Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Out of cell phone signal and back to simple living, wow out of this world guys, the water was so clear i could see my feet, reflection of course ha ha, seriously i have been treat so well and had some great oppurtuinities i cannot , and will not grumble, no more VM (if you get it your cleverer than i) came up far north as a guest and had a wonderful welcome and great company, the fishing is just out of this world, the peace and quiet is so spritual and calming, i missed not speaking to my family alot, but i did not miss the cell phone one bit, my trip is getting better, Ta ta for now Sam x... read more

Once back in Auckland we exchanged our bikes for a hire car so we could explore the Northlands, our plan for that afternoon was to get to Cape Reinga, the most northern point of New Zealand. It turned out that our map was not quite to scale and the trip took us the best part of 8 hours. At the cape the wind was gusting as we were right on the beach looking out to the Pacific Ocean, it was also totally dark and I still had to put the tent up, Nice one! The previous day’s efforts were rewarded with a clear morning the following day so we went over to the lighthouse at the point where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific. It’s unbelievable, right at that point where they meet there is ... read more

2/29/2012 Trampers 5(including Margaret) are planning a road trip to Cape Reinga, the northern tip of the North Island. Margaret arranged a guided bus trip. To begin the trip, we drove from Margaret’s house in Manganoui to Kauri Kingdom, a tourist depot in Awanui. There we met our driver, Senny, a native Maori, with Sand Safaris. Senny had a great sense of humor. Gifted with a singing voice, he serenaded us with Maori songs as we drove along. We hadn’t driven far when Senny announced we would be leaving the state highway, and taking the beach road, known as 90 Mile Beach. (Note: this beach is actually ONLY 60 miles long but the Kiwis have a THINK BIG psyche …… little brother syndrome in the shadow of the Australians). Motor vehicles are allowed to ... read more

Now with the three little Citroen 2CV's neatly packed into a forty foot container, and one BMW moto that we are shipping for Lucas, all we have to do now is wait until it arrives in Valparaiso, Chile at the end of February. I am so glad the cars have gone, as now I can get on with other things around here that have been left behind while mucking around with the cars, as you do! Darbi Accessories have again been very good to us and have supplied all the Spectro oil that we will need over our 10,000 km expedition. Along with new oil filters and NGK Spark plugs, thanks again Terry, Steve and String for your support. Turtle Wax have also come to the party with lots of samples of their new Ice Synthetic ... read more