By Great Lake Taupo

We returned to sunshine and blue skies after the blustery weather of Hawkes Bay and crossing back across the mountains we had some stunning views. Our destination for the next day or so was Lake Taupo. Formed by a super volcanic explosion around 26,500 years ago Lake Taupo is New Zealand's largest lake. Its 29 miles long, 21 wide and 186 metres at its deepest point. The most recent eruption was around 2000 years ago and was so powerful it turned the skies red in Rome and ancient China. Scientists consider it dormant..not extinct! We felt reasonably safe as we parked Ned in a free campervan site right by the side of the lake..and enjoyed a panoramic view of the blue waters surrounded by hills and with the snow topped peaks of the Tongariro National Park in the distance.


There are lots of water sport related activities to keep you amused on Lake Taupo. We watched sailing dinghies,  water skiers and sail planes take off before heading into Taupo itself for a mid morning coffee.

It was a very hot day so we decided to walk by the river..which was being set up for an outdoor gig in a few days time. Headliners were Lynryd Skynyrd and 10 cc. I remember seeing both (original) bands at Knebworth in 1976!

Walking by the boat marina we saw there were some options for lake cruises and chose to go on the Ernest Kemp..a converted ferry and very jolly looking traditional boat. We could choose times and opted for a 5.00 pm cruise and they offered free beer!

At 5.00pm our skipper Ian welcomed us aboard...there were only about a dozen of us to welcome..and we set off on a beautiful late afternoon to cruise around the lake. Ian provided an amusing commentary peppered with lots of facts about the lake. The highlight was getting close to Maori rock carvings...created in the 1970s.

The cruise had given us an appetite and it was well past Mrs B's dinner time..so fast food was in order. After an enormous and very tasty burger from a NZ burger chain called Fuel we retired to Ned to watch the sun set over the lake. It was a truly spectacular sunset, the colours of the sky changing minute by minute. 

The next morning we set off to explore the Waikato River. Its the only outlet from Lake Taupo and New Zealands longest river.  It is used for hydro electric power and supplies about 15% of New Zealand's electricity. First stop was the Aritiatia Rapids. This was spectacular. 

Several times each day the Aritiatia dam is opened to release torrents of water down a narrow gorge. This spot was used in the second Hobbit movie to film a scene where the dwarves escaped in barrels. Although the water flow is artificially controlled by the water release from the dam upstream it was still impressive. An information board explained no actors (or stunt doubles) had actually been in the barrels during filming. It wasn't difficult to understand why!

Further upstream, and reached by way of a 6 kilometre round trip are the Huka Falls. This was an arduous river side walk with lots of ascents and descents on a very hot day. The walk was however worth it. The Waikoto River meanders gently downstream until it suddenly narrows and falls 20 metres. The narrow channel forces water through at the rate of 220,000 litres per second. The result is a boiling maelstrom of water. It was hypnotic to watch and such a contrast to the lazy, peaceful river we had seen at the start of the walk.

Before....

..... and after

Our stay in Taupo had been brief and we had seen some spectular sights in a short space of time, but it was once again time to move on....the mountains were calling. 

Our next campsite would be in the heart of the Tongariro National Park with the highest mountains in the North Island. A very small village called Whakapapa (pronounced fakapapa) would be our home for the next two nights.....and a good nights sleep was needed - for the following day promised to be very special.

So much wine and not enough time!

Our journey through the North Island took us further east heading towards Napier and the Hawkes Bay wine region. This part of our trip also saw us experience the first rainfall of any substance. Crossing the Ahimanawa Range of mountains we climbed through steady rain and an absence of views! By the time we arrived on the coast in Napier the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again although short blustery showers were ever present throughout the day. 

Our approach to Napier, despite being a bit wet had been interesting....as there were numerous signs for vineyards. Hawkes Bay is, as many readers will know, one of New Zealands major wine regions so a couple of days would be needed to explore!

Napier is reckoned to have the finest collection of art deco buildings anywhere in the world. This all came about as a result of a major earthquake that took place on 3rd February 1931. The quake destroyed much of the commercial centre necessitating a major urban reconstruction project. The main architects were heavily influenced by the then fashionable art deco movement and designed the new centre in this style. Most new buildings were completed within 2 years. What you see today is a feast for the eyes. 

We hadn't sorted out a campsite for the night...our planned freedom camping spot hadn't looked that appealing..so we called in at a campsite about 5 miles outside of Napier. It had two main attractions. Firstly it was right by the beach and we got a spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean, secondly it was right opposite a vineyard! It was a Friday night and as luck would have it the Crab Farm Winery had a restaurant that only opened in the evenings once a week on a Friday and offered live music. I promptly booked a table.

At 7.30 we arrived to find a rustic restaurant,  a warm welcome, and a full house. The food was excellent..I had a delicious pan fried red snapper served on an orange and mint salad and ordered a bottle of Gewurztraminer. Mrs B. doesn't normally like wine but seemed keen to share this one...and became a little merry quite quickly! It was an excellent evening but Saturday morning brought a couple of muzzy heads....

Many places in New Zealand have regular farmers markets and Napier was no exception. On a bright, blustery Saturday morning after a much needed coffee we pottered around the stalls tempted by the fresh fruit, veg, jams, honey and olive oils. Once we had finished we set out to walk the art deco buildings of Napier using a handy guidebook produced by the local conservation trust. 

An alfresco lunch on the cheap...2 sausage ciabattas from the farmers market (cost $6..roughly £3) revived us and we set off in 'Ned' to explore some of Hawkes Bay. We drove to the top of Te Mata peak just outside Hastings. This was a precipitous road, narrow, with no safety railings, so getting to the top in a camper was a little hair raising. The views were fortunately worth it! We got chatting to a man as we were admiring the panoramic vista - he was a local councillor and clearly proud of his local area. He liked visiting cathedrals and we told him we had visted the Anglican cathedral in Napier that morning (rebuilt in the 1950s) which had a cross of nails - all the way from Coventry Cathedral. 

The view from Te Mata Peak

Our final destination was another winery. This one offered free tastings, cellar door sales and low sulphite wines. It would have been discourteous not to have tried a few..and I was quite taken with a pinot noir but settled on a more affordable syrah to take back to the camper van.

It would probably take a good 6 months to visit all the wineries in Hawkes Bay and our time was limited. We had to move on the following day. I consoled myself with tne knowledge we'd be in the Marlborough region later on our travels and therefore there would be a chance to sample a few more wines before we left New Zealand.

Big Birds and Old Geysers

After the wonders of Waitomo our journey took us back east again. We stopped on the way at a quirky little town called Otorohangu, known principally as a place that celebrates all things to do with New Zealand (Kiwiana) but also home to the Kiwi House a bird sanctuary, conservation centre and perhaps our only chance to see a live kiwi!

Kiwis are nocturnal birds and endangered so the chances of spotting one in the wild are remote. The Kiwi House gave us the chance to see a kiwi as they have a nocturnal room and you can observe kiwis but they are oblivious to your presence. They are larger than you might expect, hairy rather than feathery and despite an ungainly appearance are quite fast across the ground. As well as kiwis we got see see lots of other native birds including a very friendly spurred plover who met us as we exited the kiwi house and started to follow us....

After seeing lots of birds we explored Otorohanga itself. It really goes to town on celebrating all things 'kiwi' with gift shops selling all manner of things ranging from the tasteful to pure tat...but mostly the latter. Mrs B. was in her element!

Street art in Otorohangu

A reviving coffee later saw us journey on, eventually reaching Rotoroa. 

Rotoroa sits on the shore of a large lake and would be a pleasant but somewhat unremarkable town but for what goes on below ground. As you approach Rotoroa puffs of steam appear from vents at the edge of pavements or between bushes and there is a distinctive smell of sulphur. A weary traveller could be forgiven for thinking they were approaching the gates of hell, what with the tacky looking motels, bars and the odd casino. Further inspection reveals that Rotoroa does in fact have some curious delights.

Leaving Ned in the car park by the lake we set off to explore on foot. A 15 minute walk brought us to Kuirau Park. At first glance you would think Kuirau Park is a fairly ordinary municipal park, with neatly trimmed grass, tidy flower beds and lakes but then you realise that its far from a typical park. There are bubbling pools of boiling mud, steaming lakes and craters that are (mostly) fenced off to prevent the unwary from meeting a hot and sticky end. 

Not sure what this notice is referring to....

We continued walking and eventually found ourselves in a slightly ramshackle Maori village (with lots of steaming pools of water all around us) that had a number of marae (meeting halls) and a superb late 19th century Anglican church; St Faiths. It had wonderful Maori carving decorating the inside.

We eventually returned to our start point and rewarded ourselves with a modestly priced but enormous ice cream.

Deciding to camp somewhere less sulphurous we headed out into the hills to Lake Tikitapu also known as the Blue Lake. The air was clean and it was a beautiful place to park Ned and sleep for a couple of nights whilst we explored more of the area.

Lake Tikitapu....it really is blue!

Keen to see some more geo thermal wonders we set off early the next morning to Wai o tapu. This visitor attraction bills itself as a thermal wonderland and provides an opportunity to follow trails and view some pretty amazing thermal pools where the minerals produce water that alternates between red, blue and green. Its also very hot...average temperature of the hot springs and lakes is 100°c.

Definitely not pea soup!

The star attraction of Wai o tapu is undoubtedly the Lady Knox geyser. This erupts (with a little human intervention) at 10.15 am. Apparently convicts clearing the forest thought to use the hot water to do their laundry. The addition of soap powder broke the surface tension of the super heated water below ground and caused a plume of water to erupt. It is now triggered in the same way and sends a jet of water beween 10 and 20 metres into the air.

An old geyser...

After completing all the way marked trails we headed back towards the Blue Lake but detoured to see another couple of lakes including the impressive Lake Tarewara. An information board from a look out point told us that an eruption from Mount Tarewara, a still active volcano, had devastating consequences for a Maori community in 1886, burying an entire village and radically changing the landscape. It was a salutary reminder that the natural beauty of many parts of New Zealand and especially the geo thermal places we were visiting were not benign forces.  Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were regular occurrences and could alter villages, towns and cities in unpredictable ways...as we were to find out in our next destination: Napier.

Going Underground

Escaping Hobbiton, and not, as far as we know, pursued by any Black Riders our journey took us west. By chance we passed the Hobbiton film set but as the admission charge was $75 each (for a short tour of a film set) we carried on driving through rolling hills and small country towns. Around late morning we arrived at Waitomo...an area of caves and glow worms. There are several companies offering cave tours in the Waitomo area. We opted to go with a company called Spellbound, largely because the reviews on TripAdvisor were very good and they took you to caves used in the filming of Planet Earth. If they were good enough for Sir David Attenborough we thought they would be good enough for us! We booked on a half day tour starting at 2.00 pm so that gave us time to do the Ruakuki bush walk. This spectacular loop track took us through forest, under giant ferns and through natural rock tunnels and to a giant cave opening. This whole area is limestone country and their are 100s of caves, holes (called tomos) and underground rivers.

At 2.00 pm we reported for our cave tour and met our guide, Norm (only his Mum calls him Norman). Norm was a terrific guide, he knew everything about Waitomo (population 41) and had personally explored many of the cave systems in the area. He even knew how many dairy cattle each farm had and shared with us the fact that maize was a popular crop...and also used locally to strengthen marijuana!

Our group was 5 in number and Norm chatted away as he drove us on an unsealed road up into the hills. It was clear he had an intimate understanding of the landscape both above and below ground. After leaving public roads our transit van bumped its way up and down rough tracks arriving in green fields, surrounded by limestone outcrops.

We eventually left our van, walked down a track and put on our helmets and headlamps. Norm guided us into a cave entrance. The light quickly receded. After 20 metres Norm asked us to turn off our headlamps. The darkness was total. After turning them back on again we were guided through a large cave system with an underground river flowing beside us. After a while we started to see pinpricks of light on the roof of the cave and thin filaments of silk like thread.  This was our first sight of glow worms. We could take photos but capturing this wasn't easy with so little light. The photo that follows is a best effort at capturing what we saw. 

Norm explained about the glow worm life cycle (they are actually the larvae of a mosquito like insect) and then led us on deeper into the cave. After walking for a little while we came to an underground river. Norm asked us to get into a small rubber dinghy, extinguish our head lamps,  switch off our cameras and stay silent. 

He proceeded to move us very slowly along the river. The only light was provided by hundreds of thousands of glow worms above our heads.  It was like looking at the densest star field you could imagine. As our eyes adjusted to the light it was possible to make out the shapes of the cave formations and the light from the glow worms created a dappling effect on the water as though light were penetrating a deep forest canopy. Our trip along the river ended near a waterfall before we turned around and in complete silence headed back. Time was hard to judge, but I'm guessing we were on the river for 20 minutes. Norm explained there were 7 kilometres of the cave so we were only seeing a tiny part! After leading us back to the cave entrance Norm made us all a cuppa,  offered biscuits and when we were suitably revived he took us off to another dry cave. This cave didn't have many glow worms but did have wonderful stalagmite and stalactite formations and the bones of a now extinct Moa - a giant bird that once inhabited New Zealand but was hunted to extinction by the Maori.  This unfortunate specimen was around 20,000 years old.

Our time with Norm ended all too quickly and we had experienced something rather special. It seemed appropriate to head to the only bar in town (Waitomo's only pub burnt down a few years ago) and celebrate the end of a magical day. The fact they had a micro brewery and a very acceptable pale ale was even better. Mrs B. even got a free cider on the house!

Getting Into Hot Water....

After breakfast,  shared with the ducks, we left our forest campsite to explore the Coromandel peninsula. This area of New Zealand was gold mining territory in the 1800s and many of the old buildings in Coromandel town had a 'wild west' look about them. It was an overcast and damp morning so we took our time getting there...driving on a coastal road with hair pin bends and then up into the mist laden mountains on even tighter bends. 

Coromandel has a bit of a foodie reputation..and although it was a Sunday morning the Coromandel smokehouse was open. We went in and bought a large herby smoked fillet of Kahawai..a fish caught in New Zealand waters...and some smoked tuna. This made the basis for a really tasty meal later on.

We failed to keep an enterprising cat from getting in the smokehouse...as soon as I opened the door it shot in! 

Before eating our tasty smoked fish we needed to work up an appetite. Cathedral Cove was the destination and reaching it involved a walk....The starting point was Hahei on the east coast of the Coromandel. Cathedral Cove is only accessible by boat or on foot. Taking the latter option our walk dropped down into a valley, undulated through forest and pastureland before finally dropping down to a beautiful beach with pounding surf. A few paces further and the rock arch came into view. It was simply stunning and a great place to have a Sunday lunch. 

The return journey involved a stiff climb back from the beach but we detoured through a poriri grove...part of the forest cloaking the hillsides.  Despite it having been a warm but overcast day we'd enjoyed the walk and the views of dozens of limestone islands just out to sea. 

What was needed after a good walk was a nice hot soak....but that would have to wait until morning. Our campsite for the night was at a place called Hot Water Beach. For about 2 hours either side of low tide its possible to dig a hole in the sand on a specific part of the beach and create your own hot tub. Geo thermal activity brings hot water to the surface. So, armed with a spade,  at 7.30 the next morning,  we set off to start the day in a hot tub of our own making.  It was a beautiful warm sunny morning and I set Mrs B. to work digging. The resulting hot tub was very hot...so much so that it wasn't possible to sit in it for long...without risking parboiling bits of me! Fortunately a large wave came in and reduced any risk of overcooking. 

After an invigorating start to the day we upped sticks and started to make our way south. Our route reached the Karangahake Gorge and we decided to stop and do an impromptu walk. Not really sure where to go and without a map we walked across an old railway bridge crossing a river and entered an old railway tunnel. It was quite gloomy but there was intermittent lighting so we walked on and on...and when we reappeared into the daylight we read an information board that told us the tunnel was just over 1 kilometre long. A real feat of engineering and a physical reminder of the gold mining and cyanide processing factories and industry that had once dominated this now dramatic wilderness area. Crossing another bridge we followed the river downstream watching it run its course over rapids as the water boiled and surged between rocks.

Either a very long tunnel or the Mines of Moria....

 After another picnic lunch we continued to Paeroa...an otherwise ordinary small town apart from its 'fame' (in New Zealand) for its fizzy drink, L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) commemorated by a giant bottle. An obligatory photo was taken.

We reached journey's end for the day - Matamata - another ordinary town that was transformed by the Lord of the Rings films. The Hobbiton film set is just outside the town, which cashes in with a Hobbit hole themed information centre and all manner of Tolkien related ephemera. I spotted a hobbit sushi bar!

Our campsite for the evening was located just outside Matamata. It was called Opal Springs, had the feel of a 1960s holiday park...but had 3 hot spring pools. We ended the day as we had started..in hot water!

In The Land of Giants

After reaching Cape Reinga onward travel options were limited. We could have headed north but this would have entailed hiring a boat of some kind and navigating across the Pacific Ocean! The more pragmatic choice was taken to head south again. About 15 miles south of our overnight campsite at Tapotupotu Bay a sign was spotted saying '90 Mile Beach, 10 km' so we detoured of State Highway 1. Getting to 90 Mile Beach was our first significant experience of driving on New Zealand unsealed roads. After 1 km the tarmac ran out and Ned bumped and rattled along rough gravel until eventually the road stopped...and a giant beach appeared. 90 Mile Beach is in fact only about 50 miles long but looking up and down the beach on a hazy morning there was nothing as far as the eye could see. Sadly our hire agreement prevented us from taking Ned along the beach...but coach trips are routine. Just as we were headed back to our camper a coach roared past..a surreal end to our visit.

90 Mile Beach.....not a lot to see!

Rush hour....

Returning to the gentler tarmac of SH1 our journey continued south...but this time we headed towards the west coast. Our destination was the Waipoua Forest, home of ancient and giant kauri trees. Our route took us through the Hokianga region and across the Hokianga river on a ferry. Whilst waiting to cross on the ferry Ned found himself surrounded by chickens..that appeared out of nowhere...another surreal moment! 

A very winding road led eventually to the lush green sub tropical Waipoua Forest and the star attraction: Tane Mahuta. This ancient kauri tree is the largest alive, stands 51.5 metres tall and is estimated to be around 2000 years old. Walking through dense forest on boardwalk you are suddenly brought up short as this magnificent tree appears, rising through the canopy. Knowing this tree has been around through so much history is a strangely humbling experience. 

Our campsite for the evening was a few miles further south, tucked in a forest clearing. Mrs B. was happy to be able to enjoy a hot shower after the privations of our previous beach side site!

After having breakfast we set off towards the Coromandel peninsula. This involved a long drive passing Auckland but through rolling hills and farmland. As we approached a small community called Paparoa there were signs for a farmers market. On impulse we pulled over and walked through a small selection of stalls. It would have been very easy to buy lots of tasty food stuffs, giant jars of honey, home cured bacon, jams and marmalade but knowing space in Ned wasat a premium we limited ourselves to a punnet of tomatoes and coffee in the village cafe. In the background under a marquee a group of singers strummed some 60s hits...

Continuing our journey brought us through to the coast and blue sea. It seemed as though every turn in the road brought another visual treat...although passing through Auckland wasn't that thrilling! As we approached the Coromandel peninsula mountains appeared on the horizon, shimmering in the late afternoon haze. After stopping in Thames for some food we checked into another forest campsite. This too had hot showers (Mrs B was happy) but also a crystal clear stream, butterflies and friendly (but hungry) ducks. 

We dined on a selection of cheeses, including a very nice Kikorangi blue, washed down with a 2009 Hawkes Bay Malbec, biodynamically grown from the Hawkhurst Estate vineyard.  Very pleasant it was too....and for some reason I slept very well that night.