Sunday & Monday 9 & 10 March 2008 - Hokianga Harbour then Auckland...nearly

Sunday
A pleasant morning in Kerikeri, made all the more entertaining by a return of texts with those enjoying a Saturday night in Yorkshire! We hope you didn't have headaches on Sunday morning!

These are the impressive Rainbow Falls:

Then, on to the West Coast and the south side of Hokianga Harbour, to our last hostel, Globetrekkers. The hostel was small and situated across the road from the beach.

Hokianga harbour is well known for its immense sand dunes, across the head of the harbour and these were the first sight on a short(ish) afternoon walk.

The coastal path was narrow and grassy, with splendid views over the waves of the Tasman Sea, crashing into the rocks and sandy coves. Having not had a swim yesterday, it was too good an opportunity to miss and the waves in the middle of this bay were very exhilarating!

Emerging from the pounding surf, I felt like I'd been through the washing machine! The worst part was the sand inside my bikini...

After dinner (not salad!) at the hostel, we witnessed probably our last sunset in New Zealand - a good one, which created some fiery red clouds after the sun had gone down behind the waves.

Monday
Today's walks were to view various kauri trees in Waipoua Forest. This one is Tane Mahuta, God of the Forest, which has a girth of 13.8m!

Then, south towards Auckland, taking the scenic route, including finding a 'Roseberry Topping' for lunch, which gave excellent 360 degree views.

Scenic Drive lead nicely to our final destination, Nikau Lodge, where I have enjoyed a swim in their saltwater pool and we have had a tasty dinner of roast lamb, overlooking the lights of Auckland's outlying districts. Tomorrow is our last full day here before heading back to Manchester - we are sorry that such an excellent trip is coming to its conclusion....

Saturday 8 March 2008 - A Sunny Day in the Bay of Islands

Up at the crack of dawn on a clear sunny day, we enjoyed the free use of George (the owner)'s one seater kayaks for a 3 hour adventure up to Haruru Falls, to which we got as close as we could, getting pretty wet (in addition to the usual 'bum puddles') in the process and enjoying the rainbow effect of the spray in the sun. Tradition required us to leave cameras behind, away from the salty sea water, so this is the rather unsatisfactory postcard recording the event:


After a relaxing couple of hours back at base drinking tea, showering, and chatting to George, we embarked on a 20km circular stroll, heading initially up into the bush to a 150 metre high viewpoint where we enjoyed the usual luxurious lunch. I had a particularly appetizing banana today!

The walk continued along an undulating ridge through bush, with fewer tree ferns than usual, but nevertheless a delightful path. Sue found and photograhed (for our riveting album which will be compulsory viewing for all visitors to our house for years to come....) a shrew, whilst I enjoyed spotting a Robin (rare here) and numerous friendly Fantails and other birds.

Eventually we emerged from the trees and descended a gravel track past posh houses to reachOpua, where the Blue Water cafe provided refreshments and cakes. We now had superb views of the bay.

The final section of the walk was the 7 km section back to Paihia that I enjoyed so much in both directions yesterday. A mix of coastal path, bush, mangrove swamp and beach, it is one of the most enjoyable and varied sections of path we have found on the entire trip.

All good things come to an end though, and by 6 pm we were back at Mayfair Lodge enjoying some much needed beers.

And that's it really. Another delicious salad followed, and another sociable evening beckons...

Message:
Mother & Father A. Thanks for your text. We are enjoying our last few days and will stay with Barbara on Monday and Tuesday. You may like to look at your email. Hope you both have a lovely holiday and look forward to swapping stories on your return!

Thursday & Friday 6th & 7th March 2008 - Bay of Islands activities

Thursday

A long drive, leaving our lovely lodge at 8.50am, to travel across to Coromandel town, then down the coast to Thames. The Aeroview Garden Centre cafe proved excellent and suffiently replenished, we headed for Auckland, just to pass through at this stage of the trip.

A motorway! And lots of traffic. The views as we crossed Harbour Bridge were excellent, but we didn't mind the loss of traffic quite quickly on the north side. The fast road made the journey a quick one, and by around 4ish, we were in the vicinity of the Bay of Islands.

Martin pulled in for a toilet stop. My memory jogged as I recalled something from the Rough Guide. We were in Kawakawa, and had just passed a sign for the Hundertwasser toilets. Those who might have read the Rough Guide will know that these are 'tourist attraction' toilets. Built by a German, they are somewhat different, made from pots, bottles, and tiles and very attractive indeed! Although the guide recommended it, I didn't venture into the gents, as the ladies was quite an artistic place in itself! (The gents were scenic so far as I can recall, more urgent business was on my mind at the time!! - M)

So, now we are at Mayfair Lodge in Paihia, the main town in the Bay of Islands. The evening was a warm one, and we had a pleasant walk along the sea front to the wharf as it got dark.

Friday

Today, we went our separate ways. I was Island Dive's only client for a 2-dive trip into the bay. The Pacific was calm, the weather warm and increasingly sunny as we headed out, and I was looking forward to my first dives since August.

We moored at Potato Island, to dive Cathedral Cave. Things got off to a good start with an eagle ray swimming past. Then, some kelp, before the cave, where we found a pink nudibranch and an eel, followed by shoals of bigeye fish, reflecting purple in the torchlight. Their silhouettes, at the top of the cave, will be etched in my mind for some time.

Then, something I've never experienced. We broke open urchins to feed the fish 'sea eggs'. They loved it and were happy to be touched and even held in your hands. When I mask continually filled, I realised that I was smiling too much....! Awesome!

Lunch on our 'own' beach on Redhead Island before a dive in search of dinner. The swell was greater here, and the brown kelp and we swayed over the purple rocks. We did 'bag' one crayfish, but on return to the boat, found it didn't meet the minimum size requirement and had to be returned to the sea. Shame. We did, however, see another eagle ray and a stingray that was eating part of fish carcass on the sea bed. It was lovely to be out on the sea on such a calm and warm day.

Photos to follow (too big to blog)

Back at base, I awaited Martin's return.....

I'd borrowed a bike from the hostel. Got distracted by a boat called Tui...

Then by a Tui bird, and managed to get a recording of its song. (To follow!)

The forest tracks were closed so I left the MTB action for Delamere Forest next week. Any takers?

Back to Mayfair for lunch then a delightful walk past some pretty weeds...

along the coast to Opua

and back - about 14 km - before returning for tea, beer, wine, and a lovely salmon salad in the excellent company of Christine, who has promised the best ever carrot cake recipe!

Wednesday 5 March 2008 - The Sun Blazes over the Coromandel Peninsula

This bright sunny day saw us continuing in 'holiday' mode, lying in due to our blackout curtains and silent surroundings.

We visited Captain Cook's Beach, a pleasing spot where the Great Man plotted the course of the planet Mercury.

Then on to Hot Water Beach, hyped by the Rough Guide as upstaging Cathedral Cove, but it was a disappointment. I watched whilst Sue rubbed her bottom in the sand, and her elbows with heavily tattooed mid-European men and women, seeking and finding scalding fresh water which moments later would be cooled and diluted by a wave of cold salty water.

She soon tired of this and we enjoyed a stroll along the beach, watching surfers battling with rooster tail waves in the strong breeze, and an Australian Gannet plunging for its breakfast.

The cafe at Hot Water Beach was in a different class to the beach itself. Great coffee, mud cake, ambience, and toilets with soft paper (very rare here) and individual towels. It gets my Best Presented Cafe award!

After lunch on Buffalo Beach in sunny Whitianga,

we pootled on to Kuaotunu, where the highly recommended Black Jack Lodge came up trumps with a lovely en-suite double room.

We enjoyed settling in here, then watched Carl, the owner, carefully decant his home brewed beer into bottles, before renting a couple of kayaks.

This time I enjoyed the experience, despite the wet bum, as we coasted up and down the river behind a Shag which only turned around when we did and only moved on when we got to within a few feet of him.

There were Herons, Oyster Catchers and Turnstones around, as after practising on the river we set off into the brisk waves of the ocean.

We were soon surfing on these waves and whilst we didn't go far we did have fun. It helped that our en-suite shower was available only 10 metres from where we landed the kayaks.

We've been aware of the ubiquitous "Lock It or Lose It' signs here in New Zealand, and have been careful with our possessions, especially after hearing some horror stories about thefts. We usually have to pay a 'key deposit'. Black Jack is an exception. No key deposit here. That's because there is no key, and tonight we are quite happy to sleep with our French windows wide open, just protected from the brightly starlit night by a thin curtain...

Messages:

To all those going on the forthcoming 'RentaHostel Weekend': - hello everyone, have a great time, and Bon Appetit.

To Ian: I haven't forgotten your 'Silkbody' order - haven'tseen any yet but we expect to do so in Auckland next week.

To those who replied to the last message: - hello (especially Kate and Andrew - glad you like the photos), and yes the Tui was identified by its 'bib'.

Tuesday 4th March 2008 - On holiday on the Coromandel Peninsula

It's raining! Still!

So, the snorkelling gear I have carried with me from England is still in my bag, and lots of postcards are now on their way to England.

It wouldn't be the same without a walk, so out we went, when it looked brighter but was still raining, around 1ish. The destination was Cathedral Cove, just around the headland from Hahei beach where we are staying.

The seascape is lovely - many islands dotted around and some good waves in the strong wind.

Cathedral Cove followed Gemstone Cove (with its marked snorkelling circuit) and Stingray Cove (with honeycomb rock). Its gem is a huge, long archway, which today had water starting to enter as the tide came in.

We lingered to watch the big waves, which had undercut some of the rocks. In the Puriri Grove on the return, we saw Tui, a blackbird-sized bird that has a lovely song - the first we've seen, although we've heard a few.

As we're 'on holiday', the Luna Cafe provided our dinner with excellent lemon and raspberry cake for dessert.

Monday 3 March 2008 - Alan Judd, the Karangahake Gorge and a Navigational Conundrum

We start with the remarkable story of Alan Judd, Ironman extraordinaire. Our research reveals Alan to indeed be the same person Sue knows from her work as a Medicines Information pharmacist. He finished Saturday's NZ Ironman event (at 60 he was one of the oldest competitors) in 12 hours 41 minutes, just over half way down the field. Remarkable. Well done, Alan! Sue reckons this is a tribute to early retirement - Alan retired at around 55. I think he's probably a nutter!...

Now the Navigational Conundrum

Just to be on the safe side, I carry two compasses. Here they are on the correctly aligned Nelson Lakes map.

Somewhat confusingly, the needle of my de-luxe Recta compass has reversed direction. South is now north! The old Silva back-up compass is about 10 degrees out, and has a serious 'leaning' problem not evident in the photo. Luckily all the paths we have used have been well marked and no compass has been necessary. If it had been, the Recta's 'south' needle would have been the defining 'north' - subject to the 22 degrees adjustment for magnetic north that is needed around here.

Moral: If coming to NZ for serious walking ('tramping') requiring navigational aids, buy a compass when you arrive. Apparently Silva and others manufacture their products for specific areas of the world.

On to today, if you are still there!

We hit the coast today and enjoyed a morning coffee at the seaside - very Cornwallish:

The highlight of our journey from Rotorua to Hahei in the Coromandel Peninsula was a lovely walk admiring the railway and relics of the 'gold era' in the Karangahake Gorge. I'll write in more detail in due course, but we explored old battery sites, railway formations, tunnels and bridges, as well as the pretty gorge and waterfalls. The main tunnel is over 1km long - you walk for ages to a pinprick of light in the distance. Shown below is one of the minor tunnels.

With informative interpretation panels, this is a magnificently presented archaeological relic from the early 20th Century. The Talisman Cafe provided an excellent pot of tea and incredible carrot cake, to round off our 2 and a half hour stroll in the sun.

Then the day darkened as we headed for Coromandel. After a downpour it brightened again as we approached Hahei and our home for the next two nights, Tatahi Lodge - a very pleasant spot near a lovely beach.

Saturday & Sunday 1st & 2nd March 2008 - Taupo to Rotorua

Friday
For those puzzled by yesterday's blog, I'll enlighten you! The stream I was bathing in was around 41-42 degrees - hot bath temperature, just a bit slimy with the green weed! It just pours out of the hillside and into the Waikato river!

The 29th February was definately an auspicious day for me! The urge I had at 3pm was to fall out of a plane from 15,000 feet, and, thanks to Katie and Stephen, and the wheels of an extremely efficient tourist industry, I was at the airport by 4ish, getting dressed in a jumpsuit and harness and heading out for a scenic flight, minus the descent and landing!

It was AWESOME! There's no time to think, when you're sitting in the open doorway of the plane, with the clouds halfway between you and the ground, at the height of Mont Blanc above Lake Taupo, with Ruapehu and Taranaki rising above above the cloud! Then, the air is really rushing past, for about 60 seconds before the parachute opens and you slow down sufficiently to really appreciate the amazing views. I'd certainly do it again and if you want to see the fun I had, ask to see the DVD, taken during the freefall. Photos to follow.

The cold beer afterwards tasted very sweet!

Saturday
The day of 'Ironman Taupo' - starting at 7am, with a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run, to be completed by midnight. Of the 30 or so UK entrants from a field of around 1200, I noticed a certain Alan Judd in the 60-64 year old category - is this the ex-Leeds MI pharmacist?

We weren't up too early, but watched the competitors at the end of the first cycle lap, the first ones coming through around 10am. Taupo was buzzing and we were sorry to be heading off.

Up the road in Rotorua, it was turning into a wet day, so we checked into 'Funky Green' and walked to Kuirau Park to see steam hissing out of the ground in a variety of areas.

St Faith's church is also interesting - the inside is beautifully carved and the graves have to be above ground due to the instability below!

The lakefront was particularly smelly, but we tolerated it to walk round to Motutara Point, then around Sulphur Bay to reach the Polynesian Spa. What an excellent antedote to the drizzle and greyness! Several open air pools, some acidic, some alkaline, but all between 38 and 42 degrees - from warm to hot bath temperature! Here, we steamed before returning to base for another nice salad and an evening inside.

Sunday
Showers and cloud today, ideal for warming up in the steam at Wai-O-Tapu, one of the thermal areas. The Lady Knox geyser performed on cue, thanks to 300g of soap flakes, spouting water several metres into the air.

The site has plenty of colour - thanks to sulphur crystals, silica, manganese, iron, etc and there is much activity from bubbling water, hissing and splurging mud, and waterfalls. The Champagne Pool was as beautiful as I remembered, its blue water and red slopes contrasting nicely with the white rock at its edge, bubbles emerging constantly from the hot water.

The Devil's Bath was a particularly surprising colour...

The Redwood Forest failed to provide the mountain bike ride we hoped for, on graded trails, but did make for a pleasant walk, dry(ish) if a bit humid. Nice views to the town and lake.

Tomorrow we drive north to the Coromandel peninsula, for a 'holiday'!

Messages
Happy Mothers Day to Dot and Diana.
Congratulations Kate on your successful job interview.

Friday 29 February 2008 - Fun in Taupo

This picture shows Nallo Lady (NL) as she finds the icy water from the secret glacier of Mount Doom to cool off in, after the strong early morning sunshine.

The icy water from Mount Doom being a bit tame, NL graduated to the Huka Body Rapids. So named because you don't need a boat; they are easy enough to float over. Sadly, NL floated too fast for my camera!

Here they are again. NL is being picked up by the boat in the left hand corner. Another miracle of survival.

From the rapids we were teleported to The Craters of the Moon, though strangely they seemed only a short walk away. They are shown above, steaming. The greenery is mainly Prostrate Kanuka, which apparently grows on the moon, giving it a 'Blue Cheese' effect.

On arrival at the Mud Crater, pictured below, NL took a funny turn (it had been a stressy day). It was 3pm, the Sun was shining (rain had been forecast), we were in the Craters of the Moon, something was calling....

So, after proposing marriage (bizarre as we are already married...I think), she (NL) hijacked the nearest smart looking vehicle, bewildering the occupants, Katie and Stephen from Vancouver Island, and forced them to return her to Taupo.

Meanwhile I ambled back via Kev's Track and The Redwoods:

Back at Taupo, no NL to be seen, but I did find Taupo Bicycle Mart - 1200 second hand bikes for rent or sale. Just a few are shown here:

Tuesday to Thursday 26th - 28th February 2008 - The Tongariro Northern Circuit (or....The Mount Doom Loop!)

Tuesday
Organisation was the key this morning, so that, by 1.30pm, we were setting off for another walk in the mountains - but this time, it was in volcanoes! After storing bags and restocking in Turangi, we drove to Whakapapa (pronounced Fokker-papa) for a quick lunch before setting out.

The footpath was like a dried-out, Peak District bog path, which undulated and dipped occasionally into beech stands. Purple heather grew to either side with plenty of Eyebright flowers too.

It was a surprise to arrive at Mangatepopo hut at 4pm to find noone else there and 22 beds available! Not for long though. Whilst drinking tea on the veranda, enjoying the sunshine, a group of Navy personnel arrived, who proceded to inspect their bandaged feet and their voluminous provisions ('Rat packs' - lots of goodies, all in brown packets).

It was a convivial evening as the hut filled up to capacity and a good thing that the weather was fine and sunny, allowing everyone to use the benches outside as well as in. The hut faces west and sunset was excellent - Mount Taranaki (Egmont) in sight. Soon after, most of us turned in (it's dark now by around 8.40pm), including a family from the US who were bushed after a very long day and shared our dorm.

Wednesday

An early and cloudless start, soon after 7am. The path wove through several lava flows and there were easy sections on boards, before a steady climb up the Devil's Staircase, where we met the first of the enormous 'Tongariro Alpine Crossing' contingent. The Staircase had not been 'manicured' by the DOC (although they were just about to open a real staircase to replace the this nice path) and provided options for choosing your own gradient.

Topping out at the saddle brought us into the morning sunshine (so far, the mountain had shaded our ascent) and a view of our first summit, Mount Ngauruhoe, otherwise known as Mount Doom, a 2500 year old, near perfect cone. Stashing our rucsacs behind a chunk of lava, we started the 700m climb, before anyone else. An hour and 10 minutes later, we were on top, sharing the summit at 2287m with only our Swiss friend, who joined us on the ascent. We marvelled at the steam emitting from the rocks, and the superb panoramic views. The rocks were a deep red colour around the crater and we looked across to Mount Ruapehu, also cloud-free. We spent an hour strolling around the crater before a superb scree run (hooray for poles and gaiters) took us back to the hordes doing the crossing.

After a flat section across the South Crater, not a true crater but a drainage basin, and another short climb, we again deviated from the 'Crossing' to reach the summit of Tongariro (1967m), from which there were more fine views of both volcanoes and of Lake Taupo.

Back on the main drag, the Red Crater was also steaming nicely and the scree was making life difficult for those obviously not used to it! It ran nicely down to Emerald Lakes, three bright green, clear lakes, nestled on the slopes.

Here, our route left the Crossing, enabling lunch to be eaten entirely alone by the lower of the lakes. A fine spot to finish the previous night's leftovers - chilli mussels!

Then, it was a steep descent down a lava ridge and a weaving path through jagged lava forms created by early eruptions from the Red Crater. In contrast to the morning, we saw only one person on the path all afternoon. We reached our intended destination for the day, Oturere Hut, at 3.30pm, still such a beautiful day that we decided to continue a further 8km to the next hut.

It was a lovely walk, including a beautiful beech forest on the slopes of the mountain, to Waihohonu Hut, also nestled in beech trees. The nearby river, although not deep, provided a cooling and refreshing dip (for me). It had been a very satisfying day (27km with 1750m ascent - or 2+ COMs).

The hut's residents (an Australian hiking club) were not so chuffed to hear that there were 12 Navy personnel some way behind us, but with some organisation, beds were found for all those that required them. Another convivial evening and bed when it got dark!

Thursday

It dawned cloudy, so our decision to continue yesterday proved a good one. Leaving at 7.45am, we just remained ahead of the cloud to enjoy open scenery. A diversion to the Lower Tama Lake proved worthwhile and it nestled about 100m lower than us in a crater.

The high point was reached by a gradual climb to Tama Saddle. The other highlight was Taranaki Falls, which we passed towards the end of the morning, now meeting folk out for the day, as well as the Navy group again!

It was a pleasure to bump into Florian, who we had met at Waitomo, and had made the crossing yesterday.

Now, we are clean and relaxing at Riverstone hostel in Turangi. A Thai chicken curry is on the menu for tonight with a nicely chilled bottle of Chardonnay.

Monday 25th February 2008 - Rap, Raft 'n' Rock down Waitomo Cave

The day got more enjoyable once we had found the temporarily lost diary. Paul, our guide for the morning, drove to the location of today's adventure, where we changed into wetsuits, and very fetching purple trousers and white wellies!

The abseil was 27m into the cave (Martin, terrified, went first) and watching the shafts of sunlight on the cave walls and ferns distracted from the yawning hole below. It reminded us both of Lud's Church as we settled into a long, open roofed chamber.

The next few hours were spent walking through the river-filled cave, usually only ankle-deep or so, but in parts up to hip depth, sitting on rubber tubes and floating downstream, looking up at the cave roof, climbing through some passages, some smaller than others, and most awesome, walking in complete 'darkness' with the cave lit only by the blue rear ends of numerous glow-worms. This was particularly good where the light was reflected in the water, and after a loud bang, which causes the glow-worms to glow more brightly. The theory is that the vibration from the sound tricks them into thinking that more insects are available to eat and they glow brighter to attract them.

Finally, after exploring the cave in both directions from the entry point, we climbed out into the bright sunshine. Once back at base, hot soup went down very well (it was now nearly 2pm).

We have just returned from an excellent little walk to Aranui Cave entrance, with parrots and kingfishers seen on the return.

Tomorrow, we plan to start the Tongariro Northern Circuit, so may not post again for a few days.

Sunday 24th February 2008 - The Silver Bullet speeds on

A 450km journey that could have been through English countryside on A roads got us to our base for tonight, the Rap, Raft 'n' Rock farmhouse backpacker near Waitomo Caves by 4pm. As it turned out, we were an hour early, the Silver Bullet having excelled itself today.

The place was locked so we found the Long Black Cafe, where it amused us to see some large specimens from Bush country, disembarking from the cafe into a car registered 'EAT...'! This is Cave Country, and tomorrow we are booked on a big trip, starting with an abseil - I've never done one so will be out of my comfort zone again, but this time with a wetsuit so I'm expecting to be sitting in rather more of a puddle than when kayaking.

But for now, we will enjoy the quiet farmhouse setting and fine ingredients chosen by Sue for her birthday meal.

Today's photo is of our hot lunchtime picnic spot (it later rained, obscuring any views from the road of Ruapehu, the local volcano).

Sue: Thanks for birthday texts and cards - I had an excellent chocolate birthday cake, which was shared with the four other occupants of our backpacker hostel (its a very small one!).

Friday & Saturday 22nd & 23rd February 2008 - To the North Island!

Friday was another leisurely day, with a walk from Picton Harbour to Bob's Bay then to the harbour viewpoint, where we watched two ferries coming in along Queen Charlotte Sound. The Echo, an old sailing ship, now a cafe at the edge of the harbour, provided a nice coffee before we queued to board the Interislander ferry to Wellington.

Leaving at 1.15pm prompt, we watched the scenery from Deck 10, the sundeck, where the breeze was nicely cooling on a humid day. About half the journey is along the Sounds, with an hour in open sea, before entering Wellington harbour. The crossing was completely calm. The haze created a lovely halo around the sun.

Moana Lodge is our base for exploring a tiny portion of what Wellington has to offer and is located about 25 minutes north of the city, in Plimmerton. The Edwardian house is now (another) top class backpackers hostel and looks over the beach to Mana Island and the South Island sounds.

So, today saw us waste no time in getting into town (preferably to get a new windscreen but that failed) and our first port of call, the Botanic Gardens. Things were brightening up after rain last night, but this made the roses look particularly attractive, with pearls of water perched on their petals and reflecting the morning light.

Highlights were the rose garden and the begonia house, but the sculptures were exciting in their own way and the native bush section was filled with the buzz of cicadas. Views over the city were good.

Te Papa, the museum, occupied the next few hours. Located on the waterfront, it has its own bush exibit outside, where there is even a small suspension bridge and cave! Inside, we were shaken in a house built to demonstrate the effects of earthquakes, and saw film of volcanic eruptions here in 1995-6 - quite large! Once our cultural brains were saturated, we walked along the sea front - Wellingtonians were on the beach and in the sea enjoying the hot sunshine, taking part in the Wellington bike ride, and paddling craft that were similar to Dragon boats across the harbour in a race as part of a regatta.

It was great to retreat back to Plimmerton and have a dip in the sea after a day in the city!