Hello….not many photos taken today I must be on the wind down….

Today after taking a wrong turning we ended up at Leigh and so went on to the marine reserve called Goat Island.

Here is a headland and rock pavement famous for diving and snorkelling to see the rich occupancy of sea creatures in this part of the coast. Large group of teenagers from a school had arrived and were visiting the marine centre and then having diving instructions.

Instead of exploring the sand and rock pavement we went on the cliff walk along the headland. It was a steep path up the hillsides but loved the views from up there. You can see the caves all around the cliffs and where the people are diving.

We explored a few more side roads and small bays/ river sites and reserves. They are all around this stretch of coastline.

So eventually we ended up at Orewa. The tide was in and the beach looked so different. The river was not so prominent and lots of the shells were covered by water. We did have a long walk along the shoreline and back.

At Warkworth we went back once more to see those old kauri trees and then back to the old cement work by the river.

So on to Auckland tomorrow to a hotel right by the airport for 2 nights. Our time in New Zealand almost over!

It will be good to not be living out of suitcases and in our own house again xxxx

Today we had our breakfast in a chocolate cafe. Our b&b paid for it for us. I had brioche covered in caramel syrup with berries and bacon and cream. Grandad had pancakes banana bacon berries all covered in dark runny chocolate and cream. Delicious!

Full of sweetness we set off for Leigh. Then we visited Mathieson bay at Leigh. It is famous for snorkelling to see many fish and coral. 3 people were swimming and someone was in a small boat fishing and 2 people were snorkelling. We were watching!

There are many bays and lagoons and marshes around here and we explored a few like Snells beach.

We then went to the marine reserve where we spent the rest of the day. It is a predator free zone and the whole headland is carefully being stocked with kiwi and other endangered birds and coastal plants. They are trying now to attract The gannets to and area at the end, this is their latest plan. Volunteers work there by planting plants and native trees and ringing/tagging birds.

We plan to go back to Tawharanui Open Sanctuary again. There are lots of walks to do there too.

Here are some of grandads photos, including his lunch!

It’s Monday already and we woke to hear the birds singing in the forest behind the house.

The Route 1 road Is called the twin coast discovery highway as either coast is easily accessible from this long thin stretch of NZ.

First we called at Port Albert. Here ships arrived at Auckland and brought pioneers mostly from Birmingham Uk to the area.

Read the plaques about them. It must have been such a hard slog to get established in this untouched land!

Port Albert turns out to be a bird watchers paradise. There are tiny crabs in the thick mud and many wader birds feasting on them. We saw pied stilts, herons, kingfishers, terns, and oyster catchers as well as many gulls, just in the short time we were there.

The weird thing was all the cracking clicking noises the mud was making quite frequently. Any suggestions why?

We explored this ” mainland island” as they call it. It juts out into a huge natural harbour, (similar natural harbour to smaller Auckland but not so deep) Then called at the main town of Wellsford. Motorways in NZ go straight through towns so you can imagine the noise of the huge trucks thundering by as you sit in a cafe!

Next we decided to explore the East side and Bream Bay.

At Waipu there was a sign post to a marine reserve and to our delight it was a beautiful salt marsh by a lagoon behind a sand bar. You could see the surf waves pounding on the shore on the far side of the spit.

We saw samphire and other fleshy plants growing in the sandy mud. The marsh was so untouched and as nature had created it . No sign of mans destruction here. There were stilts there and shells. I really can’t collect any more special shells , grandad would go bananas, so I photographed them for you and for me to remember.

The smells, colours and sights of the marsh I will remember for always, it was a beautiful place.

When we dragged ourselves away we followed the road along the coast a little way to Waipu Cove. This was a gorgeous spot too

A long beach bordered by rocks and hanging trees. Out in the Bream Bay were small islands. The sea was deep blue.

I have to pinch myself to remember all these places won’t look the same in the grey drizzly rain. We have been so lucky with the weather. Now NZ has had the best summer for years and the warmest Autumn so far too!

Now back at the B&B I am writing this looking out on 2 lime trees and 2 loquat trees that look like apples but you eat them with salad.

l

Sunday….We wanted to go to Piha sometime this week and today seemed a good chance to go. It is West of Auckland and as we travelled nearer we saw lovely views down to the sea from the hillsides. It was sealed roads all the time today. This is the view point looking over Piha.

We parked the car on the grass near the lagoon and there were deep reflections of Lion Rock in the water. Afterwards the wind got up and the moment was gone.

We walked over the boardwalk bridge to the beach. It is popular here at the weekend and lots of surfers were there along with the lifeguards. The beaches all around this area have strong rip tides and are dangerous to swim in.

It is so beautiful here with the rocks, lion rock and black sand, we were pleased we had visited this beach.

We travelled back north of Auckland and found a very long white sandy stretch of beach at Orewa. There were masses of shells in the fast flowing river feeding into the sea and all along the beach.

The beach is bordered by a wide grassy bank with picnic tables playgrounds basket ball areas, exercise equipment, all freely to be used. It is a good place for all ages.

We walked all along the river side and along most of the beach. There were loads of clam shells and oyster catchers pushing their long beaks into the sand to find food.

There was a nice icecream shop there too yummy 😋

Back in Warkworth we did more exploring. There is a park full of Kauri trees. 2 are very old specimens. 800 years and 600 years. Again we had to disinfect our shoes because of prevention of disease. There was a circular walk that climbed down steeply into the ravine below. It was fun being the only ones in this primeval forest. The noises of the leaves falling and the birds singing was eerie but a great atmosphere. The size of the trees is so impressive.

Dad had noticed a sign down to the old cement works by the river. This was a gravel road but not too bad. Down there it is very photogenic. He is going back there to take magical photos tomorrow morning.

There were pukeko birds down there and also I captured the beautiful sunset. I hope you like my photos today I’m proud of them!

Oh and the B&B is good with lovely gardens and a good breakfast feast too and a comfy bed…most important.

We set off from Hamilton this morning in the cooler foggy morning conditions we’ve had for a couple of days now. As we got on the motorway towards Auckland the skies cleared and it got hotter, very hot.

We decided to have a break at the services after Auckland city. there is a BP station where you can pay for the motorway road toll. its easier for us than using our mobile phone or internet.

At Warkworth we picked up a tourist map and decided to go to the beach at Pakiri.

To reach the beach the road goes up over the steep hills and then down on a gravel road to the Pakiri Beach. The beach is a very long with fine light golden sand lined by sanddunes.

It was so nice but so hot. After getting too hot we went back to our car and went down to the Leigh harbour. To get there we had to climb up the gravel road again, fortunately every time we met a car there was space to pass each other. At Leigh, the harbour was busy with people fishing and divers getting ready to go to the Goat island area. This is a marine protection area and has coral and many fish to see. You can go in glass bottomed boats to see the fish. That depends on the waves!!! for me…

So the surprise was we thought we’d booked a motel with a swimming pool, but not so.

It is a bed and breakfast without cooking facilities and no microwave or iron oops! it seems nice though but not what we were looking forward to for 5 nights.

Watch this space! xxx

 

 

We had an extremely long journey today. It took so long because the road, beautiful as it is, never stops going round bends and over valleys and hills. It needs lots of concentration as you drive along.

At 8am we set off early today. We wanted to capture the volcano and the Te Wera Wera bridge one more time. It was the morning misty conditions that stopped this sadly. Nearer Stratford the cloud cleared briefly and grandad managed to get this farewell shot.

We headed south for Stratford and the start of the Forgotten World Highway. The 151 km in total road, is unrelentingly, twisty, steep and full of magnificent views. The mist gradually cleared and we could see soooooooo far over the landscape. There are valleys in every direction and 4 main rivers cutting through the area. Each river has what they call a saddle of parallel hills jutting out cut deeply by tiny vertical mini valleys. It is very extraordinary landscape.

Half way along is a crazy town ” The republic of Whangamomona” that has since 1980s made itself a republic. It has its own passports, people flock there annually to celebrate its independence! We had our breakfast in the hotel pub.

A tunnel had been made through the hill at one part and cut out by hand inside. It was later on lowered in depth to allow the large animal trucks to pass through.

We next went down a gorge on an unpaved 7 miles of dirt track. Then the road became tarmac again. Eventually we joined the main road towards Hamilton. The Forgotten World Highway is 151 kms long. We’re really pleased we went that way for the experience, even though it took so long to travel along!

We followed 3 flatbed lorries carrying lots of beehives. The bees were flying out of them at times. We over took them…..then we stopped to look at our map ……and the lorries got in front again. Grandad teased me making out we were being followed by a swarm of bees trying to catch up to their queen bees!

We are now at the city of Hamilton for one night and we continue tomorrow to north of Auckland, our last location before we fly to Los Angeles.

Today we went first to Te Rewa Rewa bridge. Our luck was in and for a brief 10 minutes the volcano was in view!

We were pleased to get this view, very lucky. Soon the cloud rolled up to the mountain and covered it for the rest of the day.

We went to a lovely park in the centre of the city….. Pukekura park. It has a long thin lake to walk around, and in spring and summer there are many flowering bushes. It is Autumn here now and not so much colour, but lovely reflections in the water.

As I mentioned the volcano was covered by cloud but on a good day it looms up from this lake and you could get a great photo by the tea house here, never mind!

In town we took some photos of the art gallery. It is very curvy and covered in shiny stainless steel. It makes you look thin and fat. Here are thin pics only hee hee!

After our walk through the park we went to Mount Taranaki visitors centre, half way up the mountain. We looked at all the displays and videos and had our lunch here. No sign of the volcano we were standing on only clouds.

Now back at the motel we are getting ready to leave tomorrow.

Wednesday 20th March

We travelled Clockwise round the Taranaki Volcano (South from a New Plymouth) today. The volcano was completely obscured by cloud to begin with. The clouds moved across the top and we managed a few photos of the summit.

First stop was Dawson Falls. You ascend the volcano via road up Manaia Road near Kaponga. The road is easy to climb by car and walks up to the volcano are clearly marked. We parked up nearby the falls and followed the path. It went very steeply down the mountain side with uneven deep steps. There was a viewing platform above the Dawson Falls.

We decided to bite the bullet and descend to the bottom of the falls. Even more very steep steps to climb down, but it was worth the effort. The sun was blazing down and that made it difficult to photograph but this is what I managed.

The walk/climb back up was something else! But proud I did it all. The Dawson waterfall has a 18 metres drop.

We called for lunch by the coast at Opunake, this is a quirky little town with a few shops and pubs. Back along the surf highway.

At Cape Egmont we saw the lighthouse. We hoped we would be able to see the volcano behind the lighthouse but the cloud had obscured the mountain again.

It didn’t take long to reach New Plymouth and we sat in a park above the South Bay enjoying the sunshine. There are conical islands just out to sea. If we walked the New Plymouth coastal walkway from here we could get to our motel and beyond the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge but it is a very long pathway!

We are both very tired today, our travels are catching up with us I think. Soon be home and time to rest then.

xxxxx

We are now at New Plymouth in Taranaki. NZ

The journey from Taupo took us through Lord of the Rings landscapes. We followed huge hills and gorges with cliffs, through the “middle earth” of North Island to the coast at. Here we stopped to see the 3 Sisters. We were lucky the tide was out and perfect to view them. They are 3 stacks out to sea and you can reach them at low tide.

You walk along the river bed and out to the sea. We had help climbing down to the river. 2 men held out their arms to help us down over huge boulder rocks. We walked along the sand. Surprisingly it is black volcanic sand,as the cliffs are white and yellowy.

We had to paddle over the stream to reach the beach and then as we turned the corner we saw the 3 sisters rocks ( it looked about 5 sisters to me!) There are arches, caves and stacks to explore. The reflections in the wet sand were lovely.

did you see grandad?

“On the North Taranaki coast, near Tongaporutu, you can see two (formerly three) 25 metre rock formations known as the Three Sisters. Another spectacular formation called Elephant Rock once stood alongside the sisters, before losing its trunk to erosion in 2016.

Interestingly, there were four sisters at the turn of the century, but the sea is claiming them one at a time.”

It reminded us of at the end of the Golden Bay in the South Island. We stayed there quite a while until we felt the tide had turned and was coming in quickly so we walked back along the river to the boulders and up to the carpark.

The journey from here still was very picturesque as we weaved through the hillsides. As we again reached the coast it was flat and lots of farms with cattle mostly.

New Plymouth has a lot of things to offer and after we had checked in to our motel we went to the newish bridge by

“New Plymouth’s Te Rewa Rewa pedestrian/cycle bridge is a tied arch bridge and has a clear span of almost 70 metres and is part of the award-winning New Plymouth Coastal Walkway.

Spanning the Waiwhakaiho River, its iconic form represents the sacred relationship between the land, sea and wind with the Ngati Tawhirikura tribe.

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge opened on June 5, 2010 “

Although the visibility towards the Taranaki volcano wasn’t too good, we got some good photos. We are going to go back at other times to see if we can capture the iconic image we wish to photograph.

Our time in NZ is beginning to slip away. 3 nights here and then 1 in Hamilton on the way to Auckland area for a week before we fly out 30th March.

It seems a long time since Christmas in Thornbury! Xxxx

I copied and pasted info today, it was much easier 😅🤗🤗💕💕💕💕

Monday morning, clear blue skies fluffy clouds and a breeze, what more could you ask for on an Autumn morning in NewZealand…

We travelled to a small village and harbour called Kinloch at the north of the Lake. There was a beach and lots of trees and grass. It was so peaceful and relaxing there, we sat in the shade and watched the clouds and water lapping on the lakes’ edge. There were a few black swans and a heron at the entrance to the marina. Perfect….. I can just imagine Louis Otis Xavi and Alice climbing on that red climbing frame.

We came back to Taupo to check on the boat times to see the Maori rock carvings. Before we had time to consider we were told a boat was about to leave and they would wait for us. Grandad hurried to pick up the cameras from our car and I got on the boat! What a surprise for us. We had a wonderful time on there. The ship we sailed on was originally a steamship The Ernest Kemp.

Then we had an hour an a half round trip covering Taupo end of Lake Taupo up to the Maori carvings just beyond Acacia Bay and Jerusalem Bay. It was so enjoyable we wished we could have stayed aboard for another couple of hours.

It was 2pm when we got back and we went to a restaurant for pizzas and tea/ milk shake.

I managed to get my hair cut too so our last full day in Taupo was very productive. It is still hot, just cool first thing and when the sun goes down in the evening.

Desperate to see you all very soon, send me some pics of the children please. Good luck writing up your dissertation Anona, thinking of you all ….. xxxxxxxxx