Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

The rain squalls have been persistent, and we need a change of scenery to keep us out of trouble so opted to leave Kellys Bay and head 50kms North up to Glinks Gully. This is the wild side of the West Coast. We have been rewarded once again with a Room with a View at the Glinks Gully Motor Camp. The sea is huge (I can never seem to illustrate this in my photos sadly). Lance and I do what we normally do in this weather, cook up a storm, read books, play card games, take the mickey out of each other and have the camera and backpack ready in case the weather breaks. It did today and we managed to get an hour or two out walking later this afternoon. A few people out on ... read more

Holding up the fire, lighting up the sky, like a lighthouse……. (This one is for you Matty J, thought you would appreciate a bit of Ziggy Marley). So we had to wait for the tide today to allow us to bike to the Kaipara North Head Lighthouse. Just as well we biked and not walked as we would have needed a torch to get back. A lovely bike ride into a head wind (not!), I will confess I am not bike fit and the occasional sinking issue as we rode along the beach was a little annoying for us less experienced bikers. Just as well the scenery made up for it. After arriving at the bottom of the sand dunes to the lighthouse, I managed to dismount with shaky legs then start the steep climb up ... read more

When I visit a new country I always take note of any unusual things I see as I cycle from one destination to another. New Zealand although quite similar to the UK in many ways always seems a little quirky to me. From the number of microwave ovens being used as letter boxes to the number of individuals I witnessed walking bare feet around the shops, it is an immensely beautiful country with landscapes to die for, where one person on a beach is considered crowded and the people genuinely open up their homes to any stranger on a bicycle. This was my third visit to New Zealand and on this occasion I've really had the chance to explore the North Island. My previous visits were in 1995 to Wellington and Auckland with the Royal Navy ... read more

135 kms travelled today. Left Tinopai after a morning wander, with a stop at Tokatoka to walk the Tokatoka Peak track. Alarm bells should have rung when there was a warning sign about it been a very slippery and dangerous walking track. After a night of rain it was probably not our brightest idea to attempt this track (for a start it’s a climb not a walk if you have short legs!). After going the first 5 metres and slipping backwards with muddy shoes I had resigned myself to coming down on my ass on the way home. Made it to the top on all fours and were rewarded with spectacular views over bush, farmland and the Wairoa River. Lance kinda had a look but was really too busy hanging onto the pole just in case ... read more

All by myself, don’t want to be……. That’s what our new neighbours thought when they arrived late last night at Tawharanui Regional Park Camp. We were parked up in a massive paddock all on our own until these guys decided to choose a parking spot as close as possible to us, with acres of alternative options. Maybe they felt safer been so close? Today The Golden Girl headed back to Uni. We had an awesome 5 days and it’s now time for us to head back to the West Coast and continue our journey north. Stopped in at Buckleton’s Beach then Warkworth to restock after our guest had eaten the supplies. Arrived in Pahi mid- afternoon. Pahi is a small Peninsula on the northern side of the Kaipara Harbour. A quaint little fishing community, with a ... read more

We had another delicious breakfast with our hosts, Brita and Heinz and met two more guests at breakfast. They were Yana from the Czech republic and Jay from China. They were spending four days at Allegra House. We, unfortunately, had to say our goodbyes as we loaded up the car. Caroline was going to drive. She was just about to drive off when Don realised he had forgotten his bag - the one with his passports etc etc. Finally we got away and decided to drive to the town of Russell. Russell was formerly the capital of the area. It had a dreadful reputation as a bawdy town thanks to the sailors putting into port and getting into drunken brawls along with escaped and former convicts behaving like convicts. We went over on the car ferry ... read more