Category Archives: Daily Lime

Mount Manaia – A Stairway to Heaven

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We pull off the Town Basin Marina dock with our friends on Q2 (Lewis, Sara and baby Skye) following us to a new anchorage, Urquharts Bay.  A beautiful, wide bay with lots of moorings and local boats.  This anchorage gave us access to many hikes and is located at the mouth of the Whangarei river. Despite how busy it was we secured a place all by ourselves.

Mount Manaia

Mount Manaia, Mt. Lion, Bream Head, and the Hen and Chickens, are scattered remnants of andesite, volcanic intusions that erupted 16-22 million years ago.  They are part of a 50km 2 (19 sq mi) stratovolcano that extended to the Hen and Chickens.

This is a sacred place for the Maori.  In former times, Maori placed the remains of their important chiefs on the tops of these rocks.  It is believed that the craggy peaks represent an important chief’s family who were turned to stone in a dispute over the infidelity of his wife.

The left arrow shows how high I went and the right arrow shows how high Matt, Rich and Michelle got (they rock climbed the last 20′).

Mt. Manaia is blanketed by native bush and has jagged peaks that jet up into the sky.  The entire area is a protected reserve which has a very well maintained track to the summit.

A Little Bit of Crazy

Our friends on Pogeyan (Rich and Michelle) invited us to go on this crazy steep hike up Mount Manaia.  We dragged Q2 along with us (even 3 month old baby Skye came along).  Matt and I had not been hiking in almost a year and I was a wee bit nervous to say the least.   Rich said it was a short hike (a little over an hour to the top), but it is straight up – a total vertical incline with over 800 steps peppered in to help you get up the super steep parts.  Yikes!

As we begin our journey our little pack slowly starts to split up.  Matt takes off, in flip flops no less, and leads the way, the other two guys are behind him for most of the trail.  Us ladies take it at a “more leisurely pace” and rest periodically as I am totally out of shape!

They installed really nice stairs over the super steep parts of the trail.  Every 100 steps there is a small mark, but I don’t believe it so I count myself.  I was spot on up to 600 steps but then things got wonky and I ended up wit 1226 stairs to the summit whereas the markers had 1136 steps.  Hmmm.  I had 2 other witnesses so I am going with my number of 1226 – which is a lot of stairs!

The Summit

After an hour we reach the platform and hope to find Matt.  And wouldn’t you know he found a crevice to hang out in….can you see him in the far left photo or the top right photo?

Michelle and I at the platform summit – I’m so happy to be sitting down.

The unbelievable views….

I’m guessing these are the children in the fable….

The Pinnacle on the Summit

We continue on around the corner from the platform summit.  Rich says we are not at the top yet.  So, we carry on and do a few rock scrambles.  At this point my legs are burning.  I made it to the 2nd highest point but couldn’t carry on so Matt, Michelle, and Rich did the last 20′.

The views were spectacular.  I wish I had the power to go up the last section but I had to save my reserves for the climb down.

We saw lots of beautiful Kauri trees and this beautiful stone archway.

At the end of the day we hiked up 1226 stairs or 104 floors, 4.1 miles and 9,759 steps.  The numbers don’t seem so impressive when you break it down. But it was a hard earned workout!

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in late January.  Did you read about our new set of wheels in our last blog post?

Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa

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 The Barkers (Matt, Diana, their kids, Matt’s parents, brother and his wife) take us on a long ride down to Roturoa to visit the very special

Prior to enjoying the facilities we are given a brief tour which starts with a beautiful prayer.

Step 1: Te Iringa Waterfall Showers

Each person passes through a series of soft waterfall streams that energise the body and open it to awareness and to the present before continuing on the cultural wellness journey.  Behind the wood screen are 4 streams that range in temperature.

Step 2:  Te Ahi Tupia Tongariro Fire and Ice Caves

In Maori wellbeing practice, it is understood that moving between extreme temperatures improves vigour and stamina.  So, this is a series of hot and cold experiences that invigorate the body and soul.

Sauna #1 is called Bio Sauna and it is bewteen 50-60 C with 40-60% humidity.  We try to stay in here for the full 15 minutes but decide to move on after 12.

We did a quick walk through the ice cold pool (top right) and then moved on to the salt sauna. This was beautiful and my favorite of the saunas.  It sat around 70-80 C with 10-20% humidity. 

Back through the ice cold pool and into the last sauna called the Hay Sauna which was 60-70 C and 10-20% humidity.  This one bothered all of us as the hay smell made us sneeze.

The next step was only for the bold and the brave.  You step into a room, pull on a chain and a bucket full of ice water flows down upon you.

Step 3: Te Taiwhanga Matua Geothermal Pools

There are five (5) geothermal pools in this area: herbal, hydrotherapy, mineral alkaline, and the cold plunge.  The pool temperatures range from 12-41C as you gently move from one to the other.  

The Geo Soal Pool was the largest and had a long ramp for easy access.  After the really hot pools this felt like bath water to me, but it was still very beautiful and restorative.

Insde the Hydrotherapy pool they have beautiful cascading waterfalls with jets in between and a set of 10 bubbling lounge beds to relax your muscles.

The Herbal Pool had little pods of floating herbs.  We found rosemary, citrus, and lemongrass. It was probably one of the prettiest spots.

Step 4: Te Pae Paru Geothermal Mud Lounge

This was fun.  You lather our body with geothermal mud to nourish the skin and connect with the land.  Once you are fully covered in mud you lay down on heated lounge chairs and let it dry before going on to Step 5.

Step 5: Kohu Wai Ariki Steam Room

Reclining on the heated lounges and stoens in this misty cave allows you to completely relax.

After a beautiful and relaxing experience at Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa we head back to the private and very comfortable van to Auckland.  It was so spectacular to spend time with the Barker family.   They are truly good peeps!

Our blogs run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred at the end of December 2023.  Did you catch our wine tour at Wiaheke Island?

Waiheke Island Wine Tour

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We visit Waiheke Island with our friends the Barkers (Matt, Diana, and their family).  We take a short 45-minute ferry ride from Auckland to the idyllic Waiheke island which is renowned for its vineyards nestled in beautiful settings.  It is often called “The Island of Wine.”

There are over 130-hectares (or 321 acres) of grapes and new vineyards are being planted every year.  The local winegrowers have mastered the unique maritime climate and ancient soil structures to produce red and white wines.  The first vineyard was planted in 1978, a relatively young vineyard.  Since its birth, Waiheke has made a name for its structured Chardonnay, fruity Merlot, elegant Bordeaux-style blends, and expressive Syrah – all noted as outstanding in their class.

With the Barkers we decide to visit three vineyards in our short 6-hour Waiheke Island Wine tour.  Matt and I arrived on an earlier ferry and managed to squeeze in a short hike.  Our plan is to drive to Man O’War Vineyard (purple arrow), then head back and stop at Cable Bay Vineyard (blue arrow) and our final stop is Mudbrick Vineyard (between blue and red).  The ferry dock is where the red arrow is pointing.

We start off at the furthest vineyard called Man O’War Vineyard.

Man O’War Vineyard

This was my favorite vineyard by far.  A more casual atmosphere right on the beach with loads of sitting areas, a DJ, first class wines (and beer), and food.  Man O’War is located on the far eastern side of Waiheke Island making it the most difficult to get to, but it is so worth the drive.  

This vineyard planted vines on numerous small individual sites across the volcanic hilltop and clay hillsides on their 4500-acre farm.  The wine was my favorite as was the tasty “garage beer” for the “Matts”

Cable Bay Vineyard

Guests enjoy breathtaking sea views while sipping on award winning wines from Cable Bay Vineyard.  But, unfortunately, we only had an hour to explore here so one glass of rose.  The grounds are beautiful and they grow their own herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers for their restaurants and bars. 

Mudbrick Vineyard

Located right next door to Cable Bay Vineyard on Waiheke island is Mudbrick Vineyard. It is world-renowned for it superb restaurants, award-winning wines and spectacular sea views.  They claim to offer the perfect Waiheke experience with their beautiful accomodations, tours, and wine tastings.  NY Times said “Mudbrick is a must see when visiting Auckland.”  Which is kind of funny to me as Mudbrick is on Waiheke island a 45 minute ferry ride from Auckland.

Mudbrick offered a lovely wine tasting!  Shockingly, I really enjoyed the sauvignon blanc over the rose.

A beautiful shot of Auckland from the Sky Tower and from the Ferry on the way to Waiheke Island.  While on the ferry we swung by the Navy station which has the largest of NZ fleets of boats.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred toward the end of December 2023.  In our last blog we replace our shattered Moonlight Hatch Frames.