Kiwi Summer

We dropped off our adventurous travelers in Auckland then headed for the northland. This is the north finger of the north island. They say it's very summery and tropical up here. Look out summer here we come.

We stayed in a little beach community called Bayly's Beach. The lady at the campground said,"Oh ya you can drive down to the beach. In fact you can drive right onto the beach." That's awesome! This is the road leading to the beach.

Wide open beach asking for Black Betty!

Woohoo! John driving on the beach.

Yahoo! Ang driving on the beach.

We stopped to chat with a local fisherman. Oops we stayed too long!

Like most kiwi's he had a rope in his ute. Out in no time. :)

You're in kiwi country now! (The bird, not the person.)

Oh no! What are we going to do!

The northland is known for it's Kauri trees. Back before the Europeans settled here, the island was filled with them. These are very old, slow growing, fragile trees. In fact they are so fragile that you can damage the roots by stepping on them through the soil! There are walkways close to the trees to prevent damage. The Maori tribes used to cut them down and use them for canoes. They are protected now.

Here are four trees all growing from the same place. It's called the Four Sisters.

This is the largest living Kauri in New Zealand named Tane Mahuta (god of the forest). It is 51.5 meters tall with a trunk girth of 13.8 meters. They think it's about 2000 years old!

A little perspective of how big this tree is.

Why did the chicken cross the car park?

The tropical flowers of the north.

Looking down the coast at Opononi.

This was the sunset looking across the Hokianga Harbor in Opononi. That is a huge sand dune silhouetted on the other side. The sky was really this color. Amazing!

Authentic New Zealand :)

Looking out at Ahipara Bay just south of Ahipara.

We camped in a little grassy campground along this beach just south of Ahipara along Ahipara Bay. Turns out this is the only beach in the entire country that is Maori owned.

Black Betty is enjoying some shade while we went for a swim.

At this very interesting Maori owned campground we woke up to quite a surprise. Yes that is the hillside behind the campground that is on fire.

A chopper came in to assist with the fire relief efforts. Good thing we were close to the ocean!

This is the only road leading out of the campground. Yes it is blocked by fire, firemen, and fire trucks.

Chopper dropping its water.

Nice work boys. By about 10am the blaze was out and we were free to go. Phew! On to the next adventure.