TO THE END OF NEW ZEALAND AND BACK
‘Kia Ora – Macswayround check in again - from the Land of the Long White Cloud!’ At Whakatane we enjoyed another bush walk in the novelty of a Kiwi protected territory. There were some Pohutukawa Trees in and around this town and these have become known as the New Zealand Christmas tree - as they have a beautiful crimson bloom throughout each Christmas season. These trees also hold special Cultural Significance and tradition to the Maori people. Off the coast at Whatakane lies the moonscape island named ‘White Island’. This happens to be New Zealand’s most active volcano! On the way to the Coromandel and Hot Water Beach, we stopped off in a place called Bethlehem – for a fix of cream cakes! The weather was a little wet – and we got stuck for a day as flooding prevented our onward journey! However – we stayed at a brand new site just a stone’s throw from the Hot Water Beach and received a very warm welcome. The beach was a fantastic novelty – come rain or shine! We all enjoyed digging holes for our feet in the sand and making use of the natural bubbling hot spring beneath the sand – to heat our feet up! This beach is included in the top ten beaches in the world, although it is best to stick with digging a hole in the sand rather than swimming, as the beach is also within the 4 most dangerous for rip tides in New Zealand. Nearby the beach at Hahei has beautiful white sand and we also walked along to see Cathedral Cove which is included in the film setting for ‘Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian’ –the C S Lewis classic movie. We took an early morning dip in the hot pool at Miranda campsite to catch a romantic sunrise – unfortunately lost to the clouds! Ten out of Ten for effort though! At Birkenhead, in Auckland, we caught up with my cousin Neil, his wife Heather and boys – Max and Toby – some more long lost cousins for Jemma and Ben! At Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter – Underwater World and Aquatic Discovery (in Auckland) – we definitely got our PENGUIN FIX!! We were pleased to see massive stingrays, sharks and lots of other fish - as well as New Zealand’s only Sub-Antarctic Penguins – YES – mission accomplished!! Here, we were able to ride a snow cat through the largest underground colony of Sub-Antarctic penguins - in the world! We loved watching the King and Gentoo penguins as they played in the snow and even went around on the snow cat for a second helping! This centre also has a life-sized replica of Captain Robert Scott’s Antarctic hut and tells the story of the conditions that he and his team lived within during their exhibitions to the world’s coldest continent. Thank -you to Neil, Heather, Toby and Max for accompanying us on a great day out and for the use of their house! We ventured further north and our journey took us through Waiwera where we enjoyed the movie pool and slides at the Infinity Thermal Spa Resort. At Goat Island, the Marine Reserve was New Zealand’s first of its kind and enormous fish could be seen from the rocks along the coast line, through the clear waters. We found out that this island has never been home to a goat – although it did have pigs – until they decided to swim ashore! We stayed at Pakiri Beach on the way to Russell, in the Bay of Islands. Russell has many fine old buildings, an old fig tree and a lovely waterfront. It is also home to Christchurch – New Zealand’s oldest church (1847), which is still scarred with musket holes today. Charles Darwin made a contribution towards the cost of building this church. We all had a fantastic three hour boat cruise, leaving from the Russell waterfront. We toured around some of the islands and sailed through the infamous ‘hole in the rock’. The highlight of the day has to be the most amazing sight of a pod of large Bottle nosed dolphins, as they swam around our boat!! A small ferry trip took us towards Waitangi –the most important historic site in New Zealand. It was here that the Waitangi Treaty was signed by a large number of Maori chiefs and the British Crown in February 1840. The Treaty saw Maori cede sovereignty to the British Queen, affording them the rights of all British subjects in return. The Treaty then toured the country and by September it had been signed by 500 chiefs. This remains a cornerstone of New Zealand’s foundation today. The Treaty grounds is now home to the renovated Treaty house, a museum, a marae, a 35 metre Waka (war canoe), and the UK, NZ and Maori flag pole which marks the spot where the Treaty was signed. We also enjoyed our first cultural experience, where Phil was chosen as Chief to represent our group of visitors and had to be welcomed in the traditional manner and accept a fern leaf from the warriors. Phil was also greeted on behalf of the group with the traditional Hongi and then Ben joined him with the other men to perform a Haka! Jemma and I took to the stage later to join in with a traditional Poi. We stayed at The Park - Top Ten by Ninety Mile Beach. This beach is actually 52 miles long and often serves as a secondary highway for vehicles heading north. We drove by road to the top of the Aupouri Peninsula – Cape Reinga – which is the most northern point of New Zealand. The Cape Reinga lighthouse is right at the end of the path and has an ‘end of the world’ feel to it. It really is a most beautiful place and has the added force as it is here that the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.......at the Columbia Bank Maelstrom. Cape Reinga is a place of intense cultural and spiritual significance to Maori. According to Maori legend the Pohutukawa tree at this point (approximately 800 years old), marks the place where the spirits of the dead begin their journey back to the home of their ancestors. It is believed that the soles of the departed climb down the roots of this tree and swim north to Hawaiki and back to their eternal home. For us – it meant that we had made it from Bluff at the south of the south island to the very north of the north island! On the way to Matakohe we drove alongside the Waipoua forest on the west coast and saw the biggest Kauri tree in the world – at around 2000 years old the Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) certainly lives up to the name. We were pleased to accept an invitation to call into a farm near Putaruru and catch up with some friends that we first met in Invercargill! Steve and Eileen made us all very welcome and we enjoyed a guided tour of the extremely modern farm. The milking parlour can hold 50 cows on a massive turntable and these cows can all be milked within 7 minutes! They can hold 650 cows in the round yard, at any one time. We thank them for their hospitality and would like to return the favour back in the UK – one day! Rotorua was next and we all had great fun at the Skyline rides, gondoliers and the Luge – in the rain! Rotorua has an aroma all of its own which can take some getting used to! The Sulphur city gives an insight into what is happening beneath the earth’s crust. We visited Te Puia which is the largest and best-known thermal reserve and was excellent as it also doubled up as a major cultural area. We enjoyed spurting geysers, steaming hot springs and exploding mud pools! There are two main geysers, named the Prince of Wales’ Feathers and Pohutu (big splash or explosion). These geysers erupted several times during our visit and produced the most extraordinary spectacle. The Pohutu geyser can spurt water to an impressive height of 30 metres into the air! We had a great guide who took us on a very informed tour of the whole site and we thoroughly enjoyed another cultural performance in the meeting house. As we headed south from Rotorua, the Huka Falls were very scenic with beautiful turquoise water. Through Lake Taupo and along the Tongariro National Park we drove the desert road and were mesmerised by the active volcanoes on either side of the road. We stayed at Ohakune which is also the gateway to the majestic mountains of the central volcanic plateau! As steam rose through these thermal landscapes from every direction – we had another extraordinary feeling -as if these islands are on a living time bomb.There are many earthquakes throughout New Zealand, on a very regular basis, and we had 4 of them in our local area, all within one night! Our last stop off before Wellington, was at Papaparaumu- where we did our final bit of packing. The camper will be delivered back to Wellington Top Ten and then we leave New Zealand to fly back to Los Angeles, USA (via Sydney airport) on 1st July 2009! So as we say farewell to this volcanic country of natural wonder - we are off to find the sunshine and are all greatly looking forward to being re-united with our own camper – NESSIE!!
Tuesday, 30 June 2009 09:24:57 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  New Zealand