Spyder Wars: Tamborine Man

Spyder Wars: Tamborine Man

Todays plan for the bike was to take a nice ride no matter how short it seemed up Mt Tamborine though I had no ideas after that. I first had to navigate the roads to Nerang where I was going to meet up with a family member and have a chat while waiting for the time to come where I would need to meet Paul and Barb at Dreamworld. That was the plan and I was sticking to it.

The road was busy on the way up, but not bumper to bumper busy though I was happy to follow someone who was going 10kms below the speed limit though we did pass one car that had broken down along the way that was luckily not an accident, but the traffic had slowed down and flowed again soon afterwards. I had to stop at a nearby park for the loo before heading to a local caravan park in Nerang where I spent some time drinking coffee and chin wagging before it was time to move on and meet up with people at Dreamworld. The theme park was actually not very far up the road from where I was drinking coffee and by that time I wanted to visit the service station not for fuel. My problem with that place seems to be that I keep missing the entrance and have to do the block. Dreamworld was actually across the road from the highway so I could easily get over there.

The ride over to the theme park was different as I had not gone that way before. I may have, but I cant remember as the last time I went there was when I was in high school and I finished that in 2000. With no idea where I was going other than following the signs around the roundabout I found there were two more that I had to follow. The carpark did look pretty full from where I was riding, but once I ended up down the far end the place was partially empty. It was hot too so I was looking for at least a little bit of shade. Where I parked wasn’t very shady, but I would leave my bike there while waiting for Paul and Barb to turn up. I spotted them once I had walked past the Big Brother sign. Less than impressed with that monstrosity, but I went looking for their bikes. We made plans to head up the mountain where we would have lunch. Then we would make our way down the mountain and go our separate ways

With the song ‘Leader of the Pack’ in my head we headed up the mountain like the blind leading the blind as I had no idea which roads I was supposed to take and I do have a habit of taking the wrong turn off and going in a complete different direction. The signage was actually really easy to follow and I did not need to stress. Some parts were steep going up the mountain, but I only met one truck that was slowly going up and there was an overtaking lane so he was far, far behind us. We made it to North Tamborine though from there I was actually lost and had no idea where we would have to go from there. I was actually starting to feel hungry and after passing through the main part of North Tamborine I stopped to ask what we are going to do. Food was on everyones mind so we had to turn around. I lost the other two bikes, but found them again as I had gone too far. Back in the town I found a carpark and the two bikes went on ahead where they turned around and parked behind me. The carpark was more a drain for the water to flow when raining. I really do not want to be there when it was raining.

We did find a restaurant to eat right in front of us called The Monkey Tree Restaurant. While we were wandering to get a seat and the flirty waitress was crooning that she wanted to ride our bikes, I realised I was missing something very important. That important thing was the all powerful key to my bike and I suspected that the key was safely hidden in my storage compartment in the front of my bike. I was panicking just a little bit as I looked in my bag and I really did not want to break my boot or call NRMA for assistance. Looking out at my bike I was wondering if I should have a look at the thing that is sticking out of the bike. I walk over and find the key is still in the bloody bike. Crisis averted, I locked up the bike, pocketed the key and headed to the table to enjoy lunch. I really do think the firty waitress like Paul who seemed oblivious to her. I liked her accent though and they were happy to chat away. She was funny when she said she didn’t give out cards this year. ‘I don’t speak English, mate’. That was funny. I still think she wanted to ride with Paul as she never did go out to have a look at our bikes.

Once lunch was polished off we were heading towards Canungra that would take us past Tamborine. We did pass through what was a little blink and miss it town, but I was unsure if it was Tamborine. Still I did see several winerys and pass the sign for the glow worm caves. I will have to look at the glow worms another time when I head up. I did find some interesting objects near the bottom of the hill like a war memorial on the side of the road. The turn off to North Tamborine and Canungra showed up a heap of bikes that had been ridden up the hill. We made our way to a set of traffic lights and a small park where I had the idea to have a photo shoot with the ‘Welcome to Tamborine Mountain’ sign. We did the usual Christmas stuff with the Bah Humbug hat and the bikes were tinselled, which was scary that they had taken the stuff with them. After our little bit of fun, we were ready to head down the hill. We all would be going our separate ways once we were down as Paul was heading up the coast and Barb and I were going to separate in Nerang where we would go our own ways. The way down the hill was a little hairy especially when there were several hairpin turns that greeted us like old friends. I had a Harley bringing up the rear and I was making sure I was slow going around as I have heard about the reputation of the roads. Once I felt like my rear wheel wanted to go another way, but that could have been my imagination. Once at the bottom of the mountain I nosed my bike towards the Gold Coast and Nerang where I would be following the Beaudesert – Nerang road away from the town of Canungra not that I knew I was at the time. Barb soon caught up as she had been saying goodbye to Paul when I went past. I wasn’t stopping as I had a very friendly Harley behind me. I lost Barb in Nerang where I needed a pit stop and then headed down the coast while she was on her way to find Sanctuary Cove.

Middle Earth Tour Day 28 Short Hobbity flights and extra paperwork

Middle Earth Tour Day 28 Short Hobbity flights and extra paperwork

Today is the day that I do fly home and it did look to be a nice day out there. It was actually pretty funny as people in the dorm were actually all going today and that included myself. I wanted breaky before I left for the airport and I did have in my mind that I really wanted a maccas breaky until I came across a café just down from where I was staying. This place was called Mikes Café and what got my attention was the pie truck called Mikes pies. That somehow sealed the deal and meant I did not have to walk very far for food and I have wondered how I had missed this place when I went wandering for food. I had a big breakfast and coffee. I do like to have coffee so that I can wake up at least. Once I headed back to the hostel I was actually the last one to leave the room that morning. I had been the first to arrive and then the last to leave.

The ride to the airport was really quick and I was happy to try something new out and get the airport express bus to the airport. I have always caught the shuttle bus that drops you off at the door to the hostel and picks you up. Though the reason for that was the timing of when I caught the plane and I think this is the first time I had been getting the plane from Auckland that I left in the afternoon instead of early in the morning. On arrival I had ended up an hour early for check in so I had to wait around for the gate to open and then get everything sorted. I did however weigh my bags as I was wondering how heavy they were. My main bag was 20 kilos and my carry on bag was 7 kilos so I was happy with that, but really did not want to run around the country with that on my back as the bag started off as around 14 kilos. I ended up watching the people walk around where I was standing against a wall watching the checkin gate. There did seem to be a few Tongan planes that were putting people through and they did seem to have plenty of stuff with them like boxes of polystyrene. I have seen this in the past and no idea why they end up with boxes worth of stuff. It didn’t take long before I was checked in and even had a tag on my bag to say it was official carry on.

They had changed things around when I went into the customs lounge as last time I had to go through security and then customs, but this time it was the other way round and once I had everything scanned I had to wait in line to get through. Since I had arrived early I was able to get through the process for getting into the international section where I ended up eating lunch before my flight and having a coffee in that time. It is good when the board tells you to relax as it didn’t give a gate number. I was happy to relax and wander around the area looking at the duty free electronics. I do what I always do and look at books especially if you find something. I had found a New Zealand magazine called Memories and I had to check in my bag to see if I had that issue. I had the issue before it and I instantly bought it as I had not read the one before it I knew I would do so. I just have two magazines to compare what the series is like and if I want more. The time came for me to get on the plane and a crowd of girls appear all with the same ribbon in their hair and a shirt that says cheerleaders. I do know some people were not listening when the seats were called especially when they said rows 20 to 30. A lady asked if they had said row 15 or when people were asked to have their passports out with their tickets and people didn’t.

Once on board the plane I hit my ipod and was listening to it and several of those hordes of cheerleaders came my way and two were getting temperamental about having to sit in certain seats. They were teenagers of course and I had thought they were going to sit next to me, but my worst nightmare arrived. I had been stuck with a child aka a toddler with his parents. They did apologise and I told them that’s why I have my ipod on. The child was the best passenger ever though his parents read books including Hungry Caterpillar and one with pictures of witches on it. The cheerleader girls were louder than the toddler was and he was well behaved the entire flight. I did have to barge past one of the girls on the plane as I had moved out of the way so she could get past and it was though she had a glazed look on her face so I walked on through instead. Somehow I think they were country bumpkins having not gone very far before. I was happy to read my book fill in my immigration declaration card and also the new Ebola detection card. It was just a photocopy of the pamphlet and I wasn’t sure if the document as serious or not. I filled it in and once I landed realised they were deadly serious. Once we landed I could see some storm clouds when I walked across the tarmac as I was hoping it would not hit until I got home. It was at the time not very hot though not as hot as it had been when I had flown out of Brisbane at the start of the month.

This concludes the trip to end all trips, but there will be more places to visit on other occasions in New Zealand as that is one country I seem to end up nearly every time. I do think I did more walking around that on previous trips and did look forward to come home after a long time away, which was a trip well worth having especially with the firsts like the snow and actually following the history of defence in Devonport part of Auckland. I think I enjoyed myself doing some tourist direct things like the Waitomo caves as it had been something I  had wanted to do for a few years. There will be other trips and more adventures. The cemeteries and other historical features includes both the natural heritage and cultural heritage too. I did actually give some backpackers in my room a history lesson as people do not realise that New Zealand had its own series of wars or running battles, locations like the Bay of Islands along with issues with the Treaty of Waitangi and the tribunals. I did like doing that though I had to try and remember themthough.

Middle Earth Tour Day 27 Eden Park Wander and mystery train stations

Middle Earth Tour Day 27 Eden Park Wander and mystery train stations

Today is the last day in Auckland and the day before I fly out to head home to Australia. I didn’t have anything spectacular planned for the day, but I was wanting to head to Eden Park the stadium. I wasn’t going to take a jumper with me today as I don’t think I would need one as the weather has been pretty warm since I had been staying in Auckland and Whangarei. I had some breakfast first before heading to the train down at Britomart.

I wasn’t exactly sure which train to catch when I bought my ticket from the machine at Britomart. I had to go look at a map that included the Western line. Once I knew which station was at the end of the line I knew where to go though the guy looking at the paper tickets told me the platform anyway as there are only 5 platforms in Britomart. I had been wondering about one of the stations I would be passing the Grafton station though I was not sure where it was. I was planning to get off at that station instead of heading all the way back into the Britomart on the Wharf area of Auckland. I really did not want to go walking up and down hills with it being so warm. I was heading for the Kingsland station where I would be able to wander around Eden Park stadium and say that I have done so.

The stadium was really easy to find though I found the toilets at Kingsland station interesting too as they had a plaque on them telling me they are art deco and placed there after several accidents with the trains and people. I was wondering if there would be more in the area telling me the history of Kingsland. I wandered over to the stadium and seen a small cricket ground to the side. The whole stadium was closed off to public access, but I was able to see plenty though it was nothing like the MCG or even Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The interesting part there were four Maori gods on each corner of the stadium. They were the God of Wind and weather, God of War, God of Peace and the God of the forests. I have never seen this elsewhere and I did see a statue to Dave Gallaher and Michael Jones. Dave is one of the originals to the All Blacks though no idea who the other one is. I don’t know if there is another stadium that would have more stuff around it. I can now say that I have been there.

The Kingsland area had my interest though wandering up to the streets above the station was interesting. I was not expecting there to be plaques telling you about the buildings and their significances to the area, but there are QR codes that will tell you more information after you use your mobile phone on them. The buildings are not being used for their original purposes. The old grain store and grocer is now a pub and TAB. The post office was opened in  1912 by the post master later Prime minister Joseph Ward. The area of Kingsland was at one point swamp land and when drainage work was completed at Eden Park there was no need for the causeway. I could have the information wrong, but I wasn’t expecting to have a bit of information in the area after I had visited the stadium. I got the train to Grafton station and hopped out into an area that I had no idea where I was supposed to walk. I found a map once I exited the station that told me there was a short walk to the Museum and I was very close to the Hospital. I should say too that I am a short walk to Mt Eden Prison though I don’t think they would be happy with me taking pictures there.

The walk to the museum was not that bad and the ground was not as steep as it was if I had to walk up Queens Street as that is one hell of a steep street if you have bags on your back. I think next time I have to carry my bags that way I will head to Grafton station and walk that way. The slope is a killer and I don’t want to do that. This is what I will do if they ever move the intercity bus zone down there though I can catch the bus up he hill, but trains could be easier. I headed across the sportsgrounds to where the the Auckland Museum is and was happy that the area was so close. The sports ground was another area that was on the list of World War one sites where the soldiers were marching apparently. I wanted to see two displays and one was the Wearable art thing as I had seen that online before I had left for New Zealand. They really are an imaginative bunch of people and the designs are not meant to be for sale and it is all about the imagination. The other display was about New Zealands relationship with Samoa. This ranged from the early days of the 1890s when there was trading and Britain told NZ they could not have control of the islands. The conflict in WW1 and then later conflict during the 1970s to do with laws and some other stuff though there seems to be a huge population in Auckland. While hanging around in the New Zealand Wars exhibit two people were talking and one of them was a museum volunteer who mentioned an ancestor of hers did fight at Ruapekapeka Pa and his picture was in the display. I think it was Kawiti and not the other bloke. I told the two people that they should visit the actual location as it is a nice place and well preserved. The lady said she does on a regular basis.

Once I left the museum I stopped at the hostel for a short rest before heading out to the shops to look for some stuff before they closed for the day. One place I did stop at was the Auckland library as they had a pamphlet about the locations of the WW1 sites and I was told that they were accessible at all times so they are worth doing. I as happy to have this Auckland list as I will use it on future trips. I found I had missed a talk about family history in the library that day at lunch time though once I went to enter JBHIFI for a look I found that Jimmy Barnes had a signing at the same time as the library one. He was doing signings for his new album and I did not even know. I had to head back to the hostel and was planning to eat after a shower, but a French restaurant caught my attention so I stopped there and ate instead. I made sure the menu was in English so that I did not end up with snails or steak Taretare. Once I ate I went back and started my packing. I think my bag are at the weight that they are supposed to be and I will find out once I am at the airport tomorrow.

Middle Earth Tour Day 26: Discovering Fortress Devonport

Middle Earth Tour Day 26: Discovering Fortress Devonport

I was going to leave the hostel early this morning as I wanted to visit Devonport and look for the fortifications I knew that was in the area. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a cold day as it was cloudy and I did see people. The hostel had woken up pretty early as I could hear life outside the doors to my room as I could hear the doors slamming. It had woken me up, but I was ready to get moving. My thoughts were to head to maccas for breaky until I had a quick look inside a shop that was jst several metres from where I am staying. I had something called hashed brisket and I don’t think I want to eat that again as it was dripping in oil that could have sent me to the moon with enough to return home.

I found something on my way to the ferry building down at the wharf in Auckland. It was a heritage trail to do with the centenary of WW1. Auckland actually had a trail that you could follow that provided you with information on various areas like nearby there was a recruiting office so I might have to quickly visit a library for that, but that is if I have time. There was information down at Britomart about the beginning of the conflict and then looked at what was happening in New Zealand at the same time including Auckland’s role from the beginning. I did find it interesting they included children as well. I did get to the wharf and onto the ferry within minutes. I think it was good that the rush of life was getting off and very few were getting on for the trip to Devonport. The trip over was not that long and I was looking at the ships on the way over though I was waiting to be told to get off until I realised we had actually docked. I was actually one of the last people off, but there was still a big crowd waiting to get on. The sea of humanity was scary heading into the city and makes you wonder just how many end up there for the day.

Once off the ferry I headed towards the naval base to see what was going on over there and got close enough to lose interest as there had been a few displays along the way last time I had been there that they were not there anymore. My guide book said the navy museum was at the naval base, but something I had read said it was at the bottom of North Head at Torpedo Bay. I then decided that I had to head towards Mount Victoria as I had seen fortifications and mushrooms on the website. I could have sworn they were singing mushrooms, but I could have read that wrong on the website. I had not seen a sign for heading up the hill, but I was following what I thought was the road that would take me there since I could see it. Along the way I had seen a scooter hire place and I could have hired one big yellow on for around 2 hours, but looking at how fast it could go and I say to myself no bloody friggin way as I didn’t want to b caught dead on the yellow monstrosity. The entrance was actually easy to find as there was a closed art museum and a kindy on the side of the hill. Part way up there was a house that I was wondering what it was all about. Turns out the hose had been dedicated to Michael King a historian and writer who had died in a car accident. I have actually read a book by him. It was a place to help aspiring writers so that meant anyone wanting a private tour of the house couldn’t do so. Once I got up to the top there was what I think was a weather station type thing, the soundless mushrooms that are pretty cool and there was the disappearing gun that was part of an installation that had been built during the Russian scare in the late 1800s.

I was actually hearing birds that sounded like they were making text message sounds. The trails down the hill were taking me around the hill to where I had first started. I did think I could go straight down, but wasn’t sure if that was a good idea as I didn’t know if I would get stuck at the back of a house. Several buildings that caught my attention were the spires of a local church that I wanted to visit or see the outside of. Once I was at the beginning of my walk I went to the right to follow the road around to where the two buildings were. I soon found out I had found St Pauls of Devonport and St. Francis de sales catholic church too.  What had gotten my attention was the cemetery as I came around the corner. The cemetery at the side of a busy road was the Western section of the now closed Mt Victoria cemetery and it did go right up into the hill as well. I needed to cross the road to the shop as it was a warm day and I needed another bottle of water. Outside the shop a lady asked if I was local and I said no I am not, but what are you looking for. She said she was after a certain church and I told her that one of the two across the road were the ones she was after. On the other side of the Catholic Church was the other part of the cemetery that I had passed. Though there are not that many graves left one was prominent to the area as a peace maker and he was Eruera Maihi Patuone. I have no idea who he is.

Around the corner was the Mt Cambria Reserve that has a museum connected to it. I was partially interested in the museum as I could have a look inside, but didn’t have the time. I was wondering what was in the park so went for a wander. I seen a lady looking in the bushed for something though I was guessing it was her dog and all of a sudden I got barrelled into by a dog from behind. I couldn’t hear any growling, but it was a Golden Retriever and it was coming in for another go. I felt it try to bite me unless it was a playful nip, but I had my hands out telling it to calm down until its owner called it. I was ready to take the dog on especially since I wear boots. The nip did leave a mark on my leg, but never broke the skin. The lady did seem to vanish really quickly with her dog like it was something that happened all the time. Further on I met a very friendly pug dog that wanted to follow me though I told it to go back to its owner. It is strange to get two extremes in dogs. I did find the museum though it was actually 10 mins before it was going to close and it did look like it was an old church building. I went wandering again only to find a beach that was called Cheltenham Beach that was walking distance to North Head, but I was wanting to walk further on to the next headland as I wanted to find a fort I thought I had seen that was at Narrow Neck Beach. The walk up the hill showed me that I was in a defence restricted area as I couldn’t enter any of the buildings or else I would be in trouble.

Walking past the defence buildings I did see a few people jogging around especially with navy shirts. Passing the defence buildings things did clear as a sign to Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve and I was wondering what that actually was. Turns out it seems to be what I was actually looking for as the fort was a pre Victorian era building sunken into the ground and part of the complex that had been built up during the Russian scare campaign. The same reserve area was used for gun placements in World War One and again in World War 2. I found it interesting that there was all this history in the area and not many people would know that the original guns in the placement were from HMS New Zealand and when they had been decommissioned two are at the front of the Auckland war memorial museum. I am not sure if those are the actual guns from the New Zealand or whole new guns though it will be easy to find out when the museum is visited.  The other buildings include a mess hall that can be hired out and surveillance buildings for ships and aircraft. I did learn the reserve had been transferred from the Department of Defence to the Department of conservation in 2000. I thought this was really good. There are plenty of tunnels in the area too and I would guess they will take me somewhere if we were allowed in them. The beach below the park was Narrow Neck Beach and was where I decided that it was best to stop for lunch. I had satisfied my curiosity for finding the fort unless there was another one up the hill past Narrow Neck.

After lunch I started to go up the road past Narrow Neck Beach thinking I could find the other reserve that could be up there, but half way round I decided that it would be best to head to North Head where I can learn all about the defences in the area. It was funny as the day was all about finding the different defences in the local area. I was able to fill my water bottles at Narrow Neck Beach and this was needed or else I would have likely fallen over from the heat. I walked towards North Head via the beach and after several minutes rest I was up the hill looking at the different placements. I found a map that told me this area has always been popular with all the locals who had climbed the hills exploring. There were also several different walks available that could take you through to many of the different remains of the fortifications. I began with the disappearing gun in front of me and the magazine storage. Seems you are allowed to walk through some of the bunker like buildings. Some of them do provide you with information about them especially the North Battery area that I had walked through. I found it all interesting especially when you found remains of the rails that took some of the guns up the hill. A video in the surveillance room gave the story about North Head and the islands being made pest free so native animals could thrive. I never knew a Japanese plane had flown over Auckland during WWII. There was more to the story than the big anti ship guns as there were other back ups in the area from engine rooms that powered the spotlights to the booms like in Sydney harbour that had been placed near Torpedo Bay. Not only were there the 6 inch batteries, but the beaches were protected by smaller guns like the Cheltenham Beach Battery that were quick firing 6 pounders. I ended p after following the trail around the base of North Head in a tunnel that lead me to another view port and then up near the south Battery. I had been worried about where it would lead me as I had no idea about the other end of the tunnel. I never knew who else would be in there in the dark, but I was alright. I ended up at the main entrance to the complex and was happy to have walked around nearly the whole area for the last couple of hours.

I was wanting to return to the hostel as it was getting late, but I wanted to have a look at Torpedo Bay. I soon found this was now where the Navy museum was located as last time I had been there is had been over by the naval complex. I had not done this much searching while I was in Devonport the last time was happy with the amount I had ended up finding and I now knew what the area would have been like with the defence systems. It seems that the location of the navy museum is also the approximate area in 1827 that a boat from the French corvette L’Astrolabe under the command of Dumont D’urville landed. I am not sure how important this is though, but I wandered to the wharf that was nearby to see what it was all about. There wasn’t anything really telling me about it all. There was actually other stuff in the area that had some interest. I had found the WW1 trail again and this time the houses above Torpedo bay were convalescence houses for soldiers and then there was the sea baths that filled up when the tide came in. They were still viewable and I thought it was pretty cool with that sort of find. I made my way back to the ferry building, where I had dinner at a hotel with a clear cut floor where you could see wine bottles and corks on the ground though I think this was all for show. I needed the rest and the meal was excellent. Once that was finished I went to the ferry where the human tide had reversed itself and going back the way it had come meaning I had a near empty ferry to catch, but there was a crowd in the city side of the ferry waiting to get on.