Blake and Deb Far Away

Muriwai Beach is not far west of Auckland and is home to a breeding colony of gannets. These birds were fun to watch as the adults flew back and forth between the feeding grounds out to sea and their   still flightless offspring at the cliffside nesting sites. The juveniles tap the beaks of the returning parents as they beg for a fishy regurgitated meal. Yum. Muriwai Beach Gannet Colony The white ones are the adults; the gray ones the juveniles. Adult Gannet Each little mound is a nesting site. Once the chicks have grown they fly off to Australia, usually by May. Since many mounds were unoccupied and the existing offspring were nearly as big as their parents when we visited in mid-March, I suspect that many have already flown off. Juvenile Gannet This juvenile was testing its wings, though it never did take off. But you could tell it was thinking about it. Video: a gracef

Hamurana Springs is the deepest natural fresh water spring in the North Island. It pumps out 4.5 million liters (1.2 million gallons) per hour and feeds a crystal clear stream that drains into Lake Rotorua. We walked the loop trail through the nature reserve that contains the springs and stream, and at one point came upon the unexpected sight of a grove of coastal redwoods. We later learned that these were planted in 1919, most likely by the farmer on the site at the time. The tallest of these trees are now an impressive 55 meters (180 feet). Add to that tree ferns, ducks, trout, swans and incredibly clear waters and you have a very special place. Redwoods at Hamurana Springs. It only looks like California. (photo by Deborah) Black Swans, having just lifted their heads after feeding underwater. They're really not drooling. Duck video, including a very brief chase scene.

Rotorua is known as a center for Maori culture which we unfortunately didn’t manage to find time for. But it is also as the heart of a geothermally active area (think Yellowstone), for which we did. There are a number of geothermal parks in the area. We visited Waiotapu, which has the reputation for being one of the best. Paths wind through the large park passing by a number of vents issuing steam, geological oddities formed from mineral deposits, and pools boiling up with strangely colored waters. And it smells a bit. You know, rotten eggs. After the park we went to a nearby community thermal pool complex so that Deborah could engage in one of her favorite activities: sitting in bodies of warm water. The source feeding the complex was a steaming, bubbling, hissing, geothermal spring. The boiling water makes its way down a stream, over cascades and through pipes, cooling along the way, into various pools of different temperatures. So you can pick your favorite spot and soak until

Waitomo is famous for its glowworm caves. The glowworms have bioluminescent tails that glow to attract insects, which get caught in sticky lines hanging down from the glowworm’s perch on the cave ceiling. There are many limestone caves in the Waitomo area, and many tour operators. Some of the tours involve caving, climbing, or tubing (as I did 25 years ago). But we elected for a tamer experience which included two caves: one we walked through, one we floated through on a raft. It really is amazing to see the expanse of tiny lights from the glowworms in what is otherwise total darkness. Comparisons to a starry nighttime sky are both inevitable and appropriate. Glowworms in a dark cave aren't exactly easy to photograph, but hopefully you get the idea. The sticky lines. When an unfortunate insect flies into one the glowworm will reel it in like a fishing line. Another cave resident. Opening in the cave ceiling. (photo cou

Tongaporutu Beach on the North Island’s west coast is another spectacular stretch of shoreline that is only accessible at low tide. For our visit this occurred around sunset so we had dramatic lighting to match the dramatic scenery. There are several sea stacks, some with names like the The Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. But because the erosion that created them is unceasing, in recent years one of the sisters toppled and the elephant lost its head. So now they’re just big chunks of rock - albeit picturesque ones - unless you want to use your own pattern recognition skills to come up with new names. Tongaporutu Beach Flora decorating the cliff face