Ohaeawai and the Wonderful Acorn

Since leaving Leigh, BF and I spent a few days relaxing in Paihia before heading to our next hosts. Paihia is another beautiful coastal town, great for any and all sorts of water activities. It was pretty quite while we were there because it's off season, but I can imagine it gets pretty busy here when the sun is shining and the waters are warmer.

About 30 minutes away is the teeny tiny rural "town" of Ohaeawai, where our next stay would be. The farm is a really beautiful 22 acre bit of green run by the wonderful Lloyd and Laura. They let us stay in a cute little cottage called The Acorn. It came with a fully equipped kitchen (baking!) and a little wooden stove.

Excuse the mess, we were making lemonade!

The porch

Lloyd and Laura knew nothing about farming when they first moved to New Zealand from Glasgow almost 10 years ago. But now their little piece of heaven is thriving and green.

Alpacas are so funny looking, in a cute kind of way.

Rachel, the donkey. She's 46!

And their chooks lay the best eggs I have ever had! So creamy and rich!

They sleep in trees!

It's winter, but that doesn't mean you can't have lunch on the porch in the sun!

Only 20 minutes away is the town of Kerikeri, which has a few free touristy spots worth visiting. One is Rewa's Village, a recreation of a Maori fishing village and botanical garden. A village like this one was temporary and set up near resources. However, when war broke out, the inhabitants would abandon it and flee back to the fortified village.

Chief's hut

Cooking house

Earth oven

Across the bridge from Rewa's village is the Stone Store and Kemp House. The Stone store claims to be the oldest stone building in New Zealand and the Kemp House was built 20 years before the Waitangi treaty. (The Treaty of Waitangi is the foundation of New Zealand as we know it today.)

Just before crossing the bridge, there is a great trail walk to Wharepuke Falls and Rainbow Falls. I loved this walk. The greenery is beautiful (more tall trees than bush and shrubbery), great for all ages and fitness levels, and the waterfalls are totally worth it.

I wish it was summer!

The first automated powerhouse of Northland

Is this "where puke falls"? :P Despite how it's spelt, Maori's pronounce "wh" as an "f", so the falls are actually "fah-reh-poo-keh". 

Wharepuke falls

Rainbow Falls

Another great walk is Waihoanga Gorge Kauri walk at Puketi forest. It is a bit of a drive from Ohaeawai but if you want to see kauri, this is one of the best walks we've done so far. The kauri in the walk aren't as grande as the Tane Mahuta (largest kauri tree), but there are a lot of them and you can get up close to them. I think we were also dazzled by the golden sun beams shining through the trees. Just a word of caution, it won't look like a path at first. You have to walk across a large grass field, down a steep-ish hill riddled with holes (be careful!) and cross an electric fence. But don't worry, the fence has a little bit of plastic covering where you can cross. :P

There's a trail out there, trust me

Make sure not to touch the bare wire!

Kauri bark falls off in unusual shaped pieces

In a few days, BF and I are off to Ahipara, a small town at the bottom end of 90 mile beach. If you should ever decide to visit the Bay of Plenty, I highly recommend renting Lloyd and Laura's Acorn. You can find it on bookabach.com. I'll be sad to leave this wonderful paradise behind, but I am glad I had the chance to experience it and all it had to offer. Cheerio!

Warkworth, Matakana, and Leigh

When I first started "planning" for my trip to New Zealand, I had an idea we would only stay about a week or two at any given place. Well, four weeks later, we're finally moving on to our next host near the Bay of Islands.

Of course, spending four weeks in a single place gives you lots of time to explore around.

Brick Bay Vineyard and Sculpture Park. A beautiful place with bits of artwork spread out along a walking path. After exploring the art, you can settle down in their beautiful cafe for a glass of wine and something sweet. To be honest, I was reluctant to go because you have to buy a ticket to walk through their park! Being not so into art, $12 seemed like a lot to pay per person, but it turned out to be a nice walk. It's only an hour long, but there are some steep hills and stairs to climb, as usual. You'll get to see some interesting art pieces (all outside, which is cool and adds a different element than indoor exhibits), grape vines, green scenery and a little workout.

I love their cafe building!

Zombie ladybirds attacking a cork oak

Listening to the sounds of the forest

Tori gates with bells

Crumpled paper sculptures

Parry Kauri Park. This park has a lot of kauri trees! And the path is a raised wooden boardwalk - I love those kinds of paths! Short and easy, 25 minutes or less.

Warkworth Museum. Located right beside Parry kauri park is the Warkworth museum. We didn't go inside, but there were a few exhibits outside.

Telephone booth and a post office 

Giant kauri log - 5 tonnes 

So many places named Warkworth!

Not too far from Leigh is Ti Point. Another nice wharf you can walk around. Also, it's right across from Omaha beach. You can literally just swim over.

Crazy awesome trees 

That's Omaha Beach over there

Right before Ti Point is the Leigh Reptile park - the only reptile park in New Zealand. Most of the habitats are outside and are located along a walking loop through a little forest. They have geckos, skinks, lizards, iguanas, chameleons, spiders, TURTLES, alligators, and, just cause, a monkey. When we walked by, the baby turtles were all clamouring over each other to eat. So cute!

Baby turtles!

Snake neck turtle with piercing eyes!

Even unsuspecting "little" parks inside towns and cities turn out to be quite nice. This is Lucy Moore Memorial park located inside Warkworth.

I mentioned HelpEx before. It is an exchange of help with various tasks for accommodation and sometimes, food as well. This is what BF and I have been doing the past four weeks for our hostess:

• transplanting various plants: looots of flax and manuka trees, cabbage trees, and other small plants
• gardening: killings slugs and snails, planting vegetables and flowers, laying mulch, spreading out coffee grounds, composting with worms and spreading their poo, never ending weeding
• domestic cleaning: vaccuuming, window cleaning, wiping down sinks, cleaning window sills (bug graveyard!), cleaning a bbq (mouldy!)
• moving furniture and other items between her two homes
• other: chopping wood, collecting kindling, covering mud paths with ferns

A little manuka tree 

Panorama from one of our hostess' windows

Work will vary from place to place. At Aio Wira, our tasks were mostly domestic cleaning and meal prep. The hours were also much shorter simply because there not many guests to cater to while we were there and there were more helpers.

I can say though, transplanting huge plants for 4-8 hours a day really gives you muscle!

Flax leaves

Northwards!