Auckland - 12th March 08 - day 65 - part 3

Now with the Langfords in Auckland for the last time before we leave for Hawaii tomorrow.

Since the last visit to Auckland on 2nd March we moved North and had the following amazing experience's which have rounded off our fantastic visit to NZ.

• Whangarei - 198k drive to the Top 10 campsite and then visited the Zion Wildlife Gardens run by Craig Busch from the TV programme on Discovery channel and saw a collection of 43 rare big cats and a baboon. In the collection were Barbary and White lions, Royal White and Bengal tigers, various lion cubs, two Serval cats, Cheetahs, a black Leopard and ZION who the park is named after a very large Barbary Lion who has featured in several TV adverts and was in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Thanks Mark for suggesting this place. The four of us were taken round by Lesley from Armah who was working as a volunteer whilst on a working holiday following Uni.
• Russell - 193k drive and ferry to this little town which was once described as "The Hell Hole of the Pacific" and is now a quiet sleepy little town which relies on tourists. Stopped a couple of days and took a Fullers boat trip around the Bay of Islands to the "Hole in the Rock" but due to the heavy swell we were unable to sail through. On the return journey instead of getting off at Russell we continued to Paihia to have a look and took the passenger ferry back. At the Russell Top 10 we met Alan and Jenny the "ukgreynomads" who have sold up from Litchfield and are having a year our touring before returning to the UK to buy a camper van to live in and tour UK and Europe. Thought we were doing well with 3 months! Had a great steak & eggs meal in Russell RSA thanks to Polly's Kitchen.
• Kerikeri - 75k drive but on the way we stopped of at Waitangi to visit the treaty house and grounds, very interesting to see where the modern New Zealand was born on 6th February 1840, now a public holiday "Waitangi Day". Even found a brand on BENNETTS chocolate here and had to try the blueberry and lemon flavours. The next day Friday 7th we took a Fullers bus, they control most to the transport and ferries, to 90 mile beach and Cape Reinga driven by Huey Smith a Maori who had a great sence of humour, could tell a good story and sing Maori songs. We left Kerikeri driving past the Stone Store 1836 and Kemp's mission house 1822 and went to the giant Kauri forest at Puketi and walked on the board walk made for the Queens visit. We then moved to the "Ancient Kauri Kingdom" were they process the giant Kauri trees which fell down between 45 & 50,000 years ago into furniture and are buried in the peat swamps around the area. The largest one ever recovered weighed an estimated 110 tons. A one third section of this tree has been carved into a spiral stair case to link the ground and mezzanine floor. The next stop was a BBQ lunch at Houhora game fishing club where I was attached by a seagull! We then continued on un-sealed roads, no tarmac, to Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and Tasmin Sea meet and then walked to the lighthouse which marks the Northern most point of NZ, London some 18,500 miles away. We then stopped at the giant sand dunes by the Te Paki quick sand stream where we used boogy boards to surf down to the stream below. We only managed 2 rides as it was a killer to walk up the steep soft sand, however one young Danish lad did manage 3. We then drove on down the stream on to 90 mile beach and drove for 52 miles of the actual length which was so called because it took a horse and cart 3 days to travel and they covered 30 miles a day, the length is a bit exaggerated. The sand can be very soft and if you stop in the wrong place for too long the vehicles can sink into the sand and then can't be recovered, several private cars are still buried. We did stop however to dig for Peri clams which tasted great raw. The driver kept two buckets full, perk of the job! We left the beach and then stopped at "Ancient Kauri Kingdom" for coffee and for the sand and salt water to be washed off the coach. On the way back we drove through Doubtless Bay named by Captain Cook in 1769, Mangonui and Whangaroa Harbours before returning to Kerikeri where we had another good meal at the Black Olive restaurant.
• We left Kerikeri on Saturday for the 258k drive to Auckland but first stopped off and explored the Stone Store and Kemp's mission house before we stopped for lunch at Kawakawa where Huey Smith lived, the train runs down the full length of the main street and public toilets designed and built by the Austrian architect Friedrich Hundertwasser in 1997. Everyone who enters has a camera or video to record the sights inside and out which are in the top 10 of public loo's in the world.
• Auckland Saturday at the Langfords we had a celebration dinner with Grants dad Jack and had a great evening of stories and plenty of good wine and beer.
• Sunday we visited Mount Eden garden which was built in an old quary on the side of an extinct volcano in 1964. We met Judith and her sisters Wendy and Dene and her husband Colin for lunch. There are many exotic plants and great view over Auckland. We then drove to the summit of Mount Eden where we had a full 360 degree panoramic view of Auckland and the surrounding area which includes some 50 islands and 48 extinct volcano's including the latest one only 600 years old Rangitoto.
• Monday we took the local bus from Belmont to Devonport and then the ferry to Auckland city where we went to the 328m SKY TOWER and had even better views than Mount Eden. We also watched people doing the skyjump of 192m and the skywalk around the 1.2m wide ring with no hand rails where the jumping platform is, they are connected to a safety cable from above. After lunch we did some shopping and then took the explorer bus which shows you the sights of Auckland with a commentary before returning by ferry to Devonport.
• Tuesday we had a lazy day with Grace at pre-school we all collected her and then went for lunch in Devonport, Grant also joined us for the afternoon. We then took Trea back to Creamer St for a rest and we all went to Cheltenham beach for a swim. I thought Hunstanton had a long beach when the tide is out but we walked for ages before it reached our waists. It was a bit cold for a start but great when you were used to it. We then all dressed for dinner and went to a Greek restaurant in Devonport for the evening and had a great time.
• Wednesday, today we packed ready for tomorrow, Grace and Tess have gone for their weekly swim and I have stayed behind to let you all know what a wonderful time we are having and checking my emails. Had one from the Australian immigration inviting me to apply for immigration, still considering?