Road Trip : Far North

To date, Sydney aside, we have limited ourselves to short breaks; holiday allowance in New Zealand is pretty limited and we also wanted to spread out our time exploring.

Last month, however, we headed North for our first road trip, exploring the Far North; and clocked up over 1000km in the progress. That's 600 miles for those of you using imperial distances and a good effort by our little car. It's not going to win any prizes for looks, and certainly not performance, but it's proved a very reliable and economical find. We've decided to christen it, Lola (the Corolla).

Kerikeri - 250km

Left Auckland straight after work and drove uninterrupted to KeriKeri just north of the Bay of Islands. In itself this was 250km and over 3 hours driving. We were staying at the wonderful Pagoda Lodge. We had reserved a romantic gypsy caravan for our two nights here. Wow! The caravans were beautiful and set in a very picturesque location; from ours we could look right down the river that the campground was adjacent to. The caravans were full of little antique curios and we were greeted by the waft of incense; and some friendly ducks.

It was quiet when we were there, but can imagine it having a great atmosphere when busy, with lots of communal outdoor areas, all with great views. A great find and we will be back...

Another great find was the The Pear Tree restaurant a short ( 7 min walk ) from the campsite. We arrived here on our first night, famished from the drive and we just made last service. The food was amazing, great value and the service exceptional. We later found out that the chef, like most of the staff is English and holder of several Michelin stars. This made the price of the meals all the more unbelievable. It was so good we ended up going back for breakfast and dinner the next day and got to know the staff quite well (as they had the misfortune to be working two long shifts in a row). As "regulars" we even got free starters and an extra free dessert thrown in!

The highlight of the evening for Amanda (for me it will allways be the food - nom nom), was our dinner companion. Well, the guy sitting at the next table anyhow. Out dining with friends and apparently enjoying his anonymity in his adopted home of New Zealand, was none other than Michael Crawford, of musical fame to Amanda, but best known to me as Frank Spencer of Some Mothers Do Ave Em fame. Oooh Betty indeed! We did not attempt to grab his autograph as we did not want to be break his "anonymity" but we did have a brief conversation with him about a portable heater...!

Beautiful, unique accommodation, excellent food and "meeting" Michael Crawford, not a bad start to the holiday :0)

The weather however was not informed that we were on holiday and it was a pretty grey day in KeriKeri. So in between all this hob-nobbing and glad-ragging we paid a visit to a local hot pool. But not after first checking out the historic buildings (NZ's oldest brick building) conveniently located across the road from the Pear Tree.

When we arrived at the hot pools we thought we had the wrong place. Very run down and looked like someones home. (Which in hindsight I think it was). After driving back up the road and checking our directions we returned and brought two tickets - a steal at $5 each.

The pools themselves were very, er, rustic, but uniquely had no bottom, you stood on the mud itself. There were 8 pools, each with a different mineral content and temperature. The appropriately named "Lobster" was incredibly hot - I managed to leave one foot in there for a matter of seconds. Our favourite was the velvet. Perfect temperature - although even that seemed hot to start with. Very relaxing despite the run down look of it and met a young man from the UK hoping to see all of NZ in 17 days! In fact ended up staying a bit too long and got sun burnt. What with the cloud cover and the heat from the pools did not realise I was burning. Doh!

Houhora Heads via Mangonui - 390Km

After the comparative luxury of the Pagoda Lodge and The Pear Tree it was time to continue North towards our next stop, the Hourhora Heads Campsite and our first NZ camping experience.

Made a quick stop at a lookout with views of the Bay of Islands... You can see a video of it here.

A shorter drive, but broke it up all the same with a few stops along the way. Took lunch in the pretty town of Mangonui. Visited a little craft fair here and finally succumbed to the tourist bug - We brought a couple of Greenstone (Jade) necklaces. It may have been sales patter but our craftsmen informed us that his Greenstone was original NZ stuff, sourced on his yearly trip to the South Island. Apparently, most stuff is imported nowadays as it's getting increasingly hard to find.

After lunch we stopped for a quick swim and caught some sun at beautiful beach. The further we go North, the more sparsely populated the country is and the more rundown the houses become. Beautiful part of the country but you wonder how people earn enough to survive up here.

Our campsite was adjacent to the sea, Rangaunu Bay, and we pitched our tent with a great view of the peak opposite and within earshot of the waves crashing on the shore. Unfortunately not as nice as we had been led to believe and had a trailer park feel to it, but a great base nonetheless and included an old homestead on the grounds.

Cape Reinga and Giant Sand dunes - 550Km

Up early next day to complete the stunning 75K drive to the (second) northernmost point of NZ and a place sacred to the Maori - Cape Reinga. Reinga means "underworld" and they believe this is where the spirits depart this world.

The focal point is the 80 year old lighthouse and this is where we headed, along with the rest of the tourists. We only saw one other car on the drive, but was quite busy here. From here you can see the "Meeting of seas" where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet and have it out. You can also see a lone Pohutakwa tree, reported to be 800 years old and whose roots the Maori spirits cling to before they depart.

Stopped for lunch in the only "town" up this far - Waitiki Landing. Basically two buildings, a bar/hotel/cafe and a petrol station. We were not expecting much, or value, due to the location. And we were right not to. Awful. Notable however for the service offered. Served by a dude doing a great impression of a slack jawed jokel and who seemed to take offence at our ordering anything. Definitely out in the sticks here. Some Kiwis's describe this area as being a bit feral. Yup, can see that.

Next stop was the Giant Te Paki sand dunes - some of them are up to 140m high. With myself still being injured and Amanda, being a big girl, we did not do any sandboarding. We did climb several of the dunes hoping to sit on the seaward side. We never made it and looking at map I can now see why - the dunes are over 3k wide. Still we managed to climb enough to glimpse the sea. Good enough.

Also paid a visit to the squeaky, super soft, white silica beach at Rawara. Here we got talking to a couple of guys using a kite to tow out a line for catching Snapper. A Brit and a German - where are all the Kiwis!?

Also took a drive out to 90 mile beach and Amanda had a quick dip. Man, that is one long beach.

Ahipara and Shipwreck Bay - 600Km

A short drive 50K South for another couple of nights camping in Ahipara. A nice contrast to the previous campsite. A much more friendly, relaxed feel, great cooking facilities and even a cool homemade table tennis table. A great location too - again it was possible to go to sleep listening to the surf. Ahipara is at the southernmost end of 90 Mile beach and amazingly, you can see it stretching away into the distance.

The main reason for being here was to surf. Flat as a pancake the first day, but enough waves for a giggle the following day. Should probably be thankful that it was not awesome surf as my ill-fitting shortie wetsuit and still healing feet meant my time in the surf was cut short. Still, another surf beach ticked off and Amanda even got to try her latest purchase - a boogie board.

Discovered a great (and only) cafe but overpriced (only) restaurant in Apihara.

Kohukohu - 700km

Time to continue the journey South. We had a night booked in the Lavendar Cottage in the small historic town of Kohukohu - famous for, amongst other things, having New Zealand's oldest bridge. Ooooh!

Our host was an English lady from Tooting who has lived in New Zealand, and this tiny town for over 30 years. She, like Amanda, has an obsession with the colour Purple. The entire house is Purple (Lavender if you will) - even the fridge is painted purple - I'm surprised the floorboards were not also. She is a photographer and her house is now famous due to a postcard she sells of her house's toilet.

Really, not much here, but a pleasant place to relax. Checked out all the historic sites and had a long chat with the owner of the local "Cafaway" about her time in the UK.

Tane Mahuta - 760km

Up early-doors to catch the vehicular ferry from Kohukohu to Rawene where we had breakfast in a cool cafe with a view over the harbour. Got directions to some famous boulders that sit on the beach, but when we got there found the tide was in.

Nothing left to do but continue South to the Waipoua forest - the largest remaining tract of native forest in Northland, full of the famous and relentlessly logged Kauri trees. It's also home to Mr Tane Mahuta (Lord of the forest) the oldest and largest known surviving Kauri tree - said to be between 1250 and 2500 years old.

He is Tapu (sacred) so tree hugging was out and we had to make do with some reverential gazing. He and his friends did a fine job of sheltering us from the rain that had returned on our drive home.

Not much to report after that as aside for a couple of leg stretching breaks and a coffee stop we just kept going, eating up the 200 odd km back to Auckland. The drive itself, yet again, deserves a mention. And this goes for the majority of the kilometers we covered on this trip. Wow! We hardly saw another soul on the roads and often had them to ourselves.

And what a pleasure to drive. They rarely do straight boring roads here. The views, wow! Of course this does have it's drawbacks - some of the roads are so tight and twisty that average speed is close to 30km/h. In fact you will be amazed out how little a distance you can cover in a few hours compared to back home. One reason being that the main road, think the M1 for example, passes straight through towns and is nearly always single carriage, with speed limits often reduced to 50km/h and can include traffic lights, roundabouts and cattle grids...

Awesome Baby Clothes

Judging by the 50ft Santa that was erected in Auckland's CBD (early!) last month and the huge pine erected at our local mall at the same time; it must be almost Christmas!

Apparently Santa and his reindeer have been erected at this spot since the 1960s. I wonder if he has always gone up so early - or if that is a more recent thing...!?

Black Friday has come on gone, but there is still plenty of time to pick up some cool gifts.

If you have a baby to buy for, or are expecting a happy event over Christmas, you could do a lot worse than check out my mum's new site. Yup, some shamless plugging.

I'm no expert expert in baby clothes, I know, but my mum's stuff is, in a word, Awesome!

My personal favourite has to be any of the Bamboo items - incredibly soft with a heavy luxurious feel.

She also has some Christmas inspired red booties...

And hot of, err, the kneedles, are these baby Ugg boots!

Check out the entire range at www.tiggiestinytoes.co.uk

Finally, I designed the site, so any feedback would by most appreciated.

Up a Bit

Labour day bank holiday weekend – 20-22 October 2012

This will be my first blog post, bare with me!

Another bank holiday – and I managed to not work! Yay! This time it was commemorating labour day. Very kindly Rich's work provide us with information regarding all the NZ holidays . Thank you Spendvision! Labour Day

Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day and is held on the fourth Monday in October .

New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim this right when, in 1840, the carpenter Samuel Parnell won an eight-hour day in Wellington. He encouraged other tradesmen also to work for only eight hours a day and in October 1840, a workers' meeting passed a resolution supporting the idea. “And just a quick reminder that it was this weekend last year that the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup final!”

We decided to head a little way up North, about 2 and a half hours drive. This turned out to be the right decision as the rest of the county was wet! No weather bomb though!

Set off a bit later than planned due to a very loud/late party next door the previous night. We must be getting old!

A lovely drive north out of Auckland (and out of the fumes) took us to Waipu, a historic town initially inhabited by the Scottish. A drive further on through Waipu took us to one end of Bream bay, Waipu Cove. A beautiful, surprisingly fairly quiet long white beach. It was even shorts and suncream weather, although not warm enough for me to paddle for too long, just long enough for some photos.

Arriving at the cottage on a farm for our weekend, we took a recommended, short walk leading to the beautiful Mangere falls and a secluded tiny chapel. Very cute.

The directions we were given by our hosts led us through their neighbours gardens (but it was OK we had our visitors badge on!). Took us a few minutes to actually find the chapel from the directions given as it really was hidden in the trees PHOTO 3613. We could hear the waterfall but not see it. We were given a lovely view of the falls once inside the chapel, that overlooked them. The award winning chapel's (photo 3590) entrance was a large wooden door, locked by a large bolt at the top. They even had a built in drop down step for those vertically challenged visitors to be able to unlock it. Once we stepped in we were amazed. It was beautiful. I didn't expect it to be a working chapel but there was a photo album which showed services and weddings. The window behind the lectern looked out onto the falls. It also allowed us to see the hydro electric generator powering the chapel.

A little walk out of the chapel down the bank gave a full view of the falls.

Dinner was taken in at a very “local” tavern. Decent portion sizes, 1st look at it and you didn't quite know where to start!

The farm we stayed on was owned by a couple who had British parents. Her father, a World War 2 veteran, also living on the property. A really interesting man in his mid-eighties with an extensive workshop where he restores wooden items. One of these items was a wooden box holding some war time medals, of which he was very humble of. A few were his (grand)fathers(?) but the rest were his. He seemed quite reserved about what his rank was, I felt he should have been very proud what with being a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Engineers. That concludes our 1st meeting with a war veteran! Although I do feel he could have talked for a lot longer!

Sunday started with a trip to Whangarei Falls http://www.wdc.govt.nz/FacilitiesandRecreation/WalksTrails/Pages/WhangareiFalls.aspx Beautiful and fairly peaceful. Looked like a nice place for a picnic and probably a walk along the river, but we were saving our feet for the coast. Next headed over to the Tutakaka coast. http://www.whangareinz.com/destinations/tutukaka_coast/l

The first sight of the coast line was in Matapouri where we started our walk along to Whale bay. PHOTO 3637 Matapouri bay was a calm inlet with an almost white sandy beach. Again, really quiet which I didn't expect for bank holiday weekend, especially when we have been told that Aucklanders head out of Auckland for bank holidays! Where were they? Not that I was complaining. With a beautiful walk along the bay we ventured over the hill and found a completely contrasting small beach. Rough sea, due to the exposure out to sea and pebble beach. It was such a surprise, but that's why we love NZ. (If you look really close in the third photo you can see Rich).

A further walk along the headlands brought us to Whale Bay, another quiet, white sandy beach, backed with Pohutakawa trees - the NZ Christmas trees. They have the most beautiful red blossoms over the summer, Christmas. We cannot wait for them to start blooming. Whole sections of coastlines around Auckland (and many other places) are lined with these trees, making for a lovely scene. Watch this space!

The evening was spent in Whangarei, struggling to find somewhere for dinner! The place was virtually deserted with only one restaurant open – needless to say it was busy.

Bank holiday Monday saw us head home. We took a drive around Whangarei heads with a little coastal walk. Mangawhai heads were, almost, on the way home so we thought we'd take a little detour and go for a walk. And what a walk. Despite being very windy, it ended in some spetacular views looking over Bream Bay, one end of which is Waipu Cove where we started our weekend. Just a shame we don't have a SLR camera to show you the view in better quality. You'll just have to believe us! Photo 3706, 3704 The walk allowed us to see some of the wonderful wildlife the area had to offer. Cows were the most prominent feature on our walk! And you all thought NZ was home of the sheep! Well not where we were, cows all the way! Saw a fantail, Pukeko's, kingfishers, parrots, rabbits and a field mouse. We even came across some beehives on the edge of a farm.