San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco on Saturday pm 7th June for our last few days. We booked into our hotel which is conveniently opposite a cinema that does live sex shows. Behind us is the bank that Patti Hearst robbed back in the late 60s or early 70s. Whilst the hotel is OK inside the immediate area outside is a gathering place for the homeless & people that have been taking too many chemicals. In short, not what we would have chosen.
It’s convenient for the centre, however, with a tram stop outside that takes us through the town centre, past the cable car terminus and along the front to Fishermans Wharf all for $1.50. This we found out on Sunday after we had already booked an open top bus tour to familiarise ourselves with the city. The tour took about 90 minutes after which we immediately got to pay a visit to Alcatraz. What a spooky place & is it cold when the wind blows even though the city, just a mile away, is pleasantly warm with temperature in mid 70s. It must have been so frustrating for the prisoners to not only see but also hear the noise from the city. Alcatraz was first a military installation to defend the Bay & then a prison for conscientious objectors, deserters etc. before it became a the No. 1 prison for the worst criminals in U.S.A in the early 30s & closed in 1963 because of the increasing cost of maintenance due to its position & the damage caused by the salty air, erosion etc.San Francisco is a city that now largely depends on visitors for it’s income. The top 3 money earners here are Tourism, Finance & Banking & Car Parking fees & fines. It used to be an important port but with the decline in break bulk cargo brought in at the piers the city didn’t have enough space for a container port & the freight went across the Bay to Oakland. Plans are now in hand to find the space & bring the ships back.
Having done Alcatraz on Sunday it was time to go to Golden Gate Bridge on Monday. In the sunshine the bridge is beautiful, especially as the fog has disappeared out to sea for the few days that we are here, although the wind seems to be there all the time. Following this we had a walk round the City going through Chinatown & then back down to Fishermans Wharf where they have a colony of sealions making one hell of a noise as it’s the mating season There are hundreds of them beached up on pontoons in the marina.
Tuesday we covered other parts of the city including the crookedest street in the world & the Mission Dolores, the oldest church in SF dating back over 200 years having survived the 2 big earthquakes of 1906 & 1989 & numerous smaller ones.
We could see the end of the holiday approaching so one last journey. This time to Yosemite National Park on Wednesday. This was a full day out with the possibility of seeing bears in the wild & also the worlds 4th or 5th highest waterfall, the Yosemite Falls.
It’s high but not very wide & we didn’t see any bears. Still we did see one of the giant sequoia trees, it was a very sunny day & an enjoyable one to end with.

Pics are Pat on 'The Rock', The Crookedest Street, City Hall & Yosemite

Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas

After leaving Rarotonga on Sunday afternoon we arrived back in Auckland on Monday evening to catch the flight to Los Angeles where we arrived on Monday afternoon by which time we didn’t know what year it was let alone what day. Anyway we settled into our hotel & booked a city tour for the next day.
Next morning we were joined by 4 Scots on a mini bus & we went round Beverley Hills, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard etc. Our guide informed us that the hey days of Hollywood had long passed, the best years being the twenties & thirties, & the town was in a decline. Many film & music stars have houses here but few actually live in them. The places we weren’t taken were the Walk of Fame & the Chinese Theatre with the foot & hand prints. As we found out afterwards these were in easy walking distance from the hotel & we took an open top bus tour starting outside the theatre. This covered a lot of the ground we had seen in the morning, without the beaches, but with a different slant on the area.
Wednesday we went to Universal Studios. We didn’t know what to expect as there had been a big fire there on the previous Sunday. However, during the studio tour, the one with the remote controlled Jaws, we were taken round the back lot & shown the damage to the permanent sets & also the fire crews still damping down the site.
Following the tour we were left in the theme park, something which I have never really fancied, but it was a warm, sunny day, not overcrowded & I enjoyed it. We saw the special effects demo, a demo with fire & explosives as well as going on the Homer Simpson simulated car ride. We also saw a short Shrek film in 4D where the seats move & have other special effects fitted as well as the superb 3D film effect.
To end the day we took in the ‘Waterworld’ show with the corrugated iron set, jet skiers, boats, a plane, a lot of fires & explosions & a cast of stuntmen & women falling from great heights into the water. Great stuff!!
Next morning were back at the airport to go to Las Vegas but before we got anywhere near a plane we were pulled to one side by the TSA (responsible for airport security) to have our hand baggage searched. Having cleared this the plane was delayed by an hour. After arriving at Las Vegas we were to pick up a car to drive to Grand Canyon but when we got to the hire co there was another problem as their paperwork showed a 1 day booking whereas ours showed 2. Eventually this was sorted but the delays meant that we would not now see the Canyon at sundown.
Friday we had time to take a 2 hour tour to see a little bit of the Canyon before returning back to Vegas. It may have only been a fraction of the Canyon but what views we had. The photos we took certainly don’t do it justice but then I don’t think any photo could. The scale of the whole thing is immense. The Canyon is over 200miles long & 10 miles wide at its widest. At its highest it is 8000ft. We were at 7000ft. in the National Park on the South Rim. There is only 1 building at the bottom of the canyon & this has supplies brought in by mule or by helicopter for heavier items. There are no roads, only hiking tracks.
We had to leave for Las Vegas by which time the temperature was in the mid 70s. By the time we stopped for a bite to eat it was mid 80s & when we reached the Hoover Dam mid 90s. Driving into Vegas it was nudging 100 & getting dark.
Everybody has seen pictures of the Las Vegas strip but what doesn’t come across is the sheer number of people walking it, quite a few the worse for wear due to the cheap alcohol, or the heat. This despite a number of water themes to cool it down. (The canals of Venice at The Venetian, the warring ships of Treasure Island, the Roman Fountains at Caesars Palace etc.). It is, after all, in the desert.
As for the gambling, not really my cup of tea.
Saturday morning we were back at the airport & surprise, surprise pulled once more by the TSA. It appears that our United Airways booking ref will get us pulled every time we use it. Our remaining flights to LA & London are with Air New Zealand so we wait & see. Anyway, on to our final stop, San Francisco.
Pics are Waterworld, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam & Venice - Las Vegas style

Farewell NZ. Hello Cook Islands

Saturday evening we got the bus into town walked into a pub & bumped into a couple from Perth WA that we had met the previous week-end. Sightseeing went out the window, we watched the rugby, Crusaders won so celebrations all round, & stayed in the pub till about 1.30am then a taxi back with a driver that didn‘t want to stop chatting.
Sunday we had our last use of the van, going to Lyttleton to see Timeball Castle. A timeball was an early method of indicating time to vessels in the harbour so they could correct their chronometers & thus more accurately calculate their position at sea.
After booking into our hotel at Christchurch Airport we had time to visit the Antarctic Centre which is right next door. Christchurch is the airport from which most scientists etc. leave to go to the Antarctic & it is where they get fitted out with cold weather clothing & have a 3 day induction. Several countries have a centre here &, of course, the USA is the biggest. There is also a visitor centre which is where we went. The audio commentary was done by Sir Edmund Hillary and covered things like climate, wild life, leisure time etc. Antarctica is not only the coldest but also the windiest & driest continent, so dry that you cannot make a snowball. There was also the chance to withstand an Antarctic storm with a wind of only 44km p/hr bringing the temperature down, with wind chill, to -18 deg C. & a ride in a Hagglund people carrier, the type used there, over similar made up terrain at the rear of the building. Seat belts & strap hangers were a must & we still got thrown all over the place.
There were also penguins, in this case the tiny blue penguin, which can be found off the coast of NZ.
Next morning, Monday, up at 4.45am & off to the airport & the Cook Islands. It is about 1hr. flight from Christchurch to Auckland & then approx 4hrs to Rarotonga but, due to Int’l Date Line, we arrived on Sunday afternoon.
The Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands scattered over an area of the Pacific the size of Western Europe between 9 & 22 deg south. They are in 2 groups, Northern & Southern, not just physically but also socially. The Northern Group is made up of 5 atolls & 1 sand-cay & the Southern Group of 4 raised reef islands, 2 atolls, 1 almost atoll, 1 sand-cay & 1 volcanic island, Rarotonga, which is where we are staying. The Southern Group has 90% of both land & population.
Rarotonga, the biggest island, has a coastal ring road of 32kms & most of the population live close to it, the interior being lush, mountainous forest. Running adjacent to the coast road is the ancient Ara Metua coral road, now surfaced, built in the 11th century. The island’s lagoon is protected by a reef that encircles the island. Palm fringed beaches of white sand line the lagoon & the waters are crystal clear and contain many species of fish.
However, the brochures don’t mention the stone fish or sea urchins that await the unwary, not that we’ve heard of anyone treading on one of them.
This was for us a week for resting up a bit & if you want to rest up this is the place. ’If you want something in a hurry you’ve come to the wrong place’ was how one of the locals put it in a slow drawl.
Still we did venture out on the island’s 2 bus services (the Clockwise & the Anti-Clockwise) both of which start & finish in the capital, Avarua. The speed limit is 50km/hr & slower through villages & past schools so the buses take nearly an hour to do the round trip.
The reason for us coming here is in Pat’s 40 Places to Visit book & is the island of Aitutaki which is about 200kms from where we are staying. It is a short hop in Air Rarotonga’s Saab 340 plane & so we went on Wednesday. The lagoon is indeed worth the trip as it contains several smaller islands (motus) each with palms & white sandy beaches. So idyllic that many couples get married here & both the US & British TV series ’Survivor’ were filmed on a couple of the isles. The lagoon is also the best place in the Cooks for snorkelling & whilst Pat was doing this I was being fitted with a pareu, the local national costume.
The return flight, however, was far from pleasant with a strong tail wind buffeting us all the way.
Back in Rarotonga we also managed to take in some crab racing, a jeep safari tour of the island with a driver calling himself Mr. Hopeless, a seafood barbecue on the beach, saw the Crusaders win the Rugby Super 14s whilst in a bar in Avarua on Friday & visited the local market on Saturday morning. So much for taking it easy.
The week came & went far too quickly & on Sunday it was back to Auckland & then on to Los Angeles.

Pics are: Pat in Antarctica, Me on our beach Rarotonga, Aitutaki Holiday Resort, Motu in Aitutaki lagoon, Painting church roof in Avarua

Wellington to Christchurch

We left Carterton on Friday morning for the short drive down to Wellington where we were booked on the afternoon ferry to Picton. On the way we thought we would see the NZ version of Stonehenge which is close to Carterton but this time it was a low Autumn fog that stopped us. That burnt off fairly soon & we arrived at Wellington in good time. As I have already said, the crossing has a nasty reputation, but the gods must be smiling on us because it was even flatter than the first time. We continued on to Blenheim where we stopped for a couple of nights of our final week in NZ.
Saturday we toured round the surrounding area which is mainly flat & covered with vineyards.This, along with Hawkes Bay, is the main wine producing region in NZ. We took the road to Havelock & then turned off on a side road to Okiwi Bay where we stopped for lunch in a bar overlooking the village & the bay with the sun shining on us. How nice to be back on South Island! However, with the days getting shorter & with clear skies the night time temperatures are now way down in single figures.
It was Pat’s birthday so we went out for a meal in the evening before returning to the local bar where we talked to some players from the local Harlequins RFC who recounted some stories about the Wellington crossing including one where the ferry, trying to enter the sound up to Picton, was being tossed so much that the passengers were on the windows. Another couple of degrees & the boat would have gone over. Well! That was their story. It may or may not be exaggerated.
On Sunday with the sun still above we continued south to Kaikoura, a small town that was once a whaling station but nowadays concentrates on whale watching. The seas just off the town are one of the main feeding areas for sperm whales & the company running the tours guarantee that they will refund 80% of the price if a whale is not spotted during the trip. We booked for the next day.
Monday! Sunshine again & we arrived at the tour company to be greeted with the news that there was a 1.5 to 2 mtr. swell & that sea sickness was probable. Nice prospect, but 20-25 of us left to go whale watching. The 18mtr catamaran sped out to the feeding grounds & it bumped a bit but nothing too serious. On the way something unexpected! A wandering albatross bypassed us.
We reached the area where the whales had previously been spotted & waited. The skipper lowered the
mike into the water to try to pick up any sound. Two or three times he did this, moving the cats position each time. Then, at last, one of the crew saw the water spout & the cat rushed over. Keeping the vessel to the side or rear of the whale, they have no forward vision, everyone on board got a great view. If the cat was 18mtrs, the whale more than matched it. You don’t go swimming with these creatures. They have been known to swallow sharks & even a 45gallon drum in one piece. Then came the shout that it was going to dive. Again everyone got the view of the tail as the great animal disappeared. Hardly had one gone than another was spotted a little way off. We just got to it as it dived but, again, most of us saw it. A few minutes went by & a third whale was spotted. This time it waited till we arrived before diving. It was too much to expect to see dolphins after that but another wandering albatross crossed our path as we returned to the marina, all thoughts about sea sickness having long since gone from our minds.
Tuesday, after the ground frost had cleared, we set off to Hanmer Springs which is a ski centre in the winter but is an all year resort with the thermal springs in the centre of the village. It is only 380mtrs above sea level but as soon as we arrived we noticed the distinct chill in the air. We had a wander round one of the walking tracks in the nearby forest & then round the village past the golf course ( Every village, no matter how small, in NZ seems to have it’s own golf course) & back to the van. It was now quite cold & time to wrap up before going out for dinner.
Next morning the ground was white & golf course closed until the frost was out of the greens.We had a walk round the village before having a game of mini-golf & a maze adventure. For kids really but fun. Time for a dip in the thermal pools. There are several in the grounds with a swimming pool at 28 deg C & various thermal & sulphur pools from 36 - 41 deg C so although the air was at about 10 deg C the water was lovely.
On Thursday we decided to return to Kaikoura to take a guided tour round the area which took in an Irish country pub, an old whalers cottage & a seal colony amongst other things.
On Friday we first went north to Ohau where there is another seal colony but there is also a waterfall just inland where some of the pups go upstream & play under the falls. We could get really close to them. We returned to the whalers cottage, Fyffes Cottage, to have a closer look. It stands on foundations of whalebone. The Fyffes helped establish Kaikoura first as a whaling station & then as a port. The cottage is also near a Maori burial ground. A body was discovered clutching the largest Moa egg ever found (Moas were flightless birds, now extinct) so it is believed he was an important chief.
Saturday morning we went for a drive over the plains into the mountains but unfortunately the weather had closed in so the views were spoilt. In the afternoon we are going into the City for some sight seeing, dinner & watch the rugby semis tonight. The local team, Crusaders, are playing so it could be noisy.
Tomorrow the van goes back we are in a hotel & then Monday off to the Cook Islands.
Pics are of Okiwi Bay village, Kaikoura Mountains, A Sperm Whale disappears & a view from near Hanmer Springs

Whakatane to Wellington

On Saturday 10th May, although the rain had stopped, the sea was still too rough so we gave up on White Island and retraced our previous nights journey directly back to Gisborne. This took us through a couple of gorges that we hadn’t seen yesterday because of the weather. We nearly didn’t see them this time either because halfway along the rain started again and continued right through to Gisborne. We had a walk round the town & had a bite to eat and decided that we would continue on to Napier. Again there were gorges & hills which would have been great had we been able to see them but the rain continued on into the night.
Sunday we woke up to sunshine & went to Napier Info Site & found that there was a farmers market in nearby Hastings so we decided to have a look. The market was held at the local showground & was well attended. We sampled & bought some of the cheeses that are made locally as well as tasting the fruit which along with wine making are the main industries in this area. After the market we went to Cape Kidnappers which houses a large gannet colony & on to Havelock North a well to do town again involved in the making of wine. On returning to Napier we booked a guided tour for the next day & had a wander round the town a lot of which has been built in Art Deco style following an earthquake in 1931 which destroyed a great part of it.
After reading about them the previous day we woke on Monday to hear that there had been a small earthquake off shore during the night. This was not the first in our time here but, of course, was nothing compared to the events in China.
We met our guide and went over much of the ground that we had travelled yesterday, but this time with a commentary, taking in honey, cheese, schnapps & chocolate producers as well as an olive orchard and a couple of wineries including Mission Estate, NZ‘s oldest winemaker. Free samples at all of them. What a mixture! In between we stopped for lunch at a coffee roastery &, to top it all off, real fruit ice cream.
The tour also took us to the highest point in the area, Te Mata Peak, which at 339mtrs is not really that high, but from where we could see the snow on the mountains around Taupo over 100kms away in the distance.
Just to the south of Napier near Porangahau a prominent hilltop celebrates the achievements of a mythical Maori ancestor & carries the worlds longest place name. We never went because we couldn’t ask directions to
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
On Tuesday we left Napier & took the scenic route south stopping at a little village called Ongaonga merely because the name reminded Pat of trips to Colchester with her mum & dad. But the village had a little heritage site with reconstructions of an early bush settlers hut, a military hut & an old gaol.
Further south we came to Norsewood & Dannevirke which, as their names suggest, were originally settled by Scandinavians. We then turned off towards Castlepoint travelling on narrow lanes & unmade roads before reaching the coast before heading inland to Masterton where we stopped for the night.
Next morning we wandered around Masterton, in particular Queen Elizabeth II Park with it’s Cricket Ground complete with grandstand, Bowls Club with 2 rinks, Croquet Club with 2 lawns, football & rugby clubs with several pitches as well as Kids Own Playground, mini golf & miniature railway. Nearby there is recreation centre with indoor & outdoor pools, one of the longest water slides in the country and a health & fitness centre & spa. They must be fit here.
We then drove down to Carterton where we visited Paua World factory & shop where paua (a shell fish unique to NZ) shells are made into jewellery & gifts. Afterwards we made a circular tour of the area going to Gladstone, Martinborough, where the town centre roads are laid out in the form of the Union Jack, & Greytown before returning to Carterton. In the evening we went to a tapas bar and found that there was a jam session with musicians from various groups in the area attending so we stayed out late. It must have been at least 11.00 before we went back to the van, well past the witching hour for midweek in NZ, but it was a good night with instruments like tambourines & bongo drums being handed out to non musicians, such as us, so we could join in.
On Thursday we took the train to Wellington to take a tour around the country’s Parliament Building. One of the interesting things is the steps taken to protect the building in case of earthquake. The whole building is actually seated on large bushes on top of the foundations. This arrangement will protect it from earthquakes up to 7.5 on the Richter Scale.
NZ has a proportional representation system with each person having 2 votes. The first, for the party of government, is a PR vote & the second, for their MP, is a first past the post vote. There are then ’x’ amount of elected MPs & the balance of Parliament is selected by the various parties to match the PR vote.
Finally today we booked our return crossing to the South Island for tomorrow.
Pics are of Art Deco & jokey Napier, a Troll at Norsewood & Castlepoint Rock

Tauranga to Whakatane

We arrived in Tauranga on Friday evening & the following morning tried to get in touch with Alan & Lil but they were out so we decided that as the sun was shining we would go to Mount Maunganui, Tauranga’s beach & also an important shipping port, the reason for Tauranga’s prosperity. Anyway, the Mount had to be climbed & as there are several tracks to the top it was not too difficult. After a spot of lunch it was time for our first taste of the heated spas. It may have been sunny but there was quite a breeze with a wintry chill to it but lying in a spa with water temp of 37 deg C we didn’t notice.
We spoke to Lil later on that day & arranged to meet on Sunday to say our goodbyes which we did & then set of to Whakatane to try to arrange a visit to White Island, NZ’s most active volcano, which is situated approx 50kms off shore. However, before we left Alan & Lil it had started to rain & gradually got worse the further we went. We called at the Info Site at Whakatane on the off chance but were told “No chance before Wednesday”. So we continued on towards Rotorua & Taupo with the weather getting worse all the time. We stopped overnight at Golden Springs which is about halfway between the two & listened to the rain beating on the roof of the van.
Monday morning was not much better but we reached Taupo & drove round the lake. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in NZ & is the result of the biggest volcanic eruption in the history of the Earth. The lake is actually a crater lake as are most of the lakes in this area. After the circular tour we stopped of at Huka Falls, the most photographed falls in NZ, where the Waikato River is squeezed from 100mtrs wide to just 10mtrs wide. We also went to Puzzle World , an interactive café with table puzzles while you eat & also outdoor puzzles such as a maze etc. but as it was teaming down this was out of the question. We followed this with a visit to the Volcanic Activity Centre which is self explanatory but very interesting. It appears that the Taupo Volcanic Area which extends form Mt. Ruapehu in the south to White Island in the north is where two plates, the Australasian-Indian Plate & the Pacific Plate, meet. It may be that, sometime in the distant future, the North Island may divide along this line.
On Tuesday 6th May we left Taupo for Rotorua stopping on the way at two thermal centres, the first called Craters of the Moon which is exactly what they looked like but with bubbling water & mud pools & plenty of steam. The second, Orakei Korako also known as the Hidden Valley, has more active geysers than any geothermal field in the country & silica terraces which are reported to be the largest in the world. The area is reached by boat across a lake &, of course, none of the geysers ‘performed’ until we were on our way back across the water.
On reaching Rotorua we booked a Maori evening at the Tamaki Maori Village. We were in one of 5 coach loads & each coach had to pick a ’chief’ to represent them at the ritual welcome ceremony. No prizes for guessing who our coach elected. I had to stand with the other 4 guys in front of the welcoming Maoris who performed various challenges in dance with clubs, spears etc. Not too welcoming, as we felt the weapons brush our arms & faces. Still, after that it was a good evening with a mixture of story-telling, song & dance ending with the Haka & followed with an authentically prepared Hangi meal. (cooked in an earthen oven).
Wednesday was a quiet day for us. After doing the housework we wandered around the town, along the lakeside & in Government Gardens which contains the Rotorua Museum, known locally as the Bath-house, & the Blue Baths as well as Rachel Spring which bubbles water continuously at boiling point. The Gardens also house the local bowls & croquet clubs with several lawns as well as a golf course, driving range, a Petanque club & some more thermal outlets, so its no small area of land.
We booked a tour of Rotorua in a WW2 duck for the following morning which, unknown to us, would take us through Government Gardens again before going out of town to a couple of smaller bodies of water, the Blue & Green Lakes, so called because one reflects the sky & the other the trees. The Green Lake has some very expensive houses round it, one of which can be hired as a holiday home at a rate of 10000 NZD per night.
After the tour we started back to Whaktane to try again for White Island but first we had a free entrance to Hell’s Gate, another thermal park, which we had received when we booked the Maori night. This one though was the first with hot mud baths. So after the walk round the park in we went. The mud pool had a temperature of 40+deg C & yellow in colour because of the sulphur content. It also had the smell to go with it. After the mud there was a freezing cold shower to wash it away & then into a second pool with just the sulphur smelling water & temperature slightly cooler. After a second shower, warm this time, we felt good but left still with the odour lingering.
By the time we arrived back in Whakatane the rain had started again but nonetheless we enquired about White Island. We were told “No” to Friday, 50-50 for Saturday, but more likely Sunday. We decided to wait until Saturday.
Friday the rain, which had gone from a steady drizzle to a down pour during the night, had stopped & we started on a drive round the Eastlands Peninsula to Gisborne & back but what looked to be a pleasant days drive became a struggle as the rain returned & by the time we got back was torrential. Pics are of Mt Maunganui, Huka Falls, Hidden Valley & Hell's Gate

Whatuwhiwhi to Tauranga

Sunday 27th April we left the sodden site at Whatuwhiwhi on the Karikari Peninsula and headed towards the Bay of Islands. In no particular rush we stopped off at several bays before something in the travel guide caught our eye. ’World Famous Fish & Chips’ - Not just in one guide but in all three that we have. Where is it? Mangonui on the South East corner of Doubtful Bay. We were only fifteen minutes away but it was only 11am on a Sunday. Oh Well! When in Rome. We did a quick heritage tour of the village & arrived back at the restaurant on the quay at 12pm. It was already full. Never mind! We placed our order. The pieces of fish were cooked from fresh as we waited. It was worth waiting. Never mind plates. We ate out of paper. Delicious!
After lunch we took another signposted scenic route, well signposted at the beginning, which meant getting lost & going over hills which had had landslips due to the previous nights rain. Eventually we arrived in Kerikeri where we went round NZ’s two oldest standing buildings, Kemp House & The Stone Store. The Stone Store was meant to house NZ mission supplies but became a trading store & Kemp House was originally a mission house. The Kemps & their descendents occupied the house from 1831-1974. Both houses are now subject to flooding from the nearby river when timber, rocks etc are washed down from the hills & jam at the bridge causing the river to flood. A bypass is being built to hopefully remove this hazard.
After spending the night at Kerikeri we moved on round the Bay of Islands to Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Treaty of Waitangi signing in 1840 meant that the Maori & the English immigrants were to become one nation & New Zealand became a British Protectorate.
Continuing round the bay we arrived at Opua from where we caught the ferry across to Okiato which was previously called Russell & became the first capital of New Zealand. From there it is a short hop to present day Russell which was previously called by the Maori name Kororareka. It is hard to believe that this quiet little seaside village (Pop. Approx. 1200) was once known as the ‘Hellhole of the Pacific’ with its seafront lined with grog shops & houses of ill repute. It was a whaling station for the Europeans, Americans & Australians as well as being a major Maori settlement. The town was destroyed by fire when a casual match was dropped in a gunpowder store. The British Navy at sea took the resulting explosion as a Maori uprising & promptly shelled the place.
The village was re-built around two surviving buildings, both churches, & re-named Russell. One of the churches is the oldest Anglican church in NZ. It also has what it claims is the oldest pub but as it is the third or fourth building on the site this is doubtful. It was the first to be licenced however.
The Bay of Islands was a favourite of American writer & sportsman Zane Grey who promoted the area as a centre for deep sea game-fishing, with a clubhouse in Russell.
We both liked Russell & stayed 3 nights. On the Tuesday morning we visited the Pompallier Mission, the oldest surviving Catholic building in NZ which was used as a printery, tannery & storehouse. They used to import religious books from France, translate them from Latin to French & then to Maori, print & cover the new books with leather from the tannery & give them to the Maoris. The mission closed after about 15 years & the building continued as a tannery. It was later altered to become a private house which it remained for 70 years before being bought by the NZ Government to be exhibited as an historical house. It was only when replacing some of the flooring did they discover the tanning pits & realise what the real history of the building was.
It was a sunny morning & despite the forecast of a big storm approaching, headlines in the papers, we booked an afternoon cruise out into the Bay to see the Hole in the Rock & maybe some dolphins. Within half an hour the sun had disappeared & the rain started. Nevertheless we went ahead. The sea was a bit bumpy & there were a few very green passengers but we went through the Hole & then on the return there, right on cue, were the dolphins with passengers from other boats already in the water with them.
The rain hammered down most of the night but come the morning the sun was out & we did a mini tour of the village learning most of the above & seeing some of the beaches close by. In the afternoon we took the passenger ferry across to Paihia but this is just a resort full of motels etc. so we soon returned.
Thursday we took the coast road, instead of the ferry & the main road, as we started off to Whangerei & were slowed down by several landslips caused by the recent rains. We booked into a site near the town centre & had a quick look round. Not impressed. If it hadn’t been for Pat’s cousin Mel living nearby we would probably have by-passed it. Anyway, we had dinner with Mel & Ed & spent a very pleasant evening with them.
Friday we continued south not sure of where our next stop would be. We arrived at Auckland in the early afternoon & as the traffic was moving we did likewise. After crossing the Harbour Bridge without too much difficulty we decided to head for Tauranga.

Pics are Mangonui Harbour, Kemp House, Maori canoes at Waitangi & NZ traffic hazard & solution.

Tauranga to Whatuwhiwhi

On Sunday 20th April we set off from Taurunga to go onto the Coromandel Peninsula but first we stopped off at Waihi, a gold mining town with an open cast mine still in operation. We walked round what looked to be the crater of a volcano some 250mtrs deep.We could see the equipment used far below but did not realise how big they were until we came upon one of the giant dumpers. It weighed 85tonnes & was about 5mtrs high. We went into the info centre & were told that from every tonne of ore excavated 3 grammes of gold were found. They still mine a million NZ dollars worth per week though.
We continued on up the east side of the Coromandel, an area of great natural beauty, with areas of rolling downs & farmland mixed in with forested mountains. We stayed at Coromandel Town which, again, was a gold mining community in past days & whilst there went on the only narrow gauge railway in NZ up to the wonderfully named Eyefull Tower viewing point. We also went to the Waiau Waterworks which is an out & out fun place for everyone with strange contraptions all worked by water. It also has a playground with flying foxes, water cannons, flying bikes etc. I had a go on the Flying Fox & promptly fell off. Pat has the pictures but they will not be published here. Before we went to Waiau we spent a rather wet morning touring round the peninsula to the north of Coromandel where the roads get narrower & narrower, the terrain is more rugged & then the tarmac surface gives way to unmade gravel. Going north to Colville was OK but the return via Kennedy Bay was up into the clouds on unmade roads with plenty of mud. The van looked a mess but still in one piece.
Afterwards we started off down the west coast road towards Thames & then on to Auckland on the Pacific Coast Highway with the rain falling heavily at times. We hit Auckland at the start of the rush hour. Great! There is only one road connecting the country above Auckland with that below it and we were on it not knowing where we were going. The jams were nearly M25 level. One good thing - the rain cleaned the van.
Thankfully we made it to Tekapuna Beach where we booked a couple of nights at a site next to the sea. From here we could either get into the City directly by bus via the Harbour Bridge or get a bus to Devonport & then get a ferry across the harbour. With a day pass we found we could go in one way & come back the other. We did our normal circular bus tour of the city to get our bearings. There is an Antarctic Experience which shows the experiences of the first explorers (Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen etc.) which was very good.
There are also colonies of different types of penguins, kept in sub-zero temperatures as near to Antarctic conditions as possible, which can be seen from a ‘snow-cat‘.
The following day we visited the Auckland Museum in which a whole floor is devoted to the NZ military & the wars in which they have been involved. Very moving. Even more so as Friday is Anzac Day.
Another section features volcanoes & the fact that Auckland is surrounded by them. It is not a question of if but when one or more blows. Probably not in a lifetime or two but they are being monitored very closely anyway.
We also went up on Mt.Eden, one of the volcanoes which surround Auckland, from which we had a good view over the city including Eden Park, home of the All Blacks. We missed going to Sky Tower, the highest building in Auckland at 1000ft. from which it is possible to do the highest Bungy Jump in NZ or alternatively do the Sky Walk, a walk on a circular platform round the outside of the tower with only a safety harness for support. We can do those on our return.
Thursday night was crazy. Bars that were previously closing down at 9pm suddenly had queues to get in at 11.30. It was like MK on a Saturday night. It was, of course, the start of holiday week-end.
Friday 25th was Anzac day & thinking there would be little or no traffic we left Auckland to travel up the west coast. Fools that we are. It was like a bank holiday at home on the roads. Anyway we wanted to get as far as Matakohe where there is a museum dedicated to a species of tree, the Kauri, which until recently has been disappearing from the wild through burning or lumbering. They are now protected. Kauri timber recovered from dead trees that have been lying in swamps for up to 40 thousand years is still being used for making furniture the wood is that hard. The oldest living tree in NZ is believed to be around 2000 years.
Saturday we set off further up the west coast highway to see the Kauri trees in the Waipoura Forest. We saw the first & second largest trees in NZ & although we took pictures they do not do justice to them. They are awesome, to use a common Kiwi expression.
Further along the road we came to the beginning of 90 mile beach, actually only 52miles, which runs to the northern most point in NZ. Although the road runs the length of the peninsula the way to do it is to drive along the beach. However, we had been told when we first picked up the van that this was a no-no. The only way to do it is with a tour. The weather was closing in so we decided to give it a miss. It’s only a beach. Just as well as the heavens opened & it tipped down for most of the night.

Pics are Pat & toy dumper, 2 of Coromandel & Us in Kauri Forest

Picton to Tauranga

We stayed overnight in Picton in what must be the smallest site in NZ. It was in the middle of town & there was a pub nearby so all was not lost. The pubs all show the Super 14 Rugby matches on Friday & Saturday with 2 or 3 matches shown live on each day. The only reason they don’t show more is that some are on in South Africa in the early hours of Sunday NZ time.
Still we got down to the ferry terminal early Sunday for the 9.50 sailing only to be told that it would be delayed. The Picton to Wellington crossing, we are told, can be one of the roughest so we started to look concerned. After all the weather was sunny with hardly a cloud to be seen.
We needn’t have worried. The crossing was as smooth as it could have been & we arrived in Wellington in the early afternoon.
We booked into a site on the edge of town & then got a bus back into the centre where we went up on the cable car to get our bearings. We arranged a tour round the city for the following day which turned out to be quite informative. One of the things we learned was that the building of Wellington is based on San Francisco, both cities being situated by a bay, on a hill, on a fault-line. The reason that many Wellington & NZ buildings are built with timber not brick is because timber stands up better to earthquakes, brickwork tending to crack.
We were also told that the good weather was coming to an end & that rain was forecast. We left Wellington that afternoon & headed north. We didn’t realise just how soon the rain would arrive. It poured and we made a short journey up the west coast to Otaki Beach where we stopped for the night. The site was one of the few that had a restaurant & bar so we stayed there & watched the rain fall.
The next morning it was still showery so we set off further northwards. The further we went the heavier the rain fell so we stopped at Wanganui for lunch. While there the rain stopped so we booked ourselves on a paddle boat steamer up the River Whanganui. The steamer was built in London in 1899 & worked on the river for nearly 50 years before being withdrawn from service, needing a new boiler, & eventually sank in 1952 at her moorings. There she stayed until 1993 when she was salvaged by volunteers. In 1996 restoration work began in earnest & by 2000 the vessel ’Waimarie’ was fully restored.
After the trip we continued on our way until we reached Hawera where we stopped for the night. By this time there was one thing that dominated the landscape, Mount Egmont aka Taranaki. This extinct? volcano rises from nothing to over 2500mtrs and stands out like the mountain in the film ’Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. It is also, like most things are out here, a National Park & is reckoned to be NZ‘s most picturesque & most climbed mountain though not by us.
More our level was the water tower in Hawera at 150ft. The tower had hardly been completed in 1914 when an earthquake caused a 2’6” tilt. This was corrected & in 1932 neon lights were erected around the top as a memorial to the pioneers of the district. It was billed as NZ’s tallest lighthouse.
After Hawera we continued around the coast, with Mount Egmont always in view, to New Plymouth. We booked into a site on a cliff top & listened to the wind howl. We took a walk round the town’s Pukekura Park which contains an open bowl for concerts, a cricket ground & an organic brewery as well as being beautiful in it’s own right, covered as it is with temperate rain forest.
It was our wedding anniversary so we decided to have an Indian meal but, as usual, Pat got half-way through hers and had to give up.
We continued northwards the next day & arrived at the Waitomo Caves at which there is normally black water rafting but due to the heavy rain this had been stopped as had tours round some of the caves. The main cave was still open, however, & we went round. From here we had intended to go on up through Hamilton but as the town was expecting up to 150000 people for the V8 car races at the week-end we changed our route and went on to Cambridge for the night to & then to Tauranga. Before arriving we passed through the town of Matamata which has now become known as Hobbiton due to the fact that the opening sequences of the first & the closing scenes of the last Lord of the Rings trilogy were shot here. Time for another tour, at the end of which, a demo of sheep-shearing & Pat got to bottle feed one of the lambs.
After arriving in Tauranga, an area of approx. 100000 people, on Friday evening we phoned our ex-publican from Rose & Crown, Mr Alan Bonham, & arranged to meet the following day.
Saturday lunch-time Alan picked us up & took us back to his & Lil’s house for lunch & we spent the afternoon talking about the old times & how the village has changed in the 20 years, 17 spent in NZ, since they left the pub.

We said we would call on them again when we returned south.

Pics are Mt.Egmont, Us on our anniversary, Pat in Hobbiton & Alan, Lil & Dave Bonham

Franz Josef to Picton

Sunday 6th April we woke up to another beautiful sunny day.We are staying on a site underneath the glacier. What shall we do?? Silly question! We go to book a helicopter flight to both the Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers for later that day. (Another of Pat’s must do’s). She is right, of course, it was my first flight in a helicopter & it was brilliant. After flying up to Franz Josef & getting in close up to the ice we went on to the Fox Glacier & landed on it. The glacier is some 40mtrs. deep & is moving 9mtrs per month but unlike other glaciers this one is growing. The views were fantastic, needless to say.
After landing we set off for Greymouth further up the west coast where we stopped for the night. We had already been here before when we came from Christchurch on the Trans Alpine Express so we didn’t go into the town centre. Instead we visited a place called Shantytown, an open air museum, which recalls the Westlands coal & gold mining past. Coal is still very important & a lot of what is mined is exported. Later that day we moved on further up the coast to Westport stopping on the way at Punakaiki to view the Pancake Rocks & blow holes which are best seen at high tide when the sea spouts into the air through the holes. We arrived at low tide. The rocks themselves are so-called because of the way they appear layered like thin pancakes.
On Tuesday we went first of all to Cape Foulwind (no jokes please) Lighthouse for a short cliff walk.
The cape was named by Capt. Cook because he almost ran aground here and the name has stuck. Then on to Tauranga Bay where there is a permanent colony of NZ fur seals which, at this time, are rearing the pups that were born earlier in the year. Although we were some distance away at the cliff top we could clearly see the pups which had all been tagged to trace their movements. There are colonies of these seals in South Australia although they are native to NZ.
We then set off for Nelson stopping on the way at the Buller Gorge, near Muchison so that Pat could have another go at crossing a swing bridge this one being the highest in NZ. It may be the highest but it didn’t swing as much as the one at the Blue Pools. On we went to Nelson where we stopped for two nights to take it easy although we did do a sightseeing trip on an old London Transport double-decker bus.
Thursday we left Nelson to go into the Abel Tasman Park & Golden Bay. What Pat didn’t tell me, she says she didn’t know, is that this involves going over Takaka Hill aka Marble Mountain which means going from sea level to nearly 800mtrs. up & up for what seemed like forever and with my love of driving on high roads I wasn’t feeling too happy. Still, the views from the lookout at the top were something else. She then tells me that this is the only road in &, therefore, the only road out. Great!
We eventually stopped at Pohara Beach Holiday Park which, as the name suggests, is by the sea from where we went on to Farewell Spit the furthest northern settlement on South Island. This part of Golden Bay is on a migratory path for birds from Alaska, Russia, China, SE Asia, Indonesia & Australia & seems to be home to thousands & thousands of Black Swans.
We also visited the Waikoropupu Springs (Pupu for short) the largest spring in Australasia & the fifth in the world. It is reckoned to have the clearest water of any. The equivalent of 40 bath tubs of water come up through the ground every second.
Saturday we drove back over that hill to Nelson & then on to Picton where we are booked on the ferry to the North Island on Sunday.
Pics are of Fox Glacier, Pancake Rocks & View from Takaka Hill

Te Anau to Franz Josef Glacier

We arrived in Te Anau later on 28.3 by which time the sun was shining again. Built on the second largest lake in NZ Te Anau centres mainly on the tourist industry with hotels, camp sites & souvenir shops all close to the shoreline. The main purpose of our being here was to book the trip to Milford Sound which we did for the next day.
The coach ride to Milford goes north from the town the whole length of Lake Te Anau through river valleys & up into the Fiordland National Park. The scenery is, as ever, stunning and then we arrive at the Homer Tunnel which leads into the Sound itself. The driver asked us to close our eyes as we left the tunnel.
Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. It seemed as we though we had entered into a granite arena thousands of feet in the air surrounded by walls of sheer faced mountains. Then we looked down & saw the road zig-zagging beneath us disappearing into rain forest. What a view!
Then to the boat trip itself which saw us sailing down the fiord with waterfalls, some as high as a 50 storey tower block, cascading down the sides almost on top of us. (The fiord is that deep that the boat can sail right to the edge). We had hoped to see dolphins but saw only a few fur seals lounging on some rocks.
The morning saw us sailing further along the fiord out into the Tasman Sea in the hope of finding the dolphins but it was not to be. Still we did get some good views of the Sound as the sun came up.
We got back to Te Anau at Sunday lunchtime & were off again to see the Glow-Worm caves but they had to be seen in absolute silence & no photos allowed.
Monday 31st of March! My birthday! So what did we do? We visited a power station. Not just any power station. This was the Lake Manipouri hydro-electric station situated 2km down a spiral road under a mountain. When it was built they also had to build a road out to the sea to bring in all supplies. Because there is no space for vehicles to turn round under the mountain all the heavy equipment & machinery was bought in on trailers & reversed down a 1 in 10 hill to be unloaded. Apparently 6 hours was a good time for this.
Tuesday saw us moving on to Kingston where we had a ride on the Kingston Flyer, an old 20’s steam train, and then Queenstown, home of the bungee jump and any other lunatic sport you can think of. So after we booked for one (Ha Ha only joking). The most energetic thing we did was go up on the gondola overlooking the town to watch the jumpers & also the paragliders on yet another glorious day. We also saw kiwis for the first time in the bird park. This only because the park had reversed the bird’s time cycle keeping their enclosure dark in the daytime so that they would be awake.
In the evening we sailed across Lake Wakatipu on the vessel TSS Earnslaw, which was built at about the same time as the Titanic, had dinner at a sheep ranch & then watched an exhibition of sheep dog handling & sheep shearing given by a shepherd with a similar line in patter to Jethro.
Thursday saw us on our way again this time stopping at Arrowtown & Cromwell, two former gold mining communities, where you can still find gold if you are lucky before going on to Wanaka. We booked a full day Lord of the Rings tour for the following day.
Friday we did the tour starting at 9am & getting back at 6pm exhausted. In between we visited approx 25 locations where filming had taken place including retracing our steps to Arrowtown & Queenstown.
The day started fine but ended with us high over Queenstown & the wind blowing & the rain falling. A fun day nonetheless with the party of 6 playing with replicas from the films & dressing up in cloaks.
We spent Saturday on the road travelling first through the lush green forested Haast Pass. On the way we stopped at the Blue Pools, a Kiwi must see. The only way to reach them is by crossing a swing bridge which is just a few planks tied with ropes & it really does swing. Then south along the coast road to Jackson’s Bay, the most southerly inhabited point on the west coast. We had been told that we might see dolphins & penguins here but again we were disappointed. After returning to Haast we went north to Franz Josef Glacier to stop for the night.

Pics. of Milford Sound from Tasman Sea, Paragliding over Queenstown, Genuine NZ Roadsine & me at Blue Pools

Dunedin to Te Anau

We arrived in Dunedin on the evning of Good Friday. New Zealand still retains that quaint idea that most shops etc. close on Good Friday & Easter Sunday & on the Sunday that includes pubs & buses.
Saturday we were sightseeing in the City. Lots of pictures of churches etc. We also walked up what is supposedly the steepest street in the world - Baldwin Street. We are not arguing.
Easter Sunday is Otago holiday parade which we managed to miss because we had an alternative appointment doing a tour round Speight’s brewery & in the afternoon on another of Pat’s must do’s on the Taieri Gorge railway with yet more stunning views out into the countryside to Pukerangi.
On Monday we left the campsite in Dunedin to head further south but before leaving the area we visited Larnach Castle, the only castle in NZ, but really it is more like a small manor house with a tower. Nothing like Windsor or Edinburgh. Interesting though! William Larnach, a banker & politician, who built the castle, eventually committed suicide with a single shot to the head whilst in the Parliament building. Some of our politicians could learn from this.
In the afternoon after driving down every unmade gravel road Pat could find we arrived at Pounawea in the Catlins where we stopped for the night. The Catlins is a lovely area of rolling downs & forest & we stayed at a lakeside camp. That night, however, the fog gathered over the hills & then slipped down over the lake and we could not see a thing.
It was still foggy & damp the following morning so we set out for Invercargill. The weather gradually picked up & we stopped at the Matai & McLean waterfalls & also Niagara Falls. As the board at Niagara says, the guy who named them must have had a sense of humour. We also had our first run in with sheep on the road. On to Curio Bay, an area of scientific study as it contains a petrified forest & fossils dating back to when Austarlia & NZ were part of the same continent.
We had booked a tour to Stewart Island for Wednesday & when we woke to find the fog had come down again we feared the worst. However, as the bus got closer to Bluff ferry terminal it lifted to give a brilliant sunny day. The crossing is 22kms & takes about an hour. It can be pretty rough but not today.
The Island is a lot bigger than we thought with 85% of it being National Park. A population of 300 - 400 is guarded by 1 policeman whose main job involves rescuing lost walkers. It has a 6 hole golf course with a club house nicknamed the tractor shed. Apparently it is easier to get planning permission for a tractor shed than a club house.
There are beautiful views at almost every point & we saw blue penguins, mollymawks (a relative of the albatross), wekas, fantails, bell birds, tuis. A bird watchers heaven. And the weather seemed to good to be true.
And so it was. The Thursday was overcast with drizzle on & off but still calm for the return crossing.
Friday 28.3 we left Invercargill with it still raining, to take the scenic route to Te Anau.
Pictures of car disappearing over the top of Baldwin St. Larnach Castle, Sheep & us on Stewart Island.