Waimate North

View of Waimate church from the bus

Malcolm at the start of the walk in Puketi Forest

Lots of trees...

...big kauri...

...and more big kauri

Anyone fancy the lifestyle?  Here's a doer-upper!

We're spending a few days near the Bay of Islands at Waimate North Show-grounds which is a peaceful, scenic spot.  Yesterday we did a great walk in the Puketi Forest called Waihoanga Gorge Kauri Track.  We were surprised how many kauri were in there though unfortunately some were suffering from the dieback disease.  There was disinfectant (?)and a scrubbing brush to clean shoes as you enter the track so hopefully this is preventing the spread.  There were lots of birds as the area has volunteers who are very proactive in trapping introduced predators - and birds have been re-introduced into the forest and seem to be thriving.  We saw the more common ones - tui, fantail, tomtit, silvereyes, also some rosellas.  We heard other bird calls but don't know what they were as we are not experts - we need the app!

A weekend in Russell

Tapeka Point, looking towards Cape Brett

Me, Katherine, Jo and Elaine

Malcolm and me, Maureen and Ian, Jo and Alastair

Sunday morning relaxing - the bay above my laptop is where I later swam

On the bush walk down to the beach

view of Russell from our walk

At last!  A swim in the sea.  White dot above my head is the bus.

Sunday afternoon relaxation - it's a hard life but someone has to do it!

 

We spent a nice sunny weekend in Russell - despite the forecast of rain.  On Saturday we drove from Whangarei up the coast road and found the place we'd arranged to stay - a POP (park over property), which is free to members of NZMCA.  It is a great spot on a ridge looking across to Waitangi, as you see from the photo, just 5 minutes drive into Russell.  We met up with the others at their book-a-bach above the church and went for a walk to Tapeka Point in the afternoon.  Later we had a good meal at the RSA.

On Sunday morning the others visited our spot for coffee before heading back to Whangarei.  In the afternoon Malcolm and I went for a walk through the bush and down the road to a little bay where I had a swim in the sea.  A first for this summer - although it is actually autumn.  Well this is the winterless north and it seems pretty summery compared to some of the South Island!

Good Old Whangarei

mural on the toilets at Onerahi

Our harbour-side spot

looking down the harbour

last night's sunset

We are in Whangarei for a short while as we have things to attend to here.  It was great to drive over the Brynderwyns and see Whangarei Heads and the view out to sea, I always love that view.  The weather was noticeably warmer too - more Summer than Autumn.  First parking up place - the waterfront at Onerahi beside some pohutakawas.  Great sunsets.  Have been catching up with our friends.

Pirongia and Kawhia

Getting new tyres

Pirongia museum

Lunch at Pirongia cafe

Kawhia wharf

A contemporary ocean going waka outside the Marae

Malcolm soaks his feet in a hot pool

We moved to Pirongia to sit out the storm that is going to sweep over the country tomorrow.  (Very warm today and hazy cloud covering the sky).  Just as we drove into the settlement we got a puncture.  We drove to our freedom spot just on the edge of the village and called a tyre guy.  He found that we also had a flat tyre on the other side (the two inside tyres at the back) so to cut a long story short, we ended up getting 2 new tyres.  We weren't planning on doing that till we are back at home but at least this puncture occurred in a spot where it was easy to get assistance and not at any of the remote locations we've been to lately!

In the afternoon we went out to Kawhia - where we went out to Te Puia Springs, at an ocean beach just out of town (which is inside the harbour).  Te Puia is a beach, like hot water beach in the Coromandel, where you can dig a hole and have a soak.  The difference is that there is next to no-one at Kawhia, just a remote west coast beach.  At Kawhia township we saw the place where the Tainui Canoe was hauled ashore after making the trip from Hawaiki (Pacific Isalnds)when New Zealand was being colonised by Maori.  Kawhia and Raglan are areas we'd like to spend more time exploring some day.

New Plymouth

The river where we are camped

 

Near the start of the cycleway (Bell Block)

 

Me by the interesting bridge...

 

Malcolm on the way back, the mountain under that cloud

 

coastal views

 

historic water fountain in the city

 

hmm, where to go next?

 

Len Lye's wind wand on the waterfront

 

smoothie time!

 

 

We have been freedom camped at the poetically named Meeting of the Waters - where two rivers meet, just on the outskirts of New Plymouth.  There are nice walks in 2 directions but the only drawback is we are under trees and it is very shady, we lose the sun early.

Today we cycled the New Plymouth coastal walk/cycleway.  It was a good ride - the ocean views were really nice.  Shame Mt Taranaki/Egmont had cloud covering the top but it did clear later.  There was a funky outdoor cafe where we stopped on the way back for French pastries and fruit smoothies.  The cafe was run from a container, seating was brightly coloured beanbags and deck chairs and cool music was playing....  We sat there a while before continuing. 

Pilgramage to Jerusalem

We are staying at a farm - this redoubt built in the 1860's is on the property

Jerusalem from the road

The convent

 

The church at Jerusalem

The altar

 

Inside the church

Looking down at the river near Jerusalem

Snow-capped Tongariro

 

Today we went to Jerusalem - also Athens and London!  (Atene and Ranana).  We drove from Whanganui - clear blue sky and views to Mt Egmont/Taranaki into the river mists of the Whanganui River Road.  It is a narrow winding road to Jerusalem but is now sealed all the way.  After a while the mists burned off and we passed the few little settlements, actually they were all maraes.  Jerusalem itself is only the church and convent of the old Catholic mission, no other buildings.  The view of the church reflected in the river was beautiful.  It was about a 2 hour drive - getting more and more remote!  We decided to continue on to the end of the road at Pipiriki (13km) where we turned for Raetihi and at one stage we came out of the bush to the surprise views of Tongariro and Ngarahoe.  We returned to Whanganui on SH4 but it was still a windy, empty road.

We're staying at a farm just outside Whanganui.  There's a redoubt that was built by the settler here when the land wars were on.  It's 2 layers of Totara with clay in between to make the walls bullet proof.  There are little glass spy holes all around the walls.  luckily the conflict didn't come here.  It's very peaceful - we are in a paddock with a horse and some sheep.  The lady has chooks, ducks, calves, dogs....  Nice weather too :-)

Wellington

Mana Island from Plimmerton

Wellington waterfront - lunch place

Malcolm is shocked to be eating out twice in 2 days

Me (having a bad hair day) and Elizabeth

 

We have spent a few days in our old spot on the waterfront  at Mana.  There's always a lot going on - boats going in and out the marina, people going out in waka ama and windsurfers.  There's also quite a few motor homes coming and going.  We went into Wellington a couple of times, catching up with my daughter Elizabeth, and that's always a buzz - especially when you've been away from cities for ages!  The weather is very pleasant - not windy at all!  And, apart from being cloudy this morning, has been clear and sunny.

Leaving the South Island...is hard to do

Last morning in Picton

Inside the Edwin Fox - the 9th oldest surviving ship in the world

Picton from the Edwin Fox

 

Goodbye to the South Island

 

 

Leaving the South Island is hard to do.

No, I mean it's REALLY hard to do!

Attempt 1...we got 1/2 hour into the journey and the ferry had to return to Picton because of severe weather in the Cook Strait.  So a whole day going nowhere (we got to the wharf at 11.30 for 1.00 loading and 2.00 sailing) except back to the paddock at Koromiko.

Attempt 2...2 days later...the 2.00 ferry left at 4.00 (not running to schedule just going back and forth trying to clear the backlog).  Lovely sunny day and flat sea.  Arrived in Wellington safely.

So...we have left the South Island after four months.  That's a season and a bit so no wonder it is much chillier now than when we arrived.  Nevertheless, the word is that the South Island had a much cooler and more unsettled summer than usual.  I've only ever lived in Northland and Auckland so I really didn't realise that the rest of the country had a cooler/colder climate in summer.  I think that we managed to get some good weather by flitting from area to area and it was definitely good in Nelson/ Golden Bay/Karamea before Christmas.

The places we've liked the best are (in no particular order):

·         Golden Bay - the scenery and the climate, walks and the little towns

·         Marlborough Sounds - the Abel Tasman and little out of the way places

·         Glenorchy - great scenery and walks, stunning mountains

·         The road to Milford Sound - amazing scenery

·         Banks Peninsula - lots of good scenery and places to go, the Little River Rail Trail

·         Central Otago - nice climate, the rail trails and little old gold mining settlements

·         Otago Peninsula - nice beaches

The places we want to explore more thoroughly or go back to another year are:

·         The West Coast/Haast Pass - lots of lakes, coast etc but you need good settled weather

·         Central Otago - so we can bike more on trails

But overall we feel like we've seen enough for now.  We have been up a lot of dirt roads/4WD tracks and explored.  We didn't do any fruit or grape picking but might do that another time.  Before we go back to the South Island there are things we need to do on the bus.  We definitely need insect screens for the west coast.  We knew that - and looked into it - but didn't do anything as its probably best organised from home.  Malcolm has a list of little things he wants to do but the bus has pretty much performed as hoped - after we sorted out the radiator problem which was probably just the regulator in the end!  Hopefully all continues well too.

So now we have the North Island ahead of us...

Port Underwood

Koromiko paddock - afternoon relaxing spot

The road went over the hills and down to the bays...

Robin Hoods Bay

Ocean bay

Queen Charlotte Sound

A guy takes off...

...and does some acrobatics

Today we had a Sunday drive along the Port Underwood road which is very windy and unsealed with bad corrugations.  It twists its way from Rarangi, east of Blenheim, to Waikawa just east of Picton - alongside the Port Underwood Harbour.  The coastline was used by early whalers and there are remains of Jacky Guard's whaling station but it is all behind wire fences marked private.  There was a graveyard, a try-pot and a cannon.  Betty Guard was the first white woman to live on the S Island.  There were some pretty bays, very isolated, ours were the only footprints on one we walked along.  At Robin Hoods Bay (not at all like the one in Yorkshire!) there were a few intrepid surfers.  Otherwise just a long and winding road until we hit the seal again at the Marlborough Sounds.  We watched a para-gliding  guy waiting for a puff of wind to send him airborne - and finally take off and swoop around.  The afternoon was perfect for sitting outside the bus reading the latest Lee Child, finally purchased at 2nd hand prices from a 2nd hand bookshop in Picton.  The last day of our South Island summer I think.