Before I knew it, I only had a week and a half left in New Zealand, thus decided to make the most of it (coupled with the fact that Shyla was on uni holiday) and spend a couple of days at her aunt's bach in Mount Maunganui, and then a few days camping at our traditional spot at Tawharanui.
The first night we were quite tired from the drive, and settled in with board games and kiwi beer for a quiet night in!
On our way down we had driven through Karangahake gorge, and upon realizing how scenic it was, we had decided to return the next day to hike it.
The gorge had become a centre for the goldrush in the 1800s due to the numerous gold veins found around this area, and the building of a quartz-crushing factory among other processing facilities.
Nowadays there's little left of these factories, beyond ivy-covered walls and rusting machinery, however its really fun to explore, and some of the old tunnels are open to the public to wander also. I personally really enjoyed following the old train tracks that once led to Paeroa. Now they mostly meander off into the bush, end abruptly off cliffs, or simply vanish entirely.
Aside from what made this area historically fascinating, it's also an area of natural beauty. The bush walks are long and shaded for the most part (though don't wander down the bike path by accident, as it's rather long, a bit dull and completely without shade). For a time the path follows the river, before cutting back into the forest and past much of the ruined factory.
After our long and sweaty day of trekking through the gorge, we were rather desperate for a swim. Luckily, a five minute walk from the bach was a small, tucked away beach that Shyla's relatives called a 'secret' bay, and indeed we did have it to ourselves! A sunset swim was the perfect way to end the day.
From Mount Maunganui, we faced the long drive all the way up to Tawharanui, which took us about half the day, excluding rest stops. We arrived at the campsite in the late afternoon, and set about re-familiarising ourselves with the camp so as to pick the best spot for our tent. It was smaller and less exciting than we remembered, though I suppose that's often true of places from your childhood. The beach was just as glorious as we remembered however, and we enjoyed walking along the beach and cooking up a feast on our little camping stove.
The last night we went for a spontaneous dusk swim, the water was beautifully warm and the sun was just setting behind the hills. It was strange knowing that in just a few days I would be heading across the world again, with no idea of when I would next return.
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