Chilling in Northern New Zealand

The weather cleared just enough for us to catch one of Taupos famous sunsets, not to the extent that we hoped for, but it was still worth rushing down to the lake side after suddenly realising that the clouds had decided to part. We awoke to yet another cloudy day and headed off further north stopping by the famous Huka Falls where water from Lake Taupo is squeezed through a narrow hard rock gorge and down in to a pool at around 200.000 litres a second! We then passed through Rotorua, unfortunately missing out on touring the well known geysers and thermal pools due to that ever so familiar rain! After having a quick lunch we carried on towards Karangahake Gorge, described as a rugged but beautiful gorge passing more thermal hotspots. Upon arrival to our hostel, The Golden Owl, we were advised by the manager to take a short walk across the road and in to the old gold mine. Most of the buildings were completely gone with only the concrete foundations remaining, however the train track and the maze of mining tunnels still remained. After passing in to the tunnels beyond the light of the outside world armed only with a small fading torch we looked up to the star like spread of glowworms, something we considered paying a fair few dollars to see back on the South Island. After a cheeky exploration, and Laura not wanting to head any further down the tunnels we headed out to the welcome light and warmth of sunlight which was an especially nice surprise as it was raining when we entered the tunnels! We drove to Pearoa, famous for its mineral water and the drink made with it, Lemon & Paeroa which will be familiar to anyone that has visited New Zealand, and bought some needed supplies, before heading home, cooking and sleeping.

We woke up to a nice sunny day, and headed off to Coromandel, a great drive up the peninsula with stunning views of an ancient volcanic landscape and brilliant blue seas. We had lots of time to kill before checking in to our hostel so we decided to drive along the well known, in NZ, 309 road where we saw Stu and his wild pigs, of which one was 2 weeks old and another only 3 days old….Laura was in her element! Further along the road we visited a Kauri Tree Grove, the largest being around 600 years old and yet another waterfall! We then explored further finding some virtually deserted long white sandy beaches and went for an endless stroll along the beautiful beach. Most of the Coromandel Peninsula, beyond the well established towns is accessible by gravel road only so a lot of the driving was bumpy gravel roads! We then went to go and check in to our pre-booked hostel at Tui Lodge, but the manager was sure we didn't have a booking, we reminded her of the conversation we had over the phone and she soon realised that she had double booked our room. She came up with a solution, her friend owns a b&b across the road and we were subsequently upgraded to a night in the b&b with a super comfy king size bed and en suite bathroom! LUXURY!

After a comfortable nights sleep we awoke to fine weather again so decided we would go and explore the north of the peninsula and check out the great coastal walk. We made our way north, through Colville, an old town, with a general store and not much else and on to the gravel roads of the north of Coromandel. We stopped off along our way to explore a rocky beach of the west coast, rich in semi-precious stones, supposedly, and looked back south to see a wall of grey cloud and rain heading up the coastline. We raced back to the car and decided it may well be sunny on the eastern side of the peninsula so trekked across to the east side via a long and twisting gravel road to some sun, after reaching a nice bay and deciding it was time for lunch we then looked behind us to see, yep, you guessed it, rain! (Photos below show the view in front of and behind the car!). We then jumped back in the car, thinking it was best to get back to the Hostel as Siri II (the golden Daihatsu Sirion) may not make it back on the gravel roads in a rain storm. We spent the rest of the day getting some washing done and watching the worst film on the planet! (Laura's great choice of Bridesmaids, even she didn't like it!) And booking some hostels for the Northland.

Infront of the Car

Behind the Car

We woke up and got off early due to our marathon journey ahead of us through Auckland and on to the gateway to the northern tip of NZ. Our destination was the highly rated Little Earth Lodge a few kms out of Whangarei right by Abbey Caves. A steep drive down, past their two miniature ponies, Tom & Jerry and a warm welcome from their rescue dog Muttley to a Grand Designs style "semi" eco-lodge we knew we would like it! "Semi" eco-lodge due to their plans of wind/solar energy in the future but already an efficient lodge with a few clever energy saving characteristics. We still had a fair few hours of sunlight left so decided to go and explore the Abbey Caves, a network of caves created mainly by water running through the limestone rock formations. We geared up in caving shoes, head torches and helmets and set off on our way, unguided, as you are meant to do apparently! It took us a while to find the first cave, hidden by bushes, but eventually found it and lowered ourselves down the slippery rock in to the opening of Organ Cave. We hesitantly and slowly made our way in to the pitch black, jumping as a crayfish moved in the murky water below us. As we moved further into the cave it became apparent that we weren't going to get anywhere unless we got wet. it took us a while to gather up the courage to pass through the brown water, coming up past our waists with little more than a few centimetres of space above us at times. We ventured further and further in to the cave past impressive stalagmites and stalactites past vast caverns and up rushing waterfalls. A moment that Laura will never forget is stepping in to what she thought was a small puddle, but turning out to be a deep hole, right up to her shoulders, clinging on with her finger tips, telling me afterwards that she thought Gollum was sucking her down! The reason we went in to the caves was to see the glowworms, which we had already seen in Karangahake mines, but these were a hundred times more spectacular. Thousands of them lining the roof of the caves projecting an image similar to the night sky, ever so present in NZ. The other caves were much the same with their own impressive features and characteristics, and in the middle cave we looked up at one point to see the distant light of the outside world which must have been 50 metres above us. We clambered out of the last cave, emotionally and physically exhausted and headed back to the Lodge for a well earned nights rest!

The next day we woke up to yet more sun! Gladly as Lonely Planet mentions that the Northland only receives an average of 7 days of rain a month during the summer. We carried on up further north, stopping by the most photographed waterfall in NZ, visited a few of the stunning beaches this area has to offer, climbing a mountain to reach Lonely Planets recommended giant rock pool, Mermaid pool and had amazing fish and chips and finally reached Kerikeri Farm Hostel, our bed for 3 nights. We have spent today touring the local area, our first stop off being Charlie's Rock, a must see for obvious reasons! Yet another NZ waterfall, this one is famous for the locals using the deep pool it has created below as a swimming hole and often jump off the small cliffs that surround it. Apparently parts of this pool are so deep they don't quite know how deep it actually is. Before grabbing some lunch and heading to Whangaroa Harbour to book an all day fishing trip for tomorrow. We spent the afternoon lazing on Matauri Bay beach, with a satisfying swim in the crystal clear sea and touring a few more local bays, finishing with an amble along the peachy pink sands of Tauranga Bay beach. We are both looking forward to our fishing trip tomorrow so will keep you posted soon!