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Ok well we left it with setting of for the north of NZ. On the sunday the weather was very sunny and we headed to Doubtless bay. Which has some amazing beaches including Maitai Bay which there is a photo of attached. We also visited what is reputed to be one of NZ best fish and chip shops in Mangonui for lunch which was very good! We then made it round to a fairly southern point on 90 mile beach. Which is not quite 90 miles nearer 90km! We stayed here for the night and on the next day headed north to Cape Reinga! This is not the most northly point of NZ but is not far of and is where the road goes! If you can call it a road but then that goes for a lot of NZ roads! Their version of the M1 is more like a gravelly back country lane in places and it rarely is more than a single carriage way! Anyway I have deviated we went to Cape Reigna, this is where the last manually operated lighthouse in NZ was, but it is now operated by computer in Wellington the other end of the North
island. It is also where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman sea meet. So you get waves breaking randomly in the sea/ocean where there is no rocks or beach! (see pictures) Again there was another stunning beach - something the NZers are very blessed with and as Ian keeps saying 'it's not fair'!
Then on our way back south we stopped at Te Paki, this is where there are some giant sandunes (see pictures), here we hired some boogie boards and climbed the dunes (it is hard work but worth it) and flung ourselves down the dunes! A lot of fun! We then headed a bit further south for the night and decided to do some fishing but we didn't need to as we were given a massive fish by someone who we meet in Kerikeri. It seems as you travel around you see the same people wherever you go! There not the only friends we have met from Kerikeri on our travels!
The next day we went to Ahipara which is the most southerly point on 90 mile beach and booked a 3 hour guided tour on quad bikes for the afternoon. This took us along the beach
to shipwreck bay where we saw the boat buried in the sand, we also saw a massive dead stingray which had a huge bite out of it! Then went over lots of rocks, through a river etc.... and on to the dunes!!!!! Here we had a bit of fun on some very large dunes again but this time on a quad, we also did some sand tabogging but surprisingly getting back up the dune was not so hard this time. We also went to an area which thousands of years back had a Kauri forest on it (not sure I mentioned but Kauris are a type of gum tree) and now there is gum, which still comes up through the ground - if customs allow we will try and bring a bit home! This is one of the best things we have done yet, well worth doing and we can't wait to do more. However I think Ian was a bit scared by me - I wasn't going slow enough!
Then the next day we headed further south along the west coast and went and saw the tallest Kauri tree which is still alive in NZ this is called
Tane Mahuta which means god of the forest in Maori. Then we did the long drive to south of Auckland, picking up some post in Auckland on the way.
The next day we headed over to the Coromandel Peninsula, we spent a couple of days driving round this. It is not that big but is very beautiful and has some interesting roads! We visited a gold battery plant. The coromandel is where the gold rush started in NZ by some Cornish miners! This plant was set up in the 1800s by the goverment, this is where people brought rock form areas to establish how much gold was in them so they could get bank loans to mine it. The battery (the machine that breaks the rock) still operates today. It is also the biggest operational water wheel in NZ (although I am sure I have seen bigger ones in the UK) Gold is still mined on the Coromandel today and apparently there is lots more to be had!
We also took a walk to a place called Catherdral Cove which is a limestone arch, and passed by a couple of stunning bays. Pictures attached! We also visit some
nice towns on the way and had a lovely dinner one night at Squids in Whitianga.
We then headed south and spent a night at a holiday park with hot springs, and had a late afternoon soak in the pools!
The next day (Saturday 7/6) we headed to Tauranga which is where we are now. This is one of NZs cities, and like alot of NZ is right on the beach. We will see what work we can get round here and keep you posted......
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Claire Hiscock
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Hi Pru and Ian It looks like you guys are having an amazing time. I love reading and seeing the photos of your travels. The scenary is stunning!! Continue enjoying your travels and hear from you soon C xx