Headed east towards the Coromandel Peninsula stopping at a sea bird reserve at Miranda to ‘twitch’ the bar-tailed godwits which had just arrived from Siberia to feed up during the southern hemisphere Summer. Camped a night at Miranda Springs – our first experience of hot pools. We then drove up the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula stopping at the roadside south of Coromandel town for locally grown oysters. The last section of the day’s drive was a spectacular coastal leg on unmade roads to a Department of Conservation camp at Port Jackson at the remote tip of the Peninsula.
Our next stop was the beautiful Hahei Beach where we spent three nights; giving me the chance to make two dives from a boat launched from the beach….
and walk to Cathedral Cove.
From there via Tauranga to Rotorua with its mud pools…
/>
and geysers…
and cultural performances….
and museum located in a late 19th Century mock-Tudor bathhouse…
and ‘Buried Village’ which was covered in mud and volcanic ash during the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886.
We passed two nights at Waikite Valley beside a thermal spring where 50 litres of water per second erupts from the earth at 98 degrees Celsius which supplies a complex of hot pools.
Also spent a morning at the Waimangu thermal valley with its hot lakes, steam vents and silica terraces – many formed after the eruption of Mount Tarawera….
and visited the Huka Falls at Taupo where the Waikato River, which rises from Lake Taupo, is forced through a narrow gorge.
When we returned to the coast, we had an evening meal at a Thai restaurant with David (the son of Arthur and Jean) and Gay, his wife….
at Mount Manganui near Tauranga where we camped the night at the base of the Mount – after a soak in the hot salt pools.
The following morning, after a brisk walk up Mount Manganui….
and a last soak at the hot pools, we started the drive along the ‘Pacific Highway’ between Tauranga and Gisborne on the central North Island’s sparsely populated east coast.
We stopped two nights on the beach; the first at Opotiki and the second at Tokomaru Bay.
Passed a day in Gisborne, which is a bit of a run-down town, restocking and then moved on to Napier (via Wairoa) which has an aquarium…..
but is more famous for its wine….
and which styles itself as the Art Deco capital of the world – by virtue of the fact that it was flattened by an earthquake in 1931 and then totally rebuilt in the styles of the day.
We next moved on to nearby Hastings where we camped for two nights in a field at nearby Havelock North. Spotted and stopped at a dog-jumping competition on the way in…
and visited the Craggy Range Winery which is located in a scenic valley and where we had a very good dinner at their French restaurant (clams followed by venison).
The final leg of the journey down the North Island was through the Hawkes Bay wine district to Martinborough and on to Lake Ferry and Cape Palliser. There is a large colony of fur seals at this the remote, southernmost tip of the North Island. We spent a night in a very windy cove sleeping no more than 10 metres from three seals…
and had venison for dinner.
We spent a day in Wellington visiting the museum…
and parliament buildings, and…
ate out at the Boulcott Street Bistro…
before taking the ferry from Wellington…
to Picton in the South Island.
Responses
Rachel says: Hi Paul, This has made me very ‘homesick’ – you can see my parents’ house it your picture taken from the top of Mount Maunganui and I have been to the same mauri experience at Rotorua. Enjoy the rest of the trip! Best wishes, Rachel
Paul says: er – which one was the geyser? And tell Danielle I’ll have a bacon sarnie!
Jacqui Gregory says: Just got a message from Danielle so we will be following your journey. Looks fabulous so far. Jacqui & Roger
Carole Furnivall says: All looks amazing thanks. Good to see you both looking well and relaxed too.
Elaine and Ronnie says: I have decided that you are no longer my friend……I am so jealous of the beautiful places that you have been to. I cannot possibly live with such greenness the kiddies at school would be scared of me! Ronnie asks if you have managed to stow a large vat of wine in your truck for him. Love you really xx
Simon and Susie says: Dear Paul and Danielle, I have only just looked at your amazing website. What extraordinary pictures, what a wonderful time. I love the colours – the blues of the skies and waters, the gold of the sunsets and yellow of the sulphur lakes. It also looks as though you have the place to yourselves- just Lelliotts and landscapes. I will try to imagine myself in New Zealand next time I am on the tube with my nose pressed up under a taller person’s armpit. I went to Eastbourne yesterday, if it is of any interest. We are going to have a very quiet Christmas, (a dream come true for Simon), just Ben, Simon, me and the dog. Liz is volunteering at Crisis. Ben has informed me that he will be on a water fast (still water, no food at all), what a time to pick. We have therefore stocked up on bottles from various mineral springs, backed up with a quantity of Brita charcoal filters. We feel it will be a memorable festival, almost Cromwellian – out with gluttony, in with abstinence. And so we wish you both a very happy Christmas, awash with all forms of surplus. With our love, Simon and Susie.
Jacqui Gregory says: Dear Paul & Danielle, Thank you for the postcard. It sounds as though you are having the trip of a lifetime. Where on earth will you go next time the itchy feet get the better of you? Lots of love, Jacqui & Roger
Jacqui Gregory says: Just received your postcard from Cookstown; it took 3 weeks to get here. It sounds as though you will be very sad leaving Australia. Roger is OK but life is not what is was. It will be a long waiting game. Bonne chance et bonne route. Bisous, Jacqui & Roger.