'Jumping' in the Magnificent North Island!

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Jamie's Leap!!!

After quite a rocky boat journey, we arrived in Wellington on the North Island. First impressions were that we liked Wellington a lot but the weather was awful - rain constantly! Unfortunately, it remained like this for the next couple of days whilst we were there so we didn't get to do a great deal.

Our first evening there we spent driving around the city in the campervan (so we could at least see it and stay dry!) Then we went to the Embassy Theatre. Its a lovely theatre that had been renovated for the Lord of the Rings Premiere. Its really 'swish' and is a cinema so we went to see a film there and enjoyed the 'poshness' of it all at a bargain price (even for cinema).

The next day we felt like we should get out and see a bit more of the place. In the afternoon, when we realised that the weather wasn't getting any better, we ventured out! We were at the bus stop (up the road from our campsite) and were getting blown about everywhere (and soaked!) We couldn't actually stand still! It was a relief when the bus finally arrived! We walked around the city and enjoyed it and the feel of the place, but we didn't dare venture up the cable car or anything else!

The next day we were back on the road. It was a day mainly spent travelling and, guess what, the weather was a lot better - typical!!! We drove to Napier (on the east coast). We stayed in Napier for one night. Its a great place - it is famous for all of its Art Deco buildings. They are definitely worth seeing and we enjoyed the short time that we had there. Unfortunately, time was running out in New Zealand so we were only able to spend a night in each place from now on.

We drove from Napier to Taupo. We arrived in the late afternoon, found a nice campsite, and then went out into Taupo to have a look around. Jamie was contemplating a bungy jump so we drove to the jump site over the lake to check it out. They had finished for the day so we couldn't actually watch anyone in action but the site looked like a 'pleasant' place to do it (if thats the right word for hurling yourself off a ledge with a cord!!!) The scenery surrounding the lake was beautiful! We then went back to the campsite and cooked dinner. Jamie had decided to do the jump in the morning but he didn't sleep very well!!!

The next morning we were up early and checked out of the campsite. We headed straight to the bungy site. There was hardly anyone there so it was nice. Jamie was really nervous as we watched a couple of people jump. One of the nice ladies who worked there took Jamie to the edge of the ledge and gave him an 'encouraging' talk. He went to the toilet a fair few times too and then I said it was now or never. Well, he shakily signed up for it and then we went our seperate ways - Jamie to the ledge (petrified) and me to the viewing platform (laughing!) I was watching from a distance and it looked so high I was scared watching! The scenery was lovely though so it was a great place to do it. It seemed to take a while for him to jump and I now know its because he had a change of heart right on the edge, at the last minute. He told the man that he couldn't do it but the man told him not to worry, to take a deep breath and go for it. Well, Jamie did and it was fantastic. It was so funny watching - he made a strange noise but then he laughed so I was relieved as he obviously liked it. He bounced about for a while and then got pulled down into the boat. It was about 10 minutes before he emerged, as it was so far back up the hill, but he came up running and completely exhilirated. He had loved it. The video is very amusing too (listen for the weird noise!!!) He was tempted to jump again (especially as the 2nd one was half-price) but he changed his mind. He did keep laughing about it though and watching the video on the camera over and over!!! (To see Jamie's bungy jump please click on the little icon at the top of the text - 'Jamie's Leap' - you will probably have to tilt you head to the left or rotate your computer's screen to the right!!! Enjoy!!!)

We left Taupo straight after the bungy jump and drove all through Tongariro National Park. The scenery was stunning and it was the setting for 'Mordor' in Lord of the Rings. It was such a nice drive. After the National Park we arrived in Waitamo. We had specifically gone to Waitamo Caves to see the Glow-worms. Karen was particularly excited about this part of the trip! We managed to get a ticket just in time for the last tour of the day. It was great - we had a tour through the caves which were fascinating and then we went on a small boat ride through the caves where we saw all the glow-worms. There were thousands of them and it looked amazing - quite magical! After the caves, as we were short of time, we drove on further and stayed the night in Hamilton.

The next day we left Hamilton and drove to Rotorua. We spent the first night and the following day in Rotorua looking around. It was a nice place but we had bad weather there too so we were limited a bit. Rotorua is famous for its geo-thermal sulphur springs; so the whole place smells of sulphur (rotten eggs) which takes a bit of getting used to! The second night there we went on one of the popular Mauri Village Nights. It was fantastic. We got picked up at the campsite and taken to the centre where we learnt a bit more about Mauri life by looking at the displays and watching a video. Then we were all taken out to the village itself where, firstly, we were greeted in the traditional Mauri way, in a ceremony. Then we watched a live performance of song and dance by the Mauri tribe. It was brilliant to see live and close-up. It included the famous 'Haka' which was amazing. After the show we then went to the dining room where we ate a beautiful feast. There was a huge variety of very tasty food which had all been prepared in a Hangi (traditional Mauri method of cooking in the ground, using stones). The food tasted delicious. We also had a chance to go outside and see a smaller version of a hangi in which they prepare food which was really interesting. After a brilliant evening, we had a ceremony to say farewell and we were then taken back to our campsite. It was a great experience.

The next day we left Rotorua and started the drive to the coast. On the way, we stopped at Hell's Gate - one of the main sulphur spa's in Rotorua. It has the most active geo-thermal field in Rotorua. Once we got over the smell, it was fascinating to walk around and see all the different sulphur pools. It even has the largest active mud volcano and the largest hot waterfall in the southern hemisphere. There's also a boiling whirlpool! After walking around we then went to the spa area where we enjoyed a mud bath and a sulphur pool afterwards. Karen had a massage too. It was really nice and a lovely treat (although we smelt of rotten eggs for days after)!

We continued the drive to the Bay of Plenty. It took about 3 hours but it was very scenic. We saw the volcanic White Island. We arrived in Waihi in the early evening. The campsite that we stayed at was lovely - the best yet. It was right on the beach so we went for a walk along the beach to watch the sunset. The following morning we stopped for breakfast in Waihi at a really nice cafe (it was for sale and we were tempted to buy it!!!) Then we continued the drive on to Auckland.

We arrived in Auckland in the afternoon and returned the campervan. We were met by the lovely Patricia Longrigg - Jamie's Dad's cousin who we would be staying with for the week. It was great to see her and meet her. We went back to her house - it was lovely and that evening it was so nice to have a tasty home-cooked meal! We really enjoyed staying with Patricia - she made us feel very welcome and we loved her company. She took us around and showed us the sights of Auckland over the week. On the first day we started at Mount Eden. It's the highest volcanic cone in the area (196m). We drove to the top and you get a fantastic view where you can see the entire of the Auckland area - all the Bays and the land between the 2 harbours - the Manukau Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. It was a good way to get our bearings! You could also look down into the volcano's crater (about 50m down!)

Next we went to Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter and Underwater World. It was really interesting and we spent a while there looking around. We managed to catch the feeding of the Stingrays which was fascinating to watch (they were huge!) There was also a Captain James Scott exhibition about his explorations of Antartica. We then went on a Snowcat ride through the penguin enclosure. They were so cute - some of them would follow the snowcat round and it almost seemed like they were performing for it!!! They also had a moving travelator which took you around through a tunnel where the aqaurium was all around you - a huge variety of fish and sharks and stingrays were swimming all around you.

We then drove to Mission Bay where we had some lunch. The area had a nice feel to it and it was pleasant to walk around. The next place was the Waitakere Ranges where we looked around the visitors centre and walked along the nature trail. The ranges are a lovely area. We stopped for some afternoon tea there. We finished the day with a long walk along Cornwallis Beach which was good. It was a really great day.

In the evening we picked up a hire car - we had wanted to see the Northland (the area north of Auckland) but we hadn't had time in the campervan before getting to Patricia's. What we did was hire a car for the 3 days to do it in instead. So, the 2 of us left Auckland on the Thursday morning and got back to Patricia's on Saturday teatime. We had a really good time and the area is well worth a visit so we are glad that we didn't miss it out!

On the Thursday we had a longish drive. Our first stop was the Kauri Museum. The Kauri is a huge native tree that was once widely used for its timber and the gum, but when the European settlers arrived the large Kauri forests were desimated to cultivate the land. The museum was fantastic - it had really good exhibitions and showed the progression of the trees' use. It was one of the most interesting museums we have ever visited. We then drove through Dargaville and stayed the night in a cabin in Kahia.

The next day we were up and on the road early. We drove to the Waipoua Forest and stopped to see the 'Tane Mahuta' which is a huge Kauri tree - the "most massive Kauri tree known to stand today". The size of the trunk was unbelievable! We continued to Opononi. We stopped at the visitors centre to watch the interesting video about "Opo" the Dolphin. She was a famous wild dolphin from the 1950's who used to go into the bay and play with the bathers and children. It was a completely unique situation for a wild dolphin - she would even allow touching and stroking and some children could ride on her.

Our drive continued and we went on The Honkianga vehicle ferry, which crossed from Rawene to Kohokohu. We continued right up to the start of Ninety Mile Beach - just to have a look at it. We walked on a very small part of it! We then drove across to the east coast to the Bay of Islands and stopped in Waitangi. Here, we visited the Treaty House (where the original treaty between the Mauri's and the British was signed in 1840). It was very interesting and we spent a while looking around. We then spent the evening down the road in a hostel in Pahia. Pahia was a lovely small town on the waterfront. It was very pretty.

On the Saturday we got on an early passenger ferry from Pahia to Russell. It is only a short ride across but the scenery is lovely. Russell is an even smaller and prettier town than Pahia. It has very quaint and original colonial buildings. It also has the oldest church in New Zealand. We had brunch there and then got the ferry back across to Pahia, where we got back on the road and started driving down the east coast, back to Auckland. On the way we stopped at Whangarei to visit the huge waterfalls there which were impressive. We then walked around The Basin - the marina. We also stopped at Waipu Cove for a fish and chips lunch. The beach here was stunning. It was very wide and was surrounded by a beautiful bay. From Waipu we drove back to Auckland (taking a slightly unplanned detour - as we got lost a bit!) We were back at Patricia's about 6pm. It had been a very busy but worthwhile few days tour of the Northland!

On the Sunday we went with Patricia and her friend Christine on their usual walk in the Waitakere Ranges. It was really enjoyable. We drove to Karekare and did a walk with beautiful views. We stopped for morning tea on a clifftop admiring the view out ot the Tasman Sea! Then we drove to Piha - a little beach village - where we had ice-cream. Piha is one of the most popular beaches in Auckland. Christine then dropped us off back at Pat's where we had lunch. After lunch, we drove to Pamela Longrigg's house (Patricia's sister) so that we could meet her. We had a lovely time with her too. All 4 of us went to One Tree Hill which is another of the volcanic peaks in Auckland. It has great views and an Obelisk memorial on the top. It used to have a tree there too - hence the name "One Tree Hill" but it was vandalised and so no longer exists. Patricia jokes that it should be re-named "none tree hill!!!" It was hilarious because we walked through Cornwall Park to get to the peak to start walking up but we missed the walking track and took a shortcut through a field. Instead of walking up the track, we scaled the steep hillside. It looked so funny as the 4 of us were struggling to get our footing, scrambling up, whilst dodging the sheep droppings and trying to stay on our feet to make it to the top!!! We couldn't stop laughing. After enjoying the views at the top, we were gluttons for punishment as we took the same route back down and it was even harder going down!!! Exhausted from our 'climb' we went back to Pamela's and then went out for a chinese buffet meal which was delicious. It had been yet another packed, great day in Auckland.

On the Monday it was time to pack! We were really sad to be leaving as we had thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand - especially the last week in Auckland. We went out to a cafe for lunch with Patricia and then spent the rest of the day back at her house - organising ourselves for our next flight. On the Tuesday (November 7th) Patricia dropped us at the airport in the early hours of the morning for our flight to Fiji. We were sad to say goodbye to her as she had been such a good host and made us feel so welcome.

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Photos

'Mordor'
The rugged landscape of Tangariro National Park

On to Waitomo!
The scenic countryside of the Waitomo area.

My Precious!!!
The two Gollum's of Hobbiton!

Mauri Cultral Show
Our hosts in Rotorua - performing the 'Haka'.

River Waikato
Beautiful Waikato River and the cantilever ledge where Jamie jumped from!

Hell's Gate
The bubbling boiling hot landscape of Hell's Gate.

Waihi
Stunning Black sandy beach at Waihi.

Our trusty Camper
What a grand job it did!!!

Piha
One of the many stunning beaches surrounding Auckland.

Kauri Museum
Karen taking a rest in the trunk of a Kauri at the Kauri Museum.

Tane Mahuta
The Giant of the Kauri kingdom.

Ninety Mile Beach.
Its a very very long beach!!!

Russell
An absolutely beautiful quaint village with heaps of character.

Russell Church
The oldest Church in NZ.

Tasman Sea from Kerikeri
Morning Tea on the Waitakere ranges

One Tree Hill
Pamela, Jamie and Patricia Longrigg at the top of One tree hill.

One Tree Hill Obelisk
The impressive monument on top of One tree hill.