​The Northland has been calling to us ever since we came to New Zealand in 2007. Now up and back I can honestly say it was worth the wait, and I am disappointed that this is likely the only time we will have to visit it while we are in New Zealand this time around. The Northland is, in parts, what I think New Zealand would have looked like before European settlement. The beaches are straight out of the Caribbean, and the culture is like nowhere else in New Zealand. It is a very Maori part of New Zealand, and      Above: ​Waipu Caves                                                                           most of the white people you see up here are tourists like ourselves.          
We only had four days in this area, and you really need at least twice that to truly experience all the variety this place has to offer. There was a lot of seeing, and not nearly as much doing as most would likely aim for. Such is life when travelling with three of your travel party under eight years of age. Had we more time, we would have camped for longer durations and gone on longer walks to truly experience all of the natural Northland beauty.
So the highlights then, driving North from Glenbrook, we took an Eastern detour to Waipu Caves, which are the largest non-commercial glow worm caves in New Zealand. Aside from the glow worm glory, the caves themselves are an interesting collection of stalagmites, and cavernous passages, with adventure beckoning crawl spaces. They were a bit busier than I had expected, but if you brave the back end of the cave you will pretty much have the place to yourself. I only managed to get stuck once, and after a brief moment of panic wedged at an awkward angle between a rock, a hard place and more rocks and a meter of water below, I realised that I was just going to have to get a bit mucky to get out. All the while hopefully keeping my camera functional.

​The main aim of our Northland journey lay on the West coast though, so we crossed back over and after staying with friends of friends we edged northward. Cape Reinga was the goal, but along the way many scenic stops, a highlight being the tropical paradise Kai Iwi lakes. The attraction of these lakes is the golden sand, the turquoise water, and the idea that they are fresh water lakes, so no sticky salt residue. The first 70 meters of the lake is about 40cm deep and in the hot sun, the water can be likened to a comfortable bath. But then after 70m, the lake takes a steep dive and you ​ Above: Kai Iwi Lakes            can see a stark contrast in the colour of the water as the lake deepens rapidly allowing for more adventurous water sports. 

From here we made our way up through Waipoua Forest Reserve, home of the famed Tane Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest Kauri tree. The scale of Kauri trees rival the redwoods of the West Coast of North America, and are an important aspect of Maori legend. We did several forest walks to get up close to these giants, as we ambled northward through some of the densest forest in New Zealand - surely this is the sights that greeted Captain Cook, and early Maori settlers hundreds of years ago. It was refreshing to see such large swathes of untouched, and now protected forest. (save for the highway cut through the middle of it all)  
Northward once more, toward the beautiful coastal drive of Opononi, which we were told has an excellent fish and chip shop. The one we found was fish, chips, and Indian curry (random) but the fish was the best in New Zealand, tender and butter battered full of flavour not just grease and batter like so many others. The roads up here are mostly coastal through charming sea-side towns, that tend to blur into one another. A refreshing change from dense winding forest roads we had just come through. After short ferry ride across the Waihou River, we camped just south of Kaitaia under a brilliant new moon sky, with the outer reaches of Northland in grasp for tomorrow.                                                                                     The Hartlens with Tane Mahuta "Lord of the Forest"  

​Our journey into the Coromandel was one of the last remaining places I HAD, to see in New Zealand before leaving. It began with mixed emotions, ranging from the high of a reunion with our NZ family,  but the first night culminated with my being peed on in the Purangi Winery Restaurant just outside Whitianga, this by a drunken hippy who tried to pee past me from behind at the urinal, but missed. Gross! But I was not about to start a bar-fight with a coked out stoner in front of my kids on Christmas Eve-Eve. Moving past this, it was raining for the first time on our trip, and this wouldn’t let up for the first two days we were there, major bummer, but at least we were with the  May -Hargreaves clan for our second Christmas in a row!
 We remained housebound due to weather for Christmas Eve aside from a wet trip to Whitianga for essentials, and a brief snorkelling outing  for Richard and I. We had hoped for stingrays or something, given that we were already soaked anyway, but no go in the murky water. So TV, movies, drinks and socialising: good times were still had.

Cathedral Cove was the next spot home to one of New Zealand’s most beautiful beaches. It is secluded (but still touristy) and has picturesque island cliffs 100m off of the shore, which is itself buffeted by cliff faces and caves. The pictures really don’t do the place justice, if you come to New Zealand this place is a must see. I feel like it would have been a good pirate base back in the day. After 6 days of travel, it is nice to finally get some sightseeing in.
We had a great warm Christmas for the third year in a row, and for the second in a row with our NZ family Jenny, Richard, and Peter, without whom the Southern hemisphere would not be the same at this time of year. We hope you all have had an amazing Christmas, we are all happy healthy and having a blast, until next time! Up next the Northland!

​To see the bits of New Zealand we have yet to see requires a fair bit of driving with little sightseeing, but featuring instead, catch-ups with some of our favourite friends in New Zealand. Our ultimate mission is to explore the North Island.
Getting to the North Island by ferry, there are two choices. If you are with a family, Bluebridge is the best option. The boat has an excellent, albeit stuffy family play area with free movies, but if you need fresh air you can wander to the panoramic heli-pad observation deck, which on this trip afforded beautiful sunny views of the Marlborough Sounds, Cook Straight, and Wellington Harbour, but this area is sure to play havoc with your well quaffed hair-do, see pictures of Brynn and Aurora inset. Our goal today was to make tracks for a planned rendez-vous with Rupert and Kelly our couchsurfing friends from way back, who had recently migrated to Cambridge from Australia. We made it as far as Mt. Lees Reserve Campsite, near Sanson, a beautiful free/donation campground, with flush toilets!  Here we survived our first night of camping as a family of five with a little help from YouTube, and Peppa Pig.

We had glorious weather up to Cambridge, 31°C and sunshine, and the middle of the North Island is one of my favourite spots in the world. The beautiful desert road that rolls past Mt. Ruapehu, and the ominous Mt. Nguarahoe (LOTR’s Mt. Doom) surrounded by volcanic wasteland, this area is also host to vibrant geothermal activity. It is an area rich in scenery and experiences. My absolute favourite of these is visiting one of the many natural hot pools in the area. Having never been to the Taupo Spa Park, this becomes our choice. The cool Waikato River funnels out of Lake Taupo to the East, and along the banks of the Spa Park. Piping hot water bubbles up from underground, and cascades down in two small waterfalls into a grotto along the southern bank of the river. It is a popular “hot-spot” for locals and tourists alike, and if you get too hot in the pools, you can quickly cool off in the stream.  This is the ultimate hot tub experience, only slightly soured by the hordes of visitors. But then you just have to think, how many places are there like this in the world? Where else can you go swimming in a beautiful river, and relax in an Eden like hot pool, free of charge?  Upon thinking this, bliss returns.
Our day is capped by a beautiful lasagne dinner, and for me, beer sampling - courtesy of our good friends Rupert and Kelly at their beautiful home in Cambridge. I even got to sample one of Rupert’s “Beer Advent Calendar” beers, quite possibly the best Christmas gift ever! These are not tiny 330ml bottles of generic lager, but at least 500ml of quality craft beer greatness #jealous. A lovely Wheat Ale from Stoke Brewery. 

​So off we are for an epic road tip that will take us up to the tip of the South Island, and then top to bottom, the whole of the North Island. Starting in Wellington, our journey encompasses a visit with friends in Cambridge, Christmas in Whitianga with our Kiwi family, up to the northern most point in Cape Reinga, and then back down the Eastern Cape. Once complete, I will be able to confidently say we have SEEN, New Zealand. Hopefully, keeping up with this blog along the way J
So our drive to Blenheim features one that I will never tire of, and in all the driving I have done in Europe and North America, Australia and Northern Africa, there is still very few places that rival the seaside roadway past Kaikoura on the South Island’s East Coast. The coast zigs in and out along the Pacific Ocean coast, with the Kaikoura mountain ranges bracketing the west side of the road. Clear skies goad us onward, and the charming crayfish kiosks that dot the roadside are a true Kiwi classic that must be sampled. Having driven this road many times before, we were not on a sightseeing trip, and were instead able to enjoy the views as they unfolded. Still we found ourselves trying to spot the hundreds of fur seals that line the coast here.