Kaiaua, Miranda hot pools & Paeroa

It was a very windy and wet night at the Kaiaua boat ramp and in the morning the high tide was just a few metres from the bus. On a nice day it would be a beautiful spot with the sun shining on a nice calm blue sea but Thursday was the opposite to that! The sky was grey, the wind was strong, it was raining intermittently and it was so freezing cold that I had to put layer upon layer of clothes on. Len however was determined to make the most of what looked like a good fishing spot as we were right by a channel although the normally flat Firth of Thames was dirty brown and choppy. Supremely hardy I thought as he cast his line out and then huddled by the bus or sometimes in the bus as he watched hopefully for those strong nibbles on the end of the line - all in vain unfortunately and he was very cold by the time he packed it in!

Final result - Sea 1 Len 0

We then drove further down the coastal road to Rays Rest, the very popular overnight spot for motorhomers, right on the shores of the area where the many migrating birds stopover. There was only one van parked there, the sea at full tide still being very dirty looking and choppy and the strong cold winds were a deterrent for us doing anything but enjoy a cup of coffee. There was only the odd sparrow and gull to be seen as the time of year is not quite right for the many various birds - I assume they migrated well before the cold set in and we arrived!

Len rests @ Rays Rest!

So the best part of the day was our visit to the Miranda Mineral Hot Pools - so lovely to soak in the 37 degree big pool and heat ourselves up even further in the 42 degree big spa. There were only about 6 others in when we arrived but by the time we left there were probably 15 or so. We're not usually too bothered with going to hot pools but this was just what we needed! Scrumptious to feel so wrinkly and warm afterwards!

Synchronised soaking!

As we are now heading back to Tauranga to see family and my niece, Debra, who is over from Sydney and also for me to do 3 weeks of locum work our next stop was Paeroa where we stayed in the Paeroa Council overnight parking area where you can connect to power for just $5. Great value with toilets, water and a dump station on hand. The parking area was full with 7 of us there - it must be hard to find a free spot in summer.

Paeroa is known for it's Antique Shops and after we arrived we enjoyed having a wander through most of them, one of them in particular having some lovely old things in it at what we thought were very reasonable prices. Perhaps a place to revisit another time.

Omana regional park to Kaiaua

Dusk was approaching as we left the Formosa Golf Course and we were feeling pretty tired it having been a long course to walk around and we also had lots of putting on and taking off of wet weather gear!

Dusk over Formosa

So we only drove as far as Omana Regional Park which is on the coast just before you get to Maraetai. Its a pretty spot overlooking Waiheke Island but with all the rain we have had the land was boggy so overnight parking was only allowed in the bus park. There was already a convoy of 4 motorhomes there - they are from New Plymouth and are all travelling together in convoy. We have all been ending up in the same places as we have travelled today!

Rest stop on way to Duder trig point

After we arrived we walked up the soggy hill to the lookout where we had expansive views over Waiheke and the inner Hauraki Gulf. After a peaceful night we thought of doing the hour long perimeter walk around the park but as it was drizzling yet again we opted to move on through Maraetai and along the lovely Maraetai Drive which hugs the very scenic coast and is known as the Pohutakawa Coast after our lovely red-flowering "Christmas Trees". It wasn't long before we reached Duder Regional Park where, as the sky had cleared, we decided to walk up to the trig point for more amazing views. The farm track was ever so wet, muddy, slippery and covered in "farm poo" but initially it was quite clear looking out over the coast. Just before we reached the trig however the rain started again and the views disappeared into the mist. Although we had rain jackets our lower halves were a trifle wet by the time we got back to the bus.

Same view without T (not the same is it?!)

We then stopped briefly in tiny Clevedon which is famous for its Sunday markets before having lunch in the bus at Kawakawa Bay and then driving on down to Orere Point which Len decided was not the fishing spot he was looking for. A little further on is Tapapakanga Regional Park which is right on the water and was asking for a rod but, like the fisherman who was just leaving, Len once again had no bites. He is pleased to have finished the unsuccessful bait that he last bought as maybe that has been the problem!

Tonight we were heading for the free parking area at Kaiaua - Rays Rest - which is a very popular stop over for motorhomers being an internationally important wetland and a "stop over" for many of Miranda's migratory birds. However we somehow stopped a little early and have joined 3 other motorhomes at the Kaiaua Boat ramp. No worries, we can always have breakfast at Rays Rest in the morning!

Whitford & Formosa Golf Club

After leaving Sue's on Monday morning we headed East along the scenic Tamaki Drive to Mission Bay, St Heliers, Achilles Point and further along the coastal road to Half Moon Bay, Bucklands Beach and then Musick Point which you reach by driving through the Howick Golf Course - no, we didn't play but Len did put his fishing rod out at the rocky point. But like the other Chinese lads fishing there he had no bites. There are great views to be had along the coast though of Rangitoto, Waiheke and other islands out to sea just beyond the various channels.

A great view of Auckland from Tamaki Drive

After a bit of a detour to pick up our new cover for the bus, which we want to use when it is parked up for the 2 months we're in the UK, we continued on to Whitford, parking up for the night at a farmlet/ orchard POP, south of the village. There was no NZMCA wings sign on the gate as is the norm for POPS but we drove in anyway, the Indian lady telling us that although they are not a POP anymore she was happy for us to stay. And we were more than happy to pay $10 for power which helped keep us lovely and warm for the quiet and peaceful night in the country.

Tuesday we were on the road again intending to head to Miranda but just down the road we found the Formosa International Golf Course which we thought we would just drive into for a look as it would be too wet and expensive to play on. However after advice from the golf Pro about the special deals on Groupon and with the help of our Samsung Galaxy we were able to buy the needed vouchers - $55 for the 2 of us to play plus we can have another game for free at a later date! That's a great deal as it would have cost the 2 of us $90 for a game normally. However the conditions were pretty bad with the rain showers alternating with fine patches and the ground being totally muddy and slushy. What a mess we got in with the mud flying up into our faces and eyes with a lot of shots (and I did plenty!) I think I'm a fine weather, short course golfer!

T on the tee & L in the s***!

The course had lots of large clover-like bunkers surrounding the greens - sometimes 5 or 6 - and there were lots of water hazards, one in particular that we had no idea was there. Also the fairways were those ones designed for Pros - instead of leading on to the greens there would often be long grass for some distance in front of the greens as well as all the long grass and rough along the edges that are very hard to get out of! On a nice day when the ground is dry the course would be beautiful and great for good golfers I 'm sure with the back nine holes having amazing views out over the water to Waiheke Island.

Auckland Part 2, Kelly Tarlton's & Sues

Seminar over I was looking forward to a relaxing Sunday. First thing we wanted to do was pop in to see my niece Jacki, Tim and their family but sadly for us, and happily for them J & T were at the airport waiting for their flight to Fiji! Lesson learnt - don't leave communications til the last minute Trish!

So next on the list was a visit to Kelly Tarltons Sea Life Aquarium (where Len has never been and where I haven't been since the children were little) and the Penguin Encounter where neither of us have been. It's a truly great place and we loved every minute of our visit which took over 2 hours without a tea or snack break. The Gentoo and King Penguins which you see both swimming in the water and standing, beaks pointed, on the ice, in the case of the King Penguins or inquisitively coming to look at you through the glass in the case of the smaller Gentoo Penguins, are all amazingly beautiful as you walk through their icy environment, separated just by the glass.

A graceful 250kg stingray!

So many different species of fish and sharks to see ranging from the beautiful colourful little tropical fish to the big and ugly as you walk through the underwater tunnel and we were fascinated to watch the girl at the stingray encounter where in front of the large audience she fed the fish and stingrays in the tank. The stingrays were huge and one in particular kept sliding itself right up her back and over her body. She is obviously very used to it now but she did say to us that it was rather scary when she first went in with them! Rather her then me!
If you haven't yet been to Kelly Tarltons put it on your list of 'must-dos'! It's well worth a visit.

Reminiscing schoolmates!

Next, and last, stop for the day was at my schoolfriend's, Sue's, new apartment in Parnell which she just moved into, from around the corner, 2 weeks ago. It was great to see her lovely new place, admire all the handiwork she has done with such things as fastening all the tools to the wall downstairs and spend the night in one of her big comfortable spare beds after a nice dinner and catch-up. And we came away this morning with some of her delicious home-made muesli (I have the recipe), yummy tomato relish and plum jam which we have yet to taste. We feel very spoilt.

Auckland Part 1

After listening to the wind and rain through the night in The Piha Motor Camp and with the forecast predicting winds of up to 120 kph we decided it would be wise to head into Auckland early and not risk the road being blocked by falling trees or being buffeted about too much on the road. This meant we didn't get to do any more of the nice walks in the area such as the one to the Kitekite Falls which is one of the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls in the Waitakere Ranges. With all the rain we have been having they should look amazing at the moment.
But that and all the other walks will have to wait for the next visit!

Piha's Lion Rock

In hindsight we could have stayed around for longer as the wind was no problem to the bus as we climbed up the steep hill and headed away from the beach through the bushclad regional park to the Tui Glen Reserve, Henderson, in the western suburbs of Auckland, where there is an NZMCA park. Not a very big site and with 4 vehicles there, one of which was a giant bus, there probably would have been room for only 1 or 2 smaller vehicles. It's a good safe overnight stop though for Auckland as the high gates to the parking area are well padlocked at all times and the the entrance to the park itself is locked at night as well. There were instructions on the wall for what to do if you had to get out in a hurry!
After arriving there we had a wander down to the Henderson shops, sheltering whenever we needed to from the squally rain showers. It was a freezing cold night but we layered up our clothes and, before dinner, had happy hour in the little communal lounge at the park enjoying the chat and the information we picked up for our onward travels from the other 2 couples that joined us - Malcolm and Julie from the Waiarapa who, like us, have rented their house out for a year and Brian and Roseanne from Rotorua who have lived in their big bus for about 4 years.

Henderson in the cold - no sweat!

Because I wanted to have handy bus access into Queen St on Saturday for an Acupuncture Seminar I had registered for we moved to the Remuera Motor Lodge and Inner City Campground on Friday. I love using my goldcard and getting all my bus rides free - such a bonus and such a shame that Len still has to pay for his fares! So on Friday we took the bus into the city, perused the shops which is pretty unusual for us, had lunch in the Asian foodcourt and enjoyed walking out along the waterfront past the Viaduct Basin and to the Seafood Market. Back at the campground it was nice to do some washing, get all our wet things dry and plug in our electric heater to get warm! We just need a bit more sun to dry out Len's golf bag.

Saturday morning I was at the bus stop at 7.30 in plenty of time for the bus into town and my seminar at the City Life Hotel on Queen St. It was a good day and Len was there to meet me at 5.00pm having spent the day doing lots of walking around the city and up Mount Hobson for great views out over the harbour. On the way back to camp on the bus we stopped at the Remuera shops for a lovely meal at the Thai Village restaurant there managing to keep dry under the umbrella afterwards for the final part of the walk back to Debussy.

Bethells Beach & Piha Beach

This morning we drove up the hill to the lookout point for Muriwai Beach and then walked out along the muddy path and down the slippery steps to view the gannet colony which must be a spectacular sight when the birds are nesting between August and November. The hundreds of nesting mounds look rather like rock at this time of the year when all the young ones have flown over the Tasman to Australia, 25% of them returning again at nesting time. Meanwhile their parents are fishing up and down the coast - something we enjoyed watching when Len had his line out at Pouto. There were several gannets there dive bombing into the water, one of them flying right into the fishing line but luckily it managed to extricate itself quickly. Today there were just a couple of gannets on the flat nesting rocks but several cute fantails flitting about in the showers.

Empty nesting sites a pecking distance apart

Bethells Beach was the next stop on the wild, wet west coast - a fairly remote tiny settlement with huge puddles through and around the carparking area and quite a long walk over the black sand to the sea and the little stream running into it. It was just raining lightly when we went for our walk down the beach but it wasn't long before it was pelting down sideways with a few hailstones added in. In our shorts and jackets we soon looked like we had just stepped out of the sea and we rather admired the tenacious dog-walkers who had ventured out, particularly the 2 girls with 5 dogs between them. Imagine all of them jumping back into your car drenched through!

Running for cover!

With the weather how it was we had no wish to linger so set off along the lovely scenic drive through the Waitakere ranges with all the little driveways leading to the numerous houses hidden in the beautiful bush to the next beach, Piha, which is known as a great place to surf but which is also a dangerous swimming beach with lots of rescues carried out each year. Those who watch the TV programme, Piha Rescue, each week will be well aware of this with 3 swimmers apparently drowning here just a few weeks ago.
Lion Rock is the prominent feature and icon of the beach, tall and sitting mostly out into the sea, giving great views both up and down the beach as we found out when we climbed it today. It was once a fortified Maori Pa and, being culturally and spiritually significant to Maori has a carved guardian pou at the lookout.

We had a good walk down the beach, again pounded on by the intermittent heavy rain which has settled in now to gusty squalls. The weather forecast is bad for the whole of NZ over the next few days with heavy snow predicted in the south and rain and strong 120 km an hour winds for us just out of Auckland. We feel cosy in the camp ground with our heater on and the rain pelting on the roof but we are hoping to drive safely into West Auckland tomorrow before the strong winds come ( I have an acupuncture seminar to go to on Saturday) which means that we may not have a chance to do any of the other walks here or go to the Kitekite Falls which are the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls in the Waitakere Ranges. We'll just have to see what the morning brings!

South Head, Muriwai golf in the rain!

Wet, wet and wet is what it has been like over the last few days and because we have been trying to still get out and do things we are feeling pretty soggy. If we are not careful this will be the start of "cabin fever" although, to be fair, there have been the odd intermittent blue spots in the sky until today when we have had really heavy downpours.
Monday morning we drove out to South Head Golf Course on the Kaipara Harbour umming and ahing as to whether we would play because of the very grey sky and threatening rain clouds. There were only 3 cars at the course and we decided to give it a go with the rain deciding to pelt down as soon as we had paid and got the clubs out of the bus. Not the greatest of starts and I played accordingly all day - don't think I'm a wet weather golfer but I did have a lot of fun skimming some old balls over the pond on the par 3 10th hole until one finally skimmed itself to the bank on the other side! No photos of this unfortunately!
However the course itself is an out of the way gem and well worth playing on with its rolling hills, trees, nice gardens, ponds and spectacular views (although rather misty when we played) from the back nine. Because of all the rain we have had it was very soggy underfoot but still better drainage than others we have played on.

Brief blue out from Muriwai!

There was no time left for fishing so Muriwai Beach Motor Camp was our next stop and we booked in for 2 nights being desperate to do lots of washing and drying. Also we had been persuaded to enter the Open Golf Tournament at Muriwai Golf Course on Tuesday which at $30 entry fee was cheaper than normal green fees so we thought we may as well give it a go! If only Len had played as well as he did at South Head he would have won the top prize but that was not to be and I was no help having about my worst game for the year partly because I found all the plentiful deep bunkers but at least no-one knew me. We played with 2 Malaysian men, one of whom was a club member, and they were easy company.
We enjoyed the links course until it threw down with rain from the 12th tee onwards - the puddles on the greens were immense and the balls just stopped in the middle of them which doesn't help the scores at all. We now have very soggy golf bags (not quite quick enough to cover them up) and wet weather gear and are looking forward to some sunshine which looks like it won't come until next week! At least all our washing is done and nicely dried.

The black sands of Muriwai (golf course top right)

We walked down the beach with its striking black sand and Len fancied fishing from the flat rocks down the end if the weather was better in the morning and I hoped he was listening to my warnings about all the Chinese fishermen who seem to get washed off them! It wasn't put to the test though as it continued to rain through the night and was still showering this morning - not the best day for fishing.

Hellensville & Shelly Beach

We drove through Kaukapakapa, a tiny place with a big name, and then past Alan Gibbs property with all the amazing big sculptures, a couple of which you can see from the road, although rather distant. The emu was a little more up close through the high wire fence. It would be an interesting place to visit when he has one of his "open to the public days".

Bird behind the emu wire!
As we approached Hellensville we happened to see a sign pointing to the Hellensville golf course. The carpark was jammed full but the rain had eased to almost nothing and we could actually play without hardly a wait being early afternoon and the Saturday mens scramble being well underway.

It's a nice course but with all the rain it was very waterlogged, muddy and slushy and after playing another terrible game I had to wonder what I was doing there. Len was his usual steady self so I can't blame the conditions if they didn't affect him! It was nice to have a hot shower afterwards and just settle ourselves down the back of the carpark where they were more than happy for us to stay as security for the club even though the bus was still virtually incognito, covered with mud.

Afternoon in front of the telly!

It rained steadily through the night and was still raining when we left in the morning for Shelly Beach which is on the way to the South Head of the Kaipara Harbour. After we arrived at the little camping area on the waterfront with showers and toilets just along the way in the public car park we just "holed up" in the bus watching the rain expanding the large puddles on the grass between us and the beach as we enjoyed reading and watching a bit of netball on TV. There were already 2 other motorhomes parked and a large bus arrived not long before the rain suddenly stopped and a beautiful rainbow was to be seen before the sky turned blue. We all hopped out of our little houses and had a walk down to the jetty with Len and I going further, up a lot of steps to some streets above the Beach. It wasn't long before the sky became all grey again and there were some tiny spits of rain but now that it is dark all is quiet again. From the news it looks like the rain has been worse elsewhere, especially in the South Island.

The jetty looks like it might be good for fishing, so tomorrow, before we head to Muriwai Beach, it will be a choice between golf, which is up the road, or fishing! But of course that all depends on the weather!!

Tapora

Friday was grey and wet as we drove from Wellsford to Tapora Golf Club, stopping at Port Albert on the way to feel the wind and look at the rain pouring down on the jetty where we heard someone had just caught a 26 lb snapper. Len was easily able to resist the urge to hook one like it.
Motorhomes can park overnight for free here and it is a nice little spot with picnic tables and clean toilets.

A comforting coffee at a wet Port Albert!

The sealed road eventually turned to gravel and by the time we reached the golf club the colour of our bus was unrecognisable being covered all over in a thick layer of mud. There was already 1 motorhome and 1 caravan parked at the 9 hole golf club where the sub is only $120 a year, one couple being from Katikati and the other from Te Puke. They are not golfers but you can park in their little grassy carpark for free and use the shower (in the mens!) and toilets. The rain eased to drizzle and we hoped that the bus wouldn't get stuck while it sat there. Because it is quite a drive out there we had decided that we would play golf whatever the weather so after a quick lunch we got out the wet weather gear and set off for our 18 holes - green fees only $10 each.

It was very paddock-like being hard to tell in places where the division was between the fairways and the rough and the ball was often diverted sideways with the rough patches on the greens but it was an interesting layout with hills out the back and seeming more like an 18 hole course with the lengths of the fairways. It took us much longer to play than normal, maybe because I had to take so many shots. Not a good day for me! I don't think many people play on the course as I didn't see anyone elses divot all day and no one else was out there. Wally, who is "Mr Tapora Golf," was there working and made us feel very welcome. Friday nights they open the bar and cook fish and chips for the locals so I had a night off cooking and we joined the 10 or so that turned up for a good craic and nice company.

The busy road out of Tapora!

Bird Beach

It was raining again the next morning when we drove out of Tapora via

Bird Beach where there are a few houses lining the beach road and unfortunately the tide was out.

Matakohe, Pahi & Wellsford

Thursday (the 12th birthday for my lovely grand-daughter Madi) we left Tinopai and headed back to Matakohe where the award winning Kauri Museum is. It is Northland's largest undercover attraction with exhibits covering over 4,500 square metres and even though I tend to be a speedster in museums we were there for over 2 hours. You could easily spend 5-6 hours there I think as there is so much to see with outstanding displays depicting the harvesting of the Kauri by the early settlers and following the Kauri story and its uses right through to the present day. There is a lot of machinery with some working displays and wonderful life-like mannequins modelled on present day people who have either worked in the kauri industry themselves or are descendants of those who did. Some of the short film clips are really interesting and we had a really good laugh when we watched the film of the old-time tractor race - it was so funny and is a must-see!
And of course there are plentiful carvings and fine furniture to admire.

Fred, Joe & Len

2 unusual museum pieces!

From there we diverted to the 9 hole Matarua Golf Course to see if there were any changes to it from the last time we looked and turned back! Then it was covered with sheep and it was hard to make out the fairways - well this time it wasn't much different. Less sheep but lots of dung and the greens have to be fenced off - it's really just like one big paddock so even though the green fees were only $5 we again turned around as I can't bear the thought of hitting sheep and it quite puts you off your game.

That's one big fig ( or tiny table decoration)!

Pahi is a quaint little historic settlement on the upper reaches of the Kaipara Harbour with a wharf, an old hotel and a magnificent giant Morton Bay Fig tree. The ground was very wet underfoot from all the rain that we have had but it was a good place to stretch our legs before heading on to Wellsford where we stayed the night at the local RSA. The sound of traffic was a little wierd at first after all the quiet nights we have had with maybe just the sound of the waves lapping but the cars didn't keep us awake.

Tinopai

After the purchase of a good-sized bag of kumera from the roadside for a bargain price of $5 and a coffee stop by the river at Ruawai where the tide was in making the expansive river look like it might spill over the floodbanks at any time we followed the sealed road out to the harbourside village of Tinopai on Komiti Bay which is part of the Hukatere Peninsula.

The proud bargain hunter!

There is a permanent population of about 400 in Tinopai, this number swelling to about 1000 over the summer months as there are lots of holiday homes, a dairy and a community camp ground on the water's edge which is where we stayed for 2 nights. It's a lovely little spot and the sun was shining when we arrived but very soon it became rather inclement with cold winds and lots of showers between brief periods of showers.

Our $20 per night possie!

Len tried his best with the fishing, suffering the icy blows around the wharf and losing quite a lot of gear with his line being snagged, soon after we arrived on Tuesday. Yesterday he cast his line out close to our campground site, coming into shelter when the rain became too miserable. Unfortunately the freshly bought bait attracted no more than a little bait fish and even his invention bait of cabbage-wrapped carrot to attract the vege loving parore was unsuccessful! So all in all the fishing from the shores of the Kaipara Harbour has been rather sad. Ninety Mile Beach and Houhora Heads were the best spots but I'm sure we'll find some more. I think I'm becoming a fishless widow so maybe it's time to play golf again!

Good morning Tinopai!

We had a great little parking spot right by the water though with nice views and I was able to have free range in the small kitchen, making pumpkin soup, roasting some pumpkin for a vege curry and making some scones. The electric oven does a better job than our gas oven as well as making our gas bottle last longer! There was only one other occupant at the camp - Darcy, who has been in his caravan there for about 8 months. Tomorrow he leaves for Tauranga Bay, where we also stayed when we were further north, to join up with Ross, who we were parked next to there, and some other fishing mates. It is a small world on the road! Darcy joined us for Happy Hour last night and was easy company.

Pouto Point back to Dargaville

Pouto Point is a further 20 km south of Kellys Bay on the North Head of the Kaipara Harbour - more gravel road, but not corrugated, and we were able to enjoy the views of the bush, farmland, pine forests, stands of toi-toi and flax and the odd little lake on the undulating drive yesterday.
Kaipara Harbour is the largest harbour, by area in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest in the world with a convoluted shoreline of over 800 km so there are lots of areas to explore around the harbour some distance from the main road. For example, Pouto Point is about 67 km south of Dargaville so double that for the return trip. The harbour inlet is a hostile place with big waves over large treacherous sandbars thus being the graveyard for more ships than anywhere else in NZ - over 100 I believe so it would be rare for it to be used for shipping.

The perfect fishing spot!

Poutu Point has some holiday homes and just a few permanent residents with what looks like a great little fishing spot from a large flat rock on the beach - it has 4-5 rod stands already concreted in the rock. What should have been a good fishing day was non-productive - a bait issue we think as Len's bait had been refrozen a couple of times and there wasn't much so it wasn't long before he ran out.

Good morning Dargaville!

So instead of staying the night in the camp ground as we had planned we decided to head back to Dargaville (so we could buy some more bait - no shops in this part of the world!) arriving at the Dargaville Museum, where you can park for $10 a night, just before it closed. There are great views over the town and the river from the parking area on the hill and as the gates are locked at night we felt totally safe. We had "a red sky in the morning" but it made a beautiful reflection in the river which was a little less brown than when we last passed through.

Tokatoka 

After replenishing the bait box we headed down the other side of the Wairoa river towards our next destination of Tinopai, another little settlement on the harbour about 23 km south of Matakohe on the main road. As you drive down the road through the alluvial river plains renowned for its extensive kumera production, Dargaville being the "Kumera Capital of NZ", you see a remarkable cone-like hill right in front of you called Tokatoka Peak. So we had to stop to climb to the top - the track was very slippery, muddy and steep especially towards the top but thousands of footsteps have gouged out natural steps. It only took us about 11 minutes to go up, puffing heavily, but probably longer to come down to avoid slipping. I have to admit I didn't do the last few yards to the top and when Len got up there he thought that was a wise decision - a tiny peak high up with not much room to stand - I'm not good in those places!

Dargaville to Kellys Bay

Saturday it was time to move on so into Dargaville we went - I couldn't remember it from our last visit until we got there and then the memories of the very wide dirty brown river all came back! However Saturday morning had a vibrancy about it with the streets and the supermarket being busy. The most exciting thing is that we now have a $31 fish smoker with no bells or whistles from the Warehouse so we are ready for all Len's future kahawai!

Glinks Gully

From Dargaville we have taken the road south towards Kaipara Heads, stopping for a bus coffee at Glinks Gully where there is a line of holiday houses along the beach, one of which is a POP but it was closed up and we weren't wanting to stay anyway. The few people about were really friendly though and I'm sure it would have been no problem to stay although there is a camp ground up the road.

T by the sea, Debussy in de background!

Kellys Bay, on the east side of the Peninsula was our destination for a stay of 2 nights. What a beautiful spot with the camp ground being virtually right on the waters edge with just the very quiet road between us and the water. There are 30-40 mainly holiday homes with 2 permanent resident couples in the campground, one couple having lived here for 4 years. If you haven't got enough to do I think you must go nuts after that time if the white bearded and long haired camp manager who lives up the road is anything to go by. He rides his bike furiously up and down, up and down the little short flat bay road morning noon and night. He did 20km this morning and was out again after lunch - reminds us of a pet mouse in a cage with a ferris wheel! But, on the other hand, good on him as he is keeping fit and that's important.

The village "pet mouse"

On the fishing side, our smoker is still pristine as Len hasn't been able to catch anything either yesterday or today. Time to move down to the Heads at Pouto Point tomorrow!

Baylys Beach

We arrived at Bayly's Beach Holiday Park later in the afternoon and booked in for 2 nights. Not unusually we were the only ones there until late on our second night when a little old Bedford with a couple and their dog arrived. From the camp ground it is a steepish 500m walk down the hill to the beach where a narrow little stream runs down to the tide and when we first went down, without the camera, there were a group of Maori digging for toheroa, a protected and indigenous bi-valve shellfish, for an occasion "down the line". Because they became endangered from over-harvesting years ago a permit has been required since 1980 to collect them. Unless you have a permit you are not allowed to disturb them in any way.

I didn't disturb it too much!

Entrance to the beach at Baylys Beach

The settlement of about 400 permanent residents at Bayleys Beach is just one of the beaches on the beach known as Rapiro which stretches from Maunganui Bluff in the North to Pouto at the mouth of the Kaipara Harbour in the south. It is actually the longest driveable beach in NZ at 101 km and there seem to be quite a lot of 4WD vehicles using it. The sea was quite rough with the waves breaking from a long way out so Len decided to put the fishing on hold for a couple of days.

The Northern Wairoa golf course, which is just up the road from Bayly's Beach Holiday Park, is the local course for Dargaville and that's where we headed on Friday morning, a cold rather bleak day which produced the odd bit of drizzle while we played before turning into quite a heavy downpour afterwards. There were some groups of older men on the course, all in their carts, but there was no wait to start playing and no-one behind us. There's not too much trouble to get into on this course, apart from the bunkers surrounding the par threes, and there are just the odd little hills mainly where the tees are. Most of the fairways are straight and lined with Norfolk Pines and Pohutakawa which must look amazing when they are in flower in summer and there are some well tended gardens at odd spots around the course. We both had an average day, Len just beating me on match points allowing for my handicap.

Our venue for a great Thai meal!

That night we treated ourselves out for dinner at The Funky Fish Cafe and Bar which is a 2 minute walk from the camp ground (there is a short cut behind the houses!). It's a nice little Cafe with lots of atmosphere, good service and good food and as well as their normal menu they had a Thai chef there that night so we both enjoyed our Thai fish and chicken curries as well as a yummy dessert. The owner who has had the cafe for 12 years had just listed the business for sale that day - she feels it now needs someone more inspired than her though she still wants to work there. We think she has done a pretty good job with it.

Waipoua Forest & Kaiiwi Lakes

The trevally Len caught for tea on Wednesday was delicious and a change from the kahawai so he cast his line out a few more times on Thursday morning before setting off to Bayly's Beach, out from Dargaville, but only hooked a small snapper which had to be returned to the sea to grow bigger.

Once on the road the drive south took us through the Waipoua Forest for about 18 km, the road being quiet at this time of the year and winding through the beautiful, native, scenic bush with its splendid large Kauri. The "Lord of the Forest" is Tane Mahuta, a kauri with a girth of nearly 14 metres and being 52 metres high is over 2000 years old. Also worth seeing are Te Matua Ngahere reputed to be the widest and oldest Kauri at nearly 3,000 years and the 4 Sisters although having seen them all before we didn't stop this time. These kauris are all threatened by Kauri dieback, a fungus type disease, which is having a devastating effect on the kauri - once they are infected they will die and we are wondering whether the odd dead ones we saw not far from the road have been a victim of this.

Lake Taharoa, the largest of the Kaiiwi Lakes

Since travelling through the forest we have been told that we should have taken the loop road out to Trounson Park - our NZMCA book says that the DOC camp there is closed over winter but apparently there are some very good boardwalks through the forest - next time!! We did go out to the Kaiiwi Lakes again - 3 freshwater lakes situated in the Taharoa Domain. The whole area around the lake has been improved since the last time we were there with the road sealed, all the old, dangerous trees being felled and the camp ground all opened up and grassed. We met up again with Don and Eileen, from Foxton Beach (previously Papamoa), whom we had camped close to at Opononi and they were enjoying a couple of nights of peace and tranquillity by the nice lake - good for trout fishing. They had done a couple of walks there as well as a bike-ride a few km out to the beach.

Hokianga Part 3

We eventually arrived in pretty, historic Rawene on the water's edge in time for a very late lunch at the Boatshed Cafe which has a lovely atmosphere, being old and comfortable with interesting things on the walls. The whole tiny village has a nice little feel about it although we noticed that most things, including the cafe, are for sale. I had forgotten that the Hokianga Hospital sits just on the outskirts as does the golf course which we were hoping to play on but although the sign on the gate said "Course Open" the double padlocked chain prevented us from doing so! Yet another very difficult place to turn the bus with all the slushy ditches! We were going to stay at the Rawene motor camp but decided to head on to Opononi which was a good decision as we have since found that the Rawene Camp is closed for the month and once you drive up the hill to it to find this out you have got yourself into another spot where it's almost impossible to turn!!

Hokianga flounder for lunch at the Boatshed

On our way to Opononi, famous for the resident dolphin "Opo" who delighted locals and tourists alike by playing with them in the water here around 1955-1956, we drove to Koutu to see the "giant boulders" on the beach, walking through slush and mud to get to them. If you have seen the Moeraki Boulders in the South Island you would be sadly disappointed.

T (in sumo pose) & "boulder"

We have stopped for the 2 nights at the Opononi Holiday Camp which would come out about bottom on our list of places to stay in winter as there is no winter rate and at $35 a night with our discount it is expensive for the site we have and the substandard facilities. Because of the rain the owner says the grass is too soft to park on so they have put the 4 vehicles staying next to 2 unoccupied caravans on the hard stand about one metre apart - illegal we are told by the other disgruntled travellers as we are apparently meant to have 4 metres between us. No room for awnings or chairs that's for sure although it means we have all been able to meet easily and have a good chat! We are the only ones staying for 2 nights and that's only because it looks like good fishing from the harbours edge. Len is out there right now so I will go and investigate soon. The forecast is for showers and it looks like they are approaching - consequently I have one eye on the washing!

Trevally for tea!

Hokianga Part 2

It started raining heavily and steadily about 3.00am and continued constantly until late morning so when we left the Eco Lodge there were huge puddles of water lying everywhere. We had planned to catch the hourly ferry over the Hokianga Harbour to Rawene but when we looked at the map decided instead to drive around the harbour as we wanted to go to Horeke and the distance didn't look much further to do the round trip (which it wouldn't have been if we hadn't accidentally taken the wrong road once leaving Horeke!)
Horeke itself, once known for it's boatbuilding, now consists of a nice old Pub sitting on the waters edge and obviously with beautiful views when it is a nice day. Coffee in hand, parked on the waterfront, we still enjoyed the rain and misty views out over the harbour before driving around to the Wairere Boulder Carpark where we felt we could get a pretty good idea of what it would be like to do the walk through them over the little bridges as we could see some of the boulders from the bus. Because it was raining, the entry fee was $10 each for a stroll of up to an hour although there didn't seem to be anyone manning it, and we have good imaginations we decided to drive on round to the Mangungu Mission House where 63 Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi. We couldn't go in as it is only open on Sundays over winter.

The road to nowhere!

This is where the navigator made her mistake - instead of turning back to go past the Boulders again we continued on down the waterfront road, rather enjoying the drive which ended up going up into the hills on a ridgeline with fantastic views out over the harbour to the right and the river to the left, which I did think was just a little strange as according to the map the river should have been on the right. We thought it strange that we didn't see any other cars at all apart from derelict vehicles on the roadside- an upside down car, old machinery and a caravan shell to name a few.

Then the road became steadily narrower until soon there were just two wheel tracks with grass growing in the middle! Then it was not long before we struck the end of the road and 2 gates, one leading to a house and the other into a paddock. Oh no, not again!! There was just enough room to turn the bus around again and retrace our steps - once back at the Mission House it was easy to see the mistake (I had) made but never mind - it had been quite a nice drive! The correct road through to Taheke was gravelly and rough for the first half until we suddenly reached sealed road with a middle line again.

Hokianga Part 1

Our departure from Ahipara on Monday morning was tinged with sadness as we loved our 6 nights on our treed roomy site and our 6 days of fishing on Ninety Mile Beach and golf. We spent what seemed a long time on the road that day driving, with some deviations which I'll talk about later to Mitimiti, a tiny settlement on the west coast - big waves breaking from a long way out on the rocky shore with the odd fisherman trying his luck.

Fisherman at Mitimiti

On the way through this fairly isolated bushclad, hilly country we stopped at the Broadwood Golf Course, which we had already been advised not to bother to play, to see for ourselves what it was like. Well, even though it is listed on dotgolf the course is just totally covered with long grass and obviously hasn't been played on for some time, so then it was just a coffee stop at Broadwood, the one-shop-village before moving on to Kohukohu, a pretty little village which was an early timber milling town on the edge of the Hokianga Harbour just a few kms before the Narrows ferry landing which takes you over the water to Rawene. Kohukohu can boast that it has the oldest bridge in NZ built between 1840-1866, a stone arch shape built of Sydney sandstone. Very small so you need to follow the sign!
We had been told by another motorhomer that there was a nice historic white church on the waters edge at Matawhera so we diverted ourselves down the Matawhera Road and all I can say is Don't Go There! I started feeling more and more uncomfortable as the windy gravel road became increasingly narrow until finally it just ended at a gate with ditches both sides so we couldn't turn around so the only real option was go through the gate and further along the road which in no time turned into steepish muddy looking track which was impossible to even think about taking on so Len had to back the bus back down to where the only place without a ditch existed - an old track that was also going up a slight hill. Talk about a scary rather precarious few minutes doing a 20 point turn on the rough slopey track trying to miss the ditches. Len felt he was sitting on his door but I don't think we would have actually tipped over. It was so nice to be heading safely out of there though!
So then it was back to the 'main road' and on to Mitimiti slowing down for the many horses, sheep and dogs we met on the way. One dog came hurtling down a driveway barking like mad and I don't know to this day how it missed our wheels. There were bushcovered conical hills, marshlands with mangroves, little old houses and hardly any cars but they were all friendly giving us big waves as we passed by. Quite isolated really with the road turning to gravel halfway there but once we arrived the expansive sea views were awesome - a great spot for having a late lunch before heading back towards the Narrows Ferry landing.

We took another sidetrip, where the road was fine, down to Motuti and pretty little historic St Mary's Church which houses the remains of Bishop Pompallier, the first Roman Catholic missionary.

Self styled mailbox. 800w I think!

We stopped for the night at the Tree House Eco Lodge which is a back-packer hostel with 4 motorhome sites. We had power but didn't use any of the facilities for $12 for the night - a nice safe parking spot amongst the trees.

Ahipara Part 2

Len ended up catching 2 kahawai off the beach and rocks close to Shipwreck Bay on Thursday and after talking to our caravanning neighbours, Ron and Angel, in the camp decided to take our bus up Ninety Mile Beach to a better fishing spot on Friday morning. The sand getting onto the beach initially from the Ahipara road end did look a bit cut up but Len followed in the imprint made by other vehicles and we heaved a sigh of relief when we reached the firmer beach surface. Since then we talked to fellow golfers who lived close to the beach and they were both horrified and amazed that we had entered the beach at this point as they are forever towing cars that aren't 4 wheel drives off the beach! Apparently there is a much safer entry point a few kms further down!

What time's the next bus?!

One for the pot!

We had a great fishing morning - 4 kahawai caught in a short time while some other fellow campers fishing next to us, Wid and Graeme, brought in 2 big snapper on their longline. They didn't catch anything on their surfcaster though so I think Len has the magic touch.
Wid lent us his smoker and the fish cooked up beautifully - smoked kahawai is yum and sometime soon we are just going to have to try and fit one into the bus boot. Not sure what we'll have to forego to do this - not the golf clubs!

Sunset from the 9th tee

Saturday and Sunday we were entered into the Ahipara Pak 'n Save mixed pairs golf tournament so it was a very short trundle of our golf clubs along the road from the camp to the golf course for the 10.00am start. On Saturday we played with Roy and Kate from Clarks Beach and on Sunday with Chippie and Kerry from Kaitaia. Len and I were about middle of the field of 24 pairs with our combined points on both days so we were happy enough with that - not in the prizes but Rae, a lovely older lady who does lots of organising in the club, insisted on sharing the vegetables she won in a couple of rafffles with us so we came home with some lots of lovely rhubarb, pumpkin and broccoli.

Kaitaia and Ahipara have a real problem with unemployment, burglaries, tagging etc and we are told that anything that is not tied down will be taken. Len found this out when he went to smoke our fish in the camp barbecue/smoker and found someone had stolen the connection pipe and regulator, unbeknown to the camp owners. However we have loved our time at Ahipara and with staying 6 nights, playing golf on 4 days and fishing alongside other campers we really felt like part of the community with everyone being so warm and friendly. We felt safe in the camping ground and it's the longest we have stayed anywhere whilst on the road.