New Chum's Beach

A few days ago I went with a few people from the Cat's Pyjamas (a great hostel with a fabulous hostess, Sue) to New Chum's beach (called it New Combs beach in the video, sorry 'bout that). I had heard wonderful things about it being one of the nicest beaches ever, so I wanted to check it out. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we set out. From one really nice beach (whose name I've forgotten), we walked along the rocks and up into the bush for 20- 30 minutes until we emerged in a pearl of a place, completely inaccessible by car, where few people lounged around.

What a gorgeous and lazy day. We fooled around a little and thought it would be fun to do a little video (love my camera and its gadgets!) for the "audience".

First beach from which we walked to New Chum's

Lovely tree bits hanging


View as we walked to New Chum's

View along the trail

New Chum's Beach

Waiting for the perfect moment...

And here it is!

A panoramic view of this Gem

Hot Water Beach

Today is Sunday. I'm going fishing this afternoon. Should be interesting! I arrived in the Coromandel, touted as one of the most beautiful spots in the North Island, on Tuesday and decided to stay here for a week in order to see things at my own pace.

Hot Water Beach

I met up with a couple cool cats from Canada and we went to Hot Water Beach together. Hot water beach is called this because there is a geothermal hot spot beneath the sand on the beach and if you dig into the sand, hot water will come bubbling up and you can make yourself a little pool and lay in it. What's funny is that the beach itself is really nice and big, but everyone is stuffed on one little piece of land about 10 meters long, all digging and sitting. It's quite funny actually. Didn't feel the need to do so, but did do a bit of spying and laughing.

Waders...

Stefane beginning to dig

Below some vids on the process and whether we were able to find the hot water!

The digging process...gotta love having others do things while you watch along!

Wanted to see the boys' pain tolerance!

Let's see if I can beat the boys!

Prognosis of Hot Water Beach

I really burned my feet! It was crazy. You can imagine that we DID NOT sit in that pool! We opted to stand on the shore, the scalding water burning our feet and the relief felt whenever the waves came up and lapped around us. I think people must be masochists to lay in those pools. Or maybe we just hit a ridiculously hot patch...

"Swimming" with the Dolphins

One of the things I was excited to do while in Tauranga, was go swimming with the dophins. I've always wanted to swim with them in the wild. Though I loved the Miami Seaquarium summer camp, the animals were all in captivity and they'd been trained. So swimming with them doesn't have the same impact as out in the open.

I was soooooo excited! According to this company, Dolphin Seafaris, there is a 98% chance of seeing dolphins and a 89% chance of swimming with them. So I paid my $140 and set off to the marina. The owner, who was also the skipper, was very informative, telling us all kinds of stuff about the harbor and the history of the Maori people in the area. At times he was a bit too informative (silence would have been nice at times), but in all, it was nice to get so much information from him.

Dolphin Seafaris' boat

As we went along the water, we saw two cruise ships, one of them all the way from the Netherlands! What a trip! I love the picture below because it shows the contrast between the cruise ship and the small "tugboat"

Big mamma, versus little baby

So we set out from the marina and we headed out towards Mount Maunganui to pick up some other customers. On our way we saw a freighter and were told that the harbor here is the busiest harbor in the North Island and that container ships such as these would often carry lumber from New Zealand to China. In China, they would cut them down and make them into planks and then ship them back to New Zealand!

I know about this whole free trade thing, but it seems so silly to send your raw material somewhere else only to have it returned to you, altered. It's great for the Chinese, but not so good for the Kiwis who are out of work and could have used those jobs. Anyway, won't get involved in the politics of business...

Container ship bound for China

As we were leaving the Mount and heading for open waters, we passed by the mountain itself and were informed of a few interesting things. I think I mentioned most of the Maori history in the Mount entry, so I'll not repeat it. But at the exit/entrance of the harbor, there is a statue of a Maori warrior there, I guess as a reminder for the history coming from the Mount.

Statue of Maori Warrior with the Mount at the left of the photo

There is another interesting historical story that the skipper anounced to us. (I welcome any corrections from Shani if this is inaccurate somehow). As the South Pacific people were coming to Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud) they encountered really rough seas. They traveled in wakas (canoes) seating about 100 people. As they were struggling to survive on the rough seas, they thought they should make a sacrifice to the ocean to appease the roiling seas. They chose an old woman who had lived a good life and threw her overboard.

Today, the rocks you see in the picture below, is called the grandmother rocks, in memory of the sacrifices made to land on the shores of New Zealand. The skipper then asked people to throw ginger snaps at the rocks as a type of sacrifice that would allow us to have a good dolphin watching/swimming day.

Grandmother rocks on the far left (the three rocks)

The Mount shown from the sea

We headed out to the open ocean and I stayed outside the whole time, my eyes peeled and my camera at the ready. And guess what? We saw zero dolphins! I was the 2%. It was really disappointing, but we did see the following:

A sunfish. They can grow to about 1000kgs. There is not much information about them, but they are called sunfish because they like to float along the surface of the ocean, absorbing the suns rays. They kind of look like sharks and they let you get really close before diving down. Below, a video of a sunfish.

Multi-colored jellyfish. Isn't it beautiful? They come in pinks and purples and the more muted browns. These are bigger than dinner plates.

I finally saw some real life gannets! I didn't get to see them at Cape Kidnappers, but I got to see them that day! There is something to say about that!
You see how the water seems to be foaming there? It's called a boil-up. This means that a school of fish have been pushed close to the surface of the water by predators and their movement along the surface create this "boiling" effect. We tried going up to see them, but they quickly dispersed.
So we went home that day, a bit saddened by the lack of dolphins. We did see lots of different type of birds, including the JC bird, or Jesus Christ bird. Guess why they call them that? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

We also saw flying fish. It was such an awesome thing! They have real, dragonfly-style wings and they swam a few inches from the water for a distance of about 5 meters. Apparently they can fly much further than that. Dolphins really like to eat these fish because they are relatively small (dolphins like to eat fish whole) and they are fun to play with (according to the skipper).

I got a voucher to come back another day. This is why I ended up spending two rather than one week in Tauranga.

I went back out on a Wednesday, 4 days later, and that time we saw dolphins! Here's a video of them swimming along the boat.

They were amazing! It was a small pod of about 12, but they hung around for about 30 minutes. Of course, we had to keep up with them, but we did and that was cool. The skipper mentioned that they would be close to a larger pod and that our chances of swimming with them would be better if the pod was about 40-50. We navigated around islands and such for several more hours, but didn't see any more dolphins. So, as a result, I didn't get to swim with them. These are the risks of trying to interact with wild animals. You can never predict the outcome. Lots of people were disappointed, but I was happy that I got to see them at all.

The skipper told us a story of how intelligent dolphins really are. Here it goes... A few years ago, a group of men were out fishing and they accidentally hooked a dolphin by its dorsal fin. Instead of swimming away and causing more damage to its fin (as most animals would do), it swam up to the stern and waited as the fishermen took out the hook from its fin. The dolphin then swam around and leapt up in the air as a sort of salute to the fishermen for taking the hook out and then proceeded to play with them for another half hour or so before swimming away. Pretty cool story, huh?

We also got to see a few blue penguins. I didn't get any pictures of them the first time we went out, but the second time, there was a lone one chilling on the surface of the water and it let us get really close by and I managed to record it. Enjoy!

Mount Maunganui

Someone weaved this from this flax plant. Some of it has died and the rest is still green. We saw it on our way up the Mount. Reminds me of the puti puti Shani made for me.

I've been told by lots of people to go up the Mount and see the view from the top. Was a bit nervous going up, after all, I'd had a chest infection (all gone now!) so wasn't sure how hard it would be on me. But it was so worth it and an easy walk at that! What a beautiful view from the top. On a such a gorgeous day, I couldn't have asked for more!

I've met some cool people at the backpackers and got a chance to go to Mount Maunganui with one of them, Joe from the UK. Without a car, you'd have to take the number 1 bus from outside the Information office to get to the Mount, about a 10 minute drive away from Tauranga.

We first walked over to Pleasure Island and I got some nice shots from there.

From Pleasure Island, looking out at the Mount

Ditto, different angle

Below, a video as we are making our way up the Mount. In the distance, to the left of the short, you can make out Pleasure Island where I took the pictures above.

Views on the way up the Mount

A Sun flower behind strange-looking bulbous plants

Below, a 360 degree view from the top of the Mount

Looking down at part of the path we took to get to the top (you can see the green along the shore; will explain further down)

The fern is the national plant in New Zealand. Some look so prehistoric that it reminds me of the movie "The Land Before Time". Is it beautiful, Ducky? " Yup, Yup Yup!"

On this side of the mountain, you can see steppes carved out of the side. This was an ancient Maori pa site and the steppes were used as a form of protection from enemies. They would scatter crushed seashells on the ground. This would alert them at night, because of the noise and would also injure the enemies feet, making them less agile in battle.

As we came back down to the shore, there was a carpet of the following:

A shore mixing rocks and sand. The best of both worlds.

Tauranga

I arrived in Tauranga about a week and a half ago and will be leaving on Tuesday. So, I'm back in the Bay of Plenty but west of where I stayed when I first arrived in New Zealand. This place is absolutely gorgeous and much more of the coastal city/town/summer pad that I was hoping to find.

Below a little video of my first evening in Tauranga. A view of the bay/port from the roof/balcony of the Harbourside Backpackers. Not too shabby, eh?

There are tons of bars, cafes and restaurants on the Strand (what seems to be the common name in many coastal towns, for the street that's closest to the water, like the boardwalk). There are quite a few nightclubs too which is pretty cool after the one nightclub I had to contend with in Hastings for 2 1/2 months. Cafes also close later and the place that I'm sending this entry from is called Chaos, a definitive rock/metal head cafe which has the wonderful advantage of providing free internet if you purchase something as cheap as a coke. You can stay here for hours afterwards and no one bothers you. Definitely beats the $4/hour you find in other places! Only problem is, wireless is not as reliable as the cable internet...can't have it all, huh?

On my first weekend here, there was an international hydroplane competition literally across the street from the backpackers, so we had a bird's eye view of the show, and for free!!! But imagine, what it sounds like when a motorcycle is roaring down the street at 2am on a week night. These boats are 10 times louder than those damned motorcycles!

hydroplane being airlifted into the water
"showgrounds" with cranes and boats waiting for the race

Last Friday, I was sitting at a table and chairs next to the port minding my own business, having a coffee and a group of men in kilts were playing bagpipes. It was kind of strange, but cool at the same time. Thought you'd like to hear them practicing. (warning: I did say Irish bagpipes. I am aware of it now. I apologize. Wasn't thinking straight!)

Later on, some young Maori boys came up to me to ask for a cigarette. There were six of them. Two pairs of them were brothers and they were all first cousins, the sons of sisters. It was great to meet local boys, see what the modern Maori lifestyle is like. They were all born and raised in Tauranga and their ages ranged from 17 to 24. So once again, I'm the oldest in the group. I should be used to this by now! So a simple request for a cigarette turned into about 45 minutes of discussion and educational epiphanies. I learned a lot of new words from them.

Here they are:

loot: money

servo: service station, or gas station as we would say in North America

heiner: pretty girl (a compliment, not an insult)

smuck/darri: to smoke

Other words or expressions I've learned since I got to New Zealand:

sweet as: cool

push and play: exercise

dairy: convenience store/corner store

tea toatler(not sure of the spelling of this word): going around dry, without the influence of alcohol

Shout you a drink: treat you to a drink/offer you a drink; you can shout someone anything


Below, one of the boys, doing a modern-day haka for us. It was fun!

This is what traveling is all about!

Napier

I had been to Napier once before, when I went to the Gypsy fair a couple of months ago. I wanted to stay there a few days before traveling on to the northern part of the North Island. Napier's an interesting city because it was nothing really special until the 1931 earthquake that completely leveled the city.

After that tragedy, it was reborn and is today known as the Art Deco capital of New Zealand. So the buildings are quite attractive and slightly reminiscent of South Beach in Miami (though less pretentious). Don't have much to say about the city. I've been quite ill with a lung infection and so haven't gone on long walks or done anything too physically taxing. As a result, there were many things I would have wanted to do, but instead I deferred to the bed and rest and a walk around the block.

Attractive city though! Check it out.

Jogging path stretching from Napier to Clive, about a 10 minute drive.

Dentist's office. What a pretty office to work in and do awful things to scared people!
Pania, the local legend; below the story

Art Deco fountain
Shops on Emerson Street

This is where I stayed and had a glass of wine on the balcony while watching a beautiful sunset
Hotel
Marine Parade Street and Garden with outdoor theater
Architecture on Marine Parade

Cape Kidnappers

Cape Kidnappers is a place known for its colony of Gannets, birds with really beautiful eye make-up. Though the locals don't think anything of them, I find them quite beautiful, at least, the few pictures I've seen of them.

So, I decided that I wanted to see them for myself and headed off one day with Dean, a cool Maori dude who is studying massage therapy in order to help his people heal. We met at the end of a Maori festival and he gave me a foot massage.

We became friends and he took me out for a ride. I wanted to go to Cape Kidnappers, the location where a group of Maori's tried to kidnap Captain Cook's servant, so we drove out there one afternoon.

Below are some pictures of the walk along the shore to see the gannets.

Gotta love how resilient trees are


Around the tip of that piece of land, is way more land to walk before getting to the colony

Interesting look at how wood can be squeezed between rock and turn into a kind of charcoal
Erosion's work
Close-up of rock formations
Dean walking along the shore

Alas, we were not able to get to the gannets. We arrived as the tide was coming in and you can't walk along the shore, the tide goes up too high. So we had to leave without seeing those darned birds. I was pretty disappointed and hoped that I would get a chance to go back there before leaving Hawke's Bay.

About a week and a half later, Shani took me out there. We went several hours earlier, hoping that this would be the perfect day.

Shani taking a dip in the ocean

It's still so far away!

A guardian overlooking the bay

Love this picture! A lot of the "stone" is actually clay. As we walked along the shore, some of the rocks we stepped on were moist and the color was coming off. Clay! The most beautiful colors too...greens and blues...
The rippled effect

Striations in the rock
The only bird I did get to see, though it's not a gannet


Alas, the tide came up fast and strong and we were yet again forced to turn back. It seems that I was not meant to see the gannets. Two strikes and I had no more time. So we left. The walk was beautiful though, and the day bright and hot. That was something!

Below a little video of the bay. To clarify, from right to left: Mahia Peninsula, Wairoa, and Napier.