Muriwai Beach

At last, some gorgeous coastal scenery for your enjoyment.  Our lovely Auckland hosts Keg and Mary took us out to the western suburb of Muriwai Beach the afternoon of our arrival. 

As you can see, a fine day, and the water wasn't too cold. (not too warm, either)  Was very happy with the late afternoon light and the quality of the photos with my new Panasonic camera.  Nice long lens for snapping the gannet colony.

We had a grand time and I didn't even mind getting soaked to waist by a "rogue wave".  Even though it meant leaving a wet spot on the wood bench at the bar we stopped by on way home from the beach.  

Okay, some bird pictures:

happy Bike to Work week

As I type this post (last week of May 2012) it's Bike to Work week here.  Here's something else we in Vancouver could take away from the New Zealand experience.

This rack is located near the ferry terminal on the Auckland waterfront, a major transit hub.

public transit

I'm going to continue this blog by pulling photos from the trip, posting them, writing about them.  Sometimes more commentary on New Zealand life and culture on a broader scale than what's actually in the photo.  

This is one of the first photos I took in New Zealand this trip, on an express bus from Auckland International Airport to downtown.  Anyone familiar with metro Vancouver buses will recognize the colour scheme.  This bus was not busy, most likely due to the time (around 8am) and the fact that it was Good Friday (holiday).

Since we had a car rental for most of trip, we only found ourselves relying on public transit in Auckland.  This trip was fairly straightforward; our next interface with Auckland transit slightly less so.

We spent the following day (Saturday before Easter) hiking the Mt. Tongariro volcano and wandering around suburban Davenport.  Once back in downtown Auckland, fed and watered, we attempted to get back to the suburb of Onehunga via public transit.  Our first stop at a large bus interchange sent us to a nearby train station, where we learned the train to Onehunga was not running.  But there was a bus going roughly the same direction.  So far so good; bus dropped us at the Onehunga train station, which we guessed (being map + iPhone-less) was not far away. 

At this point we should've flagged a cab.  However, we were convinced we were within walking distance, or at least a short bus ride.  Fast forward through unhelpful directions from a friendly convenience store owner, more walking until we found a supermarket, and two phone calls from there to a cab company, and we did finally get to our destination.

All in all, an adventure, if somewhat tiring.

We had better luck and advance planning when we took transit from Onehunga to the Auckland Museum at trip's end.  Crankier bus drivers, though.  Probably because two of us were using -- legally --  a loaned prepaid bus pass)  

One thing NZ transit can teach us in North America?  The beauty of GIVING CHANGE, and accepting paper bills for fare.

Russell

Here's a sidewalk painting in Russell, a small town which is a short ferry ride away from Paihia, in the Bay of Islands.  And another:

We assumed they were by local kids.  Russell was a good spot for art galleries, formal and otherwise.  The local "historic church" (every town has one or more, of course) was filled with functional art, that being the needlepoint churc pew seat cushions.  Good way to stay comfy during those long sermons!

cavorting dolphins

Some of you may know that one item on my "bucket list" for this New Zealand trip was to swim with dolphins. As it turned out, the weather was not so cooperative and it was probably a bit late in the season in any case.  Swimming in wetsuits in waters of about 15deg.C. is best left to the young. :)

In any case, I have swum with, or at least very near to, dolphins, albeit by accident, in Far Northern Queensland (Australia) back in the 80's.  But that's another story..

Near the beginning of our trip Estelle and I were able to see rare Hector's dolphins up close during a nature cruise in Akaroa. (see an earlier post)  As expected, there were more dolphins of various species residing in the waters of the Bay of Islands.  Despite rather choppy waters, we were able to see two pods (or the same pod, twice?) during our 2 1/2 hours on the water. I will keep attempting to upload some wonderful video, but please also enjoy these photos.

update:  (May 29, 2012) Am still trying to upload video!  And it's still not working...will keep trying, however..