Whangaruru - Karikari Peninsula

We woke up at the farm, had a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast before making a hasty getaway. On today's itinerary we had the Bay of Islands.

We made our way towards Russell but it was only after getting there we realised Russell doesn't face the bay but rather all the boat trips around the islands leave from there. Unfortunately we missed the morning trips and were much too early for the afternoon so decided to pop a couple minutes up the road to do a walk to Tapeka Point, a perfect spot to look out on the islands. We parked up and made our way round to the start of the walk. It wasn't long before I slipped and realised I hadn't changed into my hiking shoes. Being too lazy to walk back to the van and sure the track wouldn't get much worse I decided to go on. BIG MISTAKE! I did make it there and back but not without almost covering myself in mud many times! The views from the top were incredible!

Back in the van we headed to the car ferry which offered a nice shortcut on our drive to the next overnight spot. Once on the other side Blake remembered a stop mentioned in the Lonely Planet that was only a very short detour in Kawakawa. It was a famous toilet (I know I thought the same...) designed by an Austrian artist called Friedensreich Hundertwasser who's work can also be found in Vienna and Osaka. We pulled up and the place instantly didn't feel good. We were told that some areas can be a bit gangland eske up North and this felt very 'Sons of Anarchy' all of a sudden. Blake was polite and made use of the toilet, took a quick snap of the outside and we were on our way out again!

The afternoon didn't get much more exciting after that as we visited a supermarket and a dump station to empty the van and refill the water tank. We then headed to Tokerau Beach, a free spot to sleep over night. We pulled into the camp just as the sun was setting and the views over the beach were awesome. We quickly parked up, put the kettle on and opened the sliding door for a cuppa with a view!Read more