Apihara - Back to East Coast - Dargaville

Hey!

Here's an update for you. We've had a great two weeks - revisiting some of the places we'd already been but checking out any places we missed. I think we went up the East coast a bit too quickly so it was nice to head back.

After a couple days in Apihara we finally headed south. Our first stop was Puketi Forest where we went for a lovely walk amongst the kauri trees. You can stay there but we headed to the infamous Cow Shed near Kaikohe. Amazing hosts with two lovely dogs. We went there because we heard it's a great place to meet people - unfortunately that night everyone seemed to stay in their vans. We played some cards in the evening outside the old dairy shed. The sun finally came out the next day. Yay! After a lovely shower in their outdoor shower shed, we headed to Rawene. This is where you can get the car ferry from the north. A beautiful seaside town with galleries and cafes. Apparently many hippies flocked here in the 60s! We headed along the Hokianga Harbour through Omapere and Opononi. There was a fab lookout walk out to the Tasman sea - no wildlife sadly! We wanted to head down to the Kaiiwi Lakes. On the way you go through Waipoua Forest where you can see Tane Mahuta. What a sight. Its age is unknown but is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years but it is the largest kauri known to stand today. Here we met two travellers from Belgium. They have been hitchhiking around NZ. We gave them a lift down to the lakes where they wanted to stay too. We stayed at Lake Taharoa. It is a paid camp but oh so worth it. The lake was so warm - it was like sitting in the perfect outdoor bath. The thunder and lightning was CRAZY that night - we hadn't seen or heard anything like it. 

The rain sadly continued. We headed to Dargaville - a very American style town. We went for a wee wander and then a sat in for a coffee and planned what we were going to do. We could have moved on and headed south but we knew that we could possibly get work in Russell and we wanted to visit the family we'd previously met whilst camping. We decided to go for it. We took the SH 14 over to Whangarei. I looked up the things to do thay we didn't do last time we were there. We started with the Wairua Falls - sometimes there isn't any water but the flow was very fast that day. We then headed to the Native Bird Recovery Centre. What an experience - they take in around 1200 birds a year and let them back into the wild once they're ready. We got to meet Sparky the Kiwi. He was going to be put down but the centre took him in and now they take him round schools. I couldn't stop smiling whilst I was stroking him. We also checked out the beautiful quarry gardens. We went back to Whangarei Falls camp - we just love it there. After the rain, the fall was a different picture! Last time, we didn't go out to Whangarei Heads. I'm so glad we went this time. We drove out past the amazing volcanic hills, checked out Ocean Beach and walked over for a swim in Smugglers Bay (I love the name). We wanted to do a longer walk but we got a email saying Omata were doing their grape harvest the next day. We headed up the road and stayed at the winery overnight. We chatted to some of the lovely staff that night, who come from all over the world.

It was a 7.30 start. We had a debrief and got on the job. We helped pick the pinot gris grapes. It was warm and there were a lot of flies but we really enjoyed the experience. There were about 30 rows to be picked but there were about 10 people picking. There was great chat and we stopped half way for coffee and cakes. We were finished by 1pm and treated to pizzas and pinto gris. What a treat AND we're getting paid too. They just hired or I think we could have got some jobs. We said we would love to work later in the year. We had a tidy out that night. Our waste tank had leaked which was nice. In the morning, we checked out the views over the Bay of Islands up Flagstaff Hill and then headed back to Mangonui. One of our favourite spots. We spent some time putting in insulation under our beds and sewing up the beds. All these life skills. We headed snack the Waterfront Bat that nignt - live music nignt!

The next nighy we drove out to Kaeo to visit Hannah and her lovely family. They live in the middle of the Bush. They had made us filled peppers which were amazing, and we chatted and drank lots of wine the rest of the evening. We even stayed up until 2am! In the morning, after eggs and beans, we went for a swim in Tauranga Bay. The waves were unreal - Scott was body boarding but I was just jumping them. Even the waves close to the shore were about 2m high. One pushed us right under. Then it was time to head south. We headed over towards Tutukaka. We stopped at the Hundetwasser Toilets in Kawakawa, Ruapekapeka - the final battle ground in war of the north and then to Whananaki South to cross the largest footbridge in the southern hemisphere. A lovely walk. However, I tried to take a selfie and my hat blew off. I had to walk across the muddy river bank to get it. We stayed at Wooleys beach that night - the place where we met our lovely Swedish friends. We met another lovely French guy and enjoyed a beach walk with him in the evening. After my favourite (when I can) run and swim, we went for an awesome walk from Whale Bay to Matapouri and round again. There are mermaid pools you can swim in during low tide. It was way too windy but after a lovely night at Wellingtons Bay along the road, we headed back to the Mermaid Pools. It's a bit of a steep walk but so worth it. You can swim amongst crabs, sea snails and starfish. We stayed outside Nguruguru Library that night. All the sites around Tutukaka are free, it's great! We got up early to do one of the longer walks at Whangarei Heads - Mount Manaia. It rises 420m above sea level and is pretty steep. It took us an hour and a half and the views were unreal. We then headed across to Dargaville again. We drove up to TokaToka peak - a 700m walk up the the summit of the volcanic summit plug. We checked out Baylys Beach which is known for the crazy rip, strong current and shore holes. We then decided to head along to Pouto Peninsula - right to the end point. We stayed at an amazing camp with so many locals. Everyone was lovely. There was a big group of locals with quad bikes, motorbikes and sand buggys. One guy offered to take Scott out - yes please!! He loved it!! The next day we made the 5 hour journey out to see the Pouto Lighthouse. So worth it. You go past some shipwrecks and massive sand dunes. We did our first laundry in a while but maybe a bit late on in the day - we ended up trying to dry pants and socks everywhere! Here we come to today. After a lovely swim, we relaxed in Dargaville by the river before heading to the Kumara Box. We had heard that it might be possible to get work, now or later, so we've come to chdck it out. Thanks for reading. If you look on a map, were heading in land a little (hoping to walk Mangawhai Heads) and then down to Helensville and beyond. It's been great to revisit the places we missed and we've loved meeting so many new people. Our van condensation situation is better now AND we finally got mozzie nets so we can sleep with two of the windows open - hurray! X gf v x