New things to see in New Zealand

  Whangerai, New Zealand
Sunday, May 27, 2007

Hello!

Our flight from Sydney was uneventful and all luggage arrived in one piece - hoorah!

We had arranged to meet up with our friends Sam and Nathan for a catch up, but Nathan had even better plans of hiring a campervan so we could get a real kiwi experience of NZ. On meeting up with Nathan we couldn't believe our eyes at the size of the campervan he had scored for only a few dollars a day. It was a shiny 4 berth Mercedes Winnebago complete with 2 x double beds, shower, loo, kitchen, dining area and comfy seats. Right from the start this was looking like it was going to be a good trip.



We drove straight out of busy Auckland and its bright evening lights and headed south to Hamilton to meet up with some of Nathans mates. It was only a brief stop involving a shower, delicious pizza and a quick night's sleep.

Day 1 of the trip and at early doors we drove off into the morning mist to Raglan on the east coast, a well known surf spot. Stopping off at a kitesurf shop we were informed that we were in for a good few days of wind.. We kited hard in the river mouth at Raglan which has an 8 knot currant on an ebb tide.. I came into a spot of bother when I dropped my kite in the water and found out the full power of the tide... The currant dragged my kite under water and I had to power walk my kite through sinking sand whilst shoulder deep in the water back to a shallow area where James rescued my kite away to safety and then came back to rescue me. Phew, made it back it back in one piece and after a 45 minute line untangling session I was ready to go again. That night we camped on a headland overlooking Raglan and were rudely awakened by a ranger wondering if we had see the 'No camping' sign that butted up to the side of the van. Obviously we pleaded ignorance and put on fake foreign accents....



Day 2 and the wind started to pick up so we got the map out and decided to drive to Kahia, another river mouth which looked like from the map that it would provide a perfect kite spot. At kahia the wind was honking and there was not a soul to be seen, so we thought we would try and drive along the top of the beach to get a few kilometres closer to the river mouth. That did not happen as we sank the back wheels in soft sand and after an hours digging and reversing and digging and driving forwards we admitted defeat and went in search of some help. Help arrived and they informed us we were lucky as only 21 people lived close by and usually everyone is out fishing. But today our helper was waiting for an operation so had some spare time (and a 4x4 car) to drag us out.
During this ordeal the wind had picked up more and we were all desperate to get out kiting. We kited probably quite a few kilometres upwind and found a magic lagoon sculpted from the tide. Words cannot describe the surrounding scenery... but I'll try..
One side of the estuary had breathtaking mountains covered in lush vegetation and the other side looked like stark black mountains. But they were in fact enormous black sand dunes. The water was a creamy green colour, similar to that of a glacial lake, and there were no cars, houses or people as far as the eye could see. I spent most of my time Kitesurfing absorbing the scenery and counting my lucky stars thinking how great this spot was! This if the type of kitesurf spot that you don't come across often.
That night we were able to park our van up a friend's house - no rude awakenings from rangers that day..



Day 3 and the surf was pumping, so we drove round the corner to Whale bay. Whale bay provided wave upon wave for Nathan and one other fellow who was out, and broke consistently over the rocky point which made for some great photos. Further round the corner in Manu Bay James had a surf and got 'the best wave of his life'! Luckily there is a photo to prove it. After a quick lunch break we went for another kitesurf at Raglan. No dramas this day, just a good solid session. That night we headed northwards to Whangerai to Nathans house and had a few beers in the local town whilst listening to a non-Irish band in an Irish pub.


Day 4 and the surf was still pumping so we drove up the west coast to Shipwreck Bay to a spot called Ahipara. Now if you look at a map you wont see any roads that's go to the spot. But Nathan assured us that our top-heavy campervan would be able to cope with the rugged rocky terrain.. And it did. I stupidly decided to sit in the back of the van and was thrown from side to side as he drove over the rocky shore that hugged the beach. The van rocked and swayed and all I could do was to hang on and clutch Blaze the puppy. James however hopped out and took a movie clip and photos of the beach/cliff crossing. We made it in one piece needing no tow at all and managed not to ground the bottom of the van on the rocks. Our camp site that night was awesome - perched on a grassy bank looking straight out to see with the swell rolling in the background.



Day 5. No wind this day so we thought we would go to another kite spot and do a wind-dance and wish the wind to pick up... We stopped at Henderson Bay, even further up the Far North peninsula. Unfortunately it was high tide otherwise we would have been able to drive along Ninety Mile Beach. Not much wind at Henderson Bay but we pumped up anyway and attempted to have a session. Not much action so we flew our kites energetically on the beach. It was a bit of locals-only spot so we didn't leave the van alone for long. After lots of kite flying we went back to the van and devoured a whole chocolate cake... Yummy! (Of course it was calorie free.... Ha ha)

From this point the days are blurring into one... Next stop over night was at Rangiputa, close to Whatuwhiwhi (try pronounce that one!!). We dug up a whole bucket of Tuatua shellfish with the thought of cooking them for dinner. This was however until we spotted a couple of guys diving for mussels. So on went the cold wet wetsuits and snorkel gear and off we went into the strong tide to get a better dinner!! The mussels were huge, green and so difficult to pull off from their rocky homes. I was being a wimp and temporary vegetarian so spent my time looking at star fish and playing with some mini curious fish. During this time, James and Nathan filled a whole bucket for dinner. Seafood is never better when it is collected by hand and cooked immediately afterwards. Yummy again!



Our time in the campervan was nearly up and we had to head back to Whangerai to Nathans family dairy farm. We stopped off at KeriKeri, and then Kawakawa which hosts some famous toilets made from recycled bottles and other materials and has a tree growing through the roof. There were lots of people inside taking photographs and I was told impolitely by another lady not to take very long as she wanted a photograph of the loo seat! Naturally I took my time!!

We are spending the rest of our time staying at Nathans House in the world's most comfortable bed and lovely thick duvet. The farm is perched on top of a small hill and the farmland stretches as far as you can see. I am very happy as he has 2 dogs and one extremely fluffy ginger cat for me to cuddle.



The wind gods haven't been on our side the last few days so we have been doing non-wind activities. James and Nathan wanted new surf boards so we drove through amazing unspoilt scenery and totally unpopulated roads to Paripari to see JC a local shaper who shapes tribal boards. They both got new boards. James now has a totally ridiculous amount of boards that he insists on dragging round the world with us. I am fed up as I can't buy any presents to take home as he is taking up all my luggage allowance. If you think I'm over reacting then I'll list them...
1 x skim board - never been used on the trip so far
1 x wake skate - only used once, yesterday
1 x broken kite board - used once, but now broken, but he insists on not throwing it away
2 x new kite boards - used lots - they are justified
1 x new surf board bought in oz - used 4 or 5 times, but he doesn't like it
1 x even new surf board bought in NZ - I hope he likes this one
I have one surf board and one kite board... So sorry everyone, no more presents and no souvenirs for me... L



Anyway, more news. Last night we went to Snow Planet; an inside snow done near Auckland. We got a special deal of 4 hours for the price of one. It was so much fun and it has made me crave the alpine life I had for 2 years. Because we didn't have any warm clothes, Nathan dug out an assortment of old skool garments from a cupboard which we wore with pride when busting out moves on the snow. Sam learnt to snowboard and had a great time sliding about on her bum.



Only three days left in New Zealand but I'm not too sad to leave as I think I may well be coming back in the future.. The climate is quite similar to the UK, but the scenery is breathtaking and totally lacking in the hustle and bustle we have left behind in England. Who knows where the future and a big airplane will take me..



Next stop Fiji to the nananu-ra-I island just north of Vitu Levi... The wind guru website is predicting a good 16 knots each day and daytime temperatures of 27 degrees...
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..............................