After a few days in Wellington, the forecast was on our side so we did some exploring around the southern peninsula of the North Island. Naturally, when we saw signs pointing toward Rivendell (aka Kaitoke Regional Park) we had to stop...
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After leaving Tongagriro, we had a quick lunch in Whanganui and then made our way farther south to Wellington.
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Surprised by the lack of birds on Mt Doom? I was! We saw but one wayward seagull circling above the Emerald Lakes. Not to worry, there have been plenty of avian delights to behold elsewhere. Like this couple of white faces herons, who spent their Valentine's Day necking on the pilings beside Helios.
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In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie, there is one hike to rule them all, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. As serendipity would have it, between the excellent conditions last Monday and the fame of the 19.4 kilometer trek, we arrived at the base of Mt Doom on the exact same day as our cruising buddies Dirk and Gretchen of s/v Peregrine.
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We kept a quick pace moving south from Wenderhelm, running a few errands just north of Auckland, enjoying waterfalls, zip lines, horses prancing beside the road, counting cows, cows, cows as we went. We spent a night in King's Country, and then spent a morning enjoying the views of Lake Taupo and a fabulous lunch in the hills of the Acacia Bay.
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We started our camping adventure in Wenderhelm, about 90 minutes south of Whangarei and just north of Auckland. The park is small as far as land preserves in New Zealand go, but the campsite offered all the fluffy emerald grass we could imagine, as well as sweeping views of the estuary and hillside. There was also a lovely mountain to be hiked that looks over the beach and the historic home on the grounds. We shared the space with a number of families getting out of town for the weekend and a few flotillas of seasoned camper van travelers.
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We are ferrying between islands right now, a three hour experience that no guide book we've seen does justice (or maybe we are just excited to be back on the water for the first time since December).
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We have had a spectacular week driving, camping, and tramping our way south through New Zealand's northern island. Rain is in the forecast for next week, and I am secretly looking forward to the AirB&B indoor time with wifi to share photos of the jaw-dropping scenery we have been enjoying.
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Just a few quick camera phone pics of our first campsite, Wenderhelm Park, just north of Auckland. It was beautiful, social, and beachy...an idyllic first stop. Bonus—the birding was killer.
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We are super jazzed because today is the first day of our New Zealand road trip! We spent the last very rainy week wrapping up boat projects and getting organized to hit the road—car purchased, tent acquired, boat re-moored....good to know we are at the point in our journey where a four-ish week road trip only takes a few (kinda busy) days of preparation and feels like no big deal.
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Beyond hiking, our weekend was full of sunshine and social delights. On Friday night we met up with friends for two-for-one burgers (barbecue chicken with pineapples and bacon…yes, please!), and we started our Saturday bright and early at the farmer's market.
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Our weather held through Sunday, and we enjoyed our February 14th hike on a cool, sunny day with partial cloud cover—absolutely lovely. Editing and posting the photos has been an excellent antidote for a rainy Monday that I've spent mostly at the sewing machine. Enjoy a few photos!
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I'm happy to report that there are abundant exercise options in New Zealand. We're docked across the street from the Whangarei Acquatic Center, a private (but inexpensive) lap pool, full gym, and indoor water park where one can reward any amount of physical exertion with a trip down the water slide. There is a paved walking path that circles the town basin, where we are, a sequence of historical billboards and outdoor exercise equipment, and around the fish hook bridge two and a half kilometers away.
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Our solar panels are our primary source energy aboard Helios, a fact we are increasingly aware of as we aren't able to connect the boat to shore power while we are at the marina in Whangarei (they use 240 volt and Helios is wired for 120, and there are rigorous electrical safety check requirements for foreign vessels to hook up at all).
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It took some 24 hours after arriving in Weaverville this last December to find ourselves heavily invested in the avian drama happening on the patio. A flock of juncos perpetually flutter in the treetops around the buffet of feeders on the deck. They're occasionally displaced by the acorn woodpecker (above), or a scrub jay or two (below), both of whom cede territory to the relentless tyranny of the grey, bushy-tailed squirrel.
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…it has been drizzling since we landed! There was enough of a pause in the sprinkling for me to run to the grocery store yesterday. Other than that it has been raining, not really pouring, but we've been snoring, trying to catch up on sleep after a red eye flight that made Wednesday disappear.
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We are off to New Zealand with so little time to blog! Enjoy a few pics of our final and fabulous weekend in San Francsico—we saw sunny skies in Dolores Park, drag kings dance a little David Bowie, sailboats from the views from our hotel room, and so many friends I'll be smiling for weeks.
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After a weekend of friends, family, and fun in San Fransisco, we are en route to Weaverville today for the fourth and final time of this visit to California. My favorite part of the drive is Whiskeytown; driving around the lake is so stunning, especially after three hours up the Central Valley on I-5.
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Evidence has recently surfaced that the infamous marauder Captain Hook pillaged Weaverville, Ca in the early nineties while accompanied by two barbarous Dalmatians.
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We've spent the last ten days in Weaverville commemorating the life of Ed Dolci, Dominic's dad, who passed away on December 21. Our favorite stories to tell about Ed usually have to do with his hobbies, how he took up emu ranching, or collected antique woodworking tools, or built a greenhouse that glowed across the valley in the night. The witnessing of which, no doubt, gave a young Dominic some of the gusto it takes to dive into his own hobbies, like ocean cruising, with similar enthusiasm.
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