Well, what can I say? Not only are we the rainmakers supreme, but we even bring cyclones to the islands. If any of you have been looking at the weather here, you will have seen that N Island has been suffering high winds and severe flooding, especially in Northland for the last 2 days. It was so cold in the motel room last night that we had to put a towel under the door to stop the draughts – we didn’t have any heating except a radiator run from a central system and that wasn’t on. I thought we were getting away from heating while we were here?!
Anyway, we got on the road about 10.00am and headed out on SH5 towards Tirau, stopping briefly to look at the Free Access Thermal Area. Apart from a couple of mud pools, it didn't seem to consist of much, which is probably why it was free.
Anyway, we got on the road about 10.00am and headed out on SH5 towards Tirau, stopping briefly to look at the Free Access Thermal Area. Apart from a couple of mud pools, it didn't seem to consist of much, which is probably why it was free.
We’d been told about a good cheese shop just north of Waharoa so thought that would make a good coffee stop. We made a short stop in the Mamaku forest to check the map and saw our first (and only) emu. He/she was in a field by the car park, and came over when he saw us come to the fence so Tom got some nice pics.
Having decided on the exact route we’d be taking (my map reading is getting better but I still get confused!) we drove on through the forest, which is very British looking, and the trees almost met over the top of the road – could be spooky at night I think.
There was no break in the weather at all and we drove all the way to Auckland in non-stop almost horizontal rain. We only stopped for the loo and a brief coffee as there was no point getting soaked. There weren’t many places to see anyway on the route we followed although it’s a main route from Tauranga to Auckland. So we arrived in Auckland by 2.30pm, and decided to go to Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World, and I think half of Auckland had the same idea!! We ended up parking in a bus lane - although it is only a bus lane Mon-Fri 0730-0930, and we weren’t the only ones to do so. And no, we didn’t get a ticket, thank goodness!
It’s been set up in disused sewage tanks on Auckland sea front and has a very good range of sea creatures – King and ?? penguins, which you see from a snowcat on a circular tour of their pool.
One of the King penguins weighs 22kg – he’s rather portly! We watched different types of fish and short finned rays being fed,
then had a walk through the underwater tunnel with sharks, rays and a variety of fish swimming overhead. There were other tanks with eels, crayfish, piranha, catfish and clown fish, among others, and a display of corals. There is also a historical section about the Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton expeditions to the South Pole in the years 1908 – 1914, and reconstructions of their living and working environments. A small cinema has a film of a NZ journalist taking a trip to the South Pole to visit Scott’s quarters. (I think the same film is shown at the Antarctic Experience in Christchurch). Amazingly, the buildings are still in place at the South Pole after all this time although they are in extreme danger of rotting away. They have to dig them out every year after the winter.
We got talking to a local couple in the café and they gave us some suggestions of what to do while we’re here, depending on the weather. The café has huge windows looking out into the harbour and they told us that at high tide, the windows are half under water – that must be quite unnerving! I’m very glad that we weren’t on the Cook Strait ferry today, seeing all the boats in the harbour heaving up and down. As we left, we saw one boat that had broken away from its moorings and was being bashed against the harbour wall. No doubt the owner will be wishing he’d tied it up a bit better!
We successfully navigated to our last motel in NZ and it’s very nice, better than the last one, which was OK but a bit grubby. The sheets and towels were absolutely fine but the whole place could have done with a jolly good spring clean. Still, it was cheap and centrally placed for walking to town and the museum, etc. We had a laugh to ourselves when we arrived – you remember we’d been to Te Puia when we first got to Rotorua? (Pay attention, there’s a test at the end!!) We’d been plagued by a group of Chinese tourists, talking loudly wherever we went (they just can’t talk quietly), and we’d joked that we hoped there weren’t any at the motel – well, it’s run by a Chinese family!!! Ooops!
I keep meaning to mention that the I-pod that Amy and Andrew bought us for Christmas has been an absolute boon here. All the time that Tom spent loading it with hours and hours of music have certainly been worthwhile. It has helped pass the time when we’ve been driving through the wet, and has meant we haven’t had to talk to each other to pass the time! (only joking! We’re still getting on all right – a little bit of friction when it comes to map-reading, but nothing major).
Anyway, I’ve been adding to this on Sunday morning and we’re now going out to the Museum so I’ll be telling you all about that this evening. Bye for now.
Having decided on the exact route we’d be taking (my map reading is getting better but I still get confused!) we drove on through the forest, which is very British looking, and the trees almost met over the top of the road – could be spooky at night I think. There was no break in the weather at all and we drove all the way to Auckland in non-stop almost horizontal rain. We only stopped for the loo and a brief coffee as there was no point getting soaked. There weren’t many places to see anyway on the route we followed although it’s a main route from Tauranga to Auckland. So we arrived in Auckland by 2.30pm, and decided to go to Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World, and I think half of Auckland had the same idea!! We ended up parking in a bus lane - although it is only a bus lane Mon-Fri 0730-0930, and we weren’t the only ones to do so. And no, we didn’t get a ticket, thank goodness!It’s been set up in disused sewage tanks on Auckland sea front and has a very good range of sea creatures – King and ?? penguins, which you see from a snowcat on a circular tour of their pool.
One of the King penguins weighs 22kg – he’s rather portly! We watched different types of fish and short finned rays being fed, then had a walk through the underwater tunnel with sharks, rays and a variety of fish swimming overhead. There were other tanks with eels, crayfish, piranha, catfish and clown fish, among others, and a display of corals. There is also a historical section about the Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton expeditions to the South Pole in the years 1908 – 1914, and reconstructions of their living and working environments. A small cinema has a film of a NZ journalist taking a trip to the South Pole to visit Scott’s quarters. (I think the same film is shown at the Antarctic Experience in Christchurch). Amazingly, the buildings are still in place at the South Pole after all this time although they are in extreme danger of rotting away. They have to dig them out every year after the winter.We got talking to a local couple in the café and they gave us some suggestions of what to do while we’re here, depending on the weather. The café has huge windows looking out into the harbour and they told us that at high tide, the windows are half under water – that must be quite unnerving! I’m very glad that we weren’t on the Cook Strait ferry today, seeing all the boats in the harbour heaving up and down. As we left, we saw one boat that had broken away from its moorings and was being bashed against the harbour wall. No doubt the owner will be wishing he’d tied it up a bit better!
We successfully navigated to our last motel in NZ and it’s very nice, better than the last one, which was OK but a bit grubby. The sheets and towels were absolutely fine but the whole place could have done with a jolly good spring clean. Still, it was cheap and centrally placed for walking to town and the museum, etc. We had a laugh to ourselves when we arrived – you remember we’d been to Te Puia when we first got to Rotorua? (Pay attention, there’s a test at the end!!) We’d been plagued by a group of Chinese tourists, talking loudly wherever we went (they just can’t talk quietly), and we’d joked that we hoped there weren’t any at the motel – well, it’s run by a Chinese family!!! Ooops!
I keep meaning to mention that the I-pod that Amy and Andrew bought us for Christmas has been an absolute boon here. All the time that Tom spent loading it with hours and hours of music have certainly been worthwhile. It has helped pass the time when we’ve been driving through the wet, and has meant we haven’t had to talk to each other to pass the time! (only joking! We’re still getting on all right – a little bit of friction when it comes to map-reading, but nothing major).
Anyway, I’ve been adding to this on Sunday morning and we’re now going out to the Museum so I’ll be telling you all about that this evening. Bye for now.
2 comments:
You should be employed by the Government to visit NZ every time there is a drought - two cyclones in one visit!!
Have to say, had a bit of a moment when I read you were going to Kelly Tarlton's Underwear World - then read it properly!!
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