Tram outing in the paper

The following appeared in today's newspaper:

Take the family to MOTAT [the Auckland transportation museum] this weekend and enjoy a trip on the newly extended tramline...Passengers will be accompanied by the Raving Wrinklies, a group of elderly passengers reminiscing about the good old days when trams ruled the streets.

Or you could just take a city bus and listen to the ramblings of other old people.

Happy ANZAC Day

ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day remembers the vets here. The date commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in World War I. Since about 10,000 aussies and kiwis died in this action, which eventually led to the evacuation of the entire force, this is another sign that New Zealanders love heroic but futile gestures. Which brings us to today's semi-final of the Cricket World Cup. Lots of futile and only a bit of heroic.

Views from the house

The bay outside our house is wonderful, with a constant stream of boats. Sunrise and sunset are particularly spectacular.

Mickey's hanging around

Clothes dryers don't seem very popular here, with most people drying their clothes outside on lines. It even works for Mickey.

Fish day!

There is a wonderful fish market near the ferry terminal in Auckland (Waiheke, for complicated reasons, gets little fresh fish, despite being an island with bays full of fishing boats). Time for a bit of grilling!

April 15. Birthday!

It is Mike's birthday (47th if you must know) and it was great to celebrate it in the new house. The view from the deck into the bay is ever fascinating (there will probably be many pictures from exactly the same spot in this blog).

New House

The big news (other than Mike has returned) is that we have moved into a new house. Our previous house had some good qualities (great view, comfortable balconies) but some real drawbacks (the town of Onetangi has very little there, and the house was a little small once the sun went down). So we have moved to a house in Oneroa (the main town on the island), right by the main shopping area. The house is huge (perhaps 2500 square feet or so) and has an even better view (closer to the water, and the bay is more active with constant sailboats). The house is extremely well done, with great attention to details. And it seems robust enough to stand up to an active 3-year old. For a couple of months, we'll be paying for three places (old place, new place, and house in Pittsburgh), but it is worth it for our happiness here.

Adventures with cars

With Mike back in the US, Ilona is alone with Alexander. Here's her description of today's adventure:

Alexander locked me out of the car today. I had picked him up from a
playdate and he was quite insistent that it was his turn to drive. Obliging
him I let him sit in the drivers seat and even handed over the car key. I
left the door slightly ajar while he was happily turning the wheel making
car sounds. And then he announced that the door has to be shut and, before I
could react, grabbed the handle and pushed all the buttons on the door, one
being the general lock. To the amusement of several people passing by, I
spent some ten minutes trying to tell him which button to push. He was
pushing everything, wipers, fog lights, radio, but not the general lock
button. Finally, I got him to open up the sunroof. I had to climb over the
hood to the roof, which was not easy because the windshield wipers went at a
furious pace, and into the car (to a mild cheering of the small crowd). It
took me five more minutes to find all the buttons he had pushed. I guess it
is a lesson never to hand a key to a toddler!

Grandpa Trick suggested recreating the adventure to get some pictures for the blog.

Mike away for a bit

Lots of changes here. First, Mike has gone back to the US for a week in order to interview for a job (which he said he would never, ever do, but promises are cheap). This left Ilona alone with the little guy for a few days (as commonly happens, the babysitter tends to disappear whenever Mike goes out of town).

A bit of artwork (with well-covered carpets!) fills in the time.

Last Day in Russell

Time to head back from Russell. First a bit more around the town. We went up Flagstaff Hill. Flags clearly hold powerful symbolism for New Zealanders. The flag above Russell was cut down numerous times in the aftermath of Treaty of Waitangi "misunderstandings" (and even today we saw a group of young Maori pretending to cut down the flags at the Treaty Grounds). Now there is a flagpole and sundial and tremendous views of the town and the gulf.





We also visited the Russell Museum, where they have a collection of Zane Grey items along with a 1/5 replica of Cook's Endeavor. We also got Alexander a dolphin to offset the lack of dolphin sightings on our tour.

On the way back, we stopped at Kawakawa where we saw the "world famous" Hundertwasser toilets. Mike can attest to the fact they are still in active use. A bit more time at a playground and then we arrived back on Waiheke.

Visit to Waitangi

Waitangi is the "birthplace of New Zealand", where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between representatives of the Queen and tribal leaders for some of Maori. It is a complicated subject for New Zealand, since it is not clear that the English and Maori translations mean the same thing.





The Treaty Grounds are across the bay from Russell, so it is back on a ferry we go. When we arrive, we take a tuk-tuk (medium-sized motorized cart) up the road to the Treaty Grounds. It is a beautiful area with a mix of English and Maori artifacts. The walking paths are particularly well done, with raised paths leading through the trees. The area feels much larger than it really is, due to the interesting design. Alexander was particularly impressed with the neat vegetable garden (it reminded him of Rabbit's garden from "Winnie the Pooh"). The cafe was particularly good for lunch.

Evening in Russell

We were able to get a babysitter this evening (thanks Cheryl!), so we went out to dinner in town. Russell used to be known as the "Hell-Hole of the Pacific" in the 1800s due to the drinking and prostitution. Still some drinking going on, but we didn't see any of the other stuff. Russell is now a very nice, small (700 people) town. Some of the buildings (and even trees) date back to the 1840s.

We began our evening at the private "Swordfish Club", as guests of the Motel owner (though we had to put up with a lecture on how he really shouldn't do that, and we could cause a $10,000 fine and so on). Just as we invisioned a fishing club: a lot of blowhards talking about fish and sailing and customs and so on. Lovely view over the harbor, though. We had dinner at the Gables House, which was very nice.

Crusing the Bay of Islands, Part II

As part of the cruise, we spent an hour on an island in the bay (where Zane Grey used to spend some time). We began with a "Sub Sea" adventure, which is a little corny, since they pretend it is a submarine when really it is a ship with some windows under the water. But Alexander was captivated, and so were we. The weather was murkey due to last week's rain (the north really got drenched: they say it was a once in 150 year rain) but we could see lots of fish, particularly when the bucket came down with the fish food in it. Alexander loved the bucket and ignored the fish to look for the bucket.

After the half-hour "adventure", we hung out on the beach for a while. Despite living 10 minutes from the beach, it never gets old.

Cruising the Bay of Islands, Part I

We began today with a "Hole in the Rock" cruise. A number of ships do this trip: we chose "Fullers", who also run the ferry Mike takes to work, so the cruise felt a bit like commuting to him. The Bay is beautiful, and there is significant history around. Cook visited these islands (avoiding getting et here). I've (Mike) been doing some reading about Cook and he really was unbelievable about handling the indigenous people: no matter the provocation, he prohibited violent response (not with 100% success). On one of the islands in the Bay, he resorted to firing a canon over the heads of a group, but that was about as strong as he would go.




The highlight of the trip is the "Hole in the Rock" which the various ships line up in front of to shoot through the archway. Given the size of the ships, it is really quite amazing there are not more accidents.

We had a great time, with one downside: no dolphins. The brochures all talk about dolphins and penguins and whales and so on, but the Fullers tour is the only one not to actively seek out the animals. If only we had seen one dolphin... Alexander was disappointed, but we later bought him a $3 plastic dolphin and he seems mollified.