Tim and William head to the very very North

On Sunday William and I went on an all day coach ride (as if he has not spent enough time being a passenger) on the ‘Dune Rider’  to Cape Reinga at the north of north Island where the Tasman and Pacific meet and we were so lucky to be there when the conditions allowed a really clear ‘join’... see pics........

The Cape is at the northern tip of North Island.So we have travelled from almost the farthest Southern spot in South Island to the very very top of the North...It is at this point has a great spiritual significance to the Maori who believe on death that their spirits travel up to this point where there is a tree growing out from the side of rocks which release their spirits to the otherworld. 

On the way we visited an old gum digging station. These guys dug up old Kauri trees sunk in peat bog to extract the old sap which was made into amber which was used in linoleum and varnish (all in a days work)

 The four wheel drive coach is especially designed for max comfort but most importantly can cruise down 90 Mile Beach and its massive sand dunes... the highlight of this particular trip..

Will and I also did sand boarding down some of the largest dunes in the world of about 100 meters, bit of a clamber to the top but fab fun coming down again...despite the face full of sand en-route ! 

William got up quite a speed on the first go and got in a full run whereas I managed a sideways skid and ended up full face bomb into the sand  ....

But by the third attempt I mastered it... good for the leg muscles - but think Valerie and Lowenna might have requested a chairlift be installed !  

90 Mile Beach is actually 70 miles end to end and quite amazing to travel down on the coach .... a sort of mirage effect out of the front windscreen of the coach gave a surreal effect and it really cannot be put in words..... we passed wild horses which are a legacy from the gum digging days... and the sand and surf and endless horizon of the same was a fantastic experience and one Will and I both agreed we wouldn’t have wanted to miss...despite being a very long day..

Valerie and Lowenna opted for a quieter morning and a ride in the forest in the afternoon, as they couldn’t really face the nearly 500km round trip in the coach....

but apparantly they did get up at a reasonable time ( or so they said) did some scrap booking, diary writing and sticking and stuff , as all that seems to have got a bit behind as we have kept up the pace of travelling... and generally chilled out for the morning .The girls also had fun on their ride, if a bit ploddy, but nice scenery and horses !

Toddler ( well 49'er) Tantrums and Amazing Dolphins

Fantastic dolphin experience in NZ answer to the Scillies !

Well, it really was a very long drive yesterday and after a nearly 1.5 hour hold up going through Auckland following the 280km detour to visit ‘caves’, I have to rather admit that a toddler tantrum ( well 49+ ) of epic proportions was brewing.... and meltdown begun 481 km in and after no stops... when TIm sets out on a drive- well we just keep driving... thank god the camper has a loo on board !    so a campsite was rapidly found before the camper combusted.Supper cum lunch cum tea, all in one,  was cooked in silence, and a rather ‘quiet’ evening meant early bed..... o dear....

There had been much debate about bothering to visit the caves.... the most visited NZ tourism attraction sent alarm bells ringing to me, the vision of yet more coach loads of japanese tourists, the cost was rather steep but the glowworm caves at Waitomo are the ‘ must see’ , or so it says in the brochure .

Have to admit that to me one cave is much like another and having seen Wooky Hole many years ago I felt that was fine by me..The attraction of trekking miles underground... and paying a fortune for it, was slightly lost on me and William and probably Lowenna but this was one of Tim’s must do’s and we all respected that and set out to enjoy...

Trouble is we had been spoilt the last couple of days in the best campsite by a beautiful lake and didn’t really want to leave.... pottering around Rotorua and the nearby Coromandel for our last few days, with no great journeys, seemed somewhat appealing after the last weeks of whizzing all over NZ at great speed.... hey ho... on we go...

Anyway... that was yesterday..... we did all agree after all that, that yes it was a complete rip off and the glowworm experience of a few minutes in a boat underground after a 2.5 hr cave tour was underwhelming to say the least....oh well... can’t win ‘em all !

But, today has been awesome... we got up early ,if still a bit silent and completed the 168km run up to Pahia and the Bay of Islands.... Still think the Scillies definately win but the 144 islands in the Bay are pretty special...

and.... we saw dolphins..... yippeeeeeeeeeeee

 after the disappointment of missing our whale watching trip in Kaikoura due to weather....this made up for it.We had a very happy and excited Lowenna, William took loads of pics, Tim loved it and all was well worth it....

and not just a big pod but babies too..... they dived and played around the boat, the sun shone, the wind blew in our hair and blew away all the frustrations of yesterday.....

must be one of the best moments ever to treasure....

great campsite too tonight... free wifi for first time ,we are by the sea, and tomorrow Tim and Will go up to the very top of NZ on a long day rip in a coach, Lowenna and I are going riding.... ( couldnt’ face another 250 km trip top the top !)

Valerie’s Quest to find the ‘Soup Dragon’ in Thermal Volcanic Land

 Valerie’s Quest to find the ‘Soup Dragon’ in Thermal Volcanic Land

We have at last been to find the ‘Soup Dragon ‘, a lifetime quest from a  long standing ‘Clanger “ fan..to experience this land of spouting geysers, mud pools , its like being fresh off the set of the Clangers !

Two days in thermal wonderland seeing sights that are so awesome they are beyond description... however the smell is not... it has been two days of nose wrenching sulphur stench but the bubbling mud holes and geysers and the awesome silica terraces and mineral fed lakes of so many colours have been fantastic but alas no soup dragon.

Lowenna has come to life and sped ahead.... grateful maybe of a near miss when much deliberation on whether to do the

Tongariro Cossing which is 17km of volcano walking ( in Mordor for Lords fo the Rings lovers !) led us to decide it was just too far and too hard and far for her... 

We have had two days in the best campsite yet beside a little blue lake outside Rotorua and we have all swam in the fresh clear water, had barbeques under the stars and at last had a couple of days going a  bit slower...

 ready for the final heave tomorrow... Waitomo Glowworm caves around 165km from here,,, and then a LONG drive up to the North of North Island.... god knows how many km ,would rather not work it put !

Can’t believe where the time has gone... the last few days and nights of an awesome discovery of a place so diverse and yet so familiar....

So many bits so like UK and yet round any corner to find sights you’d never see at home...

We have had great times and tetchy times but all rubbed along together enjoying whatever the next day brings... and still another week to go......

Tim's detour - The longest way to get from Franz Joseph to Hanmer Springs !!!

We knew it would be a long day in the van today, around 300 km, so why not add an extra 250 km to see some flat rocks and a gorge....so we booked onto Tim's tours -with additional mileage option..

Probably the nearest to meltdown so far -well we have done really well so far with biting our tongues through slightly stressful family moments.... but as we wound our way up and down long winding mountain passes, along miles of desolate beaches it tested our humour to the limit , well those in the back anyway.....We stopped eventually to see the Punakaiki Rocks which I have to admit were simply amazing ...the Buller Gorge some 100km on though was not !!

William was enthralled.... as per the photo, I ate too much chocolate and Lowenna passed the time scouring the map finding mountains with daft names like Mt.Technical and Mt.Hopeless and Mt.Misery, well that was apt !

Anyway... we all got to the end...after 520 odd km,  Hanmer Springs and the very long drive has bought us two days of hardly any driving so well worth it....and we did pass amazing scenery changes from rainforest on the West Coast to the bare mountains of the East.....

Tim did a sterling job at ignoring us all jibing him from the cheap seats in the back and I cooked fab supper for him to say thanks for the great tour...and gave him a very large glass of wine

Tomorrow is another day..