Wednesday 12th.
Wet, and far too rough to take a tourist boat ride out on the harbour, so we took the car ferry to Russell. Quaint little town, lots of old buildings. Spent some time looking at the beaches, and exploring the town.
Thursday 13th.
Big expedition to Cape Reina, the northernmost tip of NZ. Early rise, 6am to drive to Kaitaia for a 8.45 start. Took a bus tour with Sand Safaris. 10 tourists on the medium sized bus. Travelled north to Gumdiggers park, where we learn the history of gum digging in NZ. The gum cam from buried kauri trees, which were in swamp. The gum came form the roots and the top of the tree, and was used to make varnishes. It was a young form of amber. The Dalmations came out from Europe, and were the main gumdiggers. Like all pioneer stories, life was very hard.
Then continued north to the white sand Rawara Beach, very nice, white sand is a novelty here, then to Tapotupoto Bay for lunch (sandwiches and muffins). Next stop was Cape Reina, where we did the 20 minute return walk to the lighthouse, and saw the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea.
On the return trip, we stopped at the Te Paki sand dunes, where the younger travellers tobogganned down the sandhills, before driving down 90 mile beach. The trip finished at the obligatory tourist centre, where we admired the overpriced souvenirs.
Finally, the hour and a half trip back to Paihia, after an excellent day, with NO rain.
Friday 14th.
Another fine day, and the seas even looked calm, but we were heading south. Headed
down the highway, then deviated out to Tutukaka, near the Poor Knights Islands, which is supposed to have excellent diving. Far too cold for Peter to consider diving though.
In Whangerei, we stopped at the falls,then continued on south. Evening found us at Waiwera, which was a Thermal resort town. Stayed in a cabin at the resort, and took the waters, before heading to the pub for dinner. Waters was a big complex with pools of different temperatures, so you could choose how much you wanted to cook. About 40 degrees suited us.
Saturday 15th.
Headed through Auckland on the motorway system, then deviated to the West Coast to check out Raglan, a nice little holiday village, bigger than many we had seen. The rain bucketed down while we were there, so backtracked on the bitumen, to Waitomo Caves, staying at the Youth hostel for 2 nights.
Sunday 16th.
Went to the caves, avoided the abseiling, flying fox, blackwater rafting expedtion,
and instead did a trip where we went down a river in a raft and stayed dry!! Sat
back and watched all the glowworms glow, very impressive. In the afternoon, drove
down to the coast, did a couple of short walks on the way, to a natural bridge and
some waterfalls.
This is sheep country, and the hills are very steep, and unlike Australian sheep, the kiwi sheep were dotted all over the hills. They seem to like to fence straight up the hill, and access for the farmer is very difficult. They seem to use quad bikes,and would need some good dogs.
Monday 17th.
Back on the move, to Taupo. Picked up some cheap accommodation here for a few days
in a timeshare resort. $99 for the week, will only stay 4 nights. On the drive over, stopped for morning tea at a small town, and found the cheapest baker, $1.50 each for a sausage roll, apricot slice and custard slice. The onwards towards the
lake. At the south end of the lake, saw steam rising from the hills, and investigated. Stopped at a small town and went on a thermal walk, past rising steam and bubbling mud. Next stop Turangi, at the southern end of the lake, which claims to be the trout capital of the world. Peter started salivating. Continued up the east coast of the lake to our accommodation, very nice. Asked about trout, found out you cannot buy them, even in a restaurant, you have to catch them yourself. Peter was not impressed. Walked around the town, which has lots of outdoor and sports shops.
Highway 1 runs through the town, and there was a big traffic jam, so must be horrendous when it is busy. They are building a bypass road though.
Tuesday 18th.
Looked at some of the local sights, Huka falls which is controlled outlet from Lake Taupo, which is very low at present, so minimum flow only. But there are 8 hydro
power stations downstream, so they have to let some out. Apparently supplementing
the power with some from the south island. and a new geothermal power station has
just opened.
Took a walk around the "Craters of the Moon" thermal area, saw more steam and bubbling mud.
Wednesday 19th.
Headed off to Rotorua after a cold night. It was clear at Taupo, but still clouded in at Rotorua, so we went to the kiwi park, and saw our first kiwi. No chance of seeing them in the wild. quite cute to look at, but not cute at all in nature.
By midday the sky was clear, headed up the lookout to find that there was a restaurant there, and view was not open to the public. Had our lunch at the lake.
On the drive home, drove through some more thermal valleys, stopped at some mud pools, and a public swimming stream. Nice warm water there, and some young swimmers, but quite smelly.
Having a good time though, glad we have warm accommodation, as it is freezing at night.
