April Activities

Matarangi Beach

The doctor sat in the front driver's seat of the Toyota.  A good share of the first six months of the journey was in that position.  The floor saturated with Tip Top ice cream bar sticks licked clean.  The seat had acquired his body scent---a combination of various aged Old Spice with avocado-chic pea-kumera farts.  The odometer registered 15,000 km more than when it was originally leased.  The blonde woman had effectively transformed the passenger side into a library of travel, activity, and culinary information.  At times she appeared to be buried in brochures, difficult to find but not difficult to hear her.  Fueled by "flat white" lattes and chocolate truffles she navigated and determined points of interest.  The general destinations were decided in advance.

Matarangi Jazz Festival

Atop Mt Maunganui

One weekend destination included a short trip up the Coromandel coastline to a village celebrating autumn in New Zealand.  Matarangi benefits from the beach life during the summer.  On that particular fall day, the sun shone just right.  The doctor and blonde woman ran across acquaintances at the festival as one does when they meld into a community.  Kiwis enjoy the community of man, the dancing to music, the meeting of friends.  And, once again, a stroll along a gorgeous beach with fine white sand and nature's treasures washing ashore completed the day.


 Mt Maunganui competes for "beach community of New Zealand".  Overlooking the beach is a small mountain allowing full circle views of the Tauranga Harbour, Pacific Ocean, and cities of Mt Maunganui and Tauranga.  Following the jazz festival, Cheryl the Navigator and Activities Director directed them to the Mount.

Another of Tom's fantasies

Cheryl and Sam visited  the area in January.  Kiwis meet and play on the beaches all year, but mostly from November to April.  Sailing continues year round.  From the Mount, a series of sailboats caught Tom's fancy.  These vantage points of life can be glorious.  The boats appeared to be moving in unison orchestrated by some unseen Conductor all for Tom's benefit.  The scene may have evolved into a Monet painting, but Tom's legs ached and needed attention.  The legs were appeased with a rest on an old-man's bench and encouragement from Nick and Kari who met the two and then helped cheer the University of Wisconsin in the Final Four.


Then, Mother Nature pulled an astronomical delight out of the night air.  The 'Blood Moon' phenomena occurred in the southeastern sky from about 7:30-10:30 PM.  Attempts at capturing the event partially failed, but are submitted for future memories.



After the 'Blood Moon', the Prince and Princess came calling.  The Duchess of Thames prepared herself and with friend Jenny proceeded to Auckland for tea with Duchess of Cambridge.  They knew Kate was on a tight schedule, but who turns down the Duchess of Thames?

Cuppa tea, Kate?  Please join us.

Kate! Kate! You forgot us! We are over here on the dock!

The Royals captivated the country for 10 days.  Each dress scrutinized and then sensationalized.  William looked on.  Little George drooled at his mother as did the rest of the Kiwi nation.










The Royals took a spin aboard the New Zealand boats that compete in the America's Cup.  A few more distant photos were possible and then they disappeared.  The media followed them relentlessly.  Cheryl had her few moments.

Caroline and Simon Marriott

April also appealed to admirers of agricultural and pastoral (A & P) shows.  Cheryl spent a day with Jenny at Caroline Marriott's orchard picking limes and discussing limes, lemons, and men.  Which is most sour? bitter? reliable? fuzzy? firm?

Shearing sheep at A&P Show

Cheryl learned that Caroline and her daughters were preparing to show her sheep at the A&P show in Auckland (similar to State Fair).  Cheryl received an invite and found herself the next week shearing an unsuspecting sheep in front of a crowd of 5 or 6 people.  This experience allowed her to check another box of "things-I-want-to-do-in-New Zealand".   The young muscle bound rancher was considered bonus points.
 The remainder of the show involved local art and craft booths, family rides, and stage shows of various success.

So many opportunities in New Zealand

April certainly had a variety of activities.

Moo over and moo room for May!

Wine

Sauvignon blanc grapes

 Wine.

What has yet to be written?

Based upon the time spent in the doctor and blonde woman's attempt to understand oenology, a few paragraphs need to be swallowed and savored.  Probably the entire blog.

Rippon Vineyards overlooking Mt Aspiring

New Zealand produces 3% of the world's wine supply according to people who estimate things like that. Tim Fitz produces 3.1% in his basement according to friends who know things like that.  

Big juice containers in Church Road in Hawke's Bay

   
     Rivers of wine statistics flow forth.  Interesting facts and figures can be found in books, websites, billboards, and brochures.  One can easily listen to experts spin stories of the wine history.  Knowledgeable people throughout NZ add to the magic of the grape.  Fascinating information would need careful review…..somewhere else.  Not here.  No stinking facts here.


     "Couldn't understand a single word he said but he sure had some mighty fine wine…"
                                            3 Dog Night

Mercury Bay wine tasting

 New Zealand wine is mighty fine.  The tasting experience began shortly after arrival.  The tasting rooms uniformly involve picturesque settings, friendly people, tasty food additions, and the opportunity to purchase extra whenever the swirl disappeared.  

Overlooking vineyards at Brancott Estates

As Tom and Cheryl ventured through the countryside, vineyards divided the vast sheep stations and bush vegetation.  The wine path led to Waiheke Island, Hawke's Bay, Martinborough, Canterbury, Marlborough, West Auckland, and the Coromandel Peninsula.  Each scrutinized by amateur wine tasters in search of the perfect $12 bottle.

Mudbrick winery and restaurant in Waiheke Island

Wine has been sampled in restaurants, cellar doors, and homes of the Kiwis (always, the best).  Some locales caused Tom and Cheryl to wear clean shirts with their jandels (Kiwi for pedal thongs).  The wine tasting experience excelled in all places.






                                                                                 

Sharing stories at Babich Winery 

The recent South Island voyage in the Jucy camper van allowed investigation of the Marlborough area.  Multiple wineries sit in the sunshine closely together.  Quick trips to each location.  The conversation openings were nearly identical.

"Good afternoon.  Are you interested in a tasting?"

"I'm driving, but Cheryl might be interested."

"We are known for our Sauvignon Blanc.  The toitu (environment) lends itself to cool nights, soil alkalinity, and dry climate producing the perfect grape.  Try this one….I am sure you will taste the rich French oak, the hint of apricot, apple, asparagus, fennel, flax, fig, mushroom, and macadamia.  How do you like it?"

"Ummm…I really like it!  Oh, Tom, too bad you can't have some.  I think you should try just a little sip."  Martin Luther added his opinion on a near-by placard, "Beer is made by men, wine by God."

Sharing stories at Hunter's Winery

"OK, a little….um, mighty fine."

"Here, try this one."

"Well, that is mighty fine, mighty fine."

"That's it?" came the incredulous response of the wine hostess. "What about the gooseberry and walnut flavors?  C'mon, love,you can do better."

Another little sip.  "I sense a lavender sunrise on an isolated white sand beach with a beautiful woman holding my hand in a longing sort of way while she lets the morning breeze rustle her hair
across my shoulder and gazes at me like I am the

A mighty fine wine

Supreme Being ready to consume her as Andrea
Bocelli sings 'Con Te Partino'."

"Oh. Oh!"

"It is mighty fine wine."

The people next to us bought 3 cases.












They drove out of the South Island in the Jucy camper van back to Christchurch.  Then home to Thames via Auckland.  The wine country of the South added to the checklist.

Yealands Estate, largest in Australia/NZ

Lucy, the Jucy Camper Van

     "Let's make like a hippie couple.  Rent a funky VW van and travel the world!  OK?"  she said.
   
     "OK", he said.

     "Let's start in the South Island of New Zealand.  We'll stay in campsites or DOC huts or just stay anywhere!  Make toast, and bologna-cheese sandwiches!  Take hikes along the Abel Tasman and Queen Charlotte trails!  Pee in the long drops!  Watch the star-filled nights!" she said.

     "OK", he said.

     "Let's use one of those lime green and magenta colored Jucy camper vans first before buying a VW van!  The Lucy Jucy Camper Van!"  she said.

     "Ah…?", he said.

      "It will be so much fun!"

     "Oh….?"

     "I want to do it."

     "K."


Never were Cheryl and Tom true Hippies.  They were hippie wannabes... 40-45 years ago.  Something in the air or food stimulated the Hippie fantasy to return.  Now, the destination--northern aspects of the South Island and territory unseen.  Find the Iron Butterfly, Grateful Dead, and Hendrix!

As the date approached for departure, a formidable unknown approached from the north.  Spinning through the South Pacific with havoc in her repertoire, Cyclone Luci came knocking.  And blowing.  And pouring.  But, that's camping.  Who did Luci have in her sites?  Who did Lucy have in her rear view mirror?

The Lucy-Luci dual began from Christchurch.  Gear loaded.  Initial plans and preparations were altered strategically as Lucy and Luci positioned themselves.  A race through northern Canterbury west to Hanner Springs and the hot springs spa took some of the bite away from the oncoming rain.  Then, on to the northwest coastline using the mountains to buffer the weather.  The plan shaped into a masterful David-Goliath encounter.

Greymouth is the most populated area of the West coast of the south.  Known for being the end of the line of the Alpine Kiwitrain crossing and the location of the Monteith's Beer Brewery, it provided a pivot point to drive north.  On to Punakaiki and Paparoa National Park.






Old men in rain jackets will hang around the pancake rocks near Punakaiki.  Blow holes shoot ocean spray at high tide through the eroded areas. Luci, the cyclone, begin to break apart, but continued to focus on those who dared her.

The beach to Tauranga Bay seal colony offered more than wildlife viewing.  Multitude of color and shades tumbled through the sky and across the ranges at the periphery of the storm.









The mountain road accompanied by the Buller Gorge and River led the Lucy Jucy van back into the remnant of the cyclone and the two Lucy(i)'s finally met at Murchison.  As Tom and Cheryl prepared for another night, the rolled down 6 foot length bed made way for a 6'2" frame.  The rain started.  The noise on the van's ceiling impressed the deaf.  It was a camper-can.

They survived Luci's best torrent.  The bath water shaken off, the van prepared, the campers emerged shakened and rattled, but ready to go to the restroom.  Then, on the road again.

 The Buller River is one of the longest in NZ, and the clarity allowed glimpses of the bedrock below. This area is known for outstanding trout.

Lake Rotoiti of the Nelson Lake Region

As the cyclone blew past, the skies opened and the NZ postcard views presented once again.  At times effort was necessary to leave areas and move to the next, not due to fatigue but awe.  So few people live in this area one senses an undefinable connection to the majesty and the moment.

Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer sailing for the Dutch East Indies company, ran across this island system in 1642.  Tasman thought it was a group of islands off Chile and named them 'Staten Landt', which was changed to Nieuw Zeeland in honor of old Zeeland in Holland.  Tasman's name is forever attached to the current stretch of coastline of adventure on the north side of the South Island.  He even got a statue.







All of the adventure is related to tramping extensive trails (5 days worth) or water usage.  Tom and Cheryl did a little of both, because, well, one has to do it all…

Cheryl paddled.  Tom watched the world go by.








Certain motifs seem constant in this narrative.  Blue floppy hats, blue tops, and big smiles keep recurring.  The discovery of your own name carved into the stone of the ancient bay required documentation.  Be sure that larger photos are available.

Tom sent to the man cave

For either not paddling hard enough in the kayak, eating the last chocolate lolly, or whining about his 1980's orange swim trunks, Tom was sentenced to the man cave for a time out.  He was released in time to be included in Jucy Lucy to the next campsite in the DOC site near Pelorus Bridge, a treat.

Queen Charlotte's Sound

The Mail Run left Picton at 1:00PM.  The boat allowed the curious visitor a chance to travel through the Sound and observe what could only be seen by days of tramping.

End of the Queen Charlotte Trail at Ship Cove

At the end of the Queen Charlotte Great Walk lay the bay where James Cook landed on the South Island.  Cook had respected Tasman's discovery, but forgot how to spell the place's name.  Zeeland became Zealand and the British never tried to correct the poor speller.










The remainder of the journey weaves through the vineyards of Marlborough.  The story continues, but the paragraph and photo length would exceed decency.   The whole existence starts to blend together like Syrah.

2014 International Art Deco Festival

NAPIER ART DECO

2014  International Art Deco Festival arrived in Napier on a hot February weekend with over 35,000 attendees willing to strike poses dating back to the 1930's.  When the doctor and blonde woman learned New Zealand accepted their visa application, the Art Deco celebration ascended to the apex of the future activities chart.  One quarter of the packing space from the USA was devoted to the kingpin of dress-up weekends.  Now it arrived.  The blonde woman smiled.

Tom, Cheryl, Dawn, and Peter

     Hawke's Bay wraps Napier and Hastings in a fruit bowl and vineyard successfully supporting the local economics.  The combination of sun, soil, and adequate rain turned the region into whatever wine and fruit need.  Dawn Willis once again escorted and hosted Tom and Cheryl around the region while Peter worked harvesting the apples….Tom empathized.  A couple wineries, a micro-brewery, a tour of the fruit company, a beach-tractor trip to the gannet's nests, and amazing New Zealand home cooking provided the entertainment precursor to the Festival.

      Napier suffered an earthquake in 1931 altering the coastline, destroying the city structure and claiming hundreds of lives.  The community coalesced and the architectural motif of the 1930's guided the reconstruction.  Every year the city celebrates its survival and the Art Deco era.  The self-absorbed, demonstrative culture surrounding art deco allows us a retrospective look at an attempt to seek happiness from materialism.  The 1930's provided very few people the ability to seek the materialistic life style.  Nevertheless, whoever had the wealth flaunted it.  Now they are objects of humor.  Much humor.

Out for an afternoon drive with Peter's new convertible

One of 800 roadsters made

 Where to does a young woman go on a weekend day in 1933?  Elda Louella found her hat in the closet, gloves in the bureau, and pearl necklace just any old place.  She proceeded to the Main Street to find who from Millionaire's Row was trolling.  If this outfit did not do it, she had another.

She ran across some friends in the park having an ostentatious lunch with contraband in the baskets.

She met some new friends who were home on leave.  Most people gathered on the green for weekend displays of success, and then promenaded through the parks to see who was strutting.








In the midst of the thousands of Art Deco attendees, some stood out.  Impossible to pick the most genuine, but fun to try.









The moment occurred.  A culmination of effort to locate the perfect outfit for the International Art Deco Bathing Belles contest.  Months had been invested finding the suit and accessories.  With over 35,000 people at the festival, the competition was expected to be fierce.  Everything needed to fall in place.  Cheryl's team of experts maintained exemplary efficiency.  The competition began with a Master of Ceremonies dressed in the 1930's male swimsuit…unfortunately.

A photo submitted for its pathologic value

THE WINNER OF THE 2014 INTERNATIONAL ART DECO BATHING BELLES CONTEST

Yes, there she is!  Miss Bathing Belle Contest Winner.  What a moment.

You are also looking at all of the contestants!  No one else entered.  The team believed that all other competitors ran away when they viewed the blonde woman in the contest.  Hey, a win is a win.



A number of the jealous non-winners of the Bathing Belles contest hung around for unknown reasons.

The auto that Cheryl did not get to ride following the contest.  Sometimes fantasy stretches only until it stops.  This would have been a nice car to ride.










Then, the night came and the dancing began.

Then the dancing stopped.  The weekend came to an end.  And the Art Deco fantasy ceased.

                                                                         Or, did it?

Wellington

The Blonde Woman surveys Wellington from atop Cable Car hill

 Wellington straddles the fault lines at the southern tip of the northern island and maintains legal and legislative control over New Zealand.  Wellington also represented an area not yet evaluated in the first four months of the saga.  In preparation for another road trip details were digested, plans promoted, tires retreaded, costumes chronicled, and roads reconnoitered.  Everyone satisfied.  The door shut in Thames and off again.
     The first night found the blonde woman and her Valentine in a youth hippie hostel in Turangi.  By noon on Day 2 the couple strutted into Wellington as if someone cared about their arrival.  The "Home Grown" rock music summer festival drew tens of thousands of young adults and not-yet adults to the Harbor area, streets, and accommodations.  Fortune allowed one more youth hostel room availability for the near over-60 duo.  The two could not consume enough alcohol to be allowed entry into the concert, but found an Asian restaurant and settled into a youthful city for several days.

Weekend market along the Wellington Harbor

February brings many of the harvests.  Melons and pumpkins, melons and pumpkins, who does not have melons and pumpkins?  The market extended for a kilometer along the harbor area with huge assortments of foods, bands, fish, breads, coffees and people.










     South Dakotans pop up in the weirdest places.  Through mutual friends the doctor and his partner (NZ expression) were notified of a chap working in Wellington as a computer graphics artist for Weta Workshop, the special effects company supporting Peter Jackson's cinema efforts. Richard and his wife (partner), Michelle, spent an afternoon with the fellow South Dakotans.  As a result, another genre of human creativity opened up.  Richard handled the bombardment of queries from the duo without wincing.

Cheryl asked Tom if he wanted to turn to stone. He said "Yes"

At the Weta Workshops, Tom could dance all night and then simply switch feet at the end.  Except for the odor, the system worked well for the remainder of the trip.  The hairy feet helped with sleeping in the cool ocean breeze.

Soon to be Pinot Noir

Martinborough wine country beckoned.  No hesitation.  Situated within a relatively short driving distance from Wellington, the area has grown grapes and processed them into tall green bottles since the early 1980's.
 







Visited Murdoch James Vineyards and took a tour.  Following lunch, a visit to an olive orchard occurred.  A local grower answered his phone and the blonde woman persuaded him to also give a tour.  They grow lots of olives.  And press them.  And filter them.  And flavor them.  And sell them as oil.  To Cheryl.

Waiting to be fed

The sun shone brightly.  The car turned south from the wine country and olive orchards along a route to the farthest point south of the north island.  Along this coastline, the rocks met the impressive ocean.  More seals than people called it home.  Traveling to the end of the road, the lighthouse guarded the southern point, Cape Palliser.  Safety beams emit from the active lighthouse and have done so since 1897.












This guy held the perfect pose, then asked for $5 to take his picture.  The rocks swarmed with his brothers and sisters as well as parents.  Everyday is a day to sit in the sun.









After viewing the lighthouse at Cape Palliser, a return trip to Wellington successfully ended in a Turkish restaurant for dinner.  Eating internationally became a theme in Wellington.  Next day…Te Papa.  The National Museum located along the Harbor.  Extensive anthropologic, geologic, biologic, and ecologic displays captivated and stimulated the observers. Their brains enlarged too fast and required decompression at a French dining establishment where Cheryl made sure of proper shrinkage with dessert affogato.  The days in Wellington also witnessed an Italian and, coincidentally, a New Zealand restaurant.  The affogato was compared at each establishment.  Zealandia ecosystem and the Maritime museum were visited.

The Bee Hive

Finally, the Parliament and Executive building, known as the Bee Hive, stood before the visitors.  The doctor and blonde woman left this item for the final day in case something inappropriate may have occurred.  They left their opinions and did a little lobbying.  The message of "we just love New Zealand" hopefully got to the right people.