March 18th 2025 – Far North Road, New Zealand

Taupō and Rotorua is the heartland of thermal activity in New Zealand. We paid Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland a visit as we made our way towards the Bay of Plenty. It was one of many places where we could have a closer look at bubbling mud, geysers and aromatic sulphur pools.
Later the same day we stopped to have lunch surrounded by the Redwoods of Whakarewarewa Forest followed by a long walk among the trees.
We managed to squeeze in a third walk that day. The last one was along the Okere river to the Falls by the same name. The world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall has lured in white water enthusiasts from around the world since 1990. We saw several rafts packed with soaked tourists arrive below the rapids.
There were also some very cool caves along the trail. The only way to get to them, when they were first discovered, was by abseiling down into the river canyon. Now a staircase, cut into the rock, has made the descent easier.

Our legs were tired when we arrived at Rex and Alyson’s charming villa near Matatā by the Bay of Plenty. Rex had invited us to come and stay with them. Their dog Willow didn’t wake until we stepped over her to enter the house and shake hands with Rex. She made up for her lack of guarding skills by excelling when Rex took her hunting.
There was venison on the menu that evening and like many passionate hunters Rex proved to be an excellent cook. We went to bed early that night as Rex had something special planned for us the next day.

It was still dark when Katrine and I got in the truck with Rex the following morning. My job was to open and close the gates as we made our way up into the hills on dirt roads and across pastures. The destination was a hilltop overlooking the ocean. While we waited for the sun to rise, Rex told us about the area’s interesting geography, flora and fauna.
It was a magnificent sight when the sun crested the horizon, painting the ocean and the sky a warm yellow. Our vantage point offered us a view of White Island 48 kilometers off the coast. The island is just the top of a very active submarine stratovolcano that rises 1.600 meters above the seafloor. Access to the privately owned island has been banned since 2019 when 22 were killed and more injured by an eruption.
The island marks the northern boundary of the Taupō Volcanic Zone that stretches 200 kilometers inland from where we watched the sunrise.

Rex treated us with egg and bacon when we got back to the house. He had plans for the day and asked Kat and me to entertain ourselves until late afternoon. He suggested that we paid Tauranga a visit, so that was what we did.
The coastal city’s most remarkable feature is Mount Maunganui, a 232 metre volcanic dome beside the eastern entrance to the harbour. We followed a trail to the top of the mount. From there we had a good view of the coast and the city.

We returned to Rex and Alyson’s place early enough to relax a bit before dinner. When the table had been cleared Rex took us in his buggy to a grove of avocado trees. It had been windy during the day so the ground beneath the trees was littered with ripe fruits. There would be avocado on the menu for the next couple of days.

Rex sent us off in the morning with another generous serving of bacon and egg – this time accompanied by avocado. It had been a pleasure to stay at the charming villa by the ocean, explore the area a bit and get to know Rex.
A scenic drive on small roads took us inland to Blue Spring – a spring fed, crystal clear river which supplies around 70 percent of New Zealand’s bottled water. We admired the river from Te Waihou Walkway that followed it for about 7 km.

We stuck to small country roads all the way to Hamilton where we had booked a room for the night. Our hosts were a charming young couple from India. In the evening I had a long talk with the guy while he was cooking dinner. He fed me with a lot of interesting info about India – a land that is slowly moving up on my list of places I want to visit.

The following day we only had a short day’s ride in front of us. From Hamilton we followed the road towards Raglan – a renowned surfer town on the west coast. With no intentions to challenge the waves we turned north before we got there. From then on we took the roads closest to the coast. It was an even mix of chipsealed and gravel roads.
A couple of places drew our attention along the way. First stop was Waikaretu Stream Waterfall. An overgrown forest trail led us to the remote waterfall. It has been dry for a long time in this part of NZ so the fall was only a trickle. It was still a cool place. We could walk behind the fall and look out through the water curtain.
Back in the car we passed Weathertop-Lookout, another cool filming location from LoTR.
Next stop was at Port Waikato to go for a walk in the hills by the ocean.

Our destination for the day was a result of another invitation. This time from Rex’ son Clinton and his wife Rose. They had recently moved from the city to a house in the country. 800 acres of land allowed Clinton to try his hands at farming. He enjoyed the challenge and took us on a tour of the property in his buggy. It was a really interesting piece of land cut through with ravines and rivers. The land was so rugged that it was sometimes a challenge to keep track of the livestock. At the moment about 100 sheep were unaccounted for. A few days earlier when Clinto had located a flock of lambs that had wandered off, he got the brilliant idea to herd them back with a drone. It went well until one of the lambs had enough of the buzzing little thing and head-butted it to the ground. It took Clinton a long time to climb down one of the ravines to recover it.
Their 3 young sons seemed to have adjusted well to the new lifestyle. Each one had a mx bike parked in the garage. It was a wonderful family that seemed to be on a good trajectory.
Katrine and I had been set up in their caravan for the night as Clinton’s mother (Rex’ ex) occupied the guest room. We are growing quite fond of staying in other people’s caravans.

At 8 o’clock the next morning everyone had left for work or school. Katrine and I stayed a bit longer to avoid Auckland’s rush hour traffic. We then dropped by Harker Reserve and walked to Vivian Falls. By the time we were done with that it was almost noon and traffic wasn’t an issue when we hit Auckland.
We stayed on the highway through the city and took the turnoff towards Whangaparāoa where we had booked a room at Big Manly Beach. I just knew that I would feel at home there.

We arrived early in the afternoon. The room we had booked turned out to be very nice, private and quiet.
Katrine needed a break from moving, doing stuff and meeting new people, so we extended our stay to 2 nights. The downtime allowed her to recalibrate and catch up on preparations for our return to Denmark.
I already have a job sorted. She is not that lucky, yet.
We still haven’t found a permanent place to stay when we get home either. We put some effort into solving that by sharing a post on social media asking for help. It has already resulted in some interesting responses that we are now following up on.
I also had a talk with a friend of mine back in Denmark. I needed him to check out a car for me. It would be very practical to have a set of wheels ready when we arrive in Denmark, as the first week, before I start working again, will be very busy and we need a car to get around from day one.

During the rest day I squeezed in a visit to the local weightlifting/Muay Thai gym. The owner greeted me when I arrived by saying that it was a serious place only for the hardcore so they didn’t do walk-ins or trials. I was about to leave when he added that I seemed to fit right in, so I could just work out for free. Gym people are often strange, but I usually fit right in… go figure.

Fully recharged and with a lot of things ticked off our to-do list we left Big Manly Beach and headed for the west coast. A scenic drive up the coast took us to Chris and Louise’s place in the backwoods of northern NZ. They had invited us to come and stay with them. It involved a fair bit of gravel roads to reach their house.
After a couple of cold beers Chris took us for a long walk with the dogs to where a landslide a few decades ago had destroyed the road that used to connect the communtity with the Hwy 15 to the east. It had made an already very rural area even more remote and the road connection was never reestablized.
Chris and Louise used to live in Auckland but moved to the area during Covid. She worked as a teacher at the small local school and he drove the school bus.
What had started out as a romantic dream about living out of the city had turned sour over time. The main reason being the social climate of the mainly Maori populated area. Dysfunctional families dominated the area. That combined with high, often violence-related, crime rates created an unpleasant atmosphere that made especially Louise feel unsafe. Some of her personal experiences, both privately and as a teacher, made it very understandable.
They had decided to return to the city and were in the process of making that happen sooner rather than later.
Despite the horror stories it was difficult not to like the beautiful area and it was an absolute privilege to spend time with and get to know both of them.

They sent us off in the morning with a solid breakfast and an open invite to return anytime. I really hope to have the opportunity to spend time with them again one day.

Just a short drive from their house Katrine and I stopped to go for a walk in Trounson Kauri Park. It’s the oldest forrest that have never been logged on the north island. Further up the coast we paid Tane Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree, a visit. It was very impressive – and so was the mullet of the young Māori that told stories and sang by the tree. The Kiwis much be world champions when it comes to mullets.

Eventually we got back on Hwy 1. The section between Umawera and Kaitaia is many one of the most tantalizing experiences I’ve ever had behind a steering wheel. The layout and surface of the road begged to be ridden on a motorcycle. I will have to come back on two wheels one day.
The last part of Hwy 1 is a dead end by the name Far North Road. It was on that road that we were going to spend the night.
In the morning I had book a room on Airbnb. The place looked special and was cheap but got raving reviews so I decided to give it a go. Right after I made the booking request I received this message:

WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU!!
How would you like to spend the Gazebo evening area of your stay!!
This Info helps with any daily setup & Gazebo evening preparation😅

A Quite Stay:🥱
Will be tired from travel plans, only looking for place to rest, No need to get fussy…

A Chill Stay:😊
Socialize little maybe some stagazzing with a brew & see how the evening progresses from there!! Happy with whatever’s going…

Or Gazebo Cool Vibe Evening:😍
Relax with loved ones a Beverage or smoke enjoying the stargazing, firepit, Music, laser & epic vibe with maybe a bit of fun dance floor rivalry or Karaoke!!
A Special occasion in mind??🙈🙉🙊

Thank you‼ Info helps a lot, Don’t be shy😜
You have 10mins to reply😎

Shane the owner greeted us when we arrived. He was in his mid 50s. In 2020, after spending most of his adult life as a DJ around the world, he had settled down with his Indonesian wife and their 2 kids. Back then the place had been an overgrown piece of land with a dilapidated house on it. He had restored the house and kept building. Now the land had been cleared and sported a handful of small buildings. There were a couple of cabins for accommodation and others with shared facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms. The hubb of the place was a bar/disco/lounge area called the Gazebo. Shane proudly told stories about how the place had become popular with all the famous people and that people from Hollywood swarmed the place. Just the other week, he had hosted the whole crew from Planet of The Apes.

The place was very cool and we had it all to ourselves. We decided to stay for 2 nights and spend the day between, exploring the northernmost part of the island, so today we visited Cape Reinga Lighthouse, Tapotupotu Beach and Giant Sand Dunes. The plan had initially been to travel north on 80 Miles Beach and back on Hwy 1, but the locals told us that the sand has been acting up for the last couple of weeks, resulting in people constantly getting stuck in their cars on the access roads to the beach. We decided against even trying.

This is a remote but very beautiful part of the country.