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Published: February 4th 2010
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Jan 16 2006
Northland, New Zealand. We left Dairy Flat at the early hour of 11 am and immediately purchased a ginormous bar of semi sweet chocolate to celebrate heading out on AL and Pat's Big Adventure.
The landscape is the usual Breath-Taking combination of rolling green hills that frequently give the observer the impression that they are mown, and dots of sheep and cattle on the hills. This, I am told, is due to the munching preferences of sheep, who are excellent natural grass mowers. I often think it would be so much easier to maintain our lawn in Oro Station with a pet sheep or two.
The
Kauri Museum on the west coast of the Northland was fascinating. It has a vast collection of kauri wood specimens and artifacts. When the Europeans first came to NZ in the early 1800's the kauri trees were the tallest with the greatest diameter, making them prime targets for the wood industry. Vast ships, houses, and furniture were made from kauri wood. Carbon dating methods have determined that the wood is between 30K and 50K years old. The few remaining live trees are protected now of course, but it was difficult
to look at the forestry pictures in the Kauri Museum documenting the raping of the kauri forests. Enormous trailers were constructed for bringing the timber to civilization, and the weight and size of the logs necessitated large teams of oxen to drag them to the water to be floated to the mills. Of course at the time, little was known of the age and value of the trees and the effect of extinction of species. I got the same sort of sadness looking at the pictures as I do when I go into the SPCA and look at all the lonely dogs and cats imploring you to bring them home with you.
We did stop and see those largest living trees, quite close to the highway as we travelled up the west coast of the Northland.
We stopped at a place called Baylys (pronounced Bailey's) Beach, and were able to drive along the flat beach for some distance, but the tide was coming in and we couldn't risk further travel. It is actually known as part of the coastal highway - the longest drivable beach in New Zealand, apparently. Large sand cliffs border the beach, which is not really
swimmable with its crashing surf and sucking undertow. The water is actually too cold for the likes of hardy Pat Carney, Canadian extraordinaire, known to throw himself into Canadian lakes for a cool summer dip.
Campgrounds are called holiday parks in NZ, and the first one we stayed in was FANTASTIC!!! Mind you, camping in NZ is somewhat different that say, Algonquin Park or The Pinery in Ontario. People line up cheek to jowl in camping sites with nary a tree between them. RVs are beside tents lined up in rows. HOWEVER, there are also cabins and little "backpackers batches" which are just beds in a tiny shack-like building with, get this, a fridge, table, chairs and beds. Also, a common cook house provided sinks with dishwashing liquid, tea towels, dishes, pots and pans, a TV in the corner should your mind need distraction from those tedious camping chores, a washer and dryer and common laundry line out behind the cook house for towels and laundry. Everyone in the camp ground keeps their food in the multiple fridges, and very little gets stolen. Most campers bring a plastic bin of dishes to wash in the kitchen sinks after meals,
and everyone chats with their neighbours while doing the washing up. Stoves in the kitchen have burners and a baking oven is included, plus a microwave or two, and a couple of barbecues outside. Most sites do not have picnic tables, so instead of coolers campers bring tables and chairs. It's a really friendly atmosphere, with people lending toools, equipment, and even food to those caught out. The first morning, we pulled out our handy little picnic kit to eat our cereal for breakfast, only to discover that we'd forgotten to buy spoons!! No problem, I found some in the drawer of the kitchen. The owner said he replaces them every now and then, people take utensils with them if they are short, and he replenishes the supply from the local Sally Ann.
Speaking of cereals, Weetabix is such a popular cereal in these parts, that there are many copy cats. It's called Weetbix here, and they promote the healthy bran part more than in Canada. Pat's impression so far is that the Kiwi culture is a bit like Laid-Back Brits who are disenchanted with the UK. Mind you, there are lots of expats here from Britain, who claim
that it's mainly the weather that keeps them here.
We stayed the next night a bit further up the coast in a place called Oponini, a gorgeous coast with a tiny island across from a beach. The beach had sand dunes and it kept the waves nice and slow. We were close enough to hear the surf all night. The next day we headed east across the inland to the east coast, to an area called Bay of Islands, and area touted by all Kiwis as a Place Not to Miss. We went to Kerikeri, one of the cities in the general areas, and were unimpressed with the touristy shops and crowds. So we headed up the Tauranga Bay, camped on the beach, and decided to stay in the area to help Pat unwind from the rush of getting ready to leave. He is still not completely unwound, and with the driving each day we decided to stop travelling a while to stop and smell the flowers for a while. We enjoyed three days of taking it easy, keeping away from crowds, and poking along the tourist scenic route around this lovely peninsula, checking out a botanic water garden,
visiting a chocolate factory ( resisted buying the truffles only because I was saving myself for a meal out at a local diner we had visited once already. Great food.)
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