For The Love of Travel

Got off early this morning to see the Whangarei Falls. Very picturesque 26m high waterfall that cascades over basalt cliffs. There’s a circular surfaced walk around the falls including a flight of stairs.

In the afternoon, we visited the Hundertwasser Art Centre. Friedensreich Hundertwasser 1928 – 2000 was a painter, architect, ecological activist and visionary. His ideas of living a life in accord with the laws of nature, of the greening of cities, of a waste-free society were prescient. He was born in Vienna but didn’t feel his art was appreciated locally. He lived in Venice for quite a few years, emigrating to New Zealand in 1973 and purchasing land in the Bay of Islands. Influenced by both Gaudi and Klimt.

Nice view over the marina from the top of the Art Centre.

A coffee then at this delightful cafe in the Art Centre.

When researching our dinner options, we could not go passed the Sukjai Thai Restaurant! The only Thai restaurant in Whangarei to receive the ‘Thai select premium award’, certifying the highest of standards from the Prime Minister of Thailand. And it was delish. Salmon with veggies for me and Yellow Rice for Lynne.

Another drizzly day the following day. Loved this statue that welcomes you to Kawakawa!

We visited the Hundertwasser Memorial Park and the toilet block he designed in Kawakawa. And had coffee at the railway station.

Loved this poster on the town’s outskirts…

Then drove to the ferry which transported us over to Russell, in the Bay of Islands. I put droney up and took this pic quickly on a very windy/overcast day in Opua.

What a lovely little village. The sun came out for a few periods in the afternoon so I took the opportunity to snap a few pics at the marina and the lovely Long Beach.

A delicious dinner at the Gables Osteria and Enoteca. Baked schnapper for me and a trifle/mushroom spaghetti for Lynne, and we shared a green salad.

Despite the weather report looking a bit grim for the following day, I took a risk and booked onto a boat tour to the ‘Hole in the Rock Dolphin Cruise’, via a few of the 144 islands in the region (as you do on a holiday because you need to see more rock, with a hole, and hopefully a dolphin) 🙂

Threatening skies greeted us the next day. I optimistically boarded the boat and we were soon cruising along the Cape Brett peninsula. We were very lucky with the weather holding out over 4 hrs. We saw a rainbow, dolphins and…the pristine waters surrounding the area’s feature of the Hole in the Rock.

Our cruise stopped off briefly @ Urupukapuka Island in Otehei Bay; saw this little stingray float past the wharf.

Lynne was a land lubber, deciding to have a relaxing walk to the museum and the 1842 historic Pompallier Mission, Printery and garden.

Dinner at the Nauti Penguin…

Cyclone Tam hit the coast and we had pelting rain and strong winds on our trip into Auckland. I took this photo on the way to Whangarei a few days earlier :), and you couldn’t see this view at all on the day of our departure.

We called into Waipu for afternoon tea and discovered its lovely cafe, greenery and food. We took some asian salad and corn/fetta fritters away for our dinner tonight.

A longer journey than planned because of delays on the state highway (not sure why), occasioning a ‘car park’ feel at times. Groan! And then 120km winds as we slowly crossed the Harbour Bridge in Auckland. A very relaxed night in our hotel, watching ‘Gorky Park’ and eating our ‘take away’.

Our last day – Lynne off for a massage pampering. I drove to Viaduct Harbour to see ‘Love An Octopus’ (an art installation from artist Lisa Reihana). Bold, surreal, and full of movement, this captivating piece brings the ocean’s mystery to the surface, right where sea meets city. Unfortunately, taken down due to the ‘weather’.

So in EPIC winds, all I got was a wonky lighthouse, on teetering tentacles 🙂

Dinner @ Sails Restaurant, lashing rain outside but we had a lovely ‘last supper’ – mushroom/truffle and prawn risottos!

And the rain stopped as we arrived back at the hotel, so a pic of the Auckland Sky Tower.

Checked Jetstar website…yes are flights were still operational internationally. Off home tomorrow.

Ka Kite Ano New Zealand! We had a fab time.

Our first stop for the morning was the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. We vanquished 150 steps down to the boat landing, passing by limestone formations created more than 30 million years ago. Mere was our expert guide and adeptly managed the rope pulley system in the darkness, as we glided silently through the caves with thousands of glowworms glistening above us. Beautiful way to start the day. A pic of us disembarking and one from yesteryear, 1920.

To capitalise on the sunshine… we visited the 55m Bridal Veil Falls in the Raglan area, walking through a native forest following the Pakora River until we reached the upper lookout. Wowee, magnificent vista. Droney took a nice shot too.

Drove up a winding road past the Institute of Awesome 🙂 to the Te Toto Gorge Lookout.

A short track from the carpark leads to the viewing platform which provides spectacular and uninterrupted views of the west coast, and amphitheatre where Maori gardens once thrived.

 Then a drive to the stunning Ngarunui surf beach.

Manu Bay is THE surfie beach of choice as the waves are more massive (called bombs), curl at the crest and break into a cylindrical ‘tube’ shape, allowing surfers to ‘barrel’. BUT….you have to walk over about 50m of rocks and boulders with your board to get into the water, yikes!

Met John, local photographer at his Raglan gallery and purchased 3 miniatures of the local area from him.

We loved the coffee at the “Stoned Cow Cafe’ and the fun wall art.

The new day brought with it a ‘super glue’ drama – managed to spurt the glue over some fingers/hand as I was attempting to repair a suitcase. Oh dear! Then it was quite the job googling how to get it off. Got some olive oil from the cafe close by, that worked a treat. Then some acetone from the chemist to complete the removal.

First stop the next day @ Pokeno to see Simon @ his home showroom about a scarf ….Lynne wanted to get a pressie for a friend. Very beautiful deep green scarf was successfully purchased.

Checked into accomodation @ Parua Bay and immediately drove to Whangarei Heads (forecast tomorrow is rain!). Woo hoo, along the way Parua Bay had lovely cloud formations and just got to the Heads, with the sun setting.

Feast Indian Restaurant in Onerauhi provided a diverse range of dishes from which to select out dinner.

On the way drive home, we were stopped by police doing breathalysers. “Count to 10” requested the policewoman….I breathed into the device she presented. “Errr, it’s also a listening test” she said, “count to 10”. I did, and then we all burst out laughing. Not used to a ‘passive breathalyser’, where the police are just testing to detect the presence of alcohol. The BAC one ( where you do breathe into it), is brought out if alcohol is detected. Not in my case….passed with flying colours.

Visited the Te Papa Tongarewa to see the ground-breaking exhibition which tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. The 6 giant sculptures took a staggering 24,000 hours to create, and countless hours were spent researching their rich histories. Pictured are 2 of them, Lieutenant Spencer Westmacott (who’s right arm was smashed by a bullet while holding off an attack) and Staff Nurse Lottie Le Gallais, a military nurse on the hospital ship ‘Maheno’, whose brother Leddie was killed in the conflict.

Cutting-edge technology was also used to create 3-D maps and projections, miniatures, models, dioramas, and a range of interactive experiences that bring New Zealand’s Gallipoli story to life.  In total, 44,000 Allied soldiers lost their lives (2,779 Kiwis) on Gallipoli, and many others were scarred forever. Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War takes you to the core of this defining event. The Ottoman Empire paid a high price for their victory with 87,000 soldiers dying. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk played a crucial strategic and leadership role during the wa, became leader of the Turkish nationalist movement, ultimately becoming the first President of the Republic of Turkiye.

Then for something completely different, the Vivienne Westwood exhibit @ Te Papa featuring 550 pieces of jewellery and over 15 complete ensembles and garments, with works spanning 4 decades. Bold and rebellious, not shying away from socio-political, environmental and subversive styles. Her stories are told through a series of rooms.

A lovely carving by Neke Kapua and his sons, 6.6m long and 1.2m wide from a huge slab of Totara welcomes you to the various exhibition spaces.

Drove from Wellington back to Levin and had morning tea with hot cross bun at Whispers Cafe. Then, because Lynne’s bronchitis was sounding worse…a little A&E visit @ Whanganui. Nurse triage and GP review within 45 mins….came away with script for antibiotics. 

We stopped off @ New Zealand Glassworks and saw an amazing demonstration by the very talented Katy Brown of how to create a ‘flyaway platter’- ‘blown away’ by the process, if you’ll pardon the pun. 

Next, a drive to see the wild and picturesque Patea beach, where the river meets the Tasman sea. Wind factor was EPIC! 

Arrived @ Platinum Lodge in Stratford, with sunset happening behind a dramatic Mt Taranaki backdrop. Very comfortable accommodations! And Rusty the cavoodle was very welcoming. 

Drove to Mangorei to get a view of Mt Taranaki, but unfortunately only fleeting glimpses of the snow capped peak which was quickly shrouded by cloud. Very windy day, so no chance of droney being unleashed. 

Travelled to New Plymouth to see the 156m high Paratitu Rock (ancient volcanic crater, active 1.75 million years ago) and Sugar Loaf Islands from Centennial Park – the sun has come out and we got a beautiful ocean view.

Had a laugh-out aloud moment at the BP petrol station – after paying the bill, got into wrong car at the bowsers, greatly surprising a man who had just arrived to fill up. Coffee stop @ the Elixir Cafe. 

Onwards to Bradley’s Garden in Taumaruni, via the Otaru Rd to Ahititi and Ohura (oopsy, wrong turn after we lost GPS), so we didn’t visit them after all.  Despite quite a few gravel sections, turned out alright in the end, as we instead traversed Mt Messenger, Matiere to Te Kuiti.

The local Mint Indian Restaurant a nice surprise – Aloo Mutar/Mutter is a North Indian dish of potatoes and peas cooked in a  Kashmiri style for Lynne; chicken tikka marsala for me. Both delish.