North Island - New Zealand (Part 2)

Sandboarding on our tray in the Te Paki Sanddunes
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Our Northland adventure started with a visit to the remote Goat Island Marine reserve at Leigh, where beautiful iridescent and cobalt blue fish swim along narrow tidal channels inches from your feet.  Rita pressed on Northwards, and after some hairy moments (as rain turned some of the backroads into a muddy slalem course!) we reached the unbelievably picturesque harbour town of Russell.  A bottle of Hawkes Bay red was definitely on the cards after our slip sliding drive, followed by a dusk stroll along the pretty waterfront.  We woke early the next morning to enjoy a cup of tea from the lookout above and explore the pretty wooden church (NZ's oldest), before hopping on the car ferry across to Paihia.

Sandboarding on our tray in the Te Paki Sanddunes
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A coffee amongst the lilyponds at the Waitangi Grounds (where the infamous Waitangi treaty was signed between Maori from the North Island and the British Crown) set us up for the drive North to the cute little seaside town of Mangonui, which is famous for NZ's best fish and chips.  Well, it would have been rude not to test them out!  We had to check the kiwi slant on our national dish (especially with Bizzie Lizzies - named top chippie in the UK twice over no less! - being just down the road at home!)  Our conclusion by the way is that the fish defintely gives Yorkshire a good run for its money... but no-one can beat our chips!

Kaiiwi Lakes
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From Mangonui it wasn't long before the turn off to the gorgeous Karikari Peninsula.  Some great scenic roads (driven Thelma and Louise stlye with the power ballads cranked up!) soon gave way to another winding gravel track, which brought us to our beach-side campsite at Matai Bay.  Parked Rita up in prime position and headed down for a walk and a swim at the sheltered bay - fantastic with gentle waves as warm as bath water.

Woke up to a rather misty, grey and grizzly morning so took the opportunity to visit the incredible (if rather touristy) Giant Kauri Kingdom at Awanui, where local craftsmen make myriad objects out of 45,000 year old Kauri wood.  The operation has a really sad undertone however; the giant trees they use have been preserved below ground, this 50 year supply is almost all that remains of the majestic kauri forests which once covered most of Northland - 94% were cut down in just 100 years by European settlers.  As such very few kauri are still growing in NZ today.  The largest standing tree is only 2000 years old and a fraction of the size of what used to exist - some of the kauri trunks excavated weigh up to 100 tonnes - incredible.

Auckland skyline
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From Awanui (after a quick stop to see some cars getting stuck on the famous 90 Mile Beach! - Not Rita though!) we headed all the way up the North Cape to Waikiti Landing, our base to explore Cape Reinga (NZ's Northernmost point) and the nearby Te Paki sand dunes.  The Cape was wild and beautiful, with an almost eerie quality heightened by the howling wind and swirling mist.  Maori believe that people's spirits leave the human world from a sacred (or 'Tapu') Pohotakawa tree at this point, and the place certainly has a rather special, other-worldly feel.  From the lighthouse at the cape we drove back down the 21km gravel track to the dunes.  Here we had the time of our lives running up these giant sand mountains and then sliding back down on our plastic kitchen tray!

Wok, Tresa & Fin swimming at the lakes in Rotorua
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Next day was a looooong but picturesque drive southwards to the Kaiiwi Lakes with some beautiful stops - especially our short morning walk on the deserted white silica sands of Rawera beach (thanks for that top tip Tresa!)  Though our petrol only just lasted until the bottom of the cape (phew! - not a place you want to run out!) Fed and watered, Rita pressed on down Northland's West coast past the pretty beach town of Akipara and onwards all the way to tiny Kohukohu - where we found a magic little cafe to pass an hour before the wee car ferry across to hippy Rawene.  More hot and sticky driving past the stunning gold of the Opononi sand dunes until we reached the lush shade of the Waipoua Kauri Forest.  Here, we visited some of the huge living kauri, before winding the few remaining kilometres to our camp spot on the lakeshore (which - trust us! - was  in the middle of both a waterskiing competition and a travelling circus!)...

Sam looking a townie starting the Tongoriro Crossin
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After a surprisingly peaceful night's sleep we embarked on another marathon drive all the way South to the Waitomo Caves which are world renowned for their gloworms. The green forests and farms of Northland soon gave way to the chrome and concrete of Aukland - this time our glimpse of the glistening harbour was fleeting as drive-by tourists on the 4 lane super-expressway!  Rita sped southwards, through more gorgeous countryside, getting us to Waitomo in record time.  As our eyes adjusted to the cave's darkness we were able to make out some awesome limestone rock formations - an incredible feat of nature with a growth rate of just 1cm per 100 years!  Next we boarded a boat to get up close to the glowies - it was like sailing under thousands of tiny flickering stars (a pretty impressive show seeing as gloworms are really just fluorescent maggots!)The last leg of driving saw us arrive back at Wok and Tresa's in Rotorua in time for a long anticipated swim in the lovely Blue Lake.

Tongoriro Crossing
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A gorgeous sunny morning meant it was again time to head lakeside - this time for a picnic at Lake Tarawera.  The swimming here was just as gorgeous - warm and calm - if a little more fun as we were joined by the kids and their shark impressions!  The day flew by but came to a fantastic end with a delicious thai meal (for Tresa's birthday) topped off with a midnight swim at Kerosene Creek (hot stream in the heart of the forest) - complete with candles, red wine and some of the most beautiful stars we've ever seen.

Emerald Lakes, Tongoriro Crossing
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All too soon it was time to leave Wok & Tresa's to set up camp at remote Whakapapa village, ready to embark on the Tongariro Crossing (NZs most famous day walk) the following day.  Our journey took us along the shores of stunning Lake Taupo with its dramatic mountain backdrop.  Next day we donned our trainers, sensible socks and backpacks (dead sexy!) for our ascent of Tongariro.  The scorching sun warmed up just in time for our scramble up the 'devil's staircase' - a steep 300m ascent over lunar like loose rocks.  Felt great to reach the top where we walked across the barren and ghostly expanse of the south crater and up to the steaming summit of Mount Ngaurauhoe.  Our descent down the crumbling scree face was pretty comical - holding hands and just kind of running! (the only way was down!)  But made worth it by views over the intense turquoise of the gorgeous Emerald Lakes.  The last phase of the walk through alpine scrub and beech forest was long and pretty painful (note to selves: Do not attempt to scale mountains when wearing trainers bought for $5 in Bangkok!) But we made it! - just - and in a record 6 hours! - Go Woods!

Driving the van!
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Our last days in North Island were spent catching up with friends.  We were delighted to stay with Carolyn and Manuel in their new home town of Levin.  We gave Rita a much needed bath and spruce up (thanks Manuel!) and enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked dinner (complete with our favourite - apple crumble - thanks Carolyn!) before being shown the plans and site for their exciting new self-build home on a beutiful section at the foot of the mountains- can't wait to see the finished article guys!  Next day we made the short drive to (a sunny again - shock horror!) Wellington, where we met Dan and Katie for a good old chat and an amazing Asian inspired lunch.  There was just time for a quick dose of culture at NZ's incredible national museum (Te Papa - meaning 'Our Place') before hopping on the ferry back to South Island in time for the 'Blues, Blues and BBQs' festival... (full technicolour details on that to follow in the next installment!...)