The Coromandel Peninsula - Day 6

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The Coromandel Peninsula is about a two hour drive south east of Auckland, the other side of the Firth of Thames.  State Highway 25 runs around the perimeter, so we thought that would be a good path to take.

The terrain is rolling hills, with lots of pastures for sheep and cattle.  It reminded us of driving through Ireland and Scotland.  Very narrow roads, with hairpin turns. The speed limit is 100 km per hour, but there are warnings on many of the curves to slow down to 15 km per hour. I don't think I reached 60 km per hour at anytime on those narrow roads.

Two of the most famous attractions on the Coromandel are Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove.

Our first stop was Hot Water Beach.  

There is a hot springs that feeds an area of the beach, and at low tide the idea is to dig a trench in the sand and it will fill up with water from the hot spring.

However, if you dig too close to the spring, the water is around 70 degrees Celsius and can scald skin...  A very cool place to hang out (pun intended).

The next stop was Cathedral Cove.  The cliffs along the east coast are made up of volcanic rock, some soft, some hard.  The cliffs have been eroded by the sea, to create caves in the cliffs, and one in particular has created a massive, peaked shaped cavern, called Cathedral Cove.

Here is a close up of the cove.

There are two ways to get to Cathedral Cove.  One is by hiking for an hour each way along the top of the cliffs, down 150 steps, then back up again.  The second is to take a boat tour.  We were both tired from yesterday's horseback trek, so we opted for the boat tour.

As a bonus, our guide Shane took us around the beach and the nearly islands.

There were only 6 of us in a zodiac, so we were able to access many of the smaller caves that the big tours can't access.

One cave had eroded so much that the force of the sea created a blowhole through the ceiling of the cave.  

This cave was tricky to navigate because we were only in a couple of feet of water.  The motor was raised, and Shane had to use an oar to navigate.

Tomorrow morning we leave Auckland and head to Whakatane.  Stay tuned.

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If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Gannets and Horses - Day 5

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Despite a steady rain today, we were booked on a horseback trek in Muriwai.  Horses don’t care about a little rain, why should we?

Muriwai Beach is on the west coast of the North Island, about an hour north west of Auckland.  This part of the west coast is well known for its surfing, and beautiful black sand beaches.

In researching Muriwai Beach, I read about a large colony of gannets that had taken up residence on a series of cliffs, one of the biggest colonies in New Zealand.  We were not booked for the horseback trek until 11:00 am, so we had planned on checking out the gannets first.

All those little white spots are gannets.  It is very early in the season for gannets, so most of the colony have not yet arrived from their winter grounds.  The locals have told us that the full colony will cover every square inch of the cliffs.

The gannets were busy with mating rituals, trying to attract a mate.  Many males were gathering nesting material to present to their female partner.

At 11:00 we met up with Jeremy and Hayley and met our horses Frankie and Gizzy.  Our trek consisted of a walk along the beach, then a return through the sand dunes and pine forest, about 12 km in total.  The sand was the blackest I have ever seen, absolutely beautiful.   And because of the rain, we had the beach to ourselves.

The rain continued all morning.  As much as I thought Mary Ann was nuts for packing another set of clothes for each of us (including shoes, socks and everything else), I was glad to change into something dry.

On the way back to Auckland, we found a great French Café in Kumeu called Le Petit Perigord, and couple of wineries for a little tasting.  A very good Sauvignon Blanc and a surprisingly good Gewurztraminer from Kumeu River Winery, and a very good Pinot Noir from West Brook Winery.

The plan tomorrow is to check out the Coromandel Peninsula.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate…  Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Hike On - Day 4

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When we planned this trip, both Mary Ann and I agreed that it would not be a "hiking" vacation, where all we did was walk.  Day 4 came pretty close.

Auckland has something like 50 volcanic mounds in the area. The largest is Rangitoto Island, just offshore in Auckland Harbour.  The second largest is One Tree Hill, in a suburb just south of downtown.

Fortunately, this whole area was set aside as parkland (Cornwall Park), and is owned by a Trust for the Maori people.  Much of the park is used as paddocks for sheep and cattle.  And we were allowed to drive to the top of the monument.  The monument is dedicated to the Maori.

Many of the sheep were trusting enough to let Mary Ann get in for a close up.

Another popular mound is Mount Eden.  Unfortunately, this one did not allow us to drive to the summit, we had to walk the top half of the mound.

The interesting thing about Mount Eden is that the caldera (crater) is intact.  Very interesting.

The view of the skyline from Mount Eden. This image was a 5 shot bracket, using Lightroom to generate the final HDR image.

Many of you know that I like to photograph interesting architecture. In planning this trip, i had seen photos of this building on the web, and remembered the name of it.  As it turned out, we were very close by, and decided to take a look.

The Ironbank Building, from the rear (the more interesting side).  The street was nothing more than a laneway, and I could not capture the entire building in a single frame.  This was a 10 shot composite, stitched together in Photoshop.

Chris took us out for dinner, to one of his favourite steak houses.  The Sky City complex includes a casino, hotel, restaurants and the iconic Sky Tower. 

The steaks were outstanding, I can see why it was Chris' favourite steak house.

The plan today is to head to Muriwai Beach for some horseback riding and to see a gannet colony, although the weather forecast is calling for rain.  Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Heading North to Matakana - Day 3

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As planned, we made our way north to Katakana, about an hour north of Auckland.  It was an easy drive, about 20 minutes of suburbs, then 40 minutes of farmland.  Compete with sheep, cows, and alpaca.  The sheep and cows were easy to understand.  Why alpaca?  Turns out they were brought into the country since the 1970's and raised for their wool.

Our destination was the Brick Bay Winery and Sculpture Trail.

The winery and restaurant is very subdued, just the opposite of our commercial wineries.  The Glass House restaurant was built across a pond.  They believe in sustainable harvests, grow their own vegetables and spices, and source local meats and cheeses for the restaurant.

We arrived at 11:00 and planned to walk the Sculpture Trail before lunch.  The walking trail was rated at one hour, but being photographers it took us nearly two hours.  The trail meandered through the farm property and through the forested valley.  The 55+ sculptures are from local artists, and are for sale (don't ask the prices!).

Lunch afterwards consisted of a cheese platter and a couple of glasses of their wines.  Lunch was very enjoyable.  Mary Ann loved the Merlot jelly and I loved the blue cheese.

Heading back to Auckland, we stopped in Puhoi for a visit to a local cheese producer who has won several medals recently.  One medal that they were proud of was awarded to their Gorgonzola style blue cheese, very yummy.  I had to pick some up, although neither Mary Ann nor Chris will go near it.

On the drive back, we took the old coastal highway rather than the boring motorway.  A very pretty drive, very hilly with a speed limit of 100 km (close your eyes Ron).

For my techie friends, this was a three shot panorama, handheld, stitched together in Lightroom.  Between the D800 at 36 megapixels and the three shots, there is tons of detail in there.

The plan today is to explore more of Auckland's suburbs.  Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

A Day Around Auckland - Day 2

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Mary Ann and I started the day with a visit to the Auckland Museum.  The museum started as a War Memorial museum but was expanded to include an equal amount of floor space devoted to Maori culture.  It is a massive building on the top of an old volcanic mound.

As with most of the Commonwealth countries, New Zealand fought with the Allies in the First and Second World War.  The Museum has devoted the third floor to the War Memorial, and it was quite impressive.  Included in the exhibits are two airplanes (I'd like to know how they got them up to the third floor?).

This Spitfire was built in Britain at the end of the Second World War, and it did not see combat.  It was a gift from Britain in thanks for the New Zealand efforts during the war.

Of more interest was this Japanese Zero, which was recovered after the surrender of Japan, before it could fly its last Kamikaze mission.

The Maori exhibits were equally impressive.

A Maori Meeting House named Hotunui, built in 1878.

A Maori War Canoe named Te Toki a Tapiri, built in 1836.  It was carved from a single Totara tree and measured 25 metres long, and would carry 100 warriors.

Also on the grounds of the Museum are greenhouses called the Wintergardens.  This is a public space, open to the public, and free of charge.

By the time we had finished both of these tours, we were too tired to do much shopping.  But we did drive through Ponsonby and stopped there for a quick snack and a cold drink.

Once back at the hotel, we met up with Chris and decided to head to Mission Bay for dinner, a suburb just outside of Auckland.  After dinner, we tried a few shots of the city skyline.

The plan today is to head north for a little wine tasting. Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Kia Ora from Auckland - Day 1

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Kia Ora is a welcome greeting in Maori.

We arrived safely Sunday morning at 5:30 local time.  Auckland is 16 hours ahead of Toronto time.  I know... it's a little confusing thinking about something going on tomorrow...

Our flight from Toronto to Los Angeles was delayed leaving by about 25 minutes, but we thought we were going to be fine because we had a two and a half hour layover in Los Angeles before our flight to Auckland.   I was bored waiting to land in LA so I started to watch the little map of the plane approaching LA on the monitor.  I thought the navigation system was messed up when the plane did a big circle over the mountains then was flying in a zig-zag pattern towards LA.  When we finally touched down, we stopped dead on the tarmac.  Soon after that, there was an announcement that the airport was shut down because Air Force 2 was taking off (presumably with the Vice President on board).  That explained the weird flying pattern coming in to LA, the pilot was killing time on the approach to LA.

We finally deplaned about an hour later than planned.  Still an hour and a half to spare, no problem, right?  Except that we had to change terminals in LA, and the worst part was having to clear security once more.  In LA, after the airport was locked down.  Talk about a circus.

For those of you who have followed Mary Ann in a crowd, she's tough to keep up with.  Even though the staff let us use the priority line, it looked like an impossible task to make our flight. Rather than asking for permission to cut in front of everyone, Mary Ann took the position that it was easier to apologize for cutting in front, rather than asking permission.  Almost everyone let us cut in front of them, so we made it through security with about a half hour to spare. Thanks to her, it looked like we were going to make it.

We were flying Air New Zealand from LA to Auckland, and had booked (and paid for) preferred seats, which would give us a little more leg-room.  The problem was that Air New Zealand gave away our seats and had moved us to the next row back (they said there was a glitch in the booking system and they had double booked the seats).  No preferred seats... and we had to watch a snotty-nosed kid enjoying the added leg room that he didn't need anyway.  I think Mary Ann will have a few things to write about to Air New Zealand on our return.

At least we made the flight...

We picked up the rental car in Auckland, and made our way downtown and found Chris' hotel.  He was staying in a two bedroom executive suite, and the second bedroom was vacant, so we are staying in Auckland free.  Very nice.....

Auckland is a beautiful city on the coast of the North Island.  The city was built in the 1800's and many of the original buildings are still in standing and are used in office, commercial or retail uses.

The waterfront has been redeveloped as a public space, and it actively used by the residents.

And Chris was free on Sunday, so we all went for a walk around the waterfront.

The waterfront is know as the Viaduct district, and the old silos in the area still stand. That area is know as Silo Park.  Some residents were using the park for their Tai Chi session.

In fact, for a Sunday afternoon, all of the downtown area was busy with locals enjoying the sunny day.

As much as we tried, I managed to stay awake until 8:00 in the evening.  And I slept well for almost twelve hours.

Today is a work day for Chris, and Mary Ann and I will spend the day in the Auckland Museum, and a little shopping in Ponsonby (think Yorkville).  I think I lost my credit card...

More about that later.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Ready for New Zealand

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Before expanding on the title of this blog entry, let me apologize for the lack of recent entries.  I checked... I haven't posted since February!  Work has been hectic, both during busy season to the end of May, and during the summer.

Now to explain the title.  Our son Chris has had an opportunity to work in New Zealand for 4 months.  He left for Auckland in May, and has spent most weekends travelling around New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.  And, I suppose, a little work as well.

We have been planning this trip for the last six months.  We leave Friday afternoon, and will spend 3 weeks with Chris.  He finishes his work assignment next week, while Mary Ann and I explore Auckland.  Then we have two weeks together to drive the North and South Island.  I don't think we will be bored...

And I promise many blog entries along the way.

And I opened a Facebook page, the link is https://www.facebook.com/mark.girard.56

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark