January [week 3]
Laura & Mark 15th January 2000
We have a long way to go today as we plan to travel coast to coast, west to east. We drove south along the surfers highway first and stopped to admire the surf at one of the beaches. Because of the volcanic activity, the beaches were made of black rocks or black sand. Although this wasn't how you pictured paradise to be, it had its own unique beauty. The waves were as promised: high with lots of white breakers. We drove on southwards, stopping in Wanganui for a quick snack lunch. Onwards through Palmerston North towards the east coast, where we planned to stay in Napier. Napier was part of Hawke's Bay and said to be worth a visit, so we did. We found the campsite after many wrong turns and therefore also u-turns (at least it was good practise for Laura). By the time the tent was set up it was already 19.00 and we bought some sausages from the camp store to barbeque for supper. We made use of the free gas barbeques and cooked both the sausages and some eggs. Adding to that some tinned beans we'd boiled up in the adjacent kitchen, we had a very tasty meal. We walked across to the TV room where we watched the second half of "Ferris Bueller's day off" before going to bed.
Laura & Mark 16th January 2000
Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was then rebuilt in an "unique art-deco" style. This was one of the attractions of Napier, along with its busy, touristy sea-front promenade, lined with shops, museums and aquariums. It was all this that we planned to explore today. We set off without the car for the 20 minute walk into the town centre. Pausing on the way to buy a cheap rock and roll tape for in the car and something to eat at the supermarket. We walked to the sea front but were unimpressed by the "art-deco" town as it looked much like other NZ towns: wooden houses, brightly coloured paint and a slightly tropical feeling. The sea-front promenade looked like it was past its peak tourism-wise. What were presumably once colourful bridges , ponds and fountains were faded and lay empty. The whole area looked as though it could do with a lick of paint and only the aquarium and information centre looked reasonably well-kept. A show was just ending in "Sea World", a tiny complex with small pools housing dolphins, seals and penguins. We chose not to support the centre as it really looked too tiny to keep all the animals happy and we didn't go in. The aquarium also looked small and frankly uninteresting as it boasted nothing new or unique. We settled instead for a harmless game of midget golf in the sunshine, followed by an ice-cream. Next it was back to the campsite to fetch the car so that we could do some decent shopping. We bought hamburgers, sausages, a real BBQ feast. Our little pot and pan set wasn't proving too successful, and the barbequed food tasted so good the previous night we decided to go all-out with it tonight. To top it off we bought French bread, garlic butter and white wine and then hurried home to cook it all. It was delicious! Full to bursting we staggered to the Sky Movies TV lounge and joined the crowds in watching Lost in Space. Once that was over we wandered back to the tent. z z z z z z z z z z z .................
Laura & Mark 17th January 2000
Our plans for today were to drive to Gisborne, where we would stop for lunch and then on to East Cape. This is the most easterly point of NZ and one of the places where the sun rises first in the world. We got to Gisborne at 13.00, an hour later than we had hoped. (having once again forgotten to take into account NZ's slow, winding roads). We paid for an hour of parking and went to look for food. However the "bustling tourist town" was pretty quiet at 13.00 and there was nowhere open to have lunch. We decided that MacDonalds was better than nothing and had a speedy meal before our parking meter ran out. As it was already so late and the roads were so slow, we decided that the 200km detour wasn't really worth it as it may have been excruciatingly slow and even some more NZ gravel tracks. We headed instead straight for the Bay of Plenty, a large bay which had, well, "plenty" to offer. We drove towards the twin towns of Tauranga and Mt Manganui, separated by a harbour-like inlet of the sea. When we finally got there (after 200km, 58km of which were through a steep gorge) it was getting late and we still had to choose somewhere to stay. The beach front Top Ten park of Papamoa didn't look very inviting, nor did the one in Tauranga itself. Much later, after much driving around and searching we found the one that sounded perfect in the brochure. Never believe anything you read in the brochure. It was a dump from first sight and we didn't stay long enough to look properly.

We went to a site 18 km from Tauranga which looked welcoming and even had three hot pools. We took advantage of these for the last 20 minutes before they closed for the night, but didn't want to stay in them longer anyway, as they were hot! A strange sensation when swimming in the dark at night, to find the pools nearly too hot to swim in. We had a little snack of chunky soup, bread and yoghurt and went to bed.

Laura & Mark 18th January 2000
From our campsite north of Tauranga we had the perfect opportunity to explore the local area. We wanted to visit both Tauranga and Mount Manganui, but there was one important stop to make first.

Especially for Laura's Mum, Mrs Anne Jennifer Hayward, we went to Te Puke, to visit Kiwi World. Apparently NZ's number one agricultural theme park, Kiwi World had both a children's fantasyland and a tour of the kiwi orchards, packing and storing centre. This tour however cost $10 each and so seemed a little too expensive as we could see the only thing we really wanted for free: a kiwi tree. Kiwis grow on a sort of vine and dangle from the branches at the end of 2-3 inch long stems. A very strange sight.

We bought some souvenirs and postcards from the gift shop and drove back towards Mount Manganui. This town is named after a 315m high mountain which rises suddenly at the entrance to the harbour. An important landmark for the navigation of ships in the past, the mountain was one of the main attractions of the town today. As we were a little short on time and really wanted a swim, we decided against climbing the mountain and headed instead for the long white beach. The waves of the Pacific crashed hard against this Bay, making it another popular surfing spot. We had struck it licky in Napier and found a children's body board put out with the rubbish bags on the campsite. It was with this that we tried to ride the powerful waves, with mixed success.

We sat on a picnic bench in the sun, waiting for it to dry us of f and then drove across the harbour bridge to Tauranga. We played a few computer games and got a cheap MacDonalds ice-cream before wandering past all the lively cafes and bars. We couldn't decide on anything for dinner there so went to do some shopping first. By the time we' d bought things for sandwiches and journey food for the next day, it was getting late again. We ordered a pizza and then tucked into it in the car, before going back to the campsite.
Laura & Mark 19th January 2000
Leaving the Bay of Plenty behind, we headed for the Corromandel Peninsular. Along this peninsular there were beaches, lookouts and the most famous beach in the area was Hot Water Beach. The weather was worsening as we drove towards it and we passed through a few rainy spells. Despite the weather, the experience was worth it. For 50m from the base of the volcano alongside the beach, you could dig a hole in the sand towards low tide and it would fill with hot water. Sure enough, when we got there the beach at that point was crowded with people. They sat in the holes which they had dug and which had become their own, natural spa pools.

After taking a good look, we returned to the car and changed into our swimming things. Back on the beach, we joined tow young boys in one of the hot pools. As we stepped in, we were surprised at just how hot the water was. At the end of the pool nearest to the volcano, the water seeped from the sand far too hot to sit or stand in. A little further down towards the sea, the water was cool enough to sit in (just) and so we settled in the sandy pool and relaxed.

As the tide came in, more and more pools were filling with the oncoming sea water. Eventually a wave also broke into our pool, immersing it in freezing water. We got up and ran straight into the sea falling over as the power of the waves hit against us. While we we5re in the sea (which was only a matter of minutes), the heavens opened once more and this time the downpour was too heavy to ignore. There was a mass evacuation of people from the beach as they hurried for shelter. Many got straight into car and were off. We changed first and then drove off too.

Abandoning all plans to go to more beaches and lookouts, we drove to Thames. The weather hadn't improved, so we filled up with petrol and drove on to Auckland, where we stopped at our favourite out-of-town cinema. We watched the late showing of Three Kings and enjoyed it thoroughly, quite amazed by how good it turned out to be. We decided to drive on up north and find a good spot to just sleep in the car for tonight as it was already past midnight. After much searching, we found a quiet street in Warksworth and parked the car. We were soon fast asleep.
Laura & Mark 20th January 2000
We woke to the feel of the sun through the car windows and satisfied that wed outrun the bad weather, we went to buy a newspaper. It was time to head up north again, to the Bay of Islands, then we could attempt once more to go on the Day in the Bay tour. We bought the newspaper to check the weather and decided it was good enough to go ahead and book the tour for tomorrow. We had a cappuccino and then got underway again. We stopped at Waipu Cove again to write our postcards, but it was beginning to cloud over, so we didn't swim. We took the scenic route up to Paihia, over a few hilly roads and arrived there mid-afternoon. We stopped by the booking office to pay for the tour and use the internet for a while. Then we went off to find somewhere to stay, after some deliberation choosing Twin Pines Holiday park at Hururu Falls. Much of this park seemed brand new, the toilet and shower units and kitchen certainly were. They were still hard at work expanding the facilities, the games-room was next from what we could see. We put our tent under a tall tree, right next to a picnic table. The perfect spot. The Haruru Falls themselves were about 10m high, but they were wide and powerful so the sound of rushing water filled the campsite.

We went up to the restaurant to try and get some supper and had a drink while we eyed the pricey menu. As everything was too expensive, we chose two tasty sounding options from the bar-food menu: potato wedges with bacon, cheese and sour cream, and nachos with chilli con carne and sour cream. These two "snacks " arrived in huge dishes and it was a really tough task to finish them up. We retired to the TV room in the campsite, but there was little on and we soon went to bed instead.
Laura & Mark 21st January 2000
By 9.45am we were walking towards wharf B to board our boat for the Day in the Bay tour. Greeted by the captain and his two assistants for the day, we took some seats by the window. The boat pulled out of the harbour and after picking up more passengers in Russell, it headed out into the bay. First on the agenda was to find some dolphins. The species we were looking for was the "common" dolphin, the name being somewhat misleading as they were tricky enough to find. For the first hour and a half we saw nothing more spectacular than gannets which took great dives from quite a height into the sea for fish.

Just as the crew were beginning to give up, we headed towards a small fishing boat, and sure enough, swimming in the boat's wake were some dolphins. As we got closer the dolphins swam around our boat too, and from our position on the front deck we had a great view. They were beautiful. Elegant. Peaceful. They swam alongside us and in front of us and when their bodies poked up above the surface of the water for air, their sleek grey backs glistened in the sun. Off to the left of the boat was a mother swimming alongside her young baby and together they were breathtaking. Sadly though, the fact that there were young dolphins in the group meant that we couldn't swim with them as planned. One of the laws for conserving the species is that you must not swim with them when there are babies as the adults find it too stressful. Instead, we sat back and watched them play, rolling over the tops of each other, chasing each other and just gliding peacefully past. When we finally moved off, they tried to keep up with the boat, but soon fell behind.

It was on to the rest of the tour now, starting with "The Hole in the Rock". This apparently world-famous attraction was exactly what its name suggested: a hole in a rock. A small island off the far east peninsular of the bay, this "rock" had an arch in it which ran all the way through it , just large enough for our boat to go through (or rather, our boat was built small enough to go through it). Once out the other side, we could see another of this minute island's attractions: The guardian of the island. Up in the rock face you could see (from this angle only) what looked like a lady, with long hair flowing back from her face into the rock and with enough imagination you could trace her entire profile in the cliff. The scene vanished as we sailed past it, and the maiden became simply a rock again, but around the corner was or final treat. Next to the Hole in the Rock was Cathedral cave. This cave had a narrow, high opening at the roof, but at the level of the water, the cave was round and wide. It stretched 20m back into the deep dark depths of the rock, and would one day break through to the other side and form a second Hole in the Rock

It was coming up to two o'clock when we anchored on an island for lunch. We were supplied with wet suits and snorkels and we went off to explore the underwater world with the others. We swam around just off the beach and sure enough found some sea-life as promised. On the western side of the beach, some rocks jutted out into the water and it was on these that we found something worth looking at. Under the surface of the water, these rocks were covered in sea-weed and sea anemones, and between them swam fish of varying sizes. A very happy hour was spent exploring in the warm waters of the bay, before the boat moved off again.

The final leg of the journey was past some of the other islands about which we were given a fascinating commentary. Robinton Island was perhaps one of the more beautiful ones, with a long white beach, behind which two lagoons were hidden. This was also the one with the saddest tale to tell:

The Roberton family moved there to farm the land and things were going fine until Mr Roberton drowned . Mrs Roberton carried on as best she could, but in the end she had to hire two men to help. Sadly these two men didn't get on at all well with each other, and one of them in fact killed the other with a shovel during a dispute. He went back to Mrs Roberton and she told him that as the new English laws had just been adopted in the area, he would have to be put on trial according to these laws. He then panicked, killed her and her children and set the farm on fire. When the villagers in Russell saw the smoke, they went across to see what was going on. They discovered the whole sorry affair and the man was the first to be hanged under British law in NZ.

The other island boasted luxurious holiday homes of the rich and famous and not such sad stories. At 16.00 we reached Paihia, the day's adventures over. We went to the supermarket for something to cook for tonight and decided to follow a wonderful day with a wonderful meal: Chili con Carne. We borrowed some better pots and pans from the Holiday Park office and brewed up a feast. We watched a little TV and got an early night.
Laura & Mark 22nd January 2000
When Captain Cook discovered this sheltered bay to the north-west of the Bay of Islands, he apparently wrote in his logbook "Doubtless a bay". That is how "Doubtless Bay" got its name and that is where we headed next. Less jam-packed with tourists and perhaps even more beautiful than the Bay of Islands, this bay was rimmed with glorious sandy beaches. WE drove all the way up the western peninsular to Maitai bay, twin horse-shoe coves with picture-postcard sand and water. We took some photos and then decided that a good way to continue our exploration of the "quiet, secluded coves" would be to rent a boat.

We drove back to Mangonui (yes, all the places here have ridiculously similar names), where we attempted to visit the information office. It was Saturday afternoon and the office was only open Monday-Friday, so we popped into the newsagents next door. Here we prodded through a few brochures, but it looked like we could only hire a boat for a half or full-day (not the 2 hours we'd hoped). Never mind, we filled up with some more petrol and bought an ice-lolly to have while we decided on our next move. We drove back to one of the larger, whiter beaches and went for a swim. For at least 100m to the left and right of us, the beach was deserted, remarkably quiet after the busy Bay of Islands.

When we'd finished enjoying the sun, we went back to the car and drove on to Kaitaia, just south of "Ninety Mile Beach". We didn't however like the campsite here that we'd hoped to stay at and so drove on up towards the inaccurately named beach (it's only 90km long). We followed the signs to the beach itself, just to take a look before we found a home for tonight and at this point on the beach you could drive onto it, and along its length some 90km (apparently, though we did not attempt it). The beach itself was much like any other and with the haze from the setting sun, we could not see all that far along it. We struck it lucky third time, finding a very nice, clean, well-equipped campsite to stay at and put our tent up in the fading light. Mark boiled up some more lovely chunky soup (which we must take time out to recommend properly later), while Laura noted down some more magic moments for the diary. Brush teeth. Go to sleep...