Northland & Rotorua New Zealand

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After spending over 3 months in the bustling city of Auckland it was finally time to pick up and go again and resume being a travel bum. Working for Wicked was really beneficial as i got a 20% discount for the van hire plus other perks. So about 2 weeks ago, Helen and i set off on our next adventure - 10 days exploring northland New Zealand (the far north part of the north island) above Auckland and a weekend furthur south in the touristic hot spot of Rotorua. Travellers tend to flock to the South island on arrival in Auckland and don't give much chance to the attractions of the north. The Lonely Planet has even published a book just for the South island which demonstrates the main draw of attraction for travellers. However, in my opinion the north has a wealth of stunning views and activities to offer which travellers miss out on.

After leaving AKL we headed straight up towards 90 mile beach (a long stretch of beach that is called 90 miles but is actually 90k's!) and camped in a random spot down a side road near the coast. In New Zealand it is pretty easy to be a 'freedom camper' which means you camp somewhere and don't pay. Of course it's pretty easy to do this in a campervan as you get a gas cooker provided and as long as you take all your rubbish with you, it's all good. So we settled into camping life pretty easily and on Day 2 we made our way furthur north via a stopover in Shipwreck Bay to have lunch (noodles!). We eventually reached Cape Reinga which is the most northern point of NZ and is marked by a lighthouse. This part of the country is very significant for the Maori population as they believe it is the departure point for the spirits to go after death. It is also where you can see both the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide and crash into each other which is pretty spectacular and can generate waves up to 10m high in stormy weather. We found a spot on the side of the road a couple of k's away from the lighthouse to park up for the night and the next morning embarked upon a very long walk from the lighthouse, across the very expansive Te Werahi beach, which was reminiscent of Fraser island in Australia, and then continued for a few hours along every possible terrain imagineable including sand dunes, bushland, fields and forest. It was like doing a walk through Africa, Asia and England and is also the country's only marked route through a dune field. It was an amazing walk and we must have done an extra bit somewhere along the way because it was supposed to be 4 hours long and we were still walking after 5 hours and we are definately not slow walkers! When we got to the road we had to reach the lighthouse at the northern tip and still had a few more k's to go uphill so we ended up hitching a lift and finally got back tired and exhausted to the van. However it was a stunning walk and definately worth the pain!

After exploring the north western tip of the northland, we made our way to the north eastern tip towards the North Cape. After visiting a beautiful bay watching the low sun in the sky and the gentle waves, we found a spot to camp in the forest which, with the benefit of hindsight, was not the best spot of the bunch. Neither of us could sleep as we spent the majority of the night killing mosquito's - the place was riddled with them! I was definately glad when that night was over! The following day we went to the Te Paki sand dunes and went sandboarding which was lots of fun. It always amazes me what the kiwi's will come up with if you give them some sort of natural formation - they'll invent a new sport easily. Basically you just lie on your front and go down these huge dunes, one of which was extremely high - a good adrenalin rush!! It also suprises me how nice Kiwi's are- an example was before we went sandboarding and this kiwi family asked us where we were travelling. We said we were heading South and they told us we could borrow their bodyboards and could drop them off at their house in Kerikeri on our way. Can you imagine that happening in the UK?

After sandboarding we made our way south via Matai Bay in the karikari peninsula which was a beautiful white sand-azul water bay and had a dip to wash off all the sand we had been covered in from sandboarding on the dunes. The difference between New Zealand and other countries when comparing the scenery is that here you will have these beautiful sandy bays all to yourself but there will be a backdrop of vast green landscape. There is such a mixture of landscape in each scene. That evening we paid for the first (and last) time for a campsite as we thought we would go kiwi spotting (the bird, not the fruit or the people- yes it can get confusing!!) on Aroha island. It was a nice campsite and we had our first hot shower. We also went kiwi spotting which is pretty difficult as there were only 3 kiwi's in the whole reserve and they only come out at night. We had to be very quiet and follow these tracks in the darkness and with only a small light so they didn't get frightened away. Unfortunately we didn't end up seeing any but we did hear some call at one point. I'm not sure if it was worth 15 dollars to hear a kiwi call but we did try!

After stopping in kerikeri to drop the bodyboards off and to buy some delicious fudge - creme brulee, coffee and lemon, yum yum - we drove to Waitangi and visited the Waitangi National Reserve which is where the treaty took place between local Maori chiefs and representatives of Queen Victoria's government in 1840. The treaty granted independance to the Maori people and offered them protection from the government and officially made New Zealand a British colony. After learning a little more about Maori culture and NZ history, we drove down to Tutukaka which is basically the set off point to do some cold water diving to the Poor Knights Islands (named after Captain Cook's pudding of French toast which they used to call poor knights pudding!) To get there we drove along million dollar view road which, yes, had pretty nice views of the Bay of Islands- a touristic hotspot in the north island. After experiencing the million dollar views, that evening we camped in the dive shop's carpark. It was perfectly adequate as the next day we just rolled out of bed and went diving.

Diving the Poor Knights Islands is reputedly the best diving in the whole of New Zealand and one of the world's top 10 dive spots. It is not reef but 40-60m of underwater cliffs which include a labyrinth of underwater caves and fissures. I have probably seen more fish on other dives but the coral was so bright and it was really fun being swept in wave motion back and forth under water as the water seeped into a big fissure in the rock. It was almost like being on a rollercoaster ride! It was the coldest diving i've ever done at 21 degrees! The islands are now tapu (forbidden in Maori) and noone is allowed to set foot on the islands after a massacre between Maori tribes in the 1880's. It has a pristine environment that could be potentially devastated if disturbed.

Diving did take it out of us and we were fairly tired by the time we got to Puhoi which is a small village near Auckland. We camped there for a night and after some delicous cream teas at Puhoi cottage we made our way to Rotorua, or Roto-vegas as tourists affectionately call it. Rotorua is a 'sulphur city' and has that rotton egg odour pretty much everywhere. It's famous for it's geysers, bubbling mud and hot springs but also for it's Maori culture as the Maori people revered this unique topography. After finding a spot to camp near Lake Tarawera and a visit to the Polynesian Spa where you can bathe in acidic or alkaline hot water (it's a hard life), the following morning we visited Te Whakarewarewa (which is actually a shortened version of the town's real name!) The village is a thermal reserve and Maori cultural area and we were given a guided tour and cultural performance which included the war intimidation dance, or the haka. We also sampled a hangi which is a traditional Maori dish where they cook the food in the ground to create a smoked taste. The dish is famous all through NZ but it's especially interesting in Rotorua as they make it from the natural geothermal activity. i.e no gas bills! The Maori people take full advantage of the heat using it for bathing, heating and cooking. That afternoon, Fabrice joined us and we all went on Lake Rotorua on a pedalo which provided us with about 20 mins of amusement before setting out and having a few drinks. For a Saturday night it was very dead though- i wouldn't recommend the nightlife in this city!

The following day we all went zorbing which was good fun but over too quickly for the price you pay. Basically you're inside a big ball with water and you roll down the hill. A visit to some natural hot springs afterwards warmed us up and was a place mainly only known by locals called Waitangi Soda Hot Springs before we set off back to AKL, stopping off at a free campground along the way near Karangahake Gorge where i had a run in with a few more mossies!

So i'm back in AKL and Helen's parents have arrived and we're all off on our next adventure down South! Until next time......Haere Ra....

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