People | John & Anne Wiley

2017/02/12

Bay Of Islands

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,O U Adventure,People,Random — John @ 00:57

One name came up with everyone Anne talked to about NZ before and during our trip: Bay Of Islands. That’s actually why we rented a car and drove the hour and some from Auckland to Whangarei, where I got to fly GA. So after a tasty breakfast at the Dickens Inn, the extra hour drive to Paihia helped her feel better about not having flown GA yet. It is, as predicted, beautiful.

9567 Paihia

For anyone who likes boating or water sports of any kind, it’s The place to be. We enjoyed an especially romantic moonrise dinner at a place called Alongside, on a short pier out over the water.

210734 Moonrise

With the great weather compared with most of our trip so far, of course we wanted to fly GA over the Bay! So the next day we made the short drive inland to Kerikeri, and went to the B.O.I. airport there. After much driving around and talking to everyone we could find, we finally got Swan Air on the phone only to discover that GA would be impossible during our time there. So after checking out the town we went back to Paihia, and hiked around the area.

9625 Waterfront Trail

We found a quiet spot where this tree was struggling to hold onto a crumbing bluff over the beach.

9665 Desperate Grip

I’m no botanist, but those red flowers look like the “Bottlebrush” tree we park our car under at the SB Airport. There are many of them along Paihia Beach.

9638 Gentle Paihia Beach

We explored several long stretches of beach, each offering different views along the coast…

9572 Coast View

…out to the assorted tiny fantasy islands…

9578 Fantasy Island

…and beyond them out across the Bay.

9612 Islands to Bay

Oh how we longed to fly GA low and slow over this area! Both of us used to enjoy water sports, but that interest has waned over the years and all but vanished since we started flying GA. So rather than invest hours and dollars on the water, after the second night we drove back toward Auckland and paused atop a hill for this look back across the Bay.

9675 Almost Aerial

This was the closest to that yearned-for aerial perspective we were able to get. Along the highway we passed through an enchanted marsh that had us wondering if it was some sort of mangrove swamp.

104828 Mangrove Swamp?

We didn’t try to find out, instead keeping up a steady pace to get through Auckland before rush hour on our way to another place highly recommended to us: Tauranga. Along that drive was this beautiful river (I guess the Ohinemuri), where we took a brief stop to soak in the sights and sounds.

9736 River Roadside

The river “energy” was familiar to all we’ve known, yet the palm ferns and other unfamiliar plants made it all the more magical. After this refreshing pause from the long drive, we arrived at a Tauranga beach hotel before dark.

194414 Beach & Tree

After so much driving, it was simply glorious to be rooted again! I sighed deeply typing that just now, recalling how welcome this spot was to weary travelers.

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2017/02/06

Funga Rye

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,O U Adventure,People,Random — John @ 09:03

We spent another night in downtown Auckland, then picked up a rental car and tried not to break any laws. Especially by driving on the right (wrong) side of the road. We enjoyed a new angle on the city from the “left” side of the highway bridge, and my new cellphone easily captured this quite sharp pic.

170637 First Drive

As the only authorized driver in the rental, I got the hang of driving on the left fairly quickly – except for the “turn signal,” which turned on the wipers and thus reminded me to think opposite. Having not yet flown GA “down under” I was eager to find a friendly pilot as we rolled into Whangarei and drove out to the aerodrome (airport). I went door to door until finding one open at the Whangarei Flying Club, and we went in to meet the cheerful friendly Penny who set us up with her also gregarious pilot hubby Rusty.

9549 Penny & Rusty at Tecnam P92 G5

Though she wanted to come along Anne was less disappointed to not join us in this 2-seat Tecnam “light sport” plane, than I was excited to get airborne with Rusty. I’d been itching to meet NZ pilots and see it from small planes.

151812 Up At Last

For U.S. pilots lucky enough to visit this part of New Zealand, we highly recommend the club as a very inexpensive alternative to getting a N.Z. license and checkride for any rental plane you can find. Rusty mostly flew out across the shallow bay to those jagged peaks not far from the airport, while I tried to get good pix through the windows that don’t open.

9360 Ancient Stone

The wizened rocks riddled with caves speak of eons and beg the question of whether ancient peoples once slept there dreaming of flying nearby.

9412 Geological Reduction

The process that created these rocks has long since given way to the gradual erosion taking them back down into the sea. But after a few minutes along the coast and cruising past more rock sculptures, we headed back for a look at Whangarei where we’d booked the Cell Block (a former jail converted to a hostel) for a night. By the way, have you tried to pronounce the name of this lovely small city on a river by the sea?

9522 Whangarei

If you’re curious how the locals say the Maori name of their town, the title of this post is an approximation. We had fun learning and practicing it. Here’s another pic of the city, looking back past the airport as we approached to land.

9548 Whangarei Airport

They have commercial airline service, yet the field is friendly to small planes including excellent carefully home built aircraft. It turns out Rusty also keeps an AutoGyro Europe MT03 Eagle there, and he happily agreed to take me for a quick flight before his students arrived from Auckland for training in it. What an absolute thrill that was!

9563 AutoGyro MT-03

The performance is very similar to a light helicopter, but at an order of magnitude less operating expense. I couldn’t take pix, not having prepared a camera for such an exhilarating open-air experience, but the view was spectacular and much akin to simply levitating off the ground unaided. Great way to begin my quest to fly GA in NZ! 🙂

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2017/02/01

A Touch of Oz

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,O U Adventure,People,Random — John @ 00:24

Dreaming of this Adventure, we first imagined adding Australia (aka Oz) to the Maui (HI) trip. As the Dream stage blended into the Plan stage we realized that Oz is still a long flight from HI and December is usually hot there. Then we decided to visit New Zealand instead, but as planning continued we were convinced by Aussie friends to add back at least 3 nights in Sydney. This way we’d add at least a touch of Oz, in case we never get back and to increase the chance we would. It worked. Here then is a hyper-condensed photo memoir, starting with our first glimpse of downtown – the only part of a vast continent this trip touched.

8551 Circling Oz

By the time we arrived at the wonderful Amora Hotel, another donation from our life savings to this memorable journey, it was dark. Taking in this view from our room, we were in Oz.

8719 Oz Welcome

Morning found us out exploring the streets, enjoying the vast spectrum of architecture and humanity (many in seasonal garb).

191705 People & Structures

One big difference between the trip we Plan and the trip we Take, is the Unexpected. We took our two smartphones on this trip, so we could adapt along the way using net access and easy communication. Both phones died, a few days apart. Part of our NZ time and this Sydney wander included seeking ways to repair, and when that didn’t work out, replace phones. At one point we had five phones, with one of them functional. A few days ago, back home and somewhat caught up on sleep and life, I did surgery on those dead phones and found the culprit.

113923 Microscopic Oz

That tiny white thing is the power switch, which had shorted out on these years old phones, within a few days of each other, deducting many hours from our Plan for the trip. Luckily for us, the dazzling scenes and bustling throngs of residents & tourists, combined with the remarkable power of Oz to effortlessly transport us far beyond the tiny distraction of phones.

8795 Bustle

Walking along this Darling Harbor promenade we came to that iconic white shell in the first pic of this post, that shouts Oz around the world.

8809 Sydney Opera House

Somehow we’d imagined it as a low smooth white sculpture, but we now saw that it’s up on a pedestal, etched with zig-zag lines, and always thronged with people. On this first encounter we walked all around and inside the public parts of it, and further learned that it’s actually covered in a dragon’s skin mosaic of small tiles.

8877 Dragon Flank

Beneath the beast is the din of several crowded cafes, bars and restaurants where the tourist mob descends for refreshment.

8922 Belly of the Beast

Looking back along the promenade, the impressive skyline greeted our return to the throbbing, noisy heart of Oz.

8851 Darling Harbor

Like us, you may have noticed the highest point in the city, called the Tower Eye. Since our “Plan” for a low altitude aerial tour of the city fell through, we decided to pay for a table in the rotating bar up there. Lots of pix, as you can imagine, but here’s a single example that includes a look back at a small slice of the Amora all but invisible among the giants.

9138 Amora Dwarfed

To get out on the water like so many in Oz, we took the ferry over to Manly Island and got this look back at the Harbor Bridge.

8967 Harbor Bridge

Soon we also got another angle on the skyline we’d so recently seen through an airliner window.

9000 Sydney Skyline

Like most on the ferry, we enjoyed the short walk across the island to its famous beach where seasonal garb was even more common.

9245 Holiday Spirits

The easy and joyful buzz so many people had there seemed to arise from the open hearts of Australians, combined with liberal enjoyment of alcohol. Walking back to the ferry along the pedestrian mall, we continued to soak up that playful energy.

9257 Manly Walk

For our last of three short nights, we walked again to the “clamshell” and saw it transformed to a different sculpture.

9322 Sculpture

Across the water, an amusement park at the base of the bridge also presented a different face in the night.

9317 Night Fun

Our final walk back into town began closure to this journey down under to the land of Oz.

203759 Night Shapes

Flying out the next day we got one last look at a few landmarks, now familiar, disappearing into a jet engine among the seemingly infinite array of places we’d like to have visited.

105634 Looking Back

Memories were settling within us when the green of New Zealand greeted our return to Auckland.

133719 NZ Green

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2017/01/28

Over The Rainbow

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,O U Adventure,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 09:43

Rainbows appeared everywhere we’d been on Oahu & Maui, and it was all the more magical to lift off from HNL toward New Zealand cruising miles above the rainbows. We passed over Kiribati, which holds fascination for me since Y2K when it featured in New Year celebrations as the first place on earth to greet the new millennium. Alas, it was lost in clouds below us, and foretold of fuzzy weather awaiting us in Auckland after our 9-hour flight.

182947 Gray Greeting

In the hazy distance you can just make out the Sky Tower, a tiny point on the horizon just left of center. We descended over the island and saw many hints of what was ahead, yearning for clear air and windows that open. Rather than take the rather expensive new light rail, we opted for the cheapo shuttle bus with lots of locals and other visitors to chat with, giving us an intro to the city. Of all the fun scenery along the route, this dance bar sign caught my Yankee psychologist eye.

125618 You Are Wanted

By the time we checked into our cozy affordable room right in the heart of Queen Street downtown, it was getting dark as we ventured out into the mist.

8117 Into Mystery

Despite all our Dreaming and Planning we had little clue what to expect, so a sweet sense of mystery brightened our weary eyes. We’d paid the relatively small extra fee for a “SkyCouch” but didn’t get more than half a night’s sleep (we’re told ANZ’s Premium Economy is better & cheaper). After an hour of wandering a few blocks we settled in and dreamed the night away.

Morning found us blearily greeting a new reality, both in Kiwi country and because Anne’s phone with expensive NZ calling plan died. If you have a “smart” phone, you’ll guess the trauma that entails at the start of an enchanted adventure. After doing all I could to resuscitate it without tools, the view from our window of Auckland Town Hall coaxed us “half-connected” out beyond Cyberia into the colorful new world around us.

8133 Window On Wonderland

We love Auckland! The architecture, people, and enchanting mix of calm cosmopolitan bustle. It totally made up for the fuzzy weather (see the Sky Tower disappearing into it?), especially after French Coffee at the cafe around the corner. Across the street is this fanciful square in front of the concert hall.

8197 Art Walk

In our already altered state, the creativity here helped us see the artistic magic in everything (and everyone) on our meander down Queen Street.

8185 Green & Human

It’s a great place for walking, with little traffic compared to other big city cores and lots of green. Though there are lots of people on the wide sidewalks, as conveyed by this pic…

8180 Quiet Din

…we were well spread out and mostly moving at a sedate pace in remarkably quiet yet colorful and stimulating surroundings. Plenty of tall buildings to gawk at, with a wide array of styles and eras welcoming yet another boom of new construction.

8174 Architectural Variety

One surprising landing we made on our walkabout was at the music shop. Surprising because we’d packed very light for 5.5 weeks in climates ranging from tropics to snow: one small “travelpro” checked bag and small soft backpack each. After all that frugal winnowing of every square inch, only the muse can explain our purchase of this candy apple red ukulele to poke his head out my backpack on the rest of our journey.

8199 Creative Impulse

Well, we also got a great deal (esp. with USD exchange rate) and we love the bright tone.

With low clouds and only two nights before our quick jaunt to Australia, I didn’t try to ferret out any GA flying options. Instead we went up in the Sky Tower and got this glimpse down at our hotel.

8430 Down Home

Looking up across the island we could almost make out the airport in the hazy distance among the gradually clearing cloud cover. Rising above the streets we’d wandered, our hearts were already starting to move toward the journey beyond.

8312 Beyond The City

In a few hours we were already back aboard another airliner climbing toward Sydney, glancing back where we’d just been in that distant tower. From these two high perspectives, we’d begun to sense the adventures awaiting us after “Oz.”

8456 High Perspective

Yet as we got this last glance back at the New Zealand coast, a touch of melancholy upon leaving this sweet place quietly passed, before we looked ahead to the vast cloud-dotted blue of the Tasman Sea.

8493 Looking Back & Ahead

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2017/01/24

Maui Memories

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,O U Adventure,People,Random — John @ 22:14

Seems to me Maui is not an island, it’s a mellow scenic state of mind. Our first extended stay there on this trip began with dear friends who introduced scenes like this.

7528 Mauna Kahalawai

Sitting in another outdoor restaurant gazing at this, quiet conversation with Paula, another long-time friend, included plans to take a hike. We also invited Jim & Jori with whom we enjoyed many delights like breakfast on this screened balcony.

115149 Greeting New Days

So one of our days included going to the Waihe’e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge for a custom hike led by Paula, who leads larger hiking groups to her favorite Maui marvels.

152747 Wandering Waihe’e

Anne and I also explored some via car, pondering whether we’d see the volcano on the other side of the valley.

7534 Haleakalā

So we drove back to the airport for my “check ride” with the flight training, tour, and Cessna rental company Maui Aviators at OGG, hoping they’d be better than Moore at HNL. After 15 minutes aloft their lead instructor said, “You’re good.” For other pilots wanting to rent or anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive private aerial tour of the islands, I’ve posted our summary of the two HI companies we used. We dropped the instructor off at the airport and went for a short tour back across the valley including the short water crossing to this view of the small islet where snorkeling tour boats go.

7764 Molokini

The Molokini sanctuary is beautiful from the air, and offers wonderful experiences on and in the water. Flying back wearing big smiles, we again passed these smokestacks that are a landmark used by air traffic. Driving “home” for another evening with J&J we snapped this view of it shaded by one of the many clouds that would obscure peaks and shower on us for most of our Maui days.

7547 Cane Plant

We’d heard from our friends and others that sugar production was about to end there bringing joy to environmentalists and many residents, and unemployment to others. Hopefully there will be new jobs as the economy adapts. After our days of delights we felt both excitement and sadness to take another airline back to HNL for our flight to New Zealand. We got this fresh look at Molokai.

150212 Molokai High

This high altitude perspective had me wondering if we’d manage to get back there in a GA rental plane. While lovely, this view only served to further whet my appetite. In minutes we said Aloha again to Waikiki.

151926 Aloha Tower

Having been to the top of Aloha Tower it was surprising I couldn’t spot that tall landmark as we zipped by. Only now looking at the pic can I make it out (arrow) among skyscrapers that loom behind it. The next day dawned clear and bright. The airliner taxi for takeoff kindled hope that such calm air with few clouds would expand our GA flying options upon return to Maui in late December.

100043 HNL Taxi

As now familiar HNL slipped beneath our wings and disappeared from our expanding view, thoughts of Auckland turned our attention forward.

100233 Farewell HNL

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John & Anne Wiley

2017/02/12

Bay Of Islands

2017/02/06

Funga Rye

2017/02/01

A Touch of Oz

2017/01/28

Over The Rainbow

2017/01/24

Maui Memories

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