Hello. I am in a strange faraway land called New Zealand. Before I tell you what I've found here, check out the amazing sunset seen from the plane window:
Also, allow me to introduce you to my travelling companion, Stuart:
After all, it's always nice to share your travel experiences with a friend. And Stuart is pretty easy going, and is generally happy to go along with whatever I want to do. He also has a sharp eye for detail.
Auckland
Largely unavoidable if you are travelling NZ's north island, Auckland is pretty unremarkable.
Here is the obligatory Sky Tower shot:
The only notable thing I did was take a ferry across the water to a place called Devonport. It's a bit like Weymouth, only with less ambition and drive. You get a nice view of the city though:
However, after an hour spent shuffling along the promenade, I sensed that my mind was about to slip into semi-retirement mode, so I didn't linger.
Northland and the Bay of Islands
Pleased to be leaving Auckland, I caught a bus up to Northland. It's where the first European settlers took up residence. Known for its prominence in the three 'F's of industry: farming, fishing and forestry, Northland generally looks like this:
Secondly, on passing through a town called KawaKawa, I visited what are possibly the most photographed toilets in the world - they are really quite something:
The bus dropped me off in a coastal town called Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands generally looks like this:
This was to be my base for the next couple of nights, from which I would take a coach trip further north to Cape Reinga.
The next morning, the bus left at dawn. I thought the view of the Bay was pretty nice; however, one of the girls on my bus, who has spent the past year living in the south island, reckons this kind of scenery is hardly worth getting out of bed for:
The first scheduled stop was Ninety Mile Beach. Which is, needless to say, 64 miles long...
I was driven along the beach for 40 miles, in THIS bad boy:
YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!
There were no sunloungers, ice cream stalls or speedos in sight. Possibly because this is actually quite a treacherous place to be:
Here I am, sunbathing:
Stuart spotted something quite interesting on the beach. There were a few of these dotted around the sand, but neither of us could work out what they were, or why they had come:
There was no time to investigate further, as we had to get on with the serious task of sand boarding (otherwise known as 'sand eating'):
Then it was onwards to Cape Reinga. Pretty much the northernmost part of NZ, it's where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean come head to head. The departure lounge for Maori souls sloping off to their spiritual homeland, it's quite significant:
It certainly beats the view from the Croydon flyover.
You can see the tumultuous Tasman on the West, and the calm Pacific on the East:
The white line is the 'step' where the ocean currents collide:
Most unusual.
Our scheduled boat trip the next day was cancelled, so to pass the time I decided to take a bit of a stroll, accompanied by a very nice young German girl I met on the coach.
Our journey took us beyond the bay...
...into a forest of vines...
...along a river...
.... and ended up at this waterfall:
Not bad for a day's work.
(NB - I always feel compelled to say the word 'mangrove' in a Jamaican accent. Not sure why. Perhaps it's because it sounds like 'mango').
My final day in the Bay was spent cruising around some of the islands, doing a bit of dolphin spotting on the way. We stopped off at this little place:
We also paid a visit to a famous rock which has a big hole it the middle. Somewhat unimaginatively named 'Hole in the Rock', it does what it says on the tin:
Here are some dolphins:
Sadly it was then time to head back to Auckland for an overnight stay before embarking on the next leg of my journey. On the way back, I spotted a couple of tree huggers:
I also happened upon another remarkable toilet, this one noteworthy for the used surgical glove on the cubicle floor:
So that wraps up Northland and the Bay of Islands. The next leg of my journey will take me through Hahei, Raglan, Rotorua, Taupo and Tongariro National Park. Taupo is the place to be if you want to throw yourself off / into / out of things, so that should be fun.
Northland verdict: Very nice
Do I miss England: Nope
Also, allow me to introduce you to my travelling companion, Stuart:
After all, it's always nice to share your travel experiences with a friend. And Stuart is pretty easy going, and is generally happy to go along with whatever I want to do. He also has a sharp eye for detail.
Auckland
Largely unavoidable if you are travelling NZ's north island, Auckland is pretty unremarkable.
Here is the obligatory Sky Tower shot:
The only notable thing I did was take a ferry across the water to a place called Devonport. It's a bit like Weymouth, only with less ambition and drive. You get a nice view of the city though:
However, after an hour spent shuffling along the promenade, I sensed that my mind was about to slip into semi-retirement mode, so I didn't linger.
Northland and the Bay of Islands
Pleased to be leaving Auckland, I caught a bus up to Northland. It's where the first European settlers took up residence. Known for its prominence in the three 'F's of industry: farming, fishing and forestry, Northland generally looks like this:
On the journey I saw a couple of interesting things.
First, a flock of strawberry-flavoured sheep; the main attraction at the enticingly titled 'Sheepworld'.
Sheepworld, from what I could tell, consisted of this small flock, and a deserted cafe. Unmissable.
Secondly, on passing through a town called KawaKawa, I visited what are possibly the most photographed toilets in the world - they are really quite something:
The bus dropped me off in a coastal town called Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands generally looks like this:
This was to be my base for the next couple of nights, from which I would take a coach trip further north to Cape Reinga.
The next morning, the bus left at dawn. I thought the view of the Bay was pretty nice; however, one of the girls on my bus, who has spent the past year living in the south island, reckons this kind of scenery is hardly worth getting out of bed for:
The first scheduled stop was Ninety Mile Beach. Which is, needless to say, 64 miles long...
I was driven along the beach for 40 miles, in THIS bad boy:
YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!
There were no sunloungers, ice cream stalls or speedos in sight. Possibly because this is actually quite a treacherous place to be:
Here I am, sunbathing:
Stuart spotted something quite interesting on the beach. There were a few of these dotted around the sand, but neither of us could work out what they were, or why they had come:
There was no time to investigate further, as we had to get on with the serious task of sand boarding (otherwise known as 'sand eating'):
Then it was onwards to Cape Reinga. Pretty much the northernmost part of NZ, it's where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean come head to head. The departure lounge for Maori souls sloping off to their spiritual homeland, it's quite significant:
It certainly beats the view from the Croydon flyover.
You can see the tumultuous Tasman on the West, and the calm Pacific on the East:
The white line is the 'step' where the ocean currents collide:
Most unusual.
Our scheduled boat trip the next day was cancelled, so to pass the time I decided to take a bit of a stroll, accompanied by a very nice young German girl I met on the coach.
Our journey took us beyond the bay...
...over a bridge....
.....through a mangrove swamp...
...into a forest of vines...
...along a river...
.... and ended up at this waterfall:
Not bad for a day's work.
(NB - I always feel compelled to say the word 'mangrove' in a Jamaican accent. Not sure why. Perhaps it's because it sounds like 'mango').
My final day in the Bay was spent cruising around some of the islands, doing a bit of dolphin spotting on the way. We stopped off at this little place:
We also paid a visit to a famous rock which has a big hole it the middle. Somewhat unimaginatively named 'Hole in the Rock', it does what it says on the tin:
Here are some dolphins:
Sadly it was then time to head back to Auckland for an overnight stay before embarking on the next leg of my journey. On the way back, I spotted a couple of tree huggers:
I also happened upon another remarkable toilet, this one noteworthy for the used surgical glove on the cubicle floor:
Sinister.
So that wraps up Northland and the Bay of Islands. The next leg of my journey will take me through Hahei, Raglan, Rotorua, Taupo and Tongariro National Park. Taupo is the place to be if you want to throw yourself off / into / out of things, so that should be fun.
Northland verdict: Very nice
Do I miss England: Nope
