Auckland Museum and Parnell

We visited the Auckland Museum today and learned about the Maori culture. There were examples of their war canoes and Maori ceremonial buildings as well as many displays featuring their crafts, weapons, tools and carvings. Large Maori wooden carvings showed faces and masks that were meant to intimidate others (often with eyes wide and tongues sticking out). The walls of the ceremonial building were lined with these carvings (almost like totem poles) and the eyes were made of iridescent shells so that they appeared to glow. We saw a Maori performance that highlighted some of the Maori songs and dances they are famous for… including their war dance where all the performers tried to intimidate by making fierce scowls with wide eyes. Evidently, these dances were meant to be contests between rivals and often some rivals would acquiesce to the most intimidating one (a foreshadowing of the battle between them) and often real war was avoided this way. Some of the dancers would use white balls at the end of strings and their gestures would mimic birds, wind and they could also be used as instruments. The War canoe was made of one piece of wood and was over 20 meters long! The view from the museum on top of a hill was breathtaking and we could see Devonport in the distance. Afterwards we went to a very historic and quaint suburb called Parnell where we ate lunch in the basement of a building that opened out unto the street and neighborhood behind it. We played in the park at Devonport late in the day when the tide was very low and saw the sky turn all different shades of purple and pink which was reflected in the water. Sailboats went by and we even saw a tugboat. After the busy pace of Auckland, it is always nice to come home to Devonport and be calmed by the incredible views of water and islands.

Warkworth

We spent the morning on the beach building sand castles and swinging. Max even went swimming in the ocean! Then, in the afternoon Max, Chris and I took a ride north to a historic village called Warkworth. On the way we stopped to admire the forest views and found a trail leading through a Kapoi forest to Pohuehue Waterfall. It was a beautiful rainforest filled with Punga trees (which are the large fern trees that grow to over 20 meters!). We walked through a very wet (and sometimes dark) forest and came to a landing where we looked down at the waterfall below. The river seemed so quiet and just spilled down several large rocks forming the pool below. Max loves the Christian Slade books about Korgi (fantasy books with no words but very detailed drawings about mollies and their corgis who rescue them from villains). He thought this forest looked just like Corgi Hollow from these books. Later, we arrived in Warkworth and wandered around the shops and boardwalk that went along the river all the way to the ocean. There was a great playground next to the river and also a huge meadow that ran down the side of a hill. Max picked daisies from the field and we later ate tapas at a café. This area (along with Waiheke Island) is famous for its clean water and great weather for wine. We bought a special bottle of Mantanato wine to take back to Bri and Arran.

Waiheke Island

Today we took a ferry from Devonport to Waiheke Island and sat on top where we could also see the pilot and copilot drive the ferry. We passed smaller volcanic islands along the way and landed in Matiatia Bay. We had to walk up and down a hill to reach the town center of Oneroa. There we bought a lunch of fish sandwiches and fish and chips and walked down to the beach to eat at a picnic table. We had lunch with a large group of seagulls who loved the Oneroa beach. The seagulls were insistent that they be fed part of our lunch, and one even made off with a big piece of bacon! Afterwards we took a bus ride to the edge of the island, Onetangi Bay. (Onetangi means murmuring sands). Along the way we saw lots of beautiful vineyards situated in the rolling hills of the island. There are very few big hotels in New Zealand. There are a lot of B&Bs or Bed and Breakfasts. People open up their homes and rent out rooms to travelers. The hotels and motels that we saw around our travels tend to be small with less than fifteen rooms. On Onetangi there were some beach apartments and very few people around. The bus only picked up once an hour so we didn’t want to miss it or we would miss our ferry back to Devonport. Bri showed me some special candy they made on the island after a children’s character called Pingu. Pingu is a spunky little penguin, and the candy is a very detailed version of the character (complete with a belly button and bow tie) that is made of a soft flavored jelly bean licorice. We made it back on the 4:00 ferry and bought some quiche, meat pies, and pumpkin soup to eat at home.

Devonport

Today was a quiet day at home in Devonport. I went into town to do some work in the morning at the local coffee shop. Afterwards, we got Chinese food for lunch. And then in the afternoon, Brianna had to go into the office for meetings. When the boys woke up from their naps, we went on a long walk along the Devonport coast line until it got dark. The sailboats on the sea at dusk are a beautiful sight… but the city lights of Auckland that night across the bay were so clear and stunning! Devonport is a popular town that is a short ferry ride from Auckland … so many people live here and commute on the ferry to work or shop in Auckland. The ferry terminal is at the base of the village and next to it is a little park and the village library. There are stores and coffee shops in the terminal and there is even a ‘Magic Broomstick Tour’ which is a segeway rental store (although I never saw anyone use one). People from Takapuna and other surrounding towns drive and park along the street next to the library and late in the afternoon around 6:00pm you can see all of the people disembarking the ferry and making their way to their cars or homes. One day when we were walking to town, two fire trucks and three police cars passed by us and we learned there had been a fire at one of the houses by the market (one of the spectators told us that this was the most excitement they had had in a while). In the mornings all the regular buses are school buses and many of the children dress in uniforms to go to Takapuna Grammar School (which is in a very fancy building!). Children at the playgounds often are barefooted and there are several ‘take away’ stores where you can pick up fish and chips or take-away chicken.

Hamilton Gardens and Rotorua

Today we rented a car and drove inland to Hamilton and Rotorua. the Waikato River runs through Hamilton and the Hamilton Gardens are a major attraction. There were lots of people walking the river and wandering through the gardens with their dogs and families. There are gardens organized by country as well as plant (including the history of the rose or camelia) and we saw an Italian, Indian, 1050's American, Japanese, English and Maori garden. All of them were unique and represented a different phase of ornamental landscaping. It is fall here and some of the trees are turning bright colors and stand alongside beautiful palm trees and huge ferns. Rotorua is in the middle of the North Island and boasts hot springs and hot mud baths popping up all over the place. There are special caves where you can raft down an inner river and see glowworms. Lake Rotorua is hot in spots but is huge and there are all kinds of boating and recreation around the area. We then drove over the Kaima Matango Forest to Tauranga to spend the night. An enormous cloud in the sky chased us all the way there. There are steep cliffs where we saw sheep and alpaca farms. Sometimes you could look down and see a lovely deep crater where black and white cows grazed on incredibly green grass. This area is famous for kiwi fruit and wine. On the roadside you can buy a big bag of kiwis for only $.40 US. The New Zealand dollar exchange rate is $1NZ to .61US. When we arrived in Tauranga it was dark and we could see the harbor lights and shops along the shore. There is an active volcanoe in the middle of the harbor.

Narrow Neck Beach

Max and I took Bri, Chris, and Alex on a long walk around the rocky part of the beach and this time walked past our cave, the pirate’s jail, and beyond the cliffs to Narrow Neck Beach. We could see the next town – Takapuna- in the distance and played in the sand and water. People love dogs here, and we were able to see all typs of dogs running in the surf – from little Scottish terriers to large portugese water dogs that look like curly haired labs. Bri had a large box of organic vegetables and fruit delivered while the boys napped. A cold front has swept in today but at least it is sunny with blue skies and has not rained yet.

Cheltenham Beach

This morning Max and I went to Cheltenham Beach around the corner while everyone went to town. We had such a great time exploring the rocks since it was low tide! We gathered shells, explored the tidal pools and saw crabs wrestling with each other. The trees growing at the top of the cliff were amazing and we found a cave at one corner of the cliffs (where we hid when it rained at one point). Then we turned a corner and saw another beautiful stretch of beach with an island in the distance. When we looked up, we saw a large iron gated box (which we thought was a Pirate’s jail). Max and I clambored over some of the rocky parts of the beach which are made of volcanic rock and clay and loved all of the interesting designs the ocean had made over the years as it eroded the cliffs. When we came back to our part of the beach, Max and I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. Bri and Arran took the ferry into work that day and we all ate curry for dinner.