Miranda and Waharau Regional Park

We woke to blue blue skies and it has been a hot sunny day! 

After a lazy start we drove up the road for about 20 km to the local regional park. In fact we drove considerably further as M didn’t believe the the sign for the entrance was correct. As a result we saw some beautiful coastline and a lot of problems with erosion. The road had been partially washed away in several places.

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Our walk took just over an hour and went up through native forest with occasional views down to the coast.

I love sunlight on the ferns

We saw some beautiful coral lichen too

This area is very special for migrating birds and we quickly called in at the Shorebird Centre on the way back.  Birds migrate to and from the Artic here.

The beach looked inviting so we stopped thinking we might sit and have a drink. But the shell sand was so white it was much too bright for us and we came back to the capmpsite.

Looking across the Firth of Thames to the Coromandel 

It was so hot we had to retreat to the shade to have a drink and lunch. The original plan was to have lunch out and we wandered out to the cafe next door, but we were not impressed, so we made some lunch here.  We are finishing off all the bits and pieces tonight, and will splash out on a meal tomorrow night!!

This afternoon we emptied all the cupboards and began to pack, it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.  There are lots of others doing their packing here too today!

The school choir have been practising on and off all day, they sound fantastic! We have really enjoyed listening to them.

Tomorrow we will deliver the van back and go to the Sudima Hotel at the airport, we may have time to go into the city, not sure yet. We leave Auckland at 9.0 am ish on Saturday to fly to Hanoi via Hong Kong which will be about 20hr travel with transfers etc.   After Sunday in Hanoi we are all going to Ang Bang Beach for a few days, near Hoi An. 

Signing off from NZ, hope you have enjoyed the trip!

Coromandel, Thames & Miranda Hot Springs Holiday Park

Whey hey!! This morning the sun came out.....and stayed out on and off until about 3.0pm

The first sign was shadows across the camping ground 

We drove west over the mountain range which divides peninsula to Coromandel town, not much there, a few old ‘frontier’ type buildings and a lot of cafes. 

Views from the lookout at the top of the Pass 

After a very nice coffee and date scone we turned south, heading towards Thames which is the main town and gateway to the Coromandel on the west of the peninsula. The road was hilly and twisty to begin with eventually dropping down to the coast then it is quite narrow and hugs the coast between the sea and the cliffs. There has been a lot of coastal erosion and there were road repairs and retaining wall strengthening for miles. There are lots of picnic places, but a many of them were occupied by the road work vehicles etc, but eventually we found one and stopped....to sit in the sun, read our books and have lunch!

We had a very quick shop in Thames then came along to the holiday park. It is what it says and has lots of facilities including a Hot Springs pool which I enjoyed. The water temperature is about 36C . I have done a load of laundry and will do some last minute things tomorrow, and also tomorrow we will,

 have to pack up. A small nightmare after living in a van for three weeks,! However in the morning we are planning to go up the coast a little way to a regional park for a walk.

There is a Maori school choir staying here, practising for a competition. They sound wonderful!!
Heavy showers this afternoon, but the forecast is good for tomorrow 

A quick snap whilst waiting for the signal man to change his sign from Stop to Slow ( they don’t say Go!)

Weather warm, sunny, then showery.

Total km: 115

 

Cathedral Cove and Matarangi Bay

After a nice quiet night we both slept in a bit! No rain hammering on the roof or waves pounding!

We left  just after 9.0am and  made our way to Tairua where there was a great stone and gemstone shop. We bought a couple of small stones but no gems unfortunately! After coffee and a quick trip to the public dump station, we drove up to Hahei and parked up to go to Cathedral Cove. We have never been before and as it is unlikely we will visit NZ again, we thought we should see this famous landmark. You have to park in the specified car park at Hahei and either walk all the way or get a shuttle bus to the start of the track. The bus is $5 pp and we did that as it is still 45 mins each way. The path is paved until the very last section when there are 142 steps down to the beach. The steps are good with a hand rail and non slip surface attached to them. 

We set off in the rain with waterproof jackets on, but it soon stopped and then we were really overdressed! I tied mine round my waist. It was warm and very humid and I was soon dripping, good acclimatisation for Vietnam next week maybe!! The walk goes down then up then down again mainly through the native bush forest, with a few interesting flowers on the way.

It was worth the walk to see this arch, even though it was not good weather for photos. There were a lot of people around considering it is out of the main holiday season and a poor day weatherwise, but I suppose, like us, they were going to go whatever the weather.

After some lunch in the van, in the car park, we set off north to Matarangi Bay via Whitianga . There is a freedom camping spot by the boat launch and it was lovely when we arrived. Just us and and couple of others, however we are now cheek by jowl with other campervans!!  This has never happened before and if we had arrived when some of these others did, we would have turned around and found somewhere else. It is an approved Council site but not for the numbers parked now, I think! We will see what happens when the Council come to check.....which they do! 

We made a decision this evening and we are booked into a v good holiday park on the Firth of Thames for the next two nights prior to handing back the van. So tomorrow we will drive across th Peninsula and South .

For those who don’t know, The Coromandel Peninsula is quite mountainous and the roads are hilly and twisting with lovely bays and small towns and villages in between.

Before we were invaded!

Weather: grey skies, we haven’t seen the top of a hill for almost a week. Damp!

Total km 120

Whangamata and Opoutere Beach

Better news today!! It really poured down for the first part of the night, then at 3.30am we were woken by a siren!! I got up, but there were no signs of anyone worrying except another couple camped near us. It turns out that it was the fire service call out siren, however if it had been a continuous blast it would have meant we were to evacuate as there might be a tsunami on the way....its good to know! 😉. Anyway when I eventually surfaced just before 8am I spied some blue sky out of the window, and M said the sun had been shining since 7.0am, a slight exaggeration, but a great improvement nevertheless.  The fridge is working again but all my milk had gone off, fortunately the site has a small shop so I was able to have my morning coffee with my breakfast after all.

Much better view this morning, lots of black swans on the mud flats 

The Athenree Hot Springs Holiday Park is an excellent site, spotlessly clean and well maintained and use of the hot pools is included in the site fee. The staff yesterday could not have been more helpful and this morning the owner called by with a couple of bookmarks and thanked us for coming! 

We left a bit after 10.0am having decided to drive up to the Coromandel with the idea that we would not go very far. We were back to hill, bends and native forest with the occasional splash of blue from Morning Glory twine-ing itself through the bushes. I forgot to say that yesterday we drove through kiwi growing and orchard country and we stopped to buy blueberries and strawberries. 

Good example of native bush 

We stopped a while in Whangamata, bought some great cookies to take for Orlo, all wholesome ingredients and no palm oil, so he will approve!! He has been learning about the effects of palm oil collection. Last time we were here in 2010 we were towed in by the AA and had to wait hours for a replacement Campervan, not so this time, thank goodness! We had a wander, a coffee and chat with the lady in the info centre, a quick look at t shirts, but didn’t buy one, then we were off on our way again. However we only drove 15 mins up the road and turned off to this delightful spot where we now plan to stay the rest of the day and overnight. We are on a small river mouth and apparently there is a lovely beach 700m walk away. After lunch we will go and explore.

SO FAR, IT HAS  NOT RAINED TODAY!!....finger crossed!

Later:

Slight drizzle now but it’s been fine today!! Low cloud, but we had a good walk through the forest and along the beach where we met two people!!

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Look carefully, not just footprints in the sand, there is a NZ Dotterel.

We saw several on the beach, they are protected.

 Once we got back I relaxed and sat and made some lace. It has been very warm 23-26C and humid but with shorts and sun top on I was comfortable.  The cicadas are in full ‘song’ we have heard them in all the coastal places we have visited on both islands.

We are staying on the Coromandel until Friday when we hand the van back, so will be taking it relatively easy for the next few days. Small mileages and some tourist-ing! 

Weather: much better than expected! Mainly dry! 

Total km 67.

NB 80km is 50 Miles

Ohiwa Harbour and Athenree Hot Springs

11th February 

Oh dear! The weather could be better, to put it mildly!

Yesterday we drove to Ohiwa, on the Bay of Plenty,  to visit Sandra Ball who Michael met on the riding trip in Mongolia last August. She made us very welcome at her ‘bach’ which looks out over the harbour. For those who don’t know a ‘bach’ is like a country cottage often quite rustic.  We took it easy stopping for coffee at Opotiki then stopping at a picnic spot on the beach for lunch and to catch up with emails, banking etc.  We had not had any comms for two days.

Once parked up at Sandra’s, which was quite a feat in itself, M and I went for a walk as Sandra was still out with her son, buying stuff for school. We had been in contact with her, so we knew it was the right house, this is trickier than you might think, with the post boxes being down on the roadside and no I.D on the gate. We had a lovely hours walk along the harbour side in between the showers. 

The day could not be described as fine!

After a cuppa and a chat we all decamped to a friends house to have dinner, Sandra cooking up a storm in Courtney and Jared’s kitchen. It was very interesting to hear about Sandra’s work as a District Nurse and Lead of a Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme, the local crime scene, the poverty situation amongst some communities, and Courtney’s work training teachers in a numeracy and literacy project.

Weather:  Damp to wet, occasional fine spell 

Total km 106

After another wettish night we set off  about 10.0am. It was wet!  The visibility was poor so we decided not to go via the Rotorua area but to stick to the Pacific Coast Highway, which we have been following since Napier. We drove through Whakatane and up to Tauranga. I had set the Google Maps for a supermarket on our route, however for the first time, it took us on a wild goose chase into a residential area to a dead end and a private road! I turned around, carefully, headed out and reset the map!!!  We got to the supermarket in a few minutes, back the way we had come and did our small shop. The fridge has not been functioning correctly and I had to throw the meat which was in the freezer. Not sure what the problem is and I have reset it this afternoon, according to the User Manual.

We drove to Athenree Hot Springs, we came here 8 years ago and remembered the great welcome and the hot pools. In 2010 we arrived after a very long drive in hot weather! Not so today! It was a stressful drive much of the time in pouring rain on a very busy road. However the welcome was still the same and the proprietor took a lot of care to find us a spot where we wouldn’t get bogged down and where we would not step out into a puddle. We took advantage of the hot pools, one is 35 ish degrees the other 39-40 degrees. Bliss! The water comes from a borehole and the pools are emptied, cleaned and refilled every night. We arrived about 2.30pm and as I write this at 9.15pm there have been just  a few short spells of dry weather. A big depression in the Pacific and a cyclone which has hit Samoa and Tonga are responsible for the all the rain! 

Good night from rather a wet NZ, no respite expected until Tuesday.

Weather.....think you know!

Total km 203

Maraehau Bay

9th February 

What a night! It rained all night and when it woke me I saw the fridge display flashing, thinking the gas had blown out I reset it, but on the third time I switched it off suspecting that the gas had run out. I was correct and this morning, in the rain, Michael had to change to the bbq/emergency gas bottle before we could have our morning cuppa.

After breakfast we packed up and set off down the road to look at an old wharf, and ruins of a freezing factory.

The view of the old wharf!!!

Then we were back up the road to the village where we were able to swap our gas bottle at the village store. Whilst waiting I was  interested to see that all the signs in the shop were in the Maori language, not one in English! 

We left Tokomaru at circa 9.45 to drive up and down over the mass of land that is the Eastland/East Cape, from the east coast to the north coast. We arrived in Te Aroroa at 11.0 ish and made ourselves a coffee. The road to the East Cape lighthouse leaves from here and we set off following the ‘road’ round the cliffs. However it soon deteriorated into a muddy gravel road. We had seen warning signs about forest harvesting and I had visions of meeting a huge logging  truck, as we had seen them again this morning. We turned around at the first suitable spot, it was still raining and the cloud was well down, so there didn’t seem much point in driving 20km out to the lighthouse and 20km back. However the short foray resulted in a photo of a road sign we have not seen before.

We carried on round to Hicks Bay where, apparently there is another ruined wharf, but we didn’t find that one!! At one time this area must have been a hive of industry working for the export of produce from the local farms/stations. 

We drove onto to Waihau Bay where we made our lunch. It was raining again by this time having stopped for three quarters of an hour between 12.30 and 1.15!!

The first Maori canoes landed close to here in 1350 and we very much feel that we are in Maori country.  The settlements are small with a cluster of houses on a few streets with a village shop. Some villages have a school.

Lunchtime was decision time....how far to go today.....and we decided to drive a further 20km to Maraehau Bay campsite which has a good reputation for location.

On the way we stopped to look at a historic church, of which there are quite a few in this area, it was prominently located on a piece of land jutting out toward the sea and was beautifully maintained.

We arrived at the campsite at around 2.30, it is a lovely spot, but expensive for very basic facilities. Michael had a quick swim in the sea and a dip in the river at the side of the beach, I read my book!

We really have been in the wilds for the last two days, no cellphone and no Wi-fi, which wouldn’t matter except that I planned to call our host for tomorrow! Hopefully we will pick up a signal fairly early in the mrong morning to make the arrangements!

Weathers: wet, max temp 17C

Total km 178

This is the second time I have written this blog I am still struggling with this ActivePro blogging app!! 

Napier, Mahia Bay (Opoutama Beach),Tokomaru Bay

8th February 

After a good night at the Clifton Beach we drove into Napier on a chilly wet morning. 13C, I needed two thin sweaters and my rain jacket, apparently Napier is often the hottest place in the country, not yesterday!! 

On February 3rd 1929 a big earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed much of Napier and it was rebuilt. Therefore the city is full of Art Deco buildings, unfortunately many facades have been ruined by modern canopies, but if you look above them the original buildings can be seen. We warmed up with a coffee and visited the cathedral which has  a chancel dedicated to the first Maori Anglican Bishop. It is decorated with traditional woven panels and all the woodwork has Maori carving. The stained glass windows are wonderful too.

 I fancied doing a bit of shopping, or window shopping, but it is impossible with Michael! I bought some flip flops (jandals here!) for use in and out of the van and that was it!!

We wasted quite a bit of time finding the Mitre 10 store to buy a hose clip fitting for a screw tap. We have not been supplied with one  and our hose won’t fit onto the public potable water taps without it. Job done for $5 [£2.50]. We also wanted some bread and eventually found a New World, but I couldn’t park so we went to a bakery back down the road and bought sausage rolls and a small quiche for lunch. The sausage rolls were really good!

We then set off again first of all driving along the coast then the road goes inland up and down through very hilly countryside. We met a lot of huge logging trucks take very large pieces of timber out.

The weather continued to be wet, we stopped at Lake Titirangi for our lunch where an obliging black swan posed for me!

One very interesting feature of the drive was the Mohaka River Gorge which had a huge railway viaduct over it. The countryside was amazing, lots of lumpy bumpy hills, then forest, then coastline.  The farms on the lower land were either sheep or dairy, with grass or maize being grown.We turned off the main road down to Mahia Bay where there was a council run freedom campsite on the beach, another wonderful location.

These council approved freedom camping sites are a new phenomenon since our last visit. They have limited spaces and usually a toilet block. The loos here were spotless as they were at Clifton Beach. There were a few other campers there, but we were all well spread out so that was fine. The rain had stopped by the time we got there and we had a walk along the beach to blow away the cobwebs.

Weather: wet, damp, grey!

Total km 194

Today we left at about 9.0am and drove an hour and half to Gisborne. First of all we visited the I-Site to buy a permit to camp up along the coast. Then we did a short shop in Pak n Save, had coffee, M went to a liquor store for some gin, we filled up with diesel and set off again.

The driving was very similar to yesterday but with fewer steep hills and more coastal scenery. This coastline is spectacular with big headlands then dropping down to bays with the surf rolling in. More logging trucks today, we still haven’t  found where they are coming from, there must be a large clear felling operation going on somewhere.  The forests are huge, pine for commercial use, with deciduous trees on the forest edges. I am sure most of you won’t believe that agapanthus grow wild here, they originate from garden escapees and I think they are branded as a noxious weed, but I think they look wonderful lining the roadsides. I always think that you haven’t seen tree ferns until you come to this country, but you haven’t seen agapanthus either!!

Sorry they are not all quite in focus

We stopped for lunch at Tolaga Bay which has a wharf 660ft long. It was built between 1925-29  to allow produce from this area to be shipped out more easily. What is now a small village was once the largest port on the east coast. The port declined due to the Depression and WW2, and it became more economic to shift freight by road.

After lunch we walked out over the headland on the Cooks Cove Walkway to a lookout to a Cove this Captain Cook visited for 6 days during his circumnavigation of NZ.  The first European landing was just south of here in Poverty Bay in1769 by Cook on his ship Endeavour. Our walk took us about an hour, we could have gone down to the bay, but that would have entailed going down to sea level, then back up again. I decided my knees wouldn’t like that, we had already done a steep climb to reach the lookout.

View from the lookout

Another 30min drive took us to our planned destination for the night, Tokomaru Bay, and here we are, another beach, another campsite! The only slight problem is that it is raining!

As ever Michael is optimistic that it is “brightening up”. I am not so sure! We have got very limited cellphone or Wi-fi here, so no forecast, whatever will be, will be!
We have made contact with Sandra Ball who was a guest on the Mongolia riding trip Michael did last summer, she lives near Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty and we are heading to see her on Saturday once we have rounded the East Cape tomorrow.

By the way my leg and ankle are normal size now and the bites are greatly reduced.

Weather: Mainly dry with the odd shower, grey skies. The temp didn’t get above 17C

Total km: 175

Hawke’s Bay

Waitangi Day 6th February.

Today is a public holiday in recognition of the signing of the Waitangi Treaty. 

After a lazy start we were still away by 9.45am. There has been some rain in the night and the morning was showery. We drove along the SH2 passing through a range of farmland, mainly grassland and large herds of cattle to begin with, then huge fields of maize and finally when we got to Hawke’s Bay, fruit orchards and vineyards.  The first half an hour or so driving was tricky due to high winds.

We stopped in Waipukurau to do some shopping and have a coffee, the natives were very friendly and suggested I park across 4 spaces rather than into one space and  sticking out because of our length. I was twice congratulated on my driving of  this beast!  We also filled up with even cheaper diesel, so we are all set for a few days. We decided to have an easy day and headed for beach site east of Hastings arriving at  about 1.30. After a beer and some lunch we walked along the beach for some way, I went paddling and inadvertently took a dip, as I was swamped by a wave, however I was wearing my swim costume, just hadn’t taken the plunge to go in! Nature did it for me!!

Gulls waiting patiently as I ate my lunch

Looking towards Cape Kidnappers

Tomorrow we will go to Napier and have a good look round then drive further north to find a campsite. Napier appears not to welcome campers!

Weather: Mixed, showery at first high winds, then sunny and settled and then strong southerly winds in the afternoon.

Total km 191, better roads so easier to make progress!

Waikawa, Ferry to Wellington & Eketahuna

5th February 

Yesterday we left Elaine Bay at 9.15 and it took an hour and quarter to drive the 39km (25miles) out to the main road, not an hour as I thought. We drove along to Havelock, stopping at a lookout for a walk on the way. The day began with very slight drizzle and cloud, but the sea was still a pale turquoise.

Whilst having coffee in Havelock we got chatting to a Kiwi couple from Nelson. We learned that the storm on Friday had caused severe landslides and road washouts on the West Coast and the the centre of Greymouth had been severely affected. Apparently Gentle Annies got off lightly, but we were glad we had taken the decision to move inland. Hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight on the West Coast road.

After leaving Havelock we took the scenic route to Picton along the Queen Charlotte Drive, although it is twisty and hilly it is not to be missed, eventually we found ourselves descending the hill into Picton. It was a tricky drive through Picton as we had to cross traffic coming off a ferry, but we got through and along to Waikawa Bay Holiday Park, where we booked in for one night. This site has a lot of holiday cabins and quite a number of semi permanent caravans but we got into quite a private corner and settled in sitting out with a beer in the sunshine. After lunch we walked down to the marina and thought of our sailing friends.

Weather: varied, drizzle, cloud, then warm and sunny with a breeze.

Total km

This morning we were up early to prepare to the ferry crossing, much too early in fact! We completed the waste water etc dumping, filled up with fresh water in 15 minutes, so we parked up at the side of the road for quite a while before driving to check in in Picton. The ferry is full but we were on fairly early and are parked on the bottom deck close to the ramp doors so hopefully we will be off early too. The sailing is 3.5 hours and for the first 1hour 10 minutes we were sailing through the Sounds before meeting the open sea. The views were beautifu and we saw dolphins!

Leaving Picton

In the Cook Strait, 

Once we got into the Strait there was quite a swell and very strong winds, however the ship did not roll at all and Michael was able to eat some lunch and have a beer or two! It got even rougher approaching Wellington. We were sailing into the wind so the voyage was slightly longer than usual, and we docked in Wellington just before 3.0pm.

Approaching Wellington, taken through a window!

We were off the boat at 3.0pm and soon into the city traffic, however the route was well marked and the first 20 minutes or so were on dual carriageway or a  three lane road We drove over one serious mountain pass, the Rimutaka I think, the summit of the pass being 725m (circa 2,400’). Also through very horsey country, studs, stables etc. We just kept rolling along, pulling over to let vehicles pass as necessary, as I wanted to get as far as possible this afternoon . At 5.20pm we pulled into a delightful campsite at Eketahuna. It has excellent reviews on CamperMate and first impressions are that they are correct. We got a very friendly welcome and it is cheap!! Powered sites 9NZD, non powered 7NZD. We went for non powered in a quiet spot on th edge of the field. Showers are included in the price. There are some families here presumably taking advantage of the public holiday tomorrow for Waitangi Day.

,

Had a quick cuppa, then it was gin o’clock! 😉👍

A sign just outside the campsite said Kiwi Country, it would be great to see one.".......

Heading for Napier tomorrow.

Weather! Sun,wind, cloud and the odd very light shower 

Total km 144

Elaine Bay Pelorus Sounds, Marlborough

3rd February 

Leaving Cable Bay

Yesterday we left Cable Bay about 9.15 and drove back to Nelson to do a supermarket shop. It was a week since we picked up the van and did a big shop and we were planning to go out into the Sounds for a couple of days. We found New World and stocked up. We were given a tourist clubcard for this supermarket in Christchurch so can make use of  the deals and get a discount, plus they give Mobil petrol discount vouchers with every spend, according to the amount spent. Unfortunately the local Mobil station had run out of diesel so we had to pay full price somewhere else, but it is very cheap at around 80p/litre. We also called at a pharmacy for advice about my sandfly bites, of which more later.

We set off mid morning but unfortunately I missed a turning so we end up going back towards Richmond along he Coast road which had suffered the storm surge the day before. There was a lot of clearing up going on and quite a build up of traffic.

Eventually we were able to turn back in the right direction, driving through Nelson once again and out onto the open road. There was a very big hill to negotiate, lots of bends, quite a bit of traffic including a few trucks. We stopped at Mt Richmond Estate Forest Motel and Cafe for a break a very nice spot. At around 1.0pm we turned off onto the road for Elaine Bay which was our planned destination. The distance is 25 miles and it took almost 1 hour. The road is two lanes most of the way but very very twisty, up and down and round and about! Along the way there were beautiful views of the Sounds with turquoise blue sea, but few opportunities to stop for photos. We pulled into the DOC campsite in the Bay at around 2.0pm by which time M was feeling quite carsick. 

The weather was blustery with sun and cloud and cooler than previous days, but still warm enough to sit outside with a restorative beer and then our lunch.

 

View on the drive in

We spent a lazy afternoon and evening, Michael went for a walk and I read my book

  

Evening view from the van

Today we woke to more blue sky, but strong winds funnelling up the bay, which has continued on and off all day. We did some domestic chores the set  to walk to Piwakawaka Bay, 1.5 hrs round trip. The path goes up and down round a forested headland, through beech forest with an under storey of tree ferns many 20’ or so high. When we reached the Bay the tide was fully in, so the little sandy beach we remembered was covered, nevertheless M had to have a ‘dip’!!

When we got back to the van we realised just how high the tides are at present, the jetty was under water!

By the way the boat anchored in the bay is to do with the aquaculture business. Green lipped mussels are cultivated in these sounds.

I had a very lazy afternoon, sleeping then making lace whilst M went for another walk.

A beautiful view from the van this evening, but the wind has turned chilly. In fact last night we turned the heating on for about half an hour before we went to bed. 

Weather: dry! Sun, cloud, windy

Total km including detour 122

Sandflies!!!!..... are silent and deadly. They are the scourge of the the 

West Coast and unfortunately they like me!!  I was unprepared when we camped by the river last Sunday and a rather large monster bit me just above the ankle. In the main sandflies fly low, they bite at dusk or on cloudy days. They don’t like sun or wind. They are tiny and you don’t know you have been bitten until about 12 hours later when the bite starts to swell and itch.  I have several bites on my left foot and leg and unfortunately I react badly to them coming out in blisters and bruising. My left ankle and leg below the knee has been quite swollen and I took some anti inflammatorie is to alleviate the situation . The pharmacist I saw agreed with my course of action and I have been trying to sit with my foot up when possible. Thankfully today they seem to have settled, although my foot is covered with sting relief plasters and blister plasters. I have got a few bites on my arms too, but they are not so bad.

Yes, I know what everyone is thinking.....use a repellent......and I have, along with Avon Skin So Soft......and I have worn long trousers and socks in the evening. Interestingly whilst Scottish midges are deterred by light coloured clothing, sandflies go to the light, so dark leggings and black socks seem to be the best option here. I am relieved to say that there don’t seem to be any sandflies here, but maybe the wind is keeping them away. 

Tomorrow we will stay near Piction in preparation for the ferry crossing on Monday. There are no sandflies on North Island!!