#6 New Zealand so far (part 2)

Southwards I went. On my way to Raglan I had planned to drop into my friend’s house in Auckland. I needed to pick up some documents and they were kind enough to allow me to do some washing. New Zealanders talk about Auckland like it is the busiest, most chaotic, traffic filled place on the planet. It’s really not too bad.

I thought it unnecessary to drive through the night to Raglan so I stopped at a small farm yard half way between Auckland and Hamilton. On arriving I thought it the wrong place and in the process of turning around I got the van stuck. On a dirt track with a steep incline, in front a ditch, the only option was to reverse. It was at this point I realised that the van was rear wheel drive. I gave it the beans but to no avail – the wheels where spinning. Hearing the commotion and smelling the burnt rubber, the owner of the property wandered down the drive to inquire. There was no pretending that I had the situation under control. She said that she would go to find Joe to help (think that was his name?) Together they returned, Joe a well built no-nonsense Kiwi, and Anita, an older Kiwi lady with a strong spirit. The goal was to give the front a shove while I floored it in reverse, hopefully getting me far enough up the hill to make the turn and avoid the ditch. It worked. Anita told me how she had been running the little setup for travelers for over 20 years – sadly though Covid stopped business and it doesn’t seem to have recovered. I parked the van in front of the workshop and had a quiet evening.

In the morning I ventured on to Hamilton. It being only a couple of hours to Ruapuke, my campsite for the night, I decided to see what Hamilton had to offer. It’s a decent sized city, population 178,500 as of 2021. Hamilton’s claim to fame is its gardens, so that’s where I went first. The exhibit consists of 18 enclosed gardens that transport you around the world through different periods in time. It was a worthwhile stop, somewhere I would recommend if you ever find yourself in Hamilton looking for something to do. I walked into town and not finding anything else particularly interesting decided to part ways.

Onwards to Ruapuke I went. I’d found a small tucked away campsite there close to the beach and having wanted to visit Ruapuke beach I thought it a good spot for the night. I arrived early afternoon after navigating another dreaded gravel track and headed straight for the beach. It was raw and untamed. The black sands sparkled and slightly burnt my feet with each step. I stayed for a couple of hours then wandered back.

In the morning I pottered around to Raglan. Raglan is a pretty cool place with a bohemian vibe about it. Raglan is famous for its waves and for good reason. It is one of the most consistent places in the country and when it’s on, it really is. The waves break off the headland at different points giving a variety of long lefts.
I had made my way to Raglan for the Christian surfers NZ national gathering. They were celebrating their 40th anniversary and expecting a good number of surfers from all over the country. Having spoken online to the national director of CSNZ while back in the UK I had booked this event into my calendar. It was the only thing I had booked in before I left the UK.

The gathering took place over three days and was good fun. It consisted of surfing (of course!) times of sung worship and interview panels where people from all four decades told stories and were asked questions about how CSNZ has evolved over the years. I met some cool surfers from all over the country, one of which was from Gisborne and told me I should check the place out (relevant later).

The end of the gathering meant the end of any plans I had. Remembering I had a friend in Ōhope I pointed my van east and hit the road. Rotorua was on the way and being a keen mountain biker thought I’d stay a night and explore. Rotorua is home to one of the Crankworx stages (a MTB slopestyle competition) and is a bit of an MTB mecca. At this point in my travels I was beginning to entertain the possibility of finding some work so while exploring I was also wondering whether it was a place I wanted to put down some roots for a while. I’d been given the details of a contact just outside of town so drove over to say hello and get the low down on the area. After a proper cup of tea and a good old chinwag I was informed that the redwood forest was a must see. Bidding farewell I departed for the forest. One thing that is immediately obvious on arriving in Rotorua is the smell. The place is known for it’s geothermal activity which causes there to be a regular sulphur smell in the air, apparently you get used to the smell…

The Whakarewarewa Forest was awesome. As nerdy as it sounds I find great wonder in observing trees, especially old ones. Redwoods are truly majestic trees and there were some enormous ones in this forest. I went for a walk just as it started to rain and opting to not bother with a rain jacket I got pretty damp. While exploring Rotorua I had journeyed over to the main MTB area. I’d seen that a bike shop had a job advert up and thought I’d investigate. I had a look around the shop but didn’t speak to them. I kept asking myself the question, could I stay here? The answer was no. I just couldn’t get over the sulphur smell – if it is true that you stop noticing the smell it must be because it has fried your nose and I didn’t fancy this.

And that was the end of Rotorua. I got back on the road and kept heading east. I arrived in Ōhope early evening and booked into a campsite right on the beach. It was really quite a luxurious place, practically empty and evidently preparing itself for the summer chaos. That evening I went into town, to the only place that was still open at 8pm, and caught up with my mate over a drink. In the morning we got a coffee and she showed me the town of Whakatāne. Still having itchy feet though I texted my mate from the CSNZ gathering who lived in Gisborne. He told me to come on down so I took up the invite, waved goodbye and got the wheels spinning again. So 2½hrs later after traversing an epic gorge I arrived in Gisborne in the pouring rain. That was about 3 weeks ago and I’m still here.