Tramp to Pinnacles Hut - Coromandel Peninsula

The start of a short tramp in Coromandel Peninsula. We hiked to a DOC hut along trails that were historically used to log kauri trees. There were remnants of camps, railroads, steps carved into stone.


DOC has maintained the trail well putting in chains and rungs where it gets steep.


A shot from the top. We could see both sides of the peninsula from here.


This is the much hated possum. Introduced from Australia, it has no enemies here, and feasts on eggs of kiwis, and other NZ birdlife. They are thriving much to New Zealanders dislike and you see traps all over. There is a push to mix possum and merino wool in hats, scarves, sweaters to sell to tourists with proceeds going toward further reducing the possum number. This guy was scratching at the window of he hut as we played cards!


Remnants of a Kauri dam. The foresters would flood the rivers and float these huge trees down to the mill. A pretty awesome feat considering the size of the trees and the distance they were transported.

Boiling mud and fish with sharp teeth

On the walk back from the gannet colony we saw this thing flopping in distress on the beach, so we revived it and sent it back out to sea.


Town park in Rotorua where the smell is sulfur and there is boiling mud everywhere you look. Like walking on an eggshell, you get the sense that there isn't much between you and the center of the earth.


A winter's day in Rotorua.


Boiling mud. Need we say more?


A Maori warrior in Rotorua showing us what he is made of. Shortly after we enjoyed a hangi feast which was prepared in an earthen pit and cooked with hot rocks. Delicious!

Cape Kidnappers

There is a large gannet colony at the very end of this spit of land. It was a straight forward walk along the beach, but because our timing was off, we had to wade up to our knees in the frigid sea to get out to the end. Turns out that the gannets were all in Oz when we arrived, so it was an empty nest.


Rina finally managed to remove her down jacket and tie it around her waist as the sun came out and warmed things up.


Vivid green vegetation on rocks.


Picture the flat saddle in the middle covered with gannets. Must be quite a sight when they are at home.


Beautiful views nonetheless.

Rescued by the Haytons

Rina and I with Mary and Ross Hayton. Mary was our supervising doctor at our first job in Levin, and when we were asked to leave there on short notice, she and her husband very kindly took us in while we got our feet back on the ground.


A walk in the Manawatu Gorge, across from a large wind farm. A typical NZ day with rain, overcast periods, and even fine spells. Lovely native bush with bellbirds, tuis, and wood pigeons to complete the picture.

South Island recon

On a surreptitious trip to the South Island to investigate another job we were lured by the stunning wild west coast scenery. These shots are near Cape Foulwind, where there is a large seal colony.


Our prospective employers put us up at this cute beach house while we had a look around. Less than a month later we moved in and started working.


The longest swing bridge in New Zealand! And Rina is smiling.

Hokio Beach, Kapiti Coast

Drastic beach scenes. The deserted nautural beach continues for miles and miles without any sign of being built up. One might find the occasional walker, people net fishing, or a family picnicking after a drive along the beach.

Napier

A fine spell at the Mission vineyard in Hawkes Bay. Spent the day going from one vineyard to the next tasting the goods and learning about NZ wine along the way. Our guide, Gareth, drove the minibus, and that was a good thing.


Who knew there was a Beach Boys Savignon Blanc? Each year the Mission winery hosts a huge outdoor concert and labels one of their season's wines with one of the big acts. There was also Dionne Warwick Rose and Rod Stewart Cab Merlot.




After sampling wine, we went to Marineland to earn our 'Penguin Rescue Certificate'. My penguin has an undiagnosed inner ear problem so he can't walk straight or hold his head up. If you hold him wrong, he'll start flapping his wings to gain sensory input. Poor thing, in the NZ health care system, he'll never get the MRI he needs, much less any surgical fix.