The North

We took advantage of a few days off over Easter to spend some time up north, in the Bay of Islands. We booked a last minute bach in Paihia, about 3.5 hours north of Auckland. 

Paihia sits on the Bay of Islands (a bay with many islands in it), and there's another popular town called Russell, which sits just across the bay. Russell is actually on the mainland, but it's actually easiest to access via ferry. There's a walk-on ferry that goes directly between Paihia and Russell and costs $7 per person, and a car ferry that connects two smaller towns (Opua and Okaito) about 3km south of Paihia and Russell and costs $2 per car (we think that this one ferry might be the only thing that is cheaper in NZ than Canada). More to come on the ferries later.

The dock at Paihia and some islands in the background.

Bird's eye view of Paihia.

On our first morning in Paihia, we learned about a circular walking track that follows the coast and leads you from Paihia to Russell (by way of the car ferry, which can also be walked-on to for the measly price of $1). We decided that it would be a good way to check out some of the local scenery.  

The trek started out with a walk through some mangroves.

Justin was thoroughly impressed by the height of these plants.

We had a few spider sightings, and really hoped that there were none of these hiding in our bach. There is apparently only one type of living entity that can seriously injure you in New Zealand. It's called a white tail spider, and is mildly poisonous. Getting bitten can result in a cellulitis and may require antibiotics.  We didn't see any white on this critter, but we weren't about to take our chances and get too close.

Where's waldo?

While most of the hike was through forest, we did get some nice views of the bay. Here's the view of Opua (off in the distance), where we caught the car ferry over Okaito on the other side of the bay. 

There were lots of signs alerting us to the possible presence of kiwis in the area, but alas we didn't see any (despite calling 'here kiwi kiwi kiwi!' a few times). If only they were less nocturnal.

 

After a hilly finale, we made it to Russell. It's a very cute little town, and all of the buildings are colonial style. It was the perfect place to relax for the afternoon before catching the expensive ferry back to Paihia.

Sunset in Paihia.

The next day, we took a little road trip up to the northern-most point of New Zealand: Cape Reinga. It's about a 3 hour drive from Paihia or a 6 hour drive from Auckland. Cape Reinga is also the point at which the Tasman and Pacific oceans meet. It was pretty neat to look out and see white caps coming from two separate directions and colliding in the middle of the ocean. In addition to its geographic importance, Cape Reinga also has a sacred place in Maori history. When people die, the Maori believe that their spirits depart via the Cape. 

The lighthouse at Cape Reinga.

It's pretty far to everywhere from here. 

Looking back towards the rest of New Zealand.

We felt that we were due for a photo of the two of us.

The beach at Cape Reinga. Not directly accessible by car, but it's about a 2km trek on foot.

Maori spirits leave New Zealand via this little peninsula. There is a lone tree growing from the rocks, and legend has it that spirits slide into the water down a staircase made from its roots. Sounds legitimate. 

After our spiritual awakening, we drove a few clicks south to experience New Zealand's giant sand dunes at a place called Te Paki stream. Sandboarding down the dunes (on a boogie board) has become a popular pastime here, and we were pretty excited to be able to rent some boards and give it a try. It was highly entertaining (and a little bit scary). We're still finding sand in our pockets! We didn't bring our cameras out on the dunes, but managed to snap a couple of photos of them when we got back to the car.

Our last stop for the day was at 90 mile beach, on the west coast (the Tasman ocean side). As it's name suggests, this beach pretty much goes on forever. It's also a registered highway, so cars can actually drive down it. We wanted to give this a try, but were a bit worried that we'd beach our rental vehicle...so we just lived vicariously by watching other people speed down the beach at >100 km/h.

Justin is out there somewhere, playing in the waves.

We're now back in Auckland and looking forward to planning our next adventure. We're now well into fall, although the temperatures of 24 degrees in the Bay of Islands and 20 in Auckland don't feel very autumnal. We've got our fingers crossed that the good weather holds on for a bit longer.

Wanaka, Christchurch, and Cricket World Cup

The last leg of our South Island trip involved an hour drive from Queenstown to Wanaka. The two towns are separated by a group of mountains called the Crown Range, and getting to to the top involved a multitude of switchbacks that were reminiscent of the Tongrariro crossing descent. Kiwis really seem to love their switchbacks!

Similar to Queenstown, Wanaka is a lake-front town with beautiful views. While Wanaka is equally as stunning (perhaps moreso), it has a much more laid back feel than Queenstown, and isn't quite as touristy. We had originally only booked two nights here, but as soon as we drove in to town, we looked at each other and decided immediately that we needed to stay as long as possible (perhaps forever). We ended up staying for three nights, but it could have been much longer, if there were only jobs for GIS analysts and endocrinologists in Wanaka. 

Our first evening in town was spent checking out the lake and getting dinner at one of the lakefront pubs (one of our best dinners of this trip). 

Lake Wanaka:

It was actually a bit chilly in Wanaka (jacket weather in the evenings), but these people had no problem braving the water. We had a mid-afternoon swim the next day, and it took Justin about 15 minutes just to get up the gall to dunk his head in.

Wanaka is surrounded by mountains, giving it a bit of an interior BC type feel.

View of the lake from our restaurant.

The next morning, Emma went out for a sunrise run. The lake is surrounded by an expansive network of paths that wind through pine forests, wineries and the surrounding hills. It's hard to imagine anywhere more beautiful to run.

Sunrise on lake Wanaka:

During Emma's run, Justin was busy getting his beauty sleep in preparation for a skydiving adventure. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos of this...but he survived a tandem jump from 12,000 feet and actually really enjoyed it (even though he says that he screamed like a little girl during his entire 45 seconds of free falling). The sky was so pristine that he could even see New Zealand's largest mountain: Mt. Cook. 

We toned down the adrenaline a bit that afternoon, and went for a leisurely horseback ride in Cardrona. This teeny town is about 20 minutes out of Wanaka, and was formed as a result of a gold rush in the 1860s. During our trek, Justin got to experience his first canter (run) on his trusty and gluttonous steed, Simon. After two hours on horseback, we dismounted at the historic Cardrona Hotel (built in the 1800s and still an institution now) for a beer. They have a lovely garden bar with an outdoor fireplace that would be great for some apres ski mulled wine in the winter.

 Justin and Simon getting to know each other.

Throughout the ride, our guide filled us in on some of the Wanaka history, particularly regarding the gold rush. In order to provide incentive for the gold miners, the bosses used to shout the whole crew gin and raspberry cocktails every time they pulled in a big haul (that doesn't seem like a very fitting libation of choice for manly miners, but apparently that's what they liked to drink). There is a cocktail bar called the 'Gin and Raspberry' on the shore of lake Wanaka, so we decided that we needed to check out their signature gin and raspberry cocktail after our horseback ride (for historical research, obviously). The verdict: we'd definitely take up mining for these drinks!

Our last full day in Wanaka was spent at the annual Agricultural & Pastural (A&P) show. It's Wanaka's biggest event of the year, comparable in size to a typical Canadian fall fair. We got to watch some showjumping, sheep herding, and even a goat show. We got a good laugh out of the goats. The picture below makes them look like they were on their best behavior, but in actuality they kicked up a massive fuss before getting in such a straight line.

The other thing about Wanaka that really deserves mention is the food. Oh, the food! While all of the meals were good, the breakfasts were some of the best we'd ever had. Emma had granola with yoghurt and berry compote at a little cafe (Beanie cafe) during our first morning in town, and liked it so much that we went back every morning for breakfast. Justin thoroughly enjoyed his french toast topped with a fried banana at the same cafe. We also splurged on a banana cupcake with chocolate icing (perfect for second breakfast) at a little cafe-by-day-pub-by-night called Kai Whakapai during our first morning in town. They were so good that Emma had to have one one the second and third mornings in town as well. We would probably have to roll out of Wanaka if we had stayed any longer. 

The final leg of our trip involved a drive over to Christchurch. We got a good view of Mt. Cook on the drive, but otherwise we didn't stop for any sightseeing.

Our time in Christchurch was a bit limited, but we managed to check out the beautiful and expansive botanical gardens, as well as a cute little mall that is made entirely out of shipping containers (it was built as part of city restoration following all of the destruction from the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011). Our evening activities in Christchurch (and much of our evening activities in Wanaka) revolved around watching cricket. Somehow, during the course of our vacation, we realized that we'd become massive cricket fans. It was then that we knew that we had to get tickets for the semi-final game that was going to be played in Auckland. We weren't sure at that point if New Zealand would even be in the semi-final, but we decided that we wanted to watch it regardless. We ended up going on a wait list for tickets, and finally getting some. 

In the end, New Zealand made it to the semi-final and so we got to see them play South Africa. It was a pretty nervewracking experience, because we almost lost (and even though it goes for 8 hours, you really can't blink because anything could happen at any moment!). However, New Zealand won the game on the second to last ball, to make it through to the final (it was pretty much the equivalent of a team being down 3-2 in the Stanley Cup finals and scoring the game winner in triple overtime to force a game 7). It was a pretty incredible experience, something that we'll both remember forever. 

Post-game fireworks:

Unfortunately, NZ went on to lose to Australia in the final. But that still hurts too much to talk about.

To get over our post-cricket blues, Justin is going to be playing in the New Zealand ultimate frisbee nationals with the Auckland men's team next month, and Emma is going to do some Easter baking.