Wellington: May 2007

In this issue, Ma Orihaka writes about the beautiful to the bizarre, as Ray winds his way along the 'Forgotten World' Highway to New Plymouth, admires the wonderful Mt. Taranaki, discovers that Elvis is alive and well in Hawera and goes on a trip with the Postman in Wanganui! He then heads for the capital, Wellington before making his crossing to the south island.

In case you missed our last issue, Ma followed Ray along Highway 35 as he headed towards the 'Eastland' region of the north island, including his stay in the ‘Prison’ backpackers hostel in Napier and the fabulous Tongariro Crossing – one of New Zealand's most famous hikes and rated one of the top one day walks in the world.You can read it now at: Its a Long Way to Tongariro.

Above: Ray pauses for a moment as he prepares to take the historic journey along Highway 43

Below: The scenery along 'The Forgotten World Highway' is beautiful. This river is a great example...

Ray made his first stop at the Aukopae Tunnel. "When I read about this place, it sounded really intriguing" said Ray. "The tunnel was started before the First Word War but not finished until 1923 - but it was made redundant in 1968 by nearby road cutting and was consequently 'lost' as people stopped using it. There was a 40 minute walk through fields leading to the start of the tunnel, so I parked the car and set off to try and find it" said our curious explorer.

Above: Ray parked up here to look for the Aukopae Tunnel, setting off on foot across farmland.....

Below: .... until reaching this point here - "I thought I must be lost as the tunnel entrance was nowhere in sight" said Ray. "I'll just take a look in these bushes before turning back" he thought...

Above: "Found it!" exclaims our intrepid explorer - "Lets take a closer look" says Ray

Below: The redundant tunnel - "It was definitely a little bit spooky" Ray told me, "and I'm glad I was here in the middle of the day, rather than at night" he added. In years gone by, riverboats regularly plied the waters at the far end, landing cargoes of settlers, livestock and provisions

Continuing south along this fascinating, historic road, Ray was struck by the densely forested landscape. "To me, it looked like something out of 'Jurassic Park' and I could easily imagine being confronted by a dinosaur" said Ray.

Above: The densely forested landscape reminded Ray of 'Jurassic Park'...

The Forgotten World Highway passes through many gorges en route, with spectacular views from some of the lookout points. "I was feeling a bit parched by the time I reached the Tangarakau gorge" said Ray, "so I decided to stop for a cuppa and take in the magnificent views for a few minutes" he told me.

Above: "One cup of tea and a toasted sandwich, eight dollars. The views - priceless!"

For anyone travelling along the Forgotten World Highway, a stop at Whangamomona is compulsory. "I discovered there was a bizarre story behind this little hamlet, which has enough pride for a nation!" said a surprised Ray. "In 1989, local councils sought to shift the Taranaki township into the Manawatu region (and more importantly to make them play rugby for the rival district). The citizens decided to dump both councils and become a republic. They even issue passports at the local hotel or cafe" he quipped.

Above: New Zealand's 'other nation' - the tiny but charming Republic of Whangamomona is now one of the country's most character-packed places

Today, the republic has a border guard (an outdoor toilet), a president and its own beer. "This must be a myth as there was certainly no border guard present when I drove through there" observed Ray. In January of every second year,  the towns double digit population swells to over 5,000 as trains haul Aucklanders keen to celebrate the independence of New Zealand's 'other nation' with sheep racing, possum skinning and sampling the 'national' ale.

Above: The Whangamomona Hotel is the most remote country hotel in New Zealand on State Highway 43 and a great (the only!) place to taste their 'national' beer

Below: Blink and you'll miss it! This sign lets you know you are 'back' in New Zealand!

From the end of the Forgotten World Highway, it is not too long before you arrive at the Egmont National Park, which is home to the awesome Mount Taranaki. "Like most travellers, I guess the main reason I wanted to come here was to walk on some of the tracks around the mountain and kept my fingers crossed that the weather would be kind" recalled Ray.

At the time, Ray was unaware that the region is one of the wettest spots in New Zealand, as the moisture laden winds from the Tasman Sea are swept up to freezing heights by the mountain.

Above: As Ray approached New Plymouth, this was the sight that he had been waiting to see - the glorious Mount Taranaki, which is one of the highest peaks on the north island and a climbers dream!

Below: Map showing New Plymouth, which is dominated by the presence of Mount Taranaki. Both reside on a knuckle of land on the west coast. Ray was planning to visit Wanganui (bottom right) after leaving the region

Mount Taranaki is 2,518 metres high and is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in the world. There is a secondary cone, Fanthams Peak, on the south side. Taranaki is geologically young, having commenced activity approximately 135,000 years ago. "The most recent volcanic activity was a moderate ash eruption in1755,ofthesizeofRuapehu's activity in 1995/1996" said a well informed Ray.

Above: The view from Mount Taranaki, looking out to sea is stunning. "I only managed to get about halfway up" said Ray.

It takes about five hours to climb to the summit, for climbers with experience. "This climb was out of my league" acknowledged Ray - maybe as I get more experience 'tramping', I'll make the leap to 'mountaineer' he told me.

Maori legend provides an enchanting explanation for why Mt. Taranaki stands alone. "As the story goes, Taranaki once lived with the other volcanoes of the central plateau - Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe" explained Ray. "When he made romantic advances to Pihanga, a pretty hill that they all admired, Tongariro jealously blew his top (as volcanoes are inclined to do) and Taranaki fled to the west, gouging the Whanganui River on his way" he added.

Below: A reminder of what can happen when things go wrong. This monument commemorates the heroism of Arthur Hamilton Ambury, who gave his life in attempting to rescue a climber who slipped on the ice at 6,300 feet in 1918. In total, more than 60 people have died attempting to reach the summit (hidden in the clouds behind)

Mount Taranaki (above) and Mount Fuji, in Japan (below), are virtually 'identical twins'. Because of their uncanny resemblance, Taranaki provided the backdrop for the making of the Tom Cruise movie 'The Last Samurai'

With just one last thing left for our solo traveller before heading for Wanganui, Ray made tracks to Cape Egmont. "As Daily Explorer readers know, I have been to all of the most extreme coastal points on my travels on this island, and Cape Egmont is the most westerly point on the knuckle (see map above) at the lower part of the north island" explained Ray.

Above: Ray drives to the very (western) edge of New Zealand (literally) at Cape Egmont. Eagle eyed viewers may notice the dent in the passenger door of Ray's hire car - "I was driving away from a parking space and caught the door on a low wall in a rare moment of lost concentration" explained a slightly miffed Ray

Despite needing to plan your journey and work out a schedule, the traveller's life can be full of surprises. "On may way to Wanganui, I had to pass through a tiny town called Hawera" said Ray. "It was here that I accidently came across perhaps the most bizarre thing I would have expected to discover in this part of the world, or anywhere outside America for that matter - an amazing tribute to Elvis Presley!" he told me.

Above and below: Tucked away in a lock up garage next to a small town house in the middle of nowhere, is Kevin Wasley's amazing tribute to 'The King' - The Elvis Presley Memorial Record Room

Having secured a personal appointment by phone with the founder and owner of this unbelievably huge collection of Elvis memorabilia, Ray set off to find it. "I was not sure what to expect, but could hardly believe it when I discovered that the collection was in Kevin's lock up garage at the side of his small home in the town" recalled Ray.

Once inside, Ray had an opportunity to talk with Kevin about his collection. "He told me that he has been an avid collector of Elvis memorabilia since 1957" said Ray. "He was born and raised in Hawera and attended Hawera High School, is a painter and paper-hanger by trade. He is well known and respected around Hawera and is often seen dressed as 'The King', but his pride and joy is the Elvis Presley Memorial Record Room which he has developed over the years" added Ray.

Above: Kevin D. Wasley (left), owns the largest collection of Elvis memorabilia in Australasia, and possibly the world. "It is very inspiring to meet anyone with a passion for something, and Kevin was simply nuts about Elvis!" said Ray. "He has been non-stop accumulating, purely for his own pleasure, since the late 50's and it is amazing how extensive his collection is. I realy loved chatting to him about it" Ray told me 

The Record Room has appeared on TV on such programmes as "That's Fairly Interesting", "Inside New Zealand", "Today Tonight", "Blind Date", "Obsessions", "Ansett N.Z. Time Of Your Life", "Wheel Of Fortune", "Son Of A Gunn Show" (starring Christopher Elvis Wasley), "Channel 7 Taranaki" and has featured in The Listener, N.Z. Woman's Weekly, Australian Post, More Magazine, Woman's Day, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis Tennessee USA), The New Zealand Millennium Book and many other books and magazines and newspapers over the years.

Above: Kevin's unbelievable collection includes a number of these extremely rare, genuine, legal tender US dollar bills. "I paid about $4 each for them when I bought a couple of hundred of them many years ago" Kevin told Ray

Below: One of the two rooms housing Kevin's impressive record collection - "He not only has every record Elvis ever made" said Ray, "but with many of them, he has a copy of the sleeve and disc in every language it was released in" added our dazed traveller

Visitors to Kevin's 'museum' have come from as far abroad as Japan, U.S.A., Memphis Tennessee, England, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, Canada and Holland... with many great names in the music and broadcasting industries as visitors over the years. "There was no fee for seeing the collection - even more amazing in itself - as Kevin genuinely loves sharing his pride and joy with everyone who would like to see it, so I chose to make a donation, which helps fund the upkeep of the place and allows him to buy items to continue growing the collection" said Ray.

For readers who would like further information about the collection, Kevin's web site can be seen at: The Elvis Presley Memorial Record Room.

Above: Long live 'The King!' - "Coming here has really inspired me to go to Graceland" said Ray after spending an hour at Kevin's amazing personal museum

Leaving the world of Rock 'n Roll, Ray made tracks for Wellington, stopping en route for a visit to Wanganui. "When I lived in London and was running my consulting business, I worked with someone who used to live here, and it inspired me to stop and find out a little more about the place" said Ray.

Above: Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region. Like several New Zealand centres, it was officially designated a city until administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by a DistrictCouncil. Despite this, it is still regarded as a city by most New Zealanders

Below: The picturesque, sleepy town is 200 kilometres north of Wellington, near the mouth of the Whanganui River. The spelling of the town and the river are slightly different, much to the annoyance of some residents

I asked Ray to fill me in on what he got up to during his two day visit to the town. "There really isn't a great deal to see there, although I made the most of it by choosing to spend a day with Noel, the Wanganui mailman" said Ray. "His mail run is very small, and as he is a contractor for New Zealand Post, he is allowed under the terms of his contract to supplement his income by taking passengers on his mail run and offering them a very informative tour of the region" explained Ray. "This was a real find" added our solo traveller.

Above: One of the few things worth seeing in Wanganui is the pretty garden by Victoria Lake. "If you are a romantic at heart, they say you can sometimes make out the misty figures of a couple talking on this bench in the centre of the garden" Ray told me

Below: The Wanganui postman, Noel, offers to take passengers on his daily mail run up to Pipiriki, along the Whanganui River - "I had a great day with Noel, who knows just about everything that goes on in these parts" said Ray. "Noel even stops along the way and makes tea for passengers" he told me

Above: Ray, with postman Noel....

Below: The mailboxes come in all shapes and sizes on one of New Zealand's smallest and most unusual mail runs. The mailbox on the left is an old canoe, whilst the one on the right is a tiny replica of the building on the other side of the river (right), which you can see in the distance just above the box itself. All residents on the other side of the water do not have road access and have to cross the water by boat or cable car to collect their mail

One of the benefits of travelling with the postman is that you get to see a side of local life that you might otherwise miss. "Noel is on first name terms with everybody who lives along the river and they all greet him as if he were family" observed Ray. "It's a very satisfying job" said Noel, when Ray asked him if he enjoyed his work.

Stopping at one lady's house to drop off her post, Noel had organised a treat for his three guests. "He first made us a cup of tea, then handed us over to the lady in residence who gave us a quick tour of her macadamia trees" recalled Ray. "I love macadamia nuts and to be honest, I had no idea of how they grow or what happens to them before they arrive in the supermarket or end up in a chocolate bar" confessed Ray.

Above: The lady who owns this property (left) kindly agreed to take Noel's guests for a tour around her farm, where she has a number of Macadamia trees (like the small tree to the right of the two in the background) - "We discovered that the nuts have a hard outer shell, like a conker, which has to be broken off so the soft nut inside can dry and harden" said Ray. "She sends her harvest to Auckland every year where this process is done in a factory" added Ray

Below: "Careful, Ray!" says Noel, as our intrepid explorer has a go at breaking the outer casing of a few freshly picked macadamia's - "They tasted great" Ray told me

The journey along the Whanganui River, which is Noel's mail run is classified as one of the nine New Zealand Great Walks that I have mentioned in previous issues of The Daily Explorer. Noel's tour along the river lasts about six hours and includes a stop for lunch at the Sisters of Compassion Catholic Mission, near the tiny town of Jerusalem.

Above: The crystal clear, still waters of the Whanganui River perfectly reflect the beautiful scene at the tiny town of Jerusalem (right of picture)

Jerusalem was once the largest kainga (village) on the Whanganui River in the middle of a populous district. It was known as a meeting place for korero (discussion). The Catholic Mission was first established in the area in 1854. Jerusalem is where Suzanne Aubert founded the congregation of the Sisters of Compassion in 1892. 

Above: Sister Suzanne Aubert, who founded the mission in 1892. "If we have more things to do than we can find time for, let us consider the time at our disposal, and let us employ it without losing a minute, beginning by the most important things, and not troubling about those which we cannot perform" - Suzanne Aubert Directory, 259:25

In the 1970’s the New Zealand poet James K. Baxter lived here, and many of his followers joined him, also forming a community. Baxter (Hemi) is buried at Jerusalem. Today Jerusalem is a small settlement in a beautiful and peaceful setting. It’s special features and qualities attract pilgrims and visitors from all over the world. The Sisters and co-workers are committed to work together in a spirit of compassion, openness and integrity to meet the needs of the aged, the sick, the oppressed and powerless in our communities. "I was very moved by witnessing the work they are doing here" said Ray, "and still find it quite hard to understand what it must be like to live a life in which serving others is truly your only interest" he reflected.

Suzanne Aubert, the foundress of the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion has always been held in high esteem by the people of New Zealand, regardless of race or creed.  Although she died in 1926, her name as well as the work she started lives on.  Since 1988 the New Zealand Anglican Church has placed her in their Book of Common Prayer calendar as a saintly woman. "Her life was probably as significant as that of Mother Teresa" said Ray.

For the Catholic Church to recognise Suzanne Aubert as a holy person or saint, a formal process has to be gone through.  This has begun, here in New Zealand. The publication of her biography has been one of the main steps in the process.  There also needs to be a study of her ‘virtues’, which will be revealed from studying her own writings. Besides this, there have been many prayers through the intercession of Suzanne Aubert, requesting cures and miracles.  Evidence must be collected, and witnesses examined to verify a miracle attributed to her.  When sufficient proof of her sanctity has been gathered, this is then sent to the Church authority in Rome, who will examine what has been submitted, and decide whether or not to proclaim Suzanne Aubert as a holy person.

Above: This room used to be an orphanage until a larger and more accessible centre was opened in Wellington with better medical facilities. Now, it is open as a hostel to any visitors who wish to stay

Below: The beautiful, wooden church at the Catholic Mission

On the return journey to Wanganui from the mission, Noel pointed out some of the more interesting geological features of the area. "There was a section of the road which, if you were driving past in your own car, you would hardly notice" Ray told me. "But when Noel pointed out that the stratification in the rock was formed by millions of crushed oyster shells, we couldn't believe our eyes when we took a closer look - I have never seen earth's history so visibly in this way before" added Ray.

Above: The road which runs alongside the Whanganui River sweeps past 'Oyster Rock', which at first glance seems quite ordinary....

Below: .... but when you get up real close, you can see millions of oyster shells that have been trapped in the soil from the water in the river and now form part of the rock

Below: "The half day trip with the postman along the Whanganui River was awesome" said Ray, as he took a final look at one of the spectacular valleys before leaving

With Ray's six week tour of the north island virtually complete, only a visit to New Zealand's capital, Wellington was left before he planned to cross the Cook Straight on to the south island. "I was really looking forward to Wellington and dreading it at the same time" Ray told me. "The dread was because I knew I was going to face the music with the damage to my rental car and have to cough up the dosh to pay for it" he moaned, "and the excitement was because I was going to link up with a couple of people I met in Wanganui who live there, with the prospect of experiencing the place as a local, rather than a tourist" he explained.

Above: Wellington is the third largest city in New Zealand, the capital and the crossing point for travellers who want to visit the south island. It is 11,685 miles from London

Below: Ray arrives in Wellington - "At first glance, it seems like a very compact and rather cosmopolitan city" he said

Wellington is the most populous national capital in Oceania. Including the outlying areas, the number of residents is approaching 450,000. Like many cities, Wellington's urban area extends well beyond the boundaries of a single local authority. Greater Wellington means the entire urban area, plus the rural parts of the cities and the Kapiti Coast, and across the Rimutaka Range to the Wairarapa.

"Wellington was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo" said Ray, after he had done a bit of reading about the city. "The Duke's title comes from the town of Wellington, in the English county of Somerset" he told me.

European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory, on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840. The settlers constructed their first homes at Petone (which they called Britannia for a time) on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River. When that proved swampy and flood-prone they transplanted the plans without regard for a more hilly terrain.Wellingtonhassomeextremelysteep streets running straight up the sides of hills.

Above: A typical working day for these residents of New Zealand's capital city, who sip their latte's whilst taking a break from the nine to five - "I can just about remember when I was doing it myself back in London" said Ray

Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing Parliament and the head offices of all government ministries and departments, plus the bulk of the foreign diplomatic missions based in New Zealand. "It was possible to go on a free, guided tour of their 'House of Commons' equivalent, so I thought I would take the opportunity to find out more about the way they run politics over here" Ray told me. "As you would expect, it is very similar to the way in which Westminster runs, with the same Monarchy, so many of the conventions from England have found their way to New Zealand in terms of how the house is managed" added Ray.

Above: The seat of power - the modernist 'beehive' (the circular building to the left), built between 1969-80, provides offices and facilities for members of the house, junior ministers and their support staff, while the older building (right), completed in 1922, houses the parliamentary assembly (like the UK House of Commons)

Below: The Government buildings in Wellington (like Whitehall in the UK) are among the world's largest all-wooden structures, although you might think they were made from stone, looking at them from a distance

Wellington has the twelfth best quality of living in the world, according to a 2006 study by consulting company Mercer. Of cities with English as the primary language, Wellington ranked fourth. "Of all the cities I have visited so far in New Zealand, Wellington is definitely my favourite" said Ray.

Above: So much of the architecture in Wellington, and other New Zealand cities, is modelled from England, including this spectacular wooden cathedral, called 'Old St. Paul's'

Below: Wellington at night

Wellington's compact city centre supports an arts scene, café culture and nightlife much larger than most cities of a similar size. It is also a centre of New Zealand's film and theatre industry. "I discovered through friends I hooked up with that quite a few people work for Peter Jackson's studios (the director of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'King Kong') and the number is increasing" said Ray.

Te Papa Tongarewa (the Museum of New Zealand), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the biennial 'International Festival of the Arts' are all sited here.

Above: The Te Papa Museum - "I spent a very informative few hours in there" said Ray. "I was especially interested in how much the landscape of New Zealand has changed since the Europeans discovered it a couple of hundred years ago - for example, there are only a fraction of the trees left from that era, as forest has made way for agriculture" added Ray

One of the outstanding features in the city is the Botanic Gardens. "They were established in 1868 and contain the famous Lady Norwood Rose Garden, which was created in 1950" said Ray. "I am not normally into flowers or gardens, but I wanted to ride the old cable car, which takes you up to the place where all the walks through the garden start, and it was a lovely sunny day, so I thought why not? I am really glad I did as they are spectacular" added Ray.

Above: Ray took the cable car from Lambton Quay to the Botanic Gardens at the top of the hills overlooking the city

Below: The view from the cable car station at the top

Below: The Lady Norwood Rose Garden is delightful and very popular with visitors

As mentioned earlier, Wellington has a thriving arts scene and there is much on offer by way of entertainment. "Years ago, when I was a child, I went to see 'Fiddler on the Roof' on stage in London, which starred the actor Topol, who went on to make the hit movie version too" said Ray. "I found out that the show was on in Wellington, with none other than Topol himself reprising the role - I just had to see it as it is one of my favourite stories and the songs are brilliant" recalled Ray.

Above: Much to Ray's surprise, Topol is still playing the part of 'Tevye' in 'Fiddler on the Roof', after 40 years! - "It was a superb performance" said Ray. "The audience were so taken with it, they spontaneously broke into a Maori Haka for the members of the cast during the curtain call - it was a beautiful thing to witness" added Ray

Below: Another thing that Ray would not have expected to see on the streets of Wellington - an old Routemaster bus looking strangely out of place!

As most solo travellers will tell you, it is a wonderful pleasure to be hosted in a strange city by people that live there. "When I was staying at a hostel in Wanganui a few days earlier, I met a couple of people who were staying over on a business trip" Ray told me. "One of them, Maree, works as a sales representative for a company selling health and nutritional products and these were of interest to me, which is how we got talking" said Ray. "Being so friendly, like most of the people here, Maree invited me to meet her and her friends in Wellington" he added.

Above: Ray made friends with Maree (right), who is originally from Brisbane and her friend Michal (left), who runs her own business training and walking dogs - "Maree was very welcoming and great company, despite being very busy with her work. I genuinely feel I have made a friend for life, although I am not sure how often we will see each other!" said Ray

The link with Maree meant that our solo traveller was invited to a couple of parties while he was in town. "This was a first for me in New Zealand and I was very glad to meet lots of local people, as it made a welcome change from meeting and talking to other travellers - there is nothing wrong with this, but it can become a bit boring after a while!" explained Ray.

Above: After five wonderful days and evenings in Wellington, it was time for Ray to leave the north island and head across the narrow stretch of water to the south island

Above and below: All aboard! Ray gazes over the bow of the ship as it slowly leaves the harbour and heads for Picton - the south island gateway, a three and half hour journey

I caught up with Ray on board his ferry and asked him to sum up his six weeks on the north island for me. "It's very hard to put into a few words, Ma" was his reply. "I feel like I have really covered the territory, driving 6,065 kilomteres in the past few weeks and reaching every corner" he said. "There are parts of the island which I will remember for their stunning beauty, like the Bay of Islands and the Coromandel Peninsula. There have been some great treks, with my favourite being the Tongariro Crossing. And I have had my share of thrills, with a tandem skydive and a tower based jump thrown in" said a very excited Ray. "And I have met some wonderful people as well - I just hope this continues on the south island" added Ray. With the temperatures dropping rapidly in the south as winter approaches, I asked Ray if he was able to cope. "I am well prepared for the cold weather I am expecting there - I have been shopping and purchased a fleeceandsomethermalvestsandundertrousers - I am not taking any chances!" he told me. 

Editors Note: Thanks again Ma for bringing us such great coverage of Ray's trip so far. Daily Explorer readers will be pleased to know that Ma is continuing her coverage of Ray's New Zealand adventure in our next issue, the first about his tour of the south island, which will be online in a couple of weeks.

Its All in the Name

This is one of the features that readers of our sister publication, The Daily Lama, have enjoyed. So by popular demand, we have decided to continue with it here. From time to time, we will publish photographs of different places or things that Ray comes across on his travels. If the name of the place or thing in the photograph matches with your name, you are invited to send us an email telling us, and we will include your name in a prize draw to be made at the end of the year, in our final issue of 2007! Here is the picture for this issue:

Above: Ray spotted this sign on his way to Wanganui

MOZZIE BYTE

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