Kia Ora...welcome

I am sorry that the updates have been few and far between but unfortunately internet is expensive and sometimes fairly slow....oh ya and I have been busy visiting many a gorgeous and sometimes smelly places.

I am still in Whangamata and I have been here for a week and a half. Joy and I left Auckland and drove up the Coromandel Penninsula, which is full of really small towns that all look the same. It is mixed with massive forests and some rare native trees. Whangamata is so beautiful it took my breath away the first time. it is a long white sand beach that is perfect for swimming, body surfing and sun tanning. there is even a spot to surf...although I have not managed to be able to go.
Joy and I visit her property regularly. They are building a logging road there so that they can forest behind her but it is perfect because they are building her a road to where her house site is and they have cleared the area for her as well. She has taken me all over her acreage which includes some Kauri trees. Some of it is really hilly and there are some gulleys and some streams. She has also rented some of the flat paddock to a cow farmer and the cows follow us around and lick the car clean.

Also we have done a day trip up to Haihi which includes Cathedral Cove, a secluded beach in a recreation reserve, which is only accessible by foot and then through a large archway and only a low tide. It is glorious!! Then we went to Hot Water Beach, where at low tide you dig holes in the sand and sit in warm pools, its a nice beach, no swimming.

We have done some hiking around in the wentworth valley, and up to the waterfall. Its great to be able to hike around and we were averaging about 2 hour walks everyday. not so much anymore.

The weather was turning against us last weekend so we decided to head to Rotorua, which is a thermal valley. It smells of rotten eggs/sulfur, but it is rich in Maori culture and volcanic activity. We visited the Te Puia arts and culture centre, which houses a carving and weaving school, kiwi house (yes I have now seen the real bird now), and a geyser. We also got to see a Maori concert, showcasing a welcoming ceremony. Then we visit the Polynesian Spa, a grouping of thermal pools of different temperatures right on Lake Rotorua. The next day we visited the Agrodome, which is a sheep sheering farm and we went to the show. It was informative on the different types of sheep And then they showed you how they sheer one. Next we went to the Buried Village, which was a settlement that was destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera. About 120 people died....i think. Then we drove to Lake Taupo to try and see the mountains but it was too cloudy. I managed to drive the way home in the pouring rain on a windy road and not kill anyone!!!
Then it was back into town for the Searchlight Tattoo....no I did not get another one. It is a military band showcase. There were brass bands and bagpipe bands, a police dog show, battle re-enactment, and maori singing. It all ended with Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture and fireworks. Ok so I know I am a geek but whatever, the music was fun....we are just going to put it up to the fact that I am cultured.
Tomorrow I am heading to the capital Wellington on the train. until next time, miss you all!
RIP Lael and Shoga.

Whangamata

just a quick post to let you all know that I am up in whangamata with Joy having fun exploring her property and going to the beach. more to come when I actually want to get out of the sun....

Bay of Islands

On Feb 11th I got to finally visit the Auckland Museum. It is very nicely laid out and includes sections on all of the Pacific Islands and some stuffed birds.... I only spent 3 hours there, amazing I know.

On the 12th I took the Kiwi Experience Bus up to the Bay of Islands. On the bus I sat with a bunch of Canucks. Its amazing how quickly we all bonded. They are a super fun group and we all decided to take a dolphin tour which turned out to be sooo amazing. They were the North Island bottle nosed dolphins. There were so many dolphins and a couple babies and juveniles.We were in a low jet boat so we got to hang off the front of it and be so close to them. One splashed me in the face with his blowhole and then slapped his tail right beside me. Then the next day we rented kayaks and went out into the bay and circled some of the islands.

Now I am back in Auckland and about ready to head to Whangamata.

Hurrah

Today is now Sunday evening...I finally have my baggage, I received it yesterday afternoon. it feels great to have it all with me now. but I feel I have too much stuff.

Yesterday Joy and I went to the Waitomo Caves, which is a limestone cave that houses these larva which glow in the dark.. the glow comes from their excrement. It was a very long bus ride and as usual I got pretty sick.

Today I went over to Devonport and met up with Joy and her family and we took a trip up to Tiritiri Matangi. An island sanctuary that was flattened in the 1890s for farming and then was reforested by volunteers. they have even introduced new species of trees and birds to the area including the kiwi (I didnt see any as they only come out at night), fantail, tui, saddleback, red-crowned parakeet, whitehead, stitchbird, bellbird, and a flightless bird, the Takahe, which at one time they thought was extinct but was rediscovered only 50 years ago. Yes family I am getting all of my nerdy stuff in even though I am thousands of kilometres away from you. I know you thought I just came here to shop and party...just joking.

Tomorrow, hopefully Joy is able to get her car so that we can go up to her place at whangamata.
Hope all is well, I hear the Coq is closed, and no I am not sorry at all that I got a little sunburnt today... lots of love

Still in Auckland

it is now friday here and I am still in Auckland. My friend Brit Walsh that I have known since elementary school is now here with her friends and I have moved into a room with them.

i am still waiting for any news on my luggage. it is starting to worry me, simply because I do not want to be in this city for much longer.

Yesterday i went over to Devonport which is just a 10min ferry ride across the Harbour to where Joy is staying. I met her niece and great nephews and then we took off for a hike up North Head which was turned into a fortress. it was stunning and there were some nice tunnels in the mountain.

Welcome to New Zealand

Hello all,

So after my last post I quickly learned that there was a cyclone that just hit fiji and as a result the airline took all of our luggage off of the flight because they were heading into a strong head wind. We then had to stop in Samoa to refuel before being able to carry on to Fiji. Upon landing late in Fiji we had to get new boarding passes and then go through security. There were massive lines and they were calling our names to board before we even had our passes. When I went through security they thought I had scissors....in a girls world its called an eyelash curler....and needless to say he took everything out of my bag and then proceeded to put my bag repeatedly through the xray machine. But we finally boarded and the flight wasnt too bad...

The arrival in new zealand, I along with a bunch of other couples that I had been traveling with since Vancouver soon discovered that our luggage indeed did not make it with us. Our arrival was already late but then we had to sort out of affairs with baggage services before leaving through security. mind you I had made it through customs. Then just as I was about to exit some security guard pulls me aside and starts to grill me...brutal. He asked me every question in the book. He asked me if I have done ectasy to which I said no and he then proceeded to grill me harder because apparently Canada is a good way to smuggle in drugs because we are not a 'drug country'....little does he know. But he said that he didnt believe that I had never done it because everyone my age does....he even went as far as checking out the address that I had as a contact to see if it was real. Finally he let me go

I was soo thrilled to see joy at the other end that i teared up a little. I am just glad i am here finally. The weather is gorgeous and hot. it is so wonderful to have sandals on.

Hopefully I will get my bag tomorrow.....

aloha

I am currently in Hawaii awaitng transfer to nadi, fiji.

As I got on the plane I saw my suitcase being put on the plane...

Trip was ok. nothing like champagne and wine to put you down for a nap..