Islands in a bay!

Next stop on the tiki tour was the Bay of Islands, known for its on water life and diving. Neither of which we could really do due to having the pooch with us. Still, it's a nice place to hang out.

The weather finally started to clear up for us and the heat turned up.

Seeing the cruise ship moored out in the bay near Paihia seemed surreal compared to the professional cruise ship harbour we have in Wellington, but I guess needs must when there's nowhere for a boat that big to berth any closer to land.

We managed to get the last site at a campsite too, and what a peach it is. With a direct view over the Haruru Falls, it's rather a pleasant place to spend the night.

Driving south

Today we made our way south from "way up north", hopefully leaving the heaving rain behind (thanks Cyclone Evan!). We'd been advised to make a pit stop in Mangonui to have fish and chips over the wharf.

You know it's fresh when you can see the fishing boats out of the restaurant window! And the fish fillets were on display in the fridge and cooked to order. It certainly wasn't the worst fish and chips we've ever had!

Xmas tiki tour

We've started our Xmas tiki tour in the camper. With the plan to head north of Auckland for the first time, Ian decided to get a head start with Maddy and drive up there before Annalie finished work on Friday. Then Annalie caught a flight up to be reunited with them.

On Saturday morning, we set off from our campsite in south Auckland and took a slow drive into new territory. First stop was a village called Warkworth, which we'd been advised was pretty and had a lovely little cafe for a lunch overlooking the river.

Then it was on to Leigh and the Goat Island Marine Reserve. A specialist diving and snorkelling area, due to its Reserve status. All kinds of marine life flourish here. Sadly we couldn't make the most of that as dogs aren't allowed in the Reserve and we didn't want to leave Maddy in the van for long. So we quickly took in the view and then went back to seek some more pet friendly locations.

A quick perusal of the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association (yes, we are old farts!) travel directory pointed us towards a campsite near Mangawhai. A quick call confirmed availability and off we went. Not only was there availability, but we were the only ones at the campsite! It felt very secluded for us!

Signs at the campsite directed us on a walk through the forest towards the beach. It wasn't an easy walk, being covered in sand, but it led to a fabulous sandy beach that is good for surfing and body boarding. We will make a note of that for future reference!

Maddy isn't a big one for the surf so she reluctantly got her feet wet, whereas we both enjoyed a paddle in waters that are an awful lot warmer than Wellington!

Lah de dah in Martinborough

The happy campervanning continued when we invited our friends Jo and Toby to join us in Martinborough for a short visit. With its flat, easy access roads, and plentiful wineries within easy reach the bicycles came along too.

We hit the town in time for brunch at the favoured Cafe Medici, to help line the stomach. We then headed for the campsite to ditch the camper and car and hit the road on two wheels. It was a stunning day, and actually meant that the wine reached the heads a little too quickly. A break for gelato was required before finishing off at another couple of wineries (it would be rude not to!). Poor little Maddy found the going quite tiring though!

Pétanque and a new card game called Stix followed and ended off a lovely day. We started off on Sunday with a fabulous cooked breakfast, served al fresco. Something you can't do very often in Wellington!

The south of the north (island)

As we were so far round the coast to visit the Pinnacles, we decided to drive on to the southernmost tip of the North Island, Cape Palliser. Renowned for its lighthouse and seal colony, it offered us a view of unspoilt coast and seal pups playing in the surf.

The lighthouse was atop 252 steps, and the views we wouldn't say the views were necessarily worth it, but it is a pretty little lighthouse. There's no keepers here I'm afraid, but I'm guessing you wouldn't want to be here in a roaring southerly anyway!

On our way back we pulled in to spy on some of the resident seals. They didn't disappoint. But get too close and they'd let you know!

Following the Ring

Now we have our camper, there's no end to our potential for adventure! First up was a trip to the south Wairarapa coast and Palliser Bay. We'd been invited to a friend's birthday weekend the same time Annalie went to pick Ian up from Auckland. They had planned a trip to the Pitangirua Pinnacles campsite.

Having heard good things, we decided to head over a week later. The campsite is run by DOC and is fairly basic, therefore cheap! The only facility provided was a toilet.

There is a walk you can do in this area to The Pinnacles, which featured as Dimholt Road in the third Lord of the Rings film. Quite a stunning natural phenomenon and an eerie place.

The campsite was lovely and close to the beach, but most fun was had lighting a fire! We had to hunt high and low for available wood, and even had to borrow lighting equipment from fellow campers, but we felt like proper campers by the end of it!

World capital of something

Everywhere in NZ, towns have some claim to fame or other. Where Annalie laid her head on Friday night, the town probably had the least surprising claim of all NZ towns...

Maddy's road trip

We think Maddy was loving the road trip. Until we picked Ian up and she lost her "shotgun" possie!
She's also taken to sleeping in the tightest spots...

A hidden gem

As Ian had been in the UK, and we'd only bought him flights back to Auckland, Annalie decided to drive up on the campervan to pick him up.

Now, it's not a short distance. And ads to that some Friday dinner time traffic, and some kiwi windy roads, and you've got a bit of a road trip. But a road trip it was.

Annalie had researched some places to stay, knowing that getting as far as Hamilton would be the absolute limit, and that somewhere a bit short of there would be more likely.

So she did a few searches and decided to aim for Mangaoweka Scenic Reserve. There is free overnight camping if you're self contained.

A mere 6.5 hours on the road and Annalie finally made it to this clearing in the middle of some woods. Seeing three other vans gave her some confidence that she'd be ok. So she found a quiet spot to park, set up the bed, opened the vent and set about getting some shut eye.

When she closed her eyes, she realised that a river was flowing nearby, and it was the only sound around. The next morning just proved what a picturesque little spot this was. A little hidden gem. And all for free. And so well kept.

It just reminded us what getting the campervan was all about.