Author: richwest3

December 14, 2012

We’ve been here a little over a week, started to do just a little sightseeing, and we can say that New Zealand is . . . amazing. It is gorgeous, it is pristine, it’s well-run and efficient, the people are incredibly nice, the food is wonderful, and the coffee is good. Did I mention that it’s beautiful?

When we arrived, we noticed that the cruisers who had arrived earlier seemed to have big goofy smiles on their faces. We soon found out why as New Zealand seems to cast a kind of spell: you actually fall a little bit in love with it. You go around smiling, saying how beautiful it is, how amazing, how much there is to see, in a way that brings to mind a pre-teen girl talking about Justin Beiber.

So far, every cruiser we’ve run into (and we’ve run into a lot of them) seems to have fallen under this spell. (Well, all except one who really misses the tropics). We, too, have succumbed: we have a crush on New Zealand. (Rich… yes, even me, walking around with the pre-teen-smile… I love you Justin, I love you New Zealand!)

As far as temperatures, it has gotten warm. We ran the boat heater in the morning for our first 3 days; then we didn’t need it any more. The afternoons get pretty warm, although I’m still wearing jeans, socks and sneakers while Rich sometimes wears shorts and flip flops. It gets cool overnight and we are using our blankets and down comforter to sleep, but then it’s very comfortable.

One of the reasons we lingered in Tonga was wanting to get as close to summer in New Zealand as possible, and this strategy has paid off. We’re a lot warmer than the cruisers who opted to arrive for the Regatta a month ago. I will say the water temperature is cold, too cold to swim now. It should warm up enough for us to swim in February (equivalent to August in So Cal which has similar water temperatures), but we’re pretty spoiled after the tropics.

So, that is the answer to the question, “How’s New Zealand?” We love it (you’ll have to picture our goofy grins and dreamy eyes).-Cyndi

If you want to see the full-size version of this photo, you can click on the above photo then click on the “1662 x 400” link above the photo.

December 16, 2012

If you miss the turn to head north to Kerikeri from Paihia, you’ll find yourself going past Shippey’s (the fish and chips place) and over a small one-way bridge to Waitangi, the historic site where the treaty was made between Maori chiefs and the British Crown giving birth to the nation of New Zealand.

Waitangi is a low-key, quiet, pretty area with a golf course, hotel, and the historic Waitangi Treaty Grounds.  Rich and I went to the Waikokopu Cafe, next to the grounds, but figured we’d wait until Waitangi Day (when there’s no charge to enter) to visit the grounds themselves.  Come to find out, Waitangi Day is huge deal here, and the closest parking spot was over a mile away; so we didn’t go.

Maybe we’ll get there next year, but in the meantime we did enjoy the lovely Waikokopu Cafe. -Cyndi

December 27, 2012

I thought something had gone terribly wrong with the car – every few seconds there was a clicking sound.  Nope, nothing wrong with the car.  It was just Cyndi trying to fill her thousand photo quota.  Actually, she’s working on a coffee table book called “From the Road – professional-look photography of New Zealand from a moving vehicle”  I was able to sneak this example into the blog…

(December 6, 2012 – March 5, 2013)

When I admire something, I like to get a photograph of it.  Often, I see things I admire as we are hurtling down the highway at a high rate of speed, with no way to stop or slow down.  I don’t let that stop me from taking a picture anyway.  This has led to many “discussions” as to the feasibility of pictures in motion.  Basically, I will whip out the camera and make the effort to get the shot while hearing, “What are you doing?  Why are you taking a picture?  That will never turn out!!

I can see the resulting photos on the back display of our digital camera and think some of these shots look pretty promising.  I’ll retort that am going to do a coffee table book entitled From the Car: Taking Professional-Quality Photographs from a Moving Vehicle, and that Rich will be laughing out of the other side of his face when I make a million dollars! He says he will be laughing out of both sides if I make a million dollars.

As it turns out; we’re both right.  Many of the shots I get turn out blurry or get blocked by the sudden intrusion of a telephone pole, fence post, tree, bush, hill, etc.  But sometimes I do get some decent pictures that will be nice reminders of the landscape here.  They won’t ever be in a coffee table book, but I can make them a recurring feature in our blog.  I will title these: From the Car: Taking Beautiful and Interesting Photographs While Being Implored to Quit Wasting Time – Those Will Never Turn Out!! -Cyndi

December 2012 – March, 2013

Up the hill from the Stone Store is the St. James Church, the beautiful little chapel built on the same site as New Zealand’s first church.  If you walk across the rocks over the river, you get to enjoy some ducks and geese, then you arrive at the grounds for Rewa’s Village, the Maori village recreation.  We didn’t go in, but the walk up there is lovely.  -Cyndi