The Kowhai Coast

Mansion House

on

Kawau Island

Photo By:

Dunk the Funk

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In New Zealand, just a little north of Orewa on SH1, Waiwera is also a good place to stop if you’re RVing and want to relax in the mineral pools. Next door to the Wairewa Thermal Pools, a Holiday Park has campsites, chalets and cabins. If you’re traveling by auto and want to save a little on lodging, these campgrounds are ideal– remember to bring your own bedding for a reduced rate. Since you’re still fairly close to Auckland, the Thermal Resort with its 26 mineral pools and water slides is crowded in New Zealand’s summer– particularly on the weekends.

If you’re looking for something lower priced and lower paced,

Wenderholm Regional Park is nearby. Tent camping sites are available and there are a few sites for RVs. Both Orewa and Wenderholm Regional Park are on the Hauraki Gulf if you like sand and sea.

In the middle of the Kowhai Coast, Warkworth is about 1 l/2 hours north of Auckland on SH1. Warkworth is a town of a little over 3,000– not counting tourists. The Mahurangi River runs through Warkworth and drains into Mahurangi Harbour on the Gulf. The river is the home to many, many ducks. If you’re hiking along the river– watch where you step.

If you’re not rushing through the Kowhai Coast, spend a day on

Kawau Island– catch a small boat from Sandspit Wharf. The Maori lived on Kawau at one time. In the 1840's a manganese mine was established. Later copper was discovered and the partial ruins of the old copper mine are still on the island.

In 1862 Sir George Grey, one of New Zealand’s first governors, bought the island and turned the mine manager’s home into a mansion He also imported many plants and animals– including five species of wallabies. The wallabies still roam the island damaging the native vegetation. 10% of the island, including the Mansion House, are owned by the Department of Conservation (DOC). There are many native birds including wekas, bellbirds and Kiwis.

If you charter a sailboat in Auckland, you’ll probably visit the Kawau Island Yacht Club. If you’d like to spend a quiet night, bachs, holiday flats and bed and breakfast accommodations are available. Most are located on the water. The majority of the island has no roads. Book ahead in the summer season as this is a popular tourist area.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

Around Orewa

Small Boat

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Photo by:

MN Waynus

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About 30 km’s north of Auckland, Orewa is a good place to stop if you’re driving or RVing. There’s an easy to find Visitor Information Center for maps or information on sightseeing in Orewa. On the Hibiscus Coast, Orewa has a population of around 6000 plus numerous sheep and cattle. There’s also a beach where you might find kite surfers if the wind is coming from the right direction.

If you’re looking for more salt water or wildlife, turn right off SH1 just before Orewa at Silverdale and head out to Shakespear Regional Park at the end of Whangaparoa Peninsula. Tiritiri Matangi Island, off the tip of the peninsula, has the oldest lighthouse in the Gulf. A bird sanctuary with five walking tracks, the public can visit for free. Ferry service runs from Gulf Harbour on the peninsula– the ferry also runs from Auckland. The island has steep cliffs and one sandy beach. Tiritiri Matangi means wind tossing about, so dress wisely.

There are several places to stay in Orewa or along the peninsula, and there’s a motor park in Orewa if you’re RVing. Self contained RVs can stay one night in Shakespear Park for a small fee. At one time, there was free parking for one night at Gulf Harbour– past the Marina at the public car park and boat ramp.

If you’re on your way north, stop for a while in Orewa or visit the Whangaparoa Peninsula.

If you’re planning your New Zealand trip for next season, and plan to travel by auto, you’ll need to find regular accommodations. You’d also probably like to see a little of the area before visiting. Takeabreak has regularly updated webcams around New Zealand. They also list accommodations in both islands for any budget.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South In New Zealand

Huraki Gulf Islands

Yacht Racing

Photo

By

Outside Images

From the Ferry Berth of Quay and Hobson Streets in Auckland or anywhere else along the waterfront on the east side of Auckland, you can look east to the Hauraki gulf. Auckland has more boats per person than any city in the world. If you’ve watched America’s Cup sailing in New Zealand, the yachts were in the Hauraki Gulf.

If you’d like to charter a yacht, the two best places to cruise in New Zealand are the Hauraki Gulf and the smaller Bay of Islands farther north. The Moorings has been in business many years and has a great reputation. I’ve chartered from them several times and always liked their service. Hauraki Gulf sailing is more open and challenging than the Bay of Islands. The Moorings doesn’t want you or their expensive yacht on a reef or at the bottom of the Gulf. They’ll check out your skills before turning you loose from their dock.

The Hauraki Gulf has 47 or 50 islands– depending on who’s counting. Many are reserves for day trips. Some offer snorkeling and diving sites. The inner islands are easy to reach and you can picnic, camp, or just poke around. The outer islands are mainly closed nature reserves for endangered bird species.

Great Barrier Island, 90 km northeast of Auckland is the largest island in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. This partly forested island on the edge of the park has a population of 1100 in settlements around the coast. Residents provide their own power with generators. On Great Barrier Island you’ll find walks on good tracks, rare birds, long white surf beaches, fishing, and diving– there are two wreck dives. Port Abercrombie, Port FitzRoy, and Whangaparapara are sheltered anchorages. If you want to stay a while, there are holiday lodges, motels, camp grounds and DOC huts. Ferries depart for the island several times weekly. You can cruise the coastline or take a bus trip on a metal road from Port FitzRoy to Tryphena. You can also fly to Great barrier Island.

Only 35 minutes by ferry from Auckland, Waiheke, the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf has a population of 7000. Waiheke means cascading waters. There are waterfalls in the Whakanewha Regional Park near Rocky Bay. From the "Stony Batter" where a maze of tunnels and concrete gun emplacements were built for defense by the army during World War II, you have a view of the southern end of the Hauraki Gulf. Waiheka has 22 vineyards, swimming beaches, and restaurants. You’ll also find sea kayaking, golf, diving, a large sea cave on Gannet Rock, a museum and a Forest and Bird reserve at Onetangi. If you’re staying over, you’ll find a variety of accommodations from resorts to backpackers lodging.

Rangitoto, a circular island visible from most parts of the mainland, appeared around 700 years ago during a series of volcanic eruptions. Connected to Motutapu Island by a causeway, Rangitoto has many species of plants and trees including the largest pohutukawa forest in the world. There are no overnight accommodations on Rangitoto. Adjoining Motutapu is a farmed reserve in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park.

There are many more islands south off the Coromandel and also north as we travel up the east coast into Northland. Hauraki Gulf Islands provides a good map of the Gulf and more island information.

Lyn Harris
RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

New Zealand's Electrical Power

New Zealand

Movan

We'll get to the tiki tour of New Zealand's Northland yet. You probably learned more than you really wanted to know about toilets in a previous post, but if you're RVing or traveling by auto, you won't be snoozing while the driver and tour guide worry about getting you to your next fancy hotel. And, you'll want to take photos.

New Zealand electrical power is 230 volt, 50 cycle. If you rent an RV, a certified official has checked the switches, hot points, mains and anything else electrical in the movan. Hot points have switches, but they're reversed. ON points downward...because we're below the equator? Most cameras and other electronic toys use power chargers with built-in dual-volt compatibility for 110 and 220 volts. Check first before you plug your toy in and fry either it or yourself. You'll need a plug adaptor which can be bought at most New Zealand chemist shops or hardware stores. I've always carried a dual-volt hair dryer purchased on a US military base. It folds up and runs normally in the states then runs like that striped ape when I'm in New Zealand. Military bases, truck stops, and AAA travel stores are good places to shop for travel electronics and outlet adapters. Amazon.com also carries universal outlet adapters and voltage converters.

On a Northland tour you won't be traveling far each day. While planning your trip, use Mitsubishi Motor's driving distance calculator to figure driving distances-- not just in Northland, but anywhere in New Zealand.

Any questions? If not, let's head north to Orewa and start that tiki tour.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

Meet a Kiwi

Check

the

Wool

Often our best travel memories are about the people we meet along the way. That's why I like to travel by auto or RV when I'm in New Zealand. The best way to spend time with Kiwis is to stay in campgrounds or motorparks. You share kitchen and lounging facilities in motorparks. Eat in your own rig if you want, then hang around and visit. Youth hostels and backpacker accommodations are located throughout New Zealand, or you can plan a pub stay-- you're only limited by your imagination.

If you'd like to contact a Kiwi ahead of time, maybe find someone going your way you can share travel costs with, or meet someone who can show you the local sights, join the Hospitality Club, an international online hospitality organization. Membership is free and there is no obligation. Their aim is to:

"Bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. Members can look at each other's profiles, send messages and post comments about their experiences on the website.

The club is supported by volunteers who believe in one idea: by bringing travelers in touch with people in the place they visit, and by giving "locals" a chance to meet people from other cultures we can increase intercultural understanding and strengthen the peace on our planet."

If you're young, a fulltime undergraduate student, have some free time this summer, and still have a lot of bounce in your butt, Roadtrip Nation and Tourism New Zealand will be sending teams of two or three people on a New Zealand roadtrip to interview Kiwis. Teams will book interviews, plan their trip, and film and blog along the way. If you can pull a team together in a hurry, give it a go. Deadline for applications is April 30, 2008.

Remember-- you're only limited by your imagination.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

Freedom Camping

The Cassette Toilet

Slides Out

In RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand, I spent a chapter on freedom and low cost camping. I also covered Park Over Properties (POPs) which can be anything from a farm on the beach to a parking spot in someone's back yard. While RVing in New Zealand, we often stayed in or near the top tourist spots free or almost free. But, we had a self-contained movan. It's very unlikely anyone will invite you to stay if they think you'll be using their potato patch for a sewer.

In the South Island, which is often less strict than the North Island, local governments have voted for a system that will require motorcaravans to have a sticker registration to freedom camp:

1) Green stickers for movans with both toilet and kitchen/shower waste water in holding tanks...self-contained movans. These campervans can stay overnight anywhere freedom parking is allowed.

2) Orange stickers for movans with only kitchen/shower waste holding tanks. These campervans can stay overnight only in areas with toilet facilities.

3) Red stickers for "sleeping vans" with no waste facilities. These vehicles will be required to stay in campgrounds with full cooking, shower and toilet facilities.

If you're planning to rent an RV and freedom camp, be sure you read the vehicle specs and understand what you're paying for. The first year we rented a motorcaravan, I was afraid to ask, "Why the bucket?" It wasn't as bad as I thought. The toilets are cassette type. It's the grey water that can be a problem. Shower and sink water drains into a bucket that you haul to the nearest drain. Most rentals are self-contained now, but there are still "bucket vans" around.

If you're tall, check the bed specs, too. Rentals are pricey and we wanted to save money on a smaller vehicle, but the bed was 5' 10". Dave is 6' 1". There was no way two of us would fit in that bed.

Freedom camping saves money. Just plan ahead. You don't want to get nicked and end up in the nick.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

North to Northland

The Nippon Clipon

Photo by:

Bridgepix

If you're heading north from Auckland by auto or RVing, plan your trip to avoid commuter traffic. The motorway cuts through downtown Auckland, then jams all the traffic across a narrow bridge into Northcote. Like most metropolitan areas, road construction often adds to the confusion. The Nippon Clipon, Auckland's bridge, was once four lanes-- now it's eight. The extra four were built in Japan, towed to Auckland and clipped to the existing bridge. From the Auckland Harbor Bridge, you'll have a beautiful view of the Westhaven Marina, WaitemataHarbour and Fishermans Wharf with all the sailboats bouncing in the bay or anchored along the shoreline-- which you'll probably never see if it's your first time driving on the left side of the road in a strange vehicle while you're trying to keep your fenders along for the trip.

The kiwis are polite and friendly-- until they get in a small vehicle. Then watch out! It helps to have a 3500 kg RV with a roo bar. Truck drivers and other movaners stay on their fair share of the road, but watch out for those snappy little sports cars and SUVs. It helps to remind yourself as you're clutching the steering wheel afraid to change lanes and trying to keep yourself lined up in the lane you belong in that New Zealand has no-fault insurance. And, you'll make it across the Northcote and Birkenhead sooner or later, I promise. And when you do, there's a very nice Holiday Park on Northcote Road just over the bridge if you're driving or RVing.

We always like to spend at least a month north of Auckland. Pick up the Jasons Twin Coast Discovery Highway map (free) some where along the line. Northland is rich in history, there's plenty to do, and it's warmer-- remember the sun's in the north. The South Island is beautiful and we usually spend at least a month there, too but our home is in the Cascade Mountains and the South Island is much like home.

You've made it across that bridge. So pull into a motel or campground then find a pub or snap open a brew of your own and toast that Nippon Clipon you conquered and your next adventure in the Northland.

We'll be taking a tiki tour counter clockwise through the Northland. Any questions?

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ