Auckland North Island New Zealand

We have just come by ferry from the north of Auckland into the city centre. A lovely way to travel with fresh sea breezes and to see the city from the sea and not the land. It shows one a very different perspective of things, of bridges, of the Ritz hotel, shaped like a ferry. Splendid. Greeting us on our jaunt around, is the " Spirit of New Zealand," A legendary New Zealand yacht raced in the America Cup. When one sees a yacht afloat, one really has no idea, of just how massive they actually are. Just look at the size of the keel here alone. It also seems like the mast reaches up to heaven. Fascinating. It's just before Xmas and there is a greeting on the side of the yacht. A nice touch. I wonder what they will put on it when the rugby world cup commences?

Photograph courtesy of Kevin Moor

New Zealand prides itself on being a seafaring nation. My late father served in the Royal Navy during the second world war and subsequently I have always been fascinated by the sea and ships. I love nothing better than visiting docks and harbours and looking at all the vessels. In New Zealand it seems like there is a harbour around every corner. Here we are strolling around another harbour. Part of the fun is looking at what people call their boats. The sense of humour is staggering and is part of the fun.

Photograph courtesy of Kevin Moor

Now then this isn't one of my own photo's. I'm not sure whose it is, my sister in law, my brother in law or one of my beautiful nieces? I'm positive they won't mind me using it. It shows my wife and I coasting off for a tour on the glass bottomed boat, her waving and me in the hat looking back. So squidoo people can see me as I am. Another fun way to spend some time. Basically takes about two hours and hugs the coast. Beautiful views of New Zealand, including where Captain Cook first landed in New Zealand. Amongst other things one is shown the pointers which delineate the preserved maritime reserves where no fishing is allowed and scientific surveys are done on the fish. Somewhere here your captain will stop and remove the cover over the glass bottom and one can see all kinds of fish swimming around. Beautiful. My favourite part of this trip was cathedral cove, coming up next.

" Have you ever seen a black beach?" This question was posed to me by my brother in law. Now I'm a well known sceptic so replied, "there's no such thing." Actually there is. New Zealand was formed by volcanic eruptions and gradually the sea wore down the rocks and left black sand beaches. Hard to credit, but I saw it with my own eyes. Because I'm a past master of knowing which wires to pull, my friend was determined to show me and threw in a tour of some gannets to spark my interest. Fascinating.

Photograph courtesy of Kevin Moor

Let me tell you, the wind here is fierce and I mean really fierce. That's just Irish talk for exceptionally strong. What's more on the day we went there it was blowing straight at us. Now the gannets have been here for centuries, returning by some instinct all this time. So there's lots of guano and boy does it pong. Part of the reason for this is that the chicks don't really know how to fly, so if they accidentally fall all they have to do is spread their wings and they will glide and manoeuvre back safely.

There is a hierarchy in the world if only we would realise it. These gannets do and that's just the way it is. Once they have returned from a sojourn to Australia they unerringly return here to Muriwai. They take a mate and it's a lifelong commitment on both sides. How sweet. Now on the promontories here there is a pecking order. The older mother's have the best spot, around the middle and so protected from the fierce wind. The young 'whippersnappers' are pushed out onto the edges. If you have a closer look at the photo, you can see them perched right on the edges, almost falling off the rock and have little or no respite from the wind. Fascinating.

An instinctive cycle that has been going on for centuries. Once the young have learnt how to fly. Off they go to Australia and as best my memory serves me correctly, for up to 5 years. Why this is so, I'm not sure, but that's the way it is. They then return here to Murawai, mate, as previously explained, and thus the cycle is maintained. Furthermore, the gannet is perhaps the most aerodynamically perfect specimen of all. When they dive to feed, they hit the sea at 148 kilometres per hour. Either they have hard heads or they cannot make the slightest mistake when diving? A lot like a space ship re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, it has to be flawless. Who can believe this? Fascinating and well worth a visit to see.

Even if one just takes a drive it's enough to be an enchanting experience. New Zealand is pretty mountainous and one encounters breathtaking scenery wherever one goes. A small example here with all the beautiful trees.

Never that far away from the sea and sometimes it's nice just to pull over onto the side of the road or better still a lay bye. They are often strategically placed, so tourists may stop and take a little stroll and admire the enchanting scenery. So you see, in amongst all the rugby games there is also all the spectacular scenes in North Island. Later I will get around to showing you parts of South Island. Do yourself a favour and come to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby world cup. Satisfaction guaranteed. Get your tickets early.