This was probably the most touristy thing I did (and this has been a pretty touristy holiday by my standards) but it was worth it. They could have ramped up the tacky to the nth degree and it would still have been wonderful because the caves are fantastic.

There’s a number of different caves to visit but we went for a two-cave combo. First was the Aranui Cave, a mile or so from the main drag and a less popular visit as it doesn’t have the glowing bugs. This, I think, was the best cave to spend time is as the guide was low-key and informative and the crowds much smaller. Loads of limestone stalactites and mites with lighting that, apparently, was well overdue for replacing but I felt added something to the experience. Photos were taken giving the Gorillapod it’s first real test and I was pretty pleased with the results.

We then did the Glow Worm cave along with everyone else and the most corny and bouncy guide imaginable. But it didn’t matter. Glow worms really are magical and the final boat trip, floating silently through the darkness lit only by the thousands of points of blue light hanging from the ceiling, was worth every penny. Photos weren’t allowed in this cave, which was a shame, as the flash makes the worms uncomfortable. But no regrets there.

One thing that struck me while I was in there is there’s no such thing as “natural light” in a cave. You only see them under artificial conditions so you never see them as nature intended for nature had no such intent. So whoever decided where the lights would go pretty much defined how the caves would be perceived for a generation. Hmm…

These are basically a big park with a number of themed bits in the middle, specifically the “Paradise Gardens” comprising:

• the Chinese Scholars Garden
• the English Flower Garden
• the Japanese Garden of Contemplation
• the American Modernist Garden
• the Italian Renaissance Garden
• the Indian Char Bagh Garden

Should I have been surprised that they were really good? I’m not sure. But they were. A real gem.

The photos, they be here.

Rotorua is known by some as “Roto Vegas” as it’s apparently the most blatantly touristy town in the country. Indeed, the heritage there all seems to be about the history of tourism in the area from the first time people traveled to soak in the hot springs and mud pools. While this is still a major part of the town it’s also got a vibe that, qyite frankly, I didn’t like and I felt my misanthropy rising somewhat. It was probably the banner outside a hotel promising a Maori dinner and show that did it. The whole place had that air of California, and not the good bits of California either.

But, being New Zealand, it couldn’t help but be nice in places. We parked up by the museum…

…and went for a walk along the sulphur flats. Here there were mudpools and hot springs that turned the water a milky white, like someone had poured a load of chalk into the lake and mixed it up. The birds loved it so I got out the long lens and pretended I was an ornithologist. New Zealand does that to you.

But yeah, I wouldn’t recommend Rotorua as a place to spend any time. Not only is it kinda over-commercialized (and you can get a good volcanic bath elsewhere) but it smells awful.

Photos from Rotorua are here.

After the mountains on what I guess was New Years Day in normalworld we went into the Waimangu Valley, notable because it was formed by a volcanic explosion in 1886 so the resulting ecosystem is very new indeed. There’s also a hell of a lot of volcanic activity with hot springs, geysers, bubbling lakes and steam pouring out of the hills. It was beautiful, otherworldly, dramatic and quite wonderful.

Many photos were taken, naturally.

Well worth every penny, and if you go make sure you do the boat trip.

Just north of Taupo on the way to the Waimangu Valley. 11 gloopy photos are here.

We were doing the first part of the Tongariro Crossing up to the Soda Springs, pretty much a flat walk that takes about an hour. It then gets steep as you pass between the Tongariro and Ngauruhoe summits and pop out the other end seven hours later. I’m planning to go back on my own on Monday and do the whole thing, weather permitting, but for now we were just getting a taste.

That’s not to say the foothills are in any way mediocre. You’re walking over lava flows, some of them fairly recent (Ngauruhoe only became “relatively quiet” in 1975), and the sense of desolation with the volcanoes towering above you is very striking.

Tongariro Crossing photos are here.
Wikipedia is your friend: Mounts Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Doom.

Then after lunch we went up another volcano, this time in a car to the ski village on the snow capped Mount Ruapehu which was very Mordor in appearance and the Howard Shore was booming in my skull. Dum, dum, dada dum… do do dooo, do do doo, do de dooo, dum, dum…

The volcano looks like this from afar:

and like this when you’re on it.

Mount Ruepehu photos are all here.

Coming soon – journey into the volcanic valley!

and there are holes like this in the earth:

where water, heated underground by lava, steams into the air. It’s impressive in the summer but in the winter it’s apparently insane. I particularly noted how while some of the hot springs were in conservation areas those that popped up in residential bits were treated in much the same way we might treat a small stream or bog, which makes sense I guess. When the remarkable is all around you it quickly becomes the mundane.

We were staying at the very satisfactory, cheap and quite lovely Tokaanu Lodge Motel where for a reasonable fee you got a pretty spacious, well, house really, and access to their private mineral pools which were quite, quite lovely. We would recommend them.

The owner, name of Blue, took us out on his boat for another reasonable fee and let us drive (drive? Is that right?) it. Here’s a photo of me at the helm, taken by mother.

I drived a bote! It were funs!

The next day was spent up mountain, and I’ll get to that in the next post, and after that we left Taupo, stopping briefly to say farewell to this lovely, clear lake.

Here are my photos taken on and around Lake Taupo.

Sandspit was where the camp site was. It’s a nice place, very family oriented but in a good way and very old-school, like they’d barely updated it in years. Our site was right by the sea with the water lapping about a metre from the tent at high tide but because we were in a sheltered bay where the water never got more than a few feet deep for a good mile the waves never rose even in high winds. We put up the tent. That was fun. I set up the tripod and Lucy and I snapped occasional shots, time-lapse style. Here’s the video.

cheezee music courtesy of Apple.

And here are photos taken on and around the site.

On one day we went to Kawau Island on the ferry. I took photos.

On Christmas eve the seven of us went for posh dinner at the Ascension Vinyard. It was lovely. I decided to pay. And then I saw the bill. But I still paid. They roast the food over wine-soaked oak chips. Yum!

Christmas day started with presents by the tent. I gave Isobel and Spike musical instruments with which to annoy their parents – a mouth organ, a drum-thing with two beads on strings, a weird spinning thing that makes an odd noise found at the Moseley Folk Festival and a penny whistle. Here’s me and Spike with the whistle (taken by mum).

By the end of the day everyone was really annoyed with the whistle. Result! I’m such a good Uncle!

Thanks to the traditional bucks fizz the rest of the day was pretty much spent asleep but we did manage a quick trip to the fantastically named Goat Island marine reserve. (As an aside, I’ve noticed the naming of places in New Zealand is either a cacophony of Maori or bluntly matter of fact English, such as Goat Island – the island where Goats were kept.) It being Christmas day there was no-one there and the wind had picked up big time making it wild and somewhat crazy. Low cloud over the hills added to the sense of otherworldliness.

More photos here.

And then on Boxing day we packed up the tent and made our way back to Auckland for food with Lucy and Jeff and then all the way back to Hamilton where I’ve been ever since, chilling out with such luxuries as chairs and kettles. Lots of other stuff happened and maybe when I go through the photos and tag them properly I’ll blog about bits of it. But for now, that was Xmas.

Oh yeah – the nicest thing about Xmas here is it doesn’t seem to matter. Sure, it happens. The shops go a bit crazy, the kids get presents and so on, but it’s all kinda incidental and a lot saner than in the UK. Maybe it’s the climate – when it’s all hot and stuff people don’t feel the need to make a big deal out of it – but this putting Christmas on the same sort of level as we put Easter is very refreshing.

Having a great time wish you were here missing you already t’ra a bit.

Using Dubber’s blog as a rough guide plus some other tips here and there I decided on a three point journey starting at Victoria Street for the market (and, usefully, where the bus stops after the bridge), then walking up to Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Street followed by a jaunt over to the Auckland Domain for the Auckland Museum and War Memorial. Finally a stroll back across town to the city centre to catch the bus home. That should do it.

Stupidly I didn’t bring any food or drink with me, figuring I’d pick some up on the way, and because I’m the sort of person who forgets to eat while out I didn’t do this until 3pm. After a 10am start. Hence the heatstroke. I was warned, many times, but did I listen? No. I needed to see it for myself. I will not make that mistake again in a hurry.

So the photos really start on Karangahape Road, or as it’s locally known The K’Road. This, it seems, is skuzzy Auckland with the strip joints, sex shops and other low-life periphery. I half felt a little nervous and half felt completely at home and was very conscious of being a tourist. The paradox goes something like this. I don’t want to be a tourist taking photos of stuff that I’m not a part of, but I am a tourist and certainly not part of this area, but I like this sort of thing and want to take photos of it, yet I know that by being there as a tourist I’m part of a problem which will see this area eventually caught in the bloody maw of gentrification. What can you do? I think the trick is to stay away unless you intend to live there. Still, the architecture was some of the most interesting I’d seen so far.

The gentrification thang has, by all accounts, happened to Ponsonby, an area which is listed in all the guide books as being a bit arty and on the edge and therefore used to be. I could tell it was a bit off as I immediately felt at ease and able to pop into a cafe. But that’s probably a bit harsh. It was still a nice place with similarities to Moseley and Kings Heath in Birmingham. I can see why Dubber spends time there meeting old chums. I know I would if I were a native. So again with the tourist paradox. In order to really appreciate these sort of places you need to get under the skin of them and know the people. This is why I hate giving tourist tips for Birmingham.

But all told I’m glad I went, if only to see a different side to Auckland from the city centre and North Shore suburbs. Then it was off to the Domain, pausing briefly at the Symonds St Cemetery, always a magnet for the photographer and of interest because all the graves are from a certain period in the late 19th century. If I wasn’t on a mission I would have wandered deeper where the bush takes over the graves but settled for the tidy bit. Very nice, and the red moss was intriguing, like something out of War of the Worlds.

The Domain has all the hallmarks of colonial park (though I accept I’m seeing a lot of Auckland in terms of colonialism) – a huge sprawling park on a hill topped with a monumental piece of architecture reminiscent of the British Museum.

The Museum was described to me as “actually worth going to” as opposed to all the usual tourist traps and it was. Some great exhibits well curated with the modern kid-friendly stuff either nice and discrete or wonderfully over the top. The Maori stuff was, of course, spectacular and well done and the natural history areas were wonderful, drawing on the crazy variety of wildlife on the islands. Of special note was the Volcanoes room jam packed full of information from the origins of NZ itself (which lies on a subduction zone) to all the great volcanic explosions through the ages to a specially built “house” overlooking the bay where you can experience what it would be like if a volcano erupted outside your window. I could have spent hours in there.

Overall I was very impressed with the museum. It was fun but not in a tedious way and every section had a reference library and resource centre. And then, nicely integrated into the military history bits, was the war memorial ,not overpowering the building but lending it a sense of gravitas and reflection. I feel many cities could learn from Auckland’s museum.

Then, with the heatstroke starting to kick in I made my way down through the Domain towards the art galleries by Albert Park (yup, that Albert. Victoria really couldn’t let that one go) where I was pretty sure I could find a nice cafe. In the end I found a chain which was a bit of a disappointment but I wasn’t really with it by that stage. Somewhat refreshed I started to make my way back to Victoria Street to complete the circle but was distracted by the notion of Korean fried dumplings for the equivalent of 80p. These turned out to be just that – a dumpling fried on a hot plate and squished into the shape of a thick pancake, liberally soaked in olive oil. Fantastic!

And then, after a final look round the Victoria Street Market where I failed to buy anything I made my way home to suffer the pain of a stupid person who didn’t listen to sound advice.

All the photos are in this set and there’s a good blog post in a number of them. That, along with further reflections on the nature of Auckland, will have to wait ’til later. In the meanwhile I’m going to a place where the internet doth not reach for five days. Be good!

Rangitoto Island lies just off the coast from Auckland and is one of the more recent volcanoes in the region having sprouted a mere 6-800 years ago. Because of this it’s still covered in sharp lava though there’s a fair amount of vegitation growing in the thin layers of organic matter that have settled over the years, most notably a significant amount of New Zealand’s national (I think – they certainly like it here) plant, the Pohutukawa.

I took the camera and tripod and despite my best efforts could only reduce my photos down to 55 from an original 128. That’s a pretty good hit ratio by any standards but then, allowing for some metering issues with the black rock, it wasn’t hard.

Being rather lovely and so close to Auckland it’s a rather popular destination but the relative harshness (no shops or even drinking water) and need to get there by boat (the ferry cost NZ$20 return – about £8 – so fairly cheap) means it’s not that busy even if you do stick to the most popular track, as I did. The route straight up to the summit.

I chose to go up partly because when faced with a mountain the only thing to do is climb it but also because I’ve become aware how unfit I am after a year of blogging. The guide suggested it would take an hour. I did it in 40 minutes. And it was lovely up there in the clouds, even if the view wasn’t as clear as I’d have hoped. Still, I took my time coming down, diverted off to see the lava caves (which you can walk through!) and took in the scenery.

The weirdest thing about the island is, of course, the lava fields. At first they look like freshly tilled soil and, having heard about the efforts to restore the Pohutukawa trees, I assumed somebody had dug them over. But no! It’s actually piles sharp rock, formed when the lava cooled and the crust was broken up by the still flowing hot stuff underneath. The black rock also means the island is very warm and even on a relatively overcast day you can feel the heat radiating up.

I’d originally wanted to walk all the way over to the enticing sounding “shipwreck bay” but missing the first ferry and fearing missing the last meant I didn’t and spent some time wandering along the coast. Again, the contrast with the lava rock was striking, this time against the sea which hadn’t had time to break it down.

And then, just as the ferry was approaching, a storm suddenly hit. Minutes earlier I’d been lying on the deck sunning myself but now I was standing shivering on the pier as one side of my body was drenched. The weather is very changeable in New Zealand, doubly so on the islands.

Looking back over this week I’ve sort of been playing it safe, but that’s no bad thing I feel. While exhausting in places it’s been good to relax and get my bearings a bit. I’m going to spend a bit more time in Auckland tomorrow and then on Saturday we’re off camping for Xmas. After than I think I’ll take things up a notch or two.

(Oh, and having lugged the tripod around for two days with it bashing against my legs I relented and finally bought a Gorillapod. It’s lovely! Must stop buying camera stuff now…)

Confused? You won’t be.

Looking them up on t’internet I found very little, but then this isn’t a tourist thing. This bush is the equivalent of your local park, except it’s bush. Bush is one of those annoyingly vague terms that stop being annoying when you realise they mean “countryside” with a bit of forestry added for good measure. To have this pretty much on your suburban doorstep is rather special indeed, and on walking through this surprisingly wild environment on a Monday morning I saw not another soul.

My aim, however, was to hit the coast for photos, and that’s what I did.

22 photos in total were taken. While the Harbourside Bush isn’t the most dramatic part of NZ (although it does have its moments) if you should find yourself staying in this suburb do go for a wander.

I got the feeling Auckland centre was in the middle of a big cleanup as the money pours into this growing city but there’s still space for the interesting bit of humanity amongst the planning.

I then did a bad thing and bought a new lens, a Sigma 70-300mm zoom which is effectively 105-450mm on my Nikon. I figured if I was ever going to use that sort of zoom it was going to be in New Zealand and while it doesn’t have vibration reduction I did bring my tripod. It’s taking a bit of getting used to but I gave it a quick spin by the docks.

Havingagreattimewishyouwerehere.

Friday we went for a walk in the suburbs and generally chilled out.

They appear to be slipping into stereotypes – Iso loves the pink while Spike has a major Thomas addiction going on.

Saturday was a trip to the beach on the Tawharanui Peninsula. It was a nature reserve which here involved keeping the possums and rats out so the indigenous wildlife can thrive. This is achieved with a massive fence with an automatic gate surrounded by loads of traps, but it appears to work. Loads of birdlife.

We climbed a “mountain”

and I went into the sea and got my bollocks wet!

Next time I intend to go up to my neck…

More photos from Tawharanui.

Yesterday we took Iso and Spike to the beach. Photos to come!

Suffice to say the first week has rocketed by. It was weird leaving Brum on Monday morning and, allowing for my being fucked on arrival, not really doing anything until Thursday, but a lovely time was spent with mother in Raglan walking on the beach and even going into the sea (!!). I took photos.

I liked Raglan. It was a perfect introduction to New Zealand. I could see my mother settling there and running a yoga cafe place for hippy surfers.

The sand is black, which is odd, and dense, which means the sea is very clear as it doesn’t stay suspended in the surf.

After that we went to Bridal Veil Falls which is a lovely waterfall. Photos will follow soon (upload speeds here are very slow…)

Today we went to Auckland to look after Isobel and Spike while sister Lucy and bro-in-law Jeff bugger off for their wedding anniversary weekend break without the kids. I’m going to be staying here for the next week and I think investigating Auckland will be the initial plan of action before heading out into the wilds. Maybe. I’m still a bit shell shocked by it all to be honest.

But it’s fantastic. Wish you were here. (Well, some of you.)

Helpfully the times are all local which is great for the UK and NZ but kinda pointless for the connections. So I converted them all into NZ time using the incredibly useful World Clock, added that in parenthesis and with a bit of extra maths came up with this.

Birmingham International Airport (BHX) To Amsterdam (AMS)
Departing: 11:00 Mon 10 Dec 2007 (00:00 11/12)
Arriving: 13:15 Mon 10 Dec 2007 (01:15 11/12)
Duration: 1:15

Amsterdam (AMS) To Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX)
Departing: 15:15 Mon 10 Dec 2007 (03:15 11/12)
Arriving: 10:20 Tue 11 Dec 2007 (14:20 11/12)
Duration: 11:05

Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) To Auckland International Apt (AKL)
Departing: 17:30 Tue 11 Dec 2007 (21:30 11/12)
Arriving: 08:05 Wed 12 Dec 2007 (08:05 12/12)
Duration: 10:35

Assuming there are no delays I’m going to be in transit for 34 hours. Seven of which will be spent on a chair in Osaka. Oh joy.

The return journey isn’t quite so long, but it’s still a bitch. The parenthetical (my god, that’s actually a word!) times here are UK.

Auckland International Apt (AKL) To Shanghai Pu Dong Apt (PVG)
Departing: 23:45 Thu 10 Jan 2008 (10:45 10/1)
Arriving: 07:10 Fri 11 Jan 2008 (23:10 10/1)
Duration: 12:25

Shanghai Pu Dong Apt (PVG) To Amsterdam (AMS)
Departing: 09:50 Fri 11 Jan 2008 (01:50 11/1)
Arriving: 14:50 Fri 11 Jan 2008 (13:50 11/1)
Duration: 12:00

Amsterdam (AMS) To Birmingham International Airport (BHX)
Departing: 15:40 Fri 11 Jan 2008 (14:40 11/1)
Arriving: 15:55 Fri 11 Jan 2008 (15:55 11/1)
Duration: 1:15

Yup, that’s two hours and forty minutes in Communist China! But yeah, 29 hours total isn’t so bad.

The conversion into the timezone of arrival has a purpose to it. Apparently this is the best way to survive a long haul trip to the other side of the world – get into the mindset of that zone from the outset. So when I leave Amsterdam I should be thinking it’s 3am and time for a snooze when in fact it’ll be early afternoon here. Of course this shouldn’t be a problem for me. All I have to do is fuck up my sleep patterns by sleeping in until late Sunday afternoon. No problem.

(This so isn’t going to work…)

Oh, and if you check the Wikipedia entry for Osaka Kansai International Airport you’ll notice it’s “an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay” and looks like this:

I must confess that when looking at the absurd number of flights to NZ even when discounting all the ones that went via the USA (for no-one with half a brain travels via the USA if they can help it these days) the prospect of landing on a fucking island in Japan was pretty much the deal maker. Hope I get a window seat.