We drove up to "The Bay Of Islands" and took a ride on a fast powerboat to "Cape Brett" and "The Hole In The Rock".

The boat left from Paihia on the East Coast of New Zealand, which is just across from the small town of Russell. The islands dotted the entire Bay, big and small. Most appeared uninhabited, being shear cliffs and having no docking facillities.

From there we drove further North until we hit Cape Reinga, which is the Northernmost point of land in New Zealand. This is sacred land to the native People of this area, The Maori. From the short walk from where we parked to the top of the small rise, we enjoyed a view I have never imagined I would see in my life. We could see nearly 360 degrees of water around us, the only area on the horizon which was not water was the thin peninsula called "Ninety Mile Beach".

The view from the Cape was worth the drive, and the drive itself was awesome. New Zealand is a treasure trove of green rolling hills and from these hills, the vistas are breathtaking. Most of these viewpoints have innumerable sheep and cows stretching into the distance. They are literally around each bend in the road. Even in ranch country in the United States I have never seen so many animals!

On the way home we nearly ran out of gasoline. It was pure oversight, since we passed at least a couple stations before dark set in and we started to climb the hills and descend into valleys, up and down; winding twisting roads with no gas stations open and the low fuel light on! We wondered if we would have to stay the night in the car!

Happening on a closed petrol station, the first in probably 40 klicks, we decided to park and ask at the nearest house.

The night sky view away from the city was so extremely beautiful that I'm sure I will remember it for the rest of my life. We could see no familiar constellations, but we did see the cloudiness of the Milky Way itself! Incredible!

The very nice lady who came to the door helped us by directing us to the next station about 7 klicks down the road, and we repeated the procedure of waking up the household next to the station, who happened to own the station and they pumped our tank full. This time the stars weren't as visible, since the gas station lights were on full.

Continuing down the road, in search of a nice motel, we came to the intersection of Motorway 1 and Motorway 12, where we stayed the night in an old near-Victorian pub/hotel in Ohaeawai. I'm sure you can pronounce these town names as well as I can. They have a tendency to use Maori or Polynesian names which are reminiscent of Hawaiian street names.

After dinner, a comfortable bed, a good night's rest and a few cups of morning coffee, we were off on the road again, finding breakfast an hour or so later in another town.

The adventure was not over! Driving through a forest, slightly reminiscent of the area closer to the equator, since there were many ferns, palms and hardwood trees mixed in with the firs, and other vegitations more typical of where I live.

We came upon a lookout designated as a 5-minite walk, which the sign called "Tane Mahuta, Lord of the Forest", and which the local at breakfast who had urged us to stop there had called the "Grandfather Tree".

The sign also said the trunk alone was about 18 meters high, but that the upper limbs reached over 51 meters, and that it had a "girth" of about 24 meters. It was the biggest tree I have ever seen, although like many of you, I have never seen the Redwoods in California.

The Grandfather Tree was reputed to be approximately 2000 years old, an example of a "Kauri" tree, a hardwood.

The remainder of the trip back to Auckland was full of gorgeous views, but paled in comparison to what I had already seen.

That was quite an adventure and I have more photos to share when I return.