mrsjono

Continued further north to Kaitaia on the last day of 2015. Most shops are closed on NYE so we decided to try MacDonalds but couldn't find it. Ended up at a sushi shop run by Koreans which was surprisingly not bad. Ninety Mile Beach was kinda over rated; not much difference to other beaches in New Zealand. I took home a handful of beautiful seashells and drew in the sand for some photos.




and jandal tans


Moved on to Cape Reinga which was pretty busy.


Dark clouds rolling in


There is another of this sign post at Bluff deep down south


Maoris believe the spirits of the dead depart from here to the underworld.


Tasman Sea (left) meets the Pacific Ocean (right)


We bought a boogie board just for this but it doesn't slide down at the Te Paki sand dunes! We each had a go and left as it started to drizzle.


Stopped for an ice cream at Te Kao



Pukenui Holiday Park was quite well managed. The showers have timer though that stops for 10 mins after running for 15 mins which was annoying. I couldn't sleep at night because the wild wild weather was causing our tent to sway left right center and it was holding up as best as it could. I was determined to pop my head out to have a look despite the rain when I heard fireworks going off as I missed it in Gisborne last year. 

Wandered around Whangarei Falls in the morning before heading to Paihia. Stopped at Kawakawa to see what's the fuss about that toilet. Nothing much.




Whangarei Falls


Had Thai food for lunch at Paihia. There were a few lovely shops in town too.






Contemplated paying (literally - there's entrance fee) a visit to the Treaty of Waitangi Grounds but didn't like the idea of charging even NZ residents when the site is of such historic significance to the country. So we went to the Haruru Falls which was just 6 mins from Paihia.


Getting ready for the YOLO jump of the year


Haruru means big noise in Maori


Jumping off a tree


It seems that jumping off cliffs and waterfalls is highly featured in young kiwis' summer holiday plans.


"When you look back at your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did."


Puketi Forest has 20 campsites and it was first come first serve (note that prior bookings are required now) so we went early to secure a spot. Sure enough, all the grassy spots had been taken up.


We were surprised to find a nice big modern bathroom in this forest however there was only cold shower. I slotted the camping fee in the iron ranger while he fiddled with the hot shower bag but it didn't seem to work.


After a cold shower, we saw the police and media turning up. Looks like someone may have lost their way in the forest.

During the long drive up to Whangarei, we were caught in a massive holiday jam and listened to a rather meaningless debate on the radio about regulating trampoline and tried tuning in to some Chinese channel too. There wasn't much to see on the way and I fell asleep at some point. Missed the turn off to Little Earth Lodge; it was a sharp right down a steep private driveway. As the weather was looking fine tomorrow, we decided to go snorkelling at the Poor Knights Islands but were disappointed to hear that Perfect Day had no more slots tomorrow. Cooked dinner and shared a table with a father and daughter from China. They had just returned from a snorkelling trip with Perfect Day and reported sightings of dolphin or turtle or something. We refused to give up and searched for other operators after dinner and had to walk some distance uphill in order to get reception. He found Yukon and managed to secure slots for tomorrow!

The next morning, we couldn't find the room key when checking out and were almost late for the snorkel trip. Had to wake up the owner and she fined us $10. Parked the car, quickly got changed and joined the rest for our first snorkel in New Zealand at Tutukaka Poor Knights. I was the only one who couldn't swim and hanged on to my boogie board as I felt insecure without any life jacket (there wasn't any provided). RS stayed with me throughout. Water visibility was alright but the marine life lacked diversity. Maybe there's more to see when you go deeper on a dive. We also visited some cave and moved through one of those hole in the wall. I spent most of the time throwing up my blueberry muffins and feeling sick on the boat. I felt embarrassed and apologetic when the crew dumped my vomit into the sea and washed the bucket. On the way back, a passenger offered me some drowsy sea legs which helped a bit and made me go to sleep.








After spending the afternoon in the sea, we felt like eating fish and chips for dinner so we got some at Ngatea (recommended by Little Earth) and checked in to Whangarei Falls Holiday Park. Our last experience with a holiday park was not good and this turned out to be bad too. The owner was a strange dick; he asked if we know how to pitch tent which felt very insulting to us; treating us like idiots. After we settled down at our allocated site and start to eat our fish and chips, the owner came over and asked if we could move as he wanted to squeeze in another camper at the site he had allocated to us. This added fuel to the fire after an unpleasant welcome and it was him who had just told us that the space was ours. RS was fuming and we had an argument with the owner who eventually walked away.

Fresh air, fine weather and stunning views







Moved on to Tongaporutu to find the Elephant Rock. It wasn't that obvious from afar but we could clearly spot the remaining two rock formations known as the Three Sisters. They remind me of the 12 Apostles in Melbourne and the sea stake in Bako National Park, Kuching.



I had planned to visit a waterfall near Waitomo but turned back because it was getting late. Charged all the way to Auckland, put up our tent at Ambury and drove to J Tea, full of anticipation. Damn shiok sia!


Ambury Campground in Mangere



Trying out our new camping table


The two horses farted at me and walked away lol


Best bubble tea in NZ!

We could see the summit from below - looks like a good sign.


It was sunny when we started but turned dark and foggy along the way.



After 1.5 hours, we got to a point where we couldn't see what's ahead; there were no formed track or markers, just a mountain of rocks and boulders before us. It didn't feel right so we decided to turn back. No idea which was the way back down too.




This was as far as we went - I think it was the Boomerang Slip


Found our way to Tahurangi Lodge and got onto the summit track down.


Others were still pressing on to summit despite the deteriorating weather and it was getting late.


Tahurangi Lodge 到此一游


Finally reached the carpark and now got to think of where to sleep as we had no accommodation booked as we were supposed to be sleeping at Holly or Pouakai Hut.


Managed to secure a spot at Waitara Beach. Changed attire for self photo shoot. He was mad at me again for fiddling around. How will photos turn out nice if you are angry?