Welcome to Kiwi

Welcome back to the land of the Maori and the Kiwi

We arrive in Auckland late on January 2 and taxi to a deserted Westin hotel on the harbor.  Susan interrogates the bellman and discovers the investors and Westin are in a dispute and approximately 150 rooms have been taken out of service. No worries. Our junior suite has flush plumbing and hot water so we are set for the night.

We have regained two hours on the time zone so Mike is not ready for bed and goes to the nearby casino, plays blackjack for about 45 minutes to win our cab fare to the airport next morning. A text from Susan alerts him ESPN is showing the Rose Bowl replay, so he gets back to the hotel in time to see TCU win again.

Next morning, January 3^rd, we hop a commuter flight from Auckland to Kerikeri that is only 35 minutes. Our Kerikeri driver drops us off in Paihia at the ferry dock and takes our luggage on to the Kauri Lodge. We chug across the bay on the slow ferry from Paihia to Russell, the tiny village that was the inspiration for this trek back to the south pacific. As we walk up the dock into Russell, we see that nothing in the village is changed. High street still has a handful of shops and pubs. Maybe there are a few more homes up in the hills around town built in the last 15 years?

We stop in at the Russell Whaling Museum and discover, Mrs. Lindeaur, our marriage celebrant, retired about two years ago. She still lives in the village and is an associate pastor at the Anglican Church. We stop by the church to see if she is there, but it is empty. One block away is the Kimberley Lodge where we were married 15 years ago. The gate is locked because it is under a major reconstruction. We couldn’t get into the beautiful gardens in back where our ceremony took place, so we had to satisfy ourselves with pictures at the gate. Some told us an Englishman has bought the place is completely redoing it as his private residence.



After a quick lunch on the waterfront in Russell we catch the ferry back to Paihia and join up with our driver for the 30 minute ride to Kauri Cliffs. We leave the highway and turn down a gravel road for about two miles and come upon a gate with a call box. The gate swings open and we enter the 6,000 acre estate that is Kauri Cliffs. Another two miles and we are at the main building which looks like a tropical plantation headquarters, maybe something out of Africa?  It sits on a hill overlooking the Pacific. The staff greets us on the drive and welcomes us in for drink and property tour.


The place has guest cottages for about 50 people. Each cottage is in the forest and has a balcony with a view either the ocean or the golf course. The facilities are all elegant, but extremely comfortable. The golf course is rated by some of the magazine as in the top 50 in the world. It also has a spa and fitness center, tennis courts, riding, hiking and shooting. The staff is mostly young people from all over the world who live in a dorm on the property.  Anything a guest mentions is usually delivered in few minutes. We find out the owner, Julian Robertson, is on the property so everyone is extraordinarily on their toes.

Drinks begin at six in the salon and dinner begins service at 7 in the dining room and on the veranda. Men wear jackets. It is very civilized. Guests are from all over the world. During our time on the property, there are people from England, France, Spain and Russia. Some arrive by car like us, but several arrive by helicopter. We settle in after dinner, because we have an early tee time the next morning.