The Bay, the Cape and the Island: Easter in Northland

We took the four-day holiday proffered by the Easter weekend to head up to the Bay of Islands with James (see previous blogs) and our uni friend Faye, who hopped over from her enviable life in Sydney to join us.

Piha beach with Janelle

A shaky start thanks to Jetstar meant we arrived into Auckland on Friday morning instead of Thursday evening, and drove straight to Elevation Cafe to meet my old Suva school friend Janelle. The views over Auckland were vast, and the brunch delicious. We then drove together to Piha beach, which is out west of Auckland, where we strolled along in the shallow water reminiscing, and climbed Lion Rock to see the surfers dotted below. After seaside ice cream we walked inland to a tall set of waterfalls, down which Janelle's brother runs canyoning and abseiling tours. 


Sadly there was no time for a dip or an abseil - we hotfooted it back to Auckland airport to pick up Faye, and zoomed north. Our destination: Paihia in the famed Bay of Islands. Our bach was up the hill overlooking the town and with views out into the bay. The view at sunrise was golden (see artistic pic later on).

Bay of Islands with our loop walk and later kayaking routes in red (and the car ferry!)

Whangamumu loop track views

Saturday morning we pitched up at the ferry terminal ready for a day out at Urupukapuka Island. The lady informed us that every ferry today and tomorrow were booked out. We booked onto Monday's and regrouped. James had been recommended the walk along Cape Brett, the eastern spur of the Bay of Islands. We had a glossy A4 simplified map from the iSite and after a childishly exciting trip on the car ferry (Opua to Russell) struck out towards Whangamumu Harbour. 

We soon realised a loop track south of Cape Brett was realistic, and this was more than satisfying: spectacular views, grassy bays, a handful of other trampers, an old whaling station, a true kiwi path that had us wading thigh-deep along some coast, and a secluded white sand beach with breakers perfect for body surfing.

Thoroughly sweaty from all the hills we drove to Russell, but just too late for the Pompallier House tour (an early French mission with its own printing press and tannery for Bibles). Instead we enjoyed the calm sweep of the bay, picturesque wooden houses and a drink in the Duke of Marlborough. We also admired an enormous (137kg) Marlin fish caught that day and hanging up for everyone to ogle on the wharf.

Russell

That evening we hosted five medical students who knew James from Auckland. They swept in with food and did all the chopping and half the BBQing for a classic grab-it-if-you-want-it BBQ. Three of them were Belgian (Flemish and German bits) so Europe vs UK became a lively topic.

Sunrise on Paihia Beach (Photographer: James)

On Sunday we enjoyed Faye's poached eggs and avocado on toast, before driving north north north towards Cape Reinga at the tip of the North Island. Faye and I almost joined a musical Easter church service in Kaitaia community centre but the Bowie CDs and expert commentary from James sustained us to Te Paki, where we left the main road to meet Ninety Mile Beach.

Desert landscape, Te Paki dunes, Ninety Mile Beach

Off-piste sand boarding

Huge sand dunes! A shed with boogie boards for hire! Sausage sandwiches in our rucksack! It felt surreal sitting atop a desert with a sea view. After lunch we had turns on our board, competing for the furthest run down a 'virgin' dune (James won). We tried other slopes too: off-piste where no one had gone before was best. We pushed our hill legs to the limit on the walks back up. 

We reached Cape Reinga mid-afternoon, along with everyone else in Northland. This did not detract from the delight and awe of seeing the Tasman Sea clash with the Pacific Ocean coming the other way. The waves genuinely do rise up and crash into each other, creating bizarre white water out at sea.

Cape Reinga is a hugely important place for Maori; it is where spirits leave Aotearoa for the after-world, stepping down the roots of an ancient Pohutukawa tree perched on the side of a rocky promontory. It has never flowered.

After a compulsory side walk to Sandy Bay (part of the Te Paki coastal track and blissfully empty) we drove to Mangonui, at the South end of Doubtless Bay (named as such following the uninspiring sentence uttered by Captain Cook: "Doubtless, this is a bay"). A colleague of mine had recommended the popular fish and chip cafe on stilts over the water. We had delicious fresh fish of the day, calamari and lots of chips.










The next morning found us on a child-infested ferry to Urupukapuka Island, where we hired kayaks. Paddling round various bays, we stopped off for a couple of idyllic beach swims (including swiftly-named Bay of Faye) and Rog and I rode a wave between towering rocks just offshore. We then tucked into an extensive lunch in Orahei Bay, lying on beanbags in the sun at the grassy cafe. 

Upon return to dry land - until it was soaked by a brief shower of rain - we began our long drive back to Auckland. Two very brief stops at the Waitangi Treaty grounds and Kawakawa toilets (Hundertwasser design) were followed by a more lengthy - and muddy - exploration of the Waipu Caves. We navigated under impressive stalactites, through chambers opening up with high ceilings, and across shallow streams, watched over by posses of glow worms. They didn't seem to mind us augmenting their magical pinpricks of greenish light with our phone torches. 

Back at James' in Remuera, Auckland, we had takeaway pizza and stayed at an airport hotel for an early morning flight back to Wellington, work and lots of washing.

Congrats for reading this far: here is us being the Tasman Sea (Dora) and the Pacific Ocean (Rog and James)

Next week we'll tell you all about how we're filling up our free time here in Welly, before we venture up the Able Tasman with James (yes, the same one) next weekend! Until next time...