17-18 March 2017 Russell

Russell Orongo Bay Holiday Park, Russell, Northland

View from the top of Russell Bay across the harbour

This was quite a find - because we usually avoid the more 'touristy' places - but heading for the ferry over to Paihia, we needed an overnight stay.

People have raved to us in the past about how beautiful Russell is - to be honest, we've always taken that with a pinch of salt. I often feel disappointed about recommendations when they don't live-up to expectations, it reminds me of when American's are so enthusiastic about elements of Disneyworld being 'so quaint' or convincingly "English' or whatever. Yeah, right. 

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But Russell was a fantastic little town - admittedly, when we first visited there was one of those hideous mega cruise-ships anchored off the (otherwise unspoilt) turquoise-blue bay, so hoards of Americans, Japanese and other international tourists were ambling around the small streets, cameras, hand-luggage and phones in hand, red key-holding lanyards displaying their ship's name around their necks (presumably incase anyone got lost)...Many passengers had bought pies and chips (obviously starving after being away from their ship for an hour or more) and were eating whilst walking around... I felt a bit sorry for the shop-owners; this isn't like Sorrento where the tacky souvenirs and pop-up market-stalls are plentiful and the staff always keen for a generous tip after good service. This was St Patrick's Day too - so the pubs were gearing-up for a Karaoke binge...

Post Office and book shop - with a St Patrick's Day theme.

To avoid the noise from town, we stayed in the campsite and made full use of the pizza-oven and free firewood..what an excellent way to use-up all those left-overs:

hot embers! lets' get cooking!

yum!

So the following day, when the two ships had left to continue their next high-speed pollution-causing tour of Australasia - next stop Queenstown, South Island - there was an entirely different atmosphere in the town. 

Rainbow over the campsite

The quiet roads became almost dominated by pedestrians, and many were locals going about their daily business - Gossip at community Post Office (which doubled as a second hand book store and stationers) - 



Fresh bread from a fabulous local bakery (even if the owner was a bit grumpy) and a stroll along the seafront where the ferries for pedestrians pull in every ten minutes... this was a peaceful and genuinely natural slice of New Zealand's Northland.

The famous historic Anglican church in Russell - a short walk from the campsite.

Returning to the campsite was a joy - the owners Angela and Don are very mush part of the community which works hard to protect the local environment and prevent too much development. That's because - let's be honest - the infrastructure here - like many places in NZ - simply cannot handle an increase in the population. 

one of the Weka outside our caravan..

Justin and Dizzy walk the boardwalks over the Mangroves...

We loved the walks ...

We learnt that there is a different kind of Weka up here in Northland, compared to the species we observed in Cable Bay, South Island. 

Dizzy was on her best behaviour!

Friendly but shy Weka at the campsite.

And the Weka here were walking around freely with chicken companions, Pukekos and ducks....And like other poison-free areas we have camped, there was evidence of rabbits and pheasants too and the odd peacock. It was a truly diverse 'farmyard' natural environment - and one which Angela believes passionately in preserving. Remember Wekas are officially 'predators' of native birds eggs and lizards etc  - those poison-obsessed DoC staff often don't acknowledge that fact. Every night we heard Kiwi and Morepork. This was a magical place.

In the tracks around the campsite, no poison signs anywhere! there was evidence of some rat traps - not well-maintained. Apparently there is a privately-owned electric 'predator fence' across the peninsular - although personally, I can't see the point of that with ferries arriving and leaving the mainland every 10 mins, and cruise-ships anchored just off the harbour. Rats swim. 

Beautiful tracks around the boardwalks of Russell...

track walks - wonderful insect and bird life...

And when we walked further, we discovered the horrendous eyesore of the Russell landfill site. Can you believe it?

view of the landfill from the walking track - partly obscured by trees

Located well away from roadside views and located in an old quarry, we could see the result of what New Zealand authorities think is perfectly acceptable to dump in landfill, but which is outlawed elsewhere in the world - tyres, microwaves and cement...a horrible sight. This was one of those times when we feel like alien visitors or time-travellers from the future: Angela was talking about the landfill being covered over soon, to make way for a 'parkland area'. But we know the truth about the pollution of these areas - one day the whole site will need to be dug-up and those items that will effectively NEVER decompose, will have to be disposed of responsibly. 

another view of the rubbish outside Russell. 

Delaying the inevitable is what New Zealand Government seems very good at - ignore the problem of pollution hoping it will go away. But guess what? It doesn't! If only the cruise ships could be made to contribute to the clear-up after tourists visit - after all their ships are bellowing-out toxins into the air at far higher a rate than the few cars in Russell....

Anyway, after a few lovely days in the Russell area, we made the short journey from Okiato on the peninsular to Opua. 

Leaving Russell and the tiny port of Okiato behind...

Mid way on the ferry across the harbour...

Stan the Van on the ferry - Dizzy in the ute!

Safely arrived! At the beautiful harbour of Opau near Paihia.

It was only 10 mins and although quite scary driving the caravan onto the platform, Justin did a fantastic job at negotiating the ramp and the staff were very experienced and very friendly. 

In no time at all we were across the other side of the bay - and mile for mile, this was probably the most expensive ferry trip in the whole of NZ at $45!

15-16 March 2017: Bland Bay, Northland

Wow! What a find. beautiful area after a long drive here around the peninsular - the other side of the harbour area to where we stayed last year - at Whangaruru. Lots of cattle and some Pukekos living side-by-side with pheasants, rabbits and hares and goats. Absolutely NO poison signs in sight. What a relief.

Wandering Cattle - a common issue in Northland. This cow greeted us at Whangarei Road North...



This area is even less developed and alongside the beach are endless empty sections...with some temptingly for sale...

View from our caravan window

A walk along the beach - dog friendly!

A long walk on a hot day - Lucky we brought our water, Dizzy! :)

Enough from the photos really - no words needed. 

a sailing boat arrived the last evening we were there...

Apart from this is the most expensive campsite we've stayed at so far - at $88 for 2 nights, and NO facilities of any value. Kitchen is only hot plates (no basic equipment, let alone a microwave), showers are an extra $1 for 3 minutes (no warning signal when you run out either!). Not even paper towels in the loos and worst of all - NO rubbish bins and NO recycle bins either (although to be fair there is a food scraps buckets for the local pigs). I always bring a shovel for places like this - for those smelly nasties that need burying in the sand! LOL!  


We certainly need some freedom camping nights after all this expense! Our previous $12 p/n has been obliterated. But fortunately, plenty of opportunity for that in Northland.

I realised - after we left Bland Bay - how complacent I'd become about checking on DoC poisoned areas since being in Northland. You see, compared to South Island, Northland of North Island is relatively untouched, a quick look at the DoC 'Pesticide Summaries' confirms this. (along with the prolific insect and bird life that surrounds us). However, upon checking the next destination (a new area for us), I realised how close we had been to danger when running with Dizzy along the seemingly unspoilt Bland Bay beach. Have a look at these two maps to see what I mean:

The Bland Bay Campsite is situated at 'seven o'clock' within the bay - a few yards away from the poisoned area..

You can more clearly see the 'Camp' site location which is extremely close to the poisoned areas and beaches.

The main poison used in this operation is Diphacinone - an anticoagulant designed to kill rats and rabbits  - but which by definition is highly toxic to all mammals through primary and secondary ingestion.  Further along the bay is Cyanide. Many of these types of poisoned areas are not signposted appropriately (risks to children for example) and the Kiwi approach to the dangers are 'she'll be alright'. Terrifying really when there are so many international tourists here.

Thank GOD Dizzy and I went for our walk WESTWARDS along the shoreline and not East. Mental note: lets not be complacent anymore, check the poisoned areas before each campsite. Its just too risky not to, even if knowledge of it ruins what would otherwise be paradise....

12-13 March Ngunguru near Whangarei

Whangarei is a pretty harbour-side town, surrounded by rolling hills and is regarded as an important gateway to Northland and a centre of employment - especially for the local hospital. 

The 'Basin' area - central quayside in Whangarei

I was meeting a Twitter friend in the town this week, so we camped overnight at a POP in nearby Ngunguru. Along the roadside out of town, interestingly there was lots of stone-walls around the fields and paddocks on the road to the estuary - something I don't think I've seen before in New Zealand - sort of reminiscent of our old Lake District...

Historic stone walls built by early settlers when Kauri Gum jobs were in decline.

It turns out it was volcanic rock from the Dalmation gum tree workers - now preserved as valuable. Some were even being re-built.

Dizzy loved running along the estuary beaches and the little town of Ngunguru was very friendly and full of interesting diverse migrants that has probably escapes the Auckland rat-race. 

Ngunguru  - tree swing which at low tide is exposed in the sand and shells

Sadly the shell-fishing opportunities here are finished - for the time being at least. We learned from the guy who owned the POP we were staying, that a year or so ago, the local timber industry let some toxic waste get washed into the estuary and it killed all the shellfish with a layer of brown muck. So the locals petitioned for some accountability (surprise surprise, no luck so far) and that to let the shell-fish population recover fully, so kai collection is allowed in the area for a while.

The good news is though, that sea-fish don't seem to have been affected - our host went out in his boat and collected all his quota allowance in only 2 hours! Not bad for a mornings' work that He'd anticipated would keep him out (and away from his wife) all day. :)

11 March 2017 Pukekohe

Well, this Park Over Property (POP) was an experience! We spent another few days at home in Cambridge. We both had some work to do - writing and training  (had to pay the fuel card)! LOL And then spent some time packing-up the last of our personal effects for the house to be let out again.

And then we drove up to Pukekohe to see some friends for the evening. They are doing up a lovely old villa and expecting their first child soon too - so all go for them at the moment. We enjoyed a deliciousThai meal with them and camped overnight at a NZMCA POP on an onion farm. Apparently onions are stored for a year here, without any refrigeration. Well, in this humidity - you can't tell me that there's no fungicide sprayed on them here! Yuk! I need to research that issue! :)




Like every self-respecting Kiwi, this farmer had more than one job. One was selling and renting-out those little cabins that people use as sleep-outs.

Whilst there, we noticed there was guy living in one of the cabins - they had no power or water. It was raining and dismal. Later we discovered the farmer had taken pity on him after he'd had an accident in his truck and ACC (the no-blame medical insurance cover that NZ relies on) had "given-up on him". He had been thrown-out of his property and had no income. His 'girlfriend' seemed to be living in her car - with the car next-door clearly out of action -  jacked-up and no sign of the wheel...



Outside his cabin was a large water bottle, and clothes-hanger and an old brown paper sack with the printed words 'Patient's Property' clearly illustrating where he had come from. This is the often-hidden 'underbelly' of New Zealand - the poverty and the drug-taking and the lack of any meaningful welfare -system to help those in need. Thank God this kind-hearted farmer had helped them out temporarily  - but what of their longer-term health and well-being?

Very sad.

27-28 February 2017, Hastings, Haumoana

From Ohakea we travelled to Hastings area to see some friends (and do some work too).

Staying at Haumoana, Fairhall estate we were pleasantly surprised by our first visit here - vineyards all around, beautiful beaches and lots of interesting quirky shops and cafes to visit. We didn't have much time to fully explore the area - but we'll definitely be back. There are also some wonderful seaside places to freedom camp - making it excellent value too!

the nearby beach - Haumoana

Fairhall's drive way surrounded by fields, paddocks and vineyards..