Wellington - Second Stop 1/12/2012

It was a treat for us to return to Wellington. Similar to other places we have visited, there are many options for how to spend time in this cosmopolitan city that is clean, compact and easy to navigate. Besides the ones we took on our first stop, offered tours included visiting the Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand’s national museum, taking the funicular up to the Wellington Botanic Gardens and the Begonia House or traveling to the Pencarrow Lodge to see a working sheep farm and views of the storm coast. One could, on their own explore the waterfront or the four districts of downtown, including the Cuba Street District, where one gets a taste of Bohemian shops, cafes and delicious coffee.

Throughout the trip tours have been offered in many forms of transportation. Some have highlighted urban or natural settings and others wildlife. We have attempted to find some form of balance among them all. It seemed unthinkable that we would come to New Zealand and not see at least one sheep farm. Thus we headed out to Penacarrow Lodge on the southeastern head of Wellington Harbor.

After passing through the suburb of Eastbourne, the Burdan Gate was opened, enabling us to ride on an unpaved path by the sites of many early shipwrecks, the Penacarrow Lighthouse and lakes formed at least 7,000 years ago when earthquakes raised the beach ridges, causing the valleys to fill with water.

We were welcomed at the lodge with afternoon tea. We were then invited outside to watch as the dogs mustered the sheep. One dog was the barker, getting the sheep to move away from us. The other was silent as he moved the sheep toward us. The dogs were constantly watching the owner to receive their next command. If they are too far away to hear the owner’s voice they received their instructions by following the owner’s movements. A sheep who strayed was no match for these dogs.

I am sure these animals did not appreciate the amazing views they had from their home. 
From our vantage point we had expansive views across Cook Strait and the South Island.

Before heading back to our ship, we came to understand why this area is known as the Storm Coast. Cook Strait connects the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It is the only major gap between the two main islands of New Zealand. As winds blowing from the north or south (our guide told us that there are no east-west runways at the airport because the winds never blow in those directions) funneled through this passage they become faster and stronger. They can be unpredictable and dangerous. This fact, along with the location of the Barrett Reef near the entrance to the harbor, explains why this has been an area of many shipwrecks.





We made a stop to see the remnants of one of these disasters and headed back toward the Pencarrow Head Lighthouse.

Pencarrow Head Lighthouse

Baring Head Lighhouse

The Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse built in New Zealand and was constructed from sections of cast iron shipped from England. Its first keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, was the first and only female lighthouse keeper in the country. Because it’s position high on the hill, it 
was often obscured by fog. 







The light was decommissioned in 1935 
and replaced by the low level Baring Head Lighthouse, which is still in use.

Continuing back to the  Burban Gate we made our way along the unpaved road, taking in the views of the rugged coastline and some unexpected goats up in the hills.

Back in the city, we drove past some of the city's most important landmarks and returned to the ship. We still had one more lesson to learn. Wellington is one of the windiest places in New Zealand. Climbing the steps into the ship we had to hold the ropes on both sides of us for fear we would be blown away. From personal experience we can verify the nicknames of  “the city on the roaring 40’s” (because of it’s location on the 40^th latitude) or "Windy Wellington”.

Penacarrow Lodge is at the top of the hill.

Leaving the habor we could see the area in which we had spent the afternoon. How interesting to see it from two different vantage points.

Napier 1/11/2012

It is often said that a person’s life can change in a matter of moments. This was certainly the case for the residents of Napier, New Zealand, a seaport town located on Hawke’s Bay. On February 3, 1931 a massive Richter 7.8 earthquake ravaged the region. Fires subsequently engulfed the area and the city as a functioning town ceased to exist. An ambitious rebuilding of the city, in the style of Art Deco made this one of New Zealand destination, known not for its natural beauty but instead it’s architecture. Careful preservation makes Napier one of the art deco capitals of the world and a location where most of its distinctive buildings still stand today.

In Napier I took an Art Deco walking tour. At the Art Deco Preservation Center we first viewed a film about the earthquake and had an explanation of what we were about to see.

The style we call Art Deco originated in Europe in the early 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920 to 1940. It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925, from which its name was ultimately derived. By the late 1930s it was in its streamlined phase and after World War II, the International Style, devoid of all decoration, held sway. Not until the late 1960s did people begin to rediscover it and take it seriously. Art Deco expressed all the vigor and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties.

Its decorative themes are:

•     Sunbursts and fountains - representing the dawn of a new modern age.
•     The Skyscraper shape - symbolic of the 20th century.
•     Symbols of speed, power and flight - the exciting new developments in transport and communications.
•     Geometric shapes – representing machines and technology, assumed to solve all current problems.
•     The new woman - revelling in her recently won social freedoms.
•     Breaking the rules - cacophonous jazz, short skirts and hair, shocking dances.
•     Ancient cultures – for the fascination with the civilizations of Egypt and Central America. 

We then set out, on a hot and sunny day,  to see representations of these themes in the City Centre Historic Area.

Each February Napier hosts the the Art Deco Festival.
Featured over the weekend are hundreds of 1920s and '30s cars, aerobatic flying displays, steam train rides, a great Gatsby picnic, dinner dance extravaganzas and free outdoor concerts to name a few. 

Many thousands of guests and locals alike dress in 
Deco style bringing glamour to the city streets. 

Feel the atmosphere, live the era of mystique, if only for 
a few days. The celebrations are a major attraction and a must to see and do when visiting this lovely city and region.

Hawke’s Bay is also known for for having the world's largest and most accessible mainland Gannet Colony. While I stayed in the city, Jon headed out on the tour to Cape Kidnapper’s to see the gathering place of approximately twenty five thousand gannets. These birds with distinctive black eye marking and a pale gold crown, have a six-foot wingspan, are exceptional flyers and conduct spectacular high dives into the sea to catch fish.

Hawke's Bay is also known for it's wine region that we unfortunately unable to visit. Maybe another time we can come for the Art Deco Festival stopping at many of the area's vineyards to pick up libations for the festivities. 

Tauruanga 1/10/2012

When my father and Gene returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand, they talked about a jet boat ride they had taken and how much fun it had been. Thus, this was one of the first tours we booked before we even left Minneapolis.

Our tour bus took us to the town of Te Puke, home to the Longride Park. We were divided into small groups and boarded a van that would take us to the boat. We signed the release forms, received our life vests and ponchos and boarded the ten-passenger boat. We were told that the back of the boat would get the wettest and before I knew it, Jon and I were sitting right there, on the very back row. The driver informed us of the rules; no standing, keep all body parts inside the boat, hang on to the rail in front of us, and watch to see when the driver would raise his arm because this meant that we would be making a 360 degree turn.

With that, as our ship’s captain would say, the driver put “medal to the petal” and away we went into a canyon that was lush with greenery on either side. With the wind blowing into our faces, we raced down the river, made our 360-degree turns, got wet and stopped as we approached a series of rapids. The driver turned the boat around and we made our return trip, at a much faster pace. We made more 360-degree turns, slid from side to side on our seats and were laughing as our trip ended.

After a half hour break for refreshments at which we were served the most delicious, hot kiwi muffins, we climbed into a van and headed for the kiwi fruit farm. Along the way we saw the avocados and walnuts that are also harvested at this farm and the kauri tree, which is protected in New Zealand.

walnut tree

kauri tree

one silly kiwi

two silly kiwi

kiwi

kiwi

kiwi vines

avocado

We learned that much of the countryside surrounding Tauranga is horticultural land, used to grow a wide range of fresh produce, but particularly known for tangelos and kiwi.We stopped in one of the orchards and were told that there are gold and green varieties of kiwi and that the fruit originated from a gooseberry that was brought to New Zealand from China. As we gazed at the hundreds of pieces of fruit resting on the vines, it was explained that the water, sun and volcanic soil all contribute to the richness of this fruit and the entire "Bay of Plenty". 

Returning to our ship, the afternoon was spectacular and as we gazed upon the water we could only describe it as, shimmering.

Leaving port we has the opportunity to see some of the beaches that are common in this area. What a beautiful and fun day this has been!

Auckland 1/9/2012

Auckland, with one third of the country’s population is the largest city in New Zealand.  It sits atop a cluster of extinct volcanoes and its gorgeous landscape blends well with its metropolitan skyline. This was evident to us as we made our entry into port. Auckland has been and continues to be an important point of entry or departure for international travel. It has all the characteristics and benefits of a large cosmopolitan city but is close to the vineyards of a surprising number of award-winning wineries.

In Auckland, we had the opportunity to spend time with someone who lives in the city.

In high school, Wendy Ross was an AFS student in Minneapolis and became friends with Bobby Cohen. The two of them have kept in contact and Bobby made arrangements for us to visit Wendy and her husband Clive.

We met Wendy at her charming home and had morning tea on her patio. Wendy then took us on a

tour of the areas where her mother and children now live, as well as where she grew up. We went to Cornwall Park and made our way to the top of One Tree Hill where we had a panoramic view of the city, the surrounding areas and the Rangitoto Volcano, which is closely associated with the city of Auckland. True to anything decided by a group of people, Wendy explained that no tree sat atop the hill because a consensus could not be reached on the type of tree that should replace the one that died.

As we continued our drive, Wendy pointed out flora that is indigenous to this area. Because of the time of year we are visiting, we could see jacaranda trees with their purple blooms and pohutakawa trees with their large red flowers. The pohutakawa only grows within ten meters of the coast, and because of its red blooms is known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree. We saw the very large, old Morton Bay fig trees and beautiful hydrangea and wisteria bushes. In addition to the flora, we were surprised to see sheep roaming freely in the park.

From the park we headed for lunch at a beach in Takapuna, a coastal, northern suburb of the North Island. It was a sunny, warm day and perfect for spending time at a beach. It was also quite crowded and since we had such a hard time finding a place to park, Wendy “rang up” Clive and advised him not to try to join us. At lunch we talked about how Wendy was the chair of an interfaith council. We compared the health and education systems of our two countries. We even approached the normally taboo subject of politics and were surprised how well versed Wendy was on current events in America. We took a walk along the beach and we then returned to the ship. We were most appreciative of Wendy's warm hospitality and felt that we had made a new friend. We all agreed that we must return so that we could again visit and have the opportunity to meet Clive.

Being a “turn-around” day on the ship, there was a bit of “housekeeping” to which we had to attend. We reconfirmed our upcoming dinner reservations, Jon’s appointment schedule with the trainer and the newspapers we wanted to receive each day. We received the tickets for the tours we will be taking on this second segment of our journey, learned on which we had cleared the waiting list and made the necessary adjustments. Last, but certainly not least, we sent out our dry cleaning. Somehow it is impossible to escape one’s “errands”, even when traveling half way around the world.

We left Auckland on a beautiful, clear night. The lights of the city were behind us, the habor was to our right and the volcano was on our left. The orchestra was playing on the pool deck and the liquor was flowing freely. Many passengers were beginning their journey in Auckland and the mood onboard was quite festive. The captain must have made one left turn and then another because when we returned to our room we were looking directly at the other side of the volcano with the lights of the skyline beyond it. This unique skyline, by day and by night had been the bookends of a most unique day.

Sea Day 1/8/2012

Throughout the trip I have been taking many pictures, more than I have been able to post. On this lazy sea day, as we head along the coast of New Zealand towards Auckland and the conclusion of the first segment of our trip, I thought it would be fun to share some of the other photos taken in Australia.

Emu - Geraldton

Kangaroos - Hobart

Koala - Hobart

Bakery - Kangaroo Island

Lavender - Kangaroo Island

Wellington

Leaning tree - Geraldton

Kangaroo Island

Exmouth