Okay, right now we are sitting on the Interisland Ferry from
the North Island to the South Island with a 3 hour ride ahead of us so I should
have no trouble getting a full blog post written about the last 4 days.
So let’s get to Monday:
Monday morning we woke up early, went over to the Federal
Delicatessen again for breakfast, for the third day in a row, and energized
ourselves up for a big day ahead. We were checked out of the hotel and on the
road before 9 am, with a trip planned up the west coast towards the oldest
Kauri trees in NZ. On our way up, we stopped at the Kauri Museum but didn’t end
up going in as it was quite spendy at $25/person. We continued up the west
coast until arriving at the kauri forest were we did one hike to see the four
sisters (four Kauri trees that are growing very close together) and to see the
second largest living Kauri tree. This tree was HUGE! The trunk has a
circumference of 16.4 meters. That’s like 48 feet around. In comparison to the
largest tree (which we say shortly after this) it was not super tall, but it
was so wide! I have never seen a tree this wide in my life! There was a Spanish
tour group there at the same time discussing in Spanish how many people it
would likely take to circle the tree and they came to about 10 people. That is
a super wide tree! It was just amazing. Photos to follow as I’m writing this in
word right now and can’t copy and paste photos from word into my blog. Anyways, the tree was amazing, the photos
won’t ever do it justice, but it was like a wall of tree.
After leaving these trees we drove down the road towards the
largest living Kauri tree in the world. I believe I remember this tree being
about 10 meters around (about 30 feet), but the trunk was much, much taller.
The tree was just amazing. And it’s estimated to be about 2,500 years old.
That’s just crazy! Imagine, that tree was growing before Jesus was born. That
is quite old. So anyways, these Kauri trees took up quite a good portion of our
morning/earl afternoon and it was worth it. I believe we left this largest tree
finally around 3:00pm. We then drove east, away from the Tasman Sea where we
were and over towards the Pacific Ocean coast, where we would spend the night
in Russell, one of the first white settlement areas in New Zealand. We made it
into Russell around 6:00pm after taking our first car ferry together. We found
a great little motel in town, The Commodore’s Lodge, and then went next door to the historic hotel,
The Duke of Marlborough, for a fabulous dinner. After dinner we went to bed
early and prepared again for our next day of activities. Although it doesn’t
seem like much as I’m writing it here, we were in the car for probably 7 hours
at least, driving up into the northland along the west coast and then cutting
across the northland over to the Pacific side, covering hundreds of kilometers
of ground on very windy, hilly roads.
Tuesday:
Upon waking in the morning we went out for a nice breakfast
at The Waterfront Café , sitting outside just a few feet from the beach,
looking out into the Bay of Islands. After breakfast my father and I went for a
kayak in the Bay while my mother went for a walk in town. The kayak was just
wonderful, the water was almost still, there were a few boats out there but as
we went out towards the Pacific the coast got more desolate and it definitely
felt like we weren’t that close to civilization, until the helicopter came
overhead of course. After the kayak ride I relaxed in the room for a bit while
my parents took a walk around town, and then after that it was off again, to
visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, up to Kerikeri for lunch, and then to
Sandspit to stay with a few customers of mine, Chris and Raewyn.
Now for a bit of detail, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds is
where the treaty between England and the Maori people was first signed. This
treaty seemed to work somewhat like the treaties the Americans made with the
Native Americans, what the native people were told was not the same as what the
white people were told, and many of their rights and land were taken without
their agreement. At the grounds we watched a movie explaining the history and
then toured the grounds which include the largest ceremonial war canoe in the
world, a Maori meeting house, and the house of the first governor of NZ (may
have made that last one up but it was someone like that, some important white
person from England). It was a beautiful day, and the grounds were wonderful.
Once again, we were very happy that we made this stop on our journey.
After leaving the treaty ground we made a short detour north
to Kerikeri to visit The Stone Store, which is the oldest stone building in NZ.
It turned out to be a museum that cost $10 but in the ground floor was a gift
shop where we walked around and chatted to the very nice (and knowledgeable)
guy that was working there. He used to work at the treaty grounds so knew lots
about that and lots about The Stone Store. They were selling nails in the stone
store that they had been selling since the 1870s, which are made by a company
based out of Massachusetts. Crazy to think they’ve been importing nails from Massachusetts
since the 1870s and are still doing it today. I feel like they could probably
find some a bit closer than the East Coast of the USA. Either way, The Stone
Store was a cool little place to stop but that’s about it.
We then went for lunch at a fabulous café near the store
called something I don’t remember, but it was delicious! The guy from The Stone
Store recommended it and I’m so happy we went there. The food was amazing and
there was a beautiful garden right there at the café that was really nice sit
in. After a quick lunch we headed back south down the east coast (the Pacific
Coast) and towards my customers’ (Chris and Raewyn) home where we would be
spending the night. I told them we would arrive at 7pm and because of some
planning and some luck we arrived almost exactly on time. They were waiting
there for us with a wonderful guest house for us to stay in and warm dinner in
the oven. Their home is on the end of a little peninsula in a town called
Sandspit and it is absolutely gorgeous. They look right out into the Pacific,
have practically no neighbors, and a beautiful view of every sunrise. They can
watch the boats go in and out, watch the weather changing, and still be only 1
hour from the city. Again, photos to follow here, which also can’t do the place
justice, but I imagine it will likely be the nicest place we stay on this
entire trip. It was amazing to stay with them, as they are such nice people,
and to stay in such a beautiful part of NZ. After a fabulous dinner and even
better dessert of fresh strawberries, local ice cream, and homemade chocolate
sauce we went to bed in our beautiful guest house.
Wednesday:
In the morning Chris and Raewyn took us out for a tour of
the local area – to Omaha beach, to a local pottery company, to a kiwi orchard
they own, and then for a coffee and treat at a local chocolatier/café. We
reluctantly left on Wednesday, as it was so wonderful to be with them, but had
a big day ahead of us, once again – I think this is going to be a theme of this
trip, and lots of driving to do. Can’t wait to make it back to their place
though, hopefully before leaving NZ in December. We left their place about 11
am and drove to the city where I picked up my last packet of tips and then
bought a new camera, so expect more photos and videos once again.
After our errands in the city we went farther south to the
diary farm I stayed out a few months ago. My parents were able to meet Nigel
and Vicki and tour the farm. Nigel took us out to see the cows and show my
parents around. I say the cow that I watched being born, number 19, and they
told me they named her Annabelle, after me of course! She came right up to me,
was the leader of the herd, and very social. I think she takes after me! My
father believes she recognizes me, I’m not so sure – I think she’s just the
most outgoing of all the calves, but it was so great to see her and even better
to find out she is now officially named Annabelle. I’m finally starting to
leave my legacy behind in NZ. Now I’ll have to come back at sometime to visit
here. It was just wonderful to see my little calf, visit with Nigel and Vicki,
show my parents the farm, and see Ashton as well. I really hope I can make it
back to visit them all again sometime in the future.
We then drove south towards Lake Taupo, stopping for a
proper Kiwi Meat Pie on the way. My mother said she liked it but I’m not so
sure. I’m happy I don’t eat them everyday, as they are pretty much a heart
attack in a flaky crust, but I do enjoy the occasional pire. were we spent a low key night in a hotel
right on the water. When we came into the city it was quite rainy and getting
dark, we couldn’t see much, but the views this morning upon waking were
breathtaking. Once again, photos to come.
Thursday:
As for today, we started our day off with a nice breakfast
in town followed by a trip up to The Craters of the Moon thermal park. It
wasn’t anything like the amazing things you see at Yellowstone but it was cool.
After that, however, we went to Huka Falls, a large waterfall on the Waikato
River, and man was it magnificent. The falls is more like rapids, it’s not very
steep but goes on for over a 100 meters. It’s a gradual drop but a massively intense
flow of water. At points in the falls the water looks like it is more churning than
flowing as it’s going in almost every direction. Recently a girl fell down the
falls and survived, a miracle when you see the water rushing at incredible
speeds, crashing into the solid rock walls, and churning around and around. I
have never seen a waterfall like it and am thankful I didn’t fall in. Photos
and video to follow here.
Okay, I’m now bored of writing this so I’ll finish today’s
activities tomorrow.
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