By the time I returned to the van, Tony was getting up and we had breakfast before taking a final walk along the beach. Surfers were arriving from all directions as we packed up and left. How great to come out for an hour's surfing before work on a morning!
From Sandy Bay we drove to Kawakawa (very Hebden Bridge!) for a cuppa. They do excellent coffee here and most often in independent cafes with good home baking. Today we chose the Trainspotter Cafe with brownie to die for. The cafe was on the main street which has a railtrack running down the centre of it. There was a photo on the wall taken some years ago of a logging train coming down the High Street. It was a must that we used the public toilets when we were there because they are the famous Hundertwasser Toilets.
Then it was on to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. This was a small town, just a main street, market and harbour so we were all set to move on northwards without exploring the Bay of Islands, when I spotted - helicopter flights! I was disappointed about not seeing more of this part of the island but we had decided it would be tricky in the van when we had a limited amount of time. The helicopter offered an alternative! What a decision!
We had a fifty minute flight which took us one way out across the islands to reach our goal of Mutokokako Island, known as 'The Hole in the Rock'. We had paid extra to land on the tiny platform on the island. (Salt Air Flights: NZD434 per person with the 10 minutes landing on Hole in the Rock) Troy, our pilot, told us that the island was a sacred place for the Maori and was earlier used for an initiation rite where young warriors would swim out, climb the cliff and obtain feathers from the island's flightless bird to prove they had completed the task. Three years ago the Maoris gave permission for Salt Air to land helicopters on the rock.
I don't have sufficient words to describe how much I enjoyed this trip, enough to say it was worth every dollar. We only spent a short time on the island as there is nowhere really to go. There is a lookout with amazing views and Troy went in search of geckos for us to see. The lift off and the flight over the ridge was breathtaking in more ways than one! Troy took a different route back to Paihia so that we were able to see most of the 144 islands.
Back down on the ground we went for lunch at a restaurant by the sea but the service was non-existent so we found a friendly little place, Julz, in the market place, had a tasty lunch and saved a deal of money too. From Paihia we drove too, and missed (!) Kerikeri - don't ask, so we continued around the coast (interestingly shaped volcanic hills to be seen from the road to the pretty, historic town of Mangonui at the entrance to Doubtless Bay. A cuppa in the Waterfront Cafe here and we were ready for the last leg of our drive to Ninety Mile Beach.
We are staying on our first commercial holiday park, The Ninety Mile Beach Holiday Park. There are signs on reception that the owners are selling up, 'any reasonable price considered' so the campsite is looking a bit weary and the restaurant/bar are no longer in operation - maybe they were during the high season. However, it has everything we need, power, showers and it is very quiet and just five minutes from the beach. The Ninety Mile Beach is actually 66 miles long, which is still very impressive! After settling in we took a walk along the beach and watched folks driving along it in a variety of vehicles. It is used as a road but drivers need to know what they are doing.
After dinner, Tony spotted a rather good sunset developing so we returned to the dunes with the camera. Tomorrow we ride the beach!
No comments:
Post a Comment