New Zealand's Volcanic Valley

Sunday, February 7 – a day spent exploring New Zealand’s volcanic activity. We are on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a place where the Indo - Australian plate slips under the Pacific plate. We drove to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, called the world’s youngest geothermal area. This was created by the latest eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886.

Waimangu Volcanic Valley

We took a walk with a naturalist down a lush valley of green vegetation and pink silica terraces. He pointed out Inferno crater which was sometimes filled with turquoise water (today it was brown because of the run off from the rain) and Frying Pan Lake which is the world’s largest hot spring. We saw bubbling mud pools, geothermal geysers and steam vents.

We ended up at Lake Rotomahana where we got on a small boat and cruised around the lake. It was beautiful weather and we saw black swans and other birds in the water. We saw other evidence of geothermal activity as we did the circumference of the lake. The lake was formed by the 1886 eruption when craters were filled by water. It is one of the largest and newest lakes and has no natural outlet. Patiti Island in the lake has been made predator free.

Don & Suzanne at the mud pots

On our way back to Rotorua we visited some mud pools. Similar features can be found all over this area. We had a picnic lunch in a California Redwood forest! It turns out that New Zealand lost most of its trees early in the 1900’s to over logging. They tried planting different kinds of trees to see which would be the best for logging and wood production. It turns out the Monterrey Pine won! But, they had stands of other trees planted that were just kept for tourist purposes. So, that is where the California Redwoods came from!

Tree walk in Redwood forest

I spent the afternoon soaking in the thermal – mineral pools at Polynesian Spa. Yummy on my sore joints! And tomorrow we head for Queenstown by plane.

Traveling to Rotorua NZ

We left Auckland on Saturday, February 6, heading south by bus down the middle of North Island. This is beautiful, green, hilly country with lots of small farms growing onions, asparagus, corn, etc. Our first stop was at Hamilton where we explored the Hamilton Gardens which had been named the International Garden of the Year in 2014. We spent a couple hours exploring the many themed gardens with beautiful flowers and plants, statues, and interesting water features.

Then we visited a dairy farm for a home hosted meal. It was fascinating learning all about dairy farming in New Zealand. It is one of their largest industries. The farmer sells organic milk and has found it a lucrative business. I was particularly interested to hear that his largest markets were to China and other Asian countries.

We stopped next at Mangatautari Ecological Island. New Zealand had no mammals (except a couple bat species) before the Europeans came. Thus, most of their birds are flightless and live on the ground. They were easy prey for pigs, dogs, cats, possums, and other introduced predators. So, many native species are almost extinct. To combat this they have formed predator free areas by putting up a predator fence. Then the area inside the fence is cleansed of mammals and they let nature take its course. This preserve was established ten years ago and the recovery has been amazing. Plants thrive because goats, rabbits, etc. do not destroy them. The birds come back and do their part to propagate the vegetation. It was such a similar story to what we saw at Daintree Rain Forest in Australia, but what a different solution! Our guide was part Maori and had wonderful tattoos and also loved his job. It has been very inspiring meeting these ecologists.

Maori tour guide in ecological forest

We finally arrived at Rotorua, in the middle of a volcanic caldera. What a day we will have tomorrow!

Auckland New Zealand

On Thursday, February 4, we left Sydney and flew to Auckland in New Zealand. Now we are in a totally new country with a new tour guide, but the same travel companions. As we flew into the city we could see that Auckland is located on a narrow isthmus of land about a third of the way down North Island (one of the 3 major islands making up New Zealand). We still had the Tasmin Sea to the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east. We stayed in the Citylife Auckland Hotel on the main street of Auckland – Queen Street.

Our tour guide is part Maori and very energetic. He immediately introduced us to the culture of New Zealand by taking us on a walk down Queen Street to the harbor area and then to a restaurant to taste New Zealand cuisine. We walked by lots of small shops and American fast food restaurants.

Prince, his wife & daughter at tea

On Friday, we set off to visit the War Memorial Museum. It is three story concrete building with an outdoor patio and a Cenotaph honoring the New Zealanders killed in wars and in particular the Maori who lived in this area. Prince, a member of the Ngati Whatua tribe, met us there and gave us a traditional Maori welcome ceremony. It was very moving. He sang for us and he has a lovely voice.

Then he walked us through the beautiful park surrounding the Memorial and spoke about the Maori life. We met his wife and daughter, who had set up a table and chairs at the edge of the park and served us tea and delicacies (a nice combination of Englishness and Maori). Afterwards we went into the museum to look at the exhibits on the People of the Pacific, particularly the Maori. We walked and window shopped back towards the hotel. We visited Holy Trinity Cathedral, which is a beautiful Anglican church which joins the Maori symbols to those brought by the Christian missionaries.

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Cenataph at War Memorial Museum

I was particularly interested in the contrast between the indigenous people of Australia and those of New Zealand. The Aborigines came from Africa some 40,000 years ago. The Maori are Polynesian and traveled the seas from a mountain village in Taiwan, following the trade winds and ocean currents in their catamaran style boats to settle in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and also New Zealand. They have been here about 3000 years. They were warriors and cannibals and lived in tribes. But, when the Europeans arrived in New Zealand about 200 years ago, the tribes eventually joined forces. They elected a king and fought the invaders. There was a treaty signed and eventually they seem to have come to an accord. The Maori have been recognized as full citizens and the tribes have been given restitution for the land taken from them. They are trying to maintain their culture and still live a fairly modern life. Their language has been declared the second language in New Zealand along with English.

Sydney Australia

So, now I would like to tell you a little about Sydney. We flew in from Cairns in the afternoon of Monday, February 1. Sydney is on the east coast of Australia in the state of New South Wales on the Tasman Sea. It was founded in the 18th century and much of the early city was built by convicts.

We had a bus tour of the city. We started at the historic Rocks District, which is the area where the settlers first camped and built into the rock near the shoreline. Now it is a mixture of historic structures and funky shops and restaurants. We drove through the Central Business District and through several posh residential areas with exclusive private schools.

Suzanne at Watson's Bay

We stopped at Bondi Beach so people could put their feet in the Tasman Sea and at Watson’s Bay so we could walk along the headlands and see the relics from the wreck of the ship Dunbar. We saw Pons Point, the red light district, which has been vastly cleaned up. Prostitution is legal in Australia and the American Navy docks quite close to here!  We ended up at Circular Quay where we took a harbor cruise. The beautiful Sydney Harbor Bridge spans the bay and invites people to walk across it, which Don did! We also had a very interesting tour of the Sydney Opera House which is strikingly similar to Disney Hall.

Hildie, Marie, Jane-Opera House & Bridge

There are tons of things to do in Sydney, but the second day we were there we chose to take a tour to the Blue Mountains which are outside the city to the west. We not only saw some beautiful scenery, but we went to Scenic World, an amusement park where we rode 3 kinds of aerial transportation and saw lots of beautiful eucalyptus forest. We had lunch in a small mountain village and then visited a wildlife sanctuary where we saw many kinds of birds and indigenous Australian animals – koala, kangaroo, dingo dog, python, wombat, Tasmanian devil, etc. We ended with another river cruise and enjoyed seeing the city from a different perspective.

Thoughts on Australia

Monday, February 1, 2016 we left our beautiful resort in Port Douglas, drove to the airport in Cairns and flew to Sydney, in the state of New South Wales. I will talk about Sydney in my next post, but I wanted to talk about some of my impressions of Australia and the Aussies, as they call themselves.

Right away we noticed how friendly and open everyone was. I also noticed they drive on the left side of the road! I had forgotten that influence of being a British colony. We learned that to make a right turn they have to “hook left” – quite a maneuver.  

They still honor Queen Elizabeth as their queen, but they are actually governed much like England with two legislative bodies and a prime minister. Each state also has its own government.

The land mass is huge, but the population is concentrated along the coasts. Australia was first discovered by Europeans in the 17^th century, but it wasn’t settled until the harbor at Sydney was discovered in the late 18^th century.

Most of the places we have visited have been so well organized and clean. They don’t have many homeless because they have very good social security, health benefits, and welfare. Most places are quite safe – the crime rate is low.

I think I have said a little about the indigenous people that were here for more than forty thousand years before the Europeans arrived. Their story is very similar to the story of our Native Americans. Interestingly enough, they are black, but intermarriage quickly brings out the white gene which is dominant. They were actually legally considered animals until the 1960’s when they were classified as human! They were treated quite cruelly; their children were taken from their families and sent to separate schools. Our tour guide said that by the time we left we would know more about their culture and problems than most Australians.

I am quite fascinated by the way Aussies talk. Some of them speak very quickly and they are hard to understand. They have lots of interesting expressions and are often quite funny. Aussie expressions: “Bit of a bingle”; “give way” is on the yield signs; they like to shorten words or add an o at the end; “chuck a leftie” (turn left); and the one you hear most is “No worries.”

What to do in Port Douglas?

On Friday, January 29, we flew to Cairns and took a bus to Port Douglas. We spent three nights at a beautiful resort hotel in Port Douglas called the Sea Temple Resort & Spa.

Suzanne at the Sea Temple

The rooms are in separate buildings surrounded by tropical gardens. The pool is a real centerpiece, meandering all over the place. Many of the rooms have patios which lead directly into the pool. Our room has a patio with a private garden and a huge bath with a whirlpool tub.

Well, and here is another surprise for me – we are now in the tropics! What a variety of climate we are experiencing. From the dry heat of the Outback to the humidity and heat of the tropics, from desert to lush rain forest, from low scrubby plants, rocks and sand to tall palms, beautiful flowers, and wet, muddy soil.

Our first day here we all went to see the Great Barrier Reef. We took a catamaran out to a platform that they built over a part of the Outer Reef. They provided gear for snorkeling which Don enjoyed doing.

Don is ready to go snorkeling

I was happy to look at the underwater observatory on the platform and then go in the glass bottom boat to get a closer view of the magnificent coral and creatures that live there. I never realized that there were so many sizes and shapes of coral. It was quite fascinating.

So many shapes of coral

On the second day here we went to tour the rain forest. Most of the original rain forest was logged and destroyed, but a small part of it was accidentally preserved and is now a protected area, a World Heritage Site. We visited Cooper Creek Wilderness and learned a lot about rain forest ecology. Our guide was very passionate about the forest. He taught us that everything was intertwined – the plants, the animals, and even the humans who used to live here. When they removed the pygmy population in the 1980’s they removed that human component and the health of the forest is deteriorating. Pigs were introduced when the first settlers arrived and they are now damaging the forest. However, since they are protected, you are not supposed to kill them! What a dilemma for someone who is so passionate about his trees!