Northlands
Chris waiting for the sun to shine!!!Ok, so the sun stayed out for most of our trip around the Bay of Islands, which still weren't that impressive...but then again we were on boat full of old cronies, having avoided tourists for most of our previous travels we were brought back to earth with large bump! Sea was too choppy to do highlight of the trip...cruise through 'Hole in the Rock' and after guaranteeing dolphin sighting, the captain was the only one to spot one...so all in all a bit of a disappointment!
From here we travelled further up the coast past Doubtless Bay and various other deserted sandy beaches! We were disappointed not to be able to get up to Cape Reinga the most northerly point as the road had been washed away by all the rain, we did get to see the start of the Ninty Mile Beach which forms the other highway up to the Northern tip but driving along the beach in our beaten up old vans wasn't advisable. On our way back down we visited Kauri forests (these huge trees have girths up to 13m); couple of tramps through amazing jungle/waterfall scenery; bathed in the hot waters of crystal clear sandune lakes; and even had time to visit a museum (all about the Kauri timber & gum industry...amazingly kept us entertained for over 3 hrs!!!). But the highlight of our trip was getting our chance to do a bit of proper NZ farming!!! Having met up with this young kiwi guy (gareth) we headed over to his diary farm....only him and his 50 cows for company on an 85 acre farm!! We had fun helping to do the milking getting dirty in the pit as the cows shit on your head, playing on quad bikes and cooking a feast of 1/4 lamb roast supplied for free (he just steals out the fields!)!! We spent 2 nights there enjoying a bit of true NZ lifestyle, as well as the home comforts of a hot shower everyday!
We're now back where we started in Auckland planning our adventures for the rest of the North Island!!
From here we travelled further up the coast past Doubtless Bay and various other deserted sandy beaches! We were disappointed not to be able to get up to Cape Reinga the most northerly point as the road had been washed away by all the rain, we did get to see the start of the Ninty Mile Beach which forms the other highway up to the Northern tip but driving along the beach in our beaten up old vans wasn't advisable. On our way back down we visited Kauri forests (these huge trees have girths up to 13m); couple of tramps through amazing jungle/waterfall scenery; bathed in the hot waters of crystal clear sandune lakes; and even had time to visit a museum (all about the Kauri timber & gum industry...amazingly kept us entertained for over 3 hrs!!!). But the highlight of our trip was getting our chance to do a bit of proper NZ farming!!! Having met up with this young kiwi guy (gareth) we headed over to his diary farm....only him and his 50 cows for company on an 85 acre farm!! We had fun helping to do the milking getting dirty in the pit as the cows shit on your head, playing on quad bikes and cooking a feast of 1/4 lamb roast supplied for free (he just steals out the fields!)!! We spent 2 nights there enjoying a bit of true NZ lifestyle, as well as the home comforts of a hot shower everyday!
We're now back where we started in Auckland planning our adventures for the rest of the North Island!!
Ok so our boat wasn't quite as pretty, but at least it was faster!!!
'Hole in the Rock'...does exactly what it says on the tin!
'Mo' at the start of the Ninty Mile Beach...desperate to get on the sandy highway!
posted by Georgie and Chris at 8:54 pm
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