North Island, New
Zealand
November 24 - December 25
Written by
KarenGreetings from our 9th and final country of our trip. First let me tell you a few facts about New Zealand. It rains almost constantly here (and I'm not exaggerating). The North Island averages 51 inches of rainfall a year. This November has been their wettest November in 30 years. Aren't we lucky that we are able to participate in this historic event? Actually the locals have been apologizing to us for the poor weather. We just put on our raingear and go.
New Zealand is located on two tectonic plates so there are about 1400 earthquakes a year. Most of the earthquakes are weak and don't occur in populated places. In addition there is a lot of volcanic and geothermal activity. The geology is fascinating.
NZ's population is 3.8 million. Auckland contains 30% of NZ's population and has the greatest concentration of Polynesians on earth. The Maori culture is very prevalent.
In 1984, NZ took a strong stand on nuclear issues by refusing entry to nuclear-equipped and powered warships. In response, the USA suspended its obligations to NZ within the Anzus defence pact.
The Lord of the Rings movie is the biggest thing to happen to NZ since they won the America's Cup. The director, Peter Jackson, is from Wellington, the capital.
Here are some highlights/adventures from our time on the North Island:
Visiting Friends
John and Jean, whom we met in Samoa, picked us up from the airport, showed us around Auckland and let us stay with them. We stayed with Fiddes and Deveney who live north of Auckland for a few days. We met them in Queeensland, Australia. Then we drove to Whangarei and saw John and Colleen on Bow Bells, Andy and Joan on Silver Bells, and Paul and Julia on Sabina. It was like a homecoming. We had met all three couples months ago in the South Pacific. We stayed with Mike in Wellington for four days. We sailed with him on Tilikum Triton back in June and July.Coping with the Rain
Rather than taking a 10-minute ferry ride to Russell, I decided we should drive 1.5 hours to the town. It is supposed to be a very scenic ride, which it was for the first hour. Then we had to turn back because the road was flooded. We tried to drive through the water but the engine stalled. Pete ended up pushing the van about 50 yards back to dry land. We ended up taking the ferry the next day.Eating Fish and Chips
Our friends, Fiddes and Deveney told us the best fish and chips shop in all of New Zealand was located in Mangonui. We had to drive through the town on our way north so we stopped for lunch. It really was the best fish and chips I have eaten.Driving on the Beach and Digging for Tua Tua
Tua tuas are a type of mussel. They are located on Ninety Mile Beach, which is really only 60 miles long. The beach is hard enough that vehicles can drive on it during low tide, which we did. Fiddes told us to go to the beach at low tide, walk in up to our ankles and dig. After numerous failed attempts we were just about to call it quits when we noticed that the sand under us was rippled when the tide was receding. We thought it looked really strange so we dug there. Gold mine! We were scooping up handfuls of tua tuas. We collected about 100 in five minutes. We took them back to the caravan park and steamed them. We invited two couples to join us for dinner and we all feasted on the tua tuas, which were delicious.Seeing the Kauri Trees
Kauri trees only grow on the north part of the North Island. They grow to at least 150 feet and are believed to attain an age of about 2000 years. We did some short walks in the forest to view the trees. We saw Te Matua Ngahere (The Father of the Forest) with a girth of 15 feet. It is believed to be the oldest kauri tree.Jumping on Trampolines
Many of the caravan places we stay at have trampolines. If the place has one, we will use it. Jumping on a trampoline is a great cardiovascular workout and a lot of fun. I may buy one when I get home.Diving Poor Knights Island
Jacques Cousteau rated this spot as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world. We did two dives and I almost turned into an ice cube! The water was so cold we had to wear two wetsuits. The first suit was a five millimeter, full body suit with no arms. The second suit was a five millimeter, long sleeved jacket and wrapped through our legs. We wore hoods and booties. On the second dive, we swam under an archway where hundreds of fish and beautiful colourful coral were located. The dive was definitely worth it. On the way back to the main land, we saw dolphins. It was magical.Visiting the Glowworm Caves
After our diving trip, I didn't want to get wet again so I took the 45-minute walking tour of the Waitomo Caves. Pete took the adventurous three-hour tubing tour of Ruakuri Cave. Glowworms are the larvae of the fungus gnat, which looks much like a large mosquito without mouth parts. The larvae glowworms have luminescent organs, which produce a soft, greenish light. Glowworms thrive in moist, dark caves, but they can survive anywhere if they have the requisites of moisture, an overhang to suspend from, and insects to eat. Waitomo Cave is the most famous place to see glowworms because the conditions for their growth here are just about perfect. The cave ceiling looked like the Milky Way with thousands of little lights shining.Hiking the Tongorario Crossing
This hike is described as the best one day hike in New Zealand. We used a whole roll of film (24 pics) during the seven-hour hike so you know it was full of beautiful scenery. It was awesome. Basically we climbed up, over and down an active volcano. The crater is covered with dirt but it did steam and was warm to the touch. The volcano right next to the one we climbed was last active in 1996.Visiting Active Geothermal Areas
The area around Taupo and Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity. There are hot springs, geysers, and hot pools everywhere. We visited a place near Taupo named "Craters of the Moon". We walked on a wooden walkway through a field filled with boiling mud pools and steaming vents. Then we visited Orakei Korako about a 45-minute drive away. Lonely Planet claims this area is "possibly the best thermal area left in NZ, and one of the finest in the world". One of the best thermal areas, known as the Pink and White Terraces, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1886. At Orakei Korako, the ground is multi-colored due to the minerals that are brought up with the hot water. It is a fascinating place.Coping with the Rain II
In 1931 Napier was destroyed by an earthquake that measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. Over 250 people died, and the town gained 40 square kilometres of land when the quake pushed that amount of seabed about sea level. The town was rebuilt in two years time. All the buildings were constructed in the Art Deco style of the day. The day before we were to visit, we watched the news to check out the weather. They were calling for extremely heavy rain in Napier. I said, "let's go anyway". The town received 5.2 inches of rain in the 24 hours that we were there. I ended up wearing my foul weather pants and jacket on our walking tour of the town. The architecture was great. It was worth the walk in the rain.Sailing in Wellington
Mike, our host in Wellington, owns a 29 foot sailboat and invited us to do a fun race with him. On Friday evening, Mike; Mareka, his girlfriend; Neil, his regular crewmember; Pete and I went sailing. It was perfect weather - sunny and 10-15 mph winds. We had a beautiful sail and we won the race.Racing to the South Island
Actually Pete and Mike did this. I stayed behind at Mike's house and checked out Wellington. The Cook Strait, the body of water that separates the North Island from the South Island, is one of the three windiest bodies of water in the world and it's notorious for having terrible weather. I didn't want to risk getting into nasty weather. However Pete was more than happy to go. They crewed on a 55-foot boat with six other guys and a woman.Pete's report back on the race
The race was about 30 nautical miles long with a race record of three and half hours. The plan was to start in Wellington harbour, continue across the Strait and end near Picton on the South Island. The weather for the couple of weeks prior to the race had been bad meaning 30+ knots of wind all the time. Since Mike's boat is a very light (and fast) racer he decided that the ride would not be worth the trip for his boat. As a result he decided that he would not get his boat ready for the race and try to find himself a position on another boat. Lucky for me he managed to find a boat that was willing to take me along too.Andiamo, is a Davidson 55 and the largest boat I have ever sailed on. The crew was very confident and experienced. They have raced in several major events including the Sydney-Hobart race and the Kenwood Cup (a race in Hawaii). I was looking forward to racing in one of the windiest places in the world with this crew.
My job was going to be throwing off the jib during tacks and adjusting the hydraulic pressure for the babystay, backstay, and boom vang. Not the most important jobs but at least I was going to be more than just "rail meat". Of course, the wind was almost non-existent on the morning of the race. After three and half hours we had not even made it out of Wellington bay. On the bright side since the water was flat and calm, it made it easier to see the dolphins that were playing around the boat. Since I had experience with this kind of light weather I felt as if I was back home on the Chesapeake Bay in August. On the bright side due to my light wind experience I got promoted to the job of jib trim.
Our start was great. We hit the line on the gun and held the lead the whole time. That is until every other boat in the race (about 20 of them) dropped out. After floating with the tide and doing two uncontrolled very slow 360's due to no wind or helm control we decided it was time for us to drop out too. It was right as we were entering the notorious Cook Strait in a dead calm.
We motored over to the other side while killing many beers along the way. After we tied up at the dock the rum and cokes began to flow. As you could imagine we got a late start in the morning. The sail back was nice. The wind was perfect for flying the spinnaker (or kite). For this run I got the job of controlling the pole. If you do not know what that means, it's OK it was meant to keep me out of the way.
As we crossed the notorious Cook Strait in a disappointingly low 15-20 knots of wind and little to no swell the wind began to come around in front of us. We dropped the kite and sailed close hauled the rest of the way home. For this part of the ride they gave me the helm. With a glow of excitement I took the wheel and thoroughly enjoyed the ride from my new vantage point. As we sailed closer to the high lands of the North Island the crew announced that I was now sailing in an area commonly referred to as the "wind factory". It gets this name from the winds that come shooting down tall landscape at alarming speeds. Joshua Slocum referred to this type of wind as "williwaws". At times while his boat was at anchor in the Straits of Magellan the williwaws would knock his boat on its side. Our trip by the "wind factory" was uneventful even though we did get hit by some big wind puffs. I just held the wheel while the 55 footer had its rail in the water. It was a great ride!
Future Plans
We will be spending December 25 through January 30 on the South Island. We will be occupied with numerous hikes, two days of kayaking the Abel Tasman, 1 day of kayaking Milford Sound, a whale watching trip, and a scenic train ride over the Southern Alps. Of course our plans could change depending on the weather!