January 28-31 Whangarei and Tutukaka Coast

1/28 – We checked out of the hotel in Auckland and headed north on Highway 1.  That seems funny, given the main north / south route on both coasts in the US are Route 1 and Pacific Coast Highway 1.  Think we are seeing a pattern here! 😊

Drove just under 200 kilometers today traveling to the Tutukaka Coast.  It took us about 5 hours because we made a couple of stops on the way.  First – and this will surprise nobody given how much we like to cook and that we are staying in mostly self-catering accommodations for the next month – we stopped by the Warehouse (think Walmart) in Albany, which is just outside of Auckland, to buy kitchen utensils including a cheap knife set, kitchen scissors, a cutting board and a soft sided cooler.  We then stopped at Pak n Save in Whangārei to buy groceries, beer and wine.  We have a full kitchen for the next three days, so we are planning to cook!

We got to Pacific Bay Rendezvous Resort around 4:30 and were so pleasantly excited to get upgraded to a 2-bedroom villa with a beautiful deck. The view is incredible!

Not sure why, but we were tired this evening and couldn’t stay awake to see the end of the men’s final at the Australian Open (it started at 10:00 PM local time).

1/29 –  We had a leisurely morning and enjoyed the view over coffee and bagels.  We weren’t complete sloths though, and we did visit a few of the nearby beaches, including Whangaumu Bay (locally known as Wellington’s Bay) and Pacific Bay – both are really picturesque – as well as the Otuihau Whangārei Falls.  Very pretty falls and a nice walk – about 1 kilometer in total, so not far, but lots of steps and inclines.  We returned to the resort around 3:00 and cooked snapper on the grill.  We also put together a lamb stew, which will be done around 8:00 this evening.  The aroma is amazing – hope it lives up to the anticipation!

With the time difference, we weren’t able to see either of the NFL playoff games yesterday.  But  ESPN NZ is showing a rebroadcast this evening starting at 8:00 PM.  We will definitely be tuning in!

1/30 – Following another leisurely morning, we drove out to Whale Bay and walked to the lookout (about 1.5 miles round trip) from which we could see both Whale Bay and Matapouri Bay.  The walking track runs through “ancient Puriri trees” so we had partial shade mixed with full sun.  The high temperature today was 77* F, which was quite pleasant. 

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the marina in Tutukaka for a beer (Monteith’s Pale Ale – NZ) and treated ourselves to a bowl of chips (fries).  It was really refreshing!

This afternoon, Mark is working on pictures for our blog and I am making edits to the first week of text.  Not a bad way to spend the afternoon – particularly with the gorgeous view!  Dinner was chicken with Spanish rice.  It was delicious, and we have leftovers to take with us!

January 31-February 2

1/31 – We were up before 8:00 this morning and were on the road by 9:45. We chose the coast road all the way to Russell, with a stop at the Helena Bay Gallery and Café.  We had coffee and shared a breakfast club sandwich.  The food and the coffee were incredible – as was the view over Helena Bay.  Truly an awesome stop – so glad we read about it last night!

The ~120km drive took us nearly 3 hours, not including the stop at the café.  The roads are very curvy (as in switchbacks within the switchbacks) as you traverse up and down the mountains along the sea.  The majority of the landscape (aside from the ocean) is agricultural with herds of cattle and sheep.  It’s a lovely drive, provided you aren’t in a hurry!

The town of Russell is a quaint seaside village with small shops and boutiques lining the main street.  Even though the summer school holiday is over, the town was bustling this afternoon when we arrived.  We parked and walked around to get the lay of the land.  It didn’t take long as the main street is only about 2 blocks long.  We then made our way to the hotel – a little tricky to find, but we eventually got there with only one u-turn in the process!

The Fantail Mill is a small accommodation with only four suites.  Each room is modest but manages to include a fridge, microwave, and basic kitchenware; there is also a shared outdoor kitchen.   No a/c, which is probably the biggest issue since the afternoon sun streams in and heats up the room.  Fortunately, there is a ceiling fan, and the temperatures cool significantly after sundown.  We are only here for two nights so I am sure we can survive!  (But note to self, check for a/c in future accommodations!!)

Interestingly, there is a field of oyster beds in the Orongo Bay, which we overlook from the hotel.  We aren’t sure how long they take to mature, or how / how often they are harvested, but we have seen boats out there at both low and high tides.  So, clearly, something is going on with the oysters!

2/1 – Today, we had a great day exploring Russell, the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand (also the first capital of New Zealand from 1840-1841).  We started at Flagstaff Hill, which played a significant role in initial relations between the local Maori and early British Colonials. We won’t go into detail here, but if you are interested, the history of the flagstaff can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagstaff_Hill_(New_Zealand), among other sites. 

From there, we made our way to Long Beach – another beautiful Northland beach!  We are starting to lose count, there are so many.  After the beach, we walked along the seafront in downtown from the Duke of Marlborough Hotel – the country’s oldest hotel – to the Pompallier Mission, the historic printer/tannery/storehouse of the early Roman Catholic missionaries.  The mission Is the oldest surviving industrial building in New Zealand, while the town’s Christ Church is the country’s oldest surviving Anglican church.

We finished the afternoon with a visit to Omata Estate Winery for their wood-fired pizza and a sample of their wine.  Both were delicious, and the views across Pipiroa Bay and Te Wahapu Inlet were incredible (we feel like we are starting to sound like a broken record, but the views are amazing everywhere we go!).

February 2-3 – Cape Reinga

2/2 – We drove a long way today – partly because we didn’t realize that State Highway 1 was closed on the route to Cape Reinga.  The GPS in our vehicle was not up to date.  So, we lost almost 2 hours since we had to double back to Kerikeri.  But we are getting ahead of ourselves.  We left our hotel at 9:00 this morning and were waiting for the car ferry at 9:15; the ferry crosses to Opua every 20 minutes. Our timing was nearly perfect as the ferry was arriving Okiato (Russell) as we approached.  We waited no more than 5 minutes before we were driving aboard.  The one-way fare was NZD 17 (about $11 in USD) and the crossing took no more than 10 minutes.  We stopped in the town of Paihia for breakfast and were fortunate enough to snag a parking place right in front of the Letz Café. We ordered a “Brekky” bagel (egg, bacon, and cheese) and a coffee – it was excellent!  We walked through the town (basically one block) and then hit the road once again. 

We had planned to stop at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, just outside of Paihia, but there were so many cruise ship passengers, that we wer afraid it would be completely overrun. So, we decided to continue on to the Far North. We made one additional stop at Haruru Falls, which was nice but not as dramatic as others we have seen.  After leaving the falls, we followed the GPS to Mangamuka Gorge, which is where we erred.  We had not noticed any detour signs and sure enough, the highway was completely closed.  After rerouting, we arrived at our motel at 2:30.  We dropped our bags and got back on SH1 to the cape.  It was a little less than an hour north and we made really good time.  We arrived at an off-peak time and there were only about eight other people there at the same time.  It was a little more than a half mile to walk out to the lighthouse.  It was beautiful and totally lived up to expectations! We were so glad that we decided to go out to the cape today, instead of leaving it for tomorrow.

With today’s excursion to Cape Reinga, we have now been to the most northernly and the most southernly points on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand!  Not to brag (okay maybe we are bragging!), but how many people can say that? 

February 3-5 – Kauri Coast

2/3 – Today was a travel day, and of course, as we knew it would, something went wrong.  The house that we had booked for the next two nights was double-booked and the other guests had already checked in.  Since this is a holiday weekend in NZ, there was absolutely nothing available anywhere north of Auckland.  Fortunately, the owner of the house that we reserved has a friend who has Airbnb accommodations in nearby Dargaville called Rustic Rails.  Some of the units have been renovated and some are still in the process of renovation.  There was one unit available, and we are staying in it (we think we are the first guests to stay in it post renovation).  The style of the accommodation is really unique – each unit is an old rail car.  It is amazing what they have done with the space!  There is a queen bed, a fridge, a microwave, dishes, and a bathroom with shower – all in 150 square feet!  There is also a shared kitchen on-site and we definitely took advantage of that; we cooked shrimp and broccoli with black beans and rice.  It was awesome, and we didn’t have to share the kitchen with anybody!  A great ending to the day despite the snafu! The owner of the double booked house obviously credited our Bookings.com account and then paid for our 2 nights at Rustic Rails.

2/4 – We slept in this morning and after a breakfast of eggs and toast, we made our way north on State Highway 12 to the Waipoua Forest, home of Te Matua (Father of the Forest) and Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest).  These are the oldest kauri trees in New Zealand at 3,000-3,500 years and 2,000 years old, respectively.  The walk to Te Matua was particularly beautiful with the green canopy of trees. 

After the Waipoua Forest, we headed back south to the Kai Iwi Lakes.  Sally, the owner of Rustic Rails, recommended the Well Café on Wheels, which is basically a food truck at Pine Beach on Lake Taharoa (one of the Kai Iwi Lakes).  We opted for the Well Burger, which was an angus beef burger with onion relish as well as lettuce, tomato, grated carrots, and red onion.  It was one of the best burgers we have ever had!  Neither of us could finish it (we should have shared – NOT!) so we brought it back with us and had the leftovers for dinner.  This evening, we baked chicken and veg, which we can feast on over the next few days.  Had to take advantage of a full kitchen!!  We also discovered that there are laundry facilities here so we were able to start the next part of our adventure with clean clothes.

2/5 – We hit the road once again this morning headed to the Coromandel Peninsula. GPS said 350 km and 5 hours, 5 minutes.  We were doing great – making really good time all the way through Auckland and on Route 2 to the peninsula.  However, there was an “incident” (motorcycle accident) near Thames and State Highway 25 was closed for several hours.  So, we had to take the long way around – meaning 25A to “the 309.”  According to our tour book, the legendary 309 road is “the one less travelled by”, unsealed, untamed route through deep bush, 21 km in length.  The road snakes back and forth and is incredibly narrow; you cringe when you meet another vehicle head on because you are so close to the cliff edge (no guard rail, Kiwis don’t believe in them), and it doesn’t seem like there is nearly enough space for two vehicles.  There are also “slips” to contend with – meaning an area where the road has fallen off the edge / washed out over the cliff.  So, in these spots the road is one lane only.  Poor Mark – he was exhausted when we emerged just south of Coromandel Town.  We stopped at the Four Square (grocery) so that we could buy a six pack of beer!! 

Continue to Part 3