Re-entry is hard

First Day in New Zealand

Last Day in New Zealand

We made it home! It was both exciting and overwhelming to be back to our normal lives here in Oregon. The boys went back to school after a morning of sleeping in and right away were busy catching up with friends, doing school work and swimming and lacrosse practices. Jackson had a lacrosse game the second day we were home! There really was no easy way to do the transition. It was kind of like ripping off a band-aid.  But a week later things feel more settled. There's still mail to be sorted through, a few outstanding school projects and getting up to speed on junior high planning, but we are all doing well.
      The trip was nicely timed. We left Fall and came back to Spring! Flowers are blooming everywhere and the sun is out...not a bad time to be back in Oregon. The one thing I miss like crazy is the view of the water. At our rental house, driving to the grocery store, taking the ferry to Auckland....just about everywhere you go in New Zealand, there's a view of that beautiful blue water.

This nicely captures Jim's sabbatical experience!

Another good sabbatical moment

 New Zealand was a great spot for a sabbatical trip that was both adventuresome and relaxing. It was an easy country to explore with so many unique and beautiful areas. We didn't have a language barrier though at times the accent wasn't easy to understand. It was fun learning all the New Zealand names for things....togs/swimsuits, torch/flashlight, chilly bin/cooler, chockers/full, boot/car trunk, jandals/flip-flops. It was more ethically diverse than I imagined.....so many different nationalities in one country. I liked that just in our little neighborhood there was quite a mix of Maori/Pacific Islanders, Asian and Indian families. Probably the only small negative was the food. To be fair, this was not a foodie kind of trip so I can't say we really tried to find good restaurants.  However, the baked goods left something to be desired! (Most bread tasted like really cheap French bread). On the plus side...ice cream!!! So much good ice cream!! It's a good thing we were all pretty active during the trip because we certainly ate our fair share of that wonderful New Zealand specialty...hokey pokey ice cream. We look forward to more travel adventures as a family. The boys may be a little behind in school but they'll catch up. And the education we all received in exploring New Zealand is priceless.....or, as they say in NZ, truly "sweet as"!

And finally, Raglan

Our mini trip was to Raglan, a little surf town about 2 1/2 hours from Auckland. It was featured in the 1966 surf movie, Endless Summer and is known for having the longest left hand break in the world. I'm not exactly sure what that means but basically it means very good surfing conditions.  We rented a little house high up on the hill above town. It had a small view of the Tasman Sea and was surrounded by exotic plants and trees and chirping birds. We heard lots of tuis which are native New Zealand birds that have the ability to mimic many different sounds. They also have 2 voice boxes so they are interesting to listen to. (I really need to do a separate post all about NZ birds!).  Anyway, back to Raglan. The town is a quintessential laid back surf town. There are just enough stores and cafes to make it a fun destination. But as with most New Zealand places, the natural beauty steals the show.

The boys did a surfing lesson.

Jackson did really well!

Father son bonding.

Another attempt at a nice photo...look at Jackson's face.Grrr!

Looking out across the Tasman Sea.

A common expression here...something good is "sweet as" .

 

Baches and Hiking on Rangitoto

One more thing on our New Zealand "To-Do" list was to take the ferry to Rangitoto Island and hike to the top. Rangitoto is a volcano that erupted here 600 years ago. There's no worry in eruptions happening anytime soon, according to local vulcanologists.(Side note: there are quite a few vulcanologists in the Auckland area and they are regularly featured in the local paper!).  

A trip to Rangitoto isn't complete without an understanding of the history of the baches or beach houses on the island. There are about 35 "baches" or beach houses left here from a time when there was a lively community of New Zealanders living on the island. The baches were built in the 1920s and 1930s and prison labor built roads, pathways and even tennis courts. Bach owners formed a tight knit community throughout many generations. By 1937 there were 140 baches in three different areas on the island.  There was quite a busy social scene here for a while. There were community dances, film nights, fishing contests and tennis tournaments. There were even holiday traditions like Santa arriving on a boat, dress parades and carols with the island's very own band.    It sounds like an amazing time, but sadly it wouldn't last. Because the baches were built on public land, many people began to question the legality of their existence. There was also concern about the impact on the island's flora and fauna. Initially bach owners were given a time frame of 20 years to remove the structures. In 1956, another review was conducted and this time bach owners were given the right to keep the structures for the lifetime of the current lease owners.

Many leases expired in the 70s and 80s and baches were torn down until only 35 remained. By this point, some wise individuals realized there was historical value to the baches and the destruction was halted. The future is still uncertain but as it stands now, the baches will remain until there aren't any remaining family members to take over ownership. At some point the baches may be turned over to the DOC (Department of Conservation) but for now they remain in use by families, mostly for summer activities.     

 As you can see in the photos, the baches are small! They do not have electricity, water is collected from the roof and the toilets are rustic. Cooking is done with bottled gas, a wood range or open fire.  But I imagine there are many wonderful memories shared by the owners and they are still a very magical place to be in the summer. 

Here are some photos from the hike....

The start of the hike is on pathways. It turns into a steep trail near the top.

There are lava tubes carved out by the eruption so of course there was exploring!

The view at the top was amazing.

One of the lava fields. You can see Jackson and Sean peeking over the top.

Volcano facts!

Muriwai Round Two

Before our time in New Zealand is over, we are trying to go back to our favorite places near Auckland. Muriwai beach was at the top of our list. It's a gorgeous wide open beach with the black sand found at several west coach beaches. Plus it has rocky cliffs with pathways to explore and also is the spot where the gannets have their nesting colony. Unfortunately, it was also the scene of a shark attack about a month ago. We all went in the water for some boogie boarding but stayed fairly close to shore.   

Bula!

Sean running over to show me a tiny crab he found on the beach.

Couldn't pass up a chance for a photo at the infinity pool.

Jim and Jackson on the jet ski.

Kayaking on Suvala Island.

One of the beautiful birds we saw.

All those shadows in the water are baby sharks!

Lunch time entertainment.

If you ever decide to go to Fiji, you will need to know the words "bula" and "vinaka". That is "hello/welcome" and "thank you". Every person you pass (everyone!) will say "Bula"! It's a friendly place, to say the least. It is also very, very humid. This is the tail end of their rainy season so had one day of intermittent showers but otherwise it was a mix of sun and clouds. There were exotic birds, frogs and bats everywhere. I don't really like bats. On our second day there, I was out on our patio taking pictures of an interesting bird perched in a palm tree just outside our room. (pictured above.) All of a sudden what I thought was a sea gull swooped into the tree. And then I looked closer.....BAT!!!  Of course everyone ran out onto the patio. The boys were delighted....a bat, right outside our room...how cool! From that point on, whenever we ventured out in the evening, I was on alert, looking for low flying bats.

For your viewing pleasure, a close up of the Fijian monkey faced bat. (Not taken by me!).

Other Fiji highlights were swimming in the big resort pools, riding jet skis and taking a boat cruise to a small island about an hour from our hotel. The boat cruise was somewhat touristy thing to do but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The crew of Fijian guys who ran the cruise were hilarious and played guitar and sang songs throughout the day. Singing  along was encouraged and it got funnier as the day progressed.  We snorkeled, had lunch on the island, watched a shark feeding (after we snorkeled in the very same water!!! But only harmless baby sharks, so they said) and cruised back, singing the whole way. On the ride back, everyone was noticeably chattier (perhaps the beers at lunch?) and we met people from France, Zimbabwe, China, Tonga and Australia.  The crew asked that everyone stand up and sing a song from their country...yes, we did it ,too and I have to say we did a rousing rendition of "Yankee Doodle Dandy!". 

Back in Auckland, we were relieved to find cooler temperatures and also surprised that every single grocery store was closed due to Good Friday. The only stores open were the corner markets, called dairies here, and they only stock bread, milk and other convenience store items. Luckily, our pantry had enough to put together dinner. 

A New Zealand birthday

I completely forgot to do a post about Sean turning 9! It's pretty cool to have a birthday while you're in New Zealand! A few gifts were tucked away in our suitcase and brought from Oregon. We also had a mini birthday celebration with Jack and Keelin and their mom Betsy. I even baked a cake....not easy with our limited kitchen set up here. It was a rainy day so we ended up at the movies. Then we got home and there was an earthquake! We all felt it but weren't immediately certain it was an actual quake. Then we saw our neighbor and her daughter piling in the car to drive up the hill just in case there was a tsunami. (The water is less than 100 meters from our back door).  It took us a few seconds to  grab phones and passports (just in case!) and off we went, zooming down the street and up the hill to the college behind our house. Turns out there was no need to be worried....it was actually 2 small quakes but neither was big enough to cause any damage. We all had a laugh about it afterward  but I guess better safe than sorry!   Plus it certainly made Sean's birthday even more memorable. (Side note: the first week we were here there was an actual  tsnumai warning. Once again we needed to quickly assemble the essential items...just in case. It was a good reminder to be somewhat prepared if you need to vacate quickly. Our passports and travel documents are all neatly sorted but beyond that we weren't entirely organized. Something to work on, especially since there was recently a headline about the real possibility of the "big one" coming...as in volcanic eruption or earthquake!).

The Bay of Islands

Intersecting waves

How many miles to Portland?

The tip of the cape is off limits.

The Bay of Islands is close to the northern tip of New Zealand. It's a popular vacation spot filled with beautiful sights. We tried to cover as much territory as we could in 3 days. We stayed in a  little town called Pahia (not to be confused with Piha which is another lovely spot just north of Auckland). We made the drive to Cape Reinga on our second day there and it's not a quick little jaunt. It's about 100 km  north of the last town so its best to get your tank filled before you make the drive. Also, until 2010 the last 19 km was unsealed gravel. Thankfully the road is paved now. The area is magical. According to Maori legend, this is where souls begin their journey into the next life. It's also where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet up and you can actually see waves crashing together in a criss-cross pattern.  The landscape here is something that takes your breath away. The beauty combined with the Maori legends about the area make it an easy place to spend lots of time silently watching the waves. It draws visitors from all over the world....another place where within just a few minutes we heard a wide variety of languages.  
Back in our trusty Mazda (now missing a hub cab...a story for another time), we headed for the great sand dunes of Te Paki for a little sand surfing. I was truly amazed at just how big the dunes are and how it appears they go on forever. There is a little shack where you can rent boards to sand surf so of course, the boys were climbing all over in a matter of minutes.    
 

Our final stop was the glow worm caves at Waipu. Finding the caves involved driving on windy unpaved farm roads but it was well worth the trip. We read about the caves in a guide book and knew to bring head lamps so we could explore. This adventure involved walking across a field with a large cow (who grew bored with us and slowly ambled away), entering the cave through a narrow passage and walking a few yards in total darkness. When the head lamps went on we were in a huge open area with stalactites (hanging from the ceiling of the cave) and stalagmites (on the ground) everywhere. It was surreal to have walked through such a small opening and suddenly be in such a huge open space with rock formations that looked like chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. At this point, we hadn't seen the glow worms yet, so we ventured in a bit further, turned off the head lamps  (yikes, it was dark) and started to see tiny little specks of light all over the ceiling. It looked like constellations everywhere! In case you were wondering, the glow worm is the larva of New Zealand's most famous fly.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get any photos in the cave because the low light makes it impossible. Only when we were safely back in the car did Jim mention the possibility of eels and sinkholes in the cave...eeekkk!

Risk? As in EELS???

One of the thousands we saw during our trip to Bay of Islands!

Zip Lining on Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island is not quite an hour away by ferry. It's an island that many people live on year round but also a popular vacation spot. Many people have a vacation home called a bach here (rhymes with match). It's also the home of many wineries producing the famous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Wine tasting sounded like a lovely idea but if you can't sample wines, why not take a zip line tour?
We checked into Eco-Zip Adventures and met our friendly guides Morgan and Sally. We spent a good amount of time getting hooked and harnessed and strapped in...safety is a priority! Before we knew it, we were zooming through the sky on fast paced zip lines. There were 3 different course, each one slightly different, ending with the fastest and steepest. After the zip lines, we took a guided bush walk back to base camp and along the way learned many interesting facts about the New Zealand rain forest. We saw Supple Jack vine which can be cut open to provide drinking water and used as a climbing rope. We saw a huge tree called a Puriri tree which is considered the mother of the forest by the Maori people because it flowers and produces fruit all year. It also provides a home for a variety of forest species, including the ghost moth. These moths burrow in the tree for up to 7 years and only live for  days once they emerge.  We also saw a Totara tree, considered the father of the forest. These trees grow straight and tall and have extremely weather resistant wood. The wood was used to build Maori war canoes as well as to make joists and posts used in meeting houses. The word Totara is commonly used as a metaphor for "mana" which means strength, honor and humility. As Morgan told us, if the boys were likened to a Totara tree, that would be high praise!  

Sea Scouts and life in NZ

The boys have been spending Monday evenings doing Sea Scouts, which is sort of like Cub Scouts but with an emphasis on water activities. So far they've done science night, fishing and kayaking.
Its been a nice way to spend time with kids their age and get a closer look at life in New Zealand.  We also visited the local school. Almost every student rides a scooter to school, they all wear uniforms and every school has its own swimming pool. Students here learn how to swim....it's not optional. Water safety continues through older grades and incorporates kayak safety as well as how to do water rescues. Because we are right on the beach, we've seen the college (that's high school to us) kids down here every week doing water related activities.

 Trips to the grocery store have been another fun way to learn about New Zealand.

Eggs aren't refrigerated. The yolks are bright orange.

    
 

Lots of spreads but very little peanut butter.

Tons of varieties of mint sauce.

Our favorite: Hokey Pokey ice cream!