Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Levin, North Island
Quite a bit of catching up to do, let's try and do it in order.
Saturday 26 January
We picked up the van. It's actually a largish estate car, a Toyota Estima, which has been adapted with the back seats taken out and incorporated into the boot. It's quite neat, we have storage underneath it and we make up the bed on top. The boot pulls out and a canvas canopy pulls over it with the back up to fasten onto the rear bumper. If it rains the extension has to be pulled forward to make a bed, which would be a tad tight. I think that if we get a lot of wet weather we will motel or B&B.
Our first stop was at a campsite only an hours drive south of Auckland where we experimented with the car and the set up, and assessed what we had and had not got. The big thing missing was a kettle!
Sunday 27 January
We continued south and stopped in Hamilton where we shopped at two larger chain stores, Countdown and The Warehouse. We bought a few essentials the van/car was missing, an LED light for sitting outside, the kettle of course, some better cooking equipment, and stocked up with groceries, things like pasta, tinned food, sauces mixes and plenty of bottled water for outback sites.
We detoured to visit the Waitoma Caves, a network of underground features in the limestone. The main thing of interest to us was the glowworms. We did a trip which involved an underground boat ride and looking up at the roofs of the caves was like looking up at the night sky, hundreds of glowworms were completing their life cycle underground.
Next we headed for a Department of Conservation site in the Pureora Forest, way, way off the beaten track. Our handbook said there was only a long-drop toilet and water from the stream. The plus was that we found a tap providing piped water (beautifully sweet) from a stream, the minus was that the long-drop was very smelly, have they not heard of V.I.P.s? The evening was magic, a fire we cooked on, silence apart from the forest noises......... and then...... the mosquitoes came. They invaded in batallions all night and we soon learnt that we had not made the canopy completely tight and mosquito proof.
Monday 28 January
We left the magic of the Forest, well worth the stop, even allowing for the mosquitoes, and continued southwards. We headed for the west coast and found a campsite, part of an NZ chain called Kiwi campgrounds, right on the beach, a beach of black volcanic sand. The campsite was maybe a bit regimented for our tastes, but immaculate and very comfortable. The facilities at these campsites are amazing, kitchens with ovens, microwaves, fridges, everything you could want. We have a small fridge and a gas stove in the car, but we will only need to use them on the outback sites, and most of those seem to offer the ability to cook on a fire or wood BBQ.
We drove down the Forgotten World Highway, 150 kms through rural NZ, winding and twisting through farmland and hillsides.
Tuesday 29 January
So here we are tonight in a place called Levin, about 100 kms north of Wellington. Tomorrow we take the ferry across to the South Island where we will probably spend February, returning to the eastern part of the North Island at the beginning of March, that is unless the sand flies get the better of us. Everyone we meet tells us horror stories about the sand flies on the South Island, they descend on you, cover you, eat you alive, unlike mosquitoes they operate 24/7 and cannot be escaped. How much insect repellent can I tolerate on my body? After several abortive attempts we finally found a very nice campsite. We dropped in on several by the coast on the way here and they were terrible. Static caravans, parked close to each other, with a few spaces left for tourers, like Hemsby (that's for Norfolk readers) but worse. We decided to head inland and found this site, which is very nice. We've showered, done some washing, bbq'd some NZ lamb and are drinking a bottle of nice NZ wine on a small quiet site.
So, thoughts on NZ so far. It's green, it's rural, it's friendly. Endless rolling hills with sheep cows and goats and not far away are usually mountains, some with snow-capped peaks, even this time of year. The topography is unlike anything we have seen before, folds of hillsides, we assume this is because it is a 'young' post-volcanic scenery as compared to ancient post-volcanic landscapes we are more familiar with, where time and glaciation has smoothed the edges. Point of interest: Both of us, without conferring, had assumed that the All-Blacks insignia was a feather (?from a Kiwi). Having seen it in abundance and having driven through miles and miles of fern bordered roads we now realise it is not a feather at all, but a fern. We need to ask a Kiwi very soon. Is it a fern? Is it a black fern? When do the ferns become black? Until we say that we are from England people don't don't seem to realise we are English. We would have thought that as soon as we open our mouths it is obvious we are English, but so many people ask us where we are from. Could we be mistaken for Americans, Canadians, South Africans. John was told he didn't sound English because he didn't have an accent.
Saturday 26 January
We picked up the van. It's actually a largish estate car, a Toyota Estima, which has been adapted with the back seats taken out and incorporated into the boot. It's quite neat, we have storage underneath it and we make up the bed on top. The boot pulls out and a canvas canopy pulls over it with the back up to fasten onto the rear bumper. If it rains the extension has to be pulled forward to make a bed, which would be a tad tight. I think that if we get a lot of wet weather we will motel or B&B.
Our first stop was at a campsite only an hours drive south of Auckland where we experimented with the car and the set up, and assessed what we had and had not got. The big thing missing was a kettle!
Sunday 27 January
We continued south and stopped in Hamilton where we shopped at two larger chain stores, Countdown and The Warehouse. We bought a few essentials the van/car was missing, an LED light for sitting outside, the kettle of course, some better cooking equipment, and stocked up with groceries, things like pasta, tinned food, sauces mixes and plenty of bottled water for outback sites.
We detoured to visit the Waitoma Caves, a network of underground features in the limestone. The main thing of interest to us was the glowworms. We did a trip which involved an underground boat ride and looking up at the roofs of the caves was like looking up at the night sky, hundreds of glowworms were completing their life cycle underground.
Next we headed for a Department of Conservation site in the Pureora Forest, way, way off the beaten track. Our handbook said there was only a long-drop toilet and water from the stream. The plus was that we found a tap providing piped water (beautifully sweet) from a stream, the minus was that the long-drop was very smelly, have they not heard of V.I.P.s? The evening was magic, a fire we cooked on, silence apart from the forest noises......... and then...... the mosquitoes came. They invaded in batallions all night and we soon learnt that we had not made the canopy completely tight and mosquito proof.
Monday 28 January
We left the magic of the Forest, well worth the stop, even allowing for the mosquitoes, and continued southwards. We headed for the west coast and found a campsite, part of an NZ chain called Kiwi campgrounds, right on the beach, a beach of black volcanic sand. The campsite was maybe a bit regimented for our tastes, but immaculate and very comfortable. The facilities at these campsites are amazing, kitchens with ovens, microwaves, fridges, everything you could want. We have a small fridge and a gas stove in the car, but we will only need to use them on the outback sites, and most of those seem to offer the ability to cook on a fire or wood BBQ.
We drove down the Forgotten World Highway, 150 kms through rural NZ, winding and twisting through farmland and hillsides.
Tuesday 29 January
So here we are tonight in a place called Levin, about 100 kms north of Wellington. Tomorrow we take the ferry across to the South Island where we will probably spend February, returning to the eastern part of the North Island at the beginning of March, that is unless the sand flies get the better of us. Everyone we meet tells us horror stories about the sand flies on the South Island, they descend on you, cover you, eat you alive, unlike mosquitoes they operate 24/7 and cannot be escaped. How much insect repellent can I tolerate on my body? After several abortive attempts we finally found a very nice campsite. We dropped in on several by the coast on the way here and they were terrible. Static caravans, parked close to each other, with a few spaces left for tourers, like Hemsby (that's for Norfolk readers) but worse. We decided to head inland and found this site, which is very nice. We've showered, done some washing, bbq'd some NZ lamb and are drinking a bottle of nice NZ wine on a small quiet site.
So, thoughts on NZ so far. It's green, it's rural, it's friendly. Endless rolling hills with sheep cows and goats and not far away are usually mountains, some with snow-capped peaks, even this time of year. The topography is unlike anything we have seen before, folds of hillsides, we assume this is because it is a 'young' post-volcanic scenery as compared to ancient post-volcanic landscapes we are more familiar with, where time and glaciation has smoothed the edges. Point of interest: Both of us, without conferring, had assumed that the All-Blacks insignia was a feather (?from a Kiwi). Having seen it in abundance and having driven through miles and miles of fern bordered roads we now realise it is not a feather at all, but a fern. We need to ask a Kiwi very soon. Is it a fern? Is it a black fern? When do the ferns become black? Until we say that we are from England people don't don't seem to realise we are English. We would have thought that as soon as we open our mouths it is obvious we are English, but so many people ask us where we are from. Could we be mistaken for Americans, Canadians, South Africans. John was told he didn't sound English because he didn't have an accent.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Auckland
Another full day here. We took a ferry across to a volcanic island in The Harauki Gulf, part of the network of bays and islands which make up the complex of Auckland. There is so much water here, it gives the City a very open feel. This island is the youngest of those in the Harauki Gulf, a mere 600 years since it erupted, so much of it is still a barren black lava flow. Slowly it is being colonised by lichens, mosses and then larger grasses, trees and ferns. It belongs to the Department of Conservation and has been established as a pest free island. All predators have been eradicated by poisoning and hunting and new endangered species introduced. We walked for more than four hours with brief stops for water and a banana, all of it up and down, including a circuit of the rim of the old crater.
We stopped on the way back to the hostal and picked up some salad, cheese and smoked fish as we knew that once we had showered we wouldn't feel like going out again to eat. After our meal we sat down with maps and books and made an outline plan for the next five days, looking to see where the campsites are located, the distances between them and they class of road. It's really all a bit unknown as we don't have any experience of NZ roads, drivers and driving, but at least we have some ideas.
We pickup the camper van in the morning then we are on our way. The two days in Auckland have been good, but two days in a City, even one with only 1 million inhabitants, is enough, we are really looking forward to the wide open spaces. The hostal has also been good, we feel much more part of a travelling community than if we had been isolated in a hotel. We are, however, looking forward to a bit more space and personal privacy and maybe some quiet time.
I'm not sure when we will have access to the internet again. Wherever possible we intend to stay on Conservation Sites and at most of the ones we have identified the only facilities are a long drop toilet and water from a stream. We will need to pass through towns in order to restock our supplies, particularly beer and wine.
We stopped on the way back to the hostal and picked up some salad, cheese and smoked fish as we knew that once we had showered we wouldn't feel like going out again to eat. After our meal we sat down with maps and books and made an outline plan for the next five days, looking to see where the campsites are located, the distances between them and they class of road. It's really all a bit unknown as we don't have any experience of NZ roads, drivers and driving, but at least we have some ideas.
We pickup the camper van in the morning then we are on our way. The two days in Auckland have been good, but two days in a City, even one with only 1 million inhabitants, is enough, we are really looking forward to the wide open spaces. The hostal has also been good, we feel much more part of a travelling community than if we had been isolated in a hotel. We are, however, looking forward to a bit more space and personal privacy and maybe some quiet time.
I'm not sure when we will have access to the internet again. Wherever possible we intend to stay on Conservation Sites and at most of the ones we have identified the only facilities are a long drop toilet and water from a stream. We will need to pass through towns in order to restock our supplies, particularly beer and wine.
Auckland
The trip to Heathrow turned out to be completely trouble free. The roads were clear of snow and the the bus was on time. The plane also took off dead on time and the flight with China Southern (economy) was much better than we had anticipated. We had read some reviews of the airline which were far from complimentary but it was as good as any economy flight we have made and in some aspects better than most. The cabin staff were charming, all very young, pleasant and helpful, they bowed before giving announcements. The meals were probably the best airline meals I have had. We had a little video presentation of shiatsu type exercises to do, massaging certain pressure points to reduce stress, encourage blood flow and 'repel wind!'
The six hour stopover at Guangzhau in China was a bit of a drag, especially when we realised that we were paying £10 each for a cup of coffee. The price was not a tourist price, it was up on the board. We got the decimal point in the wrong place initially and thought it was very cheap. Maybe coffee in China was just a bad choice and it should have been tea.
The final twelve hours of the journey went more slowly and boredom, discomfort and tiredness had started to set in.
The arrival at Auckland airport was fine and we soon got a transfer to the Hostal, where after a very good shower we sat outside with a selection of young people, including two British guys, and drank a few beers. The Hostal is fully booked, two people were passed on to somewhere else as we sat there, and absolutely heaving with young backpackers, but I went straight to sleep at about 22.30. I woke a bit in the night, but then slept on until 09.00 this morning.
We spent this morning doing a bit of shopping, a SIM for our phone, a NZ USB plug and a few other essentials. We won't do any serious s!hopping until we've picked the van up on Saturday. We went to the tourist information centre and found everything we wanted, maps, camping guides, and it was all free. Everything here seems to be aimed at encouraging tourism. Then we took a ferry across to a very nice residential area, called Devonport, very quiet and suburban with some lovely old clapboard houses with wide decks and garden stocked full of hibiscus and plumbago, all very Victorian colonial. We climbed an (extinct) volcano and had lovely views over the harbour and back to Auckland City. Then we took a: coastal! walking path taking us through an area of WW1 fortifications, old pill boxes and underground tunnels, back to the ferry area and a late lunch/tea. We did a bit of snack food shopping on the way back and now we are sitting outside once more with a bottle of wine. Someone was playing a pleasant guitar just now and it is all very easy going, just what we wanted, a mix of nationalities but English the main spoken language, people exchanging travel experiences and plans. A good choice, a gentle and easy going introduction to a country which, on one day's experience, also appears to friendly, easy going, and accommodating. What next - well another day in Auckland tomorrow, maybe another ferry trip to some volcanic islands, the pick up the van and we the trip really begins. Very exciting.
The six hour stopover at Guangzhau in China was a bit of a drag, especially when we realised that we were paying £10 each for a cup of coffee. The price was not a tourist price, it was up on the board. We got the decimal point in the wrong place initially and thought it was very cheap. Maybe coffee in China was just a bad choice and it should have been tea.
The final twelve hours of the journey went more slowly and boredom, discomfort and tiredness had started to set in.
The arrival at Auckland airport was fine and we soon got a transfer to the Hostal, where after a very good shower we sat outside with a selection of young people, including two British guys, and drank a few beers. The Hostal is fully booked, two people were passed on to somewhere else as we sat there, and absolutely heaving with young backpackers, but I went straight to sleep at about 22.30. I woke a bit in the night, but then slept on until 09.00 this morning.
We spent this morning doing a bit of shopping, a SIM for our phone, a NZ USB plug and a few other essentials. We won't do any serious s!hopping until we've picked the van up on Saturday. We went to the tourist information centre and found everything we wanted, maps, camping guides, and it was all free. Everything here seems to be aimed at encouraging tourism. Then we took a ferry across to a very nice residential area, called Devonport, very quiet and suburban with some lovely old clapboard houses with wide decks and garden stocked full of hibiscus and plumbago, all very Victorian colonial. We climbed an (extinct) volcano and had lovely views over the harbour and back to Auckland City. Then we took a: coastal! walking path taking us through an area of WW1 fortifications, old pill boxes and underground tunnels, back to the ferry area and a late lunch/tea. We did a bit of snack food shopping on the way back and now we are sitting outside once more with a bottle of wine. Someone was playing a pleasant guitar just now and it is all very easy going, just what we wanted, a mix of nationalities but English the main spoken language, people exchanging travel experiences and plans. A good choice, a gentle and easy going introduction to a country which, on one day's experience, also appears to friendly, easy going, and accommodating. What next - well another day in Auckland tomorrow, maybe another ferry trip to some volcanic islands, the pick up the van and we the trip really begins. Very exciting.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Norwich
The trip to New Zealand seems a long way off at the moment as I am listening to severe weather warnings for the U.K. Will we be able to get to Heathrow Airport on Monday morning? If we manage to get there will our flight take off on time? Will it take off at all?
Outside the snow here is still deep, completely covering the garden and nearby buildings and piled up on pavements. Occasionally the sun catches an icicle and it starts to drip, but there isn't really any sign of a thaw. The forecast into the predictable future shows only ice, snow and below zero temperatures.
I've had a trial pack and decided to keep my sleeping bag right on top of my haversack in case we end up sleeping on the floor at the airport, as so many other people are doing at the moment.
I think this is going to be a very different trip for us. New Zealand does indeed seem very far off, but of course the language will be the same and maybe the culture closer to our own. Yet somehow it feels as if we are stepping outside our 'comfort zone', in comparison to our trips to Southern, Central and North Africa. An adventure indeed.
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