Blogs from Hokianga, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Second day in the Hokiaga area. Started my day with a short 20 minute hike to the Waiotemarama Gorge Waterfall. A pleasant hike thru a tropical forest. Next to the access point to the waterfall lies Labyrinth Woodworks. A unique store specializing in puzzles, toys, and a hedge maze on the property for all to try. The eccentric owner makes the visit worthwhile. I then revisited the lookout at Arai te Uri Heritage area. This time I followed a well-groomed trail to see the vantage point and the coastal scenes below; particularly noting the differences between the peaceful harbour and not so peaceful Tasman Sea. I explored a cove in the area with a lovely beach along the Tasman Sea. The sea was indeed rough that day my friend! My last activity was a 4 km ... read more

What a beautiful day, started by meeting some people from Seattle Tracy and Michael there were having a little problem with their mobile phone and I helped them out By getting it charged so that they could text their family. Sometimes you meet someone and you just make a connection immediately. They were both really nice and said I could go and stay with them any time in Seattle. I left Baylys Beach and headed North, I have to say that the last two days have certainly put my driving skills and concentration to the test!! Spent some time in the Kauri Forest visiting the huge kauri trees that grow there, Tane Mahuta is the largest tree with a trunk girth of 13.8metres and 51.5metres high. The name means Tane the life giver and the tree ... read more

Four days after returning from my holidays I was off again. Not quite so exciting this time: no planes, no foreign languages, no foreign currency and sadly not quite as much sun. All of that said, it was a lovely weekend away, celebrating Waitangi Day in Northland. I had travelled up to Omapere, about 3 1/2 hours drive north of Auckland, with Cam and Ness, for the long weekend. Cam usually lives in Melbourne, but is currently based in Auckland for work, and Ness is from Christchurch, so was enjoying a respite from the earthquakes; however both are old friends from my Wellington days. We had booked a bach for three nights on the beachfront, in Omapere. Or so we thought. It wasn't exactly beachfront, but the beach was only a very short walk away. The ... read more

And now, I decided, for something completely different. Leaving the rest of the Kirra group to do their own thing, I headed off on day 8 with a completely different and smaller group to meet the big T in Maori culture. Rob, our local Maori driver and guide drove us west from Paihia to the Wairere (flying water) Boulder Valley. Twenty years ago, this area off just trees and rocks was seen by the locals as having no potential. However, and Austrian civil engineer and his wife were visiting the area, and had a vision for the future. Together, Fritz and Hilda (ok, I am guessing their names) have tuned this area into an orderly, safe and clearly labelled home for native trees of NZ. They have planted native trees here, built walkways and bridges, and ... read more