John & Fayne in New Zealand: Part II: A Visit From an Irish Lad and To Tutukaka (With Wreaths in Between)

FOC: Note the expert parking job and the Cal cap

After seven weeks working and exploring central Auckland by bus and by foot, it was time for us to spread our wings a bit and wander further afield. Our first opportunity was in mid-April when my Irish friend and former house officer from Timaru Florry O'Connell visited as our first (and to date only) flat-guest. Florry has the unique distinction of having visited us in Timaru, Perth, Fort Bragg, San Francisco, and now Auckland. As always, we had a fun-filled time, including good food, taking in Jersey Boys, touring the hospital and Domain, and a trip to the Parnell French market.
He rented a car, and we took off to the West Coast/Tasman Sea via West Auckland. I had heard it is quite beautiful, and we were not disappointed on the drive out to Karekare Beach,

Part of The Piano was filmed on the beach here.

and creek

and waterfall.

On the drive back we stopped for a break at a cafe with a panoramic view overlooking the whole of Auckland.

Later that week, on Wednesday April 25, the nation commemorated Anzac Day, the solemn Memorial Day for New Zealand and Australia begun to honor the WWI troops at Gallipoli, and now it includes all the wars of the last 100 years. It has some significance for us too because exactly two years ago in 2010, we arrived in NZ for the first time.We walked in an informal parade in the Newmarket district.

Later we attended the mid-day ceremony at the cenotaph in front of the Auckland War Memorial Museum

complete with multiple wreath-layings.

All of the countless Anzac monuments and cenotaphs throughout Australasia include the phrase "Lest we forget". I hope that in addition to remembering the sacrifice of the fallen warriors, we also remember the people who work to prevent such tragic conflicts.

The following weekend, it was our town to rent a car and head about three hours north to Tutukaka, a small boat harbor and the gateway to the Poor Knights Islands. A re-visit has been on my agenda since a brief stop our first time through in June 2010.

The islands are a world-class site for diving (mostly scuba, which I don't do, but snorkeling is an option too), and the name is evocative. As with much in the antipodes, the name dates from Captain Cook's log, although a precise explanation is lacking. Two competing theories exist. The more mundane is that sailors thought the profile of the islands looked like a slain Crusader laying on his back with shield on his chest. This will be a very familiar story to any seasoned traveler, as almost any mountain is said to resemble some person, usually supine. (Queen Victoria, a sleeping Indian maiden, a Norse god anyone?) The second explanation is that it was said to resemble Capt. Cook's favorite breakfast treat, Poor Knights Pudding. When you look that up, it is described as French toast. I don't know about, you, but that is not what my French toast looks like.

A Prone Crusader or French Toast?? You decide.

Anyhoo, the isles are 14 miles off the east coast and a nature and marine reserve. A wayward branch of the East Australian Current comes by here. It is the "superhighway" that Nemo rode to Sydney and is the reason warmer water and tropical fishes like those of the Great Barrier Reef can be found ectopically here. Also, the geology is volcanic, not coral, so there is a steep fall-off from shore and deep clefts and crevices both above and below the water-line create dramatic arches,

sea caves, and lots of nooks and crannies for sea-life and divers to explore.
They claim to have the world's largest sea cave ("by volume") in Rikoriko Cave.

The boat pulls inside and we had an extended time inside to swim. There was not a huge amount of fish like I have seen in Australia and Hawaii, but the water is quite clear and there is a lot of variety from the back of the cave to the front and from bottom to top.

It was a beautiful site to see the light drift in from the mouth of the cave and to look below to see the scuba divers exploring with their lights and to watch the air bubbles float up like gigantic tapioca pearls.
Fayne didn't snorkel but she had an extra bonus meeting a Kiwi celebrity, Pete Bethune. He is an interesting dude, started out as an oil exploration engineer in the North Sea, and evolved in to a militant sea eco-warrior if you will, and staunch advocate of bio-fuels. I first read of him two years ago when his ship was sunk by a Japanese whaler and he was arrested, tried, and convicted of trespassing and other charges in Japan. Currently, he has assembled an international group of eco-commandos to patrol for illegal fishing off the shore of Africa (and hoping to make a reality show out of it).