FAMILY and TRAVELS 2014: North Island New Zealand

On 1 Feb we arrived in Auckland for the first time. It is an impressive city with some beautiful places and great views. The waterways are extensive and lovely, nearly cutting the city in two. Great weather while we were there enhanced our experience.
The view from Mt Eden, 196m altitude with a volcanic crater 50m deep, was stunning.

We drove a long way to sample a west coast beach, Bethels, and now realise how fortunate we are with our Aussie beaches.

A walk along the clifftop was more pleasant than the beach.

Later that day we walked in the extensive grounds of the Domain, housing the Museum and War Memorial ($25 entry, so we didn't go but Matthew said it is excellent). We were happy to see the beautiful old trees and glasshouses.

Auckland Botanic Gardens provided another pleasurable day, mainly because of the 20+ sculptures to be rated by visitors and available for sale. Our favourite was Oh Crabby, I do believe we're lost.

David liked Flotilla:

and we were both rather amused by Alien Invaders:

and Farm Gate ( which exemplifies the way Aussie birds have taken over NZ):

Miranda Shorebird Centre on the Firth of Thames is an hour's drive east ofAuckland and there we saw thousands of wrybills, endemic to NZ and migratory. Wikipedia: the only bird in the world with a laterally-curved bill (always curved to the right), which it uses to reach insect larvae under rounded riverbed stones.

That night we stayed at an overpriced motel in Tairau on the Coromandel Peninsula.

We chose to sample the most touted tourist destination, Cathedral Cove. Setting out to walk for an hour or so from Hahei Beach, we followed a misleading sign which took us way up countless steps over a headland.

Metrosideros near Hahei Beach

On reaching the top, we found another uphill walk to the steps leading down to a path. Near the path was a sign showing the return route to Hahei involving no uphill or steps! We struggled on towards the Cove and after a further half hour, gave up and took the easy path back to Hahei. Disappointed, we walked along the beach where we found a sign and a few tourists waiting for a boat to Cathedral Cove. After all this, we paid $15 for a pleasant fast return trip, well worth the money as you can see from the photos. NZ east coast beaches can look damn good!

At high tide you have to swim through the arch to reach another beach.

At Mt Karangahake a heritage site features tunnels made in the 1890s by a gold mining company working 35m above the river. Windows onto the gorge allowed spoil to be tipped down into the gorge. A tramway for horse-drawn carts was made 2.5m wide.

The roof of the 100m tunnel featured some handsome black and brown spiders.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a mainland ecological island... Surrounded by the world’s longest pest-proof fence, Sanctuary Mountain’s ancient forest offers a sanctuary for populations of many of our most endangered species – from birds to bats, frogs to reptiles, tuatara to giant weta. We were keen to see this special place and saw only a small part of it. It is not easy walking despite the well-formed trails and we spent much time listening to a ranger at a feeding station, who gave great information on the birds there.

This kaka stayed in the tree

The NZ robin is similar to our yellow robin - very friendly.

We packed a lot into our last full day in the North Island, staying in Taihape so we could travel 487km to Wellington the next morning for our car ferry booked on 8 Feb. Starting with a drive from Te Awamutu, we skirted Lake Taupo, having stayed there on our 1994 trip.
Drove toward Tongariro National Park, stopping at Waihi for the steaming hills and wishing we could visit the nearby Waihi Marae (by invitation only).

Tongariro National Park comprises 79000 hectares and includes one of NZ's Great Walks, the Alpine Crossing. We started a lonely walk at Waihohonu but gave up as visibility decreased.

Drove south, aiming for Ohakune but had lunch at this lovely spot. The Tangiwai Memorial is here. On Christmas Eve 1953 Mt Ruapehu erupted, taking out the railway bridge and killing 151 train passengers.

Ruapehu is one of the world's most active volcanoes and the largest active volcano in NZ. It is the highest point in the North Island, including 3 major peaks each over 2750 m. We drove to the second largest ski area in NZ, at Turoa, which looked very bleak with no snow and overcast conditions.

Next morning we walked the Ohakune Old Coach Road to Hapuawhenua Viaduct, built in 1908. In total the viaduct is 284 metres long and at its maximum it stands 45 metres high. It is unique in that it is built on a 10-chain radius curve, reflecting the difficult landscape through which it passes.

Workers lived on site during the two years it took to construct the viaduct, enduring harsh winters, primitive conditions and isolation to complete construction in time for the opening of the railway.