John and Paula

go touring
New Zealand
 2

January 14th 2010; we commenced our land tour of New Zealand by driving south from
Auckland to the Waitomo Caves. As soon as we could, we moved off the main roads onto
the scenic route and this was the way we operated for the next three weeks; we kept our
exposure to traffic low; cruising sedately down the back roads.
We elected to do a combination tour at Waitomo, first visiting the Aranui Cave, where
we knew we’d be allowed to take photographs of the fine, needle like, stalactites hanging
down from the roof. Then we moved on to the world famous Glow-worm Cave, where
photography is discouraged and that is probably just as well because flash photography of
glow-worms reveals nothing, you have to make a time exposure! The tour consists of a
boat ride and takes place in almost complete darkness and the result is that you get to
view the millions of tiny lights (produced by the Glow-worms), much resembling a fine
display of stars on an exceptionally clear night. It was very beautiful and the tour was
very well executed.

Waitomo was also our first visit to a “Top

Ten” holiday park and we were very
impressed with the facilities which were
first rate; in fact this was such a good site
it would be nice to return there and do
some of the many other walks that are in
the area.

From Waitomo, we drove east to Rotorua doing a southerly sweep and entering via the
Waikite Thermal Valley and the Mud Pools at Wai-O-Tapu. Our camp site was the Top
Ten at the Blue Lake (Blue Lake Holiday Park), which whilst quite good, was not a patch
on the previous one, we soon discovered that you pay a premium for lakeside camps and
unless you are going afloat or swimming, they are best avoided. We did however, have
good access to Rotorua and spent a day in town visiting the fascinating Museum.

Moving south we visited Orakei

Korako, a thermal area reputed to
be one of the finest in the world. A
small boat carries you across a
lake to where a path takes you
around the large, colourful silica
terraces to some geysers and a
fantastic natural cave with a pool
of jade-green water.
 3

Not far south from Orakei Korako are

the ‘Craters of the Moon’, another
Thermal Area run by the Department
of Conservation (DOC) and thus
quite ‘unexploited’ when compared
to most of the Thermal Areas
available to view; we had a good
wander around and very much
enjoyed our visit.

Across the main road from ‘Craters of the Moon’ is the Huka Falls, where the waters of
Lake Taupo crash through a very narrow gorge on their way down to the Aratiatia
Rapids. Here one can get a good sense of all the ‘water power’ that New Zealand has
available to power its Hydro Electric plants; it is an awe inspiring sight.

We camped at Taurangi Cabins, a site we’d used on our last visit when doing the Alpine
Crossing, it was cheap, cheerful and in the right place at the southern end of Lake Taupo.

The next morning it was raining and we almost changed our route, fortunately we didn’t
and we discovered that New Zealand was just as appealing and just as photogenic in the
rain as it was in sunshine. We headed into the Tongariro Nation Park and visited the
Wakapapa Village where we took in two
short movies which gave us some insight
into the park’s formation. The i-centre also
has some very descriptive and interactive
displays that give lots of information on this
volcanic centre and volcanic New Zealand in
general; its well worth a visit but I’m not
going to recommend it for camping as the
elevation causes it to be much cooler than
down in Taurangi and brings it into the
clouds on a regular basis, this makes it cold
and wet for the most part and not my
favourite camping conditions! We had been
able to spend time in this area on our last
visit and walked most of the tracks, the
weather had been better then and we had
more time to linger; this visit was restricted
by the weather however, it was still well
worth the visit as there is always something
to do or see here.
 4

From the i-centre we drove up the

mountain to the Ski Lifts and were
immediately ‘socked in’ by the
heavy clouds and occasional heavy
rain; it was dark, damp and
foreboding, on top of which, the
lunar landscape looked like it
would be somewhat more
appealing were it to be covered in
snow!

We didn’t hang around as the cool

and damp breeze cut through our
clothing, thus we were glad to descend into a little warmth and sunshine on the main
highway around Raetihi. Luckily there were a couple of breaks in the clouds and we were
just able to discern the outline of Mount Ruapehu, with its snow covered peak, before
leaving the area altogether.

Moving south once more we took the more scenic of two scenic routes to Wanganui, our
route was the Wanganui River Road and it was somewhat of an adventure as the surface
turned to gravel and then to something else which was not quite gravel. It also became
quite narrow and as we encountered a few heavy showers, there was a requirement for
concentration which outweighed any scenic beauty we may have passed. Part way down
the road the weather cleared and we were rewarded with some fine vistas; a nice but basic
camp site was found at Ranana, it was a beautiful if somewhat remote place.

The next day we continued to follow

the Wanganui River south but had not
gone very far when we came across
“The Kawana Flour Mill”. This was the
longest running and most successful
flour mill that operated in this valley at
the turn of the last century. The mill
has been lovingly restored and is left
open for visitors who wish to stop by
for a look. It was fascinating and filled
us in on the history of the valley, its
communities and river transport system
that was in full operation around the time that my Mum was born (not that long ago
really!). Shortly after leaving the Mill we regained the sealed road surface, for which we
were most grateful; however we continued with the twists and turns, inch by beautiful
inch, all the way to the bottom. It was indeed a very picturesque gorge!
 5

We stopped off in Wanganui, a delightful little town and then drove east once again,
working as many back roads as possible, our campsite for the night was at Ekutahura and
despite the fact that no one could possibly pronounce the place, it was very pleasant and
had great facilities for a very modest price.

From Ekutahura we went south once again as we had a scheduled crossing to South
Island from Wellington and there was no way to get re-booked. Fortunately, on route, we
had time to stop at the Mount Bruce Conservation Park which is run by the DOC, it is a
bird and wildlife refuge where they rear endangered species before returning them to the
wild. The park was interesting but unfortunately there was not a lot going on at the time
of our visit and what animals there were, were hard to spot in their large enclosures.

The drive over the Southern Ranges was

quite pleasant and we had some fine
views before descending into Lower
Hutt where we were booked in at the
Wellington Top Ten camp site, this was
quite a nice spot, both handy to the city
and the ferry; it also had some nice
facilities. We pitched our tent and went
into Wellington where we managed to
find an extortionate car park which saw
us off for $15 and only a two hour
stay….not one of our finest moments,
however we did spend the two hours in
the Wellington Museum which was ‘Free’ and well worth the visit.

The next morning we were

booked on the Blueridge Ferry for
the 0800hrs sailing and had to
arrive about an hour before
departure, we were very lucky
that it wasn’t raining when we
packed up our tent at 0600hrs but
it was damp just the same. The
rain started soon after we got on
the ferry and continued for the
rest of the day, giving way to
showers in the evening. We didn’t
get much of a view of the
Marlborough Sounds on the way
in and our time spent in Picton on arrival was mostly rushing about with both an umbrella
and a full set of oilskins. Moving out of Picton we decided to make some miles and
headed south on Route 1; there was no point in waiting as we had a lot of distance to
cover and could only hope for better weather later.
 6

Once clear of Blenheim and the flatter

wine producing areas of the lower
Wairau Valley, the road tends back
towards the east coast and there are
some fine views. We were soon
impressed with the scenery which
continued to improve around every
headland of the journey; more
impressive still was the appearance of
many seals basking on the rocky
foreshore along the way. We thought
we would have to wait till Kaikoura
before seeing seals but they were
already thick in number by the time we
reached Clarence!

The rain cleared away

completely as we approached
Kaikoura so we went directly
to the Seal Colony at Point
Keean and managed a few
‘closer encounters’ with
some of these Animals. I
walked some ways around
the coastal track to the Gull
Colony but it transpired later
that the Cliff top Walk was
better value, giving stunning
views both seaward and
towards the snow capped
mountain ranges inland.

Whilst there are many things to do in Kaikoura, such as Whale watching, swimming with
the sharks and seals, tramping the trails or just eating the seafood at the many restaurants
in town, we decided to push on south some ways before camping for the night at Goose
Bay.

At the crack of dawn the next morning, there was a thick fog rolling in from a very
uninviting, grey sea just yards from our tent; it was decidedly damp and cold. We sat at a
picnic table watching the first sunlight breaking through the mist to pick out the peaks of
the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges. By the time breakfast was over, most of the fog was
dispersed and it was warming up; the tent was still wet, as usual, when we packed it away
but, as usual, we got it dried out sometime in the day by draping it over the car during a
coffee break when the sun was shining, which it did between the troughs and rainy
periods!
 7

We had a fairly dry run down to

Christchurch; however rain was
scheduled so I wanted to get our
tent up before it arrived. We found
a neat campsite just outside of
town and having pitched the tent
we moved off into the centre to
make the most of it before the rain
arrived. There was a Buskers
Festival taking place but as the rain
started in earnest there were few
performers around; we took in a
show at Cathedral Square,
wandered around the Central City
and the High Street, crossed the
Bridge of Remembrance and spent an hour in the Botanical Gardens. We walked the
banks of the River Avon in Hagley Park and despite the rain, managed to enjoy the
atmosphere, taking a few nice photos along the way. We returned to our tent in the late
evening and it rained heavily all night whilst the wind blew our pegs out and threatened
to send us rolling down the campsite.

We would have spent longer in Christchurch had it not been for the weather but it was
still raining heavily in the morning and not very inviting. By keeping a careful watch on
www.metvuw.com we were aware that it was clearing from the south and that if we were
to get going in that direction we’d soon run into better conditions. So the wet tent got
packed away once more and we hit the road early; by lunchtime we were at Lake Tekapo,
the sun was shining and
the tent was drying on
the car. The lake was
very beautiful but there
were some low clouds
obscuring the mountain
peaks that would
otherwise have graced
our photos, this may
have been the reason
we missed the very
picturesque ‘Church of
the Good
Shepherd’……. got to
leave something for
next time around!
 8

It was most fortunate that the

clouds cleared away as we
moved on towards Mt Cook and
we had the most excellent
conditions to view Lake Pukaki
and the mountains of the
Westland National Park and the
Southern Alps. This was a truly
memorable drive through some
awe inspiring scenery and at the
end of it we found a very pretty
DOC campsite at the foot of the
mountains; once our tent was
pitched we sat out in our chairs
and revelled in the majestic beauty of our surrounds till the long shadows of evening, a
creeping coolness and those pesky little black fly’s drove us into our sleeping bag.

The next morning we were up

early to take in the dawn, as the
sun rose in the east it first
illuminated the peaks and
slowly worked its way down to
our campsite; it was beautiful
but we knew there were a few
showers moving in with a fast
moving front, so we got the
tent packed up whilst it was
still relatively dry and
embarked on a walk to the
Tasman Glacier. The light rain
moved in as we were half way
up the track but it still didn’t
detract from the beauty of the place. We tramped over the rough terrain, where eons of
ice had flowed down this valley cutting away the surface and carving a path to the sea.
Now many miles inland the glacier feeds Lake Pukaki and this in turn feeds other lakes
on its way to the sea; Kiwi ingenuity however, has harnessed this water movement to
drive some of the many powerful turbines of its massive hydro-electric scheme.

Suddenly, over a rocky and desolate outcrop we came into view of the foot of the Glacier
where in a small glacial lake there were freshly carved ‘ice bergs’ surrounded by ‘bergy
bits’. The enterprising locals were running boat trips out into the lake so that tourists
could reach out and touch a berg…… not my cup of tea but the operation was anyway
dwarfed by the magnificent beauty of the setting and nothing could detract from this
rugged and startling scenery.
 9

By the time we were ready to

leave, the showers had passed
through and the sun was
chasing away the clouds giving
us a perfect driving day with
great views as we moved along
to Lake Wanaka where we
camped at the Top Ten, this
was another well run and
impeccably clean campsite.
We spent a little time in the
attractive tourist town with its
lovely views across the lake to
Mount Aspiring National Park
for which this is the gateway.

Next day we climbed Mount Iron (549m) and were rewarded by some stunning views, in
truth it was not a hard climb, more a gentle slope to the top; none the less it was well
worth the effort. The shortest route to Queenstown from Wanaka takes you across the
Crown Range via Cardrona, the road twists and turns up a gorge till it crests at a vantage
point overlooking the Queenstown area, we stopped and took a short walk towards Rocky
Peak picking up some great views along the way.

Arriving in Queenstown
we stopped for lunch
along the waterfront and
enjoyed the lakeside
views, after which, we
moved on to the Skyline
Gondola Ride which took
us high above
Queenstown allowing
incredible views over the
town and towards ‘The
Remarkables’ and the
Eyre Mountains which
form a breathtaking
backdrop to the town.
Walking further up the
hill we came to the
launch pad for the Para gliders we had seen souring high over the town since we had
arrived’ it was fun to watch them take off and sour away from the cliff top.
Back in town we wandered around the high street, taking in all the tourist dives and nick-
nack shops; there was little that was cheap and even the excursions on offer all came with
a hefty price tag. I got the impression that this was a rather ‘Yuppy’ hangout, you
certainly couldn’t afford to remain long without deep pockets!
 10

We moved on in the late afternoon and found a most agreeable campsite at Kingston,
about thirty minutes drive south of Queenstown, here we flopped into bed early, worn out
after a couple of full days with nice weather.

The weather was still good as we

continued our drive, the next day,
towards Milford Sound; our first
stop was the Manapouri Lakes
and then we moved north to Te
Anau where we stopped for
lunch overlooking the lake and a
good look around the town. This
is the gateway to the Milford
Sound and a place to take both
provisions and fuel if headed that
way. In the afternoon we drove
north following Lake Te Anau
until the road curved off into the
National Park and we found a
campsite at Totara. This was a basic DOC site with little in the way of amenities however
we were now situated strategically where we wanted to be with a fairly good weather
window for our next leg. We did manage to explore a little around our campground, there
was a nice river running close by, however the black fly’s and mosquitoes were quite
active so we took the opportunity of another early night.

Despite our good weather

forecast and an almost dry
night, morning revealed some
cloud over the surrounding
peaks, this area is notoriously
difficult to forecast and more
often than not, it’s raining!

After breaking camp we drove

up to ‘The Divide’ where there
is a large car-park and some
facilities marking the start of
The Routeburn Track, one of
the most popular tracks in
South Island. As it would take
a couple of days to do this
track we chose for the easier option of climbing to Key Summit and although it was a
damp start, moving quickly into the clouds, as the day wore on there was some clearing
and some nice views availed themselves.
 11

There was a surprising little Nature Walk at the top of Key Summit where there were
some scattered pools
(tarns) and some lush
vegetation in places;
the DOC had
thoughtfully provided
explanatory guide maps
which you could take
with you as you walked
around. It was
decidedly cool up on
the top and one was
acutely aware of how
far south we were at
this stage; there wasn’t
much land south of here
between us and the
South Pole!

Moving on we soon arrived at the Hommer Tunnel where there are traffic lights
that operate only during the day at fifteen minute intervals, this gives you a good
reason to get out and check out the local scenery. The local wildlife has adapted to
this procedure
sensing an
opportunity for a free
meal from the passing
tourists and a couple
of the local Kea’s are
usually on hand;
parading up and down
the line of vehicles. It
seems somewhat odd
to find a member of
the Parrot family that
was at home in the
snow and these cold,
bleak surroundings.

Also, near the

entrance to the
Hommer Tunnel, was a natural Ice Bridge where the compressed snow had been eroded
away underneath by the melting waters, it was a fascinating bit of natural architecture!
 12

When the lights went green we vanished into the Hommer Tunnel, a very eerie place….
It is a testimony to the pioneering spirit of the men who toiled with picks and shovels
through 1.2 km of mountain from 1935 to 1953; there are no props and the surface is
rough-hewn….. I reckon the guys who made it must have been rough-hewn also!
On the other side of the Tunnel we stopped at The Chasm, where the Cleddau River
plunges through eroded boulders in a very narrow chasm; passing below a natural rock
bridge to a waterfall….it was very pretty and our pictures could never do it justice.
On our way into Milford Sound we were lucky to spot the Milford Lodge and call in to
book our camping site for the night, this is the only place to camp in the Milford Sound
area and it fills up quickly by late afternoon. Once our position was assured we went on
down to the waterfront to check out our boat ride, which had been booked for the next
morning and to take pictures of the scenery.

It was rather
spectacular however we
were a little taken
aback by the Milford
Sound Village which
had very few amenities
amounting to a few
huts, a small and
expensive café, a
runway (masquerading
as an airport) and a
marine terminal where
about a dozen ferries
jostled together in a
competition to ‘put
bums on seats’ for a
tour around the bay.

The Milford Lodge was quite nice and had good amenities for the campers, caravans and
those that wanted more solid accommodation; on felt however that this was the subtotal
of what was here at night, you were either here or you were headed back the other side of
the tunnel, looking for a place to camp.

We didn’t get much in way of rain during the night but the low cloud rolled in bringing a
wet and clammy drizzle so our expectations were somewhat low in the morning as we
drove down to the terminal for our 0900hr scenic cruise. We were lucky that the weather
cleared somewhat and the rain stopped as we moved out, there was a buffet breakfast and
this also provided some ‘take away’ fruit… there were only a few on this early ferry,
things start to get busy when the tour buses doing the day trips from Queenstown arrive
just before midday.
 13

It was a nice cruise but

after all the scenery that
we’d already seen, it was
not as awe inspiring as it
might otherwise have
been….. we were however
blessed with a very good
display from the Dolphins
and the seals put on a
small show.

We headed back up the long road to Queenstown with a couple of stops along the way;
the Mirror Lakes were interesting, the mountain range opposite reflecting in its surface
and some neat vegetation ……

There were also a few

places where Deer were
roaming close by the road
and Paula managed to get
few pictures; New
Zealand is a big supplier
of venison to the Far East
and Japan so there are
many herds of ‘wild’
Deer to be found in South
Island.

That evening we found a

little gem of a campsite, it
was the Lakeland
Christian Campsite (just
south of Frankton) and was set in a great location with a great view; the amenities were
all sparkling clean and there was a huge fully equipped kitchen at our disposal.

We were also blessed with continuing good weather.

 14

The next morning our friends who were travelling in a large Camper Van, had to take
their unit in for a service as there was an increasing problem with the steering. This
turned out to be a deformed front tire; the inner belting was giving way and this lead to a
‘square wheel’, a condition that could have been exceedingly dangerous had they
proceeded further with it. Fortunately the local mechanics got it sorted out quickly and
checked the rest of the van over for good measure. We were back up to speed when we
left Frankton and headed east through the very pretty towns of Cromwell, Clyde,
Alexandra and Ranfurly to Palmerston where we turned north before visiting Shag Point,
a well known Fur Seal hang-out.

We actually did
better at Moeraki
where we turned off
to find Lighthouse
Road and took the
winding path out to
the lighthouse; here
there were not only
seals but Penguins
and enough of them
for us to have our
fill!

Our next stop, The

Moeraki Boulders, was a
poor second to our
experiences at the
lighthouse but we did the
tourist thing and got the
pictures anyway….. I
thought I took the best
one of the bunch but
Paula insisted I cheated.
 15

Our campsite for the

night was the Oamaru
Top Ten which was a
bit over priced but
good. We went out in
the evening and
sampled the local food;
the town is ‘old world’
and has numerous
Victorian buildings left
over from when it was a
prosperous sea port.

Unfortunately shipping moved with the times but Oamaru could not as its harbour could
not be made deeper and could not accommodate the new vessels, so the trade moved
elsewhere and Oamaru went into decline; fortunately the buildings remained and the
whole area has now become a tourist attraction.

The next morning after a brief look at more of the town and the discovery of a Penguin
making its home near the
railway tracks, we moved
off to the north. It was
another great day for
driving and after a
stopover in Timaru we
made good progress
north. There were some
magnificent views of the
mountains as we drove
across the lush farmlands
of the Canterbury Plains
and then, in the late
afternoon we made our
way up to Arthur’s Pass
and made camp opposite
the Visitor Centre. We
were back in the cool, mountainous terrain again and the cheeky Kea were keen to see if
they could beg, borrow or steal just about anything from us. As we ate dinner in our
friend’s camper, they bounced about on the roof and attempted to pry the ventilation
hatch off with their strong beaks. Their landings on the slippery rooftop were far from
graceful and I should imagine they left a few ruts in the gel coat!
 16

The next morning we moved off early into Arthur’s Pass, probably too early as the sun
had not managed to penetrate the valley’s; still it was very beautiful and we could not
help but marvel at some of the road construction that had taken place. We took a detour
to Lake Brunner and Moana through very lush dairy farmland passing through Stillwater
before arriving in Greymouth. This was an interesting little town but we were unfortunate
that it was Sunday and there wasn’t much open; we did however have the good fortune to
meet up with some other old yachting friends, they somehow spotted and recognised
Paula as they were driving down the main street…. it was good to meet them as there
own boat “Baraka” was in Queensland (AUS) and they had flown over to do a camping
tour. We exchanged data and blew the breeze for an hour then parted company once
more…… the world is small and we are sure to see them again before we get too far.

Back on the road we

headed north towards
Westport, it was a
fantastic drive with
some unbelievable
scenery; such was the
beauty that we were
stopping to take
photos at nearly every
turn in the road! We
stopped off in
Punakaiki and the
strange Pancake
Rocks where the DOC
have made an
excellent walkway and
viewing platforms.
From here, it was so
clear that we could see right down the coast to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and the
snow capped mountains of the Southern Alps…. it was a really magnificent vista!
From Charleston the road swung inland towards Murchison but it still remained very
pretty as it followed up the Buller Gorge whilst shouldering the Victoria Forest Park to
the south. It had been a great day with the temperature reaching 26 degrees (maybe a
little hot for driving); again we’d seen an awful lot of beautiful scenery and we were
wondering how we’d ever remember it all!
At Murchinson we pulled into the Riverview Campground, which was quite a nice spot
however there were a few blighters bighting where ever they could.

There was no rain overnight but again we had a heavy dew, the day cleared as we went
along and we were soon back in the burning sunshine. We stopped in at Nelson and then
Havelock before taking the coast road (Queen Charlotte Drive) to Picton. This was a
lovely, though twisty, road following the coast all the way, there were some great views
of the Marlborough Sounds and the Queen Charlotte Sound.
 17

On arrival at Picton we
went to Alexandria’s
Campground and found
quite a good spot for
the night with quite
good facilities. The rest
of the day was spent
exploring Picton and
was completed with a
sample of the local Fish
and Chips

We were up early again

the next morning, it
was Tuesday 2nd Feb
and time for us to
return to North Island
on the Blueridge Ferry; it was another 0800hrs sailing but we had to be there an hour
before. Conditions were better than when we had come the other way however, even
though there was no rain until we stood out into the bay, the cloud was low and the
Marlborough Sounds did not look inviting.

We were ashore in Wellington for Noon but decided to push on north as we were now on
the return leg and it was somewhat of an anticlimax. We camped the night at Motuoapa
Motor Camp on the banks of Lake Taupo and just had enough time for an evening walk
down to the small yacht basin where we came face to face with a large gathering of
Canada Geese (looking a bit lost and a long way from home).

We had a few hours in Taupo

the next morning and had a
nice walk around the town; it
was also a place to check our e-
mails and weather forecasts. It
was also nice to see the
coaches arriving and departing
with what seemed like mainly
European youngsters, if there is
any shortage of British (due to
the ever falling pound) this is
made up for by the increasing
amount of eastern Europeans
who have discovered new
found wealth (or who always
had wealth but no means to spend it before?); the Scandinavian girls still stand out in the
crowd and New Zealand is a bit short in anything in way of competition!
 18

We drove along to the

quaint little town of
Cambridge and the
Cambridge Motor Park
which was really first
rate. Once we had the tent
pitched we all piled in the
car and I drove to
Hamilton Gardens which
was just twenty clicks
down the road. I guess
we were just unlucky but
it seemed like we hit the
Gardens at a bad time.
Flowers seemed to be in
short supply and we were
anyway not impressed
with some of the ‘theme gardens’ as they were “flowerless”…… The Japanese and the
Chinese seem to like looking at strategically placed rocks amongst sparse foliage and the
traditional Kiwi garden seemed to resemble an old Indian Burial Ground. The English
Country Garden was of the rambling type but it looked like it had recently been flattened
by heavy rain…. I wasn’t impressed; there was only the Italian Renaissance Garden that
appealed! We returned to Cambridge to explore the town and look for a nice restaurant,
that didn’t work either as we could find no middle ground between the ridiculously
expensive and the Burger King thing…… In the end we gave up and went to the
supermarket and bought sufficient material to make a nice BBQ back at the campground.
It turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

Next day was the last of this tour, we got on Route 1 and went warp speed back to
Auckland, our friends had to return their Camper to the depot close by the airport and we
made haste to “Mr John”, waiting for us with surprisingly dry bilges, in the Westhaven
Marina.

It had been a great trip and we’d seen an awful lot…. perhaps we could have done with a
little more time and there were a few things we missed that we have some regrets about.
We did however, form some opinions on where we would go should we be ever fortunate
enough to return. South Island is a unique experience and no one should come to New
Zealand and not see it; we will treasure the memories of those beautiful vistas for the rest
of our lives.

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The day after our return to Auckland we took our Canadian friends out in the Hauraki
Gulf and covered some of the highlights of this fantastic cruising ground; it was a good
way to relax and chill out following our rapid schedule, camping in South Island.
 19

When we finally got them to the airport, they had hundreds of photos and half a lifetime
of memories which they would have to put into some sort of logical order once they
arrived home. It had been a whirlwind tour and we had all seen an awful lot in a very
short time.
We however, we were ‘up and running’ with both car and tent, so we stepped up the pace
and took off once more in search of more New Zealand.
 20

Our first stop on the road

south from Auckland, was
the Pirongia Forest Park
and took the walking track
to Mt Pirongia going to the
summit of Mt Ruapane
from where we had
fantastic views over the
Waikato and “King
Country”; the Waikato is
one of the worlds richest
dairy and agricultural areas
with miles of fertile plains
which stretch as far as the
eye can see.

We returned to the area of the

Waitomo Caves which we had
enjoyed on our previous venture
but had inadequate time to cover
all that was on offer. Spending the
night at the superb ‘Waitomo Top
Ten’ campsite we were in an
excellent position to visit the
Ruakuri Reserve and Natural
Bridge early the next morning;
this turned out to be a beautiful
walking track following the path
of a river which runs, in places,
below ground. There are many
caves on the route and some form
part of the walkway; it is possible
to do the last section of this walk
at night, getting a great display of
the Glowworms.

Following our morning walk, we

took the Te Anga Road which
runs westward to the coast; it’s a
very scenic route winding through
some most interesting countryside
with a couple of stopovers along the way.

The first was the Mangapohue Natural Bridge, a very impressive natural structure which
was on such a massive scale it was difficult to capture in a picture.
 21

Further down the road we found the Marokopa Falls, there was a ‘pull in’ and a short
walk through some dense native bush, then suddenly; a really beautiful waterfall. Whilst
not the biggest of falls in New Zealand it was certainly one of the best proportioned and
photogenic!

The road continued to the coast at Marokopa, a small fishing village with a number of
holiday homes which no doubt fill up during vacation periods.
From here we turned
south along the Wild
West Coast, the road
became a ‘slightly
gravelled track’ with
some major ruts in
places; it was
however, enjoyably
scenic and we lapped
it up. There was also
the chance to
encounter some of the
locals and Paula made
a concerted effort to
make new
friends……
 22

After about sixty kilometres of gravel we were very glad to get back on proper road
again, I don’t mind driving on these back roads, even though they can be ‘slippery’ at
times; however our experience has shown that some of the locals, particularly the
younger locals, tend to drive too fast on these roads and we have had two close calls with
teenagers going faster than their brains or pockets could cope with.

It wasn’t long before Mt

Taranaki (formally Mt.
Egmont) hove into sight;
this is one of the more
perfect volcanic cones in
New Zealand and is often
compared with the more
famous Mt Fuji in Japan.
As we got closer we
could see more and more,
we were very lucky to
have a settled weather
period which gave us
some great views of the
mountain.

We stopped the night at a campsite within walking distance of New Plymouth, a lovely
town with lots of character; the next morning we were ready for an assault on Taranaki.

We were blessed
with the best of
weather and a
beautiful day
when we drove up
to the North
Egmont Visitor
Centre; the sun
was hot but at this
altitude the
conditions were
cool enough to
make for some
very pleasant
walking. We
elected to go strait
up and the
Summit Track was
the only way to
go…….
 23

It was a great trek; a little hard at times as we went up the ‘Puffers Track’, which was
aptly named, we were
certainly puffing by the time
we reached the top……The
views were magnificent all
the way up, below the sparse
clouds we could see across
miles of fertile plain and
above the cloud we could see
across a fluffy white blanket
to the solitary peak of Mt
Ruapehu in the Tongariro
National Park which, like
Taranaki speared the clouds
reaching for the sky; it was a
very impressive sight!

After another night in New Plymouth, resting our sore muscles, we found our way to
Pukekura Park (which is almost ‘down town’). Apart from this being a great park with
over twenty kilometres of walking tracks and lots of beautiful features, it is also home to
the Brooklands Zoo; a small but impressive enclosure where one can get up close to a
selection of wild animals. We particularly liked the Avery, which allowed visitors to
wander inside and have the many varieties of birds fly around them.

From New Plymouth we took

the “Forgotten World
Highway”, which is Route 43
and winds its way through
some spectacular scenery.
Along the way it passes
through the ‘Republic of
Whangamomona’ and in the
town of this name we found
an ‘old world’ Kiwi Pub
where we stopped to refresh
ourselves……. unfortunately,
due to the driving, I was
unable to sample the beer but
the ice-cream was good (if a
little expensive!); it was well
worth the experience though.

Further up the road, having passed over a few saddle’s, all blessed with panoramic views;
we passed through the Moki Tunnel and the Tangerakau Gorge where the road turns to
gravel for about twenty kilometres. Again we were faced with a situation where photos
 24

would never do the subject any justice and we will just have to rely on our memories to
paint the picture; this is a ‘must do’ drive for anyone passing through eastern north island.

The road ends at

Taumarunui but
we found a DOC
campsite just a
few miles short of
town and spent a
peaceful night
camped on the
banks of the
Whanganui River.

After visiting Taumarunui we headed south on Route 4, taking time out for the Piraka
Lookout where there must have once been a settlement of some sort, all that remained
now were the apple trees of the abandoned orchard and these grow temptingly close to
where the lookout is located. A little further down the road we did a detour to Kakahi and
on to another gravel road that took us through three scenic reserves. Once down at
National Park we had some stunning views of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro where
we had walked the previous year “across The Plains of Gorgoroth” and the Alpine
Crossing. On our way back from South Island these mountains all had their ‘hats on’
(heads in the clouds), but now they were in the clear and we could at last get some of the
pictures we’d been looking for.
 25

We called by Raetihi, a historic logging town which still looks like something out of the
‘wild west’. Nothing much happens here at the best of times these days but there is a little
more life when the winter skiers arrive…. or so I would hope. We checked in at the
Ohakune ‘Top Ten’ for the night as this was pleasant little town on the southern face of
Ruapehu, which we had yet
to climb.

The mountain dominates the

skyline from this quaint little
town and the surrounding
countryside so our charge up
the Ohakune Mountain Road
the next morning wasn’t
without direction.
Unfortunately, it transpired
that the DOC had decided to
replace a bridge about three
quarters of the way up and
this put paid to our attempt
on the summit; there just
wouldn’t have been enough time in the day to complete our walk from the point at which
we’d got bogged down. We did however get some quite good pictures of the summit!

As a consolation we took a hike out to Lake Rotokura and the Karioi Lakes where we had
a nice little picnic before moving on. Just south of Waiouru we found the Erewhon Road
which runs east from Taihape to Napier; this is no expressway and for most rented
vehicles it’s off-limits! It is however a most scenic drive through some fantastic
countryside; not quite
a road in many places
but a ‘work in
progress’ as the
Kiwi’s try hard to
move their roadway
system into the
twenty-first century.

There were some

‘trying bits’ but it was
more than worth it for
some of the very
rewarding views.
 26

We camped outside Napier and spent the next morning looking around this famous “Art
Deco” city. Maybe it was the weather, which became showery; or maybe it was just us,
however we were not too impressed with “Art Deco” and moved off northwards
following the coast to Wairoa where we stopped for the night at a small but delightful
caravan park.

The next morning we left

early and made our way to
Lake Waikaremoana
(which means something
like ‘Sea of Rippling
Waves’…… due to the fact
that the wind whistles
across it and rarely stops!).
It’s a magical place and the
drive up is also very pretty;
on the negative side, it’s
quite high up and
noticeably colder than on
the coast, also the altitude
gives cause to some rather
unpredictable weather….
most of which is wet!

We were lucky to get an

early walk in to Lou’s
lookout, the trek takes you
through an area that
suffered an earth quake
some time back in history
and gave way to many
caves, nooks and crannies
due to fallen boulders.
From the lookout there was
a great view across the lake
which has one of New
Zealand’s “Great Walks”
around its perimeter……
this is a five or six day
walk and we certainly did
not have time to participate. Instead we trundled along to the Visitors Centre and then
hiked up to Papakorito Falls, which would have been so much better had the sun not
vanished! We drove around to the Mokau Falls and the campsite of the same name, we
went up to the Bluffs where we could get a view along the Whanganui Inlet, a narrow
and scenic arm of the lake. Unfortunately the weather was going downhill fast and we
 27

were now getting heavy, almost continuous, rain showers; a situation that seemed likely
to get worse rather than better. We checked out the not so impressive DOC campsite and
watched the rain getting driven up the lake whilst deciding whether to pitch our tent or
not……The situation didn’t improve and we moved on.

We stopped a night in Gisborn and were very impressed with the town, its wide open
streets were well decorated with flowers and there were a multitude of shops along a very
reasonable High Street. From here we followed the Pacific Coast Highway north along
one of New Zealand’s most memorable drives. Along the way we stopped to do the
scenic walkway to Cooks Cove and then checked out the Longest Pier in New Zealand at
Tolaga Bay. Only the imbedded railway lines in the concrete surface, tell of the network
of lines that converged on this jetty from the surrounding countryside where farmers were
determined to get their produce to market and beyond.

Further north we detoured down to Anaura Bay, which had a magnificent setting and
another ‘walkway’… however the walkway was somewhat of a disappointment. We
made another detour down to Waipiro Bay where we discovered more remains of this
coasts wonderful heritage, the old Waipiro Bay Trading Company was no doubt once a
fine establishment and during its time would have experienced some of the riches this
area at one time produced. Now in ruins; it is a testimony to the pioneering spirit that
dominated this country not so very long ago.

That night we camped almost at sea level, at the Te Araroa Holiday Park to the west of
East Cape; it was a park which had seen better days! Around 0445 hrs the next morning
we were awoken to the sound of rushing footsteps and someone outside our tent telling us
to wake up as there was a Tsunami coming! We were not impressed but gathered what
we could from the tent and threw it quickly into the car before taking off for higher
ground. We spent the next four hours in the company of many other ‘evacuees’ at a
scenic overlook on the hillside above the campground.
 28

We all listened to our

radios for news and
considered our selves
lucky we were not in
Chile, where they had
experienced a
massive and
devastating
earthquake; we were
not alone in our
evacuation, people
had moved or were
moving to higher
ground all around the
Pacific Basin as the
Tsunami warning was
passed on.
When the local
policeman gave us the all clear we were free to return for our tent however the warnings
were to avoid the beaches and areas of low land….. We packed the tent away rather
quickly and vacated the campsite just as soon as we could!

We were on our way back to Auckland now but had time to explore along the way, we
called in Whitianga, a nice little sea side resort; then Whakatane which was a most
impressive town. From here we went inland to the northern shores of Lake Rotorua
where we again camped for the night, the good weather was back again but rain was
already moving up South Island in our direction. The next day we took the most scenic
route we could back to Aukland, the best bit of which took us along the Old Te Aroha
Road past the Wairere Falls.

We were pretty much ‘camped out’ by the time we got back to the boat which seemed
quite palatial and luxurious after what we’d been doing. It had been well worth the effort
however, as we’d certainly collected some more unforgettable memories and covered
some parts which we had really wanted to see.

Just a few days after our return, I put a ‘For Sale’ notice on the car in the morning and by
the end of the day we had a buyer. It was all a bit quick but I think it was for the better
that way, we do of course miss not having transport but now we are able to concentrate
on getting the boat ready for heading north…… before we get frozen in and before we
fall so much in love with the place we cannot leave!!!!!

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