Kindley's Khristmas Krusade 2018/2019 Northern Safari Part 3

PART THREE- WHANGARURU BEACHFRONT CAMP

DAY 9 - Friday 4 January 2019

Not knowing quite how long it would take us to get to Whangaruru we roused ourselves early, emptied our grey water, fixed a fuse that stopped the electric windows on the cab working and said farewell to Matuauri Bay. It was always sad saying good bye to this little gem in the crown of Northland when we were camping here and it was just as hard in a Motorhome. 

Haere ra, Matauri Bay

We drove in to Keri Keri to stock up on a few bits and bobs, like produce and fuses to make electric windows work. On the way we had a HUGE truck and trailer come hurtling towards us on our side of the road. He was passing a tractor on his side. Luckily there was room for us to slow down and for him to just miss us - talk about scary! The rest of the trip was uneventful, even the twisty, hilly road in to Oakura and we arrived at Whangaruru about noon. The first thing that hit us was the MASSIVE, green camping sites. We had enough room for our motorhome, the boat and we could have put a large tent on the site too if we had wanted to. So we set about setting up by blowing up the boat, checking out the facilities, a bit of hand washing and generally just relaxed in to our new environs. The facilities, though a little on the old side, were immaculate. Really really well looked after and the camp kitchen was stocked with completely everything you could possibly need. Once the camp site was sorted we went for a walk along the 'road' to Owahini Beach. Vehicles just drive along Whangaruru Beach front then around a one lane concrete road to the next beach. On the walk around we passed some fabulous, real Kiwi baches and were delighted to see a family Fun Race Day in progress. Kiwi families, out at the beach together just having a ball.

As the heat of the day was hitting like nothing else we opted for a lazy afternoon reading and knitting and planning our gourmet, 'camping' meal of Fillet steak, barbequed in one piece with roast vegetables and an onion and red wine gravy - hey, just because you're camping doesn't mean you can't eat like kings!

Please note tablecloth - Oh yes, we have standards indeed!

To slightly compensate for the sumptuous meal we busted out the bikes after tea and headed around to Owahini Beach again. Then just for fun headed over the HUGE hill that separates Whangaruru from Oakura. Dave made it but this novice cyclist wimped out and walked most of it. At the top of the hill we were perplexed to see individual teenagers sitting on the road / footpath obviously not there as a group. It wasn't until we got closer that we realised they were making the most of finding some connectivity and were all on their phones. In Oakura we did a little reconnoitre to try and find the camp we had stayed at on our very first camping trip together back in 1978 only to find it had been sold and subdivided. Once again we battled the hill and once again Dave flew over it while I sort of limped over it. When we got back to the campground we ran in to some blasts from the past and found out that there were three families camping here that had all gone to Flanshaw Road Primary school. It was lovely to have a quick catch up with Ian and Wendy Pringle and to look forward to catching up with the Perrys and the Laws while we were here. After a late shower which was not that warm we headed to bed as we wanted to head out for a fish the next morning. 

DAY 10 - Saturday 5 January 2019

Being heaps closer to the beach made it much easier to launch the Little Beauty so we were fishing by 9:00 am. The water was like a mill pond and the sun was up. We tried a guzzillion different spots and while we did a fabulous job of feeding the younger generation we just could not catch a keeper. We DID catch the bottom, the anchor rope and a Kelpie - Doh! We discovered that I had been a little bit over zealous when I cleaned the boat and motor before we left Matauri Bay which meant some water had got in to the fuel. Coping with a hic-cupping motor we managed to limp our way back to the beach. While Dave sorted out the motor I went and caught up with the Laws and the Perrys. All three of these Flanshaw Road families have been coming to Whangaruru for years so it was great to catch up with them but also gain some local knowledge as well. When I got back to our campsite, Dave had sorted out the outboard AND set the rods ready to catch Piper the next morning.

The beach at Whangaruru is completely reliant on the tide and like the water, the possibility of a swim disappears at low tide. Luckily a quick walk over a rather scary hill brings you to Oakura beach which is swim-able whatever the tide. With the temperature of the water feeling friendlier we had a lovely swim and even managed to find an ice cream to eat on the trip back over the afore mentioned scary hill.

After dinner we went for another walk around to Owahini beach, passing a fisherman feeding one of the local, ever present Eagle Rays. When we got back to the Beast we could hear music and were delighted to find one of the regular campers, Sean, had set up his guitar, a microphone and amplifier on the grass in front of the beach ready for an open mike session. We were invited to join the concert so grabbed our sand chairs and some wine and settled down to listen to the most amazing impromptu concert. Sean was a member of a band in Auckland and could play and sing just about anything. He encouraged two young sisters from Pukekohe way to perform some of their original songs and some covers. Their harmonies were superb. He also introduced us to Maryanne Wren who did a brilliant rendition of "Valerie". She had a real Amy Winehouse quality to her voice and I am looking forward to her releasing some music on Spotify in May of this year. It was pure bliss just sitting there under the copious stars being entertained. We were also treated to the sight of the Russian Space Station burning up as it entered Earth's atmosphere. We finally hit the sack at about 11:00 pm having thoroughly enjoyed such a magical evening.

DAY 11 - Sunday 6 January 2019

Puriri Bay

We woke intending to head out for a spot of Piper fishing and to explore the bays on the other side of the harbour when we got a phone call from Laura. Well actually we got a message to say we had missed a call so I started climbing the scary hill to try and get some coverage. When I finally got through to her she said that she and Jono were going to head up to Whangaruru for the day. As they would not get to us until about lunchtime we still went fishing and got 1 Piper and one teeny weeny Snapper. As we did not want to catch any more juvenile Snapper we headed over to the other side of the bay to check out the DoC camping ground at Puriri bay. I can see why other motorhomers say nice things about it, a lovely beach with pretty good facilities.

Jono and Laura finally arrived and after a bite to eat and a wander around the camp we headed over the scary hill (in Jono's car this time so it wasn't that scary) for a swim at Oakura. The water was super cooling and as the air temperature was 33 degrees we stayed in for quite a while.

The Astons decided to join us for a roast lamb dinner. They enjoyed their day so much that they made enquiries about getting a site here for next Christmas knowing they would be camping with an 8 month old baby. Needless to say we quickly found out if there was a spare site for us for some of the time they were going to be here so we could be part of Sprat's first camping adventure. Laura and Jono left us at about 8:00 pm and we went for a walk on the beach to cool down as it was still very hot. Another brilliant day in paradise. Such an unbelievable run of summer weather!

DAY 12 - Monday 7 January 2019

Not wanting our one little Piper to have died in vain we headed out for one more attempt at catching dinner. Once again we tried all sorts of spots, all sorts of baits, all sorts of rigs but only got ONE keeper which we chose (or sort of chose) to return to the sea. On the way back in we checked out some of the smaller bays that you could only reach by boat. 

Knowing that we would not go out in the boat again we took Little Beauty to the big boat wash and gave her a really good rinsing so she could dry out completely before we deflated and stashed her back in the motorhome. With that accomplished we both had a very enjoyable play on the SUP board, gaining a little more confidence with it. The afternoon passed very pleasantly with a bottle of bubbles, a spot of lunch and an attempt at reading that was foiled by some particularly heavy eyelids.

With the Takacat deflated and back on board The Beast we headed over to Oakura at about 5:00 pm for a refreshing dip in the sea. After a yummy Green Basil Curry for dinner we went for another beach walk to cool off in the ocean breeze. Having been here for 4 nights we had cracked the optimum time to head for a late shower to ensure no queues and plenty of heat. 

DAY 13 - Tuesday 8 January 2019

The day started with a strong cup of coffee and another go at SUP boarding. Both of us saw 2 Eagle Rays while we were out there and we both had several goes on the board. It really is an ideal bay for SUP-ing. During one of my times on the SUP board Dave found a snorkel and mask that had been buried by incoming tides and only had the tip of the snorkel visible above the sand.

As the tide was heading out we cycled over to Oakura to have a bit of a look around some of the real estate  and to have a swim. I finally managed to conquer the scary hill on my bike. I'm not sure what was scarier, going up or coming down the other side.

After a very refreshing swim that was slightly spoiled by heaps of some kind of seaweed drifting in we headed back over the hill and cycled around to Owahini Beach heading right to the other end of the beach.  There was a rather over protective seagull by the rocks there and he kept harassing us when he thought we were even thinking of approaching the rocks. 

The rest of the afternoon passed with lots of reading and relaxing. Making use of the only bread rolls we could buy we had l-o-n-g hamburgers for dinner and spent the evening making sure The Beast was ship shape for the trip home.

DAY 14 - Wednesday 9 January 2019

All too soon it was time to say good bye to Whangaruru and all its beauty. We left with a heavy heart but knowing that we would be returning again in December. The trip home went well and apart from a short re-fuelling stop in Wellsford - to re-fuel us, not The Beast - was pretty much non stop.

For our very first extended trip away in our motorhome we know we had the most amazing weather - days and days of glorious sunshine. We were really happy with how all the systems worked on the motorhome, how well everything that we had added to the motorhome worked, how comfy the bed was, how easy the boat was to blow up and use and how well The Beast handled on the roads, even laden with everything we deemed vital for a successful holiday. In short this Northern Safari got a huge tick of approval and we can't wait to keep on exploring Godzown.