Auckland at last

Back in Auckland and it was really our first time to drive around and see it. One can almost always see the sky tower.

So many hills and parks (and yes even sheep in the parks).

Great buildings both old and new.

Amazing views from atop One Tree Hill.

Wandered around the museum grounds and greenhouses.

We took the Ferry over to Half Moon Bay after dropping off the Campavan (ahh how sad to lose our little home…..actually how nice to not have to sleep in that little cold, cramped tin box ever again!).

What a great ride…speeding away from beautiful downtown Auckland along the mansion lined coast and past lush islands, windsurfers, sailboarders, day boaters, many parked yachts and straight thru the line of Friday afternoon Rum racers: sailboats leaning hard into the wind!


We had a most excellent last dinner at a very fine Thai restaurant.
Spent a lovely fun morning with Graeme and Bunty’s family and sweet little Theo entertained us all.

In the afternoon before our flight we went for a final hike up the hill over Duder’s Beach enjoying a wee bit more of that fine dark New Zealand Kiwifruit chocolate.
Good on us!

So to sum it up…..
New Zealand’s natural beauty is truly wonderful and like its weather so varied.
Everything grows so big, like “gignormous”!

Giant ferns, geranium vines and towering lupin bushes….plants don’t die off they just keep getting bigger. We often felt we had landed in Jurassic park and expected to see dinosaurs, but no just lots and lots and lots of sheep (Kiwi lawnmowers) and lots of birds.
The people were all so friendly. They must surely be part seal and part mountain goat. They are so into enjoying their great outdoors all year round.

And even though the land mass of the country could fit like islands into our Great Lakes, it felt huge. With the narrow, winding mountain roads the driving was slow and so even in the month and half of traveling we still have so much more to see….and that will be another fine trip some day.

Monday Oct. 1st. 07

Resting here back in the Bay of Plenty….ahhhh abundant in serenity and beauty……the long, long stretches of wide sandy beaches, grassy dunes and gentle rolling surf.

Blessed with warmth and sunshine for our anniversary we climbed to the highest point around to view the strange twisted mud flats of Ohiwa Harbour, far away Motiti Island and the still active and sulphur stinking volcano White Island, Opotiki Beach to the south where we camped the other night and all the way up the coast to the most Easterly Raukumara Range, Maori Lands.

We enjoyed the slow (rollercoaster ) journey up the East Cape coastline, staying over at Te Araroa south of Hick’s Bay and before that at Tatapouri where the tiny blue penguins come out at night.

Gisbourne is an interesting historic town, (Capt. Cook). We bought Paua shell treasures and much needed woollens of Merino and Possum fur. Ahhh warm
and cozy at last.

Tuesday, October 2nd 2007

Headed back up the coast, we are now stopped at Waihi beach. It`s raining, and since we`re neither ducks nor penguins, we are holed up in the campervan. We haven`t even seen the beach yet. We`ll probably stay here a couple of nights.