The Cosmos Adventure - News

Belated New Zealand Report From George Hotz -- Received June 17, 2002

Cosmos

March 6, 2002

My wife Kathy, and I, left our home in Maryland today and flew to Auckland, New Zealand.  I need to be back aboard Cosmos, a cutter rigged, 45 ft catamaran, by the end of the month to resume a circumnavigation of the world.  Cosmos is moored in Whangarei, New Zealand, where we left her at the end of the first leg of the trip.  I decided to bring Kathy back a few weeks early so we could see some of this wonderful country together.  At the end of the month, Kathy will fly home and I will go sailing.

March 8, 2002

Due to the flying time and the international dateline, we actually arrived here on the 8th of March.  Shortly after landing at Auckland, we flew to Sidney, Australia for a four day visit of the city.  Our hotel was located right in the middle of town so each day we just walked off in a different direction.  We did an enormous amount of walking and we found Sydney to be a dense, clean, beautiful city with absolutely everything.  We visited museums, aquariums, the Governor's House, The Sky Tower, the waterfront, Paddy's market and the Darling Harbor Mall, listened to live Bolivian music on the mall, and rode around town on the Monorail. Everyone we met was very helpful, courteous, and wanted to know all about us as much as we wanted to know about them.  The restaurant's service, food, and wine were terrific.  Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?  Well, we knew we were only going to be there for four days, so we didn't waste any time.  We decided to rest up when we got to Christchurch, New Zealand.  It was a whirlwind four days and we made the best of it.

As soon as we arrived back in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, we boarded our flight to Christchurch.  We arrived in Christchurch, South Island, at 9:30PM, picked up our rental car, and followed impeccable directions to the first of several B&B's that we were to stay in while in New Zealand.  We wanted to meet the people of New Zealand and felt that the best way to do it would be to stay in Bed and Breakfast lodgings.  Well, this turned out to be the most rewarding feature of the whole vacation.  The host and hostess of each B&B we stayed at were typically very special people.  Their homes were always clean, comfortable, conveniently located.  They were quick to provide help in the form of what sights to see, how to get there, when to go, often they made reservations for us, provided maps and brochures, and offered to drive us back and forth.  If they had witnessed my driving, they would have insisted.  One is supposed to drive on the left in New Zealand.  The best part of each stay is the morning breakfast.  The meal was always wonderful and in addition we got to meet the other guests; we met people from all over the world.

The hosts and hostesses that we met do a fine job of presenting their homes and representing their communities and country; and should be very proud.  In Christchurch we stayed at Ambience on Avon, the home of Lawson and Helen Little. It was here that we were able to catch up with ourselves from all of the flying we had done to date.  We relaxed here, and enjoyed Helen and Lawson in their lovely home, and Christchurch.  They were always still up when we came home, late in the evenings, as if we were teenagers that they had been worrying about, with the offer of a late night snack before going off to bed.  We took comfort in this and the fact that they were always there for us. They are exquisite hosts, and Lawson is a fine pianist with a wonderful sense of humor.  We parked the car in the center of Christchurch and simply walked all over town as Kathy shopped with a frenzy.  We drove to Akaroa Harbor for the scenic drive and lunch.  We rode the Christchurch Gondola to the top for a view of  the city, Lyttleton Harbor, and dinner.

From Christchurch we enjoyed the day's drive to Queenstown, checked in to The Historic Stone House B&B of Jo and Steve Weir, walked down into, and around, Queenstown, and struggled back up the steepest hill from town in time for happy hour.  Jo and Steve have a fine system of serving wine and snacks for Happy Hour.  They then sit back and listen to the conversation escalate into the most stimulating discussions, the best of which they themselves participate in.  Here, as in most of the homes we stayed in, one of the best features was the people we met and dined with at breakfast, as well as the hosts.  The Historic Stone House was built in 1874 overlooking Queenstown and the lake below.  We found the town to be much more commercial than most, however, this feature blended in well with Kathy's "retail therapy."  I don't remember where we first heard this phrase but I like it better than "shopping frenzy", even if it is synonymous.  In Queenstown we rode the gondola, luge course, cruised the lake on the old steamship SS Earnshaw.  Steve made all of the arrangements for us to fly to Milford Sound, cruise the fjord on a big power catamaran, and fly back, with taxi rides door to door.  The views during the flights,and of the fjord, were magnificent.  We still had time in the afternoon to drive to Arrowtown for Kathy's daily dose of retail therapy and make it back in time for the not-to-be-missed Happy Hour.  We thought Queenstown was beautiful and we had a lot of fun there.

We left Queenstown on a rainy morning, bound for Hokitika.  The drive took all day and the rain followed us all the way.  This drive is extremely scenic with mountain roads, switchbacks, steep dropoffs, logging trucks, other drivers following too closely, trailers and motor coaches slowing me down.  No matter how fast I drove, the driver behind us wanted to pass.  It was a tense, hectic, drive, fraught with hazards and distractions.  At times the rain was coming down so hard that it had washed out the road and/or had created a waterfall from the rock cliff above.  We actually drove through several of these mini waterfalls, or had to wait for the road service crew to remove the mud and rock that had fallen from above to block our lane.  It was an exciting, adventurous day.  We didn't arrive in Hokitika until after dark, with the rain, and had a difficult time finding the Awatuna Homestead; the B&B of Hemi and Pauline Te Rakau.  On our way through the town of Hokitika, we did manage to locate the Tasman View Restaurant that we came back to for dinner after checking in at the B&B.  In doing so, I was able to get a look at the Tasman Sea and found it to be quite inhospitable.  Hokitika is on the West coast of New Zealand, so I got several glimpses of the Tasman as we drove up the coast.  The Awatuna Homestead B&B is a lovely home near the shore of the Tasman Sea.  We enjoyed the fine breakfast that Pauline provided and the other guests that we met.  I also had time to stroll about the grounds that Hemi has groomed and landscaped over the years; this was a special treat.  We left after one night and drove, in sunny weather, to Nelson. (Gosh, I don't think Kathy has done any shopping for two days, now.)

Outside Nelson, we stayed at Kimeret Place, the home of Peter and Clare Jones.  The recent construction of this magnificent home, if I recall correctly, was engineered, and the plans drafted, by Clare, herself.  I think that both, Peter and Clare, were engineers back in the U.K. before coming to New Zealand, and we found them very interesting to talk to.  The house and grounds were very professionally done, and what a great view.  Nearby, we visited wineries and tasted and bought wine.  We also visited a glass maker and watched him at his work.  We later bought a few of his handmade pieces.

After leaving Nelson, we enjoyed a wonderful drive through the mountains in full sunshine all the way to Picton.  Here, we took the time to orient ourselves with the process of turning in our rental car the next morning and boarding the ferry for the trip through the Queen Charlotte Sound and across the Cook Strait to Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand.  It was worth the trouble to gain this familiarization as it was not as simple as it sounded.  We rewarded ourselves with peace of mind and lunch overlooking the harbor.  Then we drove to the B&B outside of Picton where we had reserved a cabin for the night.  This was Whatamonga Home Stay Ltd; the cliff side home of Alex and Colette Wilson.  I was so impressed with this home and it's location, that I threatened Alex and Colette that I would show up someday with my own boat at their dock.  I daydreamed of cruising around the Queen Charlotte Sound and viewing it from this home in a perfect setting.  The next morning we enjoyed the smooth transition from South to North Island aboard the Linx Catamaran Ferry.  This is a huge powered catamaran, and from inside, we felt exactly as if we were in an airliner and were treated similarly; even with seatbelt and liferaft instructions in case of ditching.  This boat is so big that it does damage to the underwater life in the Cook Strait when it is operated at normal cruising speeds.  Because of this, it is run at speeds that felt to me to be only a little above idle.  Regardless, it was a very pleasant, and scenic, trip.

Upon arriving at Wellington, we picked up our luggage, that was handled in the same manner as with airlines, and another rental car.  We drove out of town to Eastbourne, a village on the other side of the harbor.  Here we stayed at Frinton by the Sea; a B&B owned and hosted by Doug and Wendy, and Rosy the dog.  We enjoyed them so much, we almost forgot to explore Wellington.  This home is also on a steep hillside, overlooking the entire Wellington harbor.  I was so comfortable in this home that I was tempted to lapse into total lethargy.  I had hoped to spend more time talking with Doug as he is in the same line of work that I just retired from.  The next day we visited a museum in Wellington and saw "Lord Of The Rings", and had a late dinner in town.  Kathy felt that it would be appropriate to see the film here in that it was made here.  We left early the next morning after, reluctantly, saying good-bye to Doug and Wendy, and made the long drive to Rotorua.

In Rotorua, we enjoyed the hospitality of Anne and Don Speedy at their Kairuri Lodge.  These folks could run a five star hotel and a travel agency with their expertise and social skills.  Don made reservations for us at the Mauri Arts and Culture Facility, acquainted us with, and directed us to, the Bath House Museum, and the Agri-Dome.  The Bath House Museum was an elaborate resort built around the hot sulfur springs many years ago and today is still an active lawn bowling club.  Kathy was able to gain some hands-on education about sheep, their handling, and some of the local crops, at the Agri-Dome.  At the Mauri Arts and Culture Facility, we gained a full appreciation of the Mauri history, life style, customs, and culture.  Anne and Don have a lot of energy and were fun, and educational, to talk to at Happy Hour and Breakfast.  We did a lot of touring and visiting in Rotorua so it was relaxing to just sit in the car and drive to Whangarei; and I still haven't run anybody down while trying to drive on the left hand side of the road.

I had been looking forward to seeing Whangarei again, and Cosmos, and Captain Joe, because of my association with them.  Unfortunately, it was also an indication that our wonderful vacation was almost over.  On our initial pass through town, we stopped by the Town Basin Marina to see if Captain Joe was aboard Cosmos; he was not.  We had, previously, invited him to join us for dinner that night but, we missed him.  We continued out the other side of town to Bayfields Farmstay, the home of our hosts, Angela and Russell Chambers.  This B&B is actually a 400 acre dairy operation located in a beautiful setting.  We had our own cabin for three days to use as a home base while touring in and around Whangarei.  Kathy and I got to participate in the milking of the cows in the milking parlor and walked through the pastures of this lovely farm.  We spent some quality time with Angela and Russell in their home talking about the many things that we had in common.  They were about to leave on a visit to England and were excited about it.  They left England many years ago and came to New Zealand to start a new life; and have been quite successful, I must say.

We finally caught up with Captain Joe Dorr on the 45 ft. Cutter rigged catamaran, Cosmos, and went aboard to assist in the assembly of the dinghy and acquaint Kathy with the boat that I had sailed to New Zealand in.  Kathy had never seen Cosmos and she really got a kick out of being aboard.  While in Whangarei, we also went to the Kauri Museum, visited Whangarei Heads and the Quarry Craft Center, and drove to Opua where we caught a ferry to the town of Russell for lunch and some, you guessed it, retail therapy.  Of course, we availed ourselves of some of the same therapy in Whangarei.  On the way back from visiting the Kauri Museum, I got caught in a radar trap and was rewarded, in a kind manner, with an expensive speeding ticket. I deserved it.

Our last stop, after Whangarei, was Auckland. For two days we spoiled ourselves on good food, good shopping, good walking.  (Yes, of course we were already spoiled)  We visited the Sky Tower and looked at all the America's Cup boats, and other boats in the harbor; right across from our hotel. If we could do this all over again, we would probably take more time doing exactly the same thing.  I think Kathy really enjoyed herself and learned a lot, I know I did.  I am really looking forward to getting home and asking her about the trip, now that she has had time to reflect on it.  It was a sad moment, as I left her at the Auckland Airport, knowing that I wouldn't see her for another six months.  But, we have a lot to look forward to, and we have a lot of fond memories of New Zealand, and her people, our hosts.

George Hotz