NZ- week 3/4

On the third day of owning our car, we already lost one of the wheel-caps! Look on the bright side, it still drives great and we are finally blending in with the locals! One step closer to becoming a Kiwi.

On the Coromandel Peninsula are some strange phenomena called hot water beach. You stand on the beach and dig into the sand. Just a few centimeters beneath the surface it gets really hot... too hot actually. So people start to jump up and down. The weird thing was that our feet were nice and warm while the rest of the body was getting soaked by the rain :-(

Just as last time we visited the Coromandel Peninsula, it didn't stop raining. So, just as last time we moved on . . . . towards Thames; the biggest city in the area. At the motor-camp were we stayed there was a local bush hike: "Rockie's gold-mine trail". It should only take 3 hours of walking, but we did it in 4. Not that our physical condition is so very bad, but it had rained the days before and, more importantly, we had to watch our step for at least half of the time descending next to the stream on very muddy ledges! It was still a nice "walk" though and we recommend it to anyone who consider themselves at least a "weekend-warrior" ;-)
Even more important, we finally were having the opportunity to visit Esther en Maarten v/d Heuvel - our local physical mailbox. Having no relatives or friends of our own living here we had to find somebody to be kind enough to share their address so we could register at some official businesses to get things organized. Maarten is actually a brother of one of Esthers' (now ex-) colleagues Jaap. They moved to New Zealand just over a year ago. It was quite interesting to hear how they experience the Kiwi way of life and how they look at NZ after one year.

We continue east and finally the weather is changing for the better - so is the mood of George... he just can't stand rain. The next thing on the schedule is a tour to the White Island. This is NZ's most active volcano and it is situated about 50 km offshore. Having been to Iceland we knew what to expect. Still it is fascinating, all the steam and bubbles and smell and colors... For safety reason we were given a gas mask and a helmet. If it is really necessary - I doubt it. When the volcano decides to blow, you are in the wrong place anyway. It certainly makes a good picture! Now we are really heading east.

Next stop is Gisborne. It took us about 4 hours of driving through mountains and forests....and nobody is on those roads! One thing about the road signs....sometimes they can be a bit depressing. There could be a sign: " windy for the next 23 km" and after that there's a straight bit for about 1-kilometer just to be followed by another sign saying: "windy for the next 45 km" :-) That is why everybody drives an automatic car with power-steering!

Napier on Hawke's Bay is famous for its Art Deco architecture. This town has been completely destroyed by an earthquake back in 1931. When they started to rebuild it they decided to use one style only - Art Deco. This area produces also good quality wine. Of course that means we had to join a wine tasting tour. This was a quite an experience. Starting at lunchtime, visiting 4 wineries, tasting at least 9 different wines at each winery, and that all within 3.5 hours... well, do the math!! We were getting more and more happy and chatty. I guess a real connoisseur spits out most of the wine after tasting, we thought it is a waste to spit it out :-)

The only sheep-leather tanning factory also happens to be in Napier. So being good tourists we decided we had to visit the (free!) tour of the factory. After only 20 minutes the tour was over. . . I was surprised how relatively small the factory was, but was explained that as the (sheep)farming industry is declining, the market for sheep-leather accessories is also shrinking. Most of the things they produce is for export by the way.....nice warm woolen clothes for those cold nights in the Sahara desert for example.