Kia Ora! ("Welcome" in Maori)

Sat. we were on the road by 7:30am on our way to Rotorua, about 3 hours south of Auckland. This is a huge geo-thermal area where you see steam rising out of the mountains at every turn. There are countless areas to stop and visit hot pools, mud pots and geysers, all with that wonderful sulfur smell and yellow color.

Our first stop was the Waimangu volcanic valley and we took a 1 1/2 hour walk down into the valley, passing steaming lakes and streams. The last major thermal activity in the area was in 1886 and created lots of these sites.

Waimangu volcanic valley


Steaming lake

Steamy river with sulfur deposits


Squirting hot mini-geyser


Black swans in (non-thermal!) Lake Rotomahana at the end of our hike in the Waimangu valley

After we had a quick picnic lunch at Okaro Lake, we headed to Rainbow Mountain and walked 15 minutes to the most incredible turquoise blue crater filled lake.

Rainbow Mountain with red rock


Turquoise crater lake

Then off to Te Puia, the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Besides all the geo-thermal activity, this area is also sacred ground to Maoris and Te Puia offers "the threads that form our heritage, a living legacy of people, culture and place."

At the Maori meeting house (with a nudge from me!), Miles was chosen as "chief" and he was honored at an elaborate welcoming ceremony.

Chief Miles being instructed by a Maori maiden about the welcoming ceremony

Here he's being greeted by the Maori warriors at the cermony

We then watched a 40-minute concert that involved action songs and female poi dance where the women use light balls on strings and swing the balls, slapping on various parts of their bodies. There were also stick games and the famous war dance, the haka. The dancers also demonstrated facial gestures (bulging eyes, stuck out tongue) that are used to intimidate their enemy.

Maori dancers--click on the picture to see the woman's bulging eyes--do you feel intimidated?

We then had a guided tour through the thermal grounds and saw different sites than during our walk in Waimangu: mud pots and geysers. The most famous geyser, Pohutu, erupts every 20 minutes or so and shoots hot steamy water for about 1/2 hour. Spectacular!

Te Puia thermal area

Sulfur cliffs


Pohutu Geyser (too bad it was raining and hard to see)

We also saw a Maori village, historical photo exhibit and the carving and weaving institute. People come from all over the world to learn these crafts and the examples we saw were amazing.

Various Maori carvings at the institute


Weaved skirts/baskets and feather capes

We tried to see the elusive kiwi bird in a special darkened exhibit (they are nocturnal), but unfortunately, they didn't show themselves. Everyone knows the kiwi is NZ's symbol, but they are very rarely seen.

Sunday we started our day driving to some smaller lakes near Rotorua: Blue Lake, Green Lake, Lake Otareka and Lake Tarawera. Each lake has its charm and we only had time for a glance from the scenic lookouts. I guess we just love lakes!

Lake Okareka

Blue Lake

Lake Tarawera


Green Lake

Then we were off to Huka Falls, near Lake Taupo. The falls, the most visited natural site in all of New Zealand (spectacular and easily accessible by car--no hiking), is really a rushing river that goes through a sudden chasm and leaps over an 11 meter ledge to foam in a deep semicircular basin. You can view this power from a bridge that crosses the chasm and also walk along to various view spots. You think we doctored the photos? No way! The color is an incredible light turquoise, clean and clear. Imagine the colors of the Caribbean in a river--that's the Waikato River and Huka Falls. We couldn't believe it either!

Huka Falls from above


Us on the bridge over the Waikato River


Power of the river!

We took a lovely 1/2 hour walk up river, had lunch at a view spot and around every turn, the smooth river was so clear you could see the bottom at all times. We were awe-struck!

The Waikato River on our walk--see the rocks underneath?

We then went to witness the nearby Aratiatia Rapids. These rapids occur when the Aratiatia Dam opens and the water pools at the top of the gorge and then powerfully rushes down. It's no wonder that there is a lot of hydro power stations in the area.

Before the dam opens...

The dam is opened, the water pools...


Full power!

Then we turned around and this is where the water goes

We then left for home, first going around Lake Taupo, Australasia's largest fresh water lake. It is about the size of Lake Tahoe and should've taken about 40 minutes to drive half way around, but when you HAVE to stop at every scenic turnout, it takes a bit longer. Lots of islands/outcroppings and views of the mountains in the nearby Tongariro National Forest, some peaks with snow.

Mt. Ruapehu and Lake Taupo

Last view of Lake Taupo before heading back to Auckland

The 4-hour drive home was anything but boring. The volcanic, hilly pasture land is so green and goes on and on and on, around every turn. Lots of hills dotted with sheep, cows and horses. No wonder lamb and beef is so tasty--they are eating fresh green grass all the time. (Sorry to talk about this if you're vegetarian, but we are in carnivore heaven.)

This from Miles: Driving on the 2-lane country roads, through the beautiful pasture lands, with spectacular views of lakes and mountains, with small friendly towns, makes me feel we've gone back in time to a better world, similar to the world I grew up in during the 50's and 60's in the US. I remember wonderful times water skiing on the Chesapeake and Deep Creek Lake and riding my motorcycle through the pasture lands in Potomac, MD. It's a little sappy, but that's the way I feel.

Back to me: And we HAD to try Hokey Pokey ice cream. The name alone got me curious. Delicious NZ vanilla with buttery candy pieces. Now you know.

Left, left, left...

Wonder what I'm talking about? Driving on the left side of the road! I just got back from a "major" excursion to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, grocery store and gas station and made it home safely. Whew! No mean feat, let me tell you. My mantra is "left, left, left" and I can't even drive with the radio on. No distractions. It's one thing to be on a highway, another thing altogether driving around town. It feels so peculiar to work a manual shift with my left hand. As if I didn't have enough to concentrate on!

No pix today, just wanted to share some observations about Auckland. I figured it's time I actually "blogged" and bored you with some musings.

You've heard the raves about the nature here and it's all true. However, not enough credit is given to man-made institutions, like museums (which are free, by the way). The one I mentioned above is a fantastic 80 year-old majestic building atop a bluff in the Domain (huge, green park). The view from there is astounding--you can see the entire bay with numerous islands.

The museum has the most interesting and well-displayed collections illustrating the diverse cultures of Pacific communities, many of which I've never heard of. Weapons, masks, hats, wigs, clothes, paddles, jewelry, baskets, tools--an absolutely amazing array of every day items.

The other spectacular exhibit was the Maori Court which is huge and has the world's largest collection of taonga (Maori treasures), including a huge carved boat and meeting house.

I have been to the museum twice and am taking is slow and doing only a few exhibits each time--there's so much to see. So far, I've only covered the bottom floor--two more to go. I will try and take pictures next time and add them.

Another fabulous museum is the Auckland Art Gallery. Unfortunately, the 135-year old building is being renovated and won't be open until 2011. So they've housed a small portion of the collection in a temporary building across the street and it's terrific: contemporary kiwi art and special collections. I stumbled upon a week-long special preview of 5 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings donated by Josie and Julian Robinson of NYC. Again, free. What a country!

I'm lucky that the selection of gym classes are quite varied. So far I've attended 3 different step classes and today I went to one called TKO (Technical Knock Out) aka kick boxing. I've been going to kick boxing in Israel for 8 years and this was the first time somewhere else. Don't tell George, my favorite teacher in Haifa, that Brent was terrific. I'm going to go to his Zumba class, too. Uh oh. I may have a new favorite teacher. I'm very fickle.

And the library...I've already told you how much I love libraries and it thrills me to see the Auckland one so crowded, especially with young people. They have free wireless internet and it's a real gathering place for everyone to sit at tables or on the floors with their computers. The staff is so helpful. Today I was interested in kiwi authors and the librarian walked me around the literature section, pointing out books that were her favorite reads. Sooooo nice.

I can't believe the friendly and helpful nature of people here. They smile at you on the street, go out of their way to help with directions, chat with you at a drop of a hat. It's just so EASY.

Thanks for listening. You may go now.

I'd like a flat, white, trim, please

Confused? So was I when a Kiwi friend ordered this in a cafe. She just wanted a foamy, milk, no-fat coffee. Love the lingo!

Well, I have to say it again: NEW ZEALAND IS SPECTACULAR! I am already a convert and we've only just begun.

Sat. we drove to the Coromandel peninsula, about a 2-hour drive SE of Auckland. After leaving the motorway and meandering through the greenest fields/farms I've ever, ever seen (plus lots of sheep and cows--now I KNOW I'm in NZ), we arrived at Tairua, a beautiful town located on an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. We planned to climb Mt. Paku, a volcanic peak nearby, but after talking to a local bike rider, he convinced us to go on the cliff walk. Great decision! This happens a lot here: you plan one thing but change your plans because you talked to someone. Spontenaity seems to be the key to discovering the real local activities.

Public access to the Tairua inlet

We then took a small hike along the cliffs down to the beach. There are beautiful homes along the cliffs as well. Talk about a room with a view!

What a dream house!

View from the path

From the cliff walk

Tairua Beach--Pacific Ocean

The Coromandel Peninsula has an unbelievable amount of coastline with many inlets, coves, rocky crags, beaches. The road is very windy and you see views from nearly every turn.

View from the road above Hahei Beach

We parked at the Hahei Beach parking lot and walked down to Cathedral Cove.

On the way down to Cathedral Cove


Giant fern forest--these ferns are trees and are part of a tropical rain forest


Cathedral Cove


Yours truly


Great big rock!


Catherdral Cove on the other side of the hole


Saw this from the road and had to stop

We stopped at an I-Site in Whitianga (info center that have locations everywhere with very friendly help) and found out about a lookout that was in the general direction we wanted to go. So after the requisite cup of afternoon tea and an ice cream, off we went.

Tokatea lookout east


Tokatea lookout west

Earlier in the day, we met a Kiwi couple vacationing from Wellington who told us about the terrific Waiau Kauri grove and a waterfall just off the road on the west coast of the Coromandel. We happily added this to our itinerary and went to these places at the end of the day.

Siamese Kauri trees

You can't tell from the pictures, but these Kauri trees are very tall, extremely straight, with beautiful patchy-colored bark and the HARDEST texture I've ever felt in a tree. When you knock on it, it feels like cement. Hard as a rock. These trees used to be all over New Zealand, but the logging industry from 1880-1930 which nearly decimated them and now they are protected. How the loggers could cut such a hard, heavy tree (and cart it away) I'll never know. They can live up to 4000 years and we have seen small groves of various-size trees on our travels so far. There is a large forest way up north we hope to get to.

Miles the tree-hugger likes Kauris, too


Waiau Falls

Finally, our day was winding down and on the way home, we stopped in Thames for dinner. This is a tiny coastal town (there are many like this) that reminded me of old gold mining towns in Calif., only a lot less commercial. Not only was it small and charming, it was empty. I mean REALLY empty. Here we were on a Sat. night, 7pm, beginning of the summer season and there were maybe 5 people walking around. We strolled a bit to check out restaurants (Chinese, Thai, pizza, bars) and decided on The Old Thames Restaurant that had an old-fashioned atmosphere. It was delicious! Fish and steak were the specialties.

I expected Miss Kitty, the madam with a heart of gold, to lean out this 1896 year-old building and yell, "Hey, Miles, wanna come up for a poke?"

And They Say Only the South Island is Spectacular...

Since Miles is planning on working a full week at the Institute while I am totally decadent and just playing in town, we're saving the weekends to explore nature. Remember, no worries!

On Sat. we drove west to the Waitakere Ranges, home to beautiful beaches and day hill hikes, about an hour away. First stop was at the Arataki Visitors Center to get info and also take our first "picture":

Miles being "framed"

We then stopped by Karekare Beach which is where "The Piano", the Oscar-winning movie was filmed. The sand in this area is black, sparkly, volcanic material which absorbs radiation and was really hot on the feet. Ouch!

Karekare Beach with black, volcanic sand


REALLY black sand (and Miles' feet)

Close-up of the outcropping

We then drove to Piha Beach and took an hour hike inland into the rain forest with giant ferns and beautiful streams. Destination: Kitekite Waterfall

Giant fern


Walk along Kitekite trail


FINALLY...Kitekite Falls

Next stop was Piha Beach, another beautiful black-sand stretch with incredible rock out-croppings and great surfing beaches. The day we were there, I guess the surf was low and the surfers were hiding.

Piha Beach


Miles with cool out-cropping at Piha Beach

Surfer's Paradise


House in what we thought looked like a "broccoli" forest

On to Sunday. We got an early start and walked to the ferry that took us to Rangitoto Island. This volcanic island erupted from the sea in a series of dramatic explosions around 600 years ago--new! The landscape includes lava fields, native plants and sandy coves. There is no permanent population, except for a few brave souls who live in beach baches (cabins). And, no snack bars or visitor's center--only a dock for the ferry, a bathroom, a few shelters and a ranger who takes people on a paid volcanic tour. How refreshing and non-commercial!

The weather is so interesting and changeable. We got sun, drizzle, clouds, clear skies, mist...and this happen all during the day. They say that if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll change.

We hiked all over for about 5 hours following the map to various spectacular sites.

Rangitoto Island from the ferry. We hiked to the top and you'll see a few pictures later of the view


You see lava fields like this everywhere. The rock is extremely sharp and you need really sturdy shoes to walk on it. We basically stuck to hiking trails.


Lava cave


Rangitoto Crater filled in with trees


View from the summit--you can actually see 360 degrees toward Auckland and various islands

Motutapu Island in the distance, sacred to the Maori. You can go there by causeway or ferry. Next time!


Me at McKenzie Bay


Miles on the beach


Kowhai Grove (spikey plants)


Me pointing out the curvy trees

Black back gull colony (you have to click on the picture to see the gulls. We couldn't walk any closer.)

Volcanic shoreline with bach


A private boat at the dock. Check out the water--color was just amazing.