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Around The World Part 2

February - April 2023
This is the conclusion of our trip that we started in Nov 2019 that was interrupted in March of 2020 by Covid-19. Read more
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  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 40

    Pasifika, Blue L, Mitai Maori Village

    March 25, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Another day, another scenic hike! But first, we attended the Pasifika Festival on the downtown beachfront of Rotorua, which is the most culturally diverse city in New Zealand. On the outside of the field were many shelters set up with traditional foods from many different South Pacific Islands. There were a few local craft tables as well. A large stage was set up where local schools performed some traditional songs & dances. We stayed for two local schools’ numbers. We left the downtown and drove to Blue Lake, which has a scenic walking path set up completely around the lake. The trail had huge redwood trees, ferns & palm trees. We walked the 6km track in 90 mins. We didn’t know it, but Blue Lake was hosting an “Ocean Swim” event, the only event in the series in fresh water. We watched the swimmers take off in the Legend of the Lake event, which is the longest swim race of the day, a gruelling 3.5 km swim. Earlier in the day they had 100, 200, 500 & 1000m. races. We finished the day at Maitai Māori Village for a dinner & show. The show documented the history of the Māori through songs & dances. The dinner was a traditional, underground cooked Hangi Feast, which included lamb, chicken, potatoes, garlic bread, seafood chowder and salad. Both were fantastic. If my Fitbit is accurate, & I’m sure it is, we have walked just over 296 kms in the 40 days since we left home. That’s nearly 7.5kms per day on average. If we take out the 10 days on the Catamaran, when we only managed an average of 2 kms per day (as much swimming some days I’m sure) we’ve averaged close to 9 kms per day! The 3 days in Abel Tasman Park, we walked more than 15 kms each day.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 41

    Kerosene Creek, Redwood Forest

    March 26, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We drove a half hour to Kerosene Creek, where a hot spring & freshwater creek meet. When it isn’t raining, the temperature of the water is a comfortable 36C. There’s a 2m tall waterfall, as well as several spots to sit and soak. We were glad we were there early & leaving by 10am, as a couple of families with small kids were coming in as we left. This afternoon, we walked a trail in amongst giant Redwood (Sequoia) trees in the Whakarewarewa Forest that were originally imported from California in the early 1900s to create a lumber source. This 6 ha stand of Redwoods is among the last in New Zealand & the Tree Walk attracts 600000 visitors per year. It turns out the climate is too favourable here & the trees grow too quickly, causing the growth rings to be too far apart, making the wood too soft to use. We had a nice Thai dinner in town on our last night in Rotorua. We won’t miss the sulphur smell.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 42

    Rotorua to Hamilton to Albany

    March 27, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This morning, we set off for our next destination which is Albany, a suburb of Auckland. We stopped in Hamilton to walk around their famous gardens for a couple of hours. As in most places in New Zealand, signage at the entrance to the Gardens was lacking, but otherwise, they were quite impressive. We enjoyed our walk through the many different “themed” gardens, the Herb Garden, Fruit & Vegetable Gardens, & the Rose Garden, in particular. We arrived at our hotel in Albany without incident, despite the left entry & exits off the main highway.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 43

    Brown’s Bay & Long Bay Beach

    March 28, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We took it easy today, & drove to two different beaches close by. It was a little cool & threatened rain, so both beaches, right in Auckland’s city limits, were very quiet. We walked the full length of both beaches. Brown’s Bay was fairly small, by New Zealand standards, at roughly a half km long. Long Bay was significantly longer.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    2
    Day 44

    Ferry to Waiheke Island

    March 29, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We got up early this morning & dropped our rental car at the rental car depot at the Auckland Airport & took the SkyDrive bus to their depot in the Central Business District. We then had to walk with our bags for 20 mins, or so, to the Ferry Terminal. We just missed the 9am Ferry because of traffic coming into the city centre. The 10am Ferry got us to Waiheke Is by 10:40 where we ordered a Ryda car to take us to our accommodation for the next two nights. After talking to our host, we walked along on SW shoreline for a while around Huruhi Bay, then climbed up the hill and walked to our closest two beaches, Onetoa & Little Onetoa beaches. Both were lovely & largely unoccupied. We noticed that houses are not cookie cutter homes anywhere in New Zealand. Each one is unique. We walked back along the main street & had some nice conversations with a couple of shopkeepers. We ate dinner in an Italian restaurant, one of the few eateries in the area.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 45

    Wineries & Onetangi Beach

    March 30, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This morning, we chatted with an Australian couple, & a couple from the UK. at our accommodation, during our continental breakfast. We made the decision to bus back to the ferry terminal & buy a couple of re-loadable bus cards. We then bused to an area of the island with multiple wineries & a brewery. We tasted wines at Wild Estate, Stonyridge Vineyard & Te Matu Vineyard. We ate a late lunch at Heke Brewery & enjoyed their lager. Unlike the Marlborough Region, this area seems to grow more red grapes. We enjoyed eating some freshly harvested Merlot grapes. We both agree that we enjoy Bordeaux blended wines using Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, & Cabernet Franc. After lunch we walked to Onetangi Beach which is the largest beach on Waiheke Island. It was the nicest day we’ve had in a while so the beach was nice. We both enjoyed our swim.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 46

    Palm Bay Beach, Wild, Ferry

    March 31, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today, we ate breakfast & checked out of our accommodation on Waiheke Is. We left our backpacks & bused to Palm Beach for a few hours. We swam & soaked up more sun. We made a reservation back at Wild Winery for dinner, because of the food we saw going past us while we tasted their beer & wine yesterday. We bused back to the winery with our backpacks, for dinner, then bused to the Ferry to go back to Auckland.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 47

    Auckland

    April 1, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    We walked around today in the CBD today. We went down to the waterfront to look around, and did some window shopping on Queen Street.

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    11
    Day 48

    Last Day in New Zealand

    April 2, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today, we visited the Maritime Museum on the waterfront. New Zealand has a long maritime history which was well documented at this museum. Much of New Zealand’s history is tied to the Pacific ocean. We then bused out to one of the many beaches in Auckland. It was a nice Sunday & very few people were on the beach again. We bused back to the hotel, retrieved our bags, Ubered to the SkyDrive station, bused to the airport & are waiting to board our flight to Honolulu. We fly at 10:45 PM (April 2nd) & land in Honolulu, after an 8.5 hour flight, at 9:30 AM (April 2nd), as we cross back over the International Date Line. Good thing we had an extra hour of sleep last night, as we “Fell back” out of Daylight Savings Time, as New Zealand enters Autumn.Read more

  • TravelerAround The World Part 2
    Day 49

    Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Waikiki Beach

    April 3, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    We were picked up at 6:30 at our hotel to tour the Pearl Harbor site, including the USS Arizona Memorial, & the USS Missouri. Some of the Arizona, which was bombed on Dec 7, 1941, is still visible from the Memorial that was constructed. We were ferried out to the site to look around. Our visit was handled by on-duty Naval soldiers & was tightly monitored. We were then bused to board & tour the Missouri, which is set up next to the Arizona Memorial on Ford Island. A bridge was constructed to access the warship on the island. The history of the Missouri is quite interesting. It was commissioned initially in 1942, used in WW2, then again in 1950 in the Korean War. It was decommissioned but was upgraded & recommissioned to serve again in the Gulf War. We stood on the deck where the paperwork of Japanese surrender in WW2 was signed. We also saw the dent in the side of the ship where a Japanese Kamikaze plane, with a bomb on board, clipped the Missouri, but didn’t cause much damage. The 19 year old Japanese pilot was given a military burial at sea. Our tour ended with a mini tour of Honolulu. Our driver pointed out a couple of private high schools where famous people like Barack Obama, golfer Michelle Wie, and actor Dwayne Johnson attended. In front of the courthouse, we saw a statue of the last King of Hawaii, & the Royal Palace across the street. We also saw a tree which puts out roots from it’s branches, and reroots in a different spot. We also saw a military cemetery, nicknamed the Punch Bowl. We took a double decker trolley to Waikiki beach this afternoon but, despite the warmth of the water, we didn’t swim. It was very crowded. We did watch many children playing, surfers surfing, and a multi-person outrigger canoe riding a wave towards the beach. We walked around the International Marketplace for a bit, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, and took the trolley back to our hotel for our last night on Oahu.Read more

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