New Zealand - The North Island - Part 1

Time for a new country. Our pathway through the British empire of yester-year shall come to an end here in New Zealand. Our NZ adventure is roughly split between the North and South Islands. We have been looking forward to this leg of our journey because we have travel mates, my parents! They loved New Zealand so much during their last visit five years ago that they have decided to join us for a couple weeks.

Dec 6: Auckland
When we landed in New Zealand, the attendant said, "Welcome to Oakland". It took a second to compute that we Americans pronounce Auckland a bit differently and we did not get on the wrong flight. We spent the first full day wandering about downtown Auckland, which, ironically reminded us a lot of Oakland. The city, along with it's surroundings is non-descript and frankly a bit dull. Apparently most folks say to visit the museum as it's pretty good, but we're museum'd out. But hey, we still enjoyed the day and passed the time window shopping and popping in and out of this and that until we got to the wharf. Certainly one thing that was apparent, they are in a construction boom. Tower cranes everywhere and streets all torn up to install a new subway system. Another notable characteristic, the traffic is a nuisance, and it feels so right. We sat in several Bay Area sized jams caused by nothing in particular but poor infrastructure planning.

Next to the tower thing was an outdoor Christmas wonderland left unattended. The most appropriate thing to do in this case is take advantage of the unattendedness. 

Fancy shot by Nicole. Well done.

We spent more time in the 3 for $10 Japanese store than we probably should. 

It's All Blacks country. Had to flaunt our new loyalties to our old friends in Cape Town (Sorry Sam). Those Springboks are such yesterday's news.

In search of Christmas lights at the Kiwi equivalent of Walmart, the kids found these.

That night, we fetched my parents at the airport. Up till now we have had the pleasure of renting a couple dozen different cars of various size and convenience, some of which took post graduate level spacial geometry to figure out how to pack. Add two more people and three more bags and it was time for something new. We're rolling in a people carrier, the Toyota Hiace. (It should be noted, EVERYWHERE outside the U.S., the Toyota Hiace is the most common vehicle we see. It was time we tried one ourselves)

The one drawback of the Hiace... The A/C only really provides cooling to the front area. Those in back get a little cooked. Our solution, buy two pool noodles from K-Mart and apply a bit of duct tape. Worked like a charm. 

Dec 7: Waiheke
We got off to a late start and decided to take an afternoon trip out to an island in the Auckland bay called Waiheke, best known for it's wineries, hikes and beaches. Not unlike an afternoon trip to Napa, I think the island would have been better suited to a pair of love birds rather than a van full of multigenerational family members. But we certainly made the best of it and had a nice outdoor lunch at Wild on Waiheke, tasted some Olive Oil, chilled on a beach, and wandered the spartan village shops.

All loaded up and ready to go

Sort of surreal to be hanging out on a beach in New Zealand with your parents and family. 

I think there is a resemblance here. Grandma and Granddaughter. Wonder when my daughter surpassed my mom in height. 

One of the olive oil makers (come to think of it... it's a winery for wine makers, and distillery for spirit makers.... what is it for olive oil makers?) had a cool wood carved chess set.

Took a car ferry to and from Waiheke

Dec 8: On the road to Bay of Islands
Our road trip around the North Island started with a four hour drive to the north to the Bay of Islands. The town of Russell was our destination. On the way we took a quick stop at Whangerai Falls. As expected, the kids were unenthusiastic, but it was a great moment of time where my Dad and I took the short loop walk to do a little exploring just like the olden days. I guess I must get some of my aloof wandering tendencies from him. Note, it was actually a pretty decent waterfall on par with some of the Iceland falls.

I wonder where I get my love of photography from? 

Possibly my Dad's first selfie?

Technically speaking, this boy did not "dive" from the upper branches of this giant tree, so I think he is not a scofflaw. 

Dec 9: Sailing the Bay
The Bay of Islands was cleverly named by someone with an enormous imagination because of the islands that exist in a large bay. This makes for a wonderful place to wander about, much like the Whitsundays. We boarded a 44 foot sailing boat (this time with a captain and crew), and set sail for one of the many islands. This was a great opportunity for our children to experience sailing, as opposed to motor cruising. Despite the rolling seas, we all did surprisingly well, except for my father. This portended an ominous turn of events.

When we got to the island, we had a chance to do a bit of kayaking.

At the opposite end of the island after a 1 mile walk over the ridge.

Pretty, huh?

Autumn and Zane got their chance to skipper the boat.

Dec 10: Paihia
The boat did not treat my father well, with lingering dizziness and lethargy. This was a day for study and a quick trip across the bay via ferry to the small town of Paihia where we did some wandering and shopping. It's a lovely little town.

It's a kaleidoscope...

After our return, the boys spent some time at the shelly beach just at the bottom of our driveway. 

Dec 11: Drive to Waitomo
Given the fact that the Bay of Islands is a solid 4 hours north of Auckland, and Waitomo, our next stop, is about 3 hours south of Auckland, we had a long day on the road. Fortunately, the luxury passenger van (oh, forget to mention, it's name is the Kiwi Cruiser), made the trip bearable. Unfortunately, my father's condition was getting worse and worse as the hours wore on. By the time we reached Waitomo, it was time to take it seriously....

My mom's addiction with Ken Ken and Sudoku may be rubbing off on my daughter. How cool is that?