The Tongariro Crossing

Sunday March 22nd 2015
Almost a year ago we spent a night at National Park railway station which resembled Hogworts station with the foggy conditions and nocturnal coming and going of trains all night. Then we woke to a day not at all suitable for the Tongararo Crossing, and decided we would return to try to cross it another time.

The start of the Tongariro Crossing

Sunday 22nd March was to be the day, and we rose to a day with considerable more promise. So with Herculean effort on our part, we set off but the day not overly good for the crossing, Though not overly cold or windy it clouded up so that a view was not to be had, so disappointed. It was hard to get any idea of perspective of anything. We were very aware we had climbed to a great height, but couldn't see anything, not even the edges at times. We were surprised at the numbers that were doing the crossing, a lot of foreign tourists, lots of couples and a few families. Our age group and older were certainly in minority.

The crossing wanders across the bleak landscape

The real issue being that we will need to do it again and now knowing how difficult it is are in no rush to return but will have to before we lose the edge which I think we may already have.
Our fitness levels were pretty good, it was more our feet that let us down. Sheryl with blistered toes on the long descent and Bill's bruised heel. But we certainly felt our muscles the next day, and the day after.

Bill eating lunch but not seeing much!

Still very active volcano

The lower part of the descent, without mist, was very scenic, lovely bush and certainly good trail to walk. So after 7 hours walking, it was lovely we only had to travel 3km up the road to our freedom camping spot that was provided by the shuttle company we used "Mountain Shuttle". Would certainly recommend them.
The next morning we headed to Turangi to top up with supplies & fuel. Then off along the bottom of Lake Taupo as far as Waihi Village looking for Sister Marie Andre, from Bill's Youth Group days in Nelson circa 1974. Amazingly! He found her brother who told us where she lived locally. Bill & Elizabeth (as she is now known) had a great catch up on their pasts. She & her husband Russel are very involved in their local & wider community.
We then headed on around the Lake to Omori Bay for the night. A scenic, very quiet little Doc area right on the foreshore. A pleasant walk was had to try and ease our still painful muscles.

Sun rise on Lake Taupo at Omori Bay

Tauranga and heading south

We evaded Pam, as thankfully did much of the country.My apologies to any one on the East Cape reading this!!
We arrived back at Tauranga to Pat's delight (I am her favourite son in law after all)
Gregg, who I bought the trailer off a few weeks ago, was most helpful to finish repairs to it and compensated me for the repairs and transport costs which, was all I could ask. He is still keen to make more similar trailers, he is on to  a winner, so can recommend him as an reliable honourable character.
Where we park the bus at Pat's retirement village requires a small trek across the field to her villa and this was good for mushrooms as the cooler dewy mornings and warm days encouraged them up. Not a lot but over 3 mornings was enough to mix in with a bit of bacon and onion to add to one evenings meal which Pat wouldn't have a bar of!!!! "Most likely toadstools and I was trying to poison her". So fell on my sword and ate the lot yummmmmmm.
We did have a lovely lunch down Tauranga's waterfront from the Fresh Fish Market - got Pat her first half dozen oysters of the season (Oh yeah Sheryl is her favourite!) while we had lovely fresh Terakehi.
With Sheryl having to get her shite together for her passport (mine all completed on line) we didn't get away from Tauranga till 3ish on Friday.

Blue Pools

We took a small walk to the Blue pools at Patauraru we found a park up at Lake Wakamaru once again and enjoyed a coupla beers as the sun set, celebrating Nick and Jacky's closing a deal to buy their first home in Lower Hutt. Well done you two.Will be hard for the first few years but will be worth it.

PS Reason Sheryl couldn't get her shite together was because Bill only packed his passport! Did he think he was going without me!!!

Sunset on Lake Whakamaru

Auckland. Friends & Family.

All good things must come to an end and thus it was for our brief sojourn at Fantail Bay ,where the fantails are as rare as rocking horse shit, and the ducks plentiful, albeit wary of the camp manager, who brooked no water fowl on his watch.
Friday saw us heading back to Coromandel to reclaim our repaired trailer and on to Thames to meet prospective buyers for BigYella from Hunterville who were driving up in the small hours to beat out the other buyer, and thus it has come to pass that Big Yella is now promised to Sue & Dennis,who are accommodatingly allowing us to live in, till after Easter whilst we are in Wellybobs catching up with Whanau.
Sue and Dennis were excited by the bus and are a colourful couple who will enjoy Yella,  Sue will do proud as ambassador repping Yella's proud entity up and down the country..

The trailer is now in a better physical shape than when dispatched it on it's way for repair on the transporter, and am happy to say the builder of the trailer has been fairly positive about reparations for the damage.
With Yella selling so quick and having a little time up our sleeve we elected to head up to AK to catch up with family and friends. We went up the Firth of Thames and found a small beach to camp on about an hour out of Ak.
We dropped into Wayne & Kates for lunch the following afternoon and a stroll round the Hobsonville development. Ak as always is on the move with huge on going investment in roading, housing and infrastructure, but as we are continually told, never enough. To our minds it is impressive, and overwhelming, the constant construction coupled with the constant mayhem reinforces our decision to decamp to Nelson in 1987..As we were warned by our friends at the time we would never be able to get back into the AK market, I would say never a truer word spoken, we wish our friends on going success in Auckland.

Launching to paddle Marhurangi Harbour

We spent the evening and the next night with Sheryl's brother Allan & Nicky at Dairy Flat, the next day with a very pleasant trip to Riverhead Tavern for lunch with Wayne & Kate, visiting  Hallertau Brewery to sample fine beer where Simon of HopFederation honed his craft.
Dropped in on Nephew Paul and Marta in there new house at Workworth, another escapee from Ak. With their two kiddies it must be seen as a positive move, all seem to be enjoying the quieter life style this now burgeoning town offers.
We took Little Yella on an excursion up the Mahurangi Harbour into Warkworth, spending 3 hours on this sheltered tidal inlet, drifting with the tide, watching the birds and observing the various launches, yachts and scows moored up its channels.

Looking out Algies Bay

Devonshire Tea at Algies!

From there we made our way to nearby Algies Bay to stay with Murray & Jenny Butler in their elegant new beach house, with whom we have shared many convivial times in our early days in Auckland. They never change and we spent many hours recounting the anecdotes that define those two from the maddening crowd. Thank you J&M for your hospitality and we are enjoying the gift of wine.

Scotts Landing

Wenderholm Regional Park

Lovely large Pahutakawas

Allan & Nicky, Bill at Okura Point

We headed back to Ak for another night at Allans, having a BBQ on his deck admiring the brilliant stars, a view afforded him being that little way further out of Ak's constant night time glow. The next morning a long walk thru Kauri forests at Okura was had before heading to Mark and Elaines at Chelsea, Birkenhead.
 Mark has many distiungsh one being the only one to have shared some nights with me in Yella on our odyssey up the North Island 4 years ago, some may recall my recounting of the struggle to remove his hairy arm from across my body in the dark heat of night.

Mark & Elain & Bill Auckland Viaduct

 Our intention was not to stay with them, but after a trip to the Wynyard Quarter to see the Volvo fleet in town, and nice meal at a Irish Pub, (the viaduct was humming, more so the car parks) then enjoying more beer & wine we accepted the fact we needn't press on. Thus with the Eagles concert in town we stayed the night to enjoy a video evening, featuring the Hell Freezes Over Eagles concert, The Corrs as a opening act, and a smatter of UB40 and The Shadows to wind down the evening, only after Mark had wrested back control of the volume from Elaine. This coupled with good seats, great food and excellent wine made for a fine evening.
Unable to access Marks elevated rear section we parked in the, thankfully, quiet street. A discerning leafy neighbour hood with some soul leaving a rose on the bus, in some token, no doubt for us gracing the area with our presence.
Unfortunately we were unable to catch up with all our friends in Ak but such is the nature of the beast. People are always on the move and busy so the catch ups must wait for another time when we all are able to slow down and work our way round the list of must do's.
And so after a week in AK and environs it was time to head south finding shelter from cyclone Pam, and recuperate from the shellshock of AK

Cyclone Pam's destruction at Lake Karapiro

Another few days up the Coromandel at Fantail Bay

Had four lovely days up north of Coromandel at a lovely Doc camp in Fantail Bay.We went with Sam & Pauline in their motorhome, along with Sam's sister Judith & hubby Stewart.
Left Hahei looking forward to a few days up the otherside of the Coromandel to where we travelled last week. All went well till we were 5km south of Fantail Bay and heard a massive metalic crunch sound as we went over a little one way bridge along the coastal edge! We got out to see what had happened, Bill quickly reporting the new trailer was F#@*ed! It had snapped at the weld joints where the taper started for the draw bar.

Sam & Bill using good ole kiwi ingenuity

 We were blocking the traffic both ways, so didn't think to take any photo's at the time! Luckily we were just ahead of a layby, so with the help of another couple, managed to tip trailer back upright and push it to the side, along with the bus so traffic could continue thankfully! Then quick call to Sam who was already parked up at the camp to return & help Bill plan a stratagey to get us to camp. Good old kiwi ingenuity & a lovely piece of drift wood later, the draw bar was strapped to the axle, which allowed us to make it to camp.

Bill's new trailer!

 As the job was beyond anything Bill or Sam could do without a welder, Bill organised a tow truck for the morning.

Coromandel Towing turned up pretty prompt Wednesday morning & took it back to MetalCraft back in Coromandel to repair. Both great service.

Meal time again!

 

Beautiful sunset at Fantail Bay

So after a not so great start to our trip, things from then on did get better. When we first arrived at the camp we were met by the Doc volunter that managed the camp, who made us most welcome & told us of happy hour at 5.00 pm with the rest of the camp. So for the next three nights we made happy hour along with most of the camp, it was a lovely friendly group. It felt like we were leaving family when we left yesterday. That is what I love about our current lifestyle, is the lovely people we are meeting. Including a couple from England who have a canal boat! Watch this blog spot!!

Pauline with Snapper, Judith & Sam

The days were filled in with fishing, swimming, eating, reading and drinking. We had a couple of meals of snapper, plus one lone blue cod ( thank you Bill, even if the others don't appreciate cod).

had lovely sunsets as the photo's will show.

Love couple on point, & 3 men in a tub!

Catching fish on sunset

Three men in a tub! 

Bill & Pauline out for a paddle in little yella

    

                          

Lovely landscape along the Coromandel Coast

Big Yella is for Sale

Sunday 1st March
Sadly, we have made the decision to put Big Yella up for sale on Tradme. It would be too difficult to store with being unsure when we are coming back to NZ, so feel it is best to try and sell it before we go.

Coromandel Freedom Camping Compliance Confusion - a little rant

This is an opinion piece and I stand to be corrected on any point.

I will enhance my opinion as I lie in bed mulling the injustice's of this world, and update this as required.

That being said don't quote this rant as being a definitive précis of the situation.

The Thames Coromandel District Council has created a head ache for themselves, its residents and for campers.
It's not clear to me how the whole sorry tale got going but one may suspect that absentee super bach owners, hippy freedom campers, mobile population pressure with huge volumes of campervans have all caused a maelstrom which is at best now hard to untangle.
If one was to be sympathetic to the issues one might say the TCDC's controls on freedom camping is still a work in progress and can only improve. Particularly in view of the court ruling bought down in Nov 2014. A situation that put them on the back foot over Xmas with so much signage plastered everywhere.

My points of contention are.

Confusing and ambiguous signage.(which should largely now be obsolete)
The need to download 60 pages of bylaws
Still more than one version of bylaws on line.
The handing out of information pamphlets still promulgating old bylaws.
(this could be viewed as clever massaging of unwanted campers)

Admittedly when it is sorted it will open flood gates and it will need to be controlled?? The waterfront properties over the Coromandel that have been able to restrict the use of public  reserve for so long will be affronted for the 3 weeks and long weekends when they can drag themselves down to their exclusive baches and lord over their views. That view will plagued by white campers vans(and occasional colourful bus) all legally able to park up if suitably equipped and certified.

It is disappointing to observe the near empty  developments at prime locations with absolute parking restrictions (at best very prescriptive parking locations). These areas deserve to be open to all during the whole year and not the exclusive domain of the wealthy people who are seldom there. This is not the Kiwi way.