New Zealand

Today we are off to Auckland New Zealand and it's an early flight so be have been up since 3am. We take a taxi direct to the airport from our apartment which takes about half an hour. The airport is very quiet and we go through check in, baggage drop off and passport control with no problem. The only thing that wasn't clear was you had to fill out an immigration card for your departure. Luckily we are the only ones at passport control at that point so we fill in the required form and off we go. Today's flight is with Emirates which we have been on before so hope that it's good and that we get a nice breakfast. Today's flight is about three and a half hours.

We are on time at Auckland International Airport and catch the Skybus which takes us into the city, it takes about 45 minutes. We are staying in the Rendevous Hotel which is right in the middle of everything. Apparently it is the largest hotel in Auckland.

Once settled in we head out for a look around. The city is very busy with traffic. We walk to the harbour front which is part of the old port and still being used for transferring goods so it is quite industrial with lots of cargo ships. From here we walk down to one of the old wharfs which has been converted into bars and restaurants but they are all very quiet.

We head back to the main city area and find a nice old pub called The Occasional which specialises in Belgium food and drink so we have a few Leffe beers. To eat Andrew has Flemish Stew and I have Belgium Sausage with Stoemp which is potato mash with vegetables mixed in, our food is delicious.

Well its back to our hotel and I crash out as I have got a head cold so bunged up, its not long before I'm asleep. Andrew takes advantage of the facilities and has a long soak in the bath.

Day 2

Today we are up later than planned but we are soon packed and back on the Sky bus back to the Airport where we can then catch another bus which will drop us off at the campervan depot.

We check in at the depot and are shown round the van, it's a little smaller than we thought but it has everything, fridge, microwave, gas hob, sink, hot and cold water, toilet and shower, and the dining area converts into a good size double bed and an additional table and camping chairs for eating alfresco.

Off we go on our big adventure of the north island, first stop the supermarket to stock up on a few essentials, tea, coffee, things for breakfast, a few snacks, and a few evening meals as backup as we don't know what will be open where we are going or what time we will get there.

We head out of Auckland heading north and along the coast road and go through some beautiful scenery with rolling hills covered with lush vegetation, there are so many tree ferns growing everywhere.

Our first stop along the way is at Mangawhai head which is right on the coast and is a beautiful sandy beach with sand dunes and a nature reserve. There are also some beautiful houses here perched on the hillsides which have stunning views out over the ocean.

We continue on along the coast and decide to head for Whangarei which is the second largest settlement on the north island.

The village is situated on the upper reaches of the Hauraki Gulf, and not far from all the beaches. It is said there are 5 beaches with 15 minutes drive of each other, we will check these out tomorrow.

For now it's time to check into our campsite The Whangarei Central Holiday Park. The owner is very friendly and welcoming and sets us up with a pitch and electric hook up and shows us all the facilities.

Once set up we head into the village to have a look around. Its only a ten minute walk so we are in a great location.

The town is quiet but there are lots of places to eat. We find a lovely traditional pub called the Dickens Inn which has been a pub on the site for more than a 100 years.

They have an extensive memu and this in it's self is a problem as we have to much choice and would love to try it all.

After dinner we head back to our campervan and settle in for the night. We can't wait to explore this area a bit more tomorrow and continue to drive further on up the coast.

Day 3

Today we continue on our trip along the coast and first head to Bream Bay which is a beautiful sandy beach backed with sand dunes.

The beach is deserted probably because it is raining and the sea is rough but that makes it even more beautiful.

We continue along the coast route which has some stunning scenery which changes from flat fields to rolling hills and mountains which are covered with lush green vegetation.

The landscape there has loads of tree ferns scattered between the other trees and shrubs, some of them are enormous standing some 15 to 20 foot tall.

The roads are good and easy to drive on and wind their way up and down the valleys giving us some great viewing points. Along the way we pull up at one overlooking the water and make a cuppa.

We continue on and our next stop is at Russell which is a small town set on a beautiful sandy bay with nice shops and restaurants along the waterfront. We have a walk along the front and up the pier.

The architecture is very traditional colonial with a French influence. The oldest existing church in New Zealand is one of the town's main attractions and is scarred with musket bullet holes from the war in 1845.

We then head to the car ferry which goes across from Opua across the Bay of Islands back to Paihia and onto Waitangi where we will spend our second night.

Though it has been raining most of the day we have still had a great day.

Day 4

Today we are up early, it has stopped raining and the sun is out, yippy.

We have breakfast and then head to Waitangi which is just 5 minutes up the road from where we stayed the night.

The site is famous for the Waitangi treaty which was signed between Britain and the Maori people of New Zealand back in 1840.

A new exhibition building was finished on 6th February 2016 and tells the history of New Zealand, the Maori people and the struggle both cultures had in implementing the treaty.

In the 1800s the Maori people feared invasion from the French and other world powers so as they had a good trading relationship with the British Empire they asked the King of England for his support and protection.

England agreed and in 1840 a treaty was drawn up, unfortunately when this was finalised and translated in to the Maori language it wasn't right and later on caused conflict and misunderstanding between both sides, one of them being over land ownership.

However Britain and the Maori people continued to trade with each other and Britain provided protection for the colony and in 1940 the Maori people built a new elaborately carved building facing the old treaty house to symbolize the partnership with Britain. The building was opened on the 6th February 1940, the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi.

It wasn't until 1990 that England apologized to the Maori people for the mistakes of the past and Queen Elizabeth the second signed papers acknowledging this and giving land back to the Maori people.

After the museum we continued our walk around the site, have a look in the old treaty house where James Busby lived and worked as the first representative of the British government in New Zealand, the Carved Meeting House and the War Canoes.

The biggest of the Canoes is 35 meters long and is the world's largest ceremonial war canoe which has been carved out of one enormous tree trunk, It is estimated that for that size boat the tree would have been 800 years old to get to the required size. It needs a minimum of 76 paddlers to propel it safely. The canoes are still used every year on the 6th February as part of the Waitangi celebrations.

From here we continue on our journey heading north and our aim is to get to Cape Reingia which is the furthest north you can go. Its a long way and takes some two and a half to three hours but is well worth it as we go through some beautiful scenery again.

As we get closer to the cape the landscape becomes more mountainous and rugged but it still covered with lush green vegetation. The earth is red and grey as the hills where formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Also in the distance you can see massive sand dunes nearer to the coastline in places.

We eventually arrive at Cape Reinga which has breathtaking views in both directions. On the peninsula is a lighthouse to warn ships and a sign indicating distances to various locations around the world from this point.

Looking east you see a rugged rocky coastline and to the west it changes to large sand dunes. It is at this point where the Tasman and Pacific Oceans meet.

It has special significance to the Maori people as it is said to be the final place their spirits come to depart their land.

After our walk around the headland we then start to head back and on the way take a detour to Te Paki Giant sand dunes. They are quite a stunning feature of the west coastline creating a huge rolling landscape of peaks and troughs of pale white sand that stretches for miles. They are so tall and steep in places people use them for sand boarding and we see some groups of people giving it a go.

From the Cape point down to Ahipara Bay is one enormous long beach which is know as Ninety Mile Beach.

It is in fact only 55 miles long but was thought to be longer as it would take the early settlers three days to travel it on horseback.

We are now heading to our final destination for the day at Ahipara and our third campsite for the night which is adjacent to the beach but by the time we get there it is dark so we will have to wait until tomorrow to see what it's like.

Day 5

Another day and we wake up to another lovely sunny morning, great that will be good for our exploring today.

The campsite is in a very nice spot just back from the beach and you can hear the sea. The facilities are good and we have a lovely hot shower and feel refreshed.

Andrew serves up a cooked breakfast that sets us up for the day and then we head to Ninety Mile Beach which is less than 5 minutes from the campsite to have a look. The sand does stretch for miles and the sea is rolling in though at this time is a long way out.

From here we start our journey going further down the coast and again along the way take in some beautiful scenery.

Along the way we stop at Kohukohu for a coffee. Its a small village on the shore on the upper reaches of Hokianga Harbour. There is a war memorial here to the Armed forces of New Zealand that where involved in WW1, WW2, and Vietman. It provides an arch and entrance to a simple jetty that extends out into the estuary. We take a short walk along it to get a great view across the water.

We continue along the road and cross the estuary on the small car ferry over to Rawene and drive onto Opononi where we get some great information from the lady in the tourist office as to where the best places are to visit on the next part of the journey.

First we head up to Omapere lookout which is a great viewpoint to look at the view back across the estuary and the mountains beyond and the sea in the other direction.

From here we take the road back into the mountains and up onto the Parataiko Range where we visit two sites known for giant Kauri trees.

The first site that we visit has the tallest Kauri tree and the second site has the oldest and a group called the four sisters as they are all growing together in a group. The tallest tree is 50 meters tall and 16 meters in girth and said to have grown from a seed sown 2000 years ago.

As these trees and the environment are fragile before you enter the park area you must first scrub your shoes then disinfect them on the special mats and make sure that you keep to the elevated timber walkways that have been constructed above the forest floor, this is to avoid footsteps compacting the soil surface and damaging the roots of the trees and spreading any disease.

From here we head back down the mountains to our next stop for the night which will be at the Kauri Coast Holiday park. Its in a beautiful setting overlooking the river. There's not much else round here though so we have a walk around the site and along the river, Have dinner and settle in for the night.

Day 6

Today it's raining a little and after breakfast we start on our journey heading back towards Auckland as tomorrow we will fly out of Auckland. We don't have much planned on our route today other than to get to our next campsite which is at Red Beach called Pinewood Holiday Park. Once we are settled in we go for a walk along the beach and into the next town where we find a great pub, have a few beers and an evening meal. Then it's a walk back to the campsite via the road as the sea has now cut the route off back across the beach.

Well that's all our exploring for New Zealand done and tomorrow we have to return the campervan and get to the airport to catch our next flight to Papeete Tahiti.