portable electric heaters, and electric blankets as bed-warmers.

Cindy’s sister Sandy arrives Thursday - I daresay it will be quite a shock to her coming directly from mid-summer to mid-winter. We’re going to be touring around parts of the North Island, then on to the South Island by train to Christchurch. I expect it to be sub-freezing down there, I just hope they put more insulation and heat in their homes!

But here in the tropical northern parts of New Zealand, as we sit huddled around our portable heaters, I do worry about those poor palm trees outside!

Time to put on my cold-weather cycling gear and pedal off to work. Brrrr.

Update: On my way to work, I passed a true native Kiwi, strolling along in shorts and jandals (flip-flops), and nothing to acknowledge the cold except a jumper (sweater)!

Last week we had some awesome wild weather! Previously I mentioned how cold it has been, and we’ve certainly been surprised at nights getting down in the low 40s (Fahrenheit), even a few down in the 30s (that’s below 4 degrees Celsius), for a place with palm trees!

On the other hand, when storm fronts come through off the Tasman Sea, we get some spectacular winds and rain downpours! Last week took the cake - an awesome thunder and lightning storm, including hail pouring down. This was the largest hail I’d ever seen: up to ~2 cm (~3/4″), with little spikes on it, like medieval maces!

Much of Auckland lost power from the high winds, and Navman shutdown early that day. We went down to Takapuna beach to check out the surf (and surfers) - the usually calm Pacific-side was quite different that day!

The South Island has really been hit hard (remember it’s winter here, and the further South you go the colder it gets) - the entire island blanketed in snow, and wide-spread power outages.

Last night cracked the 6 degree limit - 5.8 degrees Celsius, or about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrr! The norm here in Auckland is houses without insulation and single-pane glass, so let’s hope this isn’t typical!

Of course, it is also 4:45 AM - We’re off to pick up Sarah at the airport, coming down here for her “summer” vacation from college. Let’s hope she brings some of that warmer weather down with her.

We actually looked at another rental the other day - with heated floors! Might be a change-of-address in the offing!

When we first moved into the house, there was some crazy bird with a call that went on and on - no idea what it was. Then for the last month we’ve had a fantail (or piwakawaka) flitting around in the garden - it eats flying insects, so maybe we’ll have fewer mosquitos! Then in the past week, we’ve had a tui in the tree! (no, not the beer!) Tuis make a huge variety of sounds - quite astonishing!

We’ve seen hedgehogs a few times at night as Cindy has written about on her blog. Just the other day, as I arrived home from work, Cindy and Max were following one up our driveway! Very cute, toddling along on his little feet. We escorted him safely across the street, and off into the bushes. (They don’t move very fast, and are not frightened, so unfortunetly become roadkill far too easily.) They are not a native species, and have caused problems, but not nearly the devastation to native birds that other invasive species ( stoats, cats, possums) have done. Still cute though.

Today is ANZAC day, which is New Zealand’s Memorial Day, originally honouring the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought and died during World War I landing at Gallipoli on the Turkish Aegean coast in 1915. The Auckland Museum has a very fine War Memorial, covering New Zealand’s involvement in various conflicts and peace keeping ventures, and honouring those who died in the service.

This past weekend was a long weekend here (holidays for both Good Friday and Easter on Monday), so Cindy and I decided to do a road trip and explore Northland. (Max is off to Japan on a two-week school exchange trip.) Photos from the trip are here.

We left Friday morning heading North. We decided to do the loop clockwise, ending up in the most popular spot, the Bay of Islands, at the end of the holiday weekend when the crowds would be heading back to Auckland.

First stop was the wonderful Kauri Museum in Matakohe - rather than a short stop, we ended up spending several hours wandering through all the rooms, and the magnificent displays about the kauri, the logging history, the kauri gum industry, logging tools and machinery, many beautiful items made from kauri, and a full-size slice of a kauri tree dominating the main hall.

After the museum, we headed on to Dargaville, and out to Baylys Beach for a late afternoon walk (dodging the cars and dirt bikes allowed on the beach there), then back to Dargaville to spend the night.

Saturday we went up and had our breakfast on the lawn of the Dargaville Museum, with a beautiful view overlooking the town and Wairoa river valley. The masts of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior are also here as a memorial. (The French blew it up in Auckland Harbor in 1985, to prevent it from protesting French nuclear testing in the Pacific, killing one crewmember in the process.)

Then we drove up what is known as The Kauri Coast, driving through the Waipoua Forest, stopping to see the two largest living kauri trees, “Father of the Forest” Te Matua Ngahere and “Lord of the Forest” Tane Mahuta. Truly magnificent trees - they remind me of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse tree, which was big enough to have a spiral stair up inside the trunk! It was great to walk through some remaining kauri forest, to see these trees “in the wild”.

Lunch was overlooking Hokianga Harbour, with giant sand dunes at the harbour entrance. Then a ferry from Rawene, and on to Ahipara. We stayed right on the water, and had a wonderful sunset walk on the beach.

Sunday we did a bus tour of the Aupouri Peninsula to Cape Reinga as a way to travel along the Ninety Mile Beach highway (not recommended for personal autos, or covered by insurance). It turned out to be a fantastic choice, as we had a wonderful driver, went to some places we otherwise wouldn’t have, and I got to relax and enjoy the ride rather than driving. We went with Sand Safaris out of Kaitaia. Our driver Senny was great, saying he’d been out of work and at the pub all night, and this was his first day driving the bus (15 years actually), and that the roadkill along the way would be good for lunch! Being local Maori, he was able to give us lots of interesting information about the area, about Maori legends, and also sang Maori songs for us along the way.

We stopped by Ancient Kauri Kingdom, which carried lots of kauri products, and actually did have a spiral staircase inside a kauri log to their upstairs! (Kauri products are all made from swamp kauri - downed trees from ancient forests recovered from bogs and farmland - or from trees that have succumbed to lightning or disease.) Next was Gumdiggers Park - kauri gum had various uses, and was dug out from the same buried ancient forests. The park is an old gum field, that is riddled with the pits dug long ago, and re-created digger’s huts. Many of the diggers were immigrants from Dalmatia (part of modern-day Croatia), and to this day Dalmation is spoken in Northland along with Maori and English.

Then a brief stop at Rarawa Beach to see the incredibly pure white silica sand, which had been harvested to make glass until it was feared it would all disappear!

Then on to Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua) and its lighthouse, (almost) the furthest northern point of New Zealand, where the Tasman and Pacific come together. It was a beautiful day, and the meeting of the seas was fairly calm, but can crash together with large waves. Next was a nice lunch stop at nearby Tapotupotu Bay, then out to the giant sand dunes and the beach. We stopped for a chance to toboggan down the giant dunes, then out to the top end of Ninety Mile Beach (Te Oneroa A Tohe) - actually more like 90-kilometre beach. We blasted down the beach, all the way back, with just a photo stop along the way!

As it was fairly late afternoon, we just stayed in Kaitaia that evening. Monday morning we went out to the Karikari Peninsula to check out the beautiful double-bay beach at Matai Bay. We had a nice walk along the beach, getting caught in a rain shower just before returning to the car. Then through the little town of Whatuwhiwhi (that’s pronounced “fah-too-fee-fee”, by the way), and on to Mangonui, where we had lunch at the “World Famous” fish-n-chips shop there - and yes, it was very good!

We arrived in the Bay of Islands area, driving through Kerikeri on our way to Paihia, thinking we would go back there to find a place for the night. We toured the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori chiefs and the Crown in 1840, which is New Zealand’s founding government document.

After the Treaty Grounds, we did a woods walk in the late afternoon, enjoying the varied calls of the tuis. By the time we got back, it was late enough so that we just found a place in Paihia, and enjoyed walking around the town that evening.

Paihia is a tourist town right on the water, with lots of motels, resturaunts, and shops, and is the hub of Bay of Island activities, including all kinds of water activities, tours of the islands in the bay, and ferries to the historic town of Russell. Luckily we came at the end of the holiday weekend, so the population had probably dropped by a factor of ten, but still plenty of people around. Unfortunately, it was absolutely pouring down rain, so our interest in doing any of these activities was, shall we say, dampened! Instead, we enjoyed lingering in a cafe, then going ahead and heading out of town, south back towards Auckland.

Along the way we stopped to see “Hundertwasser’s Loo” in Kawakawa, which are pretty cool public toilets in town designed by, you guessed it, Hundertwasser! Then on to Whangarei, where Cindy had a couple craft/hobby shops to check out. For some reason, the traffic in town here was terrible! I think with the school holiday, everyone in Northland had come to Whangarei to go shopping! We went out of town a little ways to check out Abbey Caves, but they were not walk-in caves - I’ll have to go back with a caving group sometime to check them out. Also in Whangarei was the Margie Maddren Fernery and Stanley John Snow Conservatory, which has a wonderful display of native ferns, along with a couple greenhouses, one with exotics and one with cacti.

Finally, a couple hours more, and we were back home! As always, nice to go, and nice to come home. This was like the “Europe in 2 weeks” type of trip, where now I know where I’d like to go back and spend more time.

Many thanks to Kim and Susan for the tips on places to go in Northland, and for the Northland map!

We’re Antipodeans! There’s plenty of Kiwi slang terms (which I’ll have to write about soon), but Antipodean isn’t one of them!

Red is of course the color of choice for Valentines Day, with all those hearts and things. (And my heart of course belongs to my bride Cindy!) But it was also a red-letter day this year, as our New Zealand Residence Permits were issued on February 14th. Previously we had work permits (study permit for Max) that were valid for a couple years, but with residence permits we can remain here indefinitely if we so choose. Of course the plan is still to spend “a year or two” (probably at least until Max graduates so he doesn’t have to change schools again), and then see where we want to go from there. But there was substantial paperwork involved (applications, medical reports, police reports, etc.), even for the work permits, and this is the final end result of all that prep work. (And yes, I still need to write about that process…) So, Happy Valentines Day, and let me go file this pile of immigration paperwork that culminates six months of effort!

So, Thursday was Thanksgiving. But wait, Thursday here is Wednesday back in the States. So, Friday is Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving is not a holiday down here, so I was at work both Thursday and Friday (being Wednesday and Thursday back in the States - got that?). So, I left work just after “beer-o’clock” (more on _that_ another time!), and got home so I could phone my brother’s house (where everyone was gathered) to say “Happy Thanksgiving” before it got too late in the evening (you see, because it’s 3 hours later there - Pacific time zone, that is, but a day earlier. Are you following me now? It gets better with different daylight savings time changes between here and there, such that it could be up to 5 hours later back in the States, but still a day earlier…)

Kim and Michelle had a house-full, including my Mom and Sarah, so I got a chance to say “hi” to them. Thank goodness for 10-cents per minute international rates!

New Zealand doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving (being a US holiday, of course), but they do have some other delightful holidays including the Queen’s Birthday, Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), the day after New Years, and each Province’s Anniversary. Others that are different include ANZAC day (which is New Zealand’s Memorial Day, honouring the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and Waitangi Day (which celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori chiefs and the Crown in 1840, which is New Zealand’s founding government document… which is controversial to this day for it’s interpretation and implementation, though the government is working to redress Maori claims).