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  • LouisaJames
Feb – Apr 2017

New Zealand

A 55-day adventure by LouisaJames Read more
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    Mosgiel

    March 5, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Lovely weather to wake up to this morning, with the wind dying down over the day. Continued northwards along the scenic route finding the historic and amusingly named 'sod cottage' which looked similar to traditional houses that people currently live around home! Had a great view towards Lake Waihola from a hill near Milburn Limeworks where they had put examples of whale and dolphin bone fossils from 24-34 million years ago when this part of NZ was under water. We walked along the beach from Taieri Mouth to the rocks and caves before heading to Mosgiel along the white sandy coast road.Read more

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    Otago Peninsula

    March 6, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Day trip out to the Otago Peninsula just outside Dunedin. There are supposed to be two types of penguin and Royal Albatross. The wind that has been so present over the last few days dropped away to give a calm and overcast day, meaning the Albatross didn't take to the air and were tucked away around the headland out of view. The scenery was however spectacular and were reminiscent of the high coastal cliffs and white sandy beaches around Cornwall. Later we visited Sandfly bay with a beautiful beach and resident Sealion population. We were here 12 years ago and watched penguins scale the steep sandy slopes. Apart from a few footprints, no sign of any this time although it was a bit early in the day. The weather broke in the late afternoon giving way to heavy showers. As we wanted to have dinner and a couple of drinks in Dunedin we stayed in a shared dorm in a hostel in the centre - only fractionally more expensive than camping on the outskirts and getting a bus. We forgot NZers eat early and only just snuck into a mexican restaurant before last orders at 8pm and close at 9pm! Finished off with a beer in a Scottish bar, pretty much the only one left open!Read more

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    Dunedin

    March 7, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Founded in 1848, Dunedin is known as Edinburgh of the Southern Hemisphere (Dunedin is the ancient Gaelic name for Edinburgh) apart from the hills it shares much more in common visually with Glasgow. New, old and 1970/80's architechture all sit together in a pleasant city a bit worn at the edges. All the street names are taken from Scotland and many areas of the city are from Edinburgh. The city museum was very interesting in a newly renovated string of old buildings. With loads of hands on exhibits including vintage video games to play, there was plenty of things to look at. We took a walk round the buildings in the city including the lovely train station and churches with a quick stop at the Cadbury factory shop to restock on cheap chocolate. A cruise ship had docked recently and Chinese visitors were buying chocolate as though a shortage was due. Most were buying 30+ bars and struggling with the 10kg+ weight! To walk of the chocolate we had a wander through the excellent Botanical gardens with greenhouse and aviaries. Finished the city with a trip to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world with a 1 in 2 slope. Travelled 15km outside the city and stayed in a free campsite set up by the hamlet of Warrington.Read more

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    Karitane

    March 8, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A glorious day once the sun rose after a cold night under canvas. Didn't make it far today because we chose to take the coast road which was full of picturesque coves and hamlets. On one of the many stops we saw hundreds and hundreds of cormorants feeding offshore and when they had finished the line of them stretched the whole length of the bay as they flew off. We also saw our first lorry/train! We spent most of the day at Katerine on the small beach and walking around the Moari owned headland before a picnic lunch and some reading in the sunshine. As we hadn't gone far (10km) we went back to the same campsite as the previous night.Read more

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    Oamaru - possibly the best town in NZ...

    March 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Set out from our second night at the Warrington community campsite, heading north along the coast road. Stopped in at Shag Point to see more sealions before driving on to the hamlet of Moeraki then to the nearby Moeraki boulder beach. These boulders are very unusual in the fact that they aren't carved by the elements, instead they have formed as calcite layers around a central core (generally a bone or fossil) much like a pearl in an oyster. Exceptionaly rare, they are up to 3m wide and some are almost perfectly spherical.
    We hadn't planned to stop in Oamaru, but an hour in the town meant we wanted to explore more. Unlike many other NZ towns/cities Oamaru escaped the development of the 60/70/80's that replaced Victorian buildings with concrete structures. This has given the town a unique time warp feel of the Victorian age (aside from Mcd's and Dominoe pizza), we even saw a man riding a penny farthing to the pub!! He was later joined by another and no-one seemed to see it as anything unusual. Some buildings are immaculate whilst others have a lived in feel, but the ambience of the town is fantastic.
    The harbour also has a colony of Little Blue Penguins. You can pay £20 to £30 to go to a viewing platform to watch them, alternatively find a quiet spot on the harbour, grab a seat and be patient. Whilst we sat quietly a group of Penguins wandered out of the sea, groomed themselves and waddled past us - just a few metres away. As we weren't noisy or threatening a mother brought her fluffy chicks out of their burrow under a shed and fed them right next to us. There were two other people there, just a magical moment.    Read more

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    Oamaru

    March 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    As we liked it here so much we decided to stay another night so we could explore the area more. It was a scorcher of a day which we started with a round of crazy golf after some necessary hand washing. This time it was far more professional with 18 holes, each having a theme from the local area. Even with changes made to make it easier, it was a fun challenge. Needless to say James won hands down and Louisa came in second (sounds better than lost!). We took a lovely walk through the town's gardens that had themed areas as well as another aviary and more petrified tree stumps. After some warm hospitality at the campsite which involved sampling Canadian whiskey with maple syrup... we ventured back to the seafront to see more little blue penguins and we weren't disappointed. We just loved watching the little things rock hopping and dashing across the road to get to their nests.Read more

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    Omarama

    March 11, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Headed inland up the valley stopping off at the aptly named 'Elephant Rocks' although other animals can be seen too we thought. James seemed to hitch a ride on the back of a whale. They were formed by earthquakes many years ago and cover quite a large area. They would make for great climbing in the dry. There were also a couple of ancient Moari drawings in caves to see. There were so many more places that we saw today that have been named by Scottish people that emigrated here. Todays favourites had to be Aviemore and Peebles!Read more

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    Heading back to Christchurch

    March 13, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Except for three hours yesterday afternoon it has rained non stop for three days so we have given up on the soggy tent for tonight and checked into an appartment so we can dry things out and re-pack bags before giving up the car tomorrow. The massive TV is a hit with James and I prefer the fluffy carpet! In the dry spell yesterday we came across a school rowing championship which was fun to watch. Afterwards we went to a viewpoint to see Mount Cook (glad we saw it on our previous visit as it was the clouds that stole the show this time). We went to the RAF museum this afternoon in Christchurch and was very pleasantly surprised by its size and professional set up. The 80 year old that gave us a look behind the scenes had good stories to tell from his time as a nav.Read more

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    Christchurch

    March 14, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Had a look around the shipping container shops that have relocated into these containers when their buildings were ruined in the earthquake. The city centre was completely off limits for 8 months to assess, pull buildings down or make them safe. The extent of the damage and devastation is truly amazing with very little left from pre 2011, however a new and funky city is rising with high hopes and strength of the populous. We also saw the cardboard Cathedral which was light and bright inside. It has a plastic roof with pine support struts that are enclosed by cardboard tubes that lean in and lead your eyes towards the cross which is also made from cardboard tubes. Couldn't come to a city and not go around the Botanical Gardens! Dropped the car off and checked into a pod hostel, which has very funky individual plastic pods that you sleep in. It's also ideally situated near the airport for our early morning flight to Auckland tomorrow.Read more

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    North Island: Mangawhai Head

    March 15, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today has seen a good change in the weather for both islands with clear blue skies. A smooth flight up to Auckland and by mid morning we were heading north with our new rental car. We had a good view back to the city while driving over the harbour bridge and could see how much it has developed recently. Stopped for lunch at Orewa which reminded us of Brighton then continued north. Only decided to take a side street off the main road because it said beach road and it turned out to be a little gem. The road seemed to go on forever and we nearly turned back but thankfully we didn't. We weren't there long before a children's surf school started and we got talking to a couple. They offered us their field to camp in for the night (one day they are going to built a house on it). We were expecting more of a field but we're surprised when we saw a huge manicured plot with possible kiwi's nearby. Before bed we were treated to an amazing view of the stars and the International Space Station.Read more

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    Whangarei

    March 16, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The very friendly couple had also told us of a three hour walk to to from the beach which we did and it was brilliant. The first half was along the coastal cliffs and gave superb views of the coastline and of some bespoke holiday homes of the wealthy Aucklanders. We had timed it slightly wrong because the second half brings you back along the beach which is only possible at mid to low tide. However we thought we'd give it ago anyway and it was fun climbing over and down rocks, scrambling and finally stripping off to our undies to jump down onto the beach in knee deep water. The rest of the return trip was much easier once we were on the sand.
    We drove a little further north to Whangarei and had a quick refreshing swim in the campsite pool as it didn't feel like the 22 degrees we were promised!    Read more

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    Around Whangarei

    March 17, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The campsite manager did such a good job of explaining all the local places of interest that we stayed another night so we could explore them. By just driving through the town you would not have an idea of all it has to explore so were thankful for his advise. We were able to walk from campsite and it turned into one of the longest walks we have done! The 22m imressive waterfall was set in a basin and we followed the river along thick tropical rainforst right at the edge of the town seeing some examples of huge Kauri tress that are very important to the Maori culture until we got to the town basin. The 6km walk around it had some intersting art sculptures as well as a group of drama boys rehearsing the Hakka. Visited some more Botanical gardens that had a fern and cacti house in town. All that walking meant the huge ice cream we had was a welcome treat although the walk back was a bit hard going...Read more

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    Whananaki

    March 18, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Headed for the Tutukaka Coast road and found a bit of paradise! The tide beat us this time while we tried to walk a short estuary to get to Kukutauwhao Island so we could see the lighthouse. Matapouri Bay was a gorgeous spot for trying out some body surfing in the crashing waves before using the councils bbq to cook our chicken kebabs on. There are a number of bays here to choose from but we chose Woolleys Bay to visit next before taking a gravel road to Whananaki for the night. We couldn't resist a swim in the campsite pool before setting up the tent. A fun evening chatting with NZ/American couple after debating Brexit with an Ex-pat.Read more

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    Bay of Islands

    March 19, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Our campsite was next to the longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere and it certainly is long! Took the longer and winding road to Russell via some lovely calm bays, overlooking headlands and islands. Took a swim and had a picnic at Kaimarama Bay and Hauai Bay, both at the head of the Bay of Islands. Saw a big stingray swimming along the shore at the sleepy historic town of Russell before stopping for the night at Orongo Bay.Read more

  • LouisaJamesLouisaJamesNew Zealand

    Tutukaka Marina

    March 20, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We woke in the night and heard the unusual call of a female kiwi (but still yet to see one)! Rather than take the easy option of a ferry we took the long gravel road around to Paihia. It was like a stage of the World Rally Championship (the photo is the nice smooth section) that took about 45 minutes, passing only 3 truck like 4x4's.... Paihia had a nice but definite tourist town feel to it with helicopters buzzing out over the bay. Yet another good spot for a picnic and swim. Went the 100m out to the swimming platform so James could perfect his back flips off it and I could perfect my dive bombing technique! As we loved the Tutukaka coast so much we decided to head back down this way to spend longer exploring here.Read more

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    Matapouri Bay

    March 21, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Spent the day at this beautiful bay. The sea was so calm so there was no body surfing today, just swimming in crystal clear water. Before the tide came in too far we walked/climbed over the headland to the Mermaid Pool which was so clear and a lovely spot to swim and dive down. Back in the bay and at the other end there is a river inlet that also made for great swimming as the upper level of water was quite warm. After some bangers on the bbq we watched all the goings on of a wedding on the beach while taking another swim, hopefully we won't be in the background of their wedding snaps!Read more

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    Back to Mangawhai Head

    March 22, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    On our way back South we had to go back to Whangarei to get another massive icecream, this time one scoop of raspberry and white chocolate and the other maple and walnut..... Needed a wander around the harbour after that lot. Had a look at more beaches along the way, stopping off for quite at one and watched more surfing lessons in very calm waters. Stopped at Waipu, more Scottish than Scotland. They are very proud of their ancestors who sailed here from the Highlands via Canada, due to the clearances. They have a Highland Games on New Years Day, a piper painted on the wall and a welcome sign written in Gaelic! We camped for the night again at the very peaceful house plot that belongs to a family we got to know last week.Read more

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    Rotorua - EWS and Crankworx

    March 25, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Caught a bus in Auckland for the 5 hour journey to Rotorua. Famous for hot springs, geysers and bubbling mud pools, there is a distinct smell of sulphur where ever you go. James is sat outside a supermarket with a full rucksack, eating a bread roll - small girl walks past with mother and says 'mummy, what's that tramp eating?'. Time for a shave and haircut??
    The main reason we are here is to catch a couple of mountain bike events in the town. Apologies for non bikers, the following may not be that interesting!
    We will be here for 10 days to watch the EWS (Enduro World Series) and attend the Crankworx festival. Both are staged at various stops around the world so we are very lucky, and VERY excited to have the opportunity to be here. Friday was a practice day whilst Saturday one of the race days for the EWS. Friday was also the official opening ceremony for Crankworx, with lots of speaches and a welcome from the local Maori tribe. As the stages are quite far apart, like a car rally, plenty of walking involved. It's great being a part of the mountain bike community again, where everyone chats and assists each other. We helped an injured rider on the course and a top 10 seeded rider picked us up on the road when we were hitching back into town - can't think of many sports that this would happen....    Read more

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    Rotorua continued - EWS & Crankworx

    March 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Hitched out to the EWS (enduro world series) and given a lift by event doctor and the top NZ enduro riders Mum. Hitching in NZ is normal and doesn't take long for someone to stop and help. Two race days were wet again which made the conditions pretty hard for the riders (and spectators on the steep muddy hillsides!). Great to see some top riders on the trails, their skill in the testing conditions was amazing.
    We also spent some time around Rotorua, when there was no biking obviously! There are many hot water and mud pools throughout the town, filling the air with steam and sulphur smells. New hot springs are emerging daily in the parks, roads and gardens. Generally the council stick some rocks on top to stop you walking over them and everyone gets on with it! There are also some beautiful buildings from the late 1800's.
    The Crankworx festival starts tomorrow with many of the top riders already in town, must admit to being a bit star struck....    Read more

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    Crankworx Rotorua

    April 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After Wednesday's torrential rain and events postponed, the sun came out on Thursday and stayed out giving us four days of biking heaven! It has been an awesome event where there were biking disciplines we have only ever seen online so great to see live. Photos do not give the full scale of the size of the jumps, they are absolutely huge! There are not many events that you can go to where you can see 4 different competitions from the same spot on the hillside! There were so many stars from the biking world just wondering around and very friendly and approachable. One of the nights we were out we ended up by chance in the 'happening' place for all biker people/stars for a film preview. Adrian Loron (who came second in two events) has been staying all week in the same motel as us and is super friendly and down to earth. We did do some homework while here too as we had a workshop on suspension settings so its not all fun. Photo 1: Slopestyle. Photos 4 & 6: Downhill. Photo 2: Dual speed and style. Photo 3:Pump track challenge. Photo 5: Whip off!Read more

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    Rotorua - Crankworx final day

    April 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The closing of the Crankworx mountain bike festival fittingly marks the end of our time in NZ (just a day of travel before an early morning flight). The Air downhill race was the last event of 10 days of great mountain bike viewing. It was also a reminder about how cool, friendly, helpful and approachable the mtb community is, even the top pro's and it's great to be a part of it. People are keen to chat, offer lifts and generally enthuse about everything mtb.
    For once we went out for a meal in a small bar and were surrounded by the great/legends of our sport off duty. Not an ego in sight.
    New Zealand has been every bit as good as our time here 12 years ago, with a minimum of crossover - much of what we've done has been new to us. Considering we also spent two months here last time and still think there is plenty to see, it shows how diverse a relatively small country is. However, next time we will DEFINITELY bring our bikes!    Read more

    Trip end
    April 2, 2017
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