Whanganui to Auckland

Monday 17 December

We arrived in Whanganui and after settling into our hotel drove to Lake Virginia. First we wandered through the Winter Garden with its vibrant floral display and then took a 25 minute walk right around the lake – never have we seen such bird life!

Winter Garden

Remind anyone of a famous painting?

At Lake Virginia

Tuesday 18 December

Our first visit was to Bushy Park Homestead and Sanctuary. The homestead is a beautiful 22-room Edwardian homestead built in 1906 and was bequeathed to the sanctuary. The surrounding 98 hectare forest is filled with birds, many of which we saw including the Tui and the rare Toutouwai (North Island Robin) which came right up to us to be photographed. One endangered species, the Hihi (Stitchbird) of which only a few thousand remain worldwide, has been reintroduced at the sanctuary and small populations are thriving there.

We then drove to the Bason Botanic Gardens and wandered through their lovely conservatories and cottage gardens.

And we finished back at Whanganui with something completely different. There we took a ride on the Durie Hill Underground Elevator which descends 66 metres underground and arrives at a 213 metre long tunnel which leads to the river, then an easy walk into town. The Elevator, which was built in 1919, is still used by commuters and is the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

View of Whanganui from Durie Hill

Later that day we received the tragic news that one of our five gorgeous hens had passed away unexpectedly. Rest in peace my beautiful girl. 😪

Wednesday 19 December

From Whanganui we drove around Mt Taranaki, New Zealand's largest active volcano at 2,518 metres high. Moderate to large eruptions have occurred on average every 500 years with smaller eruptions occurring about 90 years apart. But the last major eruption was around 1854 so we weren't too concerned....

At New Plymouth we drove along the coastline to check out its beaches which are all black sand. Then we visited the 52 hectare Pukekura Park, a Garden of National Significance, and the Brooklands Park Zoo where an Eclectus Parrot took a liking to Jim!

Thursday 20 – Saturday 22 December

We drove from New Plymouth to Waitomo. We passed a lot of little villages of just a few houses but they all had cafes and their coffee was delicious. At Urenui we had a delicious breakfast at the Mud Bay Café and then coffee mid-morning at the Fat Pigeon Café in Piopio.

Mud Bay Cafe

We didn’t visit the famous (and magical) Waitomo Caves this trip as we were short on time. Instead we went for a short drive which was recommended by our hosts at the B&B and then dined at the nearby Tomo Restaurant and Bar. Waitomo is certainly a growing place with thousands of overseas visitors every year – and the caves are well worth a visit!

Tomo Restaurant and Bar

On Friday we left Waitomo and headed to Auckland on the last leg of our trip. We stopped for coffee at yet another village called Pirongia. The coffee machine was a very old but beautiful Italian brass dome-shaped machine, and it certainly made good coffee.

Then it was on to the Auckland International Airport to drop off the hire car and catch a shuttle into the city. Our serviced apartment is very central and we walked to dinner at Portofino Italian restaurant at Viaduct Harbour near the Princes Wharf where the cruise ships dock.

The next morning, Saturday, we caught public transport to the Auckland Zoo and spent four hours walking through Africa, South America, South-east Asia, New Zealand and Australia. Amongst other things we saw the elusive Kiwi and the ancient Tuatara – and watched giraffe having their morning tea. A fabulous few hours.

Southern White Rhino (endangered)

Asian Elephant (endangered)

Nesting boxes (decorated by school children) for African Masked Love Birds

The Leopard Tortoise lives to 150 years!

 

Capybara from South America

We have one of these at the Tasmania Zoo, but unfortunately none of the previous animals...

Its been yet another wonderful holiday and tomorrow we fly home. And what we really loved about New Zealand? The spectacular views everywhere we went - and great coffee! Until next time.