Travel Blog

(Sept. 15 in North America)

I had a wonderful (birth)day. We went to beautiful places, and I got to paint.

In the morning, we went to Arai Te Uru, the southern headland guarding Hokianga Inlet. There's a whole Maori mythology about this marvellous place. Suffice it to say that it's a headland overlooking the entrance to the inlet with its killer sandbar offshore, rocky reefs, and tides that create huge standing waves as they roar through the gut. There was a light station up there years ago, but it's gone now and there are no remnants except an open area in the scrub and feral pelargoniums down by the beach.

Anyhow, from the top of the hill I did a sketch of the Tasman Sea rolling into the bay, then did another from down on the beach.

Tasman Sea at Arai Te Uru

This afternoon, we hiked a forest walk up through a narrow gorge to a lovely little waterfall and beyond. The forest was amazingly rich and varied, from tiny little antler-shaped mosses, to towering tree ferns and native palms, to epiphyte-laden Pahutukawa trees to massive Kauri up on the ridge. It was a true wonderland and probably the most wonderful place we've yet seen in New Zealand. And mostly unsung. There was nothing in the literature to indicate that this would be such a magical walk.

The waterfall was quite delightful, but I found the upper falls and pools even more gorgeous.

Upper Waiotemerama Falls

TODAY'S TIDBIT

New Zealand money is coloured and of the same size as Canadian bills. That's OK with the twenties, since they're the same green colour. But you must be very careful because the $10 NZD is exactly the same blue colour as the $5 CAD!