Off to Waiheke Island

A great, sunny day for the ferry to Waiheke and a chance to stay put for a few days over Christmas. There is a passenger only ferry from the downtown Auckland piers to Waiheke but this car ferry leaves from about 30 minutes outside the city and is the only way to get your car to the island. The trip takes about 45 minutes and costs $190 round trip for a car and two people! We were incredibly lucky, pulling up 5 minutes before the ferry left and without the required reservation but we still got on.

The Matakana Village Pub

Found this great pub in the Village of Matakana about one hour north of Auckland - surprisingly upscale like a mini Yountville CA. Return to civilization! Unfortunately this picture just shows a shot of the outside garden from the street because the place was packed with about 75 building contractors there for a Christmas party being thrown by the local building supply company. They had a big meat smoker going, and these guys were throwing down many beers in the garden. Nice setup with lots of tables, chairs, couches and plenty of good food.

Riverside Matakana

Our last stop before heading to Waiheke Island, Matakana turned out to be surprisingly nice and our little bungalow at Riverside Matakana was comfortable, had a great view, and best of all a washer and dryer so we had a chance to do laundry for the first time in two weeks.

A Few More Koutu Boulders

Koutu Boulder Field

Very early morning, near Oppononi, NZ. The Koutu boulder field can only be reached on foot at low tide. Amazing spherical boulders that only exist a handful of places in the world. These are "septarian concretions" appearing from the surrounding mudstone as a result of coastal erosion.

View from the Top

The beach we climbed up from, back down to, and up again to our car.

Waimamaku Costal Track

Near Omapere, above Hokianga Harbor, we walked down to the beach then climbed back up to hike a portion of the Waimamaku Coastal Track which basically runs along the cliff tops. Windy weather with a few light showers but beautiful and great exercise.

Above Hokianga Harbor

Magnificent display on the road out of Omapere with the harbor and sand dunes in the background.

Protecting the Kauris

The Kauri trees are being hit by something called Kauri Dieback Disease which can be spread by contaminated shoes walking on their shallow roots. So before you can even enter or leave the forest preserve you need to go through a station like this which involves scraping, then scrubbing the bottom of your shoes, followed by soaking them in disinfectant. Once in you can only walk on designated paths to avoid contact with the roots.

Tane Mahuta

The Lord of the Forest. This is the largest living Kauri tree in New Zealand. Smaller than the Giant Sequoias but huge, with a canopy over 100 feet wide and trunk diameter over 45 feet. Somewhere between 1,500 and 2,500 years old. Sacred to the Maori and important to all Kiwis. Most of the Northern Island used to be covered by Kauris but now they are pretty much limited to the Waipoua forest reserve. Driving through here and passing them on the road was pretty incredible, including one point where the road was reduced to one lane to squeeze between two of these trees. This one is about a 10 minute walk from the road. In fact they moved the main road about 10 years ago just to protect this tree. Note Elizabeth in her bright yellow jacket for relative size.

Hokianga Harbor near Omapere

A fantastic huge pure blue water harbor with almost nobody around (story of NZ for any of you who hate touristy places). There are a few vacation places around here but now they are empty. Maybe after XMas more people will show up, but in the meantime we enjoy having this beautiful country to ourselves!

The Old Oak, Mangonui

Bought by a U.S. family trust about 10 years ago and completely refurbished. Only 6 rooms. Run by a husband (a Brit) and his wife (from Tokyo) who were very nice and gave us some great tips on visiting Japan. They upgraded us to a large suite with a porch right on the garden, full of flowers, herbs and strawberries.

Apparently the owners lost interest after finishing the renovation and the place is for sale. 6 room restored Boutique Hotel for around $1 million if you're thinking of changing lifestyles. 

    

Mangonui Fish Shop

We did find the "world famous" Mangonoui Fish Shop in Manganoui. Basically a fish and chips shop that's pretty popular with tour buses. I don't know about world famous but the fish and chips were good. 

Locals feel it's too expensive - but that means $2 more than other places. They do know how to charge though. Want tartar sauce? $1.50 extra please. Substitute "skinny fries" for fat ones. Nope. $3.50 please. And you can buy ANYTHING with their logo on it, from caps ($30) to pens ($4).

Maitai Bay on the Karikari Penninsula

Far north island, New Zealand.  At the top of the Karikari penninsula is Maitai Bay - spectacular. This is as far north as we're going on this trip, and it was worth spending the morning exploring the beaches, like Rangiputa which has crystal clear (if cold) water and white sand as far as you can walk.

And you are virtually alone.  Like a little taste of Fiji but we could drive there.  Apart from the beaches, there is nothing there other than some houses, a golf course, vineyard, sheep, cows and a few wild turkeys. So much nothing that after about 5 hours exploring, we were starved and drove to what looked like the closest big town, called Kaitaia.  If you know me you won't believe it, but in desperation we ate at McDonald's. There was literally no place other than the FourSquare grocery and a dirty looking Thai takeaway.  As evidence of our plight, at McD's we ran into 2 other couples who we met in travels a few days ago: a few backpacker types and one couple from Austria who we sailed with at the Bay of Islands. Everyone was desperate for food (and power and wifi).  I'm sure you're all familiar with the new shape and content of Maslow's pyramid?

Christmas Trees in NZ

We've only seen two or three Christmas trees since we've been here and a Charlie Brown tree would be perfection compared to those. Instead, NZ has an evergreen that just happens to bloom only once a year, and that one time is the few weeks around Christmas. The blossoms are, conveniently, bright red. This tree, the Pohutukawa, can grow 80 feet tall - think a huge Magnolia - and can live as long as 1,000 years.

The first picture shows a line of very small ones but the blossoms are perfect and in full bloom so a good example. Many of the beaches and harbor fronts here are lined with Pohutukawa. The second picture shows one providing a great shady spot at the beach but this one hasn't started to flower yet. Plenty of buds if you get close but no flowers. The trees don't all bloom at exactly the same time but the blooms start in December and are all over by early January. If you stand under one of these trees you can hear a distinct humming sound from the thousands of bees taking pollen from the blossoms.

So Kiwis just enjoy these as a Christmas tree without cutting them down or bringing them inside. They really are something to see and a source of great pride to anybody who has one.

Nothing To Do in Manganoui

Manganoui, NZ. This is close to the northern tip of the north island. To say it's quiet here would be a major understatement. How quiet? This is the best we could do on a Saturday night, following our fish and chips at the world famous Manganoui Fish Shop (it really is famous).

Omata Estate Vineyards

Near Russell, NZ. Ever wonder why vineyards are always in the most beautiful places on earth? Stopping by for a tasting before catching the ferry and heading further north.

Morning Beach Walk

In Russell, NZ. The joy of travel.

Captain Rick and Elizabeth

Big boat, great captain. Not only gave us all kinds of info about NZ and the Bay of Islands but some great tips about several of our destinations in Asia, especially Vietnam. A great day and one we've been talking about for five years since our last trip here.

Orca

During our sail, we had an unusual sighting: a pod of about 4-5 orcas.  There are fewer than 200 orcas (a.k.a. killer whale) known to exist around New Zealand.  They aren't really whales, they're the largest members of the dolphin family, but they are the size of smaller whales at 6-8 meters and 3-5 tons.  Known to be fierce hunters, heck, they'll even eat other dolphin!  Unlike any other orcas in the world, NZ orcas eat stingray as a dietary staple. It's a dangerous snack that sometimes kills them. Must be yummy. 

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Beautiful Day for Sailing

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Bay of Islands Sunset

Sent from my iPad

Hiking in Moturua Island Nature Preserve

A stop off during our day sail in the Bay of Islands. Jump.

Table with a View

To go with our room with a view.

For Tom Gallagher

. . . And his great Irish sense of humor.

Duke of Marlborough Hotel

Our hotel in Russell, Bay of Islands, NZ. Waterfront on the harbor. Tiny town about 3.5 hours north of Auckland. Sailing tomorrow.

Mussels in Russell

You've probably had New Zealand green lipped mussels before, but the ones we had today in Russell, were amazing. Not only bright green, beautiful shells averaging 3.5-5 inches.  They are one of the most important aquaculture crops for NZ, and considered the ultimate sustainable health food.  For about 10 mussels, just 100 calories, 19g protein and 25% of your daily iron.  They are farmed on long lines (seeds/eggs called spat are planted in the lines) then they hang out eating phytoplankton until they mature. They leave no environmental impact and there is plenty of phytoplankton hanging around the ocean for them to eat.  80% of the spat for the entire industry is collected from seaweed that washes up on 90 Mile Beach (actually only 55 miles long) at the northernmost west coast tip of NZ, just a few hours northwest of the Bay of Islands   The other 20% is collected on lines near the commercial mussel farms. Compared to land based farming, the same area of mussel farm delivers 200x more protein!

There are great epitaphs . . .

From Mel Blanc's "That's all folks" to Merv Griffin's "I will not be right back after this message", but this simple one found in the cemetery of the oldest church in New Zealand is pretty good.