Once Around on a Bicycle
This is a view of the Wellington Harbour. The catamaran in the picture is the ferry that travels 3 or 4 times a day between Picton and Wellington.
While I was in downtown Wellington I came across this demonstration of extreme, free-style biking, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. The riders were doing back flips and crazy mid-air contortions. When you see something like this, biking around the world doesn't seem so crazy.
Here are a couple of early bikes at the Southward Museum in Paraparaumu. They have an exceptional collection of vintage cars, motorcycles and bicycles. If you're ever in Paraparaumu.....never mind.
In Australia and New Zealand you see many signs like this showing the potential for bush fires. Around Hawera I started seeing signs showing the potential for facial eczema. I'm not sure what this means. I'm just relieved that the risk arrow wasn't pointed towards the 'extreme' slice.
Hawera's King Edward Park is very impressive for a town of only about 8500 people. It has a large duck pond with scores of resident ducks who make their presence felt throughout the park. It has a rose garden and a chinese garden. It has the obligatory retired military hardware and statue of a town founding father. Years ago a few of the local boys had a bit too much to drink, set off the park's cannon, and almost knocked down the statue. And, the park has one of only two Wendy (of Peter Pan fame) statues in the world. The other Wendy statue is in England.
Mount Egmont, a.k.a. Mount Taranaki, is known as the Mount Fuji of the Southern Hemisphere. It's an extinct volcanic cone 2500 meters high. It can be seen from many miles away. I took this picture from just outside the town of Stratford.
After cycling up the west coast of the North Island, I turned inland at the Awakino River. The river and parallel road travel northeast through a very impressive gorge. It's a long way between services and off of the beaten bicycle-tourist path, but it's worth the effort for the scenery alone.
The Big Apple Cafe. It's almost like being back in New York City, except without the crowds, the pollution, the inflated prices, and the constant threat of bodily harm. This cafe near Hamilton is adjacent to a 'pick your own fruit' orchard. I didn't stop in.
I had the pleasure of seeing the first rugby match at a new stadium in Hamilton for only $US 6. It was a great night out, even though the hometown Chiefs lost to the visiting Canterbury Crusaders. The crowds in New Zealand can be very vocal, and their 'wave' is more menacing than the American crowd 'wave'. They throw debris into the air, as well as their hands. I was scared silly watching beer bottles flying through the air at the other end of the stands, knowing that within seconds the same thing would happen in my section. On the wave's third time around, while I was cowering under my seat, I got hit on the leg by an empty bottle. That's when I realized that they only sell beer in plastic bottles at the matches. Another disaster averted. The most vocal response from the crowd came with two minutes left in the first half when the P.A. announcer said that the concessionaires had run out of beer. They do love their beer in New Zealand.
Completed in 1999, Auckland's 1000 foot tall Sky Tower is similar to the Amp Tower in Sydney. There are a slew of broadcasting thingies on the top part, called the whip. Below that are the observation decks where you can have a meal, look out over the city, or jump to a certain messy end. Well, the Sky Jump isn't advertised like that, but it sure didn't look safe to me. From one of the observation decks they walk you out along a plank, clip your harness to a wire, and encourage you to jump. I'm sure they get the money up front. The central wire slows your descent to about 50 mph and two guide wires keep your lifeless body from swaying back into the tower and doing any real damage. The main observation deck wasn't much safer than the Sky Jump. In all of their wisdom, the architects replaced some of the cement flooring with 38 mm glass panels. The apparent benefit is that tourists no longer have to go to the effort of leaning out over a railing to look down on the city below. Now they can just stand still, hang their head, and look straight down. There's a sign posted above the panels stating that they are as strong as the cement flooring. I don't doubt that, but I question how strong the nuts and bolts holding the glass to the cement are. Who's to say that some laborer didn't torque the wrench too much when he attached those glass panels. I showed some respect for gravity and held onto a railing as I gingerly stepped out onto the glass. I took some pictures of Flat Stanley for little Michael's school project while I was out there on the glass. Stanley didn't mind. He was already flat.
This is the Victoria Park Markets in Auckland. For almost 100 years it was an incinerator for the city's trash. Now you can buy trashy t-shirts and incense in the touristy shops. I had no burning desire (pun intended) to buy any scented candles so I moved on.
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