Today we spent the day on a tour outside of Auckland. We were lucky again to have just the two of us plus our guide John - that's one of the benefits of visiting during their winter months - definitely not as crowded. The weather is a little chilly - but not like the winters we were used to in the midwest :). Not even like a couple of the 'summer' days we experienced in Canada! The weather is in the 50's here with off and on rain - but nothing that has dampened our enjoyment of this beautiful country.
Our tour took us to the West Coast of the North Island. The sights were beautiful. We visited the small town of Piha which is a surfing haven during the summer months. They have black sand beaches on this side of the island - which were stunning. We were able to walk out on the beach for a couple of minutes when all of a sudden John yelled "run"! The water was moving in - fast - and almost caught Craig. I wish I had the video running :).
We then drove through the rainforest and stopped for a short hike to a waterfall. Again, stunning.
NZ has beautiful trees and foliage - including trees that literally grow sideways out of the earth.
The other part of the trip was stops at several NZ wineries where we were able to sample some wonderful wines and hear stories about the history of NZ wine. The first stop was at Babbich which was probably the best story. It is a family run winery and has been in the family for 3 generations. The current owner's great grandparents lived in Croatia and were poor farmers. He said they were determined to give their children the chance at a better live - and saved up money to send each of their children away once they were old enough. His grandfather was only 14 years old in 1915 when his parents walked miles to drop him off at the port to take him on a ship to NZ. Can you imagine - saying goodbye to your child knowing you would likely never see him again but making that sacrifice for him and the future generations - I had tears in my eyes as they were telling the story. His grandfather arrived in NZ intent on finding a way to own land to build a better life for his family. It wasn't easy - but he had an incredible work ethic. At one point he had a job that involved getting up at 3:00am every morning to collect milk pails from the neighboring areas dropping them off by 6:30am to then return home to work a full day in the vineyards. His hard work paid off and by the mid 1980's he was able to see his son running the winery and the beginning of exporting wine back to Europe. What a wonderful tribute to his parents and the sacrifices they made.
Here's a couple of pictures from our stops. The first one includes John (he's in the back). What a great guy. He is planning on replicating his business on the South Island - we are already talking about the need to make another trip to NZ to spend time there and will definitely pay him a visit.
What a wonderful day exploring this beautiful island country and meeting more amazing people. The beauty of nature is truly inspiring. We feel so blessed on this journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment