More Camping in New Zealand - This is a LONG one

We now have 10 nights of continuous camping under our belts.  It has been great.  First impressions have remained accurate, at least for the state of "car camping" in New Zealand.  The campgrounds themselves continue to be fairly basic as far as their infrastructure and are often simply a grassy field with one pit toilet, and New Zealanders bring all they need to be comfortable (big tents, tables, chairs, propane stoves, etc).  I realize I should have taken a photo to illustrate this, but I didn't want to pry into other's space.

The idyllic Dickey Flat Campsite, once you leave the ubiquitous "field"

We spent the first week on the Coromandel peninsula at three different sites and then we moved to the Rotorua area, which is known for its geothermal activity.  We had a mix of DOC (Department of Conservation) campsites and a couple of privately run campsites.  None have been bad and a few have been really special.  We've had lots of wonderful walks, swam in cool river water, searched for colourful rocks (and always hoping for gold), fished, and enjoyed being in nature.

After our first few nights in the Kauaeranga Valley DOC site we headed to the coast near some wonderful coastal walks and beaches.  The drive along the coast and across and around mountains was twisty turny and beautiful.

We landed at a quirky place called "Earl's Paradise" which not only was super cheap ($10/adult, kids free!) but also a fun stop.  Earl is a local man whose family was one of the first families in Whangapoua generations ago.  Whangapoua is now a small holiday town in a  beautiful bay flanked by beautiful beaches on the northeastern coast.  The town appears to be quickly becoming a fashionable (and expensive) holiday town with impressive modern homes right on the main beach, but behind them are the remnants of the older town with smaller homes and true cottages.  Earl's place is up on the hill with spectacular views of the bay.  His property is flanked on all sides by land owned by his family and they seem to be holding on to it and not selling out.

The view from Earl's

Earl has decided to open his land to campers and runs a bare bones campground mostly frequently by young backpackers, and a few families thrown in for good mix.  

We enjoyed watching flocks of young Kiwis get gussied up in their tents (after cold water showers nonetheless...) and head into town for what was likely a Saturday night summer party.  We were leary of how loud it would be on their return, but were pleasantly surprised that we had nothing to worry about.  It was a good lesson that not all young people out for an evening of partying need to yell at the top of their lungs as seems to be the style of our university students back home when they wander the streets in their drunkenness.  You can never predict what cultural lessons you will pick up or from where...

While at Earl's we experienced a really amazing and somewhat frightening event.  The kids were out wandering around in the dusk when Vios noticed something in the sky.  Quickly the word spread and we all looked up to see an incredibly bright and shiny fiery light streaking across the sky with a tail of smoke like an airplane and fragments that seemed to break off.  It seemed very close and the trajectory went from one horizon line over to the other.  Soon the energy among the campers was electrified as we all stood around gaping at what we just saw and wondering what it could have been.  Meteor? UFO? Missile attack?  An exploding plane?  Soon someone found a news from Auckland that reported it to be a Meteor, but then quickly it was questioned as it did not burn as expected.  Recently it was reported to be a Russian satellite that burned up as it entered earth's atmosphere.  Whatever it was it was COOL (and kind of scary).  I was so flummoxed that I didn't get a picture, but here is a link to an article with some pics and videos: Article about possible meteor

From Earl's we did some day trips to unique beaches including "Hot Water Beach" where you dig at low tide and hit steaming hot water springs that mix with sea water to make your own hot pot and to "New Chum's Beach" which was ranked as one of the world's "top 100 beaches".  You reach it by walking 40 minutes from the edge of town, through bush and along rocky shore, and arrive at a white sand beach flanked by green cliffs.  You would think after our month on the stunning beaches of Moorea we might be hard to impress, but what was different about New Chum's was that there were awesome waves for jumping and playing in.  The kids spent the entire day in the water, except for when they got buried in sand.

Our favorite DOC site was at "Dickey Flat" in the Karanghake gorge.  At first glance it wasn't more than the typical open field with tents scattered all around but we soon settled in and discovered it was a gem of a spot.  We pitched our tent on the edge of the river which bordered the ever present "field" and then meandered down to the swimming hole that was beckoning us.

Who needs to bring chairs when you can use the cooler?

The first evening the DOC lady who came to collect our fees (a whopping $24NZD) gave us a tip that there was a walk from the campground that went over swinging bridges, through the "bush" and to a tunnel that was laden with glow worms.  We decided to explore after dark and followed her suggestion.  It was awesome! We traipsed through the woods with just our headlamps (again, so thankful there are no scary predatory animals in New Zealand).  The walk culminated at the tunnel that was coated in the twinkling pinpoints of light that are the magical glow worms. (I talk more about our first experience with glowworms in our first New Zealand camping post).  I was able to impress the kids with my bravery being the first one to go into the dark tunnel and continuing until they were yelling for me to stop.  It has been fun this trip surprising the kids, and it has been hilarious seeing what catches their attention (and maybe admiration).  Just like we see our surroundings with tired eyes while living our "regular" lives, I think we see each other, and that means the kids see their mother (me) in a certain way.  Seeing me be adventurous and go into the dark tunnel when they were all scared, or me jumping into a stream to skinny dip, or go prattle on in French to strangers, has all been a surprise to them and fun shake up their perceptions.

We repeated the walk many times during our stay, at dusk and during the day.  We all got really comfortable on swing bridges as they let us crisscross the rivers throughout the gorge.

Just past the tunnel was an another awesome swimming hole that was frequented by many families.  One of the unique characteristics of the swimming hole was the flooded mine tunnel that created a small waterfall.  Vios, Leo and Luna even walked through the tunnel to the upper water hole on the other side, while Solaz and I were busy swimming into the current and plunging under the waterfall on the lower hole.

Being together, out in nature, and not as hot, has led to more laughs and less bickering. 
These guys really enjoy each other! (most of the time)

Our nights at Dicky Flat were punctuated by lots of bird noises in the early morning.  The bird sounds in New Zealand are like nothing we have heard before.  Two mornings, before dawn, I was woken by a sound that sounded like a car alarm.  The first night I was so sure it was an alarm I got out of the tent and wandered around the campground in the dark. I still don't know what it was, but the next night I listened closely and decided it was not an electronic noise but indeed some kind of bird.  There was also rusttling noises and snuffling noises.  After reading a bit about New Zealand birds I wonder if some of the noises have been the famous Kiwi bird, which is active at night.  Thus far we have only seen them as road kill (to which, after the third one we saw dead on the road, the kids pointed out, "no wonder they are endangered")

Our animal loving girl who wants to take care of any animal she sees.

The other thing we really enjoyed about this camping spot was that it was well situated to explore the beautiful Karanghake gorge area.  This was a very active gold mining area (and still is) and one of the favorite walks took us through old gold mine tunnels and among abandoned gold mining equipment.  Part of the walk was called "the windows walk" because there are "windows" in the tunnels that let you view into the gorge below.  The walk then follows a path outside along the river, so you get a view from both inside the mountain and outside.

Looking out from inside the tunnel through one of the "windows"

The gold mining experience culminated in the town of Waihi at the Gold Mining Museum where we spent 2 engaged hours before wandering over to see the still active open pit Martha Mine.  We were all struck at how much work it takes to extract very small amounts of gold.

Vios and Luna using the "drill" to drill into the rock at the Gold Museum - it was a great hands on experience for all.

Our final "favorite" campsite was in the Rotorua area and situated on the grounds of thermal pools.  This area is part of a "geothermal" field and is known for its boiling and bubbling springs.

The campground was next to the stream that was fed by the Te Manaroa spring.  Te Manaroa is the largest source of naturally boiling water in New Zealand.  It discharges 40-50L per second of boiling water at a temperature of 98 degrees Celsius!

Our tent was shrouded in steam as the boiling water meandered by us.  It was awesome!  

The eco-walk along the stream had info signs that allowed us to "learn in context" as we read about mineral deposits, a type of fern found on the banks of the mineral springs that survived the ancient split of Gondwana eons ago and is found only in New Zealand and South America, and how boiling water can be generated by the shifting earth.

Staying at the campground gave us access to the pools early in the morning before it was opened to the public.  Campground Info   

They drain the pools every night and by 6 am they have started to naturally refill with fresh hot water.  It was magical being able to soak in solitude and to wander the trail to the source of the boiling water.  Super cool!

These highlights were interspersed among other DOC sites that were on our route.  We always felt safe and always felt fortunate to be in the New Zealand wilderness.  We've had amazing weather which has made the camping experience very enjoyable.  What an incredibly full introduction to New Zealand.  More to come on some of our side trips to Hobbiton, Luging in Rotorua, and other non "nature" endeavors.