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Part 3 Previous | Next |
| 12/13 | Franz Joseph to Greymouth
We lazed along getting out this morning. Slow breakfast at 8. Talked a lot with Jackie. Lisa got a flower order straightened out (she hopes!) with 1-800-flowers. We finally got on the road about 10:30. The road down the coast is extraordinarily scenic and beautiful. One stretch follows a curvy, hilly road skirting the mountains, the next we're going through coastal plains in sight of the ocean. Much like Highway 1 in California. We started out on a curvy, hilly road as we left the glacial area. The sides of the cliffs along the road cuts were covered with a thick layer of mosses of different colors. Most obvious are the red mosses. We are told the red pigmentation protects them from the exceedingly strong UV sunlight that prevails here in New Zealand. Then, almost evenly spaced, are fern fronds. It makes quite a pretty sight. I believe I already described the one-lane, two-way bridges that abound here in N.Z. Well today, between Hokitika and Greymouth, we experienced a new level of bridge use efficiency -- one-lane bridges that carry both two-way auto traffic and, get this, two-way railroad traffic. The sole allowance they make for trains is to post a signpost with two signs on it -- one showing a steam locomotive, the second saying, "GIVE WAY". Now is that an understatement or what? It seems the main (and only) highway along the west coast parallels the coastal train line and they share the river crossings in several places. I'm not sure which is more disconcerting -- the long, long one-lane, two-way auto bridges or the less long one-lane, two-way bridges that have the train tracks in the center of the lane. But since we didn't encounter any trains that we had to share the bridges with, I guess it didn't matter. We stopped in Hokitika for lunch. For the first time, the restaurants and cafes all had rather plain and unimaginative food. We ate light anyway because we have reserved dinner at our B&B tonight because the owner's write-up on the B&B book raved about their food. (I expect it to be a real gourmet treat since the price is unusually high.) But back to Hokitika. Hokitika is known both as the center of the "Greenstone" (which we would call Jade) industry of New Zealand, and as a town with lots of artsy-craftsy things. And it sure does live up to it's reputation. Before and after lunch we stopped in a few jade factories and showrooms. There we learned how they mine Greenstone and watched how they make jade jewelry. There were also more than a few glassblowing factories, driftwood carving shops, gold jewelry-making shops and other artsy-craftsy places. We drove on down to Greymouth where we planned to do some riding along "The Great Wall of Greymouth" as they call it. It seems, when white men came to the area, they considered building their houses at the mouth of the Greymouth River. The local Maori warned them not to because, "it floods every year." As usual, the white settlers figured they knew better and built their town at the mouth of the Greymouth River. As foretold, the area flooded every year. It seems the Kiwis then had two choices -- swallow their pride and admit that was a bad place to build their homes, or, figure out a way to make it work. As you have probably guessed, they chose the latter. The built a high levee all around the town to keep the highwaters out. From the town side, the levee has a vertical, gray block face. Thus the name "The Great Wall of Greymouth." To their credit, though, they have put a multi-use path all along the top of the levee so people can enjoy the views of the river and the Tasman Sea. We didn't ride in Greymouth because Lisa was suddenly very tired. So we headed out to our B&B, located just 14 km out of town. When we looked in the B&B book for a place to stay tonight, we saw The Breakers. The prices were a bit higher (and the dinner price was quite high, relatively) but we were taken by the owners' write-up on the location, the ambiance and, especially, the food. So we decided to splurge. So, how was it? Well, you know what they say about real estate. The three most important assets are location, location and location. And what an absolutely stunning location they have!!! The Breakers is located on a bluff overlooking the Tasman Sea (a part of the Pacific Ocean) just above a long beach. Our room is on the second floor. From our balcony, our room AND our bed we have a panoramic view of it all. Before dinner, I walked down to the beach (5 minutes) while Lisa took a nap. The beach is very wide and very long and consists primarily of what we call river rock. It starts at the bottom of the bluff with large, smooth, stones. As you approach the ocean the rocks get smaller and smaller until they become like pea gravel. Finally, at what appears to be the high tide mark, there's only fine sand extending out into the water. Dinner was a served at 7. The first course was a plate of smoked fish. That was followed by a fine roast lamb, done to a delicious turn. The lamb was complimented by a large plate of grilled, mixed vegetables. Dinner was served with our choice of wine, and followed by a plate of mixed cheeses for dessert. It was a fine dinner -- tasty and well presented -- but not nearly worth the extra cost that was charged. (But isn't that the way in fine restaurants too?) We found out at dinner that Frank is a marketing and public relations person for Greymouth. He believes that they (merchants, marketeers, etc.) should concentrate on attracting the higher-end tourists with high quality and high prices. He says the Kiwis won't pay the higher prices so they should go after the American and Japanese -- and he practices what he preaches. Everything at The Breakers is of good quality, thus, he can charge the higher prices. And, as he predicted, he does not get any Kiwi guests because it's too expensive. (I think his marketing ideas were reflected by the promotional write-up he put in the B&B book . . . and that we were taken in by it. We fit right into his marketing profile -- willing to pay a higher price for higher quality. Though his prices are much higher than those of his local competitors, he has a good product, has done a good selling job and has figured out what the market will bear. I think, as long as he can read that price line acurately and not go over it, he'll be rich some day.) Love to all, |
| 12/14 | Greymouth, New Zealand
This morning when we got up it was raining and blowing. We decided to cancel the blackwater rafting reservation. Barbara told us you get cold doing the underground tubing, even in the wetsuits. We had thought coming out in the sunshine would counter that, but in the cold rain . . . ? So we had a leisurely breakfast, then went back to our room to read, nap, enjoy the view out our picture window. Also, it would give Lisa a chance to get rid of her stiff neck. Later, it had stopped raining so we decided to drive up to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. After catching the blowholes at high tide, we would continue up to Westport. There we would do a loop bicycle ride out to Cape Foulwind to see the newborn seals in the seal colony there. We planned to eat dinner there at a restaurant that Barbara recommended. Well, we got to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes in time for the high tide. The pancake rocks were interesting. They are limestone formations that have weathered in very distinct layers that look very much like huge stacks of pancakes. The blowholes were quite spectacular. We've seen this type of formation in a few other places in the world, but the sudden gush of air, spray and water from the unseen holes in the rocks is still impressive. As we walked back from the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes overlooks, it started raining . . . then it started raining quite hard . . . then it started POURING. We just made it to the road before we were thoroughly soaked. Since it was lunchtime, and there was a little cafe across the road that is recommended in the Lonely Planet, we decided to have lunch. We sat with a young couple from Great Britain who are tramping (hiking) various tracks (trails) around New Zealand. We visited for quite awhile while the rain ebbed and flowed. They were headed South and we are headed North, so we traded "don't miss" things that are in the areas we each came from. The rain let up to a light sprinkle, so we decided to tramp a track into a cavern. We got there on short order. Of course it was very dark in the cave. Unfortunately, I had brought only one flashlight, so the going was very slow. I would walk ahead a bit, then shine the light back for Lisa. We went a little way in, ran into water, rocks and mud (also, less than encouraging reports from returning trampers) so we turned back. We spotted an opening that looked like an exit. As we headed for it, Lisa reported that her feet were wet and were slipping in her sandals. We each choose a different way to approach the apparent way out. I got there first and determined that it was not the way out. Hearing that report, Lisa turned around . . . and her sandals slipped on the muddy rocks. She landed with a splat as she sat in the mud. No harm done, though. Only her pride was hurt. We returned to the car. It was still raining lightly and we were still 40 minutes away from Cape Foulwind. We decided instead to return to our comfortable B&B, shower, watch the storm some more, then go into town for dinner. We had a very tasty pizza tonight at Bonzai Pizza. Then back to the B&B for late tea. When we returned, we met the otherguests, a couple who had arrived this evening. Turns out they're from San Mateo, just a few miles from where we live! Oh yes. We heard tonight that America has finally got a president-elect. We heard that a ruling of the Supreme Court decided it, but we haven't heard any details. (Actually, we've only heard bits and pieces of the battle since the election five weeks ago, so, if any of you see a clear, unbiased synopsis of all the goings-on, please save a copy for us.) Love to all, |
| 12/15 | New Zealand, Greymouth to Kaikoura
This morning at breakfast we talked to the guests from San Mateo. Chuck and Laura are here for just a week. Her first trip, his second. He works in Foster City, she used to work at Oracle, practically out our front door. After a leisurely breakfast we headed out toward Christchurch, on the other side of the South Island. (I hope we leave the sand flies behind.) We chose to take the longer route through Arthur's Pass because the pass is reputed to be the most beautiful train ride and highway in New Zealand. And indeed it is a beautiful drive. No snow though. (I think having snow there would have made it truly spectacular.) We stopped in Arthur's Pass Village for lunch, then went on a track to Punchbowl Waterfall. It was a healthy climb over a rocky trail -- best suited to hiking shoes. Of course, we were wearing our multipurpose sandals that we bought in Nice (David) and Cairns (Lisa). We managed, though. At the end of the 30 minute hike we were right under a beautiful water fall! As we continued driving across the South Island, Lisa noted that we were driving coast to coast across the country. Last night we watched the sun set over the Tasman Sea. Tomorrow morning, when we get up early to go whale watching, we'll see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean. The ride up the East coast has some very scenic sections, too. The last 10k or so as we approached Kaikoura were right along the ocean. On the left side we hugged either the cliffs or the railroad tracks that hugged the cliffs. On the right side we were a few feet from the ocean and only ten feet or so above it. In Kiakoura we found our B&B quickly. It's right across the street from a swimming beach. And, of course, there are great views from the second floor deck of both the ocean to the East and the mountains to the West. Love to all, |
| 12/16 | Kiapuri
We had an early breakfast this morning so we could make our 7:45 Whale Watching appointment. Whale Watching? Lisa?? Yes. A remedy called "Sea Legs" was recommended to her for mitigating sea sickness. She took a dose last night, and we left this morning with high hopes of seeing whales -- but not feeding them. After our safety video -- which basically said "no smoking aboard ship" and "wear a life vest if the boat sinks" -- we rode a bus out to the harbor. There we boarded our boat directly from the bus -- and I do mean directly. The boat was on a trailer in the parking lot. The bus pulled right next to it so we stepped right from the bus steps to the trailer steps. Once we were all aboard, a farm tractor backed the trailer, with boat and us on it, right into the ocean. No big deal! We idled out of the harbor, then roared out to sea. We had to go out 10-12 miles from shore to get to the area where the whales had been last reported. We were told the average number of sightings per trio was one or two, so we should all keep a sharp eye out for the telltale water sprout. We were looking for male Sperm Whales. They feed in this area just off the continental shelf which ends about three miles out. When we found one, we sidled up to it from behind, then sat still and watched. Sperm Whales surface for four to ten minutes when they breath and regenerate the oxygen in their blood. Then they dive for 45 to 50 minutes. That's when they gather food. Everyone gathered by the rails to snap pictures of the small section of the 45 tons of blubber that was floating nearby. We were told to watch closely when the whale starts moving because that meant he was going to dive. We would only have one chance to get that tail-fin-in-the-air shot when the whale dives. We did, and we did! Watching the whale dive was really a thrill! Unfortunately, when we "sidled up to the whale" to watch, the boat just bobbed on the ocean swells. BAD NEWS. That was the worst tme for anyone prone to getting sick -- including Lisa. She joined some others in filling their barf bags. Some good news though. We sighted and got close to FIVE whales before we returned to land. (Lisa figures that the average number of soghtings actually is 6, but they tell you it's 2 so that whe you see 4 you'll feel good, not cheated.) We returned to our room and napped awhile to let the inner ears settle down. Then we bicycled into town for some lunch. Then we bicycled out to the end of the road to the start of the "Peninsula Walkway". (The city is divided by a peninsula where the bluff extends right into the sea. Cars have to drive inland to get from one side to the other, but there are two walks, called the Peninsula Walkways, that go around the end. One goes on top of the bluff. The other goes across the rocks at the base that are only exposed at low tide.) Since it was low tide, we decided to jog the "low tide" path. We locked the bike and set out. We quickly found we couldn't "jog" this path because it wasn't a "path" at all. It was simply a rock ledged that is accessible at low tide. The walk through the rock-based tidelands was really interesting. First was the ground that we walked on. It was, in fact, solid rock that has been eroded, carved and polished to a series of gnarled, knotty, ropy, twisted, smooth-surfaced ridges and crevaces. Most of the crevices were turned into tide pools that were teeming with life. We passed through a colony of New Zealand fur seals. Most of them were basking in the sun on the rock exposed by the low tide. We almost tripped over a few they were so docile. Two and a half hours later we got to the other side of the peninsula. We realized we had dinner reservations in just another hour and a half, so we had to find a shorter way back. We ended up following a track that went directly over the top of the bluff that formed the peninsula. The track took us over several fences, then led us to a block away from our B&B We showered and headed out to dinner at the FINZ restaurant. The FINZ is a very nice, very small -- nine tables -- very elegant restaurant. I had a baked Bluenose fish topped with crumbled citrus. Lisa had a vegetable medley that was to die for. Many vegetables, each especially prepared and carefully placed on the platter. Very unusual, such as zucchini with caramelized dates. It was just wonderful!!! (And it cost less than the home-cooked meal at the B&B on the coast.) Love to all, |
| 12/17 | New Zealand, Kiapoura to Wellington
Today we traveled to the North Island. After breakfast we packed, said our good-byes to our hosts, Bev and Ron, and headed out. The drive between Kaikoura and Picton is rolling, curvy, skirts the shore, and in a word, beautiful. (It would have been a wonderful bicycle ride. We don't think ANY of the various routes taken by Odyssey bicyclists included this stretch, though.) Many vistas of the ocean and its many hues of blue and turquoise. Many nice looks down the shoreline and the easygoing breakers on the beach. And many views of the mountains that hug the road across from the ocean. We got to the ferry terminal and the AVIS car rental return an hour ahead of sailing time. Plenty of time to return the car and get our reserved tickets. There was a catch though. There was a special charge for taking the bike on the ferry. Not a problem, though. We just had to buy a NZ$10 ticket for it. While we were waiting to board, we were surprised and impressed to see whole trains being loaded on the lower deck of the ferry. Several strings of cars were pushed on. Then we loaded, then the cars. Leaving Picton, the ferry goes through Queen Charlotte Sound on South Island. It is ANOTHER impressively beautiful sound. Actually, it's much like Doubtful Sound except the mountains around Doubtful are higher, steeper and snow-tipped. But these mountains are all green right down into the water and really beautiful. The ride through the sound was very smooth. Then the ride through the Cook Strait between South Island and North Island was equally smooth. And finally, the ride into Lambton Harbor on the North Island continued to be smooth. Nobody got seasick on this cruise! It was clear and sunny (or "fine" as they say here) in Picton and through the sound. When we hit the straight, we came under cloud cover for almost an hour, then, approaching the North Island, we came out into the bright, hot sun again. It was a beautiful crossing! We couldn't have asked for anything better. We got to Wellington right on time. Went to AVIS to pick up our car, and wouldn't you know it -- we both just got used to the turn signal on the right side and now -- the turn signal's on the left side. The reason? This is an English car, not a N.Z. car. Oh well. At least my clockwise rule still works. We got to our B&B about 5:30 and were greeted by our hosts, Margaret and Fritz, as we tried to park in front on the narrow street. The street is VERY narrow with VERY limited parking -- much like Scenic Drive in Piedmont where Lauren lives. We squeezed right up next to the bank on one side, but, since our tandem is so wide, it extends about almost foot out from the trunk. Margaret was concerned so she brought out a small towel to hang from the handlebar, to make the bike more visible. Then her neighbor, John, opened his garage door (which was right next to the car) and offered to house our bike in there. Of course, we accepted the offer. The B&B has just one guest bedroom, and it is large, bright, cheery and lovely. The bathroom has a shower AND tub (funny, but we haven't seen a tub for a while). And we have our own covered balcony/sitting room. We are right in the center of town, so we walked the few blocks to restaurant row for dinner. Curtenay Place is a street full of restaurants. Just about every ethnicity is represented. We chose Turkish. It wasn't outstanding but it was good. We haven't had Turkish food since we left home. Back to our lovely room. Though the outside of the house is nothing to look at, (much like our first B&B in N.Z., the one in Christchurch) but the inside is really warm and friendly (very much UNlike our first B&B in N.Z.). There's even a bonefide Christmas tree, with lights even, in the living room downstairs. Nice place! Love to all, |
| 12/18 | Wellington, New Zealand
We had a LOOOONNNG breakfast this morning with Margaret and Fritz. We heard about their two children (grown -- one lives in England and one in Denmark -- and they heard all about our Odyssey. Then we got our bike out of John's garage, checked the tires and brakes, and set out for a ride around the city. In the Lonely Planet book "Cycling in New Zealand", we found a loop ride that follows the water around the three sides of the peninsula that the city is on. What a beautiful ride! The water is clear and sparkling, the weather is clear and warm, the sky is clear and blue, and the vistas across the water are all beautiful. We passed many nice swimming beaches (with swimmers) and a few small boat harbors. We stopped at the "Chocolate Fish Cafe" in Scorching Bay for lunch. It was a great place with lots of interesting foods. And what a great site right along the bay, right next to the Scorching Bay beach. Wonderful! We continued on the ride around the peninsula, then cut across to downtown. There we stopped at the Information center, right in the civic center, to check on theater tickets for tonight. (Most theaters were dark so it was no go.) We saw the famous "beehive" building housing executive offices. Then we headed back the few blocks to our B&B. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to forego the local cablecar ride to a hilltop in the city in favor of just sitting on our patio and relaxing. The birds in the tree next door were singing. The kids in the yard were playing. A gentle breeze was wafting through. It was a thoroughly enjoyable break from always DOING something. Later, had a bath, got dressed for dinner, then walked downtown to one of the commercial areas. (Cuba Street -- kinda funky.) On the way, we checked the restaurants that we passed. We ended up going to Coyote, a restaurant related to one of the same name in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (We think. But anyway, they items of southwest cuisine on their menu.) And the food was pretty good! It was a lovely night, so after dinner, we walked back to our room for the night. Love to all, |
| 12/19 | New Zealand, Wellington to Napier
We had another charming visit with Fritz and Margaret over breakfast. After an hour, though, Margaret had to run to a dentist appointment and we had to hit the road. First thing was to drive up the hill to the top of Mount Victoria. (We found out from Fritz that the B&B is on the lower slopes of Mt. Victoria.) We parked below the peak and walked up. The view IS 360 degrees as advertised. We were surprised to see how apparently large and spread out Wellington is. However, we realized that what we were seeing was Wellington and several suburbs. We COULD see the route of our bike ride yesterday. (It looked much longer from up on top.) We headed down and out of the city. After one stretch of windy road over a mountain range, we drove through mostly range, farm and open land as we passed through several small and interesting cities. We got to Napier about 3. There we walked around and through the downtown checking out the Art Deco buildings and the small stores on the ground floor. Strolling through this downtown was almost like stepping into the past. They actually capitalize on that feeling with an Art Deco Weekend in February. That's when people dress in period clothes, vintage cars cruise the streets and biplanes swoop overhead. Napier is known for their old Art Deco buildings. The downtown was flattened by an earthquake and fire in 1931. The rush to rebuild occurred in 1931-32, right in the height of popularity of the Art Deco architectural style. Consequently, almost all of the buildings downtown (two blocks by four blocks) are Art Deco style. It is very evident in the motifs on the buildings, such as lightng flashes, zigzags, geomatric shapes and rising suns -- each highlighted by soft pastel colors. Our B&B is just North of Napier. It, too, is located across the road from the beach. The price is one of the lowest we've paid (at $70NZ, or about $28 U.S.) and the room is one of the largest and nicest. We have a magnificent view of Hawkes Bay on the Pacific Ocean. For some reason, Lisa was very tired when we arrived so she took a nap. (Sitting in a car all day is tough...) I read for awhile and also nodded off. We were disappointed that we couldn't find a sea food restaurant in this city right next to the ocean, but we were able to find something in a renovated wharf area just North of Napier. The several restaurants one the wharf are all in remodeled warehouses. We chose a place called the Gin Trap. We watched the sun set as we had an excellent dinner. We shared: Grouper, lightly breaded (or "nutted" since the coating was crushed nuts), baked and presented on a bed of couscous with mango sauce over all; and smoked Hoki in phylo with cream cheese. Delicious! [Here is some side information that I don't remember mentioning before. First is that we are so far South that the sun rises before 5:30 in the morning and sets about 9:30 at night. Along with that, as we head farther and farther East, we get closer to the International Date Line. Gisborne, a city just a wee bit farther East of Napier, is the first city in the world to see the sun rise on a new day. And we're almost 24 HOURS AHEAD of all of you reading this in the U.S.] Love to all, |
| 12/20 | New Zealand, Napier to Rotorua
We were up earlier this morning for a run on the beach. The weather was just beautiful -- not too hot, not too cold. There were a few fishermen out but otherwise, we had the beach to our selves. Then there was breakfast!! How to describe it? For starters, we had cereal with homemade yogurt and a fruit and brandy compote that was served in a homemade (and very tasty) sweet crust that was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! Then Jill served a dish that was essentially ham and scrambled eggs wrapped in a pancake and topped with a fruit sauce. It was WONDERFUL!! Lisa and I agree that breakfast was easily the best we've had in the whole year of traveling. And it wasn't BIG, just REALLY GOOD! (B&Bs in New Zealand, while generally lovely and hospitable, tend to serve pretty basic breakfasts -- unlike in the US, where the B&Bs seem to compete for the most unusual and/or delicious fare.) Much as we would have liked to stay, it was time to go. We packed our gear in the car and headed for Taupo. Taupo is the holiday place for the North Island much as Queenstown is for the South Island. It is on a beautiful lake and it is adjacent to the area of volcanic hot springs and mineral baths. After a very good lunch at a deli that Jill had recommended, we headed for the Taupo Hot Springs. There that have hot mineral baths in four temperatures -- warm, not-so-hot, hot, and hottest. Being old timers at hot tubs in California, I thought, "well, maybe the 'hot' would be for us." While I parked the car, Lisa tried them. She thought the "warm" would be fine. We soaked in a "warm" tub for about 20 minutes and we felt boiled. We found out later that the temperatures in those tubs ranged from "about" 34C to "about" 43C. (That's about 93F to about 110F) We went from there to a wonderful, hour-long, full body massage. My masseuse, Keith, was not very talkative -- just a hard worker. Lisa's was more talkative. They both told us about a place called "Kerosene Stream." It's a hot mineral springs stream that has hot, warm and cool pools. We may go back to it tomorrow, but we had to hurry on to our Farmstay in Rotorua. We have reservations to go to a traditional Maori Welcome Ceremony, concert and Hangi. We arrived at our farmstay and met our hosts, Deane and Elma -- more very friendly Kiwis. We immediately found out that our friends from Odyssey, Phil and Shirley had just left a few hours ago. What a coincidence! We visited awhile, met a brother, Eon, and his daughter, Julie. (Deane had been teaching her some finer points of horsemanship.) Then we got ready for our Maori adventure. A bus picked us up at the farm. We were the last of about fifty to get on. Immediately our hostess, Ana, asked for a volunteer to be chief of "our tribe" (the group on the bus.) I volunteered and was elected by unanimous acclaim. (As it turned out, I was the only volunteer :-) On the way to the "Rakeiao Marae," (a sacred meeting place and the home of the Ngai Rongomai family) Ana explained what we all had to do as visitors, and the special things that I, as chief of our tribe, had to do. We arrived at Rakeiao Marae, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti, and met another "tribe" from another bus. They also had a chief. Both of us "chief's' led our tribes to an area in front of the Marae. There, each of us received a chilling, authentic, "Wero" (challenge) from a Maori warrior. After each chief indicated that we came in peace, we were welcomed formally by the Maori chief. After the "Powhiri" (formal welcome) each visiting chief had to give a welcome speech on behalf of our tribes. (Members of my tribe were from many parts of the world, including California, Minnesota, South Carolina, China, Japan, Malaysia, Ireland, and Great Britain.) Then we performed the traditional friendly welcome -- the hand shake accompanied by the touching of noses. (I realize all this may sound a bit hokey, but it was actually pretty fun and interesting.) Following that Powhiri we were "enchanted, delighted and entertained" by a variety of traditional Maori performances. We saw a fierce Haka (war dance), the twirling of poi, some stick games and heard some story telling. Then the two visiting chiefs led their tribes to the firepit where the food for the traditional "Hangi" dinner was being cooked. After the chiefs removed the covers from the food in the firepit, we led our tribes into the Wharekai (dining hall) for the Hangi. The food included lamb, pork, chicken, pumpkin, kumara and potatoes (all cooked in the firepit) as well as traditional stuffing and a variety of vegetables. Of course, we had a traditional Kiwi dessert, steamed pudding. Each visiting chief received a symbolic, carved ivory, Maori fish hook. Then all three chiefs said farewell to the others on behalf of their respective tribes, then we (the visiting tribes) left. On the bus back, members of each country represented in our "tribe" sang a song representing their country. (Lisa and I led the Americans in "Take Me Out to the Balll Game.") Then we were back. We said, "'til we meet again" in Maori as we got off. As we walked in, Elma met us and invited us to watch the last of the Three Tenors Christmas Program. How thoughtful! Love to all, |
| 12/21 | Rotorua, New Zealand
At breakfast this morning, Lisa looked out the sliding glass door and spotted a horse with it's foal standing under a spreading tree, looking down at a small sheep that was lying in the grass. A "quintessential farm picture" as she put it. But, as she tried to take a picture, Deane, trying to be helpful, called the pet sheep over -- spoiled the picture, but Lisa got to feed the sheep. We talked some more with Deane and Elma about our travels and did some laundry. After we washed and hung the laundry, we hopped on our bike and rode into town. We toured the town on our bicycle and we were disappointed! It's a place that Kiwi's might go for an action holiday -- lots of "activities" to get involved in. But nothing unique. Not too much of interest to us. Of course, we realize that the typical tourist publications -- of which there is an overabundance, and where we have gotten most of our information -- are all keyed to things to do and places to go that cost money. Those, in general, are not the kinds of things we look for. An interesting tidbit: we noticed a store that advertised their "special holiday shopping hours -- open until 6 every evening!" It's definitely slower paced here than in the US After our tour of town, we ended up going to the "Bath House Cafe" at the town's museum. Even though it was a small, quicky-type cafe, the food was pretty good. We watched a movie in the museum that showed the Maori history in the area. It was a bit heavy on the volcanic eruption that occurred here in the late 1800's -- including benches in the small theater that rocked and rolled in time with the pictures of the eruption -- but interesting nonetheless. The museum is located in a turn-of-the-century bathhouse -- a place where celebrities and common people alike would come for the curative properties of the hot mineral baths. For a time, they even had "electrified" baths. The thinking at the time was, as electricity was sent through the water, it was absorbed into the whole of the submerged body. They stopped when someone found that the electrical charge was only transmitted along the water line with the body. That made it a bit exciting when they tried to apply higher charges for more "healing" properties. The baths are no longer in operation, but several rooms that held the tubs have been restored. Interesting, but hard to imagine sitting in a "wired" bathtub on purpose! We rode home later in the afternoon, took in the laundry, showered, then sat on the porch overlooking the lake (in a distance) and read. We had a pleasant dinner with Deane and Elma tonight. Elma liked to watch soaps in the evening so we retired to read and do puzzles. Love to all, |
| 12/22 | New Zealand, Rotorua to Whitianga
This morning we got up early and went out with Deane on his early morning farm chores. First, we all put on "Guttboots", then we headed out. We fed the chickens, then fed the horses (including the three-day-old foal), then the cattle, then checked on the new sheep that he had bought yesterday. He had purchased six ewes, each with a lamb or two -- paid $30 apiece for them. He was concerned about one lamb that looked to be alone. When he checked closer, sure enough, that lamb had been abandoned. It's ewe had taken it's other lamb and gone into another paddock. We went back to the house and got some milk in a bottle, then fed the little guy. The whole experience was real "Old McDonald" -- not a big business farm, but some sheep, some cows, some chickens, etc. After the chores we had breakfast. That's when we heard more about Deanes past farming ventures. (He's been a farmer all of his life.) Elma also called a few B&B's up in the Coromandal for us, but they were booked. We said to let it go, we'd find something when we got there. (This was the first night we hadn't set something up in advance. We saw that there were a lot of places in the Coromandal, and, since we had not had any trouble up to now getting a place, we thought . . . but what we DIDN'T think of is that this is Christmas week and school's out.) Then people started coming in. First his sister and her son. He was going to mow the lawns before they left on holiday. Then a neighbor brought a lamb over for Deane to butcher. He wanted to have it for Christmas dinner. Then someone else came in for something else. They have a busy place! We were getting too mixed up with all the people, so we said our good-byes and slipped out. We drove up the Coromandal Peninsula, (a very popular spot for Kiwi's taking an outdoor vacation, we learned.) The drive was not far but it was slow. The road seemed to have non-ending tight curves for miles and miles. But the area is very natural and very pretty. We stopped in Paranau? for lunch. There we went to the local Information bureau office to ask them if they could get us lodging for the night. The woman wasn't very helpful and she really put Lisa off . . . so we left. Decided to do it ourselves. After four calls, it tuned out that Lisa was able to get lodging at one of the places that she had really liked from the start. She just hadn't been able to reach them earlier. On the way up to the B&B in Whitianga, we stopped at the "Hot Water Beach" to check it out. (It's called Hot Water Beach because, at low tide, hot springs bubble up through the sand.) We decided to come back tomorrow at low tide. The B&B, "The Peacheys" is up a hill from the beach in Whitianga. They have a nice view of the coast from their front windows. Our room has a wonderful view of their award-winning landscaped garden area. When we walked in, our hosts, Yvonne and Dale, were talking to another couple who had just arrived. It turned out that Richard and Leslie were from the USA West coast too. They're from Seattle. We all sat and talked for a couple of hours while we had tea, beer and wine. We found out that Richard is an avid fisherman -- he brought six poles with him so he would have the right one for every possible situation. We also found out that he likes beer. He drank five or six while we talked. We finally left and went to dinner in town. We had a really good, gourmet dinner . . . and it cost us less than that famous dinner at the B&B outside of Greymouth. Before we got back, the wind had come up again. Dale and Yvonne did not think that meant rain though. That's good! Love to all, |
| 12/23 | New Zealand, Whitianga to Auckland
We had a leisurely breakfast this morning. Spent an hour or so just chatting with Yvonne and Dale. At ten, we were on our bike heading for "Hotwater Beach", about 25 km down the coast. We had a shovel, a bucket and beach towels -- necessary requisites for visiting the Hotwater Beach -- bungied onto our rear rack. (Yvonne and Dale loaned them to us.) We rode along the shore of Mercury Bay to the Whitianga wharf. There we caught a ferry (the tiniest one we've ever seen) across the river mouth to Cook's Beach -- about 30 yards across and 10 yards downstream from the Witianga wharf. From there we rode the backroads to the beach. The roads were hilly, remote, quiet, peaceful and hilly. Hotwater Beach is reputed to be a place where hot springs bubble up through the sand in the tidal areas. The hot springs can only be felt at low tide, so we timed our arrival. There were about thirty people in one area. Some were laying in little ponds made by scooping out the sand and building a levee to keep the ocean water out. Some were digging new ponds. Many were walking around looking bewildered and having fun. We walked around on the wet sand. Occasionally we felt warm water, but when we dig our feet down into the sand to see if warm water was coming up, we hit cold. We thought, "the warm water is just sun warming of the water trapped in the little ponds. There's no hot springs here." Lisa said, "It's a hoax! It's just a local story perpetuated by the tourism industry." Well, she said that until she practically burned her foot! She found some truly hot water. We tracked it to an area that had occasional bubbles coming up and had water so hot that we couldn't stand in it -- even for a second! We shared a large diked pond with two couples from Germany. One of the women used our bucket for scooping cold water from the ocean to cool our "pond" when it got too hot. It was a real kick to experience a "natural hot tub" right in the ocean! After about an hour, we were thoroughly cooked, from both the water and the sun. Time to head back. On the way we stopped in Hahie Beach and had lunch in a funky little cafe called "Luna Cafe -- We're open until we've closed!" (The name got us.) We had a nice lunch, then headed back. We got to The Peachey's B&B about 4, returned their shovel, bucket and beach towels, loaded the bike on the car, and headed for Auckland. We took the long, scenic way around the end of the Coromandal peninsula. It was very curvy, very slow and very scenic. We got to Auckland about 7:30. Our B&B is in the Parnell District, an area with very old, very large, very nice houses that is right outside the town center. Our B&B is one of those houses. Our room is very small but very nice. The ceiling is up about 14 feet -- higher than the room is wide. We walked down to Parnell Street for dinner. There are about 50 restaurants representing every ethnicity one could think of. We picked an Italian place, La Bucco. (It was recommended by our host, Alan.) As we've gotten to expect in New Zealand, the food was quite good! Back to our room for a late night turn in. We'll visit the city tomorrow. Love to all, |
| 12/24 | Auckland, New Zealand
We had a nice breakfast and chat with Alan this morning. Then we went out to walk the town. We started by walking back to Parnell Street. Lots of restaurants and upscale shops there. We found a few things to buy, then headed for the downtown. It was about a twenty minute walk into the center of town. After we left the Parnell District, we walked through the campus of the Auckland University. We noted that there were few people around and everything seemed really quiet for a Christmas Eve day. Then a local asked if she could help us find something. We told here where we were headed. We also commented on how quiet the streets were. She answered both our questions by taking us to Queen Street -- the main commercial district of the downtown. Auckland, with a population of over a million, is New Zealand's largest city. (New Zealand has a total population of less than 10 million, so Auckland IS their big city.) Downtown Auckland is like any large city -- neither more nor less impressive than any other big city we've visited. It IS bustling with Christmas shoppers -- not like Valley Faire or Stanford -- but still busy. Christmas in New Zealand is not quite as frenetic as it is in the U.S. Also, the family meal tradition here is to have a barbecue at the beach -- yet, we're told that one must have a "booking" to get into a restaurant for dinner on Christmas. Anyway, we found a few more things to buy in the downtown stores. Then we went to the Victoria Park Markets, a group of "alternative" type shops. (To me, they seemed to be mixed merchandise shops just a step up from "flea market" stalls.) We DIDN'T buy anything there. Then we thought we'd catch the local "Link" bus, a bus that runs a loop through and around town, back to Parnell. As we were waiting for the bus, another couple came up. We started talking. They were from Nova Scotia. They were here on the second stop of a cruise of the Polynesian Islands. They were waiting for a courtesy van to pick them up. When the van came, they got in. Then the driver turned to us and asked where we were going. "Parnell" we said. "Hop in" he said. He gave us a free ride right to "The Elephant House", a gift shop that we were hurrying back to before they closed. There was no charge. Apparently, the courtesy van is paid for by the tourist bureau or something. We walked back to our B&B for the rest of the afternoon. I read. Lisa read and napped. We walked back to the Parnell District for dinner. We went to a place called NSP -- Non Solo Pizza. (Lisa tells me it means, "not just pizza" and, she says, "It's a great name!" So, for Christmas Eve we had some Italian side dishes as an appetizer and a pizza for the main . . . while Louie Armstrong sang "Tenderly" in the background. Kinda weird. When we left the restaurant, the weather was misty. As we walked, we caught sight of Auckland's "Sky Tower". The Sky Tower is, as you would imagine, a tall tower with sightseeing and restaurant decks, topped by a transmission point. In the daylight, it's a rather ugly silver tower -- skinny at the bottom and at the top, fat in the middle where most of the revolving decks are. At night, however, (when we saw it), the tower is lit up. The bottom is red, the fat middle is blue, and the TV antenna is white. Well, tonight, the very top was just barely in the clouds, so it fairly "glowed" with the light aura around it. We walked on back to the B&B, had a glass of Port, listened to Christmas music, read. Merry Christmas to all! Love, |
| 12/25 | Auckland, New Zealand to The International Date Line
Christmas morning. Yesterday, we bought a basket of mixed candies for our host and gave it to him at breakfast. He prepared a special Christmas breakfast for all his guests. Lots of good food choices, very elegant, champaign, etc. plus, he had a gift for each of us. At breakfast we met a couple from England. We exchanged travel stories, discussed the Bush/Gore debacle, and generally chatted for an hour and a half. Then the maid service came and we all had to get moving. We got everything packed for air travel in little more than an hour. We loaded the car with our three bags and the bike and headed out. We drove through a couple of neighborhoods that we had read about. Everything was closed and all was quiet and deserted. We drove down Ponson Street, reputed to have the largest concentration of restaurants in town. It did . . . all closed . . . except one -- "Estasi". It turned out to be a wonderful find. They had about a dozen wonderful-sounding choices on the menu -- including several special Christmas dishes. Even a turkey dinner. Everything had unusual touches; for instance, the "typical" turkey dinner was actually turkey with some kind of coconut stuffing and mango sauce. By the way, this is the first place that we've seen turkey as a food choice since we left the U.S. Lots of chicken . . . no turkey, so this was a real surprise. This city really closes down for Christmas. I guess most people are at the beach for their Christmas barbecue. So we headed out to the airport. We unloaded the bags and the bike, then I returned the car. We took our bags and our naked bike to the check-in counter. We had to adjust items in our gear bags because one exceeded 35 kilos -- but they just tagged the bike and took it as "fragile baggage" with "special handling." We've got our fingers crossed. At the airport we met many other (former) Odyssey riders. Wynn and "young" Dave, Dave and Pam, Mickey and Eric, Anne and Walte, Art and Lynne. We had lots of time to chat. Of course, TK&A and the Odyssey supplement was a prime topic of discussion. TK&A's schedule called for some very long riding days.* Plus, the need to stay on schedule had them riding in the rain for 10 days out of the 21 they were in New Zealand. Then, riders reported that they have hit LOTS of rain in Hawaii. We really feel sorry for them. It's just uncanny, the bad luck that seems to follow Odyssey. Here we were, in the same country, during the same time period, and we hardly had any rain at all. Go figure. *(By the way, we heard from two different sources that Tim got on a bike in New Zealand, rode for 40k's, then held up his fist for a sag. Then, that night, he apologized to the group and acknowledged that the days were too long and the ride was really hard. Wow!) EVERYONE here is sure that they made the right decision not to continue with TK&A and that doing New Zealand on our own was the best thing. Our flight took off on schedule at 7:15. About 8:20 an announcement said we had just crossed the International Date Line. It was now Christmas Eve again! Love to all, |
| 12/25 | International Date Line to Los Angeles, California
As we crossed the International Date Line, we adjusted our watches to California time. It was 11:20 p.m. on Christmas Eve. We watched a few movies, worked a few puzzles, and snoozed as best we could. We landed in Los Angeles about 10:10. Merry Christmas again! We said our goodbyes to all of the fellow Odyssey riders that were on the plane. Everyone is disbursing to their homes in various parts of the country. A taxi took us to our hotel in Beverly Hills. We checked in, left our gear and bike in our room, and went out looking for a place to have our (2nd) Christmas dinner. We were lucky! Since it's Christmas day, almost everything's closed. But, it turns out we were in a Jewish neighborhood and a famous Jewish Restaurant/Deli/Bakery, called Canter's, was nearby. It's just like a New York deli, and it was mobbed! I had a turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. And I had matza ball soup for the starter. Lisa had something called "mishmosh." It was chicken and noodles in motza ball soup with a kreplach -- that's a kind of a Jewish wonton. What a reentry into the States! At the restaurant, we talked to several people about the movies -- are they open, what's playing, where are they? We were told, respectively: of course! this is a big movie day for L.A.; lots of outstanding movies have just been released; and, there are theatres all around here. On the walk back to our hotel, we picked up a few papers, checked out the movie availability, made plans to go to one later, set the alarm for 60 minutes, and took a nap. Three and a half hours later we woke up. So much for the movies! We walked over to Canter's for a light dinner. Then we picked up some popcorn for dessert in our room while we watched a TV movie, and read. Love to all, |
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