Russell, Bay of Islands

Yesterday we drove to the Bay of Islands - a good day for driving as it was raining on and off all day.  Staying in a lovely motel right on the waters edge and our room is right next to the swimming pool.  Motels rooms are all self contained some having better kitchen facilities that others.  The one we are in now has a separate bedroom and large living area with sofas, dining table and small kitchen.  We also have a table, chairs and lounger outside and the use of a BBQ
As the weather was grim yesterday afternoon we used the motel's bikes and went for a spot of geocaching following the town's Heritage Trail. 
Today we got on the water at last.  We have spent the day sailing round the lovely islands on board a 50' yacht.  It was a bit chilly at first and fleeces were needed but by the time we anchored for lunch in a deserted bay the sun was out so swimming was the order of the day, though not for all!  David decided to stay on board and enjoy the sun.  Lunch was supplemented by fish caught during the morning.  An excellent day out.

Sara at the helm

One of the many islands in the Bay

Tall Ship in the Bay

Ferrying some of the crew ashore at lunchtime

David at the helm

Our motel room, in the centre

Trip along Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga

Our reason for coming to Kaitaia was to see Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga.  Cars that choose to drive along the beach have no insurance so we decided to book a bus trip which included sand boarding, picnic lunch on a lovely beach and a visit to Cape Reinga.  Cape Reinga is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean but is not quite the most northerly point of New Zealand - that is 3km down the coast.  The weather was fantastic and we even found time for a quick swim at lunchtime. 

Sara on Ninety Mile Beach

A car that got it wrong 4 years ago!

Sandboarding

David doing is properly

Tapotupota Bay

View from Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga Lighthouse in the background

Another view from Cape Reinga

Hourara Heads

First Days in New Zealand

Well here we are in New Zealand having arrived two days earlier than intended after Cyclone Yasi  prevented us from going to Cairns.  We were lucky to have missed the devastation caused by the Cyclone and the heavy rainfall and gales which continue to spread across Australia.
We are spending our first week north of Auckland and after one night near the Airport we headed for the Kauri Coast enjoying spectacular views as we drove to our destination Matakohe.  We were fortunate to find accommodation at Harbour View Cottages having found our first choice had no vacancies.  We were shown a cabin with stunning views across Kaipara Harbour and then the owner said we might prefer the other cabin with even better views.  We thought we had died and gone to heaven.  We spent two nights there during which time we visited the Kauri Museum on the recommendation of Sally and Martin and Rose and Malcolm.   A brilliant museum which gave us a real insight into the way the earlier settlers lived as well as introducing us to the Kauri tree which has had such an influence on this area.

David relaxing on our veranda

David at the Kauri Museum

A Frostbite class dinghy
 made of Kauri wood

A Kauri tree log at the museum

Enjoying the view from our veranda

We left Matakohe and headed further north towards the Waipoua Forest, stopping off at the Kaiwi Lakes, where after taking a short walk to find a geocache, we enjoyed watching some school children learning to sail in clear warm waters off a gently sloping beach.  Sadly we had to move on from this idyllic spot as wanted to get to Kaitaia.  We stopped in the Waipoua Forest for a walk to see the second largest Kauri tree in the world - didn't have time to stop and look at the largest - and then took a ferry across the Hokianga Harbour and on to our destination for the next couple of nights.

This Kauri tree has a circumference of 16m

The mouth of Hokianga Harbour

 The ferry

Ferry leaving Rawena

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ayers Rock

We spent two nights here and did two tours.  The first was a trip to the Kata Tjuta Domes with a walk through the Wolpa Gorge.  This was an afternoon trip and very hot but we had an excellent guide and with only four of us on the tour we had a superb afternoon.  These domes are about 45km from Uluru and are not sandstone like Uluru but a much harder rock.  There are 36 of them and the highest point is 500m.  We were lucky enough to see camels on the trip back but we still haven't seen any kangaroos except the two spotted from the train.

                                                           Kata Tjuta Domes                                                               

                                                                                                  Wolpa Gorge

                                                    Camels with Kata Tjuta in the background


Our second tour was a sunrise tour which meant a 5.15 a.m. start.  We drove out to one of the viewing areas, had coffee and waited - unfortunately the cloud cover meant we didn't get to see the sunrise but the eerie atmosphere at that time of the morning made it worth the trip.  We were then taken to the Cultural Centre for breakfast before going on a guided walk with an Aboriginal guide and intepreter.  This included a demonstration fire making and weapon making with lots of information on the Aboriginal way of life.  The Aboriginal culture is very much gender specific and Sara was not allowed to have a go at fire making!  We were both allowed to try spear throwing though.  By the time the demonstration and "teach in" had finished the sun was up and we continued our walk slowly towards Uluru.  Once there we had the chance to look at the Rock close up before being taken back to our hotel.

We spent the rest of our morning changing flights and hotels as Cyclone Yasi was moving rapidly towards North Queensland and Cairns Airport was closed.  We are now going straight to New Zealand and sadly missing a visit to the Great Barrier Reef so we will just have to come back!

                                                 Ayers Rock (Uluru) at Sunrise

Our guide preparing to make kitty which is an epoxy like substance used in making weapons etc.

Sara demonstrating women's work

                                                       David demonstrating men's work

                       At the foot of the Rock

The Rock from near the Base

The only kangaroo we saw!

Pics from the Blue Mountains

                                 Wentworth Falls

 

                                                                                                         Katoomba Valley

    Katoomba Cascades - it could be Dartmoor!

                                                                                               Katoomba Falls in the background

           The cable car from the bottom of the valley

                                                                                                    One of the many views from the cable car

This parakeet sat and watched us as we were reading in the sun at our hotel

Picnic lunch - we had a lovely drive from the Blue Mountains to the Hunter Valley - even though it was Sunday there was hardly any traffic - mainly bikers treating the road like the Weymouth to Bridport Road!  We stayed the night in the Hunter Valley Resort which was very peaceful and has its own Vineyard - we did the wine tour but didn't do the tasting as we had a long drive back to Sydney and laws on drink and drive are very strict in Australia.


 

The Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley

It was an easy drive out of the City to the Blue Mountains.  Our first stop was Wentworth Falls - pretty spectacular though a bit scary looking down from the cliff top.  Unfortunately the weather was a bit dull and overcast but the views were still pretty good.  We went on to Katoomba where we decided to visit Scenic World.  Although this is a bit of a theme park we had been advised to go there as the views from the cable car and skyway are awesome.  There are also some interesting walking trails - some on a boardwalk but others along tracks.  Sara was not keen on some of the view points or the glass floor in the cable car which although had amazing views were definitely enough to start the knees wobbling!  Day 2, weather back to normal very hot and sunny, and we drove through some amazing country to the Hunter Valley stopping to do a number of geocaches en route.  The whole area would make a really good walking holiday if we had more time, although incredibly hot.  We had managed to get a cheap deal for the night in the Hunter Resort which includes a tour round the Vineyard - a early start for this tomorrow morning.

Three Sisters in Katoomba Valley

Internet connection too slow to put on any more photographs - will catch up next time we have a connectiom.