sage – Page 7 – Sejuls And Bhavnis Travels

20th May – 30th June

Friday 31st May

It was the queens birthday weekend and we left Auckland after Bhavni and I had finished work at 7pm (we had got most of our stuff sorted the previous evening). Driving down south on the SH1, we forgot to turn on the planed route through Paeroa, so we took our other route (near Morrinsville) skirting Tauranga all the way to near Whakatane. It was a bit late when we hot to the Fenworth B&B just outside the city. The B&B was in a house owned by Wayne and Alison on a farm. We could not see much of the surrounds as it was dark, but we were shown to our room which was in a private wing of the house. It was a lovely appointed room, large with a big en-suite. After freshening up we met with our hosts and talked for a while, before retiring for the night.

Saturday 1st June

Waking up in the morning we had a walk around the house (through the private French doors) taking some pictures of the sun just rising above the horizon over the river – really nice scene. There was also a bit of panic as the interior light in the car had been left on overnight, but luckily the car still started fine.

After getting ready we joined our hosts for a continental breakfast with homemade bread and found out that they actually had no bookings for the next few nights, unlike what travelbug said. So we booked another night for tomorrow, as we really enjoyed the place.

Setting of at around 9am we drove into Whakatane to the White Islands tour office and booked in for our trip. Soon after some fiasco with me putting on my contact lenses (after getting on board and going out again), we were off, past the protector statue in the harbour. The water was meant to be quite choppy on the way, but at least the it was operating as the week before had been quite bad. It was a hour or so journey to to island, which slowly loomed ahead of us. The sun had started to show by this point, so we were in for a reasonable day.

After mooring near the old pier at one of the bays, we were transported to the pier with small dingies, one group at a time. We scrambled alone the old pier and the broken sections to the island proper where we were split into two groups and given a second safety briefing ( don’t climb on the mounds – boiling mud, if an eruption occurs we will hide behind stuff until its safe to move). They had given us hard hats and gas masks

The tour stared going around part of the island, first looking at some of the mounds and hills and talking about the history of the mining there, before seeing some of the larger sulphur formations and the dragon spewing lots of gas all the time. Here the gas mask was really useful as when the wind changed we were engulfed in some of the sulfurous fog and everyone stared coughing. We carried on walking around to the mouth of the main surface vents and looked over the edge (not going past the rock border the guys had put down), trying to catch a glimpse of the lake and the far end crater wall.

After we walked back to the mining buildings stopping at some of the natural streams there and having a feel of the water (and a very small taste). The different streams though only a little apart were completely different. Getting to the buildings and having been given a brief history we were allowed a bit of time to wonder and take photos. Its amazing how some of the old machinery exists in a completely rusted state.

Getting back on board the boat we had a quick sail past some of the coves before heading back to the mainland. We were given a nice lunch – everyone’s was vegetarian and Bhavni had to find out the recipe, before most drifted off to sleep. Getting close to the shore the water calmed down to barely and ripples at all. It looked like something out of a movie. Well we got back around 4pm and disembarked.

Bhavni and I headed to the car and then started out drive down the SH2 to Gisbourne, which was another good 2.5hour trip. It had gotten dark by the time we arrived and we had not booked anywhere here, as it was low season. After driving for a bit we gave up and checked into the Bella Vista motel. The person was nice, but the place was really disappointing after the luxury of the previous night – never mind we were just spending the night. Anyway after cleaning up we went and had food at a Thai restaurant. There only seemed to be one guy serving, but the food and service were not too bad. Getting back to the motel we watched a bit of TV, Bhavni gave her phone a bath and then called it a night.

Sunday 2nd June

It was a beautiful cloudless day and getting up in the morning, we departed reasonably early and headed out on the famous SH35 road which goes around the eastern cape, though we were doing it the way round less people did it. We had a map which told us some of the nice side roads and bays to go to sea, and we had a drive towards a bay which had a picture perfect view from up on the hill overlooking an island. We drove and had a walk around before continuing on our way around the cape. We carried on to Tolaga which was our next stop. This little town was where ships docked on the east cape once and as such had a really long pier, over 500m. We took a walk down the length of it – there were some locals fishing at the end – and just enjoyed the view.

Driving on we saw plenty of other beautiful bays and inlets. We also had a walk around a famous Mouri style church and a look around some old and in disrepair factories (from the time that the area exported items by ship), before driving all the way to Te Araroa, where we stopped and picked up some lunch. We decided to take the east cape road to see the east cape lighthouse and go to the furthest east area. Well the road was a bit interesting – unsealed mostly, windy and with animals wondering across the road. There was also sharp rockfalls on the road to be avoided. Getting there we parked up and had a good look at the lighthouse from ground level – we did not have the day left to do a 3h return trip, before going back the way we came and carrying on around the cape.

Across the other side we had another lot of amazing views and lots more stunning bays. We could see white island clearly for much of the way bellowing steam up into the air. We also realised we would be able to see a nice sunset on this side over the bay of plenty, so as the sun was getting to the horizon we were on the lookout for good places to stop. Luckily we found a brilliant one after debating whether we should turn back to another good place a few minutes before, and we got a lovely sunset.

Ending the east coast highway at Opotiki we got to Whakatane and had dinner there at a Indian restaurant. The food was actually ok, just required some extra spice to give it taste. After dinner we drove to the Fenworth B&B, where we had another nice long chat with the owners with tea and shortbread.

Monday 3rd June

After another peaceful sleep we got up and ready and went for breakfast. Wayne managed to brake his tooth whilst having food, so that was a talking point for a while. We had a discussion about things to do on this bank holiday, including going to the Urawera national park south of us, but in the end we decided to go back to Auckland and planed to stop at the Karanghake gauge for a walk.

It was a chilled drive back, stopping at a town on the way famous for the murals on walls. We had been advised by Wayne and Alison, which place to stop and park at the gorge. We went for the main tunnel walk which was the long short walk there, they had built the tunnel system for mining gold in the gold rushes and the one we walked down was a long tunnel. The last bit of the walk was along the river. We managed to finish the walk well before the sun set which was ideal.

We headed back to Auckland, via pyroah.

8th Saturday

Both of us were off today and it was one of the last days possible to go flying, so we both went. It was quite a nice day and we spent some of the morning talking to Norman and others before sorting out a glider for the both of us. We had quite a nice flight as there were plenty of thermals and the cloudbase was reasonably high, giving Bhavni the chance to take plenty of photos.

19th Wednesday

After work Bhavni and I went north to the Hibiscus coast – Sheilinas house. There we had a nice dinner with them and grants brother and wife who were visiting from Australia before all going to one of the pubs not far from them – we were doing the pub quiz. In the end our team did respectable, coming third out of over 10 teams. We did well on some topics such as Africa.

Friday 21st

Bhavni had finished work so she baked a cake and took it to her hospital in the morning for all the people in her department to eat (and take photos). At lunch time she came to SiteHost during our lunch break and we all had cake there.

Monday 24th

I had invited the guys from work to come over for a bit of a leaving do/get-to-gather at home. Matt and Sonia came first followed by Quentin, Heather and then Nathan. It was quite amusing finding out that Matt had come along this street during the Queens birthday weekend doing his Jahova’s witness rounds. We had prepared some bher, cake and profiter rolls and it was surprising how much was eaten.

Wednesday 26th

I drove home after work (well I got a phone call from Bhavni telling me to come home), as the driver had come to pick up our shipment to the UK. By the time arrived the pallets were out and being loaded – Bhavni had calmed the driver down as we had not wrapped the pallets fully as we would not be able to get them out of the garage. I just helped load and wrap. Soon we said bye to our stuff.

Friday 28th

My last day of work! After finishing of some last stuff in the morning, we were going out for a pub lunch. Bhavni and the other wives/girlfriends turned up around 12 and we all went to Elerslie to the Arms pub. I got a really big leaving card and we spent a couple of hours there having pizza and beer. After we stumbled back to work and there Quentin cut up a big chocolate cake. I left mine for later. I said my final good byes at 5pm and left for home, where we did some sorting out and more packing of our stuff.

Saturday 29th

Today was leaving day. We finished all the packing that was left and spent time cleaning the remaining bits of the house. The carpet cleaner came and did the carpets – he left a bit of a mess, so we had to clean up after him. I returned the keys to Barfoot and came back and started to load the car – we had so much stuff the car soon became full. We had some stuff to throw so we looked for a place to dump it as the bins were meant to be left empty, but that was mostly a fruitless search. When we returned we tried to load the final things and a chinese gentleman came up and asked if we were leaving today, he turned out to be the landlord. We started talking and showed him some of the problems around the house, as more and more of his family turned up. I think he was quite happy with the state of the house as he offered to give references in the future if needed (Not surprising as we cleaned up well and had not damaged anything).

We left and drove north to Sheilinas. It was really nice being able to stay here for the few days we had left. We unloaded the car – including boxes of kitchen items and settled in. I drove to the dive shop and collected Grant. Grants family were all around including a brother from Canada as well as Lisa and the children. We had pizza – cooked in the bbq for dinner.

Sunday 30th

We had a bit of a lie in and after breakfast we went for a walk on the beach not far from the house. The day was nice so we took our time. Getting back to the house we relaxed and packed for a bit before we followed Sheilina to Shakespeare Park, where their family were doing a picnic. We stayed for a while with them before going for a walk to the top of one of the hills (at a lookout point) avoiding the sheep leavings, from here we could see lots of different shore lines, including the city centre in the distance. As it was getting late we met the guys back at the bottom and after a bit of cake and chilling we went back to Sheilina’s house. We had a bit of light food in the evening before retiring for an early night.

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29th April – 19th May

4th May

We awoke to a really nice blue sky morning, but the weather forecast had said it was going to deteriorate rapidly. So after breakfast and looking at weather maps, I headed out the door to see Peter. He had the same idea and we met out in the street where we both agreed that the day would not be ideal for flying. So I ended back home and instead Bhavni and I went to the big market south of us. It was really quite busy, and luckily we managed to avoid the rain showers whilst there mostly and bought us some fruit and veg.

On the way home it chucked it down, with very little viability around where I work. For the remainder I had a day chilling with Bhavni. It did indeed rain heavily and get stormy for the whole day.

5th May

After a relaxing start both Bhavni and I headed to Sues house for lunch. The Grants were also there. It was nice catching up with everyone and a nice meal as well. After lunch we headed to Peters house as his granddaughter – Isme – had just been christened. We just relaxed in the evening.

7th May

Bhavni was on night shift, but after I came home she awoke and we got food ready – full Shaak and Rotli with desert. This is because Nirav and Yugna were due to come and stay for the night. They turned up in a massive rental car and after welcoming them and a brief chat we sat for dinner as I had to drop Bhavni after to the hospital. After getting back I sat with the two in the lounge until late, before we retired close to midnight.

8th May

I left for work, after saying bye to Nirav and Yugna in the super heated spare room as they were off to visit the central north.

10th May

I was at work, but managed to leave on time to get home. I got home, opened the front door and saw that Nirav and Yugna had arrived and were chatting to Bhavni. Next thing I noticed was a great big footprint on the floor. “NIRAV!!!!” – even with it being Yugnas foot print. Well after that, we finished making food and Sivia arrived.

Taking Niravs hired car we left at 7pm ish and headed North up the SH1. Soon it was dark and it was a nice night time road trip all the way to Pahia. We arrived at the Waterfront Suites around 10pm and checked into the large apartment, had a bit more food and settled down for the night.

11th May

Bhavni and I woke up and got out of the door before the rest were ready as we went to the supermarket to get some provisions. The idea of english muffins confused everyone there, but I think I got a few converts.

After breakfast we got in the big hire car in the basement and drove up the SH10 north. We passed some amazing bays and views and even stopped at Doubtless bay for some photo opportunities (we were thinking of staying there but it was too much of a dive late on a Friday). We got to the SH1 junction and made a small diversion south to Kaitia as Silvia had forgotten her memory card. We eventually found one then headed back north on the SH1.

Just a little further north, we took a road off the motorway toward the coastal road. We had heard about the costal road, but nothing quite prepares you for it; As we got to the road junction – there was a sign – Extreme danger at low tide – many cars have been lost….Well we turned around, then turned back then wondered whether to ask anyone. Another car also was procrastinating, but eventually went another way. Finally we thought we would set down onto the sand and see how it was. After a dainty bit, we thought that we had some time while the tide was out, and there was a road back further on, so we continued. It was amazing watching the waves crashing, the nearly straight stretches of beach and the mist.

We stopped some time later having confidence in the timing and driving and had some food and photo opportunities. We had a couple of cars “overtake” and we also met some locals who said that the tide would be out for a while so make the best of it. Eventually – we got to the end of the 90 mile beach and so the way out…. it was going out through a stream, well buses do it so could we. This got us into the interior with massive sand dunes, which people were boarding down. Some of us climbed to the top of one – another brilliant view.

Getting back to the roads we carried on taking in the views. I had to insist that we got to Cape Rienga instead of stopping all the time as we only had so much day. Parking there we then walked to the lighthouse. Its cool seeing the turbulent Tasmin sea meeting the calm pacific ocean – no wonder the Mauri inspired stories exist.

After some time taking in the sights and photos we headed back. This time just along the motorway. It started getting dark and by the time we got to Kirikiri it was past 8pm. We had food at a Italian pizza restaurant (our first choice of the black olive was full). It was really quite nice.

After dinner we drove back to Pahia and to the apartments where we relaxed for a while (strange tv program watching by Nirav) before hitting the hay.

12th May

In the morning Bhavni and I got up and went for a walk to get some photos of the sunrise. Something was being set up in the morning, but it was still quiet. By the time we got back everyone had woken up, so we had breakfast. Outside there was a race going on and we saw lots of people racing to the treaty grounds from our window.

We had asked for availability for Nirav and Yugna to go on the dolphin cruise and there was plenty so we sent them off whilst we finished off and checked out. We left the big hire car out whilst we went for a wonder around Pahia. There was a blues and country song festival, so around all the street corners there were performers singing and members of the public following along (including line dancing).

Bhavni, Silvia and I had a walk around, shopping for souvenirs and bits and pieces, before we returned and collected the car and drove to the car ferry for the short ride across to Russel. In Russel we walked up to the Flagstaff monument which was a good 20min walk uphill. After the good view we went back to Russel and had a wonder before Yugna and Nirav came back, where we met them at the dock.

After the usual procrastination we chose a place to eat and had some food, before driving back towards Auckland. On the way back we stopped at the famous toilets at kawakawa and a quick wonder. The next stop was at Whangerai where we showed the guys the waterfall there. Someone had forgotten a pair of glasses there, so we took a bit to decide what to do – nothing as the person may come back.

Getting back to Auckland, Silvia left and we made a bit of food – Kichi after following a recipe recited from by Bhavni’s Surya Masi. A bit salty so we had to make some more to compensate.

13th May

A normal work day for us. Nirav and Yugna went to Wahiki. In the evening we had a relaxing time whilst they finished of their packing.

14th May

Nirav and Yugna left really early in the morning – our last guests.

15th May

In the evening we went to the harbour to meet Bhavni’s friend at a bar on the waterfront, it was easy to get there and we could park quite close. We were joined by Silvia and James there and after a couple of drinks we had some food (after scoping out the local eateries).

18th May

The weather was better then forecast and as Bhavni was at work I decided to go flying, where I did some instructing.

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April 15th – 28th

Saturday 20th April

With Bhavni at work I went flying, only having a short flight as there was no easy list from a winch launch. David Hurst gave me a bit of a ahum look for circling in the circuit area at 600′.

Sunday 21st

It was initially meant to be a really wet day, but we had been assured by Peter it would be a good day, the day before. I had booked by self for an eye exam (free with the AA), so with Bhavni dropping me I found my self outside the Newmarket Specsavers even before it had opened. Quick exam later, I phoned Bhavni and met her and Peter on a bus just outside. We took the bus all the way to the city harbour and walked to the Voyager Maritime Museum, where we bought some tickets for the sailboat that goes out (with a huge discount as Peter is a volunteer).

Peter took us around to the part of the museum that displayed some sailboats and he showed us some of the boats he had learned on.

We got on the sail boat for the midday sailing trip and with the cannon fired there we were on our way. It was reasonably windy and we cruised out of the birth on the engine, before the sails were put up on the boat. I got to help raise the sail – not that bad, but apparently it was meant to be a hard job…. (we were helping a trainee, so it was amusing with the chain of command)

We sailed all the way past the harbour bridge, watching the great number of ships sailing around, including a few really sleep boats, overtaking us.

We got back to the dock after about an hour and we had managed to avoid any rain so far, all three of us went and had a drink in the cafe there (tea for us two), talking away.

Peter had to go home, so we said bye and went back to the museam and had a look at the exhibits. The Americas Cup sailboat had pride of place, but there was lots of information about ships such as the Beagle and people such as Captain Cook and Abel Tasman.

After seeing the museum, we walked to the Viaduct Event Centre as peter had recommended the walkway as a place to get a nice picture. We walked along the viaduct waterfront to silo park before sitting and having some food which we had taken with us.

We walked back to Britomart and caught the bus home. It started raining just a little while after we got back.

Thursday 25th

It was Anzac day. Bhavni was at work. I spent the day planning the next holiday and did some gardening, well weeding mostly.

Friday 26th

In the evening we went to the cinema to watch Iron Man 3.

Saturday 27th / Sunday 28th

The weekend was spent at home for me doing some Holiday planning.

April 2nd – 14th

Friday 5th

After work we went for another walk in Cornwall Park, enjoying the autumn colours on the trees.

Saturday 6th

Both Bhavni and I were off work, so we went to Drury. At drury they were doing some scout flying and there were no gliders available, so after staying a bit, we decided to leave. With my driving we ended up in Papakura, where we bought a bit of food, before going to Hanua. We drove to the falls and after seeing them, we sat at a bench nearby and spent a bit of time reading up about Australia.

It started to get a bit chilly, so we headed back (via Drury) to home.

Sunday 7th

We had decided that today we would go to the Corromandal. Leaving early in the cloudy conditions we drove past Thames and onto Tapu on the winding road which goes to Corromandel Town. At Tapu we turned on to the unsealed road and went to Rapauru Water Gardern. Bhavni and Sita had been there before, but I had not. Most of the blooms had gone and the gardens were mainly rich foliage. The gaggle of ducks wondering around the pond seemed to be enjoying themselves. We had a wonder around the gardens and walked to the waterfall (about 20mins walk each way).

From the water gardens we went back to the main road and drove to Coromandal Town, where after a brief look around we went to a cafe and had a spot of lunch. We had some tea and ordered a nut loaf and a energy salad. The salad was really good – with beetroot and seeds, but the nut loaf was so so.

After looking around some of the shops there, admiring the trinkets (and bookstands), we headed in the car down the famous unsealed 309 road. Not that far in we came to Stu’s wild pigs. There were a bunch of wild pigs on the side of the road – luckily not the pink kinds. Parking on the side, with Bhavni sitting in the car, I got out for a closer look. There were some really small cute looking ones as well as the larger ones. Whilst I was looking Bhavni thought it would be a good idea to throw food at them, and then got worried as they clamoured for food. I was fine and got in the car after a bit and carried on.

The next stop was the waterworks, further up the road, a very kiwi type of park. It is full of strange contraptions powered by water and also full of boards with facts and jokes as well as sculptures. They also seemed to be in the process of repairing things as some items were missing, but it was still quite fun. Walking round, Bhavni kept on being evil and spraying me with water whenever she could from the exhibits. We even had a go on some of the more home grown rides – including a hamster wheel.

After we left the waterworks we carried on the 309, admiring Castle Rock from afar (2 hours to ascend). We got out further up the road and got out at the Waiau Waterfall, where we took some photos (some of the tourists were actually swimming in the water as we got there).

The 309 ended and we ended up on the SH25 south of Whitianga, which we took towards home. However we took the Hot Water Beach road and went towards the Cathedral cove route, parking at the tourist parking near the small town. What an amazing view, beautiful sea with islands in view. We walked on the track from there to Gemstone Bay (Cathedral Cove was much further a walk). It was still a decent down lots of steps to sea level, where we took some photos then headed back. Pretty tiring for such a short walk. There was an American Lady who took our photo as she was just waiting for the rest of her group to return.

We then drove the 6km to the Hot Water Beach. The sun was getting lower, so we did not think it was worth actual digging in the sand for immersing ourselves in the water, so we had a walk with the low sun (the wrong side). The waves were amazing and looking down the beach there was lots of mist in the air. Driving home it was quite dark soon, and after a nice shot in town to get a reflection of a hill in the water it was dusk and we could see the stars and when there were no cars the milky way. This lasted till around Thames where we filled up (places had no petrol), then the light of the road and Auckland was too much.

Thursday 11th

We decided to go to the cinema. We went to see Identity Thief. Well after about half an hour, Bhavni and I walked out – what a rubbish film.

Friday 12th

Entertaining today. I was picked up at lunch time by Bhavni to help do some cooking even. After I got home I was on frying duty. We were still finishing of the Puri’s when Silvia and James arrived and they watched us cook. A bit later Shelina and Grant came around, but we were finished by that time. We had a nice evening – James and Grant hit it on talking about diving. We had Bhavnis carrot cake for desert as well as a lemon meringue pie that Silvia had bought.

Sunday 14th

After a bit of a rush in the morning we found ourselves at the bus stop on Great South Road. It was great timing as the bus came just a few minutes after we got there and took us all the way to the Wharf in the city, where we bought 2 ferry tickets to Rangitoto, on the 9.15 ferry. If we had not got that bus we would have missed the ferry!

A short ferry ride (via Devenport), we were docked at Rangitoto. Departing we went on our way, through the red fern grove, before joining the main summit track. There track slowly sloped up, through some really unusual scenery. There were quite large plants and shrubs as well as areas of black broken up lava.

We got to a junction and took the side route on the Wilson Track instead of the main track, which went around the summit meeting the vehicle track on the other side. This was nice as we avoided the loud group of American teenagers and we saw no one else on the track. We could even see and hear some of the birds with the quiet. The track was harder and uneven going up and down alot, but worth it. From the vehicle track there were bordwalks to the top, which had some amazing views. We helped a elderly couple coming down by breaking a fallen branch into a makeshift walking stick.

At the top we sat down and had some food and drinks whilst enjoying the view. You can really see the profile of the land, most of Rangitoto seems quite flat until near the cone.

After our break, we headed down and took the side walk to see the lava caves. It was dark, we did not have torches and we wanted to catch the next ferry home, so we did not stay for long, though I did venture in – nearly tripping in the insufficient light from the phone.

We got to the Wharf with time to spare, so we tried to sit on some uncomfortable rocks, before giving up and going to see some of the Batches there. We saw the ferry coming in so we made our way back and boarded.

As we were in town, we did some clothes shopping – I actually bought some jeans. We then headed home for some well deserved chilling time.

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March 15th – 1st April

Saturday 16th

After a long time of not flying (and with Bhavni at work) I had a day to go to the flying club. It was quite a warm day and I had a couple of pleasant flights. I left a bit early to go home and make some food before dropping Bhavni to work.

Sunday 17th

A wet day today. The rain kept coming and going all morning. Bhavni and I spent the morning just catching up on household stuff, before she went to sleep. Sometime in the afternoon there seemed to be a big gust of wind – slightly stronger than normal. I thought nothing of it and Bhavni kept sleeping. Apparently it was a 3.8 earthquake – shock horror. I only found out as Bhavni texted me early the next day during her night shift – having been amused by the discussion of it.

Tuesday 19th

We were feeling lazy and did something we had not done for a while – ordered pizza from Dominos.

Thursday 21st

After work we quickly got ready and headed out to Waimaku (just a bit past Kumeu). Silvia had arranged with Bhavni to go to a cheese making class in the evening – starting around 7pm. We got there just a little ahead of time and Silvia also just pulled in – James was already there. It was a small class and they showed us how to make a couple of cheeses – ricotta, mascarpone and mozzarella. The most interesting was mozzarella and we all had a go at stretching and melting the cheese. After the class was finished we tried the cheeses we had made with some crackers and homemade cider, before going home with our new cheese making kit.

Friday 22nd

A quiet night in – we rented a film from the video shop and had a takeaway Thai.

Saturday 23rd

With Bhavni at work I went flying.

Tuesday 26th

After getting home from work we went to Cornwall park for a walk watching the sun get low.

Friday 29th

It was the start of our long weekend – Road Trip. We left very close the the time we had said – just past 8am and headed straight down south on the SH1. We were on quite good time as there was not much traffic on the roads as yet and luckily we did not need to fuel up as the services just before Drury already had a queue.

Carrying on on the SH1 we got to Huntly, where we stopped near the bridge and Bhavni took some photos, before taking one of the roads towards Raglan. We initially drove through the town and parked near the waterfront just at the harbour inlet. We had a nice walk on the beach, going from the calmer waters of the inlet to the sounds of waves crashing on the main beach, There were quite a few people about – some fishing, some walking and some even trying to make their horses walk in the surf.

After our walk we went into town and went to a small cafe – the shack – where we had a little bit to eat for lunch before having a quick look around some of the shops there, which were very surf and artsy on the most part. We went to the I Site there and bought some coasters.

After we finished we headed onto the SH23 and then onto the SH39 towards our next stop – Otorohanga. In Otorohanga is the Kiwi and bird house, which I remember David Hirst recommending, so we bought some tickets and went inside.

The highlight is the brown kiwis that are in a semi dark room, in a large windowed enclosure. This was the first time we had a good look at real live kiwis – only having had the brief look on the Milford Track. They are quite large and cool. After there were quite a number of other enclosures, showing a lot of different birds in NZ. Bhavni narrowly avoided getting bitten by a duck, which instead went for me – luckilly I was wearing jeans. The last bit was a massive walk through aviary which was full of parakeets.

After we continued on the SH3, past Te Kuti. This was new territory for us as we had never been this way before. The road made its way to the coast and we had some nice views. We came to the “3 sisters” – large pilers or arches of rocks – on the coast and we decided to stop and have a a look. The sign on the beach said the sisters were only approachable at low tide, so I was a little apprehensive, but with others still out there we decided to go and have a look, skirting past the water on the narrow rock path. We got to one of the three sisters – the only one you could see from land – which had a arch all the way through it and you could see the other two sisters further down the cost. We took some pictures and headed back, continuing to New Plymouth.

Arriving at New Plymouth, we made out way to our accommodation – the Be My Guest B&B, where we were met by Helen, who showed us to our room and gave us some maps and information about where to eat. We got ready and went into the city centre, parking near the main area. The first place that Helen recommended for Italian was closed so we walked down the main road to the other recommended Italian and booked a table for 8pm,

We had a bit of time to spare, so we headed towards the waterfront, we just missed the sun set, but managed to see the clouds go from golden to dark. Also the top of mount Teranaji was visible from town, after hiding in the cloud all day. We had a look at the wind wand, taking some pictures and had a bit of a stroll down the waterfront before heading back to the restaurant.

After a ok meal, we drive back to the B&B and went down to the tv lounge to watch some TV. Another couple arrived later, having driven down from Auckland also – just leaving at 6pm.

Saturday 30th

We woke up to the sound of pouring rain at around 8am, we got ready and ventured out to the kitchen where we were greeted by Helen for breakfast.

We had cereal, coffee and tea for starters. I had poached eggs from the hens outside, whilst Bhavni had avocado on toast. We had a lively breakfast discussing all sorts of things and looking at the steel sky outside.

Leaving we headed into town and went to the Saturday market, where we bought some Turkish bread, some avocados and a bag of peppers. We went to the I centre and got a map for Mount Teranaki. After a bit of dilliberation, we got in the car and headed past Egmont Village to the North Egmont Visitor Center. As we headed up Egmont Road, it started raining and as we got to the lush tree area we were soon into fog. We eventually got to the car park, which was quite full considering the weather.

Inside the center, we asked about the walk here and it was suggested we do the Veronica track – around 2 hours, even with the foggy weather. The doc person also suggested it may be better to do the walk the other way around. So with Bhavni giving me a wierd look, we started on the walk.

Not that bad going, though the usual lots of downs and ups. We had some occasional drizzle and our waterproofs kept on getting wet with the foliage brushing against us. It was a long while before we saw anyone else on the track – almost making us think we were the only ones crazy enough to do this in the weather – all going the correct way.

At the top of the track there was a bench where we sat and admired the view (of fog) ! Here the track to the top of the mountain started, so we went up to the first viewing area, though not much of a view again.

Coming back to the DOC center was quite fast and it was nice to get indoors. We could not have a coffee there as there were no seats available, so we got in the car and headed back down of the mountain.

As we got down the road and cleared the fog we could see patches of blue sky, and soon enough we were back under quite a pleasant sky. On the way back we visited Tapure, which is now a public garden (though it used to be owned by a wealthy family). We had a nice long walk on the yellow route admiring the last of the blooms, pools and foliage, as well as seeing the old houses. After the walk we went to the tea shop just down the road from there and had some hot drinks. We met a couple (originally from the uk but in NZ for 10 years), who were from Napier, and we had a little chat about things to do here. There was a stray cat who kept on trying to brush up against everyone there, so we were always getting surprised.

After our tea, we drove back to the B&B and got changed. Bhavni put on a dress as the sun was out. We headed into town, first to the interesting bridge over the river on the coastal walkway (east side of town) – part suspension and part cantilevered bridge. Bhavni got roped into taking a couple of pictures – indian tourists.

From there we drove to the other side near the port to one of the cone remnants of the volcanoes. The guide in the visitor centre had said that we could go to the top and even her 75 year old father did it the other day. Sure enough we could go up it, and it stared fine with nice stairs and a walkway, when suddenly the easy path ended and we had some chain anchored into the rock and steep narrow rock paths. We got up to the top – slightly bemused that we had to go down the same path. The view was really nice from here, as it was right next to the sea, and we could see some of the island there as well as town. Bhavni having better sight than me even spotted the wind wand. We had a while before sunset (1.5h), but we decided to stay and watch it. A few people came and went (the ones in jandles were crazy). It was a nice sunset and we were glad we stayed. Luckilly the walk down was not as bad as we thought it would be.

As it was now past 7, we went for dinner. Yesterday we has spotted a south Indian place, so we decided to try it. We got in up the stairs and it was reasonably busy with locals. The only other Indians were the staff. We ordered vera to start followed by a masala dosa and some other dishes. I have to say we should have just ordered 2 masala dosa for mains, it was really good. Well we went back after and recommended the place to Helen.

We watched a little bit of tv, before the other guests arrived (police academy), then we retired for the night. (Helen was positively happy that Bhavni was walking around in her ‘Jammies’).

Sunday 31st

We woke up again to the sound of heavy rain. Even more then yesterday. After getting ready, we went out to the kitchen and met Helen for breakfast again. It was a similar breakfast to the day before, but this time the other guests were a couple from China. We had an amusing discussion about weather and nice places to see in New Zealand, before we finished breakfast. Helen and Bhavni exchanged numbers and we packed up our bags and loaded up the car before heading out into town.

With the rain, we went to the art gallery in town – dedicated to the person who built the wind wand and it was the second last day that it was open for a couple of years. We actually got there a bit before it opened, but we managed to avoid the rain until it opened.

We spent a little while looking at the exhibits and some of the more funky stuff, before we went to the next door cafe and had a coffee (mainly to avoid the rain). After we went to the museum adjacent to the I-site, which was actually quite good, though we only spent a short time in there.

We got back to the car and started our indirect journey back. We first drove (in the rain) to Stratford, where we stopped for a little bit. As we were near lunch time we bought a bit of snack from the bakery (not to Bhavnis taste) and watched the clock tower from accross the road, which did the scene from Romio and Juliet with puppets. The rain had mostly stopped and it was now just cloudy.

From Stratford, we began our next leg of the journey – on the SH43 – The Forgotten Highway. The route had a sign saying last petrol for 170km. The route was quite a nice drive through land that for the most part reminded us of driving in Yorkshire. It was a pity that it was cloudy as on some of the passes you would have been able to see Mount Teranaki and the centre mountains at the same time. This whole highway is a remnant of the gold rush times when this was the main route, and we read a few information boards about how the road was built.

We passed a couple of VW vans and eventually got to Whangamomomna, which is the biggest village along the highway (and in fact an independent state). We went to the famous hotel there – the owner was not in the greatest of moods – and ordered a bowl of chips. Well we got a large bowl of chips back – slight struggle to finish them. It was lucky we got there when we did as it got busier after. We both watched amused as the owner only would serve someone through a window as they were wet.

Leaving the hotel we carried on the drive and got to the river road, which after a tunnel led to the Tangaraku George which was a 12km unsealed section with some high bluffs and sheer cliffs. We had to go past a few people who all waved and said hello :). After the gorge, the road became sealed again and we arrived in Taumuruni, which was the end of the forgotten highway.

It was around 5pm so we stopped at the town for a break, going to the 4 square for some resupplies and a short walk. Carrying on north on the way to Te Kuiti, with Bhavni driving, we suddenly passed a sight which we had seen around 10 months ago (with Shamil). We turned the car around and went to stand on the stones in silly poses again.

After that we carried on and as the sun was going down we got to Te Kuiti and had to stop to take some photos of fiery clouds. I’m sure the locals were giving us strange looks as I literally hopped out of the car and started taking photos while Bhavni drove away (to look where to park/turn around).

After that is was plain sailing to Auckland via Hamilton.

Monday 1st April

We had a late start, spending the morning at home, unpacking and sorting out.As the day was nice we thought it would be nice to go to the city and see the Art Museum which we had never managed to get to. We popped in the car and drove to the city. There seemed to be little parking, I found one, but we thought we could do better…. should have stayed there as nearly 20 minutes later we had given up. There were road closures in the city so something was going on.

Giving up, we drove to Ponsonby – on the way finding out on the radio that there is a marathon/race in the city – no wonder. We had a little walk around and had a browse of the shops there.

Going home we watched the marathon on tv and chilled for the rest of the day, as well as making some home made pizza with the home made mozzarella.

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