Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

No 1 – The bigger picture Okay. So here we are, sat sitting in Opua, still waiting for the weather to clear so we can head up to the warmth. The difference is that over the past few days, instead of the bad weather sitting offshore, on Saturday it moved inshore and we are cold and wet and it gets very windy! So what better time to write another exciting episode in the continuing adventures of the good ship Hakura and all who sail on her … or more specifically, will be sailing on her. There is much to do, see and experience here. Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and as Monday was the planned departure day we decided to walk to Paihia to get supplies and then catch a taxi back from the supermarket to ... read more

The weather wasn't in a cooperative mindset. Foul weather conditions were something we figured we'd encounter. In the Northland Region where we were stationed on this portion of the trip, we weren't afforded much in the way of indoor back up plans. Everyone we had spoken with asks if we had travelled up to Cape Reinga yet. It was a highly recommended destination, about 3 1/2 hours to the north. All the way north. It is the northern most point of New Zealand. We packed it up and headed out around 8:30AM. Our journey led us through ample farmland and parts of the Northland Forest Park. The livestock well outnumbered persons. In fact, we drove at one point for at least 20 minutes without seeing another car. The primary industries of New Zealand seem to be ... read more

They say "don't leave town till you've seen the country", yet here we are, having taken the boys to all sorts of places overseas, and none of us have been to the Far North of New Zealand. So we decided to add a couple of weeks to our summer by heading up there. This would be our third RV trip after USA in 2007 and South Africa last year. We just think its a great way to travel. You've got all your stuff there with you all the time. You can stop anywhere and have a cuppa and a sandwich. The only downside has always been that someone's got to empty the toilet thing. We went through all the usual stuff at Britz headquarters near the airport at Auckland. Then we were on the road. This ... read more

Quand on parle un peu de plongée en Nouvelle-Zélande, on entend rapidement parler des Poor Knights Islands. Selon Cousteau, ce serait l'un des plus beaux sites de plongées subtropicales du globe... J'appréhende un peu parce que malheureusement ça commence à faire un bail que la Calypso s'est ancrée dans le coin et on a probablement fait beaucoup de dégâts dans le coin depuis... Mais Yves (de Rangiroa), m'avait également recommandé de tremper mes palmes dans le coin et donc j'y vais confiante. Ca commence mal puisque mon premier jour de plongée est annulé au petit matin car les conditions météos sur les îles sont très mauvaises. Le lendemain ça s'est calmé et on part pour 1h de navigation au large de Tutukaka. Les îles se profilent doucement, puis de prêt on admire les falaises et la ... read more

The day started bad, the old guy in our dorn snored all night long and even with ear plugs he keeped you up. I stated heading north east and there was a head wind from hell. Im not sure what speed it was but im sure i was rolling backwords. but i new as long as i could get the 30ks to Hokianga harbour i would be set. 30 ks isnt far but the wind was so strong i was lucky to be doing 10kph and when you have a avg of 18ks it kills ya. About 15ks in with wind strill hard in me face i got sight of another solo bike rider she was comeing at me, and flying i must say. We stoped and chated for a bit s she was was quiet ... read more