Month: August 2015

The last few days have been clear and great for getting us out and about in New Plymouth. We have been leaving the house after exercising the dogs about 10ish every a.m. and getting back between 2:30 and 4:00 after a good walk about around town. Two of the last three days we have walked the two ends of the Coastal Walkway, and the third day we explored one of the larger parks in the area.

The Coastal Walkway is a sea-edge promenade that stretches almost the entire length of New Plymouth. It is great for walking, biking, running, skating, etc. and allows for great views of the sea in both urban and more natural environments. It is approximately 10k in length. The walkway is mostly concrete in the city areas but changes to wood, grass and/or gravel in some of the outer areas. It runs by a golf course, the city center, the port, a volcanic outcrop (big rock), and gorgeous beaches. It also showcases a great new bridge, public art, and various memorials along the route. Bob and I have walked it during the day, and I’ve also enjoyed running along it. It gets a lot of use by the locals as well.

At the end of our walk to the western-most end of the walkway, we climbed part of the way up Paritutu Rock but stopped when we had to start scrambling up and hanging onto chains bolted into the rock, as we didn’t have the right footwear and got some warnings from a guy coming down about the progressively more difficult climbing conditions further on. I was disappointed, but on the other side of the rock we had a lovely picnic lunch overlooking Back Beach (gorgeous!!!). We also found some different trails to walk back into town on that ran along a couple of streams.

On another day, we explored Pukekura Park which is 52 hectares (or 129 acres or 6,000 square feet). We went on a Thursday thinking that it would be quieter than during the weekend, but it was being well used by both school groups and other locals taking in the various sites. One large school group was having their elementary-aged kids run through the park and then finish with a lap around the large sports field they were gathered in. While we were walking in another area of the park, we saw intermediate school groups use their recess or gym time to run through the park as well. Pretty impressive! In addition to the many, many walking paths, the park has a fountain lake (which a young child showed us how to turn on), a tea house, various garden areas, a rhododendron dell, a fernery and display house, sculptures, an ampitheatre area for performances, and a small zoo.

The gorgeous days have allowed for some good off-leash opportunities for both dogs as well.

It is raining pretty good, as I write this, which makes for easy blogging (versus exploring) conditions, but we did get out earlier to catch a net ball game. More on that later.

After using Saturday to catch up on laundry and pick up information on the local area, we decided that a smart way to start our time here would be to begin learning more about the region. We have used Sunday and today to try to do that. On Sunday, we did a lovely self-guided walk of the New Plymouth Heritage Trail that points provides a map and details on areas of interest around New Plymouth. We went in numerical order of the map (not due to Beth’s OCD tendencies — just worked out that way) and began the walk learning that New Plymouth was settled (in terms of European ancestry) in 1840 by emigrants from the Devon and Cornwall areas of England.

During the walk, we saw some cool old buildings where original settlers lived and/or worked, the cool new contemporary art museum, the Taranaki Cathedral (gorgeous building, yard, and old cemetary), more parks, and Marsland Hill which is one of the higher points in New Plymouth and was used as a defensive outpost for the community. It was a great way to learn our way around town and appreciate more of its history.

Last night we officially celebrated Bob’s b-day at a local restaurant, called the Crowded House, while watching a rugby match on tv followed by the start of the Spanish Vuelta. This is a sports-mad country, and we’re looking forward to learning more about many of the sports that are lesser-known to us Yanks. Bob found a new favorite beer — Monteith Black.

Today we went to see the contemporary art museum — dedicated to the art of Len Lye who is maybe best well known for his kinetic art sculptures (see below). His 48 meter (157 feet) Wind Wand sculpture is along the coastal walkway down the street from the museum.

The art museum is near the Puke Ariki center which houses the i-Site travel information center, library, and a museum on New Plymouth. Today we toured the museum — lots on the native flora and fauna along with the history of New Plymouth from both the European-based and Maori perspectives.

Fun fact: Before other mammals were introduced to the country, bats were the only native mammal. This made it a great environment for birds, and New Zealand still seems to have a large variety of unique birds.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow have been/will be off and on rainy with the heaviest rain to come this evening and tomorrow a.m. Clearing on Wednesday, so hopefully we’ll get to do some more intensive exploration of the area later in the week.

We started our Saturday by taking the younger dog, Baz (male), for a walk along the trail that is right behind the house and runs along a stream (Te Henui) that empties into the Tasman Sea. In the town of New Plymouth, there are many streams and it seems as if all of them have awesome trails to tramp (the New Zealand term for “hike”) and bike. These dog walks will be one of our routines during our 6 week house sit–more frequent and longer ones with Baz and less frequent and shorter ones with the older dog, Jess (female). Both dogs are awesome.

After the dog walk, we got caught up on laundry and started discussing what kind of routines we wanted/needed to establish. To help with those discussions, we walked to the “i-Site” to pick up information on the local area. These i-Sites are the governmental tourist information centers. We picked up a ton of brochures for New Plymouth and the region, Taranaki. After that we did a quick walk-around of their central business district (CBD), quite impressive for a town of 70,000.

Our homeowners, Allan and Dana, are members at the local horse racing association. They had given us their passes to the day’s races, so we took in some horse racing at the Park which was an easy walk from the CBD. It was enjoyable as it was nice and sunny. It is amazing how much faster the horses seem in person! After we walked home we took both dogs for a small round-the-neigborhood stroll. As it was my birthday, we did a little celebration with a dinner at home and a bottle of wine and made plans to go out on Sunday.

The only snafu of the day was when Beth decided to use the power-on remote to try to change the channel to watch the evening news. This does not work, as Bob had previously informed her. No tv that night, but we subsequently found the instructions for the tv and are now able to appreciate more than just the outer shell of the tv!

We left Taupo for New Plymouth by bus at 10:20 a.m. on Thursday. We arrived in New Plymouth at 8:15 p.m. after a 3 hour layover in Hamilton. This wasn’t as bad as it sounds as we were able to lock up our bags at the bus station and walk along the riverwalk through town a bit before having a leisurely late lunch at the Iguana (very cute restaurant in Hamilton — across the street from the Riff Raff statue in honor of the individual who wrote the Rocky Horror Picture Show).

Dana (pronounced Donna), the wife of the couple for whom we are house sitting, picked us up at the bus station in New Plymouth. Since arriving we have met and learned about her family, the dogs (Jessie Lou and Baz), some friends, and have seen a bit of the area. New Plymouth is the port and main city in the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island. It is bordered by Mount Taranaki on one side (very impressive mountain) and the Tasman Sea on the other. Devon is the main street through town. We are in a lovely neighborhood close to a long walking/running/biking trail and also within walking distance to the main business area. The coast has a beautiful black sand beach and the walking trail has a lovely new bridge. We are excited to begin really learning the area and settling into a new routine.

We took Dana and Alan to the airport this a.m. for their six-week French holiday. (Our, as in Bob’s, first experience of this trip driving on the left-hand side of the road.  We survived.) Dana and Alan are a lovely couple, and we are honored to be caring for their home and pets.

Hey All,

We’ve fallen a bit behind on our blogging as we settle into out New Zealand house sit experience in New Plymouth — but more on that later. We wanted to provide a brief overview on our full day in Taupo. Taupo is a beautiful town centered around Lake Taupo, the largest fresh water lake in Australasia. Unfortunately for us, our only full-day here was cold and rainy, but we tried to make the best of it.

We did about a 3 hour hike from our motel to Huka Falls in the off-and-on again rain. The falls are on the Waikato River that flows out of Lake Taupo (about 30 other rivers flow into it). The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, and at least this stretch of it, is very, very clear. The falls themselves were a lovely blue color due to the clarity of the water and the presence of air bubbles in the water.

On the hike up we passed a bungy jump site and a thermal spa. There is a lot of geothermal activity in the region (mud baths, bubbling springs, steam, etc.) that they have harnessed for electric generation as well as tourist opportunities.

It was a nice hike/tramp even with the rain.

Afterwards we headed for a local craft brewery to do their 1:00 p.m. tour; however, they had cancelled the tour due to a meeting with their consultant. The brewmaster did take us in the back and talk with us briefly about the automated brewing systems they are helping to test. Apparently more breweries are being started worldwide than can be staffed with trained brewmasters. One is opening every 6 months in New Zealand and one per day in the US, per this individual anyway.

After the talk we went upstairs to the bistro, for a lovely lunch (french onion soup) and a shared beer tasting.  Not being much of a beer person (how did I come from WI?), I just had a sip of each. I enjoyed the pale ale and porter (middle 2) more than the amber (super light) and cider.

The weather cleared for a bit in the late pm so that I (Beth) was able to get in a short run.

This will be a short blog about an absolutely perfect day — Monday, August 17, 2015, as I (Beth) want to let the photos speak for themselves. We spent the day tramping around Waiheke Island — a 35 minute boat ride from Auckland. We caught the 9:00 a.m. ferry over and spent the morning tramping the northern trail from the ferry landing. We were on beaches, hugging cliffs, climbing stairs, and walking across meadows — all while gawking at the gorgeous harbor views and the houses of those wealthy enough to be able to afford those views. We wandered into the town center for a picnic lunch before heading back out to tramp on the other side of the island. This time we tramped through pastures with horses to the very top of the island before heading back down through rainforest-like vegetation. The day ended, perfectly enough, with a shared wine tasting and glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the Cable Bay Winery — awesome views and a short tramp back to catch the 4:45 ferry.

I think Beth gives me the easier days to blog about as I won’t write as much and thus there are less words and less likelihood to use big words, which my nieces struggle with. Anyway…

Yesterday (Tuesday) was generally a travel day as we bussed (slow travel is cheap travel) from Auckland to Taupo at a cost of $17.50 a piece. The ride on the InterCity bus was very nice, on-time and included free WiFi. Before getting on the 9am bus out of Auckland, Beth went for a run and made a discovery that made us both cranky–she found a good grocery store. When we travel we like to split up our meals–eating out and also finding local wine/food to eat in the room. We found convenience stores which we made use of but really would have used the grocery store if we had know about it.

Anyway, before boarding the bus, we grabbed a bite to eat in an Esquires Coffee Shop — right across the street from bus terminal AND the same cafe we ate at when we were in New Zealand in 2008.

With a 40 minute stop in Hamilton, we arrived in Taupo at 1:50 p.m. We wanted to visit Taupo as we had driven through the town on our last trip and it looked pretty cool. After checking into our Dunrovin Motel room ($64/night) that has a separate living room with full kitchen, we headed to the Taupo Museum and Art Center. It was good, not great. The most interesting aspect was the WWI information on a computer–the exhibits for WWI were not very informative, but the digital facts and figures really helped us better understand Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) efforts. After that we went to a shop we had stopped at on our 2008 visit, the Merchant, a fine food and spirits retailer. It was more spirits than food this time though, so we went to a local grocery, Countdown, to pick up food for an in-room picnic. Had a great meal of smoked mussels, cheese, crackers, two prepared veggie salads and a bottle of Cable Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

Some ask why we blog, really it is for us to remember our travels and to share with our friends and family who may be interested. Prior to the internet, we would write our day’s activities in a journal. We have quite a few of those journals at home and occasionally pull one out and randomly read a sentence to see if we can recall the trip. Usually, just a sentence or two brings back memories of that adventure.

Only the finest places (but it is nice)!

Outside the Taupo Museum and Art Center

Bob and I arrived at the Jucy Hotel (part hostel/part hotel) in Auckland at approximately 5:00 p.m. Auckland time on Saturday 8/15 (12:00 a.m. Saturday in Austin), after having begun our travels approximately 38 hours earlier. The trip was a much more enjoyable experience than that number might indicate and certainly better than I had feared (which should teach me, yet again, to not borrow trouble by fretting!).

We loved LAX — both our time in the Admirals Club as well as the relatively new international terminal that is almost Vegas-like in the many video displays that they have going. The trip on Qantas was great. We have always had good luck with that airline. They have pillows that look and act like pillows, great blankets, friendly staff, and good entertainment options (though I stuck with my book and crosswords — English-major nerd that I am). We also managed to get enough sleep (having a free seat between us helped) to keep us human-feeling for the rest of the trip.

The only down-side of the whole travel episode was the Sydney airport. We had a 4 hour layover between the flight from LA until our flight to Auckland. The international terminal is little more than one cacophonous duty-free shopping mall. Seriously, you can’t walk anywhere without tripping over or walking through one duty free shop or another, and they announce every flight throughout the whole terminal — multiple times, including the names of the individuals who are late and need to hurry up and board (though they also call their names multiple times). I don’t think there was 2 minutes of non-announcement time the whole time that we were there.

Luckily, the flight to Auckland was lovely (a short 2.5 hours), and the bus trip we had purchased on line was an easy ride into downtown. Then we just had a short walk (up hill — just like home!) to our hotel.

Last night and today the weather has been perfect — good jacket weather but not too cold. I’ll let Bob tell you about today’s adventures. Let’s just say that we can now brag about having bicycled across one country and walked across another!

Beth has it right, no problems at all with jet lag coming this way. I thought I would feel as bad as my nephews look but, I really can’t believe the transition.

Have you ever biked across the USA? Well, we did that in 2012 (and hopefully, will upload that blog sometime in the near future for those that are interested and didn’t follow along then). Well, now, we can say we walked across a country — New Zealand! The city of Auckland promotes a coast-to-coast 16km (10 miles) trail from the Waitemata Harbor on the north/east side of the island to the Manukau Harbor on the south/west side. The trail basically runs across the width of the country rather than the length of the two islands.

Getting up this morning, we did in some in-room instant coffee compliments of the $57 Jucy Hotel and set about to conquer the country! Went to t

he start, grabbed some breakfast and set off. It was a wonderful hike with two good hills/mountains to ascend — Mt. Eden and One Tree Hill. Both had awesome Auckland views and the latter had all kinds of sheep and even a few lambs — probably should have been called sheep hill. Ended up in a suburb, Onehunga, and took a train back after we had a quick snack in Lucious Cafe and now are sitting planning the rest of our day and our ferry ride to Waiheke Island tomorrow.

We are having issues with WiFi/cellular service so hopefully we will get into a blogging routine once we have regular internet access. The following are some photos from today’s cross-country hike.

G’Day Mates!

Welcome to Bob and Beth’s initial blog from our Down Under adventure.  Hopefully, we’ll say something of interest or be brief. . .

Bob and I are currently enjoying life in the American Airlines Admiral’s Club at the Los Angeles airport courtesy of a free day pass that Bob got for us by applying for a credit card.  It is our urban spa retreat before our 15 hour flight this evening to Sydney.  I am loving the cucumber water and the hand lotion in the bathroom!  Also hoping to catch a cat nap too, as I was up early for a 16 mile run in the very hot and thick Austin air.  Looking forward to experiencing the Kiwi version of winter beginning Saturday afternoon when we’ll finally land in Auckland.

We have a longer layover in LAX than planned due to the cancellation of our original flight.  Bob survived phone queue hell last night to get us on the new flight this am.  More from me later.  Miss all of you already but super excited for this adventure!

See Bob’s blog below.

I think this blog is going to be different than our Bicycle-Across-The-USA Blog back in 2012. That seemed easy as everyday was a unique ride. This go-around I am hoping to develop some daily routines and really get to know the New Zealand and Australia ways-of-life. (Sidenote: am I using dashes to much?!?!).

Anyway, I’m pumped to get there. Can’t say I’m excited about the 15 hour flight to Sydney, then a 4 hour layover than another 3 hour flight to Auckland. But I’ll take the $19.50 cost for a one-way ticket from Austin to Auckland (plus some airline points). So, total cost for both Beth and I from our condo door to the Jucy Hotel in Auckland is $60.04 ($0 Uber in Austin, $39 AA/Qantas and $21.04 for airport shuttle bus). That’s all for now-except if you want to experience what I’ll be experiencing soon, go sit in a non-reclining chair for 15+ hours!

Bob

Bar/restaurant in Admiral’s Club

View of terminal from Admiral’s Club

All smiles before loooong leg!