January 15-16, 2023
“I’m going on a adventure!”
- Bilbo Baggins
The contract was signed and we walked out to our rental car. I had the key in my hand but there was no button to unlock the door.
I thought, “Well, old school I guess. I will have to unlock it with a key”
There was no key hole. I walked back in to the attendant. He was very polite. Everyone in this country is so nice.
“No worries sir,” he said, “ Just open the driver’s side door with your key.”
“There is no key hole,” I replied, “Can you show me?” I walked back to the drivers side to show him in triumph.
He smiled a little. “That’s the wrong side.” There on the LEFT side of the car was the missing key hole.
“Oh of course”, I said quickly, “I knew that of course.”
“Are you sure you will not need the insurance?” he asked.
“Oh , no, everything is well at hand”
“Of course sir, no worries”
And so we were off on the road out of Aukland. We spent our last day there walking around some neighborhoods, visiting the national museum, and climbing a volcano.
Aukland has multiple dormant craters throughout the city. Mt Eden is one of them. It is not a terrible climb and the rewards are a panoramic view of the city and surrounding bay.
But, it was time to leave. We will be spending the next 3 weeks slowly working our way South to the end of New Zealand by car, assuming we survive driving on the left side of the road. My inauspicious start was not promising.
To undergird our perilous journey we stocked up on Tim Tams. In 1958, Ian Norris and Alan Morrow of the Arnott Biscuit Company in Australia set off on a around the world expedition to find the perfect cookie (or Biscuit as the English call them). In England they came upon a biscuit called the “Penguin” and felt they could improve on it.
The came up with a cookie that consisted of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. — Real chocolate, not the sugary milk chocolate so common in the States.
In 1958, Ross Arnott, a hopeless gambler, attended the Kentucky Derby in the U.S. . The winner was a horse named “Tim Tam” and he decided to name the new biscuit after him.
The result is a delicious treat that tastes like a Kit Kat only much better, more rich and satisfying. It is the national biscuit of Australia and we cant get enough of them. Some 670 million are eaten annually. With packs in the car, we take off down the road knowing we will not starve.
Our first stop in the Coromandel peninsula. This is a vacation spot for Kiwi’s. The 2 hour drive from Aukland, when it stopped being terrifying, was beautiful.
Below is a stock shot - Didn't stop to take pics on the road but it accurately reflects what we saw as we drove to our hotel.
Who doesn’t like green rolling hills of pastures adorned with oaks and palm trees?
Once we got into the pass the hills became mountains but were dense and green with Wineberry, Manuka, Star Pines, and Palm trees. It was such an unusual menagerie. The closest comparison would be Northern California, but much greener.
Dotted along the road were clusters of wild purple Agapanthus, crimson Pohutukawa flowers, and Queen Anne’s Lace. The locals say this has been a very wet summer, a few weeks ago a tropical cyclone moved through, and as such everything is very green. It is fertile and lush country and the weather today was in the 70’s with high clouds and mild breezes.
I really looked forward to seeing New Zealand. I am not sure why. Initially I thought it was just a manifestation of my love of The Lord of the Rings movies. I am sure that is part of it. I guess I expected scenes from the films to be readily evident everywhere.
There is a little of that, as you will see in the next post.
But, thankfully , for the most part that is not the case. In fact the times when we brought up the films (Now over 20 years old) to locals we mostly get eye rolls.
So what is it?
The secret sauce, the killer app, the reason the films did so well was the land here. Kiwi’s are for the most part ardent environmentalists. They work very hard to to keep this area pristine
So when you drive through here the land is familiar , yet not. You can never quite feel like you have seen this world before. It is because you have not been here. It is unique and I find my self challenged to stay on the left side of the road and look out at the wonders I am passing by.
We arrived in Tairua near Te Karo Bay. We spent the afternoon getting laundry done and exploring the beach. We watched the sunset at low tide and watched locals fish for Snapper and Trevally
You come here for the land. These islands were formed due to collision of tectonic plates and massive volcanic activity. The results are an evocative landscape of surreal beauty.
This is Cathedral Cove --
If it seems vaguely familiar it may be due to this film -
And we are just getting started. We will take you with us. I know, I know - There are a lot of pictures. — but there is A LOT to see.
We are out of Tim Tam’s. But there is a grocery nearby.
No worries.
Love all the pics! Beautiful!