The past two months we have been exploring the Northland of New Zealand- this area basically includes everything north of Auckland and is often referred to as the “Winterless North,”- because even during the winter months the weather is fairly mild.
Since we had jobs lined up working in the mandarin orchards surrounding Kaitaia that was where we were headed along with a few American girls we met in Tauranga. But there was much to see along the way. As we traveled we found a few campsites just a short walk away from beautiful beaches and spent a few days swimming, body-surfing, playing paddle ball, and relaxing.
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| Mandarin thinning in the rain. |
One of our main reasons for exploring the Northland was the Bay of Islands which boasts clear blue water, secluded Island Beaches, lively beach towns, cruises, world class diving and snorkeling, and DOLPHINS! Doesn’t everyone have the fantasy of one day swimming with dolphins? We figured this would be our best chance to make it happen! So we booked a dolphin tour and caught a boat off the docks of Russell. The four-hour tour guaranteed we would see wild dolphins (or we would be able to rebook for another tour) and if all the conditions were perfect we would be able to swim with them (for an additional $30). It seemed to be our lucky day as we spotted a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins within fifteen minutes of boarding the boat. It was amazing to see these beautiful creatures darting through the water and occasionally showing off with acrobatic leaps. Unfortunately the conditions weren’t right for swimming with them but it was encouraging to see dolphins so soon into the tour. Basically, in order to swim with them there can’t be any young ones among the pod, they have to be interacting with the boat in a “playful” manner, and the water can’t be too rough or too deep. The more we learned and thought about these conditions, the more unlikely it seemed that we would actually be getting in the water. Our chances diminished even further after we drove around for the next three hours without a dolphin in sight. We did however see a few penguins and many interesting seabirds. Eventually, after driving miles out into the open sea, we came upon hundreds of common dolphins! These were much smaller than the bottle-nosed, but still just as fun to watch- especially since there were so many. We were unable to swim though, because of the young ones among them and the depth of the water- our initial disappointment at not being able to get into the water turned to relief when a few minutes after heading back towards the bay we spotted a shark lurking on the surface of the water!
After that adventure it was on to Kaitaia. Our expectations were quite low since we heard a few people claim that this small Northland town was the most dangerous, crime-ridden in New Zealand. As we pulled into town we could see that it was certainly impoverished- a big change from the tourist towns of Tauranga and Mt. Maunganui. However our main objective was to work hard for a month and save money for a trip to the South Island. This seemed like an ideal place to save money - as there was pretty much nothing to do in town!
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| Theresa's birthday presents complete with bows on their heads! |
Work started the next day and our careers as mandarin thinners were born. This was contract work rather than hourly- we got paid for each tree. The problem is some trees are loaded with fruit and others have none- and they are basically worth the same amount. While we were skeptical about the vague system for pricing each tree, we did eventually make more than minimum wage per day- the money was hard earned as we took very few breaks (usually about 15 minutes total in a 9 hour day). Working six days a week for a month would have brought us enough traveling money, however, during our first week Theresa got sick with pneumonia and was bed ridden for nearly three weeks. That certainly put a damper on life in Kaitaia and forced us to prolong long our stay in the Northland. Luckily she was on the mend by the time her birthday rolled around and was surprised by a few German girls we befriended in Tauranga who made the trip up north to help us celebrate with pizza, cheesecake, homemade chocolate cake, a few drinks, and of course presents!
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| Birthday Pizza Party! |
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| Homemade chocolate cake and 3 cheesecakes! What more could a girl want? |
While the actual town of Kaitaia didn’t offer much in terms of sightseeing, there were still some beautiful places to see in the area. The road running north and south is called the Twin Coast because you are never far from the Tasman Sea (west coast) or the South Pacific (east coast). There are countless beautiful beaches close by- and there are never many people on them. We enjoyed a few days and one unforgettable sunset at a nearby beach with friends. During our last weekend we made the trip north to Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is practically the northernmost point of New Zealand, a place of spiritual importance to the Maori people, and where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide in a turbulent spectacle. Luckily it was a crystal clear day that offered unblemished views of the famous lighthouse, dramatic coastline, and the open sea.
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| Andy makes a quick call in Kaitaia before we leave |
After leaving Kaitaia we decided to look for work in Kerikeri near the Bay of Islands. But we did manage to take a few days off and treat ourselves to an overnight cruise on a refurbished old ferryboat called “The Rock” with some American friends we met in Tauranga and worked with in Kaitaia. The cruise included fishing, target shooting, a barbecue dinner, night kayaking, star-gazing (we saw the southern cross), and snorkeling. The highlight came the second day when the boat anchored near an isolated island and we kayaked ashore to a beach of soft sand and crystal clear water. While on the island we did a short hike and learned about some of the local history. Unfortunately we only had time for a quick swim before we had to return to the boat and leave our little paradise in the bay.
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| Cape Reinga - a sacred place for the Maori. |
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| Cape Reinga |
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| Lighthouse at Cape Reinga |
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| Sandboarding down a dune near Cape Reinga |
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| The Rock boat cruise |
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| Andy Caught a fish! |
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| Lavinia and Theresa on The Rock cruise |
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| Night Kayaking under the stars |
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| Warming up by the fire after night kayaking on The Rock |
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| Beautiful Motorua island in The Bay of Islands |
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| Our boat, The Rock from Motarua Island |
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| Motarua Island |
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| New Zealand - a place where Yankee and Red Sox fans can tolerate each other |
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| First time shooting a gun. - can you tell??! |
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| A little more experienced |
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| Theresa caught a dragonfly |
That was nearly a month and a half ago but in order to prevent us from bombarding you with too much info we will save our time in Kerikeri for another post. We are currently traveling around the North Island, finally on our way to the South Island. Summer is ending here in the Southern Hemisphere…..
