We flew into Auckland, via Brisbane where we made a last minute surprise visit to see Phil and Vas. It was perfect timing as it turns out they're heading back to the UK for Phil's work and Vas is also 3 months pregnant.
Picked up a camper van, similar in size to Nelly but rather better equipped, and headed up to see Nick and Sarah in Russell in the Bay of Islands. A beautiful location, with an amazing house - our room came with an 'en suite' outdoor shower!
We had a lovely time pottering about the Bay of Islands, going for some nice wet walks, and enjoying time with the Boultons. Had a delicious meal at the Gables as an early birthday celebration for me, and managed to go SUP-ing and windsurfing right from the bottom of their garden. We also enjoyed a rough and ready thermal springs spa run by a local Maori guy.
We headed up north from the Bay of Islands to make use of the camper, and the weather cleared a little. The first place we stayed at to camp was Matai Bay on the Karikari peninsular. We pulled into the Department of Conservation (DOC) campsite which comprised virtually empty lush green paddocks, and realised there were some perfect little waves, so jumped right in for a pre-sunset surf.
The Northland (northern tip of NZ) also has the famous Ninety Mile Beach (more like 55m but who cares). We didn't drive along it, but it did certainly look like a very long beach.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch of scraps (Mum you'd have been pleased with the selection of cheeses and hams) in Pukenui.
Our next DOC campsite was even more out of the way, in Tapotupotu Bay. There were quite a few vans there, but the site was tucked away in a bay which you had to descend down a windy steep road to get to, with incredible views of the juicy green surrounding landscape and pretty bay.
Seeing as we'd made it all the way up north, it seemed rude not to reach Cape Reinga. Plenty of tourists however, so we didn't stick around long. It's a sacred Maori spot - where souls depart.
After a brief stop in the Bay of Islands again on the way back south, for a towel, birthday present and easter chocolate exchange with Nick and Sarah, we continued onto our next DOC site in Uretiti. This time around we managed a beautiful morning surf. Neat little waves, with no one else out on the water. Bliss!
Due to our little morning surf adventure, we set off later than planned so decided to bypass Rotorua and headed straight for Taupo instead. We camped in a normal site in town, headed out for a lovely meal at the local Mexican (as you do), before spending a relaxed day kitting ourselves up for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and exploring the local area. We walked around the Huka Falls and 'Craters of the Moon', where I took far too many photos of some sulphuric gases coming out of the ground.
Our next destination was Waitomo, where we had organised some cave activity. We arrived just after dark, so decided to partake in a spot of 'free camping'. We drove past Waitomo out towards Morokopa, and parked up in a layby. On waking we had stunning views across a misty valley, before setting off to see the coast of black sand dunes, fossil hunting and the Morokopa Falls.
We don't have any photos from our morning in the Waitomo caves, but we joined a company who took us on a 4hr adventure abseiling down waterfalls inside a cave, all suited up in a thick wetsuit with white gumboots. We saw glow worms, saw incredible stalagmites and stalagtites close up, and I had to overcome some rather overwhelming moments of claustrophobia - it was certainly a relief so be out in fresh air and see some day light, however it was really fun and I'm sure it's good to do things that scare you!
The last couple of days before we flew home we stopped off in Raglan. The weather was pretty wet, so it would appear that we didn't take any photos, but off all the places - despite being one of the world's best surf spots - we didn't have a great surf as it was quite messy. Still, a lovely cute town with some nice hippy shops and cafes, and you could see the potential in the famous surf break at Manu Bay on our final day there - apparently the longest left hand break in the world. We'll have to go back there again.
Having dropped off the van, we then ventured into Auckland for our final night. We had a great meal at the Conservatory on North Wharf, some G&Ts in a couple of nice bars, then headed back to the hotel near the airport.
On arriving back in Perth I received a job offer from EY, so had a rather dramatic first week back. After much deliberation, I finally handed in my notice and only a week later was given my marching orders. I now have a 5 week break to look forwards to, before starting the next phase! It was a shame we couldn't rush back to NZ to explore the South Island this time, but apparently Phil has some work to do, so we'll have to save that for another time.
