alexandriacardinals

January 29

Auckland

[We started our grand adventure in Australia’s largest city.  We’re ending in New Zealand’s largest city.  In between we visited several smaller cities.]

[Arriving in port where we would disembark the Maasdam for the last time.]

[Port sights . . . ]

[Walking off to our hotel.  On the map it looked like just a couple blocks . . . ]

[A glance back at our water home.]

[But now onward into the city . . . ]

[It turned out our hotel was probably more than a half mile away, as we schlepped our bags along the sidewalks.  It was early morning so we couldn’t check in yet, but we checked our bags and headed back to . . . the port.]

[OK, a final look back.]

[And the ship detritus we would no longer need . . . ]

[This is where, as I recall, the Gross contingent branched off for a bus tour of the city, while The Biddies and me decided to just walkabout downtown.  First find, dinner?]

[Our first walking glimpse of Sky Tower.  The Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located at the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets. It is 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 25th tallest tower in the world. It has become an iconic landmark in Auckland’s skyline due to its height and unique design (Wikipedia).  We never partook of it.]

[We decided to hit the city parks.  Victoria was first.]

[It was a Sunday morning, not a lot of people out and about.  We needed a restroom.  The park building was closed for repair, but luckily the couple who “run” the place told us we could go in through a side door.  We had a nice chat, thought we’d be friends for life, I’ve already forgotten their names, but as you can see the typical ruggedly beautiful Kiwi couple.]

[Auckland has been on my radar since 3rd or 4th grade (who remembers?).  Here is the Harvard Nieman Fellow class of 1956-57.  In the back row, 3rd from the left, is John Cornwall of Auckland, New Zealand.  Also in the photo is my dad, very top row, 3rd from the right; Hans Hanson of Norway, front row, 3rd from the left; Dieter Schultz of Germany, back row, 2nd from the left; Anthony Lewis, who went on to significant fame as a columnist for the New York Times, back row, 4th from the left; Harold Liston of Illinois, 3rd row back, 2nd from the left.  This is not written down anywhere – I just remember them.  And yet there are people today whom I see weekly but can’t remember their names?]

[We continued our hike out the far side of the park . . . ]

[Then it was a long uphill grind, i.e., several blocks, to the level of the Sky Tower – the place is like San Francisco.]

[Now in the heart of downtown, finding things of culture.]

[Gee, maybe we should have?  Not likely a line at this time of day?]

[The Town Hall . . . ]

[Which overlooks this outdoor entertainment complex . . . ]

[After sitting here for a while . . . ]

[We were just down the block from what appears to be Auckland’s main intersection – Queen and Wellesley Streets.  We sat at a little outdoor cafe on the corner and sipped our sarsaparillas.]

[Then thankfully began a downhill march . . . ]

[To the Auckland Art Gallery, which just happened to be featuring The Maori Portraits.]

[The Biddies looking forward to it!]

[The view across the street, to set your bearings . . . ]

[And we’re in – with nary a body cavity search!]

[The Super takes it all in . . . ]

[As does Reetz.]

[The Super seems to recall this was called “Japanese fabrics” . . . ]

[And she liked it so much she took the following three photos . . . ]

[Described two down . . . ]

[The Biddies check genealogies, just in case.]

[Mindful of the view at the Science Museum of Minnesota?]

[Admiring the ceiling work of the outdoor cafe at the gallery.]

[A great place to sit and enjoy a sip of . . . another sarsaparilla?  We were lucky number 13 – I believe The Biddies had a food order.]

[This must have been a shot for the root system.]

[And now we’re walking back up hill again to the University of Auckland.]

[Two Super shots from here . . . ]

[And this was now from the far side of the university.  The whole campus was fenced off for I believe a big rock concert so we couldn’t enter.]

[And now we’re walking down the “backside” of the university.  Don’t these people ever stop exercising?]

[So Kiwi!]

[The Super’s shot into the campus . . . ]

[Yes, I made a major contribution to the endowment fund.]

[The end of the university, and now we just follow this same street down to our hotel.]

[The building with the red highlights is us.]

[And now the views from our balcony . . . ]

[And a look down to . . . “Animal House”?]

[Our suite – Reetz gathers photographic evidence.]

[It’s actually an apartment building run like a hotel.  We had two bedrooms, Reetz got the view.]

[And now out for dinner . . . ]

[Recombining with the Gross contingent at a place where the map of the country is made out of beer cans.  Must be a really good place!]

[Reetz and her mural.]

[All enjoying the beverages of the facility.]

[The Super’s four bar scene shots . . . ]

[Then we came out to this . . . another mural of super fit kiwis!  Uffda!]

[Then we went for an after dinner stroll to check on all the port activities.  I would like to report I did not participate in the events displayed in the following photo!]

[Hi! This is my sister-in-law. Isn’t she cute? But like her sister, The Super, she has been known to trample little old ladies, small dogs, and children if they get between her and ice cream, custard, or gelato!]

[The walk from the port back to our hotel.]

[Where we enjoyed a fireworks display from our balcony.  I believe it was planned just for our arrival!]

The endangered Kiwi is aptly New Zealand’s icon. There is so much promise to lay a large egg but without the ability to get it off the ground.  ~  Grant McLachlan

Up Next:  Day 2 in Auckland.

January 28

Cruising the Bay of Plenty

[Gorgeous weather for an all-day cruise on the way to Auckland.  Actually, it should be called the White Island cruise.  We hung around here pretty much all day, which was great, doing 360’s in the big boat and circling the island to make sure we got photo ops from every possible angle.]

[Whakaari / White Island is an active andesite stratovolcano, situated 48 km (30 mi) from the east coast of North Island in the Bay of Plenty.   It is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatan and Taurnage.  White Island has been in a nearly continuous stage of smoking at least since it was ‘discovered’ by James Cook in 1769.  The island is roughly circular, about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter, and rises to a height of 321 m (1,053 ft) above sea level.  However this is only the peak of a much larger submarine mountain, which rises up to 1,600 m (5,249 ft) above the nearby seafloor. Sulfur mining was attempted but was abandoned in 1914 after a lahar killed all 10 workers. The main activities on the island now are guided tours and scientific research (Wikipedia)].

[So I hope you like photos of volcanoes?]

[Smaller boats cruised close in . . . ]

[Helicopters came and went . . . ]

[A white “sea” of Australasian gannets . . . ]

[A breeding colony of about 3,000 pairs.]

[A much smaller island – appears to be unihabited.]

[Islands in the Mist?]

[Visitors arriving at the volcano . . . ]

[I believe tourists as well as scientists make pilgrimages here . . . ]

[If not a plane or Superman, a gannet.]

[The vast emptiness of the open ocean . . . and the Super likes this?]

[A blue helicopter joins the fray . . . ]

[Now the area looks like a helipad.]

[I hope it doesn’t blow . . . ]

[We and the ship would be in deep doo-doo!!]

[Rock outcrop islands abound.]

[Probably not the same gannet.]

[There is much joy in Biddieville.]

[Rounding the far end . . . ]

[Time for cruise comforts – though The Biddies plot their next escapade.]

[Beautiful “Lake Darling” getting worldwide exposure.]

[Is that Kim Kardashian over there?]

[Say “kiwi”!]

[Did I mention it was a really, really nice day?]

[Let’s check out some other action shipboard . . . ]

[The Super goes for a wade – I went for a wine.]

[And the ship is swinging around again . . . ]

[And there’s our volcano . . . again.]

[Surely it must be time for a cold beverage?]

[Good idea!]

[Mmmmmmmmmm, refreshing!]

[Two hot babes and a hot volcano!]

[Could this be the last pass?]

[Yup, heading off again into the abyss.]

[Either good fishing or swimming here.]

[And then on to our luxury skybox with wingback chairs and beverage service.]

[Whoa!  A wildlfe sighting – then they were gone?]

[Back to the beverage service . . . ]

[Is this a James Cameron movie?]

[It just looks way cool!]

[Master of all she surveys . . . ]

[Hellloooooooo!]

[The Last Supper]

[The next morning we would be fending for ourselves in Auckland.]

[‘Nuff meat, Bill?]

[Looks like chicken, but not something I ordinarily order?]

[Finally we, and the sun, go to bed . . . ]

And once again the Super took enough photos (or her tablet took some all by itself) for her own section

[I’m going to submit this for display with the Nashville, Indiana, Historical Society.]

[And we’re going to submit this to the Indiana University Alumni Hall of Fame!]

[Really, it was this BIG!!]

[But I managed to reel her in!]

[Selfie!!]

[Has my head stopped shedding?]

[Did I mention it was this BIG?]

[And whom amongst us doesn’t love a good volcano?]

[Hoki mai!]

If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?  ~  Khalil Gibran

Up Next:  Two days in Auckland and then Homeward Bound (with homages to Paul Simon).

January 27

Rotorua

[Continuing the same day . . . ]

[Finally, the Maori experience . . . ]

[Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village]

[And it’s thermal, to boot!]

[Acknowledging famous women guides:  During the mid-19th century tourists began visiting the geothermal wonders in and around Rotorua.  As tourism developed in the area, guiding became a formalised profession for local Māori guides.  Several Maori guides became international personalities in their own right, guiding international visitors through geothermal attractions with humour, charm and navigating deftly between English and Maori languages and culture.  Today, a guiding tradition that began over 200 years ago remains strong thanks to the excellent work of guides (both past and present) of Whakarewarewa, The Living Māori Village  (“Meet the People The Famous Guides of Whakarewarewa, The Living Māori Village”).]

[Crossing the bridge into the village, kids dive for coins tossed to them by the tourists.  We were advised this was not mandatory – but how could you not?]

[I have no idea how deep the water is or if the kids recover all the coins.]

[A thermal hotspot]

[Camera-ready tourists . . . or waiting for a Sean Spicer press briefing?]

[Thermal “crockpot”?  Put your food in in the morning, ready to eat at night.]

[Might be a tad toasty for a bath.]

[Plenty o’ sulphur in the neighborhood.  Stinks a bit, too.]

[The crowd on the bridge readying for . . . ]

[A blast from “Ole Faithful”?]

[Yup, New Zealand’s version of Yellowstone.]

[And here are the thermal baths.  Our guide said she partakes in the evening . . . ]

[The coin divers come up from the river to warm up.  There’s a pocket gopher effect on their cheeks because it’s where they store their coins.]

[“No ba hing,” a Maori phrase?]

[Our enthusiastic guide, whose name I can’t remember.]

[Korotiotio means grumpy man and is the most volatile spring gushing super-heated water that explodes from the ground (YouTube).]

[A hot day exacerbated by hot water.]

[And this explains the next several pictures . . . ]

[And now it’s time for . . .  theater!]

[A tourist attempting the Maori “scare the enemy” expression . . . ]

[Attractive red hair . . . ]

[But this was the shot I was attempting to get.]

[And now the entire cast . . . ]

[Full of energy and fun!]

[Ooops, the red hair grabbed the autofocus again.]

[Here we go!]

[We were taught the chant and the dance on board ship – I could have handled it!]

[The Super just had to have this photo!]

[And the photographer with the Super’s tablet.  I saw her again not 5 minutes after the show already back “in town” in denim shorts and a tee shirt, just like teens everywhere.]

[Kathy and Bert join the apres show fun.]

[How many knew Bert (far right) is also a famous barbershop quartet guy?]

[And the Super’s favorite guy on guitar.]

[After the Maori village . . . ]

[To here, Government Gardens.]

[The Rotorua Museum, the old Bath House building, in the Gardens near Lake Rotorua.]

[Probably not Knute Nelson.]

[Bath houses and spas abound.]

[Looks like Mono Lake in California.]

[Another tree farm area.]

[Coming up to a kiwifruit farm.  The guide could not tell me what kind of trees these are, but what a great wind break they make.]

[And here we are.  The kiwi is not native to New Zealand, it’s a Chinese gooseberry.  Once again the blog attempts to educate and entertain.  “Attempts” being the key word here.]

[There are also golden (here) and red kiwifruits – have they made it to the U.S. yet?]

[Back to port but still with some time on our hands.]

[So, let’s go to town for a “cool” one . . . ]

[And, of course of most import, catching up on social media.]

[A music event with picnicking on the walk back . . . ]

[Or I think that’s what it was.]

[Back to the ship, and hoki mai (come back).]

[I think I remember him?]

[Reetz excited to finally see a kiwi . . . no, not the fruit.]

[Hoki mai, Tauranga.]

[And the sun sinks slowly in the west.]

[Yes, to the west, on both sides of the equator.]

And now for the Super’s take on the Maori village

[See how much of this you remember from the top half of the post.]

[Our guide enthralls the mass assemblage.]

[She was fun because she had fun.]

[Maybe one day she’ll make the guide hall of fame?]

[Diving for college!]

[Don’t you all wish you’d brought an umbrella?]

[The “crockpot”]

[Parekohuru means murderous ripples.]

[Nothin’ spells lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven.]

[Reetz enjoying the show.]

[Dual coverage]

[Cheeks full of money.]

[I never thought I’d be in a Maori village?]

[Let’s go to that cafe behind me!]

[I’m so happy I could just grin!]

[Ladies and gentlemen, it’s show time!]

[Cameras ready!  Begin!]

[They encourage photo and video taking – free advertising!]

[Our guide gives an explanation of why kiwis are grown this way.  Since we likely can’t grown them in Minnesota, I’ve forgotten.]

[As I recall, male plants are grown on one side, female plants on the other.  One male plant can pollinate 8 female plants, so it’s a polygamous arrangement.  However, my recollection could be wrong.]

[Woof, woof!]

Altogether too many sheep.  ~  George Bernard Shaw, regarding New Zealand

January 27

Tauranga (Rotorua)

[“Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island.  It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963. Tauranga City is the centre of the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of 134,400 (Wikpedia).]

[A loyal follower of the blog (yeah, I was surprised too) recently queried, “New Zealand is puzzling.  No hobbits, no kiwi, no natives in feathered costumes.  Always raining.  Could you hear chants of “Kong, King” from the interior?  The Beehive looked like you should have arrived on a Klingon warship.  Just kidding.”  Well, here we begin to put a dent in those issues, so much so this day will require at least two separate postings!]

[Though we keep traveling north (toward the Equator and thus allegedly warmer climes), we have left tropical island terrain in favor of . . . northern California?]

[Approaching our berthing area, as you can see on the map a bit north of Tauranga.]

[Reasonably attractive, if not more so?]

[Tug boats seem to be following us around.]

[I think we were initially to be tendered in but the ship did end up docking – I think we beat this following ship to the spot?]

[Showing off a 360?]

[We beat a Regent.  They are ulra-luxurious, thus we did not meet their passenger qualifications.]

[When you have a few thousand passengers, it’s like lading a major grocery store. I saw them move one pallet with nothing but cases of Heineken beer on it!]

[Greeted upon disembarking we were told we got off the wrong side of the ship . . . I think?  See, if you would have gotten off on the port side, it was just a 75-foot plunge into the water and a short swim to shore . . . ]

[Everybody down here seems incredibly fit . . . I hate them!]

[We have boarded our mini-tour bus (separate arrangements the Super or our travel agent make at these stops) for a tour of the area.  I believe our guide/driver told us something about these quite large evergreens along the side of the road.  The topographical mound ahead of us is Mount Maunganui.]

[He’s mic’ed to advise of things as we go along – like maybe about the cool looking waterfront condo or hotel ahead on the right.]

[Apparently a baby makes a daily trip down to enjoy the beach.]

[Surfers]

[We’re heading from Tauranga to Rotorua.  As I recall, this is (was) a military area from which the tree-topped hill was used as an observation post during WWII.  Of course, my recollections may be totally wrong but I could find nothing on this . . . ]

[Or this?]

[A stop along the way, Comvita, home of natural health in New Zealand.  We sampled many varieties of honey here.]

[As we approach Rotorua, we’re also approaching the area where the Hobbit movies were filmed.]

[Keep an eye out for Bilbo Baggins!]

[I believe we’ve mentioned the importance of the lumber industry to New Zealand and Australia.  They’re able to turnover trees about every 25 years for their Asian markets, mostly China.]

[Lakes and hills and trees and stuff . . . ]

[As the sign says . . . ]

[And here’s the turbine.]

[A short walk through the “jungle” to the falls overlook . . . ]

[OK, it’s not gigantic.]

[Our guide notes what to my eye is a fern.  I don’t know if this one was special or just that ferns are about the oldest plant life on the planet.]

[There was a handrail-less stairway down for a closer look at the falls. We heard it may be slippery . . . as a certified coward, I opted out.]

[A bee on a plant . . . ]

[A bee in flight.]

[And here’s six from the Super at the very same place . . . (well, actually this first one is at at the Redwoods TreeWalk in Whakawarewa Forest (did I mention northern California before?) – we did’t stop, just a drive through the parking lot)]

[Now Okere Falls again . . . ]

[With Tourist 1 . . . ]

[And Tourist 2, the hat guy . . . ]

[I’m reasonably sure this is a white flower.]

[Leaving the park (and back on my nickel), kayakers get ready . . . ]

[To plunge into the rapids below.]

[This appears to be the beginnings of Lake Rotorua . . . ]

[The lake . . . ]

[Almost there – gotta love the roundabouts.]

[How could I not?]

[And here we’ve stopped at the lake – and Reetz jumped into immediate action!  You can see from this (and following photos) that Lake Rotorua is quite large.  I was surprised our guide didn’t know how big?  So I just “searched” it as I’m writing this . . . almost 20,000 acres – for you in the Minnesota listening area that places it exactly between Lake Minnetonka, at about 15,000 acres, and Lake Kabetogema, at about 25,000 acres.  Now you have perspective!  The depth of Rotorua is only 30 feet, so it’s not a deep lake.]

[I don’t know if this is a ferry, or an entertainment boat?]

[Chopper flights are avalable . . . ]

[And so is lunch!]

[And a lovely setting for a nosh.]

[And from the Super . . . ]

[And there goes the Lakeland Queen.  Did I mention it was a beautiful day?]

[Swans of an ebony hue.]

[Our fine dining facility]

[Kathy and a moment of Zen]

[The swans also Zenning]

[A water craft]

[Reetz just missed the helocopter.]

[But there’s also a floatplane available]

[The signage noting it was the Lakeside Cafe, a fine, if obvious, choice of names.]

[Maybe John Lennon was here?  I’d like to solve the puzzle, Pat.]

[Two planes, a helicopter, and hundreds of ducks]

[How kids in New Zealand are disciplined . . . ]

[The dreaded “Kid in a Bubble.”]

[The Super checks on a rollerblader.]

[And shoots a photo op . . . ]

[And here are five more of her photo ops . . . ]

[Well framed, Ruthie!]

[And then time to move on . . . ]

New Zealand was colonized initially by those Australians who had the initiative to escape.  ~  Robert Muldoon

Up next:  The Maori village