New Zealand - Part 2

Following the excellent weekend with my cousins, Lorna and Kevin, in Rotorua, on the Monday morning we packed up from our AirBnB and I caught a bus from Rotorua to Auckland, while Kevin and Lorna drove back to Ashhurst/Palmerston North. The bus journey was very scenic and a good way to see the countryside. We arrived in Auckland in rush-hour traffic, so were a little late. I was picked up from the bus terminus by Nick Read (an old friend from Zim) and we headed up to their home North of Auckland (Red Beach).

On the Tuesday morning I had scheduled a visit to the Massey University campus in Auckland (actually Albany - also North of Auckland proper, and not too far from where Nick and Ann live) to give a seminar on my research programme. That had been arranged with the Programme Director for Information Sciences, Prof Chris Scogings, originally from South Africa. The seminar went well, and I received some interesting and useful feedback. After the seminar I met Ann at a shopping centre near the University where we did some shopping before heading home.

On the Wednesday I headed into Auckland with Ann and her mom, Marie. We visited the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which was excellent (it covers much more than just the War Memorial aspects, including some great displays on Maori history and culture, and the fauna and flora of New Zealand - we could have spent a lot longer there!), and also the nearby Winter Gardens, which were beautiful. Nick works nearby, so was able to join us for lunch in the museum cafe.

The next day started with a swimming lesson for little Isaac, after which we went for a drive along the coast through Stanmore Bay and Gulf Harbour. It was rather grey and drizzly, so we didn't spend too much time out, and spent the rest of the day catching up with email.

The Friday was rather grey and drizzly again! Ann, Marie and I went for a drive up to Puhoi, which had been settled by Bohemians, and has some interesting history and quaint little shops. We also visited a bee/honey farm, where we got some honey products and had lunch. On the way home we drove through Orewa on the coast. In the evening we went out for dinner with some friends of Nick and Ann's in Stanmore Bay.

I was up early on the Saturday morning to catch the Northern Explorer scenic train back to Palmerston North. That was a lovely journey through some awesome scenery. Lorna and Kevin picked me up from the station in Palmerston North again and we headed home to Ashhurst, where I met Brett (the older of their two sons), who I had last seen as a baby in Zim, and who is studying in Christchurch on the South Island.

On the Sunday morning we went out for a short drive to Pohangina, an even smaller village just North of Ashhurst. In the afternoon I caught a bus to Wellington, and found my AirBnB flat close to the town centre.

Monday was spent exploring Wellington. I started off with the Weta Studios tour (Weta are responsible for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and have done the special effects for many other movies, including South Africa's own District 9). The tour was a fascinating insight into the making of modern movies with extensive digital effects. After that I took the Wellington cable car to the top of the botanic gardens with lovely views over the city and the bay. There is also a cable car museum, which was fascinating. I had some lunch at the restaurant at the top of the cableway, and then walked down through the botanical gardens, and back into the city past the "beehive" (parliament building) and along the waterfront to the Te Papa museum. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum, which was again excellent. After that I did some shopping for supper before heading back to the AirBnB after a very long day out.

New Zealand - Part 1

The next big step on my trip was the flight from Sydney to Wellington. Thanks to the vagaries of the time zones that effectively took most of the day. On arriving in Wellington (spectacular airport on a narrow neck of land between the sea and the bay that Wellington is on) I caught a bus into Wellington central, and then a train to Palmerston North, where I was met by my cousins Lorna and Kevin, who live just North of Palmerston North in a lovely little village, Ashhurst. My aunt (Lorna's mother) also lives in Ashhurst and joined us for supper that night.

On Wednesday (7 June) I went into Palmerston North with my Aunt, and spent some time exploring and getting some essentials sorted. The NZ towns typically all have a very good visitors' information centres (referred to as an i-SITE), and I was able to pick up some maps and brochures. I also sorted out a cell phone, and explored the central square, and shopping precinct. My Aunt and I had lunch at the Victoria Esplanade and explored the beautiful gardens there, before taking the scenic route back to Ashhurst via Massey University and back roads. When Kevin got back from work we went up into the ridge of hills that overlooks Ashhurst to visit the prominent wind-farm. That was rather breezy and chilly but with amazing views from the top of the ridge.

On the Thursday, I did some online planning for trips to Rotorua and Auckland, and also walked to the Ashhurst Domain (a lovely natural park area), taking advantage of the walk to do some geocaching at the local church in Ashhurst.

On Friday, I went into Palmerston North with my Aunt again, visiting the local museum and art gallery. I also found another geocache, and did some shopping (including some cold meds, as I was feeling a little sniffly).

On the Saturday I went for a bike ride from Palmerston North to Feilding (no, that's not misspelled!) with Lorna and her regular cycling buddy Sarah. When we got home Kevin had heated up the Jacuzzi/spa, which was a very civilised way to get over a nice ride! After that Lorna and I wandered down to the local market. In the evening, I went into Palmerston North and had dinner with Mark and Barbara Rainier (ex-Grahamstown and Rhodes connections).

On the Sunday morning, we went to church in Palmerston North, which was followed by a lovely walk in the Manawatu gorge, near Ashhurst. On the walk I discovered that sliver ferns are a real thing! One of the indigenous tree ferns has leaves with a very distinctive silver/grey underside. As a perfect end to a good hike, it was followed by another spa session! In the evening we had dinner with my aunt.

The next couple of days were rather wiped out by the flu unfortunately.

On the Wednesday I was able to meet up with Jared and Jessica Hobson (young friends from the USA), and Jessica's brother Shane for coffee and lunch in Palmerston North. They were at the end of a year living in NZ and were making their way up to Auckland from where they would fly out, visiting various friends and old haunts (Jared had previously spent a semester at Massey University in Palmerston North as a student).

Thursday was spent catching up with laundry, and doing some more planning for the Auckland and South Island trips. I also cooked dinner for us.

The weekend was a real treat, as Lorna and Kevin had taken some time off work and booked a trip to Rotorua. We left around midday, and enjoyed a beautiful drive up to Rotorua, past rushing rivers, green hills, and snow-covered volcanic mountains. The atmosphere in Rotorua is a little sulphurous due to all the geological activity in the area, but it is beautiful. We were staying in a lovely AirBnB on the edge of the lake.

On the Saturday, we headed into the Whakarewarewa Maori village, which was fascinating in terms of the Maori history and culture. The village is also built on geothermal pools, with communal, natural bath houses and cooking facilities. We had a hangi lunch at the village - food steamed in one of the natural steam vents. In the afternoon we went for a swim in a hot-water river (a little more rustic than Lorna and Kevin's spa!).

On the Sunday we to visit the Hobbiton movie set, which is fairly close to Rotorua (and where I bumped into Shane, Jessica's brother, by complete coincidence!). That was fascinating, and included a a stop at the Green Dragon Inn after the tour through the village. In the afternoon we relaxed in the spa at resort, before heading into Rotorua for an excellent dinner in Eat Streat, a covered area of restaurants and street cafes (it describes itself as an "all-weather al fresco dining area").

Tasmania

The next stage of my Australian adventure took me to Tasmania. I flew from Melbourne into Launceston, on the Northern part of the island. That was a fairly short flight across the Bass Strait. I had hired a car from the airport: a red Nissan Pulsar (which is the same as an Almera in SA!). My phone did good duty as a GPS, and navigated me to my AirBnB flat, which was very close to the town centre. I wandered into the centre, found the tourist info centre and some maps, etc. before exploring the town. Later in the afternoon, I met up with Debbie, and her two children for a river cruise that she had very kindly organised. That was great with excellent views of the town and the gorge of the South Esk river from the water. After the cruise we spent some time in the City Park, before meeting up with her husband Darryl and enjoying a very nice dinner together. I did some shopping at a supermarket near my flat on my back.

On the Thursday morning, I spent a bit of time exploring the town centre and doing some shopping, then took a walk along the North Esk River to the Queen Victoria Museum. That had some very interesting displays on the history of the island, and its various flora and fauna (including extinct Tasmanian tigers, which I had not heard about). There was also a very interesting (but cold!) area devoted to the railways of Tasmania, and a small section on space observation (with a planetarium). After some lunch at the flat, I drove up to the Cataract Gorge first basin site, which had a chair lift (which I didn't take!) and some excellent walks along the gorge. On returning to town, I tried to visit the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania, which was very close to my flat, but it was already closed, unfortunately.

The next day, Friday 2 June, I drove down to Hobart in the South of the island, taking a "scenic route" along the Eastern coastline. I stopped for a walk along the coast and a coffee in Swansea, and later for lunch on a beach in Orford. The drive was beautiful, with sea views and forests and hills along the route. I reached Hobart fairly early in the afternoon, and stopped in the centre of town to visit the tourist info centre and pick up some maps, etc. before finding my AirBnB. That was on one of the main roads through Hobart, a good walk from the centre, but with no real need to use the car. The AirBnB was a self-contained flat again, and this one was palatial! It had a lounge, kitchen and en-suite bedroom, with top quality new appliances, fittings, etc., including a Nespresso coffee machine! After settling in there, I walked down into town and had a stroll around the harbour area, before treating myself to a delicious dinner of Tasmanian salmon in a very nice restaurant in the harbour.

On Saturday morning I got going fairly early, as I wanted to visit the famous Salamanca market. That was amazing, with a huge range of arts and crafts and food (a little reminiscent of the Village Green at the Festival in Grahamstown). After that I met up with an old University friend David, and his wife, Nicole and their children. We drove up Mt Wellington, which has incredible 360-degree views over Hobart and the neighbouring countryside. After that we had lunch at a lovely little inn on the road up to the viewpoint, and then went down to Battery Point, near the harbour where we strolled around and had some coffee, before wandering back down to the harbour area, taking in some of the art galleries along the way (including a fascinating "art from trash" display). After an early dinner of calamari, David and family dropped me off at my palace.

I woke up fairly early on Sunday and went to church at Hillsong Hobart, which was very close to where I was staying. That was interesting, being a video-linked service from the main Hillsong church in Sydney, who had an American guest speaker. After church I packed up and headed to the airport where I dropped off the hire car, and caught my flight to Sydney. I took the train out to the Northern suburbs and Patrick very kindly picked me up from the station.

The Monday was spent catching up with laundry and doing some blogging, answering emails, etc., etc. In the late afternoon Pam was taking Max to the sports centre, so Tom, Khia and I went along for a walk in the park area around the centre!

On Tuesday morning, Patrick and I were up rather early, as he had offered to give me a lift to the airport for my flight on to New Zealand - the next big step of the adventure!