Meghan On Amelie-November 2015

For almost a year, we have been constantly saying "When we get to New Zealand, I am going to...." and now, we are here: New Zealand, home of the All Blacks, home of Middle Earth, whatever you want to call it, we're there!  We have made it across the South Pacific and it is the first non-tropical country we have sailed to so far.

It was very clear from the moment we stepped out of the airport that we were no longer in a tropical country.  Luckily, it is spring, almost summer so we didn't have too much of a rude shock but it does get quite cold at night and in the morning and we have now had to dig out our Peruvian sweaters we have kept stowed away since February.  I don't actually mind the weather hovering around 18-25 degrees C because I was never really a fan of the sweating-up-a-lake weather. 

Auckland, The City of Sails

Either than the ocean and the constant hearing of the word "mate" (okay, maybe not that constant), it kind of felt like coming home to Calgary again.  It felt kind of weird being in such a civilized and modern city again.  At restaurants, I would sometimes hesitate when ordering since I was not used to so many different options

Auckland is a nice city.  It is very clean, garbage wise, has a great waterfront view (obviously, since it is the City of Sails) and has such helpful people.  Many people just walking down the street have gone out of their way to show us directions or just help us out.  We even had Missy Bear, a bear mascot, give us directions one day (long story)!

On our first day, we explored all of downtown Auckland including the famous City Sky Tower.  If you are walking almost anywhere near downtown, you will see the Sky Tower if you look up.  It is 328 metres tall (taller than the Calgary Tower but smaller than the CN Tower).  

Standing at the top, you can see the whole city.  Here are some birds eye view pictures of the city of Auckland.  

There are many levels on the Sky Tower, including some which are outdoor.  On one of the outdoor levels, you can walk around the tower but, now here's the catch: at 194 metres above the ground!  Also from where I was standing (inside), I could see a red mat on the ground with a target in the middle.  I was starting to wonder what that could be for when I saw someone come flying past the window.  In a few more seconds, I found out that the target was where the Sky Jumper (a guy wearing a harness going down a wire) landed!

Interestingly enough, the tower has antennae at the top (which you can see if you look at it) which is used for electricity and powers many homes.  The tower is also Auckland's primary radio transmitter.  

We also went to see the waterfront and fish market.  Auckland is really the City of Sails!  Every afternoon, there are tons of race boats sailing out in the bay and the marinas are packed with sailboats.  

On day two, we bought a car!  That sounds a bit shocking and maybe impulsive but it's not as odd as it sounds!  We had been planning to buy a camper van in New Zealand to do some inland touring for about a month in January-February.  However, it was really hard to find a van that sleeps four or even seats more than two.  We ended up finding a 1998 Toyota van that seats 5 and sleeps two.  In this case, we have a tent which Matthew and I have been nominated the sleepers of (I was not part of this nomination process, just so you all know - Dad just says 'You'll like sleeping on the ground, it builds character')

Here are some other pictures of the zoo, aquarium, and museum we went to see in Auckland (which I took all myself). 

                         

Opua and Northland

Opua is the northernmost, most common port of entry into New Zealand and it was where we met up with my dad and the crew.  The four hour drive up from Auckland was spectacular.  Every time we'd turn a corner, we'd have this incredible view but by the time I got my camera out, we had turned a new corner with another breathtaking scene!    It is just beautiful farmland plains one after the other.  I went four hours with almost never looking away from the window!  I have only been in New Zealand for about two weeks and I already think it is one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world!

We met up with my dad and the crew in the morning since they had arrived the night before at 9:30 in the pouring rain.  They were all quite tired but it sounded like the crossing had been good.  They said that they were comfortable the first five days and then just the last two and a half days, they had to pound upwind.  They caught a 25 lbs Bigeye Tuna and were welcomed into Opua Bay with dolphins!

Opua, if it was a city, should have also be named the city of sails.  I really enjoy watching the racing boats zip through the bay every night.  Again, it feels so strange (in a good way) to be in such a civilized port since we never sailed to the United States or Canada.  There are only specific channels we are allowed to talk on on the radio and there are weather announcements about every hour. 

Last weekend, we decided to take the van for a "test run" and go explore the Northland (the northernmost part of the north island).  

We stopped to see the 90 mile beach (no, we did not walk the entire 90 miles, thankfully!).  On the sand dunes of the beach, we went tobogganing... boogie board style!  The hill was basically an 100 foot climb at almost  90 degrees steep but the ride down was worth it!

See my dad's short video of us sand dune tobogganing at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VUiS5f1G3s

Also, we went to see Cape Reinga, the very north peak of New Zealand, overlooking only open ocean. 

Then, we did a short hike to see the largest and the second largest kauri tree in the world.  The kauri tree is a very tall tree that is endemic to New Zealand and very sacred to the Maori aboriginals.  The oldest living tree is believed to be about 2000 years old!

The largest one is called Tane Mahuta (Maori for 'Lord of the Forest') and it is 51.5 metres tall in total and 13.8 metres in circumference!  The second largest one is called Te Matua Ngahere (Maori for 'Father of the Forest') and is shorter in height but larger in circumference (this one is believed to be the 2000 year old one!).

Finally, here are some interesting facts about New Zealand to leave you with:

-There are more sheep in New Zealand than people

-All three "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" movies were filmed entirely in New Zealand

-Rugby is the most popular sport to watch in New Zealand

-The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa 

-The flightless Kiwi bird is New Zealand's national animal

-The word "Kiwi" is another word for New Zealander

PS: South Pacific Video

Stay tuned for Amelie IVs South Pacific video (our adventures from Galapagos to Fiji) coming soon!