Waipu Cave

Next stop on a busy day was inland at Waipu Cave, another chance for a spelio-experience, and...glow worms!

Cave entrance (lower right); this is a DOC site, no admission
fee, no guide, little signage, hardly even a warning about the
hazards of caves, etc; this is New Zealand!

Interior; yes, there's a creek flowing through

First you sit down by the big stalactite and wait seven minutes
for your eyes to adjust

Alas, the flash went off!

Anyhow, here are the glow worms

They are impressive, especially in constellations

Thus

And thus

Finally, it was time to head back...

To the Light...

Whangarei Heads

Next morning we drove out to the Whangarei Heads, way north on the Pacific side, and walked around the assorted coves, Bream, Urquhart, ending with Smugglers' Cove.

The usual weird trees and their many parasites; every old
tree is a veritable garden of other plants

More weird birds and bird calls

An usual site: an oil refinery in NZ

And a big ship

And an extremely rare WWII gun emplacement

Stan the Steer directs us to the gun emplacement information

The rest of the scenery was the usual spectacular NZ...

Thus

And thus

And thus

And thus

A distant lone sea stack

Whangarei Falls

The falls scenic reserve is right in Whangarei, a port city of some size, and the reserve includes a nice trail along a creek leading to a small Kauri park.

Whangarei Falls

Ditto, from below

Basaltic columns on which the thing rests...Fingal's Cave...

Pretty creek

More bush

More medium-sized Kauris, and a short
canopy walk

Thus

Whangaruru To Whangarei

It was a day of leisurely scenic driving, coastal views and beaches, cliffs, weird trees, terraced hills, the Tutukaka scenic loop, the Whangarei Falls scenic reserve (next post), finally ending up in a cabin in Whangarei.

Beneath The Southern Cross

Finally, at Whangaruru, I got a decent picture of the famed Southern Cross...

Russell South To Whangaruru

From Russell we drove south to a beautiful DOC campground, right on the beach, at Whangaruru. The seascapes all along were marvelous.

Russell

We visited Russell in 2008, stayed overnight, did a sailboat cruise on the Bay of Islands, had a memorable meal, and really liked the place. It is the oldest European settlement in New Zealand, dating to the whaling ships of the early 19th century when Russell was the "hell-hole of the South Pacific." It's rather sedate and respectable now, classy and scenic. We took the ferry over and drove to a few of the major viewpoints to confirm our recollections.