I’m writing this from the Auckland airport, waiting for our flight back to Canada. Our trip to New Zealand has come to an end. We had an amazing time and are sad to be leaving. We love home, but we’re still going to miss New Zealand. Enough said.
While we were touring New Zealand, Jan came across a lovely pāua shell ring. She has been looking for something like this for some time, so she immediately bought it.
Pāua shell ring
I loved it too, so I bought one of my own, and then we had a thought. We’ve toyed with renewing our vows for a while now, so we figured “what better time”. We put on our new rings, and headed for the nearest beach.
Vows on the beach
And there, on a New Zealand beach, with no one around but the two of us, we renewed our vows. We promised to return to New Zealand every winter, so long as we both shall live (or at least as long as we can both afford it).
I’ve already posted for today, so I wasn’t planning anything more. But then we went to dinner and … one of the pizzas was called the Zola. We immediately thought of someone (you know who you are) and had to give it a go. It was delicious.
Zola pizza
We ate early tonight so the sun was still setting when we got back to the hotel. Our room faces east, but the sun was still illuminating the city.
We had planned to visit the Auckland Art Gallery today, but then we realized we were going to spend all of tomorrow inside – airports first, and then the plane. It might be a better idea to get some fresh air today. So that’s what we did. Nothing exciting – just walking around the city in shortsleeved shirts. It was lovely.
Sunrise from our balcony
Oh yeah, we also packed our bags. After six weeks of travel, and several new items of merino wool clothing, it took a while to pack. But we’re all done now and having a quiet drink before walking over to dinner. We ate outside last night. It was “cold” enough that they lit the heaters. We were plenty warm. And the food was great too.
Dinner last night
We’re all checked in for our flight tomorrow and ready to go. Our incoming plane is on the ground in Vancouver, getting ready to depart for Auckland in two and a half hours. Then it will take us back to the cold and snow.
We had a great time in New Zealand. We’ve been told more than once that there are a lot of Canadians visiting here this year. Why could that possibly be???
The full name of this museum is the Auckland War Memorial Museum. It’s a misleading name. One floor of the museum is named War and Remembrance, but the other two floors cover a wide variety of topics related to Auckland. Local history, Maori culture and farming practices, geology, and natural history. It even has a section dealing with volcanoes, given that Auckland sits on an active volcanic zone. The display notes that it isn’t a question of “if” a volcano will erupt in Auckland, but rather a question of “when”. Comforting thought. The museum is well worth a visit.
Auckland Museum, seen from our hotel
We had two goals for the day. Visit the museum, but also enjoy a walk through a park. If you look at this picture, it’s clear that most of the area between our hotel and the museum is trees. So walking to the museum satisfied both of our objectives. This shows the path through the large park surrounding the museum.
The walk to the museum
I’ll close with a bit of street art near our hotel. I think it provides good advice for the times we are living through.
We’ve been traveling for nearly six weeks now. We’ve covered a lot of ground and seen many wonderful things. If I’m being honest, I have to admit we’re starting to run out of steam. I say all this to provide context for our day. We did … very little. We did manage to get out walking, through the city and through Albert Park. It was just what we needed.
I love the fact that flowering plants and trees are everywhere we walk.
Alstroemeria and bumble bee
I probably showed a picture of this tree the first time we visited New Zealand three years ago, but I still think it looks cool, so I’m showing it again. If you look closely you can see someone taking a nap on a branch in the tree. Can you find them?
Nap time
Tomorrow is forecast to be a lovely sunny day with temperatures around 24C. Perfect for more walking in the parks around Auckland.
Our last stop before heading home … to the snow 😦 is a few days in Auckland.
We’ve been cooking in our apartments for the past week, so last night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner in Whangarei at The Quay. We ate outdoors on the patio, because we could.
Dinner at The Quay
I’m not one for posting pictures of our meals, but these were particularly tasty dishes, and also artistically arranged. And I didn’t have any pictures of flowers, so this will have to do.
Dinner at The Quay
After dinner we needed to work off some of the calories, so we went for a stroll along the river as the moon was rising. The lunar eclipse was two nights ago (quite impressive, btw) so it’s still nearly a full moon. I took this picture as it was rising.
Moonrise across the river
I showed a picture of the bridge in Whangarei the other day, but when it is lit up at night, it is even more impressive.
Te Matau A Pohe bridge
On our walk we came across this on the wall of one of the stores. It looks like a painting, but it is made of carved pieces of wood on the wall. Very stunning, especially at night with the shadows.
Mural
Today, after another entertaining breakfast, we headed south. We were planning to visit the Scottish Migration Museum in Waipu, a town that was settled by colonists from Nova Scotia in Canada. We had no idea. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the museum, but while chatting in the gift shop we discovered shared connections through genealogy research. Small world. Maybe next time. Then it was onward to Auckland where we checked into the hotel and I returned the rental car. No more driving – just walking around the city for the next three days.
Auckland views
As I write this, we’re pondering our options for the next few days. I’m enjoying the view from our room, and feeling that we may just take it easy.
The Whangarei Quarry Gardens are, as you might expect, in an abandoned quarry. This is a surprisingly good place for a botanic garden, so it has been done in other places as well. Butchart Gardens near Victoria BC, Canada, is similar. The main difference is that Whangarei has a collection of tropical plants that might struggle to survive, much less thrive, even in BC’s relatively mild climate. After lunch, seated outdoors of course, we headed into the garden and were almost immediately greeted by a display of air plants and succulents.
Air plantsSucculent
We included this next shot, because this is a flower that we can only get in flower shops at home, as part of flower arrangements. It’s lovely to see it growing outside and looking so healthy.
Yellow Alstroemeria
I included this next one because it looks so vibrant.
Several small streams flow into the quarry from the surrounding hills, creating waterfalls like this one.
Waterfall
The Quarry Gardens have numerous small side paths for you to explore. with interesting plants and scenery. Some of those also have smaller waterfalls.
Smaller waterfall
When the gardens were started, the volunteers needed to first clear out the rubbish in the bottom of the abandoned quarry. Then they built a concrete dam to create a small, but deep, lake for native fish and to store water for the gardens.
The lake
This created opportunities for small streams, bridges, paths, and more waterfalls.
Bridge over small stream, with waterfall
More lovely flowers. I couldn’t resist.
Flowers
We included these next shots to give you a sense of scale. These are plants that only grow as small houseplants at home. Here, they are much larger.
I’m in the picture for scale
It is typical of New Zealand to commission art installations by local artists, and the Quarry Gardens is no exception. Can you spot the waterfall through the center of this piece? If you look at the background, you should also be able to see evidence that this was originally a quarry.
Art, waterfall, and quarry walls
The Quarry Gardens was built and maintained by volunteers. There is no entry fee, though donations are encouraged. In addition to the plants, the volunteers have created numerous paths to explore, such as this one.
One of the side paths
These paths have similar types of plants, creating zones to explore. Here are a few from one of the final ones we saw.
Similar plants along the path
This was a very interesting shrub.
Wild Mussaenda
And here is a persimmon tree covered with fruit.
Persimmon
I’ll close with this flower that looks like a space alien, or perhaps an April Fool’s joke.
April Fool
The Quarry Gardens turned out to be an unexpected gem within the city. It was beautiful, informative, and a pleasant afternoon walk. If we return to this area we will definitely visit it again.
Tomorrow we head south to Auckland and the last few days of our visit.
Another slow start today. The hosts at this B&B join us at the breakfast table. Francis, in particular, has had a rather eclectic career and has an extensive collection of interesting stories. It makes for a leisurely breakfast.
After breakfast, we set out to find a local store that sold Maori crafts, only to discover that it only sold items online – there wasn’t an in-person store. More research will be required in the future, but no worries. We headed to the Whangarei town basin. We heard it had the Hundertwasser Museum, a vibrant arts scene, and a walking trail along the river. We also wanted to find lunch somewhere in there as well. We found it all.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser spent the last few decades of his life in New Zealand, and this museum and adjoining arts center celebrates this. His style is distinct, but you could see a certain similarity with Gaudi.
Hundertwasser Museum
Just outside the museum, along the river, we found this rather interesting structure that incorporates the same style. See if you can find me in the picture.
Where’s Jimmy?
Next, we saw the Canopy Bridge, a decommissioned car bridge that has been covered with a canopy and is used for artisan markets and other local events.
The Canopy Bridge
The art works are hidden everywhere. This painting is only visible from the bridge.
Beside the Canopy Bridge
The adjoining artisan center has several shops specializing in different arts. In one, we saw someone using a spinning wheel to make yarn. In the same shop, there was a large loom with a nearly completed work. To the lower left of the tapestry you can see the picture they are using as the model for the piece. If you’re looking for a challenge Stu, I think I’ve found it!
Hand loom
Next door, a glass blower was at work.
Glass blower at work
Then it was time for the river walk. It has pieces of art and information panels at regular intervals. This next piece of art is called Waka and the Wave. It is a joint collaboration between two artist, one Maori and one of European descent. It symbolizes two cultures coming together, merging, learning from each other, and moving forward. If you want the full story, you’ll need to visit.
Waka and the Wave
Here is a closer look at the Waka (Maori boat) emerging from the wave.
Further along, we crossed this bridge. The white pieces symbolize Maori fish hooks, but they are also functional. The bridge raises to allow ships to pass through, and the white pieces act as a counterweight. I love how art and function can combine.
Bridge
After crossing the bridge, we spotted this, and went to investigate.
Camera Obscura
It was a camera obscura, and once you went inside, and allowed your eyes to adjust, you had a clear picture of the bridge, upside down, of course.
Inside the camera obscura
Tonight there is a total lunar eclipse – a “blood moon” – and we are in the perfect place to see it. Here’s hoping the skies remain clear!
When we travel, we generally prefer to stay in places with things to see without having to drive. Once we arrive in a town, we like to park the car and walk. We’ve generally managed to do that on this trip, but not this time. In Whangarei we are going to have to drive. So today we decided to drive about an hour to the award winning Kauri Museum. It was a pleasant drive through rolling hills and pastures. It would have been positively relaxing, except for the narrow roads and the many single-track bridges along the way. But hey, it’s part of New Zealand’s charm!
We had a long chat with the B&B host over breakfast, which added to our typical slow start in the morning. By the time we reached the Kauri Museum we were ready for lunch. They had an interesting menu, but the item that caught our eye were the “loaded kumara wedges”.
Loaded Kumara Wedges
This turned out to be New Zealand’s answer to poutine. Kumara fries (sweet potato) with sweet chili oil, cheese, bacon, and crème fresh. Jan found it a bit rich, but I just found it yummy.
Then it was time for the actual museum, which provides an amazing amount of information about the kauri forests that once covered much of New Zealand. Kauri trees are protected now, but when the Europeans arrived, the massive trees were logged extensively. The centerpiece of one room in the museum was a plank from a kauri tree that died about fifty years ago after a lightning strike. The next picture shows me standing beside the plank to give you a sense of scale. This was near the top of the trunk, where it branched out.
Kauri plank
This tree was over 600 years old, but some other trees were 2000 – 3000 years old. To give you an idea of how large these much older trees were, the museum included this display. The disk in the center is from the tree I was standing beside earlier. The other rings show the diameter of other notable kauri trees.
Perspective
Kauri wood can have wonderful patterns, as shown on this platter from the same tree.
Patterns in the wood
When kauri trees are damaged, they oozed sap to protect the wound. This sap hardens and is called kauri gum – essentially a form of amber. Over the centuries, this kauri gum accumulated in the soil in the forests, and a whole industry developed to dig the gum. We ate lunch in the Gumdigger Cafe, named after this trade. Kauri gum is also protected now, but the museum had many pieces from earlier collections. Here is one example of a display case.
Kauri gum
Many of the pieces were polished like amber, but some were carved into sculptures, such as this one.
Kauri gum sculpture of a kiwi
At breakfast this morning, a large bowl of feijoa fruit was on the table for our enjoyment. Very tasty. We learned the fruit was from the hedge just outside the house. Not fair. When we came back from our museum tour I took this picture of the fruit trees just outside the B&B. Also not fair. Especially when I think about the weather we will return to!
We were driving out of Ahipara this morning when Jan said “we never made it to Cape Reinga Lighthouse”. A pause, then we simultaneously blurted “we’ll have to come back”!
But I’m getting ahead of myself again. Yesterday afternoon it started to cloud over with occasional showers. The setting sun was mostly hidden by the clouds, but the sunset was still pretty impressive.
Sunset in Ahipara
We loaded the car just in time for our 10:00 AM checkout, but we weren’t ready to leave Ahipara just yet. We found a public parking lot by the beach, and enjoyed one last walk along Ninety Mile Beach. At least for this trip. No pictures of the beach today – you already know how amazing it is. But as we were loading the car, the steps were littered with frangipani flowers knocked off by last night’s rain. We picked up a few to freshen the car, and to remind us of our amazing stay.
Frangipani flowers
We’re staying just outside of Whangarei for the next few days. The B&B is in a private area with a small walking trail, so I decided to explore after we unloaded the car.
I spotted an interesting plant that we’ve seen before. I looked it up and discovered it’s a narrow-leaved cotton bush that is a host of the monarch butterfly.
Narrow-leaved cotton bush
Once the pods ripen and split open, it’s easy to see why it’s called a cotton bush.
There was also a brugmansia plant at the start of the trail.
The start of the trail
The trail was wet after last night’s heavy rain, so I turned around fairly quickly. Walking back up the stairs to the start of the trail I took this picture.
Heading back to the house
I’m enjoying a beer from Urbanaut as we investigate options for the next three days. Only one more week in New Zealand. 😦
If It Was Today... 