Carrie and Tommy's Surfari

Here we are in Sunny Sunnyvale, California, visiting with Arthur who is a sprightly 93 years of age now.  We're having a wonderful time and are being looked after very well.   We arrived here on Sunday 14th October and after a visit and supper with Arthur and his son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Mickie, set off to explore the area.  We visited Santa Cruz, probably the first place where people surfed on mainland USA.  We drove down to Monterey and Carmel then on to Big Sur which was absolutely beautiful.  We took in Point Lobos on the way back up the coast, really spectacular scenery.  The weather has been amazing but it's definately Fall with all the pumpkins on display for Halloween.  We are trying to get used to the idea of returning home to winter weather, it's going to be hard!!  Next stop, London Heathrow, Brrrr.....

Hawaii 24th July - 14th October 2007 We landed in Honolulu still on the 24th and are now 11 hours behind UK time instead of 11 hours ahead. It took my non-mathematical brain a while to work that one out! We were very excited to be in the home of surfing and although I'd been to O'ahu before, I wasn't into surfing then. I had remembered it was rather expensive here and this proved to be so, although we were very relieved to learn that the exchange rate was $2 to the Pound. We booked into Beachside Hostel in Waikiki for the first couple of nights while we searched for somewhere cheaper. We managed to stay awake for the rest of the day, despite being up all night and after dinner, had a good sleep. Next day we wished Colin Happy Birthday again (bizarre!) and managed to find a studio to rent for $1400 for a month, very expensive but not as much as the hostel at $75 a night! It was compact, just one room with kitchen area and en suite toilet/shower, but it had everything we needed (apart from a kettle and tea pot, which our landlord Rique kindly provided when we mentioned we were tea Jennys). Best of all, it was only a block (5 minute walk with surf boards) to Waikiki Beach. We could see the sea from our window! Just imagine, walking to the beach in bathing suit/boardies and bare feet with surf boards under our arm, the weather a balmy 90 degrees every day, we were in heaven! Needless to say the first month flew by, surfing every morning, exploring or having a picnic in the afternoons. We found Don Quijote supermarket, where the locals (kama'aina) shop. It was within walking distance and cheaper than our neighbourhood Food Pantry, catering more for tourists with prices to match! (incidentally the Food Pantry woke us up many's a night with their deliveries under our window)! We managed to eke out our budget enough to allow us a few beers, essential after surfing all day, and a glass or two of wine with our pizza on a Friday (in honour of Mum)! We joined the local library as visitors, enabling me to get up to date with all the news and of course giving us plenty of reading material for the beach! Waikiki was extremely busy when we first arrived, mostly with Japanese tourists. In some of the stores we found the assistants barely spoke English! The beach was busy, the sea was busy, the streets were busy, the shops were busy, Help!! We didn't think we'd last a fortnight However we soon sought out the quieter places and September has been much quieter and more pleasant for us. It's been nice to have a home base (complete with TV to watch re-runs of Hawaii 5 0 believe it or not) and the phone's been handy for keeping in touch too. We've enjoyed ourselves so much that we extended our stay twice and had to move house for our last 2 weeks as we made up our minds too late and Rique had promised his place to friends. We got into a routine of getting up even before the birds at 5am, having quick cuppa (unlike Spot who left without one, hard core)! and headed to the beach for 2 or 3 hours surfing, home for porridge, ocassionally a nap, then in the afternoons, either, Queens, Fort de Russey or Alal Moana beach park, to read under a palm tree, Don Quijote for supplies or the library to do “homework”. On non-surfing days, when the box jellyfish visit 8-10 days after the full moon, when there's no swell or when we'r just too pooped to surf, we'd sight see. We've been around the island several times on The Bus which is $2 for any journey with a free transfer, pretty good. We've been up the leeward coast, native Hawaiian territory, as far as Makaha. There are lots of homeless families living on the beaches here. It was a traditional thing to do in the past, move the whole family to the beach for the summer to fish, dive and surf. We've been on our pilgrimage to the North Shore to the big wave spots (but only big in winter) of waimea Bay, Pipeline and Sunset Beach. We've been to the lush, green winsward coast where the pali come right down to the sea, stopping off to see Mokoli'i Island also known as the Chinaman's Hat. We've been on the scenic loop over the Ko'olau Range to Kailua, Waimanalo and Makapu'u Beach, returning by Hanauma Bay and Koko Head. We've climbed Diamond Head twice for spectacular views over the city and up the coast, as well as walking around it's base to see how the millionaires live! We descended the first time to find a piper playing Scottish tunes in the caldera, bizarre but nice! I don't know if I can remember all the different festivals and events we've attended, there seems to be something on every week. We've been to a Slack Key Guitar Festival, Greek Festival, Aloha Festival's parade and street party, Okinawan Festival and Queen Lilioukalani's Birthday Celebration among others. Of course there was the Duke's Oceanfest from the 19th - 26th August, we really enjoyed that. It's in honour of Hawaiian legend, Duke Kahanamoku who was a great swimmer and the father of modern surfing. He won 3 gold and 2 silver Olympic medals and gave surfing displays wherever he went. He's given credit for introducing surfing to Australia at Freshwater in 1914, however we found there are records of Australians having surfed earlier than this, when we visited the surf museums in Oz. Nevertheless, there is no doubt Duke popularised surfing and he went on to become the Sheriff of Honolulu and Hawaii's Ambassador of Aloha. He was know as a modest, unassuming and kind man who enjoyed helping people and who loved the ocean, it was in his blood. More details of the festival later but we enjoyed seeing more surfing legends in action. We met Brian Keaulana and Dave and Claudia Parmenter of the C4 Waterman team who taught us to stand-up paddle surf at Noosa. They remembered us as the Scots travelling around the world surfing! We also bumped into Scotty Dillon who's surf museum we visited at Coffs Harbour. We had a nice chat with him while his daughter was shopping! I was disappointed to find that I could have entered the Ocean Mile Swim event had I known about it earlier and had time to do a bit of practicing. It would have been nice to have been a competitor as well as a spectator. Next time! On 20th August we celebrated Tommy's birthday with Bucks Fizz brekkie, a lovely beach day and dinner at Duke's Barefoot Bar and Grill on the beach! We went for a sunset Mai Tai one evening too, rather expensive but it had to be done! But what about our raison d'etre! Well, what can I say. The summer waves in Waikiki are among the best in the world. The only drawback is the crowds. To combat this we've had to join the “dawn patrol”. This week the alarm is set for 4.45am to make the most of our last days in Hawaii. At first we really struggled to catch the big, rolling waves here on our 9' board. We realised we needed something longer if we were to have any fun so we started scouring the classifieds for a second hand board. One morning on the beach we met Jenny Rosa, a surfing instructor who happened to have a 10' board for sale, a Pinder model. We've never looked back and have caught loads of great waves on the “green machine”. Jenny also introduced us to some of her many friends at the “Board Rack” where locals can rent a place to store their boards and where everyone congregates after their morning surf. It's a real little community there. Several mornings we've been treated to an impromptu ukelele and sing song session after our surf. We even got to meet jenny's friend Rabbit Kekai, a surfing legend of nearly 80yo who still competes. It's been really lovely. One of my most memorable surfs was the other week. It was a beautiful sunny morning, a rainbow mysteriously appeared in the almost cloudless blue sky, a pod of dolphins frolicked nearby and a big sea turtle surfaced to say hello. We both caught a nice wave too. What more could we ask for. We didn't need to search for a pot of gold, we already had it! So you can see we've had a wonderful time here and have almost become Kama'aina ourselves! We'd have loved to have visited some of the other islands but plumped for staying on O'ahu longer and surfing instead, here in Waikiki the home of he'e nalu where the ancient ali'i first surfed their giant Koa wood boards.

Fiji  7th - 24th July 2007

We arrived in Nadi on Saturday 7th July and took a room at Downtown Backpackers for a few days to get ourselves organised.  On the way from the airport the surfboard was precariously tied to the roof of the minibus!   Downtown Nadi was very busy and noisy on a Saturday night with music going all around us and the locals celebrating the weekend.  We turned in after a couple of Fiji Bitters.  The hostel guys and gals were very keen to book us onto some of their excursions, especially once they found out we wanted to do diving.  We spent a few days getting acclimatised and soaking up the atmosphere before deciding that the best option for our PADI open water course was with the highly recommended “Aqua Blue” at New Town Beach.  We would then go on to explore, finances permitting and maybe even dive on the other islands.  We stayed at Traveller's Beach Resort which turned out to be the same place that Denise, Michele and I stayed back in 1993.  However it was unrecognisable.  Back then it was the only accommodation in the area, at the end of a dirt road, but now there are numerous small hotels, hostels and houses all around.  The sunsets are still spectacular, viewed from the “Shirley Valentine” table on the beach, sipping an ice cold beer! 

We had to hang around for a few days before we could start our course, so passed the time catching the local bus to various places.  We went to Sigatoka to check out the surf camp at the only beach break on Viti Levu.  We visited Lautoka and on the way saw the sugar cane being harvested.  We found a great Mexican restaurant  within walking distance and had our anniversary dinner there. 

Our diving course started on Monday 16th July.  We first had to fill out medical questionnaires which highlighted my TB 10 years ago.  The administrator said she'd check with the Instructor that it was OK for me to do the course.  As I didn't hear anything to the contrary, I assumed everything was OK.  The first morning was spent watching very intensive videos of all the course material and we were given our homework to study at night.  That evening we had to go into town to the cash machine to lift money to pay for the course (F$600).  On the way home 2 guys jumped out of a van, held us up at knife point and grabbed our bags!  Thankfully we had our money and valuables in our pouches under our clothing.  However one bag had our camera in it, the other some groceries we'd bought in town.  (Sadly the bag we got at one of May's BBQ's, that used to belong to Aileen and which had been re-repaired a few times, was taken).  The most important thing was that we were unhurt, apart from our pride!   Some local people who lived nearby heard our shouts and ran out to help.  They were very kind and insisted on calling the police.  They were very upset that this should have happened to us but said we shouldn't have been walking on that road after dark.  Two other men passing in a car stopped to help and after making sure we were OK, gave chase to the van.  Unfortunately they didn't manage to get the registration number but one of the locals thought they knew who the men were.  One of the guys in the car turned out to be a local councillor and he was very keen to have the thieves caught.  He contacted the tourist police then gave us a lift the rest of the way home.  All of the people who helped were extremely kind.  A police officer came to our hotel for a statement and next day phoned us to say that they'd caught the men.  The main thing was that we were both unharmed and that our valuables were safe.  Important lesson learned: don't walk home after dark, get a taxi!  Everyone else seemed to know this except us, but I suppose it's common sense, especially given the recent coup.  (We had already walked that road on several occasions after dark).


The second day of the PADI course saw us back in the pool for the morning but afternoon dives were cancelled.  More time to study our homework in preparation for our exam!  As I worked through the diving manual it began to dawn on me that perhaps my lungs aren't 100% following my TB and that putting compressed air into them may not be a good idea!  I checked on the Internet and began finding alarming words linked to lung scarring, which I have,  like pneumothorax (collapsed lung).  Apparently I would be more susceptible to this if I went diving.  Wednesday's dives were again cancelled but I aired my concerns to the administrator who insisted she'd informed the instructor of my medical issues.  She advised me to contact the local dive doctor.  When I explained my circumstances Dr Sharmah he advised that on no account should I dive.  He would strongly advise against it.  In the end the company refunded some of my money but I really felt I should never have been allowed to start the course.  If it hadn't been for my own research, I would have gone ahead with the  dives and could have had a nasty accident or even died!  Happily, Tommy went on to successfully complete his PADI open water certificate.  His final exam was a bit chaotic, started in the noisy dive shop and completed on the bouncing dive boat on the way to the site!  All credit to him on passing first time.  The dives were done on Thursday on Outpost and Jacky's reef near Beachcomber Island and on Friday on Malolo Reef near Namotu and Tavarua in the beautiful Mamanuka Islands.  White sand beaches, coconut palms and thatched huts, just like something out of Robinson Crusoe or the Bounty ad!  I was able to snorkel above the divers and the fish and sea creatures were colourful and amazing.  I even saw a little sucker shark!  We also got really close to legendary surf spot, Cloudbreak.  Like most of the reefs, it's privately leased and you have to go on an expensive holiday package to be able to surf there.  Tommy really enjoyed his diving experience and can now dive anywhere in the world.  Shame I won't be able to join him!  At least I've experienced it in the past, I was a member of the local Sub Aqua Club as a teenager and dived in the cold Scottish lochs in winter!  Not quite the same!  We went to the Mexican to celebrate Tommy's success!  (On Friday we dived with Derek from New Zealand and he told us about the terrible flooding they'd had at Katiaia.  Hope Sandy was OK)

Just as we were finishing the course on Friday, I came out in a nasty, itchy rash. The pharmacist thought it was caused by sea lice and would soon disappear.  However Tommy  soon came down with it too and it turned out to be a nasty case of bed bugs! (again diagnosed by checking the internet and capturing a few of the blighters for closer inspection!)    We complained to the manager and were reluctantly given a different room.  We spent hours boiling a kettle to hot wash all our clothing and bags and couldn't sleep at night for itching and imagining the bugs had hitched a ride to our new room with us.  (I remember Gaby at work relating a similar story where they came home in her suitcase).  It wasn't a pleasant experience but I suppose it's par for the course when travelling.  It kind of put the damper on things for us tho. (I'm itching myself whilst writing this, at the thought of it!) We had planned to leave our surf board and luggage at the Travellers Beach and go for a trip to the other islands.  However we'd lost our appetite for it and decided to see if we could change our flights and get to Hawaii.  Bingo, there was a flight on Tuesday 24th July, which gave us just enough time to get everything washed etc. We felt a bit lame leaving Fiji but we did manage to see quite a bit what with our bus trips and diving trips.  It's a beautiful country and the people are really friendly. We enjoyed watching the wildlife from our “patio” in the evening as follows: first came the bats then the cat, then the frogs then dogs.  They always seemed to come in that order!  Before leaving we had one more surprise, but this time a good one!  We telephoned Seruvi, our tourist policeman, to ask for a copy of his report for insurance purposes.  He came round not with a report but with our camera which had been recovered.  We were absolutely delighted.  We lost one memory card and one set of spare batteries but luckily we had just sent a load of disks home of our NZ photos so all was well. 

We took off from Nadi just before midnight on the 24th July and after midnight had a drink of champagne to wish Colin a Happy Birthday. Sometime later (the pilot didn't announce it) we crossed the International date line and it was the 24th again, so we gained a day onto our trip.  This makes up for my last RTW trip in the opposite direction when I lost a day, which happened to be Roddy's Birthday, 3rd December 1993!  We made a stop in Christmas Island which had a lot of sand and palm trees.  Pity we didn't get to stop over there.  Honolulu here we come!

North Island, New Zealand   23rd May - 7th July

We sailed into Wellington and quickly found that parking would be a problem!  We were sure we'd have to head well out of the city to find a place for the night.  However by chance, we came across a lay-by just round the point from Oriental Bay which seemed to be just the job.  Several other vans had the same idea so I'm sure it won't be long before the council cottons on and puts a sign up!  Next day we were able to leave Kiwi Ken parked and walked into town to explore.  We walked all round the windy harbour and took the old fashioned cable car up to the botanic gardens and Kelburn, what fun.  We walked back down the hill and along Cuba Street.  After a falafel lunch we headed to Te Papa Museum where we spent the rest of the afternoon.  It was very interesting and would take a few visits to do it justice.  Next day we drove up to Mount Victoria, affording amazing views of this very pretty city.  It reminded us both of Vancouver with the mountains and the sea.  (The Hobbits hid from the ring wraiths here in the Fellowship of the Ring).

After picking up supplies at New World, we headed up the lovely Kapiti Coast.  I found the Maori place names hard to pronounce at first, like Paekakariki and Paraparaumu.  We had difficulty deciding whether to follow the west coast up to Raglan (famous surf break) or take in the less visited Hawkes Bay on the east coast.   In the end we plumped for a kind of zig zag route!  We had lunch at Palmerston North, called in at Wanganui and stopped at a nice seaside rest area at Patea for the night.  We had just got to sleep when a car load of angry locals turned up and started terrorising us, shouting, swearing, flashing their lights, peeping their horn, revving their engine and banging on the side of the van.  The gist of their message was to get the hell out of there now (we later read in the paper that this town is a “black power” stonghold)!   We quickly left /were chased out of town and retreated back the road we'd come to Waverley for the remainder of the night.  In the light of day we felt a little foolish but the whole experience was was very frightening.  Tommy was worried that the van might be damaged and we'd lose our insurance bond. 

We decided to head inland to Tongariro national park, the main volcanic area of the north island.  It was amazingly like Lanzarote to me.  The 3 volcanoes which make up the park are Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu (Mordor in Lord of the Rings) Ruapehu last erupted in 1995/6.  This is a major ski resort in winter but unfortunately we were too early to see the volcanoes covered in snow or to go skiing. There was a light dusting of snow on Mount Ruahepu and we had ice on the inside of the van windows next morning so it was cold enough!  Brrrr!

Next up was Lake Taupo, stopping for a walk round the thermal hot springs at Tokaanu and for a nice picnic lunch on the side of the beautiful lake.  We are so lucky, we can have a picnic every day!  The sun was really warm too, after the frost the night before!  We stayed in Taupo, in a free camp site down on the banks of the mighty Waikato river.  We visited the Taupo Bungy site where Michele and I had done a jump back in 1993.  I was planning to jump again but unfortunately it was closed!   Next morning, once the mist had cleared, we checked out Huka falls, pretty impressive, and Craters of the Moon thermal area, full of bubbling mud pools and hot springs.  Then it was on to Rotorua, stopping at Reporoa for a soak in a natural thermal hot spring called Butcher's Pool.  Lovely, we needed a hot bath!!  There are loads of hot springs around this area and lots of houses have a thermal pool bubbling up in their garden.  Just look for the tell-tale plumes of steam! 

Rotorua, on Lake Rotorua, is known as “Sulphur City” for good reason, It pongs!!  It has bubbling mud pools, geysers, hot springs and an all pervading smell of.....rotten eggs!!  It's also a very important Maori cultural centre.  The lake is pretty, I don't remember being so impressed with it last time I visited with Denise and Michele but I think it was obscured by cloud and rain that time.  I do remember the smell though!  We had a good wander round, again in warm sunshine, before heading on to camp at another of the 12 lakes in this area, Rotoiti.  Next morning we had brekkie by Lake Rotoma and a wonderful free swim in the thermally heated, 50m outdoor pool at Kawerau.  It was a bit too hot to do many laps though!  (Gosh, we're the cleanest we've been in ages)!   

On to the Bay of Plenty and lovely Ohope for a picnic lunch and a lovely beach walk.  Very peaceful here.  We had a look round Whakatane (pronounced Fakatane) before finding a lovely campsite at Matata, right on the beach, and only $6 per night.  We decided to stay put for a few days  and had some lovely beach walks in the warm sun (unusually warm for the time of year we were told).  We read and played scrabble and did our laundry. What a novelty that was, doing the washing outside in the sun, in the old stone sink that even had a mangle.  We had great fun taking turns at the mangle but broke all the toggles on my trouser zips and the beads on my jumper!  Just off the coast here is White Island, Whakaari in Maori, New Zealand's most active volcano.  It constantly spouts hot water and steam, clearly visible from the mainland in the form of a shifting white cloud. 

We lingered at Matata for 5 days in the end, leaving on Monday 4th June, the Queen's Birthday.  They have a public holiday for it here!  We were bound for Raglan, reputedly the longest left hand point break in the world, and featured in the movie “Endless Summer”.  On the way, we looked round Maunganui,  another lovely coastal town, had lunch in Cambridge, stopped for supplies in Hamilton and arrived in Raglan, back on the west coast by nightfall.  We were very excited about surfing at Manu Bay but disappointingly, as often happens when you're just passing through, it just didn't happen for us.  It was very windy and blown out.  I honestly don't know if I'd have been up to the paddle out anyway.  It looked a long way.  Anyway, we enjoyed wandering round the town which, not surprisingly, had a very “laid back” feel.  Eventually we gave up waiting for the swell.  As they say in the movie, “You should have been here yesterday”! 

We decided to zoom north, through Aukland and head for the Bay of Islands.  Aukland traffic was a bit of a shocker after so long in the boonies but the view from the bridge was nice.  We camped at Waipu Cove and next morning had a nice beach walk before continuing on to Whangarei.  We spent some time wandering round this nice town before driving on to Paihia and Waitangi on the bay of Islands, camping at Haruru Falls.  The controversial “Treaty of Waitangi” a very significant document in the history of New Zealand, was signed here on February 6th, 1840.  It became the basis for Britain's claim to the entire country as our colony.

Next day we took a little ferry over to historic and picturesque Russell, the first capital of NZ, where chief Hone Heke chopped down the British flag pole 4 times in protest to the British authority. It used to be known as “the hellhole of the Pacific” a frontier town for sealers and whalers but is now a peaceful and romantic haven for holiday makers.

After another night at Haruru falls we took a back road around a lovely part of the coast.  At Matauri Bay we visited the memorial to the Rainbow Warrior, which was bombed in Aukland Harbour in 1985.  The remains were brought here (apart from the masts which are outside the museum in Dargaville)  and re-sunk in the serene Carvalli Islands just offshore, to be enjoyed by divers for years to come.  It was a haunting and beautiful spot.  We passed through lovely seaside settlements with white sand beaches and sparkling water and pretty Whanaroa harbour, famous for it's marlin fishing.  We stopped for chips at lovely Mangonui and on to Tokerau on Doubtless Bay for the night.  Next day was beautiful and warm enough for a swim in the sea at Rangiputa on the Kari Kari peninsula.   Next stop was Awanui to look at the ancient Kauri trees which have been preserved in the mud for 50,000 years and are now excavated to make beautiful and expensive furniture and wood items.  We stopped again at Kaitaia for supplies, then drove on to Ahipara, a beautiful spot on Shipwreck Bay at the end of 90 mile beach (actually 90ks in length) which goes all the way to Cape Reinga.  Here we found Sandy and his lovely campsite, Te Kohania, right on the beach by the surf break.  We decided to stay a few days, which stretched to a few weeks or more!  Sandy, the caretaker of this Maori land, was very kind to us and after the first week wouldn't accept any more Koha (fees). 

In the first week we met Ian from Hamilton, Ontario, Tim and Fiona from Cornwall and Carl from Zimbabwe but now exiled and living in NZ.  The boys caught fish and Carl showed them how to smoke it the Maori way.  I must say it looked good but I wasn't tempted to try some.  A big swell came through the second weekend and Tommy gave it his best shot, catching a couple of 10 footers.  I seemed to have lost my confidence and also my back got very sore.  I definitely prefers the warmer water!  We had to buy some bootees to keep our feet warm but the hardy Kiwis don't seem to feel it, mind you most of them seem to go around in bare feet up here, even in winter!  Up here in the Far North, we had some lovely days.  We climbed the giant sand dunes and walked along the beach to the village when we needed supplies.  It was idyllic, no wonder we couldn't drag ourselves away.  We could look out of our van window in the morning and watch the sun rise, a short pebble's throw from the beach.  At low tide you could see the remains of the “Favourite”,  wrecked here in 1870, giving the bay it's name.  The campsite is on Maori land and Sandy and his Iwi (tribe) are trying to keep it unspoiled.  Some of the other Iwi members were trying to sell the land off so Sandy came back from Aukland where he was living, to look after the place.  June is Matariki, Maori New Year, when Mata Ariki (Pleiades) constellation rises in the same spot as the sun, traditionally the time to start preparing the soil for planting new crops.  There was a big gathering at the local Meeting House on 16th June.  We got a new ding in the surf board but managed to fix it with Solareze, an epoxy that sets hard in the sunlight.  Fiji, our next port of call, lifted it's state of emergency, but then kicked out the NZ High Commissioner, so we were keeping an eye on the news.  We also read in the newspapers about the blizzard conditions which had hit the south island, closing all the roads and cutting off power for days on end.  Phew, we left just in time! 

On Thursday 28th June, after almost 3 weeks with Sandy, mostly without another soul in the camp ground, we reluctantly said farewell and headed down the west coast, bound for Aukland.  By now we had extended our van 3 times!  We took minor roads to Kohukohu where we caught a small ferry over Hokianga Harbour inlet to Rawene.  Both were quaint towns with fine old wooden buildings.  We stopped at Oponui for chips and learned about Opo the friendly dolphin who used to live here.  After admiring the giant sand dunes we continued on into the ancient and a bit spooky, Waipoua forest.  After visiting Tane Mahuta, a 2,000 year old Kauri tree, we camped for the night in the heart of the forest.  Next morning, after a much needed long, hot shower (Sandy only had cold showers and long-drop toilets), we headed on in the rain to Dargaville on the muddy Wairoa river.  On a hill above town, outside the museum, are the masts of the Rainbow Warrior (see Matauri Bay).  We took a run out to Bailey's Beach for lunch.  It was raining and blowing a gale so we took the van onto the hard packed sand and ate inside!  This stretch of 4WD-able beach is actually longer than 90 mile beach further north.  We spent the night at the little town of  Pahi on Kaipara harbour, it rained non-stop all night.  (Later on in Fiji, we heard of the terrible flooding they had in the far north, washing away roads and bridges.  Once again, we left just in time).  Next day we continued south to Brynderwyn and Wellesford, where we crossed over our northward route making a nice figure of eight!  We visited the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach.  However they'd all left for Australia apart from one lonely baby who must have been a late, or very early, arrival! On through the scenic (and exclusive) Waitakere Ranges to lovely Piha, another surfing mecca!  It's a black, volcanic sand beach in a lovely setting at the foot of the cliffs in the shadow of Lion Rock.  The sea was pretty wild so we didn't venture in to surf.  We stayed 2 nights and re-arranged our flight to Fiji for Saturday 7th July.  We also extended the van for a few more days as it was due back on the 3rd, and decided to make a quick trip over to the Coromandel Peninsula which we had missed on our way north.  We were so glad we did. 

The weather started out bad with hail over the hills and heavy rain through Aukland.  However it soon dried up and we took the scenic Pacific Coast highway southeast via Clevedon, Orere Point and Miranda with a nice lunch stop and view of the Hauraki Gulf Islands.  We stopped for the night at Thames and got an early start next morning, which dawned beautifully sunny. We are so lucky! We had a very scenic drive to Coromandel Townover the hills to Whitianga and on to Hot Water Beach in time for low tide.  This was one of the highlights of NZ for me. At low tide on this beach, the hot thermal springs bubble up through the sand and you can dig your own personal spa pool and soak there, plunging into the cold sea occasionally, until the tide comes in again.  What fun!  On our first attempt the water was so hot I scalded my knees whilst digging and we couldn't bear to sit in it!  So we started again a little nearer the sea and it was just right!  I could have stayed all day and we felt great afterwards.  We stayed the night at Hahei, another lovely beach.  What a fantastic day. 

Next morning, another beautiful warm, sunny one, we walked along the beach to Cathedral Rock to see the limestone cliffs eroded into weird shapes by the elements.  It reminded me of Koh Pi Pi (James Bond Island) in Thailand with the white sand and turquoise water.  Pretty warm too, for the middle of winter.    We had lovely views of the islands of the Whanganui-a-Hei Marine Reserve.  At the south end of Hahei Beach is Te Para Point, a former Maori Pa (fortification)  .  I can see why this is a popular spot in summer, but hey!  70+ degrees isn't half bad for the middle of winter!  Next it was on to Cooks Beach, Ferry Landing, Shakespeare Lookout and Tairua for a chip butty lunch!  We then headed back over the Coromandel Range to Thames for a night of thunder, lightning and rain.  We were so lucky to have great weather for the last few days.  The Coromandel without the sun wouldn't have been quite as special. 

Thursday 5th July, Happy 82nd birthday Mum.  I was lucky enough to speak to Mum on Tricia's mobile live from Wimbledon where they spent Mum's  Birthday watching some great tennis and of course seeing Ben at his summer job!  Meanwhicle here in NZ we had work to do, packing our bags for Fiji and spring cleaning the van for it's return.  We moved to a campsite near the airport the night before departure and it was still raining!

On Saturday 7th July and all went smoothly.  We returned Kiwi Ken, rather sadly as we became very fond of him, and took off for Nadi, Fiji, a short 4 hour flight away.

 

South Island New Zealand (NZ) We arrived in Christchurch on 30th April, and we thought Sydney was cold and wet, boy did we get a shock! We knew it was coming into winter and were expecting it but that didn't make it any easier somehow. After all, we'd been 5 months in Oz following the sun! We booked into Tranquil Lodge backpackers for a few days to get ourselves organised. There was no heating in the house and I was frozen. I had to get the fan heater out of the wardrobe to keep warm! We had no choice but to go out and buy warm clothes from the charity shop, boots, gloves and waterproofs. Tommy even insisted on thermal underwear and boy were we glad of them when the ice started forming on the inside of the van windows, but more of that later! We rented a camper van from one of the big companies for $25 per day, very reasonable we thought. We were able to get a good rate because we were taking it for a long period and of course it was low season. We were also able to drop it off in Aukland, our final destination, before flying on to Fiji. We were very excited to have a van at last and found “Kiwi Ken” rather luxurious after our wee tent! Christchurch was very pleasant (apart from the weather), quite small for the main city of the south island, quite English and almost like stepping back in time. We picked up our van, a Toyota Hiace, on 3rd May and were delighted with the fixtures and fittings, compact but with all the necessities (eg cork screw, wine glasses!) We were even offered an extra duvet, which was a bit worrying, but we accepted gratefully! Our first stop was the port of Lyttleton, just over the hill from Christchurch, but another steep back in time, more like the 50's. It was wonderful and we enjoyed our first “fush and chups”. I wondered what this was all about as I'd read it in books and it turns out it's the Aussies poking fun at the Kiwi accent. It's not nearly as pronounced as it's written above. We left lovely Littleton and drove up along the Summit Road with absolutely spectacular views over Christchurch and the coast, and headed to Akaroa on the Banks peninsular, for the night. It's known as the French town of NZ and sure enough, all the street names were in French! The scenery was beautiful and next day was a sunny, crisp day with the leaves turning all the colours of autumn. What a treat. We popped back to Christchurch for some snow chains which we'd forgotten (just in case) and took the inland scenic route south to Arundel Bridge. The spectacular, snow-capped Southern Alps soon came into view. We were snug as bugs in our van tho! We stopped for a few supplies at a small town and nearly fainted when there was little change from $100. We should have done our shopping in Christchurch before leaving and learned our lesson quickly! We always shopped at the big supermarkets thereafter! Next day was warm and sunny and we even got our shorts on for a bit. We had a look around the craft market in Geraldine then it was on to Timaru and Caroline Bay for a paddle (brrrr!) We had hoped to see the penguin colony at Oamaru but were a few hours too early, they don't come ashore until dusk. We spent the night at All Day Bay then next morning visited the Moeraki boulders, big round stones, rather like giant marbles on the beach. They're formed by “concretions around a lime crystal core” and seem to emerge from the cliff as the sandstone is eroded away. It was fun climbing on them for a photo opportunity! Next stop was Dunedin, the Edinburgh of the south, which looked handsome with all the leaves changing colour. It was a lot less grey than our Edinburgh although equally as windy! It was founded by Scottish settlers and there's even a statue of Rabby Burns guarding the town centre, as well as many grand Victorian buildings. It's a university town so there are plenty of cafes and bars too. We explored the Otago peninsular, more spectacular coastal scenery, then on to Brighton for the night! A very picturesque village with a beautiful beach and just half an hour out of Dunedin. We were glad of our extra duvet! After a skip along the beach next morning, we followed the “Southern Scenic Route” through the Catlins to Balclutha. The road climbed up over the hills and quickly turned to gravel without warning. After about 15kms it turned back to paved road. We called in at Waihola, then on to Owaha for lunch. We stopped for the night at Curio Bay our first official campsite (ie cost money) as we'd managed to find nice lay-bys up until now. The site was in a lovely spot out on the cliffs above the wild ocean and we were lucky enough to see 4 of the rare yellow-eyed penguins coming ashore to their nests in the evening. They were really comical, waddling and hopping over the rocks, wonderful to see, a definite highlight for me. Next morning we took a walk out onto the rocks to see the petrified forest. I've no idea what made it so scared, probably the fact that it's fossilised trees are over 160 million years old. I'd be terrified of being that age too! The fossils are very similar to those found in South America, confirmation that NZ was once part of the ancient super-continent of Gondwanaland. Next port of call was Invercargill, southernmost city in NZ and home of “The World's Fastest Indian”. Unfortunately Colin didn't tell us this until after we'd passed through. Next stop was lovely Riverton, one of the oldest European settlements in NZ, dating back to the whaling days. We had a nice chat with a local man who'd just spoken to a couple from Perth, Australia and was quite tickled to hear that we came from very near Perth, Scotland! We ended up spending the night there in the reserve with a lovely view over the water to Stewart Island. On Wednesday 9th May (Dad's birthday, he would love it here, camping in the wilds) we headed on towards Fjordland. We called in at Colac Bay where there were a few guys out surfing. It looked freezing! My, we have got soft from all that warm water surfing and have quickly forgotten St Andrews and Pease Bay in December! We called in at Cosy Nook, a tiny fishing village with old wooden “batches” (cottages). Tommy bought a big sausage from a grumpy man at Tuatapere (not all Kiwis are friendly folks). By the time we reached lovely Lake Manapouri the clouds and rain were closing in fast. We hoped to do a kayak trip on one of the Sounds. The trip to Doubtful Sound from here was finished for the winter so we pressed on to Te Anau, by which time the rain was torrential, apparently nothing unusual for this part of the country. It doesn't actually rain more days of the year than any other part of NZ but when it does rain, it comes down heavily. All to do with the fronts hitting the mountain ranges. The forecast for next day was good then the weather was expected to close in again. We took a chance and booked a day kayaking on Milford Sound with “Fjordland Wilderness Experience”, very exciting. I didn't sleep much for worrying about sleeping in for our 7.30am pick up. Charming Adrian collected us in the mini bus and along with Dave (two hats) from Ireland drove us up to Milford, providing hot tea and biccies, scenic stops and interesting commentary along the way. The Homer tunnel through the middle of the mountain was pretty amazing and the mountain scenery absolutely spectacular. Like Glen Coe, but magnified. Our party met up with another couple, Rachel and Pete from England and after a brief safety chat we got togged up in our warm, waterproof gear and got underway. We had double kayaks and brave Tommy, who had never kayaked before, volunteered to sit in the back and do the steering. Milford Sound, in the calm of the early morning, from the vantage point of a canoe, was absolutely awe inspiring. The water was glassy, the ever-shifting mist and cloud affording tantalising glimpses of the glaciers and mountain peaks. Adrian knew the Maori names for everything and told us about the history and mythology of the place. We stopped at a small shingle beach at the foot of the soaring cliffs, for a well earned lunch. The rain mostly stayed away and we were even blessed with some sunshine. We did a bit of “sailing” on the way back, rafting up together and tying a nylon sheet between our paddles. It was great fun and gave our tired arms and shoulders a rest, although it was our hips that were suffering the most! The drive back to Te Anau was beautiful. We stopped at the Homer Tunnel to see the Keas, NZ parrots. They're dullish green with bright red underwings. We passed one of the oldest family-owned farms in NZ. Sadly the farmer can't find a wife so as yet has no heir to pass the farm on to. The scenery at Lake Gunn reminded me of driving down Loch Lubnaig! We were delivered safely home by Adrian around 6pm, tired but happy. What a brilliant day! Next day it was on to Queenstown, adventure capital of NZ, where all the daft people do bungy jumping and other silly stuff!! We stopped at “Bracken Hall” in Mossburn for lunch and had a walk on the beach at lovely Kingston at the foot of Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown was scenic and bustling, nestling at the foot of the snow-capped “Remarkables”. After a look round town and taking on supplies, we headed up the Lake to find a more peaceful spot to camp. We needed our thermals here! Next day we spent a lovely day walking and exploring in Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakatipu, Lord of the Rings country. All the street names were Scottish, and guess where we camped next.....Bannockburn! But first back down the lake to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown, very picturesque with it's blanket of autumn leaves and old wooden buildings. And on to Bannockburn for the night. The only difference was that this Bannockburn is famous not for it's battle but for it's wine! We awoke to another lovely autumn day, blue skies and crisp leaves. Next stop was Wanaka on the lake of the same name, where we climbed Iron Mount (about the height of Dumyat) for lovely views over the lake to Mount Aspiring national park. Up lovely Lake Hawea for another scenic overnight stop at the top end of Lake Wanaka. It was amazing to wake up next morning to the sun coming up over the snow dusted mountains, reflected in the lake, and enjoy a cup of Dilmah in bed! We crossed over Haast Pass to the west coast and from sunshine to cloud, mist and rain! It was still raining when we reached Fox Glacier so we got soaked to the skin walking up to see it. Early next morning the sky cleared at dawn and we were able to hike round Lake Mathieson for amazing views of Mounts Cook (Aoraki) and Tasman. After brekkie we took in Franz Joseph Glacier and what a difference to see it in the sunshine! There's apparently nowhere else at this latitude in the world that glaciers come so close to the sea. The amount of rain, falling higher as snow and the steepness of the glaciers means the ice travels a long way before it melts. It also travels quickly, up to 5m a day at times. Our next camping spot was on Lake Mahinapau and next day we explored Hokitika, a nice west coast town famous for it's local Pounamu or Greenstone (jade) carving. Pounamu, found mainly on the west coast of the south island, was highly prized by the Maori. It's very hard and difficult to work, but was still carved into beautiful items and was of greater value than gold or silver. In Greymouth, up the coast, we visited the wonderful Boulder Gallery which tells the story of the mythology surrounding Pounamu and had some fantastic pieces by local artists. The stuff really grows on you and we both ended up with a small piece. We even tried fossicking on the beaches at Cobden (where we stayed the night) and Rapahoe. Our next stop was Punakaiki, a scenic drive between the rugged rocks and white-capped breakers and the steep, thickly wooded Paparoa Ranges. The bush looked so thick you imagine it would be easier to walk over it than fight your way through. It almost takes over the road in places! We walked round the interesting Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Dolomite Point. The cliffs are incessantly pounded by the Roaring 40's here causing dramatic erosion. We stopped at Tauranga Bay to see the NZ Fur Seal Colony which was wonderful. We also saw the comical, flightless Weka birds for the first time today. I spent so long taking photos of the seals, we ended up spending the night at Tauranga. Next day we stopped in at Westport, another nice coastal town, before heading inland and up the scenic Buller Gorge. We stopped at lovely rural Murchieson where we dallied around the fascinating antique shops. It was a very pleasant 18 degrees today. We stopped for the night at McLean reserve right on the river and had fun making cairns on the beach in the last of the autumn sunshine. (We had lovely views from Hope Saddle today) Next morning it was on to Woodstock and through some very scenic fruit-growing countryside. We by-passed Motueka (we'll come back this way in a few days) and headed up over Takaka Hill (spectacular views) and down the switchbacks into Golden Bay. This is the far north west of the south island, home of Abel Tasman national park. After a delicious pizza at the Dangerous Kitchen (tribute to Frank Zappa) we drove east along the coast to camp at Wainui Bay. Heading back west next morning we stopped at the lovely coastal settlements of Tata Beach, Ligar Beach and Patons Rock for walks. After lunch we carried on as far as Collingwood where we took a photo for Sandie and Gordon. We also visited Waikoropupu Springs, reputedly the clearest in the world with 14,000 litres of water per second emitted through underground vents. It's a sacred Maori site where the water has healing properties. We weren't allowed to bathe tho. As our ferry over to the north island was booked for Wednesday 23rd May, we decided to head back over the “hill” (all 791 metres of it) to Motueka, Mapua and Ruby Bay on the Waimea Estuary for the night. Most of next day we spent in Nelson, a pleasant place and another warm day. We left late and managed to get Kiwi Ken stuck in the mud whilst turning at the side of the road to go back to a rest stop we'd passed in Hira pine forest. Tommy stayed calm and eventually we managed to get enough pebbles under the tyres to get free! Next day we drove over the hills to Rai Valley and beautiful scenery all the way to Havelock, a lovely town at the head of Marlborough Sounds. From there we took the very scenic Queen Charlotte Drive all the way to Picton. The scenery was just beautiful with numerous little bays and beaches where lucky people had their “batches”, many only accessible by boat. Sailing heaven! Picton itself is pretty scenic, surrounded by hills and fjords. It was another warm day so we enjoyed a wander round town and a pint and “pottle” of chips! At night we went to view the glow worms right in our campsite. Amazing! Wednesday 23rd May dawned with torrential rain so we feared we wouldn't see much on the 3 hour crossing to Wellington. However by sailing time at 10am it had cleared considerably and we were able to enjoy the magnificent scenery on Queen Charlotte Sound and Tory Channel. Early afternoon saw us in windy Wellington, a bit sad to have left the sleepy south island but excited to be embarking on the next part of our adventure!