Eastland - State Highway 35 from Opotiki to Gisborne - One of the Worlds Great Coastal Journeys The first time I headed out from Opotiki on this road, it felt like another world. Here was New Zealand in a more raw and untouched state, where development seems to have passed it by, and left a world where Maori were at home, and I was a visitor - welcome, but a visitor. 30 … [Read more...]
Helena Bay – Exploring the Coastline on the Back Road to Russell
NZ off the Beaten Track - Less than one hour north of Whangarei is the beautiful road that is the back road to Russell in the Bay of Islands. These days access to Russell is usually via the Opua car ferry. All very good for those for whom time is short. If you are the kind of people who are roaming New Zealand’s magnificent back country, where the locals holiday and play but … [Read more...]
The Forgotten World Highway
Four saddles, four volcanoes and about four people, in the middle of the North Island... This highway is so forgotten that I had heard of it only recently- and I thought I knew my own country!. You start from the plains of Stratford, in Taranaki, rise gently through gorgeous green dairy farms, then head through steep mountains and dramatic saddles. On a clear day you can … [Read more...]