North to Goat Island

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A long journey today from Waitomo up past Auckland and its' motorways and into Northland. Stopped off at the pretty historic village of Puhoi, with its' Roman Catholic Church, rolling hills, and wild Lilies. The village was settled in 1863 by people from villages in Bohemia, attracted by offers of free land.

We next headed to Tawharanui Peninsula and Anchor Bay. This nature reserve is fenced off to prevent introduced predators, (such as stoats & possums etc) entering the site. This has created an oasis for birdlife, and we spotted a few wild parrots flying around the phormiums. This piece of coastline offered fantastic views, and a great camping site for summer, (as no powered sites, but beach views).

After waiting for a few sheep crossing the gravel road, we went on our way to the campsite, and picked up some Kumara chips. These are sweet potatoes grown locally in the Dargaville and surrounding regions), which were delicious. Then we found our site overlooking the bay next to Goat Island & were greeted by a dog, 10 crazy chickens and a free-roaming cow not to mention the other uninvited guest during the middle of the night!

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