We have now come back from our land exploration of the North Island of NZ. It's now been almost 4 months since we arrived and our views of the country have evolved and solidified. We came with a belief system that imagined NZ to be a place where if we were younger we would have liked to live. We had in our mind that it was beautiful, "green", and thriving with a high quality of life.

I'm getting ahead of myself.....I'll come back to this.

We had a wonderful, busy trip back to the US in January and returned in early February. Our plan was to unpack and then repack to go camping. We decided that we didn't want to spend all of our time driving and therefore chose to explore only the North Island and forego the South island.

We camped in Puketi Forest and had the only private fire pit in the entire campsite so we stayed several days and made bonfires each night with wood supplied free by the campsite. The public fire pit went unused by all although there were only maybe 6 to 10 campers when we were there. One day we drove to the Northern tip of NZ, Cape Reinga, a 150 mile drive each way but a highlight for the trip. The lighthouse on the tip was very photogenic and it demarcated the end of the Pacific Ocean and the start of the Tasman Sea. Sometimes they have 30 foot seas here but the weather was calm and the seas were behaved.

When we left our campsite we headed west to the coast to observe the kaury tree forests where several trees are ancient and still alive. The oldest is thought to be about 2000 years old and towered above the forest. We visited a wood working shop that specializes by excavating "swamp kaury" trees that were probably overrun by a tsunami about 50,000 years ago and were perfectly preserved by being submerged all these years. These huge trunks are sliced up and sold as tables, chairs and all kinds of furniture internationally. The wood is beautiful and hard grained.


We visited several museums that enlightened us of the history of the forest and gum industry here in NZ.

Gum from these kaury trees were dug up from the swamp and exported for the manufacture of linoleum and varnishes. At the turn of the 20th century, gum exports were secondary only to forestry products and gold. It died when the gum deposits were depleted.

We headed south of Auckland and took some hikes and visited a pit goldmine that is still functioning. Newmont mining owns the mine and the amount of propaganda about what they are doing for the town of Waihi is impressive. The town is not happy about them mining under the town as they are blasting tunnels to access new rock.

We have been surprised and disappointed with the weather. We have been cold most of the summer here. In the early morning we have seen 50s and when there is wind (frequently) we need fleeces. In fact most of the time we have kept our fleeces on and this is the hottest month of the year. No swimming for us this summer!

What was most fun was meeting many locals and gleaning their impressions of their county and government. So from our travels and these discussions, here's what we have come to understand.

The government has built a huge tourist industry that brings people in from all over the world. The literature is replete with amazing spectacles and views. Everything seems sensationalized. Many of the activities we enjoyed were fine but NOT spectacular.

The country is set up with rules. More rules. And even more. Everything is pecuniary. The tourists are easy targets. There are large fines for everything. Don't declare something when you come into the country....$200 NZ fine. They don't advertise that there are unmarked vans on the road that take pictures of your car and send out speeding tickets months later. If you camp in a non camping area......$200 NZ fine. The campsites themselves are cheap but no table, no fires with rare exception and mostly grass or dirt fields for your tent or camper. If you want a little less rugged experience, you may choose to stay in a holiday park which are all over the tourist traps. These are upscale with powered sites, common kitchen area, Recreation area and swimming pool for the kids. They cost about 45 to 50 dollars per night but you still tent on dirt or in an open field of grass with little shade. Campers are more expensive with the normal hookups. There is no in between. Another alternative is to stay in a hostel but these are pretty rich as well at about $35 per person. B and Bs maybe cost from 120 to 150 dollars and up.

Years ago the government legislated laws that abolished most of the tobacco growing industry. Apparently they used to grow a high quality tobacco here...none now. The grain industry used to grow hops for local beer and alcohol production but is now forced to export the majority of their product. I'm not sure why this was done. Now the New Zealanders import mostly all of their costly alcohol and tobacco products.

NZ used to be mainly forests but over the last hundred years many of these forests have been harvested but the soil is poor so all of this land has become good for grazing. Up until relatively recently there has not been replanting of trees.

The dairy,
beef and wool industry is huge and everywhere you drive there are herds of animals grazing. The milk produced is mainly exported with the majority being processed into powdered milk and sent to China. China also sells NZ palm kernel to feed the cows so that their milk is richer in protein. One can't buy canned butter here but throughout the Pacific NZ canned butter was easily found and attractively priced. The price of plain butter here is double anywhere else we visited.

NZ does produce oil and the cost of fuel is about 7.00 USD per gallon. The price includes about a 45 cent tax that pays for no fault auto insurance.

Public healthcare is almost the same quality of private care and is available to all residents but non residents are charged about the same as in the US.

We've been told there has been a constant drain of skilled workers primarily to Australia each year of approximately 10,000 people. Approximately the same number of unskilled workers arrive each year from Asia. This drain has been going on for maybe 30 years. The indigenous Maury tribe is primarily illiterate and on welfare and is resented by the workers who are supporting them.

I have not checked these facts but they come from the people we talked to. So we have come to the conclusion that the level of governmental corruption is possibly comparable to that of the USA. There is a large socio-economic gap between the indigenous poor and the wealthy. We here in the yachting community live in an affluent area so the quality of life is very pleasant but there is poverty close by and the Maury tribes resent the pollution and changes that progress has brought.

Our plans are to stay until the Pacific cyclone season is over and leave here in early May for Fiji, Tonga or Vanuatu. From there who knows what's next, maybe Singapore and Thailand. Since our house is rented until July of 2015 we will remain vagabonds but we are open to all residential invitations!


From the crew of Always Saturday.