Posh Pooch?

So for all you folks in the Northern Hemisphere who are enjoying the spring time weather, fresh may flowers and all that pollen, us kiwis down here in the Southern Hemisphere are gearing up for winter - such that it is.

This is our first winter in NZ and so far it is not all that bad. A LOT more rain - think Seattle - and the temps are a bit more chilly - upper 40s at night and lower 60s during the day.  It is truly amazing how the kiwis don't let any weather change modify their daily outdoor activities and routines.  Every morning we still see the same runners training - rain or shine.  It can be a downpour outside with 20mph winds and moms are still outside pushing their prams with rain covers and walking their dogs.  We must adjust...

Li'l Ella being the very pampered inside pooch that she is, has not really taken to the cooler temps and rainy days.  ESPECIALLY when Lee makes her ride in the bikini top jeep after a swim in the chilly Tasman Sea.... what to do?

We made a trip to Animates (kiwi Petsmart) to investigate how the Kiwis outfit their dogs for the drizzly winter and you would be amazed at the choices and the fact that dogs actually do get raincoats and winter warmers here - it's not just for chihuahuas anymore!  We hesitantly invested in two items for Li'l Ella:

     1.    ThunderShirt - think UnderArmour

thundershirt!

i think i like it.... i think i like it...

     2.     DrizaBone Jacket - think Australian Oilskin

drizabone - more my style!

room to pee... i mean breathe!

Saturday - rain or shine - we made plans to go for a tramp to get out of the house and a bit of exercise for the whole family.  The weather was a bit chilly in the upper 50s and drizzling rain.  Lee tried to pick a somewhat less aggressive trail for his 35-week preggo wife and we ended up selecting the Huia Dam Walk.   The description said that most of the hike is on a dirt road and most of it is pram/stroller accessible, so pretty easy, right?

huia dam track

The track can take you to two amazing dams and the water reservoirs created by the dams.  If you choose to do the entire track it is 6km one-way.  We were thinking, maybe just a short walk since it was  rainy and just see what the Lower Huia Dam had to offer.  

We suited up - all three of us!  Lee and I in multi-layers covered with our Kathmandu jackets and Li'l Ella with her DrizaBone coat.

The Lower Dam is pretty amazing.  It's just a short (uphill) walk from the carpark.  It was completed in 1929 and is one of the most crucial water supply areas for Auckland.  The dam has a grassy front for grazing animals instead of a typical concrete wall.  The water overflow pictured below is a pretty breathtaking concrete funnel that looks like something from a 007 movie!

lower huia dam with water overflow cyclone

It was just a bit misty so we decided to go ahead and hike a bit further.  Then I see a sign for a tunnel - uh oh, we MUST hike to the tunnel!  Of course there is no indication exactly how far this tunnel is... but we set off in good spirits enjoying the time outside and peacefulness of the day.

suspension bridge over the stream

nice peaceful track

The only part of the track that is really suitable for prams/strollers is the lower dam area.  Although it is a one-lane, gravel road most of the way, we encountered some pretty steep hills and rocky areas.  Getting the extra 15 pounds of baby I'm carrying around up the hills required a few stops for doubled over catch my breath time!

The tunnel is right before the Upper Huia Dam - about 1.5 hours into the hike...  I just had to see it right?  Definitely worth it.  The tunnel is about 65m long and carved into the mountain.  It was really beautiful and worth the trek to get there.

entrance to tunnel

look at my belly!

The Upper Huia Dam is a more typical exposed concrete dam - amazing in its remoteness that man completed this engineering structure in the 1929!

upper huia dam

Three hours and 12km later, we returned to the car park.  All three of us were warm AND dry although a little knackered after the tramp.  Li'l Ella's posh pooch poncho kept her nice and warm... Success!

El Jeep-o for the Peep-le

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date"

Long lost love.

On November 20th, 2011 my darling Jeep was packed up into a container in Atlanta and, alone, made the long journey to New Zealand. The journey was not without peril. As any lad with google knows, New Zealand is most unkind to importation of older vehicles. They have strict vehicle standards which must be met to allow one to drive on their roads. To give you an idea of what it took to get fair-Jeepo over here allow me to outline:

1. Cost to transport in container
2. Concession fees in L.A. and Auckland ports to remove Jeep from container and "inspect"
3. MAF (Ministry for Biosecurity protection) fees to fumigate Jeep to eliminate any critters
4. Jeep inspected at importers location and deemed rusty = charge to sandblast and paint underside of jeep
5. Jeep still rusty, one month of Panel Beater work to cut out rust, replace steal, and have an "Engineer" certify that it was done properly....this took 1.5 months....
6. Significant monies to repoint headlamps, new driver-side seatbelt, new front brakes, grind rotors, patch small chip in windscreen, etc.
7. Compliance fees. You MUST receive a compliance certificate before you may register your vehicle to drive on their roads. After compliance for general import health, a WOF (Warrant of Fitness) must be obtained. You must get a new WOF every 6 months to drive. Luckily you must comply only once. 
8. Rego fees which gets us, finally, the tags....

My precious Jeep entered the container Nov 20, 2011, allowed to drive in NZ April 20, 2012.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder...

Jeep was, of course, taken straight to Muriwai Beach

Never again....never.

All that trouble to allow to drive on the roads.....nah..

Li'l Ella missed it too.

Bottom line is DO NOT try to bring any car to this country. They have plenty of suitable off-road vehicles for you to choose from with air conditioning, navigation, and heated seats. Try to figure out how to get the doors off of your CR-V!

Unfortunately Jeep did not get to enjoy a brights Summer's day... this year....