After purchasing all the camping gear we thought we required for two weeks in Spring we set off for the Northland in our new van. We even booked ourselves into a marine cruise for the weekend. We were proud van owners, smiling as we waved goodbye to Jake's family. About 2 miles down the road the van starts speaking to us- usually wouldn't be a problem however ours was an import from Japan and therefore spoke to us in Japanese! This continued for the two hour journey to Whangarei on and off at intervals that we were unable to coincide with anything else. After attempting to use google translate to no avail we ended up drowning the voice out with the radio. Appoximately 3 miles from our destination the engine warning light came on- my heart sank. It was almost 5pm so we made the decision to head to the campsite and address the problem the following morning. Arriving at the campsite in Whangarei did not give us any further comfort. Despite the owners being very friendly it was central in the city next to a main road. We were told we could pick any site we liked- the problem being we struggled to see any grass area big enough to pitch a tent (2 man tent at that!).
We set up camp and decided to cook dinner on our new 2 burner stove. However, the two gas canisters we had bought had two different connectors, none of which matched that on the stove. Feeling well and truly fed up we headed to the communal kitchen. After a warm meal and a long day we settled down in the tent expecting to have a well rested night. It was not to be. All road noises seem much louder and closer at night. Not to mention the excessive number of helicopters that flew over. We have both camped previously but usually in a field in the middle of nowhere. The next morning couldn’t come quick enough.
The morning arrived and we started up the car- to our delight there was no engine warning light but one of the buttons had lit up. I immersed myself in the Japanese user guide and Jake took to Google to try and figure out what the button meant. Needless to say Jake found a result quicker than I- with an outcry of “WHAT THE F*** IS A DPF?!” I won’t bore you with the details as this is not a car blog but we did a lot of reading only for the light to have gone off the next time we started the van. With all lights out we dubiously drove out to Whangarei Falls. It was a stunning waterfall.
Happy the van had managed the uphill drive of 10km we decided to drive to
Whangarei Heads for a walk along the cliff and views of open ocean. 20km out of the city we start to climb up another steep hill, the engine light came on again and the van went into limp mode (basically not allowing you to go over a certain number of revs to protect the engine). We pull over and call a few car garages in the city- we had not considered the fact it was 1pm on the Friday before labour weekend (A bank holiday weekend). Thankfully Kelly’s Automotive told us to bring the van in, typically by the time we had driven 20km back into the city the engine light went back out and they couldn’t find a fault with the vehicle when hooked up to diagnostics. They advised we drove around to see if it came back on. Jake wanted to head back to the campsite but I was adamant we should drive back to Whangarei Heads in case the light came back on- sure enough it did (on the same hill as previous). Back in the garage they found a cracked turbo pipe and fixed it promptly for us. We were back on the road!
The next morning on the way to Bay of Islands we stopped at a large warehouse shop for a gas canister of the correct size and started the drive up the coast. And what a drive it was! Steep and snaking roads that were equally as beautiful.
Arriving in Paihia we parked up and completed a short hike to a lookout over the bay. We then drove to the campsite just out from Paihia, relieved to find it was away from the main road, perfectly positioned at the base of the waterfall. At last we felt as though we could start to relax on our road trip. From the waterfall we walked to Waitangi a 4 mile walk each way. At Waitangi we walked around the grounds in which The Treaty of Waitangi was signed which is of vast historical importance for NZ. Changing the course of the future for Maori and British settlers. We also we able to experience the Maori meeting house and learn how tribes would greet each other. An amazing experience to appreciate the culture we had stepped into.
On return to Haruru falls we again set up camp, retrieving our newly purchased gas canister and our stove. On attaching the connectors we were both obviously very surprised to find we still couldn’t light the stove! You may be familiar with the saying “Close, but no cigar”, our saying by this point was “Close, but no gas”. Jake then suggested that perhaps they don’t sell canisters pre-filled. I found this hard to believe but after taking to the internet (again) we found some very small print highlighting that canisters were, indeed, sold empty.
The following day we had dolphin cruise booked to see the hole in the rock. We decided to leave our van at the campsite to save the hassle of finding a space in town and began the hike into town. It was 29C and a 4 mile walk into the town and on arrival we treated ourselves to a well deserved ice cream. Checking into our cruise very early we decided to stop at a local cafe to get a coffee. The waiter serving us was also from England and spending a few years in the Southern Hemisphere. 10 minutes later looking out at the pier we were to catch our ferry from, we noticed a queue of about 60 people. Of course it was the queue for our trip. With limited seats available on the viewing deck we opted to stand rather than sit inside (partly because we had paid for a tour that you wanted to be able to see but mainly because I get awfully sea sick). The tour was well worth it, we were able to view the rocks formed around the harbour from previous volcanic eruptions and how wildlife thrived in these areas. We also saw and passed through the ‘Hole in the rock’ a large cavity through a prominent rock in the ocean. Despite the cruise boasting a 95% rate of dolphin encounters we didn’t come across any. Close but no dolphins!
After a full day in the sun and still no gas to return to we ate out at a local pizza and beer restaurant and treated ourselves to a taxi back up the hill to our camp. Of course the taxi driver was also English. Emigrating out to NZ 20+ years previous of course with no regrets! On that evening was the very important Rugby World Cup game between England and NZ. Settling down to watch at the campsite with a warm drink and warm clothing we were devastated to see the ‘We are unable to play this item’ note on the screen. The game now already 5 minutes in we quickly changed and headed for the local bar up the road advertising live screening. We walked in to find not a soul in the bar. Hearing chatter around the back we found the back room filled with All Blacks supporters- including the bar staff. One lady pulled out a chair on the far side of the room and I slipped in, quietly thanking her so she wouldn’t recognise my accent. Jake remained stood in the doorway and we both remained very silent through the first half. The second half Jake pulled up a chair too. The lady exclaimed ‘Well that’s a Pommy accent if I’ve ever heard one!’. We politely laughed and continued to keep quiet for the entirety of the game. I’m sure most of you know England won this game with an amazing set of play. However we didn’t shout our celebrations until we were safely back in the tent, away from Kiwi ears!
The following morning we left Paihia heading across to the west coast towards the Kauri forest.