Left is Good. Right is Bad.

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Her Story

May 18th

I’ll just add something about the Dragonforce experience… they absolutely require audience participation. The lead singer especially took pains to rouse the crowd, and threw lots of water on people if they didn’t rock hard enough. I think the Kiwis were just way more laid back than the crowds they are used to! For one thing there was no moshing. But Dragonforce wasn’t happy until they saw all hands in the air and all lungs belting out a rockin’ chant. Jumping is preferable, screaming encouraged. If you go to their show, be ready to show your enthusiasm, or suffer water bottle to the face.

May 19th - 21st

It was time to face the music…we picked up our rental car. We have a new mantra, “left is good, right is bad.” I am happy to report no incidents so far! Through the fire and the flames, I carry on (sorry, Dragonforce is still ringing in my ears). It was indeed trial by fire, though. In my first day, I managed to navigate roundabouts, one-lane bridge yielding policy, and a twisty coastal road with about 4 inches of shoulder between me and the sea (slight exaggeration…usually). We also braved the famous “falling rocks” signs, but happily, no boulders in the road today.

Twisty roads aside, it was great to get out of the city-cityness of Auckland. Everyone will tell you that Auckland isn’t really like New Zealand. For a metropolis, it’s nice enough, kind of sea breezy and open, but we’re just simple country folks, we is. We headed straight for the Coromandel (core-oh-MAN-dl) peninsula, which is known for its great beaches and its hippies. The sun was showing off for our inaugural day of touring, sending god-rays down onto the ocean as I steered our way up the teeny tiny highway.

On our way to Coromandel, we did a quick stop at the Auckland aquarium. Or, more accurately, “Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World.” The attractions here are an ocean tank that you view from underneath, as you pass through on a conveyer belt loop. It was fairly nifty, but it’s got nothing on the Monterey tanks. On the other hand, their penguin exhibit is much more impressive! You pass by them in a “snow cat” vehicle on a track, kind of like a tunnel of love thing with wildlife. The intro and to the ride is totally cheesy. The so-called “Antarctic conditions” is nothing more than a spinning plaster tube around the car, meant to make you feel like you’re in a blizzard. However, the opportunity to see plenty of penguins makes it worthwhile. We went twice! The other cool exhibit was a replica of several rooms from New Zealand’s original base hut in the Antarctic, Scott Base, which was established in 1911.

Once out of Auckland, things quickly got rural. After not too long we made it to the Coromandel peninsula, and briefly stopped in the first town. Thames seems like a supply point for the more northerly towns. It’s around 10,000 in population, and boasts a “Pak N Save” (supermarket) and a “Warehouse” (Walmart type thing). Despite these mundane amenities, it seems like a pretty little coastal town, backed by the steep hills that dominate the peninsula. We fueled up on “fish n chip” style mixed seafood, wrapped up in newspaper along with lemons and plenty of fries. One order, $12NZ, was enough for about 3 people. We also got our email fix by hunting down some pay computers at the video rental store. FYI, internet is expensive! We are starting to see rates like $3 for 15 minutes. $1 for 30 mins is the cheapest so far, but that’s only in Auckland.

The next town we hit was Coromandel town (as distinguished from the peninsula as a whole). It reminded me of a mini Mendocino, in some ways. There’s only one short street to check out, though! It has a similar quasi-upscale feel, with mainly boutiquey café restaurants, a few galleries, and a hippie foods market. I found many familiar brands there, like Yogi Tea and Dagoba chocolates, Lundberg Farm rice cakes, etc.

One of the main attractions in Coromandel town is a ride on a miniature train, up through native and replanted forest, to a viewing point high up on a ridge. It was originally built by a famous local potter, who wanted to transport clay from his property down to his workshop (I believe he was digging out clay from the hills). He likes trains nearly as much as potting. Over the decades, he has built a track up the hillsides, built the trains themselves, and created several points of interest along the way, with just a little help. The “Eyeful Tower” is the viewing base at the top, and several sculptures, walls, and tunnels punctuate the ride as well. One of the more creative endeavors is using bottles from parties up on the hill to create retaining walls. He and the staff stack and cement the bottles together to shore up the earth along the track. It beats lugging them all down to street level, I guess.

The scenery we’ve driven through really is “all that.” It’s not unlike the best parts of California, but it’s pretty much only “best parts.” Very, very small on towns, very, very big on views. The landscape seems young, as shown by the scale and pointiness of the hills. There are hundreds of wavy paths worn into several of them, by the treading of many hooves over the years. Did I forget to mention livestock? We aren’t bored of it yet, and often exclaim “Cows!” “Sheepies!” or even “Llama!” It’s not all paddocks though, much of it remains forested (or more accurately, reforested, after the giant kauris were logged out). Fun fact: many kauri logs went to rebuild San Francisco after the quake. Plenty of tree ferns add a touch of exoticism.

We managed to fit in one more “can’t miss” feature of Coromandel before heading south, which is the beach known as “Cathedral Cove.” You need to hike about 40 minutes to get there, and access requires a splash through thigh-deep water when the tide is too high. However, we managed to get there at a great time, when the “hole in the rock” is completely exposed. This hole is the inspiration for the name, and is basically a huge vault opening in a cliffside. Completely dwarfing a person, you feel as if you are walking through something like a natural cathedral, a portal to the beach it is named for.

After judging the air to be plenty warm enough, I jumped into my swimsuit. What now…how about climbing that huge pile of rocks? Why not! A bunch of boulders had been thrown up against the cliff on the far side of the beach, and I managed to get up to the highest one. I also made sure to clamber over to one that was right in the water, close enough to catch some seaspray. The water wasn’t even that cold. Not warm, but not really cold. Not bad for late autumn! Although NZ is experiencing unseasonably mild weather, we shared the beach with only a few families. Beating the crowds during low season seems to be working out pretty nicely.

By the time I was done rock climbing, it was about time to hit the road. It would have been nice to hit Hot Water beach as well, so we could try our hand at digging a hot tub out of the sand, but…”next time.”

There is little more to say about the rest of the day except…driving. Driving driving driving. We were advised that going south via a resort area known as Mt Manganui, near Tauranga on the East Coast, would be a nice way to go. We envisioned staying there, as it was getting dark, but by the time we got there we had built up a pretty bad impression. The highway takes you through the extensive docks, a bad contrast to the unspoiled coastline just to the north. The area is quite populous for NZ, and the resort area turned out to be more like an international strip that you could see anywhere. Pizza Hut, etc etc, far too built up. So, we broke open the Bed and Breakfast book, and ultimately decided to press on for another two hours, all the way to Lake Taupo in the center of the island.

We’d been debating whether to stop in Rotorua at all, since it is so touristy. On the one hand, there are sights to be seen. On the other hand, so touristy. Plus, the whole place stinks of sulfur, from the “geothermal wonderland” that is Rotorua’s main trade. At this point, it made sense to just bypass it entirely, since it was pitch dark, and we just wanted to eat dinner and crash somewhere.

Thank goodness for Bed and Breakfasts. It seems to mesh nicely with our style of travel. In Coromandel town, we tried out the upscale “Anchor Motel” first, lured by the idea of a private hot tub and internet accessability. The rooms were plush, more like studios with their own kitchens. (I believe cooking capabilities are more or less the norm for motel rooms). However, the hot tub was only just getting warm due to a complete water change that morning, plus it was practically in the parking lot. The internet was accessible, but $2/15 mins. Plus, we felt overcharged at $125 in low season, while another couple was being quoted $110 (our host claimed the other host was confused…right). A slight saving grace was a friendly kitty hanging out by the hot tub.

Lesson learned, we tried a BnB the next day. $95 for a double (2 person bed) ensuite (with private bathroom off of the bedroom), plus a huge breakfast. The place we ended up picking had a very pervasive cat theme, hence the name, “Cozy Cat.” The kitsch was amusing, but more importantly, our host (Gordon) was amiable and up for a good chat. An English native, he’s lived in NZ for many years. The house cat, 17 years young, was an attention hog. We gave her plenty of lovin’. Gordon even keeps a cattery, a cat hotel with several guests. We were permitted a visit in the morning, when the kitties were ready for company. Cute!

Next we tried a place near Taupo called “Maimoa” farmstay, which turned out to be the gorgeous home of two more British expatriates! They had a sizeable “lifestyle section” as they are called. In other words, a big chunk of land suitable for a farm. They had a few cows, plus a lab and a kitty. More cute animals! We had a great talk over fabulous breakfast with Margaret and Godfrey, about our NZ dreamin’ and much more. Homemade bread and fresh farm eggs helped make the spread memorable. We’ve been encouraged to keep in touch.

This morning we did a quick tour of some sights near Lake Taupo, specifically the “Craters of the Moon” and “Huka Falls.” Huka falls is rather small really, but the impressive factor is the sheer force of the rapids going over the edge. A hydroelectric plant nearby provides 15% of all New Zealand’s electricity, and that’s just one river!

The Craters were fairly surreal. The low, rolling land is pocked with holes, small to very very large, spewing out lots and lots of white, eggy-smelling steam. The only plants that can handle the acidic, hot conditions are mostly mosses. You have to keep to the path, or risk creating a new person-sized crater. The cap of the walk is a peer into the depths of a boiling mud pool. Blorp. Sizzle. Cool.

Tonight, we’re continuing the BnB trend. We’re happily ensconced in the home of some “real Kiwis,” as I’m sure they could aptly be described! We’ve made it down to Napier, in the Hawke’s Bay region, known for wine and fruit. The house is a nice big 60’s beast, on a hilltop farm with an ocean view, known as “The Grange.” Another welcoming dog follows us around the property, as does an enterprising kitten. More cute animals! Our hosts, Roslyn and Don, are natives to this area, and Don is a third generation NZ winemaker. We’re putting his knowledge to good use, as we requested a map of the best cabernet vitners in the area for our taste tours tomorrow. We also get to feed their farm animals in the morning. Strangely, it is no longer unusual for us to be up and about at 7:30, so we’ll be bright eyed and bushy tailed. That is, if I manage to wrap up this blog!

Good night all, talk to you later. Peace out!

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Photos

Penguin
Cute!

Towering view
Never looks as nice in pictures but...what an eyefull!

Choo choo
Ben with the homemade train...adorable.

Eyefull Tower
Perched among the native and replanted forest, perfectly situated for harbor views.

Ben hikes to the beach
Part of the trek to Cathedral cove...looks like a good environment for gnomes.

Hole in the rock
I feel like I'm in a gothic cathedral! Whee!

Juni Strutting
I'm afraid I'll have to keel you, Mr. Bond.

Big Rock
It'sa rock...it'sa big.

Steamy action
Was that you, or was it the geothermal activity?

Sizzle blorp
That stuff past my head is boiling roiling mud.

Falls
Crikey, that's alotta watah!

Juni Sunset
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Comments

[Alexis]

Those are some beautiful pics of the sights. Looks like you guys are having a great time. I am definitely jealous!