Greetings and salutations! Welcome back! Get to see you again this week! I hope your new year is already exceeding your expectations!
Another week of non-stop adventure. On a somewhat disappointing note, I learned early in the week that my tentative plans to meet up with Elizabeth and Barrie in Gisborne are cancelled. Their plans changed so the proposed dates were unworkable.
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| Meet Moby |
I briefly flirted with the idea of traveling to Fiji on January 17 for nine nights; returning to Auckland to catch my January 27 flight to Perth. Sincere thanks to my new friend (and travel agent extraordinaire) Janet Tucker for her help is quickly assembling a couple potential travel packages to Fiji. As appealing as the idea of traveling to Fiji was, I was unsure I'd get the in-country experience I wanted. Perhaps another time. My proposed stop in the Maldives in April will be the better option.
I'm also starting to plan my upcoming trip to Perth. I'll likely spend most of my month traveling south of Perth where the temperature is relatively cooler. I've found a couple helpful travel blogs that have most details I need for my planning. I've also researched car rentals so I have an idea about those details. A key next step is determining my travel arrangements to Indonesia. Australia requires travel confirmation about your departure from their country in order for you to enter the country. Finalizing the departure date will help with finalizing the remaining Australian related travel details.
Travel Administration
This week's advice - leave your jewelry at home. More below.
Travel Maps
Tracking this past week's travel: North Island Travel - As of January 4, 2025. Please note my North Island travels now appear in two links: December 1 - December 21 and December 22 - January 11, 2025 below.
November 1 - November 30
December 1 - December 21
December 22, 2024 - January 11, 2025
Napier
Interesting city on the east coast. As I mentioned in last week's post, the city experienced an earthquake on February 3, 1931 that had horrific consequences with 256 people losing their lives. The civic government had the foresight to preserve many of the Art Deco buildings, houses and facades to retain its history for us to enjoy today. Seeing these buildings brought back memories of my time attending the University of Alberta. The
Varscona Theatre, built in 1927, brought Art Deco into my life as I'd pass by the theatre frequently on the way to classes.
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This building, built/occupied by Civic Works,
survived the earthquake. |
I visited the following destinations courtesy of Peter, my newest isite friend.
I drove the scenic route to the Peak. Peter suggested taking Tuki Tuki Road, which the bus tours used to showcase the local topography for cruise ship passengers on their way to the Peak. Another road construction marvel as you drive up to the Peak. The road narrows to one vehicle width as you approach the top with a sheer drop-off on the one side. A few turnouts are included along the way to facilitate passing traffic. The trick sometimes is convincing the other driver they need to back up when the turnout is closer for them.
My ever growing list of New Zealand's stunning views. I admire the people who made the return trip to the peak by either walking, cycling or running. The road is fairly steep as you near the peak. Another cool windy morning when having a jumper (sweater) was helpful.
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A geographical marker for surveying
purposes |
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Te Mata Peak from Tuki Tuki Road
On my way! |
Honorable Mentions
I made the following two stops from Peter's list out of curiosity. I'm including them should you have an interest in either/both as possible destinations in your future. The honey store offered samples of honey infused with different flavours like lavender as well as manuka honey.
Ormond Road
I have an affinity for roadways where the trees make this amazing archway.
Sanders/Logan Avenue
Let me immerse you in the art deco homes that found on these two Napier avenues. There is a simple elegance in the design that I find appealing.
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| My favourite |
Another drive up a winding narrow road leads to your chance for an expansive view of Napier harbour, the surrounding area and out to sea. Notice how overcast sky - did rain later in the day.
On the return trip to my hotel, by way of a gelato store, I came upon this restaurant.
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| What would you like? |
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Who'd thunk I'd see this in Napier?
Prior to traveling to NZ I was
working in Wisconsin, USA |
Homemade gelato courtesy of someone who moved to NZ from New Delhi to start a business.
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What homemade gelato to choose?
Was simple today. |
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| Dark chocolate with raspberry ripple gelato |
Napier to Rotorua
The drive to Rotorua, through Taupō, was memorable. There were three of the longest and steepest ascents (descents as well) in the mountains of this entire trip. It's one of those moments when I was wondering if my little Suzuki Swift was going to make it. I was so thankful that there was only a light rain in one section of this drive. Then, all of a sudden, the up and down in the mountains disappeared and the road both flattened and straightened out. A sigh of relief!
I made a quick stop in this town which receives lots of attention in travel blogs. This town and its lake has become a busy tourist destination. Neil, who I met later in the week (see Waiotahe Beach below), mentioned he grew up in Taupō. What was memorable for him was the mayor's foresight to have power poles placed a distance away from the existing roads in anticipation of wider roads being needed in the future. The mayor was right about the town's future.
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| Lake Taupō |
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| Lake Taupō beach |
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There is a longstanding contest to hit a golf ball
into a hole on the white platform in the water.
The guy in the photo was consistently hitting the
platform. |
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| Win $10,000 by hitting a hole in one |
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| Another interesting lakeside sculpture |
Rotorua
There are two primary reasons that you travel to Rotorua that I gathered from my research. One reason is all the geothermal activity - bubbling mud, geysers and hot springs. The second reason is
Hobbiton which is about an hour away. The best I can do with my blog is share my geothermal adventures with you. Sorry, Hobbiton was off my radar.
Rotorua has a developed a great lakeside (Lake Rotorua) walkway within the city.
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| Lakeshore architecture |
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| Lake Rotorua |
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| More architecture |
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| Some birds |
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| More of same birds |
Redwoods - Whakarewarewa Forest
I enjoyed a wonderful two hour hike that started in this redwood forest. I met a couple local guys hiking who advised me that the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, had just announced his resignation (pending finding a new leader). Yes, the world is a very small place. He started sharing more of his political views (he was happy the world had one less left leaning leader) which was now interfering with his walk. He and his walking mate resumed their frenetic pace and I returned to my hiking bliss.
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| California Redwoods |
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| Rotorua/Lake Rotorua |
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| Rotorua and surroundings |
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If I would have hung around long enough
I would have seen the geyser do its thing. |
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| Up the steps we go |
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I let my curiosity get the better of me
I wanted to know what this marker
meant as there had been the same
marker on Te Mata Peak |
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Simple answer - all part of the geographical
survey work |
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| More park info |
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Several hiking and mountain biking trails
in this park |
With memories of how relaxed I was after visiting Hamner Springs thermal pools on the South Island, I was looking for a repeat experience at these hotpools. These hotpools were a much simpler operation. Three hotpools with different water temperatures - 30 C, 35C and 40C. For some unknown reason, you had to ask the staff to identify the temperature for the different pools (instead of having the temperature information signposted by the pools). Was an ok experience; do prefer Hamner Springs though.
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| Cool pool |
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| Picnic area |
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| Hotpool |
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| Boiling hot spring water - yikes |
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| 40C pool in background |
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| Beautiful surroundings |
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| Smoking hot water being fed in the hotpools |
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| Hot, hot, hot |
Rotorua to Hicks Bay
I made one important stop on my four hour drive to Hicks Bay to join a horse trek. The section of road between Ōpōtiki and Lottin Point Motel was one of the most scenic I've driven in New Zealand. Much of the road follows the coastline so the sea is your travel companion. I would recommend this route if this is the travel experience you are wanting. Several places to stop along the way to swim or picnic. I did have reservations about this drive based on what I had learned from the local I met when traveling to Kawhia in December. He mentioned how demanding the drive was. While the road is windy in sections, I have driven much more 'demanding' roads in New Zealand.
Success at last! I managed to book a horse trek! Sunny and cool day. It was what I would call a simple ride (horse did everything on his own) in the midst of a beautiful setting.
Today's added bonus was chatting with Penny, a longtime friend of Lucy who owns the trekking company. Penny had grown up in this part of the country. She had shown up to offer her assistance to her friend.
So much to share about Penny from the twenty minute convo. Penny is the person you call if you want help with designing open spaces like parks. Her husband builds sailboats. At one point in their lives, they lived in Washington State for about 18 months building the American sailboat for the America's Cup. He is now retired (involuntarily) from managing a boat building business with 100 plus employees after having a difference of opinion with a director. They live on a ten acre piece of land just outside Matakana (just north of Auckland) they are now considering to subdivide - to be in Penny's hands to move forward. She also mentioned they own a beautiful century house that she would like to sell and her husband would like to keep. She noted that the difference of opinion with her husband about the house was unexpected after having lived all this time together. She thought she might have to compromise. She was staying with her sister-in-law who lived in the area. Her sister-in-law was ostracized from her siblings given her unfriendly temperament. Appears the sister-in-law has challenges when she has a nip of the bottle.
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| Horse trek meeting point |
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| Action shot #1 |
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Action shot #2
Note the lake and mountain in
background |
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| Action shot #4 |
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| Action shot #3 |
I infrequently provide photos from the locations that I stay at. This motel is an exception. It's perched overlooking the ocean making for spectacular views.
I met and chatted with Carol - motel GM; Roger - motel owner. I also met fellow travellers Rene and Doris, a Swiss couple traveling the North Island. They spent Christmas with their son and his family, who live in New Zealand. Rene is retired; Doris is a free lance writer who continues to work. They shared they had driven to Fletcher Bay which involved being on a gravel road for about 80 km. Their reward was a flat tire which they discovered the morning after from their Fletcher Bay road trip. Talk about being blessed! My blessing was the heads up on the extended gravel road experience which I will avoid. Something about the car insurance being voided if you experience an issue while traveling on gravel roads.
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| Looking east |
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| Looking north |
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| Looking west |
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| My room was upper level on the extreme left |
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| Love to watch and listen to the surf |
Hicks Bay to Gisborne
Welcome to what is promoted as the longest wharf in the Southern Hemisphere at 660 metres. Unfortunately the wharf is deteriorating so much that access is blocked at the wharf's halfway point given safety concerns. Someone created a hole in the middle of the fence so if you are really keen you can walk to the end of the wharf. Quite a majestic location with the blue water and rugged sheer cliffs.
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| Wharf entrance |
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| Just the facts! |
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| More facts |
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| Even more facts |
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| That's a long way to the end! |
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| Wharf's right side |
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| Wharf's left side |
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| Midway point |
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| Looking toward the beach |
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| Danger! |
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Wonder if someone is following up
for warranty work? |
Famous surfing beach on the east coast. I inserted this link to share more info about this location. My photos are unable to capture the ocean's energy and presence.
Further down the road from Makorori beach is Wainui beach. I inserted this link to share more info about this location. I just missed the sole windsurfer who had just returned from riding the waves.
Gisborne
Gisborne is the location where James Cook first landed on the islands in 1769 during his first voyage. The Cook Monument is intended to mark the specific location where he came ashore. It also commemorates the Horouta and Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru waka (canoes) which carried Māori to the district.
About five minutes drive from my hotel was Captain Cook's statue. I'm going to stay out of the controversy about his legacy.
Here's a little piece of Canadiana that was gifted to New Zealand to mark its bicentetary year. Thank you to Google Maps again for highlighting this attraction - located right next to the isite center.
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Insight into the totem
pole meaning would be
helpful |
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Getting my bearings outside
the isite center |
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| Where should I go next? |
What an unique location to visit - about 30 minutes from Gisborne! It all started in 1920 with William Douglas Cook ordering two and a half thousand trees and shrubs for his garden. It's now home to over 25,000 species of exotic and native trees, shrubs and climber plants. I discovered, in reading the 'A Dream Shared' signboard onsite that good old Bill might have been a touch crazy (eccentric is the word used). He like to do his gardening in his birthday suit. Apparently women would avoid visiting for fear of finding William naked, working in his garden.
The trees and shrubs have been grouped by the continent they originate from. Six great trails to wander about the property; you can imagine you are exploring the different continents as you hike about the Arboretum.
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| Never enough photos of flowers |
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Raindrops on petals -
my daughter taught me this |
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| Magnificence |
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| Yup. Bill was an interesting man |
12 km (7.5 mi) further up the road from the Arboretum is the widest waterfall I've seen in New Zealand. A mini Niagara Falls. I found that there was simple magic in experiencing these falls.
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The person in foreground provides perspective
on size of falls |
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| Avoid drinking the water! |
Another 2 km (just over a mile) up the road from Rere Falls was one of the more interesting stops in New Zealand. As you see from the photos and videos below, the river bed is stone angled downwards, just like a slide. I was fortunate to witness the young man go down on a boogie board and a mother/daughter combo go down on an air mattress. Looks like great fun when everything goes according to plan. Couple key liabilities - the rock and water combo is extremely slippery making prepping for your slide hazardous and the rock slide can be punishing if you get turned around as you slide down the slope.
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| Top of slide |
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| Slide slope |
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There's a path on the opposite side
to get back to the top |
Gisborne to Tauranga
A few highlights to share from Saturday. My day started at 4:30 am on a monthly Zoom call with a group of friends who met while working with TJX Canada (Winners/HomeSense/Marshalls in Canada). Such a gift to stay in touch with my former colleagues who are now friends. My good friend Karen initiated the first call during COVID with the mantle for hosting the monthly call somehow always finding a person. Thanks to Judy for her commitment to shepherding us now.
I wish I had a way to share the magic from experiencing the four hour drive from Gisborne to Tauranga. The first two hours involved winding my way through the
Waioeka Gorge. You drive up one side of the gorge only to descend into the gorge. The road then follows the river for a good part of the journey. Seeing rock falls by the roadside is somewhat unnerving. Been fortunate, so far, to avoid being on the road when rocks start crashing down.
Interesting intersection of events happened at this beach stop. The path to the intersection started with my New World supermarket stop in
Ōpōtiki to purchase scones. I discovered earlier in the week, on my way to Lottin Point Motel that this supermarket make the biggest and best scones ever! As I was exiting the store, I stopped at a stand where a local school was selling sausages on a bun, with onions and sauce, to support their proposed travel to Japan. With my food in hand, I needed to find a place to enjoy my lunch.
As I pulled into the Waiotahe Beach parking lot to eat my lunch I noticed a couple energetically eating ice cream cones they had purchased at the cart in the photos below. I had totally missed seeing the ice cream cart on entering the parking lot.
With lunch in my tummy, I was ready for real fruit ice cream. It's time to introduce Ethan, the 16 year old owner of the Koasty Kones, purveyor of real fruit ice cream. I subsequently met two more guys, Neil and Laisene (wearing blue shirt in photo) who also stopped for an ice cream to support Ethan in his new business venture (less than two weeks in business). Neil mentioned that he and Laisene had just finished their Jehovah Witness missionary work (standing by a signboard offering church literature). I learned that the three of them all belong to the same Jehovah Witness congregation. I gracefully declined the literature I was offered. Three wonderful people to meet unexpectedly on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I also had a chance to show Ethan how to set up his business on Google Maps as another way to attract customers. Happy to report his Google Maps site is active with nine reviews!
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| Koasty Kones - Ethan in action |
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| Mango - raspberry is missing as an option |
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| Beach as far as the eye can see |
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| In both directions |
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| Notice the sunny day! |
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| Reminder |
Travel Administration
My suggestion - leave your jewelry at home when traveling. The only 'jewelry' I wear is a $20 analog Fossil watch. I wear the watch so I can minimize the number of times I need to reach for my phone - my surrogate timepiece. Jewelry attracts immediate attention; attention you really want to avoid.
Next Week
My destinations in the week ahead include Cathedral Cove, Whitianga, Thames and Auckland so I can return my rental car on January 16. I'm in the process of finalizing my travel plans for my remaining time in NZ (January 16 - 27). We shall see what the universe has in store.
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