Mr Arthur Luty

It's not everyday you bump into the 1954 FA cup final referee.
Whilst walking the coast path from Fitzroy to New Plymouth we stopped off to use the conveniences, whilst I (Ruth) double checked the map, I was approached by an elderly gentleman asking if I needed directions. He was a lovely old man and spoke with the 'Queens English'. When he heard me speak he was keen to know where I was from, when I told him Scarborough his face lit up. He was from Leeds but was in the RAF during WW2 in North Allerton, as was his wife, and they were granted 3 days leave to get married and go for their 2 day honeymoon to Scarborough. We felt quiet spoilt when telling him about our wedding and honeymoon but he thought it was brilliant!
He went on to tell us that after leaving the RAF he had become a football referee and had refereed in the top flight for 18 years, including the 1954 FA cup final. He came to New Zealand soon after that for his retirement after living through 2 world wars he was in need of a rest, and at 93 he looks well rested, his secret to his youth is strolling along the coastal path each morning for his morning coffee.

Taranaki Bight

We spent a week driving back and forth around the Taranaki bight, chasing and enjoying the surf. Fitzroy, Oakura and Opunake were the main spots.

Ruth's Birthday in Raglan

Whilst in Raglan it was my birthday. John cut my hair for me, he choose a particularly funny method of 'find a clump, snip off an inch, and pass it to me to hold'. He did this until it was all done. Although this method may not be approved by Nicky Clark he did a grand job and it was way more fun that a normal trip to the hairdressers. Due to the waves not being surfable we enjoyed a day of hiking, exploring the area, followed by a lovely meal out at the Harbour View Hotel that evening.

Raglan

Raglan was our favourite town so far, with a bit more going on there, nice coffee shops, restaurants and surf shops. There was also lots of good surf breaks to choose from. We stayed at a lovely little campsite over looking the waves which had lots of little train carriages as accomodation. Whilst we were there we really enjoyed watching the sun rising as it seemed to be so different but equally spectacular each morning.

Waiwera

Just north of Auckland is a place called Waiwera. It is famous for its thermal springs. These exist all over NZ but this one was the first we had come across. A leisure facility and water park had been built around the area. There was one pool called the 'Movie pool' that had a film showing twice a day but unfortunatley the bulb had gone whilst we were there. There were lots of different pools inside ranging in temperature. It was so relaxing. The hottest pool was 48 degrees c (ouch), with the smell of sulphur from the thermal springs we felt like a pair of boiled eggs. There were even slides to play on. A school party was in and their teacher was sitting at the bottom of one of the slides. He got quite a shock when we came hurtling down creating a lot bigger splash than the school kids.
“I knew you weren't one of mine with that splash”, said teacher,
“Hey, don't be personal!”, Said Ruth

Taupo Bay

On our way back south we called on the east coast again at Taupo Bay. We went on some great hikes up the spectacular steep cliffs that surrounded the bay. The Kiwi's call hiking 'tramping', and the lady that ran the camp site we were staying at told us of a good one. She got permission for us to do the walk as it went across private land. This is quite common in NZ, but most people seem to give you permission. The walk led us to our 'dream home', which had fantastic views of the bay. We were allowed to use the verandah of the house as well as walk up to a gazebo, both offered great views. The home was owned by one of the richest men in NZ who is rarely there but fortunately doesn't mind people enjoying his views. His bathroom over looked the bay too. We both said if you lived in a place like that it would be very difficult to leave for work every morning,or get out of the bath.

Cape Reinga

We traveled to to the north tip, Cape Reinga, another beautiful site right on the beach and adjacent to a river. The waves were big and due to two seas meeting at the north of the Island the currents were pretty strong. Although it was a lovely spot we didn't stay as long as we might have done because our cooking gas ran out and we could only last so long on sandwiches and fruit.

Spirit Bay and the Russians

Almost at the end of the peninsula we visited Spirit Bay, another quiet DOC camp site next to the surf. One morning whilst we were finishing our breakfast a minibus full of people, maybe 10 or 12, arrived. They looked like they had come to see something in the cliffs, they were looking and pointing and taking pictures. They were listening to what looked like their guide and then a few of them started to blow horns. We thought they might be some 'Lord of the Rings' fanatics. I(Ruth) couldn't resist enquiring so I had a wander over and chatted with their mini bus driver whilst the group were still having their photos taken and celebrating. He told me they were having their Greenstone blessed. I was still a little confused. He told me Greenstone is a precious gem stone, found only in New Zealand and is obviously green. He said it is believed that if you take the stone out of New Zealand without having it blessed you would be cursed with bad luck. I thanked him and returned to the van to report the news to John and to read up more about Greenstone in our Rough Guide. Whilst I was reading out the very long explanation the bus driver came over and said that the party had walked down to the beach and asked if we wanted to have a peek at the Greenstone. I was expecting to see a pendent or a small stone but inside the bag was a 40kg Rock! Apparently $300,000 worth! The insanely rich group of Russians had bought the stone on the south Island (where it naturally occurs) and then hired 2 helicopters and pilots to be flown over to the North island, then hired a bus and driver to take them up to spirit bay to bless the stone before returning back to the South. He wasn't sure why they chose this area to have it blessed but it must have made for a great day trip.

Too much time on our hands

He he

Rarawa

After our last camping experience we decided to go back to the DOC campsites. Heading onto the north peninsula we made our way to Rawara on the north east coast. It is known for its whitesand beach and surf. Arriving at the campground, there was not a sole around, nor was there anyone on the beach. We called it our own desert island. With all the reading we've had time to do on our trip we decided to throw in a few of the classics, and what better setting to start reading Robinson Crusoe. So we did.

Ahipara

Further North still we headed for Ahipara. With the heavy winds we hoped the Southern end of 90 mile beach would provide a little protection. We followed the directions to a basic camping ground in our guide. It was a little odd, after driving down a dirt track we came across a ground with no sigh outside and in the office window sat a huge Maouri in his underpants. We were just about to turn around, thinking we must have pulled into someone's house my mistake when a lady came out and told us that we were in the right spot, collected the fees and off we went to choose a spot, as we were the only ones there we had plenty to choose from. They had a lot of wild pets, mainly kittens and puppies, the puppies mummy was a feisty thing, and would nip you if your arms were in her reach. We drew the curtains and purposely dehydrated ourselves enough in order not to have to leave the van until the following morning.
The next morning, as always, the place seemed a lot less creepy and with no surf we decided to take a walk around the beautiful headland. Mummy Dog, which we nick names Stinky, insisted on joining us. We told her she could as long as she was friendlier and she seemed to agree, so off we went. It's a good, long walk around the headland, apparently on its day there a several waves that link up around the headland making it the longest 'left' ridable wave in the Southern Hemisphere. Stinky followed us the whole way, but away from her own back yard she was a different dog. So timid. She never strayed more than a metre or 2 from our side and when we came across another person or dog she would hide between John's legs, nearly sending him flying. After a lovely walk we returned to the camp-site. Stinky returned to her confident self and started to terrorise some new campers on her turf.

Matauri Bay

Still heading up the North east coast we stopped at a surf location called Matouri Bay. We camped at a fantastic location right on the beach. It was a short walk to the surf, which was good for a couple of days. The beach is owned by a Maori tribe as much of the Northland is. The water is still pretty warm but we are now in 3mm wetsuits. However some of the Maori surfers are much braver and just wear shorts to surf in, and they stay in longer! Next to the campsite was a steep climb to a great look out. NZ have placed a monument at the top to a ship called the Rainbow Bay. It was a Green Peace boat that in the 80's was to lead a flotilla of boats to protest against France's nuclear testing in French Polynesia. Two secret service French agents disguised as tourist attached 2 bombs to the boat and scuppered it whilst still in NZ. A Green piece photographer was killed. They used the ships propeller as part of the monument. It was a great view of the Bay of Islands from the top. An area of 130 Islands named by our own Captain Cook.

Fancy toilets.

Thanks to Rob and Lynn we have a 101 things to do in NZ book (wedding gift). One of the must sees in the book is the Hundertwasser Toilet. They were named after an Austrian Painter, artist, philosopher and architect, who in an attempt to encourage tourists to stop in the old mining town of Kawakawa instead of driving straight through designed and adapted the public convenience. He used broken tiles, coloured bottles and random objects to create the most unique loo we had ever seen.

Moresseys Bay

Our next surf spot was a place on the east coast called Moresseys. We camped in another DOC site and enjoyed a couple of days surfing and walking. On one walk we acquired a dog from somewhere. He was great and wouldn't leave us alone. Running ahead of us to find good routes. There were lots of dirt roads around here which we had to drive on. Fortunately they were a bit more sealed than the ones we'd been on in Australia so as Eddie would say 'no dramas'.

Heading North

We decided to head to the north of the Island next, called 'Northland'. We are planning on surfing up the east coast and then down the west. The beauty of NZ is that it is so narrow it is easy to get from West to East to chase the waves. This is a nice change after Aus. where everything is so far away.
We made it as far as a place called Waipu and camped at a place called Uretiti (many laughs about the names). We camped on a DOC (Department of Conservation) camp ground. They are very nicely located and cheap. I think we will see a few of these.

Piha

We headed over the mountains just in time to miss our first view of the spectacular bay of Piha, sadly the sun had just set. A huge beach that was split in the middle by a large rock called the Lion Rock, as it resembled a seated lion. We stayed for a couple of nights on a great campsite just on the beach. The surf was huge and the bay was prone to very strong currents. I (John), surfed the northern part of the beach next to a rock called Camel Rock (yes it looked like a camel). It was a bit of a nervy surf due to the wave size and strong currents but I managed to get a few waves. The sand on the west side of the Island is black due to volcano eruptions. We saw a great sunset on this bay.

Guitar

After a quick stop at a cash converters we picked up a guitar. It's been so long neither of us can remember many songs at all and our fingers are very soft, could be a painful reunion with the instrument.

A wet and windy Auckland

We were picked up at the airport by Eddie. He was the campervan man for the North Island and what a nice guy he was. He was Maori and huge and would easily fall into the gentle giant category. Nothing was a problem to him, 'no dramas', he liked to say. He showed us the ropes with the van which is very similar to our camper at home. He said it was the best deal he had ever seen in the 5 years he had worked there. Well done Ruth for finding it! We spent the first night in a free camping area in the Auckland Docklands. It is an area they are redeveloping for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Old disused buildings are being flattened to make way for a nice park with a big screen to watch the games. We were next to a fantastic fish market and spent the next morning looking at all the different fish NZ has to offer. We weren't too sure how to prepare the fish though so opted for a safe purchase of salmon. A quick look around the city and we set off for the coast. We set off at the very moment a tornado developed and worked its way across northern and eastern Auckland. We were quickly diverted of the main highway out of Auckland to a place called Avondale. After searching the radio networks to find out what was happening, we discovered that a second tornado was developing exactly where we were, YIKES! Fortunately we missed all the chaos and made our way towards the west coast.

Auckland bound

We had a very smooth and trouble free flight to New Zealand. We even got to sit together this time. It was only a 3 hour flight, just enough time to eat a meal and watch a movie.

'Good on ya' Australia

We have had the most amazing time in Australia. We have seen some of the best beaches, camped in beautiful forests and mountains and best of all shared some great time and a few beers with some incredibly friendly people. Australia will take some beating!
New Zealand here we come!

Brisbane and Budha

As we were flying out Monday morning we stayed in a hotel in Brisbane on Sunday night. We managed to sell the tent along with the rest of the extra stuff we'd picked up along the way which included santa hats, a solar powered turtle light and many more weird and wonderful things. Leaving us once again with just the boards and bags.
We headed into Brisbane for the festivals of 'Budha's Birthday. There were loads of stalls with great veggie food. The open air sports stadium was used as a place of worship and was decorated in the most beautiful colours. We finished the day with a lovely meal on the South Bank of the River. Perfect!

Agnes Water

Agnes Water is the most northern beach that you can surf and just around the corner is 1770, the first place that Captain Cook discovered in Queensland in 1770. 1770 is the most southern point that you can get a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. We had decided that our birthday gifts to each other would be a day snorkelling on the Reefs so we were keen to book it. Unfortunately the dates kept getting pushed back due to there being too much swell for the boats to go out. We stayed here over a week but the swell never dropped, and although it was disappointing for the snorkelling it was great for the surf!!!!
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Agnes water, it was very quiet and laid back small town. The strangest thing was that I (Ruth) bumped into a girl I went to school with. It's funny, at school even though we shared a bus twice a day we'd never really exchanged more that a, 'Hello', yet bumping into each other at the other side of the world gave us tones to talk about.
We spent our last evening in Agnes Water over looking the Marrina at 1770 with a picnic. Due to the way the headland stretched out you could watch the sunset over the water, a rare treat for the East Coast.

More soggy Noosa

With 2 weeks left in Australia we hired a car and bought a tent that would keep us dry. We were a little reluctant to splash out on a good tent at this late stage but without the option of the van for wet nights we had to go for it. Plus we managed to find a great one in a half price sale.
We set off back north with the intention of going as far as Agnes Water from the advise of Tom. On the way we decided to stop at Noosa again as there was some good surf arriving, This time we explored some of the point breaks further into the National Parks, if you were willing to have a good hike you had a wide choice of less crowded waves.
Yet again with Noosa came a lot of rain, this was a real test for the tent, and it passed, brilliant! We were the only ones left on the camp ground, even a group of scouts got rained off after their brand new tents filled up with water. After staying there a few days we continued north to Agnes Water.