Rainbows, waterfalls, endless trails and hikes, crazy-big ferns, green paddocks with sheep, spring lambs, cows and baby calves. Super friendly people, meat pies, oodles of “take away” restaurants, clean and abundant public restrooms, and fabulous signage. This is a thumbnail of my initial impressions since landing in this gorgeous gem of a country.
We’re getting our second Spring this year by arriving in New Zealand on September 2. It’s strange to see trees blossoming and spring flowers blooming when my internal clock says “fall!” Just like our Maine Spring, NZ has had a particularly soggy one, reaching its annual rainfall two weeks ago. This hasn’t stopped us from enjoying the endless, incredible natural reserves and parks that abound.
After we picked up our garish green and purple “Jucy” campervan, learned how to drive on the opposite side of the road (with the steering wheel also on the right versus left side), and collected the remaining items we needed for traveling two months in NZ, we headed north. We had dinner with Andy Riley and his delightful family; Andy and his wife Tisha are old shipmates of Doug’s from 30 years ago. (Doug and brother Steve had joined the Soren Larsen tall ship for nine months for the Australian First Fleet Reenactment).
Our first touring adventure was exploring kauri tree forests. These are enormous, spectacular trees, many over a thousand years old. It was amazing to see in the Kauri Museum how people have cut, dredged (the felled ones in swamps), and milled these enormous trees, as well as used their gum/sap for tools and lacquers.
The narrow, winding, tree lined highway leaving the kaori forest opened up to an amazing cliff top view of the bay of Opononi. We had a magnificent hike on the Hokianga Coastal Track there that should have been 10K, but turned into 10 miles (fortunately we realized after awhile we were on the 5 day hike!)
Next up was exploring part of the Bay of Islands. We stumbled upon the Bay of Islands Country Inn http://www.boicountrylodge.co.nz with a very humorous and helpful owner, Ed, who said, “If you’re going to Karikari and you like to fish, you need to look up my friend Stephanie.” We did, and she and her 12 year old daughter Jolie welcomed us as if we were neighbors, inviting us for a “cuppa” (tea and cookies), which turned into staying for a lunch of hot soup–a welcome reprieve on a cold, wet day. We mentioned to Stephanie that we were hoping to experience some extended time with NZ locals, perhaps working on a farm. She has connected us with two of her childhood friends who we’ll be seeing next week. How’s that for friendly and welcoming??
We ignored the gray weather and drove 2 hours north to Cape Rienga, the tip of the NZ. This is a renowned spiritual, magical spot the Maoris (original natives of NZ) have honored for centuries. Here is where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea collide, and here is where Maori warriors went to die, climbing down an ancient Pohutukawa tree roots into the ocean so their souls could return home (which was likely Samoa). The area is called Spirits Bay and was indeed a spiritual place.
We camped at the nearby Tapotupatu Bay, spending our first night all together in our cozy campervan, keeping out of the rain and hail. Ella and Helen are quickly picking up the card game bridge, a great way to entertain ourselves when escaping the elements.
We returned to the Bay of Islands, staying in Whangamumu Bay (pronounced fahn-ga-moo-moo) before landing in another cute coastal town, Russell, where Doug spent a magical night listening to a chorus of kiwi and weka birds while night fishing. He caught several yummy kahawai (pronounced “ka-ha-wai”, more commonly “ka-why”), an ocean fish that resemble our bluefish in flavor.
We continued on to Kerikeri, where Ella experienced a spiritual/energy/massage session by a lovely Maori couple (“Nga Rnga Warrua”, or “Hands of Spirit”), who worked on blocked chakras. Chakras cleared, we headed for the incredible and aptly named Rainbow Falls.
Next day, on to Waipu (ready for it?? Pronounced “why-poo”) for some cave action. In New Zealand caves commonly have glow worms–small worms that glow to attract bugs into their sticky web. They also attract humans, as they create a magical small light (which resembles a bright LED light); with thousands on a ceiling and walls of a pitch dark cave, it is truly an awesome sight.
Then back to the generous hosts Andy and Tisha Riley (and their fun children Ellie and Cameron) for a yummy curry dinner and socializing. Their welcoming house is a large sprawling home high on a hill, overlooking a bay. It’s one of these places you instantly feel at home, with their friendly cockatiel highly skilled at cat calling, Tisha’s witty parents, and friends dropping in. That NZ hospitality I’ve been talking about was alive and well–Tisha’s sister Jackie and brother-in-law Wayne invited us to dinner at their house the next night, where we watched a televised game of the NZ All Blacks Rugby crush South Africa. The All Blacks’ tradition of starting each match with their traditional Haka (war dance) is so cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiKFYTFJ_kw I can see why rugby is like a religion in this country.
After three nights at the Rileys we kicked ourselves out (you know the old saying…fish and and company start to stink after three days….). We were sad to leave these warm people as we headed to Rotorua, but took some lovely memories with us. (We missed getting a picture of beautiful and hilarious Ellie–most likely because she was studying so hard for university, or “uni” as its called here).
Next post, geothermal action in Rotorua and Taupo…
Strout Family Year of Travel 