South Island begins!

All through the night before our ferry crossing to the South Island, the wind blew an absolute gale and poor Happy Holly was swaying all over the place. I hardly got any sleep at all, genuinely terrified that we were going to be bowled right over, but it didn’t seem to bother Tom! The next morning luck was on our side once again, and it turned out pretty fine. Managed to negotiate the van onto the ferry without too much difficulty (although there was a rather entertaining moment when we decided we had plenty of time in the queue to eat some Rice Snaps and do the washing up, and the queue started moving, so we had to drive onto the ferry with washing up water slopping everywhere). The crossing was an experience in itself – especially the closer we got to the South Island and through the Marlborough Sounds. In true Swithinbank style, we spent most of it up on deck, moving from front to back in order to see absolutely everything. No dolphins though!

Our first stop in the South Island was Sally Hine’s lovely Bach in the stunning, secluded Moetapu Bay. Despite pretty precise instructions on how to find the house, we struggled slightly along the narrow road with tight bends. The Bach was in the typical kiwi style, but very cosy and the garden opened straight out onto the water, and we had the most gorgeous view. It didn’t take us (Tom) long to identify the ‘Boat Shed’ key on the set we’d been left, so it was straight off to investigate and discover an array of kayaks and rowing boats. The house was freezing, but had an open fire so we decided to get a fire going and move a mattress into the lounge in order to keep the heat in one room. (Couldn’t quite let go of the camping!) It was only a couple of days later that the neighbours came by to politely but firmly remind us that there was a fire ban in the area and that the woodland behind the house could easily catch if the wind changed direction! Oops! Felt a bit foolish, but in our defence, we’d assumed the fire bans refered to outdoor fires. It was great to experience the great Kiwi Bach, and have a bit more space to move around in, and the luxury of running hot water and an oven. We treated ourselves to an oven lasagne as a change from hob based food, and spent our evenings challenging each other to game of New Zealand Monopoly. (Current score = Claire, 1, Tom, 1. Rematch urgently needed) Such rebellious youngsters!

We did the Queen Charlotte Track walk whilst staying in the Marlborough Sounds – one of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’. However, we must say we continue to be a little disappointed by the NZ walks in that so much of it is in thick bush/woodland. Seems a shame to be in such a stunning location and not see much of it at all.

One of the main things we’d wanted to do was go on a wine tasting tour, and we travelled to Blenheim to do this. Had a fantastic morning, visiting four wineries (Lawson Dry Hills, Villa Maria, Brancott Estate, and Gieson) and driving past many more…Cloudy Bay included. The landscape in this area is incredible – just rows and rows of vines as far as the eye can see. Discovered a taste for Riesling and sweet dessert wine! Unfortunately, I was driving and after the first sample went down far too easily, I had to limit myself to a tiny sip in each place and a large bread roll at lunchtime to soak up the alcohol. Also had a bit of an embarrassing moment when we were asked fro I.Learnt a lot though – would definitely recommend to anyone coming to New Zealand.

We moved on to Nelson, and stayed with another family contact. Let ourselves into their house and the smell of home cooked lamb shanks in red wine sauce washed over us. So much appreciation for home cooking! The meal was followed up with the offer of slightly dubious looking ‘Goodie goodie Gum Drops’ ice cream – bluey green bubblegum flavoured ice cream with ‘lollies’ (jelly sweets) in. Apparently a kiwi institution, but not totally convinced!

Abel Tasman National Park – Another ‘must see’ on our NZ list. It didn’t disappoint. As we only had a day, we plumped for a ride on the water taxi to the furthest point from which to do a day walk. The walk from Bark Bay to Marahau took us about 8 hours, but we got some stunning pictures of perfect sandy bays and beaches. We were pretty exhausted by the end, but had such a sense of satisfaction. We had set off on the walk at the same time as another English couple, and kept overtaking each other at various points along the trail. They were always keen to overtake us, obviously feeling they had the edge with their pace. We were pretty pleased (smug) when we got back to the car park about 15 mins before them… Having stopped for recovery chips at the end into the bargain. One to us!

The Abel Tasman really is beautiful – the boat ride is fun and informative, and the landscape is stunning.

Our host Alison took us to the Nelson Farmer’s Market on our final day, and seemed somewhat amused at our determination to try as many samples as possible. Doesn’t everybody do that!? We did buy some Omega plums though – the sweetest, juiciest, deepest purple/red coloured plums I’ve ever tasted. Was totally raving about the plums… And Tom took one bite and got the deepest purple/red juice all over his white t-shirt… Not ideal!

Windy Wellington

Enjoyed Taupo – an excellent freedom park. The place was buzzing in anticipation of the forthcoming New Zealand Iron Man competition. Whilst we both had total respect for anyone even attempting that level of exercise/with that degree of fitness (it consisted of a gruelling swim, cycle and marathon), we were amused to see people swaggering around town sporting t-shirts from previous years. Rather showy! The competitors certainly took it seriously – we’d wake up at 7am and see people swimming lengths of the lake, which put us to shame somewhat, especially considering the most exercise we’d achieved was a casual 1 hour kayak around the lake!

We set off on the long drive to Wellington, agonising over where we would be able to park. We had already found out that the motorhome park was a steep $50 a night, so ideally wanted to freedom park, but just didn’t know where to start looking in the middle of a capital city. Quickly though, we came to the conclusion that for peace of mind and convenience, we’d rather just pay the money, park up centrally and get exploring. We found it very entertaining to set up ‘camp’ right next to a main road – cooking our veggie curry and making our bed and changing clothes with people in business wear strolling right next to the door. Pretty happy with the decision to park there though, especially when returning from a night out. (In fact, from initial massive reservations we made a complete about-turn, feeling that it was actually very good value for money considering the location!)

We had a good night out, sampling a few craft beers/cider, and hit lucky when a group at the bar offered to get us a round of drinks as they had a massive tab to use up. (Claire – it is becoming increasingly clear that Tom has a real knack for getting chatting to somebody for just 2 minutes and coming back with some amazing offering for me. So far, he’s clocked up offers of a free fish in the Bay of Islands, a ride on a motorboat/biscuit, a ride on a lifeboat(!) and now these drinks) We took full advantage and sampled a fruity bottled cider with a cool label (Wild Side Strawberry and Lime)

Wellington was absolutely freezing, thanks to a chilly wind. We were walking around in North Face macs, whilst the locals seemed happy enough in shorts. Clearly acclimatised! We took in a bit of culture at Te Papa and the Museum of City and Sea, and we’re also interested in the urban regeneration projects going on in the city, including plans to redevelop the motorhome site. Treated ourselves to a fab meal at a restaurant on the waterfront called ‘The Crab Shack’. Would wholeheartedly recommend – especially the mussels. One of those great places that has a small selection of dishes but cooks them all really well from fresh, in full view, with great service…the complete opposite of the kestrel Tom thought!

A casual 15,000 ft skydive

From the early stages of planning this trip, doing a skydive had been on the bucket list and Lake Taupo seemed like the place to do it! It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences, the location was stunning, the weather was only likely to go downhill the further South we travelled… The time had come! We booked it up and were told to return the next morning for a weather check, but we woke up to clear blue skies so no worries on that score.

(Claire) The prospect of throwing myself out of a plane was pretty terrifying – normally I’m rather cautious – but this was something I really wanted to achieve, so despite a few half-hearted attempts to put it off until later in the trip, I was up for it! I found the build up pretty scary, but once we were driving to the airfield, my nerves died down a bit, especially once I realised just how many people did it on a daily basis. As soon as I met my man, I interrogated him on how long he’d been skydiving, where he learnt etc! Couldn’t think what else to ask! Soon we were boiler-suited up and waiting to get on the plane. We’d decided to get the photo and go-pro footage, so there were a few cringey interviews and staged photographs. When we got on the plane, we all got up close and personal because quite a few people were jumping, and I was told I would be jumping last because I was the smallest, and would get more seconds of free fall. A bonus! At 12,000 ft the plane doors open and before we realised it, the two people jumping at that height were out. We had to put oxygen masks, and my man did a lot of adjusting of straps and shunting me around, adjusting my googles. When the door opened at 15,000 ft, it all happened very quickly. I was scouted along the bench in the plane, and then sitting on the edge with my legs hanging over the edge. The rush of air was immense and then we were out. The free fall itself was the most incredible feeling. I tried to move my arms out in front of me and around, but found the pressure and force was too much to do more than keep them fixed in place. Aware of the go- pro, I tried to smile but couldn’t contort my face. I don’t think I screamed or said anything – maybe even shut my eyes at times, haha. But then there was a jolt and everything slowed and we were casually drifting and I really took in the incredible views over the lake. I was given the handles for the parachute and taught how to ‘steer’ which was pretty cool, and because I was last out of the plane, I was able to watch everybody else land. Tom’s parachute was pointed out to me, and I watched him land. I loved the parachute bit so much. As cool as it was, not sure I’d be in a hurry to repeat the free fall, but I’m so glad I did it. Incredible feeling of satisfaction!!

(Tom) So it looks like Claire has been pretty descriptive about the experience but I shall try to add a few memories of the day. As Claire mentioned we found out that 80 people on average did a skydive with that company (one of two) each day, sometimes up to 120. I wasn’t really very nervous before the jump and on the way up. I found the video very awkward and anyone who watches it will enjoy a chuckle. We Brits are really not very good at the whole “woo yeah I’m about to do a skydive, high five” thing, very embarrassing!

Journey up stunning with awesome views over the lake, my jump mate kept me informed of the plan throughout except to tell me that a couple would be jumping out at 12000 ft. So at 11990 ft the door opened and these people just fell out, the door closes and on we go as if completely normal, I thought this was hilarious and terrifying in equal measure.  Up we go and the door opens again, you sit on a bench that runs length ways along the plane with a leg either side. My mate starts pull the cord to pull us along the plane, I realise what is about to happen and dig my heals in, it feels a little bit like I’m about to be murdered, he shuffles, I can’t remember if he said anything. Next thing we are sat on the edge, head on his shoulder, Jesus Christ what is going on, next thing bang we are out. Incredible buzz, incredible pace, I have know idea how fast you fall but it is defiantly quicker than I’ve ever been on my trusty Salomon’s. Nothing to crash into though, other than the ground, which rather than thinking is approaching fast I feel like its still a long way off. Lots of screaming – see pictures! Parachute pulled, beautiful silence, although that may be because my ears haven’t popped and I feel completely deaf along with horrific pain in my ears. This did spoil the experience I must admit, it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had along with one of the most painful. I was trying hard to pop my ears and couldn’t concentrate on the view as much as I’d have liked. Certainly when we landed my initial reaction was more of pain than elation which was a shame. I quickly rushed to Claire to see if she had enjoyed it and was so relieved when she said she loved it. I was very glad her ears didn’t hurt although a little frustrated that rather than being part of the experience the ears trauma had been personal to me.

We have just managed to watched the videos and pictures in full and now me ears have popped I do look back on it with great pleasure. Incredible experience.

Heading South

A trip to the famous Rotorua proved a bit underwhelming, whilst the area around the museum and thermal walk was nice (if smelly) we found the town centre and shopping areas very bleak and desolate. We didn’t spend long here however, moving on to the DOC campsite at Lake Okareka. Beautiful place.

We hadn’t been there 5 minutes when the peace was broken by a group jetsking, very rowdy we thought! They came ashore for a bbq only to have forgotten thier pan. They asked to borrow ours and in the process offered us a ride on the boat. Pure deal! We couldn’t have anticipated how cool this experience would be – stunning evening sun, powerboat tunes blasting, ‘Punching in a Dream’ – very Made in Chelsea! (See Tune of the Week). This only got better as they offered us a go on the ‘biscuit’ –  essentially an inflatable disk that you cling on to for dear life as they tow you across the water/ through the air. You pay good money for similar adrenaline filled activites in NZ but this was a priceless experience!

Morning comes, boot popped open – sun glistening on the lake, see forthcoming boyish picture of me in bed enjoying the view! A planned trip to one of Lonely Planet’s NZ highlights was cut short by a distinct lack of petrol and a seemingly endless gravel road, slightly nerve-racking to say the least. We continued on to Taupo in search of petrol and decided to stay there, heading to a $4 thermal ‘park’ instead – think the Yorkshire Moors with a few smelly steaming ponds. We got the idea anyway and went in search of paddle in a kayak on Lake Taupo.

Coromandel Peninsula

After spending a night in Wellsford, north of Auckland with the McGoldrick family, we set off to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. Whilst the winding roads and steep hills proved a bit of a challenge for the designated driver, we enjoyed a blissful day at New Chum’s Beach – a secluded bay with stunning white sands and crystal clear waters. Tom scrambled up a hill in order to get a perfect shot of the beach (Photo will be posted in due course!) When we got back to the van, however, we found that ‘Fawlty Holly’ had struck again! This time, the starter motor wouldn’t work and we ended up having to ask a few friendly locals to jumpstart us out of the car park. Straight back to Coromandel Town, and back to the mechanics! The kind mechanic not only assured us that we would be back on the road the following morning in time for our scheduled pony trek, but also let us camp in the field behind the yard for free. We tried to repay him by buying him a white caramel slice – our cake of choice from the local bakery.

Our next stop was in Cook’s Beach – a bit of a spontaneous decision following the kind offer of a place to park up from Tom’s friend’s friend’s Rugby World Cup host’s mother-in-law! (Doreen) We found Cook’s Beach to be a bit of ghost town at this time of year, mostly consisting of holiday homes of various shapes, sizes and designs. It was amazing to think that so many beautiful properties in such a beautiful area remain locked up for the majority of the year. Cook’s Beach proved the ideal base from which to visit the well-worn tourist trail from Cathedral Cove to Hot Water Beach. Although Doreen had armed us with spades (think heavy duty garden spades rather than plastic bucket and spade types), we found Hot Water Beach to be a bit of an anticlimax. The space in which to dig yourself a pool was actually so small, you’d end up sitting on the lap of a complete stranger, and the waves were coming in at such a pace that pools were being washed away as quickly as they were being made. Instead, we decided to wait until we got to Mount Manganui to go to the hot pools there.

Onwards to meet Linda, Keith and family, our hosts in Mount Manganui. We were immediately made to feel very welcome, involved straight away in a couple of family parties with amazing pizza and homemade BBQ. A real home away from home. Liv’s lemon meringue pie was a particular highlight! We ended up staying for four nights – it was such a cool place to live, with plenty of activities and things to keep us occupied. We rode bikes every day along the beach front, went for a sweaty hike up the mount followed by a compulsory session in the hot pools, Tom had a surf lesson whilst, in typical fashion, Claire went for coffee. Our final afternoon was spent soaking up the sun with a cider before heading home for a top meal of steak, topped off with YSE Sticky Toffee pudding (our attempt to say thanks for such amazing hospitality!) A really fab few days.

Ocean Beach

Wow, wow, wow, what a place. Ocean Beach, in Whangarei Heads is an absolute stunner of a place! A local’s piece of paradise… surf, sunsets, rugged coasts…

We park up in the ‘overflow car park’ – this does not do it justice! It’s a beautiful palm tree surrounded patch of grass, minutes from the beach, views up to Bream Head and at the bottom of an extensive garden of a bustling household. (The family provided a source of much interest over the course of our stay. They were always up to something, be it filleting fish, skateboarding, bbqing, bringing the boat in, heading out for a surf. Typically active Kiwi lifestyle I guess!)

Our only neighbours were a group of three – two Germans and an Argentinian travelling in one packed car with a tent. They told us they had only just met at a meditation ashram, where they had spent 10 hours at a time observing complete silence… I wonder what they made of Tom and his constant chatter!! They didn’t converse a great deal, as you can imagine, only to say that in New Zealand, there are lots of places to ‘lay’ (in other words, camp!) and to dismiss the surf  (despite the fact the locals were surfing at all hours of the day, and Tom was getting smashed to pieces on his bodyboard ‘Dora the Explorer’) One morning, we saw the trio meditating on the beach and were pretty entertained to see that one member of the team did not seem quite as ‘in the zone’ as the others, sat on the beach having a scratch. He’d also been the one to peer into our van with a rather envious expression, commenting on our microwave and other mod cons! Seems his heart wasn’t quite in it.

Whilst in Whangarei Heads, we set off on the walk of 10,000 steps – a constant uphill struggle through the bush for 3 hours, only to discover there wasn’t even a view at the top. Take note, future travellers to New Zealand. The time estimations on walks and treks are rather ambiguous!! 

Check out our photographs of Ocean Beach and the surrounding area

The sketchy world of ‘Freedom Camping’

Wednesday 12th February

So a trip to the garage in Whangarei. 2 big burly men start pulling Holly apart looking for the battery and checking the fridge temperature (17 degrees, chicken was 1/4 cooked!) Unsure of the timescale of Holly’s repairs we pulled up our camping chairs and got out our kindles, not exactly the scene we imagined but sort of entertaining looking back! 

Holly fixed, with the bill sent off to Happy Campers, we set off to Whangarei Heads. I had seen a wonderful looking place on the blog Travel Shutter but hadn’t fully briefed Claire on it. Off we go along the gravel road – clothes, pots and pans bouncing around the van. Kauri Mountain Road – look it up, it’s remote. 
Arriving at this stunning but remote location we wondered whether we could camp, naturally Claire very uncertain and myself feeling rather bold. I ask a local farmer who says “yeah it should be fine just check with the landowner around the corner” Off we go to a very remote and deserted farmhouse, visions of the film ‘The Strangers’ flashing in my head we leave down to the field. It looks like a campsite with a few caravans scattered around, looking back they were very derelict! At the bottom of this field we are greeted by a crooked toothed alcoholic Captain Blackbeard character who we now know is notoriously known as Zac (“oh yes Zac, he’s a character”) 
‘Cant you read english’ he shouts, ‘this is private property”. Again visions flash into our heads, this time a cannabalism episode of Silent Witness, we beat a speedy but rattly retreat! Claire’s initial intuition to move on proved correct however we could never have expected to meet Zac! All proved well with a lesson learned as we headed off around the headland for Ocean Beach to find somewhere safer to park up.  

 

Fawlty Holly

(Firstly, apologies for the slight delay in updating the blog. We have been ‘on the road’ with very limited access to internet!)

Monday 10th February:

After our weekend in Auckland, it was time to collect our ‘Happy Campers’ campervan from the outskirts of the city – our home for the next month. Prior to coming out, the van was affectionately referred to as ‘Happy Holly’, and the name seems to have stuck. Typically, we had tried to pre-empt any problems by coming up with a comprehensive list of questions to ask – to the extent that Tom had even google mapped the route to the nearest Pack ‘n’ Save supermarket and printed out instructions! However, things did not go quite to plan. The van had no fuel, so a man from the hire company instructed us to follow him to the nearest petrol station so that they could fill it up for us. All plans to familiarise ourselves with the van went completely out of the window, as we set off in a crazed chase. Having not been briefed on the van, we weren’t expecting the wipers and indicators to be on opposite sides, so had wipers going wild and no indication on the pursuit to the fuel station. A very Fawlty Towers type scenario!!

Before long, we were off, heading North to the Bay of Islands. It was a long and tiring drive, so we stopped and were greeted with our first taste of New Zealand hospitality and goodwill when we were offered two complimentary muffins – a bit of a surprise when we were only actually buying a $2 bottle of coke. We spent our first couple of nights in Paihia, and took the opportunity to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Very interesting place – we were given a tour and talk by a Maori lady whose 6th generation granddad had been heavily involved in the treaty. We came away feeling embarassed to be British considering how the British had deceived local tribes. We also visited nearby island Russell for our first swim in the sea and epic ice cream. On the ferry on the way back, there was a man with a huge fish on a spear. Rather stereotypically, a group of Chinese tourists clamoured around for photographs holding up the fish – peace signs and pouts galore!! And in equal typical fashion, Tom had little interest in getting a picture, instead quizzing the man on where he was from and what the fish was, culminating in him offering to fillet a fish on the spot for our dinner.

We declined the offer, perhaps fortuitously, because when we got back to the van, we discovered that the hob in ‘Not so Happy Holly’ wasn’t staying alight, and our fridge wasn’t working so our meat had gone off. A rather shaky start to the campervan experience!  

It’s a long way to Tipperary…

In typical Tom and Claire fashion, we decided against a nice restful weekend to combat the jet lag, instead diving straight in with two 8 hour walks, not to mention a whistle stop tour of Melbourne between flights, ticking off important things like Melbourne Olympic Park and MCG, and an iced coffee.

In the short time we’ve been in Auckland, we’ve seen crazy expensive super yachts, wandered around lovely Ponsonby, and walked coast to Coast via Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. As pasty Brits, we’ve been thrown straight in at the deep end with the weather. Very hot, and despite best efforts with the Factor 50, we’re both a bit burnt.

Also worthy of mention from the last few days..

The perils of jet lag! Having absolutely no clue what time it was on the first morning, resulting in us walking out of the hostel at 8.15am

Tom’s bodyboard purchase! Having been adamant that a bodyboard was a New Zealand must-have item, we struggled to find one that came in much below $100. Cue much disappointment, until we hit upon the wonder shop ‘The Warehouse’ where one was found at a very reasonable price and then significantly reduced at the till into the bargain. The only drawback… It’s a rather fetching pink and baby blue number. Very feminine. Pictures to follow!

Kept awake by thumping base from the next door bar, culminating in two renditions of ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’ at 6am.

Pure caramel slice. Spot on proportions of caramel to chocolate and shortbread. Enough said.

So that’s a quick summary of our time in Auckland. Tomorrow we collect the camper and move North. Until next time….

Tom and Claire.

 

We’re off!

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