Advertisement
Published: November 25th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Russell
View from my bedroom window which looks rather like the 'Pool' on the River Yealm in Newton Ferrers, Devon. 1st November 2008
Russell
Had an early flight up to Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, followed by a shuttle bus to Pahia and a fast ferry to Russell. I stayed at Arcadia Lodge which is a brilliant B & B run by Brad and Dave. Brad used to be foreign affairs editor for Channel 4 news at the same time as Rory was working for them. He remembered Rory - and actually liked him!! Just as well or I might have got burnt toast.
The weather wasn't great but that made it seem more like Devon. The view from my window reminded me very much of Newton Ferrers where David's parents used to live. I did several walks around the local area to beaches and Flagstaff Hill. On one, I was accompanied by a dog who, despite my best efforts to lose him, seemed determined that I should take him for a walk. Unfortunately his reading wasn't up to much and he doggedly (geddit?) followed me into the 'kiwi zone and dog free area' down to the beach.
Spent an evening in an Italian restaurant run by a German and was invited to join a group
Bay of Islands
View from the island we stopped at on Phantom. of Aussies from Melbourne - who didn't know Cheryl!
Had really wanted to swim with the dolphins but the more I heard about these cruises the less appealing they became. Several boats go out and try to track the dolphins down and once they find them up to 30 people from each boat get in the water at a time. After the magical evenings watching the dolphins round the boat in the Whitsundays, this sounded rather too commercial for my liking. Instead I spent a great afternoon on a yacht, Phantom, sailing around the Bay with Rick and his American wife, Robin. Also on board were a couple whose 10 year old daughter had jumped off the Sky Tower in Aukland twice in one day.... Robin asked what kind of parents could watch their daughter do the jump - twice - and what did they do for a living? The guy was a trauma (A & E) doctor and his wife a cardi-thoracic intensive care nurse. Guess they're the right sort of parents to have if the jump goes pear-shaped!
I was really pleased when Peter and Margie, (a New Zealander now living in England) who were staying
at the Lodge asked if I wanted to join them and drive up to Cape Reinga - the northernmost point of New Zealand. This was partly because I wanted to see where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and partly because it's one of the few places my brother Ian hasn't been to! It's a long drive to the Cape through some interesting scenery, including Doubtless Bay, named by Captain Cook as he passed through, (Doubtless it's a Bay....) However, it's also very remote. I wouldn't fancy living up there.
We stopped at 90 Mile Beach which looked amazing as the sun came out at just the right moment. You can drive along parts of the beach and a local passed by in a pickup truck with a dog standing in the back but not surprisingly most rental cars aren't insured for this. The sun was also out when we finally reached the Cape. It's described as an area 'where the waves of the Tasman meet the swirling currents of the Pacific Ocean in a boiling cauldron of surf' and you could sense the unleashed power of the water. You can also see the tree where Maoris believe
the spirits of the dead depart the land.
Having stopped for something to eat on the way back, we were too late for the car ferry to Russell. Dave had told us that whatever we did, we mustn't miss the ferry since you then have to drive along a road described in the Rough Guide as 'best avoided since it is very twisty with long narrow sections - especially perilous after rain or at night.' It was night.. and it had been raining... and the road took a long time to find as there were no clear signs. I suspect the powers that be don't want tourists driving along it.... Luckily Margie being a Kiwi was used to such roads and drove brilliantly so that I could concentrate on not thinking about the hairpin bends on the gravel track, the sheer drops and the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal. Of course, having safely negotiated the road and got back to the safety of tarmac, the trip back rather enhanced the day out - and certainly impresssed Dave and the former head of the Bay of Islands police who I met the
90 Mile Beach
The land of the 'Long White Cloud' was living up to its name but the sun came out as we hit the beach. next day. Even he'd not driven along the road.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.076s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0398s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb