Journey Toward Wholeness

We began this week glamping in Golden Bay – sleeping in a tent huge enough to house more than a double bed and two comfy chairs, with electricity enough for a toaster, boiling hot water, and charging our devices. This, complemented by an outdoor kitchen, all set on the landlady’s lovely permaculture property where she and her family live connected to the land, was memorable. All along on our visit to NZ – said N-Zed by the way, I have seen references to breakfast that include a variety of spellings different than I am used to: breakie, breaky, brekkie, brekky… our glamping brekies included fresh eggs from the land’s free range chickens and fruits from trees on site. 

What was not so wonderful here too were the sand flies which we started encountering last week. Unfortunate for Loren they like his skin, so he either has to coverup better or endure the endless itching that their bites cause. On a happier note, we tramped Wainui Falls Track, though Loren had some slow going with his injured glut from last week. It was a short hike, with another suspension bridge, and sights worth the effort, both there and on the return coastal road.

  

The next morning we left well before dawn in order to return south over cyclone-damaged Takaka Hill during open hours to public traffic. To my chagrin I missed a rock on the curvy dark road despite our bright headlights, and caused a flat tire before we had arrived at the convoy site. Except for our car lights and flashlights it was pitch black, then to our further dismay we discovered our rental car had no jack! Few and infrequent others on the road just drove on by as we dialed for road service. It felt futile because of the restricted travel times and the scarce population on the South Island. While I spoke to the answering service, three good Samaritan hunters drove up, spoke briefly with Loren, pulled over and with their own jack, quickly affixed our spare. They finished the job with ample time for us all to make it over the hill! We could not thank them enough.

We had the tire attended to in Motueka before our long drive to the wild west coast. We picked up Great Coast Road where it begins, in Westport, where we stocked up on gas and supplies. We then stopped to hike at Cape Foulwind Walkway. A lighthouse, coastal views, and a seal colony were our visual highlights on this easy walk. Actually for Loren it was not so easy. I noticed bruising on the back of his leg for the first time, but he felt that overall the walk did his glut some good.

  

The coastline on the way to our AirBnB was incredible…

In the morning we joined our sweet hosts with their playful puppy Peanut for their coffee truck at the Fox River Market. While there two of our newest friends from the Netherlands who we had met last week were at the market too! What a lovely surprise to see them. We then drove to nearby Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes in Punakaiki. It was another happy reunion to find my Bikram Yoga teacher training classmate who Loren and I had seen in Wellington recently was here too, and to meet her beau! We plan to see them again in Christchurch where they call home. Who would have thought that we would have such fun meetups all on the same morning.

  

The surf along this coast is so strong that it roils beneath and up inside land flanked by the sea, making surprise splashes and even mimicing a whale’s blowhole every so often. We spent the early afternoon with a beach picnic and afterwards collected pieces of rock that might be jade, that the tide stirs up and leaves along the shore. Then we went for a peaceful couple of hours kayaking on the Pororari river in Paparoa National Park.

 

The next day Loren and I continued along the Great Coast Road to its end at Greymouth. Instead of our idea to pick up a jack from the rental car office, we learned that the jack is hidden under the front passenger seat… the one place we had not thought to look. Since our car had no vehicle manual, we had been clueless. And we picked up a tube of heat rub here, as another large bruise had appeared higher up on Loren’s leg. He had continued pain, which he realized was not so much in his glut but in his thigh bicep.

We arrived at Fox Glacier after another long day of driving. We did not have even a glimpse of Mount Cook – the tallest peak in New Zealand, for the low clouds that soon released their raindrops. Despite overcast weather the next day, we hiked to see the Franz Joseph Glacier. As we had been told, the waterfalls were abundant. It was a rewarding experience, but Loren’s leg was showing little sign of improvement and at certain times he still felt excruciating pain. We stopped in at the health clinic only to find that they had no doctors in town that day. So, we set up an appointment for the next day where we would then be – in Wanaka. 

  

Rain. While driving from Fox Glacier to Wanaka, the additional predicted rain began, and continued, and continued. The nice and competent doctor diagnosed a torn muscle which can cause such bruising, and which the wonderful physical therapist who we saw next and three times in all, confirmed. Loren is dutifully doing his prescribed daily exercises now, as we await the tear to heal naturally in the next six weeks to six months. We took the opportunity to take a short walk around Lake Matheson even though without the sun, the famous reflection of Mount Cook would not be visible. Still the sight we saw was worth the effort for the easy hike. 

It rained hard all through that night, momentarily letting up then immediately resuming heavily, and repeated that pattern for hours. I was grateful that we were staying put in Mount Aspiring National Park, where we still are. We knew that the fall weather had turned cold, but when the clouds partially cleared, we found new fallen snow atop the visible mountain peaks and foothills. We are definitely among what are called The Southern Alps, but where snow usually does not arrive until May. We had a good day to be inside for the prescribed down day that Loren’s “Physio” had prescribed.

 

Before we left Wellington Loren and I crammed in several last minute sightseeing and visiting activities, including taking in an outstanding Vietnamese acrobatic show in a lovely old theater, a King’s Singers and Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir performance in an ultra modern concert hall, a last Bikram Yoga class, lunch with another delightful yogi, touring TePapa – Maori for Our Place which is the National Museum of New Zealand, and, walking around Waitangi Park and the wharf. 

 

My last reflecting on Wellington includes how most retail and other businesses regularly close during the mid- to late- afternoon, harkening to earlier times in my life in New York where stores were only open late on Thursday evenings. Here even Thursday evenings retailers close up shop, leading me to believe that workers and residents enjoy a better quality of life with having their evenings free. Last, two more language anomalies between US and Commonwealth English is, how do you say Quay? Loren and I would say Kway, but I hear New Zealanders pronouncing it Key, and, while we would say trash or garbage in the US, here they refer to it as rubbish. 

Loren and I were up early for our ferry across Cook Straight to the South Island. We were fortunate with the calmness of the sea on this particular day, and especially, as there had been another cyclone warning, meaning that the ferry actually could have been canceled. Luckily that storm had veered off away from New Zealand entirely. In the terminal waiting room we struck up a friendly exchange with a couple from Auckland. We then sat together on board and our enjoyable conversing lasted through the three and a half hour crossing. 

 

Loren and I picked up our rental car and stopped on our way to Marlborough Sounds to have a delightful hike on part of Queen Charlotte’s Track. We stayed in Mahau – meaning Sheltered, Sound, among the Marlboroughs. As advertised, their sunsets can be breathtaking.

 

The next day when we were about to borrow our hosts’ kayaks, an unexpected strong wind picked up causing whitecaps. We were strongly recommended to forego kayaking and instead hike to Mistletoe Bay. We started uphill to the summit lookout but soon decided to take the less traveled cutoff trail to the bay. Along this trail there was an interesting bird call, which to me sounded like when I run a paper towel dampened by window cleaner back and forth across glass. This bird seemed happy to allow me to take a photo! We then hiked the Loop track and returned to our car via another portion of Queen Charlotte’s Track. In the end hiking was the right decision, as the wind never abated all that day.

Again we were up quite early to catch our AquaTaxi from Marahau/Kaiteriteri to Bark Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park. Before our drop-off, our taxi boat took us by the most photographed rock in the area – Split Apple Rock. Once dropped off at Bark Bay, we hiked along the wilderness trail with periodic breathtaking views of the coast. We had been advised by our Godson to not backpack here for the black flies, as they are worse than deer flies. It turned out that again we were lucky in that we were not at all disturbed by flies on our day hike here. 

 

On our way from Bark Bay to Anchorage Hut, we passed through Torrent Bay. We knew that if the tide was low we could take the shortcut across the open beach, then detour off track to Cleopatras Pool with a natural rock water slide.

However, we were unaware that the shortcut included fording more than a few rivulets of mountain runoff that join the Tasman Sea, some deeper than others. In trying to keep his boots and socks wet – in hindsight, why we did not just take our boots off I do not know, Loren twisted just the wrong way to injure a glut. So, hiking to Cleopatra’s Pool was out of the question, and Loren was unable to enjoy as much our overnight on Aquapackers at Anchorage Bay with our wonderful hosts,

 

and a delightful group of fellow travelers. We also had to give up our plan to hike the track back to Marahou and take another water taxi instead. With resting, elevating, anti-inflamatories and heat pack treatment, Loren is doing a bit better. 

      

We then learned that the previous Cyclone Gita that had veered south of Wellington while we were on the North Island did extensive damage to the Tasman National Park region of the South Island. Many “slips” are clearly visible across the landscape. Our trip “over the hill” to reach our accommodation in Takaka was delayed due to required road repair. The times for non-construction traffic are restricted to one escorted trip in the morning and one in the evening. So Loren had an opportunity to have a soak in a Kaiteriteri hot tub before we could drive the severely damaged route. It reminded me of the frequent road closings due to landslides on Route 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz at home. So on leaving here we will have another very early departure this week. 

Our week began with a gorgeous day of sunshine! The weather report claimed that we would have four days of sun, but Loren and I did not leave it to chance. We took advantage and went out to Otari-Wilton’s Bush, a forested park of native trees and trails where we spent a couple of hours hiking around, as the clouds began returning.

 

It was easy to capture a better photo of the large wood pigeon. This one seemed quite happy to pose straight overhead. Their wings make a loud whooshing when they fly away. And, finally I caught my first tui photos – any time we have seen them before, they were either too hard to see or moved too fast from view. The tui has a unique repertoire of noises to their calls. It was lovely to see them better and to hear them once again.

 

We also saw the 800 year old rimu tree here. We were grateful that we had gone as the report was wrong – we were in for several days of clouds, one with nonstop heavy rains.

 

The next day I had the opportunity to attend a Workshop and Master Class at the studio where Loren and I have been practicing yoga, with a special visiting teacher from California who has extensive knowledge about the Bikram Yoga method. I had taken Craig’s master class many years ago at my home studio, and it was great to spend the afternoon with him again, especially now that I am a certified instructor. 

During the introductions, a young woman from out of town claimed that she had attended my same Teacher Training. She did not look at all familiar though, so during my introduction I told her that we would need to talk.

On our first break she immediately was at my side, and I realized that of course I knew her, once she showed me a photo of how she had worn her hair four years ago! With her last name starting with K and mine with a W, we only saw each other in passing during the nine weeks of training. I was able to take her class the next day and am proud to call her my littermate. I have had the privilege to teach two more classes myself this week, and will teach one more before we leave Wellington.

I was able to spend a couple of hours seeing the second half of this year’s Academy Awards. Like the recent Women’s Olympics Ice Hockey game, there are eloquent, emotional, exuberant winners among the many Oscar nominees who cannot also win. It was entertaining and moving to see some of the additional artistic presentations. 

I noticed this list on a post card as we walked around town:

   L&P
   Hokey Pokey
   Fish & Chips

and I realized that now Loren and I can say that we have tasted all three of these New Zealand specialties. “L&P is Adult lemonade,” per our waitress one day, and she added “lemonade with a fizz to it.” It was quite refreshing! I have also enjoyed finding the tasty Ginger Beer here that I had first discovered while we were traveling in Africa in late 2015. And, we just had to buy a container of Hokey Pokey at the supermarket on the recommendation of Loren’s Godson – vanilla ice cream with chunks of toffee sprinkled throughout. Delicious! I wonder how come this flavor has not made its way to the USA? 

Two other unique foods that we have enjoyed here include the delightful Egmont cheese – like a gouda/cheddar blend, and, a lean venison. We were advised to try it as it is not as gamey as the wild deer we have each tried in the US. When Loren and I had driven around the North Island last month, we were surprised to occasionally come across a large herd of deer on a fenced off hillside. We learned that the grass-fed venison medallions are popular here. We finally picked up a package to cook for ourselves, and I am hard pressed to call it even slightly gamey and can now suggest this dish too!

The City Gallery – an art gallery had been closed for remodeling until this week, and we paid them a visit. The theme going on currently is all about New Zealand, teaching us more about the country.

 

The gallery was showing the 1995 film Forgotten Silver. Loren and I were impressed with how well made it was, but, the story it tells – about the recovered films of an early 19th century film maker, is incredible. Rightly so. The writeup that we only briefly read as we entered the viewing included the word hoax, and that stuck with me. I took a photo of the account as we exited, and in pursuing it online later, I found how Loren and I were quite easily duped as were many New Zealanders when it was first aired. I love the second sentence of what one of the directors had responded to an angry reporter who was also duped, which was included in the review: “The art of storytelling is the art of spinning a convincing lie. I’m not going to apologise for doing my job well.”

To conclude this week’s post, I am including a few random photos from walking around Wellington, where we have very much enjoyed holing up for nearly a month.

  

 

For the first time I saw a new icon on my weather app, and learned that it meant we would meet The Wellington Wind! I thought it had to do with the tail end of “Former-Cyclone-Gita,” but later learned that this is a usual, normal occurrence. On and off it blew, all day and all night, at times tremendously hard. Then, just like that, it was gone. 

 

 

17 in Celsius translates to the low 60’s in Fahrenheit…

 

 

 

 

Maybe a better snapshot of our time here in the Te Aro neighborhood of the Central Business District of Wellington can be had from a poem I was inspired to write this week:

   Sleepless Mess, Downtown Wellington
    Claire Adalyn Wright

   Our travel throw-blankets and pajamas too light
   though our host's comforter not quite light enough
   for summer nights in Te Aro's coastal community.
   Dear Mr. Sandman, where, and why, do you hide?

   Sounds ricochet off pavement onto building walls,
   echoing around a pillared concrete carpark below -
   a barrel of bottles clink into a recycling bin,
   a din of voices resonate throughout the dark.

   Groups drift by, bound for nearby dormitory halls.
   Hoots and yells, an occasional shout, or laughter. 
   A woman’s voice, clearly, “How do you know that?”
   His deep response, “I know because,” fading away.

   Tires mimic waves on oft rain-wet tarmac - as if
   rushing to crush it to granules. Unlike unending 
   ebb and flow, delightful sweet silence descends!
   Emergency sirens soon startle, wailing a while.

   Intense winds arise, rattling windows and framing, 
   howling, as Mom would say, “To beat the band.”
   Crinkled papers and plastics sail about the skies
   settling on pipes, wires, rooftops, and sidewalks.

   Skateboards click, clack and smack; scooters purr, 
   motorbikes whine; then street-cleaning squadron and
   rubbish removal add choruses of motor and machine.
   A lone street walker’s singsong heralds coming dawn.

   Yet my thoughts and ideas, worries and fears,
   tinnitus ringing off the hook, loud, in my ears,
   lurk behind reverberations of a city’s cacophony.
   Lie as I try I lie not, these and more thrive at night.

   Finally, a piercing metal blade slicing the asphalt, 
   and a subsequent deafening pitch of the jackhammer -
   allow earplugs - dratted devices, for once, to actually
   block out the racket. Or was I simply that dead tired?

We have had more routine appointments and goings-on this week, including Loren seeing the dental hygienist and both of us visiting a dermatologist. I took the offer to teach another Bikram Yoga class, and, had my hair cut. We also had repairs made to the straps on our backpacks, then ate a meal at another Mexican restaurant in town. All these experiences were good ones, affording us chances to meet nice and interesting people, while attending to important aspects of our lives. One evening we enjoyed a delightful time out for drinks with our dermatologist and his wonderful staff.

  

This week too Loren and I appreciated FaceTiming with special family members. Loren especially recognizes a fortune in having such technology, as there was no similar ability forty years ago when traveling on his bicycle. We also took evening walks, particularly on the waterfront promenade where parts of the city can be seen across the harbor.

  

Being immersed in a big city of a Commonwealth country on a day to day basis, we are learning more about what it means to be part of its Realm. It is fun to read about the Royal family lineage and relationships, as they are often a source of headlines or featured in magazines that one finds in Doctor’s offices. However we are also at times reminded of important or infamous people at home as well.

If I were to sum up in a word, Te Aro seems most oriented in the arts. We have seen lots, even blocks, of street art. I will let some of what has appealed to me introduce itself to conclude this week’s post. Thank you again, dear family and friends, for following along!  

         

Loren and I have had a few major concerns at home in recent weeks. For example, we learned that our PO Box was likely robbed in January. It was not just ours but the whole structure of boxes, necessitating our Post Office to look to close down its outdoor boxes, and making a change of address required on our part. Not an easy decision or task. And, our financial adviser alerted us that he has moved his staff to a new base. We are delighted for them, but this also required some work on our part.

Then there are the necessary tasks of preparing taxes, continuing education courses to complete online… We are grateful to be staying in one place long enough to address these and other heartaches and hardships at home. We have so much appreciation for our family members and friends who continue to support us from afar in our Journey. I found this image with my first course, divine affirmation to work on our travel planning:

Early this week Loren read a forecast of upcoming rain, so that evening we took a long walk around town. Wellington seems full of vibrancy, art, and young adults, reminding me a little of how I felt in Berlin – happy and hopeful for the future.

Then came the severe warning of three days of “A Deep, Extra-Tropical Cyclone – Gita,” coming toward New Zealand’s wild, west coast. It even triggered a warning email from AirBnB to their hosts and visiting guests – which included us! Wellington is at the southwest tip of the North Island, and the eye was heading on a course directly between the two islands. Lucky for us though it veered further south, so all that we experienced were some heavy winds initially, and much rain one night and day from a thoroughly whited-out sky. Since that, it has been on and off cloudy or sunny here again and quite a few degrees cooler. 

I am reiterating the New Zealanders’ use of the phrase wild west, reminding me a bit of North America’s historic wild west, but I believe here they are strictly referring to the coast. I read how in 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. His fleet, crossed waters so strangely calm that the ocean was named “Pacific,” from the Latin word pacificus, meaning “tranquil.” New Zealand’s east coast faces the Pacific, what contrasts!

Of a more routine nature, Loren and I both had our crippled eyeglass frames repaired this week. We had our annual physicals too. And I was able to see a dental hygienist, which was especially wonderful because a front tooth that had been painful when flossing had concerned me, but needed nothing more than a good cleaning. Of more interest, we visited Old St. Paul’s this week, that was built entirely from native timbers. It is now an historic site, and available for weddings. A newer St. Paul’s is around the corner, much taller and more modern.

 

We toured Parliament too, which is partly housed in “The Beehive.” Then we sat in the Public Gallery overlooking the House during a Questions session, where the opposition and the Government seriously and lightheartedly challenge each other to do their best jobs. It was enlightening to learn about their processes from the tour guide, and, entertaining to see the political wheels of New Zealand in action.

 

Noteworthy too, thanks to television, we saw the thrill of the American Women’s Olympic Hockey team earn their first Gold in nearly 20 years, which you may know included an overtime that led to a shootout and sudden death finale. Yet, sadly we saw the agony of the opposing Canadian Women’s team – taking Silver, but losing out on their dream to earn the first ever five consecutive Golds in a row. 

I will finish this week’s reflection with more language differences from Commonwealth to American English. Another yoga teacher at our studio here mentioned how confusing it is that the Americans use the word take, as in when we attend, a class. She was once startled when an American student told her she would like to take her class, because in New Zealand, to take the class means to teach the class! She then laughed as she told me she will take my class when I teach in early March, meaning that she will attend! 

Our first day in Wellington was a day of sunshine and warm weather. After turning in our rental car we were advised by the manager of Fidel’s cafe – on Cuba Street by the way, to take advantage of the nice day to hike up to the Brooklyn Windmill. We settled in at our studio apartment AirBnB, but, before leaving I accidentally smashed one of my pinky toes on the side of the stairs so hard that it drew blood. I still put my bandaged toe in a hiking boot, but within 2 blocks knew I could not go up and down a steep hill. So Loren went on without me. After ice, elevation, rest, and yoga, I still have bruising but can walk without favoring it. And the skies often have been overcast since that first day.

  

Another day we had a nice lunch date with a young couple who we had met at Tongariro. They picked us up in their rental car and we drove out to Lyall Bay for a recommended restaurant. It was great fun to see them, and enjoy the setting and good food together. 

Wellington is a nice size city. It has a population of 100,000 and much can be reached by foot. One day again we had nice enough weather for hiking up to Mount Victoria to a Lookout, where we had views over the city and beyond, and read signposts with information about southern sky astronomy. But Wellington is known for being windy, and we can attest to that too!

 

Another day we walked down the waterfront,

 

then on Valentine’s Day, we celebrated out with Mexican fare. 

  

The other major outing we made was to the Friday Food Market. This week it coincided with a Lantern Parade for Chinese New Year, which included a traditional Maori performance. I learned that the Dragon represents power, strength, and good luck. 

  

I am also reflecting on the wildlife we had seen while elsewhere on the North Island that I had not posted about – specifically, the Pied Stilt, Magpie, and the enormous Wood Pigeon. The magpie has outstanding contrasting dark black/stark white coloring which is incredible to see in flight, for their coloring looks like thick black outlines around a white bird. It seems several birds here have black and white or dark and light markings.

  

Our AirBnb is within a short distance of a Bikram Yoga studio, and we have taken a class each day. I was invited to teach one, and hope to do so again while we are here. Loren and I will also have our teeth cleaned, see a dermatologist, and a general practitioner for checkups this month. The dental office is actually in a building where a Beatles’ concert was once held! Oh, and, Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dog!

 

I had wondered, “How did this idea of Oceania being ‘down under’ come about?” From recently visiting Antarctica I know that that continent is really down under. I thought, “Maybe my lack of understanding of the earth’s axis would explain it?” No, Antarctica is still down under all the land on earth. What I learned is that this nickname is a holdover from earlier centuries, when mapmakers knew nothing of the lands south of Asia. In fact Europeans did not start to settle in New Zealand until the beginning of the 1800’s…

Loren and I began this week by going to The Tree Church which I happened upon online. The website does not do it justice though, in that in addition to the amazing combination of a natural and wrought sacred structure, the larger grounds include peaceful gardens, ponds, a labyrinth… We learned that the talented designer/owner has plans to someday build a more magnificent garden setting. I hope he will.

We then went to Maungatautari – Sanctuary Mountain, where extensive fencing keeps imported predators out, for the native flora and fauna to thrive. We took two walks, though were disappointed in the second. It was different from the Northern Enclosure which said “Allow 35 minutes, 1.1km – Medium fitness,” and we took less than 35 minutes on a thoroughly delightful track. The Over the Mountain enclosure fooled us by signage pointing in either direction to begin an hour to the peak, appearing to be a loop. It was a grueling, uphill trudge through denser-growth forest for over an hour. Before we made it to the summit we were told that there would be no view, and, that the track on the other side was in disrepair. We turned around, with our plans for a second enjoyable 1-2 hour hike dashed. The lesson learned is how important it is to do better research in advance.

 

From here we drove for about four hours to our lodging in Tongariro National Park. On the way there we played with the idea of postponing our full day hike to rest up, and especially as the clouds looked threatening. But, when we arrived it was too late to rearrange plans, so we prepared ourselves for an early departure for the long day hike.

We spent the next day on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, feeling so grateful that we had fabulous weather all day! A young woman working at the lodge since November later said she had never seen a day with sunshine throughout to the afternoon. We saw Mount Tongariro, Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe, the otherworldly Red Crater, and, the stunning Emerald Lakes up close. Quoting one of our lodge owners, we can say that we survived walking over “two active volcanos.” As well, we saw incredibly unique volcanic and geothermal terrain. Instead of the advertised tramp of 19.4km in 5-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours though, it took the two of us 9. But we made it! With an evening soak in our motel’s hot tub, we were ready for our next day’s commitment to a half day of mountain biking…

  

We wondered if our bike outing on Old Coach Road would be canceled due to weather. It was lucky for us again in that it only mildly drizzled at the start and end of our ride, then absolutely poured after we were back safe and dry in our motel room. We were especially grateful to not be among the group that we were on the Tongariro Crossing that day. That evening we celebrated at the nice restaurant suggested by our other lodge owner, and we wore our souvenir T-shirts that were part of the Crossing package. 

 

Then we enjoyed a down day. Clouds and rain once again helped us realize our fortune of Crossing in clear weather, while we did laundry and other catchup. I had not stopped thinking of my humming the tune of Smile to our water taxi driver last week, so looked up the lyrics. I found the references to clouds and sunshine coincidental:

     From Smile – Music by Charles Chaplin, Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons: 

     …When there are clouds in the sky
        You’ll get by
        If you smile through your fear and sorrow
        Smile and maybe tomorrow
        You’ll see the sun come shining through
        For you…

Continuing in this vein, I came across a quote that I had noted some many years ago, and from where I have no idea. But, it touched me then, and does again now, especially as we are traveling through the Maori iwi (tribe) lands:

     Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori Proverb

Driving from Tongariro towards Wellington at the south end of the North Island, we took a winding road called The Forgotten World Highway. We stopped a couple of times on the long day – first for a soft drink at historic Whangamomona hotel in the capital city of the Whangamomona Republic – said Fang-ah-momo-na. We voluntarily received passport stamps but cannot claim having visited another “country.” We also drove through two different one lane tunnels, and, had lunch by the little used 1936 “Bridge to Somewhere.”

  

I mentioned the coastal/land formations last week, now I must mention a few inland highlights. There are ridges and hollows everywhere in the New Zealand countryside! I used to think that cliffs were only found on the coast. Now I know that they can also be found inland. Of course I have seen them inland but did not call them cliffs. Some of the ones just alongside the roads are as tall and straight as high rise buildings. Also, we have driven by so much land that has been set aside as Scenic Reserves that perhaps one could spend a lifetime visiting all of them, or at least needing more than the limited time that we have in New Zealand. And, we had seen some sheep but mostly cattle so far, now on this drive we saw as many or more sheep as we did in the hills of Ireland and Scotland.

  

We then spent two nice nights in Masterton on the way to Wellington. This area is also called Wairarapa. Our AirBnB was hosted by a lovely family with three friendly young boys and a fun-loving dog. Here we spent nearly a full day at Pukaha Mount Bruce, a preservation center where we saw their one all-white kiwi bird in a bird house setting that imitated nighttime inside the enclosure. We took in talks about a few other unique creatures – the Takahe bird, the Tuatara – a similar reptile to a lizard or gecko but more ancient, and, saw a Long-Fin Eel feeding. Then we went about an hour and a half on their Loop Walk through Forest Restoration Project lands. It was especially nice to finish the walk in a shorter amount of time than their advertised two hours.

  

That evening Loren and I had a date night to see Loving Vincent at a new theater in town. Maybe you already saw it but it was just released here. Incredibly spectacular with a good story line, and, everything in it painted in Van Gogh’s unique style. We would both see it again and can highly recommend it.

Now we are in Wellington, settled in to an apartment which we will be in for about the next month. It is in walking distance to the local Bikram Yoga studio, and we plan to visit the Unitarian congregation who meet in Wellington about once a month. 

Until next week, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Please excuse this post being late – we had only weak or insecure internet until today…

It is summer in Aotearoa – New Zealand, in Maori, pronounced ow-ah-tea-ah-row-ah. With us being from California, our experience is different from what we are finding here, especially Loren who is a California native. Instead it often feels more like my native New York for the clouds, thunder, lightning, rain, humidity. Our backpacker motel owner calls rain “liquid sunshine.” Unlike New York, the temperature cools in the evening, more like California. It just does not pay to have expectations – this is summertime in Aotearoa!

Still in Paihia on the Bay of Islands towards the north end of New Zealand’s North Island, Loren and I began this week with hiring a water taxi for transport to Deep Water Cove. Our driver – or maybe you would say pilot? or captain? – after acquainting us with his company, Wai Not – sounds like why not, with wai meaning water, and of safety on the boat, spoke a while in Maori which included singing a short song. He said that basically meant, “Hello!” and that the song part was a tradition of welcome. He asked us – being his only passengers, for a song in return. We were stumped in the moment to think of one, so he prompted that he likes Michael Jackson from the US. I came up with mostly humming part of MJ’s version of Turner and Parsons’ Smile, which he appreciated. 

We also learned from him that there are 139 islands in this bay. And, he explained “The Polynesian Triangle” as Maori people are originally of Polynesia heritage before settling on New Zealand. Loren and I discovered that we actually have been to two thirds of its boundaries, as we have visited Hawaii previously and now New Zealand. Sometime we hope to complete the triangle by traveling to the third point, which is Easter Island.

From Deep Water Cove Loren and I made what we thought would be a mild “2.5 hour walk”  for an overnight stay at the Cape Brett Lighthouse hut. In fact the writeup said, “Walk to the hut via the undulating Cape Brett Track,” “through native and regenerating bush” with “dramatic coastal views.” However, we must have overlooked the parts that included, “The Cape Brett Track traverses rugged terrain” and other menacing phrasing, for it took us 4 hours over the steep up and down over several narrow ridges. We made it though, and spent the night in dorm style accommodation with nice people – 2 young women from Auckland, a young Canadian couple and a young man from Wisconsin. We made the return hike to the Cove in just slightly less than 4 hours, and even enjoyed the tramping after the fact. As Loren says, we collected another memorable experience. 

 

We had a final full day of sightseeing at Bay of Islands: first with viewing Rainbow Falls, then a short walk through a lovely Kaori rainforest, and, stopping to see Haruru Falls. We spent the rest of that day at Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where we learned more of how the Maori chiefs and British crown representatives forged an agreement of partnership in 1840. We had a guided tour, saw a cultural performance and a Maori concert, and, ate a traditional Hangi dinner. A Hangi seems similar to an Hawaiian Luau. And some Maori words seem strikingly similar to Native American words. I marvel at that coincidence.

 

We then drove south through Auckland on our way to Rotorua – said row-tow-rue-ah, on the Bay of Plenty, actually a bight. I am learning a bit about different coastal landforms with all the shorelines of New Zealand. I grew up near Long Island Sound, but now have realized that I had no idea what characteristics make up the category of a sound. Here is a sound-bight of what I have found:

     a bay has a wide mouth, partly surrounded by land on three sides
     a bight is a shallow curve but less curvature than a bay or a sound
a cape extends far into a body of water with water on two sides
     a cove is a sheltered, small inlet, often found in a larger bay
an estuary is where a river meets the sea forming brackish water
a fiord is a narrow, long, steep-sided valley created by a glacier, filled with water
a peninsula is bordered by water on three sides
a sound is a large inlet wider than a fjord, and often separates land from an island

Now I am curious about the name Bay instead of Bight of Plenty? And, Long Island by the way, was deemed by the US Supreme Court in 1985 to be not an island, but a peninsula!

We stopped after Auckland on our continued way to Rotorua for an inspiring tour of Hobbiton, the enchanting place where Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies were filmed. We later wanted to walk around some of Lake Rotorua, and drove to where we happened to find a tribute to John Lennon’s Imagine, but, it was dreary and overcast, too blustery to enjoy the evening out and about in the elements. 

Another full day was spent starting with a morning at Wai O Tapu – meaning sacred waters, a geothermal adventure. Our time included viewing the Old Faithful-like Lady Knox geyser and some outstanding colorful pools, caves, and geysers. It all reminded both Loren and me of our respective visits to Yellowstone National Park 43 and 45 years ago. Loren’s shirt that day and his hiking poles matched one pool named “Devil’s Bath.” What was also intriguing here were the mud pools. I think everyone who witnessed their frequent quick unpredictable “Bloop!” – what Loren called the audible shows they make, could not help but smile. 

 

We spent that afternoon at two lakes. Okareka – Lake of Sweet Food, was serene and featured a multitude of black swans. Tikitapu – Blue Lake, being a haven for swimmers, suited Loren to jump in. We finished the day with an evening spa at Waikite Valley, which translates to clear water. As my name, Claire also means clear, I would like to take the Maori name, Kite – said key-teh. We also took an “eco-walk” to see 40-50 gushing liters of boiling water per second, so hot that it must be cooled before entering any of their six pools. The steam combined with the sunlight made for an interesting photo.

 

Before leaving Rotorua, we stopped briefly at Government Gardens. It was nice to see a bit of Maori history honored with displays, a nice surprise to find folks playing croquet on the lawns, and nice to enjoy a vast array of blooms. 

  

We then stopped to see Waikato River’s Huka Falls, which reminded me of a favorite color of mine as a child – Sea-Foam-Green. Given that this day my shirt matched the waters, perhaps it still is a favorite color. 

From here we drove to see Taupo Lake where we enjoyed a walk on an old wharf before arriving at our AirBnB accommodation in a barn with upstairs living space. Our host joined us for a glass of wine and we learned that the name she chose for her retreat -Rangimarie, means place of peace. We enjoyed a peaceful down day staying out of the heavy-at-times-rain, listening to the pattering and pouring on the roof all day long in her delightful lodging. That evening we shared conversation and dinner in her lovely home.

 

The next day we were back on the go, with Loren taking a 3 hour “glow worm” cave tour by inner tube in a wet suit, while I took tours by foot and boat during the same time to see the unusual creatures. Afterwards together we hiked to see more caves in the Waitomo area – meaning hole made by water. Then we visited a nearby natural bridge.

  

We were fortunate in the timing of low tide at the harbor where we were able to dig in the sand and have a soak in a natural hot pool. That is me standing where Loren would soon dig. Another wonderful week, full of fulfillment. We are so grateful for our Journey, for our family and friends who support us by keeping in touch as best we can, for all the wonderful people we are meeting, and for all that we are learning, seeing and doing. We finished the day and this week with a dinner of locally acclaimed fish ‘n’ chips. Good fun!

 

 

Last week Loren and I had the milestone of traveling to our 7th continent and 50th+ country on our Journey. Now we have reached a round number of 200 consecutive weeks being away from our home. Something to recognize…

We were still in Auckland when this week began. One highlight was taking the speedy elevator ride up to the 51st floor of the Sky Tower late one afternoon for sunset, then we stayed to see the city lights come on.

 

We also had a lovely day with one of our friends who we had met on tour in Morocco. She picked us up with her adorable pug, and we spent the day going North – first to a Farmer’s Market in Matakana for a local fare lunch, then to a winery for a delicious glass of wine, tasting and a beer. The grounds include a beautiful setting for walking along a sculpture trail, somewhat similar to Arte Sella – Art in Nature that we visited near Caldonazzo, Italy. The difference here is there are a few “sound” sculptures, for example a delightful choral piece that felt like they were right there in the woods with us, and, a chorus of frogs near a pond. 

 

Then our friend took us to Murawai – translates to Water’s end, to see the Gannet colony. While she walked her pug on the “wild west coast beach” as dogs are not allowed near these unique birds, Loren and I hiked up to see them. 

  

We rejoined on the vast beach where the tide was out. Later on I had a painful lesson – just how much sunscreen and UV sunglasses really are mandatory. I had put sunscreen on my face and the back of my neck, but none on my arms or chest as has become my habit as we have traveled. That evening I was surprised to find that the skin on my arms and chest was burned, though we were only in the sun for a short time and in the late afternoon. The Ozone layer is actually the thinnest over New Zealand, so Loren and I now lather ourselves thoroughly when we will be in the sun.

The next day Loren and I took a ferry to Motutapu Island – means Sacred Island. We met our group of volunteers to help with some summertime nursery work for the Motutapu Restoration Trust. Loren and I only put in a half day of transplanting root bound flax seedlings, so that we could walk – excuse me, we have also learned that New Zealanders tramp on tracks. This is like the Nepali and the Americans who respectively trek and hike, on trails. Anyway, we tramped, to the summit of neighboring Rangitoto Island – means Lava Island, to see the crater left by the volcano. Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands are connected merely by a tiny bridge. Rangitoto is quite a new island, as the volcano only erupted 600 years ago. Still the crater has fully filled in with vegetation. 

  

Like Nepal, New Zealand has some sub-tropic climate regions. But, unlike most places in the world, New Zealand does not have native critters. To protect their rare bird population, the Kiwi people try hard to eradicate the wild critters that have arrived with foreigners. The native birds used to have a single predator – a very large eagle that sadly is now extinct. The smaller birds’ instinct is to freeze from the eyes of the eagle, but that of course puts them in grave danger from critters. Further, the locals are extremely ecologically protective of their paradise. From immigration enforcing measures on arrival to the country, to shoe washing stations in a variety of places, they aim to protect the endangered Kauri – sounds like the name Cory, tree.

 

Now, Loren and I have picked up a budget car, a “Commuter Super Saver Toyota Vitz” model in Auckland. Before we left their garage, Loren had to manually manipulate the side mirror as the driver side interior controls did not work. The nice thing for driving on the “proper” side of the road with this scratched up, faded car was that it is an automatic, compared to in Ireland, England and South Africa where the cars were all manual transmission. However, as we entered the Harbour Bridge, said mirror actually fell from its mount! Fortunately, the rental agency has an office just north of the bridge. To our greater fortune, they had only one automatic car available – a shiny, large, Toyota Camry. It was a delight to drive the rest of the way in luxury, at the super saver price…

A word about driving here. New Zealanders are… strict, about their speeds. I am grateful that this second car not only has cruise control but a buzzer reminder should I exceed 100km, to keep within the maximum limit. Here is how it breaks down:

    100km/h, which works out to 62.14 mph is the default on the motorway (highway)
     50km/h, or 31.06 mph is the default for towns and cities
     40km/h, 24.85 mph is for schools at marked times
     30km/h, 18.64 through roadworks, and,
     20km/h, 12.43 for a stopped school bus.

Another word I want to say is about the Maori language. So many places are called by the native names, but learning to pronounce them is a… challenge. We have mastered Whangarei – said Fan-yah-ray, but so many other names – many of which are even spelled similarly, are difficult for westerners and especially us to pick up.

We drove to Paihia – said pie-hee-ah, north of Auckland on the Bay of Islands. One day in Paihia we took a full day tramp, which included – literally, tramping, through rain forested land, as well as taking two ferry crossings as part of the mapped out visitor route.

 

While in the rain forest, we were thoroughly enchanted by the calls of the Tui bird, but could not manager to snap any photos of them. We also heard lots of cicada chirping alongside an interesting snapping sound. Fortunately the 50% chance of thunderstorms never materialized.

 

We have also seen many reminders that the Kiwi bird lives in New Zealand. As of yet we have not spotted any… however, they are nocturnal. Still, there are protective warnings to keep dogs on leads as dogs are often a threat to this unique bird. We have seen several Pukeko, or Australasian Swamp Hen. As our friend said, “They are everywhere!”

 

Next we are heading off by water taxi to tramp to Cape Brett Lighthouse where we will stay overnight.