Tasmania Day One

After a 3 hour flight from Auckland to Melbourne, a 4 hour layover and then a 55 minute flight to Hobart, we arrived in Tasmania about 9 p.m. on Saturday. Fortunately Hobart is not huge or hard to get around, so after we collected our rental car, we made it to our cottage within the hour. Our accommodation is quite nice though not exactly what we expected. We’re basically just outside of town in a neighborhood overlooking the harbour and the city and our cottage is right next to the owner’s home. Suffice it to say, though, it has everything we need and since they also market themselves as a B&B, it was well stocked with a fresh loaf of local bread, cereal, yogurt, cereal and other necessary extras. The instructions from them explained that if we were arriving late the door to the cottage would be open and the keys inside, which is exactly how it turned out, but I have to say, it’s kind of weird staying so close to the owners of the place and not actually meeting them……oh well……

Our first full day we drove down to the harbour area of Hobart and walked around a bit to get the lay of the city. Hobart is Australia’s second oldest city and is ideally situated on a harbour that is ringed by petty hills and Mt. Wellington. One of our must do’s while we were here was to actually see a Tasmanian Devil so we had researched a bit and found a wildlife park called Bonorang Animal Park about 25 minutes out of town where they had Devils as well as other Australian animals. So, after our walk around the harbour area and a light lunch, we hopped back in the car and headed out towards Brighton, where the wildlife park is. The weather really cooperated for the most part and even though it was pretty chilly, at least the sun has been out.

Arriving at the wildlife park, we found out the next guided tour was at 2 p.m. and since we had about 45 minutes until then, we were each given a bag of treats to feed the friendly mob of kangaroos they had in the back field (yes, that’s what you call a group of kangaroos!). So off we went and, indeed, there were about 30-40 kangaroos relaxing in a field in the back of the compound. Now, we had fed kangaroos the last time we came to Australia in 2006, but it was still quite a site to see them start bounding towards us as we reached into our bags. I’m sure as many of you know, there are a variety of types of kangaroos, from very small tree wallabies to the huge red kangaroos you find in the Australian outback. These fellas were in the “medium’ range, standing about 4 feet tall and very sweet and friendly. We would hold our a handful of feed and they would very gently take it from our hands without any kind of nipping or jostling. And it was just as fun as the last time we did it!!

The tour was equally enjoyable. Our tour guide started with a wombat, which had been orphaned as a baby when his mother was hit by a car. Now, this was a real treat for me as I had always wanted to see a wombat and did not expect that we would get to see one on this trip. If you’re not familiar with what a wombat looks like, you should check them out - they are COMPLETELY adorable! They’re the largest burrowing marsupial, and they basically look like a big, fat ball of fur. Apparently, road kill is a big problem on Tasmanian highways, and what happened to his mother is not an uncommon story. He was still in her pouch when he was found, and according to what the guide said, a baby in the pouch can actually live on for a few days after their mother has been killed. Well, this little guy was about 12 months old and so darn cute - he was chasing the guide around, nipping at his heels and then he would just pick him up and snuggle him in his arms while he talked about him……too cute!! Interestingly, wombats have a layer of hard cartilage on their butts which protects them from predators. If a dog or whatever chases them into a burrow they tuck their bodies into a ball so that just their backside is exposed and it becomes much harder for the predator to bite through this tough layer.

We then moved on to see the star of the park, the Tasmanian Devils. Cute little devils they are with some very unique features. Their young are born after only 21 days gestation and are about the size of a grain of rice when they come out. They have the largest litters of any marsupial, with the mother having as many as 20-25 babies. Since she only has four nipples in her pouch, however, a lot of the young simply don’t make it beyond the 21 days. The devils are about the size of a house cat (think Seamus, Jeannie & Deb) or a small dog and all of them look the same because they‘re genetically identical, with mostly black hair and a few white marks on their backside. They are also carnivores, and often eat road kill, which is one of the reasons they’re endangered because they will wander onto the highway to have a nibble at something and get hit by a car. In addition, there is a contagious skin cancer among the wild population here that has also significantly reduced their numbers.

Finally, the guide brought out one of the two koala bears they have at the park, but explained that these two guys were donated to the park as they don’t naturally occur on Tasmania and are only found on the mainland of Australia in either the tropical north and in South Australia. Also really cute buggers and just as fun to be around as the last time we were in Australia.

We finished up at the wildlife park about 4 p.m. and realized we still had time to visit one of the newest big attractions in Hobart, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). This place just opened in January of this year and was, for both of us, one of the absolute coolest and most interesting museums we’d been to. In addition to the museum they have a restaurant and winery on the property as well as overnight accommodations. The exhibits were all really modern, some very wild, and altogether totally cool. If you want to learn more about it, click here. Nuff said…….

New Zealand Photo Album

Hey Folks,

Below is a photo album of some of our favorite New Zealand pictures.......so hard to decide!

Enjoy!

Back in Auckland

We spent the last two nights with the campervan in an absolutely beautiful place called Orewa Beach, which is just 30 minutes or so north of Auckland. The holiday park was right on the beach and the beachcombing was awesome - we found some really amazing shells! The best part of being there, though, was meeting Maerushia & Ralph.......this is a great story........

Jim and I decided to go for a walk along the beach that cut back around the estuary and back into town (according to the map). Well, it was a gorgeous walk and the path ran awhile behind people's houses that backed up to the estuary. At one point, we noticed the cutest little dog sitting in the middle of the pathway ahead of us. When we got up to her, another dog joined her and they were both really friendly and as we petted her, a window opened at the house where she lived and a really friendly woman asked us which one we wanted (joking, of course!). So we chatted with her and her husband for a bit and they asked where we were from, etc., and wished us well on the rest of our trip. We continued on our way but at some point, the pathway wound into a newly built subdivision and as it was getting dark, we noticed that we were no longer on the pathway but on a regular sidewalk and even the streetlights weren't even on. There had been another couple walking behind us, so we pulled out our map and asked them if they knew whether or not the path wound back into town, but they had no idea - and they were locals! So, we decided to just turn around and head back the way we came. Well, as we walked past the house with the dogs again, the owners stepped outside on the deck again and we ended up chatting some more. Turns out their names were Maerushia and Ralph and they asked if we'd like them to show us around Auckland that night - can you believe it?! Well, we couldn't pass up an offer like that, so we decided to meet up in about a half hour or so, which gave us just enough time to rush back to the campervan and get changed.

These two wonderful people turned out to be the friendliest hosts we could have asked for! Ralph is a doctor at one of the hospitals in town and Maerushia is a clinical psychologist. They ended up driving us around to see the main sights of Auckland and then we went to a favorite spot of theirs for some delicious hot chocolate. As if that wasn't enough, they also wanted to show us their sailboat, which they keep anchored in a lovely marina in the shadow of downtown Auckland. So, we picked up some light snacks and drove to the marina where we spent a couple of hours on their gorgeous 43 foot sailboat. On the way back to Orewa, they asked if we would be interested in having dinner on the boat the next night - their generosity was just too much!

Of course, we agreed, so after dropping off the campervan this afternoon, they picked us up at the hotel tonight around 5 p.m. and off we went. Maerushia had prepared a wonderful spread of tasty appetizers and then for dinner, we had some delicious pasta with homemade sauce. We had picked up some nice wine as a thank you for being such generous hosts so we had that to enjoy as well. On top of all that, we had a terrific cruise around Auckland Harbour, under the bridge and along the downtown waterfront. Ralph even pointed out the Southern Cross in the sky, which was so cool since, of course, we had never seen that constellation living in the northern hemisphere. As an added bonus, they had brought their pet rabbit, Humphrey, onto the boat with us and he was so adorable! He's a small, fawn colored lop eared bunny and just as sweet as can be.........well, towards me, anyway......he ended up nipping Maerushia a couple of times! They really couldn't have been nicer and our chance encounter with them is the perfect example of the serendipitous experiences that are the best part of traveling for us. You make these wonderful connections with people and end up making great friends. We told them we would definitely be returning to New Zealand in the future and would definitely stay in touch and also encouraged them to think about visiting us in Seattle so we could have the opportunity to host them as well. Ahhhhh........life really is good, isn't it?????

In the Land of Rainbows and Giants

The sun was streaming in the campevan windows when we woke up, so we knew it was bound to be a good day and as we stepped outside, we were greeted by a perfect rainbow as well……it was bound to be a good day! After breakfast and showering, we were on our way to the Waipoua Forest to see the Kauri trees. The rain from last night had mostly blown away with just some light mist falling through the bright morning sun, and as we rounded a bend in the hilly, verdant countryside of the North Island, we came face to face with one of the most beautiful sites either one of us could recall. A second rainbow of the day arched over this absolutely stunning green valley with the Tasman Sea in the distance……WOW!!! As you can see, we quickly stopped to snap some pictures and it is truly a moment neither one of us will never forget.

We made it to the Waipoua Forest and learned a little more about the famous Kauri trees of the area at the visitor center. These ancient trees are all that’s left of forests that used to cover New Zealand before the arrival of man on these shores. Turns out, Kauri trees grow VERY slowly and the woman at the visitor center explained that even a tree that is thirty years old would only be up to your hip……pretty interesting. Consequently, most of the Kauri trees that are seen in the forest are young by Kauri standards - probably hundreds to maybe a thousand years old but there are just a handful of the oldest trees that are a must see due to their age and size. I hadn’t researched what a Kauri tree actually looks like and for some reason I was expecting something that looked more like the evergreen trees we see in the Northwest, but these trees look more like deciduous trees (although the woman at the visitor center didn’t think they ever lose their leaves), with very straight, sold trunks that reach quite a height before branching out. They sort of reminded me of the Bilbao trees that are found in Madagascar or, more comically, a grander version of the Keebler Elf tree. Anyway, we walked down a few different trails to see the main trees, which were The Four Sisters (an impressive stand of four ancient trees growing very close together), Te Matua Ngahere (Maori for “Father of the Forest“) and Tane Mahuta (Moari for “Lord of the Forest“). The trails were wooden walkways raised up off the forest floor, which is done to prevent people from walking on and damaging the very shallow feeding roots of the Kauri trees. To say these massive trees are impressive when you walk up to them would certainly be the understatement of the day. They‘re huge!!! Tane Mahute is estimated to be 2000 years old, the trunk height 17.7 meters, total height 51.5 meters, trunk girth 13.8 meters, trunk volume 244.5 meters. Maybe it was the fact that there was no one else around and we were surrounded by nothing more than the sounds of the forest, but to sit in the presence of such a massive, ancient living thing is humbling beyond words……it really does provide perspective on where we, as humans, stand in the natural world.

Having gotten our fill of these grand trees - although I don’t know if that’s even possible since I could have stayed there all day - we headed south towards Auckland. Since we weren’t overly impressed with the “emergency” holiday park we stayed at last night, we decided to find one closer to Auckland for our last two nights with the campervan. We remembered passing through a very picturesque town on the way up to the Waipoua Forest called Orewa Beach, so we checked and sure enough, there was a holiday park perfectly situated on the beach in the middle of town, so we decided to head down that way.

Once we got here, we were so glad we picked this spot! It’s literally right on the beach, yet still in the middle of town so it’s easy to walk to all kinds of shops and restaurants. It was pretty windy when we arrived and as we walked out to the beach, we saw a number of guys kite surfing on the waves and going pretty darn fast. Looks like fun!! Hmmm……maybe another hobby to look into down the road. Anyway, we’re here until we turn the campervan back in the 4th so we’ll see what else there is to report about this place tomorrow……

Baylys Beach

We got an early start this morning and headed out of The Coromandel about 8:30. The wind howled all night and in listening to the weather report, it sounded like the tail end of a tropical depression was brushing the area. So probably a good time to get away from that part of the coast! Fortunately, since we were headed up the Northland area of the North Island, we didn’t have to drive back through all of the twisty, windy roads we took up to The Coromandel, but were able to cut across, once we got far enough south, to the main highway that runs up through to Auckland and on to the Northland. The drive up was fine, though pretty windy at times. We stopped at a tourist information center just south of Auckland to inquire about the weather conditions further north and the woman was nice enough to call up to another information center in that area to see what they knew. She reported that everything was fine as far as they knew and no roads were closed. So, after filling up and having a quick bite, were back on the road. We got within about 60 km of our holiday park when we came upon a roadblock……yikes! The road maintenance guy explained that a power line was down and the road was closed until further notice and he proceeded to give us some very convoluted directions on how to bypass the road to get where we were going. Geez!!!! We decided we needed a plan B and after looking at our holiday park book, found one just outside of the town of Dargaville, which we had just passed. In looking at the map, it looked like it wouldn’t be that much further to get to the Kauri Forest from there than the original park, so we turned around and headed that direction. The place is pretty nice and not very crowded since it is Sunday night, so that’s good. After parking and plugging in, we took a walk to the beach, which to be honest, was not nearly as impressive as the last beach we were on. This particular beach is a very wide, flat sandy beach on the west side of the island that people can drive on if they want to. Kind of reminded us of Long Beach on the Washington coast, for our Seattle friends. In addition, it was pretty darn windy and the sand was blowing in our eyes at times which wasn’t so fun, but despite all that, we were still able to get a nice long walk in and collect some pretty cool looking shells. So, we’re tucked in for the night and planning on heading to see the famous Kauri trees tomorrow……

The Coromandel

The area where we’ve been the last two days is called The Coromandel, which is a peninsula on the east coast of the North Island. I have to say, I’m so glad we decided to stay here two nights so we’d have more time to explore because it really is stunning scenery. From the holiday park, we walked a trail to Cathedral Cove, which is about an hour and a half hike (or as the Kiwis call it, a ‘tramp”). The weather was perfect yet again, with sunny skies and temps in the upper 60’s to around 70, so we couldn’t have ordered better. The hike takes you up around an outcropping, through dense forest of evergreens and tree ferns. The whole time we were on the trail, you could hear the roar of the waves below on the beach and when you go to the top of the trail, the views were truly breathtaking. We were able to look down on the beach where our campervan was parked, all across the bay and the numerous islands that dot it around to the north where Cathedral Cove lay. When we finally got to Cathedral Cove, it was a bit of a letdown only in the fact they have the area underneath the stone arch blocked off due to the risk of falling rocks, so you don’t actually get to stand under the arch, but it’s still a pretty cool geological phenomena.

Once back at the campervan, we were got to know our neighbors next door over a glass of wine, Lynn and Barry, and Lynn’s sister Robin. They are all from the Auckland area and just delightful to hang out with. They were here for a wedding that was taking place down on the beach not too far from the holiday park. We ended up exchanging information with them and plan on ringing them up when we get back to Auckland and go out to dinner. That’s probably the best part of travel - meeting nice people and making those fun connections that really make travel memorable.

Well, because we stayed her two nights instead of one, we had to revise the rest of our itinerary and expectations (probably more me than Jim since I’m that one that likes to go, go, go!) and instead of trying to make it all the way to the very tip of the North Island and a couple of other places in the three days we have left with the campervan, we’re going to go straight over to the West Coast and stay in one place for those days. We found a holiday park near the famous Kauri Forest, which apparently are some of the oldest trees in New Zealand, with fossilized specimens dating back millions of years. So it will be nice to just be in one place and soak up some more nature before we head back to the city on the 4th.

Sounds like the wind is picking up - we can really hear the wind and waves tonight……should be nice to fall asleep to!

Rotorua to Hahei Beach

We left Rotorua for the Hahei Beach, in the Coromandel region of the North Island. We talked with the camp mangers at the Cozy Cottage Holiday Park in Rotorua and they recommended a holiday park right on the beach which was managed by a friend of theirs. So off we went on what we expected to be no more than a 3 hour drive. Well, even though it wasn’t that many kilometers, the road up to the Coromandel is quite twisty and curvy and because we had to go so much slower, we didn’t get to the holiday park until about 3:30. The terrain - I’m sure you’re going to get sick of hearing me say this! - was really gorgeous, with rolling hills that were so green, I really can’t describe the color……it was like the hills were covered with bright green velvet. Portions of the road also wound through a mountainous area filled tree ferns and evergreens. Another plant we’ve seen a LOT of all through New Zealand that is plentiful up here as well is the New Zealand Flax. It grows in large clumps and is found literally everywhere on both islands. After first seeing it, I remembered when we were in Boise I went to the nursery and bought a New Zealand Flax plant for the yard, and now I can see why - they’re so plentiful, they can easily be exported! Besides the flax, there is also lots and lots of pampas grass growing everywhere, which adds a really nice contrast to the green hills with their white plumes.

Like I said, after all the twisting and turning, we finally made it here and were able to score a beachfront site, so from the back of our campervan, we can actually see the waves rolling on the beach. There’s a path behind us that we can take down to the beach, so as soon as we got the campervan hooked up to the electricity, we locked up and went for a stroll along the beach. There are numerous outcroppings in the ocean, so it makes for pretty dramatic scenery with the waves crashing against the rocks. This area is famous for Cathedral Rock, which is a natural stone arch on a white sand beach. According to the information from the holiday park, it’s just an hour and a half walk down the beach, so we’ll plan on doing that tomorrow. It’s supposed to be a great area for kayaking, so maybe we’ll be able to rent a couple of kayaks and explore.

The other big attraction in this area is called Hot Water Beach. It’s just south of us and from what I understand there are thermal springs that well up under the beach, so for two hours on either side of low tide, you can take a spade to the beach and dig your own hot tub - how fun does that sound??!! We’ll try to fit that in tomorrow afternoon.

Well, that’s it for now…..Patsy Cline is playing and she’s starting to make us a little drowsy…….Buenos Noches to all…….