When we awoke the weather was not promising being grey with lots of low cloud. We had thought of repeating Ray's cycle ride of yesterday but since the LLW would be participating the infamous steep hills would be excluded.
However, given the weather situation we decided to set off early on our journey along the Tutukaka coast towards Russell and the Bay of Islands. Within 30 minutes the cloud had lifted and sunshine prevailed. This lasted all day with hardly a cloud around and the thermometer hit 27C.
Many people had told us how beautiful the Tutukaka coast was but nothing had prepared us for the absolutely stunning beaches one after another. It is no exaggeration to say that we saw at least 6 of the most beautiful beaches ever and all in one day.
The drive started with a visit to the Whangarei falls which were lovely but the viewing galleries were precipitous
Ray who suffers from vertigo braved the walk and managed to look calm despite the vertical drops.
Next on the agenda was to visit Ngunguru where Helen, Richard & Rosie Price live. Helen is the daughter of Hilton and Anne and she is now working as a physiotherapist in Whangarei hospital and her husband Rich is a Maths teacher in the local school. Both are currently in the UK but we were keen to see where they are living - such a beautiful area.
As you can see this coast is stunning and after beautiful beach after beautiful beach, Ray just had to have a swim and the favoured beach was Matapouri Bay which as you can see was incredibly crowded! It was fabulous, clear, warm and exhilarating.
Along along this coast we were treated to view after view and eventually arrived at our overnight destination Russell. Originally a whaling port and at that time known as the hell hole of the Pacific, Russell is now very quaint, gentile and brimming with charm. We took to the bicycles and cycled all around the town and the waterfront; just delightful.
A glass of cold Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc was imbibed at a waterfront hostelerie and the management committee agreed unanimously (remember there is only one constituent) that this had been a fabulous day.
Our camp site is lovely and as you can see from the photo is not exactly crowded. Dinner was butterflied leg of lamb with Rosti and salad all washed down with an excellent Pinot Noir.
However, given the weather situation we decided to set off early on our journey along the Tutukaka coast towards Russell and the Bay of Islands. Within 30 minutes the cloud had lifted and sunshine prevailed. This lasted all day with hardly a cloud around and the thermometer hit 27C.
Many people had told us how beautiful the Tutukaka coast was but nothing had prepared us for the absolutely stunning beaches one after another. It is no exaggeration to say that we saw at least 6 of the most beautiful beaches ever and all in one day.
The drive started with a visit to the Whangarei falls which were lovely but the viewing galleries were precipitous
Ray who suffers from vertigo braved the walk and managed to look calm despite the vertical drops.
Next on the agenda was to visit Ngunguru where Helen, Richard & Rosie Price live. Helen is the daughter of Hilton and Anne and she is now working as a physiotherapist in Whangarei hospital and her husband Rich is a Maths teacher in the local school. Both are currently in the UK but we were keen to see where they are living - such a beautiful area.
As you can see this coast is stunning and after beautiful beach after beautiful beach, Ray just had to have a swim and the favoured beach was Matapouri Bay which as you can see was incredibly crowded! It was fabulous, clear, warm and exhilarating.
Along along this coast we were treated to view after view and eventually arrived at our overnight destination Russell. Originally a whaling port and at that time known as the hell hole of the Pacific, Russell is now very quaint, gentile and brimming with charm. We took to the bicycles and cycled all around the town and the waterfront; just delightful.
A glass of cold Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc was imbibed at a waterfront hostelerie and the management committee agreed unanimously (remember there is only one constituent) that this had been a fabulous day.
Our camp site is lovely and as you can see from the photo is not exactly crowded. Dinner was butterflied leg of lamb with Rosti and salad all washed down with an excellent Pinot Noir.
I will add some more detail tomorrow but we are tired now and the excellent camper van bed beckons!
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