Nothing like a little photography fun post-rainstorm! Auckland - the "City of Sails" - definitely holds a waterfront appeal.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
NEW ZEALAND (N.) - Coramandel Beach & Whitianga
Hot beach, ‘Cool’ cove, and Maori-Style Bone Carving
“Sunrise, sunrise…” as Norah Jones would sing… ahhhhhhhhh, another magical morning on the beach, awaiting the sun’s glow! After such a great hike around town yesterday, I was jazzed to be up and enjoying a light cruise on foot across the small black rocks that comprise Napier’s beach. With pink clouds glowing over the distant peaks, bright yellow-orange outlining the clouds over the ocean, cool morning air, a cup of steaming Esquire’s coffee in hand, and silence all around – who wouldn’t be lovin’ it?! Along with 3 other people I could see in either direction, the beach was ours… lovely!
Cruising through Karangahake Gorge, just before the famed town of Paero, for NeZ’s L&P drink (too sweet for me!) – I switched buses in Thames to head up the Coramandel Peninsula. Driving alongside a cigar-shaped volcanic crater and past many lush green farms, it was a good day to cruise to the beach… especially one with a hot spring that feeds into the backside of it’s rocky point. With spades (shovels, that is) in hand, we took off across a pretty bustling little stream cut through the sand and started digging for warm water! It only took a scoop or two, and then you could begin to enjoy at least a super-hot foot bath (too hot at times,) and eventually sit in your own sand-tub if you wished!
Continuing on thru the day, passing beautiful homes lining the curvatures of the land bordered by Mercury Bay, we arrived at the walk track to Cathedral Cove. A quick 45-minute journey down to the sandy beaches below, I found myself in awe of how big the rock arch is! To add to the amazement, there are a couple stand-alone pillars that have been weathered away less than 10ft off-shore… stunning! To top off the shock of natural wonders, I met a family along the trail with 7 kids!!!... talk about making my life seem simple! ;) I was inspired to see them taking a journey by foot together!
“Sunrise, sunrise…” as Norah Jones would sing… ahhhhhhhhh, another magical morning on the beach, awaiting the sun’s glow! After such a great hike around town yesterday, I was jazzed to be up and enjoying a light cruise on foot across the small black rocks that comprise Napier’s beach. With pink clouds glowing over the distant peaks, bright yellow-orange outlining the clouds over the ocean, cool morning air, a cup of steaming Esquire’s coffee in hand, and silence all around – who wouldn’t be lovin’ it?! Along with 3 other people I could see in either direction, the beach was ours… lovely!
Cruising through Karangahake Gorge, just before the famed town of Paero, for NeZ’s L&P drink (too sweet for me!) – I switched buses in Thames to head up the Coramandel Peninsula. Driving alongside a cigar-shaped volcanic crater and past many lush green farms, it was a good day to cruise to the beach… especially one with a hot spring that feeds into the backside of it’s rocky point. With spades (shovels, that is) in hand, we took off across a pretty bustling little stream cut through the sand and started digging for warm water! It only took a scoop or two, and then you could begin to enjoy at least a super-hot foot bath (too hot at times,) and eventually sit in your own sand-tub if you wished!
Continuing on thru the day, passing beautiful homes lining the curvatures of the land bordered by Mercury Bay, we arrived at the walk track to Cathedral Cove. A quick 45-minute journey down to the sandy beaches below, I found myself in awe of how big the rock arch is! To add to the amazement, there are a couple stand-alone pillars that have been weathered away less than 10ft off-shore… stunning! To top off the shock of natural wonders, I met a family along the trail with 7 kids!!!... talk about making my life seem simple! ;) I was inspired to see them taking a journey by foot together!
After the hype and excitement of all sorts of things outside, we took a retreat inside... into a bone carving studio, after taking a ferry across the little riverway in Whitianga. There, I made a fish hook, symbolizing a whale tail into it - as I had just seen many whales recently... and wanted this Maori representation of strength, prosperity and safe travel over water, to have a little extra addition... as I find my 'song'. It was quite a process... took over 4 hours to work with electric drill files, sanding, washing and polishing... the steps and care needed to produce 1 little bone carving is unreal! It was a joy to learn and gain a greater appreciation for this ever-popular jewel in New Zealand.
Monday, July 2, 2007
NEW ZEALAND (N.) - Wandering through the Neighborhoods of NAPIER
Up early the next morning, Jalvo and I took off for an early morning walk to the local bakery in Wellington. We had to part ways rather premature, as he had to ferry back en route to Nelson, and I needed to continue on North to Napier. L Beijos e abracos – tchau, tchau… for now!
Not even 5 minutes after Jalvo left in his shuttle, I saw Rob walk into the lobby of Nomads – the very 1st driver I had for magic nearly 3 weeks earlier! So wonderful! I knew I certainly had a couple fun days of travel ahead.
The drive up to Napier was going to be a wet one… the rain was rather relentless! Stopping off at Mt. Bruce, it was a quick run over with one of my friends through the conservation center to check out the nocturnal environment they’ve created for the kiwis – the New Zealand bird! They’re pretty fun to watch.
Once in Napier, my friend Kelly and I decided to wander… through the neighborhoods of the N. Island’s east coast town of Napier. This area is choc-full of art deco… beautiful homes that have maintained their character from the 1930’s – of which I thoroughly enjoyed visiting, with my house being from the same decade – up and down over steep streets and through random sidewalk alleys and staircases - we wandered our way for 2½ hours… until we finally submerged our bodies into the hot saltwater pools alongside Napier’s beach, at Ocean Spa. Thankfully Rob recommended this… and joined us!
Not even 5 minutes after Jalvo left in his shuttle, I saw Rob walk into the lobby of Nomads – the very 1st driver I had for magic nearly 3 weeks earlier! So wonderful! I knew I certainly had a couple fun days of travel ahead.
The drive up to Napier was going to be a wet one… the rain was rather relentless! Stopping off at Mt. Bruce, it was a quick run over with one of my friends through the conservation center to check out the nocturnal environment they’ve created for the kiwis – the New Zealand bird! They’re pretty fun to watch.
Once in Napier, my friend Kelly and I decided to wander… through the neighborhoods of the N. Island’s east coast town of Napier. This area is choc-full of art deco… beautiful homes that have maintained their character from the 1930’s – of which I thoroughly enjoyed visiting, with my house being from the same decade – up and down over steep streets and through random sidewalk alleys and staircases - we wandered our way for 2½ hours… until we finally submerged our bodies into the hot saltwater pools alongside Napier’s beach, at Ocean Spa. Thankfully Rob recommended this… and joined us!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
NEW ZEALAND (S.) - PICTON, and a special side journey :)
Enjoying sunrise and a full-moon descent simultaneously, I did not want to leave Kaikoura. It’s such a small and quiet town, with a charm that I hope to explore further someday. The snowy, jagged mountain peaks in the distance left me curious as to which treks may lie one-ridgeline below.
With no time to spare (unfortunately) I was back on the road… again! The drive from Kaikoura continued to follow each and every curvature of the mountain-lined coast, with the train track alongside. Jalvo and I scored the front seats together, and ended up next to our friend Katharina. We stopped off at a really random beach spot that was like an oasis – from the backside of full-window doors (of an extremely nice, stylin’ country-like café) led steep gardened steps and lush green grass out to the rocky shore and water. A perfect break for being out in the fresh air.
Upon arriving in Picton, Jalvo and I ventured off on our own. Pretty much everyone was ferry-bound for Wellington, and a few others were in route to Nelson (where Jalvo was supposed to be going!) Instead, we decided to catch a small puddle-jumper plane together (for $8 bucks more than the ferry – how cool is that!) over to Wellington, and have a couple hours to wander around and explore Picton. So I would now be working my back to the N. Island – from above!
The weather was quite a bit iffy and we had a quick venture through many grey clouds before arriving into the rainy weather Wellington had to offer me… once again! I ran into a couple friends at Nomads – our digs for the night – and shortly thereafter we ventured into the town (and the rain) to go in search of a warm meal. After perusing many menu options around town, we took a long walk around town before working our way back to Sweet Mother’s Kitchen – where I had a fantastic meal a couple weeks earlier. We managed to keep ourselves chatting well into closing time and called it a night.
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