Rotorua or “Sulphur City” lived up to its name with a distinct eggy smell wherever we went. With the most thermal activity in the north island the ground bubbles with mud pools, spurting geysers and lakes full of the most exquisite colours. It was fascinating to walk around but the stench was particularly overpowering despite the colds we both had. Vaughan, one of Mark’s work colleague from his Sendo days met up with us for a curry in the evening and it was lovely to see a familiar face when we so far away from home.
We left Rotorua for an ambitious drive around the East Cape which contains New Zealand’s highest proportion of Maori. It was a long and winding road but offered spectacular views and a much more rugged coastline than further north, full of bleached and contorted driftwood. We stayed the night at Tokomaru Bay a particularly stunning beach and got to sleep in our own little Bach; Kiwi’s term for a beach hut. This was part of a hostel, but as the only guests we we had the run of the place and hung out with owner Sean and his Bullmastiff Butch.
We expected this landscape to resemble Lord of the Rings, not Lord of the Flies, so sharing a tea break with a rotting pig’s head and skin was quite unexpected. Moving swiftly on we arrived in Napier; a city destroyed by a 1932 earthquake and rebuilt in the style of Art Deco. The buildings were in great shape and a walking tour and historical video has turned us both into Deco nerds, spotting speed lines, zigzags and sunbursts from a mile off.
After a brief stop at Goat island for more snorkeling and another over-nighter at George and Rosie’s place we headed East towards Whitianga at the end of the Thames to Corramandel scenic drive. Cars crawl around this section of road because everyone is staring gobsmacked at the amazing views. Stopping off for a walk to Cathedral Cove we ended our day on hot water beach, an unusual stretch of sand sitting on top of a thermal spring. At low tide we turned up and helped dig a pool which filled with warm, to boiling hot water. As you can see from the photos some spots were far hotter than others!
Ahoy mateys! The first destination on our four week tour of New Zealand was to the bay of islands in Northland. Due to Helen’s notoriously wobbly sea-legs we almost didn’t make it up here since sailing is the reason to visit, but after finding a sturdy vessel and some local home-brew sea sickness tablets we set sail on the good ship ‘Straycat’. With only four guests on board a boat big enough for twenty we the run of the ship and plenty of opportunities to help out our skipper Karl with the business of sailing. Cutting a path around the islands, Karl recounted historical stories as we cruised past locations Captain Cook once visited on his voyage of discovery. The scenery was beautiful and when the sun shone it was fine day to be on a boat, even for Helen who was singing the praises of her new wonder drugs.
On our way back down to Auckland Helen insisted we pay a visit to the Hundert-Wasser toilets in Kawakawa. Though I tend not to post most of the photos I take in public toilets on this blog, I think an exception can be made in this case. We left talking about how we could replicate it when we finally get back home. As we continued southward we saw a breed of sheep quite unlike any we’d observed back in England. We knew New Zealand was famous for Lamb, we’ll have to keep our eyes open for their special pink wool.
Touching down in Auckland we were picked up from the airport by George and Rosie, friends we met way back in Vietnam on our Halong Bay boat trip. They’d kindly invited us to stay for a few days and show us around so of course we gratefully accepted. Like a home from home, Rosie cooked us dinners and baked cakes and biscuits while we grilled George on which of New Zealand’s sights we mustn’t miss. In between all the planning we got chance to visit the Pacifika Festival, attended by the major Pacific island countries, each hosting stages and stalls. Watching ass-shaking dancers and sampling regional delicacies it almost felt like we were back in Fiji. We had such a great time staying with George and Rosie we both felt a bit sad to be heading off. Nevertheless, getting behind the wheel our hire car and setting off to explore the rest of the country felt like our adventure was starting again. It also helped that we’d arranged to stay another night in Auckland for another chance for some good old home cooking. They must have thought we’d never leave!
Since it was my birthday we decided a few treats were in order. Starting with a jet ski safari we blasted off to Beqa island passing over a notorious shark infested channel. The island contains a lagoon and as we rode up into it past a private mansion it felt just like entering the secret lair of a Bond villain. After Helen showed off doing donuts we jumped off and snorkeled in the turquoise water. The visibility was amazing, putting our Thailand diving trip to shame. Fish were everywhere we looked and I had a very close encounter with a terrifying but harmless black tip shark. On our return we rode the jet ski flat out, jumping through the waves and crashing back down into the water until it abruptly stopped in the middle of the channel, 30m above a sea full of far more serious sharks. Fortunately with a bit of tinkering our guide managed to save us from a long swim back to the shore and the prospect of being something’s lunch.
We marked the end of our stay in Fiji with Caz, Asa and their family with a trip out to the Mamanuca islands for a day in paradise. Cruising out past picture perfect desert islands we got glimpse of what our backpacking trip might have been like if we’d recently won the lottery. Though we only had 5 hours in the resort everyone made the most of their time snorkeling, hammock swinging and dining on fine food. We could have both quite happily spent the rest of our trip luxuriating there but at around $1000 a night room only we’d have spent the rest of our lives washing their dishes to clear the tab.
After two months in Australia recharging our batteries and bank accounts we packed up our backpacks and set off to Fiji for the next leg of our adventure.
Arriving at Nadi airport we were picked up by Caz and Asa our occasional travelling companions since way back on the Trans-Mongolian Express. We had eight days to spend on the island and thanks to their excellent planning we barely had to worry about anything other than topping up our suntan lotion. Travelling between beaches, most days were spent swinging in hammocks or snorkeling in the crystal clear water being amazed by the quantity and colour of fish. My birthday was celebrated in much the same way but with more cocktails added to the mix.
Reality TV fans will be delighted to hear that we stayed in the resort used for the location of the ultra-cheesey ‘Celebrity Love Island‘. Fear not, the spirit of Paul Danan is still strong here
We spent the weekend staying with Caz’s parents in the island’s capital Suva where they were throwing Caz’s Dad a party for his birthday. We tried some Kava (aka Grog) a South Pacific ceremonial drink that gets you stoned if you drink enough. Looking a lot like dirty dish water a few coconut cups full gave us both numb mouths and throats. It tastes a bit like earth and roots so we soon switched over to beer.
Spirits ran high despite the Fijian national team being dumped out of the Seven’s Rugby tournament half way through the party. Everyone quickly recovered however with some dodgy crooning to the karaoke and round after round of Tequila shots.
