Exploring around Waipu while Banjo has a Service

Tuesday 16 September

Up with the lark, or more accurately the oyster catchers, as we had to get Banjo to Vanari for 8am to get her 10,000km service and some warranty work done.

We then had a lot of time to kill so set off exploring around the area.

First stop Marsden Cove, former home of our only oil refinery, for a walk on the beach where we met several dogs - including a bouncy, big Rhodesian ridgeback and two small oodles!

We googled the Waipu Caves Glow Worm tour which was quite pricey, then found a deal on BookMe so booked that and whizzed over there, checking out the Uretiti DOC camp on the way (keen to stop there on our way back south next week). The Milky Way Glow Worm tour was fascinating and we got to see these nasty carnivorous, aggressive, cannibalistic wee creatures with their beautiful bioluminescence up close, as well as explore the caves and see some fab stalactites & stalagmites.

Unlike Waitomo, we were able to get up close and personal with the glow worms - seeing their dribbly fishing lines and their blue, green glow just centimetres away. These caves are just part of a labyrinth of caves and tomos which are scattered throughout this valley, on private farmland - in fact the only private caves open to the public in NZ.

Our next port of call was Waipu and the Logan MacLean cafe for a coffee and a date scone then on to Waipu Cove to pick up the Waipu Coastal Walkway for a few kilometres.

We started by wading across the shallow stream then climbed the pathway, tracking along the top of the cliffs. The path was quite tricky in places but so rewarding - stunning views into bays worthy of the Mama Mia location shots, incredible pancake rocks and even three seals bathing and one snoozing at one of the points.

The Pancake Rocks are a distinct geological feature found only here and Punakaiki on the west coast of the South Island. Formed 35 to 25 million years ago when banks of seashells and dead marine organisms settled on the bottom of the sea and became cemented into the hard crystalline limestone and buried over the years. Under the influence of high pressure & compactions, small imperfections in the calcium carbonate aggregates into horizontal planes - "grain boundary diffusion".

After walking out to the point where the seals were frolicking in the sea below us, we sat on a rock and ate our lunch under a pohutukawa tree. As we got back, the stream had been swollen by the rising tide and it was more of a mid-calf high wade through it - no half-hearted stepping stone leaps this time!

By now it was about 2ish and they’d said the work on Banjo could take all day (ie 4/5pm finish) so we hit the windy road down to Mangawhai… and as we reached the outskirts of the town, the call came in to say Banjo was ready for collection - doh! A quick stop at Bennetts for their famous chocolate and marshmallows (raspberry was today's choice) then back along the main road to Ruakākā to pick up Banjo (and a few Vanari branded goodies!)

We hit SH1 north to the Bay of Islands (bumpy and lumpy as hell, neither Banjo nor us enjoyed the ride) and rolled into Paihia around 5ish. Our first choice spot (POP 48 Marsen on the waterfront in the centre of town) was too full to accommodate a big rig like ours so we went onto the RV park which was a grim shingled carpark with high fences and a locked chain link date, so we tried the Waitangi Holiday Park where we once camped in the Conway trailer tent in a storm! No luck - office was closed. So back to the Top 10 where Roman managed to squeeze us onto a double-site just before the office closed, as the place is built for small campers rather than big caravans!!!

Settled in for a well earned rest after a busy day - and had a smooch with campsite cat! 🩶