Today we went to the very northern tip of NZ, Cape Reinga, where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. Like almost everywhere else we have been, it is strikingly beautiful.

This is a lumpy American guy sand surfing. The dunes are other-worldly, and went on and on. The Kiwis were very forward minded, and in the 1940s started an aggressive planting program to prevent erosion of the northern 100 miles of NZ. There is a planted forest 8 km x 40 km along the windward side of this long sand spit, that now povides protection and lots of timber. Ah..... a forward thinking government.

Castaway, before the dramatic weight loss.

This is the actual meeting point of the the two seas, and in big weather the waves meet and create 3 meter flumes. While the pictures are striking, they never capture the incredible majesty of the actual landscape. We feel fortunate to be experiencing all of this.

Ahipara beach, sunset.

Funny little dog guarding the beach, no apparent owner, but a strong sense of mission.

Hope in the volcanic rock. This photo endorsed by subject.

View of the first mile of 90 mile beach, from our bed and breakfast patio.

Catch of the day, four delicious snapper. The Portugese Man of War is 2 feet in diameter on the beach -- puts our little nettles to shame.

The best fishing trip I have ever taken -- bate the hooks, run the line and torpedo 2000 meters out into the Tasman Sea, and voila:

Fresh snapper! Clean and fillet and ready for the Bar-be this evening. No Diesel fumes, sea sickness, irritating first mates. Great fun!

Jill and John (Col. retired), of Pakiri Beach below the Bay of Islands. These two Kiwis are friends of Bill and Clarissa, and they treated us to a nice lunch at their farm. They are famous for owning the same Mercedes Benz for so long it turned over one million miles, which they traded-in to the MB folks for a new car, even steven. They are known to play a game called "spoons" with unsuspecting guests.

Sandspit, NZ

An iron deposit in the middle of sedimentary rock above. My Chinese girlfriend below:

Some interesting geology below:

Tidal pool treasures to be found, above.

Lots of interesting flora, fauna, and geology....... including some sedimentary erotica.

Here we are on the east coast, at the Bay of Islands. This photo is taken from our B and B veranda. If you come to NZ, be sure to spend a few days in this neck of the woods, including Hope's favorite small town so far, Matakana.

The Old Shoppe on our way to Rotorangi Lake.

For those of you really following our blog......here's our real car.

Gas costs $1.99 per liter, but has come down about ten cents since we've been here. So...... I guess that would be about $7 per gallon! Quit your compalining about $3.

Lake Rotorangi

Lake Rotorangi was created when they dammed the Patae River and installed a hydro-electric power station. Pretty amazing how water can create electricity. Every spring tons of drift wood washes up and it is harvested into fire wood.

Fanthams Peak

Today we did a 3 1/2 hour, 1,000 vertical meter hike (almost) to the top of Fanthams Peak, which is the little peak next to Mt. Taranaki. Don't let them fool you, its not little! After hiking through brush and nice trails we came to a 1000 steps that lead up to the top. These were like the stairs to heaven (or hell). It was quite an experience for me, being afraid of heights--quite a mental challenge. It was like being on the edge of the mountain on the edge of the earth and hanging on to these tiny steps! Amazing.

Funny little things..

Listen up everyone. This section of the blog is about all of the funny little things in EnZed.


....like the electrical outlets that all have switched next to each outlet. Great for things that pull energy even when turned off.








....how about flush a little or flush a lot.







Things are pretty simple here, but this is a cool feature. A separate compartment in the frig keeps your butter as soft as you like it.

Our grumpy fishing guide. If walking 5 miles, losing many flies and NOT catching anything is fishing, then we had a great fishing trip.

who knew there were black swans .........

Here we are at Lake Mangamahoe, Hope holding onto her crazy hair. It is frequently pretty windy here in En Zed.

Here we are at mile high stadium....

When you are up-close and personal and watching rugby, it is pretty darn impressive -- those guys don't even wear mouth guards, but they do full on tackles and run for the whole game, no time-outs, play making, injured players.

Ok, we went to a professional rugby match and saw the Maori national team play the All Gold national team. Quite a game! This is the pre-game Haka -- one team basically threatens to kill the other, using traditional dance and language. It is convincing.

Pukekura Park

This park is about 30 minutes away in New Plymoth (the city). It's pretty incredible. It has a zoo, a lake, bunch of hikes, an outside theatre (where Jack Johnson played last spring), and a fernery. Way cool! Dan - we will definitely take you here. And.....its pronounced puka-kura not puke-kura.

We all want to say hi!

These guys are quite curious and want to know what's for lunch.

(double click on the image to see it larger)

Our front yard!

Yesterday about 5pm I heard a bunch of commotion. I went to the window to find about 100 cows in the front yard. The farmers rotate the cows from pasture to pasture to allow the cows to mow the lawns and yesterday the front lawn got mowed!