It's worth pointing out, at this point, that we've attempted, on several occasions, to see dolphins in the wild. Almost without fail those attempts have proven fruitless, the only exception being an evening stood on a stony beach near Inverness in Scotland!
Anyway, on with the tale...
Tuesday February 23rd
By the time we'd sorted out the camper-van satnav, and filled the cupboards with provisions, it was 14:00, and our ETA at our destination 19:11. We'd phoned ahead to Russell Top Ten holiday park but were informed we didn't need to book for a powered site, so we headed off.
We travelled through some familiar parts of Auckland to State Highway 1 (SH1) and followed it north towards Bay of Islands. This hadn't originally been on our list of must-see places, but several recommendations changed our plans.
We travelled through some familiar parts of Auckland to State Highway 1 (SH1) and followed it north towards Bay of Islands. This hadn't originally been on our list of must-see places, but several recommendations changed our plans.
We'd been warned about the toll road and the somewhat complicated process for paying, but decided to take the non-toll route which was supposedly only ten minutes longer. As it happens, the signs indicate that you can pay online and have 5 days to do so, but the non-toll road was very picturesque. In fact the whole drive was lovely with rolling hills and lush greens, forests and lakes and sweet villages all over the place. There were mountains and gorges and stands of wild lupins and several birds of prey - we decided we'd need a book to help us identify the local birds.
(The longer we spent in more rural areas, the more the towns and villages reminded me of my images of small-town America. I suppose it makes sense, both areas having been colonised by Europeans in the times of the 'Gold Rush'. Many of the towns wouldn't look wrong if you tore up their streets, and tied up horses outside the stores and bars - Dave)
(The longer we spent in more rural areas, the more the towns and villages reminded me of my images of small-town America. I suppose it makes sense, both areas having been colonised by Europeans in the times of the 'Gold Rush'. Many of the towns wouldn't look wrong if you tore up their streets, and tied up horses outside the stores and bars - Dave)
The real beauty started once we exited SH1 and took the road to Russell; Dave was brilliant handling the 50-odd km of steep hills and almost hairpin bends without putting a foot wrong. Considering he's not used to an automatic, and doesn't often drive anything 7.2m long, it was most impressive. The scenery was stunning, with forests, ravines and gorgeous views of bays and seashore. We stopped once to take some 'proper' photos in addition to the snaps out of the window and occasional videos I'd been taking.
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| A panoramic view from up on the 'tops' of the hills on the Russell Whakapara Road |
We arrived at almost exactly the predicted time and booked two nights. We'd planned to do a dolphin cruise the next day, and the lady on reception suggested we book straight away, so we did.
The campsite/holiday park had lots of facilities - there were communal toilets, showers and a kitchen and laundry. There were power, waste dumps sites (essential for stopping the on-board loo from overfilling), recycling bins and wi-fi.
The view wasn't bad either...
The view wasn't bad either...
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| That's not the view from our site by the way, we weren't looking out at other folks' laundry. |
Wednesday February 24th
After a good night's sleep and a lovely breakfast, we walked into Russell and took the ferry across the bay to Paihia which was nice, although predominantly hotels, cafés and tourist shops. We took a walk along the beach but, given the time-constraints of having to get back for the afternoon's dolphin trip, didn't get as far as the Treaty Grounds, choosing to stop for paddle instead.
We took the ferry back to Russell and had lunch in a lovely café which served home-made pies. We sat in the sun and then got changed into our swimwear (under our clothes) before boarding the 'Explore' boat just after 1pm. The boat had picked up in Paihia but there were only about 25 of us in total, so plenty of room on board.
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| The 'Happy Ferry' at Russell, awaiting the first run of the day. |
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| Paihia |
We took the ferry back to Russell and had lunch in a lovely café which served home-made pies. We sat in the sun and then got changed into our swimwear (under our clothes) before boarding the 'Explore' boat just after 1pm. The boat had picked up in Paihia but there were only about 25 of us in total, so plenty of room on board.
There was some preamble from the crew and then we headed out among the beautiful islands. Just around the peninsula at Tapeka point we spotted a pod of 20-30 Bottlenose Dolphins, many of which were familiar to the crew by their markings and identifiable fin shapes. Sadly for us it was against the Department of Conservation rules to swim with them because they had young with them, but we stayed in their vicinity for about half an hour (another DOC rule when the pod has young) watching them swimming and playing including, just as we were moving away, a spectacular display of jumping from a couple of them, right next to the boat.
(So, having been out several times to see dolphins, and failed, we aimed higher - to swim with them - and got to see them. What do we have to *try* to do if we want to get that swim?! - Dave)
We cruised round more of the Bay of Islands, including heading towards an area another boat reported seeing a Mako Shark jumping, and hearing commentary about the place Captain Cook had his first encounter with the Maori, and how he started the first NZ brewery!
(Also the first of at least two separate stories about Cook failing to spot inlets/fjords/estuaries. I thought he was some sort of explorer? - Dave)
The catamaran then dropped us all at Otehei Bay for an hour of enjoying the supposedly 24 degree waters (they weren't!), and admiring the beautiful surroundings (they were) with a cold beer. We headed back, Dave and some people spotting a blue penguin alongside us on the way, and got "fush and chups" from a lovely place in Russell for tea.
As it was only a 10 minute walk across the peninsula, we headed in the opposite direction from the holiday park and visited Oneroa Bay (not to be confused with the bay of the same name in the Auckland area). The walk included a walkway inhabited by Kiwi, but it wasn't near enough dark for us to have a chance of spotting any. We did, however see the back and feet of what appeared to be a Weka, which was exciting.
(So, having been out several times to see dolphins, and failed, we aimed higher - to swim with them - and got to see them. What do we have to *try* to do if we want to get that swim?! - Dave)
We cruised round more of the Bay of Islands, including heading towards an area another boat reported seeing a Mako Shark jumping, and hearing commentary about the place Captain Cook had his first encounter with the Maori, and how he started the first NZ brewery!
(Also the first of at least two separate stories about Cook failing to spot inlets/fjords/estuaries. I thought he was some sort of explorer? - Dave)
The catamaran then dropped us all at Otehei Bay for an hour of enjoying the supposedly 24 degree waters (they weren't!), and admiring the beautiful surroundings (they were) with a cold beer. We headed back, Dave and some people spotting a blue penguin alongside us on the way, and got "fush and chups" from a lovely place in Russell for tea.
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| Otehei Bay |
As it was only a 10 minute walk across the peninsula, we headed in the opposite direction from the holiday park and visited Oneroa Bay (not to be confused with the bay of the same name in the Auckland area). The walk included a walkway inhabited by Kiwi, but it wasn't near enough dark for us to have a chance of spotting any. We did, however see the back and feet of what appeared to be a Weka, which was exciting.
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| Russell's bustling main street... |
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| ...and equally busy Police Station |
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| Oneroa Bay |
Thursday February 25th
This was a driving day. We left Russell and, as an alternative to the steep and winding road we had taken into town, took the 8am vehicle ferry across from Okiato to Opua. Based on Jackie's advice, and confirmed by the nice lady in the gas station (where we did our first half-fill of the tank for the crazy-low price of $45 about £21!), we drove across country and headed down the west coast.
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| Somewhat smaller than the one we would later board in Wellington. |
Our sat nav indicated we would arrive at our destination (the Top 10 park at Waitomo) at about 16:45, which would be too late to join any of the glow worm cave tours, so we eventually decided we could afford to make a couple of stops along the way.
The first was at the scenic point at Arai-te-uru, close to Oponui where, based on the fact that we thought everything we'd seen was scenic, if the locals labelled somewhere as scenic, it had to be worth checking out...
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| ...and it was! |
It was glorious, views across the headland with the Pacific battering one side, and vast sand dunes to the north. We stayed a while, taking photos and then headed south through the Kauri forest. We missed the spot designated as the Biggest Kauri tree (no available parking), and didn't detour to the Trounson Kauri park but enjoyed driving along the quiet tree-lined twisty-turny road.
The rural roads, in general, weren't that busy...
...and it wasn't until the outskirts of Auckland, a few hours later, that we hit actual traffic, and the spectacle of the city skyline again. We stopped for lunch at a service station (resisting the temptation of McDs), filled up again and while Dave paid, I phoned ahead and booked us onto the Hobbiton movie set tour for 1pm the following day.
We got to Waitomo at tea time, but headed across the road to the Waitomo General Store for a couple of drinks (the very drinkable Monteith's beer/cider). We chatted to the Scottish owner, and then got chatted to by a slightly inebriated local who entertained us with tales of Waitomo society and days of old.
We got to Waitomo at tea time, but headed across the road to the Waitomo General Store for a couple of drinks (the very drinkable Monteith's beer/cider). We chatted to the Scottish owner, and then got chatted to by a slightly inebriated local who entertained us with tales of Waitomo society and days of old.
Dave's "Things we learned this time..." section
- Dolphins need to consciously think about every breath they take. If they get distracted they can forget and drown.
- When New Zealand put up a sign saying "Scenic Lookout" you'd better pay attention!
- Dargaville is the 'Kumara Capital of New Zealand' (kumara being sweet potatoes). To be honest, that's the claim of a town struggling to find a proper selling point.
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