Day 7 – The Northland – Bay of Islands

Today we rented our car, acclimated ourselves to driving on the left-hand side of the road (easy to do here as a result of light traffic, mellow drivers & the painted arrows all over the roadways for dyslexic folk from America) and began our 4 hour trip north.  So many things down under are counterintuitive for people from the northern hemisphere.  Besides the driving direction and the upside down constellations at night (as the Sheridans pointed out when they saw Orion standing on his head), driving north means that the weather gets warner.  The “winterless” Northland has a temperate, subtropical climate. A young Kiwi college student from this area, who sat next to us on the plane, told us that the temperature does not change much all year, but in the winter, it rains all the time.  On the road, Pete and I remarked how much this area reminds us of Northern California after a season of heavy  rainfall.

We stopped after 2 hours to take a hike to Whangarei Falls, a coastal rainforest.

It looks like Big Sur (Pfeiffer Falls on steroids!), but more densely vegetated. 

The redwood trees made us wish that the Lane’s, McWatter’s, Puerte’s & Bahe’s were all here to enjoy the coincidence.

Look familiar, Big Sur campers?

Many tree ferns block out the light.

We were amazed at the cleanliness and artistic whimsy of Northland’s restrooms.

Ladies’ room icon

Sorry to dwell on toilets, but this one was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian-born artist & architect.  He has works around the world, including Vienna, Osaka and Tal Aviv.  This is one of the few toilet blocks in the world seen as an international work of art.  It is in the quaint, artsy town of Kawakawa.

Hundertwasser lived here from the 1970’s until his death in 2000 and designed these public toilets in his signature style with ceramic tile mosaics, glass bottles and a grass roof.  No matter where he worked in the world, he called New Zealand home and set his watch to NZ time zone.

We finally reached the Bay of Islands and saw another artsy restroom.

It is Easter weekend for the Kiwis, and many desert the big city to play here. Sailing, fishing, swimming, kayaking, whale / Dolphin watching and . . .

Tandem parasailing are some of the ways to play here.

We were surprised that Treks has replaced wooden floors everywhere in this seaport town.

You cannot beat the seafood in NZ.  Its signature dish is green lipped mussels.  These babies are huge and delish!

Pete ate a hearty seafood chowder.  Much of the food down under (Fiji & NZ) is quite different from ours.  The eggs all come from free range chicken, and the yolks are a bright orange color.  Limes are orange on the inside.  Coconut and curry are ubiquitous.  Most of the beef is grass fed because NZ has so much grass, so little corn, and so much unpopulated space.  Organic veggies are the norm.  Because of its cultural diversity, any type of food can be found here–even Mexican and South American dishes.  You hear every language on the street, and the people are all outgoing and friendly with a great sense of humor.