Travels with haRVy

Posted by: sunnyharvy | June 5, 2016

We’re On Our Way Home

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks in Canada where we can’t use our mobile internet hotspot. Therefore, we must get online in places like McDonalds and Tim Hortons. Since I don’t consider these suitable environments to spend time working on my blog, I am behind on my posts. We crossed back over into the States yesterday, so I’m back on it.

Once we left Theodore Roosevelt National Park (previous post), we didn’t find much else to stop for in North Dakota, so it was pretty much an all-day dash across the state. Seems that the locals might also be bored, since they have erected all sorts of huge, sometimes strange, sculptures. We saw the “World’s Largest” Holstein Cow, Buffalo, and Blue Heron (photo below).

As far as I can tell, this is pretty much what the entire state of North Dakota looks like.

This huge metal blue heron was erected to heighten awareness of birding opportunities in the area.

We crossed over into Minnesota just east of Fargo and camped at Buffalo River State Park. From there we headed for the North Shore of Lake Superior where we were greeted by fog and rain that stayed with us for nearly a week. Not the best weather for sightseeing or photography.

In Knife River, Minnesota we stopped at Russ Kendall’s Smoke House and purchased a huge Lake Trout filet.

Took a lunch break in Two Harbors to view historic coal docks, a steam powered tug boat,

a lighthouse and this interesting watercraft the sign told us almost nothing about.

Gooseberry Falls State Park has several preserved log and stone structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The park also has, as the name implies, Gooseberry Falls.

Further up the coast we viewed Split Rock Lighthouse.

And took several brief hikes to stretch our legs.

Tattagouche State Park

Temperance River

Historic fish shack near campground in Grand Marais.

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Posted in Canada, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ontario

Posted by: sunnyharvy | May 25, 2016

Heading Home… The Long Way

When this epic journey began over two and a half years ago, we crossed the country from Florida to California. We are now returning via the northern tier states and parts of Canada around the Great Lakes. From Rick and Leslie’s (thanks again) home in Minden we scurried across Nevada and into Idaho.

In Twin Falls, ID we stopped at the Perrine Bridge that spans the majestic Snake River Canyon.

BASE jumpers use the bridge as the launching point for parachuting to the canyon floor below. We watched one during our brief visit.

In 1974, with much media fanfare, daredevil Evel Knievel tried and failed to leap this mile-wide chasm of the Snake River Canyon on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle.

Camped at Craters of the Moon National Monument

Spatter Cones on scenic drive through park.

As we drove east across Southern Idaho we began seeing signs for Atomic City, which drew my curiosity. Searching online I learned that this area has contained more than 50 nuclear reactors and that we would soon be passing by the World’s First Nuclear Power Plant, Experimental Breeder Reactor I, commonly referred to as EBR-1.

Unfortunately, they don’t open for public tours for a couple more weeks.

Pretty cool looking stuff though.

We then continued to the far eastern edge of Idaho, where we turned north on the extremely scenic Routes 33 and 191 along the western side of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.

Riverside Campground in Ashton, Idaho.

Lunch stop overlooking the confluence of the Powder and Yellowstone Rivers in Montana.

Terry, Montana

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota was recommended by some of well traveled friends, so we decided to check it out. The park was established in 1947 as a national memorial to honor President Roosevelt and to provide a place to experience his beloved Badlands. Do you know that he established the US Forest Service, created five national parks, 18 national monuments,150 national forests, and dozens of federal reserves – protecting over 230 million acres of land? Amazing! Thank you Theodore.

Wind Canyon

Look who set up camp in the site next to ours!

Little Missouri River

Taking a hike.

Wild Horses

Badlands

Bison were reintroduced to the park some 50 years ago. They seem quite content there.

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Posted in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota

Posted by: sunnyharvy | May 17, 2016

Back in the USA

We are happy to be back onboard haRVy and traveling familiar territory in the USA. While New Zealand was interesting, traveling full time is just easier here and having nearly full time internet access is a big part of that.

After a few days of jet lag rehab and getting haRVy road ready we headed north toward the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains in Central California.

View of Lake Kaweah in the foothills of the Sierras from our campsite.

Can’t camp on this loop.

You’d get your feet wet trying to dine at that table.

Never seen a buoy attached to a picnic shelter before, but when it’s underwater I assume it keeps boats from running into it.

No, the drought is not over in California, but it was refreshing to see a lake filled to capacity. Lake Kaweah is normally maintained at a very low level or empty for most of the year, and generally only fills between May and June as the snow above melts. During that time many campsites are (obviously) unusable.

The next morning w were soon back on a long, winding, and hilly road. Al had hoped we’d left these behind in New Zealand, but no such luck. The southern entrance into Sequoia National Park is so curvy that vehicles over 22-feet long are advised to use an alternate route.

Not sure what this rig measures in combined length, but it is certainly one of the most unique we’ve seen in over 50,000 miles! The tow vehicle was totally custom made. The “travel trailer” was originally a 1949 Crosby.

Galley kitchen under the hood, sleeping quarters in the passenger area, and a real character behind the wheel of the tow vehicle. He handcrafted it all himself.

haRVy looks small driving between two Giant Sequoias.

Yep, they are BIG!

Giant Sequoias grow to over 300 feet tall and then begin adding layers to build a massive trunk up to 40 feet in diameter.

A young pine grows on a fallen Sequoia log.

We hiked around the impressive Giant Forest. Sequoias grow naturally only on the west slope of California’s Sierra Nevada range.

And tried to drive through the tunnel log. haRVy needs a bit more than 8-feet of vertical clearance.

From Sequoia National Park we drove into Kings Canyon National Park. Kings Canyon is the deepest canyon in the United States at over a mile and a half deep. It takes another pretty amazing drive to get there.

Oh yeah.

Lucky to be here during wild flower season.

The lightning sparked Rough Fire burned last year for more than five months, consuming over 150,000 acres of forest in the Sierra Nevada. Now, after a wet winter, the charred forest is slowly coming back to life.

Everything is BIG around here. Can hardly see little Al in this photo.

Free riverside campsite, thanks to our National Forest Service.

Grizzly Falls (video here)

Canyon View Lookout

We took a lovely hike around Zumwalt Meadow. No wonder John Muir once called Kings Canyon “a rival to Yosemite.”

Kings Canyon Lodge, built in 1937, was the only structure lost in the big fire. Somehow these antique gas pumps survived. The have been a major attraction in the park for decades so they have been restored and will reopen for the summer season soon.

Our next stop was at Columbia State Historic Park where an old gold mining boom town has been preserved and restored.

Columbia contains the largest single collection of existing gold rush-era structures in the state.

Before UPS and FedEx.

Hotel lobby – still welcoming guests today.

Many of the merchants dress in 1850′s attire.

The town’s first fire pump wagon from 1850 was on display here, but too dark to photograph. This 1911 building is sheathed in embossed tin that looks like brick.

Columbia’s streets are lined with a variety of shops and boutiques with many specializing in nineteenth century goods.

When we got back to haRVy we realized that we’d parked a bit close to these tree branches. Need to remember to look up when you drive a vehicle that’s almost 12-feet tall!

Silver Lake on Scenic Route 88 over the Sierras.

Lunch view.

Snow right down to the road, even in mid-May.

Caples lake at nearly 8,000 feet still partially frozen.

Descending into Minden to visit our dear friends Rick and Leslie again.

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Posted in California

Posted by: sunnyharvy | May 9, 2016

Kiwi Speak, Observations, and Peculiarities

Although the folks in New Zealand speak the same language as we do, that does not necessarily translate to our always understanding what they mean. I offer here a few examples of “Kiwi Speak” that we encountered.

arse: buttocks

bach: small holiday home, pronounced “batch”

biscuit: cookie

capsicum: sweet pepper

caravan: travel trailer

cotton buds: Q-tips

courgette: zuchini

give way: yield to traffic

jandal: thongs, flip-flops

kumara: sweet potato

long-drop: outhouse, outdoor loo

panel beater: auto body shop

slow car bay: turnout to let others pass

takeaway: food prepared to go

torch: flashlight

track: walking trail

tramping: hiking, often difficult

windscreen: windshield

wonky: crooked

Care to learn more? Follow the link above the list. Accents and intonations add to the communication difficulties. Most of the kiwis couldn’t understand Al, with his Massachusetts accent, at all.

Don’t order an “ice coffee” unless you want a thick milkshake made with ice cream and espresso. Very yummy, but not exactly what I was expecting. Trying to get an American strength (weak by NZ standards) cup of coffee is also a challenge.

New Zealanders are friendly and helpful, often to a fault. In fact, we had to remind ourselves not to ask a question of one unless we had at least 10 minutes for the response.

A few random impressions I have of New Zealand include:

Sheep, Cows, and Green Hills

Narrow, Winding Roads

Exotic Bird Songs

Tall Tree Ferns

Otherworldly Scenery

Spectacularly Starry Skies

Charming Small Towns

One Lane Bridges

Meat Pies and Pastries

Roundabouts

Beaches, Beaches, and More Beaches

Tall Hedges

Major Highways with Just Two Lanes

No Billboards

Friendly, Polite, Helpful People (even kids)

Too Many Tourists

High Prices

And now for a few NZ peculiarities captured in photographs.

Al was fascinated by these wire fence tighteners.

Free sunscreen

A water faucet (bubbler in New England).

All electrical receptacles have switches.

And pushing “down” turns them “on” !?!

Toilet flush options.

Interesting term for a beer tap.

I have never seen a “Boston Bun” in Boston, have you?

Faux wood motorhome.

Enough said I think.

Only Kiwis or Brits could be this proper when referring to sh*t.

Why would anyone agree to pay to rent a van with this paint job? Bad enough we had to camp next to it!

This one is much more fun, but we were happy to have the plain white variety.

Stuffed with gear for three campers…pretty typical for young travelers, particularly Europeans.

Amazing automated public toilet, complete with spoken instructions and Muzak.

Not sure I’d want to sit in that seat. We saw many creative vehicle paint jobs.

Another word for shopping cart.

Apparently things can get a bit rowdy in NZ, as we saw several of these signs.

Not a happy sign for us.

NZ is the land of tiny sinks – they are everywhere. And why not? They only need to fit two hands. Many were much smaller than this one.

Murals everywhere, on bus stops, bathrooms, abandoned buildings and more.

Very creative playgrounds. I had to try out some of the equipment for myself, of course.

Are we not to foul the dog or is the dog not to foul the area?

Many, many, many birds…everywhere.

Creative mailboxes abound. Sorry we didn’t get a photo of a Microwave post box of which we saw several. do like the outboard above though. The plastic number seems to be standard issue and very practical.

Home Sweet Home.

Baaaaaa… good-bye New Zealand.

6 Comments

Posted in New Zealand

Posted by: sunnyharvy | May 7, 2016

The Final Countdown

As our final week in New Zealand began we entered one of our most interesting camping locations – Aroha Island Eco Park. This natural haven offers a wide diversity of New Zealand plants and birds including the rare North Island Brown Kiwi.

But first… we had to stop to visit the most unusual tourist attraction in New Zealand: The Hundertwasser Toilets in KawaKawa.

It is one of few toilet blocks seen as an international work of art.

The facility was designed by the expatriate Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser who lived in Kawakawa from 1975 until his death in 2000. It features the use of various recycled materials collected from the local community.

Kawakawa didn’t have much else of interest to us, so after a brief stop, we continued on our route up and around the Far North.

Aroha Island has a small resident population of New Zealand’s national bird.

Low tide at dawn.

Waterside camping site. LOTS of bird activity here, although I didn’t photograph any (sorry)!

The historic fishing village of Manganui sits near the top of the North Island on Doubtless Bay.

Several folks recommended having fish & chips here. Although we don’t often indulge in deep fried foods…

They were mighty tasty. The veggie slaw was the real stand out offering though (imho).

Mai Tai Bay, our northernmost destination. (The link leads to a cool video.)

A short scenic ferry ride across Hokianga Harbor was part of our journey south on the Northland’s west coast.

Not a bad place to camp for $10 a night. Just don’t visit the long drop.

Nearby beach features limestone formations.

Early morning foggy mist.

Tane Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest living kauri tree located in the Waipoua Forest.

You may drive on Baylys Beach, but the fascination with doing so eludes us.

Exquisite furniture made of kauri wood at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe where we spent a very pleasant and informative afternoon.

Chain saw collection.

View from nearby campsite.

Not sure what caused this die-back, but it looked interesting in the diffused morning light.

As I reviewed the map for our next day’s travel, I spied a notation for the “Albertland Museum” along our route. You know we just had to check that out.

Seems like a lot of fuss over a township that was never actually realized.

We soon completed our Twin Coast Discovery Highway tour in Auckland where we turned in our rented campervan, “NOThaRVy,” and got ready for our long flight back to SoCal.

Al capably drove nearly 4,000 miles on narrow, winding roads, nearly circumnavigating the country, from the southern tip of South Island to the northern reaches of North Island. I handled the roles of navigator, cook, and chief bottle washer. They call NZ a small country, but even with over 9 weeks to spend, there is still much more we could explore. If you are thinking of visiting, either plan plenty of time or narrow down your areas of interest.

Haere ra.

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Posted in New Zealand, North island

Posted by: sunnyharvy | April 29, 2016

Onward to Northland

Coromandel Town charmed us. Of course, you gotta like a town that offers Freedom Camping near great restaurants, clean restrooms, a visitor center with free WiFi, and a laundromat!

The discovery of gold in 1852 brought a boom to this little town and many of the buildings from that period have been restored and re-purposed. Today many talented artists and craftspeople have moved here from around New Zealand.

Everything for the outdoors person… including sportsware!

Rare even in New Zealand – an independently owned supermarket.

Don’t forget to pick up the pig pellets with the milk and eggs!

Unfortunately, our final drive down the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula took place on a rainy day, so I wasn’t able to take any photographs worth sharing.

Here’s what it would have looked like on a nice day (photo borrowed from Cycle Tour NZ’s website)

We were anxious to get up towards the Bay of Islands in Northland, so we drove right through Auckland, which proved much less stressful than anticipated. We think that choosing to do so on a National Holiday (Anzac Day) may have helped. We soon found even more beautiful beaches to explore.

This is Uretiti Beach where we camped just behind the dunes.

Silky white sand and beach grass – much like Cape Cod.

This place really delivered: a rainbow and a pretty sunrise.

Our next (brief) stop was in Whangarei, the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It seems an interesting place, but this trip is not about spending a lot of time in cities, so we just took a quick stroll around.

Whangarei Town Basin

Loaded with huge catamarans – some serious money in that harbor.

Nearly secluded beach cove near our free camp site in Pataua during our tour of Whangarei Heads.

If you look closely you can see where our white van is parked across the Pataua River estuary. That long footbridge is all that directly connects the communities of South and North Pataua.