It has been so nice to see my parents after being separated by many miles for 10 months. I am loving every minute of their visit, and Dallas seems to be enjoying his time with the “in-laws” as well. In addition to regaling them with stories of our adventures and showing them all of our souvenirs, we are making new memories by visiting some of the sites of the North Island. We hit the ground running after picking them up from the airport in Auckland. They managed to sleep on the plane and had enough adrenaline to keep them going all day! The clouds burned off in time to have a nice view of the city from One Tree Hill. Then it was on to Viaduct Harbor where we dined at the Irish pub and checked out the diverse boats, from the old flat-bottomed scows to the gargantuan $700/day cruise ship. The 200 km drive to Tauranga was very scenic, and my parents were quite impressed with the variety of foliage, particularly the ever-present NZ fern.

Mom’s pic of the Auckland Sky Tower

Monday we took it easy in the morning but headed off for some sight-seeing in nearby Rotorua around midday. We stopped at the infamous fresh fish (pronounced “fush” in Kiwi) ‘n chips shop here in Tauranga, right along the harbor where the fishing boats unload. The hogi fish was as fresh and tender as any of us had ever had. We enjoyed watching the local kids fishing for hogi but reeling in seaweed.

Our next stop was a crowd-pleaser as well. Dallas and I had passed the enormous kiwi advertising the Kiwi 360 exhibit several times but did not expect it to be so interesting. We toured the orchards that were used to grow 65 varieties of fruit as well as much of the kiwi that you might buy in the store back in the U.S. Apparently the conditions here in the Bay of Plenty (i.e., the volcanic ash in the ground, the occasionally freezing temps, and plenty of sun and rain) are ideal for growing kiwi, which I now believe is the healthiest of fruits (more vitamin C than an orange, more potassium than a banana). After the tour, we had the opportunity to taste the green (what we are used to) and gold varieties of kiwi as well as some kiwi wine and liqueur. 

The unique gold variety was less sweet but hairless

Rotorua is the 2nd biggest site for tourism in NZ (2nd to Queenstown), and we can appreciate why. There was something to do everywhere we looked, but we arrived late in the day, so we opted for the Museum of Art and History since it was open late. This area is the site where the first Maori settlers made their homes around 800 A.D., taking advantage of the warm ground water created by geothermal activity. They capitalized on the European tourists’ interest in the Pink Terraces there, considered to be the 8th Wonder of the World until it (along with two Maori villages) was destroyed by eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. European settlers later built up the city of Rotorua on top of the crater that remained, and interest in the hot baths (considered to be healing) created by piping in the warm (but stinky and sulphorous) ground water brought wealthy tourists and patients of various ailments from all over Europe.

Having a great time as tourists!

The former Bath House is now the site of the Rotorua Museum

Tuesday we took a break from learning about the area but certainly enjoyed the natural beauty as we hiked to the top of nearby Mount Mauao. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, just perfect for viewing the beaches of Tauranga from above. It is a fairly steep climb, though, so our gelato afterward was well deserved!

There were beautiful views all the way up the mountain

I should mention that Dallas and Dad have been doing some boat work (naturally). They took all four of our primary sails to the sailmaker for repairs, and Dad just took Dallas up the stick so that he could run some halyards that will be used to support the mast while the forestay is taken down and made to be adjustable. Dad will be ready for a vacation from his vacation when he gets home! 

Getting the anchor chain out and ready to be re-galvanized

Today we are preparing to move the boat to the boatyard on the other side of the harbor so that her bow can be repaired while we are traveling around the South Island. We are headed to wine country in the Napier area later today and will continue south to Wellington tomorrow be ready to catch the ferry to the South Island on the morning of the 8th. Can’t wait!