NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JOURNAL no. 12

Los Angeles to Auckland – Journal no. 12

31^st March to the 7^th April 2011

LA to the land of the Kiwi

The journey to New Zealand began in San Francisco at the International Airport, late afternoon on the 30^th March, with a short flight to Los Angeles.

Arriving at LA International airport it was less than obvious where to go although my flight wasn’t until very late in the evening, so no problem.

After a fairly tedious time sitting around in one of the huge departure lounges, we finally boarded the Qantas 747 to Auckland, somewhere around midnight.

For the second time I was fortunate enough to have a row of three seats, this time, all to myself. I like these long haul flights clearly it’s the low season now. Anyway it’s a 13 hour 30 minute the 6,508 miles or 10,474 kilometers to Auckland, the longest flight yet, so the space was much appreciated.

Arriving at Auckland International Airport

We arrived at Auckland International airport sometime mid-afternoon on the 1^st April, loosing a day along the way, and were quickly and efficiently processed through customs and immigration.

There’s a bus service that links the airport to the city about 20km, or 45 minutes, away and I’d elected to stay about a 1km from the Sky Tower, pretty much the centre of Auckland city.

The bus dropped me off about a kilometer from my hotel and after a series of directions and corrections I finally found my way on foot to the four-star Rendezvous Hotel, a towering sky-scrapper with cavernous lobby. 

I was greeted by a somewhat sneering response from the male clerk behind the counter until he realized that I’d booked an Executive room for several nights. Back to the pretentious world again I guess, an assumption based on my casual attire and disheveled look after a long flight, I’ve no doubt.

The only reason that I’d opted for the ‘place-of-stay’ as you will quickly find out every thing is expensive here, I needed somewhere convenient to all of the attractions and it seemed a good idea after a long flight and one final factor it was comparatively cheap.
Tour of the city
I was pretty much on USA time when I arrived eager though to get out and look round the area and besides it was only early afternoon.
The impressive Sky Tower, not far from where I was staying, is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD.

328 metres or 1,076 feet tall as measured from ground level to the top of the mast making it the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

The upper portion of the tower contains two restaurants and a cafe including New Zealand's only revolving restaurant, located 190 m (623.2 ft.) from the ground, which turns 360 degrees once every hour. There is also a brasserie-style buffet located one floor above the main observatory level. It has three observation decks at different heights, each providing 360-degree views of the city. 

The main observation level at 186 m (610.08 ft.) has 38 mm (1.5") thick glass section flooring allowing a view directly to the ground.

The top observation deck labeled 'Sky deck' sits just below the main antenna at 220 m (721.6 ft.) and provides views up to 82 km (50.84 miles) in every direction.

After a tour round the tower I wander east for about a kilometer to the typically British ‘Albert Park’, close to the University sector. Finally north for about 2 to 3 kilometers, down the hill to the waters edge and Viaduct Basin. Home to the boutique shops, designer restaurants, luxury 5+ million New Zealand Dollar apartments with views across the bay area and where equally expensive and lavish boats are moored in the enclosed marinas. 

I then for some reason headed through the Britomart area, towards the Harbour Bridge, linking the mainland with the suburb of Davenport. The initial phase of the walk through expensive harbour-side marina properties that adorn the waters edge along the Viaduct Basin. Eventually petering out into storage yards and dry-docks for priceless boats before running parallel with a motorway. At some point I head inland to a pleasant affluent suburb of Ponsonby full of beautiful wooden houses, similar to those found in San Francisco, before having a late lunch, or perhaps an early supper, taking a bus back to the CBD and the hotel for an early night.

History of Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with 1,377,200 residents, 31 percent of the country's population.

Auckland has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. In Māori Auckland's name is Tāmaki Makaurau.

The 2011 ‘Mercer Quality of Living Survey’ ranked Auckland 3rd equal place in the world on its list, while the, ‘Economist's World's Most Livable Cities’, index of 2011 ranked Auckland in 9th place.

Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west.

The central urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean.

It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate major bodies of water.

Māori people around 1350 settled the Isthmus valued for its rich and fertile land. Many fortified villages were created, mainly on the volcanic peaks. The Māori population in the area was estimated at about 20,000 people before the arrival of Europeans.

Subsequent introduction of firearms, which began in Northland, upset the balance of power and led to a devastating inter-tribal warfare, causing the Iwi who lacked the new weapons, to seek refuge in areas less exposed to coastal raids. As a result, the region had relatively low numbers of Māori when European settlement of New Zealand began.

On 27 January 1832, Joseph Brooks Weller, eldest of the Weller brothers of Otago and Sydney bought land including the sites of the modern cities of Auckland the North Shore and part of Rodney District, for "one large cask of powder" from "Cohi Rangatira".

After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, chose the area as his new capital, and named it after George Eden, Earl of Auckland, then Viceroy of India.

The land that Auckland was established on was gifted to the Governor by local Maori Iwi Ngati Whatua, as a sign of goodwill and in the hope that the building of a city would attract commercial and political opportunities for the Iwi.

Auckland was officially declared New Zealand's capital in 1841, and the transfer of the administration from Russell (now Old Russell) in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842, only changing in 1865 when Wellington took over the mantle as the main city.

Walk east to ‘Domain’ park

The following day I headed 5 kilometers east, on foot, to the ‘Domain’ park home to the Auckland National War Memorial Museum. 

Auckland's oldest park and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city located in the central suburb of Grafton. The park contains the explosion crater of the Pukekawa volcano.

The volcano is one of the oldest in the Auckland Volcanic Field, and consists of a large explosion crater surrounded by tuff rings with a small scoria cone in the centre. The tuff rings, created by a series of explosive eruptions, consists of volcanic ash, lapilli and fragmented sandstone country rock.

The crater floor was originally a lava lake until the western half collapsed slightly becoming a freshwater lake. Europeans later drained the area for use as playing fields, parkland and Duck Pond, still freshwater-fed from the drainage of the crater.

The park is home to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, constructed in 1929, it commemorates the 18,000 lives lost in World War I, most of whom never found their way home.

The museum sits prominently on the crater rim (tuff ring). Several sports fields occupy the floor of the crater, circling to the south of the cone, while the rim opposite the Museum hosts the cricket pavilion and Auckland City Hospital.

The Wintergarden, with two beautiful glass houses, lie on the north side of the central scoria cone. 

The fernery has been constructed in an old quarry in part of the cone. The duck ponds lie in the northern sector of the explosion crater, breached to the north by a small overflow stream.

The beautiful museum building itself, arranged over several floors, and with a modern gallery to the rear provides a broad insight into the history, people’s and development of Auckland and New Zealand through ‘peace-time’ and ‘war’.

There is an expansive collection of Māori artifacts, carvings, full-size ceremonial lodges and the boats used amongst other things.

The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time before 1300.

Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture that became known as the "Māori", with their own language, a rich mythology, distinctive crafts and performing arts. Early Māori formed tribal groups, based on eastern Polynesian social customs and organization. Horticulture flourished using plants they introduced, and later a prominent warrior culture emerged.

There are displays based on the Geography, Geology and Volcanology of New Zealand. One particular ‘real-life’ display recreates the effects leading up to an actually eruption on the nearby island of Rangitoto, highlighting the devastation before, during and after the event.

There’s a large collection of artwork, European antique furnishings, the development of New Zealand as a nation and its involvement in wars both as a colonial and independent commonwealth country.

The top floor or atrium is devoted as an area of reflection and dedication to those lost in recent times, or at least the last century. 

There are several stained glass windows identifying where the NZ military served in WWII for each of the three Services along with inscribed lists of the names of Aucklander’s lost in a various conflicts round the world, WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Korea.

I found the whole experience quite moving. The manner, sensitivity and dignity adopted in the presentation is excellent, a fitting epitaph.

Trip to an island volcano

Sunday I decided to take the ‘Fullers’ ferry across the bay to the volcanic island of Rangitoto, now a National protected park.

The last eruption was over 700 years ago, so reasonably safe. The summit, about 259 meters above sea level, affords fantastic views from the raised platform atop the volcanoes crater rim. 

Visible across the Hauraki Bay are the Islands of Motutapu, Great Barrier Island and Cape Colville with the Firth of Thames in the distance. 

It has taken all of the 700 years for nature to reclaim the land. It does have a claim to fame; however, it has the largest Pohutakawa forest anywhere in the world. There are also now some 200 species of native plant, including 40 fern. Many of the plants are unusual hybrids and very rare.

After wandering round the volcanic island, clambering through defunct lava tubes and a pleasant ‘cup-of-tea’ at the Conservationists café I headed by boat the short distance to the island and suburb of Davenport, for a long walk and a late lunch before heading back to the mainland.

Volcanic Rangitoto Island

Auckland straddles the Auckland Volcanic Field, which has produced about 50 volcanoes. These take the form of cones; lakes, lagoons, islands and depressions, with several producing extensive lava flows.

Most of the cones have been partly or completely quarried away. The individual volcanoes are all considered extinct, although the volcanic field itself is merely dormant. Auckland has at least 14 large lava tube caves, which run from the volcanoes down, towards the sea.

Unlike the explosive subduction-driven volcanism in the central North Island, such as at Mount Ruapehu and Lake Taupo, Auckland's volcanoes are fuelled entirely by basaltic magma. The most recent and by far the largest volcano, Rangitoto Island, were formed within the last 1000 years, and its eruptions destroyed the Māori settlements on neighbouring Motutapu Island some 700 years ago.

Rangitoto's size, its symmetry, its position guarding the entrance to Waitemata Harbour and its visibility from many parts of the Auckland region make it Auckland's most iconic natural feature. Few birds and insects inhabit the island because of the rich acidic soil and the type of flora growing out of the rocky soil.

The city of Auckland

Three days in Auckland is enough for me. You would think that looking at the photographs Auckland would seem like an idyllic paradise surrounded by sea and set against a perfect backdrop of hills and mountains. It takes more than a setting and buildings to make a city however.

There was an interesting article in the local Herald newspaper that summed it up for me. It said that, ‘the people of Auckland have an almost callous response to the Christchurch earthquake, with people from abroad far more receptive to their plight’. The article concluded by saying that the residents of Auckland had become, ‘disinterested in anyone but himself or herself’.

Michelle, a Christchurch resident, that I met while descending the face of the volcano, pretty much endorsed that belief, as have others. Sad but true, there we are.

Auckland has been an experience nonetheless and well worth a visit, although on the whole the people have added little to the moment.

Over the last few days, I’ve walked from Downtown Auckland, to the Queens and Princes quay, at the moment undergoing a transformation for the Rugby World Cup 2011. Round ‘Viaduct Harbor’ to the Bay Bridge and then to the elegant Auckland suburb of Ponsonby, where the streets are lined with beautiful wooden Victorian houses. I’ve wandered round ‘The Domain’, taken a ferry round the Bay, clambered up a volcano and explored the harbor city of Davenport, lunching there in the small city center. I’ve enjoyed three days of sunshine with just an occasional shower.

Tomorrow is another day and time to move on South to Rotorua, a volcanic spa town in the mountains.  

Bus the only option

The preferred method of travelling by train proved somewhat problematical.  There’s one train a day from Auckland to Wellington which leaves at 7.30 a.m., stopping along the way at Toupa not Rotorua. Interestingly enough the only rail connection on South Island is from Christchurch through the mountain range to the West Coast only.

Getting back to Rotorua would involve a return trip over-ground already covered, by bus, with a similar journey back to Toupa, which all seemed a little pointless. Clearly, too much time lost waiting around or travelling over the same ground rather than exploring what New Zealand had to offer.

Time out in Rotorua - ‘Piki mai! Kake Mai,’ or ‘Welcome to you all’

We arrived in Rotorua after a pleasant 4-hour coach trip from Auckland, finding accommodation for a couple of nights at a small hotel close to the park, bus station and centre of the city. Rotorua Lake is a volcanic region surrounded by geysers, volcanoes, dormant at the moment, and ancient lava flows. 

Home to botanical gardens, a world class Polynesian Spa Baths and historic architecture its known as a spa town.

Government Gardens, close to the lakeshore at the eastern end of the town, are a particular point of pride and house the grand ‘Rotorua Museum of Art & History’.

Original constructed in 1908 it has a chequered history once a spa baths based around the healing power of the thermal waters, then a seedy nightclub and finally, after a long period of disuse, a museum, as it is today. 

Heavy rainfall was promised over the next day or two so I decide not to linger to long in the city. 

A day to look round the lake gardens and museum, visit the Whakarewarewa geyser and an afternoon at the Polynesian Spa before taking a trip the following day to the River Waikato.

History and facts about Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority with an estimated population of 68,900.

Located 60 kilometers south of Tauranga, 80 kilometers north of Taupo, 105 kilometers east of Hamilton, and 230 kilometers southeast of Auckland.

A major destination for both domestic and international tourists noted for its geothermal activity and features geysers, notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa, and hot mud pools. The thermal activity is sourced by the Rotorua caldera, on which the city lies. 

The name Rotorua comes from Māori, the full name being Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe; ‘Roto’ means ‘lake’ and ‘Rua’ ‘two’ – Rotorua meaning 'Second Lake’.

Kahumatamomoe was the uncle of the Māori chief Ihenga, the ancestral explorer of the Te Arawa. It was the second major lake that the chief discovered, and he dedicated it to his uncle. It is the largest of a multitude found to the northeast of the city, all connected with the Rotorua Caldera and nearby Mount Tarawera.

The area was initially settled by Māori of the Te Arawa Iwi and later by Europeans, probably Phillip Tapsell who was trading from the Bay of Plenty coast at Maketu, from 1828. He later married into Te Arawa and became highly regarded.

Missionaries Henry Williams and Thomas Chapman visited in 1831 and Chapman and his wife established a mission at Te Koutu in 1835.

The lakeshore was a prominent site of skirmishes during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.

A "special town district" was created in the 1883, in order to promote Rotorua's potential as a spa destination. 

The town was connected to Auckland with the opening of the Rotorua Branch railway and commencement of the Rotorua Express train in 1894, resulting in the rapid growth of the town and tourism from this time forward.

Rotorua is nicknamed Sulphur City because of the hydrogen sulphide emissions that give the city a “rotten egg” smell. Especially pungent in the central-east ‘Te Ngae’ area due to the dense sulphur deposits located next to the southern boundary of the Government Gardens, in the area known as ‘Sulphur Point’.

The topography comprises a flat area, or basin, occupied by the lake and city surrounded on all sides by mountains.

Jet Boat trip along the River Waikato
Tim our guide and driver for the day, originally from the UK and now a content NZ citizen, picked us up early morning and drove us initially to Rainbow Mountain Crater Lake, then a hot mud pools on the road to Toupa before finally heading to the River Waikato. 

We were due to travel up-river passing through Tutukau Gorge, back drop to the’ Lord of the Rings’ film, and to Orakei Korako or the Hidden Valley, recently used as the setting for the Walt Disney film, ‘Yogi Bear’.Our tour party consisted of Adam our New Zealander driver, Tim a resident of New Zealand for over 30 years, Fred from Perth, Australia, Alistair from Glasgow and myself.

The ‘NZ Riverjet’ has several interesting capabilities; it can travel up the rapids using its two immensely powerful engines skimming across the water.  Powered by two 3.8 turbo charged Chevrolet engines it uses impeller technology, forcing huge amounts of water through two tubes at incredible speed. The boat has a completely flat bottom, allowing it to travel through very shallow water and believe it or not spin round by 180 degrees, on the horizontal plane. The top speed is well over 80 kph. 

The idea first saw light of day back in the late 1950’s, the inventor a chap called Hamilton, hence the name ‘Hamilton Boat’.  

Orakei Korako or Hidden Valley

‘Orakei Koraki’ or ‘Hidden Valley’ fought over for many centuries by the Maori tribes. Prized because of the constant water supply, the availability and abundance of game and the natural cooking facilities, namely the geysers or hot pools. 

One story tells how a tribe from the coast heard about the valley, planned a raid and after travelling up the river for several days took refuge in caves in the Tutukau Gorge. They were seen and the foliage in front of the cave set alight, burning all alive inside! 

Many centuries ago at the top of the hill there would have been a fissure where lava flowed freely out forming a terrace over the existing rock.

Presumably, there is still sufficient heat generated beneath the surface to heat the pools of underground water forcing it to the surface in the form of a geyser. The hot water contains various minerals deposited as it cools and flows back to the Waikato River. The terraces are known as the Silica Terraces and situated in the Orakei Valley.
The city of Wellington
After spending several hours travelling by intercity bus, from Rotoura across beautiful and sometimes rugged countryside of the central Northern Island on the 6th April, we arrived in the city of Wellington, capital and southern most City. 
The overland early morning bus from Rotoura to Wellington, some 452.5 kilometers and a journey time of 5 hours and 45 minutes, is worthy of note. 

The route takes us past the thermal power station and 5-star lodge close to the famous Huka falls; the town and lake of Toupa, largest lake in New Zealand, and Mt. Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park, the backdrop to ‘Lord of The Rings’.
I’d realized that I’d left only 7 days to explore the South Island; considered by most to be the prettiest of the two, so I decide to spend one night here only, before heading by ferry to Picton, South Island, hire a car and try and explore as much as possible before flying onto Australia.
Unfortunate, as Wellington clearly has a lot to offer, the weather forecast heavy rainfall played a determining factor.
History and facts about Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range with a population of 393,400 residents.
It’s the major population centre in the south of North Island and seat for the Wellington Region. The urban area includes four cities: Wellington, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour the central business district; Porirua to the north notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities; Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley.
In 1865, Wellington became the capital city of New Zealand, replacing Auckland. Apparently, there had been some concerns that the more highly populated South Island, where the goldfields were located, would choose to form a separate colony with the British Empire. Several Commissioners invited from Australia declared that Wellington was a suitable location because of its central location in New Zealand and good harbour.
Parliament officially met in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865. At that time, the population of Wellington was just 4,900.
Government House, the official residence of the Governor-General, is in Newtown, opposite the Basin Reserve. Premier House, the official residence of the Prime Minister, is in Pipitea on Tinakori Road.
Wellington is at the southwestern tip of the North Island on Cook Strait, the passage that separates the North and South Islands. On a clear day the snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges are visible to the south across the strait. To the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kapiti Coast. On the east the Rimutaka Range divides Wellington from the broad plains of the Wairarapa, a wine region of national notability.
With a latitude of 41° 17' South, Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world and the most remote. Because of its location in the latitudes of the Roaring Forties and exposure to the winds blowing through the Cook Strait, Wellington is known to New Zealanders as "Windy Wellington".

Wellington Harbour lies along an active geological fault, which is clearly evident on its straight western shore. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many of Wellington's suburbs sit high above the centre of the city.
In the east is the Miramar Peninsula, connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport. The narrow entrance to Wellington is directly to the east of the Miramar Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef, where many ships have been wrecked, most famously the inter-island ferry Wahine in 1968).
On the hill west of the city centre are Victoria University and the Wellington Botanic Garden.
Wellington Harbour has three islands: Matiu or Somes Island, Makaro or Ward Island and Mokopuna Island.

Afternoon and morning tour round Wellington
My hotel was within walking distance to the municipal buildings set around Central Square and the marina harbour area. It was mid afternoon so it seemed a good idea to explore as much as I could before moving on late afternoon the following day to Picton. 

There’s an interesting globe suspended in Central Square made of what appear to be feathers fashioned out of steel with wires radiating out from the surrounding buildings holding it in position. A bridge spans the main harbour road linking the Square with the marina area, adorned with artwork by Para Matchitt. It supposed to the represent a structure twisted by the effects of an earthquake. 

Once across the principle artery that runs parallel with the coast walkways, gardens and a promenade extend to the right and left mirroring the waters edge. The left peters out eventually into the Industrial dock area, the right marks an area dedicated to theatres, museums and an expensive marina suburb. To the north the terrain rises steeply and where properties seem to cling to the hillside.At some point rain threatened and I retreated to a ‘steak restaurant’ for an early diner.Sitting on an adjacent table was a New Zealander named Rohan Bignell. It materializes that he represents a company in the Napier Valley that have large interests in both wine and cattle production desperate to gain an interest in the UK market.He seemed to be focusing his attention primarily on Marks & Spencer as a possible outlet for their products I suggested that he look at Waitrose as well as a potential customer, indicating that the retail outlet had effectively filled the higher-end for quality food.
The upshot, he invited me to visit the area, when next in NZ at his expense.
‘Te Papa’ museum tour before moving on
The following morning I toured the newly opened ‘Te Papa’ museum.

A large section devoted to the Maori people with the peace treaty between the Maori’s and the European settlers a focal point. There’s also a to a mock-up of an underground cave and canopy walk within the landscaped water gardens.About lunchtime I headed the 5 kilometers by taxi to the ferry terminal for the crossing to South Island. To be continued……….