036 – North Island (Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, Opononi, Coromandel), New Zealand – Vroom Vroom

Although we got off to a bit of a slow start, when Ciel picked the one day we planned to get away early to sleep in until 11 am for the first time in her life, the pace has been fast and furious since leaving Auckland.

We stopped off at one of the i-Site booking centres on our way north so Ciel could get our Bay of Island tour booked.

 Piece of cake.

One waterfall,

 And a couple swings later,

 And we arrived in Kerikeri. Just in time for the Poynter Family photo shoot.

 The Bay of Islands tour started out great.  We got front row seats for the rollercoaster ride out to the “Hole in the Rock”

 Passing two pods of dolphins en route. First the Bottlenose,

 

 Then the Common Dolphins.

 And we followed it up with a stroll around New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement, Russell.

Things turned sour when the crew mutinied, 

  And tossed me overboard, leaving me for dead bobbing in the Pacific.  Fortunately, I was able to find my own way back to Kerikeri.

 Where I lived to taste another day…

 Our woodland hikes have continued, and at the Lonely Planet and Britt’s suggestion, we took a “small” (2 hour) dirt road detour to see the Wairere Boulders. Once there, we got cornered by the manic Swiss ex-pat landowner who regaled us for a quarter of an hour about the marvels of basalt and fluting. Right…well… nice rocks.  

After the boulders it was off to the Kauri forest to see the massive, 2000-year-old Tane Mahuta and Co.

 Awesome.

By day three of our road trip, my Formula 1 driving approach had been voted down; Final Tally 3 to 1.5 (my girl had my back). We've been Driving-Miss-Daisy-ing our way across the island ever since, which has made for some epic journeys through the winding countryside.

A few days ago we traversed 450 km in a saddle-sore-generating 8 hours. Aside from G-Dad's lively conversation, 

 The only thing that kept us going was a brief 57-minute pit stop for a couple sub sandwiches and two bowls of Thai noodle soup.

Ciel has been surprisingly well behaved on the long drives, largely thanks to Nana's adept singing/storytelling/feeding/dancing skills…and a steady stream of paraphernalia from her purse.

While our whirlwind overnight stops haven't left much time to hang out our shingle, our accommodations all seem to come standard with stellar views.

From the farm in Kerikeri,

 To the shores of Opononi and Coromandel.

 And, we’ve been extremely well fed, thanks to G-Dad’s culinary prowess…and roadside foraging skills.

 Where he has excelled as usual despite Nana’s “assistance”…

From here we continue to work our way Southeast, keeping a close eye on G-Dad's rapidly dwindling wine cellar. It’s still another four days until we reach the vineyards of Napier. He’s praying we get there in time…