The South Island Tour - 1

 Well here we are ... 

Christmas eve in Kaiteriteri.

We picked up the camper from storage on Friday. Then headed west, on our way to our first stop Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve

The flight down from Auckland was uneventful... no bumpy weather and all our bags made it safely.

I was a bit worried as my hand luggage has all the electronics we needed for the trip and was quite heavy and bulky, but none of flight crew said anything, so I settled in  for the flight.

The flight itself was uneventful. I had an aisle seat and there was a lot of cloud. So nothing to see.

Arriving at Nelson, a quick call to My Fair Lady, and she was there to meet me in the van.

First stop was Countdown to pick up some supplies for the next few days, then on the road to Kaiteriteri.

We made a slight detour to Upper Motere, where one of My Fair Ladies relatives came from.

At the Lutheran church, we wandered around the graveyard, reading the stories of people long since passed. We were not sure what the name of My Fair Lady's relative was but there seemed to be quite a few graves with the same family names. (We later found the name and will try calling back there after Christmas)

Then a very pleasant  drive on to our first stop. Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve.

We checked in and found out the place was fully booked all the way through to the end of January.  So we did well booking our spot several months ago.

A strole and a quick dinner on the beach made a lovely end to our first day.

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1 day to go until my next adventure begins

A long weekend away...

 Hi folks it has been a while, but I've finally done it.

We had a long weekend, and I took advantage of it.

Saturday morning after sorting a few things out, it was time to hit the road...

NORTH

Yes, that's right up north to Whangrei.

I booked a nice little Air BnB at Pataua, out on the coast and set off to spend some time pottering around an area I don't know very well.

Saturday

The long drive up SH16, was not very busy, but the condition of the road was terrible. It was a mixture of potholes and slips, where parts of the road had dropped slightly.  Making the trip a bit bumpy and uncomfortable. Eventually getting to the batch at around 3:30pm

The Air BnB was in Pataua South, and easy enough to find after a little 30-minute drive out from Whangarei.  By the time the car was unpacked and everything sorted, the sun was starting to get a bit low. It felt more like 6 or 7 o'clock at night than just late in the afternoon. Still, it was dry and very pleasant.

So off for a short walk to the beach, before the sun disappeared completely.

To get to the beach you have to cross the Pataua River by a footbridge 

Before heading through a couple of roads to get to the beach.

After walking along the roads to the beach it was obvious once you got to the beach, that you can walk back along the beach to the bridge.

A quick drive back to New Day Cafe & Indian Restaurant in Parua Bay to pick up dinner, and back to the batch with the takeaways. It was a glorious way to end the day.

Sunday

I would like to say that Sunday started with a nice clear sky, however a bit of wind and rain came through overnight, and although the rain and wind had died down by morning, the sky was still cloudy with the odd shower of rain.

After breakfast, and a short drive back into Wagnarei (Took the wrong turn and ended up going over the lifting bridge), I parked at the Town Basin Marina Village, and set out to do some exploring.

The Marina Village was a great place to explore, with lots of cafes, shops and the Hundertwasser Art Centre. An amazing place to go even if you don't go inside. The design is like nothing you will see anywhere else.

The toy shop there had a small exhibition of models out the back. It was like a miniature Model Expo. Something I was not expecting to find there.

After wandering around for quite a while, I had a quick bit of lunch washed down by a Fudge Icecream Sunday 

Next, it was off to the Kiwi North: Museum, Kiwi House and Heritage Park, just outside Whangarei. A combination of a Museum, a Kiwi House and a Historic Village. A lovely place to spends some time wandering through looking at the history of Whangarei, trying to spot the Geko and Skinks in their vivarium.

The kiwi was very obliging. The male was tucked away in his little burrow, but the female was out wanding around, rooting out food.  It was the first time I had seen one up close. Normally when you go into their dark enclosures, they are either nowhere to be seen or they keep to the back wall, away from visitors.

A nice wander through the Heritage Park, looking at an old school, chappel, and other buildings ended up back at the grounds of a bird rescue centre, where there were doves and pigeons everywhere.

As all good days adventuring must come to an end I got the hint that it was time to go when the lady from the reception came out and got in her car to go home.

The next big decision was where to go next and what to eat for dinner. There was only one place I could remember going to previously in Whangarei, and that was Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack & Craft Bar. So off I went back into town for a good old beer and side of ribs.

And so ended a lovely day exploring some of the sights of Whangarei. Definitely, a place to come back to and explore further, as well as out to some of the places in the surrounding area.

Monday

With a busy week looming at work and the threat of heavy long-weekend traffic queues, it was time to set off early back home.

The traffic home was constant with the inevitable occasional set of road works, and other delays but it was good to get back early, to sort things out for the week ahead.

So until next time 

Travel safely 😀

The Old Man of The Road 🚙

 Well, today was supposed to be a quiet day.  Gathering all my resources ready for the last week at work. Instead after lunch, it looked like such a nice day, I thought 'Why not go for a drive somewhere'.

So I go out my map (on my phone), and looked for somewhere interesting but not too far away.

The result Mataetei.

The drive out there was predictably boring. Driving through Auckland takes forever. The traffic was not too heavy but constant. Just right for a sunny day.  If there had been any more there would have been sections where the volume of traffic would have started to slow things down.

Eventually, just after you turn on to Whitford road, the city starts to melt away and you start to drive through green fields again, rather than city streets.

Whitford was busy but not overly so, it looked like 'The Stables Whitford' was doing a good business, with plenty of cars and people around. I thought about stopping as it looked very nice in Whitford, but I was keen to plod on.

And so past Beachlands and on to Maraetei.

As you would expect on a nice sunny summer day Maraetei was buzzing. There were cars all along the side of the road down by the water. And plenty of people out having fun. It was great to see so many people out enjoying themselves after all those months in lockdown, but there were not as many people as I was expecting.

I stopped in a quiet section and managed to take a snap.

As you can see there was not a cloud in the sky or anyone on this part of the beach.  But the road was still a bit too crowded for me so I moved on.

The coastal road from Maraetei to Umupuia is very narrow and for most of the road, it was lined with cars, wherever they could find a safe spot to park. So given that it was a busy day, progress along this part was slow.

Eventually, the road opened up to Umupuia Beach, but no fewer cars. Wherever there was somewhere to park off the road in the shade there were one or more cars. And even in some places where there was no shade.

Here the road took a sharp left turn and headed in away from the beach and past Duder Regional Park and back into Cleveland before heading back out again to the coast at Clevedon Coast Oysters. Then back in again to go over the hills past Waitawa Regional Park. (This looks like a spot to go back to another day)

And down the other side into  Kawakawa Bay. There were still plenty of people here, but much less than in the previous spots. At the far end of the bay is a dairy, which seemed a good place to get a drink and ice cream on such a lovely sunny day.

As you can see from these photos, my timing was not the best as the tide was miles out.  So I just sat in my car and enjoyed my drink and ice cream.

The rest of the trip was not very exciting. Just heading back to Manukau and back up the motorway to home.

But all in all a very interesting afternoon by the sea and a chance to enjoy some glorious weather.

So until next time 

Travel safely 😀

The Old Man of The Road 🚙

Well it has been over a month now guys and sad to say, still no progress. 

But we have been told that the borders are opening in a months time. 

Then chocks away and we will see where we end up. 

Until then. 

Travel safely 😀

The Old Man of the Road  🚗

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Hello and welcome to my blog.

Here I will post updates (if and when we ever get out of Level 3) about my trips around this beautiful country of ours.

Thank you

The Old Man of the Road