North Island, New Zealand
11/13/2004 - 11/28/2004
Leaving the Opua wharf on the vehicle ferry across to Russell. A gloomy day, but dry enough to get in some short hikes.
Immerse
Okay. So here we are in a new country, in a new climate, with a new culture, with a few of the friends we have met along the way. It is time to explore this new domain.
We wanted to get off the boat for a while, but were not ready for a big land tour (and the weather hasn't been great). So, we rented cars to take a few smaller "day trips" between now and Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, we will venture out on the roads for a major Northland tour.
Do You Know The Way To Whangarei?
First, a visit Whangarei (pronounced FAHN-grr-ay) with friends sounded fun. Whangarei is where most cruisers spend cyclone season. The skilled labor there is reasonably priced, the marina is cheap and it is a good place to get work done before returning to the islands in April or May. Friends on Island Sonata and Billabong plan to leave their boats in Whangarei while they explore New Zealand.
Camira and Whisper are destined for the Auckland area. Of these four boats, Whisper will be the only boat to stay behind in New Zealand. It will be sad to see everyone sail off to the islands next season, but we decided to stay to enjoy this small beautiful country for a while. The plan is to stay, live, and work for at least a couple of years and we may extend this depending on how much fun we are having. Starting the process of NZ residency, and a work visa/permit when we arrive in Auckland will be a priority. Note to concerned friends and family: NZ residency is like a U.S. "green card", we get the benefits of freely living and working, but without NZ citizenship. We'll remain U.S. citizens. The good news is we do not have to be tested on the Parliamentary government process.
The lead rental car with Mike from Camira at the helm while his wife Dana, MJ and John (from Island Sonata) provide backseat driving and navigation support. The wheel is on the wrong drive will be driving down the wrong side of the road! Yikes! After many months of sailing, walking or taxiing everywhere, this is a challenge.
The follow car with Chris & KT Billabong driving and Whisper providing backseat support functions. We stay "connected" via short range hand-held radios. We could relay between cars that we both just missed the turn!
The first glimpse of the rural New Zealand landscape. Stripped of trees, fenced, and terraced by thousands of daily sheep-steps.
Duncan gives up the camera long enough to pose for the rare "Duncan and Robin together" photo.
The Mighty Kauri
On the way to Whangarei we stopped to see some Kauri trees. The Kauri can grow into an enormous tree. It's a sub-tropical hardwood prized for it strength, straightness, and light weight. Kauri wood was the spar (mast, boom, yard-arm) of choice on early European sailing ships. The only trees that survived harvesting were the ones that were too hard to get to or were just lucky enough to be missed by the early lumberjacks. Only a few of the "old growth" Kauri trees remain.
Dana from Camira gets up close to a large "twin" Kauri -- two large trees have fused into one. The bush hiking feels very prehistoric. Strange new palm trees, mixed with enormous tree ferns make us feel like we are on a Jurassic Park set. Luckily, the cute little brushtail possum is the most ferocious beast in these woods -- followed closely by the fluffy-looking hedgehog. Speaking of possum and hedge-hogs -- they are invasive pests, and they are exterminated in great numbers. Possum fur is valuable and mixed with wool for a "cashmere-like" end result.
These tall, straight trees look like they would be great for building boats and boat spars. No wonder there are so few left.
A close-up of the unusual bark reveals interesting color splotches, patterns, humps and shapes. I'll call it "Rorschach inkblot test" bark.
The Opua wharf and the R. Tucker Thompson tall ship await our return home from Whangarei and the Kauri forests. The tall ship picks tourists up from Russell every morning. Cruisers can get a free ride over to Russell when the ship leaves in the morning and returns in the afternoon. A nice service that can be repaid by taking the full (paid) day sail on one of the trips.
The Kiwi KZ 1 "Big Boat". Radical design, answered by an even more radical design -- a catamaran!
Auckland, the City of Sails
Next, we wanted to check out Auckland. Our proposed new marina is in Bayswater, a suburb of Auckland. With so much uncertainty around what we are doing next, we visited Auckland to see if it was the city we wanted to live in for a while. If we did not like Auckland, we'd need to formulate a "Plan B".
Aptly named the City of Sails, Auckland appears to be a boating and yachting Mecca. There are several large marinas, a boat ramp around every corner, and a nice new marina starting construction. Of course, there is the Viaduct Basin and America's Cup Harbor too, where the big boats live. We chose to look at Bayswater Marina over several others.
The main draw to Bayswater is the 15 minute ferry ride across the bay to the central business district (CBD) of Auckland. Important for a short commute or evenings out in the city. Second, because the marina has free wireless Internet access to the boat. With dozens of software updates to apply to two computers, jobs to find, desire to keep in touch with friends and family regularly via email -- internet access became is a big selling point. In the past few years, we spent $30 to $100/month in Internet cafes.
The boat in the picture was supposed to win the 1988 America's cup from the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC). There was a huge controversy around the design rules used for this boat and the tactics used to exclusively challenge the SDYC for the America's Cup. Dennis Connor's team decided to equally break convention by designing a catamaran that also squeaked in under the old design rules. San Diego won and kept the Cup even after numerous court challenges.
Robin at Viaduct Basin in America's Cup Harbor. The city's trademark Sky Tower rises behind the harbor.
Around Town
Several Auckland neighborhoods made the list of places to see, so off we went exploring. First, we stopped by Bayswater to check out the marina. The marina facilities were pleasant and we were fairly convinced the marina had everything we wanted, so we put down a deposit and set our arrival time for the second week of January. We chatted with Phillip, the marina manager, and he used his connections to get us great rate at the Auckland Hilton just across the bay. With thoughts of long, hot showers dancing in our heads, we drove over to the Hilton, checked in, dumped our luggage in our beautiful room, showered, then ventured out to explore Auckland. Next stop. Viaduct Basin and the America's Cup Harbor.
Viaduct Basin and America's Cup Harbor
Even without an America's Cup to defend, this area of town is a vibrant spot for nightlife and tourism. There are a dozen restaurants, a few cafés and several large empty syndicate buildings from the 2003 America's Cup. In case you missed it or forgot, after several serious boat/gear failures, the Kiwi's lost the Cup to Alinghi, the Swiss boat. The spirit of the Cup is still here, however, and the Kiwi's would love to win the Cup back in the 2007 race in the Med (although our personal America's Cup guru-consultant informs us it will be going to Team BMW Oracle in 2007 from the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco). In the meantime, the basin is a huge tourist and nightlife draw and will remain successful with or without the America's Cup.
The Sky Tower, framed by luxury lofts and apartments. Many apartments were purchased before the 2003 America's Cup. Many are now for sale or rent. They are beautiful, water-front, and right near everything -- but still a bit expensive.
The Sky Tower is another tourist site with bungy jumping, a breath-taking needle climb, a casino, and several restaurants and bars. At night the tower is beautifully lit and dramatic against the cosmopolitan skyline. As a city of a million people, there is a real metropolitan feel, yet it is still small enough that many of the problems of larger cities are not evident. Yes there is traffic and hustle-bustle, but it is very clean, reasonably safe, and everyone seems to have a home! We look forward to exploring all that Auckland has to offer.
During one of the sunny moments, Duncan leaned out our Hilton window and took a picture of the ferry terminal (low brown building with tower) and central business district (CBD) buildings. A short walk from the ferry terminal is great shopping on Queen Street. The Britomart -- train/bus terminal is right across the street from the ferry building.
The Britomart Building across from the ferry terminal. This is the hub for buses and trains. The trains are under-ground.
Robin's new favorite boat -- SeaQuest. At 6.5 million NZ$ (4.7 M US$), Duncan suggests we get back to work before making the down-payment. This huge Malcolm Tennant designed power cat is VERY impressive. Duncan scams a grand tour at the Auckland Boat Show in March.
The ferry to Waiheke Island is ready to roll on this gloomy day. It has poured rain, drizzled lightly, gloomed-over, then cleared and turned beautiful -- all in the course of our three days and nights in Auckland. At the end of the pier in the background is the Auckland Hilton. We spent three wonderful nights there.
Quaint Parnell. About a 15 minute walk from the CBD, the nice suburb of Parnell reaches up the hillside. These shops nestled in an alley are quiet on this Sunday afternoon.
Off to Devonport on the ferry. Devonport is one of our favorite towns in the area. It has a small town feel, but it is only 15 minutes by ferry from the big city. The views of the city, bay, and islands are incredible.
Sleepy downtown Devonport. A bedroom community with a view. Auckland skyline is just across the bay, the Hauraki Gulf skirts the eastern edge of the town. Beachfront and hill-side homes with great views. There is also a 5 mile walking trail along the beach. Nice place. Bayswater is right next door (5-10 minute drive), but has no real downtown, so this will be our community for shopping, cafes, restaurants, and entertainment when we don't feel like going into the city.
A side alley of shops off Queen Street. It's a very pleasant city void of litter, homeless, and strange smells. This city may take some getting used to.
Impressions of our new home City...
We felt much better about our next steps after visiting Auckland. We answered the primary question "can we live here?" with a resounding yes. It has everything we want in a big city and less. All the small neighborhoods have their own sense of community (and pride), great events, cafes, restaurants, shops -- so it will be fun to explore this area.
Jobs seem plentiful, the commute looks reasonable, and business appears to be booming. Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island are a quick sail away, and the Hauraki Gulf is there for us to enjoy. Most Aucklanders seem to get out sailing a couple nights a week (in the summer anyway).
There is a windsurfing, kite surfing, and paragliding school less than a block form the marina, and there seems to be a real emphasis on "lifestyle" here. "Lifestyle" is the oft used word for achieving a balance between work, leisure, and family -- but we're not sure yet. We'll find out soon.
After three great nights at the Hilton with multiple showers and baths, a comfortable bed, and great views, -- it is time to head back to Opua and Whisper. We need to do laundry, re-pack, and go on another quick trip -- this time to Russell!
The view from our perch above Russell at the Te Maiki Villas on Flagstaff Hill. Opua is in the distance in the back center of the photo. Paihia appears on the far coast to the right side of the picture. Russell is on the lower left.
Te Maiki Villas atop Flagstaff Hill. We lived in one of these villas for three days. Again, unlimited hot water, a kitchen and dishwasher, laundry facilities, and Sky satellite TV -- excellent.
Charming, Historic Russell
The guide book describes Russell as "charming, historic Russell" and we agree. Russell is the quiet little tourist community across the bay from Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The downtown is comprised of restored Victorian buildings, new construction built in the old style, and some clapboard commercial buildings left standing since the 1800's.
In the early 1800's, Russell was a major whaling port and a destination for convicts, prostitutes, and drunk sailors. Russell had its share of detractors. In 1835, Charles Darwin described Russell as full of "the refuse of society". We can assure Charles that it has come a long way in 180 years. The local museum documents the turbulent history of the region (after the Europeans arrived) and has a cool model of Captain Cook's Endeavour. There are excellent artifacts of the pre-European Maori culture as well.
Flagstaff hill. So-named because of the British flag that used to fly here. The flagstaff was cut down at least four times in its early history by Maori leader Hone Heke. Persistent, no?
The view over the bay at Russell at sunset. Boats rest on moorings as the late afternoon breeze comes on-shore.
Robin is ready for our morning stroll down to the cafe; in town. A "flat white", our favorite new coffee drink, awaits.
Sailors departing the Russell harbor. Watching these boats sail out into the Bay of Islands was getting us excited about going out sailing again! Home on the hill... Overlooking Whisper on her mooring... The Bay of Islands available year-around. The big city just a few hours south. We can picture it! Contact the real estate agent! Oh wait. We need jobs first? Income? Darn.
A 1:5 scale model of Captain Cook's barque, Endeavour at the Russell Museum.
The view of Russell and the Te Maike Villas up Flagstaff hill. The beach at Russell is in the foreground. We've decided that Russell would be a great place to live!
Chris and KT (Billabong) came up for Thanksgiving dinner and stayed on Whisper. Grateful for the lodging, Chris whipped us up an awesome pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.
Thanksgiving in Springtime
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American Holiday, but the local Kiwi community in Opua has embraced the holiday as a way to welcome the many cruisers to the Bay of Islands area. Many nationalities are represented by the influx of cruisers, so in a way, we are the pilgrims arriving in this "new world". Lets hope it works out better for the Kiwis than it did for the native Americans!
One of the things we noticed right away is the Maori culture and how it permeates what would have otherwise might have been a 100% European influenced culture. From the sense of national pride, to the rugby teams, to the respect that is shown for the Maori Pa; sacred tribal Marae sites, and the Maori language -- the early Polynesian and Maori influence is strong. There is great respect for a culture that might have otherwise been opressed.
Before Thanksgiving dinner, we were treated to the Maori "Haka", the confrontational "intimidation" song/chant/dance that is performed ceremonially by the Maori (and now, most Kiwi's know it). The New Zealand national rugby team, the "All Blacks", perform the Haka to get psyched and intimidate their opponents before every game.
Instead of being performed by a bunch of enormous testosterone'd male athlete, it was performed by a racially mixed group of about 30 school children. Although we were not too intimidated by all the cute kids, we enjoyed their Haka and the kids had fun too.
With such a warm welcome and Thanksgiving behind us, we dashed back over to the rental car company to get transportation for exploring more of the North Island. Land travel is quite appealing after so much time on the water in the last few months.
On Thanksgiving day, we enjoyed an early meal and get-together with the Opua Cruising Club, with local families, school kids, and other cruisers. The Opua Cruising Club is an active local Yacht Club that embraces the cruisers every year.
The line forms for Thanksgiving dinner. Only $15 (that's New Zealand dollars) and we get TURKEY! Turkeys (poultry in general) are a scarce commodity in New Zealand -- lamb, pork, and beef are preferred fare! Even good fish is hard to get if you are not a fisherman -- most of the great fish gets exported!!!