Whananaki

We hit the road on the 29th December, heading for Whananaki North. We travelled in convoy with Will & I following the Roes. Their big Toyota Surf with a bright green double kayak tied on top made them an easy target to follow! We were booked in for 3 nights at Motutara Farm. We had only rung up trying to book the previous night. It just happened that they had had some cancellations due to the absolutely awful weather forecast for the next few days, so could fit us in. What an amazing campsite! I couldn't recommend it highly enough. It was absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful beaches surrounded by gnarly old Pohutakawa trees. There was even a swing to keep a young boy occupied...

We had a wicked spot on Barren's Cliff where we could set up our two tents with nobody else really around us, and brilliant views down to the beaches.

We arrived early evening & set up our camp. It was raining when we put the Roe's tent up, so we had a go at putting it up underneath a tarpaulin. Luckily the weather had cleared up a bit when it was time for Will & I to put ours up. We managed to rig the tarp between the two tents to provide a shelter for cooking.

The next day was also wet, so we decided a trip to the Kauri Museum was in order. It was surprisingly good, we ended up spending ages there. We came home via Dargaville, where Will decided that if he was going to become a Kiwi, he had better buy himself a fishing rod!

We arrived back at camp to find our cooking shelter had come to grief...That big blue bulge in the middle of the pic was pretty much a bathtub's fill of water & the weight of it took the rest of the structure down with it.

That night we had a doozy of a storm. Full on thunder, lightning & torrential rain from about 2am to 6am (I know because I was pretty much awake for all of it, wondering if the tent was going to survive!). However, the next morning, New Years Eve day, was fantastic. Obviously the storm was just what was needed to clear the air.

The boys were up bright & early to go fishing. Rich gave Will a lesson on how to make up traces, then it was off to some nearby rocks. 

 I like the following sequence of pics, especially as you can see the wave on its way in the first pic.

The guys didn't manage to catch anything, but at least the rod got its first outing. Alexander on the other hand did find something...

That afternoon we went swimming. It was lovely & warm, but the surf was pretty brutal. Whilst it wasn't big, it was really powerful & would knock you off your feet. It was certainly exhilarating! It really was a beautiful day. We appreciated the sunshine & blue skies even more after our couple of damp days.

That night we had a few (very quiet & restrained) drinks & played some cards until it was time to see in 2012. The next day we headed further north to the Karikari Peninsula.