Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Northland/Bay of Islands
Ok so here is the update! We had 3 days in Auckland altogether during which we were also able to meet up with some of Laura’s friends from Tonga, Dawn and Fale who took us out for food which was very agreeable! We also got a ferry across to Waiheke a 93sqkm Island just 35 minutes from Auckland. We indulged in some wine tasting and had a cracking bus tour (full of old people and us)!
On the Friday we picked up our Jucy Campervan (see photos) and headed north to the Northland region. We drove up the East Coast to Mangawhai Heads where we stayed in a campsite right on the beach that happened to be covered in starfish. Around the corner was a surf beach with towering sand dunes and luckily for us plenty of sunshine. On Saturday we continued north along the coast to Whangarei via lots of pretty little bays and beaches. We stopped at Parua Bay tavern for a cheeky drink and looked out over the water. We stayed the night in Whangarei at a campsite that had a hot tub and swimming pool, which was nice! In the morning we visited Whangarei Falls before making our way up the coast to the Bay of Islands and the town of Russell where we both had an ice cream (I had Goody Goody Gum Drops and Orange Choc Chip, Laura had Hokey Pokey).
From Russell we hopped on the car ferry to Paihai. The town wasn’t great and quite busy so we went to Haruru Falls where we stayed at a campsite right next to the falls. The next morning was pretty wet and miserable so instead of a boat trip out to the Bay of Islands we had a walk around the historic Kerikeri before deciding to cut our losses and go north where we stumbled upon Whangaroa Harbour a small fishing village famed for its Marlin. We discovered a backpacker lodge that had stunning views of the bay and also a hot tub (That’s number 2!!!!).
On Tuesday morning we ended up doing a bit of a drive day because our stove stopped working in the van and we wanted to return to Auckland and get it fixed. From Whangaroa we set off north up to Kaitia and onto Ahipara where we drove onto a very windy Ninety Mile Beach and had a quick game of catch. We then jumped back into Steve (the van) now heading south along the west coast where we took a break at Opononi & Omapere and had chip butties for lunch. Onwards we ventured through the Waipoua Kauri Forest which is apparently the highlight of Northlands west coast.
Anyway we stopped in the rain and checked out Tane Mahuta the largest Kauri tree alive. I’ll now hit you with his stats: Height - 51m, Girth - 13.8m, Wood Mass – 244.5 cubic metres (Quite big then). Steve then guided us onto Dargaville (not recommended) and Warksworth (that has pink sheep at Sheep World, a whole world just for sheep, brilliant!) before stopping at Sandspit Bay. We spent the night and in the morning went to Auckland where Steve got a little TLC and we picked up a free bottle of wine for the inconvenience!
Laura, Stani & Steve!
- comments