Ral and Don Moving On: All Work and No Play

. . . . make Ral and Don dull people!

OUR DAY-TRIP TO THE COROMANDEL

Maps of New Zealand's North Island - Showing where we live and where we went!

One Saturday, we traveled to the Coromandel Peninsula with our friends, Susan and Scott Seamons. We took the ferry from Devonport across the harbor to Auckland, and then took a ferry to Coromandel Town.

We ate lunch at the Pepper Tree Restaurant (named after the big pepper tree on the right. Don had been having trouble finding the "right kind" of pepper here in New Zealand and discovered just the RIGHT kind here. The waitress ended up giving him a shaker of pepper and it became our souvenir of the trip!

DRIVING CREEK RAILWAY

We all hopped on board the little cog trains that took us on narrow switch-backs up the mountain to a beautiful view from the "Eye-full Tower" - Yes, that's the tower's real name!

The ride was lovely and fun . . . and the best thing about it was that the train and railway were built with love by a potter and railroad enthusiast who started building the railway 35 years ago to bring clay from the hillside to his pottery studio.

The sign on the right is funny because there are NO SNAKES in New Zealand - Interesting!

WAIAU KAURI GROVE

Next, we went on a tour of a beautiful Kauri forest. (This part of the blog is for Chuck!) Kauri trees are among the world's mightiest trees, growing to over 50 meters (164 feet) tall with trunks up to 16 meters (52 1/2 feet), and living for over 2,000 years!

When Europeans came to New Zealand in the late 1700's; sailors realized that the tall, straight Kauri trees were ideal for ship masts and spars and the straight-grained wood was excellent to use in construction. Our guide told us that because of the logging trade in New Zealand, by 1900 - 99% of the Kauri trees had been cut down! Today the Kauri are being carefully protected and the forests are being restored.

We had to wash our shoes off before entering the forest because of a disease that is killing the Kauri trees.

The seven trees in the Kauri grove behind us are between 600 and 700 years old.

Notice the knots in the tree trunk - the lower branches "automatically" fall off as the tree is growing! That is another reason why the trees were popular as timber. Kauri gum was also a commodity used for varnishes, resin-based products, and jewelry.

The next picture is great because it shows two things: The SILVER FERN (on the right side - underneath the fern, it really is silver!) and the brown FERN FROND, like the one to the right. The frond unrolls and the new fern unfurls.

The KORU, Maori for "loop" is a spiral shape based on the shape of a new unfurling fern frond. It symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. It is an important symbol in Maori art, carving, and tattoos. We see it everywhere.