Month: December 2018

27 degrees, sunny

Up at 6.30 am to catch our 8.00 am Dolphin cruise.  Lovely sunny morning but a cool stiff breeze on the ocean.  We had paid extra to swim with the Dolphins if the conditions were right, but Clare was a little unsure and not just because the water temperature at that time of the morning was only 19 degrees.

After a fruitless 2 hours tearing about the Bay of Islands there was no sign of dolphins but the coastal scenery was lovely with many islands and sheltered beaches.  The Captain eventually said that a pod of Orcas had been spotted in the bay which explains why the dolphins had made themselves scarce.  Right, we said, thinking this was his standard cock & bull story when dolphins can’t be found.  But about 1/2 later we found the pod of Orcas – only 4 of them though (bit of a pattern developing here?) – hunting sting ray in the shallows.  We spent about 40 minutes following them back and forth but didn’t really get particularly close up view of them.  So the decision regarding whether to swim or not was not required – very disappointed not to see Dolphins,  Again, Clare was expecting dozens of them cavorting in the bow wave and flipper waving for the cameras.

Back on land at 12.30 so after lunch spent a couple of hours on the beach and a swim – water temperature marginally higher by now.

26 degrees, sunny

We have left a trail of personal items across New Zealand during our travels.  When leaving Napier the housekeeper came running after us with our iPad which has a white case and had been left on the white duvet.  Whilst unpacking yesterday Clare discovered that her white jacket was not in the suitcase – again left it on the white duvet on the bed in Hamilton and then we discovered that John’s sunglasses had been left in the old hire car, that’s on top of the usual toiletries left in bathrooms.  We contacted the Novotel in Hamilton who said that a ‘child’s jacket’ had been found in the room – result in more ways than one!  it’s being sent on to our hotel in Auckland, but the sunglasses will have to be replaced.

As it was a lovely sunny but breezy day we took the ferry across the bay to Russell which is one of the original settlements in this area with the oldest church in New Zealand, but not much else.

After finding a new pair of sunglasses for John, we wandered over to the other side of the headland to Long Beach which was a lovely stretch of sand sheltered from the wind.  We walked the length of it but hadn’t bought our swimwear so, frustratingly as it was lovely, couldn’t go for a swim.

Spent the afternoon on the beach outside our apartment, a quick swim in the quite cold sea and another walk after dinner – another 8 mile day.

22 degrees, am sunny (bit of a surprise). pm rain and wind

Christmas day started bright and calm which was a pleasant surprise as the forecast had said rain all day.  We exchanged presents over Bucks Fizz breakfast of yoghurt and fruit for Clare and piece of toast for John!  Clare was lucky enough to be given a new Fitbit watch, (how did he know!?) and John got a CD and we both had a lovely 2019 calendar of himself from Dylan.

Went for walk in the sunshine along the coast, now we can actually see the sea without the drenching rain.  Quite pretty but on the whole we prefer Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsular.  Booked a swim with the Dolphins cruise for Thursday and then strolled further along the coast and then rain suddenly came from nowhere and that was it for the day.

Had Steak and Jacket potatoes for Christmas dinner, lot less hassle than the full roast!

19 degrees, rain, rain and more rain

Packed up and left the Novotel by 10.30 heading towards Paihia on the Bay of Islands for 4 days for Christmas.  Rain was lashing down.

At 10.40 John noticed a ‘check engine’ light on the dashboard which was a bit worrying as were were off on a 5 hour journey.  So we found the Avis rentacar office in Hamilton and limped there, fortunately just 2 minutes away.  They swapped the car quite readily and we now have a Toyota Corolla instead of our very dirty Holden Cruz which was very much in need of a clean, so every cloud . . . !  Unfortunately the new car doesn’t have satnav and we miss our quirky satnav voice in a kiwi accent mispronouncing street names and telling us to ‘drive on TOSH 1’ instead of ‘drive on to SH (state highway) 1’!  Kept us amused for hours.

The long drive up to Paihia took just over 7 hours in the end, what with the car delay and the driving rain so got to Sea Spray apartments by 6 pm.  Thankfully the supermarket was open till 9 so managed to get our last minute fresh food for Christmas dinner before a light meal and bed.

It was still raining!

24 degrees, overcast

We left Taupo reluctantly – really nice place and we could have spent at week or so there. We reached Hamilton by about 11.30 which was too early for our hotel room to be ready so we stopped at Hamilton Gardens.  A Kiwi lady we met at Tongariro recommended these, and what a find.

There was no charge to park or entry fee into these beautiful formal gardens which outstrip anything we’ve seen in the UK.  There were 16 or so gardens laid out in different styles ranging from English Flower Garden to Japanese, Tropical,  Tudor and Conceptual.  They were all stunning but the best one was the Mansfield Garden based on a scene from a novel by Katherine Mansfield – set in an English country house garden.  The planting was stunning and the attention to detail for the scene setting was perfect.

In the Chinese garden we passed through the Arbour of Lingering Fragrance, which was an awful lot nicer than the Bog of Eternal Stench we passed through yesterday.

We spent a good couple of hours here along with some strange oriental people!  One couple were taking photos of the woman in various poses in each garden almost as though she was a model and another young lady, wandering around with her partner, had a white painted face like a Geisha, complete with a pointy straw hat to keep the sun off.

Popped round to a supermarket to get our Christmas day supplies.  The supermarket was surprisingly empty!   Did some laundry at the hotel laundry so now all set for a relaxing Christmas Day and Boxing Day, just got to travel another 4 hours up to Paihia tomorrow.

24 degrees, sunny

Got up early (for us!) to head up to Wai-o-Tapu geothermal park to catch the 10.15 eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser.  Arrived after about 3/4 drive and took a seat in the amphitheatre set up around the geyser, pronounced Guyser apparently.

To get it to erupt at the same time every day they pour soap down its funnel and within a few minutes the water comes spurting out, up to 20 metres high.  It didn’t fail this time.

After that we walked around the Wai-o-Tapu geothermal park which was quite a bit bigger than the Hells Gate one in Rotorua.  The thermal pools were very colourful due to various elements in the soil/water.

Needless to say there was a very strong smell of sulphur at times.

Evening meal in hotel restaurant again and watched the summer solstice sunset over the lake

14 degrees sunny/cloudy am
24 degrees sunny pm

Woke up to a bright, sunny day so we packed and loaded the car and then went off to see the Taranaki Falls – a two hour walk in the Tongariro National Park direct from our hotel.  After about 1/2 hour we came to a waterfall which did not look very impressive, so one of us was a little disappointed to say the least!

After taking a few pics we decided to continue with the circular walk and 5 minutes later arrived unexpectedly at the Taranaki Falls proper – much more like it, smiles all round!

We followed the path to the top of the falls and then back towards the start.

As we drove down through the park to the highway we spotted another short walk to the Tawhai Falls so stopped and took a stroll to these – not as high as the Taranaki Falls but much more water travelling through

 Clare did a bit of mountaineering to pose next to the waterfall.

The weather improved a great deal on the way down from the mountains and we reached the Grand Millennium Hotel in Taupo in warm sunshine at about 3pm.

Taupo is a lovely area, the lake is as large as Singapore and just very attractive all round.

After a quick unpack and thirst quench we went off to find the Huka Falls – a day of waterfalls we decided.  These were only about 15 minutes away and were quite an impressive amount of very blue water flowing through a canyon.  Clare posed for a photo only for John to realise that he had put the camera battery on charge just 5 minutes before we left the hotel room.  He even left a key in the slot deliberately to keep the power on to the charge the battery!  What are you like, said Clare!  Fortunately we had a phone with us so all was not lost.

After that we went off to find the hot springs the locals use in a public park which Clare had read about. Found them quite easily in a beautifully manicured park – walked down to the bottom of the hill and  and Wow! Amazing amount of very hot water flowing through various pools to the river.  Spent 25 minutes or so in the hottest water we could stand and then made our way down to the river where the water was very cold.  Forgot to mention that after about 5 minutes in the hot pool John discovered the car key fob in his swimming trunks pocket – not having a good day is he!? What are you like, said Clare!

Fortunately the key worked when we got back to the car.

A few drinks in the bar listening to the live music and a nice meal watching the sun go down over the lake and mountains rounded off an excellent day.

13, yes 13 degrees!  Rain with the occasional sight of sun.

Woke to pouring rain and the heating on in our bedroom!

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 19km walk across the mountain range to some spectacular lakes and views, was closed due to the bad weather, which was a relief as we might have felt obliged to do it!  As it was persistently raining we decided to have a relaxing day and do nothing in particular.  The weather was very variable, the sun would come out and everything would steam and the black storm clouds accumulated and drenched everything.  At one point when the clouds cleared we went out onto the balcony at the front of the hotel and were amazed to see how close Mount Ruapeho was to the hotel, this is an active volcano!

John was keen to keep t-shirt, shorts and flip flops on, even though it was only 13 degrees; Clare wasn’t!

After lunch we decided to go for it and do a two hour walk to a popular waterfall, so we got ourselves ready in wet weather gear, walking boots, etc.  Left the hotel in a light rain and 10 minutes later returned having decided it was daft to carry on as the cloud had dropped and the rain was quite heavy and was not showing any sign of stopping.  So had a G&T in our room to compensate, using the last of our well travelled lemon which we bought on the first day we arrived in NZ!  Which goes to show how abstemious we have been!

Rain eventually stopped at about 6pm, so we had made the right decision.

22 degrees, rain am, partly sunny pm

Left Wellington in the rain and drove up State Highway 1 towards Tongariro National Park, about 4 hours drive away.  This road followed the west coast and the countryside was not as pristine as that on the opposite side of the mountain range, especially on the outskirts of Wellington which was much more industrial, but still very tidy.  As we moved further up the coast the landscape changed to hills, hummocks and folds again and the countryside looks prosperous.  Drove over a hill and was suddenly confronted with a snow capped mountain, Mount Ruahepu in the Tongariro National Park; took us by surprise.

Reached the national park by driving through desert uplands with mountains as a backdrop.  Arrived at our hotel, Chateau Tongariro, at about 3pm.  The hotel was the only building of significance as far as the eye could see.  It was built in 1929 in the style of a French Chateau and it’s interior is more or less how it would have looked then with heavy, dark drapes hanging from stone pillars and chandeliers everywhere.  Even the music being played was from the 1930s, Dad would have loved the music!

That’s Clare on the balcony above the pillared entrance way!

Had a quick dip in the basement hot pool, very quaint and then ate dinner in the posh restaurant, an  excuse to get dressed up and put on heels, Clare not John.

20 degrees, sunny but strong cool wind

Wandered around the quayside area roughly following the guide book suggested route in the morning.  Initially Wellington looked quite a big town, based on the fairly densely packed area our hotel is in, but in reality it is quite small overall.  There’s not a great deal to see if you’re not interested in shopping.  Everything is very tidy, no litter – in fact we came across a worker cleaning the pubic waste bins!  The city also looks finished – there’s no road works, extensive building or refurbishment going on – like Napier all the old buildings look like they were repainted yesterday.

We went into the Museum of New Zealand because it was free, and spent about an hour in there.  This is a huge building of six floors and we covered the first three and saw a Maori carving, a cannon from a ship that got stuck on the Great Barrier Reef and an exhibition about flora and fauna introduced into New Zealand and the effects these have had.  That was it!  Not an awful lot to see so we didn’t bother with the other floors.

Up the Funicular to lookout over the harbour but not too much to occupy us up there, another botanical garden which was not as nice as the one in Napier, then down to wander over to the Parliament buildings – old and new.  Interestingly there were no police or armed guards around  the building, even though Parliament was sitting, and not until we looked inside a door did we see a security guard armed with a radio only.

 Clare next to a tree whose name we can’t spell or pronounce – the NZ Christmas Tree.

In the afternoon we went to the pictures! (saw The Crimes of Grindelwald).

Still managed to walk 10 miles today and do 110 staircases, according to FitBit.