Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 4

Third day on the road trip... Hannah felt we were behind a bit so we decided to drive straight down to the Waitomo caves. We would be spending most of the time on the road. We had morning breakfast next to a stream and introduced Grace to Tim Tams  Hannah also showed her how to properly eat a Tim Tam with coffee.

Food to introduce to Grace - Tim Tams ✓

We did a quick stop at the Kauri Museum to get some souvenirs, and off we go! We stopped at Puhoi to show Grace  the historic Bohemian pub/cafe, and have a quick beer. Then, we headed for Auckland city for Grace to change currency, and then we had Nandos chicken at Sylvia Park Shopping Mall.

Food to introduce to Grace - Nandos Chicken ✓

Finally, we arrived at Waitomo caves at about 6pm in the evening. As sun is sets around 9.30pm during the summer, we had plenty of time to explore the area in daylight. We also decided we would be coming back here after nightfall to look at the glow worms.

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 3

Day 2 of the road trip... time to hit the road again, and this time Jon Bon Jovi! One of the perks of travelling together for days is that we would soon realize that we all love Bon Jovi and his cheesiness, and how great it was to sing at the top of your lungs to "Bad Medicine" even though we might miss most of the lyrics, and are basically tone deaf...

I had a craving for spicy food the moment I woke up. Thus, we went to Noodle Canteen to get Laksa and Tom Yam Noodle for breakfast! However, being on the road meant we get to eat breakfast anywhere we want, and there is no better place than having breakfast at the base of the Whangarei Falls. It wasn't the tallest waterfall or anything, but it was a great place for out breakfast. And we got to introduce Laksa to Grace.

Food to introduce to Grace - Laksa ✓

After the great breakfast, we were on the road again... we followed the Twin Coast Discovery route up the east coast, drove pass Keri Keri to Doubtless Bay where we had lunch. Doubtless Bay got its name after Captain Cook landed there after being lost at sea for a while, and said "This is doubtless a bay". . . that's why the ridiculous name! :)

After lunch, again we were on our way... this time heading south again, and with Grace behind the driver's wheel! She was going to drive the whole SH12 to the Hokianga Habour where we would take the ferry to cross the river. Grace is a great driver, but the narrow winding roads, the right-handed rules definitely make for some fun times :) Hannah and my face tells the whole story! :P

The ferry trip across the river only took 15mins, cut over an hour from our driving time, and due to some confusion, we got to ride for FREE! On our way to the Kauri trees reserve we stopped by a jetty which has a beautiful view. It is the typical view of the west coast which features rocky coasts, huge waves, strong winds etc.

The sisters were constantly trying to look taller than one another

While driving to the Kauri forest reserve, we took numerous...maybe TOO MANY pictures of mountains, trees ... most of it out-of-focus, or trees blocking etc. The Kauri trees reserve (Waipoua) was indeed as beautiful as described in the travel books. These trees are thousands of years old, and they are so big that we can fit our van into it! The pictures do not at all accurately capture how HUGE these trees were. We spent the night at a campground in the kauri park.

Tane mahuta - the god of the forest

Two sisters in front of the Four sisters - four joined kauri trees

Total distance drove so far - 554 km (344 miles)

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 2

Today was the first day of our road trip. We meant to start as early as possible but staying up late for small New Year's Eve celebration and Grace's jetlag made it impossible for us to wake up any earlier than 8am. Thus, we postponed the car ferry to Auckland city to 9am. Grace really enjoyed the whole experience of the car ferry. First stop was to drop off Jet and Lilith at our friend Pras's house. They would be staying there for the next 8 days.

Although the road trip was only loosely planned (like any good road trip should be!), our intention for the first few days was to drive up the east coast of NZ to Northland, stopping to enjoy the beautiful beaches along the way, then head back down the west coast, taking time to visit the world's largest Kauri trees. After that we planed to do south of Auckland, including Waitomo (glowworm caves!), Mt Taranaki (Fuji stand-in!), Wellington (Weta workshop!), MAYBE the Tongariro Crossing (hi mom!),  and just slowly make our way back to Auckland.

General tiredness from the New Year's eve made it hard for us to move fast. We stopped by Manuka city to shop for some last minute essentials, had a quick cup of coffee, and in my case, a huge bowl of Wonton noodle soup, and with some" Born to be wild" blasting, we finally hit the road for our (un)expected adventure.

Driving up the east coast of NZ, we resisted stopping too often to enjoy the beautiful sandy shoreline to make up for lost time. We reached Leigh, and had a quick stop to enjoy the view, take a pictures, and let Grace soaked her feet in the warm waters of the Hauraki Gulf. Off we headed to Mangawhai Heads.... we had wanted to stop there but the holiday crowds were just too crazy. We decided to move on to Waipu to enjoy the view without the hassle of the crowds.

It was a long day of driving, and we decided to camp at Bream Bay, which is a mile long beach with a huge oil refinery at the end of the beach. It was a great place for a walk on the beach after dinner. It was a bit to dark to take pictures of the beautiful views, so as Hannah cooked dinner (pickled mustard Taiwan-style ramen noodles!), we decided to wake up and drink our coffee on the beach. We had an early night knowing that tomorrow we would have an even longer drive to the Kauri forest reserve. Hannah woke up early and dragged Grace out of bed (kicking and moaning) to watch the sun rise, but like a dolt she forgot to take pictures. Oh well, they will have the memories. Sonny was too lazy/smart to follow them. We all quickly drank our coffee and continued the drive north.

Fresh and ready to go!

Grace on the car ferry

The fold-out table was pretty handy!

Hannah grabs the beer

Sonny needs a beer after so many hours with two sisters

Hannah and Grace cooking dinner