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Karangahake: Camping in an old gold-mining gorge

After our walk through the 1km old railway tunnel and back along the riverside (read Going for gold in the gorge) we travelled in the Kiwi Blog Bus through the gorge and over to our campsite for the evening.

We stayed at the Department of Conservation campsite at Dickeys Flat. Read More…

Going for gold in the gorge

We have often visited  Karangahake Gorge to enjoy its natural beauty and gold mining history, but on a recent trip away in the Kiwi Blog Bus we got to camp right in the middle of this wonderous area and discovered a lot more on our explorations.

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Marvellous nature at Mangapohue Natural Bridge

The Kiwi Blog Bus recently took us to a magical location where we were not only awed by the amazing feats of nature but well and truly gobsmacked by it.

I’ve already said the road from Waitomo out to the west coast is simply stunning, read magnificent meanderings to Marokopa, but the highlight of the scenic trip has got to be a stop at Mangapohue natural bridge.

A short stroll on a riverside boardwalk takes you along the Mangapohue Stream through a steep limestone gorge and into the remains of an ancient cave system.

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Magnificent meanderings to Marokopa

A 50km drive out west of Waitomo will lead you through an amazing limestone landscape to the historic west-coast fishing village of Marokopa.

We recently took the scenic route from Waitomo Caves (after we had stayed at Woodlyn Park), and I was blown away by the views along the way.

The road twisted and turned as New Zealand put on a good show of its rugged character and I could not stop taking pictures through a somewhat fly splattered windscreen. Read More…

Alexandra Redoubt: One of the Waikato’s most historic places

Quite often I get asked what I miss about not living in the UK anymore, but I’m not a whingeing pom and don’t begin to rhyme off a list of groceries.

I’m a very happy honorary kiwi, however if pressed on the subject I would have to say I miss the history and the architecture of old buildings.
And I especially miss castles.

But… I have to reinforce that I totally love the old New Zealand buildings.

I love the colonial style of many towns and buildings here and really enjoy visiting and learning about historic places.

So although it isn’t a castle I was very happy to visit Alexandra Redoubt which is listed on the NZ Historic Places Trust and is one of the best preserved earthworks of the New Zealand Wars.

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Relaxed in Raglan

Today we ventured out in the Kiwi Blog Bus for a day trip to Raglan.

It’s the last day of our Easter school holidays and we felt the need to get out in the bus for one last holiday trip and enjoy the gorgeous indian summer we are having.

Raglan is a small town on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, about 50km from Hamilton. Read More…

More pictures from Thames

We called in at Thames on the way home the other day.
The old gold-mining town in the Coromandel is a particular favourite of ours and we like to stop and have a look round every time we are passing.

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Free and fabulous in Tairua

There is a small car park overlooking Tairua harbour where, in an attempt to manage freedom camping, the local council have allocated two free overnight spaces for self-contained campervans.

Earlier this week we were lucky enough to get one of these much prized parking spots for the night.

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Down at the beach… are you sure it’s Autumn?

Part of our recent trip away involved a night at Whangamata in the beautiful Coromandel.

We stayed overnight in an avocado orchard (an NZMCA POP site) which we have visited before, and then went into town for a spot of shopping and to visit the beach.

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