GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #61

Welcome back faithful reader!

This version of The Journal is a bumper edition to acknowledge 5 years on the road.

Just for a change, you get to attempt to identify where we are.

Some iconic locations are blindingly obvious, others are obtusely obscure.

The sequence is random both geographically and chronologically.

Just scroll a few pics down to get the answers.



a) We start the show with sunrise at which Karikari Penisular beach in the far north?

 b) Maori legend has it that Maui used Stewart Island as the anchorstone for his canoe. This is a link in the anchor chain back on the mainland - where?

c) The beach is called Te Awanga, what is the name of the cape in the background?

d) The maori name is Otuihau. Where are we?

e) This is the wreck of Talleys Fisheries first vessel, the Janie Seddon. Which foreshore is its resting place?

 f) What is the name of the glacier in the background?

Answers 

a) Maitai Bay

b) Bluff

c) Cape Kidnappers

d) Whangarei Falls

e) Motueka

f) Franz Josef

g) This rock excavation is in the lower Buller Gorge. What is the name of the cutting?

 h) The spirits depart from here for Hawaiki - where are we?

i) We are at Aoraki/Mount Cook. What is the monument for?

j) The Hokianga enjoyed some of NZ's earliest history. This is all that remains of a once-busy garage on which settlement on the harbour?

k) What is the name of these boulders?

l) The politically correct would call the mountain Taranaki. What is the real name of the lighthouse and the peak?

Answers

g) Hawks Crag

h) Cape Reinga

i) In memory of those climbers who perished in the national park 

j) Kohukohu

k) Moeraki Boulders

l) Mount Egmont and Cape Egmont lighthouse

m) The rocks are called the Pancake Rocks and the blowhole is named Putai - what is the placename?

n) Winston Peters' family home is around the corner at Whananaki. Name this bay.

 o) The Buller River flows out into the Tasman Sea here. Where are we?

p) This placename just rolls off the tongue! What province are we in?

q) Most of our roads afford comfortable travel. This one is a bit more remote - where are we?

r) The Omaio marae. Where is Omaio?

Answers

m) Punakaiki

n) Otamure Bay

o) Westport

p) Hawke's Bay

q) Greenstone Station Road, north of Lake Wakatipu (Queenstown)

r) Bay of Plenty, north east of Opotiki

s) Where is the Tui Brewery?

t) This is the last bit of civilisation before the start of the Heaphy Track. Where?

u) Little Barrier to the left, Channel Island centre right, Great Barrier right. Soaking up the sun where?

v) The Vulcan Hotel is of mud-brick construction and was built in 1882. Where is it?

w) Welcome to the Portage Resort on Kenepuru Sound in the Marlborough Sounds. Which brand of beer are we drinking?

 x) Idyllic sunset at Akapoua Bay. Where are we?

Answers
s) Mangatainoka
t) Karamea
u) Port Jackson on the Coromandel Peninsular
v) St Bathans in Central Otago
w) Beats the shit out of me!
x) Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island

y) Where is this convenient parking place?

z) Very frosty in this valley! Not many people get to....................?

aa) The perfect photo! The glaciers are in the background, what is the name of the lake?

 bb) The area is Tasman Bay, not far from the Abel Tasman National Park. What is the name of the rock in the background?

cc) This is the final shot of this 5th anniversary edition.
What geographical area is Slope Point located in?

Answers
y) Te Papa Museum in Wellington.
z) I bet this one got ya!? This is a place called Paradise, near the head of Lake Wakatipu, not far from Glenorchy.
aa) This picture postcard shot is at Lake Matheson.
bb) Split Apple Rock.
cc) Final answer is The Catlins.

Hope you enjoyed the journey and had some fun identifying the locations.

Full steam ahead now into the sixth year on the road.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

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.