Beware of the man in a bike helmet- Meg

Dicky Flat is a DOC campground situated between Waihi and Paeroa. We knew it would be basic because it was free. After we'd had a wander round the camp ground, and reassured ourselves (mainly me) that there was definitely a toilet (well, there was a hole in the ground with a seat on!), we did some stone skimming on the river and then sheltered from the sudden downpour in Peggy. Both of us feeling slightly smug, as another couple were trying to boil their kettle in the moonsoon style downpour outside their hired campervan with “Wicked! Here for a good time not a long time” sprayed over it. 20 mins later the downpour stopped and we were able to venture out side again, only to be greeted with an oil slick beside Peggy: UHH OHH! After some big sighs and a look under the engine we discovered we have a oil leak..... 5pm on a Thursday night 10km from anywhere we decided to sort it out the next day, and went to bed feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.

Friday 15th May
We drove into Waihi after Phil had a wash in the (very cold) river - not quite like the Timotei woman, while I stuck to the baby wipes. We pulled up at the information center and made use of the nice toilets and their information. They had a very interesting exhibition/museum all about the gold mining in the area. The Martha Mine was opposite the information centre and was impressivly deep. It is coming to the end of its useful life and they are deciding what to do with the massive hole in the ground that they will be left with: a recreational lake, sports centre, or educational facilities seem to be the favoured options. The pump house there was only in use at the beginning of the 20th century for 10 years. It was left derelict for the years after that, as the ground started to subside and the local government and people started to worry that it would fall down. So they did the sensible thing with a useless derelict building: they spent 3 months and a day, 3.5 million dollars, lots of sweat, and moved the pump house 300 metres to where it now stands overlooking the town (still derelict). It seemed so bonkers that they would spend all that time and money moving something that to us is comparativly not that old, interesting or useful any more. Still I guess it will seem old one day, if it's still standing.





We took Peggy into the local garage and after having a wander around spent the rest of the day making the most of the town's library's free internet. We were just shown a room and were allowed to sit there undisturbed, apart from the local school kids who were very inpressed with our small laptop. They were incredibly noisy and not listening to their teacher at all. Any underlying ideas I had of becoming a teacher were quashed at that moment.



The verdict on Peggy was the oil leak was.........nothing to worry about and to keep driving her! We decided to listen to the mechanic and then get a second opinion later in the week.

Treat night: back to Dicky flats and steak and mash for tea. Our money had finally being transferred from the UK!

Saturday 16th May
It was a beautiful morning. We'd already decided to walk the Karangahake gorge loop track, so we got up and drove to the start of the track, strategically placing news paper under Peggy to soak up her leaking oil. The walk was the old railway line that transported the gold from the mine to the battery where it would continue the process. It took us along the gorge with the Ohinemuri river separating us and SH2, the equivalent to the A1; well a bit quieter!


The walk eventually took us through a railway tunnel, one kilometre long! Phil and I walked towards and then through the tunnel, eventually making it to the other end, with a firm agreement we wouldn't have to walk back through it no matter what! I am not a fan of enclosed (and dark) spaces.



The next part of the walk was called “The Windows”. Hummmmm, they didn't mention they were windows in side of the mountain. We walked up into tunnels that had originally been created by the miners. This was fine at first, then the further we got into the mountain the more I needed reassurance that there was light around the corners – we were just walking into darkness! There was some light, and the views from the “Windows” were incredible, looking right over the gorge. The noise of the river reverberating off the gorge walls was immense.



The following part of the walk was outside in the hot sunshine and back along the track we'd started on. This walk back was a bit dull, so called for a game of Animal, Mineral, Vegetable, which I hadn't played before. It's amazing what fun Phil and I can have in New Zealand!

Back to Peggy, then a drive Southwards to Tauranga and Mt Maunganui. We were advised to stay on a campsite right next to the Mount. It was full of big motor homes and old caravans that had obviously seen better days- very cool though! And Phil convinced the grumpy woman on reception to let us have a spot overlooking the ocean.



We were given a discount voucher for the saltwater hot pools next door that were open until 10pm. After not having had a shower for 2 days and being walking for 11km, the thought of going to the open air hot pools was like heaven..... It WAS heaven! There was one big pool and then 3 smaller pools that were much warmer. It was like being in a huge jacuzzi. We got chatting to a man called David, who had sailed the worked on numerous occasions around the world and answered our many questions on sailing. He was obviously reasonably well off as he had only worked once in nineteen years! We were silently hoping he might offer us a trip out on his boat, but he didn't. He really did like to talk, and by the time he had finisged, we were both boiling and very wrinkerly, the hot pools mean what they say they are HOT pools!
Later on that night we went into Mt Maunganui and ate out for the 1st time we'd had Peggy. Posh kebab and a pizza, it was brilliant.

Sunday 17th May
In the morning all we had to do was open our eyes, move the curtain, wipe the condensation off the window and we could see a beautiful beach and lots of surfers. We both had trips up Mt Maunganui separately - Phil ran and I walked! It was such a great view from the top, you could see the whole of the Bay of Plenty. It seems like the thing to do there. It was really busy with lots of locals out for their weekend jog, walk, or picnic.






The rest of the day we just hung out watching surfers, playing cards and enjoying having the best spot on the beach.



We were also accosted by a man dressed in a very dirty jumper, holey jogging bottoms, a bike helmet and a very big voice. He warned us that Barack Obama would be thrown out of office, and a man called Douglas Wilder would take over, America would pull out of Iraq, Iran would move in, then America would discover that Russa was behind 9/11, which would then prompt Putin to 'push the button'. So in short, 'when a man called Douglas Wilder appears in the Whitehouse, you only have a few days to get out of the northern hemisphere'. He also mentioned something to do with Pink Floyd and the mysticism in their lyrics, but it was at this point that I decided to take another step away as the gobules of spit seemed to be getting bigger and more frequent. He was the strangest person we have met for a long time.

In the evening, we were one of the few campers left as it seemed all the others had just been 'weekenders' from Auckland.


Monday 18th May
We had to be out of the campsite by 10am , so we packed up early and went into Tauranga where we bought some I-Pod speakers....HOOOORAY!! We have music. We haven't heard music/radio since arriving in NZ, so it felt so liberating to finally drive to some music, and we can finally keep up with the news on the radio in the morning/evening.
The journey to Te Aroha felt like we were in a film with the Kings of Leon doing the soundtrack.

Arriving at Te Aroha we pulled into the the iSite to find out where the campsite was. The nice lady there seemed very excited to be able to offer us some free camping up near their hot pools. We were both a bit dubious to begin with; we had been looking forward to the free wireless at the campsite we'd been reading about. However, we drove up to have a look at where the lady had suggested and soon decided on staying there. It was a lovely view and there was a toilet that we could use. The gate got locked and there was a security gard from 10pm. So we set up camp (well, parked).

Tueday 19th May
In the morning, we got up and got ready for our walk up Mt Te Aroha (953mt), which overlooked the town and had been immersed in mist the day before when we arrived. The track started from where we had camped, so we didn't have to drive anywhere. It began quite tamely but gradually got steeper and steeper. The only maps they seem to have are the ones that show you the different trails and how long it should take you to walk each section. It seems that no matter how long the map says it will take, Phil thinks we'll do it in ¾ of the amount of time, “we'll do it quicker than that” as though we must be faster than ALL Kiwi's. I think I would feel quite fit if Phil wasn't walking so fast! (Phil's note: I don't walk too fast; I just enjoy things quicker than most people).
For the 1st hour the walk was in bush, apart from a lookout point after the 1st 20 mins. We'd climbed really quickly and views resembled those we'd seen on the coast-to-coast from the North Yorkshire moors overlooking Middlesbrough and around, i.e the countryside ahead of us was completely flat and looked just like a patchwork of farmers fields
The hill we were going up didn't resemble anything I've walked up before. As we got higher we walked above the cloud and the sunlight twinkled through the trees and made it much more plearurable and worth the hard slog to get up there.





Hoping for a fabulous view, we kept the pace up to try and beat the cloud to the top. Every corner we thought we were there, there were another set of steep steps; you know the ones - it takes you all your might to lift your leg up onto. Eventually the final stairs were in sight.



The final push with the anticipation of a wonderful view was greeted with a huge television mast and a tarmaced road... NOT what we were expecting! The cloud had also beaten us to it and engulfed the whole summit in cloud. Boy was it cold! We sheltered in a garage to have our sarnies and then got on our way before we got too cold.



The way down was pleasant, but we both felt a bit deflated after being met with a TV mast and a tarmaced road. We hadn't seen the summit from Te Aroha as it had been cloudy the day before, but it's not mentioned in any of the guide books or on the maps. How could they build a mast on top of a Mountain that means Love in Maori? It seemed a bit disrepectful somehow. But I guess everyone likes to watch TV.
As we made our way down, there were lots of disused tracks and old mining paraphernalia, it was like being in an episode of lost, or Indiana Jones.


We had decided to treat ourselves to a hot spa when we got back. Well, it's what ALL the tourists do, so we thought it'd be rude not to give it a go. Te Aroha boasts the only intact Edwardian Spa in NZ. OH, it was great. It was like a massive bath, powerd by the hot geyser (situated behind the building). We decided to get one that used aromatherapy oils which meant we couldn't go in the wooden spa. Still stainless steel was fine!

We had earlier got a new cook book with recepes that only involve one pot. It's called....'One Pot'. We were in the middle of whipping up a wonderful sausage and bean casserole when our gas ran out... oh no! After a lot of faffing and some help form a fellow campervan man (Bob, a Kiwi who spends his week days travelling round the North Island playing golf, then picks his Mrs up from the Waiheke island ferry on a Friday and spends the weekend with her) we managed to change it, and continue with the casserole. Phew!

Wednesday 20th May
After having a chat with Bob in the morning, we drove to Hamilton and had a look around the city.

It seemed like quite a cool city. There are lots of 2nd hand book shops everywhere. Phil really wanted to see the statue of Richard O'Brian, as he was curious why the Crystal Maze presenter would demand such an esteemed honour. It turns out that he spent some time in Hamilton while being inspired for the Rocky Horror Picture Show, so the inhabitants have really clung to their 15 minutes of fame....





We then went to to Hamilton gardens, made our lunch in Peggy and had a sleep before having a look around the gardens. It's brilliant having a bed with you wherever you go! The gardens were really lovely, I can imagine it would be beautiful in summer. There was a huge eucalyptus tree right in the middle of the parkland. It had a white trunk, and was like a ghost tree. We thought it would be really really old, but spoke to one of the gardeners, and it turns out that it was only planted in the late 80's. We have decided we will get a Eucalyptus tree when we have a garden.







Then off we went to stay with my old school friend, Megan Ince. She lives in a tiny village called Arapuni which is north west of Rotorua. We pulled up to find Meg on her decking, glass of wine in one hand and a beer for us in the other. Having not seen each other since school we had a lot of catching up to do! She lives in a cool house that over looks the hills that run along side the Waikato river. I can see why she's decided to settle here. Like all the houses over here, there's no central heating, the main heat source is the wood burner. This sounds lovely and idyllic but I can tell you, it's blummin' cold when the fire's not stoked in winter! I'm sure it will feel a lot nippier when we get back in Peggy - no electric blankets in her!!

Thursday 21st May
We totally hung out with Fungus the cat, enjoying Meg's house and the internet, it was ace! We went for a short walk over the swing bridge that Arapuni is famed for. It hangs above a hydro station giving you a brilliant view of the water flowing back into the river after its brief diversion. The energy from there is powering the local area and the lights as I type.




Thursday evening is the night the locals look forward to. 5pm is when Barbara from the village opens up the bowling club, lights the calor gas heaters, and pulls up the shutters at the bar for drinks! There is nothing else here, not even a shop, so I think it is seems like a novelty for something to be less than 15mins away. We had a great night! Played pool- the kiwi rules, you don't get two shots on foul, but then if you miss the black or foul when you've only got the black left you lose. Weird.

There were lots of interesting people there aging from 20-70. We talked about yatching, fishing, cows, laying tarmac, the weather, pool, Dukie the dog, how cold it is, why have we come to NZ at this time of year (again), rugby, football, lancashire, essex,....10.30pm home again.



Friday 22nd May
On Friday, Meg had organised for us to go over to Mangakino to visit another school friend of ours, Ki. He's living and working over there running a wake boarding company. We were nearly there when we passed lake Maraetai, and it looked like glass the air was so still. Meg knew the boys wouldn't be able to resist getting their boards out and going for a ride, even though it was bitterly cold. So we spent the afternoon on the speed boat (with all the clothes on I own!) bombing up and down the lake watching the boys doing cool things on their boards. They must have been SO cold!





We left them thawing out around Ki's wood burner, drinking rum and went home for a lasagne that Phil had lovingly offered to cook. Think he's missing the use of a kitchen, or at least an oven!

Saturday 23rd May
After breakfast we made it into Cambridge to see the end of the farmers market so Phil could do his usual and try all the freebies and stuff he hasn't seen before! There were some very weird-looking green tomatoes.
We took our sarnies and ate them by the river which looked really full. Apparently it flooded last year when all the snow up on the hills melted. Then we went back into town to visit the Cambridge museum, that wasn't unlike an Oxfam shop with a few heaters and some old photographs of how Cambridge used to be, and some shark teeth. It was still quite interesting seeing the development of the local area.




Meg wanted to show us the local pet shop which had some little kittens and puppies and made me want to take them all home. And made us miss Figaro and Amadeus even more! Apparently Figaro is catching one bird a day and Amadeus even caught one (but managed to let it go). They must be slow birds down in Essex!

Meg also took us to a local look out point that was at the top of a very windy road, the views were amazing.


Sunday 24th May
We got up really early in the hope that we would go fishing on Lake Arapuni with Hayden, Meg's friend. It seems normal to have a boat here. Anyway we arrived at his farm for 9am but it was too rainy and "if the clouds are still over the mountain it means it's here for the day". Hayden's a dairy farmer, and was fed up as it was big news that the american government are going to subsidise their dairy farmers to cut down on the import, spelling disaster for the NZ dairy farmers. I learn't a lot about cows today and Phil has decided he'd possibly like to be a farmer.

We then tried to watch a boat race along the river, but took ages to find were it was. The sign posts leave little to be desired, not helping my excellent map reading skills. By the time we arrived all the competitors were sheltering from the rain under a gazebo eating sausages. So we headed back to Meg's and spent the wet afternoon (after a run- Phil/ fast walk- Meg) watching dvd's with the log burner roaring. We have certainly had a good few days relaxing at Meg's and enjoying a few home comforts before setting out on our merry way again.


Monday 25th May

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARCHIE!!! 6 Today!



I woke up early this morning to say bye to Meg before she scooted off to work, and then decided to check the internet to see how Hull did in football. PHEW, by the skin of their teeth. I bet there are a few bitten finger nails today!
I am determined to get this uploaded today pictures and all. It's proven difficult to catch up on everything we've been doing- I hope it hasn't been a boring read! We will try and write it more regularly :-)

PS. PHIL HAS HAD A SHAVE!!!!