Summer Vacation

Jan 3, 2017
7 min read

Location:

The Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand

After a nice new year’s in the city, we didn’t waste much time hanging around. We were straight back on the road with another adventure just around the corner. With a car just sitting there for us, we weren’t going to waste it. Not us! When are we ever going to have an opportunity like it again? Probably never! We could return to New Zealand in the future, but the reality is, we can’t revisit every single place we have been to, which means, you must make the most of each situation.

We took Gordon’s advice, and we started off early to avoid all the traffic, and what wise advice that was! It meant, the drive up towards ‘The Bay of Islands’ was effortless, and what a drive it was. Road trips in New Zealand are such a pleasure. What a beautiful country it is! Before we knew it, we had reached the town of ‘Whangarei’ which is just a little bit outside The Bay of Islands. We stopped at the ‘Whangarei Quarry Gardens’ for a nice little stroll around the quarry while taking in the stunning landscape. It was also a chance for us to stretch our legs!

After our nice little walk, we returned to the car and drove up to ‘Whangarei Falls’ which consists of several different viewing platforms, of course you can also make your way down to the waterfall which allows you to marvel at how beautiful it is, while taking it all in! As we drove into the car park, we were warmly greeted by volunteers who gave us some good advice of where we should go. They even told us about a bad flood the area had a few years ago and how the water was the same level as the table and chairs near the bottom. The waterfall itself consists of a 26-metre-high drop, which is impressive.

With our nice new Eskie in the back, we could enjoy some nice gourmet sandwiches from home while taking in the sand and water along ‘Te Ti Beach’ in the town of Paihia, which is bang in the centre of The Bay of Islands. Due to the time of year it was, the town was extremely busy, but that didn’t put us off. It did take us a while to get a parking space, but, we found one eventually! It’s a lovely sea side town with lots happening in it! I think I could spend a bit of time here. The holiday atmosphere is so nice!

Later on, we made our way over to the other side to our final destination of the day, Kerikeri which is where we will set up base for the next few nights at the ‘Kerikeri Holiday Park & Motels.’ This is another beautiful camp ground which operates next to a river. The land is divided up into several different terraces or levels, which is great as there isn’t lots of people on top of you. We were on the lower level right next to the river, which suited us perfectly. While we enjoyed the camp site, at night it was a bit of a rush into the tent to prevent any mosquitos or sand flies from coming in, and no matter how careful we were, they still managed to get in. Every time the tent was opened, lots would come in and we would be there trying to kill them all. I know Kathrin, they are our brothers and sisters, but when they hurt my Jay-Jay, it’s a different situation.

After a good night’s sleep, we started the day with a nice walk along the ‘Paihia School Road Track’ which provides a nice elevated viewing area of the entire bay. The walk up to the top was quite nice. There is something about being at one with nature. Our little treks are always so tranquil, and as my wonderful mother would say, ‘They make you feel so good!’ As we nearly reached the top, we were greeted by a cute little ‘Kiwi’ bird. We were quite intrigued by it. At first, we didn’t know what it was! After a little bit of time with our new friend, we climbed up a little bit further to the very top so we could enjoy the nice views on offer, however there were a lot of trees blocking the view! If I had trouble looking out, imagine how poor Jay-Jay must have felt.

After our nice little trek, we drove down to the barge so we could get across to ‘Russell’, New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement and sea port. For a brief period in history it was the countries first capital. Over time, the newly founded capital earned itself a bad reputation as a result of no laws and rampant prostitution, which is why it became known as the ‘Hell Hole of the Pacific.’ Sounds like an interesting spot to spend a few hours in.

As we drove off the barge and into Russell, our first stop was ‘Flagstaff Hill.’ At first we couldn’t find it, but thankfully, a kind couple pointed us in the right direction. I was told that if I wanted nice views of the bay, this was the place to go to. After a short walk, we found ourselves at the top amongst other travellers. We stayed for while taking in the beautiful views and the wonderful company of some rather timid Kiwis!

Our next destination was ‘Long Beach’ where we could take our shoes off and enjoy a nice, relaxing beach walk along the sand after a quick bite to eat. We thought of our friend Kathrin when we first noticed this beautiful large tree. What caught our attention was how it was thriving even though all the roots were exposed. It looked quite cool to see. I think ‘The Mad Cat Lady’ would be impressed to!

We finished off our trip to Russell in ‘Okiato’ with a lovely ice cream while enjoying the final walk of the day down to the pier. It’s a lovely little town. We didn’t get to spend much time in it, but I suppose at least we got to see it. Isn’t that the important thing. Both of us had a nice day out. Now it’s back to the barge and then on to Kerikeri for the night! I read a story about how a group of backpackers who were on a barge heading over to ‘Fraser Island’ in Australia. The silly travellers forgot to put the hand break on and helplessly watched their tag-along vehicle roll of the ramp and into the water with all their stuff. I couldn’t understand why the ramp was not up! I wouldn’t say they were too impressed. When myself and Jason made it back with Ralf’s car in one piece, I was certainly relieved!

We began our third day with a visit to the nearby Rainbow falls after a disappointing fancy breakfast that sounded a lot nicer than what it was. You win some, you lose some. The area has some stunning waterfalls. This one consists of a 27 metre drop. New Zealand’s waterfalls do not disappoint! It is always a pleasure to visit one of them!

After our little road trip to top of the cape, we had to make our way back to Paihia early as we booked a ferry over to the Bay of Islands largest island, Urupukapuka. While we made it in time to the boat, we nearly missed it. Thank God for my nice long legs and my Jay Jays athletic self. I have probably said this a lot over the last few years, but seriously, ‘WOW’ what an incredible place! We had the most wonderful day trekking over the hills on the island. What amazing views we had. They were spectacular, the type of views I was waiting for! To top it all off, we had the most amazing day. I can’t describe how perfect our day was. Lunch time was in a fairy tale like world, under a large tree while enjoying more of the beautiful view on offer. After lunch, we broke up all the walking with a nice swim and snorkel down at a remote beach while testing out our new snorkel gear! By the end of the day, I had gotten a bit too much sun, but that wasn’t going to put a dampener on things! Later that evening, when we returned to the same camp site, we were happy with the standard and the facilities on offer. It didn’t make much sense staying anywhere else.

On our final day in the stunning Bay of Islands, there was a few things we wanted to do before we left, like visit the ‘Makana Chocolate Boutique’ for a coffee and some incredible handmade chocolate dessert. We also wanted to visit another waterfall, ‘Haruru Falls’ which is in Paihia. We did try to visit ‘The Treaty of Waitangi’ but because we are Irish, they tried to charge us a lot more than anyone else. How dare they! Such greed, I was not going to mark my respect by visiting an outrageously overpriced place! On the way, back to Auckland we couldn’t help but stop off at the ‘Kawiti Glow Worm Cave’ in ‘Waiomio.’ We were brought through the cave as part of a tour. It was beautiful to see! Nature is spectacular!

What a wonderful time we have had. This Christmas has just been amazing. I have loved every minute of it. The Bay of Islands and all that it has to offer will blow your mind. I guess we were lucky with the weather and having a car made such a difference. Getting from place to place was a lot easier. We would have missed out on some of the cool things we got to do if we were using public transport. Hopefully at some stage in the future we will be able to return to the bay and have another little adventure. I doubt it will be any better than the first time!

By Andrew