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Okay so we had the whole international date thing again which meant that we arrived into Auckland late on the evening of Tuesday when we departed Samoa for our 4 hour flight on Monday. Mmmmm we're getting there now and fortunately there was no problem with our booking at the hostel. Having checked in we headed off out to get some food lazily settling for kebabs of all things (have to sort out some healthy food). It was late so after taking them back to the room and watching coronation street we got an early night to pick the van up the next day.
Strolling round the corner from our hostel with a distinct feeling of Deja Vu having done this the first time we were here we were amazed to find that the van we handed back in Christchurch was back in Auckland. Immediately we said that if we could have it we would like it and they said it would be no problem. Even more impressive was the fact that Tim left his hat in it and one of the staff had it at the Auckland office so he was very pleased with that!!! The van had to
have it's final checks so we headed off for breakfast settling for a full english (what did I say about healthy food) which was lovely. On the way back to get the van I fell in love with a pair of ugg boots and treated myself to them - okay so there not actual uggs but they are of the same ilk and well over what I should have spent but I am bored of trainers and hiking boots!!!! Anyway Ill get loads of wear out of them in South America which is going to be damn cold thats my thinking anyway.
Collecting the van we had already planned to head north to the bay of islands which read very well in our lonely planet and also had good diving opportunities for Tim. The drive out of Auckland was uneventful but within 20 minutes of being on the road the scenery of NZ began wowing us all over again. The road to the bay of islands snakes next to the coast and through the hills and the views are stunning and spectacular particularly when the weather had provided a good clear and warm sunny day to enjoy them. We
resisted the temptation to stop every 5 minutes and soon found ourselves well on the way to where we wanted to be. A quick stop for food stocks and map check found us a campsite near where we were and we stopped for the night on the outskirts of the town Pahia. Driving through the sun had dropped and the cold was setting in so we decided to head into the camp and leave the town exploring until morning. As we had eaten well for breakfast dinner was easy with sandwiches and salad for a change. The night did get very cold and we were more than pleased with the fact we had a rather good heater in the van.
The next morning we headed into Pahia to see what was on offer. The morning was clear and sunny but had a real nip in the air and it was at this point that Tim started to get a bit concerned about diving being rather cold. The boat trips did not appeal to us and the town seemed a bit empty and forlorn probably because it is winter. So we decided to move on and drove off again heading
back south. We toyed with the idea of travelling further north but it was still a long way up and we only had 8 days so we decided aginast that idea. Driving south our original plan was to try and get to a more remote coatal road south of a town called Russell. It looked pretty straight forward until we hit unsealed roads in the hills and then it seemed like a stupid idea in the van. So we turned round and headed back again, stopping for some lunch we re-checked our plans and loneley planet and did and about turn and decided to get the car ferry over to Russell and see what was there. Russell is directly opposite Pahia but becuase of the unsealed roads and the fact you need a ferry crossing otherwise lonely planet afforded it a island like description. It sounded intriguing so we drove onto the ferry and enjoyed the very short 10 minute crossing to Okiato just south of Russell. At this point I should point out that I am driving because Tim has a rather swollen and hot/red ankle. We were both concerned because he has had cellulitis before and it was
showing signs of that nature. So he has his foot on the dash trying to raise the circulation we must have looked like hillbillies but I'm now well passed caring!!!!! So we hit Okiato and followed the signs for Russell which had two holiday park options. The first we passed on the road did not have any ocean views and seemed a bit out of the town so we continued on our way to the other. Immeadiately we crossed into the town and fell in love with the place. Small and quiant with old colonial building merging with well designed and tasteful new ones. The town seemed to have one main road with quite a few facilities but there was something about the place that just made us feel welcome. We checked into the park (over budget) but were so impressed by the views over the bay from the hillside we soon forgot it was a little too expensive. We wook a walk into town by which time Tims ankle is quite painful and seeing a pharmacy we went in for advice. The pharmacist advised that he went to see the local doctor due to his past history and within
minutes they had pointed the place out and he had an appointment to return within 90 minutes. So killing time we wondered around the town and got some information about the bay cruises and dolphin watching. We were both quite keen to see the scenery of the isles and ocean while we were staying. The 90 minutes soon flew by and Tim got to see the doctor, long story short, antibiotics for precaution because of the past cellulitis and the fact we are travelling onto south america. It cost 60 dollars for the doctor and another 15 for the prescription but the peace of mind was well worth it. As walking was still still uncomfortable we headed back to the van getting all our food together and cooked a very healthy chicken dinner.
We woke to another clear and sunny day (if nippy) and decided we would take the afternoon cruise round the islands. This decision was made while tucked up in our quilts enjoying the lovely view down to the seafront. It really was pretty and the woes and low feeling we had for a time in Samoa were long gone. Whilst we had been in the town
the day before we had noticed a sign for a town go cart derby we thought we would see if we could find out more about it and maybe stay on as we were both enjoying it so much. After breakfast we meandered into town to find the oldest church in NZ which apparently had musket holes from a past battle between the Mauris and europeans. We found the church but could not see any of the musket holes which was strange. From here we headed to the local museum which was full of the Mauri history and artefacts. It even has a model of Captain Cooks boat the endeavour which is very impressive. By the time we had finished here we had to go and book for the cruise so in doing that we also found out that the go cart derby was indeed veing well attended by the locals and would be worth seeing. We decided to stay in Russell and extra day as the evening was also the final of the super 14's and Christchurch were in it. Having adopted christchurch since we went to watch them we had been keen to see it anyway. It seemed
a good deal all round.
The cruise around the bay of islands was both breathtaking and beautiful. Heading off from Russell harbour the cruise was set to take us to the very best sites in the islands including the famous hole in the rock. On our way out of the bay we stopped and were told we had encountered some dolphins. As everyone started rushing to the sides we stood at the back agreeing that we had seen them so recently we would let others get to the front (arnt we kind eh??). That was until the skipper said they were bottle nosed dolphins at which point I am as excited as everyone else as I've always wanted to see them and they have evaded us everywhere we have been. We watched from the top deck for a while and then headed downstairs wher ewe got much betetr views of the size and grace of them. They are totally awesome and you cant help feeling lucky that you get the chance to see them. We stayed for a while but then let them head off into the sunshine while we continued on our island tour. It was really amazing
to see how remote some people live and in such beautiful surroundings. The views are everything you expect and more and the stories along the way are informative and interesting. We passed rocky outcrops leading into serene secluded bays heading out to the furthest point the hole in the rock. Even though we were on a big boat they managed to manouvre the boat through the hole and out the other side into the open ocean. On the way back into the bay we saw some fur seal lazing on the rocks and various birds too. We did not encounter anymore dolphins but I was really pleased to have seen the first lot. By the time we got back the sun was setting so we headed home for a nice chilli to keep us warm - oh and a bit of red wine too!!!
We had been told the go cart derby started at 12pm at the local pub carpark where there would be a parade of the carts followed by the race itself down one of the towns back road hills. We had headed out earlier than this but found people gathered at the pub drinking coffee and
showing off thier carts. I think there were about 8 in the end but some ran a few times for different age groups. There were various designs from a hillbillies cart with even a mangle attached to it, to spiderman, batman and cowgirls it was really good community spirit. The flashest was made of stainless steel and was actually properly riveted together. It even had the companies advertising on it which we didnt really thing was in keeping with the idea but it looked damn impressive. It soon got nick named the porsche and the guys took their ribbing well from the other wood laden offerings. As it turned out the road being used ran past our holiday park so we went back and got our chairs and settled next to the road to watch the races. It was a really good afternoon full of good humour and friendly competition. The kids went first followed by the under 12's and then under 18's and then the most waited for category the adults. It was a long wait in between the carts racing but the locals were friendly and as the hill petered out towards where we were sat there were
all the cart pushers waiting for their team so we chatted with them at times. We had already agreed that the Stainless steel one would take some beating but both spider man and the blue team got close. In the end on the adult runs the stainless team won by a good 5 seconds and didnt even need any second pushing. AS everyone headed back for the BBQ at the pub and prize givings we thought we'd tag along and see who got what for what which was light hearted and fun. After that we went back to camp to get some dinner before the super 14's final later. Left over chilli and chips rather yummy!! The super 14's final was an excellent match between Christchurch and the Waratahs from Oz. After some close calls and strange decisions including a try being taken away from Christchurch for a players descent (never seen that before) Christchurch were the overall winners and it was well deserved. Although the pub had also put live music on we headed back to camp after the game agreeing that it had been a really good day.
We left Russell heavy hearted the next day having
thoroughly enjoyed our stay and really feeling like it was home for some reason. Tim had decided he was going to try his luck at diving and so we were heading to Tutukaka which is the coastal town to travel to the Poor Knight Islands which is a marine reserve. Lonely planet has it listed as one of the top 10 places to dive in the world if he could bear the cold that is !!!! We got to Tutukaka by lunchtime and headed for the dive shop listed in Lonely planet only to find that as it was actually a bank holiday they had not decided if they were diving the next day as they had no booking other than us and had to pay the staff more. We agreed to come back later in the evening to check what the situation was and headed for the campsite to sort out washing etc... It was another sunny day and we both felt very lucky with the weather so far as we had not seen any cloud since we had hit NZ 5 days earlier. Sitting by the van for the afternoon discussing our south america plans was a good
way to while the hours away while we waited to find out about the diving. Tim wandered back to town and was told that they were not looking to travel fortunately he found another place on the way back that were and booked in with them which was fortunate. So with our first early start in ages we had dinner and and early night.
It was a very cold morning the next day and I was finding it quite funny as Tim deliberated how cold the water was going to be. Having checked in with the dive shop and paid our money we set off for the boat in the harbour and what turned out to be a veru pleasant and fun day. The Poor Knights are 40 minutes off the coast of Tutukaka and have been protected since the 80's however full protection from all fishing did not come into force until mid 1990's and the fish have flourished in abundance. Even standing on the boat looking into the water at the first dive site you could see so many. Although he looked like he was very cold when he first got in Tim did cope with the
water very well and the wetsuits they were given were quite thick too which coupled with his t-shirt and socks I'm sure helped!!! Now Tim reports that his first dive was very good and he saw lots of rays and various large shoals of fish. He has said it was one of the best ones for marine life he has done. His second did not go as well as he had a problem equalising and got some pain in his ear which unnerved him slightly even though he managed to clear it. I on the other hand had a great time staying dry on the boat and drinking coffee with the friendly skipper. The Poor Knights also have alot of scenery too and we also drove the boat through a cave hole here. Apparently they are simply caused by wind and salt erosion. The weather stayed fine and the ride back was in full sunshine which was great. Having unloaded all our stuff we left Tutukaka straight away as we needed to head back towards Auckland to get all our plans in order, internet up to date etc etc..... We were still a good 2 hours if not more from the city and our plans to visit the Coromandel area had gone out the window too as we were fast running out of time. So we headed south and after some good advice on how to avoid the bank holiday traffic which we were assured would be horrific even by NZ's standards we took a coastal detour where we actually couldnt see anything because it was dark!!!! Finally finding a camp in Helensville we cooked dinner and went to bed.
We set off this morning the 40 minute journey into Auckland. We have parked up the van and I have been sat at this computer for obout 3 hours updating the blog. I'm thirsty and hungry but it has to be done as we embark on our next big step to South America tomorrow. We are a little nervous but very excited about the culture change again. So when we have finished here we will get a campsite for the night and get organised for the airport in the morning (4th June). We will be crossing the international date line again but we have got a full grip on that this time!!!!!
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