First overnight stay will be just on the north side of Auckland then off to the Northland for magical 3 days. Naturally we will keep you posted as the days go by.
For now….cheers from Ingrid & Terry
Day 2. In Keri Keri and had a super drive through green valleys upon valleys with fabulous countryside to match. Of course there is hardly any place to pull over to take photographs. Just chilling out at another B&B and off for some fine dining now. Weather superb and quite hot this afternoon. Will keep you posted.
Must take note of some of the funny signs we see in our travels. Today’s priceless ones are:
“Highway Robbery”
“TERESTRAYLA” Terry finally worked it out and it was supposed to read Terry’s trailor.
“Get Fudged”
“Animal Refuse Recycling Station” – what the?
Many more rolling hills and valleys with a lot of logging going on . Hence, we passed many trucks laden with huge logs all heading down south. Many of the hills are covered with Pine Plantations, of which, many have been logged. But we noted quite a bit of re-vegetation going on as well. We traversed through many tiny little townships, with equally cute tiny shops and houses. Farms galore, cattle, not so many sheep yet and orchards.
Unfortunately the day was overcast with some intermittent rain. But temperature very pleasant. Hence our beach photography did not have that magical blue water and skies, that people expect to see. Must say there are many camp areas here directly on the beach. Definitely a pleasurable way to have a holiday.
We drove to Whangaroa Harbour and the waterway is beautiful, we then continued north and only ventured as far as Doubtless Bay – Coopers Beach. Having taken taken the Scenic route loops, took up more time than anticipated. Therefore heading further and taking one of the huge loops, incorporating some of the west coast was not achievable. But we totally enjoyed all the scenic country side.
Make note: We must keep an eye on the fuel gauge as there are not many Petrol Stations that we saw. Nor is it advertised how far it is to the next or last petrol station.
We drove through many road works on tiny country roads, where you least expect it. Yet, we haven’t stopped and really chatted to any of the locals yet. Yes, that is unusual for us, but the the people we met in KeriKeri are incredibly friendly.
For some reason we have run out energy, but after a second wonderful night’s sleep, I think we have regained our mojo.
Tomorrow’s outing for the day will be to Paihia and drive to Russell – which is all part of the Bay of Island area.
Today’s signages seen were ….
Lime splashes, wash your car today.
Free Garden – help yourself.
Trucks Crossing – then it has this huge ! mark above it. Yes we found a lot of signage with a huge ! mark.
Kiwi Zone – No dogs allowed
The we saw this one….Sudden Dip with another huge ! mark. Yes, we found the dip 😉
Quite a few of these – old small microwaves used as letter boxes.
Pavement rehabilitation.
Passed a few Car Clinics.
Bus shelters for – “Undercover Kids”
Quite a few “Liquour Ban Areas” in small townships.
In the middle of Keri Keri at the Pedestrian crossing here is this sign….Pedestrians give way to Traffic. Now I like that!
We continued on, not knowing what to expect and landed up in Kawakawa. Apparently this is just an ordinary Kiwi town, but the public toilets, designed by an Austrian born artist and eco-architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser is something to see. This is apparently the most photographed toilet in NZ which have many wavy lines decorated with mosaics and brightly coloured bottles. The roof has grass and other plants and other buildings in the township are starting to have the same type of decoration. The railway line goes right through this little town and we had a quick snack at the quaint railway station. Spoke to some of the locals and had some good laughs.
We continued to the west, with more pretty farmland and cattle, taking us via Pakaraka and Okaihau. This loop landed us back in Keri Keri with the sun shining and giving us a most wonderful afternoon.
More signs of the day:
Thank you for returning ‘your trundle’ to the trundle bay – ie shopping trolley.
Stock effluent disposal.
Lock it or lose it.
Highway robbery – mechanical repair shop.
Slow down stay in Mantrol.
Mind your head when you come into the shop because our prices are so low.
Persons with gang affiliations and the wearing of gang patches prohibited on these premises!!! Now that one wins the cake for today.
Lovely images, especially enjoyed the views of the public toilets designed by the Austrain artist. Who would have ever thought it was the most photographed toilet in NZ…that is a hoot! Thanks for taking me along on your journey. Anticipating the next views. Glad you are having FUN & viewing beautiful scenes. Wish you would have captured some of those birds but you know me….HUGS!
Thinking of you both, feel like I’m on the plane with you.
Wishing you much Joy,Photographic Inspiration and a grand
adventure. Safe travels,and lots of beautiful surprises meandering
off the main roads and finding peaceful havens to relax.xoxox
Looking forward to hearing all about your gypsy lifestyle for the next 5 weeks. I’m sure your photography is going to blow us all away – you can’t do much else with such wonderful scenery just waiting for a camera!
Looking forward to all the pics. Have an awesome time in the land of the long white cloud!
Hi Ingrid,
Wandered into your travel log site to see what was happening. I will try to check in on your adventure in NewZealand. Hoping to see some amazing views as only you can share. Have FUN!