Piha, NZ: An Ending Grace Note

In an effort to avoid Highway 1 on our southerly trip back to Auckland, we crossed over from the West Coast to the East at Wellsford, and then continued on Highway 16. Definitely a scenic route, but as the local we talked to said, not used...

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Kerikeri, NZ: Dear Ladds

Dear Sandy, Josh, and Roger, We brought only greetings from John's sister Diana, your friend and colleague when you lived in California nearly 20 years ago. Oh, and a bottle of wine, too, which went well with the lovely salmon dinner and...

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Northlands, NZ: A Gallery of Images

At Bayleys Beach on the West Coast of the North Island, fisherman can drive on the beach for long stretches. Ferns of the Waipoua Kauri Park rainforest. Typical rolling pastoral land of the Northland. After a hard climb at the end...

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Waipoua Forest, NZ: Botanical Wonders

There is not many a vegetable that we do not like. At home we have the thing called the sweet potato, and its cousin the yam, both of which we do savor. But here in new Zealand there is the kumara, a purple-skinned variety that makes me get...

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Brynderwyn, NZ: By Boat, Train, and Bus

It was a short bike ride to the dock in Picton from our little cove in Queen Charlotte Sound. From here we used a series of alternate modes to get us to the far north of New Zealand. The viewing deck on the ferry is better than any big-screen...

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Moetapu Bay, NZ: Goodbye, South Island

The Southern Alps are the major geographic feature of the South Island. This mountain range controls everything here -- weather, waterways, roadways, and the movement of people and their vehicles. So steep and impenetrable, there are really...

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Hanmer Springs, NZ: Canterbury Tales

For two weeks we crossed the broad apron of land that lies east of the Southern Alps and extends to the South Pacific Ocean. It is generally flat farmland for miles and miles (or kilometers and kilometers). It makes for easy cycling if the...

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