City Living - Monday, 1/14/2008

Okay, here is the quiz and yes, we know you already know the answer. Name a city located on the northwest coast on a spectacular harbor with tons of sailboats and ferries bustling off to neighboring islands, a number of big buildings belonging to software companies, a monster tower with a restaurant at the top dominating the skyline, three coffee shops on every corner, half of them being Starbucks, a great restaurant scene centered around the harbor, a grunge sort of youthful vibe, a major urban university and a spectacularly diverse population with a strong Asian influence. Seattle? Did we mention the Queen is on the money? Vancouver? Did we mention that the weather is like LA?

Yes, we all know it is Auckland. What a beautiful place. We did the obligatory ride to the top of the sky tower (tallest in the southern hemisphere don’t ya know) with great 360 views. We watched a couple idiots jump off the top, held in position by two vertical cables reaching to the ground. They free fall about 500 feet and then hopefully and gradually slow to a stop before reaching the sidewalk.

Then lunch on the Wharf at the harbor (John, fish and chips; Mary, seafood chowder) followed by a very long walk down the quay checking out the big ships. We then cut up through town to the Auckland Domain which is a very large "central park" sort of area and the home of the Auckland Museum.

We worked our way back down past the city hospitals to High street which is allegedly home to the fancy designer shops, but how would we know? In all of our hours walking around the city we saw two guys in suits, and the other million people were in shorts and tee shirts. Very laid back.

We had dinner at Tahore Indian Restaurant and shared Kozhi Chettin (very spicy chicken) and Saag Paneer (house made cottage cheese dish) with a side of garlic naan and a cheap bottle of Nobilo pinot gris. We very seldom get those things in Pine River so it was a treat for us.
As gorgeous as Auckland is, Mary observed that it doesn’t have the strong culture that sucks you in like New York, or New Orleans, or Paris. It might take longer in town to find the depth of the city but we are off to Rotorua and Taupo so this is the best we are going to do.

Today's headline: "Shark Attack at Holiday Beach" New Zealand Herald - 1/15/2008

Arriving Auckland

A leisurely drive down the northwest coast with a quick stop for a lunch counter bite. John had the chicken-brie-cranberry panini for the second day in a row but it will wear off soon. Mary stays true to her health with a spinach and feta muffin. Another stop at a fresh produce market to load up on breakfast fruits and berries. It is great to see strawberries, peaches, cherries, and apricots in January.

We arrived in Auckland at about 4:00 and after doing the one-way tango around downtown for about 15 minutes we finally got to the front door of our hotel (after seeing it 15 minutes earlier going the wrong way). We had a list of recommended restaurants so we took a stroll around the viaduct area, where most are located, to peek at menus and check out the harbor. We are
spending the day exploring the city today so we will have more opinions in our next report but this is a very special place.

We also checked out Vulcan Lane where we were told to have a beer so we did. Sitting at a sidewalk table, sipping a Stella, and listening to some folks do Bob Dylan sounds like a nice Sunday late-afternoon activity, and of course it was, but the area didn't really have enough critical mass to create the vibe you might find in other venues like this. But, that's just being picky.

Dinner at CinCin at the viaduct with John continuing to OD on lamb while Mary stays healthy with salmon and spinach. The Marlborough NZ Pinot Noir kept both healthy. Our server was a Hospitality student from India and having worked for a while in the Marriott organization, was finishing her schooling in Auckland. Her goal was to be in the hotel business in New York. Something about "if you can make it there." We told her that instead of Manhattan she should get into the business in Manhattan Beach, but she seemed unconvinced.

High of 76 and sunny today so we will have to make do.

Today's Headline: Sir Ed's Dying Wish New Zealand Herald 1/13/08

34 Hours in New Zealand

It has been a whirlwind. Our flight from Tahiti was again pleasant and uneventful and we got to Auckland at about 12:30 PM on Friday. While waiting for our luggage, Mary was pounced on by the fruit and flower sniffing Beagle who was smelling the banned substances somewhere. The customs agent went through all of her pockets and carry on bags cut came up empty-handed. We were then able to zoom through customs and the rental car desk and we were heading to the rental lot with luggage at 1:00. Our destination is Pahia on the Bay of Islands in Northland, New Zealand which takes us through the heart of Auckland and north on a nicely moving motorway. The windshield wipers came on about 12 times in the first ten miles (why would they put them where the turn signals should be?) but our return to wrong-side driving was otherwise acceptable.
The trip was 4 hours of traffic laden, mostly two-lane travel as it appears that Kiwis also head north on Friday afternoons in the summer. We stop midway through the trip to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat. As it's a little breezy, Mary grabs her sweater from her carry on bag and finds a flower in the pocket. Now she needs to call the Beagle and apologize.

Paihia is a bustling little resort town on a beautiful bay on the northeast coast—all motels, restaurants and tee-shirt shops. Our motel was right on the waterfront and we booked a spectacular studio looking out over the bay and eponymous islands. Our hostess Rose recommended the Peppercorn Restaurant which was sort of a Margaritaville type place on a backpacker sidestreet. We were dubious about the whole thing but the meal (John, lamb, and Mary, veggie main course) along with an inexpensive bottle of NZ Shiraz was spectacular. Always trust the locals to know the best spots.
We were yawning at about 9:00 PM and we realized that we had been up since 2:00 AM local time so it was early to bed. Our clocks have now backed up only 5 hours from our departure time in Minneapolis but of course we are a day ahead so magically that makes us 19 hours ahead. We don’t get it but it is pretty comfortable.
Saturday was huge. We took off on the 9:30 ferry to Russell, one of the nearby islands. It is the original capital of NZ and had a distinctly colonial feel to it. In pre-colonial days Charles Darwin described it as "the hell hole of the Pacific" with all sorts of evil doing by sailors going on. The local Maori leaders and a few missionary types threw the bums out and the long relationship with the UK began as a clean-up operation. We wandered the town, had lunch at Sally’s on the harbor and caught the noon ferry back to Paihia.
We popped into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where many of the Maori chiefs met with the British representatives to sign the original treaty establishing New Zealand. San Diego friend/NZ Coach Bryce Hodgson seems to believe that one of his ancestors was involved in the process and not necessarily on the Maori team. This was a nice educational hour and a half.
At 2:00 we headed cross island to the Tasman sea on the west coast and reached our Ti Kouka B&B on Hokianga Harbor at 4:00. These folks built their place on a hillside overlooking the harbor and have developed acres of spectacular gardens with a couple guest rooms. If we ever threaten to show you our vacation pictures, just pick these. We grabbed a "take away" meal at Pappa Jacks (John had the fried egg burger with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickled beets; Mary had an egg toasty with nothing) and a beer on our patio.
At 6:00 we joined a tour of the local Waipoua Forest which is the original home of all the Maori and also of the Kauri (pronounced "cody") tree. These trees are as much as two hundred feet tall and one is 4000 years old. The tour was done from the perspective of Maori history and lasted well after dark with much singing and praying. The whole thing was a very moving and spiritual experience. Our group included a couple of Germans, a Dutch family, a Dane, a Bulgarian, a French couple from Quebec, a few Brits and Kiwis and we were the only Americans. It was very fun and we are always pleased that English seems to be the common language of the world.
A spectacular night back on our deck looking out at least a billion stars, including our first look at the Southern Cross and an upside-down Orion the Hunter.
Our access to the internet is going to be hit and miss so we may continue to prepare these but may not be able to post them regularly. Our two readers will be very disappointed.

Today’s headline: Sir Edmund Hillary, 1919 – 2008 - New Zealand Weekend Herald.

LA to Papeete to Auckland

It was a very lazy day in LA as we waited for our 4:30 flight to Papeete, Tahiti. It of course was running late inbound from Paris so we got out at about 5:30. Some of the folks on the 8-1/2 hour flight to Tahiti had also been on the flight from Paris so they were much worse off than we were.

Air Tahiti Nui was a very pleasant surprise with very comfortable cabins, pretty Polynesian type attendants and spectacular food. When we landed in Papeete we unloaded out on the tarmac and as we walked into the terminal they handed us a tiare (Tahitian Gardenia) and there was a little island combo playing welcoming music. Since we were sitting in the pointy end of the plane we had priority luggage tags which were first off the plane (a little different than LA) and we breezed through customs within ten minutes of walking into the terminal. Our host (Beni) was not there when we walked out but showed up within a couple minutes and checked us into his in-town guest house.

This was one of the lodging decisions we had discussed several times, torn between one of the beach resorts or the significantly less expensive urban guest house. It was really a pleasant property on the side of a hill near the town center and a small apartment type room. Beni, a youngish Swiss transplant couldn’t have been more pleasant. That being said, Papeete is very much third world with chickens crowing twenty hours a day and no air conditioning or window screens.

After getting to our room around 12:30 AM we were up at 5:00 with the chickens—literally—and finally wandered into town around 8:00. It was really sort of fun knocking around with the fishermen and crafters in the huge market and checking out the little shops. It reminded both of us of Mexico twenty years ago. For 130 Polynesian francs we caught "le truck" (the local public transportation) to the Sofitel on the beach, and looking like typical fat American tourists, strolled directly through to their beach, pulled up a recliner and took a little nap followed by lunch and a beer.

After le-trucking back to our place it was a little nap and then another walk into town for dinner at the Roulottes. These are portable kitchens that set up in the middle of town, haul out tables and chairs and become restaurants from 6-12 every night. It would best be described as an adventure and we tried the "poisson cru" which is a raw fish dish marinated in coconut milk and citrus and then tossed with onions and cucumbers. It was very tasty but could have used a little jalapeno. A band cranked up and the whole thing was pretty festive.
Back to our place for an early to bed with a 3:15 AM wake-up so we could throw rocks at the chicken and off to the airport at 5:00. Tahiti was an interesting experience with an island that looks like Bali Hai from South Pacific and a population that feels like Tijuana. The outer islands are still more pristine and perhaps relaxing but the whole thing felt a little odd to us.
It’s off to Auckand right now and the beginning of our real trip!

Today's Headline: "Welcome 2008" New Zealand Herald dated January 1, 2008 - only paper on the rack at the Papeete airport.