W is for Weather: 'it's geographical suddenness'

Coming down the state highway 1 yesterday the weather report looked very ominous - Severe Weather Warning! Northwest gales expected with gusts of 140km/h in exposed places.

Goodness me. But we were sheltered here in Ngaio, it was windy but not to the extent that I expected having read the forecast.

Then today. The clouds were blown away, we had a glorious big blue sky, windy but not that it stopped Shawni and I spending the late afternoon doing a 2 hour walk.

We promenaded along the Wellington Harbour, past Te Papa Museum, then along and past Oriental Bay, both the beaches were packed with sunbathers and even swimmers, before turning around and heading for ice creams at Kaffee Eis, another favourite Wellington memory of mine from 2011.

Late afternoon promenade along the Wellington foreshore.

On a return visit today for fish and chips and ginger beer at Mac's Brewbar, along the Wellington Harbour, I saw this extract from the writing of a renowned Wellington resident and I was struck by her words on the weather here in this beautiful city:

"in the presence of its geographical suddenness, the brilliance of its light, the ambiguities - and sometimes the trials - of its weather"

I am learning the geographical suddenness, the weather changes can feel instant and rather surprising too.

J is for Jerseys: The Wool Company

Excited with our special purchases.

Four years ago Fred and I landed in Auckland to spend 2 months in New Zealand following the RWC 2011.

We collected our camper van and started to make our way to Wellington to watch the Springbok's opening game.

After the first day we realised that we were ill equipped for the cold, even though it was spring. So our first shopping spree was at The Wool Company, in Utiku along the State Highway 1, and they stock gorgeous wool clothing.

I have loved my black mohair and possum jersey coat purchase ever since.

So today I returned and had one of those 'who would have thought moments', here I was again, this time with Shawni, both of us shopping for the same jersey, this time I bought one in navy and she in black.

Even in the New Zealand summer, the jerseys will come in handy.

C is for Cave Weta: another strange New Zealand endemic

Seeing our first Cave Weta

Wow, such super long antennae!.
As we entered Aranui Cave in a chamber called the Butcher Shop, because the formations look like carcasses hanging from the ceiling, our guide showed us the Cave Wetas, suspended among the stalactites on their thin spindly legs.
Another weirdly wonderful New Zealand endemic.

A is for Aranui Cave: stalactite and stalagmite wonderland

En route from the Coromandel Peninsula back home to Wellington, we stopped over at Waitomo, which means water that flows through a hole in the ground, a key tourism spot on the North Island.

There is a wonderful expression here in New Zealand - "World Famous in New Zealand" - and as Craig says, he had not heard of either the Glowworm caves or the limestone wonders of Aranui Cave before researching the road trip.

Bus loads of tourists did suggest that  Waitomo is indeed on the tourist circuit!

So we booked both tours.

Last night the glowworms created a wonderful spectacle as we floated silently beneath their green glows, thousands of them, with their fine webs waving in the light breeze waiting to trap an insect carried in by the river.

This morning we returned to the area, all rather bleary eyed after a rough night in a motel that was noisy, trains passing the rooms, and joined the tour through Aranui Cave.

The largest stalactite, 400 000 years old!

The collection of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, shawls and decorative formations were very beautiful.

Colours are leached into the formations and add another dimension, from ice white to a deep chocolate brown, however I love them with a clean, waxy, pearly white look.

We all felt that the cave was a magical, mystical place and  we were refreshed and energised after the visit and ready for the journey back to Wellington.

Chocolate fountain?

S is for Silver Fern: endemic and emblematic

A bushwalk up to the Aranui Cave this morning was a treat, our guide pointing out fascinating plants, leaves that were used to send messages and of course the most important of all ferns here in New Zealand, the silver fern.

Extract from the Zealandia website:

"The Silver Fern is the most distinct and easily recognised New Zealand tree fern, especially when viewed from underneath. The underside of the fronds and the stems of the fronds near the trunk are a distinctive silver-white, giving the fern its name. It grows to a height of 10 m or more and has a thick trunk up to 45cm in diameter. The base of the trunk is a mass of old fibrous aerial roots while the upper part of the trunk is covered in the bases and stalks of old fronds.

The fern fronds are a bright green on the upper surface and reach lengths of up to 4m, arching out in a circular, somewhat flattened, crown. Young silver ferns are green on the underside and it can take the plant several years for the silvery-white colour to develop."

The silver underside of the Silver Fern

Shawni approaching the entrance to Aranui Cave

B is for Bach: our spot on the Coromandel

The local museum in Whitianga had an interesting exhibit on what a bach would have looked like in the early 1900's, rustic, haphazard but easy living.

We have rented a bach for our time here on the Coromandel and it looks nothing like its earlier version, we have been part of the growing upmarket baches in New Zealand. We have Kindles, computers, cellphones, TV, microwave and dishwasher, all the comforts of home, I even grumbled about not having a grater.

We have tried to emulate the spirit of a bach, 'relaxed, down-to-earth', sometimes really well with the boys playing backgammon while Shawni cooks a delicious stir-fry and I read and at other times we get caught up in our busyness and the drive to experience this place we find ourselves in.

But the flat whites in cafe's with a sweet treat and our love of being on a path have made this a special place to visit.

H is for Hectic: finding hot water at Hot Water Beach, Coromandel

Hot Water Beach selfie

Hectic indeed.

We headed back to Hot Water Beach at low tide this morning to try find the promised hot water.  We gave up the first time, the rain and wind came down and it was just too unpleasant to stay. I nearly lost heart when we got to the car park and saw all the vehicles and people in a steady stream making their way to the beach. But we persevered, layered up, Fred with his GoPro, and we joined the hundreds and hundreds of people, a little bit sceptical but spade in hand.

The hot water comes up from a reservoir in hot rocks about 2km below the surface and filters up through cracks in the crust. There are zones along the beach that as you dig in the sand, the water gets warm and then it gets almost to hot to stand in. And everyone digs, they make shallow depressions to lie in, and barriers to keep the sea away, or at least they try too. Some brave and daft tourists were stripped down to costumes and lying in the pools of warm water with everyone else standing around or twisting in the sand to feel the hotspots.

We loved it, even though we were like sardines in a can, maybe it should be B for bizarre!

Digging, finding hot spots along with a thousand other people.

S is for Sailing in Mercury Bay: sea and just a little bit of sunshine and seasickness too

No one could resist the call of the sea and we went out on a catamaran for a sunset sail around Mercury Bay.

The easterly wind made for some lumpy seas but the cat was tacking as smoothly as it could. Smoked mussels and a drink, all sounds idyllic but my usual queasiness out to sea was a constant companion.

But we laughed. And the scenery is a joy.

R is for Rock Formations: Cathedral Cove, Coromandel, New Zealand

The must-see attraction on the Coromandel Peninsula is Cathedral Cove.

The approach is from a charming little town called Hahei along a 40 minute coastal trail. The rain held back, it was a moody morning but that did not stop us going to experience the huge arched cavern, nor did it stop a steady trail of visitors either.

The arch is remarkable and it joins two lovely, secluded coves, white sands and crystal clear waters. The view through the arch to the imposing rock is quite breathtaking. I will now need to hire the movie, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' is it was filmed at Cathedral Cove.

Enjoying our time at Cathedral Cove

Beautiful Coromandel coastline along the walk

Meadow at the start of the coastal trail to Cathedral Cove, good spot for our coffee too

F is for Whitianga: pronunciations are an ongoing challenge for me

Bird life along the water's edge

The past two days have been wild and wet, driving us indoors.

Today's weather, however, cleared and warmed up too. Enough for Fred and Craig to get in a round of golf.

Fred and I ventured into the light drizzle early this morning to walk along Buffalo Beach, named after the ship, HMS Buffalo, that was shipwrecked in the harbour after dropping off prisoners in Australia and then came to collect wood from New Zealand.

We are located at a bach on the hill above Whitianga and have 180 degree views across Mercury Bay and it is a treat to watch the ever changing light on the water.

I am no closer to getting my tongue around the Maori place names, and Whiti seems to be Fiti...either way it is very beautiful place.

The evening light is just as special, the beers are out, the gas braai is going, corn and mushrooms prepped, life at the bach on a good evening.

Gorgeous skies from the bach.

Q is for Quilts: meeting the Coromandel Quilters

Quilt Show, Coromandel Quilters.

I dragged the gang to a Quilt Show in Coromandel Town this morning. The Coromandel Quilters group exhibits annually, has about 30 members and do a challenge each year.

I chatted to Sharleen, in her early 80's, a very productive quilter and she had a Kaffe Fasset quilt on show, a pattern I have done too. Hobbies are timeless and the women are a mirrow image of my group back home.

A post for Carousel Quilters ; friends for more than 20 years, a wonderful group of women that are special to me and we make quilts that family and friends appreciate.

W is for Weta: New Zealand creepy crawlies

"Wētā have been around long enough to see dinosaurs come and go and to evolve into more than 70 different species, all of them endemic to New Zealand."

A weta in our bach!

Stick insect, 15 cm!

Seems to be the season to find some of the New Zealand 'specials', the notable Weta, strange and just a little prehistoric. This one had snuck into our bach here on the Coromandel and gave Shawni rather a fright.

And a brown stick insect that is huge but anorexic looking, the largest insect in New Zealand, with forever long legs, which landed up on the outside neighbour wall in Ngaio.

T is for Top Ten: New Chum Beach rated as one of the best in the world

Secretive and remote New Chum Beach

So this is what one of the best in the world looks like.

The access to the remote and secluded New Chum Beach, an hour north of Whitianga, is along a rocky promenade before cutting across a headland, the vista then opens out and it is stunning.

It could be Fiji, Bali, Thailand; turquoise water, white, fine sand, huge Pohutukawa trees provide shade along the beach edge, cliff faces drop almost into the sea, and an offshore island for interest, nesting rare New Zealand Dotterel's, gannets overhead, sea temperature quite moderate....

But the story of the day is Fred. He saved a little 6 year old girl from sure drowning, she was getting dumped by the huge incoming waves and getting dragged out at the same time. He was the only person who noticed, so dived in and lifted her out the water, one shocked mother and traumatised little girl. Our homegrown hero.

Pizza's at an idyllic beach kitchen called Luke's, started our New Year countdown, and 2016 will have many reasons for celebrations and for gratitude for life's riches and treasures.