Today I had a plan to be checked out and away before 08:00. Up before 06:00 as I was awake, and the Week 3 video which I finished yesterday was checked and published ... it can be found at Week 3
Then time for my weekly video chat with Mum, and I was all packed up and checked out at just before 08:00. The plan for today is to drive down to Warkworth, just north of Auckland, for my overnight stop, but to take the route down the west coast.
First stop was at a place called Charlies Rock Waterfall; this was about a 25 minute drive from Paihia, and a little tricky to find ..... I eventually saw a small blue sign away from the road advertising the trail. A 15 minute hike through dew soaked foliage bought me to the site of the waterfall, and it was worth the effort for a starter.
Then onwards to the main event; a waterfall I've been watching in vlogs for many months, and it didn't disappoint. A 5 minute drive along from Charlies Rock, and I found myself heading for two viewpoints of Rainbow Falls; very much at the top of the falls, but a great place to just stand and watch the water cascade.
Then through a disinfecting gate where you scrub your footwear on a brush and then get them sprayed with a liquid (along with your lower legs) and onto the footpath to the bottom of the fall; they have a real problem here with diseases attacking their native flora, notably the Kauri dieback problem. About a five minute hike down the hill, and I was greeted by a fantastic waterfall plunging into a deep dark pool. The only way that it could have been any better was for the sun to be shining so I could have seen the rainbow that it was named for, but as I went to leave it started to rain I counted my blessings and marked it down as a win.
I had a number of places to key into the Satnav as the day progressed, and the third was Pakia Hill Lookout; I drove west to the coast, and when I reached the sea I was presented with a magnificent view of a coastal inlet guarded by sand dunes.
I've been hearing a lot about the Kauri tree in the last few days, so I decided that I'd also pay a visit to one of the few remaining bits of Kauri forest. As I drove along SH12, the whole feeling of the road changed from wide open fields to a tightly packed forest and a curvy bendy road. I stopped at a site called 'Tane Mahuta', which is a walkway leading to one of the remaining Kauri trees. I don't think I was quite prepared for what I saw here. I followed a boardwalk through the thick rainforest which gave no clue about what was to come, and then came to a clearing where I was suddenly and unexpectedly presented with a massive tree. Speaking to the guide there, she was saying that this would have been a small one by past measurements, and that when the loggers came they removed 97% of the Kauri forest. It just feels like a crime looking at it today!
I spent a lot of time getting a shot with no people, and now I wish that I has some folks in shot to give it some scale!
The next place I programmed into my Satnav was 'Takataka Peak Lookout'; a stop at Dargaville for lunch, and then onwards. However, when I reached the point there was absolutely nothing there; just a gravel road and a dead possum .... no view at all!
The final place visited was Mangawhei Cliff Walk, back on the east coast. I made a slight misjudgement here that perhaps I shouldn't as it is a Saturday at the back end of the Kiwi school summer holidays. I went from empty roads to every parking place and other place taken and hordes of people. I managed to find a car park space a few miles away in Mangawhei town, but this felt like my worst nightmare ..... take me where the people aren't.
It was now 15:30, and I was only 45 minutes or so from my overnight stop at Warkworth, so it felt like a opportune moment to call it a day and settle for the evening. So here you find me in the Bridgehouse Lodge with a very nice bar next to the river ..... and the rain has also caught me up! Time to start planning for tomorrow, a day which will need to start with buying fuel for the car!
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