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Goldfields Railway :

Goldfields Railway

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Updated: Apr 08, 2009 2:53am PST

Driving Creek :

Driving Creek

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Updated: Apr 08, 2009 2:34am PST

Waganui tram :

Waganui tram

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Updated: Apr 05, 2009 3:18pm PST

A Day On The Harbour : Sunday 13th March 2009

A Day On The Harbour

Debbie

Sunday 13th March 2009

Updated: Apr 04, 2009 3:07pm PST

Rainbow Springs : In the afternoon we returned to our nature roots, and visited a wildlife part that, in contrast with Victoria State's somewhat drought-weary offering was positively bursting with energy and variety, in both animal and plant forms. Only the kiwi seemed reluctant to perform, despite some of them having their body-clocks altered to be awake during the day, for the better viewing by the paying public. Or perhaps because of it. However come 8pm the night-shift took over for both exhibitors and exhibited, and we were allowed to return and enter the now-open nocturnal enclosure. Once night vision had been established several kiwi were indeed in evidence, scuttling backwards and forwards across the rear of their pens, with occasional darts to the food bowl. Satisfied we had accomplished all targets, we ourselves scuttled off to the food bowl, in the form of a Thai restaurant in downtown Rotorua, complete with street theatre, or at least pantomime.

Rainbow Springs

railwaygardener

In the afternoon we returned to our nature roots, and visited a wildli ...

Updated: Apr 04, 2009 2:32pm PST

Return Flight : The flights home were uneventful, although increasingly tedious, the novelty of long-haul flying having well and truly worn off. After a plane change at Melbourne, clear skies gave us some good views of Dubai and Iran, and (very) eventually the suburbs of Manchester appeared.

Return Flight

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The flights home were uneventful, although increasingly tedious, the n ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2009 8:07am PST

Blockhouse Bay : Our final morning in North island was spent in Blockhouse Bay, a beach area on the southern edge of the city. This was initially a scenic and peaceful spot shared with only a couple of fishermen, but it gradually filled up with families intent on testing the playground's many and varied facilities to the full. After a quick lunch we headed for the campervan hire depot to surrender our vehicle and give an account of its misbehaviour. Needless to say it performed perfectly in front of its owners.

Blockhouse Bay

railwaygardener

Our final morning in North island was spent in Blockhouse Bay, a beach ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2009 7:10am PST

Auckland city : Back in our first camp site in Auckland we celebrated initially with our first ice-cream of the trip (and from a corner shop – do they not have street vendors in the North Island?) and then with an al-fresco Chinese carry-out that cost about the same as one might in the UK, but was of about twice the quantity. A pair of ducks sauntered hopefully by, but we declined their offer to finish it off. Overnight we left the van to its own devices, and hopefully to recharge its battery in its own time. In the morning it responded by starting first time, albeit a little hesitantly, so we took it for a run around a fairly large block to encourage further improvement. Not wishing either to push or luck too far, or to incur what would certainly substantial city-centre parking fees, we took the bus into Auckland centre. Auckland is a well spread-out city and it took some time to get there, but eventually we arrived at Albert Park on the edge of downtown Auckland. After a saunter through the trees and flower beds we headed for some serious souvenir shopping, finishing up at the harbour. Eric opted for a cruise whilst I continued around the city, obtaining valuable contraband in the form of a photo of trains in the oddly-named Britomart Transport Centre, and a genuine copy of New Zealand Railfan magazine. By mid-afternoon we were shopped out, and took another bus to the welcoming sanctuary of the Brookbanks' residence, or the Trout and Camel as it is more correctly known, and spent another relaxing evening in good company. Mindful that our host had an early start next day for a cycle race, we finally took our leave, although if we had known his alarm clock was set for reveille at 0430 hours we might have left a little earlier, particularly as he was giving us a lift back.

Auckland city

railwaygardener

Back in our first camp site in Auckland we celebrated initially with o ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2009 6:31am PST

Raglan : From there we made the longest drive of the trip so far, up to Raglan on the west coast of North Island, to a motor camp beside the beach known world-wide for its surfing. Also apparently for its surfing casualties, for as we walked across the bridge linking the camp to the town we saw a pair of coastguard ski-rescue craft being launched. Just for practice apparently, but interesting to watch none-the-less, as they swirled around the water, ejecting wet-suit-clad personnel to see how good they were at climbing back via the boards secured to the stern for that purpose. After a distinctly non-vegetarian meal at the Hotel we retired for an early, and somewhat warmer, night. Another day, same battery problem. This time the site starter did not do the trick, due probably to a lack of its own charge. So we phoned the hire company, to be told to call the AA and get them to fit a new battery. After two more phone calls and two hours of waiting, the AA agent started the van in two minutes, but was unable to help in replacing the battery, in diagnosing its faults, or even in finding it. His best effort was to recommend we trawl local garages to find a replacement battery. However it was approaching 1pm, and we had kilometres to kill. So we set off for Auckland via the direct route, a minor road of many twists and turns through pleasant scenery and almost nil traffic. Lunch was taken not quite on the move but with the engine still on rotation, on the basis that a poorly battery does not get any better.

Raglan

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From there we made the longest drive of the trip so far, up to Raglan ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2009 5:30am PST

Tongoriro : We headed north on the road to Tongariro National Park, with its trio of starkly impressive peaks, one of which was a fairly obvious choice for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings. On the lunch stop near to the turn-off the the park the daily Overlander scenic train stopped obligingly beside us for photos before moving on northwards. The passage of its southbound stablemate led us to wonder where they had crossed, and whether the northbound one was still there, and could be overtaken and viewed at the Raurima Spiral, a circular feat of railway engineering a few miles further on. As it happened we found the viewing point but not the train, or at least not until we had left the viewing point and gone to look at the station. At least we knew the timings, for a possibly better co-ordinated attempt the next day. After booking in at the Whakapapa camp site in the middle of the park, and visiting an informative information centre, we decided to do what everyone else apparently does, and go for a short walk, or tramp as it is called locally. We choose the Ridge Walk, which offered some fine views of the mountains and of the Chateau Hotel, complete with 9-hole golf course. After a meal at the Chateau's cafe, the restaurant being a little above our station, we drove a mile or two up the road towards the ski lifts to catch the sunset, and watch a few others racing up the hill behind us to probably not quite catch it. On the way a little red light on th dashboard started to glow ominously – low fuel. We coasted back to the camp site, wondering if we had actually noticed a filling station at National Park village, 15km distant. Next morning, after a chilly, starlit night, our van problems multiplied, with a flat battery to add to the fuel situation. We tried gingerly to bump-start it down a narrow track between sleepy residents just starting to stir and stumble towards the toilet block. The van declined to co-operate, so the camp office was visited to see if they might have such a thing as a pair of jump leads, preferably with a spare vehicle to attach them to. They produced an item as good if not better, namely a combined portable starting unit and tyre compressor. After a few minutes spent wondering which part of the engine consisted of the battery, we discovered a faded diagram that suggested two points which might accept crocodile clips. One was clearly an earth, and the other was not only surrounded in red plastic, indicating it was live, but also otherwise completely exposed. By elimination nothing else suggested itself, so we made the connections, pressed the switch, and we had ignition. The need to charge the battery made it sensible to delay our morning walk in favour of a trip to National Park to fill up and also check the tyres. This was done without further mishap, although a certain amount of ungainly manouvring was needed to line up first with the diesel pump and secondly with the air line. Eventually all was done and we returned to Whakapapa car park to set out on a two-hour trek to Taranaki Falls. this was a pleasant walk through a mixture of open tussock grass and wooded gullies, the latter providing welcome relief from the heat of the day. The falls themselves were of medium intensity, but clearly showing the the potential for increased activity in the rainy season.

Tongoriro

railwaygardener

We headed north on the road to Tongariro National Park, with its trio ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2009 4:40am PST

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