Haere ra Aotearoa Ka kite ano!

Good Bye New Zealand, until we see you again! Here we are back in Lake Mary learning to drive on the right side of the road and looking left before you pull out.  Still a little fuzzy after a  32 hour journey from Auckland to Orlando via Sydney and LA. We have taken all  most 1000 pictures, yet the best will be in our hearts and minds and not on our camera.  We will  begin  to sort them out and reduce to a manageable  level then will start posting on the blog and face book.  We have had over a hundred hits on our blog and appreciate those who followed our wonderful journey.  If you took the quiz, send your answers to Nan at rnan2@aol.com or me at jwpiotrowskijr@aol.com.  we will post the answers on the blog.  The tacky souvenir cannot be claimed by our kids as we bought plenty of tacky souvenirs for them anyway.  I hope to start uploading some of the photos soon.  Right now my brain is too fried to deal with techno stuff.

Kia Ora (Hello) from Auckland

Had a wonderful day in Auckland.  Rode to the top of the Sky Tower and watched people jump off the 625 ft tower (tethered of course) but still very thrilling,  then a ferry ride to Waiheke Island where we took a tour of three vineyards and sampled wonderful wines.  The last vineyard was Te Whau which had a restaurant that was voted one of the top five restaurants in the world for the view.  It really was breathtaking.  Then back to Auckland where we hiked to the Parnell district which is an upscale restaurant and boutique area.  Next a bus ride to Posonby where we had a delightful french meal finished off with creme brulee prepared by our roommate at Joy's city house who is the chef at the restaurant. This was not a day to find out we left our camera in Papakura at the ranch. 

Politics and a small world

We have been listening to both Australia and New Zealand news and if you ignore the accent you would swear you were listening to the evening news back home.  Political parties both blaming each other for the current state of affairs.  Uncontrolled government spending, budgets bloated with entitlements, high unemployment and financial institution failures.  Gas prices off the chart.  We are paying two dollars a liter (a little more than a quart)  We have calculated our petrol costs at $1.96 per mile, yes $1.96 per mile.  We have days where we spend $100 per day in gas otherwise the prices are quite reasonable especially wine where the house wine cost about $4  per glass for house wine.

Safe in the north Island

For everyone who was concerned, we were 20 nautical miles out to sea at the north end of the north island when the quake hit.  We were hundreds of miles away and perfectly safe.  When we got back to the mainland the Internet at the hhotel was acting up and we had limited access.  We were able to put up a short notice on face book but that was all.  The Internet access had nothing to do with the quake.  God was truly watching over us.
We forgot to tell you about our trip north where we went through the town of "Bull"  The locals have a great sense of humor and they have named everything using the word bull.  The police are called constabulls, the bank is bankabull, the hospital is curabull, hotels are rentabull and the peace DE la resistance; the church is the Bully Pulpit!
Headed North of Auckland to the "Bay of Islands" wonderful area, 144 islands stretching out 20 nautical miles.  We went past a light house that is 160 feet above the water and during the storms waves lap up against the door stoop.  We had a wonderful 2 bedroom apartment on the waterfront and great views.  Cooked a seafood pasta/marinara with squid,clams,mussels, shrimp and scallops.  Made the marinara from scratch and it was wonderful. We are in Auckland for a few days at Joy's city house and can walk every where so we are going to soak up the local culture.  I hope to upload photos tomorrow to bring that project up to date.  Coming home March 1.

Back at the ranch

Back in Auckland at Joy's house for the night and then on our way to Bay of Islands.  Getting ready to enjoy homemade sausage soup.  Mass today at St. Johns Anglican in  Te Awamutu the Vicar was a dead ringer for Barry Fitzgerald for those of you who remember "The Bells of St. Mary" with Bing Crosby.  Yesterday we went to Waitomo Cave 44 meters underground and 600 meters in.  The cave itself is 13 km long so we only saw a small part of it.  The cave is illuminated by millions of glow worms in the ceiling and I could not do justice in describing it. Tour included a silent boat ride where you could hear the water dripping into the underground  river.  I will try and start uploading more photos as we are now back on line with good modem speed.

What I have learned about New Zealand "musings of a mad yank"

I have learned a lot of things about New Zealand want to share them.  First and foremost I feel safer driving here than anywhere in the world.  Despite driving on the left side of the road I find the kiwis to be the most courteous and respectful drivers in the world.  The only time I have been concerned is when our friend Joy is behind the wheel.


Random musings I have learned:


If you find yourself driving straight for more than a half mile.............you have left the road.
No shirt, no shoes, no problem.
Take your wife 15,000 miles and she will be impressed with the bathrooms.
If your wife can tell you where you are on the map.  She more than likely has it upside down.
If you seen a sign with a word you can't pronounce it is probably the next town.
Beyond every curve.......is another curve.
The distance between point A. and point B. is always twice as long.
The posted speed is not a target.
Every time you pass a truck on the grade up, it will be inevitably behind you on the down side.
Go North to get warm and South to cool down.
Hot on the left, cold on the right.
Spring is fall forward.  Fall is spring back.
XL is too small
A windshield without a chip is brand new.
If you see a car coming at you....make sure it is on the right.
A one way bridge goes both ways.
if you drive......drink.
New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels....don't have lips.
The more pockets your wife has in her knapsack, the longer it takes her to find anything.

Heading back to the North Island.

Right now we are on the Kaitaki a 9 deck ferry as big as some ocean liner on a beautiful day with clear blue skies and turquoise seas.  Looks like we will have another smooth crossing.  We upgraded to a "club lounge and  it is all you can eat and drink with free wifi and great views. We have already seen dolphins and are hoping to see whales as well.
More about our trip to the south Island.after Kaikura we headed to Christ Church a very European city where we took a city tour via a trolley then wandered around "Cathedral square.  The earthquake damage was bad but most of the city was spared.  Then it was on to Springfield which is at the foot of "Arther's Pass" the lowest trans ocean crossing of 4. Spectacular views but mostly seen  by Nan as the roads were narrow, with single lane tunnels and bridges, horseshoe and "S" curves.  Then it was up the coast to Punikacki and Pancake rocks. Natural limestone formations that resemble stacks of, guess what, Pancakes.  The south Island is amazing as the east coast seems to be grey and foreboding seascapes with brown hillsides on the inland side of the road.  The west coast is sun drenched inviting beaches and tropical rain forest.  Our trips are getting shorter as the drive is getting harder and we are getting picture weary. Found a boring little town called Westport and found another "Back Packer"  We are doing mostly our own cooking as most places we book have kitchens and we frequently make picnic lunches to enjoy at the numerous road side picnic spots.  After Westport we drove to Nelson with a stop to hike "Buller Gorge" crossed the gorge on the longest swing bridge in New Zealand and hike to an old mining camp.  In Nelson we found the best back packer and had a beautiful stay.  We would definitely like to spend more time in Nelson, it is the largest fishing port in the country.  We dined on a fish chowder of perfection and then fish and chips to die for on a balcony overlooking the ocean.  Then we had the brilliant idea to scramble up a "widow maker" of a hill so we could find the exact geographical center of New Zealand.  I am proud to say I have lived to tell about it.ended up celebrating with a beer at an outdoor pub on Trafalgar St.  We  have decided to try and stay longer so we have our travel agent looking to keep us here a couple more weeks.  Plan to be home no earlier than Feb 28 or no later than March 4 but it all depends on the penalties.