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January 21, 2006

Goodbye New Zealand

We woke up after our big night out in Auckland, heads a little heavy and feeling tired. Craig had already run Karli to the airport, but we still had a full day to pass with him before his evening flight. The question was what to do that would require little concentration.

Huge rays at Kelly Tarltons

Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World was the answer. In 1985 New Zealand underwater explorer Kelly Tartlon turned old sewage tanks in Auckland into an underground aquarium. By running a 110 m transparent acrylic tunnel through the tanks, the public was able to stand on a conveyor belt and be taken underneath this underwater world that he had created, complete with sharks, huge stingrays, and an assortment of other fish. Nine years later, an underground Antarctic simulation environment was added complete with dozens of King Penguins.

Before leaving Auckland, we dropped in on another one of Sinead's cousins, Kevin, and his family. At their house perched on a cliff in the North Shore, we were treated to luxury with an ocean view and a pool to cool off in. Kevin showed us pictures from recent trips to Ireland of Sinead’s seemingly endless supply of first, second and third cousins. I was even able to recognise a couple of familiar faces. From their place in Torbay, we took a day trip to one of New Zealand's first surf beaches, Piha. While the east coast has picturesque white sand beaches, the west coast has dark black sand, making for a different beach experience.

Since we wouldn’t be able to see Greg while in New Zealand, we tried for the next best thing, his parents. Unfortunately our timing was off and they would be gone for the week. In true Kiwi hospitality, they offered us their home while we were in Gisborne. Now I know that Canadians have a reputation as being friendly, but New Zealanders win hands down. While travelling in South America we met Kiwis that would tell us to drop in on anyone they knew back home, friends, siblings, parents etc. This sort of hospitality has made us feel so comfortable in the country, not to mention saved us a lot of money.

Sunshine Brewery

Gisborne is a little out of the way from the main routes on the North Island, but well worth the trip. Right on the bay, it is the one of the closest cities to the International Date Line, and therefore the first city in the world to ring in the New Year. Surf beaches surround the town, making it an ideal beach retreat. Unfortunately, our first day was met with torrential downpour, forcing us to visit the local brewery. Sunshine Brewery was one of the first microbreweries in New Zealand, and during their early years supplied beer drinkers throughout the country with a fine ale. Since then, microbreweries have popped up all over, cutting into the market, and effectively reducing Sunshine's distribution to a couple major cities and the surrounding area. Only fifty percent of their market comes from bottle sales, and as we talked with the owner, locals would come in with their two litre bottles to get a refill at a reduced cost.

The weather cleared for our last day in Gisborne, and after popping in to see Greg's sister Kay and her husband on their lovely beachfront property, we were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful unpopulated beach of Wainui. Our time in New Zealand was coming to an end, and we packed our faithful car one last time and set out to our starting point of Hamilton for our last few days. Once again, Teresa and Michael went out of their way to make us feel at home. They took us for a leisurely stroll through the Hamilton gardens which has a beautiful collection of internationally designed landscape architecture that are very popular for weddings. On our last night we were treated to dinner and drinks at the Cock and Bull where I sampled the very tasty Buxom Blonde Wheat Ale.

Teresa, Michael, and Sinead

When we planned our trip, our intentions for New Zealand were slightly different and we constantly hear “You've been here a month, and have only seen the North Island? The South Island is the best part!”. We had obtained working-holiday visas, and planned to spend months here, working and touring around both islands. Upon arriving, our plans changed because while the thought of working in New Zealand was definitely appealing, the thought of actual work was not. We still have the travel bug, and we are not quite ready to hang up our backpacks and stay put. Once the money runs out, I’m sure we'll be thinking differently.

We covered as much of the North Island as we could, and probably more than most kiwis get to see. I've never thought of moving outside of Canada before, but after visiting New Zealand, I could easily picture myself living here. There are enough of the similarities that I like so much about Canada, but with it's beautiful beaches, barefoot tendencies, flat white coffees, sheep, fish and chips, creamy ice cream, sparce population, and amazing hospitality, New Zealand is a place that would be great to call home.

Click Here to see the photos

Posted by brett at January 21, 2006 11:55 AM

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Posted by: Wes & Barbara Baillie at January 30, 2006 06:05 PM

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