Whangamata – New Zealand 2011

Napier to Whangamata

Nov 21 '11 Tagged with: coffee, cow, drive, food, map, mine, waterfall, Whangamata

Nov 212011

With 10 hours of sleep and a steaming pile of fruit laden pancakes for fuel, we hit the road for the long drive from Napier to our next stop at Brenton Lodge in Whangamata, at the north end of the Bay of Plenty. We stopped a few times along the way to eat, stretch and see a few sights. Here’s a direct transcription from my notebook (sorry, I print in all caps):

NORTH ON HWY 5 TOWARDS TAUPO. WINDY & WINDY OVER THE MTNS. STOPPED IN TARGAWERA FOR COFFEE. NOTICED WE HAVE < 1/3 TANK OF GAS, NEXT GAS IN TAUPO.
MADE IT TO MOBIL STATION IN TAUPO W/ LOW FUEL LIGHT ON. WHEW!
CONTINUED N TO TOKOROA FOR LUNCH (LAMB PIE!). THEN N. TO TE AROHA, STOPPING AT A WATERFALL AND MINE ALONG THE WAY. SARAH THOUGHT CALVES WERE CUTE. NOW SHE ONLY THINKS THE FRONT HALVES OF CALVES ARE CUTE. (There was an un-photographed incident that became a discussion topic for many miles to follow.)
COFFEE & COOKIES IN TE AROHA. (This part is accompanied by funky little drawing of plate with a big cookie and a little cookie on it.) WAITRESS: “YOU CAN FIGHT OVER THE BIG COOKIE.” SARAH: “NO NEED TO FIGHT. I’LL JUST TAKE THE BIG ONE.”

Lamb Pie!

Cow #13

Windblown Wairere Falls. The wind was whipping so much at times that the water was blown right off the falls.

This structure is what remains of a rock crusher from an old mine in Waiorongomai Valley, NZ. The artwork is new.

The Karangahake Gorge was stunning, we wish we had taken some time to hike around in there. We’re adding it to the to-do list for another trip.

We arrived at Brenton Lodge around 5:30pm. The owners, David and Sallie, greeted us and showed us around and to our room. They have a beautiful B&B on the hill overlooking the bay. We didn’t know that dinner was an option there, too, but luckily were able to get in under the wire for reservations that evening. Sallie prepared a fantastic meal of smoked salmon salad, lamb chops with potato, and a delightful pannacotta with strawberries for desert. If you EVER go to the Bay of Plenty you have to stay with them – the place is beautiful, the rooms are very private, it is quiet and relaxing, and David and Sallie are two of the nicest people we’ve met (which is significant given how wonderful everyone has been).

Sallie's delicious pannacotta with berries.

Here’s a map of the drive we made today:

View Napier to Whangamata in a larger map

Hiking Near Bay of Plenty

Nov 22 '11 Tagged with: Bay of Plenty, beach, Carl, hike, Sarah, shells, waterfall, Wentworth Falls, Whangamata, Wharekawa

Nov 222011

After a tasty and filling homemade breakfast on the deck we ventured out to take on a couple of local hikes. We decided to do both ‘beach’ and ‘bush’ in one day, beach first. We drove up the coast a few kilometers to the car park for the Wharekawa Wildlife Refuge. There is a short hike through the woods before arriving at the 5km white sand beach. Our pace worked out to be more of a meander than a hike – the shoreline was littered with shells and we took our time beachcombing, collecting a few prized shells and experimenting with ways to photograph them.

The trail to the beach at Wharekawa. We came to a fork and took it.

Sarah and Me on Wharekawa Beach, NZ

"Flying Shells, I" - A portion of a shell found on the beach, dropped from out of the camera's view to catch it floating above the horizon.

"Flying Shells, IV" - A small starfish in flight.

All of my (good) pictures from the beach are here: flickr.com/photos/rosendahl/tags/wharekawa/, including four of the flying shells.

We grabbed lunch in the town of Whangamata, and headed for part two of our day – the hike to Wentworth Falls. The hike was about a three hour round trip, including stops for photo-ops and falls gawking. The trail had been recently refurbished – we were told it was good for strollers, we pictured people pushing baby strollers up the hill and laughed, sure that they meant for old people strolling up the hill. Within the first mile we ran into a young couple charging down the path with an actual baby stroller. That’s a pretty nice trail. The falls were a nice reward at the far end of the hike, they are across a small valley from the lookout point, dropping halfway down the cliff into a pool, then dropping the remainder of the way.

On the trail to Wentworth Falls

Wentworth Falls. A bit tricky to photograph since it is best viewed from a vantage point through the trees. The most interesting thing about these falls is the pool on the side of the cliff about halfway down.

Once we got back to the lodge I laid down on the floor to stretch and woke up an hour later. Well rested and hungry, we went to an Indian restaurant in town that David and Sallie recommended. It was a great day.

Bay of Plenty to Bay of Islands

Nov 23 '11 Tagged with: Auckland, Bay of Islands, Bay of Plenty, Carl, coffee, drive, map, Paihia, Sarah, Whangamata

Nov 232011

Wednesday was another long day of driving in our quest to travel the length of the north island from Wellington to the the top of NZ at Cape Reigna lighthouse. We travelled from Whangamata on the Bay of Plenty, up Highway 25, across to Highway 1, through Auckland all the way north to Paihia on the Bay of Islands. We estimated it would be about a five hour drive; it took seven including stops for gas, lunch, coffee and a bit of casual sightseeing along the way. This wasn’t a particularly visual day, it started on the coast, through the hills working our way to farmland, then through the city, back to farmland and through the hills back to the coast. It was like this:

The Drive from Bay of Plenty to Bay of Islands, NZ

The drive from Bay of Plenty to Bay of Islands, via Auckland.

Once we arrived in the Bay of Islands though, it was beautiful. We checked into our hotel with a beautiful beach view from the second floor, relaxed on the balcony for awhile, then went into town for a nice dinner. After dinner we walked through the whole town: all four blocks.

The view from our hotel room in Paihia of the Bay of Islands.

Dinner in Paihia

Today’s adventure:

View Bay of Plenty to Bay of Islands in a larger map