Dolphins and drinking

No wireless at the little b&b, so these posts won't be going up until we get back to Auckland airport probably. I'm on blog duty again because Ian is in charge of driving. So, yesterday was our dolphin day. We woke up early to catch the 9am cruise with Dolphin Discoveries.




It was a beautiful day with really calm seas. The Bay of Islands reminded me a lot of the Thailand islands - so picturesque!




And within 15 minutes of leaving port -- DOLPHINS!!




They came right up to the boat - probably 10-15 in all. There was a calf with them, so sadly no swimming today. The juvenile dolphins feed with their mothers once every 3 minutes, and if they miss even one or two of those, they could die of hypothermia, so the Department of Conservation is very strict about not letting tourists disrupt their feeding.




Someone's about to blow...




Post-spray. :)




We chose not to go with the Fullers boat - they saw the dolphins too, but we couldn't help thinking that they looked like packed sardines. Dolphin Discoveries was definitely the superior outfit.




Ian got a nice shot of some birds catching the sea breezes.




After we left the dolphins, we visited some seals sunning themselves on a nearby island. So cute!










After the seal visit, we sped off towards The Hole in the Rock, not exactly the most creative of names:




Here's our tourist shot to prove we actually went and didn't just paste a bunch of stock pictures here.




The seas were really calm, so the captain was able to take us right through the hole.




There's the Fullers boat again following in our wake.




We stopped at Urupukapuka Island on the way back - got to do a short hike up the hills to get some panoramic views. Check out all the little islands:




Really love the big trees in NZ. (that's Ian down there)




Some attempts at artistry for me:




That's our boat out there in the harbor.




Some nice beaches - wish the weather were just a little warmer! (high in the low-mid 60s).




See the sailboat?




And with that, it was time to head back to Paihia. Definite trip highlight thus far.




Finding ourselves with a few hours to kill before dinnertime, we head out to Kerikeri and the vineyards of Northland.




Also couldn't pass up the chocolate factory! :)







Final stop was at the Fat Pig Vineyard:




Where we got to chat up Jenny Craig, the resident chubby porker.








She got a little feisty. Apparently she could smell the leftover chocolate aromas on me.




The wine was pretty good - and the owner, Bruce, gave us a great dinner recommendation. Free corkage!




Great day - we lasted until 10 pm this time. Daylight savings time coming up on Saturday -- lucky us, we get to spring forward again for 2011.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bay of Islands, New Zealand

West Coast drive

Our goal today is to drive up the western coast of the North Island and eventually end up at Paihia in the Bay of Islands, so after a quick breakfast, we're off across the Auckland harbor bridge.



Our first stop is Karekare, which is the famous black sand beach where they filmed the opening scene of The Piano. Or at least, that's what all the guidebooks say...neither of us have seen that movie. To get to the beach, first we take a short hike - or, as they say, "tramp" through the woods. There were some pretty cool trees on that hike.




Huge and very twisty. Gnarly. :)




Soon though, we made it to the main attraction:




Don't let the serenity of the picture fool you - it was literally a sandstorm. Check out how quickly my footsteps were disappearing from being blown away -- and this is WET sand!




Makes for some neat shots though.




Some creatures are perhaps better equipped to handle whirling sand - this guy seemed pretty content with his current situation.




Another landscape-in-motion shot.





The waves were massive, and they left this sea-foamy stuff on the shores that would then gradually blow away as gusts of wind whipped by.




It was a nifty scene, but we had to get going - long 4 hour drive still ahead today - so back through the woods. Ian thought I looked funny dodging the mud.




There were a bunch of other tramps in the area - some particularly pretty ones up the mountain even - but no time for that today!




I had to change my shoes before continuing with the day. Note to self: "breathable" running shoes are not so appropriate for visiting windy, black-sand beaches.




Here's a shot of the New Zealand landscape halfway up the drive - these sheep fences were a constant presence.




Ian describes the country as a cross between California and Malaysia in terms of the greenness.




Shortly before sunset, we finally make it to out second and last destination of the day: Waipoua Forest and the giant kaori trees. Unfortunately, the lighting was getting pretty low so these shots aren't great. On the upside, the forest was pretty much deserted so we got some great bird songs going on. Here's the "Four Sisters" - four kaori trees that eventually started to share the same root system.




And here's the star attraction - Te Matua Ngahere. He's the oldest Kaori tree in the country: "Father of the Forest" in Maori. Actual age unknown, but estimated between 2000 and 3000 years, with some even placing him at 4000+ years old! He's also the second tallest kaori and the one with the thickest trunk.




You get a sense of the size with me there - and keep in mind that the tree is actually a good 10-20 meters away still from the viewing platform.




And after that, night fell. We drove over to our bed & breakfast in Paihia and were asleep by 9:30.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:North Island, New Zealand

City of Sails

View from our balcony. Very windy today, but hopefully that's also due to our proximity to the harbor.

Location:Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand

Battle against sleepiness - round 1

Travel tip - if you want to quickly clear New Zealand customs, all you have to do is chat up the agents about rugby. It helps if you are clueless about all aspects of the sport so they can chuckle at you. Go Eagles, I guess! (the customs agent looked up the US team for us since we were so clueless, I guessed the Grizzly Bears). Everyone finds it hilarious that we've never been to a rugby match and yet have come all the way here to attend the world cup. Eh, we are just THAT patriotic.

So we landed, got our rental, and took off for the hotel armed with a dying phone for GPS directions, a car that randomly whistles - sparking fears that a wheel is about to fall off - and Ian's constant tendency to turn on the windshield wipers whenever he wants to signal a turn. The rental company helpfully put a "stay left" sign on the dashboard - I'm just saying, thank goodness the gas and brake pedals are the same!

Our hotel is really neat - we've got a laundry room (too bad we have all of 2 pieces of soiled clothing so far), TWO queen-sized bedrooms (in case things go badly at dinner perhaps?), free breakfast, free wireless, and a free ferry to Auckland city centre. By the time we check in, I'm ready for bed. But Ian convinces me to rally enough for the ferry. We went over to Auckland's CBD and Waterfront district for some food - got a tasty fish burger (they do this curry mayo thing with fruit on top as a spread -- Waaay superior to tartar sauce!). Ian took this shot outside the Waterfront restaurant of the cool giant boat and me warming my hands underneath.

And with that, it's time to catch the last ferry back to the hotel and hit the sack. Old trees and black beaches tomorrow!

Location:Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand

Oh the irony...

For our 2.5 hour flight, there are not only individual televisions, but also a USB charger at each seat. Sigh.

The Alcohol Gauntlet

Hmmm, I don't remember this in the US, but the international terminal in Australia forces you through a duty free section full of free alcohol samples.

It's an ingenious scheme really, because by the end of it the concoction of Southern Comfort, Vodka, Baileys and Jack Daniel's has you tipsy enough to forget your flight number, and you have to spend another night in Australia feeding the economy, only to make another go at the gauntlet the next day.

Here's Ming at the Southern Comfort booth. I cut her off before the Jack Daniel's.

Location:Departure Plaza,Mascot,Australia