Untethered

 Buenos dias amigos! If you've been watching the news lately, you'll know that after more than 100 days, NZ once again has COVID in the community.  The cases are here in Auckland where we've been staying for the past few weeks which sadly means we are back in lockdown. BUGGER!   Prior to this latest bump in the road, we've had fun exploring this city.  Located on the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland is a harbor city which is fanatical about boating and sailing.  This small "Big City" has upscale shopping, a plethora of restaurants and plenty of tourist attractions. Thrill seekers can bungee jump off of the sky tower  Westhaven Marina holds 2000 boats making it the largest marina in the southern hemisphere The Auckland War Memorial museum tells the story of NZ, its place in the Pacific and its peoples.   Auckland University Campus building Auckland is best described in this picture.  Old being restored with a backdrop of new and modern. The old Cus...

 Kia ora e hoa We hope this finds you enjoying your own summer adventures!  We are still finding plenty of new things to explore on the North Island.  If you have read any of our previous posts, you'll know that we are fascinated by large trees.   As we wandered from the North Land to Auckland, we had to stop to see Tane Mahuta, one of the most ancient of trees found in NZ.   Tane is considered by the Maori as the life giver and believe that all living creatures are his children.  Standing next to this magnificent 2000 year old Kauri tree, one knows that you are in the presence of a wise sentient being.  The essence/karma/life energy that surrounds this tree is palpable. This ancient tree reaches 168 feet with a trunk girth of 45 feet At more than 200 centuries old, this tree was a seedling when Christ was living.  Spending the past five months in NZ, we've spent plenty of time researching things to see and do.  One of the "must do"...

Hello Friends! Our visit to the Bay of Islands was filled with sunshine which was a most welcome sight after weeks of rainy weather.  Steeped in Maori culture, this area is one of New Zealand's really special places filled with 140 subtropical islands, pristine beaches, scuba diving & snorkeling as well as big game fishing.  Not quite warm enough for us to go snorkeling or diving, we took a boat trip to learn about the area and view the famous hole in the rock.   Along the way, we were treated to sightings of NZ fur seals and several pods of dolphins.  We counted 4 baby dolphins swimming along with their mums and learned that baby dolphins always have a nearby auntie dolphin to help out when needed.   It was a picture perfect day. Postcard worthy views in every direction Hole in the rock doesn't look that big until...... The skipper drives our big catamaran right through it Zane Grey, the American author of western adventure novels, fished here in ...

Hello Mates, I am tardy in getting all of our adventures captured and posted.  Turning into a real slacker these days!  😉So in an effort to get caught up, we'll be posting few different blogs covering a the sights and experiences we've been having over the past several weeks.  After we made a stop in Auckland for some city time, we began our journey further up the north island.  We followed the Twin Coast Discovery Hwy to white sandy beaches and towns with names like Whangarei.  We were in search of sunshine and warmer temperatures as this part of New Zealand has a subtropical climate.   Our first night in Tutukaka turned out to be one of historic importance.  We endured a subtropical storm that dumped 8 inches of rain in less than 12 hours accompanied by huge wind gusts.  Turns out, we had just slept (sort of) through a 500 year storm which caused significant flooding.  Travel into and out of the area where we were staying was limited ...