An overview of our holiday. We begin in Puhoi and Waipu.

Allie made a wonderful suggestion not long ago. She proposed that we take a three night, four day holiday and make our ultimate destination Cape Reinga, the northern-most point on the North Island of New Zealand. Road trip!  Woohoo!

She outlined a very exciting itinerary. We would leave early Sunday and drive to Puhoi for Mass . From there, we would drive up to Waipu where she wanted to hit the once-a-month market that town hosts. We'd have lunch there as well. Then it would be north on highway 1 to Paihia, and to the Copthorne Hotel. We would see Kawakawa along the way; where the famous Hunderwasser Toilets are to be found. (Don't laugh, these really are famous.) And we'd also visit Whangarei Falls. 

While in Paihia, we would tour the Waitangi Treaty grounds. We'd also cross the bay to little Russel, a picturesque town with an amazing past. It was once called the 'Hell Hole of the Pacific', where 'pirates, rascals and scoundrels' ran wild and there were no laws of any kind.  Later, it became the first capital of N.Z. Today, it caters to tourists and is very well behaved indeed. 

The highlight of the trip would be when we'd take a bus tour to a grove of 1,000 year old Kauri trees, see the beach in Taipa where the Maori first landed on NZ., have a chance to sand surf down giant dunes, see Cape Reinga, and finally, to drive through the surf (in the bus) along Ninety Mile Beach.

What a plan. And we did it all, and more besides! 

I have a number of posts and lots of photos to share with you. I hope that you'll enjoy seeing more of N.Z. 

Today, we start out by going to Puhoi.

So far on the trip, we have been travelling through well known territory. Once beyond the tunnel however, it'll feel different and our road trip will really begin.   

 Built in 1880, this the Church of Saints Peter and Paul

Puhoi was originally settled by Bohemian immigrants. Each man and woman was given 40 acres and kids got 20 each.

Not long before I took this picture Allie and the boys were having a snack at the table with Jeanne. 

Those are fresh almond croissants, warm from the oven. I bought a bottle of fig syrup to take home. 

I'm sure the town library is open at 10 am on Sunday morning because of the tourists. The lady working in it sounded much more like a historian than a librarian.  

Allie and the boys across the river walking in the park.  

Amiri is trying out the swing that reaches out over the river. 

We get on the road again for Waipu. 

We have stopped at a scenic turnout and climbed a hill from the car park. That is Great Barrier Island out there. 

Arriving in the town of Waipu. I didn't take any other pictures here. We enjoyed the market. I bought a jar of jalapeno pepper jelly. I wish now I had bought several of them. They are very good and remind me of the jars of similar (though not so spicy) jelly that I'd get each year from a sales rep of Robinson's.   -djf

The years go by

The other day, as I walked along an Auckland street, I noticed this sight across the street from me. That little buidling with the two interesting chimneys has almost disappeared as newer structures keep rising up around it. I wonder how much long it will last before it's gone?  

In my last post, I talked about how the crowds of people never stop and never stop changing. Well, the same is true about the brick and mortar and steel and glass. The structure of the city is in a constant state of change, just like the people are, but at a rate that's maybe a million times slower. 

For today's post, I'd like to show you some interesing old buildings. I wonder how long they'll last before some new project replaces them. Take a look. 

A few years ago, demolition was in store for this building, but then Historic Value arguments halted it. It appears it's still being discussed. As you can see, the use it's being put to now has fallen somewhat from it's glory days. A tattoo parlour, Balinese massage, money change and a souvenir shop might be keeping it from the wrecking ball though. 

Auckland right now is in the midst of a building boom. It's the greatest fit of building that I've seen during the going-on six years of my life here. Not only are buildings going up all over the place above ground, but the huge, new, deep addition to the train line is burrowing below kilometers of the city and will eventually connect above ground with our Western Line system. I've also read about a network of people-sized tunnels that were built beneath parts of the city during World War II to act as a shelter for the populace in case Japan attcked Auckland. There is a plan in the works to clear out the clay that was used to fill in the old tunnels. The clay was used to pack and preserve the tunnels should they ever be needed again, and it looks as though they will again see the light of day. That Really excites me. If you remember my posts about Northhead, you know what a fan I am of tunnels and caves. One of them I know passes through/under the hill that Albert Park is on.  I hope that I am able to someday do a post about my first trip through those tunnels. Another reason to keep watching this blog. In fact, here's some news about it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmrcC4gTmhc&feature=youtu.be

And check this out. I found that I had a picture of the side door that is shown in the video. This passageway comes off the main tunnel.

You're looking at history here. 

I'm not the only one who laments the passing of old buildings while acknowledging the need for the new. Sculptor John Radford has done pieces to remember some of the buildings that once stood on Auckland's streets. His works are in a park in Ponsonby. I'll do a post on Ponsonby soon and a separate post on the Western Park as well and show you more. To close this post though, I have two pictures of the sculptures in the park for you.   

This is in the Western Park. 

I was just walking along Ponsonby Road when I came across this...
 I flashed back to scenes from Planet of the Apes.  

A closer look at the bricks

You know, I think that those two old chimneys shown in the first picture should be taken down intact and added to the sculptures resting in Western Park when it's finally time for the building that they serve to go. I don't suppose it will happen, but Western Park has lots more room ...     -djf

One minute and fifty seconds in Auckland

I came across an interesting quote recently by author Alexander Sattler. He said, "I would rather own little and see the world, than own the world and see little of it."

I like that sentiment. It fits in perfectly with a post I wanted to bring to you today. I hope that this blog can be one of many mechanisms that will allow you to see a little more of the world. 

Just short of two minutes is a distressingly short look at a very vibrant and enjoyable city. But it's what I have to offer today. And I wish that I could expand the edges of the view that I show here. The view through the camera makes me feel as if I have blinders on. But at least this gives you a glimpse of what's happening early on a Saturday afternoon in Auckland. 

The money must be good, because on any given weekend, there are several to many buskers working Queen Street and the waterfront. This is a father and son team. And dad is clearly very proud of  junior because he has a note on this coat that reads, I'm his dad. 

I gave this duo what I thought was a generous tip and then proceeded to record them. You'll notice the lady on a bench is using her phone to do the same thing. (don't know if she tipped them)

The crowds never stop and never stop changing. I love to sit and watch the parade go by. Talk about cheap entertainment. Especially since the train that took me there was free. 

So, my suggestion is. Watch the guy and his son the first time through this snippet of Auckland life, and then watch the crowds as you listen to their song again. Pretend you're on the sidewalk.   -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLr31yjxs-g&feature=youtu.be

Merge

I have touched on the subject of Auckland's homeless people in a couple of posts. Once, when I did the post on the Symonds Street Cemetary and then again when I did the more recent post on K' Road. 

Any trip into the city means that when I get there, I'll walk past mostly men, but sometimes women, begging on the street. As I said in my K' Road post, they have without exception, been well mannered and they often say 'thank you,' clearly and meet my eyes when I give them a donation. I have been impressed. 

My post today relates to the homeless and what Auckland and the people of Auckland are doing to combat the problem of homelessness. 

My trips to and post about K' Road led me to do a little more research into the businesses along it, and I found one that impressed me. It's only open Monday through Friday, so it wasn't until recently that I had a free Thursday and was able to go there. 

This is Merge Cafe and the Lifewise Way. 

"It all started with a soup kitchen."

This cafe started out as a soup kitchen but at one point, the thinking of its organizers changed. Here is a quote from their website that explains it. 

"However, more has changed than simply the name. Over recent years, Lifewise has changed its entire approach to working alongside vulnerable and marginalised people. Experience, and evidence, shows that ‘hand outs’ simply don’t solve problems. In fact, traditional charity, despite best efforts, will often do little more than foster dependency in people. Add to this the growing inequality in New Zealand society and it would be fair to say that the charitable ‘band aid’ approach of old is just not cutting it.

Lifewise is responding to this by focusing on the underlying causes of social issues, rather than the consequences. Lifewise’s decision to close its iconic soup kitchen and drop-in-centre, in favour of a targeted service which reintegrates the homeless into houses, jobs and community in general, illustrates this commitment."

The interior of the cafe was as nice as any cafe you might care to choose along K' Road. In addition to a mix of individual tables and chairs, and long tables with bench seating, one wall housed a library of a couple hundred books. I was greeted quickly and my order taken. The coffee was excellent with the familiar Kiwi fern-leaf pattern formed in the milk foam that floated on top of the expresso base.  

Off to one side of the counter, there was an urn-style coffee machine with a bowl of sugar and a pitcher of milk next to it. Men would now and then pour themselves a cuppa and go back to their individual seats or to a small group of friends and continue their conversations. 

At the back of the cafe, an open 'garden' area was visible so I took my coffee and walked toward it. Unfortunately, just as I reached it and considered where to sit, it began raining so I moved back into the shelter of the main room. The picture below is of the garden area. 

I also saw a man working at a computer that appeard to be one that belonged to the cafe and I had read that wifi was available for anyone in the cafe. 

The menu of the cafe is very basic. Anyone can get a bowl of oatmeal for $2. Eggs and toast, omelettes, an even full Kiwi breakfasts are available, but are cheaper than they would be at other cafes. Lunch starts at $4 and I think they usually offer  3 choices. I plan to have lunch there on my next visit. I was too early this time, had already eaten breakfast at home, and so had just a coffee. 

The cafe idea seems to be working. It wants the patronage of people of all walks of life, and as I sat and drank a flat white during my first visit, I saw a number of working people stop in for a cuppa and a meat pie or breakfast muffin for takeway. (to go) 

I also discovered that they have a food pantry available when I saw several people stop in, go to the order counter, and walk away with a bag of apples or a couple loaves of bread. 

Those who can afford to buy an extra meal are encouraged to do so when paying their bill. 'Pay it forward' is the term used, and these extra meals will be used to feed someone who needs it. You can also buy food vouchers that can be given to a homeless person on the streets. 

The profits from this cafe go to further the Lifewise philosophy of reintegrating it's clients into society. 

This is a very worthwhle interprise in Auckland and I felt privaleged to be able to help out by paying forward a bit. I intend to continue to visit Merge whenever I can.   -djf

Bookends

Like a pair of bookends which define a row of books, I thought that I'd show you a pair of moons, which define the end of one year and the beginning of the next. 

Actually, that isn't really accurate. I should be showing you the moon on Jan. 1st and Dec. 31st of the same year to properly fit the simile. 

But these are the pictures I have and they'll have to do.  Maybe I should describe the moons as the parenthesis around the moment when one year became the next. 

I couldn't seem to get a photo of trees and sky to stay in focus when I took this picture. I took several, and this was the best one, believe it or not. There was a brisk breeze and that was keeping the trees in constant motion. Maybe that was the problem. It is the night of December 30, 2017. I don't like to use out-of-focus pictures, but I wanted to have something to show you where the moon was in the sky on this date. It's a good thing I took these pictures on the 30th, because, as you know from my post about the 31st, there was no hope of seeing anything in the sky but clouds that night. 

The day had been hot, but it was cooling off nicely, and I had decided I'd sit on the deck for a while and enjoy that breeze before trying to get to sleep. 

This next photo came out much better than I expected. Nice and sharp. I was resting my little Canon SX710 on a broom handle for stability and snapping away like mad, hoping to get at least one shot that was not only centered, but in focus too. And I did. (What a great thing a digital camera is. I'd have spent a fortune on film for this shoot in the old days.)

I'm very pleased with this shot. I can't believe I can see craters. No clouds at all in the sky. 

.........Happy New Year.......Happy New Year.......Happy New Year........Happy New Year........

These pictures are from the night of January 1, 2018. As you can see, it's still pretty cloudy up there. I hoped though to get a chance for a few shots.

For some reason, this is more in focus than the first picture.

There's the moon, and the clouds do give the picture some interest, but ...

The clouds are moving fairly quickly tonight. Maybe I'll get a chance...

This was the best I could do. There was only a moment or two of relatively few clouds that allowed me to get this, but you can see that it doesn't have the clarity of my moon on the 30th. I'll keep trying. Maybe tonight will be clear and I'll be able to show you something better. 

This one was taken on the night of Jan. 2nd. Again, lots of clouds moving by and it was lower in the sky than the one I took on Dec. 30.  More atmosphere to shoot through and more moisture in the air means that it's not as sharp as last year's moon. Still, it's not half bad. 

BTW, you might want to compare my pictures with some of the photos taken of the first 'supermoon' of 2018. You'll notice that mine are upside down compared to those photos taken in the northern hemisphere. 

At one point, the clouds parted a little and this star was visible. I wondered what would happen if a snapped a picture of it at a high zoom. This was the result of my pointing and clicking before it disappeared again. This is at about 100 power. Interesting.   -djf

December 31, 2017, The sunset that wasn't.

We continued our tradition of driving to Muriwai Beach to watch the sunset on December 31, 2017. Unfortunately, the sun didn't show up. The cloud cover was very heavy. We had a great time anyway.

It's working toward high tide. Some good wave action is starting at the rocks. I ought to go over there and take some pictures and videos.

I'm walking to the rocks.  Those home owners must love the view from up there. 

Always something going on at the beach. There were about a dozen surfers. 

Here I am just about to climb on to the rocks myself. The birds you see are gannets. No Hitchcock-like dive-bombing, these birds are not over the people, but farther out over the open water. They have a wingspan of over 6 feet. 

I have three videos for you to watch.  But take a look at this picture first. It was taken last year  on New Year's Eve. The first video you will watch of this year's NYE was taken from roughly the same location on the rocks. A very different feeling prevails. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ZVwt-CdoQ&feature=youtu.be

The next two were filmed most of the way back down the rocks, and close to the beach. You may recognize a couple of beach combers who brave the waves.  -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yShMgIe0fdg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa7aYforDso