12282

New Zealand: Day 28: NY Eve beer hike to Sugar Loaf Hill and New Year camp party

We woke up in a beautiful sunny day and we immediately brushed our teeth with a nice medicine.

Our camp-site in Fletcher Bay, Coromandel Peninsula

Slovenian gang, Bor, Tomaž, Maruša and Dejan

Part of our juicy breakfast, Boysenberries or registered name in Slovenia, Malbide (™ and ® by  Maruša and Bor)

 

Bor in action: Left: Ice for our beers and food. Right: Bor with his new camera.

View to our camp

At the top of the Sugar Loaf Hill we had a nice cold beer

Short break from exhausting climb

 

Great walk was finished

 

Preparing ingredients for cooking 

 

Collecting the wood for a new years eve fire

My poor Turkish jandal gave up

Our midnight eve dinner was delicious

 

We continued with energy drinks beside the fire and other camp guests (Big thanks to all who brought extra drinks).

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou! SREČNO NOVO LETO!

12281

New Zealand: Day 27: Rarawa Beach - Kawakawa - Whangarei - Coromandel - Fletcher Bay

The clouds have been above my head for a couple of days now and quite a big amount of my clothes were wet, including the motorbike gear. Still I put it on and continued my trip to South. My destination today was Coromandel City, where I met my friends from Slovenia, Tadej and Maruša and 2 new guys.

Leawing Rarawa Beach Campsite, where I had 1$ discount for late arrival

Doubtless Bay beach

Gabriel the Steam Engine in Kawakawa went on a trip to Vintage Railway

 

Whangarei falls drop 26 meters over a basalt lava flow 

Later I visited Abbey Caves, the naturally sculptured limestone outcrops, bluffs, enclosed depressions, sink holes and three significant caves, Organ cave, Middle cave and Ivy Cave.

Entrance to our first cave, Ivy cave

My new friends, Rory and Terry, were following me

Water was quite deep and my clothes were not waterproof enough

We followed the stream and we hold our valuables above the water level

Exit

 

If you enlarge, you can see glowworms.

Rory brought a nice chocolate to the caves and even-though it was a bit wet, it was delicious. Thanks!

 

 Obviously my Friend Grega Lang has his own beach here in New Zealand and till now, he successfully hide that information away from us. Those days are over Grega! We will come to visit you, so fill up the fridge with you know what!

After a long day finally road to the end of Coromandel Peninsula

Meeting with other Slovenes in this city. Finally!

Quite late I met my friends and we decided to move further north, to Fletcher Bay and to camp there. On the way there we were all stopped by the police, quick alcohol check. We were all able to continue and we arrived to our destination some time after midnight. Beer, tents and time to sleep.

Almost 700 kilometres killed my ass and back today

12280

New Zealand: Day 26: Trounson Kauri Park - Waipoua Forest - 90 mile beach - Cape Reinga - Rarawa campsite

In the morning I had a nice chat with some New Zealanders. One older couple sold everything, bought a camper-van and now they are just travelling around. After the chat I left for Waipoua Forest, to see some of the biggest trees of the country.

No work, NO TV, No Worries..."Yeah Right" came afterwards. Sell everything and travel!

 

Waipoua Forest

New model of chainsaw, that would probably fit my friend Jurko

 

 Important notes

 

Yakas, named after Dalmatian Nick Yakas, a kauri gum digger, was my first tree I visited and is the 7th largest, in the country. You can also see Tuši at this photo.

 

Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the forest) is the 2nd largest tree and a cluster of 4 trees joined together called Four sisters

Two red princesses

And the largest Kauri tree in the country, Tane Mahuta (Lord of the forest), aged between 1250 an 2500 years, 

I continued on the great SH12 road towards North, to Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga. On Ninety mile beach I installed the camera on my motorbike and forgot to put the small backpack back to its place and so it was gone. Checked the place 4 times, but I guess someone must've took it. So some papers, cables and GoPRO Hero adapters were lost forever. Life goes on and so does this adventure.

Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley 

Our first ferry trip for 5$ from Rawene to Kohukohu

View from the ferry

Ninety mile beach - 88 kilometres long

 

Exiting the beach at up Te Paki stream with sufficient speed for my cross bike

And here we are at Cape Reinga, generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. 

Cape Maria van Diemen, Westernmost point of North Island, New Zealand

End of the cape, where Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet

Where to next? I guess it will be Bluff.

Sonja, you are one dirty motorbike

Trounson Kauri Park - Waipoua Forest - 90 mile beach - Cape Reinga - Rarawa beach campsite