New Photography Blog (click)

I have started a new blog for photography work.

Check it out. http://scottcapenphotography.blogspot.com/

This page will remain active because you never know what might happen!

Cheers!

Schmoose at Coyote Hills

Schmoose recently made a journey to Coyote Hills and wanted me to post this picture of him. Right now the hills are still green from all the rain we have gotten this winter and they are very pretty. Soon they will be dry and brown again, as they are for most of the year.

He also got to see his first Red Tail Hawk. I think this one is still a youngster.

So Long, but Not Farewell

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?








Another Lost Sole!





1-15-10

We have been home for a few days already. I feel like I’m finally adjusting and getting back into a routine again. I didn’t really sleep on the plane ride back so I ended up being awake for something like 36 hours straight and I’m sure that had some impact on my perception of things. But I can talk more about all that later. Let me fill you in on our last few days in New Zealand.

Many of the people we met whom we told we were going to Hamilton for the last couple of days of our trip were summarily unimpressed. Even The Rough Guide and Frommer’s pretty much said that there wasn’t much to do in Hamilton and most people just drove through on their way to somewhere else. But we had already paid for the hotel room for two nights so it was easier to go than make other arrangements.

It was only going to take us a couple of hours (at the most) to get from Taupo to Hamilton so after a scrumptious breakfast of pancakes with fresh blueberries we bid farewell to Carmen at Banksia B&B and headed off to a craft fair/farmers market in downtown Taupo. The plan, do a little gift shopping and then hit a couple of attractions on our way out of town that we hadn’t been able to get to yet.

The first attraction was Craters of the Moon, a geothermal area that emerged in the 1950’s as a result of the construction of a geothermal power station nearby. It seems that the power station altered the underground geothermal activity enough so that all that energy needed another way to escape. Hence, Craters of the Moon. It is an interesting, and steamy, stinky place. The ground is so warm in the area that they have build raised wooden walkways through much of the area that allow you to get closer to the craters. Where there aren’t walkways, the paths are covered with some sort of insulation material so you don’t get hot foot. We’ve actually seen a lot of geothermal areas in New Zealand and they are all interesting and different in their own way but they are also kind of bleak and depressing in their own way as well.

Our second stop of the morning was the Aratiatia Rapids. The rapids, located a bit further down the Waikato River from Lake Taupo, are actually regulated by the power company. What I mean by that is there are dams that regulate the flow of water to the various power generating plants all along the river. During the summer months they open the gates of the Aratiatia dam for 30 minutes, four times a day (three times a day in winter) and let the water flow through the rapids. It is a very small gorge that fills quite rapidly when there are 90,000 liters of water flowing through it per second. In the space of about an hour and with several lookout points along the way you can watch the rapids go from a trickling stream to class five rapids you might float a rubber raft on, and back to the trickling stream again.

Once we had finished at the Rapids we grabbed some lunch before heading off on a leisurely drive to Hamilton. Of course once we got to Hamilton we still had to do some laundry to get through the final few days so that finished us off till dinner. I do want to say that the folks in Hamilton, as everywhere in NZ were really all very nice. But I do want to note that the wait staff in the restaurants in Hamilton were very nice and went out of their way to make sure we enjoyed our meals there. We’re not sure why that was but it deserves noting.

So now we’re down to our final two days in the country. So what do we do? We do what all good tourists do. We went to the beach!

Raglan is about 48 km west of Hamilton and known as a surfer’s paradise. It is also one of the best places in the world to surf where the waves break to the left. Now I don’t know how much of this is true since I’m not a surfer, and the tide was pretty far out when we were there so I can only tell you what I’ve been told. Still, Raglan is a cute little town with a bohemian feel to it and a funky little town museum. There are also plenty of surf shops.

We were originally considering going to Te Awamutu to see the Finn Brothers home town after Raglan but it seemed like more driving than I felt like doing that day so we decided to do Te Awamutu on the morning of our last day. We had also seen a sign for Bridal Veil Falls about 12 km outside of Raglan so on our return trip we took a 14 km detour to find out what Bridal Veil Falls was all about.

Once we arrived at the parking area it was a 10 minute walk through what appeared to be tropical rain forest to the overlook where the falls originate. Then it was another 10 minute walk to the pool at the base of the falls. Now keep in mind that the falls are 55 meters tall (or roughly 180 feet) so when you walk down 55 meters it means you still have to climb back up 55 meters because there is only one way in and one way out.

Still, there are stopping and viewing points along the way and the falls, rock formations, and foliage are all spectacular. I got some amazing pictures of the falls and I’m still trying to figure out which ones I should enlarge. The walk back up wasn’t all that bad either as the whole trail down to the base of the falls was stepped.

So finally, we’re at the last day. Our flight out of Auckland didn’t leave until 7:30 pm (19:30) so we had pretty much the whole day to get from Hamilton to Auckland Airport which was roughly two hours away at the most.

We checked out of the hotel and loaded up the car for a short trip to Te Awamutu. Anyone one who knows me knows that I am a big Neil Finn fan and since we were going to be this close to his birthplace how could we not make the pilgrimage? I would love to tell you it was one of the greatest moments of my life but I’m not geared that way. In fact I don’t even usually get excited when I see a celebrity walking down the street. (Except for the time I saw Mohammed Ali in NYC. That man is Big!) I imagined what Te Awamutu must have been like back when Neil and Tim were growing up. Given the fact that Neil is a few months younger then me and Tim is about the age of my oldest brother, it kind of felt like my home town of West Haven. Still the museum has a very nice exhibit on Tim, Neil, and Split Enz, and it was fun driving around town for a while.

For our last stop of the day we headed to the Auckland Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are located in the southern part of the city and not far from the airport. We still had time to spare, so Schmoose suggested that we stop there. He had decided to come to the US with us, and wanted to say good-bye to his homeland. We all drank a Monteith’s Radler beer together to celebrate the trip, since we had a few left to kill before getting on the plane. The gardens are rather beautiful and we’ve made a note to check them out when we return to New Zealand again.

Now you may be thinking this is the end of the blog (especially considering the length of this entry) but that is not the case. There are a couple of things that I would still like to go over but once you get back home you know how it is: Gotta do this, gotta fix that, gotta do some work, gotta clean the litterbox, and let’s not forget hockey. Gotta support the San Jose Sharks!

So I plan at least a couple of more entries. One of those entries will be The Story of Schmoose. We got to know Schmoose pretty well while we were on our trip and I think his story is interesting enough that it needs to be heard. So stay tuned for that and more.

In the mean time, if you are looking for more pictures from the trip (I think I took over 5000) I do have a picture site that I maintain at: http://www.panoramio.com/user/1700085
Right now there are some pictures of our first trip to New Zealand, not to mention our other trips to various places, but I will be posting more and more pictures to that site as I go through them all. If you see a picture that you would like a copy of shoot me an email and let me know.

So thank you to everyone who has been following our adventures. We’re glad you could come along.

Till the next entry,
Cheers Mate!

We're Back!!

Hi There Again!

We are back!! I still have more to write about but that won't be today.

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy in the mean time.

Pictures from the top are:
Schmoose enjoying his last Monteith's Radler Beir in Auckland's Botanical Gardens.
The Finn Bro's museum exhibit in Te Awamutu.
A BloKart sailing machine (I don't know what else to call it) on Raglan Beach.
Bridal Falls-about 12 km outside of Raglan.

01-09-10

Wow, where to begin?

We last left off just before we landed in Napier and since that time we’ve completed Napier and Taupo. I will try to fill in as many blanks as I can but I’m sure I’m going to forget something and for that I will apologize now.

So we had a nice night in Masterton and zoomed into Napier the next afternoon, Monday January 4th. The original plan was to do some wine tasting in Hastings which is more or less on the way into Napier. But we nixed that idea and went directly to Hawk Hill cottage where we were to spend the next two nights. I posted a picture of the front of the cottage and needless to say it was a really nice, relaxing place to spend a few days. Noel and Helen, our hosts, are great folks and made us feel right at home. That evening we went into downtown Napier, had a nice meal, then ventured to the top of Bluff Hill to have a look around from the highest point.

The next day we cruised around most of the countryside and made some of those winery visits. That was also the same day that we got a picture of Schmoose on Mt. Te Mata. We actually got to see a lot of the area and really wished we had booked more time there.

The next day we took the short drive to Taupo. The city of Taupo sits on the northern banks of Lake Taupo which was once a volcano that collapsed in on itself. There are still many volcanoes and geothermal hot spots around the lake and we visited many of these. In fact we spent most of yesterday in New Zealand’s first national park, Tongariro.

I must give a huge shout out to Carmen and Kevin, our hosts at Banksia B&B in Taupo. Between the yummy breakfasts and good conversation they were the perfect hosts. And I’m not just saying that because they actually checked out this blog. They are super folks and if you ever have the opportunity to stay with them, do so. You won’t regret it.

I do also have to mention our personalized trip on the Barbary. The captain and crew, Dave and Tasha (that really was her name), provided us with a top notch sail and were very gracious hosts considering we were the only customers they had on their first sail of the day. The Barbary was built over 100 years ago and at one point was owned by Errol Flynn, so it was really cool having a personal crew sail us on Lake Taupo. It almost felt like we were John and Jackie Kennedy for a while there.

But now we are winding it all down and it’s almost time to get on the plane and head back home. I will probably have at least a couple of more entries to make because there is still a lot more I want to tell you. I also have a lot of pictures and I’ll need to figure out a way to show you those. So there is more to come.

In the meantime, we’ve got a couple of days in Hamilton and we’re planning a pilgrimage to the hometown of Neil and Tim Finn, Te Awamutu, about a 20 minute drive from here. Stay tuned…

01-08-10 Taupo

Some Pictures of Taupo

Tasha on the personal cruise we had of Lake Taupo on the Barbary, a sailboat that was constructed over a hundred years ago in Alameda. The Barbary Captain and First Mate. And a shot of Huka Falls.

Sorry short on time and a lot to write about. The trip is winding down.

Napier

01-06-10

Short entry today. Just thought I would post a few pictures. Napier has been a lot of fun but it is off to Taupo today. Enjoy! Oh, the cottage is where we stayed the last couple of days. Our hosts and the cottage were just fabulous.




Schmoose on Te Mata Peak



This is the view from Hawk Hill.



This is the front view of Hawk Hill.

Castlepoint Lighthouse and Castle Rock


01-04-10

Hello from Napier.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Castlepoint Lighthouse and Castle Rock. A truly remarkable place especially if you like interesting rock formations that have been carved out by the sea. Later that evening in Masterton, we had dinner at one of the local restaurants and finally called it a night at the South Park Motel (yes you read that correctly) which actually turned out to be a pretty decent place. We left Masterton around 9:30 am with a brief stop at the Tui Brewery (New Zealand beer) and arrived in Napier earlier this afternoon.

Our accommodations for the next couple of days will be a little French Cottage on the outskirts of town called Hawk Hill. It sits on the side of a hill overlooking one of the rivers that flow around the town of Napier and into the Pacific Ocean. Sorry I don’t have any pictures but I haven’t had the time to load them onto the computer as of yet. For now you’ll just have to believe me when I tell you that it’s really cool.

Tomorrow the plan is to take in as much of the area as possible including Hastings which is New Zealand’s oldest wine producing region.

Till then….




This was on the beach at Castlepoint.

A Wellington New Year

Full Moon On New Years Eve on Wellington Harbor


01-02-10

Happy New Year everyone! It is now finally 2010 all around the world. We hope everyone had a very safe and joyous celebration. We enjoyed a quiet celebration since it has been pretty quiet in Wellington. I believe I mentioned that the Kiwi’s pretty much shut it down where there is a holiday involved. Well I thought that New Year’s weekend in Wellington might be a little different but I was wrong. Very wrong!

Since arriving in Wellington last Thursday, we’ve scrambled to find restaurants that are open. More than once we ended up settling on our seventh or eighth choice just so we got some food. But I will quit complaining because after all, we are on vacation.

Since we’ve been to Wellington before, we did some things that we didn’t do last time we were here. One was to visit Te Papa. Te Papa is New Zealand’s national museum. It has been recognized worldwide as an innovator for interactive exhibits. Te Papa is a large museum standing 6 stories high on the shores of Wellington Harbor. One could easily spend three days going through all the different exhibits but we decided to do it in one. While we didn’t see everything, what we saw was impressive and informative.

Today we were originally thinking that we might take a walk on Somes-Matiu Island which sits in the middle of Wellington Harbor but the weather didn’t feel like cooperating with us. So instead we jumped into our little hotrod Ford Focus and took a drive up the west coast of the North Island just exploring the countryside. We didn’t have any particular plan and so we had fun just seeing where we might end up.
And that is pretty much all I have to report on Wellington. Tomorrow we head off to Masterton by way of Castlepoint. The original plan had us going to Castlepoint on the way to Napier but we decided to do it a day early since otherwise the drive would be a real killer.

So until we get to Napier….

Cheers!