New Zealand, November 13-17, 2007

We started our vacation in New Zealand’s Northland, the upper part of the North Island, where we stayed in Kerikeri. Our first day was windy and rainy, but the weather then cleared for our drive took us to Whangaroa, the site of St. Paul’s Rock, which we decided to challenge.


Georgia preparing for the ascent


Next time we’ll bring a rope instead of these heavy chains


View from the summit


Another highlight of the Northland was a walk through the Puketi Forest, one of New Zealand’s innumerable national parks and preserves.


Puketi Forest

After Kerikeri we moved on to Auckland with a hotel in Parnell, the city’s answer to Washington’s Georgetown. Blessed with wonderful weather, we took the ferry to Devonport for some views of the city.


Atop Devonport’s Mt. Victoria, fortified to counter the threat supposedly posed by the Russian Pacific Fleet in the late 19th Century, looking toward Auckland’s city center


Auckland skyline topped by the Sky Tower, where we passed up the opportunity to bungy jump