Wednesday February 26, 2014

Thoughts on New Zealand

New Zealand is a wonderful country to visit. There is no better way to see this country and meet the people than on a bicycle, in our opinion. Almost every time we stopped whether it was for groceries or at a camp-site people were interested in what we were doing and told us about their area and places we should see.  One person said that when they see touring cyclists, they admire them and wish they could do it.  Of course, they can do it.  It takes a little bit of training and a lot of determination.

Over the last week I have been trying to write this blog and put into words what we have experienced.  It is very difficult to put it all into words. We have seen the beauty of New Zealand in the generosity of the people, the incredible scenery, the diversity of the North and South Islands, the cities and the small towns.  We have also seen the other side of New Zealand, where grandparents are looking after grandchildren because their children can’t manage because of drugs and other substance abuse. We have seen small towns that are dying because there is no work in the surrounding areas.  New Zealand has a small population of just over 4 million people and like so many other countries the vast majority of the population is centred around the big cities like Auckland (1.37 million), Wellington (397,900), Christchurch (467,000) and Hamilton (504,000).  There is a growing gap between the rich and poor.  This is not unique to New Zealand, but it is something to be concerned about in a nation with such a small population.

We got to meet and experience the generosity of the people.  We really enjoyed the campsites and the camp kitchens.  We have spoken to people from all walks of life and countries from Doctors, teachers and factory workers.  Often we have been invited to stay with people if we are going to be going through their Town or City.  We have spoken to other touring cyclists and backpackers who told us about their experiences and given us advice on what to see and where to go.  What has been a lot of fun for me is talking to young people who are travelling, whether they are on a gap year and working or on an extended vacation.  It has been really interesting to hear their perspective on how their own lives have changed since travelling or working in a different country and what they will take back to their own countries from the experience they have gained.

In a nutshell New Zealand has very generous and kind people, incredible scenery, the weather can change from one day to the next actually from one hour to the next – it can be very windy!  It has hills – some short and steep (18% grade) and nasty – others long and steep (10% grades) and nasty! the rewards of cycling up a hill is the view and the down hills.  New Zealand has natural disasters: earthquakes, cyclones, volcanoes and weather.  It doesn’t have nasty beasties that can eat you or bite you – but it does have sandflies – DO NOT underestimate the sand flies, they are similar to black flies in Canada and midges in Scotland, nasty little beasties that leave you itching all night.

Has this experience changed us?  I think it has a little.  We are more trusting of people and accept their generosity.  New Zealand has been a great country for us to start the Grand Adventure.  New Zealand has made the transition from our usual way of going on vacation with an ‘organized package tour’ to independent traveling and not knowing where we will be setting up tent that day very easy for us.  Bring on the rest of the world – we are ready for you – maybe.

For the actual route we took check out the Actual Route page.  I have updated the map with the routes we took on the North and South Islands.

Monday February 24, 2014

We did it.  Ralf and I jumped of the Sky Tower in Auckland New Zealand.  The Sky Tower is 328 metres (over 1,076 feet).  We jumped from 194 metres (636 feet).  Absolutely awesome.

We had talked about jumping off the Sky Tower ever since we had done the Edge Walk in Toronto and found out that Auckland New Zealand had an Edge walk and a jump.  The Sky Jump is a very safe jump from 636 feet.

Well here we are in Auckland and now is the time to do it.  We had gone into the Downtown City of Auckland last week, but there was a lot of things happening (the Nines Rugby league competition, the lantern festival), there were a lot of people wanting to do the jump so we couldn\’t schedule our jump.

We decided we would do it today.  We got up early and caught the bus by 9:15.  We still had to wait an hour before we could jump – 11:00 am was our scheduled time.

They suited us up and checked our harness, weighed us and wrote how much we weighed on our wrists.  My weight in kilos was the year I was born.  That doesn\’t make me a little porker, it was the weight of the harness etc!! then up we went to the Sky Deck.

Lovely outfits again, at least they weren\’t orange like the outfits we wore for the Edge walk.  I decided I wanted to be first out of our group of three to jump.   I went on to the platform first, had a few photos taken, had my harness checked out again and 1, 2, 3 of I went – 11 seconds and I was on the ground.

It takes about 5 minutes to get the rigging back up to the Sky Deck and then Ralf was on his way down.

As I said when we did the Edge walk,

\”Life is not measured by the number of breaths that we take, but by the moments that take our breath away\”

Did you know the Sky Tower:

• Took 2 years and 9 months to build and cost NZ 85 million to construct;
• Weighs a massive 21 million kilograms or the weight of approximately 6,000 elephants;
• Is 328 metres high or around 37 buses standing end to end;
• Is primarily constructed from 15,000 cubic metres of concrete, 2,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 260 panes of glass;
• Has 1,267 stairs leading from the base of the Sky Tower to Sky Deck;

and the most important fact. . .

• Should remain standing in the unlikely event of a magnitude 8.0 (Richter scale) earthquake occurring within 20 kilometres of the Sky Tower.

Should remain standing . . .

We are heading to Australia on Thursday.  I wonder what exciting things we can do there.  Surviving the wildlife should be the first priority I think.

Saturday February 22, 2014

Today Chris took us to see his Mum and we went for a drive on the other side of Auckland – Pukekohe.

We had met Kath in Cyprus at my nephew\’s wedding and was looking forward to visiting her.  However, she is a very busy lady and she had to consult her schedule to fit us in.  Kath will be 80 next year and is so busy it is wonderful to see someone of that age still volunteering and helping out in her community.

A walk up to the lighthouse.

Although we had cycled in this area there were some places that we didn\’t get to.  The lighthouse at Manaku Head is 18 kms from the main road.  There were some areas that we didn\’t go to on the bikes, because we had to decide if it was worth an extra 30 to 40 kms added on to the mileage of a day.

On some directional posts for historic sites the sign would direct you down a No Exit road, and not indicate how far the site was.  Like Manakau Head lighthouse it was 18 kms down to the lighthouse and 18 ks back.

A great photo that Ralf took.

We had a wonderful visit with Kath.  Have a great birthday next year.

Tuesday February 18, 2014

Today we went to Rangitoto Island.  This island was created from a volcanic eruption that occurred only 600 years ago.

We took the ferry from Devonport at 9:30 am and could have caught the 12:45 ferry back to Devonport, if we had hurried back from the summit. We like not to hurry and have definitely embraced taking our time to see things.

The summit was 259 metres high and took a winding path from the wharf upwards.

It meandered through lava fields and we were able to go through lava caves, which was fun.

At the top we had lunch and walked around the crater rim.

On the way down we followed a couple of the side tracks and returned to the wharf at 1:30 pm. The ferry was at 3:30.

We then followed the coast line past some historic baches.  A bach is a small cottage like structure used for week-end retreats.  Twenty minutes from Auckland, but a world away.

It is well worth going over to this island if you are in Auckland.

Sunday February 16, 2014

Chris took us for a drive today to the west coast of Auckland –  Waitakere.  We drove up the Scenic Drive to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

It would have been a great ride on the bikes, but what we saw today would have taken us three days!  We stopped a couple of times at pull-outs to take some photos and then stopped for about an hour at the Education Centre. There was about a 10 minute video to watch about the region and the flora and fauna of the area.

The decking around the visitor centre was really well done, you didn’t realize how high up you were until you looked straight down.

It was a great spot to take some photos and see Auckland from this area. I really loved the idea of this picture frame.

\”This natural masterpiece is cared for by the Auckland Regional Council\”.

I also liked the words on this board.

We then drove to Piha Beach, we had a nice lunch and climbed the Lion’s Rock and paddled in the sea.  The sand here is black.

Chris used to come here when he was younger and was a surfing dude and lifeguard.

After Piha, we went to Cornwallis (not the one in Nova Scotia where Ralf did his basic training for the military) it was a lovely area to do some fishing.  Chris used to come here with his son Steven to fish.

Sometimes while we are out and about we see Hobbit houses, this time we were really lucky and actually spotted a Hobbit.

We had a great day. Thanks Chris.