Friday our fine weather gave out. Storm clouds approached and we took a break from touring.
After breakfast at Sally’s, Hillery took the kids back to the bach while I toured the Russell Museum and learned about the town’s rich history: the Maori, Captain Cook the English explorer, whalers, Zane Grey the writer and sportsman, and then tourists.
The museum attributes Grey, an early 20th Century American adventure writer, with popularizing the Bay of Islands with his book The Anglers El Dorado. Grey was an active member of the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club, which holds the record for the largest striped marlin ever caught: 536 pounds! The club is next door to Sally’s.
We walked the paved track to the Long Beach on the opposite side of the Kororareka Peninsula—the side that faces the Pacific. Wind and waves sprayed our faces with salt. The kids had fun playing in the sand and looking for shells on the beach. After lunch, Ivy took a nap, Hillery did laundry, and Sawyer worked on Mathletics. It was a school week after all! That night we ordered very average Thai (we should have gone back to Sally’s) and watched Kung Fu Panda, which was preceded by the Madagascar 2 preview. “I like to move it move it!” sang Ivy halfway through our feature presentation.
From Waitomo Caves we headed north to Auckland, by far New Zealand’s largest city. About a third of New Zealanders live in Auckland.
Auckland is the City of Sails. Water is everywhere. To the east is the Hauraki Gulf, closed in by the Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula. Beyond the Gulf is a lot of Pacific Ocean.
We stayed at the Sky City Hotel next door to the Sky City Tower, which looks similar to Seattle’s Space Needle except you can, of course, jump off it. It’s New Zealand after all. Crossing the street in front of the hotel we saw a man swiftly descend on a cable strung from the observation deck. Passerby hardly noticed his ecstatic screams. “Shush!” said an old woman ordering a hot dog from a street vendor.
From our tenth story room, we ordered room service and turned up the heat—which felt great after weeks wearing my scarf in our drafty Wellington flat—enjoyed the city views, and turned in early.
The next morning after breakfast at Denny’s, we took a ferry to Rangitoto Island, a retired volcano that is part of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. Did you know New Zealand Denny’s restaurants serve beer? “I’ll have Two Moons over My Hammy and a pint of Speight’s Distinction, please!”
Rangitoto rose from the sea about 600 years ago and ceased spewing lava soon thereafter. From the summit we looked down the hole, which is now full of trees. I’d never looked down a volcano before. Have you?
We lunched and lounged in the sun shining on expansive viewing platform, which provides awesome views of the Auckland skyline and surrounding islands. We watched yachts, work boats, and freighters traverse crystal blue waters bordered by jade hills. How could anyone live in Auckland and not sail!
After a wiener on the wharf, we slipped through Auckland rush hour and steered north to the Bay of Islands.
Russell is a quaint little seaside village on the Bay of Islands. But in the mid 19th Century it was known as the Hellhole of the Pacific. Back then it was a port of call for whaling fleets. It was also New Zealand’s capital for about a year. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed across the Bay from Russell, effectively giving birth to modern day New Zealand.
We stayed in a bach at the nearly deserted Russell Top Ten Holiday Park. We had a great view of the roofs below, the bay, and the hills beyond. To Sawyer’s disappointment, kids were absent from the brightly painted playground, complete with two trampolines.
The shops and restaurants along Russell’s shady waterfront were also nearly deserted. Many of the restaurants were closed for the season or abbreviating their hours. Sally’s Restaurant—highly recommended by Granddad and Mia—was open. On the patio outside, we had banana pancakes with bacon and cream and watched the sailboats quietly swing on their moorings.
We returned to Sally’s for dinner when day retreated into a beautiful sunset. Sally seemed pleased to serve screaming children. (I spied a photograph of her six toe-headed grandchildren on a shelf next to the chalkboard listing the day’s specials.) Sawyer had fish and chips for the 3rd day in a row. Ivy switched to macaroni and cheese. After the most amazing berry crumble, we waddled back to our bach under a star-studded Milky Way.
