NZ North Island

From our HelpX in Whangarei we headed north, we drove to the Bay of Islands but as the weather was foul we decided not to hang around and continue north. After a long drive during which we suffered a nasty chip in the windscreen we settled for the night at a free camping spot right on Tokerau Beach in Doubtless Bay, the gamble paid off as the weather was much improved further north. The clear skies meant we could enjoy the incredible night sky which was one of the best either of us has seen.

After a morning walk along the pristine beach we continued north towards Cape Reinga, on our way we stopped at a waterfall which itself wasn't particularly notable but we did enjoy the 'wildlife' in the car park, it seems the lack of foxes in NZ leads to chickens (and chicks) in random places.

Our next camping spot at Tapotupotu Beach was only 3 miles from Cape Reinga itself and our most northern in New Zealand. 

In the morning we walked along the beach taking in the wonderful views before continuing the few miles further to Cape Reigna which is the meeting place of the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, the meeting waters created interesting waves below the high cliffs.

We were persuaded to seek the sanctuary of the van when heavy rain moved across the Cape, after a quick lunch in the van hiding from the rain we set off South again towards the Kauri forests.

We reached Waipoua Forest the following morning and found we had not managed to escape the drizzle, it had caught up with us overnight.

Our first stop was at Tāne Mahuta, the largest Kauri tree in the world and a site of great importance to the Maori. Tāne is named after the Maori forest god and according to legend, is the descendant of the primordial parents: his growth having broken apart the embrace of Ranginui, the “sky father” and Papatūānuku, the “Earth mother,” allowing the space and light for life to flourish.

 

A little further along the highway, still in Waipoua Forest we walked some trails which took on some more of the magnificent Kauri trees and native bush.

We were forced to go back to Whangarei to get the windscreen replaced, fortunately this wasn't too far out of our way. We took advantage of the time it took to fix the windscreen and went back to our favourite cafe, The Fat Camel for delicious falafels and mint tea. 

Whilst in Whangarei we also took the time to visit Kiwi North, a Kiwi Sanctuary and regional museum. As we arrived we were not really sure what to expect or whether we'd see a Kiwi at all, we were given lots of information about Kiwi's by the centre staff before we made our way into the Kiwi House, an always-dark room set up to mimic the nocturnal Kiwi's natural habitat. We crept into the viewing gallery and settled down expecting a long wait to see one of the famously elusive birds. Only minutes later we caught our first glimpse of one of the two residents.

Soon after, the second bird appeared and we enjoyed watching them forage in the undergrowth for food. At one point one of the birds came right up to the viewing window and was only inches away from us, digging for grubs in the leaf litter.

Kiwi North is also home to a rare species of reptile called the Tuatara which is unchanged since prehistoric times, unfortunately it was hiding whilst we visited to we had to make do with the much smaller Northland Green Gecko.

Our luck with the van turned from bad to worse as we experienced issues starting it, this meant that on the way to our next destination we had to stop off in Auckland and swap for another van, introducing "Easy Tiger"

We much preferred the paint job of Easy Tiger and the van itself was roomier and all-round better than Storybook. Feeling great about our 'upgrade' we headed for the Coromandel Peninsula.

That evening we booked a sea kayaking trip out of Hahei which would take in the famous Cathedral Cove and Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve. This meant an early start the next morning as we were on the water for 8am.

Paddling into the marine reserve we learnt about the history of the area from our guide. We followed the coastline and entered several bays including Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay (we saw Stingrays but no Gems) before continuing to Cathedral Cove itself. We spent an hour exploring the beach, caves and rocks. Mike went for a swim (much to the surprise of other beach goers) and then rinsed off underneath a waterfall before we all enjoyed hot chocolates and cookies on the beach.

We then paddled out to some of the closer islands where we saw seals and a gannet and paddled through a small arch before learning more Maori history and heading back to Hahei beach.

Once back on dry land we enjoyed lunch and an ice cream in the sun then some lounging and reading before making our way back to our campsite for the evening. 

After eating we made our way to Hot Water Beach which is home to a rare phenomenon whereby a hot water spring runs under the sand and into the sea, digging a hole at low tide in the correct spot will result in a pool of hot water. After 20 minutes of digging we were hot anyway.. we did eventually strike hot water and relaxed in our own hot pool enjoying the sunset.

We spent most of the following day driving to Rotorua, we found a great free campsite set amongst trees within an area set aside for mountain biking, horse riding and 4x4 use. Shortly after arriving we discovered that the town of Rotorua was hosting a food festival that evening, we made the trip into town and sampled many of the street food delights. 

On our way into Rotorua we had spotted the Skyline Rotorua, an adventure park which had LUGE tracks! This decided our activity for the next day. 

 

Arriving at Skyline the next day we were very exited about the lugeing, we bought our tickets and then made our way up the hillside in the gondola which Amy was very excited about too! Once at the top we joined 100 other people also excited about lugeing, half an hour later we were sitting down in the go-cart-like luge carts ready to race down the concrete track. We did 3 runs in total and caught the chair-lift back up the hill between each. It was exceptional fun and we whooped and cheered down each time.

Back on our feet we couldn't resist a stop at the Jelly Bean shop to admire some jelly bean art and acquire some jelly bean misshapes.

Our campsite was next door to an adrenaline forest, a tree tops adventure course. The next morning we decided to give it a go. We enjoyed 3 hours of climbing, swinging, crawling, balancing and ziplining through the treetops.

Having thoroughly enjoyed our Tarzan experience we planned our next few days with aching limbs. We decided to head towards Hawke's Bay via Lake Waikaremoana along State Highway 38. 

Given the designation of State Highway we expected the road to be of good quality, we soon found that this wasn't the case and slowed to a crawl along the narrow, twisty unsealed road. We arrived at our free camping spot a few hours later a little after dark. In the light of the morning we enjoyed the surrounding area, we were in a small clearing in the native bush on the bank of a small river.

Continuing on the seemingly unending gravel road we approached Lake Waikaremoana and stopped to enjoy the views. Having seen nothing other than rain forest for almost 2 days, the size of the lake was even more impressive, it took several hours just to get around it.

We stopped for lunch with views over the other end of the lake before continuing along the endless gravel road yet again, hours later we arrived in the town of Wairoa and planned our next move.

Once again we found a great free camping spot by a river.

Our departure from the serene spot was earlier than planned for as we were joined by a family with very excited youngsters who decided that the best spot for them was inches from the back of our van, we carried on our way and stopped for a (KitKat!) break by Lake Tutira which looked incredibly inviting but signs did warn of Duck Itch to potential swimmers.

Instead Mike fed some aggressive black swans, which was more of a mugging than voluntary action.

In the afternoon we stopped in Napier, self-proclaimed Art Deco capital of New Zealand where we enjoyed the architecture, gardens, beach and an ice cream.

 

We spent that evening in yet another wonderful riverside spot, enjoying the peaceful surroundings.

Back on the road in the morning and we were heading to Taupo, we arrived at the lakeside and spent some time enjoying the wonderful view, Tongariro National Park and its snow covered peaks visible at the far side.

Our second stop was Aratiatia Dam, a hydroelectric power station which releases huge volumes of water into the very narrow Aratiatia Gorge. Water is released at set times throughout the day, we arrived minutes before a planned release and waited in the viewing area with the growing crowd.

The gorge was almost empty before the release, only a small pool was visible

Only minutes after the dam was opened the area below us was a raging torrent and the water levels had risen significantly.

Next up was Huka Falls, situated upstream of the dam. The water draining from Lake Taupo is forced through a narrow canyon resulting in a massive foaming torrent.

Having had our fill of raging rivers we made our way to an area named 'Craters of the Moon' which intrigued us simply because we spent 2 days in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. This one was an area of high geothermal activity and was very similar to areas of Yellowstone with steam rising and belching from the landscape.

The time came to find somewhere to spend the night, we continued our running trend of waterside camping, our chosen spot was on the shoreline of Lake Taupo. 

The next day was another big driving day, we travelled south from Taupo across the

Rangipo Desert gaining some wonderful views of the snow covered Mt Ruapehu. The water theme continued as we camped next to another river, surrounded by trees and below one of the clearest night skies during our time here.

It was another big driving day the next day, we travelled along the Forgotten Highway, a little used and remote state highway connecting the central Taupo region to Taranaki in the west.

We took a detour roughly half way to stop at Mt Damper falls, an impressive 70m high waterfall (we forgot the camera, oops!). On our way to the falls across farmland we carried out Operation Mint Sauce, a successful effort to rescue a young lamb which had fallen down into a narrow but deep channel with vertical sides.

Back on the road, riding the high of our good deed we continued along the Forgotten Highway as the weather worsened and the light faded, we had planned to stop in Whangamomona, a small village which has declared itself as a Republic, by time we arrived the place was deserted so we pushed on to a Kiwi Sanctuary which was to be our overnight camping spot. The torrential rain continued into the next day and dashed the plans we had to explore the sanctuary on foot.

We made a dash for the coast, hoping better weather, campsites with hot showers and a visit to a pizzeria would make up for a miserable day. The pizza certainly helped and at this point hot showers were a rare luxury. By the morning the weather was on our side too.

We were now on the Surf Highway, we followed this South and around Mt Taranaki, supposedly, for we couldn't see it at all due to the clouds.

Along the Surf Highway we stopped at a few beaches but never for long as the high winds tried their best to blow us over. We continued past farm after farm towards Palmerston North, we spent that night in a wonderful park in the town of Feilding, the park was huge, had lots of sports pitches, a BMX pump track, dog training and 2 horse riding clubs in addition to free overnight camping.

In the morning we arrived in Palmerston North and found an even better park, this one had a miniature railway, ziplines, native bush walks, BBQ and cooking facilities, an aviary, a tropical hot house, a cafe, ice cream and lots of ducklings! New Zealand really knows how to park.

After enjoying the great park we continued on to Rivendell, home of Elves in Lord of the Rings.

We carried on south, heading down the coast with excellent views of Kapiti Island towards Wellington, instead of staying in Wellington we headed over Remutaka Crossing and to the town of Featherston, we stayed nearby at Lake Wairarapa, the 3rd largest lake in the North Island. 

We had an early start to take advantage of Featherston library's free WiFi and use it for Skype calls to friends and family.

After catching up we made our way into Wellington, we had planned to meet up with a friend of Mike's but our camping arrangements made the logistics difficult so instead we postponed and enjoyed an evening at Te Kopahou Marine Reserve, walking along the beaches, hunting for the best Pāua shells and exploring the rock pools.

In the morning we gathered some lunch supplies and made our way to the ferry terminal. Once boarded we managed to grab window seats and a power socket, we proceeded to charge all of the things! 

Up Next: NZ South Island