Happy New Year

January 2009
Thursday 1st January 2009...Happy New Year to all our readers!
We got up quite late and headed into Napier to see the art deco buildings there. I thought they were quite beautiful..so simple and elegant. Brent on the other hand thought they looked like factory buildings! We decided to ring Gordon, a Kiwi, who we'd met in Nottingham and whose parents live near to Napier. Gordon's wife to be (in March actually!), Sarah worked with me for a while, and we all got together a couple of times. Sarah is sorting out the wedding plans and spending Xmas with her mum in Atlanta. Anyway we were thrilled when Gordon came to the phone and said he'd meet up with us for a coffee. How brilliant. It was cool to see him on his own patch and great to get some tips for future stops. Thanks Gordon..we didn't get to see your batch but it was very kind of you to offer it as a stop over. After saying another sad goodbye we headed back towards lake Taupo, where lots of people were enjoying the lake in the hot sunshine. A fellow Brit at the campsite in Napier had recommended that we stop at the Hula falls and we were really grateful to her as they proved spectacular...a wonderful turquoise colour again, but amazingly powerful. We managed to get to Tirau that night and found a quiet little campsite, where we did our laundry and got a good night's sleep...our last in the van, sniff, sniff.

Friday 2nd January
Drove through Cambridge and enjoyed a stop in Hamilton, where we made some phone calls and had a coffee. We didn't have time to do Hamilton's renowned botanical gardens, but enjoyed the city. We arrived in Auckland spot on time and said our goodbyes to the van...we cunningly stuck back on a knob that we'd managed to snap off the very first day and noone seemed to notice! We shared the ride into Auckland with a friendly German lad and his family,who'd been out to spend Xmas with him. He was coming to the end of his time in NZ and was a lovely guy. We dumped our stuff beside the van and were about to say goodbye to the driver, when I realised I didn't have my handbag...oops! The driver rang the office and I'd left it on the back of a chair there. We arranged to pick it up the next day and got ourselves installed in the hostel.

The City Groove Backpackers:
We stayed here for 4 nights and used the time to try and gather our thoughts and do some background reading and research on our next move. The hostel was very friendly and we both enjoyed getting to know fellow backpackers. Laura, the Argentinian was lovely and it would be great to stay in touch with her. Our room had it's own loo and shower, which was great- but it was very basic. After initially clearing out the mosquitos, of which there were many! We enjoyed some good sleep. One night we played cards with Divisha, an interesting, young, Indian woman who is working in Wellington after studying there.

Auckland:
At first we found the city a bit uninspiring: it seemed to be mainly focussed on shopping...not a passion of ours. Also it was bank holiday there and the streets were pretty empty..all a bit weird. The first day I headed off on the bus to get my bag back. It was a pleasant experience and I even found a hairdresser on the route so took the chance to get my hair cut. Brent meanwhile had found a great library and spotted an excellent link bus, which we used to visit the Domaine park and the fab museum in it. We really enjoyed the 3rd floor, with its panoramic views over the city. The Sky City tower was also fun...and we passed under it just as someone came hurtling down on the skyjump...it looked absolutely bloody terrifying! In subsequent days we found the city more vibrant and interesting as people went about their everyday routines. We enjoyed picnics in the parks and got a lot done.

Tuesday 6th Jan
Picked up the hire car after lunch. Drove around the coast past Mission Bay where people were enjoying the beach. Got a little lost trying to follow the coast road. Decided to find a campsite near and ended up in the Top ten Manukua site. Was quite close to the main H1 road and was very busy as a transit camp from airport. Went for a lovely walk in the nearby Botanical Gardens. Beautifully tended and exquisite planting of a wide variety of flora. Turned out to be a massive site and wandered around enjoying the atmosphere of the late afternoon sun for a good two hours.

Wednesday 7th Jan
Went shopping in the nearby town for camping stuff. Linda said it would be small I said big. Guess who was right. Loads of shops and a huge mall. Got everything we needed but took ages. Set off to the base of the Coromandel Peninsula. We set up camp on a DOC ( Department of Conservation ) site called Broken Hills. This was down a long dusty gravel road but set amidst a stunning gorge by the side of a batheable creek. Plenty of long drop toilets ( can you work that one out ) but no other facilities. Our neighbour was a lovely single mum who was spending seventeen nights there with her 12 and 14 year old daughters – brilliant and admirable. She enjoyed a good natter and gave us advice on where to swim. Put together a good meal and snuck some wine having seen a big liquor ban sign. Ended up waking up through the night to another large group of people getting drunk and singing rugby songs loudly. Fortunately at other end of campsite.

Thursday 8th Jan.
Set off on one of the tramps recommended by the camp host. It was called Collins Drive and was a loop walk from the camp site. It began with a punishing climb through tropical bush country to a stunning lookout point with views as far as the ocean. Then we descended through a cooler path where we saw some inquisitive fantails up close : they really are sweet and beautiful birds. The next part of the tramp took a disused gold mine tunnel. Fortunately we had come prepared with our two dollar torch ( 80p ) which almost gave no light but a spooky atmosphere! The tunnel lasted 500 metres, which doesnt sound far but when the light at the end of the tunnel disappears seems a long way. We were balanced on planks of wood over pools of water and I had to scan the ceiling constantly to stop from banging my head. The ceiling of this tunnel also had glow worms – see earlier blog... we just loved it. Especially when the light appeared at the other end of the tunnel. Indiana Jones eat your heart out. The rest of the walk was varied taking in views across the valley. Got back into camp at 2pm for some lunch. Boiling hot we cooled down in the creek afterwards.

Friday 9th January.
After a better nights sleep – no rugby parties. We woke up feeling and looking ( and probably smelling ) like tramps. We had been tramping though so felt justified. Next stop had to be a campsite with showers and a laundry as I was down to my last pair of pants ( TMFI ? ) We headed for the coast and found a secluded gorgeous beach were we spent a happy hour walking and paddling to relieve our sandfly bites : these are tiny black flies which create the most horrendous itchy bite ( lin says she has 16 – she just counted ) We saw several big purple jelly fish and next morning read about a plague of them washing up on the local beaches. As we had successfully finished off our food in the Doc camp we stopped at Whangamata to replenish our supplies. Arrived at Waihi Beach around 5.30 pm and got a last spot ( NZ Hol still going ) at the Bowentown site. Very friendly neighbours and all facilities.