Blogs from Omapere, Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

It was a crisp spring morning that greeted me today. It had been clear overnight and as a result, the temperature had dropped. I recall a figure of 8C mentioned on the radio and, despite the vents being open, the inside of the windscreen had misted over. Stepping outside, it was still cold although the clear blue sky heralded a good day ahead. The birds were still busy singing, even though the sun had been up for an hour or so. I sat in the van, with the door open, munching my way through a few bananas, some toast and muesli and warming my hands around a mug of fresh coffee. All the time, I was studying the guidebooks just to ensure that I knew where I was going - it’s very difficult to map read ... read more

Dear Blog, With my freshly purchased "magic' ticket, I borded the bus for a trip around the north of the island. Met a realy nice Irish girl called Katherine to chat to on the journey. After passing through beautiful alpine scenery and rolling hills we went through an ancient forest to look at the oldest/tallest tree in New Zealand. It was unbelievably huge. Imagine the biggest tree you can, and then multiply it by 100. It was like those walking trees in the Lord of the Rings. Sixteen meters in circumference and over 2000 years old. Its called Tane Mahuta (I think). Anyway, after that I could stand being cooped up no more, as it was a baking day, and so I got off the bus at the next town of Opomino (next to Omapere). I ... read more

I left the dead guy in a coffin back in Kerikeri and headed north to Kaitaia (exciting start, isn’t it?). What can I say about Kaitaia? As I’m trying to keep bit this short: not much. It is primarily a base for the nationally famous Cape Reinga tours and as this is what I wanted to do, I made my way to its starting point. Cape Reinga is one of the most northerly points in New Zealand. Not the most northerly point. This lies elsewhere, presumably to the north. However the cape does have a picturesque lighthouse which the other spot does not; hence, everyone heads to Cape Reinga. From the craggy outcrop it is possible to view where the Abel Tasman Sea meets the mighty Pacific Ocean. A distinctive line can be seen where the ... read more

We travelled south, taking the car ferry across Hokianga harbour (just like in "Jaws") to the picturesque town of Rawene where we walked through mangroves and had lunch at the site of an old saw mill. We stopped briefly in Oponini to see the grave and memorial statue of "'Opo' the friendly dolphin" (very famous in the 1950's for being a dolphin who regularly came into the harbour to 'play' with holiday-makers who travelled from all over to see this miracle of nature...more later) before settling in Omapere a few kms down the coast for the weekend. The Hokianga harbour is a remote and unspoilt natural harbour protected by a sandbar and a place of outstanding beauty on the edge of the remaining ancient Kauri forests. We took a drive out one day to see 'Tane ... read more