Northland Ⅱ

Kiwi aren't particularly rebellious and popeyed when French farmers go along the Champs-Élysées with their tractor to protest. But discovering a car wreck freshly burned along a gravel road on the way from Mimiwhangata leaves us puzzled : is protesting showed differently ?

We meanders through the harbours along the coast : small wooden bridges to cross it by foot (small :), one of them is the longest in the southern hemisphere), surf beaches and a WWII cannon (tree shots in total, the ones to see if it was working).

Exploring caves, Waipu and Abbey Caves, becomes a good alternative to the slightly boring waterfalls. It has never let us down, Wakawaka takes us to superb glow worms, a Milky Way beneath earth.

Following the advise of our travel GP (he vaccinated us against thyphoid fever to go to Thailand), we leave for Mitimiti, another Maori settlement, to harvest mussels ... Beginners mistake, the tide isn't right but we stop in the lovely historical village of Kohukohu, in front of Rawene (see post Northland 1 ).

Further North, we come across huge white sand beaches (one is 90km long) until Cape Reinga, the North of the North, you can't go further. All we need to do is turn around, sell the chariot and be morally prepared to head back to Belgium ... But all in all, NZ is still full of surprises ... One of them is the walk to Cape Maria Van Diemen with its Sahara/Moon-like scenery.

Then Karikari peninsula, that thanks to its 'sock' shape, has beaches exposed to each compass point. You have to pull yourself up with a chain the last 10m but the 180° view over Whangaroa Harbour and the oysters farm on top of St Paul's Rock is worth the effort. Olivier has discovered a fondness for raw oysters and nibbles some occasionally.

The next and final stop in the land of the long white cloud is Auckland, and by the way THE place to sell or buy a car (our chariot is not coming to Europe, snif) where a last wwoofing is expecting us.