Road Trip Week 4

Day 25 - Leisurely left Thames and drove east to Whangamata. Did some emails and bookkeeping from a cafe and continued to drive south to Waihi where I did a resupply. Then finally on to McLaren Falls, a very peaceful campsite 20 minutes south of Tauranga. Sheep keep the grass trimmed and ducks help control the bugs.

Day 26 - Decided to explore Tauranga with minimal planning. Started by driving into town, a 20 minute drive followed by 30 minutes looking for parking. I still think I ended up illegally parked, but I really gave it my best shot. Found a cafe and got a coffee, then headed over to the art gallery. Some really interesting carvings and sculpture, but half of the gallery was pop art from one artist. I don't dislike pop art but I couldn't connect with his work at all. It's still fun to look at art you don't like, and I'm glad I visited. From there I went to Mount Maunganui, really a hill by New Zealand standards. A short walk gives you a panoramic view of Tauranga and the northern coast. You can see the land and sea meet all the war from Papamoa to Coromandel. Through my binoculars I could see white island, still active after the recent deadly eruption.

It's not surprising that Tauranga and Papamoa are popular retirement spots

Day 27 – I dedicated a day to Gisborne, were I started my exploration with a lovely breakfast. From there I moves to the local museum/gallery, which absolutely blew me away. Whoever curates the place deserves a raise. It was very interesting. Wandered along the riverbank before heading back to camp for a lazy afternoon.

I did not expect such a vibrant presentation when I ordered Eggs Bennedict

Day 28 - I enjoy driving, and decided to spend the day rounding the east cape. A winding coastal highway, the road offers fun driving and some spectacular views. This was probably the most rural New Zealand has felt for me so far. Signs giving phone numbers to report wandering stock dot the highway at regular intervals. At one point on my way to the east cape lighthouse I had to back up to allow a farmer to drive his cattle past me. Ran into some more car trouble unfortunately, with the same symptoms as before. Apparently the radiator cap wasn't the only issue. luckily, I knew the temporary fix this time. Siphon coolant out of the reservoir and refill the loop via the radiator. Doing this every day I should be fine until I can get to a convenient mechanic.

Brilliant blue oceans

As close as I could get to the East Cape Lighthouse

Day 29 - Made my way inland to Te Urewera, one of the largest forests in New Zealand. A beautiful four day hike circles Lake Waikaremoana and is the most popular activity in the park. Luckily for me, the best views are only two hours into the track. I enjoyed the short but intense climb and savoured the expansive views of the lake. I camped in a steeply enclosed cove of that same lake. It may have been the most beautiful campsite of my trip yet.

The inland parks can be just as vibrant as the coastline

Campsites don't get much more beautiful

Day 30 - Returned to the coast and drove down to Napier. An interesting place to walk around, Napier possesses a strange uniformity. The city was levelled by an earthquake in the 30s, and the downtown was rebuilt all at once. This is reflected in a very cohesive art-deco style that was popular at the time. The city is also a cruise ship port and so is unfortunately swarmed by shambling crowds of camera-wielding passengers. The museum was interesting, but I think I prefer art-deco as an architectural style rather than an interior design one.

Day 31 - Drove into Hastings, Napier's less touristed sibling city and the hub of the Hawke's Bay agricultural area. Bought a new book since I'd read through my stock and visited the small art gallery. The art wasn't really my favourite but there was an interesting photography exhibition. Began the drive back across to Taranaki, made it about 150km before Charlie had another meltdown. I think he'll get me around the rest of the north island, but not beyond at. Stayed the night in Whanganui, feeling slight odd about the first repeat stop on my trip. I really only have the Taranaki region left to cover on the north island, but I’m anticipating some memorable stuff there.