The Tutukaka Coast

After three days of glorious sunshine and high temperatures it all came crashing down.  The skies were gray and unpromising as we left Whangarei for the Tutukaka coast about 30 minutes away, however it did add an interesting atmosphere to the drive. It reminded me of driving around the central coast of California.  We passed many farms and ranches framed with walls of block volcanic rock and lots of green moss and dense woods.  Everything was imbued with a sense of enchantment and mystery by the thick grey mist that obscured the far reaches of the landscape.  The rain held off long enough that we took a short detour over a hill to a big bay and made a short trek to the top of a lookout for a wonderful view of the circular bay and bordering town with it's giant sand bar. 

When we reached the town proper of Tutukaka the sky finally opened and the water began to fall.  We figured it best to find accommodation for the night, and perhaps the weather would clear up and we could resume our beach hopping the following morning.  Little did we know.  We made an attempt to find some sort of entertainment in town for the night, but quickly realized there was none to be found.  The town of Tutukaka consists of one hotel, one restaurant, a wharf, a general store, and a few baches (Kiwi vacation homes) which were empty as far as the eye could tell.  It's mainly used as a hub for scuba diving at the Poor Knight Islands which is apparently one of the world's greatest (secret) dive sites.  

In the morning we hit the road, again to grey misty skies.  But they were dry grey misty skies so far.  We continued our drive along the coastline, stopping at a few bays to take some photos before getting out to do a short hike to Whale Bay.  It was a short walk, but I wasn't prepared for the raw beauty of this little bay.  It's located on a little headland in between two larger bays, and it is completely free of any coastline development.  Once you're on the beach, it's just you, the sand, and the forest for a backdrop.  It was reminiscent of some of the beaches I'd visited in Costa Rica, pure in it's (almost) untouched state.  Sun or no sun, the teal water beckoned me forth.  I waded around in the water on the soft sand for near an hour, gazing back and forth from the sea to the forest behind, listening to the bird song and the sound of the waves simultaneously.  This little bay made me impervious to the grey skies above.

Back on the road again, this time for a longer haul to the small port town of Russell on the Bay of Islands.  This is when all hell broke loose.  The sky became a waterfall as we were battered with wind and monsoon level rain.  It made all further attempts at stopping severely unenjoyable.  We passed many miles of bays and coastal views hidden from view by the torrent from above.  We did receive an example of kiwi kindness, however, while detouring a isolated and mostly undeveloped peninsula an old man offered for us to park in his driveway next to his house for the night so as to better escape the wind and rain, rather than brave the open landscape of the campground.  

Shortly after arriving in Russell we checked into our campground and quickly evacuated the car to the dining facilities on the grounds. In what seemed like mean spirited teasing, when checking into the park they had a tourism video playing in the lobby showing all the amazing views, beaches and activities surrounding the town.  All with cloudless sunny skies.  Luckily all would turn around tomorrow, and that video proved to be more a premonition than a mean joke.