25 October 2008 - Matakohe, New-Zealand
Good morning campers!!! Here we are, on a beautiful spot, with a name we can’t pronounce and can’t remember. That’s the reason for this journal. I (M) will start today with some common facts and FAQ’s. Frequently Asked Questions…. .
I’ll start with this and Pieter starts on the house rules (Oh Lord!!!): “Things NOT to do in a campervan” . First some facts. 1: Our NZ phone number is 027 3904 123. Just for emergencies. Remember that it isn’t always on and there’s not always a network available.
2: our thoughts were with you lot, birthday munchers!!! I hope the food was good. You don’t want to know about the steaks we’ve got on the sink, we crave meat and tatties today . 3: The language, we’re starting to pick up on NZ English. For example: on a road sign it shows a sliding car with the text: When wet. Very understandable. But here you say: Whin wit (as in ‘sit’).
The day before yesterday I booked a campsite and asked for internet, a normal English word you would think…. The lady didn’t heard what I said and asked: Internit? :lach1: .
That’s why we have lots of fun every day, just because of the little things. We’re in good spirits.
Nr. 4: Tineke, about Lord of the Rings: it was filmed on both the North as the South Island. Tomorrow we hope to stay in the area they called “The Shire”, of the Hobbits.
A couple of days later – weather permitted – we hope to take photos from Mount Doom, and on the South Island there are also lots of locations, maybe Pedro knows, I’m no LOTR fan.
5: The weather. Typical spring weather. The trees are showing new leaves, birds are busy building nests and beautiful skies. Every now and then we get a rain shower and they are usually very wet.
Just after we left the rainforest (the name says it all) it started pouring down. We don’t mind the weather, we’ve got all the necessary stuff to deal with it and we love it over here.
At the moment (17:15) it’s windy outside with some rain showers, but it isn’t cold. Fine weather.
Last fact: If you can’t find your reaction, you probably reacted on a photo. Check on the photos, they’ll show if a reaction has been placed.
Pieter takes over and maybe I’ll add some bits and pieces later, we’ve got a 24 hour Wi-Fi card again!!! YES!!! ( you’re costing us bucket loads of money, but we’re loving it ). (M)
All in all we drove a long way, of course with our stops, one has to smoke In fact, you could make a stop every 100 metres, the unfolding landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful and should be photographed. But 4 weeks isn’t long and a longer stay is nog within budget.
After the morning rituals we left at 08:30, I even had a chat on Indiancraft, and rightfully so, someone has got too keep the rascals in line
The first bit we made some serious kilometres, the locals get scared when they see the campervan in their mirrors and let us pass. First stop was in Kaikohe, where we had some coffee and bought some groceries, mainly water and if we’re nog careful, we exceed the limit of 3500 kg for the campervan.
The stop didn’t take very long, because we had still some stops to make, mainly to see a tree with the age of 1500 years, at least, that’s the estimate, and is still very much alive. I’ll add some photos, hopefully they do justice to the size of the tree. These trees, the Kauri, are possibly the oldest living organism on this earth. The tree on the photo is the oldest, but there are more around, all of them with an estimated age of over 1000 years.
Greetje had read some blogs and everyone that’s been there had rain while visiting, but we had a dry spell. Who knows, maybe the Gods are with us or everybody gets what they deserve .
Oh, the trees can be found in the Waipoua Forest and it sure is a rainforest. There seem to be Kiwi’s as well, but we didn’t see any because they’re very shy.
Because it was lunchtime, we had a delicious hot dog, with lots of mustard. The young lady in the small caravan was very friendly, but that seems to be the case for most of the people here.
The road to Kaitui, at the edge of the rainforest, was as winding as the way in, the average speed didn’t get much above 50 km/h. Fun to drive, but you’ll need some skills to maintain a reasonable speed. The tree ferns over here are magnificent and besides the fully grown “feathers” a lot of them still have them all curled up.
Next stop is Dargaville, we needed to stretch our legs. Naturally we combined the pleasurable bit with the useful bit, stretching the legs was very pleasurable and the smoking very useful. The road leading towards our destiny for today, Matakohe, lead us over a big flat spot in the landscape, just as flat as the “polders” back home. The road was straight with a few rocks to drive around.
Near Ruawai we’ve made another stop to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Here the Wairoa river reaches the Tangtiki bay and by the looks of the surf, the tide is coming in.
At the campsite we asked for directions to a liquor store and a supermarket, because we needed somethings to eat and drink. After this we found a beautiful spot on the campsite to stop for the night, enough is enough. Who knows even a massage is an option (NOT!!! (M) ) .
Ow, the very attractive … male couple who spent the last 2 nights on the same campsites as we did are here as well. Hopefully I won’t see them again tomorrow morning walking in nothing more than their underpants across the campsite. I think this is sufficient for now, see you all next time. (P)
PS. We munched down a couple of sirloin steaks where many Dutch butchers could learn from. As tender I’ve never had before. We came up with the idea of steak because we saw all the walking steaks in the fields today. (P)
Me again, because Pieter lets me know there is someone waiting in full anticipation at her computer … take a guess !
All I wanted to say is that we’re getting the hang of camper life. With the Navy experience from Pieter, making and dismantling the bed is a piece of cake . In the morning we take things easy, washing, eating buttered toast (yum), drinking coffee, do the dishes, disconnect the campervan and off we go.
Also it’s nice to stop on time, maybe my schedule was too tight. As said, we’re on a holiday! And enjoying it every minute.
Dylakketje: I’ll call you tomorrow evening 20:30 local time, 8:30 your time, if Pieter is correct. If not, you’re gonna be awake real early !!! (M)
25-10-2008 Matakohe.
Travel blog about our trip to New Zealand in October/November 2008
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25-10-2008 Matakohe.
Don't put your mouth into motion, before your brain is in gear.
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