Tuesday: On our way to the Bay of Islands

Aline and I arrive on time in Auckland after a 13+ hour flight from LAX. Our luggage however did not make the flight... the wayward bags decided to spend the night in LA. Qantas promised to have the bags at our hotel in Paihia by noon. Paihia, the resort city in the Bay of Islands, is our destination today, it's about 135 mi north of Auckland.  This Overseas Adventure Travel trip to New Zealand is about to unfold.

We stop at Orewa Beach, where Aline, our guide Sue Walke, and I pose.
It's late autumn in NZ, so it is a bit overcast, but not too cold.

After about an hour on the road, we stop to take a short hike at the lush Parry Kauri Park. Kauri forests are among the most ancient in the world. The Moari used the straight trunks for their long boats.

 Barrier to protect birds feasting on fruit

Nearby, we stop for meat pies in Warkworth and eat by the Mahurangi River -- and feed the ducks. I had a "ground beef, onion, and cheese" one, Aline chose the steak. These are cheap (about US$2) and delicious. Aline also had an "apricot pocket." The others in our group were ready to riot since she snagged the last one.

Outside of Paihia in Whangerai, we stop at Robert and Robyn Webb's Native Bird Recovery Center, where injured birds are rescued, nurtured back to health, and released back into thewild -- unless they are too injured to fend for themselves. These birds remain at the center. Robert refuses to charge an admission fee because he feels all should have access to the birds. We pet Sparky the one-legged kiwi bird and watch him slide his long beak into the grass looking for worms -- Sparky alone was worth a generous donation.

Sparky hops around on one leg and pokes his long beak into the ground looking for worms. He would be easy prey for dogs and possums ("oppossum," in the States), so he is a permanent resident of the center and is a favorite at local schools where Robert speaks about birds.

Just before we arrive in Paihia, we visit the public toilets in the small town of Kawakawa,designed by the reknowned Austrian painter Friedrich Hundertwasser. Colored glass bottles provide privacy to the entrance. He lived in Kawakawa the last 25 years of his life and died in 2000. He said "straight lines are evil."

 

We finish the long day with an AMAZING dinner at our hotel, the Paihia Pacific - cooking our choice of meat over individual hot, hot lava rocks. I have chosen lamb and I watch it sizzle to perfection.