Shortly after settling into Riverside Drive Marina
in Whangarei, we wrapped the mast in Christmas lights and welcomed Katelinn and
Camden to our
home-away-from-home for the holidays. What a blessing it was to have them with
us for Christmas and New Year's!
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Christmas dinner in the cockpit
(It felt odd to hear Christmas carols and see holiday decorations
while wearing shorts...) |
"Silly season" is the kiwi term for the week
between Christmas and New Year's, when tourists and almost all New Zealanders
are on vacation--most of them outdoors. Many places we visited were indeed
crowded, but everywhere we went was even more intriguing and awesome than we
expected. We lingered at every location and still managed to visit many of the North Island's highlights.
Whakarewarewa Living
Maori Village
Maori women have been guiding guests through this village, situated in an active geothermal area, since the late 1800's. (Whakarewarewa can be loosely translated as "Causing to be Hot Hot"). Cooking
and bathing still take place in steam vents and hot pools; our lunch was cooked in an underground thermal oven.
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| Troughs carry hot water from this natural pond... |
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...to fill these soaking pools.
Villagers bathe here in the evening--after the tourists have left--then the water is emptied and refilled the next day. |
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| At the end of the rope is a bundle of corn being boiled for meals |
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| Maori woman (in red shirt, visible toward the back) pulling cooked corn out of the hot water |
Wai-o-Tapu ("Sacred
Waters") is an aptly self-described Thermal Wonderland, complete with geysers,
gurgling mud pots, and brilliantly colored steaming pools.
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| Minerals in the water create striking colors |
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| This neon lime green didn't look real! |
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| Shaw Trio with erupting Lady Knox Geyser in the background |
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| Can you smell the sulfur and feel the steam? |
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| Hot gals |
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| Tough guys |
Even the scenery between attractions was attractive!
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Lake Taupo, the largest freshwater lake in Australasia.
We hiked through the peaks in the background the next day. |
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Camden has always enjoyed collecting 'stuff' at water's edge;
Lake Taupo had pumice stones from the nearby volcanoes |
Tongariro Alpine
Crossing
This challenging 12-mile hike went up steep slopes, through Mars-like craters and close to active volcanic peaks. It's reputed to be one of the ten
best day-hikes in the world; we were all sore (yes, even the 20-somethings) for
a few days afterward, but it was sure worth it!
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One of three volcanoes we trekked past;
it may look familiar, since Peter Jackson used this peak as
Mt. Doom in his Lord of the Rings movies.
(At the start of the trail there was even a warning sign about not entering the area--
but that's because of the strenuous hike, not because we were likely to encounter Sauron.)
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| Our colorful lunch stop |
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| Resting up for the next stretch |
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The size of the ants--er, people--on the trail
help give some scale to the crossing |
Waitomo Caves
We stopped by here on the way back to the
Auckland airport, and were absolutely enchanted.
The cave formations were gorgeous, followed by a truly magical journey floating along the
underground river in complete silence and complete darkness--except for the
galaxy of tiny sparkles overhead caused by glowworms...
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(no photos were allowed in the cave, so this is a shot of their brochure;
worth including, since we'd never seen anything like this before) |
Camden headed back to Philadelphia, but Katelinn got to stay another week. We all got some small projects
done, but spent most of the time exploring the many sights in and around Whangerei.
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| Kauri grove |
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| Whangarei Falls |
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Abbey Caves
This was genuine spelunking: headlamps essential,
scrambling over & between boulders and through underground streams |
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| Art in a tight spot |
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| Ferns underfoot... |
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| ...and overhead |
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The kiwi birds (as opposed to human kiwis, aka New Zealanders)
darting around in the nocturnal Kiwi House were hilarious!
(no photos allowed there either, so this is from their website) |
The balance of activities + laid-back cozy conversations was
delightful, and we were all very sad to see it end. Now Katelinn's back as crew on
the Europa, sailing three round trips
between Patagonia and Antarctica (and we think
our passages are trying!); we're in work mode, with both extensive standard
maintenance and some long-deferred upgrades on the agenda. The next blog
entry's photos may not be quite as scenic, but I'll try to keep them lively!
