Rules on the Road

We discovered the Rangihoua Heritage Park and decided to explore. This park is well worth a visit. The road in, is through beautiful, rolling farmland. The walking tracks take you to wonderful vistas over the Bay of Islands then down to the sea where the Samuel Marsden Memorial Cross is placed to mark the first Christian Service that was held in that spot, by him, on Christmas Day, 1814. Today the tracks were muddy and being steep in places, took a bit of negotiating. The well placed information panels, along the way, were informative and non political. If you're up this way we'd recommend you take a look.
The next day we did the tourist thing and wandered around the Stone House and Kent house, which is undergoing large maintenance and was closed to the public, From the car park, there, we walked the track to the Old Power Station and the Wharapuke Falls. The following day we walked to The Rainbow Falls and the track below them to the pools. I had a problem with painful blisters on two of my toes, now resolved, that restricted the distance Icould walk. Such a pain! Both figuratively and in reality!!! We left Kerikeri and drove to Paihia, calling in to see the Haruru Falls on the way, where we stayed at a POP that was only 1.2 K's from the Treaty Grounds. The next day we walked to the Treaty Grounds that were having a free day with tours and Cultural Performances to mark Matariki. The Treaty Museum was fantastic! Really informative, beautifully curated with a circular flow relaying the early days of colonization and Te Tiriti. We both found this immersive experience to be wonderful. The free guided tour and the cultural experience were great too. We wandered the grounds, took lots of photos and then wandered home happy and buggared! A great day!!! Made even better by the Fish and Chips we enjoyed on the waterfront, at nighttime, looking at the gorgeous reflections of the Treaty Grounds on the bay.
Russel was next on our agenda so we were up and on the 'foot' ferry at 9.30 the next morning. We did all the 'must dos' there, nearly walked into an actual funeral in the Christ Church, reenacted the cannon pic the Christine and I were in 16 years ago, minus her, had a cuppa and the best muffin, got the recipe, and then returned to Paihia on a really quaint old ferry. We packed up and headed to Kaikohe and a POP at the showgrounds. We planned to go to the Nga Wha Springs the next day. They looked really lovely and we were looking forward to along hot soak BUT there are two complexes. One open Monday and Tuesday and the other the remaining days. We fronted up with great anticipation to find the pools we were booked into were down the road and to say they were rustic would be compliment! However we got in, soaked and chatted to the very friendly locals and left, me with a head cold and David very happy to be ache free for several days!!!!
We had been taken by the option of exploring Whananaki North where a local farm has a camping option and a track leading to the most gorgeous pool at the headland so we set off via back roads which proved somewhat tricky. At a T intersection with were diverted in either direction with a road closed sign further up one of them! Confusing! we took the left option......the wrong one......but did see some great country before eventually arriving at lovely Whananaki North to find the farm was closed for winter. Disappointing that it wasn't on their info but silver linings had us head to Whananaki South which is gorgeous. The beach is beautiful, we walked and walked, and the free camp was great. We walked the longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere which is found here so we walked it. 395M long.
Whangarei Heads is a beautiful place to explore. Ocean Beach is gorgeous, the walk to Bream Head and the gun placements is beautiful and interesting. We caught up with a Cromwell friend, who now lives up here, then drove to Waipu, a quaint town with a proud Scottish history that is very well told in their great wee museum, Well worth a visit.
Port Albert at the top of one of the Kaipara arms also has a very proud history that is celebrated by the locals. We enjoyed the coast road to Gulf Harbour and a night with my brother Michael, Coralie and her sister Jill. We called into Dome Hill, on the way, and thought we'd pop in to the observation deck for a wee look. Turns out the deck is up a challenging track, about 40 mins each way, that we climbed, until it began to rain, so reluctantly we turned back near the top. It really was steep and mostly steps through beautiful native bush.
We're now enjoying the homely hospitality of my cousin, Pauline and her husband Gerry until we fly to Fiji tomorrow.
Our time in Northland has been fantastic. We can honestly say it has been 100% positive in every aspect. The people, the roads, the scenery, the incredible history, the stunning beaches.....we're absolute beach snobs now......all of it.....bloody fantastic! Pics to follow soon.もっと詳しく