Day 15 Ahipara, Wairere Boulders & Paihia

I don’t know if I my body is going to be able to handle the shock.  For the second day in a row we are up and on the road by 8AM.  Amazing.

We had originally planned to drive down near Shipwreck Beach and hike up to the highest point in the area.  We had been told we would be able to see the entirety of Ninety Mile Beach from this lofty perch.  However it was still very overcast with some fog so we decided just to carry on.

Our final destination is Paihia but first we wanted to stop at Horeke to hike in Wairere Boulders Nature Park.   We were pleased it had cleared up by the time we got to the park, in fact with the sun out from behind the clouds it was getting quite warm.

Wairere Boulders Park is quite a spectacle it is the only know basalt boulder valley in the world and the rocks are around 2 ½ million years old.

One interesting feature of the rocks is the fluting you will see on many of the rocks.  First, it is very unusual to see on basalt rock due to its density and second it is the only place in the world that you can see basalt rock so heavily fluted.  It is believed the erosion (fluting) was caused by rain accumulating acid as it dripped through the Kauri tree canopy and then onto the rocks below.

Erosion or Fluting of Basalt Boulders



Another Example of Fluting



No Fluting, well maybe a little.

It is almost a magical place to visit as you walk in amongst the boulders.  At times I had to remove my pack to get under and through some of them.  We spend about 2 ½ hours in the park as we climbed up the highest point where there is a platform for viewing.  It was a good morning.



View from Platform





View from Platform



Also in the park we saw Silver Ferns growing wild.   A Silver Fern is the national emblem for New Zealand and you will see it on all of their sports teams, the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Team for example.  The top side of the fern is green, it is the underside that is silver and it takes 2 years for it to turn silver.



Silver Fern

We also came across a Nikau Palm Forest within the park. The Nikau Palm is nature to New Zealand and can live a few hundred years.  The forest in Wairere Boulders National Park is one of the purest on the island.



Nikau Pine Forest



Entrance to Palm Forest

On our way out of the park going towards Horeke we learned that sharing the road has a whole different meaning in New Zealand.  This young lady was enjoying her stroll and was not going to move for anybody. 



Road Hog oops Road Cow



We did manage to get by her and continued on straight to Paihia as we have to meet up with a young lady from BackPacker  Campervans.  I had stated earlier in the blog that we were not all that happy with the van and that BackPacker said they would get us a van in better condition.  Well I have to give them credit as they did what they said they would do.  When we got to Paihia we met Toni and she had a new van for us, one that is newer and in much better shape.  I also have to add that Toni could not have been nicer or more helpful.  She made the transition very easy by helping out and making sure we were completely satisfied. My thanks goes out to her.  We are quite happy with the new van so everything is good.

While we are in New Zealand we have tried to make use of our time share and to get a break from the van.  To date we have only been able to secure one week and that week is in Paihia at the Busby Manor.  It is a delightful little place in the Bay of Islands right across the street from the water.  Whether it was luck or my good lucks and charm ( OK Kathy’s ) we were able to get the front unit with the balcony overlooking the water.  Kathy is very happy.



View from our Balcony



View from the Balcony



Once we got checked in we went for a walk downtown, perused the stores, had dinner and just enjoyed the evening.   There is a lot to do in the Bay of Islands as it is one of New Zealand’s top tourist and vacations destinations.   It is going to be a good week.