Is this the way to Ahipara?
The size of this incredible Kauri tree in front of me was mind-blowing. Tane Mahuta was a giant in a beautiful forest. I’m not sure how long I stayed just staring at him, trying to get some photos to do the size of him justice. I left feeling so privileged to have simply gazed upon the awesomeness that is known here as The King of the Forest.
Moving on led me through the rest of the Waipoua Kauri Forest where I took my time and enjoyed the road and the views, stopping in layby to let people pass or take in the incredible views at the Pakia Hill Lookout. I got out for a very wet walk at the Arai te Uru Nature Reserve, walking against the rain to the lookout on the Porihere Reef. I filmed what I thought was a whale for a while until I realized it was a rock, which only made me laugh out loud to my self on the walk back to Vandalf.
I stopped for coffee and maps at the Information center in Opononi, the staff were so excited for my journey and suggested I stayed in Ahipara and take the Hokianga vehicle ferry across from Rawene to Kohukohu but I was in a road trip mood so Vandalf and I carried on along the highway, going through Kaikohe, then up past Lake Omapere and turning off at Manamuka to drive through one of the most scenic drives so far. I even got a bit dramatic and cried a couple happy tears, which was probably because of the Howard Shore playlist too but I just had a window screen view of mountains, ocean and nature in front of me and it was nothing like I had ever seen before. I even messaged the family chat saying that I was having the best day of my adventure so far just from witnessing these views whilst driving.
Most of the drive was like this till we got onto some really interesting roads. At one point I pulled over to let a car pass and they stopped beside me. Again, I assumed I was going to get a telling off, but a beautiful Māori couple asked if I was alright and where I was heading, I don’t think they got many campervans through that area. I was in the Herekino Forest and chose an interesting road to get to Ahipara which I will always remember the name of, Runaruna Road. If I wasn’t in such a good mood, I would have been terrified. It was smaller than the dodgy road I’d done previously and the if I got distracted by the stunning views too much I’d have been over the cliff. I only came across one vehicle thankfully which was a school bus, so I took that as a good sign for the Transit. Part of the road further up was damaged from what looked like a landslide, so I hugged the hill going around that. I did stop a few times when the road got bigger and got some good shots of Vandalf on the road with the mountains behind him. I felt so at peace staring at that view, but since I was in the middle of nowhere and getting hungry, we carried on and finally made it to Ahipara.
I stopped to watch the sunset on the bay before going to the campsite, which was jaw droppingly beautiful. There was such a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the town, before I had even spent a night there, I added it to my list of places I’d want to live if I ever moved to New Zealand.
The campsite will always be one of my favourites. Run by a man and either his wife or mother, they didn’t seem to love their job, but it didn’t put me off the place. There was a woman there who was showing a group of girls around, turns out she didn’t work there but put-up campers there who worked for her at a farm and she recommended going up to the top of the site for the best sunrise views. She was right, though I missed the first 2 sunrises. I set up camp and the man next to me started talking to me without turning around and asking where I’d been before he realised, I wasn’t his wife. This is where I met my beautiful friends Bruce and Julianne, who were having a little holiday in their incredibly stylish caravan. We had dinner together one night and learnt all about each other, they were impressed with my walks and the fact I was out here alone travelling in my 30s. They had 3 daughters around my age, which you could tell because they seemed to genuinely care about me for the little time we spent together, though Julianne got my Facebook details and I’m happy to say they come back into my adventures further on.
Ahipara is the start of the 90-mile beach, which I probably walked 1.5 miles of. Though the walks along the beach and back through the tiny town to the campsite put some decent steps on my pedometer, I even did a walk where I got 10k steps in before midday and treated myself to the best full English I’ve ever had. One day I even did it just in flip flops. I sat in the sand and watched some riders go by on horses, and cars and quads coming by either starting or finishing their 90 mile beach journey. (I checked - campers aren’t allowed to drive on the beach, which Vandalf was probably grateful for). There was a couple camping next door to me who left before sunrise each morning to go surfing, according to the brochure I had on Ahipara, it was a perfect adrenaline junkie place, not somewhere to go to finish a book. Unless you’re Anna Beck, because I did finish a book!
From Ahipara I had planned to go up to Cape Reinga, right at the top! However, the next morning I noticed that flashing light on my dashboard again but this time it didn’t go away. After some googling, and speaking to dad, I called some garages and learnt a few things. I learnt that it was the glow plug light, and I learnt that not many garages like dealing with a 22-year-old ford transit. I got passed around a few places until finally speaking with a garage near Kerikeri that would book me in the next day for a diagnosis. Which meant delaying Cape Reinga and heading back over to the east whilst trying not to panic about what was wrong with Vandalf on the way.
