Cruising the Kauri Coast and Pizza at Paihia.

The road north out of Auckland was not intended to be a showcase of natural beauty, but we witnessed near vertical ranges festooned with conifers and tree ferns, with, oh yes - that's right, the ocean in the background. This place is mopping the floor with Australia visually without even trying. I'd like to think we have it over them with our sensible 60 and 80 km/hr zones however (none of this fufty or sivunty business).

Our child-filtered oaths of amazement continued as we entered the Kauri Coast proper, with the winding roads making their way through wilderness jam-packed with a ludicrous array of plants and trees, punctuated with pasture-land comprising largely of Kumara and cows.

We took a break at the Waipoua Kauri Forest, with the kids deciding it would be a great idea to race on ahead and inflict themselves on some quietly-spoken Northern European tourists. We kept catching up with one poor couple at every viewing point.


The larger Kauri specimens were appropriately impressive, although hard to capture on camera, without backing into Kiwi-infested undergrowth. The stand of trees (or is it just one) pictured is called the Four Sisters.




A little further on, we crested a hill and were confronted with the largest sand dune we had ever seen (which also comprised a section of the western coastline) marking the north-western most point of our trip. We then made our way east to Paihia and are, frankly, a little embarrassed by just how nice our accommodation is. We are able to see the waves gently breaking on the shore....from our bed! All caught up in Kiwi culture and traditional fare - we grabbed some Pizza from an Italian restaurant...