My new reality

Kia Oro! This Kiwi greeting as we arrived in New Zealand was everywhere: “hello, have life, goodbye, cheers” all rolled into one.  And yes, we are blessed to be travelling.  And, oh my goodness, I’m in New Zealand!  This has been a dream of mine forever and now it’s reality.  We’ll be traveling NZ for just over 3 weeks, so here we go!

We departed Honolulu on Air New Zealand ahead of schedule and landed in Auckland, NZ a further day ahead after crossing the international date line, of course. This, plus my ongoing battle with time zone dyslexia, is wreaking havoc with my kids and siblings back home who are receiving texts in the middle of the night.  Apologies, all!  And no, I cannot predict the winning lottery numbers back home, sorry.  We processed through immigration quickly and then got hung up in customs.  I declared our hiking boots and poles as they are very concerned about bio-environmental hazards being transported into the country.  Despite scrubbing my hiking boots with a toothbrush (which I then discarded fyi) I was advised to clean a wee bit more.  Then I had neglected to check all the pockets in my backpack so the sniffing dogs found a dried up banana peel tucked into the dark corners of a random pocket.  I mean, it was a few years old!  So after they inspected it thoroughly and with plenty of apologies on my part we were in New Zealand!

The sun was shining and temps were in the high 70’s F.  Our prearranged driver met us and filled us in on local lore on route to the ferry.  Jim told us how Auckland is built on over 50 volcanos which are now plateaus.  Maori settled here in the 1300’s; with about 800,000 here now.  Of NZ’s 6 million inhabitants, about 2/3 are on the North Island and half of those are in Auckland while only 1/3 are in the South Island.  The primary export is dairy product, from Frontera, not unlike Nestle.  Most everything else food-wise is produced and used here; I can attest to the freshness of every tomato, olive, cheese, and fish dish.  Auckland is a beautiful, clean, shiny city with a prominent ‘space needle’ communication tower in the center and a large university nearby.  Jim drove us to the Fuller’s Ferry dock alongside the beautiful seaside promenade.  We chatted with a lovely Mom and her young daughter while waiting in line.  She was so friendly and yet so interested in us!  Our ferry took us 12 miles northeast to Waiheke Island, our first destination.  The sunset over Auckland was spectacular as we departed.

Auckland, and Waiheke, are surrounded by smaller islands which protect the seaways and harbors from the rough Pacific.  Fiji is almost due north of NZ, and Honolulu is an 8 hour flight NE of here.  Auckland ‘s latitude is 36 deg south of the equator; the Mendoza, Argentina region straddles the 36th parallel, for comparison.

Peter met us at the Waiheke dock.  Chatty yet subdued, friendly and welcoming, he described the casual vibe of Waiheke as he drove up and down the hills to his hilltop home, Marino Ridge, our BnB.  The most recent history is that Waiheke was settled by farmers, hippies, and artists but now is the playground of tourists and oenophiles.  Glass-encased contemporary homes peek from the hills and cliffs and are slowly replacing the bungalows on the beaches.  Vineyards and olive trees grace the slopes.  Few indigenous trees remain, yet the island is green everywhere. 

But, oh! The house! Spare yet elegant, floor to tall-ceilinged windows framed the outstanding views to the east and west from the yard above the house, a lap pool and a beach.  Our hosts, Peter and Caroline, have an obvious love for the area and the house.  The grounds are manicured with paths and walkways to interesting vistas or a remote beach, abundant raised bed gardens, and ginormous colorful hibiscus blooms. Their two beautiful, statuesque standard poodles, Libby and Fabio, rule the household.  Our room was large and comfy, the balcony having views of the sunset and the Southern Cross.  I took advantage of the lap pool the next morning before breakfast.  Peter and Caroline served a flavorful, spiced omelet with fresh fruits arranged exquisitely.  We sat on a deck overlooking Owhanake Bay and the sunrise.

Our adventure that day: a wine tour of the East side of Waiheke.  German-born Janus picked us up at the house along with two other guests of the BnB, John and Nancy.  With a van full of 7 US tourists, we proceeded to visit 3 of the 30-some wineries on the island.  Although NZ typically boasts white wine production, red wines are produced here, a northerly island with many micro climates.  The wineries are tiny so few of them export outside of NZ.  One recognizable one might be Man of War which we did not tour.  We visited Kennedy, Batch, and Casita Miro.  The wines were generally good but not all to my liking.  Locally produced olive oil and Manuca honey were also tasted.  We lunched at Casita Miro which had a Catalonian theme with its mosaic covered walls and pottery.  The food was outstanding, tapas-like veggies and cheeses and olives and focaccia.  And wine.  We also visited a beach and had time to visit the local town, Oneroa, with it’s cute boutiques and chic eateries.  There are lots of transplants living here from across the world so the flavors are diverse.  Didn’t we run into the friendly mom from the ferry queue and her daughter and other children? She was so happy to see us as we, she.  Upon our return to the BnB, we lounged poolside, forgoing dinner after our very full day.

We hiked the trails around Marino Ridge, down to the private beach and up and down along the sea’s edge, then returned for another delectable breakfast.  We were leaving that day, unfortunately, but Peter and Carol let us hang around until our ferry back to Auckland departed.  Peter was reticent to share anything about himself (a former navigation engineer and captain in the NZ Navy) but was quick to smile and joke. We shall miss them both!  Another sunny day shone on our ferry back to Auckland and the airport to our regional Air NZ prop plane that took us to Northland NZ, Paihia Bay.  Paihia Bay is an ocean side resort about a 3 hour drive north of Auckland, facing east to the Bay of Islands.  Our hotel, the Paihia Bay Resort, was right on the water (well, after you cross the street-but be sure to look both ways, they drive on the left here).  It was perfectly nice, or ‘aggressively fine’, a term we learned on one of our tours, but it would be hard to measure up to Marino Ridge.  We walked into the beach-side town for dinner: burgers and beer, then called it a night.

Now 2 weeks into our trip, we took an excursion to the northernmost tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga.  Two hundred km north: a 3 hour drive OR a flight by plane zigzagging up the coast to see the sites; which would you choose? 

We chose the flight.  Spectacular West Coast scenery on the way up (the Tasman Sea) with East Coast scenery on the way back (the Pacific).  There is a lot of cattle and sheep ranching and other agriculture evident here.  The landmass got narrower as we approached Cape Reinga where the Tasman and Pacific Seas meet.  A 1941 iconic lighthouse sits here and it is also a very significant spiritual Maori site.  The weather was outstanding and the flight was smooth as well as the landing on a cow pasture runway.  We traveled by van the remaining twisty 20 km, visiting the historic lighthouse with its beautifully maintained walking paths, then visited a beach for tea, and also a giant sand dune (Te Paki) that reminded me of the Sahara in its immense size.  Although the majority of NZ landmass is volcanic the joining of the 2 seas has deposited sand here for ages.  We flew over 90 Mile Beach which is only 55 miles long but is also considered a highway.  There are no lights but observe the tides! On our return flight we saw a pure white silica beach, dramatic, remote seascapes, a few sharks below, and possibly a small whale, before ending our adventure back in KeriKeri.  Another amazing NZ day.   https://www.saltair.co.nz/bay-of-islands-scenic-flights-tours/cape-reinga-fly-drive-tours/

Paihia beach is near the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a significant site in NZ history.  Here, in 1840, British representatives and Maori elders agreed to live together peacefully and develop New Zealand together in partnership, assuring Māori of citizen equality.  Our Maori tour driver, Stella, was very proud to let us know that the Maori had a written language only 20 years prior, and that the Treaty was written in English and Maori.  Most signs today are written in both English and Maori. 

Our final day on the North Island was spent on the water.  We took the Dolphin Eco tour which turned out to be a very unstructured kind of tour.  The day, as it turned out, was absolutely wonderful, again: sun with clouds in the 70’s. We boarded our twin hulled boat with lots of other people and headed for Otehei Bay, about 25 min out into the Bay of Islands.  Arriving on Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island we were told to catch another boat at 1:45 and enjoy the island until then.  Ok?  So we did; we hiked up to the highest hilltop in the surrounding sheep pastures and descended for a casual lunch at the beach cafe.  Others swam, snorkeled, or kayaked.  We watched fish, mostly snapper, and diving birds, and misbehaving children until our 1:45 boat arrived. From there we headed out past Cape Brett into the South Pacific.  Not part of the tour but a nice surprise, we traversed the “Hole in the Rock” on Motukokaku Island, coming out the other side which looks like a mastodon above the water.  We were on the hunt for marine mammals, dolphins, whales, any cetacean would suffice.  Boating 2 hours on the ocean was fun but about 30 min before we had to return we came upon a pod of common dolphins!  Our vessel was one of 2 that were authorized to approach marine wildlife.  There are strict protections for sea life and indigenous wildlife in general here (except for rats, stoats, and possums which are not indigenous).  We enjoyed the dolphins swimming alongside our boat and then departed for home.  Our dinners here in Paihia were all at the restaurants on the wharf where we enjoyed local fish or lamb or steak. And ice cream in the cute beachy tourist center.  Sunburned and tired, we ended our NZ North Island adventure.  To the South Island we go!

Our arrangements for this trip were made through Erica Harnett at info@protravelinc.com in conjunction with her colleagues at Pacific Experience, especially Karen, whom all the vendors praised highly for her diligence and care, and we thank for these amazing excursions and smooth travel arrangements.  Info@pacificexperience.com

Our South Island adventure in 3 blogs:

New Zealand: the South Island (In Two or Three Parts, Part 1)

New Zealand: the South Island, Part 2

New Zealand: Finale (aka Part 3)