It's a g'day in Sydney

We have the whole day to explore some of the better sights in Sydney.  Our first stop is the Opera House for a tour.  This is an amazing building, but the inside is less impressive.  We learn that was a classic case of form not following function.  The opera stage is really smaller than most and the orchestra pit claustrophobic.  There are plans for remodeling.  The concert hall is much better and we were able to sit in on a rehearsal.  
The Opera House is right next to the botanical gardens with many wonderful old buildings.  We were startled by the side of large flying fox fruit bats hanging in the trees.  It is one of the larges bats in the world.
We loved the old Queen Victoria Building  and the Strand. Huge marketplaces built in the 19th century and renovated for our time.  
I never realized how stunning the architecture is in Sydney.  

OZ

Nothing prepares you for the sight of Sydney harbor from the air.  It is huge with sparkling blue water and you wonder how such a big city could be so beautiful.   The first thing you look for is the Opera House which looks like a giant ship getting ready to sail.  
We are staying in the heart of the city to avoid renting a car and to be able to walk everywhere.  The weather is great, but it's St. Patrick's Day.  Our hotel is situated  between St Patrick's tavern and P.D. O'Brian's bar.  Oh, boy!

One of a kind...NZ

So many of our experiences have been unique here in NZ.  Josie Martin's life, work, and house are just another example.  She offers us her best room which spills out to a  conservatory of ferns and grapevines with ripening grapes.  The room itself is her creation which she calls the "rose room".  At some point you have to sit in a comfortable chair and take-in  everything around you.  The next morning she brings us a beautiful  breakfast in the conservatory.  We don't want to leave, but we have a drive back to Christchurch and a plane to catch.  Akaroa is a place not to be missed.

The Giant's House

What a way to spend our last night in NZ. Mike has booked us a room at a B&B owned by a friend, the artist Josie Martin. She bought this old house and has used both the indoor and outdoor space as her palette. Originally trained as a horticulturist, she created the entire garden and proceed to design mosaic sculptures throughout the outdoor space.
The house, built in 1880, sits on a hill overlooking the town and bay. As she dug up the garden, she found broken china and dishes. Strapped financially from renovation expenses, she couldn't afford the tile for a walkway. Instead she used the pieces of broken china as her mosaics. Thus began her artistic journey as a mosaic sculptor.
These mosaics evolved into many Alice-in -Wonderland style shapes and figures. She allows people to tour her garden for a fee. New sculptures are in the works and it is fascinating to see how she created here pieces from the skeletons in rebar, mortar and wire mesh.
As we tour the garden the sculptures make us laugh. Her work is so imaginative and whimisical.

Une petite ville francaise sur la mer.

After a bit more sight-seeing around Christchurch, we took the time to drive about an hour and a half to the lovely former French colony of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. This is where we will spend our last night in NZ. The road is twisted and narrow, but what a view!
The Banks Peninsula sits at the bottom of a collapsed volcano. Akaroa sits at the bottom of the crater. One of the walls of the volcano eroded and was breached by the sea creating a long harbor. The early settlers were French and the town capitalizes on this fact, even going so far as to fly the Tricolor. I think this is one of the most idyllic spots in NZ - sea breezes, a Mediterranean climate, ocean and mountain views, and a small village atmosphere.
Many of the homes here are "baches" (vacation homes) owned by nearby Kiwis.

Black and White Stripes

We've seen all sorts of school uniformed students here in NZ. But the uniforms here in Christchurch are over the top. We saw young lads walking to Canterbury College ( a high school) wearing black and white striped blazers, black short pants, black and white striped ties and white knee socks. The only thing missing was a straw hat.

Christchurch on Avon

It's quite a drive to Christchurch from Dunedin, especially if you stop at all the great little towns along the way.
It was a clear sunny day and we could see Mt. Cook and the So. Alps as we drove north. As we approach the Canterbury plain the driving becomes easier with fewer twists and turns. This is a big agricultural area.
Christchurch is hidden behind the bare hills of the Banks Peninsula. It is the most English of New Zealand cities with the lovely river Avon flowing through. Straw hatted punters complete the scene. We are staying at the YMCA, quite cheap and comfortable and across the street from the Arts Centre and Botanical Gardens. Also across the street is the popular Dux de Lux restaurant. This was the former dark-paneled faculty dining room for Canterbury College and now is a lively restaurant with good affordable food.
CC is lovely city to walk about with several nice museums and plenty of English charm.

A town of limestone

We stop for lunch at the town of Oamaru. It is famous for its buildings made of creamy limestone from a nearby quarry. Again, not a typical NZ town. With their neoclassical architecture and elaborate carvings, they almost look out of place in this small coastal time. The limestone is quite soft, so it encourages the carvers be intricate with their designs on the buildings and columns.

More rocks...

But these are actually boulders. The large, spherical boulders at Moeraki beach are famous. We walk down the beach a bit to take pictures of these rocks which look like the shells of giant tortoises. There are lots of theories about how they got here or how they formed, but no one is quite sure.
It is a warm sunny day and the beach is beautiful. The 10-15 people here are looking at the rocks. No one is here today (a Sunday) for a day at the beach.

Otago Peninsula

We make the short drive out of Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula, driving all the way to the end to sit on the headlands and watch the albatross fly by. There are also penguin colonies to visit but
it is getting late.

Our inn tonight is wonderful, a small cottage build by the innkeeper who lives on the property. It has wonderful view of the garden and a large kitchen and sitting area. We wish we had more time here since it is such a special place.

A wee bit o Scotland

That would be Dunedin, known as the Edinburgh of the South. Dunedin is the Gaelic word for Edinburgh. We had the weather to match as well - an overcast Scottish day.
This is a fairly large city for NZ and fascinating to walk around. After a brief time as a whaling town in the 1830's, a group of Scots were settled here. One town elder was the poet Robert Burns' nephew. They were an industrious lot and established NZ's first university here. There was a building frenzy fueled by a nearby gold rush in the 1860's. The Gothic-Revival architecture is its defining characteristic. Not your typical NZ city.

We walk for several hours seeing the Otago Museum, the botanic gardens and stroll through the University grounds.

A change of plans

We decided to cancel our plans to travel the entire south, southeast coast known as the Catlins and of course that included Stewart Island. These are places I would really like to see, but we simply don't have the time. Stewart Island is at least a 2-3 day experience. The Catlins require at least another 2 days. So instead we leave Te Anau and head for Dunedin.

Pounamu

This is the Maori word for greenstone. The Maori revere greenstone since during pre-European times it took the place of metals. Weapons, tools and jewelry were made from this hard, prized stone known officially as nephrite jade. The entire So. Island is know as "Te Wahi Pounamu", the place of greenstone. On our cruise thru Milford Sound we passed a beach near the sound's outlet to the sea. This bay was a great collection point for the stone. Greenstone was as valuable to the Maori as gold was to Europeans.
We learned just about all you could want to know about this stone in the small coastal town of Greymouth. The store was almost a museum experience. Of course all the tourist shops in most towns have a selection of greenstone. Most of it is quite expensive.

Fresh water/ salt water

We board a 3 masted ship and set out for a cruise of the Sound and a bit of the Tasman Sea. There are numerous waterfalls that would be even more plentiful if it were raining. But I prefer the sunny day. We pass fur seals lolling on the rocks and sea birds. No penguins in sight today, though.
The water is not the deep blue you might expect. There is a 2 meter layer of fresh water that rides atop the sea water in the Sound. This water has a lot of tannins in it from the lush rain forest all around us, so the water has murkier look.
There are no beaches, only sheer 2000-3000 ft cliffs plunging straight into the waters. Several of the permanent waterfalls are over 500 ft tall.
This tour does a good job with the natural history as well as the boxed lunch. The scenery is a 360 degree wonder, looking somewhat different on the return trip through the sound as the light changes.
While out on the Tasman Sea we got a glimpse of the whole coastline and felt a good 2-3 meter swell.

Sheep may safely graze...

but not in National Parks. Recently the department of conservation removed the sheep from this particular park.
Sheep are everywhere in NZ, both north and south island. We have seen all varieties, white, off white, black, and white and black. We have even been on hiking trails with them. Most of the sheep are Merino and NZ woolen goods are superb. NZ has over 45 million sheep. It is on most menus no matter where you go to eat.

Fiordland

As you make your way along the road to Milford you enter Fiordland National Park. This route is as spectacular as the Sound itself. We are traveling up glaciated canyons, with cascading waterfalls, and dense forests.
We first drive through NZ silver, red and mountain beech forests. These trees can get quite large - 90 ft. tall and up to 600 yrs. old. They don't look like No. Hemisphere beeches as their leaves are quite small. Surprisingly, they are evergreen, like most native NZ trees. As we get to the other side of the pass where the rainfall is more abundant, the understory is so dense it would be impassable.
Most of the streams have the color of a clear aquamarine gemstone.

Trip to Milford

Today is devoted to an all day trip to Milford Sound. On the map the road from Te Anau to Milford looks quite short. But because of the narrow twisting road and a climb through an alpine pass, it can take about 2 hours. Our journey involves a coach trip to the sound, 2 1/2 hours on the water and the ride back. It is a fine, sunny day. We are so lucky since only 2 days out of 5 are sunny here. This area receives up to 275 inches of rain and over 200 rainy days a year.

Te Anau

It's a short drive today from Queensland to Te Anau - gateway to Fiordland National Park. We have 2 nights booked at the youth hostel here so we came prepared to cook. The hostel is one of the nicest we've stayed at with a lovely outdoor sitting area, herb garden, and a spotless kitchen. The best part is that it's about a block from the center of town.
Lake Te Anau is the 2nd largest lake in NZ . At the end of the lake is the end of the Milford Track - a 3-4 day hike from Milford Sound. It also has a famous glo worm cave that is a big attraction.

Glacier out wash ...

for the Fox Glacier. This was our very rainy day. I would have more pictures but it takes a long time to upload individual pictures here and we usually have limited computer time.

Little Paradise

Another fabulous inn! It's located between Queenstown and Glenorchy, right in the middle of nowhere. The house is one of a kind and I'm surprised it hasn't been written up in some glossy magazine. Although they tell me it's in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

The gardens are magnificent with numerous pools and waterfalls. The couple who runs it have displayed true artistry. The creator of the wood and stone work originally comes from Switzerland.

Get out those wool sweaters!

It's cold here! The B&B hosts told us a most unusual cold front came in from the southwest, uh, that would be Antarctica. But the folks in Queenstown said we had a high of 8 degrees centigrade ( get out your calculators to figure in F ) It was the coldest March day in Queenstown history. The shops were doing a brisk business in woolens and fleece jackets. We came prepared - too many summers in Wyoming. But today the sun is out and it is much nicer.

Bungy capital

Queenstown is bungy capital of the world. "Bungy - waste of good money" pronounced our host last night. But Queenstown seems to be thrill seekers paradise. There is no shortage of adventure trips to take - funyaking, jet boating, helicopter rides, paraflights, rafting, bungy jumping, sky diving, balloons, etc. The place almost takes on the atmosphere of a theme park. It is a very touristy town that people either love or hate. But the view of the mountains and lake is wonderful! Our big adventure for the day was lunch - a dozen green-lipped mussels!

Wanaka/Wanaka

Wanaka is a lovely little town on its eponymous lake. We are scheduled to arrive at a local B&B - next to 3 redwood trees ( I love my brother's directions!) Good directions since they are the tallest trees town. ( attn. tree lovers: in Calif they are the inland variety called "Big Trees"!) Our hosts are a reitred couple who rent out 2 bedrooms in their home. A map shows they've had visitors from almost every continent. Our room has another gorgeous view of the lake and surrounding peaks. The next morning we breakfast with them and another couple from France. It is cold this morning ( very unusual weather) and when we drive over the Cardrona pass we hit a few snow flakes. Some of the peaks have a fresh dusting of snow.

Rain forest and golden hills

Once you have entered the Franz Josef area you are in a World Heritage area. The Colosseum and Grand Canyon also belong to this club, but this is a huge area, which includes the Southern Alps and Fiordland. We are in for more spectacular scenery.
We stop at the visitor center for the World Heritage Center in Haast, which is a beach town. This is more or less the end of the main road in this area. Now we climb inland thru the Haast Pass and Mt. Aspiring National Park. This area gets a lot of rainfall - some 160 inches or more a year. The cliffs and mountains along the pass are thick with trees and vegetation. As we climb the pass, there are too many braided waterfalls to count or name. All the rains have made them fuller. It's geting late in the afternoon but we keep stopping.
But after we cross the pass and start down to the 2 large lakes below we notice a sudden change in the vegetation. What was dense rainforest on the west side of the pass is now brown hills with scattered shrubs and grasses. The Southern Alps are still covered with snow.

Rain drops keep falling on my head...

but at least it's not rocks!
It's pouring rain and the cliffs nearby are releasing their rocks at an alarming rate. The rain is causing numerous rockfalls so we stick to the middle of the wide river bed. You can see huge chunks of glacial ice that have spawned off the glacier into the river. Pretty big snowballs.
Great rocks here! These are of a metamorphic variety - greywache, biotite, gneiss, and schist. All the rocks are covered with striations from being scratched and scraped by the glacier.

The Emperor and the Fox

Slow start this morning - it's raining again. We make breakfast and dress for the rain. We plan to hike to a good viewing position near the Franz Josef glacier. It's jarring to see the fern forests disappear suddenly into wide river bed covered with glacial melt and grey and white rocks. We made our way up the river until we can see the entire length of the glacier. Despite the heavy rain, we are able to get a good view.
We then drive to the Fox glacier about a half hour away. This is a better hike since you can actually get very close to the terminus of the glacier. The steep cliffs surrounding the river bed have huge, raging waterfalls coming down. We stop to take photos of the aquamarine pools of glacial melt, very stunning even with the grey skies and rain.

Gla-sure, glaa-zhure, gle-chur

That would be glaciers! And the Americans, Brits and Germans all pronounce it differently. But the Franz Josef glacier takes your breath away as you drive into the small town that takes its name. It's huge -12 km long and has been in the process of both advancing and reteating in the past 50 years - but mostly retreating.
The Franz Josef Youth Hostel is full tonight. The kitchen is alive with people preparing dinner. We do a quick stir fry and walk into town which closes up on us as we arrive. We walk to the river which is a torrent of white milky water, runoff from the glacier.
The lounge is alive with people of all ages and nationalities, reading, eating a late dinner, playing board games or surfing the internet. Again we spend a very quiet night in youth hostel.

It's getting better all the time!

We continue driving down the coast, as the rain comes and goes. There are so many beaches that we make many stops for pictures or strolls. Everyday comes with a new natural wonder and soon we start to climb inland as the Southern Alps loom darkly shrouded in rain clouds.

A kiwi vegetable lexicon

One of my favorite activities when visiting a foreign country is to go to the local grocery store. This tells you something about the people who live there.
Here in NZ some common vegetables have different names:
beetroot= beets, silver beets = swiss chard, swedes= rutabagas, kumara = sweet potatoes,
capsicum = bell peppers, courgettes= zucchini, rock melon=cantaloup.
Kiwis seem to be very fond of pumpkin. They sell mostly the blue variety with deep orange flesh. We've had pumpkin soup twice already.
And when you're ready to go you can put them all in your "chilly bin", or your cooler!

After breakfast, Pancake Rocks

After our beach hike and breakfast with fellow guests at the hostel, we head 5 km down the road to the Pancake Rocks and blow holes. High tide is happening at this moment and that is the best time to see the blow holes. This is a full blown ( pardon the pun) tourist stop run by the department of conservation. Our on and off rain and sunshine is still with us this morning. We dress for a possible downpour and it does happen.
The Pancake Rocks are thin layers of limestone that look like a stack of pancakes. The limestone erodes quickly and wave action creates huge holes in the rocks. So you have all these tourists waiting for the big wave to come in and explode through the holes. Lots of fun!

Rain and Double Rainbows.

It kept raining on and off all night. Big bursts of rain, then nothing. In the morning I though it would clear, then another 10-15 minutes of rain. It felt like we were in a rain forest. We found out later this is not normal, but a cyclone off the coast of Australia was causing all the weird weather.
After breakfast we headed out to the beach to see the spectacular coastline. The dense fern forest gave way to NZ flax and more open shrub. We spotted a double rainbow over the ocean. Didn't get close to the wicked waves coming and the high tide.

New Zealand is Green!

Yes, green is the predominant color here! But everyone seems to be ecologically minded as well.
Thermal solar is very popular i.e., using solar collectors to heat domestic water. Many places on both islands rely on rainwater collected from roof tops for their water supply. Quite a bit of the No. Island relies on geothermal power.
Recycling bins are everywhere. In many of the hostels all the food scraps go in a big bin for either the "pig" or for the hostels' compost piles. Several inns had there own vegetable gardens or orchards to supply their restaurant kitchens.
On the other hand, much of the forest lands that originally were here were cut in the 19thC. So much has been cut down for farms, sheep ranches, dairies, and orchards. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the replanting of the forests is patchwork. Huge areas have been replanted with a Calif. coastal pine in large tree farms. ( they have even planted redwoods here!) They look out of place. Then the trees are clear cut, which leaves huge scars on the hillsides. Not very pretty!

People you meet along the way

So who are our fellow tourists? Germans, Germans everywhere!! At Kimi Ora everyone was speaking German at breakfast. We also see a large number of people from the Netherlands, Britain, Australia and some young people from Norway. We met a family of 5 from Israel who struck us as being so friendly and open. On the boat to the Abel Tasman track we met a Chicago thirty-something couple who quit their jobs, rented out their condo and will travel the world for a year. He loved his job in advertising, she hated her job as an attorney in a big law firm. They have been to Australia, and next will go to SE Asia and teach English for a bit in Laos.
At our last hostel stop we met an older woman traveling alone from Germany. She spoke very good English, but our dinner conversation was a strange mixture of German and English, merging from one language to the other. The other Germans at our table must have thought we were rather strange! It turns out this woman is an MD in a small town in Bavaria. She has over 6 weeks in NZ! I can't recall anyone in the US who takes more than 2 weeks vacation at a time. Six weeks would be most unusual.

Pay the Buddha

In the kitchen there is a small pantry with items for sale. You are asked to put your coins in a small dish guarded by a statue of the Buddha. There is also fresh baked bread and muffins for sale with a jar full of money. It astounds us that the honor system works in such a place.
Everyone else in the hostel seems to be German. We are really getting a chance to practice our German on this trip.

Te Nikau

I took so many pictures of this youth hostel! It's small, hard to find and drop dead gorgeous. We can't believe it is a hostel and so cheap. We have brought dinner and breakfast fixings again since it is such a remote area - the wild west coast of the So. Island.
The trail to our "hideaway" cottage not for the infirm or out of shape. The path drops into a dense fern forest and winds around until we climb up a small slope to our cottage. Another path winds its way down to the beach.
The kitchen is small but beautifully decorated. And we find another amazing thing about the youth hostels in NZ.

Weka

We see a strange bird with a body like a chicken, but a head like a duck. It is flightless like the Kiwi but very bold. The department of conservation is trying to save this bird from introduced predators like the stoat, rat and house cat. It reminds us of the Moa or Polynesian fowl that are in Hawaii. I wonder if they taste like chicken? ;)

Cape Foul Wind

Yes, its name describes all. But its magnificent coastal scenery takes your breath away. This cape was named by Capt. Cook one stormy day in March on one of his voyages to NZ. We hike further down to see the fur seals lounging on the rocks.

Some things scarce in NZ

Window screens, iced tea, large, strong cups of coffee, restaurants that open early for breakfast, wide roads, self-service tea or coffee, obnoxious tourists, wash cloths.

Things in abundance...
very friendly helpful innkeepers and service workers, one lane bridges, constant spectacular scenery ( I've run out of adjectives....)

The road goes ever on and on

We left Kimi Ora after one of Dietmar and Barbara's hefty "continental" breakfasts. It reminded us of breakfast in Germany.
We started driving SW away from the coast and pass thru apple, pear and kiwi orchards. The climate is mild and warm in this part of the So. Island. The Nelson Lakes National Park is nearby and we are still in awe of the scenery. We succumbed to a tourist trap "walk across NZ's longest swing bridge" which takes you over a huge river gorge. But the additional hike takes us to old mining ruins and where a major earthquake displaced the topography.

Abel Tasman

Kaiteriteri is the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. Hiking the entire coastal trail takes 3-4 days. But there are numerous water taxi services that will drop you off at various beaches along the route. You can hike out or get picked up at a designated point along the trail. The beaches are very shallow so a large farm tractor drives the boats out on a trailer. They disconnect and then take off. This is very efficient and quite a site to see.
We are lucky it is a bright sunny day ( "fine" remember?) We decide to do a 3 hour hike to get a taste of Abel Tasman. We were not disappointed. The trail winds along the coast in and out of the shoreline through lush forests and rivers. The beaches are shallow and long with golden colored sands. They make calendars out of places like this!
We return to Kimi Ora for a 3 course dinner and later take in the string quartet concert.

Kimi Ora

Our lodging tonight is probably the best we have ever had anywhere. The German couple who run this spa/resort are friends of Mike. I am astounded they even have a vacancy on this gorgeous weekend. We are glad we're staying 2 nights.

We had a short day driving and a bit of time to explore Nelson, a sunny coastal town, know for its arts and crafts. We finally get to the small coastal town of Kaiteriteri and drive up a long narrow road to a beautiful forested setting looking out over a bay and island -studded ocean. Every detail has been attended to. The pool and spa area is beautifully landscaped and decorated with ceramic tile murals. Everything is organized and labeled. (The blue towels are for the pool, the white towels for the room) We spend some time in the indoor and outdoor pool and enter a grotto with steam room sauna and hot and cold showers.
I feel exhaused when our innkeeper, Barbara, describes the activities available here. There is tennis, hiking trails, climbing wall, gym, a complete spa, library, internet, a string quartet playing each night, and even a glow worm walk, to be taken after dark!
They serve vegetarian fare only. We decide to eat in their restaurant the following night.

Math & Money matters: divide by 2, mutiply by 5/8

The exchange rate is wonderful and getting more favorable each day! One US$ to 2 NZ$. When we started our trip the NZ dollar was worth 0.52, now it is 0.49. We have been averaging $50 -$60 dollars per day for lodgings, around $75 in Wellington, so this makes our largest daily expense quite affordable.
To convert from kilometers to miles you must mutilply by 5/8. Kind of a useless exercise since one rarely travels very fast on NZ roads.

East to west takes you south

Friday we take the Interislander ferry through the Cook Strait. We are scheduled for the 8:25 crossing and should get in to Picton on the South Island at 11:30. The best part of the trip is the last hour as we enter the Queen Charlotte Sound. It's a bit cloudy today and we're expecting some drizzle. This does't diminish the scenery a bit.
It takes us a good 45 minutes to exit Wellington Harbor and navigate its narrow entrance. Looking at the ship's map you realize that you're traveling mostly west to get to the So. Island.
Our ferry is huge, with the capacity to carry 600 cars and over 1600 people. It's not too full this morning. Many people are reading or sleeping but we spend most of our time outside on deck with a fierce wind blowing.
As we enter Queen Charlotte Sound on the So. Island the seas get calmer. It has to be one of the most beautiful places anywhere as we pass islands, inlets and deep-fingered peninsulas. We pick up another rental car in Picton and begin a scenic drive to Nelson for lunch.

Te Papa

Early Thursday we hiked up to Mt. Victoria where we had a birds-eye view of the city. Pedestrian stairways cut thru the rows of houses on a steep hill overlooking the harbor. We have great view of Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum. Te Papa means "our place". The exhibit are varied: art, NZ history, science and natural history. Today we are lucky enough to see a visiting exhibit of Monet's paintings from the Fine Arts Museum of Boston. But most of the museum is devoted to all things New Zealand.

Positively, absolutely, Wellington!

This is the city's slogan that you see all about town. I am not sure what it means.
Wellington is a bustling, cosmopolitan world capital. Coming in from the bush and the isolation of Tongoriro, we are a bit shell-shocked fighting the rush hour traffic. Finding our hotel was a challenge. We finally check in and the view of the harbor is stunning. We manage to drift down one of the livliest streets for night life in all of Wellington. Dinner was great.
Some say that Wellington reminds them of a small Hong Kong. But the Mt Victoria area where our hotel is situated reminds us of Telegraph Hill in SF: the style houses, bay views and the vegetation. Wellington even has a cable car and major earthquake fault.

Canned spaghetti and creamed corn

Mm, mmm! Sound good? Just what you wanted for breakfast, right? We got up early for breakfast and drove to the beautiful Chateau Hotel in Tongoriro Nat'l Park. It is an early 20th C
building similar in style to our great national park hotels. Huge comfortable lobbies, big picture windows, etc. However, it feels a bit more formal and less inviting that the bustling park hotels in America. In fact, the lobby and sitting area is empty.
The breakfast buffet looked great at first glance - lots of choices. But when we opened the last chaffing dish we found canned spaghetti and creamed corn. It sort of ruined our appetites. I guess it's a all part of a English breakfast!

In Aotearoa, everything is sacred

Sacred places, sacred mountains, sacred stones, sacred waters, sacred spaces. Many Maori lands, now public spaces, were sacred lands given by the Maori to the people of NZ. We try to tread lightly. But I am reminded of the sign on Paul's office door "All soil is sacred." I wonder as we wash the mud from our shoes, is this, too, sacred?

Gee-ology

Since the plant and animal life is this area is sparse, it's natural to look more closely at the landscape. Gee, what a lot of rocks! So many colors! We see pinks, purples, various shades of gold, red and orange, but mostly the black rock dominates. The family geoscientist, not being interested in naming rocks, refuses to comment. But upon multiple inquiries, he condescends to name that rock. The area is covered with basalt and andecite. Brick red scoria mingles with the charcoal gray andecite. Are you bored yet? We still have those aa-aa lava fields and phreatic explosions to talk about. I'll stop now even though the rest is not just a lot of schist.

From volcanics to headlands of heather to fern forests

As we descend from the Tongoriro Crossing, we are starting to feel very sore from the constant climbing and steep descents. Some hills were so steep we did a Golllum-like crawl. But the last few kilometers are delightfully cool in the steam- fed forest. We will make the bus pick-up with time to spare.

Mt. Doom

This is where they filmed the sequences in Lord of the Rings for Mt Doom. The landscape is surreal and not a tree, insect or bird can be seen or heard. This is a very active volcano, last erupting in 2007. Puffs of steam from escaping gases be seen coming out of the crater. This park is also where they filmed Frodo and Sam descending into Mordor. What little plant life grows here is quite colorful: pale lime-green lichens and deep burgundy mosses contrast with the bright red and dark green lichens.
As much as we want to linger, it is a long hike and it would not be a good idea to miss the pick-up bus.

If it's Tuesday, it must be the Tongoriro Crossing

We have booked space on the 7:15 shuttle bus to the trailhead of the Tongoriro Alpine Crossing. We made our own breakfast and packed a lunch for the 19.5km (12 miles) tramp. As our bus approaches the trail head, we see many other buses and groups arriving. We will have lots of company. The bus will pick us up at the end of the trail at 4pm. It is now 8am.

Fine is Fair

Our weather report today says it will be "Fine". I assume that means "fair". But that word is also ambiguous, so I guess "sunny" would be a better choice. They warn us that NZ weather is unpredictable. That's fine, we're prepared for most anything

Eat cheap, sleep cheap

Okay, staying in an overseas youth hostel is a new experience for us. Paul is naturally suspicious. But when he finds our private double room with bath is US$33.00 he relaxes. The room is spartan, but comfortable: no soap, no towels,etc. But we are prepared. We cautiously approach the communal kitchen with our dinner fixings. The space is huge and is a hive of activity with 3 stoves, 4 sinks and people in various stages of dinner prep. The shelves of dishes and pots look like the kitchen department of a thrift store. The middle aged couple near us sits down to a plate of food worth of a 4-star restaurant. I am kicking myself for not buying better food to prepare. No matter - we quickly prepare, wash up and stow our plastic bags with breakfast stuff in an overflowing frig. The guest were both young and older people. It was the quietest night I have ever spent in any lodging anywhere.

Taupo

After lingering in Rotorua for the morning, we head south towards Lake Taupo. The lake is the second largest lake in the southern hemisphere. At first glance it might remind you of Lake Tahoe. After a short stop at a geothermal power plant, we head into the town of Taupo for a stop, picking up fixings for dinner and breakfast.

Save a Kiwi, Wear a Possum

Possums are a terrible pest in NZ. This marsupial was imported from Australia in the 19th C for the fur trade in the 19thC and flourished without any natural predator. THere are now 70 million possums chewing their way thru the native bush and eating bird eggs. The kiwi is especially threatened. So now they are weaving possum fur with NZ's merino wool into many garments and selling them to tourists. I wonder if they will be on the menu at local restaurants along with the pork bellies!

Tread lightly, the crust is thin here

There are many thermal features here in Rotorua. The town is geared up for tourists. We walked through Government Gardens and toured the Rotorua Museum. It used to be the Bathhouse. This is where people came to take the cure. Mud baths were especially popular. Some practioners even ran a weak electric current through the bath waters! You can now get all of these spa services at the Polynesian Spa, right on the lake. ( not the electric baths though.) In the museum we decide to seee the 20 minute "high impact film". It was an experience similar to the Star Wars ride in Disneyland, as they reenacted the 19th C volcanic eruption that destroyed the area. The museum also displayed the old bath house works. We wish we had some time to take in the Polynesian Spa!

Mitai

Okay, tonight we are tourists. This authentic, traditional Maori meal is called a "hangi". Think Hawaiian luau and you will have the right idea. But this is much better. The Mitai are a large extended Maori that own a chunk of land near Rotorua. They perform these shows and provide dinner for the tourists. If you are familiar with Maori culture, you know they were fierce warriors. In their dancing and rituals they often display their tongues, bulge their eyes, and do quite a bit of posturing. It was quite a welcoming ceremony. But it was the setting that was special. We walked deep into their forest and were able to see a beautiful spring with remarkably clear waters. Later canoes of warriors paddled up the steam. Dinner was finally served which included lamb and chicken, but thankfully no poi. Later they took everyone to see the glow-worms. Every 1st trip to NZ should include a glow worm experience! The show and dinner took 3 hours and our crowd included people from 13 different countries.

Sulfur, steam, mud and geysers

You can smell it before you get there. That would be the resort town of Rotorua. It's a lovely little town at the base of Lake Rotorua where people have come to take the cure and soak in the hot waters for over a hundred years. Mike has arranged our motel and highly recommended a traditional Maori show and dinner. We must get to the motel by 5:30 as a bus will pick us up for the show. We open our room door to a picture perfect view of a spouting geyser and thermal area. I am thinking, Mike has really paid attention to all the details, but having a geyser go off as you enter the room is good timing!

Cathedral Cove

If you've seen "Prince Caspian" the opening scene is Cathedral Cove.
I cannot describe how beautiful the beaches are, but they remind us the of the north shore of Kauai. As you look out there are numerous islands-tall, rocky stacks in Mercury Bay. We hike the beach a bit, but must push south. More time needed here! At least 2 days.

Kauri

We left the retreat center after a morning of trip planning. Breakfast was in the town of Coromandel at an off-beat cafe. We then headed off on a back road to see the giant kauri trees. These trees once covered NZ until great numbers were cut down for their prized hardwood. Some of this hardwood ended up in SF where it was used to rebuild homes after the 1906 earthquake. It was a nice walk in the woods. We then said our goodbyes to Mike and head up to the NE part of the peninsula.

Magical Mystery Tour

Our cottage is on a slope overlooking the retreat centre and gardens. Mike calls to us:
"Meet me at the trail head to the Sanctuary at 5:30" I wonder why but I am prepared for an adventure.
In the rain we hike up the greenest forest you can imagine. The cicadas are so loud you must shout to your companion. Occasionaly we hear a Tui bird pierce the din. We reach the top in 15 minutes to see a wonderful Bavarian styled building that overlooks the peninsula and a bay of islands. We rest at the bell tower. Suddenly the bells start to ring at 6pm. There are 4 bells cast in Germany that ring out for at least 10 min. One of the woofers comes to the Sanctuary to meditate. She performs a ritual in the center of the building and then settles into a lotus to meditate. We enter in silence and admire the building. Supposedly the building has perfect acoustics. I'd love to hear a string quartet in this space.
Later we prepare our dinner fixings in the communal kitchen and turn in for an early start the next day.

Woofers

I have heard of these folks before: Workers on Organic Farmers, etc. I expected very young people taking a break from a world wide backpacking trip. No, they are people our age, ( will we ever escape the baby boomers?) taking time out to see the world and working for room and board on an organic farm. It seems a little too much like how I spend my summer vacation in Boise.
Any woofers for the farm on Braemere?

Coromandel

We left Auckland white-knuckled on a freeway and finally made our way to the windy road up the Coromandel Peninsula. Mike is taking a friend/client to the east side of the Peninsula. But first we will spend the night at the Mana Retreat Centre ( maybe a NZ Esalen???) on the west side.
The Coromandel is a place of breathtaking beaches, giant Kauri trees and lush fern forests. It was also the site of a gold rush that took place during the 19th C. The storm is still with us, but all this rain makes the green even greener. We lunch in the town of Thames and pick up items to make dinner at the Centre. After mutiple turnoffs for photos , we turn off on a one lane road and climb thru a fern-filled forest. We are the ONLY guests tonight- except for the Woofers!

Left is right

After departing from the ferry we were picked up by our rent-a-car company. Two cheerful, polite Kiwis loaded our bags into a van and gladly agreed to stop at Mike's office to pick up our larger bags. Then off to their office with Mike chattering with the agent in the front passenger seat. Paul, in the rear of the van, was in a state of high anxiety as he thought the driver was turning his head and writing while driving! Then I explained that the driver was on the right hand side of the car!
We were given a very small Toyota with manual transmission. No problem! Good for mileage!

But let's get this straight, Mate! Drive left, pedal and break right, shift left and pass right! When a pedestrian, look right first, not left. If walking on a sidewalk and meeting opposing walkers, move left, not right. When turning left, left is like right. Enter a roundabout, move left to go right
Got it?? Right!

Flat White

You can skip this post if your not a coffee hound. Ordering coffee here is necessity for us, but highly problematic. It has to do with the lingo. Here is a translation: short black: single espresso, long black: double espresso, flat white: cappuccino. But getting an ordinary cup of joe is difficult. Solution: settle for a latte - as everyone seems to have that and know what it is.

Water, Water Everywhere ...

Rain! It rained all night loudly pounding on the metal roof. This is good news for islanders.
There are a few deep wells on the island, but almost everyone gets their water supply from rainwater capture. Large tanks hold water runoff from metal roofs. This is then filtered, but not chemically treated. Water is very precious. If your tank runs low, yuou must have someone come in with a truck of water.
As we prepared to leave Rocky Bay Saturday morning, it was still raining. After breakfast in town and a brief tour of the Sat. market ( now indoors) we drove to the ferry. A bit of a rough crossing, but we continued to plan our itinerary with Mike, our ever-efficient guide.

Island rambles

We spent the morning booking most of our rooms for the trip and confirming what we already had with Mike. We are not seriously jet-lagged although eager for some physical activity. We have an amazing assortment of accomodations lined up - from a YMCA in Christchurch, a few youth hostels in the south island, to the traditional motel/hotel rooms. We also have a B&B lined up on our last night called the "Giant's House" in Akaroa. But more later...
We took our first tramp to a local beach during an unusually low tide. Supposedly Capt Cook landed there to take in water during his exploration of NZ. We then visited some local friends of Mike's who run and B&B with a drop-dead view of the bay and Auckland.
We then proceeded on a real bush tour of the island bumping along dirt road to various beaches. One special lookout point on the western edge of the island provides a view of most of the gulf islands ( The Great Barrier, Coromandel Peninsula, etc.) and Auckland harbor. This is truly a sailor's dream.
We ended up at one of Waiheke's winerys for dinner after nixing a few other choices. For some reason pork bellies were on the menu at a variety of places. We graciously declined, hoping for some local fish. After inquiring, we discovered those pork bellies are exactly what you think.
As we arrived back to Mike's in the pitch black, it started to rain hard.

Jason

Jason is Mike's tenant. Think a muscular, smaller and stockier version of Indiana Jones. ( Yes, he has wide-brimmed leather hat) A free-spirited Kiwi, he sold a house up the hill a while back in order to travel the world. He has a collection of small reptiles and fish pond in Mike's yard. He also is Mike's gardener and landscaper since he makes his living landscaping people's properties here on Waiheke. There is a small vegetable garden and a number of fruit trees scattered about the bush.
Jason is full of surprises. He is a former member of the NZ army and was a mercenary in Africa. If he occasionally goes out to the pub with his buddies, he often ends up as a bouncer. ( For those of you who have seen the movie "Australia", remember the opening scenes)
Jason finds out we are from Idaho and wants to know about our snakes. He is a trained herpetologist and has a special fondness for rattlesnakes. The next day he tells us tales of his journeys in Thailand and Australia wrangling snakes. The NZ government will call him if a sea snake washes up on shore from Australia in order to identify it.
We tell tell him to come visit us in Idaho and the West. We have lots of rattlesnakes!
Of course the irony of Jason is that NZ has no snakes!