Camp Cove and the Botanic bats

We spent a few days lying on one of Sydneys sandy beaches, Camp Cove, to readjust to our new surroundings!

The bats that live in the Botanic Gardens fly across the city every evening, looking for their tea!

Sydney, Australia 15th November

After the quiet and calm of NZ, arriving in Sydney was a bit of a shock! It was especially weird seeing Christmas trees and decorations all over the place! But the Opera House was spectacular.

Sand boarding, Te Paki, Northern NZ

We couldn't resist the opportunity to fling ourselves about in NZ one last time!! So when we saw the HUGE sand dunes at Te Paki, and the nice man offering a sand board, we went for broke. Nick was very successful in getting down the near vertical slope, but unfortunately i fell off about half way down...and so got sand in my eyes, ears, mouth and nose by the time i reached the bottom. I didn't have the urge to try it again after that!

At the end of New Zealand, Cape Reinga

So finally after travelling for 3 weeks in the trusty camper, we made it to the very northern tip of New zealand, Cape Reinga. Looking out across the sea we felt like we were on the edge of the world! It was stunning coastline, and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather.

Tauranga Bay campground and Cathedral cove, near Hahei at Coromandel. 7th -12th Nov.

More beautiful coastline on the East coast of the North Island. After an hours walk from Hahei beach camp, through bush and along coastal paths we found the famous Cathedral Cove. After a couple of days r & r we pushed on Northwards through Auckland and passed through several towns that we had intended to stop at but found that the campgrounds were not all that great so we continued driving with the hope that we would find somewhere decent to stop before nightfall. We stopped off at a 4 square convenience store in Warkworth to pick up some provisions and got talking to a local who suggested we head for Tawharanui Regional park where we could camp and after driving all day we gratefully accepted the recommendation. After a a night at Tawharanui we set off again through to Russell where we caught a small car ferry across the bay to Opua and then on to Tauranga Bay where we decided to pitch up for a few days as the site was pleasant, right on the beach and we were pretty road weary after several days of single night stops. You couldnt complain about the view, a pod of dolphins visit the bay, the food was good and the sunsets weren't bad either.

Coromandel peninsular 7 - 9 Nov

We left Rotarua and headed for the Coromandel Peninsular with high hopes. When we arrived at the camp ground at Hahei which was just off a lovely sandy beach we went for a walk and found Sting-ray beach and Hot water beach (where you could dig a hole in the sand to create your own spa!!)

Mitai Maori village, Rotorua 6 Nov

At the Mitai village we ate a 'Hangi' which is food prepared in the tradional Maori way, by digging a hole, filling it with hot stones, then pour water over the sones and lower a tray of meat and vegetabes over the top. The tray is covered with layers of rough sacking to keep the heat in. The hole is then covered over with earth and left for 3 hours. After that the tray is dug up and uncovered, and the food is ready....and it was excellent!!!

We also saw some traditional dancing and heard stories from the leader of the Mitai tribe. They showed us their 'huka' or village warrier song. 'Hu' means breath and 'ka' means fire.