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Day 4 was our travel day and we decided to take the scenic route up the west coast along highway 16 – it took a lot longer but the views made it all worthwhile. Rolling hills and amazing lush green vegetation with the occasional views across the many bays. We pulled off at Whangarei to see the waterfalls and have a sandwich.before carrying on to Paihia.

The bay is gorgeous and our lodge is right on the front with uninterrupted views across to Russel and some of the closer Islands. At first we thought we may not like Paihia as it was very busy and touristy (yes I know that’s what we are, but there are tourists and then those tourists) but by early evening it quieted down.

Tuesday we were up with the Tui’s again and off to buy tickets for the first ferry over to Urupukapuka. WOW what a place, totally uninhabited and amazing walking trails criss crossing the entire island. Quite the haul up and down some of the trails but the views made it worthwhile. Every time you came to another outlook, you were blown away with the beauty. Lunch was a couple of bananas while we sat on Paradise bay.

The last headland we walked was where the local sheep grazed and so I have a question for you all, do you see some nice fiber for spinning or lamb chops?

Back at the main bay for a delicious panini and then the ferry back at 4.15. This day was an unexpected delight and I am sure we will have more of them as we continue our trip.

So the day starts early here, it seems a lot of the native birds like to be up and singing before the dawn chorus, but it’s still a very pleasant start to the day.

Last night I called baggage services and they told me the bags were on the LA to Auckland flight (they did not seem to know how they got from San Fran to LA) So at 8am this morning I started calling to confirm they were here, and we were off to the airport to collect our bags, Hurray!!

We drove about an hour north to a marine bird reserve called Tawharanui. It’s not only known for the birds and hiking but also it has a very good surfing beach. It’s a long quite thin peninsula with amazing views. The weather was colder and more overcast than yesterday but still pleasant. We hiked about 6 miles and like all coastlines, it was very undulating, so that combined with some Jet lag made it feel quite a bit longer. But despite this it was well worth the effort and we really enjoyed it.

We called into Matakana for a coffee and cake. Matakana is a small town set in the middle of all the wineries in that area. Gets a lot of visitors for its farmers market every Saturday. The drive back to Auckland was uneventful but thank goodness we were doing the reverse to everyone else, its Labor Day weekend here and it looks as if the whole of Auckland was driving North.

Well we arrived at the airport in Atlanta with time to spare, and then the fun began. our flight from Atlanta to Houston was getting more and more delayed to the point that there was no way it would make the connection to Auckland. We were offered to try again the same time 24 hours later or fly to San Francisco and then on to Auckland. We went for the latter as trying to change Airbnb and car rental by 24 hours would cost us.

Now we had even more time in Atlanta so went to eat and have a drink – cost a crazy amount of money!

We arrive in Auckland safe and sound but our luggage had decided to stay in the US. We were now at 26 hours from the time we left our house, not amused!!!
Off to pick up our rental, couldn’t get it to start and had to have an agent come out and explain that it was started but we had a hybrid and they run silent until you actually move (see previous statement about 26 hours of travel)

Our Airbnb is very close to the town just a 15minute drive and they very kindly let us arrive early. It’s really cute and in a lovely area. It’s spring here and the flowers are blooming as you walk around the neighborhood the smell of jasmine, lavender and magnolia is everywhere.

I thought it would be a good idea for us to walk to Mount Eden, it would end up being just over 5 miles but the weather was perfect and we knew we would have amazing views over the city. Mount Eden is a sacred place for the Māori and is actually an extinct volcano. Please send good vibes for getting our luggage tomorrow..

We leave later today and of course Rob has not packed yet! To those that know him it will come as no surprise, when you combine, leave everything to the last minute, and how long does it take to pack 10 of each identical item, you will understand his method.

Usually a few days after we leave there are deer and other animals roaming closer to the house, but they must have got their dates wrong this time. This is what we were greeted with when we looked out the window last evening, there were 5 of them on the lawn and the look on the face of this one looks like “what the heck are you still doing here” I guess the party started a day early.

New park, this one is near Gadsden Al and our spot is not so great. Very close to other campers and no grass. If we came back, I would only choose the ones highlighted in the map below. Good cell signal but the poorest internet so far.

On Friday, I finished work at 2 and we cycled to Noccalula falls. It was about 6.5 miles away, the last 2 miles were on a gravel trail and mostly uphill. I was very hot and sweaty by the time we got to the top. It was well worth it. The falls are impressive.

We went on a mini hike to the bottom of the gorge, sort of a short cut on the way down, you had to wedge yourself using hands and feet to get down between two rocks. There were people swimming in the river and it was nice and cool with plenty of shade from the rock face. We decided to get back up a less dangerous way and walked a bit further on to find a gentler climb.

The cycle home was a little easier although riding downhill on the gravel was a little scary for a non mountain bike rider. We were both pretty exhausted and dinner followed by rest was the order of the day.

This morning we looped the park twice, it is a very pleasant walk with Heron, turtles, some flowers and lots of boats in the river

This afternoon we walked into town. Rob was hoping for a tour of the local micro brewery, Back Forty Beer co. But due to covid, they are not doing tours. As we walked back through the main street, I spotted a yarn store, woo hoo. Not only was it a lovely store but the owner used to belong to my spinning guild. Such a small world sometimes. Walked back stopping to look in at a bike store and books a million.

Also passed this fellow stopping for a rest at the side of the river

Tonight we were treated to a very nice sunset when we took the dogs out for their final walk of the day