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Published: October 18th 2005
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Whew, time to catch up! Here's a bit about what I did a while back. To see more pictures (there's some good ones I promise), go to my clubphoto album.
Leah and I left Auckland on Friday afternoon for Bay of Island and Northland, the north tip of the North Island. We’d rented a tiny Toyota Starlet from a place called “Alternative Rentals” (one of the few places that rents to under-21s) and, after a few wrong turns, were on our way out of town. It was my first experience driving on the left side of the road on a major highway (I had a little practice the weekend before), but somehow convinced Leah that she was in good hands.
We made our way up the east coast of the northern tip of the North Island. On the way, we passed lots of sheep, some vineyards, and amazing views of the coast and the beaches. Our first stop was a little point called Goat’s Head, where you could look out at Goat’s Island bird sanctuary. According to a sign, there were man-eating (ok, maybe finger-nibbling) fish nearby, but we didn’t see any. Another stop that afternoon was in the town
of Whangerei to get coffee (which turned into $20 at the fudge store) and to see the Whangerei falls. We made it to our destination of Paihia just before 7 and just in time to see the sunset lighting up the bay. Paihia is a gate town to the Bay of Islands and the place where you can catch a charter boat to go scuba diving or hire a sail boat (our intention for the next day). After finding a hostel and dropping our stuff, Leah and I walked along the beach to find dinner. Paihia prices were a little high for my budget, so we stuck to appetizers at the Swiss restaurant. After dinner we went out in search of some entertainment. Turns out Piahia isn’t exactly a Friday night hotspot. The only thing going on was at a little bar near our hostel where a local one-man show was playing covers of American songs. The crowd was an unusual mix of old people and late-20s (and us). We stuck around for a while, but eventually decided to call it a night and go back to the hostel.
The next morning, a sunny, blue sky looked promising for sailing.
But that plan was shot down 20 minutes later when the hostel manager said that there were gale winds out in the bay and none of the boats were going out. After breakfast and a quick bike ride around town, we decided to get back in the car and keep driving north. Just up the road was the Treaty of Waitangi grounds- the place where the Maori and the Europeans signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 (a very important document for New Zealand history and also for my research). We didn’t go in, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to later. Further up the road was a golf course with an amazing view of the bay. Right around here, I started to notice just how strong the winds were when our little car started shaking. I drove the car out of the winds and onto a dirt road through the forest, which we followed until it came to another waterfall. This one was cool because you could walk out on to the rocks at the top of the fall and watch the water drop right below you.
Next stop was the town of Kerikeri. As we drove into town,
we passed a bunch of fresh fruit stands, including a couple selling oranges. Apparently Kerikeri is far enough north that it has a warm climate that's good for oranges. Which is probably also why all the city people flock here. At lunch it was easy to tell who was on a weekend away from Auckland by their clothes. -Note: apparently the newest fashion in Auckland is long, dyed black hair with black shirts, skirts, and black tights with All-Star hi-tops (sometimes replaced by fitted jeans with cowboy boots). This style needs to not leave the island, especially the fitted jeans. While I’m no expert, this is Fashion Week in Auckland and I feel the need to comment.
We continued driving all day. The farthest north that we got was the southern end of 90-Mile Beach. At low tide the beach (which is really only 60 miles long) is used as a highway by big tour buses. Unfortunately for us (but probably a good thing for our little car), high tide and extreme winds kept us on the paved road. But we got out of the car long enough to see the amazing sight of giant waves crashing on the shore
and to get covered in sand (I was still finding it in my ears later that night). Headed south we passed through the not-so-remarkable town of Kaitaia and the would-have-been-a sweet-surf-town-if-it-weren’t-so-windy town of Ahipara. After a terrifying encounter with a local in a tiny town (we may or may not have had a gun pointed at the car-didn’t stop to find out) and half and hour of driving on a scary dirt logging road (now I know to avoid roads marked as “alternative highways”), we pulled into the town of Rawene. Exhausted and starting to get cranky after so much driving, we were really thankful when we found a hostel to stay at. After resting in our cute little cabin (which we got all to ourselves), the friendly manager pointed us to the only restaurant in town. Turned out that the restaurant was also the town’s hotel, veteran’s post, bar, and general hang out place. The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the restaurant’s lounge, watching movies and really bad American tv shows that I’ve never heard of before.
The next day, feeling rested, we got back on the road. Driving down the west coast, we had some
amazing views of the Tasman Sea. Soon the beaches and cow fields turned into jungle, as we entered the Waipoua forest. The giant fern trees and vines everywhere made it look like something from pre-historic times. We stopped to see Tane Mahuta, the biggest kahua tree in NZ. It may not have been as tall as a California redwood, but the trunk was at least as thick, if not thicker. Definitely a big tree.
The next stop was a bit depressing. At an outlook over the forest reserve, it was easy to see the clear-cuts only a few miles away. Most of New Zealand used to be covered by this kind of wild vegetation, but the cleared pastures that we had been driving through (and that characterize most of NZ) now show no resemblance to the forest.
After a couple of hours of driving past more sheep and cow pastures, small towns, and a few beaches, we made it back to Auckland. While it was a fun weekend out and good to see more of the country, I was glad to be back and out of the car.
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