Auckland anniversary regatta

Auckland anniversary day is January 28 beginning in 1840 when the city was founded. It became the capital for a few short years (Wellington has been since about 1860) and was the second city after Russell. We climbed up N head in the quaint town of Devonport to watch the spectacle of boats. There were races of small sail boats, 40ft and 120ft megayachts with spinnakers filled. America's cup boats quietly flying by. We could see why Auckland's nickname is"the city of sails" as 500 boats sailed in the harbor. Auckland has 1.4 million people -a fourth of all Kiwis and is considered one of the most livable large cities of the world. Auckland sits between the Manukau harbor of the Tasman sea and Waitemata harbor of the Hauraki gulf of the Pacific Ocean. At its narrowest isthmus it is less than a mile between the two. When the Maori settled Auckland in 1350 they would portage their canoes between the two bodies of water.

Mangawhai Heads among friends

The weekends here have been the best! Karen, David, Lauren and Helena arrive Friday evenings in time for some wine and catching up on our weeks. Then there's the whole weekend to explore the area together or play on the beach. One weekend we went caving, another time we hiked up and went boogie boarding down the sand dunes! We've hiked the coastal trail together and the 'bush' walk twice. Karen, Helena and I even had an art day last Saturday, visiting Matakana's markets, a pottery studio, an artist co-op and a winery with a garden sculpture walk.
Last weekend the Duffy family; Karen, Paul, Leo and Nicole also joined us at the White's bach (beach house) and all six kids camped out in the three room tent! Having kids their own ages to play with has been absolutely wonderful for Liam and Rory! Having adults for Nigel and I to hang out with has been a real treat! Being a part of this group has made us feel less like tourists and more like holidaying Kiwis!

Kai Iwi lakes

Last week we visited a group of lakes called the Kai Iwi Lakes, on the west coast. Since they are "sand dune" lakes, they reminded us of the Caribbean with crystal clear, almost turquoise colored water. At one end the beach extended out for over 100 yards at knee depth, white sand all the way out.
What a great place for camping and boating! We thought of our boating friends, the Roetcisoenders, Morrisons and Donalds and our trips to Lake Billy Chinook in Oregon and how fun it would be for us all to spend a weekend here; tubing, waterskiing, wake boarding and camping at the beach! This is definitely a place they would love if they lived over here!
From one of the lakes we took a hike across pastureland, climbing over at least a dozen stiles to avoid electric wire fences, passing herds of bulls who just happened to be chewing their cud in these same fields, all the while following a well maintained trail to the ocean. We arrived at the Tasman Sea after about 35 minutes and were rewarded with a shower under a small waterfall.
Once back across the trail, having again avoided any untoward encounters with the bulls, (although one gave us the 'evil eye' and took a few steps toward us making us pick up the pace!!), we took another dip in the pristine Kai Iwi lakes, which were now even more dazzling with the sun high above.

More of the Northland

We continued down the west coast, crossing the Hokianga Harbour by ferry and taking a coastal " tramp" near the town of Omapere at the mouth of the harbour. South from there we drove through a kauri forest stopping to look at the largest one left in the world - Tane Mahuta. These trees are impressive - they are huge, not as big as the redwoods but huge nonetheless! Tane Mahuta's circumference is 13.7 meters, and over 30 other species of plants live in his crown. We all enjoyed spending a few hours in the Kauri Museum a few days ago and learning more about them and their importance in New Zealand's history.
When our friends /hosts, the Whites, joined us on the weekend, we put on our headlamps and explored the Waipu Caves! What starts off as a hole in a rock wall, ends up opening into vast rooms with stalactites, stalagmites and glow worms! We walked through a stream, hunched over at times and almost crawling at others, from cavern to cavern. Nigel, Liam and Lauren went even further, through a passage too tight for me - (when you have to wriggle on your stomach I get a little claustrophobic) which apparently opened into a huge cavern with a lake and had them walking waist deep in the water. It was all pretty exciting and very cool! Glow worms are tiny worms, almost like threads, hanging from the ceiling and walls of the caves, that look like tiny stars in the sky in a dark cave.

Thoughts on NZ

NZ I wonder if this is what California was before all the people found her. A beautiful land, lightly populated, miles of quiet beaches, sand and surf. Hills, mountains, streams, cows and sheep. Kiwi's are friendly and helpful. They seem a happy, proud, generous and optimistic people. Just a few impressions in my first few weeks, Nigel

Northland

We headed out Tuesday for the town of Russell in the Bay of Islands, following the coastal road. Man, is it ever a hilly, windy country!! Rory and I both felt nauseous a few times but fortunately were able to stretch our legs on one of many beautiful beaches along the way. Arriving in Russell we found a place to stay and then explored the charming town with it's colonial houses and bay full of sailboats. That evening we enjoyed some great views from Tapeka Point and Flagstaff Hill of the Bay of Islands, which made us think of the San Juan and Canadian Gulf islands back home.(but warm and tropical!)

Wednesday we backtracked a few kilometers because I wanted to see - not a waterfall or beautiful bay -but toilets!! They happen to be the last works of a favourite artist of mine, Friedrich Hundertwasser from Austria! They were definitely the coolest toilets I have ever seen!

Having seen and used the mosaicked toilets of Kawakawa, we drove up to the bottom of 90 mile beach. The tide was too high to get on the beach, so we booked a cabin at the campsite there and drove up to the very tip of New Zealand to Cape Reinga. Watching the Tasman sea crashing into the Pacific Ocean was pretty cool!
Back in the rental car, we drove down the Te Paki stream (only passed one vehicle stuck in deeper water) for about 3.5 km and came to 90 mile beach, now at low tide. It's actually only about 66 miles but we drove down the beach in the sand for over 40 of them! It was a little nerve wracking, especially for Nigel, the driver, but it was also pretty exciting and the first time we've driven straight since we got here!
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Mangawhai Heads

We have been here since Tuesday, in Mangawhai Heads, with the Whites at their beautiful beach house. The weather has been great and we've been in the ocean every day, either boogie boarding, paddle boarding or just jumping in the waves. We did a bush walk through manuka forests and a spectacular coastal ridge hike looking out over the ocean at the Hen and Chickens islands! We've collected shells, built sand castles and buried David's feet!
We've enjoyed bbq'd lamb chops, lamb sirloin and lamb shanks all with plenty of good New Zealand white wines, and Australian reds. Nigel has already decided that he could live here! The climate, the beauty, the active lifestyle and the ocean all around - we're sold!

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Some photos of our stay in Auckland

During our stay in Auckland we visited places trying to alternate museum/indoor days with hikes/beach days. We hiked up Mt. Eden for some great views of the city, saw the penguins of Antarctica at the aquarium and topped off the day with our (Rory's) first dip in the ocean. Then we hiked in the Waikatere ranges west of Auckland, stopping to play in some waterfalls along the way and ended up at Piha beach to play in the surf. A 45 minute ferry ride from the suburb we were staying in, took us to Auckland harbour, and from there we explored the Maritime museum learning about everything from Moari canoes to America's Cup sailboat racing. There's definitely more to see here, but we'll be back. We are now off to the beach to stay with the White family including their 2 girls, a great opportunity for all of us but especially for the boys to hang out with kids their own age.

After a very long flight we arrived!!!!  Left on the 1st and arrived on the 3rd completely missing the 2nd. Thank you to our great friends that helped us get here and the lovely parties we had as a send off.  Thanks to my work partners for allowing me this time off work.
  The plants here are tropical and Rory made lemonade from the lemon tree outside his window.  We are staying in a wonderful house outside of Auckland about 15 K.  Karen and David have graciously offered their lovely house while they are at their beach house.  We will visit them in a week or so at the beach.  They are friends of Ruth's from 20 years ago when she bicycled N to S with her boyfriend.
 The town of Auckland is large and has about 25% of the population of NZ.  The aquarium has many penguins and sea horses which are amazing.  Auckland is the only place in the world that breed these special Sea Horses.  Rory has been swimming in the bay already and ice cream has been eaten.  We are off today for our first "tramp"( hike) in Waitakere today, a park near Auckland.