Pix & Travels » Ingrid's Blog

After another great breakfast at the Stone Lodge B&B (Keri Keri) it was time to farewell Richard.  Had 3 very relaxing days there with the most comfy bed!

This time we decided to head to the west coast to make our way to our next destination.  We drove once again, through the richest farmland that NZ has to offer.  Each turn, each corner, promising to be another feast for the eyes.  Cattle looking so well fed and the few sheep we spotted, were in pretty good shape as well.  Toss in a few goats and the odd birds, it was a wonderful morning The sun was out and it was warm with bright blue skies for the remainder of the day. The roadsides and many fields are covered in ?tiny yellow and white daisies. Spring has sprung!

Once we hit Omapere the scenery was much more varied.  This place is on the South Head to the entrance of the Hokianga Harbour.  A very beautiful spot offering wonderful fishing, sailing and swimming. Quite a number of tourists were on the road, either in cars or campervans.

We continued on to the Waipoua Kauri Forest – the Lord of the Forest, Tane Mahuta can be found here.  This magnificent specimen is over 2000 years old at 51 metres high and a girth of 13 metres. This forest is one of the last remaining refuges of the might Kauri trees.  Many bird calls were tantalising us once again.  This whole section of our drive took us through coastal white sands and much natural bush forest with inlet mangrove swamps and rocky shores.

We went through part of Dargaville, a town that has a rugged pioneering past.  This town is set on the banks of a very muddy looking Wairoa River.

We continued through smaller country townships – Matakohe, Brynderwyn to hit the highway again.  We were going to run late to meet up with a friend at the next B&B.   Ah…our trusted “Mad Betty” ie our Garmin GPS navigator, never failed us for a minute, except to tell us NOT take the new Tollway.  We found no place to pay, and there are not gates, so it will be interesting when, where we will receive a fine. And to think I had all this coinage in my trusted hand to pay.

Arrived at Verdelais B&B at Tindalls  Beach on the North Shore.  Beautiful place, great outlook and fun hosts.  Just returned from our evening meal and taking my time to wash hair and prepare for our south of Auckland journey tomorrow.

This has been a huge day and we are beat.  I am still rocking from all the hundreds of bends that we traversed. Our journey today took us from North Shore – Auckland all the way around the Corimandel  Peninsula to KatiKati.

The traffic was horrendous going over the bridge and Auckland was just a silhouette and we never made it into the city.  So we headed back towards the country area and felt so much more at home there.  Yes, more pretty green fields scattered with yellow buttercups and white daisies.  The roadsides were also scattered with spring flowers and even climbing roses.

Thames is the gateway to the Coromandel is situated on the Firth of Thames.  Here we decided to take the big loop around  the peninsula.  This township is known for the pioneering industries of gold mining and kauri logging.

The whole coastline is very popular with locals and tourists alike. Coming to think of it, there are tourists everywhere! You need many days to appreciate this whole peninsula, taking the walks, heading to some of the great beaches, or rainforest walks to swimming holes and waterfalls. This is a place for a holiday all on its own.

The Coromandel Peninsula is a large untouched paradise.  Native Pohutukawa trees are on the western side and on the eastern shores this is fringed with beautiful beaches. The ranges in the middle are covered in lush native rainforest with the most mind blowing twists and turns on the road.  The panoramic views make up for any discomfort felt whilst driving.  Each twist, each turn promises to enthral you with magical views.  Coromandel itself is a lovely township, we did not stop for the place was packed with day tourists, and you know how we feel about cities and crowds.

Of course, with such a seafood rich coastline, we had a huge feast on freshly cooked mussels.  We are being good and not pigging out and not munching on delectable.  And I think we are starting to shed a few ounces. But for the life of me I cannot remember the place where we stopped!

Matarangi and Whitianga are lovely holiday townships for quiet holidays. Mercury Bay is perfect for all water activities.

Tairua is an old milling and farming town but primarily now only a small fishing village.  There is a lovely estuary and harbour and apparently the area is renowned for diving.  Paku rises above the harbour –this is a volcanic peak with remnants of Maori pa sites.

Waihi is a township also with a huge history of gold mining days.  By then we were tired and really wanted to buy some food and find our next B&B destination in Katikati. And….what a delight our B&B is – Welcoming and warm.  Hosts incredibly friendly, welcoming and such a lovely warm feeling homestead.  We shall enjoy our time here.

Sunday and it is promising to be a very lazy day.  Our journey to Rotorua is only 100kms so we can afford to be lazy and meander about.

After a hearty breakfast and much fun at our amazing B&B it was time to farewell our hosts.  They were an absolute delight.  The dog, the alpacas, doves, lifestyle and orchard are just gorgeous.  They have a perfect lifestyle with views to match. Could have stayed a bit longer in these peaceful surrounds, but fear Terry would have turned into Farmer Brown.

Then we only drove 30 minutes and found a great little location to look at beautifully made wool garment, art works and the best quilt shop I have seen for a long time. (thanks Barbara 😉 I did buy something gorgeous wool items, but in a rug, scarf, hat and glove combo out of beautiful mohair!)

We continued onwards through a large country town Bethlehem , skirted through Tauranga, Te Puke and found our lovely hotel at Okawa Bay – Lake Rotoiti.  Amora Lakes Resort is situated right on this lake with lovely   surrounds.  Managed to have us upgraded from the garden room to the lakeside suite.  We are sitting outside our room with a large lawn, lovely trees watching the feathered bird life.  Geese, ducks, sea gulls, herons, moor hens, swans, Tui, the usual LBBs ie starlings, sparrows and one huge annoying fly.  It is very peaceful here and only 15 minutes into Rotorua.  Nice place to have Terry’s 70^th birthday tomorrow.

We will head into town shortly to see what Rotorua has to offer and have our evening meal there. Cannot believe that I have gone back to do floral photography.  Well when you cannot pull over to capture all those magical sceneries, it is time to hit the macro and give it a rev at the lovely abodes we are staying at.

Rotorua is the heartland of New Zealand’s Maori culture and a beautiful city that is easily traversed.  Many tourists and the locals are very accommodating and friendly.
Here are a few bits of interest…
Kia Ora – Hello, thank you (informal)
Morena – Good morning
Kei te pehea koe – How are you?
Hare mai – Welcome, come here.
Haere ra – Goodbye, farewell
Ka Pai – Okay, great.

It was overcast and quite cool, so we decided to head back to east coast to Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty.  This is a lovely country town filled with much atmosphere.  Beautiful shops with scented flowering trees lining both sides of the street. They smelt like Lilac, but one of the locals reckons they were Jacaranda.  I think not!!  Of course we traversed the mandatory beautiful lush green hills, valleys, farms, rainforest clad mountain ranges and yes, more windy roads.

We headed further south from here to discover more little places to Opotiki, enjoyed the east coast by the sea and when the roads were leading us to Gisborne, we thought it best to return.  This time we took a different loop via Kawerau and it truly was a most beautiful drive.  The cloud formations were stunning and promising to have some bad weather towards the north.  Little did we realise that we would be caught out and be in right in the midst of it all.  This was about an hour before we reached  Rotorua. (oh go and look at the 3rd collage!)

First it started to rain, with some fork lightening, then became quite heavy and without warning, the hail started.  I thought…beauty here goes the car insurance claim! We continued slowly and before we knew it the roads were white and covered in layers of iced up hail all over the roads. Driving was quite dangerous and I must admit, I was a tad worried.  You never know what the oncoming traffic will do.  The roads were still quite bendy and it was a case of being in low gear and travelling more than slow.  I think I held my breath for quite sometime.

We made it safely back to Rotorua only to find the 40km beforehand totally dry.  But a storm event was threatening the township.  We just parked our car under one of the beautiful huge trees and walked the blocks of the city.  Had our evening meal early and now back in our hotel room to enjoy the evening.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Palmerston North via Lake Taupo.  It will be another 5-6 hour drive, but by now we are used to this. When I have my travel books at hand, I will edit and enter some of the lakes we passed.  So for now….goodnight from the happy travellers.

Woke early and decided to make our way to the Blue and the Green Lake before heading to Palmerston North.

Unfortunately the morning was not going to grant us these amazing views of the lake, but we were granted wonderful deep misty views over the lakes and the remains of the heavy hail/snow/ice storm from the prior afternoon. So we did not feel cheated at all. Though it was cool, it was fascinating and enjoyed being outdoors.

Finally we made our way to Taupo. Mad Betty “GPS navigator” decided she wanted to send us via Napier/Hastings, so we decided against her wishes and made our way back to the township of Taupo. Guess it was meant to be, for we finally found a very warm jacket for Terry at the handsome price of $30. Wow, we were over the moon. Went to look at some falls out of town, had breakfast at a not so nice place, but food is food when you are hungry.

So another long drive as we headed south on SH1 (Desert Highway). Talk about a change of scenery. From the well accustomed rolling green hills, vast farmlands, cattle sheep grazing, we now experienced a totally vast new landscape of various tussock grasses and quite brown scenery. The two mountains dominated the landscape: Mount Ruapehu – 2590m and Mount Tahurangi 2797m were still covered in snow and begged us to stop and photograph.  A large part of the Desert Highway is Army Training Grounds on both sides and off limits.

Then suddenly the countryside changed once again.   Back to green, but trees and vegetation maybe not as prolific as further north.  Less flowers on the roadside but the further we drove south the hills and valleys returned once again.  Mad Betty decided to take us on another very scenic country area to our new abode. I think it was a different loop, but scenic all the same and glad we took it.  For straight highway travels can be quite boring. It was lovely and had huge escarpments which appeared to have been eroded by the river. Not sure, we will have to investigate that with the locals.

Tried to find a bite to eat for our evening meal.  We really did not feel like heading out once again.  Went into Palmerston North and of course trying to find a place was stressful with the chaos of city late afternoon traffic.  Oh we are such country bumpkins!

Finally we headed to our B&B and what a haven this magical part of this world is. A little way out of Palmerston North city (thank goodness).  The gardens are something to be seen and absolutely amazing with a home that is just an architect’s dream. Ingrid & Aaron are of course excellent hosts and delightful.  Terry stayed up a wee bit chatting, whilst I tried to upload photographs.  Then we showered and snuck into this gorgeous comfy bed.  Yum we were going to be in for a yummy night’s sleep.