New Zealand Part 1
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2008
1
8
22
Trip End
??? ??, 2009
Auckland,
North Island,
New Zealand
Friday, January 30, 2009
Our main priority on arrival was sorting out transport for our time in NZ. Ideally we wanted a camper van, but it soon became clear that the cost was more than we were prepared to risk on getting back when it came to selling. We spent 5 days going to the backpackers car market, looking on trade me (like eBay) and then finally finding something suitable at a price we were very pleased with at the Ellerslie car market. It is what some may refer to as an engineering masterpiece and right up there with the Jaguar E type on looks, as I'm sure you'll agree when you see the pictures of our lovely 1995 Mitsubishi Delica!! It's a 7 seat people carrier, which we purchased from some nice Kiwi's who were about to move to Aus and they even gave us their contact details offering to put us up in Aus, how nice!
Whilst in Auckland, we made time to have a good look around, which included a day at the Museum and we liked the city. They have lots of nice suburbs close to the city, including one called Parnell which was a favourite, its a bit pricy, but still cheaper in comparison to the UK . The city has a million people in in it and is by far the biggest city here, but it has a really nice feel about it and although it felt a bit like no one was around half the time, we soon settled into the slower pace of life and grew to love it more and more as we went around the country. We were also enjoying being back in the western world and all the good things that brings with it, including no language barrier! In our first few days we experienced how super friendly New Zealanders are and we will hopefully get this across during the blogs. We have already mentioned the couple we got the car from and there was also our bus driver from the airport. We were the only passengers on his bus, so he asked where we were staying and went off route to get us to within 50 metres of our hotel, instead of a 500 metre walk!! Then, when we got to our hotel at 6 am, they said we could have our room, as it was ready even though we were 8 hours early for check in, which was brill after our 13 hour flight, as I'm sure you can all appreciate.
The highlight of this first of three visits to Auckland was hooking up with Fiona, Rod, Ben and Page. Fiona and I had worked together in a pub many years ago and had emigrated to New Zealand five years ago with the family. It was great to catch up, but what really made it the highlight was how they made us feel so welcome. It may seem like a small thing, being invited round for dinner etc, but when you've been away travelling for two months, it was really good to sit down and have a catch up. On top of that, they lent us a whole heap of camping equipment, which saved hundreds on the budget. So, thanks again Fi and Rod.!!
So, now we've got the car and the camping equipment, the New Zealand adventure really begins. First stage was to head north of Auckland, to Northland. It, like just about the whole of New Zealand, is an area dominated by farming, which all takes place in an area of stunning and diverse scenery. We headed up the east coast of Northland, buying food supplies on the way and ringing ahead to that nights chosen camp site at Pakiri Beach, as we had been led to believe that as it was school holidays it would be choker. This, it turned out was a slight exaggeration, as when we arrived at the camping ground there were only a handful of other campers and a whole load of spare pitches. So, once settled in our spot, we set camp up, right next to a beautiful beach and it was a nice introduction to what was to come. The only shop was at the camp site and when we took an evening stroll along the beach, there was only us, 3 surfers, waiting for a decent wave in a flat sea, and some birds nesting in the sand on the beach. The birds chased us away from their nests, obviously they were used to having the beach to themselves. The tent went up ok, aided by a beer which I'd decided would be part of my routine whilst pitching the tent. And so, despite it being very windy I pitched the tent (Note the I not We in that sentence!). Dinner went without a hitch and we then sat in the car and watched a film and retired to bed, tired, yet satisfied that we'd got where we were aiming and that the car had worked without a hitch (I'm pleased to report at this point that apart from 2 new tyres, the car ran without a hitch the whole 8500 km's around New Zealand, so there won't be any funny breakdown stories, I'm afraid. Wahooo!!).
And so, in lots of ways, our routine was set, the main change we made was to, very quickly, stop using the tent and sleep in the car, and the main reason for this was due to the weather. At this stage of our New Zealand trip, it rained heavily a lot!! So, to avoid having to put the tent up, sleep in and take down the tent in the rain, we very quickly started to sleep in the car, it was more comfortable than you may imagine and if Suzanna didn't mind it must have been fine!
After our first successful nights camping, we left along the "scenic route" from Pakiri Beach to Whangarei the Capital of Northland. We stopped on the way and went on a glass bottom boat trip and saw lots of snapper but not much else as the visibility was pretty poor, but it was fun nonetheless. Whangarei, was nothing special and was merely a place to stay overnight. We did manage a walk along the Hatea River to some great waterfalls, it was a 10k walk round trip, so we were glad they were good ones!!
From Whangarei, it was further north and onto the Bay of Islands, the main reason for coming to this part of NZ. The clue in what to expect there is in the name, it has a total of 144 islands and we stayed in a small village called Russell on the mainland, arriving by car ferry. It's an expensive place to live given its idyllic location, but it hasn't always been that way, 170 years or so ago it was known for its bad reputation, full of convicts and such like people. As well as the islands, the area is famous as being the first area where Europeans settled 160 years ago and for the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British and the Maori, which we learnt about in the treaty grounds in Paihia. The rights and wrongs of it were apparently hotly debated at the time and are still so now, but regardless of your opinion, it still signifies the birth of New Zealand as we know it today and has helped define the Country since and now. Whilst here we went on a day trip around the islands. The trip was called 'The Cream Trip', which delivers the post to the island inhabitants!! It was a great way to sea the Islands and learn the stories of those who have lived on them over the years and checking out some of the expensive properties. It was a bit rough when we were out of the protection of the bay, but the Captain managed to get the boat through a rock formation called 'The hole in the rock'. The highlight of the trip was when we came across a pod of dolphins who messed around for us, which was fab.
From the Bay of Islands we headed west to start heading back to Auckland via the Kauri tree forests. The Kauri trees are famous for being some of the biggest trees, by diameter, in the world and hopefully you'll get an understanding of this from the pictures. Apparently, the biggest measured was 22 metres in circumference!! Due to this amount of wood in a single tree, they were popular with loggers and this means that over a hundred year period, virtually all of them had been felled and the Kauri Tree industry collapsed. Having said that, there some left and they are amazing to look at. I should say at this point that they don't get to maturity for hundreds of years and can live for 1000 years, so although there are some left and they are planting new ones, they will not be huge for ages. We stayed in the forest area for two nights at the most picturesque of campsites in Kaihu. The site was at the meeting of two rivers and surrounded by hills covered in sub tropical forest. We stopped here to go on a night safari that is run from the camp ground (it is apparently one of the best chances to see the elusive and nocturnal Kiwi in the wild), but ended up missing out due to no availability one day and some of the heaviest persistent rain we have seen the next, which meant the safari was cancelled. That having happened we still had a good time here. From Kaihu, we travelled further south and onto the Kauri Tree Museum at Matakohe, which was surprisingly interesting and informative. It explained the two Kauri business, logging and gum. Yes gum, not the type you eat of course, but the type to make rubber etc and is found in the base of the trees. The museum also told stories of the pioneer loggers and gum diggers and I can assure you all that if ever we thought we had a hard day at work, it would pale in comparison to what these guys went through.. All in all it was a great place and one of those places we could so easily have passed by. We were glad we didn't.
Next day we headed back to Auckland for my 40th birthday. My present from us was to splash out on a weekend in a hotel. It wasn't the Ritz, but it was virtually brand new and had an ensuite bathroom, a big flat screen telly with cable!!! All very exciting for people who are living in a car. So what happened on the big day? Well it was pretty relaxed. We spent most of the day enjoying being inside, but did make the effort in the evening. We met up with my dad's cousin and his wife, Ken and Mary and a couple of their friends. We headed to the poshest part of Auckland, Ponsonby, for a meal in what I'm sure is the coolest restaurant in town, The Chapel, well it was probably to cool for a forty year old. Having said that, we had a great time, catching up with Ken and Mary and in all seriousness, the restaurant was excellent, as was the atmosphere, and they arranged for a cake for me, which was nice. As if that wasn't enough, Ken, Mary and their friends then took care of the bill for us, so, thank you very much again, Ken and Mary. After the meal, Suzanna and I headed back to the centre of Auckland for a night on the town in an attempt to hold onto my youth.. We ended up in Vulcan Lane, which is officially my favourite street in Auckland (for those of you wandering why, it had everything to do with it being full of pubs, bars and restaurants) and drank into the early hours, which meant that if I didn't before, when I woke up the next morning, I felt every one of my now 40 years.
That feeling didn't last for long though, as when we were out with Ken and Mary the night before, they had told us there was still skiing available in the middle of the North Island. This meant a change of plan and after another day relaxing in our swanky hotel room, we hot footed it down to Mount Ruaphehu for Suzanna's first go on Ski's!! Well, this is where I'm going to leave it and let Suzanna take things up for skiing and beyond.
Take care everyone and don't forget to keep in touch..
