Déjà vu

We're back at the Sydney airport heading home. We had to get up at 3
this morning to get out of Auckland. It was raining like crazy so we
were a little worried about getting out on time but it all went as
planned. Now we have 5 hours left here and are having a bite to eat
and shopping while we wait.
We know we have lots of catching up to do but the last few days have
been jam packed with activities! We'll try to be up to date by
tonight. This will be the longest day ever. We got up at three for a
6:30 flight. Took the three hour flight here. Have a 7.5 hour layover
then a 14 hour flight and we get back at 10 AM the same day!

On the way back from Kawau we stopped to fish for dinner.  We didn't catch any fish that were big enough to keep (they have to be at least 27 inches), but we caught a lot!

There's Sue cutting up the bait!

Kawau Island

That cute little island is called Beehive Island.  A film was made there that was supposed to be set in Fiji.

There's a really small graveyard on Kawau as well.  This last line of the epitaph is "sleeping with Jesus."  There used to be a school on the island and a bunch of little kids died in a boating accident.  Now very few people live on the island (fewer than 200) and they're mostly retired folks.  You need a boat to get out there and there aren't any shops at all.

Kawau Island

We hiked out to the old copper mine on the island.  Check out that cool green and blue wall!

Kawau Island

Today Sue and Dennis took us out on their little boat for a trip to Kawau Island.  The house is called the Mansion House and it was built by Governor Grey, the first governor of NZ .   The beach is called Lady's Bay  because it was where his wife used to go and bathe everyday.  She would take a carriage there every day and it was literally less than a five minute walk from the house.  Ah, the life of the idle rich!

I took a photo of the white peacock strolling the grounds.  

A funny thing about NZ

Well, we think it's funny, anyway...  The dog food is all in the refrigerated section of the grocery.  Our favorite names: Butch, Hound Log and (my fave) PossYum!

Just like at home...

yasu is working his magic in the kitchen.  we're going next door for dinner tonight with Sue and Den.  yasu is going to stuff those squash blossoms you see in front of him with some feta and peppers (which he roasted) that we got at the market today and basil from Sue's garden.  Can't wait!

Rainbow!

I knew there had to be one around here somewhere with all this rain and sunshine.  We saw one on the way home from the beach but couldn't get a pic.  Then, lo and behold, when we got home and went out on the deck we saw this beauty!  I couldn't even get the whole thing in the frame because it's so long.

At this point, I just want to stop and say that we feel so lucky and blessed that we get to have this trip together, this time together in this beautiful place surrounded by so much beauty and wonder. To enter into our lives together in this way seems so fitting for us and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity.  So thank you to you, our family and friends who have loved and supported us and continue to support us while we're away! 

Omaha beach

Is also a fancy neighborhood surrounding the beach. Most of the
homes are super modern and industrial looking.

Omaha

That's Ti Point in the distance where we hiked the first day here.

Omaha Beach

Since NZ is like OR in that the weather can change quickly, we thought
we would try our luck at Omaha. We were fortunate to find sun there so
we stayed for a while, read and played in the waves.  This seems to be a popular beach for beginning surfers.  The island in the distance is Little Barrier Reef.

Another view from Scandrett

Just gorgeous! We hiked down to a beach, up and out to a promontory,
through a field of sheep (they are so cute!) and then down to another
beach but by then it was really raining.

Scandrett Regional Park

We hiked here earlier today. It was sunny and rainy all at once.

Saturday Matakana Village Farmers' Market

We spent the morning at the farmer's market. Whitebait fritters are a local specialty so we tried one--very fishy!

Rainy day in Matakana

it began raining last night as we lay in bed reading Pessl and Bolano. the only breaks from the cicadas have been heavy rains and strong winds. we woke this morning to sheets of twisted fabric and sheets of sideways precipitation, big buckets being tossed around the spit, against the large windows of the cottage and the bush surrounding us. there were a few ebbs in the downpour but it remained mostly steady throughout the morning while Renee blogged and i followed the increasingly ridiculous story of Benno von Archimboldi and the Part about the Critics. we conjectured that the rain couldn't continue this way as we showered and prepared ourselves for a day in the wine country.  noon rolled around and as we lounged on the couches, poring over the aforementioned novels. we began to realize this could go on indefinitely.  the sky kept letting it go and the day kept letting it come.  after another rush of furious rainfall, there seemed to be a pause so we shut our books and went out into the wide, wet and humid world. we stopped first at Heron's flight to enjoy some Italian grape juices, both fermented and non-alcoholic.  Sebastian, the blonde man from Berlin in the photo, helped us with a couple of Sangioveses and a Dolcetto. after tasting the wines, he poured us a taste of the plain grape juices which were straight crush and pasteurization. next we headed down to Hyperion along Tongue Farm Road, past the local pottery company of renown, Morris & James.  we pulled up and parked under an oak tree against an old lichen covered fence and proceeded to poke around the winery while a spindly, grey-haired man fussed about bottling white wine.  when he realized we were there he came out to greet us, smiling broadly and apologizing for the way the place looked, all shuttered against the rain.  John Crone is his name, a retiree from Auckland who farms his two acres of vines with his wife.  he pulled open the former cow shed turned maison du vins and poured us his current releases.  as part of the local "Grappa Gang" John makes white and red still wines as well as grappa and port.  we exchanged stories of Oregon wine country and asked him for recommendations which he seemed reluctant to make.  one place on his list was Quince, where we have made a booking for dinner tonight.  as we took our leave of John (this is not the last we will see of him, even today), we moved back up the road to Matakana and popped into the Village Bookshop and picked up a couple collections of short stories and one poetry retrospective.  we then walked upstairs to enjoy a snack and a couple glasses of rose at Vintry, a local tasting room in the town center. the picture on the deck is our bag of books, the cheese and meat plates and the vin gris. while here, John Crone and his wife stopped in for a glass of wine to take to the cinemas next door.  a perfect day for cozying up with a book or a movie and the person in your life you hold most dear.  

Ruakuri Cave

Our last adventure of the day was definitely the best.  We took an underground rafting/caving trip 65 meters deep into the earth.  Basically, you put on a wetsuit (this was the hardest part), a helmet with a lantern, grab a tube and follow the guides into the cave.  I was a little afraid at first but it was AWESOME!!!  The caves are completely black except for the tiny glowworms that dot the roof of the cave that varies in height from a couple of meters to 65 meters or more. Glowworms only live in New Zealand so this was a rare opportunity to see these little creatures.  And you can only see them when the lanterns are off so they don't let you have the lanterns on for very much of the trip.  Sometimes you are hiking through shallow water carrying the tube, other times you are floating along in the cold water looking up and wondering what's in the water below you and sometimes you are jumping backwards from a waterfall into a pool below you that you can't really see because of the darkness.  This is definitely one of the coolest experiences we have ever had and I recommend it if you ever make it over here.  You can't take a camera in there and we opted not to buy the $20 CD with bad photos so you'll have to use your imagination on this one.

The Morepork sign is just here because I thought it was cute and thought Beth would like the name.  :)   

Lake Taupo

We spent the night in Rotorua and then got back on the road.  We stopped at Lake Taupo to take in the pretty sights and then headed to Waitomo Caves.
Geothermal activity!

Hot Water Beach

This beach is popular for digging pools at low tide that fill with hot water.  There's a ton of geothermal activity all around here and it's common to see steam rising up out of the earth.

Cathedral Cove

yasu is so cute!!!

Cathedral Cove