Tuesday morning, we headed North to the Bay of Islands. We made one stop at the Honey Cafe for lunch and arrived in Paihia early in the evening. We found a motel called the Abel Tasman (the Bay of Islands is on the Pacific Ocean side of New Zealand. We booked two guided trips to take during the next two days--one to Cape Reinga and the 90 Mile Beach and one out into the Pacific Ocean to see if we could find dolphins and whales. We caught our bus early the next morning right at the motel.
Our
first stop was in the ancient Kaori forest, where we were
amazed by these old and beautiful trees.
After a short hike, we went on to a gift shop and cafe called the Ancient Kaori Kingdom where we learned even more about these ancient trees. It is not legal to cut them down, but the wood can be used if it comes from dead trees. They are usually found buried in peat bogs. they can grow to be huge and the wood is very old.
We
bought a piece of souvenir wood that has been carbon dated
at an estimated age of 30-50,000 years old. Tiana is
standing on a spiral staircase carved inside a rather large
piece of Kaori wood.
Then
it was on to Cape Reinga. It is not the northernmost point
in New Zealand, but it is the place where the Pacific Ocean
and the Tasman Sea currents come together, creating some
spectacular ocean panoramas.
There
is also a lighthouse there and the vistas are
spectacular.
On
the very end of the cape stands a lone tree. The Maori call
the cape Rarenga Wairu, the departure place of spirits.
Legend says that the spirits of the dead come to this point
after hovering about their families for a time and then
leave this earth for the spirit world.
After
lunch high up on the cape, we departed for the 90 Mile
Beach, a beach that is really only 60 miles long, but is a
designated New Zealand highway. To get there we had to drive
down a stream.
Before
we reached the Tasman Sea, however, we stopped to do some
sand boarding down the huge sand dunes through which the
stream passed.
We
were lucky, because it was the first day since a number of
days of heavy rain when the stream was even
passable.
Once
we reached the beach, we drove most of its length.
We
saw the Tasman Hole in the Rock. It is smaller than the
Pacific Ocean Hole in the Rock.
We
stopped and searched for all kinds of sea shells.
And
we saw a little blue penguin that had been washed off of
Stewart Island in a storm. The Island is hundreds of miles
to the south at the southern tip of New Zealand. Barry, our
guide, told us that most of the penguins who wash up from
the ocean in the winter are dead or die due to exsposure or
fatigue.
This
little one looked tired, but Barry said he would probably
live. We also saw the remains of a washed up whale, and a
car buried in the incoming tide. The beach is closed during
incoming and outgoing high tide hours.
Then
it was back to the Ancient Kaori Village for afternoon
tea.
Barry
promised us that we could stop on the way back for the best
Fish 'n Chips in the world--the Mongonui Fish Shop in a
little coastal town. We had dessert at a local fruitstand,
just outside of Paihia, and then we were dropped off at our
motel. We were tired, but played a little "Phase 10", then
went to bed.
A
new day, and a new adventure. Our long awaited trip out into
the Bay of Islands and beyond was about to begin. After
facing another "challenge" from Lawrence, our Maori guide,
we boarded a boat bound for the Pacific Ocean version of the
Hole in the Rock.
Along
the way we hoped to see, at the very least, dolphins and
whales. We saw no whales, but we were not disappointed. We
saw dolphins going out and coming back in from the Hole in
the Rock.
Unfortunately
the seas were too heavy to make the passage through the
hole, but we got to see it up close.
On
the way back, we hit a sea so high that I felt like I fell
several feet as the boat plunged down the backside of the
wave. Tiana got sick, but we had fun anyway. We also saw
some more dolphins.
We
made a short stop in Russel, then crossed the bay to Paihia,
where we ate lunch, then headed back to Auckland.
Back
in Auckland, we spent Friday recuperating from our trip to
the North. We ate a great seafood lunch in the old Ferry
building, right on the bay. Later in the afternoon, Tiana
and I went through the nearby city park to look at the
perfect tree for a treehouse. The next day it was back to
LA, and then on to Cedar City. We took off from Auckland on
Saturday afternoon and landed in LA early Saturday morning.
Whew, what a trip!