Orewa & Waiwera & Waipu Beaches

February 10, 2013-

Good Morning, Sunshine! Oh, how we've missed you!  

Do you see the sun and the sparkling blue skies???? 

Did you smell the air??  Did you smell burning tires?  Or burning coal?  Or other unidentifiable chemical smells?  No????

Nope.  The air smells clean!!!!  

(how sad is that?  I always thought all people across the world were entitled to clean air.)

Anyway….moving on. (and moving away from the air quality topic)

Since we're on a time zone that is now five hours AHEAD of China Time…we went to sleep late and we woke up late.  Oops.  How about some breakfast?  Yesterday while we were waiting for our campervan to be ready we shopped at a local grocery store.  We picked up a box of cereal and some hot oatmeal.  I know- a fancy schmancy breakfast.  So…which do you want????  Hot or cold cereal?

Check out the Muppet van (in our campground)!!!

We're packing up and heading out now.  I think today we'll head towards an East coast town called Paihia….BUT I read that there is a thermal pool close by.  Of course we NEED to check that out!!!!

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST- MUST FIND COFFEE in Orewa!!!!!!!

We drove down the street in hopes of finding the local veggie/farmers' market. We didn't find that specific one but we did find this bakery/coffee shop. I think Mark and I will live and survive after all….we now have our required caffeine for the day!

Well, we didn't find THE farmers' market but we did find this veggie market. Picked up a carton of eggs, excellent sandwich bread and some fruit.

A family portrait outside the veggie market in Orewa.

Now that we're fully caffeinated…. 

Load 'em up! We're ready to ride!

 Using the camper's GPS navigation system we found our first target: Waiwera (thermal pools).  Oh NO!!!  Just as we pulled up to what appears to be a big swimming pool/water park- so did a GIANT bus FILLED with kids. You know what, I don't think we're interested in the pool after all.  We're trying to get AWAY from the crowds …NOT be IN the crowds.  Let's go check out Waiwera Beach instead:

Ava walking along Waiwera Beach

More Waiwera beach photos…

We found lots of neat shells and rocks in the water.  I just can't over how clear the water is!!!  We walked out to a high spot where it seemed like we sunk a little deeper in the sand.  

It's been fun and relaxing meandering around this beach but how about we get back into the camper and slowly make our way towards our end destination????  

Who knows what we'll see next…..

Hmmm…is your tummy growling?  Mine is.  I think it might be time we stop and see what's for lunch!  Hey…how about we check out this cute little town.  Oh, it's called Warkworth.  I think we just saw a few bakeries and restaurants.  Let's park the camper and go in search of lunch!

Warkworth. Clean & cute. PS. Four Square is a grocery store chain in NZ.

Hmmm…this place looks good!  Mark said one of things we HAD to try while in NZ were the MEAT PIES.  This place has several different kinds…let's try a few!

See that lady behind the counter helping Mark? She chatted with us for a long time and made lots of suggestions of places to go and see up north. Funny thing…she kept saying we needed to see "The Curry" trees. Ummm….curry trees???? Well, it turns out we mistook her accent…what she meant was Kauri Trees. (Heads up- you'll see them in a few days!).

MMMMMmmmm!!!!  Meat pies!!!!!!!!  num num num…

We all had a different kind of meat pie. I think mine was egg and cheese, Annika had minced beef (that's ground beef to us Americans) and Mark and Ava had other combos. They were all super tasty!

 Our tummies are full, we were also successful in locating and purchasing good beer (per our Kiwi friends' recommendations) and now it's time to HIT THE ROAD!!!!

I spy a beach….what do you see????

 Oh my…that beach looks too good to pass up!  Let's see if we can figure out how to get to it….

Whoops!

So glad they're aren't a lot of cars on the road right now as we *just* saw the sign for the beach…before coming to a screeching stop.  But now we're here…at Waipu Beach!  

The girls are ready to swim and play at the beach! They've got swimming shirts/rash guards on. One thing we heard before we came is that you NEED to use sunscreen here in NZ. The ozone layer is rather thin over this part of the world so you're more likely to burn. Ouch. So, one of the first things we did after arriving is buy a giant tub of sunscreen. And yes, it comes in giant tubs here!!!!!

Are you ready to play??????

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Looks like the wave ambushed them! 😉

Darn.  I think we need to get a move on ….we're still HOURS away from our intended final destination.  We've still got lots to see.  But you had fun, right???  I know we did!!!

Time to climb back into the camper and head out. Ava is standing next to our camper.

So…where to next??????