Getting to Opua
by Audrey118
I took a night flight, a 10 hour journey from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland. There I was met up by my friend Maria who drove us to the northland. We were told by Cliffedge proprieters it would take nice 3 hours scenic cruise...it sure did not. We had to battle the journey long the Highway 1 with lots of others holiday makers. The long weekend started with Good Friday and Easter Monday, n locals and tourist alike hit the highway. At some stretch it was bumper to bumper, quite annoying. However, we amused ourselves, waving to little children in their cars!!, also to dogs riding in their master's cars!!!, and also to couples riding in cars laden with lots of easter goodies!!! all those easter eggs, easter bunnies, hot cross buns and why not some yummy crisps, etc!!!
It took us more than 3 hours to reach Wellsford, one of the many towns that dotted our journey to Opua. It was lunch break, leg stretch break, coffee break..pee pee stop etc. We picked some fish and chips from a chain, LJ...which turned out pretty scrumptious. Not sure whether we were so hungry that everything seemed ultra finger licking. Our friend Rodger particularly was impressed with the crumbed hoki and all of us digged in to the very last chips..which had been seasoned with some flavoursome herbs.
Hello fellow tree huggers
by iandsmith
We allocated one day as a let's-go-look-at-kauri-trees day. To that end we commenced at Manginangina, a small area set on a back road heading south out of Kaeo (about 30ks north of Bayof Islands).
The road winds through pleasant forest scenery until you reach the reserve and then it's only a short board walk to reach an impressive stand of kauri. These trees are more in your hundreds of years old than the thousands we would see later but noteworthy nonetheless.
We pushed on dwon the dirt road then went through Kaikohe (back on the tar) and off to Omapere on the west coast, seeking the biggie, Tane Mahuta. Again, this tree, rated the biggest in terms of timber available, is only a short walk in from highway 12 and is definitely large. With a total height of 51.5 metres and a girth of 13.8 it is believed to be around 2,000 years old. However, someone had told us that there is another walk a little further south that is more rewarding and we aimed for that. Our informant was correct. If you want to see only one kauri tree then I would recommend Te Matua Ngahere. Though this tree is nowhere near as tall (only 29.9 metres), its massive girth of 16.41 metres happens to be where you see the tree and it not only is big, it looks big.
Of course, not even these monsters are free from drama and, just two weeks before we were there a severe storm brought down a rata, one of several epiphytes (things that grow on trees but don't hurt them) and it dragged down a large branch. Thus there was much debris at the base and it had been roped off to protect the fragile roots from interlopers.
Despite this, this 3,000 year old monster was unforgettable and, en route there are other big trees to see such as the Four Sisters. You can do the walk in less than an hour and it's an easy stroll, no hills involved.
On the southern side is an office where you can get details but we didn't stop there as we were coming from the other end and it was closed when we were leaving.
Chef bidding goodnite
by Audrey118
Peter came and checked if everything was OK and then bid us goodnite, after he fed us with such a sumptuous meal...
He asked what we wanted for breakfast, and Carola took our after dinner drink orders and
we adjourned to the lounge for more merry making
Bridge Jumping
by kiwigal_1
Although I noticed this sign on the bridge at Waitangi I also was witness to a bunch of kids completely ignoring the sign and jumping anyway!
Bridge jumping is quite a popular activity in NZ and local kids get to know the best bridges to jump off. It can be highly dangerous though if you cannot see what is lying underneath the water or the depth of the water.
In Russell I also noticed some kids jumping of the pier which made more sense to me as this at least is deep (because of the ferries).
Mangonui - Heritage Village
by vtveen
Mangonui is situated on Highway 10 at Doubtless Bay, north of the Bay of Islands.
We were completely surprised by this very pleasant cute village with a lot of (for New Zealand) old wooden buildings. The best way to explore this historic village was to walk along the Heritage Trail, which did lead us along more than 20 buildings, even to a hill with splendid views over the harbour. The trail is about 3 km's long and it did take 1 hour to walk (ask for a brochure at the Visitor Information Centre, next to the old Court House).
Afterwards we had a nice cup of coffee on one of the side walk cafe's along the waterfront. Mangonui has also a couple of shops with local art and crafts.
A really nice stop on our way to/from Cape Reinga or just as a day trip from the Bay of Islands.
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lovely lighthouse on the Bay
Elliot Bay
Our tour
Wairere Falls
