From a Hot Beach to a Cool Cove

Leaving the Coromandel Forest, we headed for the East coast of the peninsula.  We were a bit delayed arriving at our final destination because we didn’t realize that the ferry from Whiting to Shakespeare Cliffs was just for people. You would think that the words “pedestrian ferry” in the tour book would have alerted us but we missed that crucial bit of information. So we drove down to the dock and then still spent about 5 minutes pondering if a very small ferry with just people on board could possibly carry our car. After finally admitting the obvious, we drove the long way around the small bay and changed our camping location from a more primitive location to another Top 10 Holiday Park at Hot Water Beach. To be honest, the kids were fairly relieved by this decision as they really wanted to have hot showers (and Jen was not too bummed either).

We had heard a lot about Hot Water Beach. It is a popular tourist spot because of the thermal springs located just under the sand.  If you dig down a bit at low tide, hot water springs up, mixes with the cold ocean water and makes for home-made hot tubs.  We speculated that in the US such a phenomenon would have been commercialized for sure, requiring an admission fee, and would be surrounding by tacky tourist shops. But here in NZ it is free for anyone to use. Sweet As!

As the next low tide came at 9 PM, we had a nice dinner at our campsite then donned our geeky headlamps and ventured down the boardwalk to the beach.  We had expected a larger stretch of beach so were surprised to find that the thermal springs are only about 75 meters wide.  As per usual, we found mainly young Germans tourists, about 20 of them, all crammed like sardines into one pool, laughing and drinking alcohol (not that sardines laugh or drink alcohol). BTW, that was the first and last time we came across anything resembling a party during our entire trip as people are very low key here and the holiday parks don't tolerate partying.  Although the Germans invited us to join them, we opted to walk down a bit further to find our own stretch of beach (and we were not totally sure all of them were completed clothed either).  Using the handy spade we rented from the holiday park (very essential to have this) we dug down into the sand to create a shallow depression, built up some wall to keep the water in, then laid down to get out of the chilly wind.

We were having a lovely relaxing time, when Jen made the mistake of digging a bit deeper only to unleash a torrent of truly scalding 150 degree water! The rest of the night was comical - alternating fits of perfect temp, then chilly gushes when we would let in too much cold water, then OH MY GOD MY (fill in the body part) JUST BURNED OFF! Seriously. At one point Pete was walking through the pool when he suddenly made a vertical leap he hasn’t hit since he was in high school, and proceeded to speak in tongues while wondering how many layers of skin had burnt off his foot (thankfully none). Finally, a family vacated a more temperate nearby pool and we quickly moved in before some some Germans could grab it.

As we lay back in our little salty hot tub, we gazed up to behold a clear sky filled with brilliant but mostly foreign constellations. Being in such a rural location, there were no lights obscuring our view.  It was slightly disconcerting to be missing the familiar Big and Little Dipper and other such constellations that I can never seem to learn the names of but yet are familiar friends that hover above  every night.  We spotted the Southern Cross, which despite the hype of the Crosby, Stills and Nash song, is just pretty much just 4 stars low on the horizon.  Seeing it for the first time did not really "make us understand just why we came this way."  But every time I think of the words "Southern Cross,"  those lyrics still come unbidden into my head!  We did recognize the constellation Orion, even though it is upside down so that the hunter appears to be standing on his head.  Another spectral treat are two white patches called the Magellanic Clouds, which are actually satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Behold, the Southern Cross (well I do admit, CSN, that the bottom star is pretty bright)...

We headed back to the beach the next morning at next low tide, but struggled to find a good spring with the right temp. The pools we tried to dig were simply too hot, or too cold, or too big or too small (just call us GoldiLocks). Eventually three friendly Kiwis took pity on us and invited us into their tub.  They own a vacation house nearby so were hot water beach veterans (and also seemed to have skin made of asbestos as the occasional hot geyser had no affect on them). We had enough space for just 3 of us at a time, so dared each other to dash into the chilly ocean, and then would make space for the returning person to jump in and warm up again.

In the afternoon it was on to Cathedral Cove which we all agreed must be one of those 50 most beautiful places in the world!  It is just up the road from the Hot Water Beach but requires a 45  minute downhill walk along a path, thus eliminating the unfit from visiting this gem of the North Island. The beach is simply stunning, with coves of white sand, rock formations in the water and framing the shore, and several giant caves and archways you can walk through. The water is crystal clear and aqua blue, and to top it off, at one end of the beach there is waterfall that falls down along the limestone, creating small rainbows against the cliff. Really?

Thanks to it being a relatively down time of year, the beach was fairly empty (and strangely lacking in German tourists; maybe they were hung over from the boozing at Hot Water Beach)?  The ocean was too chilly to be in for long, but everyone got in up to their knees and Pete even attempted a trip to a rock 60 meters out in the surf. He got about 15 meters there before deciding that there would be witnesses to his drowning.  Actually, there was no thinking other than "my lungs are collapsing...must get back to shore." Oh well, we stayed on the beach for a good while in the warm sun and got some great pics...

Stairway to Heaven? The Coromandel and Pinnacles Track and Hut

We were sad to leave the Northlands area, but excited to move on to the Coromandel Peninsula.  We had heard much about this "playground," as it is a popular summer vacation destination.  Doing this trip in the Spring, we missed out on some of the fun because the ocean was still quite cold, but, on the other hand, we were fortunate to have relatively little in the way of crowds.

After spending a night in Thames, we did our big backpacking trek of our Spring Break -  a 3.5 hour tramp to the Pinnacles Hut in the Pinnacles area of the Coromandel. Prior to departing, we had been warned about stairs that never ended. They were right to try to prepare us. Warning aside, at some point all of us gave Lindsay a class in how to curse (figuratively) and we were all wondering how many more stairs there could possibly be to climb. In truth, it was an amazing hike. The DOC had built a hiking track with suspension bridges over rivers

and then carved stairs into rocks going up these very steep hillsides. Occasionally there would be railroad ties and 1.5 foot stairs built in. Very steep. Very long. Pretty wet, too, as if they had built the hiking trail right where the stream would naturally fall down the hillside. The weather was pretty nice and fortunately the hike went  through pretty dense bush, keeping things comfortable. Here are some pics from along the Webb Creek Track, the path we took on the way up to the hut.Notice that the first pic below is from the start of the hike.  All smiles.  The latter pic is toward the end, and Kendra has a look that says it all...

The payoff for this hike was incredible. The Hut is considered the crown jewel of the NZ hut system, a beautiful hilltop hut set above the hills and forest. There were 80 bunks split in two bunk rooms, and then a nice kitchen with eating areas, and some great outdoor decks with tables to take it all in. For services the hut had running water only, and outhouse bathrooms, and everything was pack-in, pack-out. So fairly primitive, but also ridiculously scenic. Heres a family shot of us in front of the hut.

Looming above the hut was a daunting 45 minute hike to the Pinnacle, a set of rock outcroppings that are the high point of the area. We did the hike at sunset the day we arrived, and it was truly epic. The wind was gusting at the top about 40mph at least, and the hike was a combination of stairs, ladders, ropes and rock scrambling.  You can just make out some of the ladders in the first photo, and the second shows some of the ladders built into the rock from up close.

Incredible views up top, as it was thankfully clear. You could essentially see out to the Pacific on one side and toward the Firth of Thames on the other side. But as beautiful as the scenery was, we were more than a little glad to be down and out of the wind and the scrambling we had to do. Here is one last pic of the sun setting on the Pinnacles.

On the way back down to our car the following day, we took the appropriately named Billy Goat Track. I think the consensus was that it was easier to climb the first day than it was to descend on the way out. Ouch. We discovered muscles that we didn't know existed.  Apparently we were not used to doing 4,000 squats a day.  Still, to make it a bit more fun, we did a cool NZ Frenzy excursion on the way out.  We found a small unmarked path off the main track, and this led to the top of a waterfall. The “waterfall’ was more like a series of waterfalls and pools that you could crisscross until it finally took a huge plunge downward at a pinch spot.  You could get perilously close to the top of this last waterfall and look over, which was pretty exhilarating.

At the top of the pools and waterfalls...

Here's a pretty pic of Jen at the last and largest pool (the pools go on for about a quarter mile).

The girls at the end of the trail, and top of the last waterfall.  They are on the lip of a 100 foot drop!

We spent over an hour having lunch and exploring, with the help of these ropes that were built into the hillsides to help you scramble around. Below is a pic of Pete in what can charitably be described as awkward. Thanks for taking this shot, Jen!

And the entire time we were in this spot, we saw…the five of us. No one else. Incredible solitude for such a beautiful no-named off the beaten track spot.

If you ever get a chance to hike this track, do it! But also start prepping by using "Stair Master 2020" at the gym...

Ninety Mile Beach Superhighway

We can now cross off of our bucket list “driving an old family van at high speeds along a deserted beach”. Yes, crazily enough, “90 mile beach”, which is located at the Northern tip of the Island, is legally a highway. We had mixed feelings about actually driving on it with our van, a 1998 Toyota minivan with 2 wheel drive.  We had read several guide books and asked various people at the holiday park where we were staying in Ahipara Beach. But as is typical in NZ, we got varied answers-everything from "What kind of car do you have? Hmm, I wouldn’t drive the beach in a 2 wheel drive" to "You'll be fine. It's much faster than taking the highway over land."  The main advice was to drive on the hard packed sand just above the water line as the tide receded - venture up too high and you get stuck in the soft sand. Too low and you are obviously in the ocean. Also, keep the wheels moving and don’t stop on soft sand, specially when entering or exiting the beach.  Confusing matters was the equally important advice...don’t keep spinning the wheels if you do get stuck or you just go deeper in the sand. Our go-to-guide book assured us that it a snap to drive the beach and only drunken idiots got stuck in the sand. Pete reassured everyone he was neither drunk nor an idiot, though a drink may have helped to calm the nerves…and his idiocy is in question for taking his family driving on an ocean beach.

At any rate, Pete had a moment of bravery (or foolhardiness) wash over him and we ventured out onto the sand at Ahipara Beach at a receding low tide right off the main paved road in town early in the morning.  Soon we were doing something that you have to see to believe - cruising along at high speeds (high for our van anyway, over 80 km/h) on a deserted stretch of beach.  The whole time on the beach we probably saw about two backpackers, two other cars with fishermen, and the occasional washed up dead seal - sadness : (

The beach is fairly featureless as NZ beaches go, with surf to our left and low dunes to our right. Here we are on the beach.

We had to cross the occasional small stream and slow down for a few bumps here and there but were otherwise making our way without any trouble until we hit a surprise bump at about 80 kph. All of a sudden, our van turned into Chitty Chitty Bang Band and we were airborne for a very brief moment. We thumped down onto the sand and various foodstuffs flew out of the back of the car and smacked Kendra in the back of the head. She was a good sport about it and once we had stopped the bleeding scalp wound (JK) and checked the car’s suspension (Pete actually has no idea how to check the suspension, so he just looked at the front of the car and said in his most reassuring manly voice, “uh, yup, looks fine”) we were on our way.

The next tricky part was finding the exit to the beach. There were a couple places where you really DID need a four wheel drive, as you had to drive uphill slightly over some soft sand.  The main destination for 2 wheel drive cars was Te Paki Stream, a real stream that winds between sand dunes for about 3 km from the central part of the peninsula and empties into the ocean.  Once again Jen’s terrible directional skills waylaid us but Pete eventually took hold of the map and we found Te Paka Stream (we knew we were in the right place because we saw signs everywhere telling us how hazardous it was to drive in the stream!?!). So obviously, here is where it gets real crazy. Yes, we drove out along a stream bed through beautiful tall desolate sand dunes.

The water was flowing toward us, but the stream bed was pretty flat and hard packed. Family Van saw us through the flowing inches of water to the actual road. The only really hairy part was when the stream split into two narrow paths, both about a car width, one that looked a little muddy, and the other seemed to have a fairly deep pond of water. Pete was told to never stop so he just barreled on at about 20 km/hr, made a split second decision to go right, no, left, no, right (!) and had everyone in the car screaming at him, and then went plowing through the high water/pond option with no real problem! A quarter mile after that bit of exhilaration we were exiting the stream bed for a real dirt road (YES!) and we stopped at the car park by the huge sand dunes to explore and for Pete to get some blood back into his white knuckles. (There are still little indents on the steering wheel from Pete's grip pressure on the wheel- see pic above.)

We climbed up on the dunes

and had a blast jumping off the edge and sliding down.

Getting back in our car we still had a half hour or so of driving to arrive at the northern most tip of the North Island, Cape Reinga. This point holds special spiritual significance for the Maori, as they believe it is THE location where the spirit departs for the afterlife. To our eyes, it was yet another example of God’s great glory in creating such a beautiful location. The cape lookout and lighthouse is up on a cliff and as you look down you can see the waters of the Tasman Sea to the left and the Pacific Ocean to the right. Where it meets, the water forms a beautiful grid pattern of aqua blue waters as the surf collides (see google earth, or our pictures below hopefully do this justice). And, just beyond the lighthouse, there is a tree believed to be 600 years old that is impossibly perched out on the tip of the last rock. You can just make that tree out in the pic just below.

We finally left the lighthouse area, and since the ocean beach road would have become impassable due to the coming high tide (there were occasional warnings made about cars being trapped in the advancing surf and becoming a permanent feature of the beach or sea) we drove home on the windy, hilly land highway, a trip that took twice as long as the beach highway did! The dinner at our campsite that night was to die for, and we gave many thanks for our safe passage that day. What an experience!

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Across the Bay of Islands from Russell, via a short car ferry, is the town of Paihia, which is really just a  strip of hotels, tourist shops and restaurants.  Just to the north of this town is a beautiful peninsula where the Waitangi Treaty Grounds sits.  The Grounds are on the location where the English Governor of the New Zealand territory resided in the 1830's and where the Teaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 by representatives of the British crown and local Maori chiefs from the North Island. It is considered the founding document of modern New Zealand.

The grounds are a lovely park, with expansive views of the surrounding islands and bays. In the middle of the grounds sits a flagpole commemorating the three different flags that have flown in NZ - the union jack, the first NZ flag (which is still recognized as a maritime flag), and also the current NZ flag.  Interestingly, right now there is a big controversy here in NZ as the current government has commissioned the country as a whole to consider adopting a new, as yet undecided flag. As they say...keep tuned...

The grounds were not marked or preserved in any way after the signing of the Treaty in 1840, and by the early 1900s had actually fallen into disrepair.  Indeed, the entire area was to be sold to developers for development as small plots for homes/farming.  Fortunately in the early 1900s a Governor of the area understood the historic nature of the area, purchased the land and donated it to the NZ government.  The home of the Governor was refurbished and a Maori meeting hall was built.

On the grounds is also have a traditional Maori "canoe" - actually about 100 feet in length.  If you watch the movie Whale Rider you might get a good understanding of the significance of these boats to the Maori (namely that their ancestors traveled from Polynesia to NZ in such a boat.) These boats are used annually on the treaty Day celebrations.

A museum has been built explaining the Treaty and the history of NZ, and we took a wonderful and informative tour with a Maori guide who walked us over the entire grounds, ending at the Maori community hall.  There at the Hall we saw the Haka and then once inside we watched a musical performance by some locals.  Lindsay was in the front row and was a little spooked actually!  There was a lot of yelling, intimidating poses and weapon play, and also some acrobatics with sticks.  Very in your face, and very expressive.

At the end of the performance we even got a picture with the performers as a family!

And now we will do our best now to summarize the historical meaning, significance, and controversies of the Treaty (and apologies if we get any of this wrong.)  For a fuller explanation here is the wikipedia link.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi 

There was actually a mutual desire from both English and Maori to have an agreement about how the British would govern the area.  For the Maori people, the sheer numbers of settlers arriving, combined with the lawlessness and criminality of some of the British settlers, and the brutality of a local group of French settlers, impressed upon the Maori chiefs the need to have some sort of understanding of how the British crown would govern their subjects, as well as protect Maori lands and interests from the settlers and also from the French.  For the British, the treaty formalized their desire to claim governance over New Zealand and to come to an agreement with the local, non-British peoples over the terms of that claim.

The Treaty is actually relatively short, and consists of a few principles.  First, that the Queen of England would have "sovereignty" over the area and establish "governance" over the area (more on this later).  Second, that the Maori chiefs would retain "possession" over their lands and if they chose to sell lands at an agreeable price, it would be to the British crown or its subjects. Third, that the Maori people would in fact be granted full rights as British subjects.

The writing of the Treaty was done in English, translated to the Maori, and most of the versions that were signed were in the Maori language.  The interpretations of the Treaty on both sides is made more difficult given the fact that at the time the Maori was a more oral than written language, and also that there were not perfect translations between english and Maori to describe "sovereignty", "Governance" or "possession".  For instance, whereas the Treaty in english granted the Crown sovereignty and governing authority over New Zealand, the Maori believed they were signing an agreement meaning the British would govern their own subjects, and that the local Maori would retain oversight and sovereignty over their own peoples. The source of much of the controversy and misunderstanding stems from these issues.  Indeed, after the signing of the agreement, there was much warring  and disagreement between the British and Maori in the 1840s.  The distrust and disagreements continue to the modern era, with specific protest movements occurring in the 1970s and 1990s.

The influence of the Treaty on modern day NZ is actually pretty remarkable.  As we have mentioned before, the country really has a very strong feeling of integration between European/Western and Maori cultures, compared with that of US and Native American cultures for instance.  In fact, that doesn't seem to even be a fair comparison.  We would say it is more like that of a very integrated, multicultural society such as in New York, San Francisco or Honolulu.  This seems an apt comparison given the amount of immigration from Eastern Asian (Thai, Chinese) and Polynesian (Samoan) cultures to NZ, with most of those families working in service industries.

To be sure, the Maori feel marginalized and there is quite a difference in socioeconomic levels between Maori and non-Maori peoples, but the attempt by the more dominant white culture to incorporate Maori language, culture and tradition is still laudable, in our opinion.  And this stems from the signing of an agreement back in 1840, which attempted to enter two peoples into an agreement to live and govern together with some kind of mutual respect.

We hope that gives you some background on NZ history and culture!

We interrupt our usual programming....

Quick sports post...three awesome sports things I am following right now...

One, Go Cougars!  Evergreen boys soccer is heading into the boys soccer playoffs with a great record, and ought to get a top seed.  Looking forward to a deep run into the playoffs!  Best wishes to Ross and all the boys as they try to get that championship!

Two, Lets Go Mets!  A lifelong Mets fan, I am so excited for the Mets first World Series since 2000.  I have found a bar that is showing all of the games, live, and may get a bad reputation around town for spending so much time in the middle of the day in a bar...but, hey, the Mets only make it this far every so often, and have only won the Series once in my lifetime.

And last, Go All Blacks!  The All Blacks (NZ's national rugby team) face South Africa in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup this Sunday at 3:30 AM NZ time (pretty sure the game is on early morning in the US Saturday) but this is a big deal here and I plan to worsen my reputation around town by dropping by the same bar in the middle of the night to watch the All Blacks take another step toward defending their World Cup title, and perhaps have a beer as well : )

Lauryn just read this post before I published and said, "Dad, four in the morning? You're going to have beer?"  OK, Coca-Cola it is...but go All Blacks!

Hope everyone is well!

UPDATE!!!  The All Blacks beat South Africa this morning and are on to the Finals next weekend, against the winner of Australia and Argentina!  If you do get a chance to watch the game...make sure you are in time to watch the very opening.  Minutes before the match starts, New Zealand does the traditional Haka on the field, in front of the opposing team.  Specially since rugby is somewhat of a mystery to me...this is my favorite part of the match!  Haha.  Very intimidating, very loud, it sets the tone for the team in their days' match.

Hellhole of the Pacific? Uh...no! The heavenly Bay of Islands

Our next port of call was Russell, a small town in the Bay of Islands. It is a quaint charming village that sits on a harbor dotted with small islands as far as you can see.  The water is a gorgeous color of aqua blue.  Russell was the first capital of New Zealand and dubbed the “Hellhole of the Pacific” in the early 1800's due to its abundance of brothels, drunken sailors and criminals. Rather than forget its sordid past, the town embraces it with an annual 2 day celebration where time turns back to the 1830's and actors roam the streets telling tales of pirating, reenacting famous duels and  exemplifying general debauchery. Just in case your visit doesn't coincide with "Hellhole" weekend, there are life sized cardboard cutouts of pirates, strumpets and missionaries scattered through the town year round.

Once again we found a lovely Holiday Park right inside the town. After unpacking and setting up the tents, we took a short walk with intentions of going down to the main beach but then spied a small path heading off in the opposite direction.  Being brave explorers, we decided to follow this alternate trail and were rewarded with a lovely secluded cove.  We only saw two other adults strolling up the beach while two girls played around in the water at the far end of the beach.  Our kids amused themselves by hunting for the most unique and beautiful seashells.  As we left, we could've sworn that the other girls were sans clothing.  When we got back to our campsite, we consulted "NZ Frenzy" and sure enough, the cove is known to be a nudist beach.  The kids were just thankful they were not subjected to viewing any naked elderly tourists!

We then hiked to the top of the highest hill in Russell and were impressed by the gorgeous 360 degree view of the Bay and Pacific Ocean. On top of the hill is a flagpole erected by the British after the signing of the Waitangi Treaty (the founding document of modern New Zealand).  The British flew the Union Jack from the pole instead of the agreed upon NZ flag, and the Maori people responded by cutting down the flag not once but 4 times!

Also at the top of the hill was a large sundial, which sat on a incredibly detailed mosaic tile map of the Bay. Who knew that the shadow of a sundial in the southern hemisphere goes counterclockwise! (On the northern hemisphere it goes clockwise.) We do now that we have seen a huge one! It took us about an hour of using physics to figure out why that is...but we will leave it to you to figure this out yourselves!  Instead, here's a pic of the girls lounging on the sundial...

As the forest surrounding the sundial is known to have several kiwi living in it, Jen and I planned to get up that night and go hunting for the birds.  However, the weather turned unpleasant so we opted for keeping cozy in our tents. The sound of the rain was a pleasant way to drift off to sleep.  In the middle of the night, I woke abruptly to the sound of snuffling and something rooting around outside.  Being from Colorado, my first thought was "bear!"  Once I got over the initial adrenaline rush, I remembered that we were now in predator-free NZ.  So I bravely poked my head outside the tent flap and spied a little brown animal rummaging around near the picnic table.  It was a little hedgehog!

The following day we drove along a part of the coastline nicknamed the Million Dollar View Road. It more than lived up to its moniker. Being a clear day we had gorgeous views of all the beaches and shoreline as well as the scenic hills and dales.  Every five km or so we encountered yet another beautiful sheltered cove, with its accompanying quaint village.  It felt like we had gone back in time and traveled across the world (hey, we are actually across the world)! We only passed a few cars the entire day.  Here is a pic or two from that drive.

We stopped at the furthest drivable point of the area and walked down onto the beach, where the girls scrambled around the rocks and tide pools hunting for starfish, shells, and other little creatures. Living in landlocked Colorado, the beach is a foreign wonderland to us!  It was fairly windy so Jen tried to warm up by running up and down the beach, while singing the theme music from "Chariots of Fire." It was quite apropos, because that scene was in slow motion and that is actually how fast Jen runs in real life!

Kauri Forest - Big Trees and Little Defenseless Birds

Ok yes we are softees.  Accustomed to comfortable beds and warm sleeping accommodations, after many days on the road camping (well actually only 2), we were more than ready to stay in a motel! The Kauri Coast Top 10 hotel was just what we were looking for - 5 soft beds, a nice kitchenette and a heated room. It was quite nice to wake up and not have to deal with a very dewy wet tent and packing up all our camping stuff. Besides that, it had a cool playground with a giant trampoline, a flying fox (zip line)

and a stuffed Kiwi (bird not person from New Zealand).

The night we arrived we went on a hunt to see the elusive Kiwi (once again, bird, not human). Bob the Builder may be famous in the US but here it is “Bob the Kiwi Guide.” Yes this man is an ecologist who is wise in the ways of the national bird. He took our family and an older Australian couple on a night hike through the Trounson Kauri Forest.  It was a cloudy night, perfect for kiwi birds to emerge from their underground holes, since they like it dark.  Not as perfect were the "hiking" conditions, since it was basically pitch black under the kauri forest canopy (more on that later) and we could not bring torches (Kiwi word for flashlight) because the white light scares away the Kiwis. According to Bob, they run away faster than Oscar Pistorius looking for a defense team when they see lights. Ha ha. Bob walked in front of us, searching with a large red light (red light is not in their color spectrum I guess) while we stumbled along behind him. At one point, the Aussie almost bit it on a tree stump/root and unleashed a bad word or three but no permanent harm was done. Along the path, we saw a long fin eel, fish and crayfish in a stream, glow worms among the trees, and giant grasshoppers the size of a human hand. The Aussie guy exclaimed that you would NEVER take a nighttime walk in his country as you would either get bitten by a snake, attacked by small animals, or take down by a giant croc, but Bob assured us it was quite safe in NZ. (We were a little creeped by the grasshopper however.)

And then we heard it in the distance, the haunting call of the male kiwi. I will try to insert a sound bite here but it is like two high pitched notes, repeated over about 30 secs.

Here is a link to the mating call on Youtube (hope this works). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=498lYih-ycw

The female responds back with a low grunting noise (similar to Rod Stewart with a head cold). We heard both of these calls floating through the forest several times on our 90 minute walk and each time we stopped in our tracks while Bob scanned the forest floor with his red light, looking for small round brown things. We also tried to be as quiet as possible so we would hear the female kiwi scurrying to find the male.  Bob described that sound as something small running over corn flakes  (because of the leaves on the forest floor) but we didn't ever get close enough to hear it. Here are some kiwi facts for you:

-small brown colored flightless birds
-can live up to 60 years without predators but their mean age is usually 20
-grows to about the size of a football (rugby not American football)
-mates for life and is extremely territorial (a mating pair claim an area of about 7 soccer fields)
-passionate about All Blacks rugby (whoops, that's the kiwi human, not the bird)
-may look cute but as just soon peck your eyes out if you look at them twice (just kidding)
-actually they are quite defenseless, being flightless and have a small, weak breast plate, so they usually die from being crushed to death.

Now you are probably wondering how kiwis could even exist in the wild. Well, before the Europeans came, there were no predators on NZ at all. Crazy huh. But, due to the introduction of rats, stoats, weasels, possums, cats and dogs, as of 1997 there were only 1,000 kiwi in NZ.  Some of those animals actively hunt and kill kiwis, while some merely compete with them for habitat or eat their eggs.  However, after conservation efforts, the DOC believes the current population of this endangered bird has grown to 14,000. The DOC recently did a count and determined that there are 33 mating pairs and 14 juveniles in Trounston Park, which is 800 acres.

The final question that is keeping you on the edges of your seats, no doubt, is whether or not we saw a wild kiwi. Drum roll here…. Yes we did! As we were ending our tour, having heard but not seen the mysterious bird, we crossed a grassy meadow and behold, there in the distance was an awkward looking brown bird bobbing around in the grass.  Bob trained his red light on it, and we caught a fleeting glimpse before it scampered? skipped? lumbered? (I don’t know how to describe it but they move strangely) back into the bush. Sweet as!

The next day we did a 180 and went tramping around looking for giant trees. The kauri tree is the NZ equivalent of a redwood or sequoia. Well, the redwood grows taller and the sequoia grows wider but the kauri is pretty awesome. It is a protected tree because has been suffering from kauri dieback disease (which is a fungus that causes the tree to, you guess it, die back). So we had to spray the soles of our shoes with detergent upon entering and leaving each kauri forest in order to prevent its spread. The tramp through the forest was awesome, filled with these large trees.

The Kauri tree can grow to be over 2,000 years old.  Its first several hundred years it grows upwards, until it grows taller than the rest of the forest canopy.  Then after that it actually stops growing taller, drops its lower branches, and then just grows thicker. A cool thing about the trees also is that they are host to a variety of other plants and fungus.  So at the canopy you see orchids and all manner of plant-life in its upper branches.

First we saw an awesome grove of trees all in excess of 10 feet in diameter (picture above) and then we went to see Yakas, the 7th largest Kauri tree. It was our favorite because we were allowed to touch it. Behold the treelovers.

The climax was Tane Mahuta, the largest known kauri in New Zealand.  Tane Mahuta translates in Maori to Lord of the Forest.From Wikipedia...

According to the Maori creation myth, Tāne is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. Tāne separates his parents from their marital embrace until his father the sky is high above mother earth. Tāne then sets about clothing his mother with vegetation. The birds and the trees of the forest are regarded as Tāne’s children.

Our favorite part of visiting this tree was overhearing an Indian couple who came walking to the viewing platform, and the man exclaimed "Have you ever seen a tree so big? It must be hundreds of years old!"  Yep it's big, it's bad, and it's over 2,400 years old!  Unfortunately, this picture really fails to adequately depict the immensity and girth of this tree, as there is nothing to put it in perspective, and we were probably 75 feet from its base when taking this shot.