There's beer at the barn

We left Whangamata headed for Matamata and the Hobbiton movie set. The road was still curvy and we even got some rain through the Karangahake Gorge.

At every turn in the road I marveled at the sight of the Tree Ferns. It looked like we were in Fiji!

Just before Matamata was Wairere falls. We decided to stop and check it out. It was still a bit rainy and it looked like a fairly strenuous hike, so we skipped it in favor of getting to Hobbiton. Guess what? The Hobbiton tours were fully booked for the next 5 days. Oh No! That was the first sightseeing stop we had on our map from the beginning - it didn't occur to us that we needed to make pre-arrangements. Silly I know, you should always think about crowds for popular attractions like this during high tourist season. We much prefer to leave our schedule loose so we can follow serendipity, so we get over our disappointment quickly when things don't work out. It's how we roll. 

So ... back to the falls we go. The weather had cleared up a bit, and we now had all day free. WOW what a gorgeous hike. We ended up feeling grateful that Hobbiton didn't work out because this hike was SO rewarding. 

It was long and steep and hot. We felt very accomplished to complete it - and rewarded with the waterfall view at the end. Melinda had stopped before the waterfall and took a dip in the stream. We picked her up on the way back. Jim took the lead the rest of the way. I commented that he was acting like a horse that wants to get back to the barn. He responded "There's beer at the barn."

Combined with our beach walk in the morning - we recorded over 17,000 steps this day.

The beach is closed

One destination on our list was Cathedral cove on Coromandel peninsula. After miles of twisty windy road, we reached Hahei where there is a trailhead to the beach at Cathedral cove. There was a car park with a park and ride sign that looked promising, so we parked and got on the bus to the beach.

Before we could get inside the doorway, the bus driver said, just so you know, the beach is closed. The oversized surf make for crashing surf where the beach should be, so it's too dangerous right now. This bus will take you to an overlook.

We figured looking was better than nothing so we got on.

The overlook was spectacular and we could see the crashing waves. There was a walk from the overlook back to town. We took that and found a fabulous picnic spot in the shade. Otherwise it was hot. So, we didn't get to see Cathedral cove, but it was still a memorable stop.

Back on the road ... the curvy, twisty road ... with lots of views. Our destination was set to a "Freedom camping" spot in Whangamata (pronounced FungamaTAH). I found it using the Campermate app not knowing what we would find. OMG - what a find! Check out this parking spot, view and direct beach access.

However, on closer inspection, we found signs that indicated there were only 4 parking spaces designated as free camping - and those spaces were already full. :-( Melinda and I were willing to risk it, but Jim said no - we need to be good and follow the rules. He was right, so we moved on to a pay-for campground in town. It was more like a trailer park, no view, tight spaces. But, it had beach access and the beach was less than 2 blocks away. 

Jim and I actually woke up before sunrise and walked to the beach for some sunrise photos. It was beautiful - especially because there were big rocks out in the ocean to frame the sun.

What we didn't bargain for was the surfers! The big swells that closed the beach at Cathedral Cove meant Surf's UP! Here's video of a surfer who caught a great wave.

Then we continued walking around the corner to the marina. Just beautiful. 

Camper Van, Horses and Heroes

On our fourth day in New Zealand, we picked up our motorhome from Wilderness RV. We chose this company and booked the motorhome several months ago because of the recommendation of Heath and Alyssa. They spent 3 months in one and highly recommended it. See their excellent video series on Camper Vanning in New Zealand. It wasn't cheap - approx $300/day - but we had to get the larger model to sleep 3, and we got extras like Internet service, and pre-booked Ferry.

See a little video here. After getting the instructions on how everything works, we took off, Jim driving on the left side of the road, and me feeling like I must be about to go off the road on the left side. White knuckles driving thru Auckland and over the bridge to the north. "Keep Left" "Look Right"  "Keep Left"
It's the right turns that are really freaky - crossing the the traffic to turn right on the far side. What?

Here is a little video (it's in the main Album) of when we first got the RV and are ready to take off.

We traveled about an hour north of Auckland to a campground we found in the Campermate app.

Our first night in the camper was just Jim and me. It was good to get everything stowed and get a little familiar with it before picking up Melinda.

After our one night, we drove back into Auckland to pick up Melinda and start our adventure! The whole excuse for this trip is that Melinda was asked to present her workshop on Equine Assisted Professional Development (see her website EQuusInsight.com) We were early for the Spirit Horse Festival, so we found a campground not to far and settled in for 2 nights. Aaaaahhhh.

I've known Melinda since the late 70s, lived with her in Lake Tahoe, and traveled together many times. We let Jim come along :-) He likes it!

Spirit Horse Festival

What a trip. People, horses, kids, food, camping, seminars - all on a gorgeous piece of property called Dunes Lake Lodge. Melinda gave two presentations: 1-Thinking outside the Paddock, and 2-Creativity in the Arena. She is a teacher - that is the bond we share - and she has been teaching and facilitating with people and horses for many years. She has a herd of her own on her property near Reno, Nevada. Jim and I know nothing about horses, we were just there as Melinda's support. Something different for sure!

Melinda's presentation on Creativity in the Arena

Here's a little movie put together from Jim's photos and videos.

Jim is still the Technology Hero

We were only there to support Melinda, but she made sure that the festival organizers knew that we were Technology Geeks - so when their WiFi stopped working, they came to Jim!

He saved the day. We actually called ourselves Computer Heroes years ago. And, when the presenters arrived at their session with only  thumb drive containing their PowerPoint presentation - Jim got them hooked up with a computer and HDMI cable to the big screen TV in the presentation room.

It was a fun time. Now on with the adventure!

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Auckland Rocks!

We met Grant and Ali in Wyoming last summer while they were RVing in the US. They invited us to visit their home in Auckland. We accept those invitations! We already had one night booked at a downtown hotel (Scenic Hotel) then we spent 2 nights at their house before we picked up our rental RV.
Grant and Ali call themselves Gypsy Rockers - they travel all over the world and their passion is dancing Rock and Roll! While chatting in Wyoming they told us of the Rock and Roll clubs in New Zealand and how they go dancing all the time. I said I'd love to do that - so they took us out on Saturday night. What great fun! Do these kind of clubs exist in the States? I gotta find out.

Sightseeing in Auckland

We did spend one day walking around downtown (that's called CBD around here: Central Business District) Auckland and the Maritime museum.

Then Ali picked us up and took us home with her! It feels so much like California around here. It makes sense when you look at a map with Latitudes - San Francisco is about 38 degrees north of the equator and Auckland is about 38 degrees south. The temperature is similar, the plants are similar - we're just in opposite seasons. It's summer here - January is like July/August. It's hot inland, but the water is cool - about 22 degrees celsius (72 fahrenheit) so it makes for cool breezes.

When we got to their house, we settled in the guest bedroom, then had just the best New Zealand dinner ever - mussels! What a treat.

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Sydney: 17,000 steps, a visit to Google, and the Opera House

We are in Sydney, and our hotel is very conveniently located. From our hotel to the Sydney Opera house is just over one mile, to the Google offices is just a bit more, and there's a lot of stuff in between. It was a beautiful day. Hot, but beautiful, so we did a lot of walking and were proud to see we'd racked up 17,000 steps for the day.

Especially nice was the pedestrian bridge over the Darling Harbour. How pleasant to walk across the water, taking in the sights and not worrying about cars.

Why did we go to the Google offices? I'm glad you asked! Some Googlers (that's what you call Google employees) who work on Blogger (that's what I use to make this blog) work out of that office. I met Fontaine in Mountain View, CA last fall when I was at the Google Product Experts Summit.  When I learned she worked in the Sydney office, I asked if we could somehow visit when we were  in Sydney. Not only did she say yes, but she arranged for us to have lunch with a few other members of the Blogger team as well. Google is renowned for the great, free, food in their employee cafeterias - and Sydney is no exception. There is a rule of no photography inside the office building, but Fontaine had someone take a photo with with her phone so I have a memento to post here:

Fontaine, Michael, us, Ste, and Jaime got together to talk about Blogger ...and scuba diving!

I've used Blogger for this website since 2003 (check the archives) and we've taught a seminar called "Every Traveler Needs a Blog!" dozens, maybe hundreds, of times over the years. On our website we have 2 learning guides for Members, and many more short videos. 

• Blogger – How to make your first blog
• Blogger – Enhancing your Blog

I'm a real fan of Blogger.com and it was stimulating to chat with some of the people who build the product and hear their enthusiasm. Keep up the good work guys! And ... thanks for lunch.

Maritime Museum

Google offices were just down the street from the Sydney Maritime Museum, so off we went. 

There was an exhibit on sharks, a presentation on "Our Blue Planet" and a very special presentation on James Cameron. I know him primarily as the producer/director of Avatar, but he's so much more. His passion is in the depths of the ocean and, in Sydney, he built the submersible that would take him to the deepest part of the ocean. What an extraordinary man.

The Sydney Opera House

Few sights in the world are recognized as easily as the Sydney Opera house. Part of traveling, for us, is to experience a place that we know so well in photos. Such was our excitement for seeing the Sydney Opera House.

We wanted to be there at sunset time and hoped to see the "sails" of the opera house do a light-show after dark. We had a little bit of time to take a rest-break at our hotel, then head out about 7pm for the 8pm sunset. OMG - in the couple of hours in between, the weather got cool and very windy. It felt like a thunderstorm was brewing, but our weather apps did not call for rain - so we headed out walking. The apps were right - it didn't rain, but it sure was blustery and cold!

The first sight of the Opera house was thrilling.

We walked around and looked at it from all sides, then found a table at the outdoor bar/restaurant where you can continue to admire the view while paying $13 for a glass of wine. :-)

Unfortunately, the light show that displays on the sails did not happen this night. Check out this YouTube video for a glimpse of what we had hoped to see.

Remember to check out our photo album for even more photos. If you "join" the album, you'll get notifications when be post more photos. You can also comment on photos. G'night.

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