roadquill1

Dear family and friends,
Our last couple of days in New Zealand have been spent closing the loop on our North Island travels, and completing the navigation of the Coromandel Peninsula on roads that had seen plenty of disruptions in the storms of the 2 weeks previous.
Day 52: March 24
We have a room in a newer motel just out of the main centre of Coromandel Town. A quick stroll takes us through town and to a trail leading uphill (of course) to a replantation area for the Kauri trees. Since they are still small, we are able to take in views of the coastal community. The trail down the other side leads to a beach – not quite up to the standards that we are used to – but we walk along it past the old gold processing plant and back into town. The downtown area is only a couple of blocks long, and the only place that sells hokey-pokey ice-cream closes before supper. I’ll have to wait for another opportunity.
Day 53: March 25
Today’s road trip turns out to be the hairiest of our journey. Besides the twisting and tight-turning characteristics of the Coromandel, the road is very narrow. The good news is that we are hugging the inside lane…the bad news is…so is the oncoming traffic! About 25-30% of the corners have large concave mirrors mounted on them to show the oncoming traffic. (This is the kind that stores have to catch shoplifters!) Further bad news – it is apparent that many drivers are going too fast to see the mirrors – and pullouts are scarce. We get through to Thames finally, and cruise into the downtown area for the Saturday market. After scoping out the goods, we have a brunch in a small bake shop. Then we do what we always do – find our Motel, and…walk! We hike the water front path, then into the old town area where many old buildings and hotels are preserved, and then begin our usual climb to a high point overlooking the city at the Anzac Memorial. (Does all this climbing mean that we are negatively geotropic?) As we begin the descent into the same centre of town where we first arrived, we are starting to dry out from our climb just as the rain begins. We hustle to the walkway down Main Street where it is completely covered by store front porches, and continue towards the other end of town. It is about 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon, and 95% of the stores are closed. We are the only strollers on the street! After a quick stop at a tavern for a glass of wine and a beer (ginger), we close off our 10 km walk back to the motel.
Day 54: March 26
Since our travel time today is only about an hour, we opt for a more rural coastal road to circle back towards Auckland. There aren’t many others who choose this route today, and, for the most part the trip is leisurely. However, this part of the Coast has been hard hit by the rain storms of a couple of weeks ago, and we have to crawl past many partially cleared slips where large amounts of the soil above the road has slumped over the road, or the shoulders have sagged…and, of course, more twists and climbs and drops through the hilly farmlands
By noon, we have arrived at our motel south of Auckland, and unloaded the vehicle in preparations for final repacking. After that is done, the afternoon is ours and by pre-arrangement, we have agreed to meet with Montana, and her rugby-playing boyfriend, Nik, in Auckland. The four of us hop on to the commuter rail system and head for town under threatening skies. We manage to fit in a few blocks of walking before the first downpour, which ends quickly. For the rest of our afternoon, Nik and Montana escort us around the downtown area, and waterfront before we move on the train to another commercial area – Newmarket, where we have supper. It is time to say good-bye, so we commuter-train it back to Onehunga (where Nik and Montana stay, and where hoards of people are gathering for Adele’s evening performance). On our walk to the house we hit a grocery store where we purchase 2 litres of hokey pokey ice cream. A dish of ice cream might be my favourite way to end a day! (Thanks Nicki, for the suggestion!) Farewells to Nik and Montana are followed by heavy rains as we head back to our motel and Adele sings in the shower!
Day 55: March 27
We are packed, and on our way by 5:45 a.m. in order to drop off our rental car. The address given to us is incorrect, but after 1/2 hour of frantic searching, we find the Omega Car Rental office which is not open, officially, but allows us to drop our damaged vehicle. (I probably didn’t tell you about that. In Napier, I caught the left front fender on a high curb. Eventual damages assessed: $638 – covered by extra insurance I purchased.) Our flight at 8:30, and as we lift off, I remark to Sandy that my iPad is in my luggage, so rather than playing with it, we watch in-flight movies. We both choose “Lion” and it is excellent.
On landing in Rarotonga, we finally learn about tropical heat and humidity! We eventually gather our luggage, and catch the Cook Island bus to our booked site: The Bella Beach Bungalows.
At the Bungalows, we disembark, and find that there is
someone occupying the cabin that was confirmed for us. The proprietor is not on site, and a renter at a nearby house explains that they are not around on weekends – “They live in town.” Another tenant at one of the remaining 4 cabins explains that there is one cabin unoccupied, and it is open. It is probably ours, so we move in, and being very hot…go for a beautiful swim in the very warm lagoon water. Our new friends invite us to travel with them to an open market where you can pick up a hot meal “to go”. When we arrive back at our cabin, a young couple is standing there looking bewildered. They have also booked a cabin, and was told that ours…is theirs! Yikes! A phone call confirms that they are correct, and there is no record of our booking – from August 23 last year. So we apologize for using their towels, and we pack up and await a taxi which transfers us to a beautiful bungalow unit – right beside the market where we picked up our supper! So…we eat our supper on the deck while the bewildered managers try to figure out why we should have a letter with a confirmation number – when they had never heard of us. They guarantee that they will sort things out and that, until Friday (5 nights) we can stay where we are. (And, it is a beautiful bungalow – actually nicer than the other one, but the beach isn’t quite as nice.)
After things have settled down, I open my luggage – no iPad! Somehow, it has gone missing. I have made contact with all places where it might have been left – no luck. The App – “Find My iPhone” reports that it is not online, however, apparently I can delete the info on it remotely.
Day 56: March 28
And…the final downer…(How can there be downers in such a beautiful paradise? I guess Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh found that out also!) I bought a 14 day wifi access card giving me access to 1.5 gigabytes of data yesterday morning, and it was used up by this morning! So…communications for the rest of the holiday may be limited, or non-existent.
Day 57: March 29
New news: today, Sandy and I headed into town on a “Circle the Island” bus. (One bus goes clockwise, the other anti-clockwise. Ours was Anti-Clockwise.) We stopped and purchased another 3 gigabytes of wifi access, but now we are very, very wary (or “wery wery wary”, as Krepke on “Big Bang Theory” would say!) of our usage, and have almost all Apps turned off. Therefore, I will check in with my emails occasionally, but Sandy probably not, but if you need to get information to her, please send it to my email address.
Our trip into town was punctuated with bouts of downpours followed by steamy sunshine. But the rains, though heavy, are warm! In fact, when we returned, we watched a new storm approach our beach, and welcomed a young couple – Jack and Michelle – into our shelter. They are free spirits, Jack from London, and Michelle from Argentina, who are working their way around the world in exchange for food and shelter. Nice couple! Nice visit! On Friday, we move back to our original small unit at Bella Beach for the duration.
We love you all, and we are well, and warm, and relaxed, and things always work out!

Take care…
Sandy and Tony

Greetings dear family and friends! Our New Zealand adventure is nearing an end. Here is the next to last instalment…

Day 47: March 19
Our first night in Gisborne was almost quiet…the wind came up (no rain) and a palm tree brushed and banged on our wall during the night. In the morning we checked out of our motel, and headed into town where we began our explorations with a drive around the hill overlooking city and the harbour to Kaiti Beach and Yacht Club where we watch young sailors launch sabots in fresh breezes. Then, we headed back into town and drove to the top of the Kaiti Hill for panoramic views of the harbour, and the beach where James Cook first landed in New Zealand. (His landing resulted in some miscommunications, and things turned nasty resulting in the death of several Maoris, his rapid departure and the naming of the bay as Poverty Bay since he wasn’t able to get supplies that he needed.)
We parked in town and began a river-front walk which began by encountering many locals who had participated in a “Colour Walk”. Most of the sidewalks, some of the lawns, the walkers and their dogs were doused in various colours of powdered paints. Colourful…but messy. Glad we were late for the walk! Our trail took us through some beautiful older residence areas, and along riverside parks. We were treated to a female team practicing paddling in a large outrigger.
All in all, we walked most of the Gisborne downtown and waterfront – about 10 km.
We moved to a new motel for our second night in Gisborne – this time a block from the beach of Poverty Bay, and the statue of James Cook.
Day 38: March 20
We have chosen the inland route to Opotiki (a ‘tired’ little town) and then Whakatane – through an area called the Waioeke Gorge. Like much of our travel through NZ, this road is very twisty, and has steep climbs and drops. And always…the speed limit signs show 100, but immediately after a posted speed limit, there is a slow to 55, or 35, or 25. I can seldom attain the speed limit, and frequently am looking for pull-offs to allow speedier drivers to pass.
Whakatane is a beautiful little waterfront town with a fairly active town centre. Again, we wander the town core, locate our motel, and then hike the riverside walkway back into down town. (Sound familiar? See a pattern here?) We close off our afternoon with Indian food (“do you want ‘Indian medium’, or ‘Kiwi medium’? – I chose the Kiwi level) and follow with a drive to the high (very high) point of land – Kohe Point – above the town. We watch a beautiful sunset, and meet some young Mormon missionaries who are there for the same uplifting experience, I suppose.
Day 39: March 21
This turns out to be perhaps the most beautiful day of our time in New Zealand. The trip up the coast is much like the drive from Queen Charlotte City to Tlell – gorgeous unpopulated beaches. We picked one, and sat on the sand to read our books for an hour or so, and then headed on toward the city of Tauranga. At Papamoa Beach we bought coffees and and shared a meat pie and a Danish, and then carried on towards the very end of the peninsula at Mount Maunganui where there is a small almost islet called Motiriki. This prominence is fronted by fabulous beaches, so we decided to hike the trail to the top of the islet, head into Tauranga City to an I-Site (information centre), find our motel, and then return to the beach. All proceeds as planned, and our motel is marvellous, in a quiet residential area. We arrive back at the beautiful beach by 2:30, and soak up warm sun and swim – for several hours! (Yes, yes…I had sunscreen on.) Okay, I don’t often mention our meals, but I must bring your attention to my birthday supper that evening – pizza – from a recommended little place called The Pizza Library Co. This is a takeout place, where all of the pizzas have literary names – like Pinocchio, Hamlet, and Janet and the Giant Peach. The decor is offbeat, with old seats from theatres, library books on the shelves, and the staff all wearing bowler hats. The young lady who took our order was very genuine and outgoing and as we were the only patrons at the moment, we enjoyed her cheer thoroughly! And…the pizzas were excellent! This was truly a great birthday, and first FULL day of Spring – in New Zealand!
Day 40: March 22
Today we head over another twisty, windy road towards Whitianga. At the town of Whangamata, we encountered the beginnings of what looked like a town celebration and parade. We noticed many parked vehicles from the 1950s and 60s. Quickly we moved on, but on the road towards Whitianga, for probably 15 minutes to 1/2 hour, (on twisty, windy, roads, of course) we passed hundreds of vintage vehicles heading in the opposite direction. After the tail-end of this amazing parade of vehicles, we finally passed the turnoff to the famous Hot Water Beach, where you dig a pit in the sand at low tides and the pit fills with thermal hot water. As I said…we passed it! In Whitianga, we located our accommodations for the next 2 nights, unloaded and headed out to explore in our usual fashion – again under clear, sunny skies. At the I-Site, we learned that the parade of vintage vehicles was returning for the Beach Hop Festival the next day.
Since technically, it was yet another day of celebration for me…March 21 back in Canada…I once again chose supper – burgers! (Pretty cool eh? Pizza, and then burgers! I am sure I have friends who will be disgusted with my selected culinary delights! I am only missing hotdogs! And now…enough about food.)
Day 41: March 23
We are beginning to see the beautiful high pressure weather system breaking down, and cloud cover has rolled in. However, so do the vintage vehicles – for over an hour! They pour into town (where many folks are dressed for the fifties, and old rock sounds from a number of live bands). After an hour of bemused wanderings trying to impress each other with incorrect aging of vehicles, we let go of our past, and catch a ferry across Whitianga Harbour, and hike the 4 km to Cooks Beach. We are the only people on this – another great example of this part of the world’s fabulous sandy beaches, so we swim naked! (I am lying, of course. Just checking to see if you are still reading!)
On the walk back, we stop and sunbathe at Front Beach. Then we head home. To my shock, it being Sandy’s turn to choose dinner – she chooses HAMBURGERS! She was very impressed with them on my repeat birthday evening! And so…we have come to…
Day 42: March 24
We are both feeling the pull of home, and overexposure to windy roads, and spectacular beaches. With only 45 km of direct driving today to Coromandel Town, we meander a bit, find beaches at a couple more off-the-track ‘bach’ (a term for seasonal cottages – presumably from ‘bachelor’) towns, and finally settle in Coromandel Town. What do we do?? Why hike, of course! …through town, over the height of land above the town, and back along the beach road. The rains have held off, but generally today, we were under high cloudy skies. With only two more full days in New Zealand, perhaps we will be lucky enough to avoid potential showers.
For the record…the roads that we drove over the last couple of days took the brunt of that massive rain storm of about 10 days ago. In Whitianga, apparently they received 250 mm of rain in a 6 day period. In that same period, a valley that we will be near tomorrow outside of Thames, had 850 mm of rain – almost a meter! (Roads there will be under repair for months!) We have seen all kinds of evidence of “slips” (mudslides) that have been scraped off the roads. We are sure glad that we altered our plans after returning Montana to Auckland.
As always, we thank-you for your comments, and can assure you that the blog entries will now become much shorter – until the next long road trip, of course!
Love and best wishes to you all…
Sandy, and Tony (as in T…for the Tilley Man!)

Day 38: March 10
Forecast for the day is for more rain, but it holds off as we miss two turns on Rooby’s planned route, and end up taking many back (paved) roads to make our way through to Matamata where we have booked our bus seats for the tour out to Hobbiton. We just missed our scheduled bus, but we were placed on the next one as crowds were not as big as expected. (Too much rain??)
For those of you not familiar with the stories, “Hobbiton” was the name of the Shire community where Bilbo Baggins and other Hobbits lived in the novels, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). When Peter Jackson was looking for a setting for his movies, he found the Alexander family property near Matamata, NZ. Originally, after the movie The Lord of the Rings was completed, the sets were dismantled. Later, when Jackson decided to film The Hobbit, the Alexanders asked for a more permanent legacy, and the current Hobbiton was built, used in The Hobbit, and then turned into a major tourist attraction with as many as 5000 visitors a day. I found a website with some wonderful images and a full explanation at:
Hobbiton is a Real Place in New Zealand. This is What it Looks Like
Check it out!
Sandy had not originally been all that enthusiastic about the visit, but even she was enchanted with the place! And…the sun shone down upon us!!
We eventually made our way in the afternoon to Rotorua – renowned for its geothermal and volcanic activity. We had booked what turned out to be a lovely 3-bedroom motel room in the Santa Maria Motel. We had sleeping space for 7 people! We were so happy with the hosts and the room that we hurried back to the office and booked a second night.
Day 39: March 11
By morning, it was pouring rain, and thoughts of exploring the town did not appeal, so we sat around watched Rugby Sevens from Vancouver and, as I explained in my last entry, caught up on email and blog postings. Seeing no break in the weather forecast, I asked our host for a third night to try to get time for the sights around town.
The afternoon brought a break in the downpour, so we wandered around the townsite, waterfront and beautiful parks. Steam pours out of many sulphurous hotsprings around town and in folks’ back yards. The smell pervades! Just as we return to our rental car a couple of hours later, the heavens open.
Day 40: March 12
Still heavy monsoon-like rains! We sit and watch the Rugby Sevens Championships and are very proud of the successes of the Women’s team, and the marvellous performances of the Canadian men – even though they finally ended in 7th place – tied with the New Zealand team. We missed some of the games, of course, but apparently our great nephew, McLeay, was featured on the jumbotron a few times! I predict that he will be a force!
When we find a break in the rain, we head for Okere Falls. We embark on the 20 minute hike to the parking lot at the other end of the trail. The falls are in full, powerful flood, and although kayakers run the river in normal times, it is closed to them since the height of the waters would endanger them from lower branches. The trail is beautiful, but a bit rough because of the rainfall. At the end of the trail, our intention is to take the road back to our vehicle, but less than 50 metres down the road, the heavens open up again. Our Tilleys cannot withstand the drenching, and we duck under some bushes for about 20 minutes until the rain abates. The trail back is awash, and muddy, but we manage to preserve a few dry places on our bodies. The evening provides even more heavy rains, and our parking lot at the motel is a lake!
Day 41: March 13
We leave our hosts, Jason and Emma, and head down the road towards Taupo, Turangi and Palmerston North.
An aside…In the mid-1990’s, we had purchased a hot tub from a New Zealand transplant named Chris Long. He not only installed it, he rebuilt and extended our deck to accommodate it. He did such an impressive job that we hired him to renovate our kitchen, living-room and dining-room. We became good friends!
When we decided to visit New Zealand, I wanted to look him up. When I called the number that I had been given for him, he told us that he had heard we were coming and had tried to call us at home, but we had already left. He warmly invited us to visit and stay with him at his farm near Palmerston North – “…a day or two, or longer if you can! Permanent residency occurs after 6 months!” With that warm invitation, we eagerly included Palmerston North into our itinerary.
En route, the rain lets up, and the clouds began to break up. We take advantage of some sunshine to explore the trails alongside Huka Falls, before heading into Taupo. The sun shines, and we walk through town and along the windy (and chilly) lakefront before heading on our journey to Turangi where we find Judges Pool Motel off the highway on a quiet back street. We walk into town for supplies and then along the river path – for exercise.
Day 42: March 14
No quilt store sightings for days! So far, Sandy is showing no withdrawal signs, but I watch for early signs of distress.
Although we had planned on one night with Chris, the warmth of our reception at the Long’s farm in Rongotea, northwest of Palmerston North results in us extending our stay with them for an extra day. We meet Jill and her 2 year old daughter, Arabella, who instantly charms us. We are then fed a fabulous leg of lamb roast – our first taste in New Zealand!
Chris’ house is massive, and the farm beautiful with a view out to the southeast towards the city of Palmerston. He took us out through the fields to see the extent of the farm, and the herds of very healthy beef cattle grazing on green fields. The farming, however, is mostly a hobby for him, as he runs a very successful real estate development company.
Day 43: March 15
We pile into Chris’s “ute” (utility vehicle i.e. pick-up truck) and head into town to check out some of Chris’s many current and completed projects. His crew does an impressive job, and in the process, we met his late-twenties son, Michael (born, like all of Chris’s 4 kids, in Nanaimo) who helps Chris out with some of the electrical work and equipment operations in the renovations. A tour of Palmerston is included as Chris shows us the University, the Rugby School, and a beautiful downtown riverfront park.
At noon, we head to Feilding for a cattle auction. This was great fun as neither of us had been to one before. Chris and the cronies that he met there guided us through the processes, and knowing how Sandy gestures when she talks, I had to hold her hands down so that we didn’t inadvertently acquire a herd of beef! A busy day! The sun shines throughout our visit!
Day 44: March 16
Chris takes us, and Michael, down to Foxton where he has a “reno” in progress, and a “bach” (bachelor cabin). Michael works on the reno, while Chris shows us his bach, and then Foxton Beach. At the beach, we spot a dilapidated house on auction. Chris is interested, and shortly a realtor shows us the house. Another “ball in the air” for the juggler, I guess. Another house or two to visit and then we head home, where we pack our gear in our car, put on sunscreen and follow Chris to Feilding, and the fairgrounds.
Today is “Field Day” in Feilding. (Yes, my spelling is correct!) This is an agricultural fair beyond compare! It has large areas devoted to displays of the latest farm equipment. We toured and gawked, and then met the eldest of Chris’s three sons – Christopher, who has designed and built loading pens to meet new animal care provisions. It sounded like he was having a successful day of sales! Like father, like son!! By mid-afternoon, we had had enough, and it was time to move on. We said our good-byes, and headed to Napier.
Day 45: March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day, and no green to wear in my knapsack!
Today was a special day for me! I have wanted to see sheep dog trials since we arrived here, and thanks to Sandy’s internet searches, and a friendly invitation from a local club between Napier and Gisborne, we head to a farm near Mohaka River. After a bit of meandering on a rutted road, we arrive at a barn where several guys are watching us drive up. “Are you lost?” (Our rental Toyota Corolla is very much out of place amongst the bigger utes around.) We are directed to follow a ute across a couple of fields to where we can see some action in the distance. When we arrive at a cluster of utes, and men with short-haired border collies, we see that the action is happening far up the hill above us where a dog is being directed by a handler near us – with a variety of whistles and shouts. The dog gradually brings three unruly sheep down the hill and has to gather them in front of the judge’s shack where the process is timed and evaluated. Luckily, the driver of the ute we followed takes us under his tutelage, and proceeds to explain the whole process of “long retrieve” to us – for the field we are in. However, next field over, there is another different “short retrieve” process underway. Our guide, Chris Reedsworth, then takes us to the second field where we watch and learn the second format. By early afternoon, we have had enough, and we finally take our leave and return to the fold in Napier. Baaa!
In the late afternoon, we stroll the waterfront of Napier, and then finally call it a day.
Day 46: March 18
Today is a travel day. We head along the coast to Gisborne. Several hours later we have landed, settled in, and had a few hours to reconnoiter the waterfront in town. It looks like the rain is returning to this area tonight. The fields will be even greener tomorrow…which reminds me…Happy (belated) St. Patrick’s Day to those at home!
Love and best wishes to all, and apologies for this “long retrieval”!
Tony and Sandy

Days 35: (March 7)
The day begins with showers and forecasts are gloomy, but in our hearts the sun shines as Montana announces that she is cancelling her plan to bus it back to Auckland, and would like to continue with us (“if that isn’t putting you out”). As if!!
We head north and stop to see a historic site called the “Stone House”. It is closed, but chickens running loose in the parking lot entertain us for free for a while. Good deal! On we drive – passing small villages as our route follows the coast. We arrive at our Ninety Mile Beach Motel at Waipapakauri by 1:00, and the management has managed to find us a bigger room with an extra bed. All is well – except for mosquitos and flies. (No screens on windows which must be open as there is no air conditioning – very muggy and warm).
We quickly unload and drive on – first a few hundred metres down the road to the beginning of the 90 Mile Beach, and then on towards Cape Reinga at the very north end of the North Island. By the time we arrived, strong winds had picked up, and mists were blowing across the high headland above the Cape. We quickly donned shirts and headed off to join other brave souls on the hike out to the lighthouse at the end of the headland. It is no longer “muggy” or “buggy”! Those conditions cannot exist in these winds. (Double string of Tilley required!) By the time we complete our trek, temperatures have dropped somewhat, and the rain has begun. We scramble into the car, and make our way back to a town called Kaitaia, a few kilometres south of our motel. (I very annoyingly correct our GPS’s pronunciation of this word every time – but Rooby won’t learn!) Just after we arrive back at the motel, VERY HEAVY rains hit. It is monsoon time!

Day 36 (March 8)
During the night, mosquitoes feasted on Montana, and in the morning, since we don’t have a kitchen in our unit, we move to the communal kitchen, where rainwater lingers on the floors. We take one last look at the rain damages at the parking area by the beaching then we are on our way through Kohukohu to catch the Hokianga ferry across the narrows to Rawene.
(An aside: As I drive, news on the car radio informs us that the extremely heavy rains have flooded large sections of the Coromandel Peninsula, that folks are trapped, and roads washed out. This is a setback for our plans as we planned on heading there after a return through Auckland.)
Past Omapere, we stop to walk the trails to the headland above the Hokianga Harbour. The sun shines, and all is beautiful, and warm (27°). After that stop, the road climbs and twists, and it is difficult to find pull-offs to let tail-gaters pass, but eventually we find one of our destined stops – the giant kauri tree known as the Tane Mahuta. It truly is awesome at an age of approximately 2000 yr with a 13.77 m girth! Clouds return, and heavy rain hits shortly after. I have to pull off the road because it is so intense!
A second stop is scheduled at Nelson’s Kairu Kauri – a place where manufactured swamp Kauri wood products are sold. As usual, these wood products are truly spectacular, but even more interesting is the story behind the “swamp Kauri”.
After the supply of green Kauri logs ran out, farmers began to drain swamps to gain more farmland. Lumps appearing in the drying land turned out to be ancient kauri trees – as old as 25,000 years, some with leaves and bark still on them. It is surmised that these forests were wiped out by a catastrophe – perhaps a tsunami. The wood is excellent still, and the property we were visiting had a large supply of swamp Kauri stumps on its acreage. I tried very hard to figure out how to get some home! Not gonna work! On to Dargaville, which turns out to be a rather drab and neglected town – in my estimation. However, our room was a two bedroom large place, and dinner, selected by Montana was takeout from a place featuring “Indian and Pizza”. Good food, but strange combination! I broke away from my vegetarian plan to have meat on the pizza. (Montana did not share it with me – but Sandy did – the next day.) The television shows us the vast flooding, road closures and “slips” (mudslides) on the Coromandel from Thames around to Gisborne.

Day 37: (March 9) Return to Auckland
Today was a rather straight-forward, if a bit sad, drive, for we finally say our good-byes to Montana. She has been a real trooper putting up with a couple of seniors who go to bed early (…and an uncle who lingered too long in a beautiful museum showing the area’s Kauri tree story, and logging history. I eventually found the two ladies reading in the car.)The biggest issue has been how to dig a preference out of her…”whatever you like” and “I’m okay with anything”. (And she truly has been…okay with everything! What a treat to share this part of our journeys with her! We will miss her!) We drop her off in Auckland and head on to our next evening stop in Huntly, where we find a converted hospital (not for the insane this time, but for maternity.) Our room is great, but a review of weather channels confirms more rain for the next week, and Coromandel has not recovered from the first blow. Our plans are to visit Hobbiton, near Matamata – the movie sets for “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”.
So…good-bye to Montana, and now on to our next adventures.
Much love to all, and we want you to know that we both enjoy the comments from the postings, and I would respond to them, but as you have seen, I struggle just to keep up with the story – and the pictures! Know that we are grateful to you!

Tony, (the Quill) and Sandy (the Quilter)

Lynn, and Philip Chatfield show us Auckland

Rangitoto volcano – erupted and appeared 600 years ago

A plaque honouring the first explorers – Puke, and Captain Cook, settlers, and the Treaty of Waitangi

A view of Auckland from one of the many volcano hills in the city

A visit to Mahurangi Regional Park

A living relic in the park

The McKinney Kauri tree in Parry Park – age 800 yr, girth of 7.62 m, first limb at 11.89 m

Heavy rain at Chatfield’s in Coatesville

Looking out to the patio from the living room

The Chatfield house overlooks the property after the rain

Montana joins our travelling troupe – at the top of Mount Hobson

The view from our Rustic B&B near Whangerai

Head for the beach – watch your step!

A protected nesting area

Our private beach

Uncertain currents

The 5 Peaks

Whangerai Falls

…with friends

…T and Montana

Photos from further north will follow…

T