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Saunders’ Down Under

november - desember 2018
Australia and New Zealand 2018 Les mer
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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 32

    Lazy day in Rotorua!

    15. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    After a good nights sleep, we took our time getting ready this morning and decided to drive around Lake Rotorua. Stopped at McDonalds (yep, they’re everywhere!) for a coffee and breakfast sandwich, then hit the road, heading for a hilltop lookout. Drove up a winding road till we reached Aorangi Peak, and were greeted on one side with sheep and deer roaming the mountainside, llamas on the other, and a large fence blocking any type of view over the valley!! The reason for this is that someone has built a large restaurant at the top of the peak, and in order to enjoy the view, you have to dine at the restaurant!! 😳. We went inside and said we were thinking of coming for dinner, but were told the whole place was booked for tonight for a private function! We asked if we could take a look around anyway in case we could come back tomorrow, took a few pics, then scooted out of there! Bummer that the amazing view has been obliterated for the sake of $$$!

    We drove back down the hill and our next stop was Skyline Rotorua on Mount Ngongotaha, where gondolas take people up the side of the mountain and once at the top, you can mountain bike, luge or zip line down. There is also a bungee type “sky swing” at the top, as well as wine tasting and a Jelly Belly Gallery! We proceeded to the town of Hamurana on our trip around the lake, the next town was Mourea, then we turned down the road to check out Hells Gate, which is a geothermal village with mud baths, a spa and more bubbling ponds - but again, a big fence around the whole area and not much to see from our vantage!

    After a lovely drive around the lake, we were back in the downtown Rotorua area and headed to the local mall to pick up a few groceries, wine and snacks, then headed downtown on foot for a beer and cider at a local brew pub. Back to the hotel, where Dave had a rest and I went down to the pool to read my book for an hour! Went back to Eat Streat for dinner - yes, we really like it there - and had a nice meal before turning in for the night! Off to Tauranga tomorrow!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
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    Dag 33

    Back to the Beach!

    16. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We left a Rotorua at around 8:30 this morning, bound for a Tauranga, a lovely beach town only 85 twisty, winding kilometres away! We stopped about halfway to take a look at Mangorewa Kaharoa Gorge - interesting that during WW2, the New Zealanders placed tank road blocks along the road in this area as they feared the Japanese would send tanks over to NZ and wanted to be prepared to stop them from getting through. We continued on to the town of Tauranga and parked in the city centre to have a look around. Very pretty waterfront area so we walked along the boardwalk in the beautiful sunshine. It appeared there were going to be events going on today as we saw clowns on stilts walking the streets, and an interesting fellow with an old tv over his head and a microphone, singing the praises of NZ rugby? Check him out in the pic - looks like Michael Moore!

    We drove across the bridge to the peninsula on the other side of Tauranga, which is where our apartment is, and since we were too early to check in, walked along the beautiful beaches for an hour or so. We got to a place called Moturiki Recreation Reserve - from a distance, this looks like an island, but is accessible from the beach and has a hiking trail, so we hiked out to the end for some amazing views of the ocean and the nearby Mount Maunganui. In the 60’s, there used to be a Marineland on this reserve, and then in the 80’s, natural swimming pools were built into what used to be a quarry. Unfortunately, both of these attractions are no more, but it was interesting to read about and see old photos of them! There are lots of lovely trees here with red blooms that flower around this time of year, and they are known as New Zealand Christmas trees - quite a few of them on the reserve with an amazing ocean backdrop!

    We checked into our apartment around 1:30, then went back to the Main Street on the beach to have lunch. Got back, put on some laundry, then headed to the pool for a couple of hours of r & r!! We had decided to eat in tonight, so picked up some veggies, cheese, crackers, fruit and quiche, and had a nice dinner on our deck! Because we are on a peninsula, there was the opportunity to see the sun set from Pilot Bay, so we grabbed a towel (and maybe some wine 😜) and sat on the beach to watch the sun go down. Sadly the clouds came in, but we still had a pretty nice view from our vantage point. Getting up early tomorrow to hike up Mount Maunganui!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
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    Dag 34

    Ain't no Mountain High Enough!

    17. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning we had our coffee and a bite to eat, and set off to climb Mount Maunganui, the base of which is only a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. There are two routes up, both are steep, but one is a gravel road, the other a gazillion stairs! We decided to take the road up, along with many others - there was a cruise ship in today and I’m pretty sure this was a selling feature to a lot of the passengers! The road is very well laid out, but as I said, steep incline pretty much all the way - like climbing the beginning hill at Westwood about 25 times - 😂😂. The scenery is gorgeous on the way up with amazing views over the inner Tauranga harbour and delta, as well as out over the ocean on the other side - and of course - sheep! 🐑. We made it up to the summit in about 45 minutes and of course, there were more fantastic views. We decided to take the stairs down - man, there’s a lot of them! There were lots of runners whizzing by us on their way down, and how they don’t fall is beyond me!

    Came back for a shower and lunch then headed to the downtown area of Mount Manganui, which is a few streets of shops and restaurants, and hundreds of cruise ship passengers! We decided to head back and have a couple of hours in the sun by the pool. At around 4pm, we heard what sounded like a ships horn playing music, so walked down to the harbour side of the beach to see the Majestic Princess cruise ship leaving port. The “music” we had heard really was the ships horn - playing the theme song to the old TV show “Love Boat” no less - pretty cheesy but also hilarious!

    Went back downtown to have some dinner, then to the beach for sunset, but it was cloudy again by that time, so not much to see. What is really cool is that lots of people gather on these beach areas for picnics, barbecues, etc., in the evening - there are even really nice stainless steel bbq’s set up along the waterfront for public use which is really nice! So tomorrow is a long driving day up north to Paihia, so we’ll be up early to get on the road for that!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 35

    Have you been to Paihia, Donald?

    18. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Sorry about the title - inside family joke, but couldn’t resist! 😜. So today was a long driving day - we left Tauranga at 7am to head north to the Bay of Islands on the north east coast of New Zealand - specifically, a lovely little town named Paihia. All was well for the first couple of hours, then we hit road construction about half an hour before Auckland, and we’re stuck in traffic for a good half hour. Got through that and continued on our way for another 4 hours, with a couple of rest breaks along the way to stretch our legs and take a few photos. We arrived in Paihia at 1:30, went to the visitor info centre to get a few maps (although there was probably no need as it’s a tiny town!), then checked into our hotel, which has amazing views from the balcony!

    We got settled in, then went for a walk around the downtown area, checked out some stores and restaurants, went for a quick beverage, then found the place where we are to meet for our boat cruise on Thursday! Got in an hour of suntanning at the pool, then back to our place to get ready to go out for dinner. Not a ton of restaurants in this town, but we found a cute little place on the waterfront and had a nice dinner there.

    We are both pretty tired after the long drive, but from here on in, we are on the “relaxation” part of the vacation, so chilling out on the balcony, and planning a slow, easy day for tomorrow!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 36

    A Quick Hustle to Russell!

    19. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Put the Christmas tree up this morning (thanks Tricia Grey! 😜), then went for a short walk down our street to the site where the first ever cricket match was played in New Zealand! Also saw Paihia’s cutest little free library - an old telephone booth converted into a book exchange! Walked a few hundred yards from there to the ferry dock and caught the little fast ferry over to Russell, a famed historic town in these parts! The ferry ride is only about 10 minutes across the turquoise waters from Paihia. Apparently, Russell was New Zealand’s very first capital (interesting considering its size!) and in the past, temporary home to seafaring whalers, who came here after months at sea for drinking, carousing and letting off steam! It became known as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific” in the 1800’s as a result of this!

    We poked our heads into the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, which was the first hotel, beginning its life in 1827, opened by a former convict who was the first European to own freehold property in New Zealand after learning to communicate with the Māori people and negotiate the purchase. The hotel has actually been burnt down and rebuilt a couple of times, the most recent being around 1931. I don’t believe these are the original stocks outside the hotel, but had to get a pic of Dave imprisoned in them!!

    We walked through town along the Main Street and some of the residential areas, saw an original whaling boat at the back of the museum, which was donated to the museum in 1940, as well as a tiny church with a lovely cemetery and of course, a sign outlining fishing regulations in the area! After spending a few hours, we decided to head back to Paihia, pick up some lunch and dinner provisions, then head for a relaxing afternoon in the sun! Had dinner on our lovely balcony, overlooking the islands and Russell, then went for a stroll afterwards to end another great New Zealand day!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 37

    Beautiful Bay of Islands boat cruise

    20. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Quite a while before we left on our trip, we researched some tours we were interested in taking. This particular one was on the Sea Shuttle through the Bay of Islands, and at the time was rated the number 2 tour in this area on Trip Advisor, so we booked it. It’s now rated #1, and for good reason!! We met our Captain, Adam, and his lovely first mate, Gwen at around 9:45 to leave for 10am with 16 other passengers. We got on our way, cruising past Russell, then out through the islands till we got to Roberton Island, which was one of Captain Cook’s landing sites, but was not originally discovered by him. We disembarked and took a short hike up the hill to a lookout with amazing views of the surrounding islands and bays. When we got back down to the beach, Adam and Gwen had tea, coffee and cookies waiting for us, which was a nice touch. There was a lagoon at one end of the beach, and walking out to it, we saw two black birds with long red beaks - the birds are called Oyster Catchers - Mama was in her nest, looking after her eggs, while Dad kept watch close by on the beach, taking care of her. We got back on the boat and started out to our second island, when we were treated to a school of dolphins swimming not far ahead of us - tried to get some photos, but didn’t really capture the beauty of what we saw.

    We arrived at our second island, a remote sheltered beach where there were more trails to hike, as well as snorkelling and paddle board equipment available to anyone who wanted to use it. We had brought some lunch, so ate that on the beach, then I soaked up some sun while Dave went on a short hike up the hill. He then grabbed some snorkel equipment and went for a swim around - saw a stingray and some pretty coloured fish. We both tried the paddle boards - I just stayed on my knees as I’m still concerned about my balance after my hip surgery, but Dave went for a nice little paddle in the harbour. Lay in the sun for a while longer until it was time to get back on the boat to head back.

    There was one couple on the boat who received a surprise Christmas present from their kids of a helicopter tour over the Bay of Islands, so our boat dropped them at a helicopter landing raft not far from our last island and off they went in style! Very cool! We then headed back through the islands, returning to Paihia around 3pm after a fantastic day!

    Headed down to the pool for about an hour after we got back, then out for a nice dinner to finish off another great day!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 38

    Kerikeri - the town so nice....

    21. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    .... they named it twice! This was our destination today - a pretty little town about 20km up the road from Paihia, and actually the biggest town in the far north area of the North Island. On our way there we stopped at a couple of places, the first being the Waitangi Mountain Bike Park, where Dave checked out their trails and the bike rental shop. No plans to ride here though - just wanted to have a look! From there, we drove a few kms to Haruru Falls, a lovely waterfall in a small park with chickens and roosters roaming free! Not sure where they belonged, but there were baby chicks 🐤 there too in the bushes!

    We left there and drove up to Kerikeri, first driving through the town, then making our way out to the historical Stone Store, a heritage building built in 1832 as a missionary warehouse, and then took on other roles as a trading post, library, barracks and boys school. It now serves as a museum and gift store in a beautiful area reminiscent of an English country garden. Just above the store is St. James Anglican Church, an historic church from the 1819, with the current building being finished in 1878, again on lovely grounds with lots of flowers.

    We went back to the downtown area for a walk around and some lunch (one of those delicious pies), picked up a few groceries, then headed out to a Rainbow Falls, about 8km down the road. This is another beautiful waterfall, with trails all around and viewing areas, so we hiked down to the bottom of the falls for some nice photos, as well as getting some from the viewing area up top.

    We headed back to a Paihia for an hour or so by the pool then made a nice dinner at our apartment, which we ate on the deck overlooking the beautiful ocean view of Paihia, and Russell, across the bay. Short walk into town after dinner, then back to get ready for tomorrow’s big adventure - stay tuned!! 😊    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 39

    90 Mile Beach - and a Surfin' Safari!

    22. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Up early this morning to drive up to a town called Kaitaia to meet the bus to take us to Cape Reigna and 90 mile Beach at the top of the North Island! A couple of stops on the way, one to take a pic of this cute hotel in Ohaeawai, not far from where we’re staying. Also a photo of the “State Highway”, which is one lane each way, and in some parts, has the same one lane bridges we encountered on the South Island! We arrived in Kaitaia, which was originally populated with settlers from Poland (hence the Polish welcome sign), and took a shuttle bus from the information centre to meet our big bus to take us on the rest of our journey. Really cool store at the meeting place with lots of local Kauri wood tables and furnishings for sale, and in the middle of the room, a staircase carved into the trunk of one of these trees!

    We were soon on the big bus off to Cape Reigna at the northern tip if the island, a spiritual ground to the Māori people, and home of the Cape Reigna Lighthouse. The original lighthouse in this area was on an island offshore named Cape Maria van Diemen, after Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman’s wife, but it was too difficult for lighthouse keepers to access and maintain, so a new on was built on shore. Cool signpost to remind us just how far we are from home! It was a little misty when we arrived but we were still able to see the point where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific Ocean, and how the churning of the sand underneath makes both waters appear to have different colours. By the time we left, it was fogged in and pouring rain, so we were lucky to get there when we did!

    From there, we headed back down the highway and had lunch at a little restaurant (all included in the tour), then set off for the beach. We entered through a stream and to our right were huge sand dunes - perfect for dune surfing! The tour provided boards for everyone who wanted to trek up the hill to sand surf back down - so of course, Dave grabbed one and after instruction from our guide, was the first of our group on his way up! Very cool experience, which I had hoped to try, but after seeing how some people were wiping out at the bottom, decided to stay put and take photos! 😜. Dave surfed down twice, and loved it!

    We got back on the bus, and proceeded to drive on the beach, right beside the ocean, for 70 kilometres (at the beach speed limit of 100 kmh!). The driver stopped so we could walk a little bit of the beach to see the waves and take photos. It’s recommended vehicles on the beach have 4 wheel drive (which our bus did, but didn’t use), however, we saw a few private vehicles that were lucky to make it back to one of the 3 exit points along the stretch of beach! We also saw quite a few backpackers hiking the beach in the pouring rain, a wild horse, and lots of people fishing! It was an amazing experience, and would probably have been more so on a sunny day, but great nonetheless!

    We exited the beach, drove back to our original meeting place where the shuttle met us and took us back to the car so we could make the 1.5 hour drive back to Paihia. After another great day, went out for a bite to eat, and are packing up to head to our next destination of Whitianga tomorrow morning.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 40

    Whitianga - with an F!

    23. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We found out that when a place name in NZ starts with the letters Wh, you drop those letters and replace them with an F, so, here we are tonight in Fitianga (or Fiddy, as its known in these parts!! 😳). Long driving day today, we left rainy Paihia around 8am and the drive south to Auckland was awesome - we even saw some sun! Just south of Auckland, we hit road construction so that was slow going, then after about 3.5 hours, turned onto state highway 25 (a very winding, hilly road) to take us out to the Coromandel Peninsula and this lovely, but very rainy today, little town, arriving around 2pm.

    We had booked a nice 1 bedroom suite for the last 6 nights of our trip, and it’s really lovely. After checking in, we went for a walk around town to check out if anything was going to be open for a Christmas Dinner. There are only 2 places open, and as in England, Christmas dinner is at lunchtime, with the last sitting of a set menu being at 2pm. The first place was asking $149 per person, (no drinks included), and still had space available (wonder why!), and the second was only $80 per person, but was fully booked! So we decided we would do our own Christmas dinner and headed off the the Countdown grocery store (interestingly a Woolworths owned venture, and very big in both Australia and NZ), and stocked up on supplies for breakfast and dinner for the 25th. Came back to unpack groceries and our suitcases then went out for another walk before going for an awesome dinner at Frankies Sports Bar!

    Wifi at this place is spotty, no modem in the apartment, but an antenna attached to the stairs outside (😳) so Dave has been going on the outside deck to download and send me photos for today’s entry! The rain is supposed to stick around for the next couple of days, so I guess we’ll be doing lots of reading and relaxing, which is actually not a bad thing considering our schedule of the past six weeks! Not too many photos today, but hopefully more when the weather clears! 😊    Les mer

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  • ReisendeSaunders’ Down Under
    Dag 41

    Christmas Eve - the Coromandel Peninsula

    24. desember 2018, New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Well, it’s Christmas Eve here today on the east coast of New Zealand and the Coromandel Peninsula is the name of the area we are spending it - in the pouring rain! Yes, it’s going to be a Wet Christmas! In spite of that, we decided to go exploring today, and headed out to Hahei Beach, about 40 minutes by road from where we are staying. The beach itself is beautiful, and I’m sure on a sunny day, even more so! Oh well, not going to let a few raindrops stop us - we walked along the beach for a while and it really is lovely. We then looked around a few gift shops in the small town of Hahei, and ended up for lunch at a brew pub called the Pour House for lunch and a few samplings. This is the place where Jeff’s good friend, Chelsea worked for almost a year as a bartender, and we met Neil, the owner and brewmaster ( who incidentally is from Widnes, near Liverpool and emigrated to NZ in 2004). Had some amazing NZ Green Lipped mussels for lunch.

    We drove up the hill to a trail which is the start of a hike out to Cathederal Cove, where we plan to visit once the weather is better - it’s about a 40 minute hike in, but apparently well worth it! From there we drove out to Hot Water Beach, a few kms down the road. In a small area just down the beach were scores of people sitting in holes they had dug, enjoying the hot water which is underground at the edge of the waterline. The photo below explains this natural phenomenon, and it was very cool to see - and the water was very hot!

    We drove back to our place, and being inspired by Hot Water Beach, Dave decided to go for a swim in the pool - not quite as hot as the water at the beach, but pretty warm! We came back to relax for a while, then went out for a nice Christmas Eve dinner on the waterfront overlooking the harbour and fishing boats. We had picked up a couple of Christmas movies this afternoon, so just finished watching one, and are now listening to the rain pounding on the windows and waiting for Santa!! 😉. Merry Christmas everyone!    Les mer

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