We spent some time in Dargaville trying to find info/programme for the rally. There didn’t seem to be much interest there but eventually found a programme. We easily found the POP, close to the Rally of NZ route which we had jacked up earlier in the week. It was at a lifestyle property at Tangiteroria. The owners were away on holiday but they arranged for us to plug in. Very convenient. The Special Stages that we had targeted were on the Girls High School Rd about 12kms from our POP. The rally cars used this road twice, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. We were at a great spectator point, on a high bank, with a good view of about ½ km of road. This included a transition from gravel to tarmac and a 90 degree turn onto a narrow one way bridge. The WRC cars are spectacular!!! The control and skill of the world’s best drivers is unbelievable. How they can navigate the bends, bridges and surfaces at the speed they are going is amazing. Unfortunately the WRC cars go thru first so the rest of the cars are a bit of a let down by comparison. Some of the afternoon

 stage was cancelled due to a fire. Fortunately we saw all of the WRC cars twice however. We ended up in the middle of the touring stage on the way back to our POP. Back into Dargaville and a shop up before heading south to the Pahi Peninsular where we are camped at a beach on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour. It’s a nice spot so we decided to stay two nights. The weather is still a mixture of sun and rain and a cool wind. The camp guy gave us some bait so after a walk around the baches we had a fish off the wharf. (Don 2, Val yet to break her duck) Our next stop was due to be further around the Kaipara Harbour at an ARC regional park but the wind and rain were horrendous. We drove on thru Helensville to Shelly Beach. We are in a camp sheltered from the SW winds facing the harbour. As the winds and squalls are still coming thru we will stay

another night here. We had a coffee at the little café at this camp and

managed to buy some bait. There is another huge wharf here so we spent a couple of hours fishing. Val caught a fish!!! I missed out. Our next night was back out on the west coast at Murawai. The on shore wind was very strong but the camp was nicely sheltered. A very brisk walk along the beach and cliffs.

Back into Auckland city negotiating spaghetti junction and out to the OSB/Sky base at Mt Wellington to say hello to the guys before heading south. We found a farm stay/POP near Pirongia. The old couple that owned it were great and took us a tour of the property including feed some thorough breed horses. We had a nice leisurely drive thru the King Country down the Awakino gorge and on to Inglewood where we spent an enjoyable evening with Rodney and Judith. The only problem was that the Hurricanes beat the Crusaders. We are going out for lunch with Rodney, Judith, Noel and Rose (met at Club Med in 1984) and I will publish this blog today. Tomorrow we cross back to the South Island and will drive home on Tuesday. Next blog from the USA all

going well!!!!

We headed north up SH 1 on a good road to Cape Reinga (100kms). The whole tourist area has been very well done with good signs and information. We walked down to the light house with views of the Three Kings Islands and the turbulent water where the Pacific meets the Tasman. A short drive back to a great DOC reserve in Tapotupotu Bay. We parked with great views of the bay and estuary. This was a beaut camping spot and we stayed there 3 nights. The first night 2 guys, who had towed a boat and a caravan up 90 Mile Beach from Kaitiai, gave the whole camp (about 4 couples, German and Austrian) some

beautiful snapper fillets. It was probably the best fish we have ever eaten!! We did some great walks including following the Cape Reinga Walkway back towards the Cape with stunning views of our bay and the lighthouse. A few campervans came and went. One morning 4 guys with 2 boats tried to launch from the beach at low tide. What a performance! We spent most of the morning watching them get stuck

and digging themselves out. All very entertaining. Last night it rained so we drove off our camp site before having breakfast. (a muddy patch by the gate!) We are now in a camp at Houhora Heads. On the way we called into Te Paki stream. This is where the buses etc leave 90 Mile Beach heading north. It is also where sand surfing is popular. Unfortunately it was raining so we had a quick climb up the sand dunes and no surfing. We have discovered that the Rally of NZ comes thru the Dargaville area on Saturday so have decided to re-arrange our schedule to see a special stage. We drove south thru Kaiatia (shopping) and on 

to Ahipara (where Ninety Mile Beach starts) for lunch. South again to Herekino Harbour where we spent the night on the Owhata Marae. When we arrived at the Marae we walked on to the area and eventually found a Maori guy in a shack who said it was fine to stay the night. The view where we parked was greatlooking straight down the harbour. The Maori bloke was called H Heki. (could it be Honi Heki??) The weather is fine most of the time but the odd few heavy showers come thru.

We drove south again thru isolated beautiful country to the Hokianga Harbour where we caught the ferry across to Rawene for lunch. We are now at Opononi in a camp with nice views of the harbour mouth.

South again with a stop for a short walk into Tane Mahuta, the largest Kauri tree in NZ. The drive thru the Waipoua Forest was spectacular. The road is now tar sealed and very nice. We have camped at Trounson Kauri Park. There was a beautiful walk thru the Kauri forest. The kauri trees are majestic! Went for a walk after dark to sight some kiwis but with no luck. Now in Dargaville to sort out the rally tomorrow, book a ferry and post this blog.

The weather really packed in and we had a wet first day at Paihia. The next day was clear in the morning so we headed off to Waitangi and spent most of the morning exploring the treaty grounds, meeting house and treaty house including an audio visual presentation of the signing.

For NZers this is all FREE. ($25 for foreigners) We went into Paihia and looked around (not very inspiring) and had lunch, deciding whether we would catch the ferry to Russell. The weather made up our minds as it started raining again. Back at the camp and after it cleared we walked to the top of the Haruru Falls. A couple of guys gave us a huge piece of king fish fillet. Great eating! As the weather was still not great the next day, we decided to bypass Russell and move on to Kerikeri where the Old Stone Shop, the Mission House and St James Church were well worth a visit.

Our next camp was at Matauri Bay Camp. What a fabulous beach and setting. We are right

 

on the beach again and we decided to stay 4 nights here as there is a deal ($100 for a week). There are about 10 large motorhomes and caravans parked up for the winter. The main activity seems to be fishing (from boats). We have spent the time walking the beaches (2), reading and watching the activity at the boat ramp. Off this beach (on the next island) the Rainbow Warrior and the HMNZS Canterbury have been sunk as diving sites. There is a great memorial to the Rainbow Warrior at the top of the headland which offers a 270 degree view of the coastline, islands and the site of the wreck. The weather has been warm and sunny but every so often a shower of rain comes thru.I went fishing with an old guy in his boat

and caught a small snapper (not a keeper) and a trevalli which we ate.

Vey enjoyable! We woke one morning to the tall ship, the “Spirit of New Zealand” moored in the bay.

Following a tourist route we stopped at Mahinepua Beach for a nice walk out to a headland and a picnic lunch.

On thru Mangonui (very cute) and Coopers Beach to end up at a POP at Taipa, run by an old couple, backing onto the river with a great view. We drove out onto the Karikari Peninsula, which forms Doubtless Bay, to a DOC camp at Maitai Bay. We spent 2 days walking the beaches including a great 3 hour walk along the shore, up a bushy gorge and out along a ridge back to the beach. The views from the cliff tops were spectacular. The weather has been cooler the last few days with a southerly. After a shop up at Kerikeri we headed north to a camp at the ramp leading onto Ninety Mile Beach. We rode the bikes 10kms up the beach on rock hard sand. A nice ride but a bit boring!. Tomorrow we will head up to Cape Reinga and will explore the area for about 5 days and we’ll probably have no internet or cellphone coverage. The weather has warmed up again but there is no one around to enjoy it. We find it surprising that there are very few campervans around.

A short drive thru Warkworth and out to the coast at Snells Beach. This is a great beach with many flash houses overlooking it. Most seem to be holiday houses. We are allowed to stay right on the water front.

Quite surprising really. We off-loaded the bikes and set out for a ride to Sand Spit where the ferry to Kawarau Island leaves from. Going up a hill just out of Snells Beach Val ran out of steam and I realized she

was pushing a flat tyre. We walked back 2kms to the garage to discover the nearest repair would be back

at Warkworth. We settled for a walk along the beach instead. We stopped off at Warkworth the next day and found a friendly bike repair man who fixed the problem. Warkworth is a pretty town set on a river. We followed the coast up the Twin Coast Discovery road passed Mangawhai Heads and Waipu Cove to our next stop at a DOC camp at Uretiti Beach. This is a huge camp behind the sand hills of the white sands of

Uretiti Beach. Val caught up on some washing which dried in a cool southerly wind. The next day we headed off on our bikes for a 27km return ride inland to the Waipu Caves along a undulating (Val would say

hilly) road. Most of the ride was thru farm land with the last bit thru native bush. The caves were great but unfortunately I forgot a torch so our exploring was a bit limited. Back at the camp, after a late lunch we set off along the beach to Ruakaka (about 10 kms return). We discovered that Uretiti Beach is nudist friendly. Not a pleasant sight!! After 2 nights at the DOC camp we are now in Whangarei. It has been another mixed weather day with sun and a couple of southerly squalls. The harbour basin is a nice area. We had a huge shop and are now in a NZMCA area at Manganese Point on the road to the Whangarei heads overlooking the harbour and Marsden Point. There are about 6 campers in. We stood in the sun looking at the view talking to some of them including a couple from Darfield. We followed SH1 north and then turned towards the coast for a 30 km drive along a windy road to Whananaki at the north end of the Tutakaka Coast. We are now in a DOC camp at Otamure. Our site overlooks the most magnificent beach and coastline. The area is a bit like the Able Tasman but with grey sand and much more rugged features. We are looking north thru many islands and headlands to Cape Brett. The weather is now beautiful and we will stay here all Queens Birthday weekend. We have had three great days here walking the beaches, biking to the next bay, and relaxing. The camp is quite empty but with enough people here to make it interesting. Fishing seems to be the main pastime here at this time of the year. I, unfortunately, have no bait!! Might not be a bad thing as everyone is very good at casting etc with great gear. No Warehouse rods here!! Diving is also popular. We have seen some people swimming but the water is pretty cold. The boats are launched from the beach which makes interesting viewing. A guy came back this morning with about 8 huge snapper all caught from a tiny kayak. We will spend another night here tonight. The clouds have come in but it is still warm. We drove out to Whananaki and set off on the coastal walk first crossing the LONGEST FOOT BRIDGE in the

southern hemisphere. 700m long across the Whananaki Estuary. The track followed the coast before heading inland to bypass some flash baches. We ended up on a promontory, with a spectacular 270 degrees view, where there was a memorial to the ‘Capitaine Bouganville’, a French freighter which caught on fire in 1975 (16 killed). After a picnic lunch we walked along the beaches (low tide) back to the bridge and the camper. On return to the camp we went back to our same spot overlooking the beach. Overnight the wind got up and it is now raining. We have driven north to Paihia and are now in a camp looking at the Haruru Falls. We have paid for power the first time this holiday and also have free internet. It has rained all day and we have just sat tight. The forecast is not great but hopefully we can look around Paihia, Waitangi, and Russell in the next few days.

Northland Trip 2012

Northland trip 2012 Well we really did not know if we could be bothered writing a blog this trip but we will make a start and see how it goes. We left Kaiapoi on Sunday 20 May and had a great drive up to Blenhiem only marred by hitting a huge stone on the road along the coast. It was about head sized and all I could do was try and get it between the wheels. A huge bang which we stopped and investigated. It fortunately hit a chassis member and missed all the vital bits! Could have been a disastrous start to our holiday. We spent the night at the Blenheim Race Course. A great sunny POP. On Monday we headed to the ferry for our 1045 sailing. We had a relatively smooth crossing and after texting Diana (Val’s old work mate from Welly) we

decided to stay overnight at their beautiful home in Upper Hutt. A great night with Neil and Diana, catching up on families and travels. Over Hayward’s Hill and after a brief stop at Diana’s Bernina shop in Raumati Beach, we headed north and chose the National Park side of the plateau stopping at a DOC camp near

Whakapapa village. Beautiful clear skies and views of Mt Egmont and Ruapehu

and Ngnarahoe at the same time. A bloody cold night. 1 degree inside when we woke! Warm in bed however. The new ereaders are good as you can lie in bed with nothing exposed to read. In the morning we shifted to get in the sun for breakfast before doing a couple of walks with spectacular views of the mountains and to the Tawhai Falls. We headed north thru Taumaranui and Te Kuiti, eventually joining SH1 at Ngaruwahia. Pleasant country but all a bit samey.

We easily found Les (my cousin) and Shirley’s home in Papakura. They have a beautiful old house in the country which they have extensively renovated.

Great night catching up on the families. Up the motorway to a camping ground in Remuera. We are off to

Jersey Boys tonight. The camp in Remuera was very convenient with a bus stop just up the road. Val did a wash and we caught the bus into town around 1600. We filled in time until 1730 when we picked up our tickets for dinner and the Jersey Boys. A Thai dinner was part of the ticket we bought and was great. The show was in the Civic theatre which has been restored to original Egyptian theme. We really enjoyed the show which is the story of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons told by the members of the band and with plenty of great music. We caught the bus back

to the camp. Very easy! We are now north of Auckland using the Auckland Regional Parks. We spent 1

 night on the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsular at Te Taruhi Bay in the Shakespear Regional Park where we did a great 5km walk along the cliffs. We are now at the Mahurangi Regional Park at Sullivans Bay. This is a beautiful area and we overlook a nice little beach. We have spent 2 nights here doing some more walking on great well marked tracks with spectacular views of the Hauraki Gulf. The weather today is not that great. Grey with the odd period of rain. It is still warm however around 19 degrees

26 September – We followed the coast of Belgium to the French border and on to Dunkirk. The towns along the coast were a cross between the Gold Coast of Aussie (high rise apartments) and a British holiday resort (piers and games arcades). The beaches would be great in the summer but windswept and cold today. The ferry port is not at Dunkirk but about 10 kms south near Gravelines. We parked with 20 other campervans in an “Aires” on the waterfront at Gravelines overlooking the harbour of mainly fishing boats. We walked into the village but unfortunately the square was dug up for road works. This was our last night in “Lefty”. A bit sad actually!!

27 September – We boarded the ferry for our 10:00am sailing. The trip took 2 hours and was very smooth. In England (carefully staying on the left side of the road), we followed the M20, M25 and A3 to Warsash on the Solent, where we are staying with Denise and Ian McGregor for 2 nights. A good night having a catch up.

28 September – Denise and Ian went to work and we used their washing machine etc and gave “Lefty” a thorough clean and air out. Fortunately it was a beautiful hot sunny day so everything is nice and dry. It took longer than we thought it would but we had time for a great little last ride on our bikes thru the lanes and roads in this area. We went to a nice restaurant with Denise and Ian for our last night in this part of the world.

29 September – We drove the 40kms to the storage place where “Lefty” will be stored for the winter. Our taxi was waiting for us for the 90 minute trip to Heathrow and the long tedious trip home. Our flight was with Lufthansa, with stops at Frankfurt, Singapore and Christchurch. Our family were waiting at the airport and we spent some time catching up with them and seeing how tall the grandkids were getting!!

“Lefty” is sold so this will be our last extended tour of Europe. We have spent 11 months in Europe over 2 summers, driven 32,000kms and visited 17 countries. Quite a trip!! We are now looking forward to our next little adventure.

16 September – We followed some minor roads around north Netherland and onto the motorway heading south crossing a huge causeway between the IJsselmeer Bay and the North Sea.. It has been 6 weeks since we left the sea at Medveja in Croatia. What a contrast from 35 degrees and swimming to 16 degrees and windy. We realized that it is the longest time that we have ever been away from the sea!! We are at a camp in a village called Petten, right on the coast and protected by a huge dyke. It is sunny but windy so we went for a walk along the flat sandy beach with storm protecting groynes sticking out into the sea every 500m. The dyke starts by the camp where there is a project to analyze the effect of the sea motion on the sea bed. There was an information centre explaining the project and had some dramatic photos of the various storms that have damaged this area. The dyke is huge. At least 15m high, with stones on the seaward side, and stretching along the coast as far as the eye can see. We walked into the village and had a great meal at a little brassiere – salmon and sea bass. This is not an area where English speaking tourists visit but everyone seems to speak a little English and is very helpful.

17 September – Our plan was to walk into the village in the morning and buy some groceries and ride the cycleway along the dyke in the afternoon. All went to plan and we listened to Ireland beat Australia (RWC) on a UK radio station, but the rain and wind set in at lunch time so we abandoned the bike ride.

18 September – We left camp in torrential rain and strong winds and drove south towards Amsterdam. On the way we visited an old Dutch village, Zaanse Schans which has been restored as a tourist attraction. (Thanks Julie) The rain stopped and we enjoyed the original shops, many windmills, a cheese factory, a pewter foundry and a clog factory. One of the windmills was operating so we to go into it and climb up. The mechanics are fascinating and still working. Our camp is half way between Amsterdam and Haarlem on the coast.

19 September – We biked to the bus stop for our trip into Amsterdam. The central city is based on a series of canals like Venice. There the similarities end. There are bikes everywhere. Unlike NZ, people use bikes as a means of transport so they are not flash mountain bikes but set up with high handle bars, spongy sprung seats, chain guards, big mud guards, and a lot without any gears. They often have 1 or 2 children’s seats and big carriers. Amsterdam was beautiful, tree (turning golden) lined canals with house boats along them. Many of the canal houses are converted warehouses, still with their hoisting arms, shuttered windows and great gables. We wandered the canals and found the Dam Square with its cathedral and the royal palace. We took a boat trip onto the harbour and thru many of the canals. Good value! Lunch was at a Pancake House before we caught the bus to Haarlem. The bus driver showed us where the many sights were. Very friendly. This is a charming town with a great square where we enjoyed a wine in the late afternoon sun. The same bus driver drove us back to our bikes and honked and waved as we left the bus.

20 September – We drove a nice road thru the suburbs of Haarlem and south to The Hague past the Keukenhof Gardens. They are famous for their flowers but are closed at this time of the year. The weather is warm (18 degrees) but very overcast. Our camp is on the coast, close to The Hague. After lunch we cycled passed many of the embassies and the World Convention Centre, to the Madurodam. This is a famous miniature city made up of all the famous sites in Holland. The highest spires are about 2.5m high. This gives you some indication of the scale. It really is a summary of all the best bits of Holland. After the Madurodam we cycled to the coast and spent some time at the pier at Scheveningen. There were even some people swimming. There is a beautiful hotel but is a bit like a Dutch version of England’s Brighton. We followed a cycle way along the coast back to our camp. We decided not to go into the centre of The Hague as a lot of it was closed because the Queen was opening the parliament.



21 September – We drove around The Hague and out to Delft, famous for blue and white pottery. Cycling into the square past some great little canals was great. The square itself is dominated by the Town hall at one end and the Cathedral at the other with many shops selling Delft pottery, most of it made in China. Back on the road and again off to the Kinderdijk. This is a stretch of the River Lev with 19 windmills pumping water over the dyke and back into the river. We cycled past most of them. The last part of our trip was slow as we met a huge traffic jam going around Rotterdam. (about 45 minutes delay). We are now camped in Zeeland right on the coast with a nice beach on the North Sea.

22 September – A quiet morning catching up on domestic chores. After lunch we set off and cycled along the dykes, thru the farm land, and thru some great little villages. At one stage we found another working windmill. They are fascinating. From a distance they look peaceful and serene. When you get really close you realise that they are huge, noisy and slightly scary. The sails rotate at an amazing speed, generating huge power. The clearance from the ground is only about 1m. The ride was along the usual great cycleway well away from the roads. We covered about 35 kms. Back at the camp we enjoyed a swim and a spa in the camp’s indoor pool. This camp is huge but is mainly permanent chalets and mobile homes.

23 September – The weather is now much better, sunny and warm. It was a very short drive off the island we were on, to another island. These islands are connected by a series of dykes, bridges, and huge flood control systems. We are now in the SW corner of The Netherlands. This is another big camp much like yesterdays. After lunch we walked to the beach over high sand hills and then along a wide beach set up for summer with beach huts and restaurants. There were many parasailers using the slight on shore wind to stay aloft for long periods. We eventually passed the sand hills and immediately dykes had been built to keep the sea out. We had an ice cream at a lively little village with many bars and restaurants. This area is obviously very popular in the summer but there are still many “older” locals enjoying an autumn holiday.

24 September – Another lovely morning as we headed south off the island we were on and into Belgium. We left the island via a 6 km tunnel under the sea. (Expensive toll of 17.80 euro) The AB’s v France game was in progress and we listen to it on a scratchy UK radio station. We have decided to bypass Brussels and instead go to Brugge, a much smaller city. The first camp we tried was full and we ended up on the last site of another camp. Evidently there is an antique market in Brugge this weekend.

25 September – Off on the bikes into Brugge about 4 kms. What a great city with two huge squares, many great buildings and several canals. There were quite a few tourists around but it was not too crowded. Most of the shops here either sell chocolate or lace. We found the antique market with hundreds of stalls selling trash and treasure. If you knew what you were looking for, I bet there would have been some bargains! We enjoyed a nice lunch in the square and then decided to cycle around the canals on the way home. Unfortunately we got a bit lost and ended up cycling an extra 20 kms. All very nice though. As there is reasonable internet at this camp we will publish this blog. There will be one more before we return home to NZ on 1 October.