Hunt for Sea Glass

14-Jan -- We decided to go east coast style today and head over toward the North Shore on a "Hunt for Sea Glass"

One of our good Atlanta friends, Kia, has an obsession? fixation? mania? for sea glass.  I'm not sure which most adequately describes her love of this "garbage" that the ocean has tumbled into smooth, colorful, beautiful, gem-like stones.  Before she goes to any shoreline, she researches a database to find out where the best sea glass can be found!  She has been making amazing jewelry for a while now and wants to incorporate some sea glass into a project for a jewelry class she is currently taking.  

kia

After checking her database for NZ, she directed us to Thorne Bay near Takapuna on the North Shore of Auckland.  The beach is full of volcanic pools and rocks with some creamy golden sand.  The differences between east and west coast beaches are very striking.  West coast here is very similar to the black sand beaches in Hawaii and the waves are very Pacific-like.  East coast here is more reminiscent of the Gulf of Mexico - golden sand, calm seas, few waves.

Across the water you have views of Rangitoto - a volcanic island.  It's a wildlife preserve with minimal human habitation.  You can see tons of lava slides and tunnels on the hike to the top.

views of rangitoto

thorne bay

The sea glass pickins were slim to none although we thoroughly enjoyed the day.  Only came away with two frosty white gems to send back to the US of A.  As Kia pointed out, it is nice to live in such a clean, litterbug free country unless you are looking for sea glass!!

two lonely sea glass gems

Of course Li'l Ella made the jaunt to Thorne Bay as well and had fun swimming in the calm clear east coast waters.

frisbee tossing at thorne bay beach

doggie paddle

Kiwi-isms - how to speak like a kiwi

Even though this country's primary language is English (98%), sometimes I feel like I'm in a very foreign country!  Kiwi's have developed their own language for things and no matter how good your English (American or otherwise), you find yourself saying "excuse me?  can you repeat that?" Heck, I'm even doing that with my own husband when he comes home from work after being immersed in kiwi-isms all day!

Another common language trait that I think is a reflection of their laid back attitude toward life is the amazing ability to shorten words that don't even need shortening!  Kiwis watch "telly" (television), eat "brekkie" (breakfast), wear their "sunnies" (sunglasses), and so on and so forth.

Here are some "kiwi-isms" that have thrown me for a loop... enjoy :)

• Sweet As = That's Great! or very good (ex:  Sweet As, Bro!)
• Rattle your dags = hurry up
• Box of fluffies = I feel great
• "The Ditch" = Tasman Sea
• "En Zed" = New Zealand
• Gutted = disappointed
• Jandals = flip flops
• Knackered = exhausted
• Piece of piss = easy
• Sookie bubba = wimp
• Chips = french fries
• Crisps = potato chips
• Cotton = thread
• Shout = pay for (ex:  I'll shout you a beer)
• Thread = cotton
• Flag it = can't be bothered
• Slash = urinate
• Sparrow fart = early morning
• Ta = thank you
• Cheers = any kind of welcome or goodbye... no alcohol necessary
• Sauce = ketchup
• Takeaway = to go
• Wop wops = out in the sticks or boonies
• Togs = swimsuit
• Chilly bin = cooler
• Judder bar = speed bump
• Cods Wallop = rubbish, garbage, stupid
• Gobsmacked = flabbergasted
• Dag = comedian
• Flash = fancy
• Silly cow = crazy woman
• Cheerios = cocktail sausages (usually served with "sauce")
• Crayfish = lobster
• Freezing works = meat packing plant
• Tramp = hike
• Weather packed in = bad weather
• Push chair = stroller
• Footpath = sidewalk
• Tea = dinner
• Nappy = diaper (not the expected mid-afternoon siesta)
• Good as gold = all good
• Cot = baby crib
• Handbag = purse
• Purse = wallet
• Bonnet = car hood
• Boot = car trunk
• Windscreen = windshield
• Aluminium = aluminum
• Capsicum = any pepper hot or mild
• She'll be right = it'll be ok (no gender intended)

We won't even start with the Maori names for regions and cities.  I can never pronounce them correctly - and I want to because they are really beautiful words and names!  Most times I just want to say "Vanna, can I buy a consonant :)"

Container Update...

Our ship has come in!

Lee has been tracking the progress of our vessel as it came back into GPS range in the waters around New Zealand and it was on schedule to arrive 16-Jan at around 8:30pm.  The excitement of actually getting our stuff is killing us!

itajai express at 4:00pm

I went today to take what we hope is the final paperwork to the NZ shipping company responsible for customs clearance and delivery to our new home.  Everything appears to be in order and we just have a few details to work out with the Jeep once it clears the MAF customs guys.  Our last steps... last 7-14 business days of glamping in Titirangi :)

We went downtown to watch our ship come in, have a little dinner, and celebrate the approaching end of our container's journey across the great Pacific.  The weather was gorgeous and we walked to the end of the Queen Pier to watch as the Itajai Express rounded the last corner by Devonport.  Hmmm... 8:30... where or where is our ship?  Oh well, time to catch a beer at Brew on Quay and refresh the GPS tracking on the iPhone every 60 seconds :)

walking down queen pier

the "cloud" event space on queen pier for rugby world cup 2011

itajai green indicator - slowly comin' in

9:30pm found us back at the end of the pier and... thar she blows!!  The Itajai is a HUGE ship and needs the help of several tug boats to maneuver into her slip at the port.  We watched until we couldn't keep warm anymore and headed home.  The ship is headed back out on Tuesday and our container (fingers crossed) has finally landed in Kiwiland!

itajai coming into port

tugboats changing ship's direction

HUGE ship - wonder which container is ours?

High Above the Mucky-Muck

New Year's Day 2012!  (NYE 2011 in the USA)
Our first NYE in Auckland...  We decided to stay in as the weather was a bit dreary, but there's no ball drop or apple drop or peach drop over here!!!  Everyone waits for the US to do their thing - very disconcerting!  We did get to see a TON of fireworks from our deck.  It seems like kiwis are a bunch of pyromaniacs!  Everyone had the good fireworks over here and were setting them off like crazy for about an hour after midnight - pretty cool.


Thinking - let's start this NY off right - right?  Let's be athletic!  Do some exercise!  Get outside and breathe this fresh kiwi air!  OMG....


We picked one of the tramping tracks (hiking trails) in the Waitakere Ranges to tackle today - well, let's say Lee picked it after doing some research on the best tracks.  The one he picked is down near one of our favorite sites so far - Whatipu.  Here's the description of the track he picked:

Omanawanui Track is regarded by many as one of the secret jewels in the treasure trove of tracks in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. Despite a few sections of steep going the track rewards walkers with its sparkling water views out over the Manukau Bar and its mixed canopy forest. 

Ok - let's clarify here - "a few sections of steep going" - check out the elevation graph below!!!  How about straight up and down where you have to crawl on all fours and hold onto a rope?!?  No kidding, the going was a bit treacherous at times. If this track was in the USA, there would be guard rails everywhere or it would only be an option for true mountaineers.  

it took ALL of the 2 1/4 hours

we're going up yonder!

We parked the Chancellor at the first area to access the Omanawanui Track at the beginning and set off on our journey.  Thinking, yeah, 2 1/4 hours, no way, not us...  We always finish way before the estimated time!  Ha - not this time!  Round trip is about 6km, but the elevation changes make the going pretty slow.  It took 2 1/4 hours to hike the track and about 45 minutes to hike back up Whatipu Rd to our car.

happy dog

We took our trusty pseudo-mountain goat, Li'l Ella, along for the tramp and she had a grand ol' time.

I can't even begin to describe how beautiful this hike was.  You start off kinda slow and get to see some spectacular coastline views.  Then, as you keep going, you come out along the tops of these ridges where you can see Manukau Harbour, the Tasman Sea, Waitakere valley, and waterfalls all over the place.  There were waterfalls you could see across the mountains and waterfalls going down the ridges into the sea.  Simply breathtaking...  We were up in the clouds for a lot of the trail.

we climbed up and over that ridge

panorama from top of omanawanui track

waterfall bay

The Omanawanui Track is part of what's known as the Hillary Trail.  After hiking this part of it, we've decided to take on the entire Hillary Trail and complete parts of it over the next year.  If you are really adventurous, it's possible to do it over several days camping along the way, but I think we'll enjoy it more doing it in sections during favorable weather conditions :)

at the end in whatipu

For those of you who come and visit, this is a must see/do hike if you are up to it and have the inclination.  It would be great to do it with two cars - one at the top and one at the bottom with a picnic on Whatipu beach at the end.

West Coast is the Best Coast

The weekend before Lee's birthday we went a bit further past Huia. You drive through Huia-proper, cross a stream which runs off of the Waitakeres and across the road (need Jeep).  After the stream the road turns into gravel all the way out to the Whatipu scientific reserve (NEED JEEP!). It's a somewhat treacherous ride that takes about 20 minutes on the gravel.....but once you get there the reserve is not to be missed. The beach is a neat little "Crescent". Take a left and have a look at the fishing dudes tossing line into the Manukau Harbour side of the pass which goes to the Tasman Sea. You can climb up a hill and get a brilliant view of the Tasman and Manukau all at once....Ella and Lee took a breather here...

Like with all the west coast beaches, we are always amazed at how private the beaches are - it really feels like you are on the other side of the world.

left end of crescent beach

and the right side..

view of entire crescent beach from the hill

....turn around and BAM, there is manukau harbour...

...as promised...fishing dudes...

some sort of science-fiction happening out in the reserve

li'l ella needed a break

panorama of the whatipu crescent beach

The day after Whatipu we went to check out Karekare. A lot of the westies we met have family out here. It's a very small community that sounds the alarm when the surf is up. We were told that you can tell when the surf is good from all the trousers in front yards! The boys drop them off and head to the beach in the middle of whatever they are doing leaving the women drinking NZ wine on the patios!

The beach is again impressive with high cliffs and an interesting walk through some muck and streams to get out there.  The stream is more like a river as you get back to the parking lot and you nearly have to swim across it after a nice rain.

A pleasant surprise was a waterfall just 10 mins from the parking lot. Stunning.

waterfall near karekare

karekare beach

End of a Decade

Lee's Birthday is today!  Somehow, he gets to celebrate his birthday for at least two days since it is the 29th down here in New Zealand today and then the 29th up there in the USA tomorrow!!

The weather was a bit rainy today and Lee had to work so we didn't celebrate much during the day, but we went to his FAVORITE Indian Restaurant for dinner.  During previous visits, I think we ate here at least 2 times a week and when Lee was down here for work alone, he probably ate here 4-5 times per week.  The guys that work here got to know him really well - same table every visit, same beer to start, same wine with dinner and always the little extras like butter ice cream :)

The food at Nite Spice in Newmarket is really amazing and something to write home about.  Best Indian food we've had in any country we've been - although we can't yet include India in our countries visited...

nite spice, newmarket - auckland

We had the tandoori platter for our appetizer (kiwi=entree) with amazing tandoori prawns, lamb chops, and chicken tikka.  For entrees (kiwi=main) we had Chicken Tikka Masala and Chili Paneer with Garlic & Plain Naan.  No homemade birthday cake for Lee this year since we don't have our kitchen stuff yet, but we did get his favorite dessert - Gulab Jamun.

For those of you that have not had it, gulab jamun is traditionally served at most Indian restaurants although the flavor can vary slightly.  It is like a little round doughnut made from buffalo milk and deep fried.  The little doughnuts are then served in a hot sugar syrup flavored with cardamom and rosewater - very yummy!  At Nite Spice, gulab jamun is served with a side of ice cream - double yum with the hot sugary syrup and doughnut :)

Happy Birthday Lee!!!

Trip to Huia

We had a beautiful start to the day today and decided to go explore some of the beaches on Manukau Harbour and the cute little "town"of Huia (pronounce who-ee-yah -- we think).  The road to Huia goes through the Waitakere Ranges (Why-tack-er-ree) which is HUGE national park right in our backyard. The Waitakere ranges look like something from a movie set - huge peaks rising straight up from deep valleys covered in tree ferns and tropical foliage.

waitakere map

Along the road to Huia there are multiple bays and beaches to stop and check out.  One of the larger ones is Cornwallis Beach & Wharf.  The wharf has been recently restored and is the last of the existing ferry wharfs in Manukau Harbour.  There's no ferry service within the harbour any more, but tons of fishing to be had off the wharf.

The beaches in Manukau Harbour are very tidal and similar to bay-side beaches in Florida.  The sand is pretty sticky and you can sink over your ankles in some places or take a slide onto your behind if you're not careful!

cornwallis beach, manukau harbour

Getting over the ranges was a bit challenging for the Chancellor - especially loaded down with the two of us, Ella, and a backpack :)  Watching the speedometer drop from 70 kmh to 30 kmh as you are going up a hill and downshifting to 2nd gear can be a bit emasculating even for a female!

After Cornwallis and the hills, you come up to Huia Point.  It's a scenic lookout where you can see nearly all of Manukau Harbour out to the Tasman Sea and a beautiful view of Huia Bay.

huia point panoramic

huia bay

The little town of Huia consists of one general store that has a great cafe and is known for their fish & chips.  All the fish is fresh caught that day and it seems like everyone knows everyone there!  We opted to snack on some chips which are french fries.  You have to ask for "sauce" if you want ketchup.  The chips were awesome and the view of Huia bay from the store is breathtaking.  We sat outside on one of their picnic benches and just chilled for a while.

huia store