Great Barrier Island

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Take 2... I wrote this all up yesterday and didn't save it (when will I learn!?) and lost it. Meh. So here we go again...

Sean and I are back on the mainland as of March 12th. We left from Rotoroa early, early morning March 8th to catch the Sealink Ferry from Auckland to the Great Barrier Island (named as such by Cpt Cook who said the Island acted as a barrier between the ocean and the bay that Auckland is now in). Just an FYI to those of our readers already in New Zealand, or considering coming to New Zealand, Sealink was not a favorable company to deal with in terms of their long term parking policy. I won't go into too many details, but we'll just say Sean had to be proactive in ensuring that our car didn't get towed and that we'd be able to get it out of the lot we parked it in when we returned. The ferry ride itself was a long (5 hours) but enjoyable ride with beautiful weather and plenty to see.

This is the one trip that I didn't have planned, so it was anyone's guess as to what we were going to do once off the boat and on the island. Through the help of some of the locals and a friendly bartender we were able to get ourselves oriented, buy a few supplies and a map and be on our way. We managed to hitch a ride from a Kiwi who drove us almost 40 minutes out of his way to the Green Campsite. We were in a hitchhikers dream sitting in the back of the truck bed, basking in the sun, winding through the mountainous roads of a tropical island with our toothless and jolly driver enjoying his afternoon beer. It is at times like these I have to stop and ask myself "How on Earth did I end up here!?" I loved it. This hitch was also eventful for me in that I saw my first wild boar! He was standing in a long driveway eating something off the ground. He must have been about 4 ft long and 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall. By the time I was able to articulate "pig!" to Sean, we had wound around the corner.

Hitching in general on GBI is increadibly easy. Almost too much so. Every time Sean and I attempted to hitch we were picked up, if not by the 1st car, then by the 3rd. There were even times where we'd be enjoying our walk and someone would stop and ask us if we want a ride! At one point Sean waved casually to a guy driving by in a pickup with a trailer. The guy stopped, backed up (with the trailer, mind you) and asked if we wanted a ride. When I asked if he had room in the truck he simply said, "Not really. Hop in." Ha!

Anyway, so our first night at the Green Campsite was nice. We had the place to ourselves. There was just enough day time for us to make dinner and collect seashells (there are so many perfect sea shells on these beaches!). It was nice to set the tent up again, too. We attempted to leave the fly off so that we could wake up and look at the stars, but of course, this left us scrambling in the middle of the night when we had to rush to put the fly on in the rain! Ha! The other thing about this campsite that Sean and I found intriguing were the trees. I haven't figured out what they are yet, but they apparently don't mind being almost drowned in salt water when the tide comes in. I thought the whole place had flooded, but it appeared to us that these trees are suppose to be in the tide's wake. They appear like normal trees when the tide is out, and then they almost dissapear when the tide is in. So weird!

Day 2 on GBI we walked up to the only hut on the Island, taking little sidetrips to lookouts, beaches and bays. We stayed at the hut for 2 evenings. The first evening we shared it with a couple from Colorado. The second we had to ourselves... They were both pretty miserable nights. The weather was so hot and humid that we were forced not to use our nice down sleeping bags. On the other hand, the mosquitos were so awful that we were forced to be tightly wrapped in our nice warm down sleeping bags... Ce la vie.

Day 3 on the Island (a day without packs - woohoo!) we climbed to the top of Mt Hobson, the tallest point on the Island at 620m or so, I believe. It took us about 2 hours to get up and 3 1/2 to get back. We apparently used up all the energy the mosquitos left us on the way up! The last portion of the climb is a string of continuous stairs. I counted 807 to the top. This is nothing in comparison to the 2990 that we had done over the course of the day through side trips, etc, though. I said to Sean that doing that many stairs is a true testament that my endurance level has gone up considerably since coming to New Zealand! One of the neat little side trips we did was to the main Kauri Dam built on the Island in the 1870's. These dams were used to hold the giant Kauri trees while they were logged, and then opened to send all the trees down stream to the sea. They said opening the dams was alomst a spectacle sport on the Island as the rush of trees and water made the Earth shake and created a terrifying thunder. Hard to imagine when you're standing in front of the dam remains and there is only a small stream. The Karui Trees in New Zealand were mined down to 1% of their original numbers. Sean and I were fortunate to see some of the original trees on a side trip Day 4. We estimated that the base of the tress was 3 of Sean's arm lengths, so roughly 18 ft around?

Day 4 we walked down an ATV track, past the Kauri Trees and to a set of hot springs (FINALLY! This the third attempt at reaching natural hot springs and the first successful one!). I never thought I'd be so excited over the smell of sulfer. Ha. We soaked in the springs for an hour, got our for lunch, and then sat in them for another 1/2 hour or so. We had the place to ourselves until just after lunch when a middle-aged couple and 2 elderly women joined us. I was impressed when one of the elderly women walked in with her cane! I thought for sure she'd slip, but she managed not to.

From the springs we walked an hour to the road where we were immediately picked up and then dropped off at the Claris Texas Cafe. Sean had a beer and a fish and chips and then we hitched to that night's destination, the Meadowlands Beach Campsite. When we arrive there were 10 others camping. Within the hour they had all packed up and left. We thought we smelled, but later learned that there were gail force winds predicted for the next several days and everyone present had just been sick of sleeping in the wind. So Sean and I had the campsite and the sunset on the beach to ourselves 😊 Our sturdy little tent held up well. Sure, it was flattened by the winds a handful of times during the night, but it always popped back up!

Our mission on Day 5 was to make it back to the ferry around 2pm. We took our time getting ready in the morning and then set out for a ride. At one point we had a friendly local tell us we were walking in the wrong direction. Oops! It was ok, though, as we were picked up as soon as we turned around. The gentleman who picked us up was a semi-retired book enthusiast who lives without phone or Internet and spends his time on the beach reading or listening to the radio. We spent the next two hours talking to him on the beach over lunch and a beer. He provided a lot of insight on life, work, reading, aging, traveling and more. He thought Grandma Jean's direct quote to Sean, "You silly, silly boy" in regards to Sean making so many rules for himself was simply wonderful. Haha. Graham invited back to his place the next time we return to New Zealand. And with us, he said, there will be a next time.

The ferry ride back to Auckland was uneventful. We watched The Dark Knight and Kungfu Panda and attempted to pay for car parking in numerous ways. Once back in Auckland, with the car still in one piece, we escaped as quickly as we could and began our drive north towards Keri Keri spending the night in my favorite place, the car.

Ok, I think that is it for this post. Will update again soon (very soon).

Best,
Emily

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Photos

Not the Other Way Around. Ha!
On ferry to Great Barrier Island.

Hitching
Gorgeous day for a drive!

Trees in High Tide
I thought the river was flooded, but I guess these trees grow where the water will nearly overcome them on purpose!

Interesting Landscape.
GBI felt and looked like a jungle.

3000 Stairs
Not that I was counting...