New Zealand Day 32

This is our last full day in New Zealand.  It was the third day of inclement weather caused by the cyclone, but the foul weather was waning significantly.  It was cloudy most of the day with occasionally light rain and short bursts of wind.  As I write this at 7:00 pm local time, the sun is out and we can see blue sky - wahoo!!

For those who may be wondering what is the difference between a typhoon, cyclone, and even a hurricane.  The short answer is nothing -- they are all tropical, low pressure disturbances that rotate, picking up moisture from the ocean and generating high winds as a vortex around an "eye."  The wind is located outside of the eye in something called an "eye wall."  The three names differentiate according to where the disturbances occur.  For example, cyclones - below the equator in the South Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean.  Typhoons are in the Northwestern Pacific and hurricanes are in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific.  They are categorized with a 5 point scale.  They are major if they are category 3, 4 or 5.  Cyclone Gabrielle was category 3 for a couple of days before being downgraded to a tropical storm.

On to our day.  Betsy, Varis and I went along the coast road to the Glass House Cafe for a delicious breakfast, while Jan and Ron stayed in.  After that, we watched a bunch of guys cleaning up the road in front of our house, using shovels to move debris, and then using leaf blowers to move the little stuff.  One guy got friendly with us, even to the point of asking to use our loo and to wash his boots with the outside hose bib.  While he was using the bathroom, Jan, Betsy, Ron and I drove to the south end of the Paihia to walk the coast line to Opua.  It involved a mix of beachfront, boardwalk over mangroves, and trails in the bush.  When we got back we heard that Varis had some trouble with our guest, hearing an earful on what white settlers did to the Maori and getting him to leave.  Fortunately, Varis noticed our front door key missing from the hall table and asked him where was the key.  The guy nonchalantly took the key out of his pocket and gave it to Varis - how strange.

Our walk started well but, after some distance on shoreside rocks with the tide coming in, we had to divert up through a neighborhood of private homes to the main road.  We walked along the road for a short distance before regaining the beach, then the trail went into the bush, past a Top Ten campground, and finally across a mangrove boardwalk.  After 2.5 miles, Betsy and I turned around to go back to the car.  Jan and Ron walked on finishing the trail to Opua.  We drove to pick them up just as some serious rain set in.

Washed up boat debris.

The rocks we were walking on.

A pair of Oyster Catchers

A brand new boardwalk through the mangroves

An unafraid Pied Shag drying itself.

We returned to the house after picking up dinner supplies.  We had ravioli and tortellini with prawns and chorizo sausage bits and a salad.  After dinner we drove to Haruru Falls and back around through Waitangi Treaty Grounds, passing a mountain bike park and a broad, wide open golf course with wonderful vistas to the sea.  The sea was nearly clear, with some lingering wind.

Haruru Falls in full spate after the recent rains.

Haruru Falls from above.

It is looking good for flying home tomorrow - Kerikeri to Auckland, Auckland to Los Angeles, LA to Portland.  It will be a long day, but will be good to be home.

I must conclude by telling you that while this blog reads as if I alone write it, know that Betsy adds color commentary and editorial improvements to every post.  I thank her for her being a partner.  Happy Valentine to you and your partners.

New Zealand Day 31

A short travel day, moving from Russell to Paihia that involved a short ferry ride across an inlet.  These two towns are opposite each other with a large bay in between.  But because of the ferry it feels as if Russell is an island.  We moved because Betsy and I wanted to be closer to our departing airport of Kerikeri; Jan, Ron, and Varis joined us, setting up for their tour of the north part of the North Island.

The morning's weather was much calmer, with little rain and light winds, so the drive to Paihia was quick and the ferry crossing easy.  We found our "beach house" for the next two nights.  Here is the view through our large picture window, across the bay full of sandy water.

After lunch, Betsy and I walked along the coast into the village of Paihia, looking at restaurant options.  Only a few seemed to be open; at least one was dealing with storm damage. Varis said that the stormy weather would return.  In fact, by mid afternoon, the rain was falling intensely but the wind was less strong. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and watching the waves break on the beach.

The weather didn't stop Jan and Ron from going a 5+ mile walk.  It wasn't raining when they left but it was pouring on the way home.

The oldest church in New Zealand.

A memorial to some early seamen.

Flooding in the Russell church cemetery.

Ditto.

Some broken tree limbs.  The Fire and Rescue Department volunteers were out cleaning up danger spots.

Ditto.

View from Russell Promenade.

Ditto.

A historic mission and printing museum that we tried to visit, closed due to inclement weather.

The ferry.

View from the ferry.

We drove to dinner, enjoying Indian cuisine at Green's, a sister restaurant to the Green's Indian/Thai Restaurant in Russell, where we ate several nights ago.  The service was faster and smoother tonight, aided by Kitty the robot who delivered our dishes.  According to the human staff person, Kitty was developed during COVID to avoid human contact.

Kitty, who winks at you.

An early evening without Internet, for which we have no explanation.  Makes the large screen TV pointless  . . .

New Zealand Day 30

P.S. from the previous blog - here is the group at the Duke of Marlborough for dinner last evening.  It was the last evening of the fine Northland NZ weather.

Cyclone Gabrielle hit with full force today, so not too much to report.  We hunkered down all day listening to the rain pelting the villa and the wind whipping the trees and bushes.  We could only see across the bay off and on.  The wind started last night and blew hard enough to open windows and rattle the ventilation fan louvers.   The electricity started failing this morning and was intermittently unavailable most of the day.  Fortunately, we had enough time to heat water and use the microwave for breakfast preparations.

Varis, Dennis and I drove down to the center of Russell, looking for coffee and found that the only place open was a bakery next door to the grocery store.  The bakery had great baked goods, baked in the early morning starting at 3:00 am, according to the baker's wife.  We ordered coffee but the electricity went out a couple of times so the coffee was only partly brewed and then was filled with hot water and not very good.  The baker's wife, who was behind the counter was frustrated but was appreciative that we stopped in.  She then said, "I think I will close up and go home."

The three of us drove back toward our holiday park but diverted over to Long Beach for a look at the surf.  It was in full fury, with waves and wind coming directly off the water.  However, the coffee cart was open and doing brisk business; the side away from the wind was propped open with a stick.  Varis got another coffee and I got one to take back to Betsy.

Midafternoon Betsy, Leslie, Jan, Ron and I decided to drive down to town again to see if the book publishing museum was open - it was closed due to the weather.  I drove everyone again over to Long Beach where the waves were even bigger than in the morning and the coffee cart was gone.  The wind would hit the crest of the waves and blow the water as spray.  The photographs may not show this clearly.

Betsy and I returned to the villa and read/napped until dinner time.  We decided to have another group dinner instead of trying to find an open restaurant.  We initially thought we might use the communal cooking facilities provided by the holiday park but instead decided to cook and eat in Jan, Ron and Varis' 2-bedroom villa.  The women made the run to the grocery store to get supplies - sausages, salad fixings, bread, and ice cream bars.  It was a successful meal and a good time with little need to go out in the weather.  After dinner, we watched a 30-minute video of Jan and Ron's Antarctic adventure in late October and November - great photos of Patagonia, icebergs, and penguins.

As I write this, the wind is still gusting, the rain is still falling and being blown sideways, and, according to the weather forecasts, both wind and rain will continue for all of tomorrow.  (It appears that the Auckland area is getting a worse dose of this storm.)  The electricity has also failed several times while I write this and the blog keeps flashing "update failed."  The WiFi service goes out and what I have typed is not being saved.  But fortunately, the WiFi comes back, and I have carried on.  It is time to let Betsy edit my words and add some of hers.

 

New Zealand Day 29

Today was a celebration of Maori culture with a visit to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.  This is across the bay from Russell and is where the Treaty of Waitangi was negotiated and signed in 1840.  As with most, if not all, such treaties between indigenous peoples and incoming settlers, in this case the British, the Maori got shafted.  While the treaty is credited by both "races" for creating New Zealand as a country, the Maori believed they would get more benefits then they actually got.

But first, we had to travel to the Treaty Grounds, which entailed catching a passenger ferry from the Russell pier over to the grounds.  On the way to pier, we stopped for a few minutes to watch a lawn bowling tournament. Leslie and Kathy discovered the bowling green yesterday and were treated to a lesson on how to handle the uneven balls,

All of the players were at it still when we came back in late afternoon.

One of the passenger ferries.

An odd sailing catamaran, since it has two masts, sitting side by side.  Turns out it is a charter boat rentable for ~$2,700 per day for up to 6 passengers.  It was refueling.

A Maori statute holding the two traditional weapons (spear and white "paddle), located at the end of the Russell Pier.  A famous quote - "Women roles is to bring life, men take life."

Russell from the ferry.

The ferry crossing was fine, over choppy water, and delivered us directly to Waitangi, which saved us a 30-minute walk from the normal stop in Paihia.  Where we landed  was a yacht club which was launching solo young people in small sail boats for training, practice and/or racing.  The wind was such that the sailors took off with gusto across the open bay.

Probably 50 or so of these boats set sail, with assistance from a crew of adults.  The little fleet was accompanied by numerous chase or rescue motor boats, and we did not see a single capsize.

Exterior of the Waitangi Museum, explanation in the photo that follows.

We had two events inside the treaty grounds.  First was a 40-minute tour of the major parts of the grounds.  The second was a cultural performance at a traditional Maori meeting house. 

First stop on the tour was to Ngatokimatawhaorua, a 35-meter, 6-ton war canoe, built  in 1940 for the centenary of the treaty signing.  It sets the record for the largest dugout canoe in the world and is taken out once a year on Waitangi Day, which is February 6th.  Forty men paddle on each side and there are 40 men in the middle who trade off as paddlers.

The canoe is made from the trunks of 3 kauri trees.

Our Maori tour guide, who did a masterful job explaining the culture and painting a balance picture of the early history.

This is the backyard of a house James Busby built.  He was the "official British resident" who received the Treaty after it was signed.

This is the front of the house.  It was constructed in Australia, each joint member was numbered, then  disassembled  and shipped in pieces to NZ.  Busby spent 500 days reconstructing it.  

The start of the cultural performance.  The Maori chief must first determine if the other tribe - the audience for today's purpose -  is coming in peace or for conflict.

The offering for a peaceful meeting.

Our designated, temporary, chief, who thanked the Maori for allowing us to join them.

The meeting house front.

The troupe who danced, sang and demonstrated traditional Maori activities, including songs, dances, and demonstrations of martial moves with spears and clubs.  Many of the actions were accompanied by fierce expressions with wide eyes and extended tongues.  The young women did a dance with twirling balls that was particularly charming. 

We caught a shuttle ride from the Treaty Grounds to the ferry dock in Paihia and almost immediately boarded a small ferry for an easy ride back to Russell.  Betsy and I looked at a couple of gift shops and then walked up to the Top 10 Holiday Resort and our "villa."  We had afternoon tea and played our daily word games (Wordle and Quordle).  

We had an early dinner reservation at the posh Duke of Marlborough Restaurant, at which we treated Varis in return for his hosting us in Takapuna and for his suggestions on where to visit in NZ.  The trip is winding down for some of us and we are happy to have spent time at places that were special to Varis and his wife, Judith.  

We got back to our villa just before the heavy rain started.  A cyclone, Gabrielle, is assaulting NZ for the next few days which may disrupt our travel home.  It has already forced Leslie and Dennis to depart the country 2 days later than  originally planned.  They got an email from Air New Zealand saying that they needed to adjust their travel plans due to flight cancelations.  So far, Betsy and I have not received a similar message - fingers crossed.  The prediction is for many inches of rain and strong winds on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.