Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Funky loos
In the list of top things to do and see in Northland, you wouldn't normally expect to find toilets! However, the lavs in Kawakawa are no ordinary loos. Designed by so-called "artistic royalty" the Frederick Hundertwasser toilets are actually signposted from the main road! They are rather special, it has to be said.
Beaches, Whangarei and free camping
Heading south from Paihia, we took in a scenic drive around the Tutukaka coastline. This is the gateway to Poor Knights Island, one of the world's top dive sites. Sadly, this was not on the cards for us but we were still greeted with stunning coastline and beaches as we made our way to Whangarei.
You can just see Poor Knights Island in the photo above!
The van has a rest during a beach walk for Maddy.
Then it was on to the largest town in Northland, Whangarei. Just before we reached the town, we passed Whangarei Falls, the "most photographed waterfall in NZ", so we thought we'd just add to the statistic! You can kind of see why they're so popular.
Then it was on to Whangarei. It's quite a sprawling metropolis really, but it presented an opportunity for a free spot of camping. Consulting our bible again, we saw that there was free overnight parking allowed down by the river. Wanting to be sure about these things, we stopped at the i-site to make sure we were parking in the right area. Armed with this information, we set off.
The parking was right by the river basin marina, presenting a lovely backdrop. A nice boardwalk took us along to a cute cafe where we dined by the river. We were slightly concerned that we would have to break out the portapotty as the local lavs were supposed to close at 5.30pm. However we were very pleased to find that they remained open all night, removing the need for us to use our on board loo!
Not bad for a freebie, we thought...
You can just see Poor Knights Island in the photo above!
The van has a rest during a beach walk for Maddy.
Then it was on to the largest town in Northland, Whangarei. Just before we reached the town, we passed Whangarei Falls, the "most photographed waterfall in NZ", so we thought we'd just add to the statistic! You can kind of see why they're so popular.
Then it was on to Whangarei. It's quite a sprawling metropolis really, but it presented an opportunity for a free spot of camping. Consulting our bible again, we saw that there was free overnight parking allowed down by the river. Wanting to be sure about these things, we stopped at the i-site to make sure we were parking in the right area. Armed with this information, we set off.
The parking was right by the river basin marina, presenting a lovely backdrop. A nice boardwalk took us along to a cute cafe where we dined by the river. We were slightly concerned that we would have to break out the portapotty as the local lavs were supposed to close at 5.30pm. However we were very pleased to find that they remained open all night, removing the need for us to use our on board loo!
Not bad for a freebie, we thought...
Hell hole of the Pacific?...Yeah right!
Just across the water from Paihia lies the quaint little village of Russell. Once known as the "hell hole of the Pacific" due to its status as a major trading post and subsequent rise in drinking holes and brothels, James Busby was tasked with cleaning up the town's act upon his appointment as Governor.
Today its trade is much more serene in nature, mostly based around the clear waters of the surrounding bays, where fishing and diving are the most raucous activities. Many of the town's traditional buildings are still standing, giving an eerie sense of having stepped back in time a little once you get there.
The claim to house the country's oldest petrol station - which looks like it was cut out of the corner of someone's house! - helps with this feel.
But as for being the "hell hole of the Pacific", to quote an iconic series of beer billboard adverts in NZ, Yeah Right!
Today its trade is much more serene in nature, mostly based around the clear waters of the surrounding bays, where fishing and diving are the most raucous activities. Many of the town's traditional buildings are still standing, giving an eerie sense of having stepped back in time a little once you get there.
The claim to house the country's oldest petrol station - which looks like it was cut out of the corner of someone's house! - helps with this feel.
But as for being the "hell hole of the Pacific", to quote an iconic series of beer billboard adverts in NZ, Yeah Right!
Big trees and big wins
Heading North from Dargaville, we encountered the "Kauri Coast". The kauri tree is a significant indigineous tree for northern NZ, with many being thousands of years old and thought to be amongst the most ancient in the world. It is a hard wood that has been used by Maori in carving and boat building.
One of the protected kauri forests, Waipoua Forest, houses the largest living tree in NZ, Tane Mahuta, or "Lord of the Forest". Standing 51.2m high and with a trunk girth of 13.77m, he is an impressive tree, and even our attempts to get perspective with Annalie in shot doesn't do it justice.
Our route then took us into the Hokianga Harbour region. Here we had a choice. Cross the harbour on the little car ferry, or save some cash (which would be spent on petrol) and drive around. We opted for the shorter, and more novel, floating route!
A quick stop off in Oponini to buy Lotto tickets resulted in a $680 win (woo hoo!), our biggest ever. It was 5 numbers, so it seems like a small amount, but still, much better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! On the other side of the picturesque harbour, you can see some giant sand dunes that are used for sand boarding.
One of the protected kauri forests, Waipoua Forest, houses the largest living tree in NZ, Tane Mahuta, or "Lord of the Forest". Standing 51.2m high and with a trunk girth of 13.77m, he is an impressive tree, and even our attempts to get perspective with Annalie in shot doesn't do it justice.
A quick stop off in Oponini to buy Lotto tickets resulted in a $680 win (woo hoo!), our biggest ever. It was 5 numbers, so it seems like a small amount, but still, much better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! On the other side of the picturesque harbour, you can see some giant sand dunes that are used for sand boarding.
Up the West Coast
Our journey north took us up the West Coast as we criss crossed the country from Mangawhai. On the way through, we consulted a magazine feature about the best things to do in Northland, and we found ourselves climbing Tokatoka Peak. Just a short, but sharp, climb from the neighbouring road, the peak afforded us panoramic views of the surrounding land and river, although it was a pretty murky day.
On our way up to the museum, we'd spotted a frisbee golf course. Now as we'd familiarised ourselves with this sport on our first visit to NZ, we keep frisbees in the van, for just such an opportune moment!
We were also able to look back at the peak we had just climbed. Tokatoka is quite distinctive as the very pointy hill on the right hand side.
Dargaville Museum is also home to the masts of the Rainbow Warrior. The Greenpeace ship was sunk off the Bay of Islands in 1985, but the Museum's owner negotiated the transferral of the masts to his nautical-themed exhibit.
Maddy wanted to play "King of the Castle" while up the top, but as it was a pretty windy day, we feared that she'd get blown away. So I kept her on the lead while Ian checked out the full view.
Then it was on to Dargaville, our night's stop. Since we've joined the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association (NZMCA), we have access to a huge directory of thousands of cheap/free camping sites throughout the country. Another perusal of our new bible directed us to Dargaville Museum, high up on a hill above the "city". Here the charge was just $10. No power, but a toilet and, what turned out to be, a private campground! For the second night running we were on our own!
On our way up to the museum, we'd spotted a frisbee golf course. Now as we'd familiarised ourselves with this sport on our first visit to NZ, we keep frisbees in the van, for just such an opportune moment!
We were also able to look back at the peak we had just climbed. Tokatoka is quite distinctive as the very pointy hill on the right hand side.
A low-key Christmas Day
Christmas is much lower-key in NZ as it seems to be more about the summer holidays than Christmas. As a result, there isn't the same commercialisation and the need to spend isn't thrust down your throats.
As we were off camping, there was even less atmosphere. But that might have been due to the weather that kind of dampened spirits somewhat. We had the tail end of Cyclone Evan, which had turned into a tropical storm, which poured down on us.
We ventured to Ahipara, at the bottom end of Ninety-Mile Beach in the Far North. The hope had been that we'd get out onto the sand dunes and boogie board down them. But fat chance of that. The wind and the rain made that a less-than-pleasant prospect.
As we were off camping, there was even less atmosphere. But that might have been due to the weather that kind of dampened spirits somewhat. We had the tail end of Cyclone Evan, which had turned into a tropical storm, which poured down on us.
We ventured to Ahipara, at the bottom end of Ninety-Mile Beach in the Far North. The hope had been that we'd get out onto the sand dunes and boogie board down them. But fat chance of that. The wind and the rain made that a less-than-pleasant prospect.
On Xmas day itself, we headed up to the very tip top, the equivalent of John O'Groats, to see what Cape Reinga had to offer. It's a very spiritual place in Maori culture and we wanted to see it in its glory.
Sadly, the thick fog that surrounded the north cape meant that we experienced very little. We had almost reached the iconic lighthouse before we could actually see it. The spiritual experience lost on us a little.
But the weather did play ball with us a little to ensure that we could still BBQ our Xmas dinner! Lovely marinated lamb chops, baked potatoes and corn. Not quite your traditional, but very much the Kiwi way of doing things.
The start of the long drive home
Rather than heading down the well-trodden path through Taupo to get home, we decided to visit lesser known and visited parts. So we headed through Hawkes Bay instead.
The drive from Opotiki to Gisborne is certainly picturesque, but sadly we didn't stop to get the most scenic photos. plus most of the stopping points were on the opposite side to us! But we did get to stop eventually and check out the valleys. Not as spectacular though.
The drive from Opotiki to Gisborne is certainly picturesque, but sadly we didn't stop to get the most scenic photos. plus most of the stopping points were on the opposite side to us! But we did get to stop eventually and check out the valleys. Not as spectacular though.
We stopped off in Gisborne to check out the memorial of Captain Cook's first landing in NZ in 1769. He first stepped ashore in Poverty Bay to the South. And just a little further along was a lovely, quiet beach, home to the Gizzy Yacht Club, and much gentler waters to those we were used to over in the Bay of Plenty.
And then it was on to Napier, driving past NZ's own "white cliffs", Young Nick's Head. So named after the boy on Cook's ship who first spotted the land that was to be known as New Zealand.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
An almost round trip
We're back from our north island tiki tour. There are more updates to come but on the trip we managed to cover an almost round number of kilometres in the van. It's done us proud over the last two weeks as we've covered a huge amount of ground around the country.
While the weather hasn't always been kind to us, we've still enjoyed our tour and it reminded us of our first trip when we first fell in love with this beautiful country.
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