The North Island (Part 2) So on 12th March 2007, Mrs Fisher descended onto Aukland, New Zealand to spend two weeks touring New Zealand with her daughter in a campervan. And what a busy time we had! To start we had big ambitions to travel Northland as well as the East Cape and take a trip to Napier to do a wine tour. Sadly, time did not allow for all of this, so we stuck to Northland and the centre of the North Island. I picked Mum up from the aiport (it was so good to see her) in style - yep, our long-wheel base Ford Transit campervan. After a thorough reconissance, we were satisfied with the huge amount of space, big bed, table,shower, loo, kitchen and heaps of storage and so took to the road. Aukland to Tutakaka Eager to get out of Aukland to see the real New Zealand, we headed for our first nights stop in Tutakaka - a small village on the east coast of the North Island, about 4 hours north of Aukland. After stopping for a coffee and a supermarket to load up with the basic camping necessity, wine, we arrived at our campsite at 2.30pm. We hooked up to electrics and decided that 4 hours wasn't really enough time to chat, so poured a glass of wine, sat back in our new abode and chatted some more. Well, 10 months is a long time! We decided to celebrate our reunion and eat out at a local restaurant called Snappa Rock. We both had a rather delicous meal. Tutakaka to Paihia After a good session of trip planning, we left the campsite at 11.30am (woops, checkout was at 10am and we were chased off the campsite like naughty children). We made our way to the beautiful area of Pahia, located in the stunning Bay of Islands. We made the most of the campervan today, pulling over on the side of the road to eat our lunch. Sadly it was raining, but the views were great and by the time we got to Paihia the sun came out and stayed with us until we left New Zealand on the 25th March! In Paihia, we perused the shops, ate ice-cream as we walked along the jetty and booked ourselves onto a boat trip to see the Bay of Islands the following day. Back at camp, we hooked up and hired a kyack and pottered around the shore before the tide went out too far and the sun set. We cooked a mean stir-fry in the van, enjoyed red wine and settled-back to enjoy the view. A very tough life we were having! Bay of Islands From shore, the motor kat looked like it would take us on a very smooth crossing to Hole in the Rock (north-east Bay of Islands). Well we were wrong. Heading out from the Paihia, we were soon in open ocean and the swell pushed the boat in all directions! We were all over the place, but that did not stop us seeing the magnifcent Hole in the Rock, or motoring through it. Quite stunning. The skipper decided enough wind and swell was enough, so we headed into the Bay of Islands for a smoother cruise. We were given details of the uses of various islands, including one owned by the guy that brought Sky over to New Zealand; one where a local Maori tribe captured French explorers, eating one of them. Yep, back in the day Maoris were canabals. We were also shown an island on which Captain Cook landed! Mum and I decided to take a look around the small town of Rusell. Intrigued as many Kiwis say it compares to a very quaint English town. Well, not the England that I come from, although it was very quaint; lots of coffee shops, gift shops and flowers in gardens. Very different to it's historical past, where ladies of the night would roam the streets encouraged by local whalers spending their wages. With time to kill, we spent the afternoon driving North to Doubtless Bay on the Karikari Peninsula. What a spot we found. A gorgeous little campsite located in the foothills of mountains and just across the way, the Pacific Ocean. We soon found it and dived into the surprisingly warm water. It was hard to get out! Only the thought of home-made laksa cooked in the campervan tore me away from the water. Karikari to Thames What a day, we drove a near 600km's today. That was the crossing point when Mum and I realised that our ambitions to cover half of the North Island in two weeks was just not feasible and we would have to shortern our itinerary. 600kms, took us from Karikari in the North to Thames, which is located on the south-west of the Coramandel Peninsula (west of Aukland). We visited the Ancient Kauri Kingdom. Kauris are ancient trees, that are huge in both width and height. Living trees are aged up to 1500 years old, while swamp tress can be up to 50,000 years old. Much of the merchandise sold at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom is made from 50,000 year old trees. There we saw a staircase carved into the trunk of a tree, marvellous carvings and wonderful furniture. It proved a great place for souvenir shopping. We then headed south, via the Kauri Coast (the west coast of the North Island) as far as Aukland. We were spellbound the entire way with really quite stunning scenery. We stopped to see a living Kauri Tree (bloody huge and quite mezmerising); and at a wonderful little town called Opononi to admire the largest white sand dune I have ever seen and huge rolling breakers. Mum and I were wowed. By 8.30pm, we had travelled back through Aukland and landed in Thames; no cooking tonight so we opted for a Indian Takeaway. This was the most interesting Indian we have ever had; I think the owner was a Kiwi and also the chef and fancied himself as an Indian cook. I say this beacuse Mum had a Byriani, which was like no Byriani I have ever seen. I opted for Tikka Masala and received Tandori Chicken coated in a Rogan Josh style sauce! Thames to Whitianga The beautiful Coramandel! Today we took a scenic tour around the perimeter of the Coramandel Peninsula, as far as the north-east coast. To our delight, we took an unsealed road to the coast and were greeted by the most gorgeous bay - white sand stretched as far as we could see! The sea was a blue/green colour and formed a beautfiul contrast to the beach and green land in the distance (the mainland and islands offshore). We dined beside the sea and took a lengthy stroll along the beach, before taking silly pictures of us in our red noses! Whitianga to Rotarua I was very excited today as I have longed to visit Rotarua for a long long time. Before we got there though, it was important to visit Cathedral Cove, located on the north-east of the Coramandel Peninsula. We followed a 1 hour bush/cliff-walk to get there, but it was worth it as the cove was stunning, atlhough full of tourists like ourselves. The sand was soft beneath our feet and the arch formed a fantastic picture frame througb which to take photos. We were soon back on the road to get to Rotarua, stopping only to have lunch in Walhi. We found a superb campsite by the lake-edge, which had 3 thermal pools in which we could bathe for free! Today was of course one of the most important days in history, so to celebrate St Patrick chasing the snakes out of Ireland, us two Irish lassies took to the town. Well, we induldged in a slap-up-meal and a good bombay and sapphire for desert. The Irish Pub was all a littl' too much and full of every nationality but the Irish! Rotarua Being Mothers Day, Mum and I thought we would induldge. We started with a trip to Hells Gate to view the bubbling mud pools. The stench of sulphur was overwelming. Then, the best bit; we had a mud pool bath, smoothering ourselves in the mineral-giving mud, to look 10 years younger when we left. Or perhaps that was the benefit of the 30 minute massage we induldged in after a dip in the hot springs. The Rotarua experince did not end there. By 5.30pm we were aboard our Kanuks (or bus in this case) and retracing the steps of the Maoris from Polynesia to the Land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand. We were taken to an authentic Maori Pa (a village to you and I), where we were authentically welcomed by the chief; and saw Maoris imiating weaving, baking Kumara (sweet potato), tatooing and other ways of life. Quickly, we were ushered into the meeting house, where Maoris danced and sang for us, performing the Hakka. Gosh, if a big rugby player did that before I was about to start a match I would be terrified! It was then time for dinner; we were served a traditonally cooked Maori dinner - Chicken, Lamb, Fish and Kumara cooked for 4 hours in an earth oven. The meat was so tender and sweet - delicious. Desert was steamed pudding, also cooked in the earth oven. It was quite sad to leave the Pa as the staff and the experience was just so nice. Rotarua to Taupo Mum and I decided to spend 3 days in Taupo; this was no hardship for me as I just love it there so did not mind one bit returning. It was hard to resist the temptation of a second sky dive though! En-route, we called in to Wai-O-Tapu, marked for it's geothermal activity. We enjoyed the delights of glorious coloured lakes and bubbling mud, but decided by the end we were nearly gassed-out by the smell of sulphur. We shopped, spent a day doing the Tongariro Crossing and spent a day at the Hukka Falls. It was great doing the Tongariro Crossing for a second time, firstly Mum made fab walking company, plus I saw views I did not see when I last did it as it was sunnier and clearer (and I was weaing my new trainers so no blisters, horrah!!!). The following day, Mum fancied a go on the Hukka Jet so on we went and had a spin on the Waikato River. It was lots of fun and fantastic to see the Hukka Falls and river valley by boat. Mum spied an international golf course on the map, so as we were so close we pulled in to have a squiz around the pro shop and glance at the course. Even a every-now-and-again player myself found the course rather exciting! Mum however was drooling at the mouth. Finding a Kiwi wood cover took her mind of the course for at least a few minutes. Taupo to Raglan It was soon time to say goodbye to Taupo and make our way to Raglan. En-route we stopped at the Waitamo Caves; famous for glow worms (sparkling flie larvae basically). To see the glow worms involved a small trek into the caves, then taking a boat along an underground waterway (think Phantom of the Opera). In the dark, the glow worms were mezmerising. From the caves, we tried to take an unsealed road to Raglan. The route on the map seemed quite direct, but a detour soon had us in the middle of nowhere driving next to mudslides, through lush green bush and no one to see for miles. It was a wonderful experience. Mum and I decided that we would use our time in Raglan to relax, and that we did; perusing the shops, stopping for a coffee for a rest, strolling along the beach, sunbathing on the beach, strolling back along the beach only to eat dinner at a restaurant. It was brilliant! Stef and Johanna made down for the weekend in their new camper and made splendid company for the short time that we saw them. Sunday 25th March came round quickly and it was time for me to get onto a plane to Fiji and Mum to get onto a plane to England. Saying goodbye the second time was harder than the first, even though I knew I would see Mum in two weeks. It was so great to see her and we had such a marvellous holiday. So, for now I bid you adieu! Tales soon to come of my Feejee Experience. Lots of Love, Em x