Haere Mai Ki Kororareka

Kororareka is a town on the Bay of Islands. Kororareka is actually NOT the name of the current town, it is the original Maori name and it means “Sweet Penguin”. Legend has it that a Maori chief, who was wounded in battle, asked for penguin and after drinking some of the broth he murmured: “Ka reka te korora” which translates to ‘how sweet is the penguin’!

The town’s actual name today is Russell. It was named Russell in 1844 and for a short time served as the capital of New Zealand, although locals still refer to it by its Maori name. It has gone by other ‘names’ as well:

• Hell Hole of the Pacific - during the glory days of whaling ships on the world’s oceans, this town was a common port for these ships and as a result became a den of prostitution, taverns and other sins of men who lived the sea;
• Sword-Fishing Capital as made famous by American author Zane Grey
• Tourist friendly and quaint Russell of today

Russell is situated on a peninsula that juts into the bay, and as such is somewhat isolated and has an ‘island vibe’ to it. It has a very deep harbor which allowed the large schooners and whaling ships to enter its port and was better accessed by the sea than by road or trail. Tall Sailing Ships from all over the world came here during the 1800‘s including even those famous whalers from New Bedford Massachusetts (my home state).  The common whale that was hunted were Sperm Whales which were plentiful in this part of the world. You may already be familiar with Sperm Whales as they were the most characterized type of whale, long before we learned of the songs of the Humpback, the size of the Blue Whale, etc. The Sperm Whale was made famous in the novel Moby Dick and have that classic, if not iconic profile of a whale we all envision as kids.

During this period of whaling, the town gained a reputation as a lawless and bawdy port. The British Government began to hand out more severe punishment and justice and soon the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. The local Maori resisted some of the British laws and taxes and the town was repeatedly sacked by Maori Warriors.

As the whaling industry waned, the town became a quieter place and soon became a popular summer holiday location. The American writer and sportsman Zane Grey helped establish the Bay of Islands, and Russell into a center for deep sea game-fishing. Eventually Russell was connected to other populated towns via road by 1930. 

Today the population is about 1,000 residents. It is a common tourist stop, usually from the larger and more accessible town of Paihia (where I am staying). Small family run ferry boats take you back and forth across the bay.

Today, I took that ferry and spent 1/2 a day touring the old whaling waterfront, the local museum, etc. In Russell I saw the first church erected in New Zealand, the first petrol station in New Zealand, and a lot of history on the local Maori tribe and whaling industry. I took the time to enjoy lunch at a family-run cafe along the Russell waterfront, but was disappointed that they did not serve “Sweet Penguin” on the menu.

I saw replica’s of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour that was the first European ship to discover New Zealand. The french came soon after, as did the Americans. I saw exhibits of the various Maori weapons, some made from whalebone, some from stone.  I read from the Endeavour’s ship logs and log books form other vessels that visited Kororareka.

The rest of the day, not so exciting. Laundry day! As a result, I decided not to make the drive to Whangarei tonight for the Tonga vs Japan match. Watching from Paihia instead. Tonga lead 12-10 currently in case you were on the edge of your seat, dying to know. Still early though, the Japanese can come back. Tomorrow, I hope to visit the historical site of Waitangi which is the most sacred place for all Kiwis: Maori and white-man alike. It is the site of the treaty signing. It is literally right down the road from me.

Meanwhile, Paihia has had a distinctive European flavor. Early this week it was full, and I mean FULL of Irish. A few are still here, but many are beginning to make there way to other parts of New Zealand as the Irish rugby team prepares to play Russia later this weekend. IN their place, we have been invaded by the French! The French have invaded the Northlands as ‘Les Blues’ will take on New Zealand on Saturday night, about 3 hrs away in Auckland. I’ll be there for that match. The Kiwis are all nervous about playing the French even though it is still the round-robin pool play. Despite The All Blacks being the number 1 team in the world for what seems like forever, they have never really fared well in the World Cup. In fact, South Africa and Australia have both won it multiple times whereas the Kiwis only have won it once. The only Northern Hemisphere team to win has been the English. The French though have come close and are one of the best in the world. Plus, the French have typically been the team to knock the Kiwis out, so needless to say....the natives are restless about Saturday’s match.

Finally, some pictures from the Bay of Islands:

Dolphin Encounter in Bay of Islands

Today was a free day, one of several this week. This week I spending in the Northland Region’s town of Paihia. It is located on the beautiful Bay of Islands. This expansive bay is home to:

• 144 different islands, all shapes and sizes. None are inhabited as they are declared a National Land Conservatory. Visitors can visit the islands but must be off the island by night fall. The one exception is one of the largest islands, where camping is allowed.
• Several different species of dolphins and whales including: Bottle-nose, Dusky and Orcas
• Many different sea birds
• Seals
• Sheep - the government put sheep on the larger island to have them eat the grass and keep it very short and lessen the fire hazard

So, what did I do on my first full day? I enjoyed a Kiwi breakfast at a sidewalk cafe overlooking the bay! Today was one of the first days of full sunshine since I arrived over a week ago. So I took full advantage exploring the small village on foot, waterfront and shops. But the highlight was an afternoon cruise on the Bay of Islands.

On the Water

So at 1:30pm I embarked on a 3 hour cruise, not unlike the S.S. Minnow on Gilligan’s Island. But this was much safer. The sun was out, but the strong Westerly trade winds were blowing at close to 20 knots. It made for a chilly day on the bay. The tour bout was a sleek catamaran motorboat, and I was situated on the roof which provided a great viewing platform  in all directions but honestly, was not the warmest spot on the boat.

The skipper provided us a very useful, if not funny safety message, including this message:  “he’d appreciate if we did not fall out of the boat, as it would require a great deal of paperwork, regardless if we were ever located or not”. With that in mind we set out on the tour.There are several highlights to these tours, but most spectacularly are the ‘Hole in the Rock’ and ‘Dolphin Encounters’.

For us this afternoon, the Dolphin Encounter happened first. We were in a shallow part of the bay, between several rocky islands, when we spotted a small pod of Bottle-nose Dolphins hunting and feeding as a pack. We creeped up on them, as if they would not notice our giant yellow boat! Once we were amongst them, they seemed to sense that and began circling the boat, flapping tails, and poking heads out to spy on us. IF we had been lucky enough to encounter Dusky Dolphins, well they are known for crazy, acrobatics just to have fun and generate claps from the boat. These are NOT TRAINED DOLPHINS though. But they have a natural curiosity and affinity to humans. In the summer months, this tour operates and allows you to get into the water with them which is incredible. But, since this was Winter/Early Spring....nobody really was ready to dive in despite the Skipper’s open invitation to do so.

We hung around a good 15 minutes and enjoyed watching this pod who seemed to enjoy watching us just as much. The Skipper warned us that as we turned to head away, and picked up speed, he told us to look closely at the stern of the boat, at the immediate wake, and we would see the dolphins playing in the wake, almost as if jumping into the boat from directly behind. Sure enough, we saw 10 breaches whereby the dolphins jumped out of the white foamy wake directly behind us. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough to catch those breaches on film. Should have brought my camcorder I guess.

Hole in the Rock

Once we left the dolphins we went past some of the outer islands and eventually into the open South Pacific Ocean. The water was much deeper blue, much bigger swells, and offshore winds. A bit down the coast now, we saw a towering rock island. The mainland coast was just to the right, with a lighthouse standing guard. And then once we got close, and at the right angle, we saw it, the HOLE IN THE ROCK. It was if a tunnel had been blasted through this monstrous rock island. The captain explained that normally the take you through the hole in the rock, but the wind and swells today would not allow it. Honestly, none of us were surprised as the Boat was really rocking and rolling in the swell and being blown dangerously close to the rock. So the captain rotated the boat so all got a good photo opportunity of the Hole in the Rock. 

Just as we thought we were going to turn about, he lined us up and stated “to hell with it, we’re going through! Duck!” and he jammed the throttle forward and we raced through the tunnel of solid rock and out the other side. The boat seemed to barely fit through and those of us on the roof deck felt like we could touch the rocky ceiling. The whole boat erupted in wild cheers. Definitely, a highlight of the trip.

Maori Meet Captain Cook

We made our way back across the open ocean and into the shallower, calmer, but still windy, Bay of Islands. We found a few more historic islands in the Bay including the island that Captain Cook landed at. This story is interesting. He was attempting to validate his theory that New Zealand was in fact an island and not a continent. He missed the bay, but when he ran into a storm and had to turn back, he found the bay and entered it. He wanted to take refuge on an island in the bay. Unfortunately, it was inhabited by Maori. The Maori had never seen a Tall Ship before, and were frightened. When the ship lowered its longboats to row ashore, the Maori were even more frightened because the white men in the boat were rowing with their backs to the shore. Keep in mind, the MAori traveled on the water in long canoes which are paddled facing forward. The english longboats re rowed like a rowboat and so the men face backward. The Maori thought they had eyes int he back of their heads. As the white englishmen approached, the Maori postured as they do with bulging eyes, tongues out, staccato movements etc meant to warn their adversary. The english ship fired a cannonball over their heads and then they beached their rowboats and made contact on this island for the first time. years later, just outside of the village of Paihia on the mainland, the treaty was signed allowing the British Crown to establish a colony in New Zealand.

I ma having trouble uploading pictures and video due to the fact that bandwidth is very limited at these public access sites. Even the hotels limit bandwidth. It takes a long time for even a webpage to upload, so photos and media might need to wait.

Homeless in new Zealand

Well, its been a very busy last few days. Lots of driving, lots of rugby and some adventure. It started Wednesday with the Samoa vs. Namibia match; continued Thursday with USA vs. Russia. On Friday, I travelled to Hamilton to watch New Zealand play Japan. And Saturday, well I drove 4.5 hours to Auckland to watch ireland take on Australia. Today, I was supposed to drive another 4.5 hours to watch France take on Canada....but after a night spent on the side of the motorway....I decided to get to my next hotel, and just watch the game in the pub.

New Zealand vs. Japan - The All Blacks
Well, my first chance to watch the #1 team in the world in person. A great stadium to see a match, great crowd and a blowout of a match. One thing is for sure, Kiwis LOVE their All Blacks. Wait, that's a strange name for a sports team isn't it? You'd expect something like Tigers, or Chiefs, etc., but the New Zealand national rugby team is the All Blacks. So why is that? Here are two possible explanations:

• The standard uniform for New Zealand is "all black" from the socks, to the shorts, to the jersey. Only a silver fern adorns the jersey.
• Of course, given this explanation, when New Zealand is required to wear the alternate uniform in matches, it as all white and hence they are referred to as the "all whites"
• The other possible explanation dates back to 1905when the team made its first overseas tour of the United Kingdom. The local sports pages wrote a story of the match and described the Kiwi's play as if they were "all backs". This refers to their open style of play, with skilled passing and moving the ball quickly across the field. European teams of that time played the game very much with their big, slow forwards and the Kiwis played a wide open style with their backs.

As far as the match against Japan, well the All Blacks ran over, through and around them on their way to scoring 89 points to only 3 for Japan.

Ireland vs. Australia

For this match, I decided to check out of my hotel in new Plymouth, 4.5 hrs south, a day early to a void 10 hrs of driving roundtrip. I got to Auckland and met up with a friend of mine, Carlos from San Diego. Carlos is the coach of a rugby team in San Diego that my team plays regularly. In fact, the last time I saw Carlos was in May up in Seattle. My team played his team and won the match in sudden death overtime. A thrilling win. He's still thinking about that match as we both agreed it was one of the best matches to be involved in.

Carlos is in the same business as me, financial services, although he likes to say I work in the Business Prevention Dept. (Compliance) whereas he is a financial advisor. He came to NZ for vacation, was catching a few games, then heads to Australia then over to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia to play some rugby for an Old Boys team of former service members.  It was pure coincidence that we both had tickets for the same match. We met up for a beer before the match, then made the 2km walk tot he stadium before splitting up to our respective seats. After the match, we walked back tot own, grabbed a bite and parted ways. We both agreed that the match was one of the best so far in the tournament. Ireland pulled out a thrilling victory and upset over Australia.

Homeless

So, as I mentioned I had decided to avoid driving all the way back to new Plymouth, and instead decided to head over to my Sunday location and sleep in the car. Well, on my drive I was stopped twice by the police. The first time, the policeman stated that he thought I was drifting too much. The reality is, It is very hard at night to focus on staying to the left-hand side of the road, especially at night, that I overcompensate sometimes. He had me do the breathalyzer as it was standard. Of course, I had purposely refrained from drinking all evening so no worries there.

A few hours later, I arrived in Hamilton, not my destination, but where I had planned on pulling over to sleep. It was 3AM and the nightclubs in downtown were still going strong. The police in Hamilton establish routine checkpoints and stop every car to check for alcohol. Again, no problem for me. I then found a nice quite car park and pulled over to catch some sleep.  After a 4 hr nap, I made the remaining 100km drive to Lake Taupo.

Lake Taupo

This region is beautiful. Volcanic in nature, there are hot springs everywhere. The lake itself is the largest freshwater lake in the south pacific. A beautiful waterfront with shops and cafes. I found a nice local place and had a hearty breakfast. Then checked into my hotel for a good sleep. Tomorrow I leave for the far north, Bay of Islands where I have 5 days to relax, less driving, and just enjoy some touristy stuff. But I finish my NZ trip with 3 days back here in Lake Taupo.

USA! USA!

Tonight at Taranaki Stadium, the Cold War resumed with the USA vs Russia. It was a very interesting night. The crowd came ready:

•  USA fans decked out in every possible patriotic gear: George Washington complete with powdered wig; Wonder Woman (2 in fact); Captain America; Elvis, Cowboy gear, Uncle Sam, etc
• Russia Fans came dressed up as Red Army Generals, Stalin, Bolsheviks, Cossacks, etc
• The local Kiwis did there part by wearing USA shirts and hats or Russia Shirts and hats. Sometimes even amongst the same family.

What was great was seeing fans of both countries sitting side by side, taking pictures of one another; singing each other's anthems, Americans being taught basic Russian expressions in the stands and vice versa. It was very cool.

On the rugby pitch things were not as nice. These two teams have started to develop a rivalry. Russia is new to rugby, have first started to field a team in 1997.  The USA, well they have been around awhile but have not been a rugby power since they won the Olympic Gold in Rugby in 1924; which was the last time rugby was played in an Olympic Games. It will return in 2016 at the games in Brazil as Rugby Sevens which is a unique variation of rugby.


Russia got the first score, blocking a clearing kick and putting the US under pressure. A penalty by the US led to Russia taking a 3-0 lead. The US tied it a little later. The the US got a great try and extended the lead to 10-3 by halftime.


The 2nd half was sloppy as a torrential rainstorm hit during halftime. Both teams had numerous missed kick at goal. The US eventually converted a kick and went up 13-3 for a little breathing room. In the final 5 minutes Russia closed the gap to 13-6 and in the final minutes had the US under a lot of pressure and had an opportunity to score a try but critical errors took them out of scoring opportunities.


So the US held on for the win and post game handshakes were exchanged. The crowd was appreciative of both teams. The Russian team then circled the stadium thanking the crowd for their support by clapping the crowd. That is also a tradition in rugby. Then as they went to exit the field the US team lined the stadium  tunnel and clapped the Russians off the pitch. Again, another tradition in rugby.


So, tomorrow I have my first chance to see the home team, and the number 1 team in the world, the All Blacks of New Zealand. They take on Japan. Then on Saturday I enjoy the Ireland vs Australia match which should be a great game. Australia looked unbeatable in their first game and the Irish are also good! Both teams have tens of thousands of supporters here so will be a great atmosphere. Sunday I have the France vs Canada match. Canada turned a lot of heads by upsetting favored Tonga earlier this week and the local Kiwis have taken notice since their All Blacks will take on Canada in a week or two.


Well today was mostly about rugby, as will the next few days. Then next week I change base location and move to the far north of the country. A whole new area to explore. For now, here is a video of some highlights from tonight's match:

Whats that Smell?

Up at the crack of dawn. Another misty, rainy morning although breaks of sun started to shine through. Today, top on the agenda was the match between Samoa and Namibia which was a rare, weekday afternoon match. Okay, Samoa you’ve probably heard about, but Namibia? Well it is a country in southern Africa, in fact it use to be part of the Republic of South Africa before gaining its independence in 1990. It is named after the Namib Desert which is one of the oldest deserts on the planet. It was settled by the Germans and has a heavy Afrikaner influence.

Out of Gas

The match was played in Rotorua, which is not even close to where I am located in New Plymouth. It is about 350km away. So, after a quick breakfast at McDonald’s I set off for the drive. Well, I did not realize that my drive would take me through the remote interior of the North Island. So with about 136km to go, I happened to glance down at the fuel gauge and realized I was VERY low. In fact, the the trip computer on the dash stated I only had fuel for another 90 km, well short of my destination. I checked the GPS, or as it is called in the UK and NZ: SAT-NAV, and it showed the nearest petrol station being about 76km away. Whew! Well, this was very remote country and I passed by a turnoff I should have taken and did not realize it for a bit. Once I did, I quickly double-backed and took the correct road, but suddenly, it was looking like I would coast to a stop, out of petrol, in a very isolated mountain valley on a road that I had not even seen another car since for 30 minutes or so.

Then off in the distance, I saw a bunch of cows, then a shed. As I got closer I saw a ‘town’ of like 2 houses, one of which had a ‘market’ sign on it and a gas pump out front. Please be open.....Yes. The Kiwi that filled me up, yes they still do that for you here, noted that I must have been on my last liter of gas.

With a full tank, I was able to finish off my drive through incredible countryside dominated by a major river and gorge, towering cliffs, wildlife and birds I could not even begin to recognize as they do not look like our birds in North America. 

What’s that Smell

Then I descended into a valley and noted a very strong sulfur smell. I knew I had arrived in Rotorua. It is famous for its smell as a result of all the geo-thermal vents, hot springs and mineral pools. In fact, on the road into town, several geysers line the road shooting off tons of steam and water in the air.

The Rugby

A huge Samoan crowd packed the stadium adorned in costume, with Samoan flags everywhere. The rain before the match gave way to sunshine through the cloud breaks. But it was windy and cold.  During warm-ups, a Samoan folk group took the field to entertain. Then the local Maori tribe sent their warrior onto the field to summon the teams to the stadium for battle. Once the game kicked-off it was all Samoa. Finally in the second half Namibia scored a try and the crowd roared. Late in the game they got a second try. Final was 49-12 in favor of Samoa.

Meanwhile, up north of Auckland, Canada took on Tonga. The game was a back and forth affair with Canada getting a late try to seal the win, and upset, over Tonga. Then, on the South Island, Scotland kicked-off against Georgia. This match was a very tough, physical affair with Scotland barely able to eek out a win over the Georgia. Honestly, Scotland has not looked good this tourney and could find themselves knocked out soon.

Thursday

Tomorrow is a big day in New Plymouth. It will be USA vs Russia and a huge crowd is expected at Taranaki Stadium. I’ll be there as well. Photos from today coming....