Wandering Boots Day 3 Farming Boots in Puhi Puhi

By the numbers

Steps: 5,878

Kilometers 4.06kms

Today was actually a really easy day for me as I did not get up to that much other than going out for a drive with Claude out to see some family members. We were planning on going out to see some cousins as in Glen who wanted to meet up with me.

The day began with going to the library and Claude was going to bring some books back and do some other errands while I had a look at some of the nonfiction books. I found several that I thought were interesting. One was about Forgotten Heritage, which was about buildings that had been demolished, quake damaged or just gone through time. One on the history of Te Kuiti, which was funny as I am visiting there soon. The last one was about Hikoi – Forty Years of Maori Protest. I did flick to the Waitangi Day protests, but there was nothing there that I had not read before or have written about. Though I never seen anything about Raglan and the Golf Course. I did wander through the local shops and the video store looking at the Vampire movies for something to do.

Once I had been collected and we went back it was really time to go out again after lunch as we were going out to Cousin Glen’s place. The first place on the way out to Puhi Puhi was the Kaurihohore Cemetery known as Kauri for short. We had some family buried there recently and wanted to visit them.  I did not realise that the church on the grounds was a historic church that had been built in 1861 and is recognised as the oldest Presbyterian church in Northland, New Zealand. There is a dedication to the first settlers in the area on the front fence too.

The next place we went out to was Stephanie’s farm as she had a bit of land and a huge garden that we both were shown around. It was interesting to see the different plants and to know that she had little tidbits around. We didn’t stay very long and were soon off to have a look around Uncle Don’s old property. We had something to eat while looking around the area and reminiscing about the past. Then it was time to drive out to Glen’s place. I had met him and the others when they were last on the Gold Coast several years ago. They loved my tennis skills so much that they are still talking about it. They are all water skiers especially with one in San Diego at College there on a Scholarship I think. I was asked what my skiing was like and I said that it would be more like getting an enema. Somehow the conversation went from Glen wanting a beer to me saying it was ‘Beer O’clock’. Right after my coffee I was given a beer. That was a great way of wanting a beer and putting the idea into your guests head to make them like the idea too. It did work for me. They have a lake on the property where they do the jumps including a beach. I thought this was pretty cool. I was shown around including explained the dangerous dams act though I have to look that one up myself.  They release water into the local stream to keep it running smoothly and where the boundary of the farm actually was. It was getting to that time where we had to take off and as we left the driveway onto the narrow road I seen a pheasant dart out and run across the road. I was too late and at a bad angle to take a picture at all.

New Zealand Wandering Boots - Day 2 Smuggling Boots

By the numbers

Walked 12.07kms

17,519 steps

Today there was no real plan to go anywhere, but I knew there would be some pretty hot days coming up. We made the plan to visit Smugglers Cove at Whangarei Heads as I had not been there before. When we left Claude and I visited the information centre to see what we could find about where we were going. I came away with a few brochures for different areas that I am visiting as you do. Though has always been something I have always done even in hospitals.

We headed out to Urquhart Bay where I would be dropped off to do the Busby Head / Smugglers Cove walk. On the way there we had a quick stop at the walking trail for Mt. Manaia to let traffic past. It was one spot that I wanted to stop at since there was a memorial to the early settlers and seemed to be directed towards the settlers of Waipu with Norman Mcleod. I took pics of the memorial and off we went again. Once I got out of the car the plan was to walk to Smugglers Cove and head to Ocean Beach via the Peach Cove trail. It should only take a couple of hours. I had luckily purchased another bottle of water and had a pie for lunch that I was taking with me.

I headed for the first part of the walk to the gun placement and was surprised that this was actually being protected. I did find that it had been fired three times as a test during World War II and the munitions area I think was disguised as a farmhouse, which fooled the locals too. The communication building was known to be as several that had murals painted by the soldiers of the local area above the window sill. I actually went back inside to look after I read that. Luckily I had to dig my pie out from the depths of my bag to munch on as I walked towards Busby Head. The walk was steep and sort of tough, but I made it to the branch that would take me back to the carpark or Smugglers. I headed to Smugglers thinking I could wander up Busby head until I found it to be a thin path. The path to Smugglers Cove was in better condition and wide. I raised an eyebrow when a guy in thongs / jandals walked by to head up to Busby Head. The walk down to the beach was pretty easy and there were not that many people down there. I decided to keep walking and go through the gate that divided the cows with the beach. The cows had no problems with me or others walking by.

Once I had climbed a slight rise to a seat I had to sit for a couple of minutes and then went to the Te Whara Track that goes via Mt. Lion and Te Whara then onto Ocean Beach. The offering for the walk would be 3.5 hours and I was thinking about it and going we spoke about it. The walk is actually following an old Maori trail. I made it half way up several steps before reconsidering a very tough walking trail. I didn’t feel like going up huge mountains. I decided the easiest way was to walk via the road to where I was going to meet Claude. It was a narrow road, but at last I got to see some sights before I took the main road to the beach direction. Half way to the destination, Claude pulls up to pick me up as he was driving past. The road was flatter than going through the bush and takes less time. We drove to the end of the road to Ocean Beach, which has a surf club and a memorial to a mine sweeper that sunk due to a mine in New Zealand waters. I was glad I had made it to where I had as it was a great view.

The next place we ended up taking the road to was to Pataua South that is a town divided by a river so there is a Pataua North. Between them is a footbridge that people can walk across. They both have separate roads to head over to each part so you wouldn’t really want to live there and have to walk to either side. I did take a wander and from the beach watched a boat cross the bar. The local garbos were working and following the truck. They run after the truck throwing things in unlike our guys who just lift wheely bins. I could have followed my map that I left in the car and ended up at Frog Town Beach, but I think I had done enough walking for one day and in the hot sun too. Once we made our way back I found that I had gotten sunburnt. I think I have learnt a lesson in NZ. You can really get sunburnt.

New Zealand 2016 Wandering boots, Day 1 Thunderstruck

New Zealand 2016 Wandering boots

Day 1 Thunderstruck

I will call the day I left and the day I fly to Whangarei as one day since I end up landing in the early hours of the morning. I would say the first day would be uneventful, but getting to the airport meant I had to work for the day before heading to the airport. I had already packed days before and used the remaining days to update the info I had including the maps I needed. I have gotten lost before and being lost and walking in the wrong direction is not fun at all. Hopefully I have not forgotten anything. Today I cant record my fitbit information as I did not have it on me and was in my bag unless it recorded the plane trip.

Landing at Whangarei

It was an easy run to the airport with the knowledge that there was a storm approaching and I wasn’t sure what it would do. Two days in a row and it had me slightly worried. I wanted to get through quickly through immigration so I could eat and relax instead of rushing. I had no idea at all if there would be a line and I could be late. I found this time after all these years of the Gold Coast having a body scanner I got to use it and think they knew my excitement. It shows an outline of your body and areas of concern. My ankles with my boots and my right pocket, I would believe it picks up on anything that is thicker than clothing. I do wonder if that means it will detect implants on women or screws from operations? It was my hanky that it found, but the guy wanted to feel my pocket and ankles. He didn’t want me to lift the bottom of my trousers up. I found after getting through I had an hour to wait so as usual I wandered watching the storm come. The airport had included stations to charge your devices and I thought this was pretty cool. The Gold Coast airport is slowly catching up to the modern world or the rest of Australia.

Gold Coast International

The plane was your usual Jetstar until we were boarding and the piolet wanted to leave before the storm struck. I was sitting in the second back seat of a full flight and was happy with a window seat. We were about to take off when the pilot aborted due to a huge lightning strike. It was an awesome one as I had seen it. The song playing on my ipod at the time was End of All Hope by Nightwish. Then we drove in circles before going back to the gate to wait for the storm to pass. People were getting restless as kids needed to use the loo and the staff had to allow them to use it after a bit of negotiation and an angry lady. She later apologised, but I was waiting to see what happened. You could say that I was breaking the rules by playing with Facebook on the plane as we decided to taxi a lap around the runway. I even checked the BOM site to see the mass of cloud cover with stormy parts.  An hour later we had to refuel and then took off. My entry card looked shocking when I filled it out like I had problems other than a bumpy ride.  The meal that came with my ticket that I had somehow booked, but don’t know how came. It was a pie face meal and lucky I had a main meal at the airport or else I would have chewed my own arm off. Snack of party pie and sausage roll. When we were approaching the airport I could see out towards the Coromandal area that there was a storm that way, but the direction was a big guess due to it being night.

Waiting for the storm to pass

We arrived in NZ an hour later that usual, but I got through immigration and customs really quickly. I was able to get through without being checked and the customs officer asked if I was carrying food and I replied ‘unless you consider water to be food’. He said if there were floaters in the water then it would be. I went eww! He let me go down the green lane that took me outside. I missed the shuttle bus as I seen it leave without me, but with others. I knew another one would be back soon, but unsure when. A taxi driver asked if I was alright and needed the shuttle bus to the city and I told him that I was after the supershuttle, which he seemed proud of the answer.  While I waited for the bus to arrive I was getting a little tired, but perked up when the guy turned up. When I got on we waited for some no shows from my flight. 5 of them actually and when they didn’t turn up we headed off. I got to the hostel and went to bed in my dorm as I knew I would only get a few hours sleep, but a bed was a bed. Top bunk was the only one free and I would sleep around four hours or a little less. The YHA now has free Wifi and that makes me happy as i keep costs down slightly.

Before leaving for my domestic flight Whangarei I went looking for breakfast and no shops were open. This weekend is a long weekend and a Sunday so nothing was open early. I found a 7/11 open and got a drink and biscuit. Once checked out I was on the bus to the airport looking at sights along the way. I got a shock with the bag drop as there was a huge line and I became worried I would miss checkin. I had to get my ticket printed and since I used Webjet I was wondering if my details would work and they did to my relief. The bag drop line was fast moving actually and I could put m bag on myself. Jetstar doesn’t let you have it that easy when I wandered to that end. I am in the cheap area with the regional flights. Unlike the other end of the airport we just walk out as I was gate 49. It isn’t so bad hopefully as i wandered the small domestic airport to see what I could find. I did find a coffee and better food sort of. The bookshop had several books that interested me, but with those two it would add to the weight. Maybe close to going home I will grab them. Nothing is new when Brad finds books One is about Maori history and the other historic Churches though both are $50 and that seems to be the cost of books in NZ. Maybe they are in Hamilton as I know of a second hand bookshop there that is reasonable. I think both books would have made by bag a little heavier than allowed.

I had enough time to sit around and read a book while waiting to board the plane and I was wondering how big thing aircraft would be once we got into it. I had an aisle seat this time around and we boarded into a smaller plane that had only one cabin crew lady. It was a half hour flight so wasn’t that long before we landed in Whangarei. Claude was waiting for me when we landed and I was happy to see him after not seeing him or granny for a year. The airport was mainly a big shed quite a bit smaller than Armidale International airport. No security screening either so I could take my water on board. Once I was back at home I had lunch and needed a sleep due to the lack of sleep, where I felt like I was heating up. The sun was streaming onto the bed so needed cover, but I was rested, so wanted to take a walk. I wanted extra batteries and a wander. It is weird not walking the dog, but I was breaking a sweat though its like Australia heat without the blast of the furnace sun back home. I found just after Whangarei falls that the caravan park is now affiliated with the YHA. The clouds were coming over and I was wondering if I would get caught in it especially after I walked out of the supermarket. I know I am tired as I was getting in peoples way and feeling out of sorts in a supermarket. Getting in peoples way is part of my job, but being tired and doing it is crazy. I managed to catch Claude going out as I was returning. He was getting tea for tonight and that means the end of my day in Whangarei as I could have a nice rest and be up early enough tomorrow. Would you believe I do not really have plans, but will see how everything pans out. I did develop a strange issue with the internet, but changing settings around fixed it. It never had that problem last several times I was here and everything including my yahoo email needed to be logged in. Actually a few other things needed

By the numbers

Main bag weight 14 kilograms at Gold Coast

Backpack 6 kilograms and Auckland domestic

Travel around New Zealand: The past and the future

Ever since I got my passport back in 2007, I have been traveling overseas ever since. New Zealand is one of those places I keep coming back to mainly as I have family and was born there. That is only part of the reason as I want to get to know the country a bit better and I think I have found plenty of locations of interest for the fountain of knowledge especially through blogs where I talk about the locations I have visited.

My visits to New Zealand have taken me from the very top of the North Island at Cape Reinga to Invercargill on the South Island. I have not done much travel in the South Island other than a loop tour that takes me to the usual places like Christchurch and Queenstown. On the North Island I always seem to find something new to visit. I do research where I want to go and see if the bus can get me there as I don’t want to drive everywhere. Actually I have never had to drive a vehicle in New Zealand at all. Some of my trips have revolved around Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit not just for the filming locations, but also for the scenery that was shot during the movies as New Zealand has some beautiful country.

Every trip to New Zealand is a learning experience especially in regards to the travel gear I bring along. I am learning what I do need nearly every time I pack my bags. I have taken away the sleeping bag as it is something that is not needed and hostels usually wont let you use them in the rooms. I try to bring around four pairs of clothes on the trips though I recently was reading about rolling the clothing up, which is something that I actually do. Wet weather gear is something that I usually have on my person at all times including a brolly and rain coat with the wet weather pants too. They came in handy when I was both at a very wet Hobbiton and when it began snowing in November in Whakapapa Village near National Park. Snow is something very different to what I am used to and unexpected for my trip away.

Other gear I take away with me is all my electronic stuff especially a computer to record my travel blogs online. Usually I try to post something like this at night as I don’t usually go out or very far other than for food. My computer has changed from a bulky laptop to a Netbook that has come in handy and thin enough that you hardly notice it. I have learnt that you need to research some of the places to visit as you are on the go. You cant always have a list of places to visit. A low tech notepad and pen is handy for that too. I have included in the last trip to New Zealand gear to increase my USB ports, a card reader for my photos. For easy access to everything including power cords I have them all in one place within a bag. There is nothing like hunting around your bags for a cord or cable when they are not altogether. This year I am taking a power point adapter with USB chargers so then I hope it makes things easier. So many devices charge on USB these days.

I would never say that I am an expert in travelling to many different parts of New Zealand, but there is plenty of history to look into when you head to that country. I don’t always find out about historic places until after I am actually within the locality and I then hunt down the little bit of information about that place. Sometimes I actually misread something like in Devonport as I wanted to visit Mt. Victoria and I thought they had singing mushrooms. The mushrooms were not singing at all. I have recently started a blog about historical wanderings and somehow I have ended up with plenty of New Zealand locations with the photos as my blogs don’t say much about the individual places. I have learnt which are the best places to stay while travelling and I have everything all booked by the time I leave as then I do not need to worry about finding something and leaves my entire day free to move around. I would suggest looking into the YHA hostel for starters, but they are not in every town.

This year I am going to a few places and several are out of the way, but I am going by bus so they are all on the route. The places are as follows not in alphabetic order. Auckland, Whangarei, Paihia (Waitangi Day), Warkworth, Taupo, Hamilton, Te Kuiti, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Wellington. Some of these places I have visited before and will always try to find something new or they are actually stop over points too. I am wanting to experience a Waitangi Day so left my New Zealand trip later than what I planned. I usually head there around the end of October November, but plans were interrupted. The original trip I had planned had me heading to Ohakune where I was going to try for the Bridge to Nowhere tour, but that is something I should research and might have to stay in Pipiriki overnight. I also found in Ohakune that there is a memorial / monument to the last nail being placed onto the railway. I could be wrong, but it is not far up the road. I think anyone can get a fair idea as to where I would head. Original plans don’t always work out, but sometimes they can be even better.

You never know what I will find on my travels and I can even surprise myself. I always have a camera that will capture something that has caught my interest and I never run out of things to do. There is plenty of country out there to explore and to stop at on your way to another location.