Northland

Friday morning dawned sunny … again, and we were soon on the road, north-bound to the Bay of Islands. We had booked a motel room the previous morning from Takapuna in Russell. Surrey County Council and the New Zealand authorities seem to have made a pact to slow traffic via roadworks, though here they do at least seem to improve the road surface after having interrupted the traffic. After a lunch break in Whangarei, we headed for Russell via the “scenic” route…which is what it was, but involved 66km of tortuous twisting road, with bends not quite sharp enough to slow right down but sharp enough to make it a fun introduction to rally-cross, for the driver if not the passenger!

Russell is one of the original European settlements in New Zealand, and maintains the atmosphere of ages gone by. Heavy reliance is placed on water transport; there is a car ferry to Opua and a passenger ferry to Pahia. It's a fun way of getting shortcuts, given the alternative of a lengthy and twisty road journey. Our motel was comfortable and convenient but modcons like internet were a step too modern.

We had pre-booked an excursion on the Saturday, a coach tour to the northern-most tip Cape Reinga, via 90-mile beach (actually 64 miles but originally based on the Maori belief of a 3-day walk from one end to the other at 30 miles a day). It involved catching the 7 a.m. ferry to Pahia, not a problem waking up given the time difference. It proved to be an excellent decision as the driver/guide was an entertaining mine of information on history, geography, geology and Maori language and culture, as well as being a sports fanatic.

The following day we re-crossed to Pahia and took a recommended walk to a high point from which views of the whole Bay of Islands were to be had. Postcards and laundry, the essentials of any trip, followed and it was already packing time for the return south.