Waking up isn't half bad here!!

Ok.... Waking up itself not that nice but to wake up and to be able to open the camper van curtains and be staring at a waterfall no more than 100 metres away is absolutely stunning. 

We are at the Haruru falls in Northland, above Auckland. Surrounded by an area which is coveted in history and beauty.  But more about that later.....

After staying at the camp sight we finally managed to find the night before, we woke early and finally worked out how everything in the campervan worked before thanking our hosts again. We took a hand in hand stroll at the Whangarei Falls 2 minutes from the camp. They are not well advertised so we weren't expecting too much but wow.... AMAZING!! Neil decided to risk life and limb by getting as close to the base of the waterfall as possible whilst Sarah was more content to stand and watch and to perfect her Gollum impressions. A great start to the day!!

Neil then decided that we would take a somewhat unnecessary detour from the main road on our route North by accidentally driving an hour to the East to what turned out to be a little village that leads to nowhere but the sea. After following the same route back for another hour Sarah made sure that she was now lead navigator and we made progress in the right direction up towards the Bay of Islands.

The drive was magnificent, taking in the sea and the scenery and on arrival we booked an afternoon cruise out to explore the bay for about £45 each. That's right.... A 4 hour cruise on a boat to view one of the most beautiful places on Earth for 45 pounds. The tour was great.... Seeing dolphins and a whale and exploring the world famous hole in the rock. Because it was off peak season, we were on a boat with a capacity of 250 between only 10 of us. Made it really personal and also meant we were able to get some great photos of everything we saw.  The bay has LOADS of history as was where Europeans first landed and had battles with the Maori warriors. 

After the cruise was over we visited Waitangi, the location of the largest battle and ultimately where the treaty which formed New Zealand was signed and then popped in to a supermarket for some BBQ food then found the campsite immediately adjacent to the falls. What a day. What a view. BBQ and some southern hemisphere star gazing before bed. Beautiful. 

Hope you are all well. Hope you are all jealous. 

Love to all. Xxxx