Blogs from North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

A very leisurely get up and go this morning. Weather threatening, however, there was still much clear sky and the sun was warm. Our aim was to make it to Mt Maunganui and catch a few sites along the way. Waterfalls in every country one visits seem to take pride of place and NZ has numerous falls which attract people from around the world. It’s probably the combination of the greenery, usually forest, that surrounds the falls, the enclosed tracks leading to the falls, the gathering of momentum of the river as it cascades with a roar over the usually steep drop, the mist rising from the continual volume of water hitting the base, whatever it is, we still love them, and the Okere Falls were no different. The river feeding the Okere Falls also fed ... read more

After a relaxing and enjoyable 2 day stay at Kinloch it was time to move on. We were ‘just-going-to-drive-and-see-what-tickled-our-fancy’. Before we departed a friend had sent us a photo of a place they had visited and enjoyed. We made note of it but were not going to seek it out. More of that to come. Our first fancy tickler was Aratiatia Rapids. We deviated off the beaten track and eventually found them … well, we found huge rocks, boulders, a gorge and rock pools. No rapids … until we heard a siren … the hydro electric dam up stream was letting water through. We headed to the viewing position above the gorge and waited and watched as the water rapidly cascaded down and over the boulders and rocks … rapids created. Onto highway 5 and Rotorua ... read more

First the cyclone, (still waiting for the water to go down)….and now an earthquake…what a country! Hoorah the cyclone has passed….with lots of high winds and power cuts and closed roads but we were safely snuggled in our dodgy motel without power feeling very sorry for those people who were having to deal with landslides and damaged structures. We ventured out to find lots of trees down but we met a man who had driven across from Raetihi which is where we were heading and he confirmed that the road was open so off we went. So many trees down ….whole forests where the trees had been sliced off by the wind about 3 metres off the ground. The main Highway 4 is closed by a landslip just south of where we are staying so we ... read more

We closed-up shop last night with the sky “on fire”. We reopened this morning to clear sky and the sun shining. The road conditions, opened or closed, for the route we planned to take, were checked. All good, even though there had been numerous rockfalls, landslides, washaways and fallen trees, all of which had been cleared from the main thoroughfare. We came across all of them with workmen still in attendance. Before leaving Hawera we explored it a little. A very clean, well ordered town with all the facilities one would need in this modern age. However, we both wanted to hit the road and experience The Forgotten World Highway. With Mt Taranaki/Mt Egmont clearly on our left we headed for Stratford and the beginning of Highway 43, more commonly known as The Forgotten World Highway. ... read more

Auckland looks a lovely city through the rain showers which have been constant since we arrived. At least we arrived here before the cyclone. We have had high alert weather warning, set for 7pm tonight! Sadly all excursions were cancelled so no sailing for Roger. Yesterday we had a look around a few blocks near the wharf. Ship is docked very close to downtown. Today we tried to go to museum but closed due to weather so went to Sky City and up the Sky Tower. Some super views despite misty conditions. Hopefully Hop on hop off bus running tomorrow so can try museum again. It has natural history as well as discovery of island and war memorial. Bay if Islands cancelled too( apparently 12 m waves there yesterday!) We are due to stop in Tauranga ... read more