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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Dargaville
April 4th 2015
Published: April 4th 2015
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Hi everyone, well after that sand fiasco yesterday, I have recovered !! I have put a few more photos up. It's all very well Stu giving me instructions on how to get down on the boogie board, but when you are up there, you have to make the board stay still, while I got fat tummy on it in the first place !! Believe me it's not so easy. He seemed to make it look easy, but he's a bloke and that's what they do !! Still, by the time I got the hang of it, I was too knackered to get back up the hill !! The ninety mile beach where this was, is in fact 64 miles long, have no idea why, might come back to you on that one !! the beach is also a registered highway! it run's from Ahipara to almost the top of the North Island. Also when we reached Cape Reinga where the lighthouse is, we were stood at the top of the bottom of the world and watched two oceans collide together, pretty great, don't you think ? So today has been much more relaxing, it's Easter Saturday here and seem's to be very family stuff, we got up and packed up the car, took some photos outside of the morning, I will put them on first, just gorgeous, if you looked at this everyday, wouldn't you feel good ? The water was like a mirror and so calm and that mist that just went across the mountain was spectacular. We had a chit chat with the owners, again, very nice people, she came here from England when she was 10 but goes back now and then as her family are there. Everyone is just so friendly, not rushed, have all the time to speak to you, I'm going to be like that when I get home !!!! I think it's going to be a new me !! and a new Stu !! So off we go in the 'Jalopy' as Stu call's it, we drove about an hour or so to catch the Hokianga Ferry across to Rawene, (beat's the Woolston ferry!!), well there was only about 4 vehicles to go on it and about 2 foot passengers. Chatted to the lady attendant who said she'd given up a 30 year office job to collect money on the ferry and loves it, well if you could see the views she see's all day, I totally understand why, she said she hasn't got any stress in her life. When we got to the other side we drove to a coastal place called Opononi and had lunch, again the scenery was gorgeous and today is really sunny and hot so everything just shone. Lots of families out having picnics, kids playing in the water, just having a good time, being a bank holiday, still no traffic, fantastic. We then drove to Waipua Forest, 6,300 acres of it, it was so dense and windy roads, round and round we go and finally got to where New Zealand's largest living Kauri tree is. Tane Mahuta (Lord of The Forest), it was huge, I wanted to hug it so I could show you how massive it was, but you can't get near it because it has fragile and easily bruised roots. It is around 2,000 years old and the girth is 45 ft. Now that's big !! When we got there, it was pretty busy, lots of Maori people taking photos and then they prayed, I don't know why, need to find out why they were, but I guess the tree is sacred.

So after that experience we travelled further South to our next accommodation which is the middle of the sticks !! Oh yes, no shops around for us !! We travelled on a dirt track that seemed to go on forever but was infact only 5 km, came to a lovely house called 'Birdsnest', situated in 35 acres of native bush, there are real Kiwi bird's out there, me and Stu are going to go and look for one tonight !! Well that's the plan !! We were greeted outside by the hosts, Angela and Richard who came from Staffordshire, came here to get out of the rat race, came across this derelict house and have done it up over time. It is lovely, very country like, just hear the birds singing and there is a little stream outside our room. We are going to the pub with them tonight, haven't got a clue where that could be, but I'll let you know.


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10th April 2015

NZ
Thanks for keeping the blogs coming,you are doin such a great Jon of it too! So tranquil and beautiful.x

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