Capt. Cooker

Huka Falls, downstream from Lake Taupo



Capt. Cooker?
Yes, whilst driving from Taupo down to Turangi earlier today we noticed a small black pig up on on the side of the hill above the road (SHI). It was dislodging rocks down onto the highway! According to Google this was likely to be one of the so called Capt Cookers or decendants of the pigs introduced by Capt Cook or other settlers. Apparently they live all over the islands these days.

This has been a very wet day in central North Island following a very storming and wet night. We checked out from the CedarWood resort in Rotorua this morning and made our way down the SH1 towards Taupo. Just before Taupo we saw the signs for the Huka Falls Jet (boat) and the Prawn Park.
The Huka Falls jet boat is a national institution over here, so we had to have a go. 40GBP for 30 minutes of sheer exhilaration! The small, 12 seater, twin engine Buick powered jet boats reach 80km/hr along the Waitaki river between the dam and the Huka Falls. The driver causes the boat to turn in its own length and skim passed rock faces at high speed, whilst the passengers get soaked. Great! The journey was delayed by torrential rain. The boat cannot run whilst it is raining. Not because you wil get wet, but because at 80km/hr the rain really stings.........
Boy, did those black swans have to get out of the way in a hurry and the guy in the front of the boat nearly had duck pate for breakfast! Feathers don't taste at all nice!

Afterwards, the big plate of warm, fresh water prawns was delicious. These are bred in open tanks, heated by thermal water, and located next to the jet boat terminal.

Later in the day we travelled down to see Mount Tongariro, 20km south of Lake Taupo (Mount Tongariro and its surroundings are also one of the several locations whichPeter Jackson chose to shoot the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.)

So, this is as far south as we come on this holiday vacation. Tomorrow we head back to Aukland.

Kia Ora

Greetings from Rotorua.
After several days absence without access here I am again!
Shirley and I are now in Rotorua, New Zealand and enjoying the fresh sulphur smells from the many volcanic outlets all around this area. To be truthful, they are not in the slightest intrusive. After a few hours you don't even notice them!
So, what's been happening, I hear you ask?
We spent longer in Aukland than we expected (the reason for this I will impart in due course).
Whilst there we met up with Steve, ZL1TPH and 'Brian'. Apologies, Brian. I didn't write down your callsign. Maybe you can remind me?
We had a most interesting chat over coffee and beer in the Langham Hotel (highly recommended, if you are ever here). I hope to follow-up on several subject matters with both Steve and Brian on our return home next month.
We missed the next day for reasons to be revealed anon.
The drive down to Rotorua was uneventful with Shirley sharing the driving on the slightly more busy NZ roads than we had become used to in Australia.
Our first observation is that we saw more cows than sheep. Where are they all?
Our second observation is that this is not called 'the land of the long white cloud' for nothing. Although yesterday was quite clear with the moon in its last quarter and almost overhead in the evening, today it has RAINED. Our visit to the Whakarwarewa Thermal Village was not spoilt by the rain but at times it was difficult to tell the difference between the low clouds and the rising steam from the numerous thermal vents. However, what a place! Well worth the visit.
A third observation is that Japanese tourists must be made of asbestos......We visited the Polynesian Spa. The lakeside Spa has 5 pools of increasing temperature as you approach the lake side. The hottest is at 42C, the lowest at below 38C. We could just stand the 42C for a few minutes. One Japanese tourist was fast asleep in the hot pool.........At least, we think he was asleep! We'll check out whether is is still there this evening..... The Polynesian Spa is worth the trip to Rotorua if all else fails to please (it won't).
Tomorrow, Lake Taupo.

I guess we were due one screw-up

Unfortunately Qantas forgot to inform us our flight to Sydney, and then on to Aukland, was changed. It was moved up 1.5 hours.
Consequently we missed the new flight by 30 minutes and are now booked on a later flight via Melbourne (two trips to Victoria on this holiday, then!). This means we get into Aukland around local midnight and since I don't fancy picking up the rental car at 1am and then driving into an unknown city to find an unknown hotel in the early hours of the morning, we've phoned ahead and cancelled our previous hotel booking and informed the car rental company we will be picking up tomorrow. We've also managed to find a hotel local to the airport in Aukland so that we can take their shuttle to and from the airport.
At least Qantas have done the honourable thing and allowed us into their lounge (with WiFi access!)
to wait the extra 3 hours. We still have to pursuade them we need access at Melbourne for the wait for flights down there.
I am really glad we brought a netbook on this trip. What would be do without it!

Well, it is winter down here!

Our last day in the Adelaide area, so we drove into Glenelg and took the tram into Adelaide city for a last look around. Not much has changed in the 5 years since we were last here except the trams themselves! They've got new ones and they go further into the city than they used to.

Like Brisbane, Adelaide exudes a vibrance like that of some UK cities twenty years ago but sadly now lacking (or maybe I'm just getting old - but if so, why do I still feel it here?).

The average age of those around us must have been in their twenties.
One other thing we noticed. Every third person we saw was of Asian extract. Things are a-changing.

The storm didn't really affect us here, but some areas of Adelaide had long power cuts and even now, some 20 hours later, it is still stormy out there. The sea off Glenelg was wild.

Aukland tomorrow and unless anything newsworthy happens in the meantime, the next blog will be from Aukland.

Kingston on Thames was never like this!

Tony, VK5KAI

On our way back from Hatherleigh and Robe we stopped off at Kingston on the south coast. There we visited with Tony, VK5KAI, the ARISS Coordinator for the Pacific region (I hope I got that right!).
Tony has an impressive array of antennas for the satellite bands as well as a super shack, that is well set-up for satellite operation. His workshop was equally impressive. Thanks to Tony and his XYL for the visit.
Kingston now hosts the Cape Jaffa lighthouse. It was re-located to Kingston from its original location at nearby Cape Jaffa as it was no longer in use and was in danger of falling into the sea.
It is a most unusual lighthouse, as you can see. When it was at its original location it housed two families, one on each of the btwo enclosed lower floors. There were up to five children in each family. I can image what a worry this must have been for the parents, living high up in a lighthouse on the Jaffa cape!

Kingston is famous for its giant lobster outside the (currently) unused cafe/restaurant on the Princes Highway. Everyone stops to take photos of the Lobster.
It's a pity I can't get the photo off the camera that we used to take it! It will have to wait until we get home.....

Boiling the ocean

The oblisk on the point at Robe. This was built as a solitary confinement block for the nearby prison. Any day now it will fall into the Great Southern Ocean.


Boiling the ocean

On our way back from Hatherleigh we called at Robe on the Lime Coast. As we rounded a street corner in the town we caught sight of the Great Southern Ocean for the first time, on this trip. It was running at least a 3m swell with great waves breaking on the rocks off the coast. The colour of the ocean is dark green and with the white tops it looked for all the world like the ocean was boiling.

Stop w(h)ining

Hardy's Tintinara 'cellar door', McLaren Vale

One of the joys of being down here is the opportunity to check out the local wines. Here in Happy Valley (what a great name for a place so close to the wine growing regions!) we are surrounded by famous Australian wine regions like Barrossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Conawarra. Last week, before travelling to Hatherleigh, Shirley and I had the opportunity to drive down to McLaren Vale and view the vineyards, taste the wine and take in the atmosphere. McLaren Vale is a small town that serves the valley and has a lovely 'old world Aussie' atmosphere. We can recommend Oscar's Bistro in the centre of the town, opposite the Tintinara cellar door shown in the picture. The service and the food were both excellent. A little further down the street is located the 'Almond Train'. This consists of two 1915 vintage railway carriages that have been converted into a shop and a small restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant was not open when we were there. The shop stocks the largest range of almonds you have ever seen. From lime almonds to toffee almonds there were all there. Best of all? you could taste them for free to decide which you wanted to buy!

Whilst down on the Lime Coast we were also able to drive through the Coonawarra wine region and it is just like driving down the wine rows in Tesco. Row after row after row of famous labels on display. Unfortunately Australia has over invested in wine production and many of the vineyards are now up for sale as they are unable to make a living from selling their wine. Sad, but what is eventually left should be stronger for it.

In the mean time I shall continue to enjoy the output from the vineyards and down here it seems to taste so much better! It must be the climate.