Seems like a plan.
First stop was a rather moody-looking Kaikoura...
It was totally cloudy when I arrived and, after a couple of hours, when the clouds finally broke I was stunned to see the mountains! Really nice town. Lots of Kiwis on holiday and a good feel all round.
Don't think I've ever seen clouds on a beach before...
From Kaikoura I took the short 90 minute drive to Picton to take the Interislander ferry to the north island. I hadn't booked (no surprise there) and so hoped to get a spot on one of the Friday sailings before the inevitable weekend rush. Kaikora to Picton was wet... And windy! I later found out that gales were battering Wellington (where the ferry arrives) and so the drive was blowy and the 3hr ferry was... Rather 'lumpy'. 2m swells they claimed. Could have been worse. The weather on arrival at 6pm in Wellington was atrocious so it was a quick drive through, and out of, the city to find a suitable camp site for the night. I met a bunch of people on the ferry who did exactly the same due to the weather.
The weather gradually eased over the weekend however it did mean that I moved on a little quicker than planned from a couple of places.
From Wellington I've headed north through the middle of the North Island, taking in sights such as Mount Ruapehu...
Admiring the 'Land of the Long White Cloud'...
I then got to Lake Taupo, in the centre of the North Island, where I'd planned to stay for a while, not least for the world famous trout fishing. However, whilst the rain had subsided, the wind was still a challenge to stand up in so fishing was out of the question. I decided, the next day, to move on and find some decent weather. Maybe I can see Taupo again on the way back to the South Island?
The Huka Falls..
The "Fall" is only about 20m but the spectacular element is that the river which is normally 100m wide, is forced into a 15m wide channel and over a volcanic ledge. The result is a flow rate of 220,000 litres of water per second! Incredibly powerful and the speed at which the water is moving makes you feel giddy. I was the second person to arrive to see this on that day... Followed 10 minutes later by three bus loads of people!
A rather English looking, evening scene...
So, to beat the weather, I headed to the Northlands next; the bit that sticks out northwards above Auckland. My main reason for heading that way was to see a very special tree.
An afternoon and evening were spent at the very beautiful Mangawhai Heads. The van is pretty poor on the sleeping front so I 'purloined' a tent which came in handy for this near perfect camp spot...
View right...
View left...
My little tent...
Supper on the back-up Trangia!
And then, the next morning, the sun came up!
A very beautiful spot indeed...
This camp site is council owned and was bequeathed to them with covenants stipulating that it must be used for 'cheap camping' or recreation. My spot cost me £8. Even more remarkable when you know that the rest of the village is super-smart and pretty super-wealthy! Each beachfront house has clearly been designed by an architect trying to outdo the neighbour's architect. A look in the window of the local estate agent confirmed that these holiday homes go for millions. Not crass though. All very, very stylish. All the old boys have big boats sitting on their driveways and there is obviously a bit of a local trend for having an accompanying, renovated and beautifully painted, vintage tractor to tow said boat the few hundred metres to the shoreline. All very cool to see.
Can't think of too many more beautiful places to wake up, make some coffee, and admire the view.
From there I did a small loop today to the Bay of Islands via the Waipoua Forest. Winding mountain roads through the forest took me to Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest, in Maori).
On the way to Tane, I saw what I will title, 'Dead trees in Water'...
So Tane is a very special tree for many reasons: it is a great Kauri tree and is the largest known example anywhere. In Maori Creation Myth he is the son of the Father Sky and Mother Earth and all of the other trees in the forest, along with the birds are Tane's children. (the birds are rapidly declining incidentally due to man's introduction of various, now, vermin species. Same story, different place!)
He stands 51m tall and the trunk's girth is 14m. Age is estimated at 1300-2500 years old. The final reason why Tane Mahuta is so special, and the reason I came to see him, is that P came here on her NZ trip (after we'd been to South America) and she was in awe of him. Along with the other people there, I was too.
Scale in photo's on a pocket camera is difficult but this will give you a vague feel for the lower trunk...
Majestic and so disproportionate to his surroundings.
So now I'm in Paihia, Bay of Islands which I plan to explore tomorrow and maybe do a spot of fishing...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Marsden Rd,Paihia,New Zealand
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