East Cape

From the Bay of Plenty we have headed east to the sparsely populated Eastern Cape. As we drove we could constantly see a small island out to sea with cloud clinging to it...

...On closer inspection with the telephoto lens we could see it was White Island, an active volcano that erupted... yesterday! Apparently this is a regular occurrence that the locals don't bat an eyelid too.

Signs of volcanism are everywhere, our lunch stop at a beautiful black sand beach just one example:

We arrived late afternoon at the East Cape lighthouse just as the storm clouds did. The World's most easterly lighthouse felt like the end of the Earth and the storm that hit at 3am sure made us feel that way!

No tourist gimmicks here just rugged NZ beauty and a total feeling of isolation (if it wasn't for all the sheep!)

The storm had blown over in time for a stroll on the beach the next day, once again with so many beaches to chose from we seem to always have the sand to ourselves :-)

We have now arrived in Gisborne where we are going to prepare for our first Great Walk, Lake Waikaremoana, a four day backcountry trek through ancient forests. We will be taking all our supplies such as food, water, cooking and sleeping gear so we will spend the next day or so making sure we have all we need before we start the walk on Monday. 

We will update when we get back from our first of 9 Great Walk experiences! Wish us luck! :-) 

Bay of Plenty

Another day and another volcano, this time Mt Maunganui in the town of Tauranga. This one was a steeper climb in very windy conditions but the views, as always, were well worth it.

One of the local sheep managed to get in on the shot...

We then made our way to Te Puke in west Bay of Plenty, the kiwi fruit capital of the world with over 2500 kiwi farms. We went on an informative tour of one of the farms and learnt lots of interesting facts about how they are grown, harvested and distributed World wide.

Did you know that if you wish to ripen kiwi fruit quickly you should store them in a bag with an apple, puncture the skin of the apple and seal the bag for speedy ripening! 

The area has lots of different fruit & nuts growing all year round due to the mild climate. We discovered a new fruit to us, lemonade (not the drink) a sweet variety of lemon - lovely to eat but we think it would be even better in a G&T!

They grow both green and golden kiwi fruit here and make a range of products including some strong kiwi liquor - tasty! 

Coromandel Peninsula

Kauraeranga Valley

The Coromandel Peninsula is south east of Auckland. Made up of mountains covered in dense forest and stunning beaches, we have thoroughly enjoyed exploring over the last two days. The forest was so close around us; the sounds of all the bird life made it very enchanting.

This particular trail led us to another giant Kauri tree...

It felt good to fully stretch the legs in preparation for our first NZ Great Walk (a four day backcountry hike) in 6 days time!

Cathedral Cove

The following day took us to Cathedral Cove - a limestone headland dramatically eroded by the sea into rock arches and stacks (Dave's geography A level knowledge is slowly returning).

The waves crashing at the base of the cliff sent a boom reverberating around the cave, an awesome sound.

With the bay full of coves to explore and the sea peppered with small islands we had a lovely morning.

Mt Paku

After lunch we scaled Mt Paku, an extinct volcano in the town of Tairua. Great views in all directions.

Waihi Beach

We are now at a campsite on the back of a 10km beach, the weather has started to turn but we couldn't believe we were the only ones walking on the sand! 

Bay of Islands

We are on the east coast of the Northlands at a place called Bay of Islands, the best way to see the islands is by over water so we sailed around the various bays and beaches on a small yacht called 'She's a Lady'.

There was just four of us including the captain so it was a really peaceful day in the sunshine. We stopped for lunch where we took to the water again in sea kayaks before climbing a hill to look out over the marine reserve.

The views in all directions were fabulous...

We think the captain wanted some down time on the way back as he had Dave driving and Mel's raising and lowering the sails (note: Captain Dave and gubbins girl Mel's).

Northlands: rolling hills, giant trees, beautiful coastline...

Just west of Auckland, Dave stretches his legs on the windswept Piha beach.

We hit the road north; below is a typical window view. Radio does not work, a potential problem as now Dave insists on humming/murdering Lord of the Rings theme tunes.... ;-)

As always, Dave is keen on meeting the locals! This might be as close as we get to seeing a Kiwi bird...

We then came to the land of the giants - Kauri forest, full of New Zealand's biggest trees surrounded by intriguing jungle...

Below is Tane Mahuta in Waipoua forest, thousands of years old, it is the biggest Kauri tree of them all. 

Out of the forest and greeted with this view, Hokianga Habour. Hardly a cloud in the sky, it lived up to the expectation - we broke up the driving here walking and taking photos.  

Last stop of the day, we arrived as far north as north would take us - Cape Reinga, an isolated and beautiful headland, and the northern tip of NZ. 

We drove all this way.... You'd have thought the lighthouse would be bigger...

As we stood next to the lighthouse, we thought about everyone at home, over 9000 miles away. 

 

Rest spot for the evening, a beautiful beachside campground, complete with the sound of gentle rhythmic waves. What a great day.

Our New Home... Holly the Campervan

After a anxious search in Auckland for our new home, we are now the proud owners of Holly: our motorhome! She is a 'H' reg, and named after the street in Auckland where we purchased her - Hollywood Ave. 

Dave is happy as she is defiantly easier to handle than the beast of a bus we had in Canada (which is good because the roads here are small and windy!) 

As you can see she is very comfortable inside, the T.V does not work but who needs TV when she comes with views like this?! (Dad Yates do you recognise this place?) 

Below is our first dinner together, celebration complete with a plastic (glass) of NZ Pinot Noir! 

Seating area converts to a very comfy king size bed - much more room than we have at home!