It is Finished!

The end has come; I have told as much of our story as I could in the short amount of time and space I had. But trust us, if you want to know or see more, we would be happy to oblige. All you have to do is ask and we would love to share. Thanks again for traveling along with us.

Mike and Janet

6/4/2008 Hamilton Gardens and Home!

We spent the night in Hamilton so we would be closer to Auckland and our flight home. We had several hours to kill so we toured the Hamilton Gardens, had breakfast at the cafe and wandered through the different gardens, particularly the Paradise Gardens which were all patterned after these different areas, including a Japanese garden, a modern American garden, a Chinese garden, an Indian garden, an Italian garden and an English garden. It was a great way to end our weeks of travel; very restful and relaxing and the weather was a warm "fall" day with "just right" temperatures, sun and wind. We left by 1 o'clock to be able to drop off the car and begin our journey home. Every thing went perfect and we arived home safe and sound. We left New Zealand at 9:30 PM on June 4th and arrived at DFW airport at 10:30PM on June 4th!!! Yes, that "1 hour" journey sure seemed alot longer....and it was!

It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and one that we were both glad we made!!!!!!!

6/3/2008 Waitomo Caves

Another great drive through more hills and valleys took us to our destination at Blackwater Rafting Company. There we signed up to view the Rukura Cave (via the walkways) with it's magnificent limestone creations and beautiful stalagtites and stalagmites. We even got to "spy" on those who chose the more rugged cave adventure that includes abseiling (down on a rope) with an inner tube, some floating, some walking in 60 degree or colder water...made us glad we didn't chose it!!! After an hour and a half we exited back into the sunight for our next cave adventure. Still in the same area, we were escorted down some steps and through caverns to a boat ride in total darkness to experience the lights of the glowworms on the ceiling of the cave. It felt like we were suspended somewhere with a million stars floating above us. The "glow" comes from the luminescent sac at the end of the worms body, while the long, silky "webs" dangle down to catch their prey, insects etc. that find their way into the caverns. We were both really glad we hadn't missed this part of our New Zealand adventure.

6/2/2008 Rotorua, Here We Come!

Finally we were on our way to this town we had heard so much about. Knowing one day was hardly emough to see all it had to offer, we chose wisely. Our first stop was to Te Puia, a Maori Village. We arrived just in time to join the 11 o'clock guided tour. It was very interesting and informative about how the Maori's lived and about their beliefs. It was also home to one of the country's more active geysers...the Pohutu Geyser which erupts 2-3 times an hour and can jet up as high as 60 feet. It is always more active after the rain so we got to see it erupt several times, but only to heights of 30-40 feet. After observing the training at the weaving school and the carving school, we were just in time for the Welcome Ceremony. Of course they needed a male volunteer, and since no one else was willing, Mike stepped forward and became the "chief" to lead us all into the "whare" where the ceremony was held. We were entertained with action songs, female poi dances and traditional stick games and the famous war dance, The Huka (with spears, grunts and scary faces!) After a quick lunch, sandwich for Mike and traditional hungi meal (steamed meat and vegetables cooked in a buried oven) for me, we headed to the Buried Village which was the site of the 1886 volcanic eruption of Mt. Tarawere that buried more than 150 people as well as the Pink and White Terraces (silica and limestone series of steps formed by the geothermal activity) which were known as the 8th Wonder of the World. We couldn't resist the 400m drive to the lookout over the Lake for a beautiful sunset picture.

6/1/2008 Our 1st (and Only) Rainy Day!!!

First order of business was to get a new car or tire, whichever they decided. It turned out it was a car! Once we had breakfast and met the AVIS guy, we were on our way to the mountains. Only problem, once we reached the point where our hike would begin, it was raining and covered in dense fog. With no hope of clearing, we took our time driving back to Taupo and spent several hours at the Taupo Museum where we learned about the volcanic eruption that formed the lake and the mountains as well as toured the award winning outdoor garden depicting many areas of their culture. The weather cleared a bit so we went to Huka Falls on the Waireka River. The highlight is to take a $95 jet boat ride to the bottom of the falls, but we opted to stay on land and view it from above!

Time Out!!!

It is now 10:52 PM New Zealand time and I am going to bed! We leave tomorrow to come home and we are ready!!! We have had such a wonderful 6 weeks (almost) but do need to regroup and just be "normal" again. I still owe you all 3 more days, which were fantastic, but they will have to wait until we get home. I promise to finish this blog and let you know all about the rest of our mountain exploration, the Maori culture and Rotorua, and the Waitomo Caves. Bet you can't wait, huh? Thanks for hanging in there with us. We have enjoyed sharing with you all.
Until later......

5/31/2008 Traversing the Thermal Highway.....

First stop was at Orakei Korako the "place of adorning" by the Maori people, where the geothermal activity was very inspiring and surreal. The morning was cool and the steam hung low over the areas as the pools bubbled and spewed the hot water in the air and over the silica beds which were various colors due to the algae and minerals in the water. Our journey took us past bubbling pools, overlooks, geysers and then on a walk through the bush to the Rautapu Cave, past mud pools, and back through the forest. It was an amazing and very spiritual place. We were lucky to enjoy it almost by ourselves. One thing we have discovered traveling in this "off season" for the area is that there are no crowds or lines to contend with. It has been so great to be able to take our time at all that we have seen and just enjoy. Driving back through Taupo, we grabbed some sandwiches at Subway (yes, more American food) and drove south towards the trio of mountains in Tongariro National Forest, one of which was Mt. Ngaurhoe (Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy). We found what we believed was it; and it had snow on it!!! Surprising because the elevations of the mountains are only between 7,000 and 8,500 feet. We found the Park office and made plans to come back up tomorrow to take a 2km hike to Tanaki Falls and walk part way up into Mt. Doom. Only hiccup this day was a flat tire on the way down (nearly dusk and Mike was changing the right rear tire on the side of a very narrow, winding road!) but he managed just fine. This is the 2nd tire he has helped change (one at Bill's farm) so I hope it's not an omen; we still have 4 days left!

5/3/2008 Traveling to Taupo

We checked out by 10 AM, met the ferry and enjoyed a beautiful morning ride across the Straits of Tamaki with a beautiful view of Auckland before landing back at Half Moon Bay to begin our trek south. After lunch at a McDonald's (no less) on the highway, we picked up some maps and brochures and decided to go to Taupo rather than Rotorua since it looked a little less "touristy" and closer to the mountains (where we could explore!) The drive was about 4 hours and took us to a lovely lakeside area with lots of places to choose from right at the edge of Lake Taupo and surrounded by mountains. We picked a lovely 2 room suite with a view of the lake and it's own thermal water (from the geothermal activity in the area) spa pool right on the deck and a big comfy king size bed! We were in heaven (or at least, I was!!!)

5/29/2008 Waiheke Island in the Daylight!

After letting Mike sleep in a bit, we enjoyed the fresh croissants they had left on our doorstep with coffee and then our island exploration began. We were on the north side near the middle so we first headed west to Oneroa, gathered a few grocerieis, wine and cheese, explored the little main street, then drove to some scenic lookout points. Next we drove back across the island to the opposite end to explore Stony Batter; WWII tunnels and battlement site, named so because the land was peppered with huge boulders randomly in the fields. It was a further walk than we thought, plus the tunnels were closed, so we just drove the countryside, enjoying the steep hills emptying into deep valleys, with lots of sheep and cows grazing. We also caught great views of the water from various heights around the island. We had lunch at a beach side cafe before returning through more beautiful scenery to enjoy a magnificent sunset just down from where we were staying. It had been a fairly warm, sunny fall day that we wrapped up with a soak in the French hot tub which was outside on the back porch, surrounded by privacy shades!!!

5/28/2008 Happy 37th Anniversary to Us!

Our early flight was on time and uneventful. After clearing customs and picking up our rental car we were headed to Half Moon Bay Ferry (which was all the way across town...according to the gal at the AVIS counter) but with her well drawn directions on a city map, we made it with 45 minutes to spare! (And this with traffic and Mike driving on the opposite side of the road). He did a great job! The ferry ride was 45 minutes as well, so when we landed at Waiheke Island it was totally dark and we still managed to find our way to the Palm Beach Bungalows and our cottage. The narrow (dark) steep path to our cottage was tricky but we made it in time to relax, have a cocktail and be ready when Alberto, our personal chef for the evening, arrived at 7:30 to cook us our 5 course Tuscan Meal!!! We enjoyed it so much, along with a bottle of red wine. It was so nice not having to go out and find a nice restaurant to celebrate in! Perfect choice on our part. We loved it. Oh! I also got to wear my beautiful opal necklace and ring for the first time...

5/27/2008 Our Last Day in OZ! (as they call it...)

Busy day! Hedy and Ian were busy making arrangements for their move and we were all getting ready to leave early in the morning...Mike and I did our last trip to the library to update this blog, then met Vania at The Imperial Palace for Yum Cha for lunch. This is one of Hedy and Ian's favorite places to eat where they bring around one dish after the other and you say "yes" or "no" if you want it! Kind of like a buffet that's being served to you! Anyway, we ate whatever Hedy said "yes" to...even Mike tried lots of noodle and rice dishes he'd never had before! It was lots of fun. Later that afternoon we watched "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" an Aussie classic film that was made near Alice Springs and part of Kings Canyon which were places we had just visited. We wrapped up the evening by viewing the "Wayoutback" DVD that Mike had just finished of our trip. We ended our last night much like we had begun our first! None of us could believe the time was over already!