13th -18th December

Sorry for delay in posting....Xmas and New Year got in the Way!! Hapy New Year Everyone! Oh by the way we are trying to add pictures! The first one should be Rowena on the Trampaline.

Lucy Says.........

Lucy’s turn at last..!!
Greg has waked into Coromandel town to use the phone, so I thought that as he has gone I could se the computer. Easy, I thought, just turn it on and away we go. Oh no it’s not. Anyway 15 mins later I am able to type something.
We left Auckland on 9th Dec and drove south (with me driving as Greg has hurt his back when he was out fishing with Alistair in the Bay of Islands) a round a bit and then up to Thames on the bottom of the Coromandel peninsular. Thames is a funny old town it once had 79 bars and hotels in the height of the gold rush but now just has a very long high street with not so many bars, much to Greg’s disgust! Stocked up on provisions at the wonderful Pak’n’Save, a bit like the old Kwik Save for those of you who remember it!
We stayed on a site which had a butterfly garden attached and a swimming pool but poured with rain so we didn’t use either.
Some of the motor camps are really well equipped with a fully equipped kitchen with microwaves and ovens others might only have a couple of rings. They all have cabins either with a kitchen or not, so with just a car you could travel around nicely staying in them. At the moment they are all pretty well empty, sometimes we are only 1 of 2-3 vans staying at them, but we have been told that just after Christmas to mid January they will be full up particularly around the coast.
Alistair & Rowena are fast becoming very competent trampoline jumpers as the camps almost all have trampolines in the play areas, they can both do forward flips and a variety of sitting to standing jumps. We had a go yesterday…..need practice…!! (and perhaps a new pelvic floor!)
While in Coromandel town we visited the Smokery and purchased a lump of smoked Kingfish (looks bit like a tuna with a spike on its nose) we had it for lunch the following day beside a water hole at a quirky water park which was full of models that were powered by water.
We also had been advised by a French Canadian family, who are cycling around NZ, Vietnam and then to Europe (hats off to you) (3 boys 8, 11&15) when they had never been further than the town to do their shopping before on there bikes!!!! To go to the gold mine battery, as it was a good home schooling opportunity, unfortunately the mine closed early and we couldn’t go, however the lady there lent us the panning pans to try our luck in the creek. Needless to say we didn’t find any gold (not sure what we were looking for really, we could have chucked loads down the river!!)
Moving on from Coromandel we headed over them their hills to the east coast and some stunning coastal scenery. Here there is a wonderful red flowered tree called Pohutakawa or NZ Christmas Tree as it flowers at---you’ve guessed it- Christmas!!! It grows on the coast and is a lovely contrast to the deep blue of the sea and the white sand. I might post a photo later. We stopped at HaHei , on the coast and the following morning, at the crack of dawn got up and headed over to Hot Water Beach.
HWB is a unique place, at low tide very hot water bubbles up through the sand and if you stand in the shallows the sea is very warm and in places you cannot stand on the sand. Everyone, including us, dug our selves a hole, or in our case several holes until the hot water peculated up through the sand and started to fill up the pool and then we sat in it until the tide turned and filled it in again.
When we tired of that little game we walked over to Cathedral Cove where Greg, Alistair and Rowena when snorkelling, I held the towel! Again a lovely beach with a huge arch way worn by the sea on a lovely white sandy beach.
When we bought the camper it was suggested that we join the motor caravan association as they gave you discounts and a directory of POPs (Park over properties) which are people who have space on their property to park a van sometimes with facilities, who like to have people to stay.
We got to Whatamata and I persuaded Greg (who was not keen) to try a POP. I looked in the book and rang Glyn & Jennie Thomas who were very welcoming and we turned up at their house to give this POP malarkey a go! We sent a very pleasant night in their garden! It felt a bit strange at first but lovely surroundings, Jennies garden was very colourful and Glyn gave us a tour of his space under the garage which was enormous, you could have lived under there. In the garden there was a large shed with a shower, power and sink. We had a very relaxing night ad left the next morning with a bag of home grown grapefruit and small plums. Thank you both very much for your hospitality.
We spent the evening at the rugby club at Whatamata were we went as Greg had seen that the Cheifs(a rugby team I think!) were going to be there. They were and Alistair was introduced to All Blacks player Keith Robinson(Robo) we stayed for a charity Auction which was good fun. Good fund raiser possibly for PTA?
We are now in Rotorua and my hot pool is beckoning so I shall sign off.

Back again- weeks later, I am being nagged because I haven’t published the blog! So I had better get up to date!

The hot pool at the campsite in Rotorua wasn’t very nice, it was like a small swimming pool which you filled yourselves and sat in, didn’t feel very hygienic and there were notices everywhere warning you not to put your head under the water or you run the risk of Amoebic Meningitis!
We decided to go the geothermal site at Waiotapu which is south of Rotorua. It is a huge area with geysers, bubbling mud pools and pools of steaming sulphur smelling water which comes out of the ground at temperatures of around 100 degrees C. There is a geyser that they set off at 10.15 am each day by adding soap powder which alters the surface tension of the cool water below the surface and allow steam and hot water to erupt from the chamber below. It was really spectacular to watch, it shot up to 20m high.
After getting our hydrogen sulphide fix we moved down the road to a campsite with a thermal swimming pool attached.
What a wonderful place we had access to these 3 pools of varying temps until 9pm and then from 5am if we wished. The pools varied in temp from very hot, can only sit in it for a while, to a swimming pool temp in which you didn’t get cold if you just sat around chatting!!

From there we moved on down to rainy Taupo to settle ourselves for Alistair’s impending birthday!

December 4th – Dec 11th

Greg says….
December 4th……..Alistair and Dad went on a fishing trip in the Bay of Islands, with Blue Sea Charters. We wanted to catch our Tea. Lucy and Rowena went to Russell, which is an historical town. In the 1840’s though, it was inhabited by criminals, vagabonds and drunkards (no not me!). It has since been cleaned up, because after the Waitangi Charter on 6th February 1840 (see later) the Maori’s asked the British to help them clean up NZ, and stop the exploitation of the country. Now it is another beautiful little coastal town in the ay of Islands.

Back to the fishing…..after motoring out of the bay for 45 minutes we reached a single rock which looks like a shark fin. We were given instructions to take up Rods, the bait was loaded, and off we went. We lowered our line into the water, and let it drop to the bottom. The weight was on the end of the line with the hook and bait about 6 inches up, so the plan is to let the weight drag on the floor, with the bait free going back and forward in the current. The bait was Pilchard…..I thought we were having these on toast!
Anyway, an American bloke from New York was the first to catch a Snapper after about 5 minutes. Alistair (what a star) was next with probably the biggest fish of the day…another Snapper about 34 cm long, weighing in about 4/5 lbs. I knew then that we would be having Snapper for tea!
Nothing really happened for the next ½ hour or so and we moved a couple of times, until we found this great spot, where we put the anchor down. I was next to an Australian Canadian from Adelaide who felt sorry for me, so when he got a bite he gave me his rod so I could pull it in. I did this and landed the next biggest of the day at 33 cm!! He had a nice rod, and braided line which helps you feel the bites easier than nylon lone. So I had now caught up with my son! After this I caught another couple, with Alistair none. We swapped rods, and the luck changed……we both started pulling in Fish! We both pulled in about 8 fish each, but could only keep about 6, because there is a legal length that the fish have to be (27cm long), and if they are not they have to be put back. What a day….between all of the crew we must have pulled in about 40-50 fish, mostly all Snapper! We got back to Pahia to a tumultuous reception from Lucy and Rowena, who then knew Snapper was for tea.
That afternoon we went to Waitangi, which was where the Treaty between the Maori Chiefs and the British Government was signed, giving sovereignty to the British. This happened on 6th February 1840, and the New Zealand Nation was shaped from then onwards. It is a lovely sight, where there is a house restored which is called the Treaty House (James Busby lived here in 1840) , there’s a Maori War Boat, and a Maori Meeting house. All of this is in beautiful grounds, and very interesting. Three flags fly here, the British Union Flag, the New Zealand Flag, and the Combined Maori Tribes Flag (the old NZ flag, which is still displayed on their naval ships).
That evening we went to a restaurant which agreed to cook our fish, which we had caught. So we had fresh Snapper with chips…luvly jubbly!

Tuesday 5th December…..I awoke with dreadful pains in my side…think I have a strain from all the pulling I’ve been doing (that’s pulling fish out of the sea!!). Lucy was very supportive and agreed to drive. We moved Whangarei, where because I was wounded couldn’t do much except wander aimlessly round the shops and bars!
Wednesday 6th Dec…. We left the campsite after the children’s lessons, and went in search of the WWOOF Shop. Not sure what the acronym means, but it is an organisation where you can find volunteer work on a Organic Farm. We found the place, and got our membership booklet to peruse later. We intend to do this type of work in Jan/Feb.

The children’s lessons have comprised of Maths, English, Science and generally the education of a travelling life. They have taken to it well, and they have an hour to two hours intense learning each day. They have only missed a couple of days, where we have had a trip.

We went to Parua Bay looking for Murray and Leslie’s pub, which we found on the main road. It’s a lovely tavern overlooks the bay, which is a gorgeous colour of aqua marine…we think?? The beer’s pretty good too!! A few beers were sampled by the non driver (Greg)!

Moving onto to Pataua Beach, we decided to stop and have some lunch. Without trying to be boring or to repeat ourselves, this is a lovely place. The car park (free) is next to a river which runs into the sea, and you can cross the bridge over the river and walk to the beach. Although there were some beach houses there, we were the only ones on the beach. We decided to stay at the Pataua Beach Campsite which is one of the best kept secrets it seems, as when we got there it was like a ghost site. It was spotlessly clean, but we couldn’t find anyone there. A little later we did find some other campers who also had not found anyone to book in with. Oh well, we took our site and stayed the night.

Thurs 7th Dec……After finding someone to pay for our nights camping, we used this as a travelling day. We drove down to Takepuna in Auckland. That night was spent catching up with the new James Bond…..Not sure yet!!

Fri 8th Dec…. Went to Devonport, where there are really some lovely second hand bookshops, then onto Auckland on the ferry. In the evening we met Trish Spooner at Sky City, who I used to work with at JPMorgan. She works for ASB now, in Auckland. We had a nice evening in the restaurant……..thanks to Trish and Alan for dinner and a lovely time.

Sat 9th….We went to Beach Haven to meet an old friend of Lucy’s Dad. Henry Candler comes from London, but has resided in NZ since about 1964. We had a nice couple of hours talking about mutual acquaintances and home. Thanks Henry!

We then drove to Thames in the Coromandel, where we found a nice campsite fro the night. Earlier we had to make our customary visit to the Warehouse, where everyone gets a bargain!

Sun 10th…We decided to go for a walk today, and managed a 5 hour struggle up from the Kauaeranga Valley DOC Car Park through dense forest paths to the Hydro Camp, and then back down again. It Took 2 hours for us to get up to the camp after the path wiggled it’s way up through the forest. It was a tough climb, but we were rewarded with lunch when we got there. The decision then was whether to continue up to the pinnacles for a further 2 hours there and back to this point…..it was a quick choice, we all said ‘No’! The walk up was strenuous, even for a fit fighting machine such as I, and we were all tired.
The walk down followed the Billy Goat trail and was 3 hours. Again it went up for quite a bit of it, then steep down for the last hour. Our joints were grumbling half way through, so it was a welcome site to see a stream to sooth our tired feet in. When we got back we had been walking for 5 hours, with hardly any stops. The children were fantastic, and didn’t really complain once! Are you listening Harry?

We parked in the Doc car park for the night, too tired to drive down the road! Just for info there are campsites everywhere with excellent facilities. They nearly all have a separate kitchen facility, which means you don’t have to use the gas in the van, and you can cook more conveniently. The most we have paid for a powered site is $46 which is about 15-18 pounds a night. Doc (Department of conservation) sites are about $28 for the four of us, but don’t have any kitchen or shower facilities generally.
The Doc car park we stayed in was free.

For camping NZ is brilliant, the campsites are fantastic and if you want a bit of luxury a lot of them have cabins for rent too. These are simple rooms with beds and TV’s, some with toilets, some without, costing a little more than camping…about double. It all promotes the outdoor life which is so evident here.

That’s all from me for this week….will try to get some photo’s posted soon!

November 28th-December 3rd 2006

Greg goes on (yes he does doesn’t he!)
We drove up through Kataia and stopped for Coffee at an amazing café called the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, where inside there is a staircase built into the trunk of a Kauri Tree. This tree was pulled from a swamp, and has been carbon dated at being 45-50,000 years old! Apart from nice coffee, they also sell wooden gifts made from this tree, which I have to say are lovely. It’s not your normal tourist junk! I was taken with a handmade guitar from the Kauri, which was priced at only 36,000 dollars- about 12-13,000 pounds! (Sorry I forgot to say that we had to stop at the Warehouse on the way through, where everyone gets a bargain!!)

We travelled through Waitiki Landing, where the road changes to a gravel track, and headed for the next site which was Tapotupotu Bay. Again an awesome place! As you approach from the road you can see the campsite below. It is nestled right beside a beautiful white beach with the Pacific rolling in. The sea also runs into a river, which you can throw yourself into when it is too hot. It’s difficult to explain but suffice to say it’s an absolutely beautiful site (another one!) No sooner had we settled in, than we’d met Shirley, Morgan, Murray and Lesley who agreed to take us fishing off the rocks. We had a lovely evening with them, where Alistair and Rowena were the only ones to catch a fish! Ali caught a rock cod, and Row got a Blue Moki. Well done kids! After a few beers, wine, and great company we went back to van for bed.
Murray and Lesley run a tavern in Whangerai, which I shall be pleased to make a visit to….Lucy can drive! Morgan and Shirley have a Saw Mill in Rotorua, and we are planning on catching up with them later on the trip.
Next day (29th) we walked across to Cape Reinga, a trip of 4 km’s, doesn’t sound far, but it was up and down very steep climbs. We had to stop of the way for our second Skinny dip in Sandy Bay, again a lovely beach with no-one on it! Lucky really, as they would have had a fright seeing our naked bodies!
We got to Cape Reinga at the same time as 5 tourist buses, so we had to wait till they had gone to really appreciate the sight of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meeting. Looking up at the sign which said 19,271 km’s to London, you realise how far away from home we are!
Walking back we decided to go along the road as it was not so steep. Half way back we re-joined the track, which led us straight to the beach. It’s difficult to describe how wonderful taking your walking boots off and walking in the sea actually is, but it was heaven! Getting back to the camper, we put our swimmers on and dived into the icy waters, well not icy, but cold. It was lovely!
The campsite is a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite, so the facilities do not include hot showers, but there were cold ones! Blimey they were cold!
That evening we were invited into Morgan and Shirley’s van….well palace. Their van was lovely, it had a pull out, a queen-size bed, a beautiful bathroom, and Sky TV, which means that Morgan can watch all he Rugby!! Also there is a fridge or freezer which keeps the beer at a lovely colder than cold! Thanks to Morgan and Shirley for a lovely evening.
We left for Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 Campsite on 30th, with the children looking forward to opening their advent calendars tomorrow! The weather was foul, torrential rain most of the way, so when we got the site we warmed up with a bacon sandwich and a hot cup of coffee. This place was a fishing mecca, and the children told me that a lobster was caught the previous week was the size of a 12litre diving tank! We didn’t see it unfortunately. The weather was so bad we stayed in and did extra school work!!

Friday 1st saw us move down the coast to Mangonui and Whangaroa Bay. Mangonui is a delightful little coastal village, imagine what Cornish villages by the sea looked liked 50 years ago and you’ll be pretty close to what it’s like.
Whangaroa Bay is another gorgeous little village, but the highlight for me was the fishing club. At home a fishing club meets at a wooden hut on Poole Harbour, this place was as big as my Rugby club, with more trophy’s and awards on the wall. It also has models of the fish caught, and you wouldn’t believe the size of them…..a Blue Marlin is about 10-15ft long, and the size of 5 men put together. Fishing is big here, because you know that you will generally catch something that is big enough to eat (see later!)
We got to Kerikeri Camp site at 4 pm ish, just in time for the children to enjoy the Xmas Parade. It’s strange to be thinking of Xmas when the sun is always (well nearly) shining, and doesn’t set until 8pm! I stayed at the campsite, because as the coach driver, I felt I deserved a beer or 10.
Saturday 2nd we moved down to Hararu Falls, where we parked our van with a back window view of the falls. A trip into Pahia that afternoon, and we were booked on two boatrips on Sunday and Monday. Nice little place. But a bit more touristy.
Sunday 3rd December – we went on a trip on the fastest Catermaran in New Zealand called ‘On the Edge’. Beautiful weather, a trip to a lovely beach, kayaking, and a nice BBQ with beers made a great day out for all.

Recap

There are so many highlights really, I don’t think I could choose any! So far we have travelled to the USA, Fiji and NZ, and we love them all. NZ is more like home, and you can bump into a Brit any time. It’s cheap compared to the UK, Diesel is 99 cents a litre, beer is 12.99 for 12 x 330ml bottles, campsites vary between 16 dollars (no power and generally cold showers) to 45 dollars which includes power, kitchen, fridge and freezer access, sky TV, and very clean facilities. The shopping is generally 1/3 cheaper, and you can have a meal out with beer and sweet for 80 dollars for us four. There are no shortages of campsites, and you get so many free maps etc in Auckland that you would never be short of information where to go.

See you next time!