Thanks for the lovely 'welcome back', I managed to shake off the jet lag, and I'm back on deck again feeling great after - would you believe, 12 hours sleep!
Anno & Dianne... if you have ever thought of travelling to New Zealand, I am so sure you would not be dissapointed.
The pace of life is somewhat slower than what I am use to in Australia, and probably a LOT slower than the U.S. but it was so refreshing to actually SLOW DOWN and 'smell the roses'
Everyone was very relaxed, polite, and friendly, and everyone always had all the time in the world for a chat. I got the impression that the word 'stress' is not in their dictionary. They seemed to have no concept of it whatsoever.
I had forgotten about the language difference though... their accent is a little different from the Australian twang, and it actually took me a day or two to be able to understand clearly what people were saying... I couldn't believe it, I was born there for goodness sake!
But nobody minded repeating themselves, they must be use to it.
New Zealands Maori people (the original inhabitants) have an extemely rich cultural heritage, identity and spirituality, and we (my friends and I) thoroughly enjoyed being entertained by the cultural performances, guided tours, museums, thermal wonderlands, and amazing scenery.
Here's a brief run down on our activites...
The North Island of N.Z. is warmer than the South Island and it is also where I grew up, so we flew into Auckland and had a quick look around for a day (The Auckland Museum is great), then visited family in Raglan & Otorohanga on the central East Coast,(it was so good to see my brother and his wife again after so many years, and they also loaned us a car to use while we were there which we really appreciated... my brother owns a car sales business).
Then we enjoyed several nights sightseeing in Rotorua (the major thermal area with geysers, hot lakes, boiling mud, and spa pools galore) If you ever visit Rotorua, the Tamaki Village tour which includes a traditional hangi meal and cultural performance is a must do, and don't forget Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland... geysers, boiling mud etc
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Then we went on to Tauranga (my old home town, which is now a big city) and neighboring Mount Maunganui which was picture postcard beautiful. It was good for the soul to see where I grew up and we loved the walk around the base of Mount Maunganui (3.4 klms) which is named after the mountain which dominates the horizon. We decided to make the arduous trek to the Summit which took 60 minutes of absolutely lung busting exertion
... but I made it!
Hurraaaay! Am I crazy or what?
I use to do this walk to the Summit regularly when I was a child, so of course I just had to do the nostalgic, reminiscing, revisited thing, but for some reason it seemed so much STEEPER this time.
If you ever go there, PLEASE use the 4WD track to walk to the Summit... I found out later that it is so much easier, and even though the sign says 'for emergency use only' you can still use it to walk up. And for those weary and aching muscles when you get back, you can visit the Hot Salt Water pools for some well deserved physical therapy. The hot salt water is heated naturally by thermal layers underground. I took advantage of the opportunity to soak my weary bones, and it was magic. Not one aching muscle the next day!
The last few days were spent in the Bay of Islands region, north of Auckland, staying in Paihia and taking a boat trip out to the world famous 'hole in the rock' and Cape Brett for half a day. We also saw where Captain James Cook first landed when he discovered NZ. We enjoyed a wonderful guided tour looking around the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Maori signed a treaty with the white settlers. (Our tour guide was Wil, he is a Maori cheif and grew up on the Waitangi site. He was unlike anyone I have ever met, truely an amazing man who left us all feeling enlightened and enriched from being in his presence).
Then we were off back to Auckland to catch our flight home. A fabulous 2 weeks.
Did I convince you Anno?
, so will sign off and catch up with you all soon.
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