Bucket List – Day 4

The plan was to drive south from Kaitaia to Whangarei where our eldest grandson would join me.  We would then head further south, stopping briefly in Auckland to eventually reach Tongariro National Park.

It didn’t quite work out that way!

The trip to Whangarei was uneventful, being a reverse of the previous day.  With Carlin and his kit on board we headed south to Auckland.

Planning

If my memory is accurate I’ve previously mentioned I had removed my large backpack (rucksack) from storage and gone for several trial local walks in Perth.  Would I be able to carry the pack?  Eventually I decided not to take it. 

My reasons were:

• It’s more of a travelling pack than a pack for trail walking
• The pack is actually robust but heavy
• “Stuff” expands to meet the space available!  ie, I’d fill it with things that might be nice rather than staying with the essentials.

I decided to take one of my smaller day packs.  I have two and one has numerous loops and tie-down points.  I would use this pack for the walk and tie anything that wouldn’t fit inside onto the outside.  To achieve this I bought three $12 waterproof 3 litre ‘stuff sacks’ from the local  KMart and some tie down straps from the nearby Bunnings hardware store.

Weight was going to be critical and I opted to buy pre-prepared free-dried meals (dehydrated food) in NZ.  I would only have two sets of clothes during the walk.  One set to walk in and the second to sleep in.  As space was at a premium I took my very thin ALDI sleeping bag.  Whilst it packs down to a tiny bundle it isn’t particularly warm.  We would be walking around a snow covered mountain and to add additional warmth at night I would wear my merino wool base layer top and some thermal ‘long johns’.  Two pairs of thick merino/possum socks purchased in NZ would give me a walking and a sleeping pair.  Jan knitted me a woollen ‘beanie’ to keep my head warm whilst sleeping. 

During the day I would wear the thin long sleeved merino base layer, a thin fleece if it got cold and an outer rain jacket against rain or wind.  The bottom half would be a pair of long lycra skin tight shorts and synthetic shorts or long trousers; depending upon the weather.  

The actual walk would take six days.  By eating breakfast before starting and having dinner on our return I would only need to carry five breakfasts and dinners.  The daily lunch would be two small muesli bars.  Fluids would be weak black tea or water from the streams, which I would filter for the first four days. 

As the cooked meals would be freeze-dried food I would use my ‘Jetboil’ to heat the water and eat the reconstituted food directly from the bag using a spoon.  No washing up and minimal rubbish to carry out.

A small medical kit, blister pack, foil blanket and my Zoleo 2 way satellite communicator would be the safety kit.

The above meant I would need to buy the merino-possum socks and the ‘long johns’ in NZ.  Finding a retailer who both had the socks in stock and was located on our route to the mountain proved to be slightly difficult.  However eventually I identified an outdoor store in Silvia Park, Auckland.

After a two hour drive from Whangarei we crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge with the Sky Tower visible out the passenger window.

Silvia Park is in South Auckland.  There used to be a large NZ Army logistic centre here but it’s long gone, replaced by a large shopping complex.

   

Clothing and food purchased, we continued south.  More new road for me as the dual lane carriage way from Auckland now extends south of Hamilton.  Later that day it became obvious we wouldn’t reach Tongariro National Park today and we made a detour to Matamata to stay in a caravan park.

Bucket List – Day 3

Last night’s motorhome park was reasonably quiet.  Probably aided by the fact I had removed my hearing aids.

The morning was spent with family catching up on everything that was not covered during dinner the previous evening.  Eldest grandson, Carlin and I had a meeting to discuss our plans for the ‘Round the Mountain’ walk. 

In the afternoon I drove north to Kaitaia where my uncle and cousin live.  I’d already been warned that the main road north (State Highway 1 [SH1]) was closed due to numerous landslides in the Mangamuka Gorge after recent heavy rain.  The alternate route was SH10 which takes the east coast route.  It’s only slightly longer and is more scenic.

Our daughter had already warned me NZ roads were in dire condition and whilst I didn’t find them as bad as she had suggested, there were some long delays caused by road works.

One of a number of long queues caused by road works.

Eventually I reached Kaitaia where I phoned my cousin Adrienne and asked for directions to her home.

My Uncle Arthur is 91 and the last of my parents generation.  My Aunt passed away several years ago.  My cousin, Adrienne and her husband, Selwyn have moved into Arthur’s house to keep an eye on him.

The last time I can recall seeing Adrienne was shortly after I had returned from the UK with my parents and brother.  I would have been 10 and Adrienne about 4 years old.  She is now a grandmother!

Both she and Selwyn still work, although they plan to return at the end of the year.  In anticipation they recently bought an Australian made luxury caravan and 4WD Ute. 

The caravan has everything you would need for self-contained extended travelling, including a washing machine and microwave oven.

Arthur’s house is a traditional Kiwi home sitting on a corner quarter acre block

 

My arrival coincided with Selwyn preparing the evening meal.  Apparently Selwyn does all the cooking and unlike me; he is very good at it.  We conversed into the evening before I had to beg to head to bed as the jetlag was kicking in.

Tomorrow I head back south.

Bucket List – Day 2

First task for the day was to buy some supplies; primarily food and cleaning essentials.  There are two major supermarket chains in NZ. Pack n Save and Countdown.  The former was the closest and the obvious choice.  You can imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t find any savaloys in the store.  I’ve been waiting 30 years for kiwi savaloys and they didn’t have any.  Fortunately Countdown came to my rescue.

 

A large bag of 12.  However I won’t be able to eat any tonight as I’m having dinner with our daughter, son-in-law and five grandsons.  Tomorrow night isn’t looking much better.

The remainder of the day was spent shopping and wandering around Whangarei.

Initially I assumed this was an eastern orthodox church spire down near the town basin.  However it’s a tourist attraction.

The moorings in the town basin are obviously popular

The red ketch is our eldest grandsons newly purchased yacht. A steel hull built in Cornwall, UK in 1991.  Sailed to the Falkland Islands where it remained for 15 years before eventually arriving in NZ. 

The Town Basin has been redeveloped

The ‘Bridge of Canopies’.  It wasn’t here when we lived in Whangarei 30 years ago.

That evening I met everyone at Split Restaurant.  It’s ‘Split’ as in the Balkans.  Many Yugoslav's migrated to this part of NZ drawn by the hunt for gum (Amber) which was quite valuable. 

An enjoyable evening.

Five grandsons – Niko, Carlin, Giovan, me, Vittori & Mettaio

Niko and his partner Alarna

Mettaio (No4), Carlin (No1) and Giovan (No5)

Vittori (No3) with our daughter, Dale

Dale and our son-in-law, Aaron

The Bucket List

You may have been wondering why the blog hasn’t been updated for several weeks.  I’ve been away attempting to reduce the size of my ‘Bucket List’.  Unfortunately as quickly as I eliminate items on the list more get added.

I decided to return to the country of my birth for what may be a final visit.  There were three objectives.

• Catch up with family and friend
• Complete the ‘Ring of Fire’ walk around Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park; and
• See what changes have occurred over the last 30 years.

After looking for cheap flights I opted to book with Air NZ.  Past memories are of a quality airline and this time I found myself disappointed.   Yes, I did purchase a cheap fare opting to pay for an economy seat and one piece of hold baggage.  The fare would have substantially increased if I’d also chosen to pick my seat rather than have it allocated.  I also opted out of in flight meals.  The six hour flight departed Perth at 9PM arriving in Auckland at 6AM.  NZ is five hours ahead of Perth.

The check-in process was completed using a self-service kiosk.  Immigration was very similar.

Perth Departure Hall

 

My first flight in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Note the RAAF C17 behind the 787 in the top right.

The flight was uneventful.  I must have been one of the few on board not to have purchased a meal.  Clearing Customs and Immigration in Auckland was also uneventful.  Ag & Fish queried me about my boots after I had declared them on my arrivals card.  However they waved me through when I informed them they had last been worn in the UK back in 2016.

I had already decided rather than rent a car and use motels I work hire a motorhome.  The cheapest option was on of the small bright green JUCY vans.  My van would need to be self-contained as that would enable me to freedom camp at no cost.  After much online research I identified Wilderness Motorhomes as the best value for money and booked a two berth van.

    

It was very comfortable and I was pleased with my choice.

After collecting the van the first thing I did was to drive to the nearest BP service station and purchase four passes for the northern toll road.  This road didn’t exist when we lived in NZ and its construction has definitely reduced the time when driving north.

I’d had very little sleep on the aircraft and therefore carefully took my time driving north to Whangarei, my first destination.  Whangarei District Council encourages self-contained motorhome parking and I found a vacant park in the south of the city near the new lift bridge.

And so Day 1 ended