World-class tourism in your own backyard

A little while ago Lauren and I read this travel article. In it the author of the very popular book '1000 Places to See Before You Die' narrows her list down to just 10. On the list is Fiordland. Now, when someone who's done as much travel as Patricia Schultz has ranks somewhere in your country in the top 10, that's a pretty damn fine recommendation.

After reading this Lauren and I felt a bit sheepish. She's never been to Fiordland and I've only spent a few days (walking the wonderful Kepler Track and heading to Milford Sound, but not going out on the water) back during the epic South Island road trip of 2000 with Miikka, Ulf and Erin. So we decided that our first nuclear family holiday would be a trip to Queenstown and Te Anau.

View from the front pack

Amotai is a big fan of the front pack. There is a lot to look at while strapped to my front, and plenty of strangers to give big, gummy grins to. Sometimes there are people who put the "strange" in "stranger", and find it appropriate to touch him and get into his (and my) personal space while cooing at him (looking at you, strange lady in the Karori post shop). But, by and large, he seems to really enjoy it. The places he gets to see the most often from the front pack are the supermarket, library, and local Four Square.

Here are some of the more interesting things he's seen from the front pack recently:

Takahe at Zealandia

Arrowton

Milford Sound

The summer that was

Today felt like the end of summer. It was a lovely, sunny and warm day - though, this being Wellington, it was also windy enough to knock over the washing.

Talk to most people in the northern three quarters of the country and they'll grumble about what a rubbish summer it was. Lauren however, thinks it's been a very good one. Being at home, she's been able to make the most of the good days during the week while the rest of us are teathered to our desks. It's made me realise that, for workers, a summer is defined by how the weather is during the holidays and weekends - principally the Christmas-New Year break.

It's a shame that we load so much onto those days off. Remember those endless, lazy, sunburnt weeks between the end of school (or university) and the new term? One searing day fading into another. Those were summers.

This hasn't been one of those, but it has been a memorable summer - after all, it's the first one with Amotai. We've peppered the last few months with short holidays, so the poor lad has clocked up a lot of kilometres. First there was the trip to Dunedin for Lauren's sister's graduation.

With the new doctor. No pressure, Amotai.

Then there was the holidays in Opotiki and Napier.

Picnic in the bush

Walking around a pa site near Napier

... a whanau hui at a marae next to a Taranaki beach ...

... a wonderfully relaxing weekend on a farm in the King Country ...

Amotai attacked by the dreaded super head lice of Benneydale

... the only beach swim of the summer at Whanganui ...

... the fabulous Art Deco weekend in Napier

... our just-finished week in Te Anau and Queenstown ...

Autumn in Arrowtown

... and today, watching the cricket in Wellington.

On the Basin Reserve's sacred turf. No pressure, Amotai

And you know what? Enough moaning. It's been a bloody excellent summer.

The travel bug young

We decided to start Amotai young with the travel, taking him on a plane trip to Dunedin when he was two months old. Hopefully, as the photo demonstrates, this is a good indication of how all future plane trips will go.

When thinking about travel, Tane and I have wondered whether or not Amotai will want to travel. Having parents that love it seems to be no indication of whether or not their kids will - I know plenty of people who never really got the travel bug because they had seen a lot as kids so developed a bit of a 'been there, done that' attitude toward travel. On the other hand, I have one friend actively trying to beat her mum's record of 53 countries. Some people who didn't travel growing up also have an extra thirst for it; Tane didn't go overseas until he was 23. I was 15 for my first, and only, family trip abroad, and that trip was definitely the turning point for me in terms of wanting to see more of the World. Three weeks in Hawaii blew my earnest teenage mind, and I signed up to AFS pretty much as soon as I got back to NZ.

.

Today, Amotai and I were playing with an inflatable plastic globe. He likes to hit said globe, as well as kick it with his feet. I asked him to point to where he would most like to travel to, and spun the globe in front of him. He reached out and clearly pointed to Sudan. I tried a second time, purposely trying to manipulate him into pointing at a more accessible country. It was to no avail, he pointed to Sudan again. Perhaps having a child that doesn't want to travel isn't such a bad thing after all ...

Do you think your desire to travel (or not) comes from your parents? I am interested ..

... and the living is easy

When the days grow long, the weather warms and the pohutukawas start to flower, there is a certain phenomena that begins to grow in the minds of New Zealanders.  It's a primal urge built in after years of school holidays and long, lazy hours in the sun - burned into you, you might say.

It's the subject of corny television commercials. An itch that has to be scratched, least you go mad.  A cultural, nay, spiritual institution. Something that, for all their charms, Wellington and London just can't provide.

The Great Kiwi Summer.

Growing up in the second-sunniest part of New Zealand, one of the few things I dislike about both London and Wellington is that a sustained spell of hot, fine weather is rarer (and as precious) than Black Caps wins over Australia.  Fortunately Lauren and I have had plenty of opportunities to get out of the city and enjoy the fabled Great Kiwi Summer.  Here, for me, are its components.

Fatty fish (Grand Central Fry, Turangi, home of the world's best fishburgers)

Cricket (New Plymouth)



Family (Team Raema at the Harkness reunion in Napier)



Opotiki (much of the Aikman clan, spending another wonderful Boxing Day on Hukuwai Beach)

Road trips to the coast (Himatangi Beach, with Erica and Sarah)



Back to nature (Bark Bay, Abel Tasman National Park, with Richard and Louise)

You can keep your Meccas, your Nirvanas, your Valhallas.  Give me the Great Kiwi Summer and add a rapidly melting ice cream, and I'm in paradise.

The Abel Tasman

I've wanted to do the Abel Tasman walk for years. As gallivanting around the World got in the way, it wasn't until the weekend before last that Tane and I finally got around to it. It was worth the wait - a great walk, excellent company, and the scenery spectacular. We took our tent and camped, walking about four hours of mildly undulating track each day. There is something very relaxing about only having a backpack and a tent, and I came back to Wellington feeling thoroughly refreshed. Describing the walk and the scenery would involve far too many cheesy adjectives, so have decided just to let this photos speak for itself.

The Big Smoke

Auckland, I take it back. I've always said I'd never want to live in the Big Smoke, but after the lovely long weekend we just spent up there I might consider it.
The weather was beautiful, it was a delight to see our friends and family, and for a change driving wasn't a nightmare.

Fish and chips at Mission Bay with Daniel, Jenny, Jess and Paul.

Traffic is, as every New Zealander knows, Auckland's worst feature. Fueled by Kiwis' dreams of a quarter-acre section, Auckland sprawls enormously. Because for decades urban planning just consisted of building more roads, the city's public transport (though recently improved) is woefully inadequate. Therefore you usually have to do a heck of a lot of driving to get around. Fortunately, on Labour Weekend many Aucklanders were off to the coast to enjoy the sun so traffic was light. We still managed to go the wrong way several times, but that's par for the course for yokels from south of the Bombay Hills.

It wasn't just Auckland that was great, the whole North Island turned it on for our road trip - the volcanos in particular

Having not had a proper visit to Auckland since going overseas, several things struck me as we were driving from Laingholm to Mt Eden to Mangere Bridge to Mt Wellington to the North Shore. Firstly, the place is riddled with volcanos. Once you start looking for them, you see them everywhere. They give it a lot of character, as do the pohutukawa trees. Because I'm red-green colour blind I can't appreciate the beauty of pohutukawas when their red flowers blossom, but despite that I still think they're fantastic. Add them to Auckland's many gorgeous bays and you have one of the world's best urban coastlines.

Mission Bay on what felt like the first weekend of summer: pohutukawas, volcanic Rangitoto and many, many happy people.

So, while we have no plans to be JAFAs any time soon, I'd no longer prefer to live in Kabul.

Great walks indeed

According to the Department of Conservation website, New Zealand has nine great walks. During a spate of communing with nature between 2005 - 2006, Tane and I joined Bonnie, Sarah C and a bunch of others to do two of them; the stunning Tongariro crossing day trip, and the three day Waikaremoana walk. As these walks pre-date both this blog and either of us owning a digital camera, I haven't blogged about them yet. I have recently acquired a (somewhat grainy) scanner as well as retrieved my photos from storage though so here I go. Yay!

Getting out some warmer clothes during the Tongariro crossing

The Tongariro crossing was excellent and I totally recommend it for a good day out. It took us about 8 hours, seemed to go through multiple climates, and had us constantly stopping to either put on or take off a layer. I loved it though, and after the aptly-named "The Devil's Staircase" part of the walk, the hot pools in nearby Tokaanu were very much appreciated afterwards.

Lake Waikaremoana

The Lake Waikaremoana walk the following Easter was also fabulous. Three days of walking, not showering, using long-drops and getting blisters the size of a bottle top are not every one's cup of tea. We both really enjoyed it though - the scenery was glorious and being in the bush very calming. If I did it again I think I'd take four days rather than three for more lazing around time, but it was still a great few days.

Given it's been four years since our last great walk I am looking forward to doing at least one more this summer. The only challenge though is deciding which, so if you have any recommendations about the other 7 I am very interested!

The Curious Incident of the Cat in the Daytime

A long time ago, Lady Lauren and Sir Tane paid a visit to the fairytale kingdom of Christchurch. Twas a fine tour, memorable for the most charming wedding of Princess Lucy and Sheikh Ammar. But it was also memorable for a tale nearly most drear - the curious incident of the cat in the daytime.

Sir Tane, his brother Kung Fu Master Tama and Lady Fatima of Asuncion were on their way to make a pilgrimage the mighty peaks of the Port Hills.

But first, Lady Fatima sought to assure herself of the safety of her beloved familiar, Michu the Naughty. Alas, when she returned to her castle, Michu was not to be found.

Much wandering hither and yon commenced. "Michu! Thou naughty, naughty Michu!" cried Lady Fatima.

Finally, there came a faint "mrrrow" of distress.



Alas, Michu the Naughty had sneaked inside in the highest tower of the castle.

Alas, the tower was locked. And alarmed.

Alas, there was neither food nor water.

Alas, the lady who lived in the tower was on holiday. In the Golden Coast of the Land of Oz. For sevenday. With her portable speaking-box turned off.

"Woe unto me!" cried Lady Fatima. "How shall we save foolish Michu, without storming the tower and laying waste to a window?"

But grace favoured our heroes, for the bathing room window had been left open and (Land) Lord Mike had a mighty step ladder. But who dared to brave the heights of the ladder and slip into the narrow portal?

"Fear not, Lady Fatima, 'tis I, bold Kung Fu Master Tama!" spake Kung Fu Master Tama.

And up the ladder he sprung. He tried putting his right leg in first. "Alas, I fear I cannot enter without breaking the Lady of the Tower's precious bathing room ointments!" he lamented.

He tried putting his left leg in first. "Nah." he proclaimed.

Finally he came up with a solution.



"Nice legs, brave Kung Fu Master Tama!" cried Lady Fatima. "But don't step into the Grand Hall, for it shall be alarumed!"

Would the alarum sound its terrible wail? Would the precious ointments and incenses break? Would Michu come to Tama's call? Had she shat in the bath? Great was the tension. And then, out through the window came a small, furry and frightened bundle.

And, in the fair suburban sprawl of Christchurch, there was much rejoicing.

New Zealand in the summer

When you're overseas, people are always telling you how beautiful New Zealand is (thanks, Lord of the Rings) and you can only agree - because you know it's true. But it's not until you come back from a long spell away from Aotearoa that you really appreciate it.

The Te Waiti Valley

The intensity of the blues and greens, the lack of people, the stunning clarity of the air - I spent most of the trip from Auckland Airport to Opotiki staring out the window and grinning.

Brothers on the beach

While the summer in Wellington has been cool and wildly inconsistent (never a day the same as the last), you can rely on the Bay of Plenty for sunshine. And that's what we got - two weeks of nearly continuous brilliant weather. We spent a lot of time in the sea or the river. Perhaps the highlight was our trip up into the hills behind Opotiki, deep into the native forest in the stunning lovely Te Waiti Valley. We skimmed stones, swam, picknicked, walked down the river and perfected our kung fu skills to the point where we could shatter rocks with our hands. True story.

But all good things must come to an end and we had to head back to Wellington for work. Back to the land of blasting Antarctic winds and strange fogs, but also good days when, as the saying goes, you can't beat the place.

The hills beyond Johnsonville

It's good to be home.

Christmas

After two and a half years, 30 countries, innumerable ruins, churches, museums and pubs, various elephants, camels, crocodiles and foxes, it is wonderful to be back in the place we love best with the people we love most - the folks.

Dad.

We landed on Christmas Eve, had a very nice catchup at the airport with Charyn, Sharan, Tony and Birgit, before the latter two took me down to Opotiki and Lauren jetted off to Napier. Things have changed back in 'Potes. Kieran and Rueben are huge, for a start. And while I was away Mum and Dad have been building a new house, which is flabbergastingly nice. It's all polished wood and light, with solar water heating, a thriving garden and spectacular views over the town to the Raukumara Ranges and the Bay of Plenty. Good work, parentals!

Mum in the new house.

Christmas in Opotiki is all about presents, a local pine tree, sunshine, beers and too much rich food, a trip to the beach, and family. This year was one of the best I can remember, with a big turnout of whanau - Sylvia, Tony, Birgit, Tama, Kieran and I joining Rueben, Mum and Dad from various parts of the world. It was a great day.

Home!

On Christmas Eve, Tane and I landed back in NZ. It is great to be back, although the NZ accent seems stronger than ever and everything feels much quieter than I remember. It's great to be back and already is starting to feel like we were never away at all. Yay!

With my sisters and niece at Napier airport ...

Yet another photo of Mt Taranaki

I spent last weekend in a small town that was, just last week, the victim of a tornado. No, it wasn't in Kansas as one would expect, but in Oakura, a short drive south of New Plymouth. Oakura was previously famous for being the victim of Tom Cruise's colossal ego during the filming of The Last Samurai back in 2003. Tom Cruise's ego, though, didn't plough through an entire row of houses and cause tarpaulin sales to sky rocket. It also seems that everyone in Oakura now has an exciting story about how they escaped flying shards of glass to match their stories about seeing Cruise buying fish'n'chips. Last weekend, though, the weather was so stunning it is hard to believe that a tornado had been through Taranaki ever, let alone the previous week.

I left Tane at home with Season Five of Angel and went up to Taranaki with Dad and Erin to go to hui, visit the marae, and eat sushi on the waterfront. It was a fabulous and refreshing trip, and now I have been back four days my blood sugar levels have finally recovered from the number of lollies eaten during the trip home. Tane has yet to recover from lack of sleep caused by his Angel watching marathon.

And what blog entry about a visit to Taranaki would be complete without a photo of the stunning Mt Taranaki? Despite what they tried to tell me in The Last Samurai, I don't think it looks like Mt Fuji at all. There are far too many cows in the paddocks.

Ninety Mile Beach and the best photo sequence ever

Yesterday, I went to Northland for what feels like the ma-zillionth time in the last few years. It was my last time in Northland before Tane and I head overseas, so I found myself looking out the car window a little more than usual thinking about how stunning it is up there. My favourite part of Northland is easily Te Oneroa a Tohe, Ninety Mile Beach. Which, apparently, ought to be called 55 Mile Beach. Regardless, for those of you who have not been there, here are some photos of it. I wish I could claim them as mine, but no, alas, they were taken by Geremy when we were there last year.

These photos make me seriously reconsider my current point-and-click method of photography. Stupid impatience.

Speaking of good photos, in the entry 'Best River Ever' (back when it was warm) I promised you the best photo sequence ever. You'd forgotten? You never even cared in the first place? Too bad. Here it is, the best photo sequence ever staring Tane and a river near Otaki.