November 11
Ounuwhao Harding House B & B
Russell
35°15′57″ S 174°7′41″ E

Catherine was up early again and enjoyed a walk along the waterfront boardwalk, spotting many unusual birds and a huge cruise ship anchored just off the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Good thing we did our tour there yesterday as tenders were ferrying cruise ship passengers there for the day!

We were sad to say goodbye to the beautiful BreakWater Motel but were looking forward to the next leg of our trip to Russell. We drove back to Opua and right on to the car ferry.

We got out of the car to enjoy the scenery and wondered why the locals stayed put inside their own cars. The ferry ride was less than 10 minutes so that was a pretty quick cruise for us!

It was a short drive to Russell in the pouring rain. We found a coffee shop on the waterfront and soon discovered that the cruise ship passengers were also in Russell for the day. After chatting with another customer in the coffee shop, we realized that the cruise ship was the Majestic Princess – the same one that we will be on in a few weeks!

Fortified by the cappuccinos and spending time warming up under the infra-red heaters in the coffee shop, we headed out onto the historic waterfront, lined with shops, restaurants and hotels.

Russell once had the infamous reputation as “the Hell Hole of the Pacific” so named by Charles Darwin who felt the place was full of the “very refuse of society” – sailors, whalers, traders, escaped convicts from Australia – all there for “rest and recreation” so you can imagine what that looked like.

The Christian missionaries were appalled and that prompted the British to set up police, courts and jails in the early 1800’s. Happily the only “Hell Hole” left in Russell today is a respectable little coffee shop on the main street.

We walked down to the Pompallier Mission to catch the noon tour to find the place closed for the day for private tours – you guessed it – the cruise ship passengers! Darn! Oh well, it will be open tomorrow.

We found a craft market open only for the day for – again – the cruise ship passengers and the general public so Catherine enjoyed supporting the local economy.

Beside the town hall was a small cenotaph surrounded by very wet chairs. We had just missed the Remembrance Day Service which had been relocated indoors due to the steady rain.

We paused for a few moments and I will leave my poppy there tomorrow – Cath’s has been lost somewhere between Vancouver and Auckland.

We continued our walk about town as the rain had decreased to a drizzle and came upon Christ Church – the oldest surviving church in New Zealand – built in 1835. Charles Darwin contributed financially to its construction.

The interior is very modest & simple but it had a welcoming feel about it.

Cath was particularly taken with the dozens of seat cushions that had been hand done in needlework with local images and motifs.

Exquisite work. We had seen similar cushions in Nantwich, England in 2016 at an Anglican church there.

We walked back to the waterfront and had a delicious seafood chowder at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, which has been “refreshing Rascals and Reprobates since 1827.” I wonder what category we fit into?

It was time to find our B&B – the Onouwhao Harding House which is facing a little bay, just on the edge of town.

We were greeted at the door by the owner Liz with a kind smile, a warm handshake and a pot of hot tea. Cath has died and gone to heaven. The is probably one of the nicest places we have ever stayed! More on that later! (Photo below – the view from our bedroom window).

We took advantage of having a good wifi signal & a warm, comfy dry place to sit & spent the balance of the afternoon catching with the blog!

After a glass of NZ red and some snacks, its off to bed.

Cheers!

November 10
Waitangi Treaty Grounds
35°15′55″ S 174°4′55″ E

We awoke to overcast skies and mid-teens temperature. We had bought some fruit and granola for breakfast – mandarin oranges from Australia and large golden kiwis from New Zealand – very tasty! After breakfast in our suite overlooking the Bay of Islands, we took a 5 minute drive back to Opua.

The tall ships from Tuia 250 were docked at Opua wharf and they were an impressive sight!

They included a 105 foot replica of James Cook’s ship Endeavour from Australia;

The Spirit of New Zealand – 138 foot three masted ship from Auckland;

Haunui Waka – a double hulled Maori canoe from Auckland

and the 85 foot schooner R. Tucker Thompson from Opua.

We walked down to the end of the wharf to R. Tucker Thompson first and were greeted by a young woman from Victoria, British Columbia who has sailed extensively on the ship. It is a tourist boat in the winter and a youth sailing experience boat the rest of the year.

It wasn’t possible to get on the Maori waka and there was a big line-up at Spirit of New Zealand so we lined up to get aboard the Endeavour.

The replica was launched in 1993 and is constructed using traditional shipbuilding materials and methods where possible. The ship is just over 105 feet long with 28 sails on three masts and over 17km of rigging!

Under sail she has achieved 10 knots but averages only 4 knots so Santosha could outrun her if need be! Captain Cook would have been impressed!

It was a short visit but gave us plenty to think about – 90 men confined to a ship this size for months on end, with only the sun & stars in the sky to navigate by.

We couldn’t leave the harbour without a stroll by the 250 berth Opua Marina. Opua is the first port for overseas yachts arriving in New Zealand after crossing the Pacific so there were some magnificent boats, mostly sailboats, lots of catamarans, the stuff of dreams or winning the lottery!

After a full morning, we drove back to Paihia for a little rest and to get ready for the afternoon.

Catherine had pre-purchased tickets to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds for a guided tour, a cultural show and traditional hangi or dinner with another show in the evening. We were only 2 kms away from the historic site so it was an easy drive.

Waitangi is considered to be the birthplace of the country where the Maori chiefs and the British signed the first treaty that was supposed to protect the Maori and the resources of the country. But it didn’t turn out that way as there was a Maori version of the treaty and a British version and you can guess which version came out on top.

Here’s a link to the Waitangi website: https://www.waitangi.org.nz/

Check out the size of this Norfolk pine on the Treaty Grounds. Can you spot Catherine?

As with our own country, it’s a complicated relationship. There is much more credence given to Maori interpretation of history these days. The Maori have had a resurgence of their culture with the Maori language being declared an official language of New Zealand.

We were so impressed with the museum, the guided walk which included a stop at the 80 man waka (war canoe).

Check out the face carving on the bow of the boat (below).

We finished our tour at the carved meeting house for a cultural show with singing, dancing and traditional martial arts.

After the guided tour we went back to the museum again while we were waiting for the evening event – a Maori cultural show followed by a buffet dinner.

Our group was escorted to the cultural performance by a Maori guide. While we were walking through the jungle to the performance center we were met by 3 Maori warriors who first challenged the leaders of our group & then invited us to their meeting place. It was a very moving encounter.

It gave us a greater appreciation of what the first Europeans must have experienced.

The performers in the show were also amazing.

The dinner was delicious. Lamb & pork & chicken cooked in an earth oven & root vegetables.

This was a full day, so we would sleep well tonight!

Cheers!

Auckland Airport
37°0′17″ S 174°46′58″ E

We were up early to take the shuttle back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Catherine came prepared with some high tech apparel to help her manage her anxiety while I was driving on the “wrong” side of the road & she had no steering wheel.

This new kit limited her vision & allowed her to hyperventilate in comfort & without embarrassment.

With all equipment in place & our destination programmed into the GPS we headed off confidently & promptly took a wrong turn coming out of the car rental parking lot. Not a great start – we were on a dead end road that was off limits to the general public but were able to turn around & make our escape without any further stress.

Thankfully the rest of the 3 1/2 hour drive to Paihia went off without incident. Although once we were out of the greater Auckland area the route was over very hilly & winding roads.

We arrived in Paihia around 1:00 & were very pleased to see the beautiful setting that our motel (BreakWater Motel) was in. We had a really clean & comfortable housekeeping unit with a great view of the bay.

We had a brief rest & then went for a walk along the harbourfront commercial area. Shortly after we got back to our room we were lucky enough to spot the Fa’afaite, a Maori double-hulled sailing canoe pass through the harbour.

This boat was sailed from Tahiti by a Maori woman & crew with no modern navigation aids as part of the Tuia 250 Celebrations. It has joined a flotilla of tall ships that are currently circumnavigating New Zealand.

You can read more about Tuia 250 by following this link to the official website: https://mch.govt.nz/tuia250

We hope to catch up with the tall ships tomorrow.

Cheers!

33°53′23″ S  151°16′31″ E
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

We were up at 5:00 am to see the sun come up and to catch the airport shuttle at 6:00. We had plenty of time to make our flight and had a light breakfast after checking in and going through security.

The Sydney airport is massive and full of luxury shops – Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Versace – all of our favourite shopping spots (!) but also nice lounge areas with water features. It’s also a “quiet” airport so the only announcements are at the gates. All other public service and flight information is on the monitors so it is much quieter than most other airports we have been in.

It was a pleasant 2 hour flight on Air New Zealand. There is a 2 hour time difference between Australia & New Zealand so we left at 10:00 and got in at 2:00. We even had a tasty hot meal (instead of having to buy a crummy sandwich) and they changed our seats for free. Plus we had one free bag each to check, which arrived when we did! Air Canada, are you paying attention?

Going through New Zealand Customs & Immigration was very easy & efficient – very similar to our experience coming into Australia.

We stayed at a motel close to the airport. Good thing we had booked ahead as U2 was playing a huge concert in Auckland that night and a lot of hotels in the city were sold out. No concert for us, just dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant and bed. A big day tomorrow as we start the next phase of our adventure down under & we pick up the rental car.

Catherine is really looking forward to me driving on the opposite side of the road in a place we’ve never been before!

Hang on!

Today we were on a mission to explore the Bondi Beach & Bondi Junction areas with a few specific goals/stops in mind.

Catherine was up an hour before me & went for a walk on the beach at sunrise.

She was astonished by how many people were out at 6:00 am running, swimming, surfing, biking, yoga & pretty much all other forms of exercise. Of course the surroundings were pretty inspiring.

We started our adventure with another great breakfast at “Le Paris Go” cafe & then began our climb to Bondi Junction. While our walk was not nearly as challenging as our hike in Nepal we were very surprised to find how steep & hilly this part of Sydney really is.

It took us about an hour to reach the main commercial area – with a jumbo shopping mall, outdoor markets & apartment towers adjacent to quiet residential streets. These areas reminded us a lot of Vancouver.

Despite the 30 C weather the stores were all decked out in full Christmas marketing mode.

After resting & people watching for a while we continued on our mission to find the Bondi Junction Vet Hospital which was just a couple of blocks away from the main commercial area.

Catherine was really hoping to meet Dr. Chris Brown, the Bondi Vet from the tv show so she was constantly on the lookout for a stray kitten or an injured bird that she could take into the clinic. Alas, no luck there.

We found the clinic & contemplated going in but finally thought better of it & continued on our trek.

Next on our list was to explore Sydney’s Centennial Park. In typical Aussie fashion, this park is huge. Lots of open space for people to wander & picnic in & beautiful ornamental gardens.

We found a really nice cafe in the park & took a refreshment break before continuing on to our next destination – the Waverly Cemetery.

On our way out of the park we walked through a natural wooded area that hosted hundreds of fruit bats hanging upside down & sleeping high in the trees. Just like the park they were in, these bats are huge – each one easily the size of a cat. Even though these bats are no threat to people (they are vegetarians) we didn’t linger too long in this area.

Check out this website to find out more about the bats. They are fascinating: http://sydneybats.org.au/flying-foxes/

Waverly Cemetery is an historic site overlooking the ocean. We walked through the cemetery for a short while & saw many gravestones dated into the early 1800’s. There’s even a smartphone app that you can use to find out if you have any ancestors buried there.

We made our way down from the cemetery over to Bronte Beach.

From there it was a short walk to Tamarama Beach where we were close to the day before while checking out the Sculptures by the Sea Exhibition.

By the time we got back to Bondi Beach, the place was hopping with at least 10 times more people than we saw on our first day. We had walked almost 20 kilometers & were so tired that we bought some snacks and ate them on the balcony while watching the crowds on the street below & on the beach. The bowls of Honey Macadamia Nut ice cream completed the day.

Cheers!