Taranaki - Part Deux

This is a picture overlooking Back Beach right in New Plymouth. This is where Scott went surfing.




We did a short hike along the White Cliffs walkway near Urenui, just east of New Plymouth. The first part of the loop was over private farmland, which was really interesting because we had to walk through the field where the farmer was out baling hay. I had never seen the machine that makes those giant rolled bales of hay in action. The farmer would be driving his tractor, pulling a hay baler along, and when the baler was full he would stop and the machine would pop a hay bale out the back. This is the view from the top of the farm, looking back over the field we walked through.















Maribeth using one of the stiles along the White cliff walkway.




















This is Scott on a bridge halfway through the hike.




















The second half of the loop was along the beach. This is a picture of the high cliffs and black sand beach on the walk back.




















Overall it was a great trip, Scott is already planning our next visit. Hopefully we'll get better surf next time though. This weekend we're off to the Coromandel, at the north end of the North Island. We'll be on the road for about ten days, so look for some more photos in a couple of weeks!

Taranki, part 1

Rather than sit around windy Wellington on boxing day, we decided to make a run for the Taranaki area. It was a long 5 hour drive, but definitely worth it. The weather was so much warmer and the winds were far tamer. This spot is without a doubt a great place to pass a few days (or many days). This is the iconic Mt Taranaki, located smack in the middle of an oversized peninsula.

The waves in the area are legendary, and arguably the most consistent and best in all of NZ. Unfortunately, we were unlucky and the swell kind of died when we arrived. There was enough left over to catch a few small ripples. Here I am groveling in some Great Lakes sized surf.















Golf anybody? After you sink your triple bogey putt, you can chase the sheep to blow off a little steam. I think the Kiwis have things figured out.













Here is a picture representative of the rugged Taranaki coastline.















We're tired from all the driving so that's all for today. We'll try to post some more photos from the rest of the trip in the next day or two.

Christmas in NZ

It's Christmas day in NZ! We decided to get a tree the other day because we weren't feeling much holiday spirit. It's a bit of a Charlie Brown tree but it brightens up the living room. Radiata pine is the standard Christmas tree here, no firs.















We went to the beach this morning and took some photos of the pohutukawa trees. They're known as New Zealand Christmas trees because they always bloom this time of year. They are beautiful trees and the hillsides turn red when they're in bloom. Very festive!















Jason made us eggs Benedict for breakfast and we drank mimosas this morning. Scott got to surf this afternoon and now we're baking a ham for dinner. Overall it's been a very nice Christmas. We miss you all though!

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

We visited the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary over the weekend. It's a preserve just outside the city of Wellington, mostly for birds but they also have habitat for tuatara (ancient lizards) and weta (giant bugs).




















Maribeth at the gate headed beyond the fence into the Karori bird sanctuary. The fenced boundary gave it a Jurassic Park feel.

The fence really isn't this tall throughout the park but it is effective at keeping certain predators out of the park. It is tall enough to keep the possum from leaping over and has an over hanging top hat to keep animals from climbing over. The fence is also tight meshed to keep smaller animals from squeezing through.

Here is the fence from afar.




















This is the Kaka. I believe this bird was virtually extinct from the main islands of NZ, but has made a small comeback due to the formation of this reserve.




















This is the Tui. This bird probably has the most interesting and varied bird song. It is known to mimic other birds and other animals as well. The populations of the Tui in the Wellington area have increased substantially since the completion of this sanctuary.

Castlepoint and other highlights

We had a beautiful sunset in Wellington the other day. This is the view from our deck.

















We went to the Wellington Botanic Garden last weekend. The garden is a mix of formal gardens and native bush with lots of trails throughout.

This waterfall and plaque are part of the Peace Garden. The little pagoda houses a flame from the fire created by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The flame was given to New Zealand by Japan in recognition of NZ's efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

This weekend, we drove out to Castlepoint, on the east coast of NZ. The rock reef and headland form a small lagoon and protected beach. We decided to try out sleeping in the back of the station wagon Saturday night. It seems to work pretty well, so we may not get a tent while we're here.















We decided to go exploring from Castlepoint, so we drove north along the coast on the only other road in the area. Most of it was unsealed (gravel) but it was a beautiful drive and there were quite a few deserted beaches. Lots of nooks and crannies. There isn't much development on that portion of the coast, mostly oceanfront sheep farms and forests (which is quite nice).

























The surf wasn't that great on Sunday morning, but there were a few waves coming through. The water was cold but Scott went in anyway. There is a trail along the top of ridge around the lagoon and out to the top of the headland, so we went for a walk on Sunday before heading back towards Wellington.