How to get your Austrian Passport if you live outside of Austria

mid - Feb 2010

So here is me living a nice quiet life in this wonderful country of New Zealand - and we were discussing passports - when I decided to check mine out and see how much longer it is current for.

EEEEK end of this year!!!

I need to get my paws into gear and start the process on getting a new passport. I almost wish I had not. Once upon a time (pre 9/11 event) it used to be reasonably straight forward. As an Austrian Citizen living outside of Austria - all I had to provide was one original passport / one copy of my (Austrian) citizenship paper / one application form / one half decent mugshot and some dinares (Australian Dollars) and post the lot of to our Embassy in Canberra Australia. Should be easy - right ? ? ? Used to take about a month or so.

So here is the daily / weekly / Monthly process so far (which will be updated if and when there is a new activity)

End of Feb 2010
Having researched the web and googled Austrian Consulate NZ -- I found there are three honorary Consulates in NZ - Way to go - one even right here in sleepy Christchurch. Should be easy - right?? A couple of emails later - hmmmmm a daunting process - what the heck is a BIO-metric passport??? More research on the net. Seems the only place that does that is in Auckland!! A U C K L A N D!!!
That's like living in Salzburg and having to go to Hamburg (in distance).
That means a day of work - and all day traveling . . . .
Still I am kinda lucky - I am glad they have one in NZ - just imagine I had to go to Canberra for the day - that's like over 4000 km to our west - a near 4 hour plus flight there - and of course another 4 hours return - or I could be living in the pacific islands like Fiji or Solomon's or . . . . . hmmmmm wonder what the Airlines are charging these days. Come to think of it - I need a set of wheels in Auckland as the Consulate is at the other end of Auckland from the Airport - so that could be a 2 hour car trip across town and 2 back. No subway here making cross town travel quick and easy!!

8 March 2010
One set of passport photos taken at local chemist - Cost NZ 15!! So far so good!

12 March 2010 - made phone call to NZ Ministry of Internal Affairs. I need a form from the NZ Gov telling the Austrian Gov that I have not taken out a NZ citizenship (as I am not allowed dual citizenship). Should be easy. Yep we post one application form to you asap. Cost - NZ $ 110. While on the phone I asked about the "Apostillie" needed - which apparently they can do at the same time - I just need to ask for it on the form. Cost - NZ $35. Hmmmm this is starting to add up !! :(

I had to google what an apostillie is - since then I call it "the French horn" - yeah I know its a stretch. However I can't fathom the reasoning - here is me being required to get a very official NZ Government issued document (saying I'm not one of their citizens) on their (NZ) letterhead and stamped no less - and that's not good enough - I need to get them (the NZ gov) to provide a legal doco that says the form of denial issued by the NZ gov I S a genuine NZ gov issued doco. Go figure . . . .

18 March 2010
Yahhhh - one form from NZ Ministry of Internal Affairs has finally arrived - addressed to Mr. Nuller - hmmmmm not exactly reassuring that. Filled out the form right there and then - got all the necessary stuff/info together (like my parents vitals) and ready for return posting. I drunk to that small success - one glass of home made Rhubarb wine!

19 March 2010
One application form for "denial of NZ citizenship" posted. Cost NZ $0.50.-
One application form from the Austrian Website downloaded and printed.

23 March 2010
wohooo - one email received confirming the actual street address of the consulate in Auckland. I did Google this and came up with two different places / ph. numbers - and seeing I had already had one email from the Christchurch Consulate I just asked the question which one is the correct place in Auckland.
They must have recently shifted in Auckland and one website has not updated its data. Just as well I checked it out - would not do to fly up there and then get lost . . .

30 March 2010
Excitement rippled through the house today as we received a letter from our Austrian Embassy. Progress at last I wonder???
Raised hopes were dashed very quickly, as the 5 A4 pages inside the envelope relate to the upcoming election of "Prasidante" of Austria!! It mentions yellow and blue forms to receive a Election card (which in turn will be in colour) and if needed a second card (in white).
Having read the thing twice - I stumbled on the fact - that I need to fill out a application form (the yellow one) and post that back to, well, good ol Austria in the hope that this then will give me a election (speak Voting) card and whence the ability to vote. Said form has to be received by Austrian Authorities no later then 1 April 2010. Me checks todays DATE ----------> 30 March 2010 - and me considers the miracles of pidgin mail . . . . . . . . . . . . across the Ocean's (posted snail mail from Europe HAS been known to take 3 full days only, a delivery record to-date!!)

(foot note - not ever having heard anything from any prospective Electoral people - how the heck am I supposed to make a "informed" decision??????)

sighs

Post script - me checks the date on the letterhead (no less from our Embassy in Canberra / Australia - wait for it - 15 March2010!!!!)

double sighs . . . .

7 April 2010
Great excitement in the House. My french horn has arrived today. OK - I know it is an Apostille. Flash looking double bound A4 page, with Ribbon and wax seal on a special printed paper. Wohoooooooo
The mischievous guy in me notes that it was posted on 1 April (Fools day) and with Easter in--between not surprised it took till today to arrive.
I am almost tempted to scan it and show it here as a pic - but - thinks - nahhhh
someone might complain about ownership and poss forgery.
So it is official -- I am NOT repeat N O T a New Zealand citizen. yet!!
Right; let's see what else I need - me goes in hunt for other papers . . . . .

7 April 2010 - 2 hours later
Wohooo -- found all the stuff needed and emailed the consulate to get a date sorted for a flying visit.
Guess need to start thinking about booking a seat on a plane - oh and a hip set of wheels. Hmmm wonder if the Dale Hilton has a spare bed for me on Sunday night . . .

8 April 2010
Received email from Auckland Consulate. Yep Mondays is good and they can see me 11 am-ish. I have spent 2 hours on internet trying to figure out the best and cheapest way to fly to Auckland given the time table of meeting time and travel time across Auckland. A "regular" seat (one way) costs NZ $239 and I saw one seat at NZ $399 (one way only). I'd be stupid to pay that much dinare. For the cost of flying up there (and back again), I just about can get a NZ citizenship. Hmmmmmmm that's worth thinking about . . .
meh - maybe next time. Meanwhile - I placed a call to a friend - but missed her, ah well it'll keep till tonight.

8 April 2010 - at urm - 9.25pm-ish
Righto -I managed to get in contact with the *Dale Hilton* in Waiuku and it seems, it has a bed available for me - wohoooo. That settled it - I went online and booked a seat on a wing. Just as well that I did that tonight, as one of the real cheap seats was already snapped up by then. So no sitting over the engine then - thats ok - I prefer a rear back seat near the window anyhow.
Also booked a set of wheels - after looking at the Auckland Public Transport system and working out that I would spend more time on the bus then on anything else that day!! Credit cards can be wonderful.
Hmmmmm the cheap airline tickets are costing about as much as the car hire for the one day!! Ponder that for a while.

Sent a email to consulate - advising my time / day of arrival. Seems they only want me for 15 min - thats how long it takes to get me finger printed!!! These new fangled Biometric passports have a lot to answer for.

25 April 2010 - ANZAC Day
Today is the day. It is Anzac day and for the last 12 years I have marched with the scouts and remembered all fallen soldiers during the last few wars. Always a solemn occasion, but TODAY is the first time I have missed it, due to the fact I am actually flying up to Auckland and sort out my Passport application.
Got there ok and even got the car ok - a little sputnik of a Toyota Corolla - small but heaps of space for one traveler. It had 7!!!! yes 7 Gears - 6 forwards and one return. That was a new one for me.
I had previously decided to travel light, so on purpose left my vacuum cleaner (actually a CPAP machine) at home, but bringing a small empty bucket for some special black sand from near Waiuku Beach instead. All fitted nicely in my back pack so no luggage required.
Anywoo - by around late lunch time I arrived at the "Dale Hilton" and yep it was expecting me all-right. I have to recommend the local proprietor - very friendly, even got a big hug!!!
In exchange for a bed and hospitality I ended up volunteering to help with the chores and washed the floor's and yep had to make my own bed!! You should have seen the linen!! All seams dead center and straight, not a crease in sight - whooooho I still got it . . .
After wards I was allowed to tag along to a special local family's birthday party - which was nice. Came home and ended up watching a interesting, if slow moving DVD. All in all very relaxing.

26 April 2010
7 am - Time to get up and have breakfast - brought my own Nuttella ^^ and Milo - then a quick shower and made plans for later in the day. Arranged to meet the host late afternoon for dinner - but before then had to go to the local post shop and buy one pre-paid postal envelope. Consulate it would seem, would like one, if I do not want to pick up my Austrian Passport from the Auckland Consulate (like I really want to spend another few hundred bucks doing that!!) Left the Dale Hilton 9am and found the drive pretty good going, not much traffic. Hit the Auckland harbor bridge and did a wee mental jig / dance - it's all new virgin territory from here on in for me now. Never been north this far before. Like I said roads pretty easy to drive and only got lost once - the name on the turnoff sign post was not the same as in the map. ^^ Decided that my scouting skills come in handy and laid a compass on th ecity map, and seeing I crossed a river/creak - that was marked on map way further ahead - I figured I gone to far and did a stylish 1 point turnaround on the highway. Found the Austrian Consulate eventually and set in motion my 5 min fingerprint reading. Seems my electronic fingerprint is been sent straight to a building in Vienna which does the actual processing thereof. The power of modern communication.
The prints also only exist for 5 weeks then (so I'm told) they vanish from cyberspace. Lets just hope they don't loose my fingerprints in the meantime. I did offer a drop of blood (for genetic fingerprinting) but this was politely declined!! Wonder why . . . ^^
Scary thing is that you can see it coming - next "passport security improvement" will be Iris recognition!! Sadly in this respect the terrorists (9/11) have won!! Grrrr
Had everything filled out ok and it was time to leave. Seeing I had spare time I decided to check out Devonport - found the local Info place, and they gave me a map of a local 1 hr tourist walk with important sights to see. I did this in 25 min flat!! Dunno if I was fit or bored or there is a generous timetable for "lingering"??!! Followed with lunch at Maccas and a, shall we say, a "scenic" route taken back to urm Manakau city. Met the friendly local proprietor again for dinner and had a great time - then it was off to drop the car back (having done 254 km travel in it for the day) and catch a plane home - left Auckland in sunshine and 20 degrees - arrived in Christchurch with 12 degrees and drizzle. I was beginning to wonder the wisdom of living in Christchurch. Anywoo - got met and hugged at the airport by this lovely voluptous bear wearing a rainbow jacket - ahhhh it is good to be back home.
Now I have to wait for the passport to be made. I get them to mail it to the Christchurch Consulate - where I will pick it up later.

One more thing - real freaky - I ended up with a strong deja vu feeling. Had to go to a local pit stop so asked consulate staff about local shops - instructions where go down this road turn left up the hill past the shops and school and you will find some local shops - ended up in Albany Westfield Mall.
Walked in - yep its like any other mall - maybe a bit nicer and roomier - but hey - I was busting so headed for the nearest John - right at the other end of the mall - inside the movie theater actually. Once suitably relieved walked out the "back-end" and got this creepy crawly feeling of having seen this place before. Walked back out through the mall on other side (where the car was parked) and yep - I have definitely been here before - so strong was this feeling. Maybe there is an other me in another dimension - or I exist in two time periods - well I can't explain it but I do know while I have never been there till today and it is impossible, I know that I have seen this place before, have been there . . . . - F R E A K Y with a Capital F


30 April 2010
So now one waits for the return on the masterpiece . . . . . Wonder how long it will take?!
Bets anyone??????


1 June 2010
wohoooo - great excitement rippled through the bear cave - the elves are dancing and everyone is joyous. Received an email from the Austrian Consulate in Auckland that a brand spanking new passport (in MY name no less) has arrived and where would I like it to be posted??
Hmmmm lets ponder this for a minute.
Ding (did you see the light bulb come on??)- I KNOW -- here - of course.
Need to be home though, it is a delivery against signature only . . . ^^


3 June 2010
There was singing and dancing on the ceiling this morning! Wohoooooo
It has arrived!! My lovely teenager son (who overslept and missed his lecture at Uni) was on hand to receive the couriered parcel. Slight concern - he did not ask for a signature!!!!! Wonder if he would have just left it on the doorstep? ?

ANYWOOOOOO
I got my brand new Austrian passport - cant see the micro ship but it must be there. Eeeek that pic of me looks - urm - challenging ^^
So this started mid feb - and still I am journeying.
I was tempted to break open a bottle of red medicinal fruit juice (from Spain me thinks) and drink to a succesfull venture - alas I have to go out again soon and drive th ecar ^^ - ahem - maybe later

In order to be a legal long term resident I need my permanent residency visa thing in my N E W passport - no big deal - you just roll into NZ immigration (I think) and get them to transfer the stamp from the old one to the new one. Hmmmm wonder how much THAT costs?????? Just as well that I got next week of as annual leave.


8 June 2010
It is done - finished - finito - the end -
Yesterday - on my birthday - I came home late from a scout camp and after washing the van down in the dark and in teeming rain (2 degrees - and sleet) a n d after having my presents and dinner - I dropped like a dead stone into bed and happily ignored any sound of rain - full well knowing that I had to get up at 6 am the next morning and get ready to drop the Van back into town. W H I L E being in town I visited the NZ Immigration office. 'Sure - we can transfer your Residents Visa to new Passport - we can do this now if you can wait some 20 minutes- or you can come back in 2 weeks time to collect!' Urm - tough choice this was, think I needed to do - me considers this for 2 milliseconds and chooses to wait. So some 20 minutes later I get ushered into a nice warm and dry office and after some pointed questions about my wife (who apparently did NOT exist on the computer records) and current postal details, a new residents permit visa label got thermally printed and glued into my brand new Austrian Passport. Oooops - a small matter of NZ $80 for this service needs to be handed over. I paid electronically and walked out back into the hail and sleet happy - knowing that for the next ten years I am a full legal resident in this urm - wet and cold place (which is really lovely - ol NZ!)
W O O H O O O O O

Finite - no more to be continued . . . . . . THE END


Running Total - so far (I wish I could use a table here and a "add sum function" so that the total would just update itself every-time a new cost is listed . . . )

1. $ 15.- Passport Photos
   
2. $110.- Denial of NZ Cit.-ship paper from NZ dep. of Internal Affairs
   
3. $ 35.- One French Horn (apostille)
4. $ 0.50.- Postage to NZ Internal affairs
5. $178.- one return Airfare CHCH - Auckland (on the cheap)
   
6. $167.38.- One set of wheels (smallest car available)
   
7. $158.- Consular fee
8. $ 2.70.- Self addressed stamped envelope
   
9. $32.- Petrol on rental car
   
10. $10.50.- Lunch Monday in Auckland
    
11. $25.70.- meal out Mon evening in Auckland
12. $80.- Residents permit added thermally
    

Grand Total $ 814.78.-

Silver anniversary for a naked bear

Wohoooo, my family actually got this organized - they invited some friends and part of the original Wedding party to help celebrate our Silver Anniversary - eg 25 Years since we got married. Dunno how Mamabear managed to put up with me for that long??? Anyhow apart from the lack of hair and urm - well some goodly developed hunger protection (also called Love handles) we have not changed much since this pic was taken!! Yeah right! :P

We ended up at this restaurant and had a set menu - lovely meal and company!



People who were present were:
Best man (at the wedding)
Some members of the (secret) squirrel club
Mamabear's youth leader and his mum who taught her at Sunday school
The parents of the next door neighbors (who's then cute wee girl was the flower girl, and could not make the event)
The mother and her partner of my two honorary daughters (now there is a story to be told :P )
oh and of course the rest of my family.

Meanwhile - today is another hot hot hot sunny day and seeing it was my last day on annual leave i thought about going to the beach!! Seeing that today IS the actual day - so maybe not - but rather stay at home and cook a special meal for us later . . . . followed by a glass of grape juice . . . . . ^^ :)


This was me during our recent trip up north!! The beaches were fantastic, and I am only sorry we missed the flowering season for the pohutakawa trees! I so wish I could go back there. Maybe next year.
Notice the cool shades, for protection . . . .

From Auckland to the Coromandel to Tauranga and Rotorua

Our trip has finally concluded. I am sitting at Auckland Airport - and reflecting on our wee trip.

Lasting Impressions:

1. ANTS; they were like everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. You cannot leave unclean dishes in the kitchen sink, and they are in the garden and yeah every Motel we stayed in had them. So creepy. Must be the warmer weather that allows them to bread. Speaking of weather - we are here and despite some passing showers (some more heavier then others) it is still a pleasant 20 Degree Celsius!! Christchurch is reported to have 11 degrees. all of a sudden - a extended stay in Whitianga looks very tempting indeed. We sort of have decided that we can and will retire into the Coromandel - probably Whitianga!!
2. WATER; we who live in Christchurch just do not appreciate how clean our drinking water is. For myself - I have never known chlorinated water in Austria and of course not in Christchurch. Coming north however is a different taste. Worst was in the town of Rotorua - and I do remember a particular gray and foul taste near Hamilton. Maybe Rotorua has been the worst because the local smell is also contributing to your senses being over run!!
3. SILVERFERN; Until now I have never seen one in the wild!! So when we stomped through Hells Gate - we came across the lovely story of the fern and its meaning. I will need to extract the info from the photo and re-type it and then blog it at a later stage.
4. GARLIC BREAD; We (or should that be mamabear) decided that we need a true holiday and THAT apparently included a no cooking / dishes week. So we did manage to eat on the cheap and on the run at times, but we also did eat out a few times and every time we had some garlic bread. They came in a variety of sizes and forms - so much so that I will sit down and at a later stage create a garlic bread - food critic (on a separate blog) and continue to update that every time we go out for a meal (which no doubt includes a garlic bread). This could be a bit of fun - data to be included ought to be where and when consumed and of course a description of the garlic bread - it's consistency / shape/ flavour / crunchiness etc / cost / service and maybe a email / web page link of the place to be critiqued!
5. SCENERY; just stunning - and ok - the sunshine helped - but yeah it has to be seen to be believed! The only downer was the increased commercialization of the various enterprises. The huge crowds in a small spot of Hot Water beach and Cathedral Cove!! Then if we compare some of the mud pool places in Rotorua. Hells Gate was just right - it had the right balance of value for money, The info was short and to the point and the self guided tour was just long enough. The various hot pools and mud things / geysers where in a relative concentrated space - so no great distance to be walked. Compare this to Te Puia - which I guess had more a focus on increasing the local Maori culture in terms of arts and crafts / carving and language school. The mud pools etc where almost like a after thought and where a bit more spaced apart, and it cost more in entry fees. Now I don't mind the growing of the local Maori identity - but if you just want to go round the pools - trust me your better of with Hells Gate. Interestingly enough both the Buried Village and Waimangu boat lake trip are still a fledgling tourist venture and as such still provided excellent value for $$, especially if you are interested a bit in the local history. There is a place for tourism in NZ and in sharing our beautiful country - but there needs to be a balance of people involved. Certainly (in my opinion) places like Milford Sound have got the balance wrong!! Maybe it is time to instate a visiting visa application and limit that to xxx nr of tourists per year, and maybe charge a flat fee that will go straight towards upgrading the infra structure in high tourist places. Anyone still wanting to disagree - just check out the damage some freedom campers are causing. There are a number of places - for example a short 20 min walk into the the bush to see the Kauri trees, where (IF you look hard enough) you can see used toilet paper on the side of the walk!! EEEEK
   

so in order of my top three attractions:

1. Kelly Tarltons - (as someone who has three fish tanks at home [180l; 80l; 50l] and enjoys the aquariums) I feel inspired by the massive tanks and aqua display. Awesome display's!!!!
2. Cathedral Cove - By a whisker (and it won only because there was some very attractive wild-life wandering up and down the beach)
   
3. Hells Gate - The close proximity of the various types of mud pools / boiling steaming water / silicon covered rocks / native bush walk / understated quiet Maori presence was indeed impressive!!
   
   A very unlucky 4th place needs to go to the town of Whitianga. It has nothing special to point to - but its close proximity to everything - almost central located to all sights / sounds / tastes/ etc and it's quiet life style, high sunshine count, not in your face tourist income, rated very highly with this bear. I can't speak for mamabear - so she will have to give her top 3 choices / reasons later.
   
   hmmmmm still waiting for the plane - time to contemplate all the jobs waiting for us back home that did not get done while we were away.
   
   Have fun
   PB
   
   
   Tuesday Feb 16
   
   FOUND IT. . . . . The story about the silver fern - I copy and paste it here . . .
   
   NATIVE BUSH WALK AROUND HELLS GATE THERMAL PARK
   
   The native bush walk contains a number of plant species that are unique to New Zealand - none more so than the silver fern.

   New Zealand native bush walks at Hells Gate thermal park

   
   This fern’s leaves are green on top but silver underneath. It is worn as a symbol on all of New Zealand's National Teams uniforms such as the All Blacks, the Silver Ferns netball team and Team New Zealand in the Americas Cup.

   The reason why this is used as a national symbol, is not well known by New Zealanders, but like many symbols used today its importance was to our Maori people first and then transferred across into our modern society.

   In days gone by Maori would go on raiding parties to nearby Pa (villages) for food, tools or most importantly woman to safeguard the tribes future. To increase the element of surprise warriors would attack at night without the use of burning torches, using only the upturns of a fern leaf as a pointer indication of the direction that the warrior party was being led.

   The war party of 20 to 30 warriors would be one to two meters apart in a single file and were able to easily see where the leader was taking the war party through the reflection of the luminous silver fern. The last warrior in the war party would turn the leaf back over so that no one would know where they had been or where they were going. Thus for Maori the silver fern has always meant going for a goal, going to achieve something.

   When the first Rugby team left New Zealand shores in the late 1880's the team players and management were looking for a symbol for their jersey. Two choices were considered, the kiwi and the silver fern. The Maori team members advised against the use of the Kiwi as it does not fly, only comes out at night and that maori eat them, which is not really the message that we believe we need to state. The silver fern however shows clearly that we are going with one objective in mind and that is to win, to achieve a goal. Since that time all of our NZ sporting codes have carried the silver fern to symbolise "striving to achieve a goal" or "to win".
   

   So from a Maori perspective the silver fern has always symbolised 'going for a goal' hence its use on all of our national teams uniforms.

   Another very important symbol used today is that of the Koru. The Koru is the growing frond of the fern. Its design is a series of circles that completely surrounds the growing tip of the new fern fond or branch. This symbol is used by Air New Zealand. Where that symbol comes from and its significance once again has its origin with Maori.

   From this design our Maori people believe that it stands for growth, nurturing and protection. In Air New Zealand’s case they use the symbol to convey to their clients and potential clients that they will nurture and protect their clients when flying with them and that the airline is continually growing and improving.

   After your bush walk why not enjoy a relaxing mud bath or spa, click here to indulge!

   ---------------------------
   

   I am also told that it is a very effective tool in SARS - that is, our NZ pilots are trained to look out for the reflective silver fern on the ground. Should you ever be lost in the bush and come across a silver fern - three or four leaves of the silver fern turned over / upside down and in the same spot, can be as effective a signal as a bright shiny torch!! Now that is something worth remembering - next time you go bush!!
   

   
   

   
   
   
   
   

From Auckland to the Coromandel to Tauranga and Rotorua

http://www.buriedvillage.co.nz/
http://www.waimangu.co.nz/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_and_White_Terraces
http://images.google.co.nz/pink and white terraces


We drove out of Rotorua (Roto = lake, rua=2 ergo the second lake) and headed to a spot called waimangu where we got on a boat and drove over the Lake Rotomahana. Lots of geothermal activity around the lake bed and sadly the water table of the lake is now some 40 meters ABOVE the former pink and white Terraces - a former New Zealand 8th modern wonder of the world which where totally destroyed during a terrible volcano event in June 1886. These terraces are being credited with the first tourist venture in 1860 for New Zealand.


However having been on the boat and seen some thermal activity like this one, where a constant hot bubbling water is being pumped out - I can confidently predict that in - oh about - 800 years or so, there will be some more wonders to be seen. I of course won't be around to enjoy them then, but hey - nature does what nature does best - in its own sweet time.





It is amazing - a constant hot water streams out from this little whole - at oh around 95 degrees!!
The whole point of the trip to Waimangu was to see the actual location of the once disaster area - and see the ongoing activities. It is amazing to see how the landscape has changed because of it - and is continually changing!!






Afterward we headed to the Buried Village, where we saw a mock model of the now famously defunct terraces. A impressive structure that took a long time to build - some 100o years or so.
Anyhow - the eruption also killed some 160 people in several outlying villages and this particular village was the closest you got the early tourist center. From here they where taken via boat and some walking and another boat trip to the Terraces.



We were taken round by this lovely Lady called Sandy (who has pretty much lived her entire life in this region) and has heard first hand eye accounts of the event from some distant surviving folks, and ergo has some very interesting stories to tell about the people who lived and worked here. The entire village first of all got flattened by the mud from the eruption and then the secondary eruption - which spew water up - thus showering the village with a second layer of dust/mud of up to 2 meters deep. Many of the places have since been dug up again and along with photos and storyboards make for a very interesting walk about.

Here mamabear is inside the former Village smith's place with the 2 distinct layers showing. You can observe the height - above her head.









Afterward's we had a quick drive down to lake Tarawera and of course saw the semi dead volcano (distant top right side of picture) - another lovely sunny and hot day! We so gonna be cold when we get back to Christchurch - their days hi temp was a solitary and very sorry 14 C
- and THAT at 7 pm!!





Having seen enough mud and hot stinky (lots of sulphur smells around here) water geysers we actually wanted to see the local town - so we did! Here is the Bathhouse in Rotorua - complete with some roof missing!! (far right) They must be rebuilding something, dunno it was so nice outside we couldn't bear going inside and find out!!






Pam Sister (who shall remain nameless) has her own pool - and she NEVER told us. Shame.
Incredible - this is a solid pool of hot water - providing plenty of warm water. Amazingly enough u can have your house in the section and maybe one day (literally overnight) have a small eruption take place in your garden. It is not unheard of that some houses had to shift, simple because nature decided right there was a good spot to spout forth some central heating!!


Anyhow - back home wards tomorrow - via a special Blueberry farm. This should be fun.
sigh then back to "normal" reality


March 6th - a post script
I was hunting for stuff on the net when by chance i came across these 6 video clips - which is obviously a TVNZ on air production - subject - the destruction of the famous pink and white terraces. Having just visited there - i felt strongly enou8gh about the subject matter - and post the code here - maybe someone else will watch it

Enjoy
PB

From Auckland to the Coromandel and Tauranga and Rotorua

http://www.kiwi360.com/Kiwi360/WELCOME_IDL=7_IDT=538_ID=3025_.html
http://www.hellsgate.co.nz/
http://www.tepuia.com/things-to-see-and-do/index.html


We left real bright and early and decided we really want to stop at this Kiwi orchard!!
Seems Kiwi 360 is the only outfit that promos the locally grown product on our local scene. anyhow had an interesting tour round the garden and then a very good gander through the shop, where - yes - we succumbed to temptation and bought a few things!! I also wanted to take a pic like this
<-------- however as you will see from the next picture - on the day we arrived they put up scaffolding to Repaint the thing - tough luck!!



The scaffolding is up. They are going to repaint it on 2 colors - half as it is and the other half with the new zespri kiwi fruit colors!!









The Kiwi fruit is a surprising packaged food and has some amazing healing properties - if you can trust the sales blurb!! Here is the orchard. The seasonal pickers are employed for three months and can earn about NZ $ 15 per bin filled - which should take about an hour to fill. And they do literally strip down all as in ALL kiwi fruit of the vines.






Our lunch table - often we would grab a snack on the side of the road or beach or wherever it was convenient to stop.
I was the healthy type and had a orange and some blueberries and maybe a bite of chocolate plus some form of drink!!
This made for no dishes and no washing up and easy peasy meal!! Keen observers will spot my Scouting survival gear on display, and yes it has been on two trips to Europe and is a very handy gadget to take well anywhere really!








One cannot describe the smell via a picture. Lets just say the sulfur and other things combined remind me best of rotten eggs.
You really have to see the action to go with this to appreciate the whole thing. This particular blub blub action was snapped in a place just north of Rotorua (hells gate) and was fun to watch for a while. mamabear was very impressed with the whole thing - smell and all!!
Basically a huge swath of NZ sits on volcanoes and a very thin earth crust (about 1000 to 1500 meters) - and here in this part (Rotorua) it heats the water up to 150 degree Celsius and THAT makes for good thermal action on the ground. With it comes the smell. However local maori being ingenious also used the boiling water pools for cooking and some of the pools for healing!! I can imagine - after a succesful raid on another tribe for food and woman - a soak in the hot pools to wash away any lingering aches and pains would just be the right ticket!! Hmmmm I am tempted - especially the mud bath pools - but im sure there are some restrictions re who can smear how much where on whom!!

From Auckland to the Coromandel and Tauranga

http://www.karangahakegorge.co.nz/mainpage.html
http://www.quarrypark.org.nz/
http://www.waihi.org.nz/
http://www.marthamine.co.nz/
http://www.tauranga.co.nz/


Sadly we had to leave Whitianga. It was a place I could have spent a whole more time there. We ended up having dinner back to back in Dinos Pizza - mainly because we thoroughly enjoyed our first visit there. The food was superb and the sitting outside and enjoying the warmth of the evening sun - along with a very fine vino . . .

Anyhow - it was time to move on to Tauranga so we grabbed a bit of the sand from the beach and took the photo and then we were of.


Along the way we stopped in Waihi - which as you can see has an open cast gold mine - actually they get more silver then gold - but shhhhh who are we to dispel the myth. Anyhow would you believe THIS mine is bang in the middle of the local town and has to work with a great number of restrictions and consent issues. Eventually once mining is stopped this will be come a lake for recreation! Should take about three years to fill.
We took the guided tour which I hasten to add while informative was not as good as the guided tour you get with the Reefton Gold mine on the Westcoast of NZ. Anyhow by the time we got back to the car we discovered a flat tire. Seems on the last few meters into town we picked up a rather large nail that did some damage. Still the locals where very helpful and $20 and some 15 min later we had everything back in order and well all the luggage back in the car - and where of to see the local beach - which is supposed to be some sort of white special sand place.

One of the large dumpster trucks. One of these wheels alone costs NZ $ @20 000. Mamabear took an interest - and it is no surprise that the company prefers female drivers - something about being less of boy racer nature . . . .








Yep this is the Beach at Waihi - and yes it did threaten with rain - which never came. However it made for another nearly uncomfortable hot and humid weather day. The sand was hot to tread on and the water was so so warm. - Still - again not many folks on the beach, lovely to walk along on and enjoy!!






Hihihihi I did have to take this one - and yes - it is named in our Honour - :P NOT!!!!! Keen observers of the picture will notice that a former NZ Prime Minister has a street named after himself too - so we are in good company!!















We made yet another detour - into the Karangahake Gorge!!
Again - there was originally some gold rush and the miners had an interesting time working there. Not much gold was found in the end and so they left in a hurry - leaving behind endless tunnels and relics - for us to explore. One short little walk we did - needed a torch, as you go through the tunnels. The aptly named windows walk had some natural windows in the side - which the miners used to dump some tailing's . Anyhow - it was pitch black dark and I was glad I had my Lego man torch with me - which as some of you know - is part of my scout survival gear (pocket knife, whistle, teddy bear, lego-man torch)








More ferns - like I said yesterday - they grow up here in the zillions!!











Next day we spent the day in Tauranga. We did the loop walk around the base of Mount Maunganui (4.9km) and then mamabear flagged the 230 meter climb to the top for a good lookout. It was a very hot day and both of us were more or less knackered. In the end we went to a place called quarry park - which was recommended to us from the guy at the internet cafe!! Bit of a yawn in some ways - but was interesting enough. The Quark gardens needed lots more work and was not as nice, as sold to us form the bloke at the Cafe. Still it had interesting bits an pieces - including this view towards Mount Maunganui.


Before we got to said quarry - yep this is the camping ground right outside Mt Maunganui- and whoever said camping was a basic experience - forgot to tell these folks. Roger - pleeeeeease can we have a satellite dish on our next Scout Camp????







I have seen this beach on a number of occasions on TV - it is where they hold some annual Surf live saving competition!! Naturally we saw some people in the water - various practice drills taken place and of course we grabbed some more sand to take home.







In the evening we met SnowAngel - a young lass I knew via Scoutlink. We met for a quick bite at the local Burger King - as she had school and then an evening game of netball and as she really does live in the wotnops - it took a long time to get home and back out again (for her), so we did not have that much time to meet. However we ended up having a great time - albeit short - and even managed to swap a scarf!! hmmmm wonder who won the netball???

From Auckland to the Coromandel

http://www.whitianga.co.nz/hahei.html
http://www.cathedralcovemacadamias.co.nz/
http://www.hahei.co.nz/
http://www.seakayaktours.co.nz/
http://www.whitianga.co.nz/gallery.html
http://www.matarangi.co.nz/

The Hot water Beach in Haihei - was fun to be there and get burned - but as you can see the crowds where astounding. So much so - it almost spoiled the fun! Anyhow there must have been well over 100 in a very enclosed space - almost a stau!!






Yes folks -it WAS hot water that is bubbling up from underneath - in fact it comes out at 60 degrees - and here mamabear can be seen slowly cooking away!! The expression is priceless . . .







See what you do is wiggle your toes in the sand and sink in for a bit and if you go - yikes this is hot - you found a spot - go and dig a big spot and create a wall and sit and soak - just like these folks did! Thing is - you can do this only two hours either side of low tide - once tide comes back in - it washes it all away and the water is too deep to be an effective hot pool.





Some of the lovely greenery on the island, seems it is a wet-ish sort of place for these ferns to grow rather prolific.








On top of the car park near Cathedral cove - is the public toilets - and as you can see they are expecting mass tourism to arrive any time soon - either that or some poor bugger has a serious case of the trots!! Now which roll shall I use - the soft one or . . . . . wait - urm eeny meeny miny yeah THAT one!!





The 40 min walk down towards Cathedral cove, in teeming sunshine. The local scenery made up more for the walk!! BTW - that meant 40 min back up too!! The only other way to get there is to swim some 900 m along the coast line urm - ok or paddle on some form of raft. I counted in the car park 130 cars (and some 50 of them got tickets 'cause they parked on yellow lines) and I figured each car has 2 people on avg - that's 260 plus folks on the beach, well not all because there was this steady stream of people on the track either coming or going!!







At the bottom and resting up after the walk - or was it just soaking in the heat - no wait more like soaking up the scenery!








Yep, the water was warm too!!













Here is the Cove - all ready and willing. I had to wait for 12 minutes and even then had to wave arms and legs before everyone got the idea that I didn't want folks to wonder into the photo shoot. Patience does pay sometimes.

Just as we were ready to leave I spotted three baby stingray's in the surf!! Having seen some at Kelly Tarltons - so that was soooo cool to see them here too.



Local DOC officer who was on a mission to ask some pertinent questions. We helped him with the survey and hoped that we gave useful answers. Lucky guy - he's normally desk bound so he really enjoyed his day in the sun!!











Cathedral Cove from the top of the car park. Well you can't actually see the cave - it's hidden behind the cliff face on the other side, but it gives you an idea how far it is!







Same shot - slightly diff location to shoot from! Better pic I recon!!

From Auckland to the Coromandel

Yesterday - urm after a short stop and stroll on the Beach near Waiuku (which has black sand)
we started driving towards Whitianga. On the way we had to stop at some places - pics and place names below. Suffice to say it was a rather long day with driving, stop-ing and meandering through the various places / sights etc. Got to the Motel around 5pm-ish and went to New World and got a pre-cooked chicken and some garlic bread - Yummmmm. Oh let's not forget the local vino!! This morning - after getting petrol - we did the little round trip - route 309 to be precise.


http://www.thewaterworks.co.nz/

http://www.kauri2000.co.nz/

http://www.thecoromandel.com/

http://www.nzsteel.co.nz/glenbrook-steel-site

http://www.ngateawatergardens.co.nz


The Black sand near Waiuku is amazing!! it is really black, and that is because its loaded with some form of iron. So much so that there is this steel mill - that's piping in the Sand and somehow makes Steel. Well that sounds easy - but the mill is spread over a great area.







Urm - this sign says it all- and yes it was as quirky and as funny as you can get. The garden was full of jokes and puns. some where straight of the net - others where very clever word plays.
The rrest of the garden was a great display and the owner certainly put a huge effort into this. Well worth a visit.







Maybe we should put some of these up at the local Highschool??????











Would you believe it - I've been here in NZ for nearly or almost 30 years and THIS is my very first-real--live-in-nature Silver Fern (a real NZ icon) that I have seen. Woha









I had to help her up and down- :) I could say she ain't tall enough for a poppy, but . . . . . . . .
MY lips are sealed








(Notice the feet of the ground??)


One of the plenty walkways in the Coromandel peninsula and yep, they are as nice as this. Most walks last from 10min to 30 min and there are longer stints available!!















This lovely spot called Rapaura Water garden was just 10 min of the road - and the water was refreshingly cool and very inviting.










Found a Kauri Stand on route 309. There is this group of Kauri trees one can go and see - amazing to think that they have been grown since from BEFORE a human foot has set foot on NZ soil - and that is saying something. They did ascertain that one tree has been growing since 1 AD.
Now THAT'S amazing - when you think about it . . . . .
and I think about it I did - and all I could think of - this particular Kauri tree would set you up with firewood for the rest of your life - yikes I am wicked. . .
However the tree is very dense and because of that has been used to make ships masts and large house beams. Now of course they are a protected species and NZ tries very hard to re-establish them. I won't be around to see it come into fruition - simple because I won't live to 500 plus years.
There is this kauri trust - where one can sponsor the planting of a Kauri Tree - and keep getting an yearly update on progress etc.
I like the idea and will need to research this a bit more - on the mechanics and Yes I DO realize that by the time i kark it - it will still be only a young sapling - but hey - it is good to help with th ere-forestation of the NZ Trees and bush!!
Here the water was just right and indeed invited you to skinny dip. In fact there was this family - mum/dad/plus a 3 year old kid and Mum very obviously did skinny dip in the pool. We kinda surprised them -and given that you where only 10 min of the road to the pool a n d it is a popular place to visit - I decided the risk was just not worth it to urm expose some old wrinkled flab- but man - what a lovely spot!!












The Waterworks Garden - a way cool picnic spot for the local Coromandel folks. They have all this cool water driven gadgets and some where even way fun to play with. Here mamabear can be seen peddling furiously on the bike and squirting the waterlilies!!
The Garden also had various waterwheels and other things - and a lot of thought provoking wordings - of which I recognize some via internet email chain mail.



Hehehehe - how mean can they get - a DUNKING machine for a teddbear!!!! Well I C A N report that this Teddy did get away unhurt, although it was fun for a while, watching, and see if he would get a fair dunking.















From the look out point - half way between Coromandel and Whitianga. Below can be seen the Town of Coromandel and the Firth of Thames. And yes it was as warm as it looks on the picture. I'm sure I added some layers of roasted skin on my torso.







Ok having gotten a jar full of black sand from Waiuku to take home, we heard about the white sandy beaches in the Coromandel so we just HAD to get some from there. This beach had a lovely largish holiday home settlement attached to it and it was just fabulous!! The blue sky / blue water / white sandy beach / SUN and more sun and a grand total of maybe 20 odd people dispersed on the beach - I tell you it ain't get much better then that!!









I just had to take this one - in Canterbury and and various other parts of the country we have a exact replica sign for FIRE restrictions. Seems the Coromandel, even with a high annual rainfall count, is not immune to some dry spells!!!








On the way home we stopped at a guy's place - who makes knifes. It was something we spotted on the way up yesterday - but decided to stop today as we had more time. Now he makes his knives from scratch eg a forge and tempers them and puts on a handle (usually made out of wood from the pohutakawa tree) and these knives are just gorgeous, or better said superfantastiqueexquisitsuperb - and so was the price and sadly (Yes I did cry on the inside) we just could not afford a purchase!! I shall have to see later if I can find the guy on the web and insert his web page here. (note - have not found him on web to-date)

Upon returning we did a quick wash of some clothes - dissed the sand and walked into town in search of a internet cafe and - well dinner! We ended up sitting on the pavement - yes like a real yuppie couple, just an older yuppie couple, watched the world go by and consumed a lovely meal in a pizzeria or more correctly outside of said pizzeria, complete with a very tasty brew. The setting sun was beating down and so we walked off the extra pounds gained from dessert on the beach at Whitianga!!

Rung my mum for her 70th Birthday, txt'd jade for her 21st Birthday, now time for some pages to read and then bed!! More tomorrow.