More details later, but put Rotorua on your “places to go before I die” list. This was by far my favorite day so far.
We saw a working sheep farm where they also grow feijoa (my new favorite fruit) and kiwifruit and olives. They’ve also got alpaca and llama and cattle and a few pigs. It was just so much fun there.
I’ll post details that I’ve written later when I can get Internet access on my laptop. I just wanted to let you all know that we’re having a fantastic time here and have absolutely fallen in love with the area and the people. We toured a Maori village yesterday and then saw the boys perform with a local high school choirs.
Today we’re out doing touristy things again.
Details that I had written, now posting (on June 22 at 8:45 PM):
We went back to yesterday’s lunch restaurant for breakfast. The place is called Relish, and it’s fantastic. Good food, good wine, and good service. If you’re ever in Rotorua, look it up and go there.
After breakfast, we walked to a yarn shop in town so I could get some knitting needles to replace some that broke and then walked back to the hotel to get the car so we could drive to Whakarewarewa, the Thermal Village. This is a Maori village where about 30 families live, and they have guided tours and performances and shops and nature walks all around there. We spent about two hours taking the guided tour and then browsing in shops and taking the nature walk. It’s pretty awesome to think that the people in that village can still live the way their ancestors did, living off the land and using the natural resources. They still cook their meals in steam pits in the ground (Maori crockpot, I called it) and take baths in the super-soft mineral water in the center of the village.
We had quite a bit of downtime at the hotel before heading out for dinner and the boys’ performance at St. Luke’s. We stopped at a little corner “hamburger shack” for dinner–which was really delicious and cheap–and met a young man from Germany who is backpacking–by himself–through New Zealand. He started in Brisbane (I think), Australia, and has been to Sydney then through South Island and now working his way up the North Island. Really nice, super polite, very interesting to talk to.
The performance at St. Luke’s was the best ever. Our boys performed several numbers first, and then the girls choir from Western Heights High School girls choir did three numbers. Our boys performed again, including several solos (Joseph and Forrest). Next, the Western Heights girls and boys did another three. Those kids are so great, and their town should be proud of them. The evening’s performance ended with the GGBC “California Medley,” which got lots of laughs and applause.
Mom and I walked back to the hotel in something like 5- or 6-degree weather. Boy, are we walking a lot!
Let me just say this right off the bat: The people here are just so nice and helpful.
We drove straight to Rotorua without stopping. I was just a bit focused on the driving to try to figure out how to get to the Waitomo Caves. Maybe we’ll hit that the next trip to New Zealand.
Mom’s taking a rest right now, and then we’ll take a walk into the town. We ate a huge lunch just when we got here, so neither of us is hungry.
Which brings me to nice, helpful people: The waitress/manager at the restaurant where we had lunch (can’t remember the name right now, but I will definitely post it when I find it because the food and wine choices are stellar) immediately got that we’re American and told us she and her family are going to the US for their vacation at the end of August. So we had a nice exchange. She told us which Maori experiences to choose from, and we told her definitely Disneyland and California Adventure over Knott’s. They’re also going to San Diego, Las Vegas, and New York. That’s covering a lot in one trip, if you ask me.
Anyway, back to Rotorua. We haven’t yet had a chance to look around, but we have a fantastic view of the lake from our room, and the sulfur smell is not bad at all. The Sudima Hotel is where we’re staying–beautifully refurbished recently, from what we understand, and very nice and quiet.
Just a short update as I’m on an Internet cafe sort of thing and have limited time. I’ll post the update I wrote yesterday later in the week.
Driving on the other side of the road and the car, one has to ignore *every* instinct one has and do exactly the opposite. I got us to the church for Mass, to Kelly Tarlton’s, back to the church for the concert, and back to our squishy little parking spot in the hotel car park. I’m feeling rather accomplished by now.
Kelly Tarlton’s was entertaining for the 45 or so minutes we spent there. Probably more fun for kids, but we enjoyed it just Mom and I. The boys sang beautifully (what else?) at Mass and at the performance in the afternoon, as did the Auckland Boys Choir and the Auckland Girls Choir. I certainly hope we have the opportunity to reciprocate with at least the Boys Choir sometime.
Other than those little things, walking was the activity of the day. We walked from the hotel down to Victoria Park Market and then down to the Viaduct for dinner. Except the walk down to the Viaduct took longer than it should have as we missed a turn and went to far down toward the water and had to backtrack and then walk and walk and walk. I’ve walked more in these past three days than I have in the last year. Good for me, though!
Tomorrow, we check out of the New President and say goodbye to Bruce, the desk clerk extraordinare, and off we’ll go to Waitomo Caves to see the glow worms and then on to Rotorua to check into our next hotel. I hope we have free Internet access there, ’cause this $10 here and $5 there is not cutting it. I’m learning a lot from this first trip.
The people here in Auckland could not be nicer. Every person who waits on us is helpful and smiling and courteous. I highly recommend coming here and hope to do it again myself, but next time with my husband.
Later all. Stay tuned!
Written on and regarding Saturday, June 16, 2007; posted June 18, 2007 @ 5:06 PM
We completely slept in this morning. We were in bed by 8:00 last night and asleep by about 8:30. Both of us woke up at about 4:00 in the morning. I stayed awake for quite a long time before falling back to sleep…until 11:30! I haven’t slept that late in, like, ever!
Anyway, our reservations at Orbit were for 1:00, so we got moving and were there about 20 minutes early. We got to wander around the observation deck (and I took some pictures) before heading up to the restaurant. While there, we ran into Lamar and Billy, dad and brother of one of Adam’s B1-mates, so after we were all done eating, we went back down to the observation deck for another wander around. There we saw a wonderful exhibit of photos of Mohammed Ali dating back to 1963, I think was the oldest one. Great collection of pictures.
We all decided to walk over to St. Benedict’s, where the boys were rehearsing. We didn’t stay there long, just while they warmed up, and then the men sang one song. It’s a beautiful church, one mile exactly from our hotel, built in the mid 1800s. The cathedral congregation is having Mass there while the cathedral is being renovated.
Lamar and Billy walked back toward our respective hotels and split off to find out what time the movie started. Mom and I walked back to the hotel for a pit stop and then walked 15 minutes down Queen Street to the harbor and the ferry building. We’d just missed the ferry to Devonport, but there was another one in 30 minutes, so we got coffee from the vendor and a muffin and sat and read New Zealand women’s magazines.
Once over in Devonport, we wandered up what appeared to be the main street, but all the shops were closed already. It was 5:30 by then and dark as it’s winter here. We looked in the windows all up the street and then found a restaurant that looked nice. We stopped in for some refreshment. I got a bowl of tomato lentil soup with wholemeal grain toast–delicious and perfect for a winter day. Paired with a nice glass of New Zealand Chardonnay, it was a nice light dinner.
After we finished, we walked back to the ferry and got there just in time to catch the boat back to Auckland. Then we walked the 15 minutes back to the hotel and called it a day.
We’re here! We were a little sweaty and grimy and had spinning heads for the first part of the day, but by almost 5:00 PM, we’re feeling pretty good.
We landed at 5:30, were in the Customs line for over an hour, and finally had a little breakfast in our bellies and our rental car by, like, 9:00. I managed to get us from the airport to our hotel in the north part of Auckland. It’s a clean enough place. We’re about two blocks from Sky City, so after we cleaned up a bit, we went over there and walked around and had a snack. We’ll go back there tomorrow at 1:00 for lunch.
Driving on the left side of the road and in the right side of the car is only mildly weird. Mostly I just have to think harder when I’m making turns. I also had to park in the swishiest little space in the hotel garage (or car park, as they call it here).
I’m loving this adventure and loving spending the time with my mom.
More later!
Blogger Loyd Schutte put out an early alert on his Yosemite Blog that Tioga Road is set to open today at noon. This is one of the earliest openings of the road in recent memory and is good news in terms of some early season fishing in the high country.
A light snow pack, early warm weather and limited damage to the road sped its clearing. The last time the Tioga Pass Road was opened close to mid May was during 2004 and 2001. Beyond that you have to go all the way back to 1990 for such and early opening date. If you’re inclined, you can take a look at the pass at the Tioga Pass Web Cam.
What an adventurous weekend. Christopher and I headed to the cabin Friday afternoon, thankfully missing most traffic. We crawled into bed early with dreams of bent rods and tight lines.
About 7:30 a.m. we were picked up by Chris H., a fellow fisherman I had corresponded with and who had provided me with good advice for off-season fishing. In his four-wheel-drive GMC pickup, we headed for the back roads and towards the South Fork of the Stanislaus River. Our goal was wild trout in the seemingly rarely fished section of the river. Unfortunately, our progress was quickly stopped by a gate that was closed after being open a few weeks ago. Diverted but not undeterred, Chris H. took the back way in. This was a stretch of the Stanislaus that I wouldn’t have expected to see as it definitely requires a trail-capable vehicle to get there.
Soon we were on the water. This part of the Stanislaus holds a lot of promising spots and has some beautiful sections. And rarely did we even see another vehicle go by. But I didn’t see a single trout. Chris H. apparently saw some fish, but couldn’t get them to bite. We moved upstream a bit, and tried again. No luck. We moved upstream again. Nothing. Late in the afternoon we finally moved up to an area where DFG supposedly plants trout…and you can see where I’m going by the use of the word “supposedly.” We were skunked again. Not the best opening day to be sure, but I asked Christopher if Sunday morning he’d want to head to Moccasin Creek and invited Chris H. to join us if inclined.
Christopher and I hit Moccasin Creek just before eight o’clock the next morning, only to find half a dozen folks already pounding the water and my favorite spot (our spot according to Christopher) occupied. Chris H. arrived as I was walking past the hatchery, and he joined us in trying a few spots. After a while, I slipped on my waders and we all proceeded downstream. Christopher turned back after a while, but Chris H. and I continued on. After a while, Chris H. found a couple of trout holding to a cluster of branches that were under water, but even after we both artfully cast lures and nearly hit the heads of these two fish, we hadn’t a single bite, much less any interest in our offerings.
After returning upstream, we found that Christopher had slipped into the “favorite spot,” and we joined him. Christopher had noticed the fish — about a dozen or so along this fifty-foot stretch — rising to the surface. Chris H. went back for his fly rod and I found my way through some blackberry bushes to get a better angle on the pool from the narrow bank. After a while, Christopher took a break from the frustration of limited interest in his flies and lures, so I moved upstream and started working a pool through which three to five fish would move in and out.
After all too many casts, one fish finally began to pay attention to my little gold on gold Panther Martin. A few more casts and he attacked. Line stripped from my ultra-light setup and I knew this wasn’t what I was used to catching in Moccasin Creek. This fish jump a few times and took off anytime he saw shoreline. I couldn’t so much as reel this fish into shore as guide it’s struggles so that I might get my hands on it — and release it — before it was too played out. It was about two minutes before I could get it to shore, to find it was the biggest brook trout I have landed. I would estimate 15 to 16 inches. What a fish and what a fight!
Shortly after I landed my brookie, Chris H. got a hit on his fly rod and pulled in a decent brookie of his own, also the biggest he’s caught. This seemed to rekindle Christopher’s desire to get a line wet, so he rigged up his fly rod and tried casting into a pool just downstream from a boulder. I think he had a bit of interest in his San Juan worm fly, but not enough to hook up.
Nice surprise in this put-and-take creek.[/caption]I continued to work the more downstream pool, and just about when I was going to call it day, I felt my lure receive a gentle nudge. So I duplicated my cast and again felt a nudge, but as I continued to reel in, my pole began to bend and the fight was on. This fish apparently had gently mouthed my lure and neither he nor I realized he was hooked. This brook trout also put on a good fight, and seeing my little battle, Chris H. volunteer to net the fish. I guided it upstream, but it took about three attempts before he was in the net, and just after being netted, the lure “self released” — that’s how light the hook was set.
I know it was a very frustrating opening weekend for Christopher and I wish he could have lucky enough to have caught something. But it is called fishing and not “catching.” I do feel blessed to have landing two awesome brook trout in the last hour before our fishing adventure ended. Time to start planning our next trip!
P.S. Found out later from Moccasin Creek Hatchery that
The brooks are used as a bio filter for rainbows in certain waters. They were reaching maturity and the decision was made to plant them out as a change of pace. Only moccasin, Lyons Canal, Powerhouse received brooks. Next week it will probably be rainbows again but brooks will be planted on occasion. This years egg numbers for brooks are about the same as last years about 1 percent of our total production. Glad you enjoyed them I was hoping someone would.
I was hoping that the first fish landed on my fly rod would be a might more glamorous, but sometimes one can’t be choosy. This weekend Christopher and I headed up to the cabin Friday night, and Saturday morning headed down to Kistler Ranch to join the Diablo Valley Fly Fisherman club to throw our lines in the three ponds there. The ponds are home to bluegill and bass, but we quickly found out that without waders and/or a floatation device, our options would be limited. I decided I would make the best of it, and use the opportunity to practice my casting. I worked my way around to the few spots on the first pond, then found a second of the back pond where I could cast from the shoreline, free of weeds, and place my fly — a white Clouser fly at this time — near some tree branches overhanging the bank and water. As my casts improved, I was able to land the fly closer to the branches, almost softly with a minimum of sound.
First fish on a fly rod…Kistler Ranch Bluegill.
Sure hope I can get a trout on the end of my line next weekend, which just happens to be Opening Day.
Left town Tuesday about 7:00 p.m. for my “spring break,” setting the GPS for the cabin and expecting to arrive in Twain Harte in about three hours with time for a quick dinner. My late departure paid off as I breezed past Tracy on I-205 (usually an awful bottleneck). Got to the cabin about when expected, laid out my fishing gear and hit the sack.
Thanks to a suggestion from member on one of the fishing forums I visit, Wednesday morning I headed off to the Two-Mile Bar area of the Stanislaus River, despite light rain and threatening clouds. I parked and headed down to the river, amazed at the greenness of everything around me, even the abundance of new growth on the poison oak.
I originally set out to use my fly rod, and started heading upstream about 11:30 a.m. But faced with very few locations from which I could suitably cast from shore (particularly with my limited experience and without waders), I turned to my new ultra-light spinning gear. Just about the time I made my first cast and despite it being spring, the heavens opened up like normally would happen on a dark winter day. Thankfully, I was sheltered by some overhanging branches and had the foresight to bring a weather-resistant outer shell, so remained relatively dry. So, I did what most any fisherman would, I began to work the pool, starting down stream of some big boulders and working my way up.
It took about five casts before I saw the first flash of a fish and felt a quick strike. Inspired to keep going, I began to notice what looked like little bubbles on the water…but freshwater usually doesn’t hang onto bubbles, like saltwater, I thought to myself… Then it dawned on me, or more accurately hit my hat…it was hailing! For maybe 10 minutes I simply marveled at being alone on a river while nature did what it does, all around me.
But I was also there to fish. Once the rain and hail abated and the sky began to clear, I again began to cast in earnest and was paid off with a few strikes. Keeping track of my casts, saw that my favorite little Panther Martin (red body/gold blade) was being bumped after a long upstream cast with a medium retrieval that allowed the current to pull the lure into a long pool near the center of a gentle bend. Duplicating that cast got me a few more strikes and finally a hookup. Gotta love that ultra-light gear…even though it was only an eight-incher, it was great fun getting it to shore. I cast a bit more and brought in another shorty, maybe nine inches or so.
Figuring I had worked that first pool enough and speculating that the strikes might have caused whatever fish were there to be a bit spooked, I headed downstream to another area accessed through berry bushes. (Mabye one of the spots you mentioned, StuckinLodi?) This spot is right near a big sweeping bend that ends with riffles split by a small island. I again began casting, starting upstream and working down stream to the shallow end, where I finally began to get some strikes. A few minutes later I was reeling in another small trout with remarkable parr marks.
Now, I’m not one to be so focused on trophy trout that I’ll forsake the opportunity to catch any number of small trout, but I thought maybe I’d increase my chances of pulling in a larger fish by turning to the all-purpose Kastmaster, gold of course. It gave me a bit more distance, which was a good thing as the most promising pool was nearer the other shore. (Ain’t that always the case?) Anyhow, maybe a dozen casts or so and a few strikes, I hooked into a decent fish, about 13 inches. And I decided to let that be the end of my fishing for the day.
I explored a bit of the river downstream from what one might call the main access point (where I saw the only other two fisherman I saw that day), but didn’t see much in the way of promising water unless one were on a float trip. Have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience on the Stanislaus or a better pre-season trip.
I took Thursday as a “lazy day,” getting up about nine, kicking around the cabin for a bit before heading to the Mother Load Fly Shop, where I chatting with owner Marvin for a bit about local rivers that can be fished during the “off season” and that offer decent shore access. He’s a good guy, willing to spend time to provide pointers. I bought a few more flies as well to help fill out my tackle box. By the time I left the fly shop, the clouds had retreated and the sun was out in full force.
Thanks to a reminder from Karen, I then headed off to the Diamondback Grill for an awesome mushroom and Swiss cheese hamburger. (If you like a good burger, you gotta stop there!) Have to say, I am getting a handle on the whole idea of slowing down and taking a break…I took my time with lunch, reading a couple of local papers and savoring my hamburger. Grabbing a few postcards off the shelf, I headed down the road to good ol’ Columbia for a stroll. This historic town was a bit more crowded than I expected (school groups off for spring break), but I found myself poking around and just enjoying the sunshine. I also spoke with a counterperson at the mine at the south end of town and found out that with gold prices being what they are, the mine owners have put the mine back into operation, so no tours for now.
Just for grins, since I was back at the cabin about three o’clock, I headed up to Lyons Canal for a hike to the water hazards on the abandoned and now-fallow golf course. Don’t know what happened, but both ponds seemed devoid of any bluegill. (Sure hope not as they were a great source of entertainment during a few summer visits.) For those who’ve seen Lyons Canal, it was higher than I’ve ever seen it, probably within a foot of the top edge of the canal. After hiking back to the car, I returned to the cabin, where I let the day slip away, listening to a concert in the park and watching the darkness creep over the trees.
Friday I again went to the Two Mile Bar Recreation Area. The sky was clear and the sun was strong. Arrived about the same time of day, and within the first five or six casts had a strike out of the upstream pool on an all-gold Panther Martin, and over the next hour and a half had numerous strikes. I found that the fish seemed to have gone a bit deeper, and eventually hooked and lost one fish and landed two smallish rainbows in the 10 inch range. Figuring I had enticed all of the willing fish from this pool, and after sitting for a while to munch on lunch and soak in the nature around me — turkey vultures and birds and sheer cliffs above, the music of the water — I headed downstream to the bend.
Got to the bend about 1:00 p.m. and switched over to small gold Kastmaster, threw it out and immediately had a fish on before I began my retrieve. It ended up being the most combative fish of the week, clearing the water four or five times and running away as soon as he eyed the bank. Kept getting strikes every half dozen casts or so over the next 45 minutes, with three hookups and one smaller fish landed.
But just as the sun neared its two o’clock position, those dog-gone trout seemed to be spy-hopping, trying to get a gander at this creature on riverbank. I swear they were laughing at me because the bite just fell off. Then I began to see at least a dozen or more fish holding in front of the riffles at the end of the bend and slurping up something just off the surface. I’m no expert, but I would guess that some sort of hatch was on. I set my pole aside and started “trout watching.” I could not make out what they were chasing, but this went on for about an hour before the fish shifted tactics and began to take some thing subsurface, with their dorsal fins and backs periodically breaking the water. Quite a show… This day I saw four other fisherman, all using fly rods, and at least one fish landed. I finally hiked out before the sun set as I had to get things packed for the trip home.
Have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience on the Stanislaus River. What a good pre-season trip!
fishing for words 