A Taste of the Orient

Saturday 04 April 27C Cloudy at first, sunny later.

Now here's a long day. Get on a Boeing 777 at 2330 on 03 Apr, take off at 0010 on 04 April and immediately change your watch back to 1910 on 03 April. Time travel is fun. As you will have guessed, Hong Kong is 5 hours behind Auckland and 7 hours ahead of UK. The flight was quite full, but we got seats we wanted, one window and one aisle, very cosy except for the Chinese man in between us! Nonetheless, both of us got some sleep, one of us managed over 6 hours out of a 10 1/2 hour flight!

Caught a glimpse of Cebu city and Manilla as we flew over the Phillipines and landed at Hong Kong just before 6 in the morning. Last time I was here, over 20 years ago, the airport was at Kai Tak, in the edge of Kowloon and the aircraft made an interesting approach around the skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Now the new airport is open on Lantau Island, things are different. Most people on the aircraft were continuing on to London, we didn't envy them that, another 12 hours to London. Immigration was very quick and straight forward and our bags arrived quickly on the carousel.

We made an abortive attempt to find the Tourism office at the airport and finally gave up after a kind person pointed us in the right direction for the bus into the middle of Hong Kong. The bus, number A11, was almost empty and took about 40 minutes to get to Causeway Bay. It is a good way of travelling as your get to see Lantau Island and Kowloon before diving into the tunnel under the harbour. The driver dropped us off as close to the hotel as he could, but is was quite difficult to find the hotel and downright hard work heaving the bags up and down stairs in the underpass needed to cross the road next to the hotel.

Although it was only 8 in the morning, the hotel found us a room which they desribed as having a big bed, which was two single beds. After rejecting this, they found us a 'nicer' room with a queen bed on the 12th floor directly overlooking the Happy Valley racecourse.

Following a much needed refreshing shower, we catch a free shuttle bus from the hotel to 'Times Square', a shopping mall next to Causeway Bay Mass Transit Railway (MTR). Once again we tried to find the Tourism Office and after discovering that there are 7 entrances to the the station, we finally find the right one, discover the tourism office and get some advice about transport in the city. We purchase a 'Octopus' card, doubtless the same as London's Oyster card, for $HK 150, which allows us travel on the buses, trams, underground, ferries and the Peak Tram. Any money left on the card at the end will be refunded - fat chance.

One of the best ways of seeing Hong Kong is to travel by tram. The trams follow a route that roughly follows the northern coast of the island. They are double-decker trams which look like London in the 1920s (in fact that is probably exactly where they came from). We rattled our way down to the Central district and then walked toward the Central Pier. As we walked, we found hundreds, maybe even thousands of Filipino girls gathered in the area. Apparently, they meet here each week, presumably to chat and meet friends. Many of them work as maids in the city.

After a very pleasant lunch on the pier sitting in the sunshine, we caught the Star Ferry across the harbour to Kowloon. We travel 'upper deck' for an extra 30 cents, very posh! The journey across Hong Kong harbour is great, the view of the city is fantastic. Once in Kowloon, we stroll up Nathan Road, otherwise known as 'Golden Mile'. The area abounds with shops selling the latest electronic gadgets and cameras.




Feeling that we have had quite a busy day all told, we head back on the Star Ferry, lower deck this time, and then catch the tram back to the hotel.

In the evening, we stroll down to Hennessy Road to find some food and march boldly into a Chinese Restaurant with no obvious english menu. We were the only non-Chinese customers, but they found an english menu and we had an excellent meal. As we ate, we carefully studied the other diners to see how they handled their chopsticks and food. We learned a few tips and didn't disgrace outselves apart from one of us refusing to drink the near obligatory tea.

The Leaving of New Zealand

Friday 03 April 22C Sunny and partly cloudy. Drove 50km

Cleaning up a hire car at the end of a rental period is fun. The things you find hidden away under the seat, in the boot, lurking in with the spare tyre. Today's haul included sea shells, a small kitchen knife, lots of travel brochures and a bag full of plastic cutlery. I can explain the cutlery and knife, we bought them when we arrived in NZ to use for al fresco lunches. I'm sure that the Motel at Orewa will be somewhat puzzled by the collection of things we left in their cubpboards which included, 4 roll of toilet paper, the aformentioned cutlery, plastic cups and plates, a jar of salsa (that had defied opening), half a loaf of bread and the remains of a jar of marmalade. The other thing about the car is not to get it too clean and tidy and, hopefully, any chips or small marks inflicted on the car on the gravel roads will be missed or ignored.

How did we get everything in the bags on our way out here? Several things have lived in the car for the last month, cagoules, snorkel and mask and fleece, now they have to be stuffed back into the bags again. One conundrum we have to puzzle over is our baggage allowance. From UK to LA and from LA to Auckland our baggage allowance was for 2 pieces of checked in luggage each, of indeterminate weight. For this sector from Auckland to Hong Kong, we have a baggage allowance of 20kg each. Could be interesting.

After packing the car one last time, we leave the motel and join the SH1 motorway back into Auckland. Once in the city, we follow the signs to the Airport through the suburbs of Newmarket and Epsom; what were those settlers thinking off when they named them? At the Airport we park and drag our bags inside and manage to leave them at the tourist information office for the sum of $NZ 30. Now the car really is empty.

Leaving the airport, we head across to Manukau and the Regional Botanical Gardens. These gardens are relatively new, only opened to the public in the mid 80s, and are still under development. Although the site is right next to the motorway, it is a great place to wander around. There are a mixture of formal gardens and informal collections of plants, shrubs and trees. The only down side was that they had emptied the two large lakes for cleaning. We wandered around for an hour or so and then ate lunch at the cafe in the gardens. Cafes in Botanical Gardens follow the same rules as those in garden centres, yummy imaginative food!

Eventually, we head back into the heart of Auckland to abandon our trusty, dusty, Toyata Corolla. Arriving at the rental office we park in a corner and then remember we have to fill the petrol tank. Back around the block for fuel and then hand in the keys. Car-less again.

We walk into town and buy a cheap guide book to Hong Kong as we realise that we have to figure out how to get from Hong Kong airport to Hong Kong Island. That may seen silly, but Hong Kong airport is on Lantau Island and Hong Kong island is some way away. From the bookshop we walk back down to Auckland harbour and on the spur of the moment, take the ferry across the harbour to Devonport.

Devonport is home to the Royal New Zealand Navy and also a very pleasant little laid-back town. After strolling around taking in the sights, we head back across the harbour to find something for dinner. We end up in an Italian restaurant with a balcony overlooking Queens Street, the main street of Auckland. The airport bus stopped almost outside the restaurant too, and after eating we waited for 20 minutes until a bus turned up and took us to the airport.



The baggage issue was apparently not a problem as the weight of our bags wasn't discussed other than to attach a label to both bags marked "Heavy". After passing through immigration again, we ended up sitting in the departure area for a couple of hours before boarding our flight shortly before midnight.

Tiritiri Matangi - An open sanctuary

Thursday 02 April Sunny and warm 21C Drove 20km

After buying some sandwiches for lunch, off to Whangaparaoa and Gulf Harbour to catch the boat to Tiritiri Matanga. The road from Orewa to Whangaparaoa consists of miles of housing broken up with strips of shops and, of course, lots of traffic. There is now a bypass around Orewa, so major road works are taking place on the sea front to change it into a mainly pedestrianised area. I'm sure it will look better by December 2009 when the work is due to finish.

Beyond Orewa, the road seamlessly changes into Whangaparaoa, a peninsular sticking out into Hauraki Gulf. The peninsular seems to be mainly areas of housing, some obviously very expensive. Most of the housing is clustered around a series of small bays such as Tindalls and Waiau. The best named areas go to Big Manly Beach, situated down Lady's Mile Road, and not far away, Little Manly Beach.

Gulf Harbour is a vast marina and housing development on the northern edge of the peninsular, it is all rather impersonal and there doesn't seem to be any hotels, motels or restaurants there either, all things I'd expect to see at a marina of this size. Nevertheless, the boats for Tiritiri Matanga (Tiri to the locals) Island leave from here just before 10-o-clock between Wednesday and Sunday. The wildlife gets two days off each week! The boat actually comes from Auckland and probably leaves as early as 9. Gathered at the marina and waiting for the boat were two school parties along with a handfull of 'tourists'. The kids were quite well behaved though, so it wasn't as bad as it might have been.

Once on board the boat, we got the mandatory safety and bio-protection briefings and then sat back for the 20 minute journey. The weather had changed dramatically from yesterday, light breezes and clear blue skies, the only sign of yesterdays bad weather was a bumpy sea.

Arriving at the island, we were given another briefing by a Department of Conservation Ranger before being divided into groups. The kids disappeared with their guides first and left our group of 6 to set off up the island. Our guide, a volunteer, was very knowledgable, especially about the plants and was able to describe how the island had evolved since it became a reserve in the 1970s. Unlike other island reserves that are carefully controlled and only very limited access is available, Tiri is open to the public, but visitors are encouraged to be responsible and not harm the wildlife.

During our stay on the island, we saw several rare and endangered species of birds. Bell birds were everywhere and we also frequently saw Stitch birds and Saddlebacks, both very rare. The usually Tui were to be seen to as well as Whiteheads and Robins. We also saw lots of red-crowned Parakeets and Pukeko. Up at the lighthouse, wandering aimlessly about, we saw to two Takahe. These birds are extremely rare, perhaps only 300 left on the planet. A large, chicken-sized flightless bird, they are very vulnerable to predation.

After lunch, we abandoned our guide and followed a path along the ridge of the island before plunging down another walkway down to Hobbs Bay. It would have been great to have had time to do some snorkelling in the clear waters, but we only had 25 minutes before the only boat left the island!

On the mainland again, we drove back to Orewa, stopping at two bays on the way. We just had to have a picture of Big Manly Bay, there should have been a 'Little Wimp Bay', but instead there was a Little Manly Bay.

Back at the motel, plans were discussed for our departure from NZ tomorrow over a meal in Orewa.

Flying cats and milk

Wednesday 01 April Rain at first then mainly overcast 18C Drove 230km

I woke up whilst it was still dark to hear the rain hammering on the windows. This wasn't entirely unexpected, as the forecast for Wednesday had been for rain and after several weeks of almost uninterupted sunshine, we could hardly complain. New Zealand is a very green country, clearly a sign that it rains regularly. The good thing, is that the rain is only expected to last until afternoon and then it should clear up.

I've never seen a flying cat. I confess that there have been times when I would like to have taught some cats to fly, but this time it was not me helping it along. Driving slowly along a rural country road somewhere to the south of Whangarei, as we came around a corner, a cat flew out of a hedge. I can clearly see it now, its legs spread out, airborne some 3-4 feet above a ditch by the side of the road. It was a black cat with a white chest. Some few inches in front of the cat flew a female mallard duck. Whereas the duck looked quite normal, if somewhat flustered, in the air, the cat looked rather shaken to discover that the ground was several feet below it. Needless to say, on contact with the ground, and lets face facts, that's the only place the cat was going to go, the cat did that thing where they sit down, lick their shoulders, and look it was all deliberate. I also have this vision of the cat making some minor contact with the duck as it flew off, and becoming airborne with it.

The road from Ngungara to Whangarei was wet all the way, but it eased off as we arrived at Whangarei Falls. In the interests of tourism, I donned my cagoule and walked down to the rather impressive falls to take a few photos. Of course, once I was several hundred metres away from the car, on the opposite side of the river, the rain returned with avengance. It's only water.

Once south of Whangerei on our favourite road, not, the SH1 we looked for a turn-off to get onto the rural roads again. At Waipu we joined Cove Road and followed the coast down to Bream Tail and Mangawhai Heads. A compulsory stop for coffee and a sneaky cake was taken here at a garden centre. Why do garden centres always have such good food?

Somewhere to the south of Mangawhai, the curious incident of the cat took place as we headed through some small roads still trying to avoid the SH1. Somewhere, and not easily followed on the map we have, we found ourselves on the Whangaripo Valley Road heading for Pakiri and Leigh. Luckily for us, the section that was marked as gravel road had recently been turned into a surface road. Just north of Leigh, we turned off to visit the Cape Rodney/Okakari Point Marine Reserve, also known as Goat Island. This small cove with the island just 100 metres off shore is supposed to be an excellent site for snorkelling and diving. Although it wasn't raining, the easterly wind blowing hard onto the shore put us off climbing into the water. It hadn't put off a school party all of whom were snorkelling just off the island; there must have been 40 of them. When I first saw them, I thought they were seabirds sitting on the surface, a look through the binos quickly identified them as human heads!

Further down the road at Matakana, we found an artisan bakery, a seriously tempted place to be. The filled rolls looked fantastic and the foccacia roll I had was excellent. Some of the cakes and pastries there were begging to be bought, but somehow we resisted the temptation.

We drove to Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa peninsular to check out the boat times for our trip to Tiritiri Matangi tomorrow. Not a very pleasant place, just miles of housing, strip malls and industrial estates. We turned back to Orewa and found a motel by the sea to spend our last two nights in.

Oh the flying milk! As we were driving through Whangaparaoa, we came across a milk lorry in a side road surround by cartons of milk that had obviously come flying out of the unsecured side door of his truck, there was milk everywhere.

Poor Knight's Islands

Tuesday 31 Mar Sunny and warm 23C Drove nowhere

Up early to the sound of the alarm, not had to do this since we went to Karpiti Island some weeks ago. Todays call is to get me to Tutukaka marina in time to catch a boat out to Poor Knight's Islands. The islands were named by Cook in 1769 (I think), and apparently poor knight's were the common slang at that time for a breakfast dish that may have resembled French Toast. Quite what Cook must have been on when he made this observation is best left to the imagination, but the islands are the remains of a volcano and basically consist of the plug and residue of that volcano.

The islands lie 12 miles off shore and are a nature reserve, the waters around the islands are also a marine reserve. There are large fines for attempting to land and many reasons not to do so. The government had cleared the islands of predators by 1933 and since then, only native species live there. It is the only place in the world that Bullers Shearwaters nest, a bird normally only seen over the oceans. It is very clumsy on land and apparently lands on the island by crashing into the undergrowth, not always successfully. It is also home the largest colony of Tuatara, the last of the prehistoric lizards, the rest died out 60 million years ago! On top of all that, due to a major tribal spat in the past, the islands are also sacred to the Maori tribe that used to live there.

From the sea, the cliffs above the water often rise 100 metres sheer from the sea and there are only a couple of landing sites, the remainder cliffs and sea stacks. Below the water the cliffs fall another 60 metres sheer to the ocean floor apart from the odd sea pinnacle. The undersea life is unique in NZ in that several tropical species of fish either survive here or visit frequently. Indeed, today we saw tropical puffer fish schooling up near the surface. This sighting is pretty unique, the crew of the boat had only seen them the day before and these fish have never previously been recorded here. The underwater visibility here is stupendous due to two features; no significant rainwater run off from the land and the East Auckland current that washes through the area.

Stepping into the gin clear water with my buddy, Steve, I can see the anchor chain of our boat lying in kelp some 4-5 metres below us on top of a sea pinnacle. The dive site, on the northern island, Tawhiti Rafi, is known as Landing Bay Pinnacle. Once on the bottom, we set off down the side of the pinnacle to explore. At 20 metres, we started our circumnavigation of the rock pinnacle. The walls of the pinnacle drop from 5 metres all the way down to 60 metres almost sheer, and we can see the bottom at 60 metres from our chosen depth of 20 metres; fantastic visibility. Although the water is warm at this time of year, 22C today, it isn't warm enough to support hard coral, but is does have fantastic soft corals and sponges of every colour of the rainbow. There is also plenty of kelp and various nooks and crannies which hide Moray Eels and large Sea Urchins. After cruising around for 15 minutes, we move up to 12 metres and continue swimming around the pinnacle enjoying the busy sea life. As we ascend back up the anchor chain we are mobbed by small fish.

Back on the boat, we have lunch and then take a leisurely tour down to the channel between the north and south island. First we sail our large boat into a massive sea cave, we are joined a little later by a second boat. The cave dwarfs both boats. On around the southern, or Aorangi, island we see several large holes in the cliffs before we pass through a massive archway ourselves. I suspect it puts the 'Hole in the Rock' up in the Bay of Islands to shame.

On the western side of Aorangi, we drop anchor about 10 metres from 100m high cliffs in a small inlet. The dive site is called Oculina Point, but I don't know why. This time, once in the water, we stay on the surface until we reach the cliff and then drop down the cliff to 12 metres, once again in crystal clear water. Right in the corner of the inlet is a underwater sea cave, known as Crystal Cave and used in the movie 'Who Dares Wins'. It is easy to swim quite deep into the cave and looking back out to the open sea is magical with fish swimming against the sunlight streaming into the cave. We continue around the cliffs which fall away to 70 metres deep, now at around 17 metres, and find a very sleepy short-tailed stingray on a very small patch of sand. Beyond this, we find many nudibranchs or sea-slugs, some in the most incredible colours schemes imaginable. I disturb a large Snapper in a crevice and he gives me the 'eye' as he slowly swims inches from my mask. We are mobbed by Demoiselles everywhere we go and dazzled again by the soft corals and sponges. Finally, after 40 minutes, very reluctantly, we head back to the boat. What a fantastic dive.

Jacques Cousteau rated the islands as one of the Top 10 dive sites in the world, I can now see why. I for one, would say that is rates in my personal top 3 sites. The fish life is prolific and the corals and sponges incredibly vibrant. One of those 'go-there-before-you-die' places.

The Tutukawa Coast

Monday 30 March Warm and sunny 22C Drove 161km

After a fairly slow start, left Paihia and headed south to Opua where we caught the ferry across to Okiato. The ferry is only takes 5 minutes to cross, but saves 60-70km for winding roads for local residents. We were lucky and the ferry left almost as soon as we drove on board. On the other side, we followed the road towards Russell, but just outside town headed off down the coast on the Russell road, named because before the ferry, it was the only way to get to Russell.

There was virtually no traffic on this road and it was a pleasure to wander along at 60kph and look at the scenery. The road follows the coast mainly and every now and again plunges down to sea level and a pretty beach before climbing back through native forest back over headlands. We stopped several times to take photos and eventually, near Helena Bay, stopped for coffee. The Gallery and Cafe is perched high above Helena Bay and has a slightly German theme to it in that they serve Kulmbacher beer and apfelstrudel! The food here looks fantastic but we can only report on the quality of the Ginger Slices with was most delicious, almost like ginger fudge on shortbread. The view, however, is the one of the most striking things about the place, it is enough to briefly push the taste of the cakes to the back of your mind.

Next to, and part of, the cafe is a gallery. The art work here was wonderful and it would have been very easy to spend several thousand dollars on some seriously tasteful pieces of art. Often when visiting a gallery, there might be one or two things that catch your eye, this gallery had lots that might have had your hand reaching for your wallet. Regretably, we didn't buy, but left thinking that much of the work would look at its best in a beautiful house in NZ rather that in Europe.

Not long after leaving the gallery, we briefly rejoined the SH1 at Whakapara. The road was busy with big trucks so we were glad to turn off again at Hikurangi onto the Marua road. This road headed through mainly pastureland toward the coast. At a T junction, we headed back onto the gravel at the Whananaki South road. This road, which was very busy going in the opposite direction, took us down to an estuary surrounded by mangroves and crossed by the longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere, if the tourist books are to be believed. The bridge, just wide enough for one person is nearly 500 metres from end to end. After a quick double crossing, we ate lunch underneath a shady tree.














Back up the gravel road, we joined the Matapouri road out to the Tutukaka coast. In Tutukaka, a stop was made to check arrangements for diving tomorrow. Next, we toured the area between Tutukaka and Ngungara (the first 'g' is apparently silent) looking for accommodation. For future reference, the Sands Motel at Whangaumu Bay looks good and is directly on a pretty sandy beach. The cabins at the Tutukaka campsite also looked OK. We settled for a studio room at the Tutukaka Coast Motor Lodge in Ngungara. The Motor Lodge has great studios for less than NZ$ 100 and we were the only guests.

Only a couple of hundred metres down the road is a small row of shops. A Hairdressers, a Superette (new NZ word for a mini supermarket), a small licenced cafe and the inevitable Fish and Chips shop. After a stroll along the waterfront we returned later the the cafe, 'Salt Air', where we had an excellent and cheap meal. The seared scallops were fantastic and I believe the lamb was pretty good too. The place might not look very special, but the food and service was very good.

Country Fairs and War Canoes

Sunday 29 March Warm and sunny 22C drove 50km

After a fairly slow start to the day, we headed back to Kerikeri to the annual 'Country Market' The market had taken over the middle of town entirely and the main road was lined with dozens of stalls. Some of it was the usual market 'tat', but lots were good craft stalls. It looked like the whole town and most of the local area had turned out to support it. The day was very warm and all the cafes in town were packed too. The 'Lions' were carrying out a noisy raffle right in the middle of it all, with lots of good natured banter going on. A most entertaining morning

Later, we headed back toward Paihia, but stopped at Haruru Falls to take a few photographs. According to the tourist literature, it is possible to swim and kayak under the falls. We saw the kayaks but no swimmers and didn't fancy a really cold swim oursleves. It would have been possible to walk from here down to the Waitanga Treaty grounds, but we drove.

On arrival, we stopped at the Waikokopu cafe situated in the treaty grounds and had an excellent lunch of sandwiches whilst we watched large eels swimming in the pond next to the decking of the cafe. The food is really good here and not too expensive.

After lunch we paid to visit the WaitangaTreaty Grounds, the place where the Maori people and British Government signed the treaty in February 1840, that still defines the status of New Zealand. The grounds were rescued by Lord and Lady Bledsoe in the 1930s and many of the original features including the original treaty house, have been preserved. The treaty house, home to the British Residency from the 1830s was well worth the visit. Many of the rooms have been restored as best as possible to the time that James Busby lived here. The adjacent Te Whare Runanga, the Maori meeting house is magnificent and has carvings from all the Maori tribes.

Also in the grounds is a Maori Waka or war canoe. The canoe named, Ngatokimatawharorua, is 35 metres long and it takes 76 paddlers to handle it safely on water. The canoe was made for the 1940 centenial celebrations.

After all the culture, a rest on the beach was required. There was plenty to watch at Ti beach on the northern edge of Paihia. At least one inept jet skier, one hopeless 'Wave Rider' and several small fast sailing boats provided the entertainment.

Back at the Motel, laundry featured in our lives for an hour before heading out for dinner at 'Vince's Fish and Chips'. In UK, I am not a lover of fish and chips. It always seems to consist of lots of greasy batter and little fish. Here, the batter is very light and just coats the fish which is almost always fresh straight from the boats. After a brief stop at the pub for a beer, it was back to the motel.