From Sea to Mountains

We woke this morning on the shores of the Tasman sea in beautiful and peaceful Kawhia. The overnight temperature was perfect for sleeping and we settled right in. The little van is tight but acceptable quarters.

As usual we took our morning walk while we drank our coffees only this time we were able to walk on the black sandy beach and watch the early morning fishermen put in at the boat launch. The typical Kawhia boat has a stainless steel hull and about a 70 hp outboard. The tow vehicles included your normal pickemup truck, cars, tractors and even 4 wheelers. The launch is so well designed that putting in and taking out is a snap.

Kawhia has a strong Maori presence. Like most places in NZ, there is an overwhelming amount of Maori history. One of the links to the past is the prevalence of whale boat rowing. There is a race on New Years day and we saw a number of teams practicing in the harbor. We were able to get an up close look at one of the boats as it was being pulled out of the water. These are big wooden canoes; 40' long and 5' wide. The Museum of Civilization in Gatineau Quebec says that the supreme technological achievement of these early people was hunting whales using nothing more than wood, skins and rocks. Ranking right up there would be the voyages of the Maoris from the Hawaiian Islands to New Zealand in outrigger canoes navigating solely by the stars.

We would have stayed in Kawhia for New Years Eve but we have a reservation at Tongariro National Park. This is NZ's first national park and only the 4th in the world. In the late 1800's the Maori chief realized that unless he gave away the land with their 3 sacred mountains the belaganna culture would eventually take the land, divide it into tracts and develop it. The Maoris like all first nations don't recognize the ablity of anyone to own land. Land is a community not a commodity. His foresight allows us to sit in a beautiful forest setting, listening to the babbling brook and drinking fine wine. Thanks Chief.

Tomorrow we are hiking the Tongariro Crossing. Its called the best one day tramp in NZ and passes thru the valley of Mordor. We have shuttle tickets at 7am so we won't be staying up to ring in the new year.

Kawhia

Still catching up from the 6 hour time difference. Woke very early at the Ascot Parnell, a very comfortable B&B in Parnell, an old suburb of Auckland. Suburb seems to have a different meaning as its an easy walk down to the center of Auckland from Parnell. We were able to get an early breakfast and by 8:30 we were catching the bus to take us to where we pick up our Escape campervan in downtown Auckland. We had stopped by yesterday and the lady in charge suggested we get there early as it was going to be a busy day. It seems that most of New Zealand shuts down for the holidays. School is out until Feb 1 and many employees are off until Jan 15. We noticed a few restaurants were also closed and Auckland was distinctly less busy than I remembered from out 2008 trip.

We were the first to arrive and since we are repeat renters the check out went quickly. We were able to get back to the B&B, pick up our bags and hit the road south before 10am. Our destination today is Kawhia. I think its pronounced kaf-e-ah as thewh is an f sound. When putting together our itinerary I quickly learned that we didn't have much chance of getting a campsite at anywhere close in to Auckland. This ruled out the Northland with the miles of beaches and the Bay of Islands. The Cormandel peninsula also seemed to be booked up. I tried to get a site in Raglan, one of the stops the surfers made on their Endless Summer tour, but it also was booked up. Since I wanted to get to the beach on our first day I just followed the twisty line on the map south from Raglan and saw the little town of Kawhia located in a large harbor on the Tasman Sea. Looking at a few websites convinced me that this was a place we would like – small, off the beaten path with great views on the ocean. Best of all, the campground host, Ock, responded affirmatively to my email inquiry. Its been a while since I was just able to make a reservation and not pay in advance, another pleasant surprise.

Some of this first day is tied up getting provisions. We stopped at a supermarket in a small town outside of Hamilton to pick up basics – bread, crackers, cheese, pop, paper towels, … We plan on getting our meat from butcher shops and fruits and veggies from fruit stands. These stops are daily highlights. We had picked up 2 bottles of wine last nite, so today only required 3 stops to get enough to know we wouldn't starve.

I don't remember much from the Endless Summer movie, but I do remember that Raglan was one of their stops. Today its still a surfer's spot, but like any beach town it attracts a big crowd in season. We stopped by just to look around and have lunch. I had my first meal of green lipped mussels; steamed in cream with lots of chopped onions – delicious.

Kawhia is only about 60km south of Raglan, but it took us 2 ½ hours to negotiate the twisty turny road that turned to gravel for the last 36km. We also took a short side trip to see Bridal Veil Falls. I think this must be about the 25th falls we've seen named Bridal Veil. At least here they just refer to it on signs as BV Falls.

Kawhia is a sleepy beach town. Its full here; all New Zealanders. Ock had just marked USA on the site map to indicate our site. Almost all families here on holiday. Boating, fishing swimming and just taking it easy. It seems that Kawhia is just far enough off the main road to prevent it from being loved to death. It has the water access and scenery of Raglan, a hot water beach like Heihei but nowhere near the congestion.

We spent our evening here with wine and cheese hour, some time reading and watching the boats come in down at the shore, and cooking up the minced lamb we picked up in the Raglan butchery. A very good evening.

Tomorrow we're off to Tongariro National Park. Its NZ's first and was the 4th NP in the world. It seems the Mauri decided the only way to save the land that was sacred to them was to give it away as a park. For you Lord of the Rings fans, there are two sights here including Mordor. Oesa tells me this is important.

Nanaimo

As Jim mentioned we overnighted in Nanaimo so he could eat Nanaimo bars to his hearts content. He doesn't eat many desserts and I eat almost all of them but our tastes diverge on Nanaimo bars, they contain coconut (Yuck).
Nanaimo was a good surprise. We had been once before for a few hours and spent those on Newcastle Island Provincial Park. This time we stayed overnight at the Bucanneer Inn, very clean. At the receptionist's suggestion we walked to the downtown along the waterfront, about a 1/2 hour walk, to find a restaurant for dinner. The car rental guy had suggested the Modern Cafe which we located pretty easily on Commercuial St. Dinner and the wine were terrific.
This morning we drive back downtown to find some breakfast and were delighted to find the Petite Choux, an excellent breakfast. After that we walked to the Old Cith Centre to find the yarn shop. Another short stroll located both Jim's namaimo bars and an out of print cookbook I was searching for. A good day in a fine little city.

A Nanaimo Night Out

We've just returned from a memorable night. We're staying at the Buccaneer Inn, a ship shape little hotel thats about a 30 minute walk from the Nanaimo city centre. Not just any walk but a harbor walk with boats and islands and birds and people to look at as you stroll. Nanaimo has a very european feel to the city core. We picked the Modern Cafe for dinner and are glad we did. A great mac & cheese for Melodee, souvalki for me and both of enjoyed a 1/2 liter of a wonderful BC savignoun blanc.
When we were getting seat assignments on the short hop from Peoria to ORD the gate agent made a point of seating us together. Melodee said no big deal as we were in for lots of 24-7 time together. That's true, but a night out like tonight is a big reason I love to travel with Melodee. She's makes life truly enjoyable.

We Went West

Way west. To the western coast of Vancouver Island. Its a long flight to Vancouver, the city, then a quick bus ride to Horseshoe Bay, an hour and 40 minute ferry boat ride (I love ferrys) to Nanaimo, home of the Nanaimo bar, & finally a 3 hour drive ouver the mountains to one of the farthest west points on the North American continent -- Tofino BC, the surfing capital of Canada. It really is. Its also really windy and a great place to watch storms roll in. We're staying at the Pacific Sands Resort on Cox Bay. Our view is to the pounding surf. Its a great place to simply curl up with a good book and relax.

I Need a Holiday

The end of tax season has arrived & we're off on our annual "after tax season" trip. Since we're going to Canada, it's a holiday.
The 9:40ish direct flight to Vancoiuver on Sunday (4/18) looked better than than crack of dawn routing thru Denver, thankfully after a late nite Saturday at a Richard Thompson concert. Even better than the later departure was settling into seats 1C and 1D. Thanks again, Patrick.
We were pleased to find a SkyTrain now connected YVR to the downtown. By 2:30 we were checked into the Sylvia Hotel on English Bay and back out into the sunshine of a beautiful Vancouver Sunday afternoon.