Tauranga, Whakatane, Opotiki

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Around January 20th we left Whangarei and headed to the east coast south of Auckland. Originally we had planned to go to Rotorura first, then swing over to Tauranga to visit the daughter of my first cousin Judith.

However, it began to rain the night before we left Whangarei, and we drove through an intense downpour during which one city south of Auckland became flooded. We changed our plans from sight-seeing in Rotorura to going straight to stay with Natasha and Steve, who encouraged us to do so. The rain kept up off and on for a couple of days.

Natasha had visited my parents in London, Ontario, about 16 years ago when she was on a scholarship to study in North America. I had never met her because we were living in Alberta at the time, so she showed me pictures of her visit in London at that time. Natasha invited over her brother Damian and his father Errol who gladly came by to meet us. We were practically celebrities!!!!

The greatest treat on my birthday, January 26, was to not be in the snow and winter. We set out for Rotorura, and as the morning progressed the skies cleared and the sun came out for the afternoon! It was fantastic. We had a picnic on the lawn in front of the museum, where we spent the afternoon. We didnt' have time to see anything else. That night Natasha showed me how she makes Pavlova Roll. Pavlova is the meringue dessert described earlier on this site. This one is made in a flat tray, then cooled and covered with creme, then rolled like a jelly roll. After it sets in the fridge for a while, it can be cut into slices. Nice and easy. And sweet but light.

One day we went to a local beach and dug for pippies in the water with Steve's mother June, who is a load of fun. Pat and Steve later used the pippies for bait after cooking them on the stove, and went fishing in the ocean. They caught a starfish, the anchor, and pippies. When I asked Joel what was his favourite part of going fishing with his Dad and Pat, he said "Peeing off the side of the boat!" So it was a success all round.

We were in Tauranga for a week, some of which time was spent just resting. It's amazing how being on holiday can wear you out. I found myself yearning for a day of lazing about reading and no more looking at sights for a while. We have been keeping up our running, when it can fit into our travel schedule, mostly Mon Wed and Fri still. Unfortunately I fell on our first run in Tauranga, and gashed my hands and right elbow severely. As I write this on March the 2nd, the healing is well under way on the elbow. Heck, the scab just fell off yesterday! It was in the most inconvenient spot - where I kept banging it on the console in the car reaching for maps or just resting my arm. For the first week I had to keep changing bandages so I had to stay out of all the hot pools and spas anyway. Oh well, perhaps we will see Rotorura on the way back to Auckland.

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Photos

Upper Hutt
Outside Wellington we stopped for a car check here. The young fellow hoisted our car up, said the noise was from a loose heat deflector on the muffler, removed the rear one and welded the front one, all in about 10 minutes from our arrival.Then CHARGED US NOTHING because it wasn't a big job. So send all your friends here for the great service!

Hamilton Botanical Gardens
My cousin Natasha accompanied us with her son Joel on a brief trip here. It was very hot and humid, then rainy.

Hamilton Gardens
Pat and Joel sport our solution to rain and intense sunshine all in the same day. In the scenic Indian gardens section.

Hamilton gardens
Steve, husband of Natasha, was interested in using this as a backdrop for some of his wedding photography. So he took a sample with a willing subject.

On the drive back to Tauranga
Steve showed us a beautiful park where they go for picnics near where they live.

Chez Natasha and Steve
Natasha is a chef and whipped up fantastic meals while I sat and watched and Pat got into the wine. Oops I mean drink of water.

My Birthday!
On January 26 we went to Rotorura, a local centre of Maori culture and geothermic wonders. There are geysers, bubbling mud and hot pools among other things.

One of the hot pools
But this one is not for swimming. Strong sulpher smell dominates the city, especially here.

Kiwi Humour
On the way to Rotorura, this cafe was across the street from the gas station where we spent a few moments.

Road to Rotorura
There are many twists and turns, and most of the traffic goes much faster than us driving on the left with greater caution than the locals. This gave me distraction from hanging on for dear life.

These tall hedges
are seen everywhere, shaved and all. This one would be at least 15 feet tall. They form wind and weather protection for the fruit or other tender plants in the orchard within.

Another example of a hedge
This one is around a kiwi orchard, part of kiwi360 which we visited outside Tauranga.

Again
Note the size of the hedge compared to the height of te kiwi trees, which are pruned to about 5 feet.

Kiwi Orchard
And see how well maintained the fields are. Nary a weed in sight. And the hedge! Carefully shaved! This I cannot get used to.

Colourful point of interest
while on the tour of the kiwi orchard

We are riding around on a train
of kiwi-shaped carts. I refused to take a picture of us on the grounds that it would be demeaning. And here is a photo op.

A Kiwi that failed
Here is an example of a species of kiwi that was tried but failed for mass production because it didn't keep well for export.

Mini species
I thought that these were babies, but they are in the supermarkets, at about twice the price of the regular ones.

I think these are golden kiwi
Who would have guessed that there were so many species of kiwi fruit???

On the tour
We are invited to get up close and personal with a real working orchard on the tour.

This is for frost protection
Not that it happens very often, but in case there is a risk, water is sprayed on the crop, and helicopters hover over the orchards at night to encourage the warm air to rise over the plants, and shoo away the cold air.