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Ok, ok so we didn't quite learn our lesson when it comes to ensuring we have enough petrol to get us from A to B and back!
Once arriving in Coromandel we decided to head out to a campsite on the peninsular. Looking on the map it looks to be a nice little coastal drive to a lovely little bay at the end. But oh no! In actual fact the drive is an hour plus up and down mountain range, on the windiest roads you could ever imagine! And we suddenly realise that we are short on petrol as the car eats it's way through it struggling up these nightmare roads, but it's getting dark and we need to find somewhere to stop for the night! Slowly but surely we find our way to Stoney Bay and settle down for the evening, knowing full well that we have to tackle the road back the same way to both civilisation and petrol the very next morning!!
Awaking early the next morning we can't bring ourselves to cook breakfast and decide to head off early to see if we can make it to the petrol site! You'll all be glad to hear that we made it without any problems and we now think that Bunny the camper was just pissed off with us for such an intense drive and was lying about the petrol in her tank!!
From here we head down the coast to Hot Water Beach to a pit in the sand to sit in the thermal waters! Only, it appears we have gotten too used to the cold showers in all the free and cheap campsites that we are staying in and the hot water just feels like it is burning you!! So instead we watch the silly tourists bathing in sand ponds and then head off to Wentworth Valley to climb up to view a spectacular waterfall before camping there for the night!
Onwards to Tauranga where we visit the Kiwi fruit farm to sample some delicious kiwi wine and juices, and to the neighbouring town of Mount Manganui.
Matamata finds us up the road from the Lord of The Rings set for the scenes filmed of Hobbiton. A farm was paid a small fortune by Peter Jackson for use of their land and after much agreement the owners have been able to arrange tours!
Our luck was truly in as due to delays in filming the new film, all the Hobbiton set has been fully recreated, with new hobbit holes, and tours have been allowed to continue!! It was a great tour and so much fun seeing all the hobbit holes up close and personal!!
Leaving Matamata we headed to Rotorua and onto yet another free campsite! Arriving early we find a perfect spot just metres from a crystal blue lake, and not too far from the long drop (but far enough away so not to smell it!!!)! Off we go for a swim in the lake and then relax and dry off in the sun. Slowly but surely the site starts to fill and our luck seems to be in, and it looks like we should have our nice little spot all to ourselves! However! All of a sudden a white estate car turns up and pulls in next to us! The couple inside proceed to strip down to their swimmers and head off into the lake! Oh well, it can't be helped! Once they return conversation soon starts up and before we all know it, a lot of wine has been consumed and new friends are formed with this lovely couple, Anna and Tom. Within no time at all darkness has surrounded us and all of a sudden Anna notices something moving in the dark! A quick flash around of the torches and we realise that we are being stalked by rats! They are everywhere and have sneakily got their head inside the bags of crisps we'd moved under Ollie's chair, so they were away from the candles! Definitely time for bed!
The next morning we arise and head into Rotorua and to the Sky Gondolas to scare Ollie with the height! On the way back down our Gondola was hijacked by these two older women wanting to head back to their bus to take them to their cruise ship! Polite conversation soon starts and by the time we get to the bottom we have the name, address and telephone number of one of them, and an invite to stay and work at their farm in Newcastle, New South Wales!!
The following day can only really be described as being a s*** day! We awoke early to catch the Lady Knox Geyser only to find that this amazing naturally occurring event has been turned onto a tourist money trap! So rather than pay the ridiculously high entry fee we decide to head on down to Taupo!
Arriving in Taupo we head off to a cafe to log onto the Internet to ensure all knew we were safe as the Christchurch earthquake had hit the previous day, only to find a s***ty e-mail from our tenant! A short to the point reply sent and we decide to head back to the camper, find a campsite and chill out for the day!
Jumping back in the van Sasha quickly realises that not only has she managed to tread in dog poo, in her flip flops, she has also managed to walk it into the camper's foot mats!!!!
Onto the campsite and time to eat lunch! Sasha had made herself a marmite and cucumber sandwich first thing as she likes the marmite to soak into the bread and so she merrily tucks in while Ollie sits and constructs a cheese and salad sandwich! Only half way through the consumption of said sandwich and we are hit, square on by the biggest, wettest bird s*** you could ever of come across! It hits the camper which we are sitting next to with such a force that bird poo bounces off everywhere, all over us, our clothes, the bench, and the other half of Ollie's sandwich!!
All was better the following day with a fantastic trip to the Huka Prawn Farm where we spent pretty much the whole day stringing bits of Ox heart onto a hook to attempt to catch a prawn!! Ollie was successful at catching two prawns, and Sasha only managed to catch 5 little bullies, which are fish added to NZ streams to try and eradicate the Mosquitos, and are not really recommended for eating!
A night at a free campsite and a catch up with Anna and Tom, and we decide the following day will be when we undertake our challenge of doing a bungy jump!
An early rise after a sleepless night and we head to the Taupo site, 47 metres above the river! After an hour of psyching ourselves up it is time to don the harnesses!! Sasha filling in her form first meant that she had to step to the edge first! With little or no time to think she was suddenly falling off the edge with an ear piercing scream! Although she doesn't really know too much of what happened as she had her eyes closed through most of the event!
Then came Ollie's turn!!! Oliver Mudd with his total fear of heights standing on the lip of a platform, 47 metres above the water! And again, with little time to think about what he was doing was suddenly plummeting downwards with what can only be described as a death scream! Oh and the faint call for his mummy! . . . and Jesus!
Unable to believe that we had both done it we take some time out at the site to recover before driving on to see the amazing Huka falls and Aratiatia Dam before treating ourselves to pizza for dinner!! Oh and another catch up with Anna and Tom who appear to be stalking us now!!!
From the beautiful Lake Taupo area we drive onto to Napier, Hastings and finally to Wellington to catch the ferry to the South Island! Which is where we will leave our tales for the time being!
- comments
Helen D laughing so much at the bird poo incident!!! Shout when you're next free for a skype session! xxxxxxxx
The Parentals Ollie it's lovely to know that you were thinking of us as you hurled yourself into the abys !!