But first, let me tell you about today. Woke up to bright sunshine and blue skies--just lovely outside and was warm at 9 AM as we ate breakfast alfresco on the picnic table! Geoff took me to a place he had been before on Lake Taupo called Acacia Bay and it was quiet (except for the neverending singing birds!) and just beautiful--wouldn't mind living in one of the nearby places. It's so warm we talk about using the A/C when we drive to Napier from Taupo!!!! Geoff makes us a cup of coffee and it is "shite"! We laugh because it's the first time he used the water that he put in the tank in Rotorua and it has a very mineral/aluminum taste to it. I dump mine--he suffers through his! He will dump the tank and get fresh water here!
We head out of Taupo and the fields are rolling (and this is a route Geoff has never taken before!) and there are lots of sheep...I mean LOTS of sheep! By the way, the grass in Taupo was browner than we have seen anywhere and along this route we notice the fields are drier and less green. It's still lovely. We are heading towards some mountains and over to the east coast (which seems weird since it is the Pacific Ocean) and Hawkes Bay! It's so warm, Geoff says his shirt is wet on his back and I pin my hair up off my neck. We see fully bloomed fields and fields of scotch broom--it is very beautiful but we all know what a pain in the ass it can be...it is growing like crazy amongst the new growth of trees. We see acres and acres of new growth and many acres that have been logged. The trees they plant appear to be pine trees. We finally start seeing more of the yellow lupine flowers that are lighter than the scotch broom and a nice contrast to all the green. As we start going up the mountain we start getting a bit of drizzle and it cools off signficantly. We climb the mountains and the views are spectacular although a bit hampered by the clouds--at one high point we are up in a cloud and I can see the cloud down below us in a ravine--it is hard to see for just a short while and then we are down and out of the cloud and heading down the other side of these magnificent mountains! We see lots of more tropical type of bushes as we travel down the other side. I say to Geoff that this gray sky and scotch broom is making me think of home for sure--although the temperature is not as cold as home would be! Geoff says the times he has been in Napier it has always been HOT--well, not this time..the sky is gray and the temperature is cool but not too cool to wear shorts!
Napier had a major earthquake back in the early 1930s and had to rebuild the city and did a lot of art deco and that is their claim to fame (THAT and the wine country here!). The buildings are very pretty and interesting to look at and he city is next to Hawkes Bay. While Geoff was making us lunch, I walked to the water--it has dark grey rocks on the beach and I noticed a lot of small pieces of pumice washed up towards shore--it also has a lovely walking/jogging/bike path all along the waterfront! I bet it is even prettier in the sunhine. It has several little parks that are gorgeous. The shops and streets remind me of a smaller and less busy Seattle downtown area! Delightful!
Okay, so you are as about as up to date as you can be with where we are except for the last couple of days, so here are my saved posts: We will go find out campground after I get through posting! Love, Sue & Geoff from wine country NZ! xo
Monday, November 29, 2010 – Rotorua – 9:45 PM – I have to back track to yesterday since after I posted my blogs, Geoff and I went for a walk up Mount Mauganui and got to see some spectacular views of the beach and there was even one place where we could see both the beach on one side and the harbor on the other—also saw paragliders come over the top of the mountain and they made perfect landings in the beach sand. We didn’t go all the way up because we wanted to get the clothes off the line, have dinner and go to listen to the live music at the Little Black Club (LBC) that we had stopped at the day before. So Chef Geoff made us a nice tuna/avocado salad while I took the clothes down off the lines. We walked into town to the LBC and a singer/guitar playing, Jessica Ross, was strumming and singing folksy type songs. She had a very nice voice and reminded me of Lisa Loeb. When she was done, a young man known as “Deuce” came on and he also sang and played the guitar. He sang an assortment of songs (including Bob Marley songs) and could play the guitar like nobody’s business. We sat and listened to him for a couple hours and ended up having a late evening ”snack” of a small Mexican pizza that was spicy and very tasty plus the price was right ($5 special and ours was extra special because they lost our original order so let us have the deluxe version for the same price!). The bartender was a young woman who I chatted with as we prepared to leave and found that she was from Kiailua, Hawaii! As we wandered back to camp there was some light drizzle and I put the shirt I had taken for a jacket over my head and Geoff looked at me and asked me if I was Muslim since my face was sort of covered—we had a good laugh over that. It never was cold but the drizzle got a bit heavier as we got into our campground. We crawled into bed and slept like babies!
Today we started our third week of travel on the north Island and what a beginning it was! We got up and left that campground by around 10 am and headed towards Rotorua, which is more inland. I saw the first scotch broom (Geoff calls it “gorse”) I have ever seen here and it grows prolific along the roadways! Made me think of home although the scotch broom is certainly not in bloom at home! We stopped in Ngongotaha outside Rotorua and had a cup of coffee. I said to Geoff “I think it’s a pie and sauce kind of day, babe”, he laughed and agreed. So we made our way to our Top 10 Holiday Park and made camp then walked into town and Geoff sniffed out a bakery (Ronnie’s) and we walked inside and thought that all the pies were gone but the clerk had a whole cookie sheet pan full of pies. We got two of the steak and mushroom and had a great lunch. Geoff introduced me to a new drink, Lemon and Paeora and I liked it…the bottle says it is world known but I never heard of it before.
We walked through town to see the steaming openings and smell the lovely sulphur smells, a lovely old bath house that is now a museum and around the grounds. Geoff when we were driving from Mount Maunganui that “I beg my pardon, I am going to show you a rose garden” and we walked towards this beautiful rose garden—I could smell the scent of roses quite a distance before we got to the actual garden. It was just beautiful. A couple offered to take our picture for us and then I did the same for them and we chatted with them for a bit and found that they are from St. Louis and after 3 weeks in NZ they were heading to Australia to meet up with their son and his girlfriend. We wished them a great journey and headed on….next stop was Rotorua Lake and Geoff wasn’t kidding when he said it was big! Then I spotted the black swans…and then more black swans….and even more black swans! They are very pretty. There was a large sea plane out on the lake. We walked on around the lake and I saw a black swan with babies and the babes were gray—they must have to grow into their black feathers! On we walked and Geoff point to a church steeple and said that was our destination. We walked a bit further and we were in this lovely little Maori community where there was a place they honor their dead, their “warriors”; along with a school, a church and monuments to those who lost their lives as well as a Maori burial ground. You could see where there were hot spots in the ground and near part of the lake. It made me think about Yellowstone National Park when I took Jon and Jordan and we saw such interesting geothermal pools, geysers, holes, etc. Pretty interesting place. We walked back to town and found an Italian pub and sat outside and had a drink. Not sure if I mentioned that the weather was cooler with light rain when we started out earlier today but by the time we got to our campground in Rotorua the sky had cleared and the sun was out in full force! Next think I know Geoff has started a conversation with a “neighbor of mine”—a young man from Vancouver, BC, who is travelling in NZ by bicycle (so Geoff gave him some ideas of things to see in the South Island, which is where he is headed). His name was Scott and he was interesting to talk with. He is a geochemist and works with mines way up in Saskatchewan. We chatted with him for a while then he was headed to where he was going to camp for the night and we started our walk back towards camp. We made one stop at the “Pig and Whistle” and then got back to camp so that Chef Geoffrey could whip up one of his magic dinners for us—which he did and it was great! Now he is asleep after reading some of the Sunday paper while I write this! J
Tomorrow Geoff recommends that I go see more of the geothermal sites and see/learn about some of the Maori culture—he’s done this a couple times already so he will let me go on my own. It sounds like fun and I am always ready to learn more about the Maori peoples. It’s all very interesting to me. So I guess I will close and go wake Geoff so we can put the bed stuff together and call it a night! Sorry I don’t have wi-fi here or I would post this and some good pictures I took—will do it as soon as I get the chance. So, good night from down under, love from Sue & Geoff xo
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 – 8 PM – Taupo – What a day it has been! Before we left Rotorua we drove to the edge of town and went to a place called Te Puia—Geoff spent a few hours reading, etc., while I went inside and saw the Kiwi House, traditional Maori dancers (very entertaining and reminded me of Hawaii in many ways), a Maori art gallery, Maori wood carving school, Maori weaving school, old Maori buildings, a long, carved Maori canoe and lots of Maori items. I also went on a “walk on the wild side” (as Geoff calls it) and trekked up and down walkways, gravel paths and saw geysers (“gee-zers” per Geoff! J), mud pots, smelled lots of sulphur, saw boiling pools, cooking pools and bubbling mud pools! It reminded me of Yellowstone although it is much more compact. It was hot as blazes and I was sweating hiking uphill in the sun and then being around all those hot spots! I learned a lot about their native plants and birds and some of the Maori customs—it was a great experience although I was “pitted out” by the time I went back to the campervan—I stopped and bought a lime milkshake to share with Geoff since when he was in Olympia and we went to Eagan’s he asked if they made Lime milkshakes and they didn’t—he said they were quite good and I agree! I forgot to tell you that before I started the long, hot walk I went out to the campervan to get my sunhat and guess what I found? Yup—Geoff sound asleep! J ZZZZZZZZZZing so I did not disturb him…left him a note and went on my way! I really enjoyed Te Puia and would recommend it as a stop for anyone heading near Rotorua!
We started our 80 km drive to Taupo and I saw many signs of thermal activity along the way. There is even a huge plant that harnesses the steam and uses it for power—we drove by a ton of big pipes that are being used for that purpose. So I notice more scotch broom and then Geoff points out the yellow lupines and they are lovely. We see several bike campers on the road and then about 38 km from Taupo we spot our Canadian friend, Scott! Geoff honks as we drive by! We take a cutoff and head to Huka Falls and take a walk to look at the fall—they are pretty heavy duty rapids where we cross a foot bridge…we walk further and can actually see the falls gushing over the rocks. The sign says the power of the water is such that it keeps fish and eels from going upstream and consequently Taupo Lake does not have any eels (good news in my book!). It was a lovely walk and a lovely view and I couldn’t help but think of Josie and how she and her friends would love to kayak this river, rapids and falls! (Later I see an ad for and adventure ride down those rapids and over the falls!)
We head into Taupo, stop for a few groceries at the local “Countdown” supermarket then head down through town to the Lake so I can see how big it is…it’s frigging huge! Geoff points out in the distance the snow covered peak of Mt. Taranaki (he and his mate, Paul, hiked to the top 4 years ago). People along with black swans and assorted ducks were all taking a dip on this warm afternoon. Off to our Top 10 Holiday Park to make camp—Geoff checks us in and when he gets into the campervan I ask him “so what’s the skinny, babe?”—he looks at me like I am nuts and says “what skinny?” He had NO idea what I meant—I told him it’s an old slang term for “so what’s up”…he thought it was funny and a bit odd! Hehehe We get to our campsite and Chef Geoffrey outdoes himself with the best spaghetti sauce yet! It’s a beautiful evening and has cooled down some. Geoff is having a beer and I am enjoying some Moscato made in NZ! Very, very nice! My nieces Rachel, Natalie and Katie would enjoy this stuff!
Off to download today’s pictures (averaging around 90 per day!) and have some more wine! Hoping to download this tomorrow when I get wi-fi access! I can’t believe this is the end of November—just warm and beautiful here. I am loving this adventure even though this computer is doing some squirrely things! Ahhhh….life is good! Love to all, Sue and Geoff xo P.S. I just asked Geoff for some more wine and said “pretty please with peanut butter and jelly on top” and now he really DOES think I am nuts so I say “you never heard the phrase ‘pretty please with sugar on top’?” He says no and looks skeptically at me…I say it’s just a way to sugar coat the pretty please request and P&J is just another version! He now thinks he has heard it all! That crazy American woman he is travelling with is teaching him all sorts of odd American sayings! Cor blimey!
I love all the pictures and detail Sue! I feel like I am right there with you both.
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