Crazy, Crazy Queenstown

Arriving in Queenstown we checked into the Top 10 Motor Camp only to find we had the last space - first time we've been to a full campsite but no doubt that's down to the popularity of Queenstown and of course, the school holidays. It tipped down the first day and we couldn't understand why everyone raves so much about the beauty of the town - the glorious snowcapped mountains and forests that we were to spend the rest of our stay marveling at were hidden behind shrouds of mist. We bumped into Lee and Julie again in their funky split screen VW camper van and went out with them for a crazy night in Queenstown which cumulated in 'Worldbar' where they serve cocktails in teapots. Very British. We got back to the van after a great night but a little worse for wear!

We woke the following morning to brilliant sunlight flooding into the van and a strange sound of buzzing. Concerned about our activities of the night before and wondering whether we had brought a wasps nest back with us, we soon located the source. Helicopters. Everywhere. The minute the sun comes out, Queenstown picks up the pace and the sky is filled with light aircraft over The Remarkables, hangliders over Queenstown Hill and Paragliders gracefully falling over Lake Wakatipu. Ignoring throbbing heads we raced to book some adrenalin activities - caught up in the excitement radiating through the town. After a lovely lunch sat outside and looking down to the lake and up to mountains, we spent the afternoon doing the 'High Five Combo'; a jet boat ride, helicopter trip, luges, gondola ride and a movie. The jet boat ride through shotover river is promoted as the world's greatest and it certainly lives up to this in our limited experience of jet boating. The Shotover canyons are really beautiful and team that with very narrow channels to jet boat through and travelling at 70kph, it was a pretty thrilling ride! We then had a short helicopter trip to the top of Queenstown Hill, it was only 5 minutes but the thrill of being in a helicopter over the most amazing place in New Zealand was a real buzz. We then had 2 luge rides (toboggans on wheels like in Rotorua but without the rain!) and a gondola ride back down to Queenstown. The fifth part of the combo was a movie called Kiwi Magic which was pretty cheesy and definitely set in the 80's but was served as a recap on everywhere we had travelled in New Zealand from Auckland to Queenstown. Again, again! Finally our day ended with a game of mini golf - Steve narrowly won but Beth played with more style - a hole-in-one and overtones of Laura Davies. Beth wrote this bit, of course.

The next day Beth had a tattoo after finally working up the courage and holding on to the fact that it would only take an hour and we both wanted one as a reminder of our world trip together. So gritting her teeth, she endured 5 minutes of the pain on her lower back then promptly passed out. She awoke to Steve's stricken face having passed out with eyes open and rolling back in their sockets like a loon. Unfortunately, the tattoo artist had not completed the tattoo in this time and an excrutiating hour later, she emerged with a south pacific design on her lower back to commemorate our world trip. Supposedly girls handle the pain better than boys but we are clearly the exception!


In the afternoon we negotiated the mighty Deer Park Heights which was one of the principle areas for the Lord of the Rings filming locations. Armed with our guide book we climbed the 800m high, 5km trek to the top and saw where Aragorn was dragged over the cliff by the wolf type creatures (Wargs) and where the refugees from Rohan walked past lakes and mountains. The locations are so small in reality and dwarfed totally by the stunning Remarkables mountain range domineering the background. No wolf type creatures up there much to Steve's disappointment but there were plenty of deers, bison, goats and Lord of the Ring's anoraks!

Steve skydived over The Remarkables the following day from 15,000ft - that is not a typing error. He had to have oxygen up until the moment him and the instructor tumbled from the plane and free fell at 200kph - the nutters. Beth watched as they gracefully parachuted through the clouds to the ground alongside the other tandem skydivers - bizarrely all medical students which was probably the best type of people with which to embark on an adventure like that!
To bring Steve totally back down to earth, we spent the afternoon playing indoor golf this time at the 'Caddy Shack City' - most amusing themed crazy golf. Steve might have won again but Beth is still the most stylish. humph.

Unable to resist the lure of the slopes for long, we got back on them and this time on The Remarkables mountain range which dominate the Queenstown sky line. It was a pretty overcast day but the spring snow was powdery and we were happy people as we spent the day negotiating pistes, or fields, as they are called in New Zealand.

After all the adrenalin of the last few days, we completed our Queenstown activity agenda by taking a rather sedate but lovely trip on the TSS Earnslaw steam boat across Lake Wakatipu, one of the only tidal lakes in the world.

We were so sad to leave Queenstown as it is easily the most beautiful place we have seen in New Zealand and on top of that, the most exciting.
Money doesn't go very far here though and so we were forced to drag ourselves away but not before we had a final night out where we visited Queenstown's 'coolest' bar Minus 5 - literally minus 5 degrees with ice sculptures and cocktails served in ice glasses. We met some great Argentineans in 'the fridge' who we swapped South America stories with but after 30 minutes we were pretty glad to be out and the zero degrees outside seemed almost tropical. We had a nice meal in 'The Cow' restaurant which the Lord of the Rings cast had frequented whilst filming, then partied until 3am in the 'Rattlesnake bar', 'Lone Ranger' and finally ended up in the 'World Bar' again. We have vague memories of feeling quite middle-aged in a club full of 18 year old English gap year students and even found ourselves saying stuff like 'we remember this song the first time round'. My God! Undeterred however, we danced the night away to the latest New Zealand music which is probably 6 months old in England. We drank in the sight of the full moon illuminating the peaks of The Remarkables whilst walking back to the motorcamp, before sleeping off our hangovers and continuing our South Island tour.

Snowboarding in Wanaka

The drive to Wanaka was against a landscape of lakes and mountains and the deeper we got into the Alpine areas, the greater the chill in the air....we could almost smell the snowboarding!

The beauty of Wanaka hits you imediately - a beautiful alpine town set against Mt.Aspiring range of snow-capped mountains with Lake Wanaka in the foreground. Nowhere else we have snowboarded in Europe can live up to the scenary on Treble Cone skifields. The views from the top are so amazing that even people who don't ski come up on the chairlifts to have a look. But my god, the slopes are steep. The greens are actually blues by European standards and the blues are actually reds and as they don't have reds, the blacks are, well, precipices! And you should see the drive up the mountain - 6km of gravelled road climbing up 1000m is a pretty hairy experience in a campervan, we can tell you.

Apres-ski is largely based around the bars and restaurants at the edge of Lake Wanaka and we spent a happy evening drinking jugs of beer and sampling our first curry for 4 months. Oh, to import a curry from The 4 Pillars in Olney - curries in New Zealand seem to be the only thing the Kiwis don't get quite right!

More lumps and bumps appeared on both of us during our time in Wanaka so another visit to the Doctor saw us both being treated with anti-biotics this time. At this rate, our lasting memories of New Zealand will be largely based on their medical institutions!

After two brilliant days on Treble Cone with perfect riding conditions, the third day brought slope closures and gale force winds. This seemed like a good point to drag ourselves away from the picturesque Wanaka and head for Queenstown. Firmly screwing on our adrenalin heads, we drove further south through past amazing scenary and even steeper mountains, through the pretty Arrowtown, to the adventure capital of New Zealand.

New Zealand Photos

New Zealand photos in their entirity are uploaded and can be accessed by clicking here or selecting 'World travel pictures' in the picture gallery link from the top of the page.

Photos to accompany the updates from Trees, Yachts, Lakes and Mountains run from page 13 or click here to take you directly.

Glacier Walking

Awaking to brilliant sunshine, we climbed into the helicopter which took off over snow-capped mountains and landed on the ice-tipped glacier of Franz Josef, reflecting the clear blue skies above. Then we woke up. The morning of our heli-hike to the glaciers was grey and it was raining so hard it had woken us up at 4am. Helicopter trip cancelled - boo. We were desperate to see the glacier having run out of time to see them in Argentina, so we signed up for the half day glacier hike instead. We were really lucky with the weather with the rain and wind clearing by the time we got to the glacier - an amazing sight, like an ice river snaking inbetween the mountains towards ground. And what a hike it was! We climbed for an hour up the ice using steps our guides were cutting out of the face of the glacier - vertical in places but our talonz gripped brilliantly. It was an incredible world up there with the imposing ice walls surrounding us so thickly it was the colour of spearmint in places. Amazingly, after the 4 hour hike we found ourselves at ground level walking through lush rainforests - apparently this is only the case at 3 glaciers in the world: Franz Josef, Fox Glacier (also in NZ) and Argentina.

In the evening we thought we would make a start on the 4 hour journey to Wanaka (our base for snowboarding - yippee) so drove until night fell and then 'free' camped by the side of Lake Paringa. It was cold without the electric hook-up but we're hard-core now after our day's glacier walking experience!

Abel Tasman National Park

From Nelson, we drove to the Abel Tasman National Park. Although it is the smallest in New Zealand, it is also the most popular with over 250,000 visitors a year of which 100,000 visit in the summer months. We can see why it's popularity is skewed to summer and not winter as you'll find out! We stayed in Marahau Beach Camp and booked a water taxi through them too. The water taxi was more like a tour, taking us to split apple rock, Kaiteriteri beach - acclaimed as one of the most beautiful in the world (note to selves; must return in summer!) and then up to Tonga island where we saw some seals. The seals were so small and sweet that the Argentinean sea lions would have eaten them for breakfast!

We were dropped off at Tonga bay for the 4.5 hour hike to Anchorage bay. Unfortunately it started to bucket down 10 minutes into our hike and we feared it would never stop....it didn't for the next 2 days actually. Within half an hour, our jackets and shoes were no longer water proof and an hour into our hike, we were dreaming of warm baths and steaming cups of coffee. It took us only 3 hours to get to Torrent bay, our visions of steaming cuppas propelling us forward, leaving us with the half an hour walk across the sea estuary to Anchorage. Unfortunately, the torrential rain and a late low tide meant we all had to wade through the sea....in our shoes, socks and trousers. Hysterical by this stage, we continued on, squelching through the mud dunes until we got to the boat. On the upside, the park was really beautiful with some amazing views and to be fair, it could have been worse - we could have been in sea kayaks which is what the area is most famous for!

The World of Wearable Art & Collectable Cars

We spent our first night in Picton and drove to Nelson the following morning - the most popular seaside town in New Zealand according to our Footprint guidebook.

Our first journey in the South Island was spectacular. Other travellers had told us to expect South Island to be like a different country, but nothing had prepared us for the rugged profile on a scale a 100 times larger than North Island. We drove through roads cut into the side of hills and saw even bigger snow-capped mountains in the distance. We followed the coastline and stopped at viewpoints to take in the turquoise sea, surrounded by forests that seemed to cover every bit of terrain except for the road and water. We were so absorbed in the sights that Nelson arrived totally out of the blue; with no settlements before as warning. Sometimes you feel like you are the only people in the world on parts of the South Island.

So, Nelson, destination: The World of Wearable Arts and Collectable Cars Complex. A complete mouthful but the best $15 we have spent in New Zealand to date. The world of wearable arts section was started by two brilliant sisters with a vision and the courage to make it a reality. They have given art a new dimension; movement, vibrance and dynamism - art on the human form. Ingenious really with the creations inspired by myths, legends, nature and textiles. The displays were exhibited in a catwalk style and it was almost eerie as the mannequins travelled along the catwalk to music, lit by spectacular lighting and dressed in the most amazing pieces of art. The complex is concluded with screenings of the catwalk shows held each year in Nelson which attract visitors and artists alike from all over the world. An extravaganza of colour, light, music and dance.

Whilst Beth spent hours wondering around the wearable art collection, Steve looked at the collectable car area - a perfect his and her day! He spent 2 happy hours looking at everything from Bubble Cars to Silver Shadows, Plymouth Prowlers to a Lamborghini Diablo. Even Beth enjoyed the car section as they were set in really creative displays.

You can't take photos at the complex so if you only look at one website link we list in our diary then this should be it!

Wellington

As we arrived in Wellington, the land of the long white cloud turned distinctly grey but we were really excited to finally get to the capital and nothing could dampen (get it!) our spirits. The New Zealander's have renamed Wellington 'Wellywood' because of it's recent popularity amongst film directors. We've renamed it 'Windyton', however, quite simply on the basis of the weather conditions we encountered!

Staying in the closest motorcamp to Wellington centre (15km away!) we took the bus in to watch a night rugby match at the Westpac stadium - Wellington Lions vs. Auckland. With the two largest cities in the country and the current leaders vs. the defending champions, it promised to be a great game. Armed with 2 bottles of beer each and a battered hotdog (as in fried, not knocked about), we found our seats and took in the huge stadium. All the Kiwis were trying to out-cheer each other and Leo the Lion was growling around the stands leaping on unsuspecting spectators which kept us on our toes until the game started.

Beth's version of the game:
Well, I've never liked rugby being more of a footie girl myself but the atmosphere was good even if the game itself is slightly ridiculous. What's the point of gaining the ball only to have a load of 17 stone men jump on top of you? If it was me I wouldn't go near the ball...or actually, maybe I would. And why on earth is it that rugby is linked to public schools? It seems to me that nothing could be more neanderthal than a load of men with too much testosterone leaping on each other. Give me the far more skilful footie any day. The atmosphere was brilliant though and having said all that, Rugby has the potential to grow on me.

Steve's version of the game:
Great match, great beer, great chips.

Afterwards, we walked into Wellington, finding ourselves in an Irish bar of all places. Slight confusion with bus times on the way back saw us at midnight in the middle of the city, under the pouring rain and with nothing to do but wait for an hour until the next bus....and watch the boy racers. Seeing as they can drive at 15 and over 3/4 of the cars coming into the country are cheap and highly specced Japanese imports, Wellington was a race circuit for the latest Subaru Imprezas, Mitsubishi Evos and Nissan Skylines. With insurance not being legally required either, it suddenly seemed like a risky business to be driving in the cities of New Zealand at night!

We spent the next couple of days exploring Wellington. The Te Papa museum - an is an incredible interactive experience with 6 floors and so much to see and do you can't take it all in. We were even in an earthquake...well, ok, it was a simulator but it felt real! The Auckland rugby team was there too so that was a bonus. We also visited Kaitoke Regional Park and saw where Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings was filmed. We could have been anywhere in New Zealand really but we had a lovely walk anyway albeit in the rain.

The morning of our ferry trip to South Island was a brilliant spring day which is very fortunate considering as the Cook Strait is known as one of the most dangerous ferry crossings in the world. We thought we'd make the most of the sun and took a tram ride to the botanical gardens which gave fantastic views of Wellington - not as sprawling as Auckland but lacking it's style in our opinion. The botanical gardens were glorious too despite being early spring and we took a leisurely stroll through them - stopping at the fragrant herb gardens housing such stomach-growling wonders as pineapple sage, coconut geraniums and chocolate scented pelargenium. The Maori herb garden was intriguing too, particularly when we spotted anti-bacterial lemon balm and rangoa used for treating abscesses. Steve has grown another ominous lump on his face and we were tempted to pick a load to cook a concoction up in the van!

From the botanical gardens we drove up Mount Victoria for another great view of Wellington but also this was where they filmed another part of Lord of the Rings - when the hobbits were being chased by the Nazgul. We are pretty sure we found the tree they hid under (well it was a forest and there were a lot of trees but we had to pretend our walk had not been in vain).

Lunchtime saw our ferry journey to Picton, South Island and whilst waiting to board, we finally met the owners of the VW split screen camper that Steve had been drawling at when we saw it around the North Island. Lee and Julie from Rochdale are hiring it for 2 months and although it may be triple the daily hire cost of our van, it is just such cool way to negotiate New Zealand! Steve left the North Island extremely jealous.

Art Deco Capital of the World

Reluctantly leaving Paradise, we headed down East Cape to our next destination; the widely acclaimed, art deco capital of the world, Napier. 7 hours and 380km of beautiful coastel scenery later, we arrived with the claim to fame that we were in the first city in the world (Gisbourne) to see 5:32pm happen on 10th September!

We arrived in Napier centre the next morning at 8am to start our self guided tour of the art deco buildings. 5 hours later we were both moved by what we had heard and spellbound by what we had seen. A tremendous earthquake in 1931 killed over 250 people, still New Zealand's biggest natural disaster, and flattened Napier to the ground. Slowly the people of Napier rebuilt their city with pride and determination. In reflection of the period, fashion and their desire to create something bright and unique, the new city reflected the style of the times - art deco. The buildings are incredible and in every colour conceivable. In the afternoon, we admired the 'domestic deco' in Marewa housing area then took in a wine tour at Church Road winery. Slightly tipsy, we managed to blow $20 on 3 bottles of wine then wondered into Napier to see the art deco fountains and buildings lit up in all their evening splendour. Off course, we managed to fit in a visit to the Governers Inn bar - to admire the art deco interior of course. Ahem.

Next day we headed south to Wellington, the capital despite being only the third biggest city in New Zealand, and where our North Island trip would come to an end.

Paradise

East Cape is the least visited part of the North Island in New Zealand; largely because of the distance but also because the roads are poor, mountainous and with very few settlements along the way. As we drove up the west side of the cape, in the dark and with the diesel running out, we started to question our decision to travel so far off the beaten track. All based on a romantic vision of being the first people in the world to see the sunrise on East Cape. In reality, it got to 8pm and, exhausted from driving, we decided to pull in at the next settlement. Ho-hum, it got to 9pm and we still hadn't driven through a village yet. At 9.30pm we stumbled on Whanarua Bay and found a backpackers lodge with a friendly owner who let us camp in his car pack. Exhausted, we fell asleep straight away, disoriented and without a clue as to where we were or what our surroundings were like.

Paradise. Simply Paradise. Cliched, but how do you describe somewhere so perfect it takes your breathe away? We awoke in a bay so beautiful that we could have spent 3 days just staring at our surroundings; blue water lapping the shore, hammocks framing a waterfall cascading from the cliffs and paua shell lined staircases leading to a wooden lodge. The retreat itself is beautifully built and takes inspiration from the nautical; ropes, shells and driftwood. It was like a dream as we sat on the rocks, bathing in the sun and looking out to sea.

Maraehako Bay Retreat (meaning 'Retreat for good people' in Maori) is owned by Pihi Hei and his family own over 20,000 acres on East Cape. The land was passed down by his Grandfather who was the first Maori barrister in New Zealand and thus left his inheritance protected from the Government and firmly in the hands of his family. Pihi invited us to help him collect his crayfish pots that morning and we gladly took him up on his Kiwi hospitality. His fishing boat whisked us across the sea and we helped pull up the pots housing the extremely ugly Crayfish. Or rather Steve helped, Beth wasn't going near them. On our return, Pihi drowned them in fresh water then boiled them in sea water so we could enjoy lunch of fresh Crayfish - the like of which you would spend a fortune on anywhere else in the world!

One of the cast from Lord of the Rings got married at Maraehako Bay Retreat and you can see why - in fact we may have our wedding blessed there in another 30 years! The key to it's beauty is that Pihi has no plans to develop the retreat or the area further commercially - Pihi simply wants to share his home and family with the visiting backpackers who all arrive on word of mouth and end up staying much longer than planned. A little like in 'The Beach' really! We might not have made it to see the sun rise at East Cape but the Paradise we stumbled upon was infinitely more perfect.

Our Maori Experience

Heading down to Rotorua we stayed next to the lake, waiting to be collected by the tour promising us an evening filled with Maori experiences. The Tamaki Experience bus collected us and the driver greeted us in 48 different languages before settling on the Maori word for welcome 'Kia Ora'. We were briefed on Maori etiquette, traditions and beliefs before being taken to a site built as a Maori village would have been prior to European settlement. As the visiting 'tribe', the host chief performed a war dance to intimidate us before letting us into the village. Seeing the chief dance was an amazing sight in the context of the atmosphere and Maori cultures but anywhere else then it would have been slightly amusing to see this big guy dressed in black underpants and a grass skirt carry out a series of very camp actions with a long spear! Once we had been 'accepted' as a visiting tribe we were welcomed into their village and explored the homes of the Maori families as we watched actors in costume play some traditional games infront of big open fires. We were then treated to the most incredible show of singing, dancing and recital which left us breathless at such spirituality and grace. We didn't want it to end until we started tucking into the hangi feast they had prepared for us in traditional Maori style and then all we could focus on was the gorgeous food. Cooked underground by steam, we had sumptuous seafood, tender lamb, chicken falling off the bone and vegetables cooked to perfection. Lip smackingly gorgeous! The night ended with all the coach drivers and even some of the chefs performing the Haka - complete with tongues and eyes bulging. We could see why the All Blacks are such a force to be reckoned with - we were reduced to a shivering heap after seeing all those big men descending on us with their tongues out!

Our Maori driver had us all in fits on the way back, taking the micky out of the nationalities on board and even making us sing 'The Wheels on the Bus' whilst he drove round a roundabout 8 times. One of the best nights out we have had so far on our travels and not something to miss in Rotorua - the Maori stronghold of New Zealand.

The next day, Steve had a tattoo - when in Rome etc, etc and it seemed quite fitting in the land of heavily tattooed Maori warriors. Beth didn't quite have the guts but she is quietly working on it so watch this space...

We didn't leave Rotarua until 3pm and, with Steve nursing his tattoo and with Beth berating herself for her lack of courage, we set off on our 300km journey to East Cape.

Trees, Yachts, Lakes and Mountains

We travelled down from Northlands to Auckland via the great Kauri forests where we saw the famous 'Tane Mahuta' - one of the largest trees in the world at 51m high and a girth of over 13m. The sheer size of the Maori named 'God of the Forest' was awesome and it was almost difficult to believe our eyes - it would make a great tree house! We broke up the journey in Matakohe at the Kauri Museum which tied everything together; the gum diggers, the ancient Kauri Kingdom and the spectacular forests in a chronological explanation.

We headed to the lovely Takapuna again, just north of Auckland, where we walked along the beach taking in the glamorous, nautical inspired architecture - American and European holiday homes from the days when the America Cup was held in Auckland. The next morning we looked out across the coast towards Rangitoto island, Auckland's newest volcano formed only 600 years ago, and watched a yacht race. This is the life. How much are yachts anyway and where can we buy one?

Fuji, Auckland mended our digital camera so, snap happy again, we wasted no more time and headed down to Cambridge for our final night with Beth's Auntie and Uncle. In the morning we had a final farewell cuppa with them at a cafe overlooking Lake Karapiro that, on such a beautiful spring day, looked like a mirror reflecting the surrounding hills. It was also playing host to some canoeists - maybe practicing for the next Olympics as this is the training ground for the New Zealand rowing champions.

From Cambridge we drove down to the summer seaside resort of Mount Maunganui set in Bay of Plenty which, despite it being Spring, offered...well, plenty, if you'll excuse the pun. The beaches were perfect and the surfing clothes shops even better but we managed to drag ourselves away and instead huffed and puffed our way up the 300m namesake mountain (ignoring the irratating people jogging up leaving us in a trail of dust). We were rewarded with stunning views of the bay and White Island - the most active volcanic island in New Zealand. We must come back in the summer!

The Northern Most Tip of NZ

Before leaving Paihia we visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Maoris and British agreed to live in peace under the sovereign rule. Well worth the visit and amazing to think that 500 Maori cheifs had walked the same route we did to the treaty house in 1860!

From Paihia we drove through KeriKeri, the first European settlement in New Zealand, famous for it's citrus orchards of limes, lemons, oranges and grapefruits, not to mention the other produce of this sub-tropical region such as Macadamia nuts, avocado and olives. Stopping for a freshly squeezed orange juice, we were feeling very virtuous. Within an hour we had undone all the good work by stopping at the harbour of Mangonui (meaning big shark in Maori - gulp) for a massive helping of freshly caught fish, battered and served with a healthy portion of chips from the 'World Famous Fish & Chip Shop'. Not sure about it's levels of world fame but the fish & chips were certainly mouth-wateringly delicious. In fact we are drawling as we type. Driving further round we passed the bay where Rainbow Warrior memorial is placed - a tribute to the Greenpeace boat and the crew member who lost his life when it was blown up by French Secret Service operatives. Stopping near Kaitaia, we camped overnight in a town called Awanui where, if you haven't got 3 heads and a limp, people stare at you.

In contrast to the 'hole in the rock' day, we had lovely spring weather for our trip north to Cape Reinga and breathed sighs of relief as we basked in the sun waiting for Sand Safaris to collect us. The jolly driver greeted us and the other 2 passengers in Maori (watch the All Blacks before a game and see how intimidating it is!) and sang traditional Maori songs all the way to our first stop - The Gum Diggers Park. No, this isn't where Mr.Wrigley originates but is a fascinating family-owned park where we saw Kauri trees still standing at 1000 years old and swamps revealing buried Kauri logs from 40,000 - 100,000 years ago. Absolutely amazing. We also learnt how the Irish and Croatians, amongst other nationalities, dug for Kauri gum in the roots of the trees. It was used as the base for polish but, as the gum is no longer available in commercial quantities and man-made replacements have been developed, the rare gum is now mainly used in jewellery. The Ancient Kauri Kingdom was our next stop where we spent a happy hour drawling at the gorgeous carved furniture made from Kauri wood (a snip at only 1500GBP each). We were reluctantly dragged out from the shop clutching our compromise purchase of a pate dish made from 40,000 year old Kauri. A compromise because Steve wouldn't let Beth buy a chair and she refused to leave without a purchase. We are getting the hang of this marriage thing.

Heading further north we finally reached Cape Reinga, known by Maori as Te Rerenga Wairua, the leaping place of the spirits, and the furthest northern point of New Zealand. As you look out over the Tasman sea merging with the Pacific, you can see and feel why the area is spiritually important to the Maoris. It is believed that after death, Maori spirits travel up Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga where they travel down the cliff to the pohutukawa tree at the northernmost tip of the Cape. The spirits make their final leap from the tree and then return to Hawaiiki, the ancestral homeland of Maori. It was a great privilege to be able to see such a beautiful area even against the backdrop of the obligatory multi-destination signpost erected for the benefit of tourists (almost 20,000km to London for anyone interested)! We had lunch in one of the lovely bays before heading through the TePuki quick sands and to the surrounding sand dunes where we spent a brilliant hour tobaggoning down. Beth screamed so loudly, it is a wonder she didn't wake the spirits of the dead on their quiet traverse to the pohutukawa tree!

From there we headed for the journey back to Kaitaia but this time along ninety mile beach, actually 45 miles of thundering surf and white sand. The whole day was fascinating filled with adrenalin, spirituality and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Hole in the Rock

Paihia isn't as pretty as Russell but it serves it's primary function as a base for the hoardes of tourists booking cruises to the Bay of Islands and the 'Hole in the Rock'. On our first day Steve recuperated in the van whilst Beth walked through the Waitangi Forest in glorious sunshine to the Huraru falls and Mongrove boardwalks in the ongoing hunt for a kiwi bird. She was eluded once again.

Beth's Dad had talked about the 'Hole in the Rock' in the Bay of Islands since he first visited New Zealand since she was a teenager and it had gained legendary status for us when the day came for our cruise to see it. So it was with a touch of regret that the first day of spring, the day of our trip, was blowing gale force winds. But donning our waterproofs and with Steve's face on the mend, we felt invincible and boarded the boat with the other 10 passengers. The Fullers cruise delivers mail to some of the 150 islands and after the skipper was almost blown clear from the jetty after the first mail stop, passengers started turning green. A couple had to be escorted off to an island, unable to stomach the huge waves and displayed what must be an Olympic record for projectile vomiting. At the island we stopped to take a picture of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's house only for our digital camera to promptly break. Well, we're sure her voice is high pitched enough to shatter glass, but cameras? We continued on, knuckles white as we gripped the seat, feverishly repeating like people possessed 'must see hole in the rock, must see' whilst staring into our sick bags. Trying to fix our gaze on the horizon, only to discover that it had started rocking too, the Captain's voice over the loud speaker assured us that 'life was full of small adventures and this was one of them'. He had us almost believing that until a passenger began throwing up creating a domino effect that within 2 minutes saw the boat alive with the sound of barfing. Almost loosing the contents of our stomach on several occasions too, we finally arrived at the famous 'hole in the rock' which, sheltered a little by surrounding islands, was fortunately a lot calmer and allowed us to marvel at the size of hole that nature had created in an island 300m in height. We couldn't go all the way through because of the weather but seeing the islands and islanders, stopping for lunch at the top of another and finally seeing the hole in the rock made the day totally worthwhile and really, really enjoyable. Honestly.

The English Patient

By the time we saw the Doctor in Russell, Steve was in agony with his neck covered in inflamed lumps and one the size of the abscess removed in Argentina. The Doctors diagnosed 'foliculitus', bacteria trapped in the hair folicles causing abscesses...those South American hostels have a lot to answer for! Sent away with a months long course of antibiotics, we were told to return if they got worse. They did. After a sleepless night with Steve wracked with fever, his face started to resemble the 'Fat Bastard' from Austin Powers. Steve was admitted to hospital....60km south in Whangarei from where we had come from. D'oh. Beth drove the camper van like a woman posessed. Steve spent 3 days on an IV drip until operated on to remove the largest lump and Beth kept vigil at Steve's bedside, sleeping in the campervan in the hospital carpark at night. Well, on the upside, we saved $25 on a campsite! The nurses, in true kiwi fashion, were very kind and made the whole experience not quite as traumatic as it could have been. Scheduling some district nurse visits for our journey around the Northland, Beth was asked whether she would feel happy stuffing the wound with packing when it started to heal. One look at the bloody 2cm deep gash, an impressive inch across Steve's face made Beth almost vomit and the District Nurse wish she hadn't asked! We left Whangarei with the silent prayer that we would not have to return again and headed to Paihia, North of Russell in the Bay of Islands.