New Plymouth to the mecca city of Otorohanga and Fieldays

Bill with the Three Sister rock formations on the Taranaki coast

With the Wellingtonians heading home we set forth to pack up after our unintended months stay in one place, to head to Ak over the coming week.
But not before our Nelson friend Bob turned up for a drink of water on his way South ferrying his daughter's car and possessions as she relocates from Orewa to Cromwell.

Good to catch up and get some news of friends at home in the Kayak Club.

Big Opps!! Broken Tow Hitch

On leaving Waitarere, we headed north passing through Hawera on the way to New Plymouth but not without incident! On our way up the west coast, we called into the seaside town of Tangimoana - a little place we hadn't been into before - probably not likely to return either! I'm sure its a lovely little community but all the access we tried, finding the beach, had been washed away with storms and not much in the way of signage telling us this. So we headed off down a long narrow lane to the beach only to find the road had been washed away. We had to unhook the car as we were unable to back all the way back up the road, I drove the car and Bill the bus! But a bit of a shock  awaited us when Bill found the tow hitch on the A Frame that tows the car had snapped off! Bummer! First tow on our new towbar and all! Never happened on the old one but lets not go there with Bill.

Mt Taranaki trying to pop through the clouds

So now unable to tow the car, Bill managed to get it unhooked off the bus and we drove separately onto Hawera. Thankfully it was only $150 to buy a new tow hitch and get it bolted onto the A Frame, which was made possible due to the local Engineering firm Ace Engineering.

Walking along the Esplanade to New  Plymouth Port

We spent the night at the Hawera NZMCA camp which is on a piece of land that was previously part of the Hospital (Nurses Home) - nice and central in Hawera and quite peaceful - it has a large sealed area and with all the rain we were experiencing thankfully we weren't likely to get stuck.
Bill took the A frame away to be repaired while I did some computer work. By mid afternoon the repair was done and as it was still raining, we decided to move onto New Plymouth and catch up with an old friend and hopefully do some cycling around the waterfront.
We stayed at another NZMCA camp in New Plymouth way down in a gully in the  Huatoki Domain. It looked pretty wet and plenty of evidence of large vehicles getting stuck so we were a bit wary but it turned out to be a lovely quiet spot handy to the city centre and full of birdlife.
We headed into New Plymouth's city centre the next morning parking down by the beach. New Plymouth has a great coastal cycle trail 13km in length that we had cycled a few years ago and enjoyed but unfortunately this time round the weather wasn't on our side so we decided to walk half the trail down to the Port. An agreeable relaxed saunter along New Plymouths sea frontage. A real asset for the city and a highly recommended sea side trail

New Plymouth's NZMCA Camp Site

We then caught up with our old friend Michael, whom we last saw 30 odd years ago.

Te Rewa Rewa bridge looking through to
Mt Taranaki (pity about the cloud)

Catching up with old friends has been a really enjoyable part of our being on the road, we are able to visit far more of our old friends. Life got busy raising families and establishing jobs and homes, so its not that you forget your friends, it's just that other activities come along taking over your lives.  We had last caught up with Michael in New Plymouth we think back in 1981or 82, after we had returned from our OE's. So it had been some time ago and of course we had changed physically a little, but 5 minutes together it was just like the old days back in our early 20's. It was great catching up, learning of his  family, and coincidentally two of their children live in Perth as well! Small world. It will be nice next time to meet his wife  and spend time reminiscing and forging new bonds....

From New Plymouth we continued north along the Taranaki coast  in and out of little seaside towns.
We came across signage to The Three Sisters - a rock formation just north of Tongaporutu. We were fortunate it was low tide so we could walk out to the rock formations - a stunning sight with Mt Taranaki poking through in the background.
We continued onto the King Country's Mecca  Otorohanga and another NZMCA camp site. A good location to stay and break up our trip to Auckland and visit the world famous, in Otorohanga,  the Haddad Brothers and their amazing shop..... .
The next morning was too beautiful to rush off so we walked into town and looked around the town centre. Those of you who know Otorohanga, know you can't afford to blink when passing through - but did you know it is such a Kiwiana Town?
Strolling down the main street we came across the Haddad Brothers menswear shop. It is like going back in time, .. started in 1965 right next door to their father's Milk Bar, both Karam & John were there to greet their customers along with 3 female assistants - all busy shifting and laying out stock of top quality, long wearing clothing suitable for King Country farmers.

Plenty of newspaper items on the Haddad Brothers
in their front window

The stock sits atop of large cardboard boxes which fill the large shop and have hand written pricing on scraps of cardboard. They don't have a computer but have given into an EFTPOS terminal.  The two brothers looked like they were in a time warp with their conservative clothes and wearing large hats which were quite eye catching and helped you spot them in the much cluttered store. So much so, that Bill had to get one too. I think we have mentioned before - Bill's predilection for hats! He now has one for all weather - the new "Southern Man" Jenny!

Moving along the main road,  there were numerous cartoons of David Henshaw's Jock -on the side of an old pub. An older gentleman pulled up along side us as I was taking photo's guessing we were tourists. He introduced himself as Bill, Otorohanga's Ambassador and proceeded to give us the  fascinating history on the town. With the Waitomo Caves on the towns door step, a station where the Kiwi Rail's Overlander stops, the Kiwi House (a Kiwi & Tuatara breeding centre) and being on Highway #3 - the town has a lot of tourists coming through. In the early days his services as a taxi driver were sort after, he had 4 taxis in his fleet at it's peak. But these days the tourists are mostly in rental cars. He had only recently retired from his services as a taxi driver having just turned 80.

Bill in his snazzy new hat overlooking our camp site

He highly recommended The Ed Hillary Walkway that links the main street through to the historic railway station (now an espresso coffee bar & coffee roaster).  We ambled along to where there are 33 panels featuring slices of quirky & informative Kiwiana, evoking many memories of our childhood. Continuing our walk around the outskirts of the town we returned to our campsite for a cuppa before heading north to Auckland to make it in time for dinner at the Hobsonville RSA and watch the AB's first game against the French

West Harbour Heights!!

Our first week in Auckland parked up outside my brother & sister-in-laws once again, saw Bill & Wayne trying to progress the painting of the gable ends and dormers on their home with the help of scaffolding W had organised to be put up. Heights are not one of my brothers strengths (runs in the family) so Bill is encouraging and reaching some of those higher parts. This was all between the many rain showers that occur up this part of the country.

Big Boys Toys

We did get away on the Friday to Mystery Creek Fieldays, an event we had heard many stories of, having met people over the years who had made some amazing purchases of innovative gadgets/clothing.
We left Auckland at 7.30am and thankfully slotted in between the heavy traffic Auckland suffers everyday. It still took just under 3 hrs to reach the bus shuttle just out of Cambridge. Fieldays were celebrating 50 years this year, reading about it's early days and how much this event has grown into the huge 4 day event it is now - is a must attend for the farming community throughout the country, the southern hemisphere's largest agricultural event. It was originally set up to sell farming products with 80 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors. Where as now it's 1000 + exhibitors showing off innovations, cutting edge technology and new products to approx 134,000 people over the four days.

And they're off - tractors pulling bigger tractors

W, B and I easily filled in 5 hours wandering around the huge complex / pavilions / grounds experiencing this huge event and apart from buying our lunch managed to resist purchasing anything else. Bill did very well considering all the hats for sale ☺

Lunchtime at Fieldays

We made the right choice to park in Cambridge and use the shuttle service to the event (15mins away) as we passed paddock after paddock close to the event full of parked cars. Over the years the organisers have got systems very organised to handle the numbers of visitors that attend.

City Boy in Redbands

The only downside to the day was the 3 hr return trip where for half an hour on the motorway just south of Auckland we only covered 1km as we crawled and merged from two to one lane through road works! We made it back home just after 8.00pm - after our first Fielday Event - probably a one and only experience but worthy of attending. Gumboots or sturdy footwear are a must - Wayne (City Boy) blended in very well with his Redbands along with thousands of others, and Bill in his new hat!
We have continued our walks around the Hobsonville area between prepping and painting, and seeing the area starting to come together. All the varieties of styles of apartments blending together well. Just hope they stand the test of time and don't deteriorate through lack of maintenance and care.

Building still ongoing around Hobsonville

The area is a  new strategy in high density housing, one would have to say hardly affordable, but attempting to meet the insatiable need for housing in Auckland. We would guess this  style of  housing will be be accepted as normal before to long. It is not bad but very different to what our generation and our parents could reasonably expect, IE the old 1/4 acre. Thankfully there is generous green space and Ak is well endowed, as a Region, with great reserves, parks, and beaches.

Waitarere - Foxton and Queens Birthday

Bill, John and Annie out for a walk along Waitarere Beach

John & Sarah came thru on Friday night and, as we do, spent a most pleasant evening together, before they returned on Saturday with Sarah having a wedding to attend with other girl friends, in deed with most of the country from all accounts but slipped by us in Waitarere. However both of us  wish the the Royals a happy union.
Sunday saw Shannon come thru from Wellington for the day just to spend some  time with her ageing parents. We had a lovely home cooked brunch followed by a brisk walk thru the quiet streets to return via the cool windy beach. A good blow out.
There after we had a busy week with a very mixed bag of weather, from driving rain blustery winds and on occasion pleasant weather.

Waitarere local library - easy access,
No the little fridgeat the front.

 We had two trips to Levin to sort out Bills teeth, an ongoing saga, and to sort some materials to do some work here at the beach for Sarah and John. The second trip, again for teeth, but as the weather was not promising we went early to catch a recommended movie, finding  a very comfortable theatre boasting two seater couches, cushions, and a lovely cafe to then have some lunch. In fact you were able to take your meals into the theatre, if so desired with the wait staff happy to oblige. Very nice and pleased to report the movie a lovely story entitled the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A tale of wartime Guernsey and the aftermath that the war brought. Interesting too that many of the island scenes were shot in the English town of Clovelly, a quaint fishing village where we had spent several hours wandering in when there less than 18 months ago.

De Molen Wind Mill Foxton

Sunday we went to Foxton just up the road to visit their newly opened cultural centre Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. Visiting the Maori weaving and workshop which was quietly displaying Maori art and some history. Bailey the host was really engaging and it being so quiet, gave us a comprehensive intro into the Taongo on display discussing its significance and the uses of. It was a tale portending much violence usinf the most innocuous of items ,such as hair ornaments having a very a duplicitous use as a weapon of defence, artfully designed to inflict serious harm to would be assailants.

Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom Centre

Keen to move our attentions to less harrowing discussions we moved on to weaving and like many people, were aware of flax's significance to the Maori but little idea on how it was prepared and utilised. This was as enlightening to me as much as any thing I've seen before and found it very rewarding. These encounters are rare and will be  a visit of enduring memories for us both and a Taongo. An hour and a half later we then went into the De Molen Wind Mill built in 2003, a marvellous monument to the Dutch immigrants and their resourcefulness. The wind mill has over many years ground flour for artisan bakers but has now fallen still since 2014 with weather damage, now needing some TLC to get it going again. But this is a big ask of the community as a windmill is a complex machine requiring very skilled repairers, and as the proprietor said most of that skill set has been lost with the passing generation.

One of the many activities on the beach

Another pleasant meal at Waitarere

Lastly but by no means leastly we went into Foxtons new cultural centre. A smart new facility incorporating the library ,a gallery presently featuring Abel Tasman's voyages of discovery indeed this year being 375 years, and a large area dedicated to indigenous Maori and the hard working dutch immigrants. All very positive and enlightening. Like who realised it was a dutch restaurateur, wanting to sell wine with his meals and taking ten years to get a licence (thanks to the brewers who were then all powerful), we have to thank for our wonderful wine & dine experiences today.
We settled in for a futher two weeks at Waitarere as Sarah had found some maintenance issues that Bill could help with and as Shannon said she would be able to get up again at Queens B'Day weekend it seemed ordained we would be here for another fortnight. Such are the burdens of travellers or as John might say "Bloody Squatters".
But we got on, with work for them and more things on the bus,as there is always something more to do, earning our keep and enjoying this tranquil spot.
Queens Birthday came round in a hurry with J&S arriving on the Friday & Shannon& AC turning up on Saturday, a very social weekend but not before Bill & John replaced barge boards, rotten roof iron and gutter brackets. A productive & social gathering, & not forgetting our return to Foxton ,this time with Shannon & AC in tow.  Bill immersing himself again in flax, but the industrialisation of it, and its supply to the world. A really interesting era of early NZ.

Shannon I'm sure I am taller ☺

With the Wellingtonians heading home we set forth to pack up after our unintended months stay in one place, to head to Auckland over the coming week.
But not before our Nelson friend Bob turned up for a drink of water on his way South ferrying his daughters car and possessions as she relocates from Orewa to Cromwell. Good to catch up and get some news of friends at home in the Kayak Club.

Waitarere Beach - Tow Bars & Electric Bikes

Ohinemutu - is a living Maori village
(The original Rotorua Settlement) 

As we left the East Coast and headed inland, the rain stayed with us. Quite torrential at times - finally got into the NZMCA camp at Ngongotaha (Rotorua) mid afternoon. Thankfully the camp site is up on a plateau (an old cattle sales yard) as poor Ngongotaha was in a state of civil emergency after its streams flooded areas of the suburb (not that we knew till a couple of hours later).

Lake Rotorua after the storm
(with a lot of weed washed ashore)

Rotorua we had decided was a good destination to get our COF (WOF or MOT to you car/English vehicle owners) - so headed into town the next day, after morning tea (the Inspectors have had their coffee but before lunch) - and almost sailed through! Except for a leaky shock absorber at the rear of the bus! Damn.
As we were due for a service as well and Rotorua was too busy to do it in the next day or two, we booked into Palmerston North on our way through to our next destination of Waitarere Beach.
The weather couldn't have been more different as we departed from Rotorua - beautiful and sunny all the way through to Taupo and southward. We had planned a night in Turangi at the bottom of Lake Taupo. But after talking to some locals near the bottom of the Lake, we found a lovely little spot to camp for the night.
Continuing on down through the Central Plateau the next day, the weather was like a summers day with beautiful scenery of the majestic mountains in the Tongararo National Park.

Central Plateau looking at Mt Ruapehu as we
headed south- nice lunch spot

Waitarere Beach at John & Sarah's Bach once again was to give us a base where Bill could install a third solar panel and get our tow bar sorted.
Our Tow Bar saga: I'll try and keep it brief (you'll be pleased it's me writing this part of the blog and not Bill!) We had our Bus tow bar made and certified in Nelson by Engineer Peter Wastney whose work has now been recalled due to unsafe design practises - effectively cancelling the right for us to use our tow bar which we tow our Suzuki. We now were required to find another Engineer and workshop to build a new one - which we organised while in Palmerston North with it only being 40mins north of Waitarere Beach. 

Cycling along the River Trail in autumn colours

Palmerston North is a great city to stay over night in a motor home with parking right in the city - making it handy for us to drop the Bus off for it's service and shock absorber replacement early the next morning. And give our new Engineer  (David Manley) the opportunity to look at our existing tow bar & come up with a new design and organise with a workshop to build it.

The Riverside trail along side the Manawatu

So we had the day out & about Palmerston. We started off on our bikes riding 26km along the City's lovely river trail. It's a nice flat city, easy cycling. With a large Square at the heart of the town it was easy to find our way around, enjoying a bite to eat in the Square with its many eateries.
Finally we got away at the end of the day after an expensive service & repair bill (I thought he'd made a mistake with an extra digit in the figure!!) And a plan to get the new tow bar made next week.
It was then onto Waitarere Beach to catch up with John &Sarah once again over the weekend before they headed back into the Capital for another full on week of work in their busy lives.
Bill spent the week catching up on bus jobs (lights/usb chargers) and started on adding in an additional solar panel. I caught up on work online and started our EOY paperwork for the accountant. Not that that should take that long with our current lifestyle and income - but it all has to be documented correctly doesn't it!

Installation of the electric kit- Bill's new workshop

But the highlight of the week would be Bill fitting out his bike with an electric kit. It all came together pretty smoothly (a few You Tube clips helped out) and now he is away! But wait! What about me............ With my shorter legs and different style bike - I require a different kit that is cheaper but will take about 3 months to arrive (on a slow boat from China). Watch this space.

Bike complete with battery / display and knobs!

We had a brief stopover by Sam & Pauline (last catch up being Warbirds over Wanaka) as they were finishing 8 weeks travel in the South Island to return home to Hahei up the Coromandel. The neighbours here at Waitarere were probably getting nervous the Circus was coming into town with all these motorhomes arriving!
Vicki was up from Nelson visiting her folks in Palmerston North, so bought them through for a visit. It was lovely catching up with Max & Julie after quite a few years since we last saw them. And Vicki had kindly bought our mail - which these days is pretty boring as we have managed to reduce it with emails - but the likes of the LTSA that recalled our tow bar - still like the slow mail.
Sunday being Mother's Day we went into wellington to stay the night and catch up with Shannon & AC-had a lovely dinner at Tahi in Courtney Place- thank you S&AC. Also nice J&S joined us too.

Removal of satellite dish & existing solar panels

We returned to Waitarere after a visit to Te Papa's renovated $8.4m Art Gallery (Toi Art) with 35% more space to show off the National Art Collection. We can't say we were as excited as we were expecting after Radio NZ's talk to the Curator back in March when it was opened. Art is like that isn't it - what appeals to one doesn't necessarily appeal to all. But it certainly is a great venue for exhibitions as they come through and rotate through the national collection.
Tuesday we took the Bus to O'Leary's Engineering for an 8.00am appointment to start on the tow bar - so we filled in another day in PN -this time with a movie (Rocky & Nick's recommendation - sorry guys a bit of a waste of 3 hrs!) and walks through gardens in the City etc. At the end of the day when we were hoping to pick up our Bus - we were told it wasn't going to be ready till the next day! Did the man forget we live in this Bus! No he didn't, he was happy for us to sleep in his yard - very kind but with half our gear back at J&S's Bach (like all our food), we grabbed clothes and headed back to Waitarere to sleep in the Bach for a change.

Third solar panel nearly installed

Cousin Sandra from Otaki came out for lunch before we headed back into PN to pick up the bus late afternoon and got sign off with the Engineer.
Bill continued the week working on the solar panels / I continued with some admin work and cooking & cleaning for Bill in the lifestyle he has become accustomed now that we have defined the Pink and Blue jobs (actually it's more Bill has the blue jobs - the rest are purple I would say!)
Catching up with old friends Chris & Marie for lunch at the Quarter Acre Cafe was enjoyable, as always, at the end of the week before taking the Bus in for it's recheck with it's new shockies. Now we are all legal once again, so can start to plan our next destination. We have enjoyed our stop over Waitarere (thanks again J&S) and the opportunity it gives us to catch up with Shannon & AC with its close proximity to Wellington. And Wellingtonian friends & family.
My eldest brother is keen to do some cycling around the Taranaki area so are looking at our options to travel up that way. Bill with his electric bike may be a bit hard to keep up with. For now!

Fab Five do East Cape (16th to 29th April)

Tolaga Bay Wharf at sunrise

Rendezvous:  Taradale RSA - Napier : one Bus & Car / one Car & Caravan and one Motorhome.

The RSA was a convenient "Park over Place" plus they did meals to make the first night easy. It was also handy to cousin Kevin & Deb, so they could join us and give their expert experience of travelling around the Cape ( although K hadn't disclosed till tonight he hasn't actually gone all the way around the Cape!) 

Examination of Wendy's PINK Tool Kit 

As G&C are new to caravanning - Bill is offering dumping advice.

The team consisted of brother Graeme & Claire from Waihi Beach borrowing a friends caravan and their friend Wendy in her Motorhome (a Nurse whose services we hopefully won't require (but she has prepared a special fish hook removal kit!). They may have made a mistake staying at a 10 Star camp the previous night in Taupo, on their way down. Will update this comment later on in this blog.

Day 1 Napier to Lake Tutira

After grocery shopping we headed down to Napier Marine Parade to dump tanks / replenish fresh water, then we were on our way. Destination was a Doc camp at Lake Tutira on the side of Highway #2 inland approx 20km. This time of year it is very pretty with the autumn tints and lush green paddocks. The weather had warmed enough to feel like a summers day - Napier was 24 deg by 9.30am.

We set up our camp and celebrated the first day on the road without too much stress with a lovely local Rosé before doing an hour loop walk up and around the hills. A brief shower of rain past after dinner, then the sky came out in a mass of stars. I thought only the South Island put on such spectacular night skies.

Day 2 Lake Tutira

A day for exploring / photography and hopefully catching some fish! Claire drove us around to Waikare Beach (13km gravel road from Putorino) where it was a 15min walk from the Doc carpark

Early morning at Lake Tutira Doc camp

Lovely Nikau walk at Morere Springs

down to the beach. G&B set up their surfcasters and waited. Bill was the only one rewarded with a good size kawhai- even though G informed C that it was only the current - no fish! But B proved him wrong. G marinated it with lemon juice and coconut milk (Kokoda in Fiji) for an entrée later - Yummy. By the time we returned to camp, we had decided on another night at this lovely Doc camp although the temperature had dropped considerably. It was on with longs and beanies for the evening.

Day 3 Lake Tutira to Mahia Peninsula via Wairoa

Left Lake Tutira after a crispy start (the lake looking picturesque with its autumn tints) meeting up in Wairoa (the birth place of my father - but exactly where!!!). The town was looking a little brighter than when we last drove through approx 8 years ago in Big Yella. Coffee time was down by the river and main entrance into the town, where G & I did some more research as to where our father was born or lived in Wairoa. We knew we had one uncle still remaining from Dad's 7 siblings whom we thought was currently living in Mahia Peninsula just up

the road. When in doubt and Bill doesn't know, we Google!. What a shock it was to see his death notice where he had passed away only 3 days earlier! And quirky as he died in Waipukarau the Monday afternoon as we passed thru on the way to Napier for the rendezvous. What a way to get out of seeing his relations!! Bit sad we only just missed him after all these years

A little puha please!

Bill found his mate Wal in Gisborne

We drove on down to the river mouth of Wairoa which was idyllic to have our lunch - and finish off the fish from yesterday’s catch. It was only another 45mins onto Mahia Peninsula our next destination. And what a beautiful spot this was too. An energising walk up the nearby hill at the end of the beach gave wonderful views out over Mahia and out to sea. Stunning colours in the evening sunset. G&C elected to put out the longline, to little affect, as a better use of their time.

Day 4 Mahia Peninsula

We decided to stay two nights as it would give us a chance to go around the other side of the    Peninsula and other beaches north. Very little traffic or people around even with the school holidays. We drove up to Mahanga where G tried out the Contiki once again, but sadly once again very little - just a baby shark not worth keeping.

Top of the hill looking back to Mahia Beach

Whilst here at Mahia we (I) had hoped we might have seen Rocket Lab launch a rocket as we were in a window they had planned a launch. But sadly that morning I read where they had moved it into early May. Maybe next time.

Day 5 Mahia Peninsular to Tolaga Bay via Gisborne

Another beautiful day as we headed north. Stopped for a 20 min walk at Morere Springs which was delightful with all the Nikau Palm trees. It was a bit early for a swim for us - interesting how back in the late 1800's the European tourists were stopping here for a swim also.

Gisborne we did a bit of shopping, looking around, eating and G&C even managed a bike ride around Gisborne. It is a lovely town so will have to return when more time allows hopefully in the next month or two. Graeme was also on a mission to find the address of his birthplace.

Onto Tolaga Bay and its historic Wharf - all 660 meters completed in 1929, an icon  instantly recognised.

First catch of the trip - and also a first for Bill
Catching a fish surfcasting.

How can I make him look bigger!

Day 6 Tolaga Bay

A truly super human effort was made by all to get up at 6.15am to watch the sunrise - luckily the rain didn't come in till about an hour later, after many amazing shots were taken as the sun came up over the South Pacific Ocean. The wet morning was spent in our own vehicles waiting for the sun to return which it did just after lunch.

Looking out from Cooks Cove

The afternoon was spent walking over to Cooks Cove where Captain Cook landed in 1769 - this was a bit of a trek up and down a steep hill between Tolaga Bay and the Cove - 6.4km from the camp taking just under two hours with all the photo stops.

Looking back through "The Hole-in-the-wall"
Te Kote o te Whenua

The "Hole in the wall" still looks pretty much the same as when Sir Joseph Banks (Cooks Botanist) sketched this formation scenic rock .

We returned to Tolaga Bay ready for a wine on sunset and joined G&C who had their contiki out. More stunning photos of Tolaga Bay Wharf as the sun set behind us. This time success on the contiki - 3 good size snapper (photographic evidence further down)

Another amazing meal - thank you Wendy
Lamb shanks cooked in a Quarter Acre Pot

Contiki out - waiting .....waiting....waiting!

Day 7 

Tolaga Bay to Tokamaru Bay

Another short day popping into the pretty small bay of Anarau. Lovely but with the Doc camp being seasonally closed there was very very limited parking options. A shame especially as G&C had had another extended scenic trip here to arrive only in time for us to advise them we weren't stopping. And so on to Tokomaru Bay with freedom camping being permitted on lovely beach reserve. Stunning.

G&B put the long line out that evening and had some issues.... the first being it appeared to be stuck out at sea then inexplicably run out as though we had, as Maui did, caught the mythical big one. Then we were stuck again and with a retrieval system failure under load, 3 local boys turned up on their Quad bike saying a contiki had washed up a km along the beach and did we want them to retrieve it for us. Well.......yes..... please... so they duly turned up with it!. A broken line and a large kahawhai. We hand wound in some hundreds of metres of line pondering how it all happened and gradually coming to the realization that these entrepreneurial lads were probably hauling it in at the far end of the beach long before we knew we had a problem. And indeed they were the mythical large catch that had us so excited earlier......  G man rewarded them handsomely and they kept the large fish, everyone was happy or.....were we the victims of an elaborate con........!

Claire showing how to hold the catch at Tolaga Bay - what a woman

Day 8

Tokamaru Bay

Another stunning sunrise on the East Coast - but this time seen snug from our bed. Lovely relaxed day by the sea - decided around 3 pm to pack up and move on to Ruatoria for the dawn service for

Freedom camping at Tokamaru

ANZAC day in the morning. All packed and about to head off (Wendy had actually left to do her ablutions before leaving town) when Graeme then came across a local who couldn't understand why we would move on to Ruatoria when they had a perfectly good dawn service locally! So it was back out with the chairs & wine and Wendy returned to camp for us to settle back in for another evening on this beautiful coast line for the purported 5.00am Dawn Service ( can't believe people think 5.00 am is in the morning - it's the middle of the night!!)

End of another day - just waiting on the Sitters

Day 9 

 Tokamaru Bay to ........ Ruatoria

5.00am start for the Pakehas (we were first to arrive for the first half hour) as the service started at 6.00am! As expected it was conducted with a large Maori content, the locals losing many of their own in all the wars, we seem to be only too eager to send our men....... Some lovely singing voices.

Back at camp before 8.00am for breakfast. It was a nice relaxed morning with such an early start. After lunch and another walk along the beach, we decided to head off to Te Araroa so we could do the East Coast Lighthouse first thing in the morning to see the sunrise once again. But destiny didn't think so as 2mins out of Tokamaru Bay Wendy broke down in her motor home on the side of the road. A quick inspection found a broken fan belt.

St Mary's church at Tikitiki built in 1924 

Not something easily fixed on Anzac day well away from the well trodden state HW 1.  so the AA was called. Malcolm the mechanic duly arrived from Ruatoria with an ecliptic collection of belts but to no avail. This was a job requiring the right belt and a few more tools than on hand. So after some protracted scenario settings it was decided to be towed to Ruatoria nearly 40kms away, to await parts and be fixed the next day.  Wendy rode in our bus towing the car with Sheryl driving (something she has put off for ages) as Bill steered her motorhome being towed back to Ruatoria.

Raukokore historic church built 1930

Wendy & Sheryl arrived at our destination where Graeme & Claire already parked up and dinner all organised. A huge sigh of relief was heard as we had all  arrived safely, but  was short lived when Sheryl went to pull on the handbrake but plunged her fingers into our extraordinarily efficient rodent trap........a huge painful surprise with no recognition of the problem just eye watering pain as she tried to fling it off which she did eventually....The only trace of it being the peanut butter strewn up her arm, the only tell tale of what the hell almighty had tried to remove her finger. This story can only get better in the retelling and had us in hysterics on successive nights as the alcohol flowed freely. 

Lovely dinner followed thank you G&C

The Fab Five at East Cape Light House

Day 10 

Ruatoria to Te Araroa

Nice leisurely start to the day as we packed up to leave Mary & Ash's POP. Wendy dropped her motorhome off to be repaired on our way out of town. Bill & I picked her up as we headed off to Te Araroa (not to be confused with Te Aroha - which has nearly 4,000 people and the other 170 odd!) 

We stopped at Tikitiki on the way through to check out the old church which was beautifully restored back in 2002. Lovely integration of Maori & European cultures. Sadly we couldn't get up to the old cemetery and cenotaph which was overgrown. Nice to see the church looking so great and well looked after.

NZ's oldest pohutukawa tree named Te-Waha-O-Rerekohu 

Continued onto Te Araroa where we dropped bus & caravan off at our next camp just before Hicks Bay. Had a quick lunch then headed off once again in G&C's car out to the most Eastern Light House in the world! With 800 steps and beautiful scenery we climbed up to the light house which Bill & I decided must have been our 3rd visit over our life time. Back to camp calling into Te Araroa on the way through checking out the largest pohutukawa in NZ (more than 350 yrs old, 40m wide and 21.2m tall). Wendy & Claire headed off back to Ruatoria to pick up W's motorhome that was repaired and ready to go once again with a new fan belt. Bill went and checked out the beach, Graeme did their washing and I got on with dinner. Another pleasant evening finished off another beautiful day. 

Day 11

Perfect framing Wendy

Te Araroa to Maraehako Bay

After the Girls (C & W & S) headed off into the big smoke of Te Araroa, B & G took Bus / Caravan off over the hill into Hicks bay to catch some fresh fish. The Girls called into a Cafe selling Manuka products ( Health remedies of manuka honey – a big antibacterial product ). Then onto Te Araroa Market for some Fish Chowder (Mussel / Crab etc),a few wines and then onto Hicks Bay to join B&G for lunch. A bit of surf casting fishing didn't produce anything. Off to Maraehako for the next camp (and next bit of drama). We all decided it was best the others followed B&S after a few extra km's taken by the others (excluding W). Fairly smooth run in the late afternoon through to Maraehako, stopping at the historic church at Raukokore. W joined us for a photo shoot, G&C continued on..... with only a few k’s to go they couldn’t possibly get lost! At the time we thought we couldn't lose them as we were so close to camp. Not the case!!

Lovely fire on Maraehako Beach

When we came across the camp it was hard to identify it and almost missed it ourselves but had time to signal Wendy who was following us that this was the camp. We had to carry on along the road a further 5 mins before turning around. Wendy was about to leave as there was no sign of G&C and thought we had the wrong camp. We set up camp and awaited G&C's arrival. Thought they must have overshot the camp (as was there modus operandi) But as time went on we started to get concerned. Finally Claire turned up in a strange vehicle asking Bill to come and help as G had got stuck further up the road. Off they headed and no more than ten minutes had passed when G turned up with his car and caravan! No Claire! No Bill! It was like one of those plays. G asked where they were - and we couldn't believe C&B had missed a car towing a caravan!! How can you! Finally G headed off to find B&C - only to pick them up 5 mins up the road. Once all was calm and back to normal lovely seafood chowder & fresh homemade bread with lots of red wine to get over the stress of the end of the day. Our first opportunity to have a fire on the beach – lovely.  

Day 12(The Last Night): Ohiwa Beach

The most expensive camp of the trip with the worst weather – bit of a shame as it looks a lovely location. Another time. Sadly we arrived at camp after an unexciting trip along the last part of the East Cape we had to cover. We had stopped in Opotiki for a late lunch in the Guinness Masonic Hotel - I had the best pick - delicious roast Duck.

One of G&B's excursions with the contiki

Strong North Easterlies had followed us down the coast. Rain came in once we were set up so it was a cosy evening in Wendy's once again with cheese & onion toasties (My mum would have loved them). An early night as we decided with the change in the weather to head off early in the morning - G&C and W heading back home to Waihi Beach and us off to Rotorua to head back to the Kapati Coast.

After a night of heavy rain, thunder, lightning, strong winds we woke all a little shattered and in the rain packed up and headed off. Not until W's last issue - her battery disconnected once again just when it rained it's heaviest.  

Great trip Guys – look forward to next year’s trip in Northland.

Another lovely stop over in Wellington

AC coming in after a pleasant paddle in Evans Bay

We crossed back over into the North Island on the 12th April, thankfully two days after the storm came through so we had a calm crossing even though delayed with the back log of travellers.
As we've mentioned in earlier blogs, the Evans Bay Marina is just down the road from Shannon & AC's home -

Parked up with others - bit tight at times

View back across Wellington Harbour

a great spot to park up for a few days. We wanted a few days to catch up with S&A - and for Bill to give them a hand restaining their decks. The only job that Shannon felt their new home needed attending to.
Friday after a walk around Lyall Bay, we went for a bike ride past Wellington's Airport, onto Seaton, and back around the Mirama Peninsula (15.9km ride).
As S&A worked late, it was easier for me to do the evening meals and I enjoyed the use of the larger kitchen and stunning views. On our bike ride we passed a French Rotisserie Cart who was selling chicken and duck. Duck! I love duck. So we picked one up the next night which made dinner simple after S&A&B had stained the decks. Sadly the duck was disappointing - not a lot of meat and a bit overdone! But the decks looked great.
Saturday night before S&A headed off to a party, we visited their local in Hataitai. A little Brewbar called Waitoa Social Club. An interesting, if not noisy wee bar but enjoyable.

Boys hard at work

Sunday after a brunch in town with S&A and two nephews with partners (James & Katie and Dean & Jamie) it was time to head north to Otaki and have a catch up with cousin Sandra. 
The next day we headed to Napier to meet the East Cape Gang.

Oriental Parade looking stunning on my morning walk