The journey continues and I now need to introduce my two new
chums, Frank and Betty. Frank is the official big mike transportation system!!
I am not prone to anthropomorphisation
(a great word for naming and giving human characteristics to animals or
inanimate objects), but spending so much time alone in the car, I thought I
would name him so as to enable me to vent spleen on a ‘personal’ level from
time to time.
The rather jolly Indian lady at the hire company reluctantly
handed over his keys as if she was passing
the lead of her favourite spotty puppy to an employee of Cruella DeVil,
a little over the top considering Frank is a 12 year old, battle weary, 1500cc,
automatic ,Toyota Platz – a what I hear you say, as did I – but that was the
best deal in automotive hire history according to Mrs ‘Madras’, and it was
actually much better than some of the tugs I was offered.
He is best described
as a rather unfit relation of the naughty locomotive on Thomas the Tank Engine
He occasionally changes gear on his own, either up or down, refuses to
accelerate properly when required, most embarrassing when trying to overtake a
¼ of a mile logging wagon, runs out of puff at the sight of any sort of incline
and makes his own mind up when and for how many doors the central locking will
apply. For all that, it makes the driving a bit more exciting than Mr Reliable
Saab back home, and to be fair, a vehicle I thought would be unlikely to get
out of the company compound has performed brilliantly for my tour around a considerable
proportion of the top half of the country and I have no reservations that he
will be up to the challenge from now on.
Betty is a different proposition. Hers’ is the voice that
emanates from the accompanying satellite navigation system. She has a broad New
Zealand accent that I think probably belonged to the wife of a deaf miner from middle Earth.
Unfortunately Betty
hasn’t been updated in at least 5 years and has not realised that an extensive
improvement and rerouting of many of the national highways has been undertaken,
and, therefore, despite being on the correct road, she insists on yelling at me
to ‘perform a U turn as soon as possible’ with infuriating regularity, causing
me to engage in a colourful explanation that I am on the right road. Eventually,
she shuts up, tells me she is re-calculating and then re routes me, onto the
same road, but with an attitude that suggests that she was right all along,
then calm returns for another 20 minutes or so. ....... oh, the joys of
travelling !!
My pre arrival impression of New Zealand was a bit vague. ‘A
bit like Wales’ was probably the most quoted description. Well .....
where do I start? ....... the
most striking thing is that, apart from, the main cities/towns, there are only 26 people that live here, and
most of those seem to only come out at night. This is certainly the impression
you get. I have driven many hundreds of miles and have only seen a handful of
people in the countryside, two of which were European hitch hikers, and there
is one hell of a lot of countryside here.
Hour after hour I
have passed empty, mainly brown fields, just meadows, very few crops until I
reached the Hawks Bay area, very rarely do you see cows or sheep, OK they are
having some problems with reportedly the worst drought in many years, the
effect of which has been to turn the fields brown, but where is all the
livestock? Where is the New Zealand lamb, Anchor butter cows etc?? It really is quite amazing how much empty
space there is.
Geographically it is
awesome, and bear in mind this is North Island, which Kiwis regard as bland
compared to the south, but even here there are mountain ranges with peaks
higher than anything in UK covering over 20% of the land mass and three
volcanic peaks over 2,000 metres, a
sensational and dramatic coastline with countless coves, beaches, off shore
stacks and islands mostly set in a blue/green sea, huge tracts of forests both
natural and native and vast prairie like pasture land plus a couple of pretty
substantial lakes and a very active geothermal scene, and it changes seemingly
every twenty minutes.
Getting around is easy, they drive on the left, they have
good signage and, although the roads are almost all single carriageway and
mostly unlit, many are arrow straight for miles and they are in great condition.
They have very few speed cameras (I ve only seen 4 so far) and even Frank can
rattle along at the speed limit (100 kph), or more when he feels like, without
any problems, for hours.....but.......when
you get into the mountains, the driving becomes phenomenal.
On the main highways reduce your speed warning signs are
common, but usually can be treated lightly, in the mountains ignore them at
your peril, as few of the bends have barriers and 40kph on a 25kph bend, with a
1,000 + foot drop to the sea, will most definitely be something you only do
once!!. Twenty minute ascents or descents are common with countless hairpins
and ridiculous adverse cambers, but it is amazing fun .
Most of my time since leaving Auckland has been spent
towards the Pacific east cost with stays in the Bay of Islands, Coromandel
Peninsular, Rotorua, Napier and finally, a change, on the south western tip, Wellington.
Everywhere is spotlessly clean and in my experience the
people are, almost without exception, relaxed, chatty and rugby mad. Prices are
pretty similar to back home, although beer is a bit more expensive - beer
averages at about £4.50 a pint, but a small bottle of SA will set you back £8!!
The weather has been 99% fantastic, considering it is now moving
into winter, and clearly a stark contrast to UK at the moment, it is easy to
see why I have met so many Brits who choose to overwinter down here rather than
stay home as living expenses are similar and the cost of heating your home for
3 months will more than cover the airfare.
New Zealand has only been in existence since 1840 when the
Treaty of Waitangi ensured that the British ripped off the Maori for their land
and started promoting settlement here. Consequently it has very little history
other than the Maori culture, especially compared to what I’ve just had seen in
Sri Lanka, and a big issue is made of some pretty insignificant things – the oldest
petrol station in New Zealand for example, so the main attractions are natural
and they have heaps of them.
As before, I do not intend to type a guide book, so do your
own research if the areas mentioned are interesting, but briefly :-
Bay Of Islands - of huge
historical importance because of the Treaty and the Treaty Grounds museum is a brilliant 1/2 day out
I stayed in Russell, formerly the ‘hell hole of the pacific’ cos the original capital was set up across the other side of a small estuary in Okiato, and Russell was where everyone came to let their hair down, but now it is a very well to do resort, but where everyone goes to bed before 10 pm!!
Some good fishing here, as evidenced by the stuffed exhibits, including marlin and tuna, that adorn the walls of the Swordfish Club I decided to rekindle my school boy interest and managed 5 snapper off the pier.
The islands themselves are very pretty and have homes and boats for the rich and famous including (allegedly) several Russian oil billionaires, Tom Cruise, Richard Branson and Dame Kiri Tekanawa .
The natural beauty of the area, the worlds biggest canoe, an 85 seater, and New Zealands biggest tree, a 2000+ year old Kauri, of huge Maori significance, are the things that really stick in my mind about this area, apart from some guys I met.
A big thank you to Ange and Don, my hosts at the Family Park, Russell, and a big hoorah to Jim, Anne & kids for a great few days and not forgetting Pete from Leeds, my neighbour across between John Motson and Carl Pilkington !!
I stayed in Russell, formerly the ‘hell hole of the pacific’ cos the original capital was set up across the other side of a small estuary in Okiato, and Russell was where everyone came to let their hair down, but now it is a very well to do resort, but where everyone goes to bed before 10 pm!!
Some good fishing here, as evidenced by the stuffed exhibits, including marlin and tuna, that adorn the walls of the Swordfish Club I decided to rekindle my school boy interest and managed 5 snapper off the pier.
The islands themselves are very pretty and have homes and boats for the rich and famous including (allegedly) several Russian oil billionaires, Tom Cruise, Richard Branson and Dame Kiri Tekanawa .
The natural beauty of the area, the worlds biggest canoe, an 85 seater, and New Zealands biggest tree, a 2000+ year old Kauri, of huge Maori significance, are the things that really stick in my mind about this area, apart from some guys I met.
A big thank you to Ange and Don, my hosts at the Family Park, Russell, and a big hoorah to Jim, Anne & kids for a great few days and not forgetting Pete from Leeds, my neighbour across between John Motson and Carl Pilkington !!
I stayed a
week to recharge after Sri Lanka, I could have stayed a month but feared that I
would have to start drinking cocoa and learn how to knit just to fit in
Coromandel Peninsular - is a much lauded area of north island. Essentially it is a sea hugging road up the west coast to Coramandel town, a cross over the mountain to the top of the east coast, a couple of celebrated beaches and a long trek back down the east coast.
The weather on the day that I tackled the peninsular was not that good and although the west coast road was fab, literally yards from the sea, twisting and turning for about 20 miles, when I crossed over the top, the views were not great and the wind was howling.
On the shoulder of the east coast are Cathedral Cove and Hahei beach, so called legendary beaches (??) which are best accessed by kayak and renowned for the scuba diving. The weather was still not great and the sea swell was huge so I moved on.
The whole experience I found a bit disappointing - hey we've got the Gower - so I didn t hang about too long heading instead for Rotorua, although this was a 3 hour drive.
The weather on the day that I tackled the peninsular was not that good and although the west coast road was fab, literally yards from the sea, twisting and turning for about 20 miles, when I crossed over the top, the views were not great and the wind was howling.
On the shoulder of the east coast are Cathedral Cove and Hahei beach, so called legendary beaches (??) which are best accessed by kayak and renowned for the scuba diving. The weather was still not great and the sea swell was huge so I moved on.
The whole experience I found a bit disappointing - hey we've got the Gower - so I didn t hang about too long heading instead for Rotorua, although this was a 3 hour drive.
Rotorua – a pleasant enough place but for me it was spoiled
by the ever present smell of rotten eggs. This is a thermal centre with lots of
boiling springs and sulphur laden smoke belching from the ground.
The city museum was formerly a health centre where people used to visit to take baths in the mineral rich water and soak in mud.
The city museum was formerly a health centre where people used to visit to take baths in the mineral rich water and soak in mud.
Having taken a
thermal bath in dirty looking stinky water I spent the next 2 days trying to
get the smell out of my system.
Box ticked, no need to repeat that one ... move on. The only real big plus for me was that I was able to watch a full re run of the Wales v England game ....... oh yes, looks like a hat full of Lions to me
Box ticked, no need to repeat that one ... move on. The only real big plus for me was that I was able to watch a full re run of the Wales v England game ....... oh yes, looks like a hat full of Lions to me
Napier – Self titled as the art deco capital of the world,
it is a small city nestling in the middle of Hawks Bay, the one area that is
covered in vegetable, fruit and wine cultivation.
I decided on a home
stay here and was able to find a b&b in the home of a German couple, Kurt
& Charlotte. They have an incredible house up a ridiculously steep drive,
followed by 2 staircases, that seems to float on the treetops but is so
peaceful.
A lot of the local architecture has been retained since the
town was totally rebuilt following a devastating earthquake, and resulting
fires, that struck in 1931 and I found it quaint and very relaxed a bit like
Bournemouth before the stag & hen parties.
Wellington – the quite rightly named ‘windy city’ was given
quite a big build up on my way down the North Island, most people regarded it as the place to be and, rightly so, I loved
‘Welly’.
An impressive waterfront, a vibrant arts scene and a super
impressive national museum ticked the cultural boxes.
I took the cable car to the top of the overlooking Mt Victoria and then walked the several miles back to the waterfront via the botanical gardens for the exercise, the views and to keep me out of the pub !! The city has more cafe/bars that New York!! and has been dubbed New Zealands ‘ ‘capital of cool’ and its not hard to see why as the place is absolutely bumping.
I took the cable car to the top of the overlooking Mt Victoria and then walked the several miles back to the waterfront via the botanical gardens for the exercise, the views and to keep me out of the pub !! The city has more cafe/bars that New York!! and has been dubbed New Zealands ‘ ‘capital of cool’ and its not hard to see why as the place is absolutely bumping.
There are a huge number of
restaurants that all seem full early on but it really comes alive from about 11.30
and keeps going until 5 or 6 in the
morning, but I didn’t see one indication of any trouble and not even a
policeman!!!!
Unfortunately it also
has a Welsh bar, which was rather limiting for me, as I found it on the first
night and didn t really move away from it. Mike & Jo, the owners were
great, Jo had done her teachers training in my school, Llanishen High, and we
reminisced about some of the old staff which was not what I had expected on the
other side of the world , but the real stars were a couple of the locals and
bar staff. Cheers to Andy, Chris, Enda, Scotty, Big Bri and Tom.
After 4 nights with a great bunch of guys I retired as champion of drinking, lawn bowls, darts, jenga and pool and also won one of the town poker tournaments, $250 thank you very much
What a great advert ...... come to New Zealand for extreme sports !!!
After 4 nights with a great bunch of guys I retired as champion of drinking, lawn bowls, darts, jenga and pool and also won one of the town poker tournaments, $250 thank you very much
What a great advert ...... come to New Zealand for extreme sports !!!
South Island next ......
bring it on....