Our chariot

Photos have been promised to many -- at long last, here they are.




One of our early tasks was to find a car. While we don't need it for commuting, as the ferry is much easier, we decided that a car is by far the easiest way to explore the island. We (and by "we", I mean "I") settled on this 01 Toyota Corolla. Glamorous it isn't, but I'm satisfied we made an excellent choice. Besides, it's not easy finding a manual in NZ!

Golf

I've read or been told that New Zealand has the highest per capita rate of golf courses in the world, and it doesn't surprise me. A bit of research/googling seems to indicate that NZ is second, or perhaps tied for first, though there are lots of claims to the highest rate. Anyhow, the result is a good situation, lots of good, cheap golf. The Waitakere Golf Club is a nice spot to play -- the course is in reasonable shape, very affordable, none too crowded and about a half-hour drive from the city. The scenery is pretty impressive, though you can certainly get your workout walking up and down all the hills.



Now if only I could hit the ball from an uphill lie...

The sad, sad Chicago Cubs

I have to say the cubs have managed to exceed even my expectations for ineptitude in their inevitable failure. While some might accuse me of bitterness as a fan of the second-worst team in baseball, I have to say that the cubs just wouldn't be the cubs if they didn't do this sort of thing.

I am slightly disappointed that they did so poorly that I can't even espouse my conspiracy theory involving the trib and the potential sale of the cubs. That involved losing in the NLCS in 6.

That said, I think the BoSox are going to regret having shown Manny the door, I'm taking the dodgers over the rays in 6.

The wild west

After Graham's very successful car-buying adventures last week, we decided to take it out for a little spin on Saturday and do some exploring. We made our way out into the Waitakere ranges, west of Auckland, towards the beaches of Piha and Karekare. After illegally climbing higher than we were supposed to on Lion's Rock on Piha beach,


we did a short hike up into the hills, to the isolated White's beach, only accessible by boat or foot (gmap). We then made our way round to Karekare, where some scenes of the film "The Piano" where filmed:

Canyonzzzzz

It's well known that the Kiwis are prone to doing crazy and extreme outdoor adventurey-type things, and on Saturday we experienced this for ourselves first-hand. We signed up with Canyonz for their Blue Canyon trip - a full day in the Waitakere mountains promising "maximum fun". Our guide Neil was very much a "dude" and after driving us from Auckland to the hills, had us kitted up in identikit wetsuits, harnesses and helmets and out into the woods. After a short hike up to the top of the river, we were ready to go...

Jumping...


leaping...


sliding...


and abseiling...


our way to the bottom.

Tree planting

The Maths Department here is wonderfully laid back and friendly. Last week, we got a license to take Friday off work when the head of department suggested a tree-planting day on Wahieke Island. This actually seems quite a common Kiwi event - they realise that their carbon footprint is huge, but have no intention to travel less, so just plant trees instead.

Anyway, I spent a very enjoyable afternoon running up and down a hill with a wheelbarrow full (on the way down, at least) of mulch. The shovelling of which is demonstrated by these two energetic members of the department:


After the tree-planting was finished, we walked around the coast and ended, as is becoming very normal for a Friday evening in Auckland, with drinks, courtesy of the Maths Department.

Blood red sky

One thing it's very hard to miss when you arrive in Auckland is the newest volcano on the block, Rangitoto:


Only 600 years old, the name derives from the Maori phrase Te Rangi totongia a Tamatekapua, meaning `the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed'. Tamatekapua was the chief of one of the first Maori canoes to arrive on New Zealand with Polynesian settlers. Apparantely they thought his death more violent than perhaps it was...

Anyway, ever since we'd arrived, I'd been itching to climb it, so last Sunday we headed out on an early morning ferry. Although from afar the island appears to be covered in quite heavy woodland, being such a new bit of land, there are lots of areas of bare lava field, and apparently the forest is only about 200 years old.

The hike to the top took less than an hour; on the way we got to explore some lava caves - nothing too claustrophobic but you definitely needed to take a torch.

The views from the top were amazing, both back towards the city:


and out the other way into the bay: