Beautiful bays

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- FOOD: A bit of pub grub but otherwise, heated up soup on our gas stove.

- PEOPLE: Chatty ferry man to Russell Island, hardly anyone else on Russell Island, mad fisherman at Ninety Mile Beach.

- AREA: Beautiful bays and waterfall on the way to the Bay of Islands. NZ's oldest church (so very modern!) on the pretty (and deserted) Russell Island. Ninety Mile Beach - just us and another Escape van ignoring the 'No Camping' signs.

- WEATHER: Had been nice until we arrived and it rained.


Mon 1st August: We left the nice lifestyle to get back in the campervan for Bay of Islands. On the way we made a brief stop at Whangarei Falls - cute little waterfalls and then carried on up the gorgeous coast line, stopping at Nganguru, Tutukaka and Matapouri - all beautiful little bays with sandy beaches.
Passed a sign for Abbey Caves where there's glow worms but we'd got there just a bit too late so missed out on them. Still, some cool rock formations were there so it wasn't a wasted stop.
Made it to Paihia where the coast line is lovely but sadly, NO CAMPING signs all over the place. Oh well, can't have it lucky all the time so we found a layby instead and then good food at a bar on the coast with a huge aquarium in the middle.

Tue 2nd: Caught the ferry across to Russell Island where the chatty ferry man informed us that the weather had been great recently until today. Me being a jinx again...
The island was the first English settlement and where the treaty of Waitangi was drawn up with the Maori chiefs.
Our first stop was the church - SO different to all the many I visited in South America. It was like a legoland church - perfectly small, white and modern - and apparently NZ's oldest church - built all those centuries ago in 1847!!!

We walked up Flag Staff hill to where the Ngapuhi leader Hone Heke had chopped down the flagpole flying the Union Jack 4 times in rebellion. They made sure no-one was getting through the one that is now erected...
We walked down to the deserted beach which wasn't quite the white sanded tropical paradise the ferry man had claimed it to be but thank god is sheltered from the constant wind and rain by a hill so we had some relief.

After a drink in an empty bar (were we the only people visiting this island?) we drove onto Ninety Mile Beach on the West Coast.
Arrived to find another colourful Escape van parked up but didn't disturb their candle lit dinner and instead fought with the wind to cook our own heated up soup dinner whilst watching a guy thigh high in the sea fishing with a torch and big stick! We ignored the 'No Camping' sign that had been knocked down and fell asleep reading.

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