Australia Part 13: The Southwest

Tuedsday, 19 Mar 2024

Before leaving Bromus Dam, Darren changed one of the wheels on the caravan with the kids. The tyre seemed to have a leak of some sort. We had a quick look at the dam and then packed up and headed to Esperance on the coast. We paid for some hot showers, did some laundry, topped up on water and groceries. While we waited for laundry, we met a man that had a pet ferret with him. We chatted to him for a while and got to hold his pet. It was quite cool. The kids enjoyed it too. The town of Esperance was not very helpful for people with caravans, as all the places to go and see said no overnight camping. So, we carried on after our errands were done and stopped at Munglinup Roadhouse for the evening. They had a playground which was really nice. The kids played there before it got dark.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Wednesday, 20 Mar 2024

In the morning, we took it slow getting ready for the day. Then, we left the caravan behind, and drove to Quagi Beach. Darren did some fishing for a while in the surf. The man we met with the ferret said that a certain type of fish was starting to run through the area so Darren bought a clearance fishing rod to see if he could catch anything. The wind and the tides weren’t quite right though as he didn’t get any bites. The kids and I explored the rockpools around the beach and found a few neat shells and lots of water snails. Then we went back to the vehicle to have our lunch nearby at a picnic table.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

After lunch we drove farther along the coast on a little goat track through the sand and rocks to a place called Infinity Rock Pool. It really was like an Infinity Pool, right on the edge of the sea! It was beautiful and shallow and calm. And the sea beyond the pool was deep and rugged and would splash the waves so that the mist of the splash could be seen while in the pool. Despite the cold wind, we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity, so we got in and had a swim. Sometimes the drops came in and one time quite a good stream of water came into the pool, filling it with little air bubbles which tingled on your skin. The kids played a little at the edge and Boy did decide to come in and have a little bit of a snorkel. He said he spotted a few little fish. We got cold after about 20 minutes, so got out and warmed up and then headed back to the caravan. The rest of the afternoon, the kids played at the park, and we relaxed. It was a really lovely day after that last week of quite a lot of driving.

Thursday, 21 Mar 2024

In the morning we packed up and moved on quite early so we could get a good spot at the next camp site. We pulled in to the Norman’s beach site around 2pm and it was full. so we tried a few more in that area and they were all either full or closed to fishing. Darren was hoping to spend this day and the next day fishing. We were hoping to find somewhere on the beach on a river estuary but realised that this was not going to work out. So, we kept moving west. We passed through Albany and found a spot along a river but farther away from the beach. It was called Hay River. It was very peaceful, but it filled up quite soon after we got there as well. Darren tried some fishing but didn’t catch anything here either. We did however spot a small black animal that was crashing through the underbrush near our caravan. We didn’t make out was it was, but after dusk it came back and Darren got some photos of it. It is called a bandicoot. It is a very small marsupial and it eats bugs and worms it finds in the soil. It hops like a kangaroo and scurries very fast!

Friday, 22 Mar 2024

We had a been talking it over the last day or so, about how there were quite a few things that needed some TLC on the vehicle. We could tell that those things were getting worse quite noticeably. So, we decided to do one last thing and then head home, which was only about 2.5 hours away. That last thing was a treetop walk through the Valley of the Giants. It was really cool! We walked up a platform into the trees and walked around through the treetops. The walk was 40 meters above the ground. The walkway swayed to and from and we walked just like the trees blowing in the breeze. After the treetop walk, we did the understory walk which took us through the tree trunks of the tingle tree. It is a type of eucalyptus tree only found in this region. We hoped to see some Quokka, which are really cute tiny kangaroo type animals, but we didn’t as they come out at dusk. We bought some souvenirs t-shirts in the gift shop and then drove to our final destination near Bridgetown. We surprised everyone there as they were expecting us a week later. It was a pretty neat end to our trip.

We have more travels planned for the future. We would like to make it all the way around Australia at some point. We have already travelled the whole east coast, so we just need to the west coast and the northern coast now. We’d also like to visit the very middle at some point. But that will have to happen at a later time. I hope to keep posting about how we are getting along here as we settle in and find our new normal here. New adventures are awaiting.

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Australia Part 11: The Eyre Peninsula

Monday, 11 Mar 2024

In the morning, we headed into Port Augusta. Finally, the flies seemed to be less of a problem than they were farther north. So, we spent the morning at the Arid Lands Botanical Garden. I had never before been to a botanical garden that was not lush and thick and green. So, this was a new experience. We saw a few new bird species here, as well as a shingleback skink! It was so neat! It let us get really close to take it’s picture. It’s tail was large and stumpy and almost the size of its head. I’m sure it’s a good decoy for predators.

Shingleback Skink

We found Kangaroos hiding in the garden.

It was still incredibly hot, so after an hour outside wandering around the garden, we were ready to get into the air conditioning at this point. So, we headed to the landromat and also the grocery store to top up our supplies. We had a look at the weather forcast for some of the other towns coming up on our route, and decided to leave South Australia as soon as we could, as just across the border into West Australia, the temps dropped about 10 degrees celcius. We were all really looking forward to less sweating and feeling hot. So, we headed in that direction planning to spend 2 really good long days on the road to get away from the heat.

About an hour later, Darren pulled over and announced that the power stearing on our vehicle had stopped working. So, we drove to the next town, which was Kimba for the night. They had a really lovely free campground with showers, flushing toilets, an awesome play ground and lots of space.

Australian Ringneck Parrot spotted at Kimba

Tuesday, 12 Mar 2024

In the morning Darren got in touch with someone who could send him the pump he needed to fix the car. Early in the morning, it was cool enough to go for a walk, so I took the kids to the nearby Roora Walking Trail. This trail was a 6 km return walk past animal sculptures made of metal. We found another shingleback on this walk and read signs along the way that told us about the early pioneer days in the area. At the end of the walk before returning, there was a large sculpture of Edward John Eyre and his aboriginal guide. It was this man who discovered Lake Eyre and who the Eyre Peninsula and the Eyre Highway are named after. He was the first white man to travel much of the southern outback in the 1800s. We learned of his many near death experiences, due to the heat, lack of water and lack of food on his journeys.

When we got back from our walk, the heat had returned, so we didn’t do a lot more that day. The kids played at the park at the campground, and we discovered that if we got wet in the shower and then kept our clothes on while wet, that we felt much better. The temperature was around 38 Celsius (100 F).

We also learned that while it was not nice to be stuck with a broken vehicle, we were actually stuck for another reason. The Eyre Highway that we were heading towards was actually just closed due to flooding. The floods were caused by once in a 100-year rains in the desert. In the desert north of the Nullarbor they got a year’s worth of rain in a few days. So, we were at least very thankful that we weren’t stuck in the floodwaters, and that we had showers and toilets to use while we waited.

Wednedsay, Mar 13 2024

On this day, we checked out he playground in the town of Kimba. They had a jumping pillow. I had never seen anything like this before in a park. But, it was awesome, and the kids loved it! Near the end of the day, I bought some electrolyte tablets to put in our water and found that we felt much better after having these. All the heat and sweating had depleted some of our mineral stores. When we spoke to some locals, we found that it normally was not this hot here, but that they were having an unusual heat wave for that time of year.

Bouncing Pillow at the park in town.

Thursday, 14 Mar 2024

Darrens package with the needed part arrived in the morning and the vehicle was fixed by lunch time. The Eyre Highway was also open again, so after lunch we packed up and carried on with our journey. Before leaving Kimba, I got a picture of the halfway across Australia sign. It’s hard to believe that we still have so far to go before we arrive at our destination, but we will be going at a much faster pace now, as most of what is ahead of us is barren desert with only a few things to stop and to see. There are a few things on our list though, so after 3 nights of rest and recuperation we carried on west. We drove to Cedunda and spent the night just outside of town in a quiet camp site just off the road.

Giant Galah Parrot Sculpture at Kimba

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Australia Part 10: The Oodnadatta and Coober Pedy

Friday 8, Mar 2024

That afternoon we Continued north towards the beginning of the Oodnadata track. A road which leads to the small town of Oodnadatta. This town began as a railway town in the early days of Australian Outback settlement. While the railway was being build, supplies were brought in by camel, along the Oodnadatta track. It is a famous route that is interesting for its historical significance and also because of the landscape and plant and animal life.

Walking along the old Ghan Railway

Flies

More flies. They seemed to want to land on us adults much more than the kids.

Finding what was left of the railway.

We decided to stop for the night just after beginning track. Before sundown, we took a walk along where the first railway was built to look at one of the old siding buildings that helped support the steam trains when they came through. This place was really very neat. It was in the absolute middle of nowhere… And it was very hot, dry and desolate. We didn’t see any animal life except flies, which were exceptionally bad. A local further along the track told us, that the flies are not usually anywhere near as bad. I am glad to hear that, because I was wondering how anyone could handle flies like that on a permanant basis. The plant life was very determined. It seemed like nothing could live in such a place, but I found succulants and flowers, and there were small shrub like trees as well. The colours of the sunset on the desert landscape were quite beautiful.

Small Desert Flowers

Saturday 9, Mar 2024

The flies and heat were so bad, that we decided to just drive all day long, so we could be in the air conditioned, fly free car. We drove past, Lake Eyre, which we were hoping might have water in it, but it didnt. Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia at 15m below sea level. It is usually just a salt flat, but when enough rain falls in Queensland and North Australia, it moves across the country and fills up this basin. Bird, plant and fish life abound when this happens every so many years. The desert comes alive.

Lake Eyre. Just salt out there.

Since there wasn’t much to see here, we continued to Coward Springs. This was a place where travelers used to come for water and a resting place along their journey. The original bore is still in place. We got to bathe in the same place as the original people from back in the day. It was a very refreshing stop despite the flies. The man who runs the place also has a small stand of date palms that he harvests each year. We were able to taste the fresh dates… they were different than any date I’ve tried. They were warm, gooey and buttery. Besides travelers, and dates, this man also ran cows on this land. It is unbelievable to think that people farm this land. We kept asking ourselves, what do the cows eat out here? But, they must be adapted to eating acacia and other desert shrubs.

Coward Springs

Little Succulents. They were full of moisture.

After Coward Springs, we kept going until we reached the town Oodnadatta. We stopped for dinner and the kids played at a park for a little while. Then, since we still didn’t want to be outside in the heat or deal with flies, we decided to drive 3 more hours to Coober Pedy. We were also very tired of the dust. The track was not sealed, and the type of dust out here just worked its way into every crevasse of the caravan. We even found it inside the fridge. We wanted to be able to clean it up only once. The max outside temperature reading from our car for the day was 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). The total distance we travelled in this day was just under 600 km. After arriving in Coober Pedy, we spent an hour cleaning up the dust and then went to bed.

Beautiful Desert Sunset

Sunday 10, Mar 2024

We spent quite a good portion of the day in Coober Pedy. This town is known for being a place where people live underground. They build their houses and shops into the sides of hills. They are also known for mining opals. So, we had a look around at the streets and what this looked like, before having a go at ‘noodling’ as they called it, for opals in the leftover piles of dirt that had already been mined. We didn’t find a lot, but it was fun anyway. We did find quite a bit of gypsum, which is interesting, but not valuable.

Noodling for Opals

The flies and heat were still pretty bad, so we went as far as we could in the last part of the day. All the driving on this day was literally like driving on mars. There were no trees, and it was just flat as the eye could see. It was incredible, to drive across this landscape for hours on end! I didn’t get any photos of this because it just doesn’t look like anything on the screen. It’s very hard to take photos of a landscape where there isn’t anything in the distance. We stopped for dinner at Lake Hart and then kept going until we were just north of Port Augusta and called it a day. Total kms covered this day was 500. The last 2 days have been our longest on the road so far.

Lake Hart

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Australia Part 9: Big Desert, Pink Lakes and The Flinders Ranges

Sunday 3 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we packed up and left Lonsdale Lake and headed northwest. We stopped at a few towns to do some grocery shopping and laundry, and to take some showers. Then, we carried on North to Big Desert. The landscape got dryer and dryer along the way, and it marvelled us to think what the farms in these parts actually farmed, with it just looking like mostly bare land. Then we entered the protected desert area of Big Desert. We drove for an hour or so until we were truly in the middle of nowhere, at Big Billy Bore’s campground. We settled in for the evening.

Monday 4 Mar, 2024

Next day, we played it easy at our campsite in the morning. We took a walk to the lookout nearby and then did some schoolwork. After lunch we decided to leave the caravan behind and have a drive on one of the nearby tracks through the desert. These tracks have no gravel or anything on them, so we let some of the air out of our tyres to help with driving on the sand and then had a good time, for about 3 hours we enjoyed the sites of the desert. The plants changed subtly along the drive, in many places, they were made of lots of small shrubs and plants and in other places it was with a few short trees thrown in for variety. All ranged from a varied array of muted colours. Greens, reds, purples, orange, and yellows all from the desert and then the big blue sky. It was beautiful. Some things we saw were, a large kangaroo taking a nap, a huge sand dune that we were not able to drive over, and some footprints that looked to be made by a dingo. The kids really enjoyed the ride, bouncing down the sandy track. They giggled and laughed much of the way. Then, it was back to camp for a quick meal and then bedtime. I had hoped we would see some more animals, but even the birds were really scarce here. We weren’t sure if they were actually not there, or if they were just hiding.

Tuesday 5 Mar, 2024

In the morning Darren spotted a long line of caterpillars marching across the path to the toilets. We looked them up and they are called, ‘Processionary Caterpillars’ and are the larva of the Shelter Bag Moth. If you touch their hairs, it makes you sick. We are glad that we didn’t touch them. They move together as a group to look for a new food source when they finish stripping a choice tree. We watched for a while and saw how at one point the group leader switched places with the caterpiller behind him, and then the group split into 3 separate groups and carried on in different directions. It was fascinating to watch! After that, we up and left Big Desert and headed to Murray Sunset National Park.

We had plans to stay at Murray Sunset until Friday to do some of the tracks there, but when we arrived a sign said the park was closed to overnight campers. So, we decided to look around at the pink lakes for a short while and then just carry on west into South Australia earlier than planned. The pink lakes used to be mined for salt. Each winter salty water comes up from under the lake as the water table rises. Then when it dries out in the summer it leaves a think later of salt in the summer. The pink colour comes from a bacterium that live in the salt which make beta carotene. After moving on, we entered South Australia, had some showers at Loxton then found our campsite at Wiggly Flat on the Murray River. As we drove into our campsite, we came across an Echidna crossing the road. We all got out and got a good look at him.

Looking at some salt from the stockpiles that were left here from the mining days.

The pink colour is darker and lighter depending on the sunlight and other factors.

Walking on the salt felt a little bit like walking on snow.

Echidna

Wednesday 6 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we had a better look around. The river was beautiful and it was quite peaceful, but the bugs were not very nice by the river, and it was very humid. I had a look around at the local bird life and saw a whole flock of spoonbills, some pelicans, and some herons. When they saw me looking at them, then flew up into these huge dead trees and looked down at me. Then we packed up and headed north to Jamestown, where we had some showers, then Peterborough, where we did laundry. There was a neat steam train to look at in this town.

Spoonbills

Next, we carried on to Yunta, then turned left onto Tea Tree Road which led us to the Wakaringa Ghost Town where they used to mine gold. We arrived after dark and made our way to the top of a hill next to a stone chimney. We settled in for the night.

Thursday 7 Mar, 2024

It turned very windy during the night and in the morning, we knew we didn’t want to stay here for another night. We had a look around the old town and the ruins and searched to ground for anything interesting. We didn’t find any gold, but we did find some neat clear crystals.

We continued on Tea Tree Road. That was an adventure in itself trying to drive it. We had 4 river crossings, one of which we had to drive up the river, and 2 bog drive arounds while towing the caravan. It was a treat for Darren.

Then came out of the dirt roads near Hawker, then carried on north through Flinders Ranges National Par The views on this drive were marvellous! We had dinner along here, then found our campsite in the Parachilna Gorge.

Friday 8 Mar, 2024

We packed up and drove out of the Flinders National Park. The sites were so neat. The colours were reddish brown and light metallic greens and greys. The rocks looked like the skin on a pudding that had been wrinkled up and down over the landscape. We drove through the wrinkles of earth. It made us think of the effects of Noah’s flood, and the power that was present to lift and twist the earth. We marvelled at the power of God. Then we came out on the Outback Highway and headed north towards the Oodnadatta Track.

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Australia Part 6: The Great Ocean Road

Friday 23 Feb, 2024 – Saturday 24 Feb, 2024

We Spent Friday and Saturday just enjoying Granny Flat Reserve a bit more. We did more Laundry, went swimming a few more times, did some more schoolwork and chatted with the other campers.

Boy found a Giant Slantface Grasshopper

I spotted this Pied Cormorant on the river at Granny Flat Reserve. He watched us as we swam.

Sunday 25 Feb, 2024

We drove all day, trying to fit a bit of school in while in the car. We went southwest to get past Melbourne, then hopped on the Great Ocean Road along the south coast of Australia. It was very beautiful to see the ocean at sunset. We turned off the Ocean Road and headed North for the night. We stayed at Dando’s Campsite which was up a lonely track in the hills. We got there late at night after dark and had to reverse the caravan out of a few wrong turns which was sort of exciting, but in the end we were glad to be able to finally rest after a very long day.

Monday 26 Feb, 2024

When we woke up, we didn’t really like the look of Dando’s campsite. It was very tidy and spacious, but there wasn’t a lot to do there. No river and not a lot of sunshine, since it was in a thick forest. So, we spent the day driving farther west. We stopped at the Beauchamp Falls Reserve and walked down to see the waterfall. It was a down, down, down, walk and then an up, up, up, walk back to the car. I felt that the rainforest in this part of Australia reminded me so much of New Zealand that if I wasn’t thinking too hard, I would think it WAS New Zealand, if not for the different smell of the place.

Beauchamp Falls

After that we decided to check out a grove of redwood trees nearby before driving back to the Great Ocean Road. While in the redwoods, we told the kids to run everywhere they went to make sure they got all their wiggles out after 2 days of driving. And they sure did run!!! We finished the Great Ocean Road after stopping for a look at The Twelve Apostles rock formations along the coast, also getting a glimpse of several other tourist sites along the road such as, London Bridge, Bay of Martyrs, and Bay of Islands. Then we found Sawpit Campground just as the sun went down.

The 12 Apostles

One thing that was interesting to notice, was the changing sunrise and sunset times as we continued to travel west. It was really obvious to see those times get later and later while we were in the same time zone. So far, we have travelled around 1500 km west.

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Australia Part 3: Goodbye New South Wales, Hello Victoria

Wednesday Feb 14, 2024

One thing I forgot to mention about our stay at our friends house was the flying fruit bats. At night time while we were there, we came outside just after the sun set and watched the sky. Overhead we could see thousands of flying fruit bats flying over the sky from their roosting area over to where ever their feeding places were. They eat fruit and nectar. It seemed like they would never end. The whole sky was full of them. It was such an interesting sight to see!

After our stay in Nowra with our friends, we headed south a few hundred km. One place we stopped along the way was the Bodalla cheese shop. Girl bought an ice-cream with her own money. Boy bought a sweet cream cookie with his own money. Darren bought a cheese sampler, and I bought some free-range eggs. Then we drove on to the Wallaga Lakes Forest. The spot we pulled up for the night was just a spot to park on the side of a quite forest road. In the morning, I took the kids for a short walk down a track that was there.

Thursday Feb 15, 2024

We drove south to our last stop in New South Wales before crossing into Victoria. We took a less traveled road along the coast that later met back up with the highway. It was really neat to see the smaller towns and beach side homes along the way. Before stopping for the night we did a short walk to a place called the Pinnicles. It was some interesting coloured cliff rocks along the beach. We saw a skink here and it was really cute. We stopped for the evening at the Imlay Creek Rest Stop and Rock Pools. It was quite a neat place. A crystal clear river flowed over many large boulders here. A short walk from the parking area led us to a deep pool were we could swim. It wasn’t hot enough for me to swim, but Darren enjoyed a swim while the kids played in the smaller pools.

Pinnacles Walk

Friday Feb 16, 2024

In the morning, we had a short walk along a nearby track and then headed off to find a good spot for the weekend. It proved to take much longer than we thought. We crossed the border from New South Wales into Victoria. It was a lovely drive through state parks and state forests. We drove over 300 kms. We pulled into a campground next to lake Wellington near the town Sale. We soon realized that it was not going to be suitable. It looked quite sketchy and not that safe. So, we drove even farther and finally settled on a beach side campground that was quite nice. It was called Flamingo Beach. Before retiring for the evening, we walked out on the sand for about a kilometre along the beach to see the Trinculo Shipwreck. Below are some photos. This is all that is left of this ship that sunk in 1879. Also shown is what is looked like originally.

Saturday Feb 17, 2024

The next day we relaxed and enjoyed the beach. The kids played in the sand, found shells, played in the waves. We did some Bible study with the kids and sang some songs. We talked to Darren’s Dad on the phone for a little while. It was a nice Sabbath day. Darren kept finding a huntsman spider in his sleeping swag (a tent the size of a sleeping bag). The first night he gave it to me, and I relocated it about 50 meters away. The next night it was back, so he relocated it. Then on the third night of unpacking the swag, he killed it. We all found it amazing, that a spider would keep coming back the same place each night even when relocated it. We never saw it again, so it must have been the same one…!

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Housebus Travels Part 11: East Cape

December 7, 2020

We left Tomomaru Bay and headed north to Te Araroa. On the way we saw views of Mount Hikurangi. Then we went east along the coast out to the eastern Cape of New Zealand. The road going east was quite run down, as were the fences, as livestock were roaming on the road. It was a drive of rugged and majestic views.

When we got to the cape, we took a family photo and then I took the kids up to the light house. There were 800 steps. The steps looked to be old rail way planks or something, at least they where put in to look that way. The kids climbed them great. It took us about 25 minutes. The view was marvelous.

The sun was setting so we rushed back down to meet Darren and drove back to Te Araroa to look at New Zealand’s largest and oldest Pohutakawa tree, also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. We were astounded by its size! Then, we headed to Te Kaha for the night.

December 8, 2020

In the morning, we got up and drove to Omaio, where Darren fished and I read some stories to the kids, then we went onward to Opotiki, where we did some laundry and had a look around at the town centre. Then we found our campspot. There was a playground, which was nice. On the drive, we could see white Island just off the coast. White Island is an active stratovolcano and New Zealand’s most active cone volcano. It has been actively letting out gas for hundreds of years.

Click to read about White Island

In Opotiki, there were horses wandering in some of the parks. Apparently, many of the locals own horses and just let them wander around. We were constantly intrigued by the mindset of the people in this part of the country, in how they did things. It sparked a lot of conversation while driving.

One thing we were surprised by was the lack of freedom camping spots between here and Tokomaru Bay. There was essentially nothing for that long stretch. We had anticipated spending a lot longer in this area, but it really wasn’t possible to. The spots that were available were not always very nice. There was one place we quite liked, but there were behives in the corner of the paddock and lots of clover in the lawn; not a good combination with barefooted kiddos…

Pohutakawa Blossoms. We tasted the nectar and it was sweet!

December 9, 2020

Another thing we were surprised by was the lack of places to fill up our fresh water jugs between Gisborne and Whakatane, which is pretty much the entirety of the region known as east cape. If you want to spend a longer time in this area, you must have large water tanks with you. We would have been able to make our water stretch for about 10 days. This covered our drinking and cooking water. We would not have had enough if we stayed for the 26 days that our permit allowed. This information would have been really nice to know back in Gisborne.

In the morning we packed up and headed south on Highway 2 through the Waioeke Gorge. The views were beautiful. We continued until we were back in Gisborne. When we arrived, we realised we had a flat tyre and had to rush to get it fixed before shops closed, then we drove onward to the campsite we had previously enjoyed on Mahia Peninsula.

That evening, Darren helped another camper get into his vehicle after locking his keys inside. Then he went fishing with his spear and caught 10 flounder. We froze some, gave some away and ate some the next day.

December 10, 2020

In the morning, Darren tried fishing in the river again, while the kids and I played in the water. From Mahia, we drove south to Napier and settled in for the night. We essentially travelled in 3 days coming south what we took 3 weeks going north. It was a long three days, but I had an overwhelming sense to get back home and enjoy a bit of normality before starting work in January. We really enjoyed our adventure for how long we could do it though.

December 11, 2020

We did some errands that took most of the day in Hastings and then drove home to Palmerston North. It was very good to be home again. In the following days we did a lot of laundry, cleaning, and also picked the onions and garlic in our garden. It’s amazing how many weeds grow in 6 weeks…

For those who have been with me, reading from the beginning, thank you for coming along on the adventure with us!!

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Housebus Travels Part 10: Tolaga Bay

December 2, 2020

We hit the road early and drove past Paua beach and it’s many permanent campers and went to Loisels Beach at Waihau Bay. We were the only souls there, yet the campsite had 22 empty caravans parked there. It was a little weird. Kind of like a ghost town.

The beach was really quite nice, but no good for fishing, despite the picture of a man fishing there on our map. We thought it was a bit too shallow for fish. We stayed there for lunch, Darren and Boy had a swim and then I washed my hair in the sea. After that, we drove back out  and onward to Tolaga Bay.

At Tolaga Bay we had a look at the town and marveled at how such a tiny grocery store could have almost everything you would need. It had a general store feel to it. We bought some milk. Then we drove to the campsite and called it a night. We were almost the only ones there, and no campervans littering the lawn.

December 3, 2020

In the morning I did a lot of meal prep, then we packed a lunch and walked the 600 m out to the end of the warf. It was windy out there! But we managed to keep our hats… And our plates with only one mishap. Darren then tried fishing but sad to say, didn’t even get a bite.

The kids and I walked back to get some coats and met Darren back at the end, where we took some photos and then gathered up our things and went back to the bus. We drove to a little park so the kids could play. The town was quite friendly. Some kids gave Boy and Girl a lolly each. Girl fell and scraped her knee, but Darren saved the day by buying popsicles. Back at our camp site, we had dinner and then I did some laundry by hand before calling it a night.

December r 4, 2020

We just did some ‘housework’ today. I hung laundry in the sun, cooked and tidied up for the weekend. We lazed around our campsite and enjoyed the nice weather.

December 5, 2020

On this day I did some crafts in the morning with the kids and then after lunch we took a walk up to the top of the Tatarakahe Cliff walk, which was a short walk up to the top of the cliffs that line Tolaga Bay. At the top, we were surprised to notice how the cliffs decend almost as quickly on the other side. We had 360° views from the top except for a tree that was in the way. It was a short and steep climb, but we all did well. It was fun to spot our bus far below, and to look at all the things look so tiny.

December 6, 2020

I packed a lunch and we drove to the trailhead of the Cooks Cove walkway. Darren went fishing and the kids and I walked up steep farmland to a tall lookout over the Cove where Captain Cook came and restocked on firewood, water and food. It was one of the first places he visited on his first trip to New Zealand. The locals here were very friendly upon his arrival. After 6 days he continued around the coast of New Zealand.

This walk was really quite neat for me. Mostly because 8 years ago, plus just a few days, I did this walk as my first ever bush walk in New Zealand. Little did I know then, that I would come back and do it again with my then unborn children. Back then, I had thoughts of staying but really only dreamed of staying maybe 3 years. A couple months ago I recieved citizenship in New Zealand. I am really glad I was able to come back to this place.

After the lookout, the trail literally plunged down, down, down, into the bush, made of twisted and whimsical trees, until we came to the very bottom at near sea level and a short walk to Cook’s Cove. My phone didn’t charge the previous night, so I wasn’t able to get a photo of the kids in front of it… I’m really sad about that, but I’ve included a photo I found online. The kids had a realy good time. They ran and played on the down and flat parts, and didn’t complain much on the ups.

After climbing back up through the trees and back down the farmland, we met Darren at the bus. He didn’t catch any fish, but did see a ‘captain cooker’ down at the river. That is, a wild boar initially brought over by Captain Cook himself. Darren said it was unusually friendly, and we wondered if it was someone’s pet. After a short rest, we drove to Tokomaru Bay for the night. The kids played in the sand and Darren fished some more before bedtime, catching a small kahawai.

Cooks Cove. Click photo to see the original.

A ‘captain cooker’

December 7, 2020

We have had a lot of curveballs come to us this past week. We started our trip without an end date in mind. First, we decided to return home early January to get ready for my new job, then Darren got a phone call for an appointment we need to be back for just before Christmas, and then we talked with a lady that may have somewhere for us to stay while I work next year, and she needs to meet us before December 14. So, we’ve decided to accelerate our travels and head home by the end of the week. Because of this, we didn’t stay in Tokomaru Bay another night, but headed off to see the rest of East Cape.

Kawakawa Tree leaves and berries. Also is known as the Pepper Tree. Berries taste tropical, but full of small black seeds that taste like black pepper. Leaves can be used to make soothing lotions.

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Housebus Travels Part 9: Gisborne

November 26, 2020

After seeing the Mangaone cave, we drove close to Gisborne and parked just outside the Te Wherowhero lagoon near Muriwai. We released the few hermit crabs from the last beach and then settled in for the night.

November 27, 2020

In the morning be explored the lagoon. We found mostly snails and crabs. Boy enjoyed trying to scare the crabs out of their holes. We saw something splashing in the lagoon and we think it was a little shark. I also saw a few baby flounder about the size of a coin. Legend among the locals is that there are giant flounder in the area.

We pondered coming back to try catching a giant flounder, and then drove into Gisborne to take care of some errands. We checked out the Gisborne Botanical Gardens and in the evening we parked at a beach in Makorori. The weather was hot and the water was beautiful. Boy’s favourite thing is letting the waves splash into him. Girl’s least favourite thing is the waves getting her. So we did our best to cool off and then called it a day.

November 28, 2020

Today we went to church and had lunch there. It was nice to chat with people about our trip and hear a bit of advice from the locals. Then in the afternoon we went and took a walk in the Gray’s Bush Senic Reserve Reserve just outside of town.

A Puriri Tree hugging a Kahikatea Tree. A rare sight, as they have different prefered growing conditions.

For the evening we went back to the lagoon near Muriwai and Darren had a go looking for giant flounder. He didn’t see any flounder but did notice some shrimp as well as crabs swimming. He was surprised to see them actually swimming rather than just crawling on the sand in the water.

November 29, 2020

We ran errands all day, because after Gisborne there will be no large towns until we are around the east cape. We bought a permit that would allow us to stay on the campsites in the area for 26 days, so we expect to take our time and enjoy the cape. Since we are well stocked, I have decided to challenge myself to spend no money on groceries except milk and maybe eggs for the next 2 weeks.

When we finally left town, we traveled to Turihaua Beach. We settled in and saw a man burning a bonfire on the beach. We went to look at the fire and had a chat with the man. He told us that he used to live and work in Australia and how he had to come back to New Zealand when Covid happened. Along with his wife, he’s been living on the beach since then, in a tent and caravan and working in Gisborne. They are hoping to return to Australia when things open up.

November 30, 2020

We had a relaxed morning and afternoon, playing on the beach and fishing. There was a small lagoon with lots of baby fish swimming around. We saw flounder, eel and kahawai babies. A girl from another campsite came and played with the kids in the water. When it started raining I called the kids in and we all warmed up near the fire. For the rest of the day we read stories and played card games.

December 1, 2020

It pretty much rained all day. We did more of the same stuff inside. Near the end of the day we went for a drive and also switched campsites at the same location. On our drive we checked out the next two camping locations and noticed how many people were actually living there as permanent campers. We had a chat with the lady employed to check permits. She said while it’s legal, its a real problem, especially with the housing crisis in New Zealand. All those people will need to find somewhere else to go after summer when the permit rules change. It felt a bit like a makeshift, lowscale trailer park. We asked the lady if there were any sites that were a bit less like that and she told us of a few places she considered better.

We had very much been wanting to explore the east coast and east cape since we had never experienced this region of New Zealand. But we both feel that this will be our last time through this area. The beaches are beautiful, and the weather is warm but we felt that New Zealand could do a bit better than what we saw there and we prefer places that are actually free and where people don’t congregate. It didn’t feel entirely safe.

December 2, 2020

We packed up and drove to our next location.

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Housebus Travels Part 8: Mahia Peninsula

November 22, 2020

After we left Shine Falls, we drove to Wairoa where we parked on the beach for the night. We lit a fire and hung up all our laundry and it was dry before we packed up in the morning.

Some treasures from the beach

November 23, 2020

The Wairoa beach was quite wild and not that nice so we decided to top up on water and groceries and head to the Mahia Peninsula which is actually an island joined to the mainland by a tombolo. A tombolo is a sand isthmus, or joining piece that connects an island to the mainland. It first connected the island hundreds of years ago so there are estsblished communities and roads on the island.

Mahia is actually quite an upscale region and there were quite a lot of rules about camping there. So because of this, there were only a few places we could park overnight. We were hoping it would be different than that, but made the most of our time there anyway. The first place we explored was Blue Bay at the Opoutama Beach Reserve. Darren tried fishing but didn’t like how the weeds kept getting on his line, so after a bit of a play in the water and on the driftwood, we packed up and went to the other camp spot called Oraka Reserve.

Oraka Reserve is right next to an Estuary with mudflats, so that evening Darren took a light and his spear and went fishing for flounder. He came back an hour or so later with three fish! We were thrilled to finally have some success. If anyone is curious how I cooked the fish, I made a cauliflower curry recipe with some of it which can be found here: https://honestcooking.com/coconut-fish-curry-cauliflower-potatoes-recipe/

November 24, 2020

In the morning, Darren filleted the flounder. The kids found it enthralling to watch. Girl made sure to tell us, “The fish is not moving, and that is why it is dead”. We cooked up half of it for lunch ans saved the rest for later.

After filleting the flounder, we took a drive around to see where the roads on the peninsula would go. The Mahia West Coast Road went to a walking track but was only suitable for 2 tonne vehicles or under so we turned around. The Mahia East Coast Road went all the way out to the end of the Peninsula to Onenui Station where New Zealand has its very own rocket launching laboratory. The point it sits on sees the first sunrise of the world every morning. We were not allowed to go to the end, so we turned around and parked at the Whangawehi River mouth to eat lunch and had a poke around on the beach there. The views were great though. We also saw wild peacocks and turkeys.

At the rivermouth, Darren fished and the kids saw a stingray swimming, some jellyfish, and some fish. Darren managed to catch 3 kahawai that were worth keeping so that was exciting too! The little rockpools near the fishing spot had rock pool anenome that were fun to poke. Boy enjoyed poking them to make them suck their tentacles inside and below the sand and then watch as they slowly came out again.

Darren let Girl throw out the fishing line and she was surprised that she didn’t catch a fish in the first minute. She said, “I’m not good at fishing, I’m done.” and was off to go play again. Lol!

After fishing we went back to the Oraka Reserve for the night. Before bed, I did more laundry and we lit a fire to dry it over night.

November 25, 2020

We woke up to drizzly and windy and dreary weather. So, we relit the fire and did some cozy activities inside. When we were at Shine Falls Darren cut up and stored away an entire little Lusitanica tree he found that had already fallen down and dried out. This has been such a blessing despite the room it takes up. We are slowly working through it on days like this. We praise God for allowing us to find it.

Late morning we packed up and drove to Morere Hot Springs. We had lunch at the cafe and then spent 3 hours in the hot pools. Just before we decided to get out of the pools the staff said we had to leave because a tree had just fallen on one of their pipes. They offered us a refund, which meant we had a free afternoon, which was very relaxing. After showers we went back to Oraka Reserve for the evening.

November 26, 2020

So we could make the most of low tide, we headed to some rockpools. Boy and Girl went from pool to pool, looking into the water. We saw mostly seaweed and sea snails, but did manage to find a few other treasures.

We enjoyed picking up sea snails and watching them snap their shell doors shut over their bodies. We found one shell that had a translucent snail body with white stripes on it in a grey shell. It even was so brave to poke it’s head out for us so we could see it’s tiny eyes and eye stalks. We found a small red sea anemone, as well as a few hermit crabs.

Darren said he saw some sea urchins when he went farther out to throw out his fishing line. We didn’t sea any, but we did find some of their old and broken shells which were really pretty. I also enjoyed finding bits of broken glass and shell that had been smoothed by the sand.

Darren didn’t have any luck fishing, as the sea was quite wild due to the rain that fell the day before, so after a couple of hours, we went in and had a lunch made with the kahawai fish we caught the other day.

After lunch we packed up and left the peninsula. Not far away was the turn off to Mangaone Caves. It was a steep climb and then a gentle walk to get to the cave mouth. It was very muddy and wet inside, so we were only able to walk down to the bottom of the steps. However, it was still really neat to feel the damp, cool air and hear the water dripping from the cave roof. Girl was a little nervous about going into the dark, but she did great and both kids said they liked the cave.

On our way back to the main road we stopped to pick a bag full of lemons from a giant wild tree on the side of the road. They were the ugliest lemons we had ever seen, but they smelled and tasted great! Then we were off to the city of Gisborne.

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