G and K and What They Say: Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Day 10 We had another day on land--this time Bay of Islands.

The ship was anchored way out away from the dock, so we had to get on the tender boats to get to land.

Once again Steven had lined up a private tour for us rather than arranging a tour through the cruise ship. We got in the van with a small group of people and off we went to see the sights.

First stop--Kawiti Glow Worm Caves.

A Maori family owns the caves which have been passed down through generations. They are the tour guides.

Once inside the cave, no photos allowed. We walked deep into the cave and then the lights were turned off and we saw the worms glowing on the ceiling of the cave.

Just showing a little fear like I do every time I am about ready to go into a cave.

On our drives, we learned that the hay bales that are seen in many fields are wrapped in different colors. The bales are usually wrapped in a minty green color, but other colors have been popping up around the country.

The different colors represent an awareness campaign for various causes. Pink is for breast cancer, blue is for prostate cancer and purple is for pediatric healthcare service.

In New Zealand what we call rest rooms or bathrooms they call toilets. There are 13 unusual toilets in the North Island. We visited only the one in Kawakawa.

The public toilets are marked very well--on street signs,

Our tour guide told us all about these public toilets designed by Austrian artist Hundertwasser.

The toilets are built around a living tree and have a roof top garden reflecting Hundertwasser's environmentally considerate approach to architecture.

Built mostly with recycled materials, the toilets incorporate bricks, bottles, tiles and colorful pottery.

Hundertwasser didn't like straight lines or flat floors. I can sure attest to that. It was quite an adventure walking on the uneven floor.

Well, that was a unique, unforgettable rest stop!

We saw lots and lots of cut trees and logs. Forestry is a significant industry in New Zealand. Forestry products are the country's third largest export behind dairy and meat.

In Kerikeri, we made a stop at Makana Confections Boutique Chocolate Factory. We could see into the factory area where they were making and packaging the "hand-made chocolates and other natural temptations."

Makana website boasts: "Our hand-made chocolates and other natural temptations are perfect for special occasions, or a wonderfully special self-indulgent treat."

Glen self-indulged! He liked the sample of macadamia butter toffee crunch that was offered to every visitor and bought himself a whole box of it.

We also walked through the little wood shop next to the chocolate shop, but refrained from buying anything there.

Off we drove to our next destination--lunch.

We lined up to place our orders, walking past all the bakery goods before ordering.

The men ordered Hangi pies for the third day in a row. I couldn't stand the thought of taking my chances on another bad-tasting lunch, so I ended up ordering a wrap, same as what Patricia ordered.

I also splurged and got carrot cake as well--to make up for the disgusting lunch I had eaten the day before!!

Patricia had Steven order two to-go desserts for her. We were all loaded in the bus when Patricia looked in her bag and shrieked, "STOP!! I got the wrong dessert!!"

One of the desserts should have been ginger cake rather than a hard ginger cookie. She was not happy about that at all!! She jumped off the bus and went back to right that terrible wrong.

Nobody messes with Patricia and her desserts!!!!

We stopped to take the short Kauri Walk through beautiful forest land.

Glen is trying to pose like a Maori. (?!?)

Now Glen's trying to be Tarzan hanging from a vine.

We took a little hike to see the Haruru Falls.

The driver stopped by a golf course where we could get a photo of our ship anchored out in the water.

While we were there, we saw a long procession of vehicles with people hooting and hollering out their windows. Motorcycles were making a lot of noise. A group of people were sitting in the back of a pick-up truck holding photos of a young man and shouting things as they passed by.

The whole procession congregated on that overlook where we were and as people were getting out of their vehicles, we could see they were all dressed in black.

Our tour guide took a few minutes to talk to us in the van and explained a young man had died and his family and friends were taking him on one last ride to see all his favorite places. We had seen the casket in one of the family vehicles.

The guide went on to explain the Maori's belief of creation and life after death.

Our tour for the day had ended. We drove back to the water.

We chose to get dropped off in Paihia so we could walk around there for a while and then get a free shuttle over the bridge back to Waitangi Pier.

We spotted the Waka Festival and went over to check it out.

I was tempted to buy some Maori cream from the booth that advertised it helps with skin problems. Glen had gotten the traveler's rash as well and so both our legs looked horrible.

Enjoyed looking at some Maori artwork.

We were deciding if we wanted to wait in line for the shuttle bus or make the 25-minute walk to the pier.

We decided to walk and then it started raining. The wind was also blowing hard. I used my jacket to hold up high in front of me as a protection from the wind. Doing that offered a little protection from the rain, but not much.

It was a relief to finally be on the bridge overlooking the pier where we would get on the yellow tender boats, but we still had a ways to go.

Steven and Patricia wanted to walk around the pier and so they stayed behind. I was anxious to get back to the ship, have a shower and get cleaned up before dinner. I felt like a drowned rat.

The entertainment that evening was Jonathan Clark. He was a very good singer and impressionist and had us laughing a lot at the people he was imitating.