Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, and Geysers

February 15, 2012

This was a sea day: we cruised around the Coromandel Peninsula in the Haruki Gulf outside Auckland where the highlight was a rock island with a hole in it. They call it the "hole in the rock". Who would have thought! It was overcast and the rocky coastline was illuminated in the morning with an overcast sky with occasional sun breaks. The coastline reminded us of the oegon coast with rocky outcrops and tree covered hills. The peninsula is a popular vacation spot, and had it's heydey in the late 1800s after gold was discovered. http://www.thecoromandel.com/

In the afternoon, we rounded the peninsula, heading west into the Bay of Plenty. The rains came, turning heavy at times, so not muchof  interest until later in the afternoon when we got up close and intimate with White Island - an active volcano. White Island is similar to Mount St. Helens in Washington, except it rises directly from the sea in the middle of the Bay of Plenty. And like Mount St. Helens, it blew its side out during one of its eruptions. Rather than lava flows, there are basalt masses growing in the crater with steaming fumeroles. The rain let up a little so photos could be taken. The rain also kept the sulfur fumes contained. We cruised past the maw of the crater several times, approaching within a 1/2 mile so al lthe features were quite visible. http://www.bayofplentynz.com/  http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/

Wednesday evening was formal night, and Mike's tuxedo showed up in time. We all dressed for a fine dinner. Before dinner Cindy, Mike, and Deb attended the "Back to Broadway" show that was just OK. The vocals were excellent, but the music was marred by a very bad synthesizer attempting to sound like violins. This did not work at all, and the temp was a little slower than it should have been. There was a fine flutist and piano player that we should have heard more of. Two numbers were saved by the excellent vocals - a great duet of the Phantom of the Opera and a solo rendition of "Defying Gravity" from The Wiz.Other numbers from Grease and West Side Story just didn't sound right.

Dinner was excellent; most of our group had lamb chops; John had a nice Beef Wellington; Deb had Alaska Crab Legs; and Mike experimented with Forestiere Mushrooms.

After dinner we posed for a nice group formal picture, then it was off to bed as we had an early start on Thursday.

Thursday, February 16, 2012
Our ship docked around 4:00am in the port of Tauranga. THis was a fine little town and port at the base of a young but dormant volcano at the port entrance. The 800ft cinder cone was quite steep with several trails around the base or to the top.

We were up early and into the Lido dining room for breakfast by 6am. Things were a bit disorganized and understaffed, as there simply weren't enough servers or wait staff to handle this early morning crush. Things got underway a bit earlier due to tours leaving at 6:30am. The start was a few hours earlier than originally scheduled due to tide conditions.

We boarded our bus for "Fascinating Rotorua", aobout 60 minutes inland from the port. Rotorua is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations in NZ. It is located in a caldera basin on the shores of a large lake. Evidently, the lake is sort of like Crater Lake in Oregon, except that it is shallow and drains to the sea. The entire area is over a volcanic hotspot, with many hot mud pools, active geysers, and hot springs.

On the way to Rotorua, we first stopped at the Rainbow Springs attraction, which gave us the opportunity to see kiwi birds up close as well as walk thru a tended arboretum where we could see and identify many of the native plants and trees unique to NZ. We were surprised to see giant redwoods there - a gift from California in the early 1900s. The climate was well suited to the redwoods as the 80 year old trees already towered to almost 200 ft heights.

One more stop before we got to the hotspot area of Rotorua - the Agridome. The Agridome is defintely for the tourists - a show explaing the different types of sheep raised in NZ, a demonstration of sheparding skils of dogs, and a bit of humor for the crowd. There are 14 different breeds of sheep in NZ, with the most famous being the Merino, whose wool is highly sought. Also learned that some sheep are better for wool production rather than eating. A compliaant sheep also succumbed to a shearing demonstration.
After the Agridome, we traveled to a Holiday Inn for a buffet lunch that was quite good. The lunch room then presented a Maori tribal show with singing and dancing to traditional Maori music.

Once the show was over, we boarded the bus to travel to the hotspot area nearby. The Prince of Wales geyser at the Te Puia thermal area put on quite a show for us with almost continuous streams of hot water and steam gushing from the ground. We were actually quite close, and did get wet. The smell of sulfur was everywhere. In the quarter mile suare area there were many springs, a hot mud pot, and several geusers. We were surprised at how close we could approach these features. There were trails and fences of course.
After getting our fill of the Te Puia thermal area, we boarded the bus for the trip back to our ship. We continued counter-clockwise around Rotorua Lake and traveled thru the kiwi growing region of NZ. The kiwi is not native, being brought here from Chian in the early 1900s. There is a golden variety that was developed here in NZ, derived from the original green kiwi we all know.

Along the way, we passed thru a small town named Te Puke. Ow well, the accent does make it sound a bit better!

We left the Tauranga port a little after 4pm. Mike and Deb lounged on the rear deck, while the others made sure the hot tub was put to good use. Mike also made sure he took advantage of the afternoon pizza snacks, and the happy hour drink specials.

Did we mention what a fine day it turned out to be? Sunny skies with temps in the 70s. Definitely the best kind of weather for touring. Mike and Deb schlepped their backpacks with rain gear and umbrellas. That surely was the catalyst to drive the rain away!

That's it for now - dinner was OK -- I had a dry Risotto, and Deb had second thoughts on the duck in her Duck l'orange. Cindy brought her bottle of champagne which we all shared with dessert. Following dinner there was an outstanding magic show. The magician was quite the comedian, too!
http://www.tauranga.co.nz/ http://www.rotoruanz.com/

Tomorrow we hit Napier, a small city with Art-Deco architecture.

Day 1- about to depart Auckland

Deb and I were a few of the first to board today, Tuesday, at   1130am. We depart today at midnight.

Deb and I spent the afternoon exploring the ship. It is quite nice and well appointed. we met the cruise director, David, who took us on a ships tour. We then checked out a cooking class, and found out about the food,the spa, the library, and the computer classes. Really quite a lot to keep us busy. Food and classes seem to be the highlight so far, and the drinks are quite good too.

John, Cindy, Mark, and Mary explored Auckland today,and took the ferry to Devonport for lunch. They are on their way tothe ship as I sloowly type this on the Kindle. We're sitting outside, aft near the outside pool. there is a pool midship withe a movable cover.

The weather today is partly cloudy with infrequent showers. Temp in the mid 70s.

Alongside our ship is the Costa Deliziosa, which looks a lot like the ship that sunk in Italy. We have a mandatory safety briefing and lifeboat drill before dinner. Miss it and they will kick off the ship.

I  just know this is going to be a great cruise!

On Tuesday, February 14, 2012, Peter Wendel <peterjwendel@gmail.com> wrote:
> Can't wait to hear about first day at sea.

Auckland 2-13-2012

This morning Mike and Deb made their way through the Auckland Domain to the Auckland Museum.  The Auckland Domain has many sculptures along the walkway so it made for an enjoyable walk.

The museum has 3 floors - the first centers on the people from New Zealand, the second focuses on the natural history, and the third is the war museum.  On the first floor there are three Maori buildings.  One is a beautiful meeting building where you can take off your shoes and enter the entire building.  Mike and Deb capped the museum tour with a coffee break at the museum cafe.

From the museum Mike and Deb walked to the Newmarket and Parnell neighborhoods.  We first walked through the Newmarket neighborhood and had a fantastic lunch at Safron, a Mediterranean restaurant.  There were many lunch specials to chose from.  The shops in Newmarket were mostly international stores (Lush, Nike store, etc).

Then it was on to the Parnell neighborhood.  The shops in Parnell were small boutiques, no famous international stores.  There were also many upscale restaurants.  It was fun to walk down the main shopping street.  We stopped at a park with a perfect view of the Sky Tower.

We walked back to the hotel and met our friends Cindy and John and Mary and Mark.  We will all be going on the cruise together.  We walked around the shopping area (High Street and O'Connell Street) and first had drinks along the harbor and then dinner on Vulcan Street at a pub.  Although they were out of fish and chips (Deb's choice) there were other very good alternatives.  The guys all tried different New Zealand beers. It was a good time with lots of good conversations.


For a complete set of photos from today, please view them at: Auckland 2-13-2012

Finally a real update for Feb 8-12, 2012

This is one big post as we recover from our Internet connectivity issues, and recover from our exhaustion after our coast-to-coast trek across Auckland - from the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Truly a cross country trip!

Complete set of the choice pictures from our Wed-Sun adventures can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikemihalik/sets/72157629281969729/


Wed at LAX

Spent considerable time at LAX with a long layover. The price for free tickets! A few photos from the Koru lounge at LAX

Thursday in-flight
Thursday in-flight on Air New Zealand Flight 5 from LAX to Auckland. Approximately 12 hours, non-stop. Mike slept and ate; Deb ate, slepts, and watched a few movies. Very enjoyable flight.

Friday in Auckland
Mike in Deb arrived in Auckland and first roamed around and discovered the area near the hotel.  We're staying near the Quay, a few blocks away from the ferry and cruise terminal.


 On our first day we decided to take the ferry to Devonport.  It was a quick ferry ride away.  We went to the tourist center and got the map with the historic walk of Devonport.  We first climbed Mt. Victoria for a picture perfect view of Auckland.  We then followed the map and saw all the interesting sites.

We stopped for a late lunch at  the Manuka restaurant.  Unknown to us, this restaurant was recommended in the Frommer's guide.  Mike had his first NZ fish and chips and Deb had New Zealand mussels in a Thai curry sauce.  The food was very good.








We took the ferry back and decided to walk around the shopping area.  We walked up and down High, O'Connell, and Vulcan Streets.  We were tired from all the walking and took a break at an open air cafe in one of the plazas off the shopping street called Mecca.  I had a flat white coffe (latte in NZ) and Mike had a glass of Sangria with fresh berries.  By dinner time we were quite tired so we had dinner in the restaurant at the entry of the hotel called Little India.  The food was very good.

Saturday in Auckland
The day started out with rain.  But luckily it did not last long.
We had made reservations for brunch at the revolving restaurant at the Sky Tower, Orbit, while still in the US.  We went early to visit the observation tower.  By then the skies had cleared.  We had a great view of a number of people sky diving / bungy jumping from the tower.  Not something that Deb and Mike wanted to do, but we enjoyed watching the brave people.  After the observation tower we proceeded to brunch at Orbit.  The food was very good.  We had smoked salmon eggs benedict.
After a full brunch Mike and Deb did something unbelievable.  We walked from the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean - wow!  We took the train to Onehunga and then walked and walked.  We hiked up One Tree Hill and had a great view of the city.  We walked through multiple neighborhoods and parks.  Mike and Deb walked more than 10 miles.

By the end of our several hour walk, we were to tired to find a restaurant for dinner, so we picked up a roast chicken, salad, and wine for our dinner back at the room.

Sunday in Auckland

Mike and Deb caught the 45 minute ferry to Waiheke Island.  The island is known for all the vineyards and wineries.  Waiheke Island is hilly so we decided to purchase the island hopper bus tickets.  It was a great deal.  There were never more than 2 other couples on the small bus.  They had 3 different routes.  We first took all the routes to get a feel for the island.  Based on a suggestion by Lauren, our driver on the orange route, we went to Casita Miro for lunch.  The place was definitely popular.  It turned out there were no tables available for us to have lunch, but we were able to sit at the bar and have a flight of wine, a tapas paired with each wine, and fabulous focaccia bread and olives.  It was a super find.  We had a great conversation with the people tending the tasting bar.  One was from Milano and the other was born in Philiadelphia.  We ended up having a much better experience by sitting at the bar. Then it was back to the town via the hop off and on bus where roamed around the small town.  And back on the ferry to Auckland.

Short report from Waiheke Island and answering a camera question for a friend

Found some WiFi here on Waiheke Island. A lot like the San Juans in Washington.

Responding to a friend's question about the Canon S100; it is great. Using almost exclusively this trip in NZ.

We're on a hop-on hop-off bus touring all over. Nice drivers on 3 different buses. A nice dog, too!

Slow day, so our driver Dan, is picking up regular bus riders and making custom routes. Stopped at a few vineyards, and had a nice lunch at one - Casita Miro.

That's all for now.

technical difficulties...

Internet not working in our room this morning, so making do with kindle. so no pics for now. Please excuse any typos.

It is now Sunday morning.

on Friday, our day of arrival and first full day, we went by ferry to Devonport across the harbour from Auckland. A fine day walking thru the village, tramping to top of Mt. Victoria, and a fine lunch and drinks - NZ Mata beer, fish and chips, and green lipped NZ mussels in a Thai cream sauce. The beer was like a German Koelsch.

For the rest of Friday, we walked thru Auckland's Central Business District and found a nice place for afternoon cocktails - Mecca. A small outdoor plaza with many relaxing office workers. i had a nice sangria with fresh berries, and Deb had a flat white. No bludgers here.

For dinner, we headed back to the Little India Restaurant at our hotel. A simple meal with Butter Chicken, naan. and rice. then off to bed after offloading our pics. Too tired to blog.

We woke Saturday morning to a light rain. Just had coffee in the room before heading to the Sky Tower for brunch. Thankfully the light rain stopped as we headed out.

We got to the Sky Tower around 11am, an hour before our reservation. We were able to go to the viewing deck to take pics, and watch the jumpers. This is the tallest sructure in the southern hemisphere. Sort of a modified bungie jump, where the brave are harnessed and dropped to the ground from the 1200ft level. not for us. Pics later.

For brunch,eggs Florentine with salmon instead of Canadian bacon in a modified eggs Benedict. Orbit Restaurant atop the Sky Tower rotates about once per hour so easy to get a full view of the Aucklland area while eating.

After lunch,we boarded a train for Onehunga,where we started our tramp across Auckland from the Tasman sea to the Pacific Ocean. A 17km trek over hill and dale. very nice but will write about it later.

Off to Waiheke Island on Sunday...

On the plane and about to depart

Nice plane...777-300 w/in seat on demand video. Current movies, tv shows, YouTube, etc. Thousands.