Last gasp of summer

I've been pretty neglectful of my garden this summer. In July I didn't feel like going out to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. Then August flew by when I went on vacation. By early September there wasn't much point to it.

But I must have gotten a good enough start in the spring that the veggies could produce unattended. This will probably be the last of it.

I've got two ripe (or almost ripe) pumpkins...

...and one still green pumpkin.

My Clara Curtis daisies are looking wild but exuberant.

Hey little guy, where'd you come from? I planted a couple balloon flowers in this bed two years ago, but none of them sprouted. Better late than never!

By the numbers

I compiled a few statistics about our trip. Wow, we were busy!

• Number of days: 15
• Different time zones: 5
• Number of time zone changes: 9
• Different currencies: 3
• Number of flights: 11
• Different airports: 9
• Total flight miles: 25,992
• Total driven miles: 769
  

Ma and I have been to five continents in ten months. Where will we go next? We discussed a trip much closer to home. We've been meaning to see some American wonders such as Yosemite and the Badlands. I wouldn't mind seeing the Grand Canyon again either. We also pondered a trans-Canadian adventure. Nova Scotia, Montreal, Vancouver, perhaps? Well, knowing us, we'll change our minds entirely by next year. At the end of last year's trip, I was considering Thailand and Ireland. And we ended up in Australia. So when we talk about Nova Scotia, don't be surprised if we decide on Portugal!

Day 15: A fond farewell

The shuttle to the airport was much smoother. Just stand at the front door of the hotel and they swing by to pick you up. Right on time, too!

We had mentally prepared ourselves for the long flight back to L.A. The time flew by! (No pun intended.) I watched several movies, a couple TV shows, and played some Sudoku. Whoever thought to put TV screens on the back of everyone's seat is a genius!

We arrived at LAX a tad bit late, so we had to hustle to retrieve our bags, pass customs, recheck our bags, unceremoniously pour out our water bottles into the trash, pass TSA screening, and hot-foot it over to the domestic gate at the other end of the terminal (lucky for us, same terminal). Whew! Despite the rush, we enjoyed this U.S. arrival more than our last one at JFK in New York (still the dirtiest airport I've ever seen.) Our one complaint: they didn't stamp our passports upon arrival (or departure for that matter). That's okay. We got some awesome (full ink!) stamps from Australia (twice) and New Zealand.

Ma's sister Peggy picked us up in Madison. (Yes, we departed from Milwaukee and arrived in Madison. And it was somehow cheaper that way!) We celebrated our trip with a meal in Cambridge on our way back to Ma's house.

Having not slept but a few minutes on the Sydney-to-L.A. leg, you would have thought I'd be beat. Not so. I had trouble getting to sleep that night, and the next, and ended up late for work on Monday, morning, too!

Our trip "Down Under" was such a blast. I think we hit all the highlights. A few final thoughts.

• I managed to keep the same water bottle the entire trip. Ma threw hers out on the first day because she said it was flimsy and wouldn't last. Ha!
  
• The guidebooks were a disappointment. Please, Rick Steves, start writing guidebooks for the Pacific!
• I didn't carry my purse much after the first few days. This time it was just plain annoying. I'm still not certain why. The backpack worked much better here.
• The itinerary was again a godsend. I'm so glad I took the time to plan.
• It was helpful to have gathered the sunrise and sunset times and put them on the itinerary. Each city was drastically different.
• I remembered to bring my bandanna. It was very helpful as a hair accessory, a washcloth, and a cool compress on my sunburn.
• I didn't end up needing the paper fan I brought. Ma didn't end up using her electric fan either.
• While not essential, the head lamp came in handy on the nighttime trips to the bathroom in Yulara.
  
• Ma and I both caught colds during the trip. Guess the Purell didn't work so well this time.
• My sunglasses ended up somewhere in New Zealand. The last I saw of them were in the Rangitoto Island pictures.

Happy travels, everyone!

Day 14: Haere ra, Aotearoa!

(That means "Goodbye, New Zealand!")

We had an early flight back to Sydney. Thankfully there was no traffic at 6 am.

Dawn at the Auckland airport. Serene. And cold!

As we checked in for our "Aerolineas Argentinas" flight, we learned it had been delayed for three hours. They gave us food vouchers. That was nice. We were optimistic. "So we lose three hours in Sydney...there'll still be plenty of time to enjoy the day." We hung out and shopped a bit. The plane arrived at the gate (shown here), but the boards didn't update with a new status. The time to board arrived...and then passed. Still no word.

As we sat at the gate waiting for the announcement, I noticed some activity in the vestibule which adjoined the jetway. Two police officers were roughly handling a man in handcuffs. They forced him to the floor and made him sit there while they talked into their radios. They hauled him to his feet and escorted him away. There was no explanation, but the rumor was that he somehow made it past security, onto the jetway, possibly onto the plane, and was drunkenly demanding that the crew begin the boarding process.

Eventually they updated the status to "delayed for another two hours", and commenced another round of food vouchers for lunch. They informed us that the plane had suffered a lightening strike on the way over from Buenos Aires and they had to fix one of the engines. It was beginning to look like the day in Sydney was going to turn into a short afternoon in Sydney. Finally they began boarding. We proceeded to sit on the plane for another ninety minutes while they supposedly fueled 'er up. The entire plane cheered at the moment we finally left the ground. The flight attendants weren't very "attentive" either. The British woman across the aisle from us had her call button on for twenty minutes with no service until she gave up. And it was unbelievably hot.

Our arrival in Sydney didn't go smoothly either. When we cleared customs and quarantine (they checked the bottoms of my shoes), we headed for the information desk to wait for our shuttle. (Our hotel was in Darling Harbour, and thus not serviced by the subway.) "The shuttle comes every 20 minutes." Yeah right!! By now we were wishing we hadn't pre-booked. Our wait was just under 60 minutes. We shared the shuttle with a woman and her son (from Hamilton) and an older couple (from Christchurch). We established quite a rapport. At first we commiserated on the awful flight. Then talk turned to politics. The following day was going to be the Australian parliamentary elections. Julia Gillard was facing off against Tony Abbott. Ma and I had seen the dirty political campaign ads when we were there last week, so we could speak intelligently about the issues. It was amazing how much the New Zealanders knew about Australian politics. And American politics! Americans barely take note when other countries change leadership. A disgrace.

Well, by the time our shuttle got us to the Holiday Inn, our wonderful day in Sydney was shot. We didn't get to see any of the cool stuff in Darling Harbour, like Wildlife World and the Aquarium.

We did get a few minutes to shop at Hay Market (photo taken at dawn the next day). It's like a giant mall. But apparently malls close early, even on a Friday.

See the monorail track? It literally went right by our hotel window. And unless you had the drapes open, you had no idea.

Haruru Falls

We hadn't planned on visiting Haruru Falls, but I was intrigued by a photo I saw on a post card at a souvenir shop. On the map, it was just a couple kilometers up the road from the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. In reality, it was like an off-road adventure into the wilds. I missed the notation on the map that said this was the road to the summit of Mt. Bledisloe. Well, it was certainly interesting.

(Turns out we could have doubled back across the single-lane bridge and used slightly more civilized roads to get there.)

These roosters hung around the small unpaved parking lot. They wouldn't leave me alone when I got out of the car either.

Haruru means "Big Noise" in Maori. It lived up to its name. We heard the falls long before we saw them. This waterfall is considered ordinary by New Zealand standards, but I really liked it.

Look, another rainbow!

Waitangi

We ate a picnic lunch overlooking the beach. It was very windy and a little chilly. We opted not to go on the boat cruise to see the dolphins and the "Hole in the Rock" out in the ocean.

Leaving the beach behind, we crossed the impossibly narrow bridge to reach Waitangi. The bridge was one single lane. There was a widening in the middle, I suppose in case you should encounter someone head-on from the other direction. There were several such bridges in this area.

Waitangi is the birthplace of the nation of New Zealand. Two significant events took place here.

• On October 28, 1835, British Resident James Busby joined 35 Maori leaders to sign the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand. The British Crown officially recognized New Zealand as an independent nation of Maori.
  
• On February 5, 1840, British sea captain William Hobson presented the Treaty of Waitangi to several hundred Maori leaders on Mr. Busby's front lawn. A day later, 43 chiefs signed it. Nearly 500 more followed suit over the next few months. New Zealand became a British colony, and the Maori became British subjects.
  

The treaty (and its annual commemoration on February 6, "Waitangi Day") has always been controversial.

Problem #1: The English version and the Maori version differ greatly.
Problem #2: The British routinely disregarded the treaty when it didn't serve their whims.
Problem #3: The Maori were not a homogeneous group. And not every Maori tribe signed it.

You can see where this would all get quite messy.


This is the Residency, or home of the British Resident. At the time of the Treaty of Waitangi, that would have been James Busby. The house was pre-cut in Sydney and shipped to New Zealand. Mr. Busby had asked for a much more impressive building, something befitting an official the realm, but alas, he made do with its four rooms. The gardens surrounding it were well-tended, then and now. Today, its interior serves as a museum.

They called Mr. Busby a "man o' war without guns". Indeed, he had very little authority, and absolutely no way to enforce it. I think he was probably a pretty good diplomat, though. He lived in a savage land, and must have made enough local native friends to keep himself and his family from being slaughtered out here at world's end.

Here's a diorama of the Treaty Grounds as they would have looked on February 6, 1840. The tents were for the Maori tribesmen. The house (left) was the residence of James Busby and his family.

This flag pole was erected in the exact spot the Treaty of Waitangi was originally signed. The flags are the United Tribes of New Zealand (left), New Zealand (top) and Great Britain (right). The United Tribes (Maori) flag was created back in 1835. It gave locally built and/or berthed ships a unique flag to fly in international waters (and perhaps in hope of legitimizing the sovereignty of New Zealand to its neighbors and potential colonizers).

This is a traditional Maori meeting house (Te Whare Runanga) erected in 1940 for the Treaty Centenary Celebrations. Maori meeting houses typically are decorated to represent one tribe. This house is special. Each carved panel, roof beam, etc. represents a tribe, and they all come together in harmony.

See? Each piece is unique. Shoes off here.

I liked this one a lot. The eyes were paua shells (like abalone). Notice the unique patterns on the woven mats, too.

What's up with the reptiles substituting for (or consuming) genitalia? That was a consistent theme throughout the building.


Relaxing on the porch.

Yowser! This canoe was enormous. I heard a guide say that it was 6 tons dry, and 12 tons wet. They bring it out on Waitangi Day, and it is crewed by 80 warriors (another 8 tons or so).

Its name is Ngatokimatawhaorua. I guess that's why it's 35 meters long, just to accommodate it.

The canoe was made from three giant kauri trees. One for the hull (foundation), and two for the elaborately carved gunwales (top carved portion), stern, and prow. It is an homage to the canoe Kupe used to sail across the sea from Hawaiki.

I learned how the Maori seafarers were able to travel such long distances on such meager vessels (meager by western standards). They would tow behind them strings of a particular species of mussel. The mollusks provided fresh meat. But even more importantly, when they brought the creatures out of the water, they would perspire fresh water that the travelers could lick off to satisfy their thirst.


This wasn't the stump of one of the three kauri trees, but it was here to give you some idea of how big they were. I'd venture a guess that it was more than 8 feet across.

Same stump, viewed from the side.

Kauri trees were greatly valued by both the Maori and the Europeans. Both peoples appreciated their size, strength, and straightness, not to mention the priceless kauri gum (something akin to amber) that the trees produced. The gum's uses varied between tattoo ink, varnish, resin or even jewelry. Kauri wood is ideal for shipbuilding. It is nearly impervious to rot. It didn't take long for the giant kauri forests to be devastated by human beings (Maori and Europeans). A few still survive in the Northland. The best ones are on the opposite coast from Paihia.

Day 13: On the road again

Our drive today will take us 468 km (290 miles) round trip. About five hours, you say? Try seven!

When I was putting together our itinerary, I remember thinking to myself, "Boy, those are going to be some grueling days in the car. Fourteen hours over two days? I hope this isn't an enormous mistake." But I went with my gut and decided that the long hours on the road would be worth it. I'm sure glad I kept everything in. Not only was it an opportunity to see some cool stuff we wouldn't have seen in Auckland, it forced us to "get out" and get a taste of local life. And the drive didn't feel that long to me. There was so much beautiful countryside to look at, the time just flew by.

Travelers' tip: When crossing the bridge on the Northern Motorway leaving Auckland, pick lane 1 or 2 (far left). Do not attempt any of the center lanes like I did.

I about had a heart attack while crossing the bridge. It was so narrow and the opposite traffic was inches away from you.

Right after this bridge you had to make a choice. Either stop in Dairy Flat and pay the toll (yes, you actually have to pull off the road and get out to pay the toll; there are no toll booths), or use the free "scenic" bypass. Ahem, it was scenic all right. You could see straight down to the bottom of the chasm you were precariously driving along.

I'm probably making it sound awful, but it wasn't so bad.

The green in this picture doesn't do it justice. It was the "greenest" green ever.

I have to say a few words about the condition of the roads. They were in good repair, but there's no way the U.S. would have put up with them. Too steep. Too narrow. Too curvy. Too slow. The lanes were barely wide enough for our subcompact car. I would hold my breath when we passed logging trucks and tour buses (or when they passed us!). The road clung to the sides of cliffs. The hairpin turns had Ma clutching the door handle which, in her words, "kept the car on the road". The speed limit varied between 35 kph (21 mph) for the tight corners and steep grades, and 110 kph (68 mph) for the few open flat parts, with the most common speed limit being 80 kph (50 mph). The majority of the journey consisted of one lane in each direction, punctuated by a periodic third passing lane. The passing lane was clearly marked for use for a single direction. But the Kiwis routinely used it for both directions. It's a wonder these people survived.

The constantly changing weather surprised us with clear skies followed by stupendous rainbows.

Oooh. Pretty.

This thatch-covered structure is the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa. It was a quick pit stop a dozen or so kilometers south of Paihia.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an eccentric designer from Austria. His works can be seen anywhere from Vienna to Osaka. But he made the tiny burg of Kawakawa his home for 27 years. He designed these public toilets which showcased his signature style consisting of wavy lines, white tile, and colored glass objects.

Quirky. Asymmetric. Very cool.

The bathroom wasn't very big, but it was unique.

Check out the toilet. It had a polished wood seat. It was a nice contrast against all that ceramic and glass.

Recycling can be beautiful. I think I'll just grab all the spare materials from my last remodel and turn them into a masterpiece. Just kidding.

At last. Arrival in Paihia. The first thing I wanted to do was stick my hand in the Bay of Islands.