The backpackers had been surprisingly quiet and we'd had a peaceful night. On our way out of Ahipara we went to have a look at Ninety Mile Beach. Ahipara marks the start of this famous beach that stretches from here almost to Cape Reinga. The name is a misnomer as it is actually only 55 miles long! In a four wheel drive it is possible to drive the beach but it can be treacherous at times. The beach here was vast and wide with big surf rolling in to the shore on t...

Jay was a lot better today. All the pain in her stomach had gone but she was shattered and had a sore throat from all the peppermint pu-khe ing! Missy the big black cat came sauntering over to check that Jay was okay before we left which was really sweet of her. She waved us off with one of her big black paws. We were heading right to the very top of New Zealand today. On the way back down the Karikari Peninsula we had a look at the little coastal town of Rangipu...

Jay had woken up in the night with indigestion and had bad stomach pains. By morning the pain had not lessened so we decided to stay put at Whatuwhiwhi and have a chill out day. By mid morning though Jay's stomach pains were getting worse. With indigestion pains never having lasted this long before we thought it best to go to the hospital and get Jay checked out. The nearest hospital was at Kaitaia about 40 kilometres away and I drove there with Jay clutching her...

We once again awoke to the wonderful sound of waves lapping against the shore. The weather was fantastic again with a gorgeous blue sky,the sun shining over the bay and a mist sprawled mysteriously over the headland. After brekky we hit the road and drove through almost unreal model railway type countryside scenery. Everywhere was vibrantly green and all the animals were happy. We stopped at Taupo Bay which was another gorgeous little bay. As in other places we h...

We awoke to the soothing sound of the waves lapping the shore and opened the curtains onto our wonderful view of the beach and the ocean. We didn't have showers and luckily managed to pee without seeing anything that was going to put us off our breakfast! We drove up and away from Matauri Bay and stopped at a parking area at the top to look back down on this beautiful bay. There were lots of happy cows nearby munching away in fields that were so green and lovely ...