 |
| Robyn's lovely deck - great meals and conversation! |
2017 was certainly a roller coaster of a year! From dealing with gross incompetence at the office that served as the impetus to my early retirement, to the joy in welcoming our first grandchild, Mia; from selling our home and much of our worldly possessions; to watching Eitan purchase his own stunning condo (with a view of NYC to die for); from starting our new temporary life in Mexico, to celebrating Arik and Charlotte's engagement; finally the sheer excitement and anxiousness as we stepped on a plan for our 6+ month adventure......
As I sit on this never ending flight from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, I can't help but reflect back on the crazy year that has just ended, and wonder what lies ahead in 2018?
Kia Ora! ('Welcome' in Maori). The scenery is breathtaking, the food pure, fresh, and delicious, the people are some of the friendliest you will ever meet. As some of you may know, I have had a pen pal since first grade when as a class we wrote anonymous letters and put them all together in an envelope to be sent to the International Pen Pal Association. I received back an anonymous letter from a first grader in New Zealand - Robyn Duckett. We started corresponding the old fashioned way - hand written letters, and later aerogrammes, (note: autocorrect on my iPad did not recognize the word "aerogramme"...very sad). We met in London for the first time back in the late 1970s, then in 1982, Robyn came to stay with me for several months in Philadelphia when I was working at the Philadelphia Planning Commission. We met yet once more a few years ago in Tulum, Mexico for a week, with my sister Lisa joining us. Lisa had visited Robyn in New Zealand several years prior during her around-the-world trip! I'd always promised Robyn that the first trip we take after we retire (and have more than a three-week vacation) would be to New Zealand. Well, here we are! Robyn picked us up at the Auckland airport and hosted us for over two weeks at her lovely home on the side of Mangere Bridge Mountain in the Auckland suburbs. Our conversations fell right into place like we were together just the other week. Robyn graciously drove us around to see the sights in and around Auckland.
First, let me tell you about our adventures on the North Island of New Zealand:
 |
| Auckland |
|
 |
| Mt. Wellington lookout |
|
 |
| Auckland Harbor |
|
 |
| Auckland Bay |
|
 |
| Auckland Skyline |
|
 |
| wonderful meals on Rob's deck |
|
- Matakana Coast, including Warkworth and the Tawharanui Animal Sanctuary
- Muriwai Beach Domain, Sojans Winery, and Gannet Colony
 |
| Gannet Colony....noisy and smelly! So many birds nesting! |
- Auckland Docks, Waterfront, Bug Lab (a WETA produced exhibit at the Auckland Zoo), Mangere Bridge Domain (an extinct volcano next to her home)
We also went down to Hamilton for a few days to visit Roger, a business colleague of Nathan who hosted us for the evening and graciously lent us a vehicle to use during our visit around New Zealand! While there, we saw the fantastic Hamilton Botanic Gardens as well as drove to see the Waitomo Caves with its glow worms, Kiwi House in Otorohanga to see kiwi birds (they are nocturnal birds, so we viewed them in a special nocturnal house), and Raglan beach to see the black sand.
After a lovely Christmas together, we said a temporary farewell to both Robyn and Roger knowing we would all be meeting up again later. First with Robyn in Christchurch, where we would then begin the drive down to Queenstown to stay with Roger at his vacation home there.
We departed Auckland heading to Matamata, home to the Hobbiton Movie set. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, set within a private, working sheep farm. We heard every detail about filming scenes within The Shire, and how they continue to maintain this movie set. Only outside scenes were filmed here, with interior scenes filmed in a studio (spoiler alert- the Hobbit doors have nothing behind them!). The tour ended at the Green Dragon Inn with a complimentary beer, hard cider, or specially made ginger beer. Outside the actual "Shire", there are sheep everywhere!
From there, a few more hours to Rotorua, a town situated on the shores of Lake Rotorua and along the Geothermal Valley, consisting of hot springs, geysers, bubbling mud pools, and other geothermal phenomena. We visited the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Park where we saw boiling springs (yes- the smell of sulphur was like being back in the high school chemistry hall......!), boiling mud pools, and geysers, beautiful!
and
 |
| Boiling mud pools |
|
|
 |
| Boiling sulphur pools |
|
 |
| Geyser down the hill |
|
 |
| Hot springs |
|
 |
| Hot and smelly! |
|
From there we hiked in Whakarewarewa (the “wh” is pronounced as “fa”) Forest and Redwoods (yes, the same redwood tree species that are found in California) for several hours going up along the ridge for some breathtaking scenery and a breathtaking climb (as in it took the breath out of us climbing this trail!).
Finished just barely in time for a quick shower and out again for the Tamaki Maori Village Experience. While a “touristy” show (we are after all, tourists!), it was a great evening where we learned and experienced Maori ceremony rituals, skills, activities, arts, and warrior training. We then saw how they removed baskets containing our dinner for that evening from the “Hangi Pit” (where the food was cooked under the ground over many hours on hot stones). A cultural performance entertained us while dinner preparations were under way, then we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner at long tables where we met guests from all over the world!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| yes, Nathan learning Maori dance! |
|
 |
| our dinner being lifted out of the ground...... |
If this was not enough, we returned from the Maori Village and enjoyed an evening soak at the Polynesian Spa, where we tried the different thermal pools (varied by temperature and acidity/alkaline depending on the source of the spring which were surrounding the spa) while overlooking Lake Rotorua. What a way to end the day!
 |
| Indoor "warm" springs pool |
|
 |
| Outdoor "hot" springs pool |
| |
Next morning it was off to Wellington with stops along the way at Huka Falls, Lake Taupo, and High Tea at the Chateau Tongariro, a classy 1930s Hotel on the peaks of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongario (all dormant volcanoes). We arrived in Wellington and set off to spend the last day of 2017 visiting the Te Papa Museum to learn about New Zealand and Maori history. New Years Eve was spent listening to live music, sadly in the rain, on the Wellington Waterfront. Next day it was off to the WETA Workshop, an award-winning special effects and props workshop that designed unique props and did many of the special effects for all the Lord of the Rings films as well as Avatar, District 9, King Kong, Power Rangers, and many other films.
As New Zealanders tend to take holiday between Christmas and New Year, Wellington was pretty deserted. Nonetheless, we enjoyed walking along the waterfront, the Botanic Gardens, Parliament Buildings, and then boarding the InterIslander ferry for our crossing through the Cook Strait and Marlborough Sound to the South Island Of New Zealand.
Stay tuned!
 |
| New Zealand Parliament and government complex |
 |
| Inside the entrance to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |
Cable Car up to the Botanical Gardens (through a very cool tunnel) which overlooks Wellington
 |
| Three-Day Trip up to Russell and Bay of Islands..... |
 |
| Day trips around Auckland..... |
 |
| And our trip down towards Wellington..... |
Beautiful, looks like u guys are having a wonferful time, as your supossed to, keep enjoying every minute, miss u!!! maya
ReplyDelete