GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #55

Well, well, well punters! What a funny old world we live in?!

My first wife and I were invited independently to join close friends to celebrate Christmas.

A chance coversation together and we determined that we might try a road trip, or two, together in the Bus With No Name.

Driving out of Hamilton we headed for Raglan.



This pic was taken on Christmas Day, 2 days prior to the commencement of The Road Trip.

A wild camp site at Woody Head on the coast out from Raglan.

The impressive Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls near Raglan.

Soaking up a bit of the summer sun at Kawhia Harbour.

Not many people know about this place...........it's not included in every road trip.

This is Waikawau Beach, north of Awakino. Access to the beach is via a pedestrian tunnel.

A good road trip should always include The Coromandel, so off we head to Port Jackson!

A campsite right on the beach is what a good road trip is all about.

5 metres from the bus to the water at full tide - are we having fun yet??.

It's sapping work keeping an eye on the rod tip.

The fish (kahawai) hook themselves here.

Even the most well-organised road trip gets a bit of inclement weather!

The Mangatangi Resevoir in the Hunua Ranges welcomed the rain.  

Off to Whananaki on the east coast north of Whangarei.

Longest footbridge in the southern hemisphere - the 400 metre wooden bridge joins North and South Whananaki together.

No road trip is complete without a visit to my beloved Maitai Bay.

How cool's this?

Feeling like a break at Waipapakauri Ramp on 90 Mile Beach, why not drop in for a latte?!

Another magical camping spot is Taputaputa Bay, about 5 kilometres from Cape Reinga.

A demanding walk around the coast gets you to Te Rerenga Wairua.

It's definitely the end of the road when you reach Cape Reinga.

Legend has it that spirits depart via the old pohutukawa tree clinging to the rock at bottom right.

This very cunning bit of photography is a panoramic view of my favourite spot in the far north - Maitai Bay on the Karikari Peninsular.

Journal junkies will know that I spend more time here than any other part of the country.



The Gods deliver the full gamut of weather up here - today it's a perfect rainbow.
I had to check out if the pot of gold was waiting for me at the base.

Not a pot of gold, but instead a big goldern orb.
One of our country's golden moments.........sunrise at mighty Maitai Bay!

Off to the south island now for a few snow pics.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #54

It's your birthday punters !
Here's a Christmas bonus sub-titled "Magical Mystery Tour".
The plot so far is that my fellow explorer, Rowan 'Stanley' Forbes, went visiting friends in the Marlborough Sounds. I took delivery of him, complete with his latest dose of Asian avian influenza, in Picton.


We began the Magical Mystery Tour at Marfells Beach, south east of Blenheim near the saltworks at Lake Grassmere.
Here we harvested the sea and collected the mussels proudly displayed on the table.


The Tour quickly headed north and we jumped aboard the good ship Awatere headed for the capital..
A perfect day for sailing, and Stanley is pictured on the fore-deck absorbing the awesome Wellington vista as another ferry passes to port.


Camp was established on the sheltered shores of the Porirua Harbour at Paremata.


Over the Rimutakas and into the Wairarapa.
A compulsory stop at Mangatainoka at the Tui brewery to check on the girls.


We didn't spy too many beautiful Tui maidens in the brewery so we cunningly camped beside the Mangatainoka River in anticipation of the girls coming down for a frolick.
We are still waiting.


We grabbed a unique opportunity to explore St Leger, a friend's ram stud farm, just out of Gisborne.
The Yamaha Rhino 700cc 4x4 farm buggy was the transport for an exciting trip into the hills.


Stanley and farmer Rick are discussing the price of store lambs.
The 1,000 hectare farm extends to the first significant hill.

The educated amongst you will know, of course, that Young Nick first sighted New Zealand in 1769 and Lieutenant James Cook was the first European to set foot on NZ soil at Gisborne.This statue on Kaiti Hill in Gisborne is a memorial to that event.Much to the delight of photographers and the embarrassment of historians, the statue is NOT of James Cook. The uniform the subject is wearing is not of the British Navy and the facial features bear no resemblance to Jimmy.

Stanley did not stand up well to the rigours of touring the rugged East.This pose signals he is not warm and wanted to get off the historic Tolaga Bay wharf as quickly as possible.Stanley was always accompanied by his angler's hand fishing line, just in case a likely fishing spot presented itself.

We stumbled upon a gem at Tikitiki. This is St Mary's church with its amazing Maori carvings.

The Church was built in 1924 as a memorial to the soldiers of Ngati Porou who lost their lives in World War I.

I couldn't resist the temptation to have a chat from the pulpit.

Te Araroa's pohutukawa - reputed to be the world's largest.

The iconic Raukokore church near Waihau Bay.

Stanley, as is his wont, brought along his comprehensive cabin trunk to accommodate his extensive wardrobe. Each occasion an item needed to be located in the substantial portmanteau the result was a total evacuation of its entire contents!

The east coast experience ended with a beer at Opotiki.

Yet another classic tour of exploration and enlightenment for the natives.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #53

You'll remember that I'm on a mission around the south island viewing the Rugby World Cup at the oldest and remotest pubs I can find.
I can't get Freddie Mercury and Queen's song out of my head........ We Are The Champions!!!!!!
We smashed 'em bro!
What a great finale to a great trip.

Here we are at lovely Lake Hawea at the rising of the sun.

Down the road a bit and it's sunset time at Lake Wanaka.

A few kilometres south of Cromwell in Central Otago is Bannockburn.

Most old pubs succumb to fire and the Bannockburn Hotel was no different.
Their last fire was 2 years ago.
Excellent BBQ pork ribs!

The Chatto Creek pub has a bit of character and is on the Otago Central Rail Trail.

A classic here in St Bathans is the Vulcan Hotel. It has stood the test of time, built in 1882. The shamrock which can just be made out between the words Vulcan and Hotel acknowledges the original Irish settlers of St Bathans.

Not much left in St Bathans these days, but here is their International Rugby Stadium.

One of the last original arched stone bridges in Otago at Dunback.

Chrystalls Beach is south of Dunedin - I enjoyed the warning to watch for Free Range Kids.
Places like the Railway Hotel in Nightcaps should have a bomb set off underneath them! Such a crap place I couldn't bring myself to watch the footy here.

This very keen local is sluicing for gold at Gemstone Beach in Southland.
Close of the oyster season was delayed in Bluff to allow Rugby World Cup visitors the chance to sample the delicacy.

The Eagle pub in Bluff provided the best viewing facilities in the south.Watched us smash the Aussies in the semi-final here.

Deciding where to watch the final was something of a conundrum.Common sense and logic finally prevailed and I headed for captain courageous Richie McCaw country - Kurow.
The publican of the local pub in Kurow promised free beer for every AB try scored.

Only one try, but true to his word the free piss flowed for hours.
The shot of the tournament - favourite son Richie (almost certain to become Sir Richard) McCaw lifting the Webb Ellis World Cup in the TV picture in the Waitaki Hotel!!!!

Industrious locals beavered away overnight and constructed a replica of the Webb Ellis Trophy and erected it on the hay bale display in the middle of town.

We Are The Champions!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #52

Nice to have you back for another dose of The Journal.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) was about to kick off, so I decided to get far from the madding crowd and view the games at some lesser-known south island pubs.

The Cook Strait crossing was a bit lumpy, but calmed down once inside the Queen Charlotte Sound.
We are onboard the Interislander Kaitaki passing sister ship Arahura in the sound.
The Bus With No Name was up on the top deck this time, furthest from the camera.


RWC opening ceremony and first game, ABs v Tonga, was viewed in the Hampden Hotel in Murchison.


Next west coast pub was at Cobden, in Greymouth.
The natives here are friendly and I call in for a beer whenever I'm in Greymouth.


The west coast can get pretty wild and at Punakaiki the wind and waves were whipping the white caps from a big sea into a froth of foam.


Freedom camping on a remote and rugged west coast beach is a great experience.


Just had to stop and view a couple of games at the Charming Creek Tavern at Ngakawau.
This gem is on the coast north of Westport.
I won a free beer here for wearing my World Rugby hat!


Waiau is near Hanmer Springs and the pub is over 100 years old.
The observant amongst you will be able to make out two local kuia having their daily quart of DB outside in the sun.
They didn't give a shit who won the footy!


This bridge is over the Waimakariri River at its headwaters near Arthur's Pass.
The spring melt has not yet started much of a flow.


Always worth a stop at Lake Mahinapua.
This time to dry a load of laundry.


I was planning on watching a couple of games at the old Ross pub - the bloody thing was closed!


The sky and the mountains co-operated at Lake Matheson, but the famous reflection view from the water was wrecked by a constant wind.
Another good reason for a return visit.


Freedom camping is a joy on the west coast.
Looking over Clearwater Stream in the middle of the shot you can see the tongue of Fox Glacier creeping down to the meet the rain forest.


Watched the ABs deal to Canada here at the Fox pub.


Whenever you are on the west coast you're never far away from sandflies.
More than a hundred of them are trying to escape the insect killer aerosol through the roof vent.
They didn't make it - all the bastards perished!!


Another very west coast thing is whitebait.
The season runs from beginning of September to mid-November.
Tony Kerr (left) is the very hospitible owner of Curly Tree Whitebait Company at the Waita River, about 8 kms north of Haast.
Tony serves up a very mean pattie!!

More adventures to come as the RWC moves into the knockout phase.

Another update after the final.

Good luck to you and your families.