Art Deco in Napier

We have just taken part in an Art Deco weekend in Napier. The town was destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake and the whole town was rebuilt in Art Deco style. Add to this a parade of over 350 vintage cars of the period and nearly everybody dressed in "Great Gatsby" style, and we felt as though we were on a film set. the weather was fantastic with deep blue skies and it was a relaxed friendly atmosphere. We dressed up to go to the Georgie fame jazz concert which was great.
It was a really special occasion and was so good we might even go back next year!
WE followed this the next morning with a gannet safari. They are amazing birds with over a 2m wingspan and we were able to stand right next to a colony of them - both adults and chicks in various development stages before their flight to australia. we were on a headland, 500ft above the sea. It was particularly dramatic when the birds soared in over our heads to make their clumsy landing, sometimes knocking the chicks off the nest!

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing

This walk is publicised as the best one day walk in NZ. I will not argue! It is graded as challenging and we certainly knew at the end of the day that we had done a serious walk.
It is an epic adventure and takes you through awesome volcanic scenery. Shuttle buses operate to take you to the start and pick you up at the end. Nearly everybody walks one way. We started walking at 7.30 in the morning and finished at 2.30 with just a few brief stops to rest and eat. The weather was cloudy at first but we had some sun later in the day. It was certainly windy when we were 2000m up but visibility was always good. We were so lucky as we had set aside 2 days to choose from for the crossing. The second day was heavy rain and strone winds with poor visibilty but that is NZ weather.
The walk starts with an hour on the flat before you come to the Devil's Staircase - aptly named. An hour of steep climbing over boulders of all sizes to eventually reach a coll. At this point there is a side walk to the top of the most perfect of volcanic cones that loomed over us - only to be attempted by those who found the Devil's staircase easy!
Then we had an easy ridge before another very steep and exhausting climb. We were at our hight point now, having climbed 1000m. The wind was strong and we moved onto a ridge that was 5m wide so no problem but I could not look down into the South Crater which was purple and black and menacing. From there we descended on thick volcanic dust - scree like. If you were brave you ran digging heels in for control. It took me some time! From here there are wonderful views of the emerald lakes and back up to increduble scenery. You can see how the volcano must have blown its top in the past, and the extent of various lava flows.
Over one more small hill and then we had the long walk downhill to the bus.
A truly amazing day and a physically exhausting one. We felt really proud to have achieved the walk and to have experienced the scenery,

In and Around Hamilton

The main reason for going to Hamilton was to take in the 50 over game between NZ and England. It turned out to be one of the most humiliating defeats for England ever! However we saw some devastating batting with McCullum and Ryder scoring 167 at nearly 10 an over.

The gardens in Hamilton are wonderful with example gardens from all over the world. We spent some hours in these gardens and called in for a second viewing on our way back to Auckland airport.

Bay of Islands and Waitangi Day

February 6th is Waitangi Day and a public holiday across all of NZ. We are here in Waitangi itself - just luck that it worked out that way as we had not heard about the day until we got here. It seems to mean more to the Maoris than white Kiwis which is strange since the day commemorates the signing, in 1840, of a treaty that gave the sovereignty of all of NZ to our Crown!!
Waitangi is part of the town of Paihia where we are staying. First impressions were not all that good as it is quite busy with lots of tourists staying in lots of motels and not a good restaurant in site, but lots of lads carrying 6, 12 or larger packs of beer.
However the Treaty House, which still stands, is situated in lovely grounds and there is now some Maori buildings and a magnificent canoe.
Today we caught the boat to Urupukapuka, the largest of the islands in this bay and we realised why people rave about this part of NZ. The island is completely unspoilt. Zane Grey lived here and established it as a fishing centre and there is also a lot of Maori culture associated with the island. There are lots of walks around this hilly island and the views down to beautiful sandy beaches and across to other islands are some of the best we have ever seen. maybe I should reflect for a few days but I do think it is the most beautiful part of the world that I have ever seen. It does beat the views of the Marlborough Sound.
We wondered whether to visit Bay of Islands because it is such a popular resort area and we would rather be away from the crowds but we have today had views that we will never forget.

The Bridge to Nowhere and the Whanganuti River

What a fantastic couple of days!
We caught the Jet Boat up the river to look at the Bridge to Nowhere - a magnificent ride up this most scenic river. Deep in the gorge with sides 100 - 200 feet above us and such lush vegetation.
The Bridge is a very substantial concrete stucture built in the early 1930's when there were 43 farmers needing road access to get their produce out. Before the Bridge was finished the Great Depression struck and all the farmers were forced to go and so the Bridge....goes nowheer.
We stayed the night at the Lodge which is set quite beautifully high above the river but with views north and south along it. Mountains surround and it must be one of the most serene places we have ever seen.
The next day we canoed the 25k from the lodge to the Pipiriki village. 5 hours in the canoe, several rapids to negotiate and we never capsized although shipped quite a bit of water!
It was one of the best experiences ever!!