Tauranga, or Should We Say Rotorua?

We didn’t do a tour out of Auckland when we arrived from our overland, but walked around the waterfront a little. There’s a lot of construction going on as they are building a subway system, but we walked out toward the marinas and Silo Park. We sailed out in a beautiful day, bound for Tauranga.

Another stop at Umi Uma for dinner. The sushi always
looks so appetizing.

On the drive out to Rotorua, where most of our touring would be done, we got a good commentary from our bus driver/guide about the extent of produce that is grown in the area. Lots of variety, but especially interesting was the Chinese gooseberry, better known as Kiwi fruit. The name change was a marketing ploy – at the time New Zealand started growing and exporting them, anything Chinese was distinctly out of favour, so the growers got together and renamed them, hoping that would make them more ‘palatable’. Obviously it worked, because New Zealand now exports  4 ½ BILLION Kiwi Fruit per year…They were growing in large orchards, almost like vines in wine country, but on stringers.

Kiwi bushes on stringers

The tour we had booked for the day was a unique experience –  Eco-Rail Cruising and a visit to the Pohutu Geyser in Rotorua. Eco-Rail Cruising was invented by the couple who still own the business. They took over a stretch of rail line that had been used for passenger service between Tauranga and Rotorua from the 1890s until 2001, and created these small hybrid-fuel cars to run on the track as a scenic ride through the Dansey Native Forest. Speed and narration are computer controlled. One of the passengers is assigned the hand-brake for emergencies and when the car has to come to a stop for exiting, but that’s all that needs to be done. It is an interesting ride, although picture-taking only works well when the car is moving away from the sun. We did have fun, though.

The Railcruiser cars

Views of the Dansey Native Forest

Part way through the ‘cruise’ we stopped to get some exposure to Maori culture and handiwork from a teacher named Mareanna. She explained a lot about how they used natural materials and turned them into reed, rope, and weavings to make everything from nets and baskets to ceremonial clothing, and also gave us yet more background on the Maori people and their origins in Havai’i. We’re getting to the point where we can do talks on this ourselves….but it is amazing how well preserved the oral history has remained.

Mareanna with her samples of Maori items

Showing a skirt made from hollow grasses that makes
a whooshing sound when you walk. This is a modern
item, as the early Maori moved as silently as possible
whenever they could.

A club made from pounamou, very hard
greenstone that is native to New Zealand

We finished the ride back, and were given lunch before we traded places with the other half of the tour group, and headed to Rotorua to visit Te Puia, the Maori Cultural Centre and Geothermal Springs.

A tree fern, very common in all the woodlands of
New Zealand, and just as interesting from underneath
as from the other side.

Our lunch: ham and cheese rolls, chicken sandwich and
a beef pie with blue cheese potato topping.

As we were a little early for our guided tour, our driver took us in to Rotorua city, where we stopped at the Government Gardens for a few minutes to stretch our legs. It was a very beautiful spot.

The Rotorua Museum, was visited by Harry and Megan when
they were here, but is now closed to reinforce the structure
against earthquake.

The Tea Rooms

At Te Puia, the first place we went was to the Pohutu Geyser, as it was somewhat active at the time and, as our guide said, could change at any minute. It can spew boiling water up to 50 metres in the air, which must be spectacular. It was impressive enough just to see the smaller spurts that we did. 

And afterwards we toured the Maori Cultural Centre, which, rather than being a museum of cultural artifacts, is more a workshop where students and artists are creating Maori cultural items, from wood carvings to weaponry to adornments and clothing. Some of this is done in the traditional methods, but some is done using more modern tools. It is a good way to keep the interest in the history and culture of the Maori people alive for the current generation.

The cultural centre also has a display of live kiwi birds, but as they are nocturnal they live in a dark area.
This is an example of one....we did see one at the centre. It is part of a program to increase the
numbers of kiwi birds in the wild, on islands that have been cleared of
any potential predators.

The workshops where carvers make adornments that
can be used on Maori meeting houses

Making the fibres from palm leaf and then weaving
them together to make ceremonial clothes.

We left Tauranga late in the evening, bound for Napier.

Mount Maunganui

How Much Can You See in Two Days?

Well, we certainly saw a lot! All of the North Island of New Zealand from the Bay of Islands to the tip at Cape Reinga by air, and then from the east coast to the west coast and cross-island to Auckland by van.

Early morning sail-in. We saw a number of dolphins, and
someone else saw orcas!

That’s a lot to pack into two days, but Crystal’s Overland Excursions Department certainly did its best to make sure we had the best experience possible. As the group only consisted of 5 guests and our tour escort, Cinthia from Shore Excursions, we expected to have a great time.

Our day began with the pickup at the tender pier at the town of Paihia by Anthony, our driver and guide for the two days. He had a large comfortable Mercedes Sprinter van outfitted as a touring vehicle, with nice leather seats and air conditioning - the latter being quite important given that it was supposed to be in the high 20s C for the two days.

Our first stop was the Waitangi Treaty House, a very important historical site, as this was where 13 of the first tribes of Maori signed an agreement with the British to share their land amicably, and where New Zealand became a country. This was such a significant event that it is celebrated every year on February 6 as Waitangi Day, a national holiday.

Part of this visit included a Maori ceremony in a tribal meeting house, where a troupe of Maori actors demonstrated what would take place during a meeting – songs, dance, games, skill demonstrations, etc. It was very interesting to see.

Tribal totems tell stories of their
strength and power

The maori war canoes could hold up to 150
men. They were very intricately carved.

Another canoe

The meeting house. A carving of Kupe, the Great
Navigator, stands at the top

One of the actors preforming the welcome ceremony, the haka. It looks
rather intimidating, but it ends peacefully and everyone
is invited inside.

One of the dances

A quiet point and a beautiful maori song

Posing for photos outside

A view of Crystal Serenity from the Treaty House

After our visit to the Treaty House, Anthony took us to Charlotte’s Kitchen, a restaurant on the town pier in Paihia where we had lunch – in our case a couple of pizzas….had we known they were this big we might have shared one, but we got through most of it!

Our group - at the front, Rosio and Adrian from Mexico,
and on the right Cinthia, and Lynne from Florida.

Our pizzas. 

After lunch we walked over to the Salt Air office, where we split into two groups, 3 of us would go up to Cape Reinga by plane, and the other 3 by helicopter, and we would switch on the way back. Our route:

The two aircraft flew pretty much together, up the left side
west coast route, and back down the east coast.

We were grouped with Lynne, another world cruiser from Florida, and Anthony took us to the Bay of Islands Airport, a small field about 20 minutes outside of Paihia. We were met by our pilot – Colin, who was from Dawson, Yukon! We asked how he came to be flying small planes in New Zealand, and he explained that the president of Salt Air had been up in Yukon and during a conversation mentioned that he needed a pilot for the summer season. So Colin flies at home during our summer and heads down to fly in New Zealand for the winter. Can’t beat that job!!

The plane - seated 8 comfortably; with 4 of us
including Anthony we had plenty of space

Larry got to sit in the co-pilot's seat!

Yes, that is a gigantic sand dune. Part of the Te Paki Dunes
that we visited later in the day.

Once we arrived at Waitiki Landing, not much more that a relatively flat length of grassy field in the middle of nowhere, we met up with the helicopter group and everyone climbed into Salt Air’s van for a couple of hours touring around the cape area.

Our first stop was the Cape Reinga Lighthouse, the almost very northernmost point in New Zealand. The actual point is North Cape, which juts out just a tiny bit farther, but doesn’t have any easy access.

Overlook to Cape Maria van Diemen

The lighthouse

After the lighthouse, Daniel and Colin, our pilot/guides, drove us down to Tapotupotu Bay, which was known as Spirits Bay to the Maori. In their culture, it was believed that the spirits of those who died jumped into this bay from Cape Reinga on their way to the underworld, to return to their ancestral home of Hawaiki-a-nui, which was what they called Havaii, or Raiatea. Funny how all things on this part of the cruise seem to circle back into each other. The Polynesians did a great job of maintaining their cultural heritage.

We had a break here with tea, coffee and homemade muffins. Colin tried to take credit for baking them himself, but eventually told us that the best coffee shop in Paihia was the real source. They were delicious.

Our next stop was at the Te Paki Sand Dunes. You certainly don’t think of 300- foot high sand dunes when you think of New Zealand, but it is apparently because of them that the North Island is all one landmass. Over thousands of years, the sand had been building up in between volcanic leftovers in this area, eventually creating a bridge between them, and then continuing to accumulate to build up the top part of the island.

The dunes still shift continually because of the wind, and one of the attractions is now ‘sand surfing’. You walk up the dune with a short surfboard, put it down on a hill and lie down on it to slide down. Sounded interesting, but the few people we watched didn’t get up much speed, or go any huge distance before stopping.

After that we headed back to the airstrip and boarded the helicopter for the flight back to Paihia. And just in time, as the clouds had been getting heavy and it was just starting to spit rain when we took off.

It was certainly a fantastic way to see the wide range of topography here on the volcanic North Island. Long sand beaches, forests, dunes, and craggy volcanic rock cliffs all make up a really diverse and beautiful landscape.

One of the highlights of the flight was at the end – we flew over Crystal Serenity as she sailed out of the Bay. And yes, it seemed decidedly strange seeing our ship leave without us!!

After the flight we made our way across the Bay to Russell and The Duke Of Marlborough Hotel, our accommodation for the night. After a great dinner in a private dining room, arranged by Crystal, and a brief stroll with Lynne to find the Southern Cross, as she had missed star gazing the night prior (and we found it!), we crashed after a very busy day!

Our room at 'The Duke'. The hotel was established in 1873 as
a bar and later was also a brothel.

Evening light over the harbour

The Morton Bay Fig Tree, over 150 years old,
stands beside the hotel.

The hotel. We had one of the rooms with the verandah on the
other side of the portico.

The bar and breakfast room.

The view the other way. All sorts of historical
and period photos and pictures.

After breakfast the next morning we assembled at 9:00 AM for what Anthony told us would be a long day of touring in the van. And he wasn’t kidding!!! After a brief stop at a chocolate factory in Keri Keri we continued our winding drive across the island to the west coast to our lunch stop at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort on Hokianga Bay. Here we met Bill, our Maori guide for the Waipoua Forest walk.

Our 'box lunch' - a submarine sandwich, juice and a bacon and
cheese scone....with apple cranberry muffins for dessert if
you still happened to be hungry!! Courtesy of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel.

Bill explained that according to Maori legend, Kupe the Great Navigator, after leaving Raiatea, made his landfall in this bay and lived here for a number of years before returning. Before leaving he placed stone sentinels on either side of the mouth of the bay so that others would be able to follow. One thing that has impressed us in our travels from Polynesia to New Zealand is the consistency of the "creation" stories of the Polynesian/Maori people even though they had no written language and histories were entirely oral. On Bora Bora we were told of the great travelers who set out from Raiatea for Hawaii and New Zealand. On Raiatea our guide took us to the Marae from which these travelers set sail for New Zealand, following Kupe to a great bay in a far-off land. And in Hokianga, that great bay, we heard of the arrival of Kupe and those that followed. 

After lunch we continued on to the Waipoua Forest, a protected forest reserve of the native Kauri trees that once covered the Northlands. These trees were once used to create the whaka, the great travelling canoes and war canoes of the Maori. In later years they were commercially harvested by European and later settlers to the point the species was threatened. They are now a protected species, but are now threatened by a bacterial disease, Kauri Die Back which infects the root system and can take seven years to kill a tree. The result is a raised boardwalk through the forest which can be accessed only by first disinfecting the soles of your shoes.

The purpose of the visit was to introduce us to Tane Mahuta, Lord of the Forest, a massive Kauri tree 57 metres high (roughly 210 feet) with a circumference of 13 metres (roughly 42 feet, or the size of an average passenger after six weeks on Serenity!!).

To get a really good idea of the size of the tree,
take a look at our friend Lynne at the bottom....

According to Bill, a friend who climbed the tree documented 53 different species of plants and other trees growing in the crown of the tree. It is also the fourth largest tree in the world as measured by "board feet" of lumber it is estimated to contain. Of note, when these trees were commercially harvested, the crown was cut off and only the trunk was used, so that gives you a little better idea of its size in board feet!

Not surprisingly, Tane Mahuta plays an integral role in the Maori "creation legend", as recounted to us in both word and song by Bill, and which you can read below. A very interesting and unique experience for us.

The legend of the Kauri Tree, Tane Mauta

Once we reboarded the van, we set out for Auckland, a 3-hour drive away. We weren’t scheduled to visit the Kauri Museum, but it turned out to be a rest stop where we took a look at a couple of outdoor displays.

There are quite a few Kauri trees that have been dug out from
bogs, almost petrified. They are being used to make
art pieces and furniture now. It is illegal to cut down a
live Kauri.

It certainly was a jam-packed overland, but it also served to tie together a lot of what we had learned about the people of the South Pacific in visiting all of the previous island ports. The consistency of the myths and histories told by the native islanders everywhere was amazing considering that none of it was written, just passed on from generation to generation in traditions that are still in use in the 21^st century. When we mentioned to guides that we had been to Raiatea and seen the Marae there, many of them told us that they hoped to see it themselves sometime, as they knew it was a special place, the original homeland of their people.