This weekend Russell invite Mandy and me to his parents house in Thames near Coromandel. It is not that far from Auckland with car you nead about 1 1/2 hours. We wanted to relax there and to test Mandy’s fishing rod. Mandy works as modelmaker and there they had used the rod for animating the tentacles of a monster in “Power Rangers”. So this rod is pretty virginal and we all are not trained in fishing. Should be fun. Russells parents have a beautiful house and after we bought the missing fishing equipment and lotto lots we having a delicious lunch with the parents.

Then Russell and Mandy tryed to get used to the fishing rod I preferd taking funny shots from them…

And I liked the sheap, this ones are Sussex sheap.

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After starting my work on the 2000 words essay for university in the evening I met Russell, Mandy and James at a nice sake bar (www.sakebars.co.nz) in the city. We waited 10min for a table but finally we got a good one with view over the whole restaurant. Each sake here got a diffrent funny name so we ordered “Seven Laughs” sake and it was funny.

But later on after Seven Laughs there was no bottle save anymore… I guess we are all a bit bottle addicted…
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Do you remember the famous picture what went around the world once? I knew it from early National Geographic Issues. In Auckland at the end of the world I got the opportunity to meet the famous photographer Steve McCurry. He hosted a lecture in the Art Gallery and I got the chance to go. Russel got two tickets and asked me for coming. I myself tried for two weeks to get tickets – in vain. After he was talking about fascinating adventures he experienced around the globe it was possible to let sign books by him. I actually bought two books, one for me and one for Scott. Strange that they offered a big book signing but excuses later there had only a few books left. So you can’t imagine how quick I was at the little bookshelf buying two of the last four or five books (Only Sanctuary the book about the temples of Angkor in Cambodia). Then I was waiting in the line for letting Steve McCurry sign my books and asking him after a few pictures of the two of us, especially for my blog. He seriously is my biggest inspiration. We had a quick chat where I’m coming from and that he stayed in Berlin in 1989 when the wall came down and all that stuff. Later at home while looking in my signed books I realized that he dated the signings with May 4th 2004.

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Had breakfast today with Scott and he showed me “One Tree Hill” a famous view point of Auckland. Here I practice doing photos with the new filters for blue sky which Scott borrow me. This hill used to have one tree on the top, that’s where the name came from. But about five years ago some Maori activist killed the tree. Stupid. Now there is only the memorial obelisk on that hill. That’s autum in New Zealand looks like… starts to become colder now.

Later I did new pictures for the collection of strange food / fruit.
Kiwano (horned melon) is picked green, ripened orange, the fruit tastes like a mix of cucumber, lemon, lime and banana.
Tamarillo is also called tree tomato but doesnt taste like tomato.
And I had to take a picture of my favorite burger – Burgerfuel! I don’t use to eat fastfood but there are great!

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On the way to Gisborne we stopped at the wonderful East Cape were you can visit the lighthouse. It was worth it but you have to climb about 700 stairs up to the top of the hill were the lighthouse is.
Finally the last stop of this trip was Gisborne. A town with big harbor and the most east town of the world. The people here are the first who welcome the new year and of course the new morning.

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Tired at 5:00am in the morning I was looking forward to watch the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen. It was breath taking. Everything was touched of red sunlight.

At 9:00am I should meet Doug (www.whalesanddolphin.co.nz) for a trip with boat to swim with the dolphins. This was my big wish and I thought this day will be the day. Unfortunately I saw not even one dolphin or whale. Just seals and penguins. But Doug invited me for another try. But all in all the trip was wonderful. The boat was as fast as a speedboat and feels like that when it jumped over the waves.

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Friday evening I started in Auckland for a trip on the east coast of the north island of New Zealand. Somebody I knew offered to give me a ride since I don’t have a car.  On the way I saw a massive kiwi sign at a big kiwi plantation. We were in no rush so in the evening we arrived in Whakatane a town at the Bay of Plenty. It was just the right time for making nice sunset photos at the beach. Then I had a great dinner with delicious seafood and I decided to get up at 5:00am the next morning for taking pictures of the sunrise at the ocean.

Don’t forget: If you’re cooking shellfish like this mussels above – cook them in their own juice! Only then you have the typical mussel taste because the water inside is salty. The tap water spoils the taste. Just put enough water in the pot that the ground is filled – not more! Cook them until they open themselves – ready! Mhhhmmmm…..

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On Easter Sunday Steele a friend of mine picked me up at 7:30 in the morning for a day trip to the north of the north island. Was my birthday trip 🙂 The weather was mixed but all in all we had mostly sunshine. First we drove over Whangarei to Paihia one of the coast towns at the “Bay of Islands”. We had there a New Zealand breakfast and watched a bit the little shops and the beach.
In one shop I found a big poster of the world oldest tree a gigantic Kauri in the Waipoua Forest. Steele was so gentle to bring me down there. The trip was from the east to the west coast. We stopped at the coast at Opononi for this wonderful view.
The name of the old tree is “Tane Mahuta” and it means God of the forest after an old Maori myth. The tree is more than 2000 years old and more than 50m high. The circumference is 13,8m. Imagine what the old tree all experienced. This Kauri was there before the polynisian and the first european people arrived. This Kauri is so huge. Unbelievable. Photos can’t express the impression you have in front of this relict of ancient times. And I never knew before that the oldest tree on earth is in New Zealand.

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In New Zealand over Easter they have the tradition to eat hot cross buns. This are little spiced bun with white crosses on the top. Taste a bit after german “Lebkuchen”. Delicious!

And this are my favourite sweet – Mellow Puffs. You can only by them in New Zealand.

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This Thursday the weather was perfect for a trip to Karekare and Piha beach. To drive there from Auckland you will need 1 1/2h. That’s not this far and the way goes through the small roads in the bush. Wonderful. First we stopped at a giant waterfall on the way to Karekare beach. As I said once the sand of the beaches of the western coast is black due its volcanic heritage. On the opposite on the eastern coast the sand is white. Karekare was wonderful, wild and almost empty…The waves this time not this high. No wonder that the producers of ‘The Piano’ choose this beach as scenery for some of the magnificent shots.

After visiting Karekare we visited the famous Piha beach. They say it’s the most dangerous beach on earth, every year many people die in an accident because they are too reckless. There are big slipstreams. In the middle of Piha beach is a giant rock called lion rock because it looks like a laying lion.

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