New Zealand - the 2024 tour - week one - Auckland to Russell

Getting There and Heading North

Leaving Home in the darkness with rain falling was not the greatest start to our expedition. Things got much worse when we hit the stationary traffic on the M3. Luckily we had left home early so we were not too stressed. The plan was for me to drop TW at Terminal 3 and then take the shuttle from the car depot. There was no time for that. Check-in was easy and friendly. We headed for the Virgin lounge and a decent veggie breakfast. A comfortable flight followed on a Virgin A350. We landed at LAX on time and immigration went surprisingly smoothly apart from my confusion when trying too get my paws onto the fingerprint scanner in the correct order. The next challenge, how to get to Santa Monica?

We wanted to go Uber but had no Internet access. Anyway, we took the Green Shuttle to the pick up where we managed to logon and order up a taxi. It arrived in a couple of minutes. Great service and we were at Santa Monica in about 30 minutes. We were booked into the Cal Mar on California. The old place had not changed since our last visit 12 years ago. To be honest we were a bit worried about security in town but we were assured it was pretty safe. We bravely headed out for some groceries in the fading light. There were quite a few homeless about and some drug addicts but nobody bothered us. We made it home with our porridge and cereal and some pasta for our evening meal. Despite the unwelcome elements it was actually quite pleasant in Santa Monica.

3rd Street Santa Monica

Cal Mar - back to the future

Forrest with his Chocolates

The Coastal Strip

The main shopping area was smart. The coastal strip was quite up-market. We made a pilgrimage to the Santa Monica Pier and into Bubba Gump for a Prawn and Salmon dish, very nice.

Everything grows

It was Street Market day and the stalls show-cased the impressive range of products from California. Our short stop over went well. It was a no-brainier to call Uber to go back to LAX. The chatty driver took us via Venice and Marina Del Rey. We were again impressed and learned a lot about Los Angeles. We were really early LAX so again visited the Lounge. Quite an impressive building, but the food was horrible. The food was much better on the flight and the service was great. There were very complicated sleeping arrangements and they have to set your bed with a very clever manoeuvre which seems to involve turning the seat upside down. As my turn came an attractive hostess whispered in my ear. “Would you like to go to bid”

27th January 2024 - Landfall in Auckland

We arrive at Auckland early in the morning, but it was already busy. Getting into New Zealand with its strict Bio Security is a bit nerve racking, but despite attempts to declare TW‘s beeswax ointment and my knee cream, we were sent through the fast lane into the real world. We quickly arranged our NZ phone simms and then suffered a slow and frustrating car collection at Budget, we opted to wait for a hybrid that required cleaning ratheř țhan a RAV4. In hindsight a mistake but Hey Ho. Eventually we picked up our car and set off for our first stop on the north shore at Takapuna. an easy drive to the Rainbow Inn where the owner booked us in early, a fantastic bonus for 2 very weary Poms. Just time for a second breakfast at Takapuna Beach Café, and then back for a kip. Takapuna is a pleasant suburb and looks quite prosperous.

It was a nice relaxed introduction to New Zealand. So much is like UK but with a south Pacific flavour. After our snooze we made what was to become a ritual trip to the supermarket after each arrival for the staples of spinach, honey and pasta and of course, eggs, and bread

Whangarai Quay

Lunch at the Quay

Whangarei

Whangarei Heads

Taurikura

Next, up to the Heads, an easy run up the motorway to Whangerai and lunch at the Quay as recommended by Georgie before setting out along the coast to Taurikura and our little apartment just outside the village.

The Shores - Tarapuka

All the comforts of Home, including a washer and dryer. What’s not to like. We had a pleasant walk along the coast road, past the lovely wooden houses. Many of them have rusty old tractor sitting outside to pull their boats into the water.

Taking a rest

We walked with an English Doctor and her husband and baby for a while. She was on maternity leave from the Whangerai Hospital and was able to give us good info about the area. Our highlight so far was the walk to Smugglers Bay. Ocean Beach was also lovely but with no shade and with the sand acting like a huge radiator we could not stay very long. The Heads are for certain a lovely unspoiled, and pleasantly rural, coastal community.

Smugglers Bay

Taurikura

Russell and the Bay of Islands

The Church in Russell

Every pew tells a story in embroidery

After two days it was time to leave and head north to the Bay of Islands. We opted to take the more direct route, which meant a 5 minute cruise on the Opua ferry , the alternative would have been along a winding coastal road. A short drive from the Ferry took us to the Fantail Inn where, again, we were checked in early.

Dream House

Russell had not changed since our last visit. Lovely wooden houses. A relaxed ambience about the place. We drove over to Long Beach and found a shady spot and then had a swim. Our host recommended the Boating Club for a drink. It was really friendly With a great view and keen prices, we liked it so much we stopped for dinner. I had lamb shanks and TW had steak. Fantail is about 10 minutes outside Russell.

Duke of Marlborough Hotel

The Fantail Inn

On our way to Urupukapuka

High on a hill at Urupukapuka

Desert Island

We booked ourselves on a boat trip the next day and it proved to be great start to February 2024. We took the ferry from Russell to the island of Urupukapuka. It cost $60 each and took about 30 minutes to reach the island wharf. We shared the boat with lots of different nationalities. Bit of a hang onto your hat situation as the boat was quite speedy. We did some walking up to a Highpoint with 360° view and then hit Urupukapuka beach for a swim. There is a Cafe where the boat docks but it was blaring out loud music and rammed full of people. We just found a shady table and waited for our return ferry. Urupukapuka was definitely the highlight of our trip to Russell.