Wellington to Waiheke Island, December 7 & 8

 December 7

Newly installed art at Wellington airport.

Today we started with an Uber to Wellington's airport. It is a very low-key and small airport which is interesting as it is the country's capital city. We really enjoyed Wellington. And, we were fortunate that it was not especially windy while we were there.

     The flight was only one hour long. It was a review, of sorts, of our travels on the North Island with the exception of our trip to the Bay of Islands. We tried to take photos of Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo, but the window was quite dirty, so..... not worth a photo.

Auckland harbor from Waiheke ferry

  We landed to almost 80 degree weather in Auckland at mid-day. We got the shuttle to our hotel and checked into a surprisingly beautiful Holiday Inn at the airport with plush tropical gardens and a pool. (Neither of which we used.) We dropped our luggage and then took an Uber into the city where we met up with Prue and Klaus for a concert at the Town Hall, a beautiful venue. 

City Hall concert venue - gorgeous

     We had never met Prue and Klaus, but had photos of them and they had photos of us. Prue is cousin Shirley's best friend. They met while teaching in Japan years ago. They have just retired from distinguished careers in International Environmental Law. Both are well published and Prue recently argued a case at the International Court. They were professors at the University here.  Klaus was born in Germany and Prue on the South Island. Both are well traveled.

      The concert of Bach and Handel was a retirement concert by a woman who made her mark in conducting in a man's world. Interestingly, she is also a renowned tennis coach.  The concert featured a full chorus and 4 soloists. 

     It was such a lovely way to spend our last two nights of our holiday.

     

Then the four of us walked down Queen Street to the Waiheke Island Ferry, about a 45 minute ride on a high-speed ferry. Then, we caught a bus to their house. (They do not own a car, nor need one.)

     

What wonderful hosts. We had great conversation about a huge variety of topics - ethics, conservation law, politics, philosophy, books, art and architecture and the parallels of our lives. Parallels include similarities of living on an island. Both Nantucket and Waiheke have become upscale while we've both lived on our islands and unaffordable to the middle class. We both bought our property while it was still within reach.

     Klaus made dinner culminating with a Pavlova, a traditional Christmas dessert in New Zealand. New Zealand lays claim to inventing Pavlova.

New Zealand's famous Pavlova

One of the views from the Waiheke Ferry

December 8

        We started the day with a huge breakfast on their gorgeous deck. Klaus says Germans make big breakfasts!

Breakfast spot!

         Then, Mark, Barbara and Prue walked down the cliff path to their beach. Gorgeous.

       

In their front yard with New Zealand's Christmas tree in bloom

On the steps going down to their waterfront

 It was a morning full of more talk; we could never run out of topics with them.

        Prue made a traditional New Zealand savory pie for lunch. It is one that can be eaten cold or hot. It is a bacon and egg pie made with puff pastry. The eggs are left whole while cooking, so there are bits with cooked egg yolk. Different veggies can be added; Prue added peas. It was delicious and we want the recipe!

         Then, Klaus went into Oneroa, their nearest town for an appointment and Mark, Barbara and Prue walked to Oneroa via the coast, a rather challenging walk for us as it was warm and sunny and hilly.

       

Leaving Waiheke

 We all met for a last coffee and we caught a bus to the ferry terminal, missing a ferry by minutes leaving us about an hour wait.

The ferry was very full of tourists returning from a day trip to the island. We docked around 5 o'clock and had to decide about what to do for dinner. We decided to have only dessert and treated ourselves to two scoops (!) of gelato as we basked in our last evening of sunlight and warmth. Our last days of "summer" for a while, but...we had two summers and two springs this year. No complaining here.

Another view from the deck

Yes, this qualifies as dinner

     Then - an Uber to our hotel. 

     Such a great two days!

More of Wellington, December 5 & 6

 December 5

Wellington Cable Car

   We got out pretty early and walked to the bottom of the cable car and took it to the top. There, were waited for the free shuttle bus to Zeelandia, the first urban wildlife sanctuary in the world. The 500+ acre sanctuary is home to some of New Zealand's rarest native species from birds to lizards to plants. 

 

Our guide pointing out a rock from Gondwana, so older than New Zealand. It was a gift from the local Maori

The trees are amazing - so twisted in this photo

   It is the first fully-fenced such sanctuary in the world. Some of the species now there had not been on the North Island in over 100 years.  The fence, started in 1999, was designed to prevent pests from entering. New Zealand did not have any mammals until they were introduced, mostly in the 1800s. The fence was designed to exclude the non-native animals ranging from deer to mice. After the fence was built, the pests within the wall were eradicated in about 9 months. Of course, some get in. Our informative guide, Frederico, mentioned that, for example, rodents are sometimes dropped by accident from birds of prey, like falcons. 

Electric boat at Zeelandia

    We were in a small group of bird enthusiasts which enhanced our walk. (Probably about 2 miles). We saw some birds we had not previously seen such as a whitehead, several kakas, which are among the most intelligent of parrots. We also spotted a fantail next with babies, but it was hard to photograph. 

We never tire of wagtails

A wagtail nest!!!!

    We saw several tuatara lizards in their burrows - very hidden and very still.

tuatara

     We also saw giant wetas, insects endemic to New Zealand. They look a bit like large crickets and among the heaviest of all insects. Some varieties weigh more than a sparrow. Every species in New Zealand is flightless. The ones we saw are beneficial by cleaning up decay such as dead leaves. While they live in wood, they do not harm the trees. The giant weta are protected by the government. 

Yes, there is a wagtail in there somewhere!

    We also heard quite a lot about plants. New Zealand may not have many dangerous critters, but it has a lot of poisonous plants. We saw silver ferns and  huge fuschia trees (they are so wet that an fuschia log will not burn in a fire)    

     It was a great tour.

      Afterwards, we took the shuttle, then the cable car back down and walked to The Old Quarter restaurant where we ate yesterday and had the exact same meals - the duck and orange salad was just that good!

December 6 

And we never tire of the tui either!

Path at Zeelandia

    We decided to go back to Zeelandia again today as it was just that good. And, the ticket is good for two days, a bonus. So, in many ways, it was a repeat of yesterday. 

     The weather started out cloudy and a bit chilly, but we shed layers by the afternoon. Every day the weather has been better than predicted.

    We went back to the cable car and got the shuttle to the sanctuary where we walked about 2 miles. We got better photos of the "stick" insects which are hard to see.

 

This may look like a green bean, but look closely - it is a stick insect

   We also saw a lot more tuatara lizards. 

     And, we saw some wonderful fantails. We tried to spot a nest, but didn't. It is so hard to get a photo of them with the tails fanned out.

     We watched the kakas operating the feeding stations, using their "feet" to press a lever to release food. We took a short video of that.

     We also saw some courting robins and Mark got a video.

   We went to the cafe and had lunch. Barbara had a delicious sweet potato & broccoli soup and Mark had eggs on toast.

     On the way up the cable car, we saw a cricket match going on, so we got off the cable car early and walked down to the pitch. It was two local clubs - Taita vs the University. We met some helpful people who explained some of the rules of the game and we had a lovely afternoon.

     

kaka 

Then, we caught the cable car for the rest of the way down and we walked into town and Mark got some new sunglasses as a Christmas present.

     We thought about eating out, but decided to eat the stuff we have in our room - some cheese, peanut butter and jelly and crackers. Plus, we already walked 4 miles, so....having an early evening to do a last laundry and relax before leaving tomorrow morning for Auckland.

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From Taupo to Wellington, December 3 & 4

 December 3

   Today was a travel day. Last night there was a major thunder storm which woke us both us. The weather predicted a full day of rain.

   

Such a different terrain - on the Desert Road

Highway 1

 We drove down Highway 1 to Wellington. It is still surprising to us that a major route to the capital is really just like a country road at home.  And, leaving Taupo, we went by Mount Tongariro and one of its sister volcanos and it became quite twisty for a while.

     We found out why that stretch is called "the Desert Highway." The road climbed to a peak of 3,550 feet and the terrain changed to dry scrubby land without trees for quite a few miles. 

    It was about a 5 hour drive to the capital. There was a period of about 15 minutes where it really bucketed rain and visibility was reduced. Luckily, the rain came and went and never bucketed again. However, we only stopped briefly as we wanted to get there in hopes of avoiding more downpours. As we approached Wellington, it got hilly and we descended pretty steeply into a steep city!

   Finding the hotel, Boulcott Suites, was a bit tricky and getting into the parking garage was also tricky as the spot was so tight.

    We are on the 4th floor and have a little apartment. We are staying in tonight as we are tired. We carry peanut butter and jelly and other things to eat.

December 4 - David's birthday

     We had a surprisingly sunny day here as the clouds cleared away - it was not predicted, so it was great. Before we left the hotel we worked on our Christmas card photos and ordered them. Hard decisions.

      We returned the car to the rental agency which was a bit hilarious as we needed to find a gas station that was supposedly 3 minutes away and it took us about 15. The streets here are very narrow.  We walked to the waterfront from the car place. En route, we decided to buy a bus pass.

View from our window at Boulcott Suites

      We had a little difficulty buying the bus pass. We went to one store which sold us the card, but couldn't top it up. So, we went down the street to another store - their machine was down and couldn't top it up either! The third store also had difficulty, but, with patience, their machine worked. 

     We walked down to the harbor and to the information bureau.

   

 We ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant "The Old Quarter" and both had duck & orange salads, sitting outside in the sun.

On the harbor

      From there, we took the bus up to Mount Victoria with views over the city. We thought this was a good idea since the day was so clear. The ride up and down the tortuous road on the bus was like being on an amusement park ride, especially on the way down as the driver was fast and a bit grumpy, too.

View of Wellington from Mt Victoria

        We got food at a local market and ate egg salad sandwiches in our room.

       It was a good day. We found that our hotel is well located and that we are not up as steep a hill as we'd thought and it will be easy to walk into downtown to the restaurants etc.

      

Taupo - December 1 & 2

 December 1 - Sailing on Lake Taupo

The Barbary II

To the Maori this was a pregnant woman; her head is on the left

    First, it is hard to believe that it is December. Here, the days are getting longer and warmer. December!

    We had a wonderful two-and-a-half hour sail on Lake Taupo this morning on an eco-sailboat. We were partly under sail, but assisted by electric engine on The Barbary II.

We were glad that we went today as there was a good breeze and we really felt like we were sailing.

 

 Our destination was to view stone carvings on a cliff face made by a master Maori carver. He had promised his mother a tribute to their ancestors and looked for a giant tree to carve. But, one day, out on the lake, he saw the cliff face. But. There was a problem as the Maori don't carve on stone. They carve wood, bone, ivory and jade. So, he had to get permission to do these.

   

The carving:look closely

 Our ride out was a bit bumpy and several passengers got quite ill. Luckily, no one threw up near us, but the captain was not happy as one of them threw up at his feet. He had told her to throw up over the side, but..... Oh dear.  

      We learned that Lake Maori was in trouble from pollution several decades ago. In 2006, the government instituted reforms. First, they bought out some of the farms nearby as fertilizer was adding too much nitrogen into the lake. Secondly, the farmers started using far less fertilizer. The argument was that so much was going into the lake that it was not economically efficient. That worked. And, the farmers saved money. Thirdly, they limited fishing for the two types of trout that live in the lake. And, they stopped blackmarket selling of the trout because all the restaurants took trout off their menus. So, the only way to eat trout from the lake is to catch it - or be friends with someone who fishes.

     Their efforts worked. The lake now is clean for swimming AND for drinking. You can actually see it because the lake is so clear. The visibility of the lake used to be about 3 meters and it is now easily 10 meters.  And, the trout have doubled in quantity and they have increased the number that can be caught.

    It is a good example of what can happen when communities work together. Once the farmers were on board and saw it was to their advantage, it became easier.

It's a McDonald's!

One of many examples of street 'graffiti'

    Afterwards, we had sushi for lunch.  Taupo is known for its graffiti drawings which we've enjoyed looking at.

December 2

 We had a rather quiet day today. We went to town and did a bit of window shopping and wandering. Mark bought a short-sleeved shirt. We went to Woolworth's and got some groceries and went 'home' and made egg salad sandwiches and took them to the nearby beach.

Barbara has been wanting to go into Lake Taupo since we've been here, but the weather has not fully cooperated, but today, she did brave the chill and went in. 

Black Swan, red/orange bill

In late afternoon, we went to the hot pools in our hotel.