14-15th May 2017

That evening, we dined at a takeaway outlet called ‘Roast’. We had seen these dotted all over New Zealand but had initially dismissed them as a local curiosity, catering solely to Kiwi appetites. What an experience it turned out to be! A fast-food outlet specialising in roast dinners, beef, chicken, pork, or lamb. Takeaways are served in plastic tubs of varying sizes (depending on one’s appetite), while eat-ins come on proper crockery.

The roasts are a little different from what we’re used to, with a selection of potatoes, pumpkin, and kumara. A generous ladle of peas is added, followed by lashings of rich brown gravy. I opted for lamb and topped it off with a good dollop of mint sauce. It was delicious and evidently very popular with the locals.

We spent the rest of the evening sipping local ales in the Irish pub, watching the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes in a packed bar. From what I could tell, the British Lions have little to fear from the provincial sides! Interestingly, it seems to be a Saturday night tradition to dress up in fancy dress. We found ourselves sitting next to Luke Skywalker and a rather striking Princess Leia.

Later that night, it turned quite chilly, and we had to switch on the heater in the van to keep warm.

We were back on the road by 9 am, heading towards the sub-tropical warmth of Northland. Driving through Auckland, we recognised some familiar sights, though they now seemed to belong to a distant past. With the Sky Tower disappearing in the rear-view mirror, we joined the No. 1 Expressway en route to Whangarei.

To avoid a stretch of toll road, we detoured along the scenic coastal route, which offered the added bonus of stopping to photograph some beautiful beaches before rejoining the Expressway.

Our first proper stop was at One Tree Cove, which provided stunning views across the bay towards Whangarei. From there, we reset our satnav and made our way to Abbey Caves, located just on the other side of the town.

We parked alongside a small cluster of other vehicles, high up on a lane in the hills overlooking the town and bay. A warning notice nearby informed would-be explorers that the caves were to be entered at their own risk, as they were officially classified as dangerous.

Following a picturesque track downhill, we passed through a landscape of strange rock formations that bore an uncanny resemblance to Henry Moore sculptures. I’m surprised some enterprising farmer hasn’t thought to extract them with a tractor and sell them as works of art. I’d certainly buy one, at a reasonable price, of course!

We discovered the first cave, aptly named Abbey Cave, nestled among a large pile of boulders. The entrance was tricky to navigate, but with my head torch and Jamie’s phone light app (surprisingly brighter than my torch), we managed to clamber down into the darkness and onto the rocks. A shallow stream flowed swiftly through the cave, and about 40 metres into the system, we encountered four German tourists clad only in their underwear, armed with a single torch.

After exchanging polite greetings, we pressed on until we were halted by deeper water. Turning off our lights, we were rewarded with a magical display of glow worms, an enchanting and entirely free light show.

On our return to the surface, we found our European friends more suitably dressed and engaged in conversation. They seemed to avoid acknowledging us as we left, perhaps a little embarrassed by our earlier encounter.

We continued along the path and soon arrived at the second cave, aptly named Second Cave. Following the same procedure as before, we found this one a little easier to access. Like the first, it featured glow worms, though we didn’t venture as far inside, as the tunnel quickly narrowed. Crawling through on hands and knees in underwear isn’t exactly the British way!

The third cave received only a cursory inspection from us. A quick look at the entrance was enough to decide it was best left to those with the proper gear. We made our way back to the van via a track that looped back to the road.

We reset the satnav for Whangarei Falls, just 4.5 km away. Located on the outskirts of the town and adjacent to a care home, the area was a delightful spot for a picnic, as evidenced by the many families enjoying the surroundings. The falls were quite impressive, with a substantial flow of water tumbling 26 metres over the cliff into a large pool before continuing downstream.

I took a circuitous walk around both the top and bottom sections, snapping photos, before returning to the van. We stopped a little further down the road for sandwiches before heading into Whangarei town centre.

Whangarei is undoubtedly an upmarket place to live, with restaurants and shops to match, not to mention the impressive yachts moored in the marina. We wandered around for a while and checked the listings at the cinema, but nothing appealed, so we decided to make some progress towards the next day’s destination.

That evening, we camped in a small town called Dargaville at a site featuring quirky little cabins fashioned from old railway wagons, a novel idea! A quick trip to the local supermarket allowed us to replenish our supplies. For our first meal cooked in the RV, Jamie opted for a ready-made chicken, cashew, and tarragon tortellini.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the local sports bar.