We awoke around 7.30am to a text from Mum to say that we had, had a call from the skydiving place and we needed to call them back. When we looked out of the camper van window, we knew exactly what the call was about, it had rained all night and didn't look like it was going to stop now. So after an hour of trying to call them (we couldn't figure out the dialling code), we eventually got in touch and they told us it was cancelled but the forecast looked good for 2pm and could we hold on. We had no choice as we really wanted to do it but would now have to sacrifice our day up at Cape Reinga which i was very upset about but i would be more upset to miss out on the skydive. So we got ready and checked out at 1030am , the time we had been told and sat in subway until we heard again.
1.30pm and we got the call to say it had been postponed until 12pm the following day, it was still raining and the sky was black. This meant we would have to sacrifice our day in Auckland but it would be worth it to do our Skydive. So we decided we would make the most out of the rest of our day. We went to the cinema, a small cinema for the small town but had 'Gone Girl' - which we had wanted to see in the UK. We made a plan to see the next showing at 8pm, we had 6 hours to kill, so we drove to Pahia beach and Kawakawa.
Tuesday 25 November 2014
Thames...
When we arrived at Thames, we parked up on the main street where all the shops and buildings seemed to be. There is nothing really off the main road apart from a smallish complex with a Pak n save , Mcdonalds etc.
We took a walk up and down the high street which was nice and at the top by the petrol station, there is an Isite , so we went in there for some info and a small bit of souvenir shopping.
The town is small but traditional western style architecture. there is a car shop that has been preserved and acts as a small museum piece right next to the Isite petrol station. A short walk up and down the high street will transform you back to the western era, when this town was really it's heyday. It also offers a lovely beach area with high tide, perfect for a stroll and a picnic. However we ate at a small Cambodian run fast food restaurant. It's not hard to miss and has plenty of variety from hamburgers to sandwiches, pastries galore and plenty of sweet stuff.It was Cheap and clearly the local's favourite eatery.
Once we had eaten, we walked the high street and shopped in a save the children, which had a great range of lovely souvenirs , a bit on the pricier side but lovely all the same. After an hour of this, we set off again, to make our way to The bay of Islands.
On our way, we had been told to stop off at Orewe point and were so glad we did. Sure, it's another beach, but stunning views again and decided to have a bit of a walk to as far as we could and back. You can just park up anywhere near the entrance and get out, everyone was friendly and the weather, views, beach and shells were lovely too. It was nice to stretch our legs after driving and having a small break again before driving 6.5 hours up to KeriKeri.
I collected some shells and Luke offered to drive most of the way. We drove up Through Auckland and got some great views going over the bridge. The good thing about NZ is that every town has free public toilets with car park , so you are never far from the next pit stop. So we can stop anywhere and sometimes stumble on a place that is interesting without even knowing it existed.
After 4 hours, I offered to drive after stopping at a pitstop. I then drove the rest of the way up to KeriKeri , in the pouring down rain. I don't really like driving in the dark here as the roads are winding and are often on the edge of a mountain and the rain had worsened things quite a bit. So i stayed behind a car all the way.
Anyway, we reached KeriKeri around 9.30pm and found a campsite as soon as you enter. It's on the left after a black building, which is a restaurant. The site charged us $36 and had hot showers, large kitchen with every appliance needed, large tv room and ping pong table and computer area and apparently lovely picnic area next to the river. HOWEVER, the whole night it rained and we ended up at McD for some food before going to bed as we had to be up early for our skydive.
Love S&L xxxx
We took a walk up and down the high street which was nice and at the top by the petrol station, there is an Isite , so we went in there for some info and a small bit of souvenir shopping.
The town is small but traditional western style architecture. there is a car shop that has been preserved and acts as a small museum piece right next to the Isite petrol station. A short walk up and down the high street will transform you back to the western era, when this town was really it's heyday. It also offers a lovely beach area with high tide, perfect for a stroll and a picnic. However we ate at a small Cambodian run fast food restaurant. It's not hard to miss and has plenty of variety from hamburgers to sandwiches, pastries galore and plenty of sweet stuff.It was Cheap and clearly the local's favourite eatery.
Once we had eaten, we walked the high street and shopped in a save the children, which had a great range of lovely souvenirs , a bit on the pricier side but lovely all the same. After an hour of this, we set off again, to make our way to The bay of Islands.
On our way, we had been told to stop off at Orewe point and were so glad we did. Sure, it's another beach, but stunning views again and decided to have a bit of a walk to as far as we could and back. You can just park up anywhere near the entrance and get out, everyone was friendly and the weather, views, beach and shells were lovely too. It was nice to stretch our legs after driving and having a small break again before driving 6.5 hours up to KeriKeri.
I collected some shells and Luke offered to drive most of the way. We drove up Through Auckland and got some great views going over the bridge. The good thing about NZ is that every town has free public toilets with car park , so you are never far from the next pit stop. So we can stop anywhere and sometimes stumble on a place that is interesting without even knowing it existed.
After 4 hours, I offered to drive after stopping at a pitstop. I then drove the rest of the way up to KeriKeri , in the pouring down rain. I don't really like driving in the dark here as the roads are winding and are often on the edge of a mountain and the rain had worsened things quite a bit. So i stayed behind a car all the way.
Anyway, we reached KeriKeri around 9.30pm and found a campsite as soon as you enter. It's on the left after a black building, which is a restaurant. The site charged us $36 and had hot showers, large kitchen with every appliance needed, large tv room and ping pong table and computer area and apparently lovely picnic area next to the river. HOWEVER, the whole night it rained and we ended up at McD for some food before going to bed as we had to be up early for our skydive.
Love S&L xxxx
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