Day 56 - Whangarei Family

Thursday, November 28th, 2013

                           Our hosts, Tami-jo and her youngest son, Dennon

Staying with Tamijo is always quite an experience! It's a busy household with non-stop comings and goings. Tamijo has raised 9 beautiful children.  Four of them, two of their partners and one granddaughter still live at home. And - they were happy to welcome and squeeze Tina and I in with them for a couple of nights.

This morning Tina and I spent the day exploring the Whangarei area. When a giant thundershower broke out we decided to head to a movie theatre and were lucky to catch a matinee showing of 'The Butler'. Meanwhile, the family were all working, playing their weekly family touch football game and organizing a hangi (Maori feast) in our honor. We arrived home just in time to greet everyone as they came in from their football game, ready to eat the feast that'd been steaming for 4 hours.  I was unable to get a large group photo but captured small family groupings. Here they are:

Guests - My niece, Athena (far right) and her sons Michael and Troy and Troy's family, Simone and Jordan @ 18 months.

                    Antonio and his partner, Tasaya and 9 month old Romen.

 Levi and his partner, Tara, with their daughter Leara @ 3 years. New baby boy Koden             is due in 2 months.

                         Chiquille with partner Fabian and daughter Mahli @ 10 months

                         Kauri (pronounced Kody) and partner Hope

Not all family were able to come this evening. Missing were Markal, Eru, Hannah and Torian. It was a full, noisy houseful of loving people working together as a well-oiled machine.

Day 55 - A Gannet Side Trip

Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

I awakened to trilling, warbling and whistling birdsongs. The bird life in this country is  wonderful - such a variety of birds and all quite tame. 

Our plan was to take time exploring our way to Whangarei. The first side trip took us to a macadamia nut farm, processing facility and cafe where we looked forward to seeing the nut growing, being cracked and processed before having the opportunity to taste and buy a variety of products. We were very disappointed to find the facility closed today :(

With time on our hands, we decided to backtrack to a sight we bypassed yesterday - the gannet colony next to Muriwai Beach - the black sand beach where the first scenes of the film "The Piano" were taken. We walked the beach, which was hosting many surfers, and then climbed up a hill with a viewpoint that allowed us to look directly across and down on the birds. The photo below shows the gannets nesting on a ledge just below and on two rock outcrops.

Gannets nest here because of the wind. The updraught makes for easy take-offs and landings. There are over 1000 couples here now gannets mate for life. Males and females take turns resting on the egg and we could easily see the birds stand, air their wings and settle back down on each precious egg. 

                                            

Following our gannet colony experience, we headed north to Whangarei and the home of my step-daughter, Tami-Jo, and her family. We were given a warm welcome as we marveled at the work of three young men preparing a barbeque as Tamijo introduced us to her extended family. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner followed by a miraculously quick and efficient cleanup by the young men, erasing all evidence of dinner.

Day 54 - South and North Again

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

We have had a wonderful time with our hosts and trip advisors, Adele and John. We agree that another trip to the Coromandel would be great!

We had a later than expected departure at 11:30 and our first stop today was the town of Coromandel on the west cost of the peninsula. Coromandel is a green lip mussel centre and we would have loved to indulge in lunch here but Adele had sent us off with full stomachs (and a snack package) so we couldn't think of food yet.  We did take time to browse the shops, though, and I was able to pick up a couple of little things. 

From Coromandel we headed south to Thames, the highway we were warned to avoid on our way up. Yes, we did encounter those 15kph turns but it was fine. We were mentally prepared this time. The scenery was phenomenal with cliffs on our left and the sea on our right. It was impossible to stop and take photographs. Once it did level out and we were at sea level, we stopped to take a photo of a pohutakawa in early bloom. This entire peninsula and coast will be adorned with the red blossoms of the pohutakawa in two weeks and we're going to miss the display!

After stopping for fuel and a late lunch, we continued our drive bypassing Auckland and following the east coast to Parakai for an overnight stay. We stayed in the Parakai Geothermal Motel where we spent a relaxing evening in and out of our personal thermal mineral hot (very hot!) pool on the deck of our cabin. Nice!!

Day 53 - Pampering

Monday, November 25th, 2013

Today was a "bonus" day. We'd planned to leave, however Adele and John insisted we needed more time here.  Our arms didn't need twisting! One more night to be lulled to sleep by ocean waves lapping the shore.

John drove us all into Whitianga after breakfast. He and Adele dropped us off downtown where we browsed and shopped for a short time before heading to The Lost Spring Spa. We treated ourselves to a swim and soak in the many mineral pools there before going to our individual therapists for massage and reflexology treatments. Wonderful!!

                         

                                                        

A few hours later, our hosts met us at the spa and joined us for a lovely lunch.

                                     

After lunch we visited one of Adele's sisters before hopping a ferry across the inlet to Ferry Landing where we went for a long walk up a hill and along the coast. Clouds had set in so it wasn't a great day for taking pictures. Adele had wanted us to see and climb Shakespeare Cliff to see the view of Cook's Beach but John, Tina and I balked at the idea once we arrived at the beginning of the climb. It was getting late and we were tired. So what if the Queen had been up there on her last visit? She was taken up in a golf cart!

                                  

We rested on a bench briefly while Adele adjusted her expectations for our day before we headed back to the ferry and the drive back home, arriving just before dark.

Day 52 - A Day Close to Home

Sunday, November 24th

Tina and I offered to get into Adele's garden to do some weeding and dead-heading. It was great to feel useful!

She was quite willing to provide us with the necessary tools and off we went to work for a couple of hours before breaking for morning tea. 

Following a little more work, our reward was a swim before lunch.

After lunch we had a walk with Adele in the gardens of the neighbourhood and then we hopped in the car and John drove us to Matarangi where we walked on that beach and along the shore to wonder at the beautiful homes.

Adele is a keen photographer, so our next stop was the beach at Whangapoua where her father had farmed at one time. I had a wonderful time learning to catch the light while photographing waves and capturing reflections and birds.

                                        

                                                   

Pictured here are oyster catchers and a Dotterel, which is endangered and protected.

We had to stop to photograph the "Old Man Snoring" both on our way to Whangapoua and on the way back. I have many shots - both closer and farther away

Adele has been quite an inspiration for me - at age 80 her energy, attention to detail in photography, her ability to single-handedly and effortlessly put together wonderful meals for us 3 times a day is quite amazing! 

Day 51 - Hot Water Beach

Saturday, November 23rd

I have visited New Zealand three times before now but have never before been to the Coromandel Peninsula. It's out-of-the-way and therefore not on the radar for many tourists. It doesn't help that the road to get here is tricky. But word is getting out! 

We mentioned to Adele that we wanted to visit Hot Water Beach. She checked the tides, packed a picnic lunch and a couple of sand spades and sent us on our way with directions of where to go and what to see and do. ACH! - we had to drive one hour south on that same road we came up on. We did it with the understanding that the more we drive it the more confident we'll be. After all, we have to leave in a few days!

Our first stop was Hahei Beach - another beautiful spot!

We took a walk into the village exclaiming how nice it would be to rent a holiday house here for a month. Then we headed out on a forest hike towards Cathedral Cove.

We stopped at a lookout where streams of tourists were parking and heading up the path to the cove. So far, we've been pleased that we've chosen to travel before the height of tourist season, mid-December to the end of January. No crowds, empty beaches, tour buses or little traffic - but I think it's starting now. We were completely turned off by the hoardes of people on the trail, so decided we needed to head back for our picnic.

We were watching the time carefully as we needed to be at Hot Water Beach 2 hours before low tide. There are 2 hot spots on this beach where hot underground stream water can be accessed by digging a hole at low tide and 2 hours either side of low tide. 

We drove to Hot Water Beach and had our picnic lunch under 2 blooming yellow pahutakawa trees while we watched the surf rescue squad training. They rescued 3 persons 'injured' on the rocks.

After everyone was safe and sound we headed down to where the crowds were gathering and digging near the hot spots.

No one had found hot water bubbling up yet - they were too early and too high, I think. I dug for a little while, but after having waves come up and fill up my hole a few times, we decided to move on down the beach where there were no people. We relaxed, watching a few surfers for an hour or so before turning back to the hot spot. This is what we found…….

Yes, the water in some of the sand dugouts was hot and the water lapping on the edge around our feet was warm. All a lot of hoopla for tourists, we think.

We headed back home along the 'tricky' road that seems a bit easier now to Adele and John's with stories of our day.

Day 50 - We Have found Paradise!

Friday, November 22nd

 Here are our hosts, John and Adele.

Oh, my gosh! We have found paradise here at the north end of the Coromandel Pensinsula. John and Adele, Fiona's parents and family friends of Tina, live in a beautiful home with a kilometer of sand beach called Kuaotunu West right across the road. 

With temperatures in the low 20's, we dug out our shorts and swimsuits and spent our day enjoying the sun, surf and sand. Dear Adele did our laundry this morning and worked in the kitchen preparing lunch while John hung out the laundry and Tina and I walked over the bluff to the west and then the length of the beach to the east. 

Back home we enjoyed home-made soup for lunch before we were packed up in the car (with an afternoon tea picnic) to see more countryside and beach. 

John drove us through Kuaotunu Village and then high up and over a 'bluff' on a very narrow gravel road of never-ending S-curves to Otama and Opito Beaches. Wow, wow, wow!! 

These beach communities are small - no shops, cafés or services and the homes are either holiday homes or owned by retirees. Neither of these places is on any map we have - a Coromandel secret! I wish we were about two weeks later to see the pahutakawa trees here just ready to burst into their Christmas red colours. Adele is a skilled photographer and we followed her along the beaches as she pointed her lens at various plants, seashells and sand patterns.

A huge treat for me was when I spotted a bunch of rocks at Opito covered in tiny mussels and larger oysters. The memory of chipping and eating oysters off the rocks 40 years ago vividly rushed to mind. Adele found a rock for chipping and I had a great time slurping up some of those delicious fresher-than-fresh rock oysters. Yummo!! Even Tina got involved and ate one!

All of a sudden I realized I hadn't used sunblock and was feeling that I'd had a bit too much sun, so headed for shade under a pahutakawa tree to  punt my blessings. When Adele and Tina returned, John headed up to Otama beach and found a picnic table where we had tea and cake. Lovely!

I took so many photos today - all equally beautiful. I wish I could post more here.

Day 49 - A Long Day North

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fiona's place has been a convenient base to see the active volcanic area of this Island. We were keen to avoid Rotarua (AKA New Zealand Vegas) on this trip since we've both been there before. The map below shows Taupo as well as Wai-o-Tapu and Matamata circled. Our trip today takes us first from Taupo to Waitomo glow worm caves.

There are other glow worm caves in New Zealand (and some on the east coast of Australia), but the Waitomo Caves are quite extensive.  I have visited here a couple of times before but Tina has never been and I am happy to see them once again. It was a good two and a half hour drive to Waitomo before our 45 minute walk and boat ride through the caves. No photography is allowed, so this is all we got!

We had a late lunch at the cave restaurant before heading north to the Coromandel Peninsula. We were aware that it'd be a long day, so planned the trip accordingly, trading driving responsibilities, taking time to enjoy the varying and beautiful scenery and stopping for afternoon tea (and a lamination) en route. What surprised us was the road we encountered over the last 2 hours of the journey! We took the easier and safer east coast road, avoiding Thames, on Fiona's advice. From Whangamata on it is narrow, with no shoulder, and is almost continuous S-curves and hairpin turns up and down mountains. Road work is being done right now and some of it is loose, oiled gravel with no road markings. We were exhausted because we were both driving - one actual and one emotional - hoping we'd actually make it to the end.

How happy we were to arrive at John and Adele's place on the beach near Kuaotunu - directly north of Whitianga before the road turns west to Coromandel city. They had a stiff drink and late dinner awaiting our appearance. Hooray!!

Here is John and Adele's home with our little Mazda 3 parked in front.

                  

Day 48 - Hobbit House-hunting

Wednesday, November 20th, 2013

Those who know Tina are quite aware that she is a movie buff. Our trip to Hobbiton today was a 'Must-Do' and had been booked months ago. Hobbiton is the setting for Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit Trilogy.

The set was created on a 1250 acre picturesque farm owned by the Alexander family near Matamata. Russell Alexander, one of the brothers who own and work the sheep and cattle farm, took us from the 'Shire's Rest' cafe to Hobbiton - a 10 acre site within the rolling hills of the farm - while telling us the story of how their property came to be chosen for the project. We then spent 2 hours walking around the shire and hearing stories about filming and reminiscing about various scenes from Lord of the Rings. There are 44 hobbit homes as well as a mill, double arched bridge, a thatched roof inn called The Green Dragon as well as ponds, a lake and many carefully weeded vegetable and flower gardens. The tour ended with an ale at The Green Dragon before we left the Shire from Middle Earth and headed back through the farm to the main road and our car.

We drove back to Taupo to meet Fiona for dinner at a restaurant overlooking the lake before heading back to Fiona's for our last night with her.

Day 47 - Hot Experiences in the Waikato

Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

                                      Here is Fiona, our host, with Summer and Rose.

Tina and I enjoyed a lazy lie-in and hang-out around Fiona's this morning. It was a gorgeous sunny day so we had coffee on the deck while watching the horses and sheep in the neighbouring paddocks. "Absolutely bucolic" is the way Tina described the setting. Bucolic isn't a word one hears spoken very often, so I had to take a moment to absorb her comment. Yes, it was a perfect word to describe our current surroundings. It's hard to realize we are in the midst of the most active volcanic area in the world!  

Following breakfast, we headed to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) Thermal Area only about a half hour drive from Fiona's. 

Most of the information below is gleaned from a brochure:

The Taupo Volcanic Zone is an active hydrothermal system and Wai-O-Tapu has the largest surface area of thermal activity in the zone. It covers 18 sq. km and is literally covered with collapsed craters, boiling pools of mud, water and steaming fumaroles. Boiling springs and volcanic gases introduce numerous minerals into the water. The water is so hot (up to 300 degrees C!) that it absorbs minerals out of the rocks through which it passes and transports them to the surface as steam where they are ultimately absorbed into the ground. The wide range of colours in the area are all natural and are due to the different mineral elements.

We walked 3 km of trails throughout the area, stopping once for shelter from a thunder shower and then frequently to gaze and photograph bubbling mud  and steaming fumaroles. The "rotten egg" smell of hydrogen sulphide was prevalent throughout the area. I love the names given to some of the pools and craters, such as Devil's Home, Opal Pool, Devil's Ink Pots, Alum Cliffs, Frying Pan Flats, Champagne Pool, Inferno Crater and Bird's Nest Crater. Some of these features were downright eerie when viewed while dark thunderclouds were passing over us.

                                                         

                 Here's a sign I photographed while waiting for the thundershower to pass:

Following our visit to the thermal area, we headed south to view the mighty Huka Falls, just outside of Taupo. The falls are near the beginning of the Waikato River, New Zealand's longest, which flows 425 km from its origin in Lake Taupo to the sea south of Auckland.

                                         

After our falls visit, we headed to town to access wifi at the Taupo Public Library and pick up a few things for dinner back at Fiona's.