Farming appears to be alive and well New Zealand. The countryside is divided up into neat parcels divided by hedgerows..... a combination of Great Britian and Switzerland with the mountains in the background. Cows, sheep and goats everywhere. Our third and last week in New Zealand was spent in what is known as `The garden of New Zealand ``. The area is reknown for its parks and gardens and is ranked in the top ten most fertile regions of the world. This is a result of the volcano, Mt Taranaki, which very much reminded us of Mt Baker. The mixture of mud, ash and lava that flowed down the mountain have produced not only interesting land formations
but a soil that is rich and fertile.
We accepted an invitation to a Magnolia nursery in New Plymouth.....our host had recently won international recognition for a magnolia hybrid he`d developed..... a very knowledgeable nurseryman. While in New Plymouth we hiked the mountain .... incredible views when the clouds allowed it. It had just a trace of snow which was the first snow of the season. We enjoyed black sand beaches (very hot on the feet) and watched the surfers..... it is a destnation for surfers. Got sunburn while working in the nursery. Enjoyed picking and eating fresh fijohas (related to kiwi fruit) and apples. Did some storm watching , strange how some things are so mesmerizing you can just watch for hours..... mud pools are like that too. Enjoyed good conersation and wine. Three weeks in New Zealand have gone by incredibly quickly. We could have easily spent three months in New Zealand there is so much to see and wonderful people to get to know. We've even developed a deeper appreciation and understanding of rugby. We were invited to a sheep ranch on the east coast but realized early on that we couldn't do it all......my only disappointment. Especially if we wanted to do it through HelpX, you really need to be able to commit at least a week.
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magnolia blosom
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On our way back to Auckland we explored the Waitmo Caves. .... huge caverns full of stalactites , stalagamites and glowworms. But the best part was the hike through the forest through natural tunnels and views into caverns with the river flowing through it. Unfortunately the batteries on the camera died so it is not very well documented with photographs. The whole area is dotted with caves some more accessible than others. We are now on our way to Australia. G'Day from the Happy Wanderers
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Egmont lighthouse
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| mounds created by lahars |
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| entrance to the cave |
but a soil that is rich and fertile.
We accepted an invitation to a Magnolia nursery in New Plymouth.....our host had recently won international recognition for a magnolia hybrid he`d developed..... a very knowledgeable nurseryman. While in New Plymouth we hiked the mountain .... incredible views when the clouds allowed it. It had just a trace of snow which was the first snow of the season. We enjoyed black sand beaches (very hot on the feet) and watched the surfers..... it is a destnation for surfers. Got sunburn while working in the nursery. Enjoyed picking and eating fresh fijohas (related to kiwi fruit) and apples. Did some storm watching , strange how some things are so mesmerizing you can just watch for hours..... mud pools are like that too. Enjoyed good conersation and wine. Three weeks in New Zealand have gone by incredibly quickly. We could have easily spent three months in New Zealand there is so much to see and wonderful people to get to know. We've even developed a deeper appreciation and understanding of rugby. We were invited to a sheep ranch on the east coast but realized early on that we couldn't do it all......my only disappointment. Especially if we wanted to do it through HelpX, you really need to be able to commit at least a week.
these cave pictures reminded me of the Kazumura cave that we went to on the Big Island, except ours were all dark inside, and we could only see whatever the flashlight shone on.
ReplyDeleteRosanna