Home Safe and Sound

Thanks all Blog readers for following these adventures.  More adventures to come in Sardinia soon.

Here is a part of my Reception Committee today.

Great views

Drove and hiked up Puka Peak for views of the Coromandel

Found a new marina at Whangamata.

And Historic Gold Mines where I walked the trails and tracks.

And beautiful country views

Lovely Views in Tairua

Followed the coast today with low clouds and showers, some strong winds.  Good day to be in a car winding my way through twisted mountain roads, stopping at viewpoints for a quick look.

 

In better weather, Whitianga would have many things to do which would require a longer visit.  I parked at one end of town and walked the streets during a break in the rain.

Drove to Hot Water Beach where the surf pounds in to make the beach unsafe except at low tide.  But at low tide, the adventurous will dig down in the sand and create a hot water bath from two springs above the low water line.  In the water, life guards will mark the only area safe for swimming.  As the tide changes, the whole beach is soon closed to all including waders.  The tide was incoming and the life guards were gone when I arrived yet people ignored the signs and walked out on the sand.  The surf pounds in with a foam that resembles the wash machine rinse cycle.

The weather did not encourage me to drive much further and I was fortunate to find a lovely spot at Blue Water Motel in the very fine town of Tairua.  See http://www.bluewatermotel.co.nz/  I have a very comfortable studio room.  I have been lucky finding great places.

I had steak and onions for dinner in a pub just a short walk away.  There are some great viewpoints here so photos will be taken if the clouds lift.

Keeping to the Left in NZ

Better to become more faniliar with oncoming traffic on my right while driving in the country than in downtown Auckland.  So I have headed south away from the city on the secondary roads that weave through farm land or follow the coast. I am spending Monday night in a comfortable cabin in Coromandel.  This is a friendly small town built around an intersection.  Countryside of beautiful green hills, steep hills, that roll to the sea.  Heavy overcast and wind with showers all day.  The Fiji storm is following me.  Forecasts on the television indicate that the next few days will have very forceful winds here on the north Island.  The south island is doing well but I do not have time to get there.  I'm off to Whitianga tomorrow and have a plan that will let me stay dry while seeing as much country as possible and return to Auckland Friday mid afternoon.  That will be Good Friday.

The GPS speaks to me in a calm male voice and it knows I need to keep left.  I'll come home either totally ambidextrous or totally dyslexic.  The hardest thing to remember is that the turn signal switch is on the right of the wheel and the wipers are on the left.  Waving a windshield wiper does not adequately indicate a planned turn.  But the wipers are running most of the time anyway.  If I turn around to go back for a photo, the GPS tells me to "please turn around (again) as soon as it is convenient".  Nice co-pilot.  But the more I stay on the right road, the quieter my assistant becomes.

Mum will remember driving all across Nova Scotia with this son promising morning coffee at the next stop.  Stops which we never found.  Same sort of thing here.  Eating spots are few and far between in rural New Zealand.

Revived and about to be Tourist

I am  sure you all know that it just takes a bit of sleep and food to revive me.  On the way back from breakfast, I rented a car with a GPS, got a map and have the promise of a tour expert who will speak about places to see in the lobby at 10 am.  So things are looking up.

The car rental is for 5 days and is quite reasonable.  I drop it off here at the Airport hotel on Friday and the hotel will drive me to the airport.  Sounds all very possible.

While Steve golfed, Ginny sent me some tips and Stefanie sent a website and I have many of your best wishes.  Thanks so much.  I'll take lots of photos although weather here is cloudy and cool.

I have filled my journal to the last page, better find another book.  So many stories that I have not been able to put into this blog.

Evacuated but Grounded in Auckland

I will send out the news now before I look at email as the access I have is limited to 200 mb and the inbox loading might tip the balance.

Camped last night in the Nadi Airport as the storm raged outside.  Lots of campers and it looked like I would be doing that again tonight as again all attempts to fly out were cancelled.  At one point we were told that they could not bring the big planes in and they would try to get us out by using smaller planes.  But then they could not fly either.  Meanwhile people were hiring a helicopter for $500 to fly them from their respective lodges to the airport.  Helicopters always flying.
Late in the day, Air Pacific organized an evacuation flight of all Auckland bouund ticket holders for any airline and they brought in a 747-400 which was filled.  Apparently all who needed to go were on this flight including me.  I got dinged $75 for heavy luggage as Air Pacific has lower limits than Air New Zealand.  But weather forecasters felt that the next wave to hit Nadi could become a cyclone.  What with wind, flood and more rain, Nadi is pretty beaten up.

Arrived New Zealand and cleared customs by midnight.  Air New Zealand counter was useless and could not discuss rebooking as it is done through some other agency on their behalf.  However, we were given a 1-800 number to call in the morning.  While I know that rebookings can happen quickly or at least one might need to act quickly, being away at a hotel will not help and many of the campers, including myself were prepared to camp again.  But one man suggested that I try the number now as he got through and got all his details given him.

So I did the same but the whole thing took until 1:30 am.  Bottom line is I have the same schedule but there is no available flight for me until April 6 (Friday).  So it looks like I have 5 days in New Zealand!
To do anything sooner would cost me $1222 extra on the ticket already purchased.  I'm too tired to go into all the argument about that.  Suffice to say I will be home April 6 under this plan.

Right now I am at the Airport Gateway Hotel, which is like a Traveller's Inn but OK at $79 NZ per night.  So Brian, if you see this, perhaps you could ask Steve to email some affordable suggestions of places to see in Kiwi land.  I have never been here before and have yet to see it in daylight.

Almost 2:30 am I am totally wiped and heading for bed.