New Zealand Part One - Arriving in Auckland, Whangarei and the Northlands

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We were up early on the 2^ndAugust ready for the 8:50am shuttle bus which our hostel offered for free. Our flight wasn’t until 2pm, but the only times that they ran the bus was 8:50am or 1pm, and the latter would have been too late for us to check in, so it would have to be the early one! We were all checked out and waiting out the front by 8:45am and the bus showed up right on time. The traffic was quite bad, being rush hour and all, but we were soon at Cairns airport, way too early to check in of course!

We found a seat to sit on for a while and eventually we saw them setting up the Air New Zealand check in desks, so we joined a few other people in the queue and a few minutes later they opened up the desks. We were quickly checked in and given our boarding passes and went through security without any issues, other than Emma’s belongings being swabbed for a random bomb check!

Once in the departure lounge, we found a seat opposite a screen showing the departing flights, and grabbed a few snacks for lunch, as were a little hungry but knew that there was no point having a proper lunch as we would be eating on the plane in a couple of hours. The time flew by and soon enough, the screens showed that they were boarding our plane. We headed up to the gate and were eventually called through. We were allocated exit seats upon check-in, which we thought might have meant that we would have extra leg room, but they seemed to be the same leg room as the regular seats, just with the added responsibility of helping to evacuate the plane if there was an emergency!

It didn’t take long for everyone to board, and it soon became apparent that the flight was nowhere near full, and we didn’t have anyone sitting in the seat next to us, which is always a bonus! The plane made its way to the runway and before we knew it we were up in the air, seeing our last glimpses of Australia. It was a little cloudy but we did fly over the Great Barrier Reef which we could spot between the clouds every now and again.

The flight was only about four and a half hours – much shorter than what we are now used to – so it went really quickly. Our tickets gave us the full ‘The Works’ package as they call it on Air New Zealand, meaning that we had access to the full In Flight Entertainment on the touch screen TVs on the seats in front (others had to pay to watch the movies, etc), and we were also entitled to free drinks throughout the flight and a meal. Emma’s screen was playing up at first and we had to get one of the stewards to reset it – we tried just using the one next to us but this seat was not set up on the same package as we were so it was asking for payment when she tried to watch a film. It was soon working and Emma settled down to watch ‘The Croods’ whilst Craig watched ‘Cloud Atlas’. About halfway through the flight we were served Beef Casserole for dinner which was pretty yummy for plane food, and we had a few drinks brought to us at various points.

After a very smooth flight, the captain announced that we had started our descent into New Zealand, and by 8:30pm local time, we had landed at Auckland Airport. Once off the plane, we were asked the usual questions at border security and customs and were soon through to collect our luggage, which to our surprise was already on the conveyor belt waiting for us! We then found the information desk in the arrivals hall as we knew that we were able to phone our airport hotel from there by just dialling ‘24’ from their phones to arrange for their free shuttle to come and pick us up.

We had to walk down the terminal to the pick-up area and our bus was already there waiting for us. It only took about ten minutes to reach the Auckland Airport Kiwi Hotel, which we had just booked for one night. Our room was lovely – big, warm and cosy – and perfect for a good night’s sleep before we started our road trip around the North Island the next morning.

We didn’t have much to pack up the next day, and we were soon waiting outside the hotel for the Apex car rental shuttle bus to pick us up to take us back to the rental office to pick up our hire car. We ended up waiting for about half an hour for the shuttle to turn up – apparently they were a bit behind – but we definitely noticed the drop in temperature compared to what we had got used to back in Cairns! Thankfully it’s actually been quite a mild winter here in New Zealand (well, the north island anyway – not sure about the south) so it’s not quite as cold as it should be, but average daily temperatures are about 12 degrees, which feels quite different to the 27 degrees on average that we had in Cairns! Thankfully we had our coats with us which we had been carrying around in our car since Sydney, so we were pretty toasty with those on!

The shuttle eventually arrived to take us to the depot, and we sorted out all of the paperwork for the Ford Focus that we were hiring for the next two weeks. All paid up, the woman went to fetch the car from the lot and brought it around to the front, where we loaded our cases into the boot after checking it over, and then we were off on the road! Our first stop was up in Whangarei in the Northlands, which would take a couple of hours to drive to.

Once out of Auckland and out of the city’s northern suburbs, the scenery as we drove was stunning – the whole country pretty much just consists of miles and miles of rolling hills as far as you can see. Other than a few farms dotted around, the majority of the land is untouched, and it was a beautiful drive along the winding roads through the hills and along the coast. We were a little early to check in to the place we were staying, so we stopped off to get some lunch in the town, and also to pick up a few groceries, knowing that we had a kitchenette in our room.

We drove to Top Storey B&B just after 2pm, which was a little out of the town and up towards Whangarei Heads. It was located on a hill and so had a great view of the water just opposite and below. We parked up and rang the doorbell but there was no answer, although there was a note on the door asking to ring a number if no one was home as they probably wouldn’t be far away. Just as we started to put the number into our phone, a lady pulled up in her car on the driveway. She got out and introduced herself as Jane, and told us that she and her husband Ian were the owners of the B&B, and would be our hosts for the next couple of nights.

She was really lovely, and showed us to our room at the back of the house. We had booked the garden studio (there was a two bedroom apartment at the top of the house, but this was vacant for the time that we were there, so we were the only guests), which was pretty huge, with a double bed and two singles, a full kitchen and a large bathroom, and was decorated in a very traditional style, with lots of pictures, trinkets and ornaments dotted around that made it feel very homely and cosy! There was also a little outside area with a bench and a swing that looked out over their garden which was full of orange trees, banana trees and an allotment full of various other fruits and vegetables After chatting to us for a little while about ourselves and the local area, Jane told us to just pop upstairs for breakfast in the morning and then left us to it for the evening. We put the heater on and had a cosy evening watching TV and looking on the internet for things to do in the area the following day.

The next morning, we were up bright and early for our full day exploring the Whangarei region, and once we were dressed and ready, went upstairs at around 8:30am, where we were greeted by Jane and her husband Ian, and taken into the kitchen, where they had laid out a table with various cereals and jams. We both had a small bowl of cereal whilst Jane cooked us all some bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast, then they both joined us to eat and have a chat. They were such a lovely couple! Jane was originally from England but had met Ian (a Kiwi) over there many years ago, and they eventually moved to New Zealand about 30 years ago and never left! Ian was a builder and had actually built the B&B himself, amongst a few other houses that they owned. We were probably sat talking to them for about an hour and a half, before they gave us some advice on things to see in the area, and then sent us on our way to enjoy our day out.

Armed with a map that they had given us, we had a drive up to Whangarei Heads, stopping off first at the edge of the water next to a large footbridge. We took a few photos of our surroundings, then jumped back into the car to drive up to the edge of Whangarei Heads to a place called Ocean Beach. Again, the views were spectacular (something that will be an on-going recurring theme whilst in New Zealand, I’m sure!) and we sat on a bench for a little while, just taking it all in. We then drove back towards Central Whangarei, through the town and towards Whangarei Falls. Once parked up, we could hear the rushing sound of the waterfall, and we realised as we got closer that we were right on the top of it, and could see right over the edge.

There was a footbridge to cross over the fast-slowing stream near the edge of the waterfall, which was a little unnerving as there was no handrail – it was designed so that the water could easily flow over it if it needed to. We crossed safely and then walked down a track through some trees which lead us to the bottom of the waterfall, around 30 metres below. At the bottom, we endured the mist to take some photos right next to the waterfall, before making our way up the track on the other side of the valley which would take us back to the car park.

After checking the map, we then drove up to Ah Reed Kauri Park , where we followed a trail through some bush land which lead to a boardwalk through the treetops of some large 500 year old Kauri trees – some of the biggest and oldest trees in New Zealand. There was also another waterfall, which we had to hike up a large hill and climb a few rocks to get to the top, but the view at the top was worth it! Our final stop was the Mount Parihaka lookout, which had a large war memorial at the summit of the mountain, and gave us more great views of the Whangarei region, although it had become a little misty out there by this point.

By 3pm, our feet were feeling quite tired, so we headed back to the B&B, where Jane was doing a bit of gardening, and Ian was making some jam. We chatted to them outside for a while, and Ian showed us the Whitebait fish that live in the stream that runs next to their house, and also gave us some of their fruit to try – they had some little bananas which Craig said was really sweet and delicious, whilst we shared one of their oranges which was also lovely, juice and very tasty! Their cat, Beetle (a big, fussy, ginger tom), also joined us as we sat outside, then later followed us into our room and made himself very comfortable on Emma’s lap for a while! Eventually we had to put him outside and we had another cosy evening in front of the TV watching a film.

We were leaving the next day to go to our next stop in Hamilton, and our original plan was just to go straight there, as it was quite a long drive to get there. However, during our breakfast chat with Jane and Ian, they encouraged us to go and check out the Bay of Islands while we were in the Northlands, which was around an hour north of Whangarei. As we won’t be back here for a while, we thought that we may as well make the most of it, and figured we could always just arrive into Hamilton later that evening anyway. After breakfast, we packed up the car and said our farewells to Jane and Ian – we can’t emphasise what a lovely couple they are and how welcome they made us feel in their home.

We made our way up the winding roads and then along the coast, only passing the odd farm every now and again on our journey. At one point, the whole road was blocked off by a huge herd of cows that were being moved from one field to another, which was quite an experience as we had to slowly try to drive past them! We eventually reached the small town of Russell, which had great views over the Bay of Islands – the water there was a gorgeous turquoise colour. We found a café to get a bite to eat, then saw on the map that there was a car ferry that would take us over the water to the town of Paihia opposite – this would shave off around an hour of driving to go all the way back around. We enquired about the cost of the visitor centre and after finding out that it would only cost $12 for us and the car, it was a no brainer!

We drove down to the ferry station, where the ferry was already loading some cars. We drove onto the back of it, paid our fare and then enjoyed the short ride across the water to the other side. Once across, we had a five hour drive ahead of us to get down to our next stop in Hamilton. It was a fairly easy drive down, and we got some good views of Auckland as we passed through on our way. Having a working radio in the car helped, though we did have to retune it a few times as we passed through the different areas! It was just starting to get dark when we arrived at the Fountain City Motor Inn, where we would be staying for the next two nights.

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