Plants love the North Island, at least between Auckland and the east coast at about the same latitude. Rain comes in quick gentle bursts, like an automatic misting system in a greenhouse. Everything is GREEN. Few flowering plants are found, except in areas where humans have brought them.

In Auckland, flowers were everywhere, especially purple and red varieties. But once away from the city, the grass fields were flowerless, and the areas with trees had ferns, cycads, conifers and deciduous trees with few flowers. The bottle brush trees have red flowers, though. I keep wondering which plants are native here, and which were brought by humans, either the early Polynesian settlers or the later European ones. 

Because this was Christmas, we talked about how it seemed. Beautiful, and surrounded by people we love, but not like Christmas. What was missing? Other family members, friends, gift-giving stress, the excitement of long planned secrets revealed. WiFi… We had the hardest time make dinner because we had to remember recipes instead of looking them up!

But this was Christmas Day, so we went to the “Hot Water Beach”, which was about ten minute drive from where we stayed. It was easy to see where the hot water was! A lot of people go to the beach on Christmas Day in New Zealand.

Everyone was digging holes in this area, hoping to get warm or hot water for soaking. We were not lucky doing so, but the ocean water adjacent to this space was far warmer than the ocean water near where we parked.

Checkers took a moment to practice her art.

Earlier, we were wondering how different the Christmas decorations would be here below the equator. Overall, more subdued. We didn’t see many Christmas lights, but that could be because we were asleep by the time it was dark. A few other notable sitings:

Giant Christmas balls (one was purple!)

Santa on a bicycle, elves helping out

These were both in Auckland.

In Taupo, where we spent a few days after Christmas, funky trees were everywhere:

At our subtropical paradise, Orchard House, the decorations were mostly natural:

Yes, laundry was left in the washer and I put it out to dry.

That evening, Brian cooked a roast beef on the barby and Checkers made roasted potatoes in the oven, and all was good.

To our friends and family, Merry Christmas to all of you. We love you and were thinking of you on this special day.

*****Written by Clare*****

On our way out of Auckland, we stopped at a historical village called Howick. We thought it would be a quick little stop, but we spent quite a bit of time there. The so-called village was a story from the mid 1800’s. It was based on an actual town called Howick, which was one of three fencible settlements that were built to protect the young city of Auckland from the native Maori tribes. “Fencible” comes from the word “defensible,” being capable of defense.

The soldier-settlers were offered a new life for their families in New Zealand after serving in the British military. They were typically retired on pensions and given an acre of land. Early settlers lived in temporary tents like the one above, or ‘raupo’ that local Maori were paid to build from the raupo plant that grows in the swamps. Eventually whole settlements were established. The village of Howick is a mixture of buildings from the area that were transported to one place and restored.

Above: anachronism.

Laura looking at a desk in Pakuranga school, built in 1800.

In some of the buildings, mannequins depicted a way of life. And seriously freaked us out.

The historical society had decorated the place for Christmas. It was pretty cute.

This was the most elaborate homestead. Puhi Nui was built for William McLaughlin in 1861 at Puhinui, South Auckland.

We learned specific stories of settlers from signs written in cursive. From Ireland to escape the potato famine. From England simply to find a new way of life. Many came, and found their homes here. The Howick and Districts Historical Society did a lovely job of bringing the stories together for people to enjoy.

We went on our merry way. It turned out to be not so merry. It’s a dangerous business, stepping out your door… Our next destination was up on the Coromandel Peninsula. We drove around the Firth of Thames, and ate lunch in Thames. Laura and I enjoyed the best chai latte I think I’ve ever had.

We found it funny that we stopped at the Brian Boru Hotel. At least, it was funny at the time. Anyway, it was here that we discussed our route. It was here that we sealed out fate. We could either go right through the Coromandel Range, or further North and along the coast. Through the mountains, it would only be just over an hour. The more scenic route was over two. We chose to drive through the mountains.

It was crazy. A picture can’t hope to capture the narrow road, the constant hairpin turns, or the occasional car speeding towards us. It was still a beautiful drive… only one of us got carsick. I’ll save them the embarrassment of saying who. At long last–the drive was far over the anticipated hour–we arrived at our destination. The Orchard House.

It was here, nestled away by a macadamia orchard, we would spend our next two nights. It was Christmas Eve.

So we celebrated, of course!! We cooked up some food, drank some wine, and then settled down for a relaxing evening.

I would like to be cliche and say that not a creature was stirring, but many were. Birds and insects serenaded us well into the night. And I think there was some creature that really enjoyed being on the roof. Never the less, all was well.

Coming from the northern hemisphere, the starry skies were strangely unfamiliar. We found the Southern Cross just above the horizon.

*****Written by Checkers*****

When we left North America, it was late night on December 20th. I had been wondering if we should call the next day, the 21st the longest day of the year or the shortest, since we were heading south of the equator. But on the plane, we crossed the international date line, making the 21st of December last only a few hours! So, for us it was definitely the shortest day of the year!

We are staying at the Auckland Hilton, a modern hotel build to make you feel as if you were on a ship. The architecture, decor, and location combine to create this effect.

See the ropes in the background? Clever, right? I want to climb up them, but I have a feeling that is frowned upon. And maybe dangerous (since they’re unlikely to be load-bearing).

We have had a blast exploring Auckland. Being outdoorsy folk, we have gotten our impression of this city mostly from its parks. Right off the plane in the morning, we left our bags at the hotel and headed to Albert park. We had been looking around for “New Zealand Christmas trees,” which we learned about from a friendly kiwi on the plane. She had shown us a picture–just a glimpse–and described them as the most beautiful red flowers that bloom in December. These flowers below just might fit the bill. We’re honestly not sure. 

Our goal was to find the Auckland Art Gallery on the corner of the park. I was frankly concerned about how tired we were and the lulling effect of a museum, but the exhibits we visited were fascinating. An exhibit titled Maori Portraits contained oil paintings by Gottfried Lindauer. He used the novel technology of photography to help him create stunningly accurate and evoking depictions of the Maori people. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in that exhibit. We learned that in New Zealand too, there is a struggle surrounding the ownership of land between the native people and those who colonized the land. Art surrounding these topics can really make one think.

This is from a series called “X Marks the Spot.” The negotiation of land is still disputed today. The large stamp above says “Not Negotiable.”

Laura really likes art galleries. I have a sneaking suspicion she will drag us to more, but I don’t mind.

****************

Today we trekked up Mount Eden, a bona fide volcano. It was quite an adventure. Yeah…. we got a little lost in the city. It’s ok, we found an excellent playground.

We are still kids at heart!

We also walked by some neat street art! Detours are a wonderful thing.

We found Mt Eden soon enough, and headed up.

We felt pretty accomplished when we got to the summit.

The crater of Mount Eden, and the sprawl of Auckland beyond. There were actual signs warning folks not to climb down into the crater. After the hike, we headed to…. another park. I know. Riveting.

Action shot climbing a tree.

We found a lovely little cafe where we got lunch. Across the street we discovered some incredible greenhouses. The first one was built in the 1920’s.

There were flowers and ferns from all across the world. Not all of them had labels.

And some of them really needed labels.

On the walk back to the hotel, we strategically chose Parnell, a street full of adorable historical shops.

Tomorrow we leave Auckland, and we won’t have internet for a couple days. Catch you on the flip side!
*****Written by Checkers*****

The drive back from Durango was nice: sunny, snowy, not much traffic. When we arrived home, however, we had to shovel about 8 inches of snow! The snow was fluffy, and with four people helping the driveway was finished quickly. Laura and Checkers saw friends on Monday (December 19) while Brian and I got stuff ready to go. On Tuesday, we took a shuttle to Denver International Airport, then went to San Francisco International airport, where we were met by Brian’s brother, his family and their mom, Grandma Pat. We shared a lovely meal and lots of conversation, took a few photographs, then Megan (Brian’s niece) gave us traditional Christmas Cookies! YUM! We brought them to New Zealand. 

Also at San Francisco Airport, we saw a historical display of Mechanical Slot Machines.

Then the long plane flight over the Pacific Ocean, landing in Auckland!
*****Written by Clare*****