If It Was Today...

A Funny Thing Happened…

Posted on February 20, 2026 by If It Was Today

A few years ago, our credit card was hacked just as we were preparing to depart on a trip. Everything was sorted, after a brief panic, but ever since I’ve been a little paranoid about such things. Every day I check online for unusual charges when we travel. Good thing! Yesterday I had a $500 charge for an “aftermarket Tesla upgrade”, from a company in Bulgaria. I don’t own a Tesla, and if I did own one, I wouldn’t be ordering software from Bulgaria. Needless to say I called the bank. It’s being sorted, but it was, let’s say, an interesting start to the day.

With that cleared up, we packed up and headed north. We have been to New Zealand three times, and never been north of Auckland. That was just wrong!

We don’t like long driving days, so we stopped for the night in Warkworth on our drive to Paihia. That meant today’s drive was less than two hours, so we had time for a stop along the way.

Last year, on our final full day in New Zealand we spent the night at a hotel at Auckland airport. We arrived early, well before check in time, so we looked for something to do for the afternoon. I know this will come as a shock to you, but we spotted a … botanic garden … near the airport. (Alas, no beaches in the immediate area.) It was an unexpected surprise, with a lovely mix of plants and art. We decided to stop there again today. Some of the art is quixotic, such as this “kiwi”.

One of the things we love about the Auckland Botanic Gardens is that it doesn’t just have plants. It also provides information about the plants – where they originated, where they grow, and how they are used. Here is a good example.

Of course, there are also many beautiful flowers, so I have to take pictures … because … I’m me.

This next plant is interesting. The flowers are obvious, but if you look closely you can see small leaves, with large thorns sticking out from the tip.

As always, we watch for birds.

Last year, Jan found one piece of art that captured her fancy, so this year she had to have another look.

I’ll show one more photo from the Auckland Botanic Gardens. This plant is called “Cousin It”. I’m sure you can see why.

After lunch at the cafe in the botanic garden, we were on the road again, braving Friday afternoon Auckland traffic. Not our favourite part of visiting New Zealand. So after checking in to our B&B, we headed to a nearby nature preserve to see native New Zealand trees, especially kauri. Some of the trees were over six hundred years old. There is an elevated boardwalk through the preserve, so it is an easy walk.

But there are still lots of opportunities to forest bathe.

And lots of kauri trees.

We made one other stop on our drive north. I found a beer that seems perfect for lovely late summer days, but I couldn’t find it again anywhere. So we stopped at the Urbanaut Brew Pub to pick up a few. It is very tasty, and perfect for blogging, while sitting on the porch at the cottage. That pretty much describes where we are staying tonight … other than the lake.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Auckland, Botanic Garden, New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Warkworth | Leave a comment

Hamilton Gardens

Posted on February 19, 2026 by If It Was Today

Jan has been interested in visiting Hamilton Gardens since our first trip to New Zealand, but we’ve never managed to fit it in. So this year we made a point to included Hamilton in our itinerary. In preparation for our visit I did a little more research and discovered that the Hamilton Gardens is one of New Zealand’s top attractions, and one of the top ten gardens in the world. Definitely worth a visit.

We have visited many botanical gardens on our travels. It’s one of our favourite activities, especially when it’s winter at home. So we thought we knew what to expect. We were wrong! In most botanical gardens the focus is on the plants, showcasing different varieties and providing details about their origin and characteristics. Hamilton Gardens takes a different approach, almost a cultural approach, providing examples of different “gardens” over the ages. Some were purely functional (for food) while others were purely to display wealth and status. And some were a bit of both. This first picture is an example of a Mughal garden from 17th century India.

When touring these sites, it’s always important to remember to look up, or you will miss fascinating detail.

Here is another style, an Italian Renaissance garden. You can see similarities, and differences.

As you would expect, the garden features details from Roman mythology.

Next, we visited the Japanese Garden of Contemplation.

One of the more interesting features of this garden was a walkway lined with bamboo. It is constructed in a way that funnels a breeze through the path, and makes the bamboo stalks hit against each other, creating a steady knocking rhythm. I can definitely imagine spending time here in quiet contemplation.

There were also gardens that were primarily functional, such as this Maori garden.

Inside the garden, we learned that the kumara (sweet potato) is not native to New Zealand and requires special techniques to make it thrive in the colder climate. The Maori discovered that planting the kumara in small well drained hills, a little like potatoes, makes all the difference. The field is surrounded by a protective fence, and the raised hut is to store treasures.

There was a second raised platform near the garden, used to store garden tools.

There were various edible plants around the gardens. These are harvested and distributed to those most in need. Here are two pictures to give you an idea of what you can see.

Most of the gardens were from relatively recent cultures, but there was also an ancient Egyptian garden.

Here is a detail of the water lilies in the pond. It almost looks fake, but I assure you they are real.

We are always on the lookout for birds in New Zealand. We have seen many pukeko along the road while we were driving in the Coromandel, but we weren’t about to stop to take a picture of them … though we briefly considered the idea. Fortunately there were some in the gardens today.

We also saw a number of silvereye in the fig trees, apparently enjoying the fruit. I finally managed to get a decent picture of one of them.

And here is another monarch butterfly on an interesting plant. At one time, the bulbs at the top were used in making yarn.

The next picture shows an artichoke flower. If you look closely you can see bees in the flower, having a great time.

This next picture shows what the flower becomes if it is left to ripen.

Here are a few more flowers. I love flowers…

We think the next picture shows chestnuts.

The gardens also showed how cultural styles travel and combine. This next arch is from an English garden that incorporates oriental styles.

I’ll close with a picture of the thing that we see most of all. Jim taking a picture…

Posted in Travel | Tagged Travel, Photography, New Zealand, Hamilton Gardens | 1 Comment

Hobbiton

Posted on February 18, 2026 by If It Was Today

This is our third visit to New Zealand, and we decided that we really shouldn’t put off a visit to Hobbiton any longer. It is, after all, one of the things that many people associate with New Zealand.

Only one of us is a fan of The Lord of The Rings, so there was a bit of hesitancy as we boarded the bus taking us to the set. But there is so much detail that it is hard not to become enthusiastic … at least a little. Here is a small sampling of the hobbit holes on the site. Most of these are just facades, but still very impressive.

The next picture is the centerpiece of the set – Bag End, the grandest hobbit holes, with a giant oak tree on the ground above the house.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t an oak tree in this spot, so what you see now is an artificial tree. For the original Lord of The Rings movies, it had thousands of silk leaves, individually wired to the tree. In many ways, it is more impressive than a live oak tree … and the leaves don’t fall off in the winter.

Throughout the site, we were continually impressed by the attention to detail, even with the hobbit holes that were little more than a facade. This is the cheese shop. Note the cheese hanging in the window, and the oak beams of the building.

The oak tree may be artificial, but all the plants and flowers are real, and constantly maintained by the staff. The flowers attract real butterflies.

After touring all the hobbit holes facades, we had a chance to actually go inside some of them. Not very far inside, but a little.

Two years ago they added a complete hobbit hole, and we were free to go through and touch things. Suddenly we went from “impressed” to “fascinated”.

Jan finally found a table and chairs that were made for her. She could sit on the chairs with her feet flat on the floor.

Growing up, Jan played with doll houses and they had one set up on the sideboard. The guide said she was free to open it and look inside. This keeps getting better and better.

They also had a fully stocked pantry, with all of the essentials.

Near the end of the tour, we crossed the bridge to the Green Dragon Inn, for a beer or cider. It was included in the price. And the beer was definitely real, and very tasty.

The Millhouse is beside the bridge, with a working water wheel.

It had been cloudy all afternoon, but after our free beer, our guide was wrapping things up before heading for the bus. Just then, the sun came out and highlighted Bag End, showing the majesty of the setting.

It was the perfect end to the tour. We are both very pleased that we visited Hobbiton this trip.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Hobbiton, New Zealand, Photography, Travel | 2 Comments

Another Travel Day

Posted on February 17, 2026 by If It Was Today

Today we drove from Whitianga to Hamilton. It was a relatively modest drive, so we had time for a bit of a side quest. On our Cathedral Cove tour, we spotted something we thought was worth a closer look. Our objective was … wait for it … another fabulous beach, perfect for a barefoot walk.

Sometimes we may give you the impression that New Zealand beaches go on forever. Today, we were able to reach the end of the beach. It was almost as impressive as the beach. Just look at that tree!

Almost as impressive, but not quite. Take another look at the view from the beach.

Here is another view along the beach.

Then it was time to head back for lunch.

We found the perfect spot for lunch, before it was time to get back on the road.

The only slightly negative thing about Whitianga is the road. It is narrow, winding, and mildly terrifying. Fortunately before we left home, we were given Ginger Chews to help settle our stomachs. Thank you Jane, they were much appreciated.

I know I was just complaining about the challenging roads on our drive from Whitianga, but when we reached Hamilton, we realized that maybe we shouldn’t complain. For the past two weeks we have been traveling through the countryside and small towns. The roads may be narrow and winding, but there is one important thing to keep in mind. Traffic is light. This wasn’t the case when we arrived in Hamilton during rush hour today. I think it was more stressful than driving through the Coromandel. Puts things in perspective, I suppose.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Hahei Beach, Hamilton, New Zealand, Photography, Travel | 4 Comments

Midway

Posted on February 16, 2026 by If It Was Today

We were enjoying out breakfast and coffee (flat white, of course) taking our usual slow start to the day. The patio doors were wide open and the sun was shining outside. I turned to Jan … “our trip is half over today”. She frowned … “awwwww” but then she added “we still have three weeks left, which is as long as our full trip the first time we visited”.

We love many things about New Zealand, but we especially love the vibrant street art scene and the open recognition of both English and Māori culture. Whitianga effectively combines both of these with some of the murals in town.

A panel beside the piece explains the context for the various murals around town, as well as for this particular piece.

Here is another mural, along with an explanation of the context.

We didn’t have any particular plans for the day, so I suggested we should take the small passenger ferry across the bay to Ferry Landing. The ferry takes about five minutes and runs continuously through the day.

AllTrails showed a short hike on the other side, that provided views over Whitianga, so we figured, why not? Near the beginning of the trail, a panel explained about Maori Pa – essentially a fortified area. There were the remains of one just off the trail. It looked interesting, so we decided to check it out. A Pa is typically built on high ground that is easy to defend and the path up the hill certainly showed that to be the case.

The top was overgrown, and it had largely been abandoned by the time Captain Cook arrived in New Zealand, but we could see the steep cliffs on three sides down to the sea. Later on the hike, we had a better view that clearly showed how well it was positioned for defense. The area to the left of the grassy area is a peninsula with steep cliffs on three sides.

Then it was back to the trail, which wasn’t quite as open, or well signed as we had hoped. But we pressed on with good humor.

And then it headed up, and up, and up. The tree roots on the path were actually quite useful to provide traction.

Further on, the path was better maintained, but it still continued upward.

But when we made it to the top, the views were worth it.

The cliffs themselves were also fascinating.

We had been hoping to see birds, but they were nowhere to be found. But eagle-eyed Jan spotted this Cicada.

The plant life was also interesting. This was a fascinating plant we spotted on a tree branch, with air roots and flowers that looked alien.

Here are a few more views from the hike.

Then it was time to take the ferry back across the bay. No prizes for guessing how we finished our day.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Beaches, New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Whitianga | Leave a comment

Cathedral Cove

Posted on February 15, 2026 by If It Was Today

One of the things we really wanted to do on this visit to Whitianga was to take a boat tour to Cathedral Cove. Fortunately we didn’t book the tour for yesterday – it would have been very wet. Today was a much better day.

The Coromandel coast is loaded with stunning views, so I had a very difficult job whittling down the pictures today. Probably still too many, but it was the best I could do. I’ll open with a picture of Shakespeare Cliff. This area was one of the first places Captain Cook visited in New Zealand, and he apparently thought that this cliff looked like Shakespeare. Look for a nose, mouth, and full beard. Until recently, there was also a “hat” jutting out at the top. See if you can spot the resemblance. (Our guide thought that Captain Cook may have had a bit too much rum that day, but you can decide for yourself.)

This next formation is technically a blowhole, though it is so large that it would need a tsunami to actually create a water spout. Still, it is interesting.

Next up, Cathedral Cove. I’ll let the picture speak for itself.

And right beside Cathedral Cove, we have the sleeping dragon. The dragon’s eye is just to the left of the green patch, and the nostrils are near the sea. Can you see it? Maybe everyone around here likes rum?

We didn’t see a lot of wildlife on the tour, but we did see a large grouping of White Chested Terns on a rock near Cathedral Cove.

We saw several sea caves on the tour, including this one that is in the early stage of development. Over time this will grow until it will create another cathedral. Look for the spot where you can see the sea on the other side.

Next we visited a much larger sea cave. This one was so large that the boat could go completely inside.

Surprisingly, there were schools of fish inside the cave. We think they were snapper.

While we were in the cave, some of us were wondering (and by “some of us” I mean “Jan”) why these caves form. After we were safely out of the cave, our guide told us that these caves are on a fault line that creates a weak point. Over time this is eroded by the sea until a cave forms. Sure enough, when we looked at the cave from the outside, it was obvious. So we had just been inside an inherently unstable structure. Yikes!

There were many other interesting caves carved into the cliffs along the sea, such as this one.

It’s hard to see in the first photo, but if you zoom in, you can see an interesting rock formation inside the cave, called “the snake’s head”. You can probably see why. Much easier to see than Shakespeare.

Most of the cliffs along the coast were ash and pumice from a volcanic eruption (long ago) about ten miles inland. But later, we saw areas with lava from later eruptions. It created interesting rock formations like these. If you look closely, you can see folds in the rock.

Further along there was a lava tube, where the lava on the outside hardened, but the lava inside was still soft enough to flow, creating a hollow tube. You can see it on the left half of this next picture. The right half was a giant blow hole until quite recently. In the past, tour boats would go inside and suddenly see the sky. Unfortunately the arch has since collapsed.

The tour is definitely worth a trip. I highly recommend it.

On our way back to our room, I stopped by the local grocery store, looking for another interesting New Zealand beer, and I came across this one. I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about world politics on this trip, but sometimes it’s impossible to miss what the locals are thinking.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Cathedral Cove, Craft beer, New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Whitianga | 2 Comments

This is More Like It!

Posted on February 14, 2026 by If It Was Today

I’m not sure if this is someone’s message to their valentine, or to New Zealand. Either one works!

Posted in Travel | Tagged Beaches, New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Whitianga | Leave a comment

Enough Already!

Posted on February 14, 2026 by If It Was Today

Yesterday’s forecast was for periods of heavy rain, but what we actually had was more like a light drizzle off and on throughout the day. We still took it easy, going for a short walk to check out the beach, but otherwise relaxing in the apartment and enjoying our private hot tub. And packing for today’s drive to Whitianga.

The forecast said the rain would be largely over by this morning. It was wrong. The heavy rain forecast for yesterday arrived today, and lasted for the full duration of our drive. The roads in the Coromandel are narrow and winding, along the edge of steep cliffs. We saw regular evidence of slips that had closed the roads after the last heavy rain. It was not a relaxing drive! But we arrived safely, and then the rain stopped … shortly after we brought our luggage into the room, of course.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. As we were leaving Waihi Beach, we passed a local Saturday farmer’s market, and decided to check it out. Fortunately it was indoors, as the rain was starting to get heavy. The market was small, but well worth a visit. We chatted with the very friendly locals as we decided what to buy.

We couldn’t resist the local avocados – six avocados for $5 NZD.

We are staying in a small house in Whitianga, and coincidentally there is an avocado tree in the garden. Unfortunately, not for us to pick.

Here is another tree in the garden.

I’ve discovered a new brewer in New Zealand that is fast becoming my favourite New Zealand brewery. I’m sampling another of their excellent beers as I write this.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Avacado, Beer, New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Whitianga | Leave a comment

Four Pictures, No Words…

Posted on February 12, 2026 by If It Was Today

Posted in Travel | Tagged New Zealand, Photography, Travel, Waihi Beach | 3 Comments

Rain Day … Sort Of

Posted on February 12, 2026 by If It Was Today

Into every life a little rain must fall. Even in New Zealand. We did get rain today, it was just a sprinkle here and there, but it still wasn’t an inviting day to head outside.

So we decided to have a quiet day, exploring the shops near our hotel and relaxing inside. But eventually we couldn’t ignore the beach calling us and we headed for the sand. We saw a different side of New Zealand beaches today. The waves were coming right up to the rocks, and you had to keep an eye out or you were going to get wet.

We also saw a different side of New Zealand temperatures. One thing we have always noticed is that it feels far warmer here than the actual temperature suggests. Heather suggested this is because of the ozone hole and the higher UV readings here. Sounds plausible. But that wasn’t the case today. The temperature was 23C, with a stiff breeze, and it felt like 23C, or maybe even a little cooler. We dressed up for our beach walk. A first!

We started walking, and thought we were okay, but then a big wave rolled in and we had to jump up on a rock to avoid getting wet.

We pressed on, and enjoyed our daily stroll along the beach, keeping an eye open for the next wave.

On our way back to the hotel, we passed a large house under construction along the beach. It’s rather cool – the house is basically shrink wrapped while they work on the inside.

We even briefly considered the houses for sale in Waihi Beach…

But we decided to pass, because it wasn’t Ohope Beach. For the record, that isn’t the only reason we decided to pass.

The weather for tomorrow looks similar to today, so Jan was thinking about projects. She brought her travel-size water colours, so she was looking for potential subjects, and the shells along the beach seemed perfect. Here are two pictures with the same group of shells. One is arranged by the mathematician, and the other by the artist. See if you can figure out which is which.

Just across the road from out hotel, there is a lovely little restaurant called The Secret Garden, though not the same as our secret garden at home. It describes itself as a food truck with seating. It has Neopolitan style wood-fired pizza and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine. We tried both, and were very impressed. It was the perfect end to a slow day.