It had been a very cold night but looked like it was going to be another lovely day. After brekky we hit the road. On the way out of Whangarei we stopped at the New World supermarket for some provisions before heading to the coast. The scenery as usual was a lush and vibrant green with the most gorgeous hills and rolling countryside. The road was very twisty and wound it's way up and up. It wasn't long before we caught glimpses of the Pacific Ocean shimmering in the distance. We turned off when we saw a sign for the Gallery & Cafe at Helena Bay. The landscape here was very tropical. The gallery and shop were lovely with lots of interesting things including Maori and local art. After mooching around the shop we went to the adjoining cafe to get a coffee. We ended up ordering lunch as well as the menu was delectable and very tempting. We sat down with our coffees and enjoyed the view from the verandah over the hills and towards the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking. After lunch we went back in the shop and bought a few things including a lovely kiwi brooch for Jay. Once back in the camper van we continued along the twisty and winding road through the beautiful scenery. Every corner we turned was met with a WOW in unison coming from our lips. We passed lots of fields of cows and sheep and we had to stop at one point as some cute pigs were crossing the road. All the animals seemed happy here and we swear that one of the cows was smiling at us. The scenery here almost didn't look real. It was like the sort of green and hilly scenery that someone has made for a model railway. We stopped next at the Whangaruru Recreation Reserve at Bland Bay. It is a natural sheltered harbour. The water was very still and it was gorgeously serene here. There was a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite here in a beautiful location and it would have been lovely to have stayed here for the night if it hadn't been for the suspect looking people! We carried on from here to, Russell in the Bay of Islands, where we had planned to stay the night. We had a walk around Russell which is a lovely and quaint looking place with lots of cafes and little shops. It was Sunday and it was very busy. After this we drove to the camp site which was just a few kilometres outside Russell. The lady on reception was very friendly and told me that there were lots of birds here including the native kiwi bird. These birds we have been told are extremely difficult to see as they are nocturnal and very shy. I was told that it may be possible to spot one but we'd have to be very quiet and lucky. The camp site was almost empty and we got a good site on our own. Whilst we were setting up we were visited by a very cheeky bird. We discovered that it was a weka which is a flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. It seemed to take a shine to me and was scurrying about outside the camper and trying to get in! We also saw lots of ducks waddling about and some hens clucking by. The hens had been rescued from battery farms and it was wonderful to see them roaming and free. Later on we were visited by a very proud mummy duck and seven of the fluffiest and cutest little ducklings we have ever seen. Just before dark we went kiwi spotting. We had been told that the best place to spot them would be at the top end of the camp site so we ventured up there. We thought that we had struck lucky as we saw a dark little shape moving ahead. It wasn't a kiwi though. It was one of the cheeky weka birds who can easily be mistaken for kiwis. We heard bird noises and things rustling in the undergrowth but that was it. We retreated back to the camper van soon after as it was getting cold and we were being bitten to death by insects! We'll have to make do with our bubble wrapped Kenneth for now!