They said that the flood we experienced a couple of days ago was a once in a century event. Well apparently not, because this morning we were once again inundated with surging waters. If anything, this one was even worse. Nothing to do but close the doors and throw every towel and sheet we own on the floor and hope for the best. Fortunately, it passed pretty quickly and we were able to limit the water to the back of the house. It is sunny out at the moment and no heavy rain in the forecast, so hopefully we now have a respite and time to dry out. Here is a video from early this morning.
With the weather reports calling for bad weather, we decided to cut short our Holiday on Coromandel and head back to Auckland. It was a very fortuitous decision because a few hours after we got home, a river began to flow through our back yard. Auckland was being hit by the worst flooding in its history. Fortunately, with the help of two kind neighbors, our friend Judi, dozens of towels, and some makeshift barriers, we were able to prevent most of the water from getting into most of our house. If we had not been here the whole house would have become flooded. Many in Auckland were not so fortunate with three people losing their lives and many many more losing their homes. With more heavy rain in the forecast, we are not out of the woods yet, but are hoping for the best. Here is video taken during the storm. By setting up outdoor furniture cushions as dams and sweeping furiously we were able to divert most of the thousands of gallons pouring into the back yard around the house and down the driveway.
Cathedral Cove is perhaps Coromandel’s most famous and most beautiful beach. Although it is only a short distance from Hahei as the seagull flies, it is inaccessible by car, requiring a 45 minute hike along a path that is paved and well maintained but has lots of ups and downs. Fortunately, there is an ice cream truck parked handily along its route to help sustain weary hikers.
In the afternoon, we hopped in the car and drove an hour further north to visit our dear friends Marcus and Vasu and their whanau (family) who were renting a bach at Kuaotunu. Along the way we stopped for lunch under the kiwi fruit vines at the Hive.
We also stopped at a quirky little roadside pottery shop that was nestled in the trees and doubled as the potter’s home and workshop.
In Maori, Kuaotunu means ‘to inspire fear in young animals’ or ‘roasted young’ which, apparently, references the good hunting and fishing in the area. Either way, it is a rather gruesome name for a pretty beach.
The Coromandel Peninsula is about a two hour drive from Auckland. It is about fifty miles long and 25 miles wide at its broadest point. Along its shores are some of New Zealand’s most beautiful beaches. It gets its English name from HMS Coromandel, a British Royal Navy ship that stopped at Coromandel in 1820. The ship, itself, was named for India’s Coromandel coast. The Maori name for the peninsula is Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Maui which translates to ‘The Spine of Maui’s fish’ with the spine, no doubt, referencing the high ranges that extend along its length. In Maori and other Polynesian cultures, Maui is a great folk hero and trickster who is famous for his cleverness. Under one of his most famous exploits, he used a magic fish-hook to catch a giant fish that became the north island of New Zealand.
Our first stop on the peninsula was at Thames which we expect gets its name from the English river that runs through London. Its Maori name is Parawai. The town was initially built during New Zealand’s gold rush in the late 1860s to early 1870s. In 1870, it had a population of about 15,000 which would have made it one of New Zealand’s largest towns at the time. By the time that Mal’s father was born there in 1925, its glory days were already well behind it. Today, it is still the largest town in Coromandel but with a population of less than 5,000. Along its main streets are some of the old hotels that served the miners back during its heyday. There are also more than a few second hand stores, called opshops (opportunity shops) in New Zealand.
From Thames we drove up over the ranges to our final destination, Hahei. One of the peninsula’s more popular beaches, it is named for Hei, who arrived in New Zealand with Kupe, the legendary Maori explorer and navigator who is said to have been the first human to discover New Zealand.
We immediately set out for a walk along Hahei beach and up the headlands at its southern end.
Back on the beach, we walked by a mix of old and new beach homes, commonly called baches (pronounced batches) by New Zealanders. The following photo shows a classic small bach with its larger newer and fancier neighbor.
A number of these baches had tractors parked outside, which we can only assume are used to tow boats down over the beach for launch.
We also stopped by the local general store for some provisions.
There were also avocados available roadside, selling on an honesty basis for $5 for a bag of six.
We decided to check out Mangere’s Saturday morning market. Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world with close to 400,000 of its residents coming from islands such as Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. Many live in the suburb of Mangere and the market had a decidedly Polynesian feel.
There were a large number of huge pots and long wooden spoons on sale, reflecting the fact that Polynesian culture if very family oriented. With households usually consisting of three or more generations, there are lots of mouths to feed.
Christian missionaries first came to Polynesia in the late 1700s and were very successful in converting many Polynesians to their religion. As a result, over 80 percent of Polynesians now identify as Christian. But a good evangelist’s work is never done and there were a number of groups proselytizing at the market.
Speaking of evangelists, on our way back from the market we decided to knock off another of Auckland’s volcanic peaks, Mt. Roskill. One theory is that the peak is named after John Roskill, an evangelist and local preacher who lived in Auckland, before committing suicide in 1870. An alternative theory is that it gets its name from Roskhill, a hamlet on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. It also has two Maori names, Puketapapa (flat topped hill) and Pukewiwi (hill covered in rushes). Both names are rather apt as there are indeed many rushes and its summit is rather flat. However, that may have more to do with the fact that its main crater was excavated in 1961 and filled with a water-supply reservoir.
If beautiful beaches, food and wine are your thing, then Waiheke is definitely the place for you. We hopped the ferry from downtown Auckland and in less than an hour we were disembarking at Matiatia Bay to be greeted by our host Judi and Mal’s cousin Annette, who had been visiting the island for a couple of days. After a short look around the main town of Oneroa, we set off to Arcadia, a small cafe just back from the beach at one of the island’s prettiest spots, Palm Beach. It was the first of many excellent meals we enjoyed over the next couple of days.
Annette, Lauren and JudiPalm Beach
Then it was off to Onetangi Beach where we had a swim and walked Judi’s dogs, Cuzzie and Bro.
Of all the vineyards and restaurants on Waiheke, perhaps the most renowned is Mudbrick. It is easy to see why, with its beautiful location, amazing views and incredible food and wine. We headed up there for dinner before dropping Annette off at the ferry later that night.
This newly married couple looked as if they should be in the vineyard’s marketing materials.
As did this couple who have been married just a little bit longer.
The grounds are quite extensive, with a number of spots to dine or just relax with a glass of wine to enjoy the view.
As the night progressed, the view to Rangitoto and the city beyond was forever changing.
In the eighties we lived in Aro Valley, an inner city suburb of Wellington with a decidedly old feel. We decided to walk up from the city and check out our old home and neighborhood.
The thing about Wellington, it is hard to avoid walking up hills. Our home on Maarama Crescent was no different and we both remembered these particular steps that we would have climb at the end of each work day.
It wasn’t the most luxurious neighborhoods back then and it has gentrified somewhat since then. Our home was a two bedroom flat on the bottom floor of a house that stood below the street on a hill that sloped down into Aro Valley. It had received a coat of paint but, apart from that, looked even shabbier than when we lived there. This was our entrance. There were a few less empty beer bottles in our time.
This is the front. It was a nice sunny little flat with a balcony and a view over the valley. The towel is hanging from the window of what was our bedroom. We hasten to add that the lawn was also mowed in our time.
From exploring our old home, we headed down to the shops at the bottom of the hill. The walk down was a lot easier.
In many ways, the Aro Valley shops have not changed since we lived there. There is still a fruit and vegetable store, fish and chip shop and cafe. There is even a video rental store.
From the shops, we could see our old home up on the hill.
From Aro Valley we headed over to Mount Victoria. One of Wellington’s most sought over suburbs, it sits in the sun all day and has incredible views over the city. It also happens to be the suburb where Mal’s parents rented their first place together back in the late forties and early fifties. They had the bottom floor. Here is their home on Shannon Street now.
And here it is back then. It hasn’t changed much.
On the other hand, we are sure the view has changed a lot.
From Mount Victoria, we walked over the hill and down into Oriental Bay where Wellingtonians were making the most of the day and enjoying the beach.
This is one parking space, you would want to be careful reversing into.
Wellington has very cool manhole covers.
From Oriental Bay we walked back around the waterfront to the city, enjoying the sights along the way.
Wellington is not well known for its great weather. We lived there for eighteen months back in the eighties and neither of us could remember a day to match the three recent days we spent there, which were all spectacular.
Perched on a sheltered harbor at the bottom of the North Island, Wellington is New Zealand’s capital and its third largest city with a population of over 400,000 in its metropolitan area. It is named after the same Duke of Wellington that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Its Maori name is Te Whanganui-a-Tara which translates as The Great Harbour of Tara. Tara was the son of the Polynesian explorer Whatonga, whose descendants lived in the area.
We started the day exploring the waterfront and the Sunday market.
From there we walked along nearby Cuba Mall, a popular and somewhat quirky shopping street. Lauren used to work on the street but through the fogs of time couldn’t remember exactly where.
We are not sure if Roger would be our choice if we were in the market for a tattoo, seeing as he has spelled it two different ways on his storefront.
We passed by the Flying Nun record store. Flying Nun is a New Zealand independent record label. Started in the eighties, it is home to such iconic indie bands as The Chills, The Clean, The Bats, Straitjacket Fits and The Headless Chickens.
After a mandatory coffee, we headed up to nearby Zealandia.
New Zealand only has two native mammals, both of which are bats. However, it has an abundance of native birds, and New Zealanders are crazy about them. In fact, a common nickname for New Zealanders is kiwi, named for the native bird, not the fruit. Unfortunately, when the Maori and later the Europeans arrived, they brought with them rats, stoats and cats that decimated the bird population. As a result, many native birds are extinct or under severe threat. New Zealand has belatedly responded to this threat by creating bird sanctuaries throughout the country and has an objective of being predator free by 2050. Most of these sanctuaries are on offshore islands which are easier to protect. A rare exception is Zealandia, a 225 hectare (500+ acre) sanctuary just minutes drive from downtown Wellington. The whole reserve is surrounded by a predator fence and is the home of over forty different species of native birds. It is a beautiful place to stroll through the native bush and admire its two beautiful reservoirs.
Among the birds we saw, were a number of Kaka, a boisterous bush parrot.
Kaka
Zealandia is not just a sanctuary for birds, there are also numerous species of reptiles, including tuataras. Tuataras were around at the time of dinosaurs and are the only living members left of the Rhynchocophalian order. All the others died off about 65 million years ago.
Tuatara
At the top of Zealandia is a high bridge with views of the upper reservoir and down the valley.
It’s also a good spot for a group photo.
Mal with longtime friends, David and MarcusLauren with newer friend Vasu
From Zealandia, it was a short walk to the top of Wellington’s cable car, which we rode down to Lambton Quay, Wellington’s main shopping street.
In the cable car’s tunnels were colorful lighting shows.Lambton Quay
Mal and Lauren 