Vanna...Vanna White

We picked up our new camper van on Thursday morning. Jan and Iain were kind enough to drive us over to the depot. But first, we had some business to attend to with Iain. Not many people know this, but since Iain retired a few years ago he has gotten more into his water colour painting. He is very talented and we were very lucky to be able to purchase one of his paintings and send it home! We picked one of Mount Ngauruhoe, which is the mountain we climbed on the Tongariro Crossing. It is beautiful and has a bright blue sky in it. So awesome! Jan and Iain were so kind to have us stay with them for a couple of nights. We really appreciated it and had a great time getting to know them better.

We named our new van Vanna White - get it, because it was a white van. hahahaa. Cheesy, I know! We started out driving up the west coast of the northern part of the north island because this is where the two largest Kauri trees are located. These are trees native to NZ and they grow to be massive. Not that tall, but so thick and wide. They were pretty impressive to see.

The largest Kauri tree

 

That night we stayed at a campsite which was connected to a little forest. Apparently, Kiwi live in this forest so they do tours at night so people can see them. Unfortunately, all the tours were booked out, but you can also do the walk yourself as long as you have a red light. Kiwi don't like white light but they can't detect the red light alone so you can see them pretty close up if you're quiet, and very lucky. We didn't have red light, but a lady at the caravan park gave us some red cellophane to put over our headlamps so we could go out that night.

Once it was dark we set out to see if we couldn't find this elusive Kiwi bird. With our cellophane headlamps on and ready we set off on the boardwalk through the forest. At first we didn't hear or see anything except for a few glow worms. Then we started to hear all this rustling just in front of us. We kept walking a little bit and honestly you could hear something pretty big rustling on the ground only a few feet away from us. We turned our headlamps on, but with the cellophane and crappy batteries that we had, we could barely see just in front of us. And I think we scared the animal away. A minute or two later the guided tour showed up with this massive red light. When we told the tour guide we had heard something he got the group to stop and listen. What we think was the kiwi did come back, but never as close as it was when we first heard it, so we didn't get to see it. The tour group moved on and so did we. We hit another area where we could here 2-3 more 'kiwi', but again, with our crappy headlamps we were unable to find them in the forest. So close and yet so far!

The next day we started to drive inland from the west coast to make our way across to the east side of the island. As soon as we started inland we saw a sign for sand tobogganing. Dave has never done it before and the sand hills were huge so we decided to make a pit stop and try it. When the guys dropped us off at the sand hill they told us we may want to wait a little until the tide came in a bit because the water would then stop right where the dune ended so you could slide from the sand right onto the water. We thought that was an awesome idea so we took his advice and went on a little hike up the dunes to see some neat sand sculptures he assured us were at the top. Honestly, that hike didn't seem so little after a while. Hiking up in sand is really hard work, and it was a hot day without a cloud in the sky. We did make it to the top and saw some sand sculptures, but I'm not really sure it was worth it. So, we headed back down and did some tobogganing, which was really fun...except the climbing back up to the start part! After that we kept driving over to a town called Paihia on the east coast, right in the Bay of Islands. We had dinner there and then stayed close to town.

Steph bombing it down the dune into the ocean

 

The next day we took a car ferry over to a town, Russell. Jan and Iain highly recommended it and so had a few other people so we made sure to spend a full day there. And, we were in luck. While we were there it was the Battle of Kororareka Festival, so there was a lot happening in the town. There were bbq's and live bands and a market. We had a great day just walking the town, checking out a few lookouts, hitting the beaches, having a drink and eating some yummy food. Russell definitely lived up to its expectations!

While we were in Russell we had checked out a few brochures to see what we should do with our last day in the Bay of Islands. We signed up for a boat and snorkel trip to a place called the Poor Knights Islands. So, off we went on a huge boat that would have held 50+ people, with only 20 of us onboard (including the crew). We spent the majority of the day on the boat and it was awesome! They drove us out to the islands and did a little history about the place while we were heading there. Then we got about 3 hours to snorkel, paddle board, kayak, eat and relax around the island. We started with a paddle board to a nearby cave, which was awesome. It was so big that later in the day we took the whole boat into it. It is actually the largest sea cave in the southern hemisphere. Then we did some snorkelling - and both Dave and I think this was some of the best snorkelling we have both ever done. There were so many different types of fish. There was also another smaller cave that you could snorkel into and when you got to the back and looked out towards where you had just come from, it was spectacular. It was a sort of blue grotto effect with the lighting and everything just looked so beautiful!

One of the Poor Knight's Islands

After some lunch the boat left the snorkel spot and we went on a tour around the island. They showed us some other cool spots about the island before we stumbled upon a heard of Hector's dolphins. We got to dolphin watch for a little before heading back to the mainland. All in all it was an awesome day!

Then it was back to Auckland for a night before flying back to Australia. We had such an amazing time in NZ, we were both really sad to be leaving. The country is so beautiful and so small that within a few hours you can see and do so much. It is definitely a place neither of us will every forget and hopefully we will have a chance to head back sometime in the future!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Goodbye Wanda

We got to Auckland on my birthday. We woke up at the caravan park and as I was getting up I felt a pop in my neck along with a lot of pain. I just laid right back down and didn't move for a while. My neck had already been sore, but not that bad. After a little while and some Advil I was able to get up. It still hurt a ton and I couldn't move my head very much but it was manageable. During the day we toured around downtown Auckland and got the lay of the land a little bit. But we left early afternoon because we had a big night to get ready for.

For my bday, Dave and I went to see The Boss in concert. It was the first time that Bruce Springsteen had been in NZ in almost 20 years and he just happened to be playing on my bday. We got tickets a few days before hand and we were both really excited to go. Oh man, does he ever put on an amazing concert! He played for over 2.5 hours straight and totally rocked the house. He even open the concert with an acoustic version of the Lorde song "Royals" and everyone went crazy since Lorde is from NZ. I got drunk and pretty much just danced the night away. Great Birthday!!

Not the best seats but great show

 

The next day we had to get down to business. We made an online ad to sell Wanda and posted it on Gumtree. We made a flyer and dropped it off at over 10 hostels in the city and we posted another add on the backpacker car market. We started the day off pretty optimistic, but by the end of the day we were both feeling very defeated and sad because we hadn't heard from anyone. Clearly we were VERY impatient with very high expectations! By the next morning we had 2 phone calls from people interested in looking at the van. We made some appointments with them and showed them Wanda. Later in the day we got another call from a French couple who were also interested in Wanda. While Dave showed them the van I went to a Physio appointment for my neck. Yay insurance! Later that day we heard from the French couple and they wanted Wanda!! We made plans to meet the next day to get the registration changed over and to sell Wanda. We were so happy to have sold Wanda, but we were very sad to see her go!

Luckily for us, my mom and sister had another contact in Auckland for us. Jan and Iain to the rescue. Since we sold Wanda a little quicker then we expected we didn't have anywhere to stay, but Jan and Iain were kind enough to let us stay at their place for a couple of nights. It was actually beyond kind because they also had their daughter Fiona and her two boys, Oliver and Callum, staying with them as well. So, it was a full house. I had met both Jan and Iain once before when they were staying with family in Toronto, so it was nice to see more familiar faces. Iain met us downtown and picked us up and drove us out to their place in St Heliers Bay. We had an awesome dinner with them that night and got to chat and catch up. Iain even let us indulge in a nip of scotch with him that night. It was definitely the best scotch I've ever had, but that's not saying much!

The next day everyone went their separate ways and Dave and I went to the Auckland Cup. Neither of us had ever been to a horse race before, but after being in Australia during the Melbourne Cup, we definitely wanted to go to one. And luckily enough, the Auckland Cup was on the week we were in Auckland. So, we got dressed in the nicest clothes we could find in our bags and off we went. It was actually a really fun day! We bet on all of the races we were there for. I did really well - I won 4/5 of the races I bet on. Dave, on the other hand, did not do very well. He was 0/6 on the races he bet on. It was still a really fun way to spend a day.

Another one of Steph's winning races

 

After a few nights in Auckland we decided to make our way north. We had about 4 days until we flew back to Australia and everyone raved about the Bay of Islands area north of Auckland so we rented a caravan and decided to drive north.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Coromandel Peninsula

Once we left Wellington, it was our goal to just book it to the Coromandel Peninsula as quickly as possible. We stayed one night on the way up there around Taupo. We managed to make it to the peninsula by late afternoon the next day and stopped in a town called Thames for the night. We did a little tour around the town, had dinner and then did a little planning for the next leg of our adventure, back in Australia.

The next morning we finally set off to explore the peninsula. We started by heading over to the east coast to an area called Mercury Bay. In this area there are a ton of beaches and beautiful little spots to check out. We did a hike into a few secluded beaches. We started at Cathedral Cove, which was the most spectacular of them all. It was so pretty; white sand, clear blue water and neat rock formations. We stayed there for a couple of hours to soak up the sun and have lunch. Then we made our way to Gemstone Bay, which was supposed to have a little snorkel trail laid out in the water. We did some snorkelling, but there wasn't much to see and the water was a bit rough so we only lasted a little while in the water.

Cathedral Cove

That night we had planned to stay near a beach called Hot Water Beach. We stayed at a caravan park that had a small micro-brewery right on site. So, obviously, we had to go for a tasting and a drink. The beer was really nice and we got to enjoy it while sitting in the sun on a lovely patio.

At about 10:30pm that night we set off on an adventure. You see, Hot Water Beach is called that for a reason. At low tide, there is an area of sand that becomes exposed that is heated from below by carbon dioxide gas. It is totally crazy! So, you go and find an area near this sort of spring and start digging a hole. The water from the ocean mixes with the hot water/gas being released from underground and you basically make your own hot tub on the beach. We had originally gone to the beach at low tide during the day, but it was a madhouse! There were hundreds of people in this small little area trying to dig pools. Since low tide was at midnight that night (and you can dig 2 hours on either side of low tide), we decided to go back at night. There were probably about 40-50 people there at night, but it was much more manageable. We got together with another group there and started digging and managed to make this massive hot tube. It was pretty cool to sit in your own hot tub on the beach under the stars!

The next day we continued up the east coast. We spent the morning in a town called Whitianga, then we drove to New Chum Beach. All of the guide books raved about this secluded beach so we had to check it out. It was pretty neat because you could only access it at low tide by hiking in along the coast line. There weren't many people there and it was a beautiful beach, but we both preferred the beach at Cathedral Cove. I especially didn't like the hike in aspect because I managed to stub my toe so bad that it split open and was bleeding everywhere. It got all dirty and I had to clean it out that night, which hurt!

Coromandel Peninsula

 

From New Chum Beach, we continued through Coromandel Town and back towards Thames for one more night on the Coromandel Peninsula. The next day we started to make our way to Auckland because we had to try to sell Wanda :(

Thanks for reading

xoxo

　

Hooray For Visitors

On our way back into Wellington for the weekend we were finally able to meet up with Barb and Murray, who are friends of Laura and Mike's from when they were living in NZ. I had met them once before when they were travelling in Toronto, so I was looking forward to seeing more familiar faces. They had us over to their house for dinner, which was just north of Wellington. We had an amazing meal with great company and we were sad that we had to cut it sort of short, but we had to pick up our special visitor at the airport. It was so nice of Barb and Murray to have us for dinner and it was so nice to catch up with them again!

Next, it was off to the airport to pick up PAIGE!!!!! Our friend from undergrad, Paige, was in Nelson doing some work for her PhD and was able to sneak away for a weekend and come meet us in Wellington. We were super pumped to have her come visit, so we could show her Wanda and a bit more of NZ, other than Nelson.

We picked her up and dropped all of our stuff off at our hostel and went out on the town for a couple of drinks and to try and watch some Olympics. We were in luck. We found an Irish bar just around the corner from our hostel that turned on the Olympics for us and we were able to watch Canada win 3 medals! We also got to catch up with a great friend who we hadn't seen in ages!

After a couple of hours we decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep because we were going to wake up really early to watch the Canada-USA hockey game. Unfortunately, we were in a 6 person dorm that night and one of our roommates was a snorer. And not just any snorer, but the worst I"ve ever heard! Dave and I both tried to wake him up, but we was KO'd. It was probably the worst sleep I've had in my life because I honestly thought he was going to die.

By 5:30 we were all awake and ready to find a TV showing Olympics hockey...that was way harder to do then we originally thought! We ended up in an internet cafe, where we streamed the game live online. There were a couple other people in the internet cafe at the same time and I swear they were all there all night long gaming. It was kind of crazy to see. But, the 3 of us settled in and watched an awesome game. GO CANADA GO! It was a great way to start the day, with an awesome win!

Go Canada Go!

 

After the hockey game was over we had some coffee, showers, breakfast and then made our way to a little wine region just outside Wellington for the night. The drive there was good - the three of us in the front of Wanda, rocking out. When we got there we were able to settle into our little room before heading out wine tasting. At our second winery we managed to run into Gina and a few of her friends. I did know she was going to be there (she was the one who recommended Martinborough), but I didn't expect to be able to find her so easily! I think we went to about 6 wineries that day and had some delicious wine. By the end of the afternoon we were ready for another coffee and a little rest before heading out for dinner. We had an awesome Thai dinner with some more wine and then made our way back to our room at the caravan park. When we got back Paige was able to Skype with her BF, Toulch, so we got to meet him. I'm not sure if he'll remember much of the conversation because it was 2am after a night out drinking for him, but it was nice to have a chat with him.

The next morning started off a little rocky - not only because of the wine hangovers, but also because Paige couldn't find her visa. We searched the room again, looked all over the caravan grounds and then Paige went to ask the front desk if anyone had turned one in. And once again Paige has a horse shoe up her butt, because apparently the cleaning lady for the caravan park had found the visa on the side of the road heading into work that morning and picked it up. And if you could have seen/heard/felt how windy it was that morning, it was amazing that it hadn't blown away!

After our morning excitement we took Paiger on a bit of a drive around. We went to "the Pinnacles", which is a beautiful spot where they filmed a scene from the Lord of the Rings. We did a little hike around and saw some beautiful sights before heading back to Wellington. Once in Wellington we took her up the Mount Victoria lookout before dropping her back off at the airport to head back to Nelson.

Us in front of the Pinnacles

 

It was so awesome having a visitor from home. I don't think either of us thought we would while we were away, but it was such a nice surprise and we had an amazing weekend!

After we dropped Paige off at the airport we went back into Wellington and met up with Dave's cousin, Kristen, who lives in Wellington. Unfortunately her boyfriend Ronni couldn't make it because of work, but it was nice to meet up with Kristen at least. We had a nice coffee and chat and got to catch up on life since it has been a few years since Dave had seen her.

 

The next morning we had to do a Warrant of Fitness on Wanda. In New Zealand, on all cars over 6 years old, you have to do a WOF every 6 months to make sure they are road worthy. And, of course, we had to do one on Wanda just a week before we were trying to sell her...bad timing! We didn't think there would be many issues with her; she had driven so nicely for us for almost 2 months. It took a couple of hours for the WOF to be completed so in the meantime we went to Te Papa, which is a free museum in Wellington. It was awesome! We spent a few hours there, checking out the exhibits - so many of them were interactive, it was pretty cool! Then we got the dreaded phone call...

Apparently, Wanda had some rust on her A-frame and the windshield wipers were streaking so she failed her WOF. The guy said not to worry about the windshield wipers because he could change them for $8 for us. But we had to see a panel beater about the rust before he would pass her. So, off we went to a few panel beaters around the city. The first person we saw told us that he thought the rust was worse than visible and that it would cost $1500 to fix it. The next guys we went to said he could do it for $800. By now we were starting to feel really depressed! We decided to try one more place just to compare. This is when our angel came - Dave the Panel Beater came to our rescue and said he could touch it up for $100 and sign off on it because he understood that we didn't want to put a lot of effort or funds into it if we were just going to sell the car in a week. We said SOLD and he finished the car the next day for us!

While we were waiting for the work to be done we went to WETA, which is the studio where LOTR was made. We got to see a little movie about the making, as well as go on a tour to see some of the neat way they create the magic.

Bert, From The Hobbit

By the next day we had Wanda back, her WOF passed and we were off again from Wellington.

Off to a new part of the country to explore!

Thanks for reading

xoxo