Rotorua

Rotorua

Tuesday 13/11/12 - Sunday 18/11/12

We stayed in the comfortable Sunkist hostel in Thames just for the one night.It's quite a nice little town by the water. I was at the local supermarket by 8:30am getting breakfast and the clientele were interesting to say the least. New Zealand's version of Asda in Farnbrorough I suppose. There were some goldmines that you could visit, but that didn't really appeal, so we packed up and drove to Cormandel. It was a 'Must see' place from a friend of mine, but we didn't really find anything of any real interest there apart from it being a pretty little beach town. Are we becoming spoiled? But even the tourist information point was full of leaflets for other areas, so we kept heading around the cape.
We reached Whitianga which is a jumping point to 'Hot Water Beach' and 'Cathedral cove'. Unfortunately, the weather was turning a bit sour and soon rain was hitting the windscreen again. We grabbed a coffee and probably stayed for the best part of an hour deciding what to do. After all, you would prefer beach weather for a day at the beach. Eventually we decided to keep going with our travels and return here when the weather was a bit nicer. There was also that fact that our next stops; Rotorua & Taupo had been top of our list when we were planning this trip in the UK and we could feel excitement for this building. Decision made.
We made a reservation at Crash Palace Backpackers and set-off. We drove 342km that day and after that I promised myself that we would make shorter hops in future. It was a bit too much time behind the wheel for my liking.

Arriving in Rotorua, we initially though that we were driving past a water treatment plant. The smell was horrendous. As we kept getting closer and closer to the town, the smell continued and we thought that the farmers must be muck spreading. It was only hours later that we realised that the smell was caused by the thermal activity and all the sulphur in the air was to blame...and it wasn't going away.
We eventually arrived in the Crash Palace at dusk and checked in. The reception area was nice, but the room was pretty depressing. The walls were painted dark grey and there was a small window with bars over it. And of course, that window had been open and the room was smelling of sulphur too. We were thinking about cutting our stay short, but it was one of the highest rated hostels in town and everything seemed to be fully booked now anyway. "It will do", we concluded.

The town was an odd little place really. It was so quiet everywhere we went. I lost count of the amount of bars we walked past with NOBODY in them. Just a really bored looking barman, reading the paper.

We ventured into 'The Pheasant Plucker' which was one of the busier looking bars [4 patrons] and bought a couple of drinks from two native barstaff that had clearly never done this before. They had one type of beer. "I guess I'll have a pint of that then, please". We played some pool and listened to a local band 'Swamp thing' that were surprisingly good. We spent most of the evening laughing about how bizarre the place was.

We spent some time at Rainbow Springs [a zoo of sorts] as Mari was desperate to see a Kiwi bird [no photos allowed].

We did a tour of some of the thermal spots to get a bit closer to the source of the bad smells.

An excellent couple of hours mountain bike riding in the redwoods. The trails were great. Intricate and flowing with well groomed berms and table tops. I gave my rented hardtail a bit of a hard time. We barely scratched the surface of the trails available. I think if I lived in this area, I would be here several times a week. It was great fun.

We had a slap-up curry one evening and duvet day when the weather was bad.

Our geography was a little out and some of the things we were excited to do were much closer to Taupo than Rotorua, so it made sense to wait until we got further along.

Maps

Here you go, Mum. This should give you an idea...

Far North

Saturday 10^th November.

God, it feels good to be mobile. We can go anywhere, do anything. But first we need to go and pick up a mattress for the back of our van. It’s actually a lot comfier than it sounds. We get lost looking for highway 1 and have a bit of lunch in Mairangi Bay.

We eventually find highway 1 and head North, but with the option of a toll road, or the Coastal scenic route, we took the latter, obviously. We stopped for a bit just outside Orewa...

and then again around Leigh/Pakiri

Up to Whangarei to get some supplies, then head back down to a camping ground we passed called Raukaka. I should explain the term for people like us who sleep in the back of cars/vans and usually do it perhaps where they shouldn’t be doing it. It’s called: ‘Tramping’. There are also loads of people in their winibagos, watching their sky TV whilst roasting a chicken. This is: Glamping. Anything in between is just regular camping. Well, we were going to ‘tramp it’, but there were some shady looking people hanging around the public toilets, so we went 30 seconds down the road to a proper campsite with cold showers, a long-drop toilet and everything. We went for a walk along the beach and then turned in.  

Sunday 11^th November.

An early awakening for me as our make-shift curtains had failed and it was pretty bright in the back of the van. We take our breakfast of black coffee and pain o chocolates to the beach. It was completely deserted for the whole time we were there. That’s one of the things I’ve been finding hard getting used to. You’re doing something you think everyone should be doing, in a place where everyone should be. But there isn’t. You’re the only people there. On occasion it’s made us wonder if we’re even in the right place.

A hot shower at the visitor’s centre, then we head into Whangarei forest to check out some trees and a waterfall.

We decide to hoof it North. We took a scenic coastal route to KeriKeri. A weird Indian curry pizza in a Taipa. Up to Matai bay. We stopped there for a little bit, but we’re keen on getting to the top now.

Heading up to cape, the whole tone of the place changes. There really are no shops, petrol stations or mobile signal for the last 40-50 miles. I should have filled up when I could. Luckily there was a ‘last stop’ petrol station where you pay over the odds for everything. But…lesson learnt and no harm done. We finally reach the top where we’ll camp for the night. The rain is coming down now, but we’re getting much more organised at this camping business and the rain on the top of the car is really nice when you’re inside and cosy in bed.

Monday 12^th November.

Morning view:

We head back up to the cape as we didn't really have a good look around the day before.

We started our way back down. We climbed the giant sand-dunes of Te Paki

A quick stop for lunch in Kaitaia then carried on down to Kohukohu where we would catch the ferry to Rawene. We got some attitude from some local chickens whilst we were waiting for the boat to arrive.

Driving round the coast we come across Omapere, which has to be one of the biggest highlights for me so far. It was breath-taking.

Looking for a place to camp, we overshot the Waipaua forrest, but we found a little hill-billy campsite a couple of miles down the road. It has to be the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen, so I decided to do try some long exposure photography. Initially frustrated that the stars were always out of focus, only now as I’m putting this together that I realise that the blurring effect is actually star trailing. It’s where the single points of light form a line as the Earth spins and we hurtle through our galaxy. Pretty cool eh?

Tuesday 13^th

Start the day by taking a quick walk through the Kauri trees. It's hard to give a sense of scale in this photo, but trust me. This is one big-ass tree.

 We consult the map and the guide book and conclude that there’s nothing more we really want to see North of Auckland, so today is going to be heavy on the driving. We stop ever couple of hours, but we keep pressing on to our destination of Thames. On the way, we drive through one of the heaviest thunder storms I’ve ever seen and as our altitude increases a little, the road is covered by ice, snow or hail. Tentatively we reach Thames, but tonight is one night you don’t want to be tramping, so we splurge on a comfy double room at the Sunkist hostel. An opportunity for us to recharge batteries literally and metaphorically.  

North bound

Tomorrow we head North.
Our first week in Auckland has actually been very stressful, so I've decided not to write about it fully. We have our bank accounts, mobile numbers, a decent van and insurance The details regarding what it took to get all that is something I would sooner forget. It's been a massive pain in the arse, but we're all set now. The adventure can continue.

I'll quickly mention the highlights of Auckland so far. We'll probably be back in a few weeks and hopefully we can enjoy this area a little more the second time around.

The Epic breakfast in the beautiful, relaxed and cosmopolitan area of Ponsonby.

My climb to the top of windy Mount Eden to take some photos of the city at dusk. 

Sat underneath the Sky Tower in the Sunshine

 Tall cappuccinos in Queen's Wharf

 Our morning in the Aquarium with the King penguins....

 ...and the stunning view of the city on the walk home

Today we got the van. Not a moment to soon. Had we not got one today, we would have had to compete with all the other backpackers at the Auckland car-mart, or cut our losses and catch a bus South to Taupo.
But here he is. Tomorrow, we head north.
The plan doesn't extend much further than that. It's a very appealing notion and one that I'm very excited about.

11,668 Miles

It’s 11:50 AM on Wednesday the 31^st of October 2012 and I’m sat in the Premier Inn bar on my own with two cups of coffee. I’ve just spoken to my Mum, Dad and Sister on the phone. I’ve just checked out of the hotel and I’m sat here with two massive bags. It’s all we own in the world right now, but it still looks like a lot. Mari has some last minute jobs to do and I’ve just met the letting agent so I could give the keys back and let her have a poke around…the flat, that is. We’ve enjoyed living here, but I’m already completely detached from it. It’s just an empty vessel now. Probably the cleanest this vessel has been for 10 years or so. The fruits of nearly 3 solid day’s labour.  

With such epic luggage in-tow, you always get asked where you’re going or where you’ve been. Invariably people are either incredibly jealous, or they want to tell you all about their time out there and the things you “have to see”; from the carpet-cleaner rental guy to the barman at the hotel. Everyone has something to say. Natural springs, mountain hikes, coastal drives and even an observatory open to the public. I’m not too proud to add every single one of them to my map. Ultimately we will make our own experience by beating our own path, but I would also hate to miss something unmissable as we pass through.

On the coach to the airport now and we’re saying goodbye to Bournemouth for the foreseeable future. Mari is already asleep and sporting her new neck pillow. I plug my headphones in and let the god of music shuffling decide. Canned heat – ‘Going up to the country’….Nice one shuffle. Nice one.




The scenery speeds to a blur and for the first time I feel a bit of sadness and nostalgia setting in. I’m sure I’ll get over that pretty quickly though.          

Pretty soon we’re airside at Heathrow, I’m drinking horrendously expensive Peroni and I’ve struck up a conversation with an engineer on his way back to work in Ethiopia and an older guy on his way to Brisbane to visit his family. “Where are you guys off to?” I actually love being asked that question. This encounter reminded me of what it’s like being a ‘backpacker’/’traveller’. All the social alienation of being British ebbs away and you find yourself being more accepting of strangers wanting to talk to you without feeling that at some point they’re going to ask you for money or your participation in a survey of some sort. It’s a great feeling.

I don’t really remember very much about the torturous 11-hour flight from LHR to HKG flight asides from the food being surprisingly good. I can never sleep in a chair. If I do pass out, it’s only for a few minutes, so yeah, I saw pretty much every movie and played every game that was on offer. I’m so incredibly envious of people that can just fall asleep and wake up on the other side of the world and not have any real perspective on how long it’s taken. When I was a kid I used to sleep on the floor in front of my parents feet on long-haul flights. I so wish I could get away with that now.

Four sketchy hours in HKG airport. Not long enough to go anywhere or do anything, but a bit too long to be sitting around doing nothing. I try to sleep on the floor of the waiting area, but there’s too much going on and I’m beyond tired now. This is a new level of exhaustion. I bought two coffees for $96. No idea how much that was, but it I couldn’t care less at that point. We're both amused by the nun getting in a bit of face time on her Samsung tablet and the pair of rabbis rocking as they chant through the glass to pray at the plane they're about to board. Half way there.

A similar experience on the next hop. Mari told me that I slept for 30 minutes or so. That figures because I suddenly felt a lot better, but that’s all I could manage. Not through a lack of trying, you understand. The last two hours of that flight were agonising. I so badly wanted off that plane. Grumpiness was setting in and Mari and I had a few near misses over something I can’t even remember now. I had set a timer on my watch so I could keep a countdown going. Every time I lit up my watch and soundbite of the clock from the series 24 played in my head, synchronised with the seconds counting down. I was beginning to become unglued.  

After having watched tv programmes like ‘Passport Control’ and ‘Border Security’ about Australia & NZ’s customs and immigration, I was really expecting an ordeal, but no. We got our visas, cleared customs and we were out in the fresh air within half an hour, despite our confession of possessing chocolate on our landing cards. I think they were more interested in the duck-tongues and powdered seahorse our fellow Chinese passengers may have been carrying.

We had a really chipper and friendly bus driver to take us to the general area of our hostel. A great introduction to the country. He couldn’t have been any more helpful. Getting off the bus we were asked by strangers on two different occasions if we needed any help/directions. We checked in to our basic, but welcoming hostel. We mindlessly gathered some supplies from the supermarket down the street and then finally got our heads down. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. It’s 3pm on Friday the 2^nd of November. 11,668 miles. Done.

Penultimate Weekend

Penultimate Weekend

A weekend to celebrate my newly acquired freedom, catch up with family and old friends and eat copiously.  

Work

My last day of work was as predicted. I felt very honored to be sent-off the way I was. Taken to the pub for a two-hour liquid lunch by a surprisingly large number of colleagues. An awkward speech and some bizarre jokes from my manager made considerably easier by the 2 pints of strong cider in my system. Presented with a bottle of Jack Daniels to drink in about a week. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. My Swedes gave me a lovely digital photo-frame full of pictures from hazy nights out. They also gave me a mask & snorkel which I wasted no time in wearing whilst at my desk. The cider was still speaking. A handfull of people had obviously gone to a considerable effort to ensure that I felt appreciated. And I certainly did. All the goodbyes were done and dusted by the time I was leaving. A cursory glance over my shoulder on the way out. Nobody was looking anymore. That moment was just for me. Done with that place forever.

Family

My Parents & Sister arrived the following afternoon. Pints of 'proper beer' and a walk to the beach started the day and it finished with what has to be one of the hottest Thai meals I've ever eaten. They all love Mari and she's really starting to relax and be herself around them. My family are always supportive and encouraging of all my decisions and our trip to New Zealand is no exception. Loading up the car and saying our final farewells the following day, I couldn't help welling up a little when I saw my mum was getting tearful. What is it about Mums that bring it out of you like that? A manly hung with a firm pat on the back and a "see you later" from my Dad realigned things somewhat.
They drove off with the car bursting at the seems with things I could neither take with me nor leave behind. It looked like a lot of stuff, but it could have been so much worse. All the windows were wound down. Partly so they could wave until the last possible second. Partly because last night's Thai food was causing some toxic gas issues.

Friends

Less than an hour had passed and my parking space was back in use again. My best friends and a 7(ish) month old Theo had arrived for their day at the seaside. They looked hungry and thirsty and in some cases a little soiled. Theo is a lovely little chap and perhaps reassured me that not all babies are screaming, horrible little shit-bags. I liked this one very much and hope my eventual offspring will be as calm.
Another walk on the beach and an epic burger at the postcards, washed down with a couple of cheeky Sunday mojitos. The time went so quickly that before I knew it I was saying goodbye and trying to fill up another car with as much of my stuff as possible.
Saying goodbye to them wasn't bad at all. I think you instinctively know if it's 'goodbye' or 'see you in a while'. With this particular collection of people, it's definitely the latter, so no worries there at all. They wont get rid of me that easy.

So, most of the goodbyes are done now and the flat is beginning to look a little bare. Just another little step into making this little travelling idea of ours a reality. 

An exit

Last day today. Last day of a 2.5 year slog at this job. Awake since 3.45am. No idea why. Tired enough to sleep, but can't switch back off. Anxious maybe? Excited, definately. Use this extra time to get cakes for everyone at work. It's a non-optional social convention. Slowly, slowly dawning that I'll walk out of there today and never go back. I think it does actually feel a bit like Christmas.
Pub at lunch maybe. People will be missed, but on balance, it's all positive.