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Published: November 8th 2009
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Whangarei Falls.
Making our way behind the Falls in Whangarei. I left Halifax for New Zealand on October 31st, with stops in New Jersey and Los Angeles along the way before I'd touch down in Auckland. With about 30 hours of travel time, and a +16 hour time difference, it was 8 am on November 2nd by the time I got off my final flight to NZ. Besides the obvious jetlag, I also had to endure four square meals of airline food in that time frame, which was more than enough to last me a lifetime. I had a chicken enchalada on my way to California that I'm pretty sure even Taco Bell would have been hesitant to serve.
My adventures through the airport(s) were not without entertainment however. There was the US Customs Agent who said I bore a resemblence to Jason Bourne, and made me vow that I would not attempt any spy tactics while on the flight. I begrudgingly accepted. And there was also the couple who sat next to me on my trip from LA to New Zealand. Upset with the person in front of him and his chair position (fully reclined), the man actually reached out and started violently shaking the head rest of the
More Cape Reinga.
Another one of the views from Cape Reinga. reclined chair in front of him about an hour into our flight!The two men (both around 60 years) got up, stood nose to nose and exchanged words before cooler heads (or maybe just fatigue) prevailed. I wondered why this man was so upset on his way to such a beautiful place, until his wife let me know that they were from Quebec about an hour before we arrived. Ah, the missing piece of the puzzle.
Despite the fact that I was quickly approaching zombie status by the time I stepped off the plane in Auckland, everything inside me picked up when I saw Leigh-Ann waiting for me at the airport. She showed me our means of transportation for the foreseeable future - a Toyota Station Wagon, and gave me a quick tour of Auckland as we drove out of the city.
My first two nights were spent at a Bach(fancy Kiwi word for cottage) in a small town called Leigh that is about 40 minutes out of Auckland. We visited some of the nature reserves(fancy Kiwi word for Park) in the area, and were fortunate enough to see a Manta Ray and some other aquatic life off of
Whananaka Beach.
A beach near our campsite in Whananaka. a rock near the shore at a place called Goat Island on my first afternoon there. The rest of my time was spent recovering from the flight process and planning our first week - which would take us through the Northern tip of the country.
We left Leigh on Thursday morning with our destination being a campground in Whananaki, but made a full day with the stops along the way. We checked out the Whangarei Falls, and stopped in the Waipu museum as well. The museum was dedicated to Waipu's original settlers -who all migrated from Nova Scotia (via Scotland) in the 1800's - so we were kiiiind of a big deal there (not really). Nevertheless, it was an interesting way to spend an hour or so, and that's coming from someone who would normally put visiting a museum somewhere between 'going to the dentist for a root canal' and 'going to prison'.
When we got to Whananaki, we set up our tent about 25 feet from a big white sand beach and were able to hear the water splash around during the night. There was also a large field of cows and sheep on the other side
Rainbow Falls.
First lookout point at Rainbow Falls. of us, which meant that the occasional "Moo" would get mixed in with the ocean crashing. We did some minor exploring the next morning of a nearby trail & beach, but had a full day of driving ahead so didn't spent too much time there in the AM.
The next destination was Cape Reinga, which is literally the end of New Zealand on the Northern tip. the views were unreal. You could see sand dunes, green hills, forests, huge beaches, and the Tasman Sea meeting the Pacific Ocean coming together right in front of us. It was definately one of the most impressive things I've seen in my life. After spending a few hours there on Friday morning, we hit up the Te Paki sand dunes for some body surfing. I even managed to wipeout, which I am going to claim was entirely for Leigh-Ann's enjoyment. I am still picking sand out of my ears and nostrils by the way, and no... that's not a joke.
We spent our weekend in the Waipoua Forest doing some hiking and camping. We visited the largest Kauri tree left in New Zealand, as well as some other notable landmarks in the
Cape Reinga.
The end of New Zealand. area. Our campsite was on the edge of another Kauri forest, and had a pretty low key atmosphere to it. We saw a few of the same faces as on our previous days - there was definately a few car loads of travellers that were doing a similar route as us. If I had one complaint about this site, it was the sounds of cows in heat during the hours of roughly 8pm to 12 midnight on both nights. Not exactly what you would call "soothing".
As of press time, we are back in Auckland to run a few errands and get some things together before tackling the East Coast tomorrow morning. The beaches through this area are supposedly some of the nicest in NZ - and I'm looking forward to trying surfing for the first time. All in all, it's been a busy and very enjoyable first week here. I hope everyone back home is doing excellent and I encourage anyone to hit me with an email (even if it's short) - it's nice to hear from people back in NS.
Cheers.
Fully.
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Tammy Fulmore
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Wow!!
Awesome pics, what a beautiful country. Sounds like you are having a blast! Enjoy every minute, but please don't hurt yourself! Your Mother Seriously, Love Mom