Our place at Maraehako Bay Retreat was spectacular! I just can’t imagine what somewhere like that would cost in the states. It just couldn’t happen! For one thing, I’m pretty sure there were/are no building permits! Looking around it this morning, it’s like a rabbit warren, with rooms and dormitory rooms tucked away in all the corners, and decks and staircases coming out of nowhere. A real treehouse.

This morning was clear and beautiful. The seas have died down somewhat, but there are still big waves crashing onto the bulkhead, shaking the place. We had breakfast on the patio, and met the Maori owner of the land, is name is something like Piki, his son was the one who greeted us yesterday. Very chatty chaps.

I did my first New Zealand driving. What a windy road! Up and down and round and round, slowing down for areas that had been washed out and were under repair. But with it being clear today, we could see the spectacular views – water to the left and hills and valleys to the right. And masses of cattle and sheep. I came around one corner, slammed on brakes to avoid the onslaught of cattle. An enormous herd was being moved down the road so I turned off the motor and we sat for about five minutes while the cows went by us, giving us the eye! Beautiful, glossy beasts on their way to being milked.

Drove down to see Litton Point, there is a motel there, but there was nobody at the office – just a sign that he would be back at 2:30 and that was at 11! He must have gone fishing. That road would have been more comfortable in a 4x4 especially as we kept bottoming out in our little car. Along the way, we found the Manuka Oil factory and store. It comes from a plant that looks like a tea tree, but has a small pinkish white flower and is indigenous to New Zealand. It’s not a pungent but apparently has the same therapeutic effects as tea tree oil. It is a sustainable harvest too, and driving along you see the bush cloaking the hills with it’s pretty little flower. I bought a small soap made from manuka honey that smells wonderful.

Pulled in to Te Araroa that has the largest pohukatawa tree in the world. It is over 350 years old and grows in a school that is named after the tree. The beach across the road from it was spectacular too – the beaches go on forever, these ones are white sand but we’ve seen some that are black or very dark. We had lunch there, sitting on the stone benches. The town itself is almost nothing – a post office, two very small “dairies” or small grocery stores, the police station and a few houses. It is actually amazing that here is this spectacular setting, backed by tall cliffs facing the sea on a beautiful bay, and there are so few people.

Around two we thought we should look for somewhere to stay, so the next town, Te Araroha looked like it might be the spot, but once we got there, it had less to offer than the one before! Again a beautiful beach, but here the bank had even closed down, a lovely 1918 or so building, and all we found was a tavern.

So off we went again thinking we might have to go all the way to Gisborne but found this little town, Tolaga Bay. Right at the entrance to town, is the inn, so pulled in and booked a couple of rooms. The place was build in the 1920’s and is in the process of being restored. So the rooms are funky, very high ceilings and we have a double and two twins in ours and Zoze and Bryan have a double and one single. Bathrooms down the hall. But everything is clean and it looks like lots of hot water for showers.

We had a wonderful dinner at the Pickled Walnut. The young man who served us was a kick, he is a local boy who came back from Auckland to take care of his parents and now works in the restaurant with his Uncle Tommy the chef. Chris and I both had rack of lamb, well, after all we are in New Zealand. It was perfectly cooked, and everything about the veges and stuff was great. Drank the local Tolaga Bay wine and we all dug into desserts afterwards. The walnuts that they use in a lot of the dishes are local, having being brought over years ago by the British settlers. Originally, they would fruit and all the nuts would rot on the ground. Then Uncle Tommy talked to all the tree owners and he harvests and pickles them. He has planted a field of them out back of the restaurant.

Too bad there isn’t a Country Life magazine around that did stories like the Uncle Tommy’s and the Manuka Oil.

This side of the island appears to be much drier – the hills actually look quite brown in places and the rivers are very low. But last night it poured, blowing through in gusts that rattled the roof. It’s windy this morning and I am sitting in the “lounge” writing this in word and will go to the cyber center later and hook up to the internet and post these and the pix.

Pix at the shutterfly link on the left

Woke up this morning to gray and overcast skies. But it’s not cold, I can still go barefoot!

The car Zoze and Bryan have is quite small, a four-door something or other but we managed to get everything in but decided to walk up the drive so we wouldn’t bottom out. Then headed to the bank where we opened a checking account. Everyone here uses EFTPOS which is the same as using ATM cards. We thought it would be a good idea so we wouldn’t be carrying cash around with us. We had wired funds into Zoze’s account and we went in with two forms of ID and we walked out with ATM cards! Really a good banking system, and it’s secure; well, as secure as any bank can be.

From Tauranga we headed east towards Whakatane – the Wh is pronounced as an F so sound that one out! The little towns along the coast are very small but really nice. So laid back and quiet, no hi-rises or monster hotels. But the area is also very remote. We went out on peninsulas that if only the weather had been good, would have made great photos. As it was, I didn’t take a single shot. By lunchtime we were in Opitiki, more of a Maori town where we found a cute café attached to an old hotel. It reminded me a lot of Shakespeare’s in South Africa. The building was early 1900’s with high ceilings and it was painted in cool colors. Of course I had to have a glass of New Zealand Chardonnay – it was very nice, quite dry and I forgot to get the name so instead of drinking that again, I will have to try another one. We also bought a couple of handmade wooden fish in the Maori store.

Then we came to a really hairy road that hugs the shoreline and goes up and own and round hairpin bends with horrendous drop-offs. Chris was freaking! Zoze was driving and there were places where the road was jus a single lane where it had washed away. No flaggers, just watch carefully and hope no one is coming the other way. But we made it in one piece and pulled into this amazing spot called Maraehako Bay Retreat. I swear if it was warmer we could be in Mexico. It reminds me a lot of the some of the places Susan and I stayed in the Yucatan and Belize, only more refined.

It sits right on the water – and I mean RIGHT on the water. From where I am sitting now on the bed looking out, the waves are breaking not 30 feet from the window. And it is rough seas, huge waves and high winds. This is a Backpackers Hostel which are very popular in NZ. It is fairly rustic, but the rooms are nice and a double costs NZ$63 or $43 US. The place is set into the hillside with rooms on the ground floor, communal bathrooms, a communal kitchen two flights up. The stair rails are made out of driftwood and it is all very funky, but very cool. It’s run by a young Maori whose family owns 2000 acres of surrounding land plus the bay. He and his father live here and run the place.

It’s still fairly early, the distances weren’t as vast as we originally thought so we can kick back and read and drink some wine.

New Zealanders on the whole, at least what we have found in the few days we’ve been here are very friendly, and very chatty. We end up knowing more about strangers we’ve just met than our neighbors we’ve lived next door to for three years.

The roads are great, except for the places that were washed out but in general they are two lanes and lots of roundabouts at intersections that take some getting used to. I will do some driving tomorrow, I’m fine driving on the wrong side of the road, but I wasn’t ready to drive in the big city with all those cars coming from the wrong direction.

What a fun day!

This morning was a lot warmer than the last two mornings, almost barefoot in the dewy grass type morning. Chris and Bryan went off to one of the local golf courses and Jenni, Zoze and I went out on a girls morning out.

I am still completely turned around – can’t figure out which way is north, where the roads lead or anything so it’s a good thing Jenni drove. We got a really early start and realized that nothing was open yet – most little cafés etc don’t open til 10 and here we were driving around before nine! But as luck would have it we found a place in Katikati – don’t you love the names? – how about Katikati Kitty Kats, a kennel! We turned into the parking lot – with signs saying “Park on the Grass’ which we did and wandered past an old tractor set amongst the flower beds. Into the little store to find out if the restaurant was open and met Nancy who runs the attached museum. Yes the café (pronounced caff) was open but we must come back for her museum tour.

Breakfast was great – bacon and eggs and toast etc and coffee of course. Then into the museum for an education! The Katikati museum started from stuff an old local guy had collected over many years. When he died, Nancy and Ken took over his sheds of stuff and have developed a wonderful museum! We had a running commentary from Nancy as we went through it – we were the only ones there – and she as an absolute hoot! Not only Maori history and lore but lots and lots of other stuff. Like an old foot powered organ that she sat down at, explaining that this is the type of organ she heard when she went to church with her grandmother. She dons this ancient felt hat and proceeds to play and sing! Oh my! It was hilarious! And her husband Ken took us through the upstairs and showed us a video from old movies about the logging of the old kauri trees. It was all fascinating and the best part was that it was so unexpected. So that will be an International Living postcard.

We tried to go to the lavender farm but it was closed so went on to various craft stores and found this really cool food place – all New Zealand stuff- so will go back there.

Checked out some of the liqueurs – yes taste testing is allowed at 26% alcohol! Only needed a sip!

When we got home Chris and Bryan were resting after their strenuous day of golf, so Zoze and I went to the market to get stuff for our trip that we leave on tomorrow.

We go around the eastern cape of the country and will stay in backpackers that all have double rooms and communal kitchens and are significantly less expensive than motels and hotels. Some of them sound really good and Richard, my nephew has been to one that looks really cool. All the information we have on these places show a lot of them on the beach and very inexpensive, around NZ$50 per night which works out at around $35 or so US. And as Zoze and Bryan are traveling with us on this jaunt, we need to keep things to a mild roar as they are on a very tight budget.

On a different note, I am amazed at how friendly and chatty the local people are. Our waitress this morning told us her life history and was so interested in what we do and where we were going. It’s very refreshing after the US where most people wont even look you in the eye when they talk to you. I was surprised at how much traffic there is. I’m surprised at the racial tensions that apparently exist. I’m surprised that the schools don’t have a lot of discipline, I know this because my nephew Shawn is 12 and having battles with fellow students. His Mum Jenni tells me that the swearing in the schools is terrible. So not much different from the States. Shawn will go to a private school next term.

Get pix at the shutterfly link on the left

Yesterday was fun!

I slept really well the first night and got up early to a brilliant sunny day - but very cold! Now that is a surprise. I knew it might be chilly but yesterday morning it was freezing! But it soon warmed up and had tea sitting in the sun - oh bliss!

Tried to open a bank account so we could get an ATM or EFPOS card but the lady who does that was off sick. So we go back on Thursday. It's an easy thing to do - money, two forms of ID and a contact number.

We decided to take a drive out to Mt Manganui, sort of reminds me of Morro Rock in California except there is a great trail around it as it is easily accessible. People walking, some obviously do that daily. There are a lot fewer fat people here! Looking back at the town, or community it looks sort of 60's but there are some VERY expensive houses there, right on the water. Things are not cheap here.

It was a beautiful walk, went down on the beach which is so clean, and the trail winds around the base of the mountain. The Pohutukawa or New Zealand Christmas trees hanging onto the sides and bending over the trail. These are huge, knarly trees with a fluffy red flower that come out in the summer, hence the name. They are just starting to flower now.

On the other side of the peninsula that the Mt sits on, is the start of miles and miles of white sand beach. It was really windy though, whipping the sand, but Zoze and I went for a little walk while Chris looked at surfboards! He found out about when/where/how big the surf is.

We also checked out golf courses, and Chris and Bryan are playing later on this morning and the girls - Zoze, Jenni and me - are going to a lavender farm.

For more pix click on the shutterfly link on the left

PIX!
Click on the link to shutterfly on the left

It really is a long way here!

Toni was early to the house as the roads were icy so we didn't have to rush. She dropped us at the bus pick-up. Our bus driver considered himself a tour guide so we had a running commentary all the way to SeaTac - 1 3/4 hours of it! Naturally, one of the bags was overweight, but managed to finesse that and got everything checked in and then it was hurry up and wait.

But after an uneventful flight, where we each got a 4-seat row and a few hours sleep, we arrived to a chilly New Zealand morning. We flew in through the dark, landing at around 5 a.m. and eased through Immigration and all the checkpoints. Chris nearly lost his golf shoes and we had to go through biosecurity! So much for golf being a safe sport. the young women took the shoes in the back room, and you could hear her scrubbing away with some sort of disinfectant biohazard cleanser - maybe it wasn't just the residue on the cleats she was scrubbing away.

Because I had booked out Auckland/Rotorua flight separately, we couldn't recheck out bags in the International section so had to walk a ways to the Domestic terminal. (Jenni told us later there is a shuttle, but the walk felt good after 13 hours on the plane.) There is even a sign that tells you how far in minutes! We got all checked in and then waited - of course had forgotten to change any cash at Foreign Exchane but American Express works well so had coffee and tea in the very 60's waiting area. We noticed right away how friendly everyone is, very polite and everything so clean. Chris noticed right away that there are far few fat people!

Our flight to Rotorua was on a Beech 1900, a fairly small turbo prop plane, seats about 16 I think. What a gorgeous country! As far as you could see, the green stretched to the horizon, studded with a few houses, meandering rivers, and lots of lakes - big ones, small ones and many inbetween. The approach to Rotorua Airport got a bit bumpy - just as the pilot said it might, it did and we dropped about 12 feet! Wake up!

But off the plane, walking into the terminal, there were smiling family faces! Zoze and Bryan and Jenni.

Jenni took us on a quick tour of Rotorua and we had a bite at Milly's "Breakfast all Day" - a rather odd little place on the main drag, but quite satisfying, then drove the 60 or so km back to Tauranga. I am amazed at the beauty of the place, the houses on the lakes and the little, laid back towns. Miles and miles of green and I flet like I had been there, trying to figure out where it was that made everything feel familiar. The mix of vegetation - tropical mixed with temperate - sort of reminded me of Belize, very jungley, but then there are foxgloves painting purple down the hills and daisies dotting the verges.

We went to the beach - oh and what a beach - miles of white sand north and south, but the water is quite chilly. No waves to speak of and it was rather windy. But got my first shell, but no pix, my eyes felt so gritty I didn't think I could focus!

Our little caravan in the garden is cool - perfect for us, so dumped our stuff, went to the grocery store while Chris took a nap, and picked up a couple of bottles of New Zealand wine, and some snacky things. My brain was kinda foggy but it seems like things are almost the same price here as in the States. But maybe my calculations were wrong.

Later, we took a drive out to Matamata, again a beautiful area - and no did not take pix! This is Hobbiton, where they filmed all the movies and there are tours etc you can go on. But we will go back there and I will have the camera at fingertip.

So woke up this morning to a very chilly but crystal clear day. Snuck into the house for tea and to read emails - first one that popped up - Just in Time - from Betsy saying the rain continues in Seattle and then one from Susan saying it's snowing in Port Townsend! Whoo hoo! We don't have to deal with that for a while thank goodness!

So tomorrow there will be pix - off to get ready for the this gorgeous day. And oh, to go to the chemist (drug store) I lost (make that left) my wet bag in the Auckland airport ) so have no shampoo, toothpaste or anything. Oh well, good thing I'm with family who has spares of everything.