After our short time in France surrounded by war graves and sites we decided that before continuing southwards we should visit a war cemetery and Mons being so famous and close by we decided to stopover for a couple of nights. It was a good choice as we later learned that Mons is where the British entered the war and the first British bullet was fired.

On arriving we realised that Mons had more to offer in the shape of numerous museums of interest, a cathedral and a very attractive town centre.

Our first visit was to the Mons military museum which was very informative as it not only covered both world wars it described the numerous historical battles for the control of Mons itself going as far back as the Middle Ages.

It had a very good visual display showing the moving lines of battle and how the allies were encircled and pushed back resulting in the evacuation at Dunkirk and an insight on the planning of the evacuation. A small exploratory force had been sent to test that the sand would take the weight of the vehicles and a group of soldiers were practising for the evacuation on the Welsh coast. They were spotted by German submarines subsequently attacked and many died, not something you learn in history books.

Sadly the other two places that interested us were not accessible to us, the Francois Duesberg clock museum was closed though it was published as being open and the Bam museum was restricted to members of the press only for a pre show viewing.

We had noticed there was an event called The night of dance in the main square that evening so to salve our disappointment we grabbed a pavement table for a few drinks and a meal whilst we watched the first couple of hours of the show before heading back to Vinnie.

Before leaving the next morning we visited the Commonwealth war cemetery which also included other members of the allied forces ie: Polish, Russian, Romanian and American. It also contained the grave of Pte J.L.Price of the 28th Canadian regiment, the last soldier recorded as killed in the Great War a tragic two minutes before the Armistice surrender.

After a number of years here we are “on the road again” aiming for Greece via Croatia, with no predetermined route to guide our journey allowing ourselves the freedom to explore.

Our first stop after disembarking the ferry at Calais was a small town named St Omer with a population of 15000. We drove into the main square in the early afternoon just as everywhere closed for lunch, so we had a quick wander around intending to come back and explore the following day. Unfortunately we woke up to torrential rain which was forecast to continue throughout the day so decided to decamp and move on.

Our intention had been to head towards an area of National forest at Le Quesnoy but had noted on the maps the existence of a Matisse museum at Le Cateau.

Le Cateau- Cambresis

The journey to Le Cateau was through vast areas of farmland very similar to that of Lincolnshire but on a much grander scale. It was a very poignant journey due to the numerous war graves and monuments relating to both world wars which were in evidence along the route and were a sobering reminder of what had taken place and the lives that had been lost.
The Matisse museum was a disappointment to us, having gone with little knowledge of his work we found his art did not capture our imagination. However the work of Genevieve Claisse we found dramatic, bold and interesting.
Our curiosity satisfied we completed our journey to Le Quesnoy

Le Quesnoy

This location being on the edge of a large National forest had seemed an ideal spot to begin a walking and cycling holiday in an area of natural beauty. However we found the available information lacked detail and when combined with the poor location signing as we drove through the forest points of interest became impossible to find.

The city itself turned out to be very interesting with the history behind its fortifications ( dating back to the 12th century ) and its part as an occupied city in WW1 and its amazing liberation by New Zealand forces a week before the Armistice.

To understand why a special bond has formed between the city and New Zealand the act of liberation needs to be explained. For four years 1500 German soldiers had controlled the city and being a fortified city with stone and brick embankments some 10metres high in places defence had seemed relevantly easy. What the New Zealanders did was find the point of weakness that allowed a small detachment using ladders to scale the wall and create a secure access point for the rest of the regiment to follow.

This heroic act came at the cost to the New Zealand division of 114 deaths and 464 casualties. The city in thanks have created a series of tributes including a memorial, a gate of honour and a garden of remembrance and continue to hold ceremonies on Anzac Day.

Next stop on our list was Franz Joseph glacier, we arrived early afternoon so visited the West Coast Wildlife centre leaving the forty five minute walk to the glacier for early evening.

The centre breeds two of the world’s rarest kiwi, the Rowi and Haast tokoeka it also has a good heritage, conservation and glacier display. The Kiwi can actually be viewed in a darkened enclosure which mimics their natural habitat, they are a very timid bird so silence and good night time vision is required. There were only two chicks in the enclosure and difficult to make out not helped by a child having a tantrum then a man coughing which sent them scurrying back into the nesting box so we went round a second time and had a great view.

Later we walked along a very stony pathway to the edge of the glacier which was not as spectacular as we thought it was going to be. During the last ice age both Franz Joseph and Fox glacier reached the sea unfortunately climate change has seen them recede to where they are today. I met a lady on the campsite who had been here 22 years ago and at that time she said you could walk up to and on them which really bought home the devastating affect of climate change.

The walk to the glacier was enjoyable following the river and enjoying the many waterfalls cascading down the rock face which made up for the disappointing end.

En route to Fiordland we stopped overnight at a place called Cromwell which had an interesting history, in 1992 they built a dam which flooded the historic town centre as well as homes and surrounding farms. To preserve some of the historic buildings they were disassembled and rebuilt in a pedestrianised area next to the river. It is also situated at the centre of the prestigious Otago wine region so after visiting the historic area we called in at one of the wineries for a tasting session and some lunch. I am normally a Sauvignon drinker whilst Charles will drink whatever is on offer but does enjoy a good Rioja, so I was surprised when I opted for a reisling which normally is to sweet but this had a nice citric back taste and Charles found a nice Pinot noir needless to say we left with a few bottles tucked safely in the van.

Further down the road we called in at Queenstown to find someone who could fix the World Wide Web device that kept playing up. After numerous circuits of the town we finally found a car park where I sat in the van whilst Charles did his business, I had seen enough to ascertain it was just one mass tourist attraction extremely busy and not for me. Then on to Fiordland to try and get on to a trip around Doubtful sound, most people head for Milford sound but our friendly Kiwi back at the lakes said Doubtful was better and he had visited three times. We headed straight for the quayside at Manapouri and booked on to the eight o’clock sailing next morning so as it was late it was straight to site eat and bed.

Photographs do not always do justice to your surroundings as they only capture a snippet of what the eye sees and I feel that our photographs do not do the Sound justice. To be on this great expanse of water dwarfed by the surrounding mountains with their many waterfalls was surreal.

On leaving Karamea We headed to the Wild Food festival at a place called Hokitika but first we had to visit the grey fur seal colony at Cape Foulmouth on the outskirts of Westport. Well worth the effort as there were many adults and pups soaking up the sun on the rocks and in small pool many of the pups were splashing and frolicking around.

We pulled in at a campsite opposite a glow worm dell and with access to a beach renowned for the little blue penguins. Dusk found us sitting on the beach in the hope of spotting the odd penguin coming ashore, out of luck we headed to the glow worm dell and yes they were in residence. Unfortunately photographs do not reflect the flashes of small light that you see with your eyes, you would need a very long exposure and tripod to capture this display. Apparently they are not worms at all but a native fungus gnat larvae with luminescent organs that produces a greenish light attractive to insects which they feed on, the glow worms that shine the brightest are the hungriest.

The following day found us in town at the food festival which is the annual highlight of Hokitika drawing people in from all over the country. It has been going for nearly thirty years and attracts the adventurous eater that wants to try the weird and unusual. Whilst there were some unusual foods on offer ie: huhu grubs both alive and cooked, mountain oysters (sheeps testicles) and gulls eggs but most of it was very ordinary. What was entertaining were the people themselves that had taken this opportunity to dress up weird and wacky either individually or collectively.

Throughout the day we were entertained by a variety of musicians and an air display by the New Zealand Air Force.

An early starts sees us boarding the ferry for South Island, unfortunately I missed the dolphins swimming across the bow of the ferry and the sailing through Marlborough sound as I was engrossed in my book for the whole crossing. Charles says Marlborough sound was stunning its beauty being the combination of sailing through a meandering gorge whilst surrounded by steep heavily forested landscape into which was built the odd isolated dwelling with no sign of road access. Boats rule ok!

Once off the ferry we had decided to head straight for the west coast,everybody had been telling us “West was best” so we thought we would check for ourselves. We had read that a beautiful but off the track area was the West’s most northern town of Karamea, this place was literally at the end of the road where the famous 80km Heaphy trail began (or ended depending your direction of travel) The Heaphy is considered THE wilderness walk and is a 4 day walk minimum, we don’t have any photos unfortunately as surprise we gave it a miss on this occasion!

So Karamea bound we were and our journey took us through the Famous Marlborough vineyards, amazing to see such an expanse of vines but we were glad when the scenery changed ( sorry Mr V you can have too much). Our Satnav slowly took us away from Marlborough and we headed into farming country ( sheep, beef and deer) and into and over the Buller gorge and pass, where (although for me with my fear of heights was a nail biting experience) the views were awesome.Karamea was no more than a small settlement of five hundred people with a real sense of remoteness yet we have both voted it our favourite place and we would defy anyone not to love the area and landscape. The camp site was part of the old Rugby ground at the back of the town school and run by a local committee who had provided some of the best facilities we have encountered on our travels.

We needed to hire a car to visit the wilderness highlight of the Oparara basin through which ran the access road to the Oparara arch. Our site manager Doug told it was not accessible by campervan and he pointed us in the direction of a local family that not only did car hire but also delivered the mail, ran the school bus and a weekly bus service over the mountain road into Westport.We walked into the “town” which was no more than a handful of shops and having organised the car hire via the information centre went for a coffee at what transpired was the epicentre of Karamea.

That evening we took a walk along the riverside to the mouth of the estuary and on to the beach which we shared with a diverse number of wading birds and not a human in sight.The river is popular for large trout fishing and in season the area is overrun by whitebait fisherman (no wonder at $80 dollars a kilo)

9am and the hired car arrived and after Charles returned from taking the driver back to base we set off. After twisting our way up a steep stony track we arrived at the car park from which the track to the arches started but before heading off we were intrigued by movements in the trees and spotted the rare Tui bird sitting on a branch singing its heart out. A plain black bird that looks like it has cotton wool balls either side of its neck of course we snapped a photo, we were also lucky enough to spot the rare blue duck during our walk.

The walk to the arch was interesting but the arch which was formed by the the water of the river interacting with the limestone and washing a hole through was itself disappointing. It was only a short walk so returning to the car park we took an alternative track to the mirror tarn which did in fact reflect all the surrounding vegetation, a quiet contemplative spot in which to quietly sit and enjoy nature. Further along we came across the Moria Gate arch much smaller than the Oparara arch which because of its setting we preferred. With all our meandering off track we had used up most of the day so our plans to also complete a walk through a palm forest was put off till the following day.

A perfect end to a perfect day was a beautiful double rainbow followed by yet another amazing sunset that we sat and watched until it had totally disappeared over the horizon.

Before leaving the following day we took a walk through the palm forest that ran alongside the bay and was where the Heaphy track either started or ended. Our aim was to walk to Scott’s Beach which was 45 minutes each way but decided to call it a day and make do with a few photos from the look out point and then get on our way to our next stop at Westport which was just a quick overnight stop so that we could visit the seal colony the next day.

Leaving the Northlands and heading south we had an overnight stop in Hamilton so that we could visit the only tea plantation in New Zealand on the outskirts of the town.

The Zeelong tea estate was founded by Mr Chen and his son who noticed that the flowering Camelia grew profusely in the area, in his homeland of Taiwan it was used to make tea. Starting with only one hundred and thirty cuttings they have gone on to propagate over 1.2 million tea plants producing Oolong tea. The estate is picture perfect with beautifully maintained growing fields a main office building and separate visitors centre built in very modern designs with both garden and grounds home to numerous hand crafted copper statues and sculptures. We arrived to late for the morning tour and would not be around for the afternoon tour so we settled for a pot of tea each in the restaurant area and on leaving we purchased a sample pack to take home with us.

Art Deco was calling so we hit the road and headed for Napier finding a freedom campsite overlooking the beach and only a short walk into town.

The museum had a very informative display of photographs, newspaper cuttings and information displays on the 1931 earthquake that devastated both Napier and the nearby town of Hastings as well as a video of survivors reliving their individual memories of that day which was very poignant. The rebuilding of the town coincided with the popularity of the Art Deco style shaping the design of the majority of the new buildings. Unfortunately the modern trend of large shop fronts has detracted from the beauty of Art Deco leaving the original designs mostly above ground level. However this has not stopped the city celebrating its uniqueness by having an Art Deco festival at the beginning of March each year.

The rubble from the collapsed buildings was used to rebuild the towns sea defences along the beach front with extensive landscaping to create a promenade which has overtime been developed to cater for all ages providing sunken gardens, seating areas around water features, skateboard and bmx ramps, a marine aquarium and numerous areas with play and fitness equipment.

The next stop was to satisfy Charles desire to visit the museum in North Palmerston dedicated to the history of the All Blacks which he found was fascinating, a small museum that managed to have displays about all the rugby union playing countries of the world. The two things that he learnt was that a) the first official New Zealand Rugby team shirt was purple with a fern in gold thread for the badge and b) the first wearing of the famous black shirt with a silver fern was actually by the 1888 New Zealand Natives (a Maori team and unofficial NZ Rugby team).

They travelled to Australia, Egypt and the British Isles in what has proved to be the longest tour in the history of rugby (108 matches in fourteen months) and becoming known as the All Blacks and were one of the most successful All Black touring sides in history.

I left Charles to his rugby and took myself off to explore the museum and gallery which was in the same complex and I was treated to the best display of ceramics I have seen in one place all by various artists. I am not a Lego person but my curiosity took me to the upper floor of the museum where there was a Lego display I was impressed, not only did they have large models of various personalities from Star Wars and the spaceships, the really big Wow was watching a video of an artist who had used Lego for his medium and created some spectacular works of art which were on display in New York certainly someone I shall look out for.

Having met up for coffee we took a stroll around the town and took a few pics.

Our final destination on North island was Owhiro bay a marine reserve on the outskirts of Wellington to be on hand to catch the ferry the next morning. Yet another freedom campsite which we shared with many like minded travellers. We arrived on what was an extremely hot afternoon so kept cool in the camper van all windows and doors open encouraging a cooling sea breeze to waft through. Later when early evening bought some cooler weather we stepped out for a walk along the beach (really a shingle path) aiming for The Red rocks and Bach’s (kiwi version of a beach hut)

Tomorrow the final leg of our journey.

Whangerai delivered a pleasant surprise by way of its river setting and a spectacular garden created within a disused quarry. After strolling along the river bank into the harbour area and indulging in a massive ice cream

we made our way to the quarry garden located on the outskirts of town, a walk that proved longer than anticipated ( one of those where you hope your destination is just around the corner and your heart sinks to your boots when it is not) Soon forgot how tired we felt when we started to explore, plants that we would take home from the local garden centre and nurture lovingly growing naturally into trees and large shrubs paths weaving you here and there until you end up at a lake and small waterfall, BEAUTIFUL!

From Whangerei we headed to the Bay of Islands leaving the main highway to take the coast road to a small town called Russell. A spectacular drive up and down a mountainous rd that ran parallel to the sea the occasional bay coaxing us in to take a closer look finally arriving at our destination late afternoon. We took a stroll around the town and promenade which boasted a swish looking hotel and a fig tree approx 200 years old. There were no facilities for parking the camper van overnight so we found a quiet lay by on the ferry road parked and set up our table and chairs, turned out we were next to a conservation area and the start of a nature walk. Quietly sipping our wine we were joined by a small family of what we thought were long tail tits then low and behold as they alighted on the tree branches their tails spread up and out like fans, unfortunately we were to slow to get a photograph. But we did photo them another day and this is them.

The ferry crossing next morning was really short as we were only crossing a small estuary which linked Russell and the main Bay of Islands town called Paihia which lacked the elegance of Russell and was obviously catering for the tourist trade. We made our way to the nearby Waitangi treaty grounds sited on a headland where the Treaty house was built in 1832 for a British resident and Crown Representative named James Busby and where forty three Maori chiefs signed the treaty of Waitangi with the British crown thus becoming part of the British empire. Across the lawn from the house a Maori meeting house was built in 1940 to mark the centenary of the treaty, the entrance and interior were beautifully carved. We and other visitors were treated to a typical Maori welcome and inside entertained with a Maori song and dance display.

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From Waitangi we headed for the lakes on the west coast but not before stopping to see Tane Mahuta ( the largest Kauri tree alive at 51.5 metres tall and a girth of 13.8 metres), this tree is estimated to be 2000 years old. The Kauri are an endangered species due to a disease that is decimating the forests, therefore the authorities are very strict on you cleansing your footwear before and after entering the forests and that you stay on the designated tracks. (On entering the country customs were very keen that anyone with hiking boots that had been hiking in foreign parts declared this as they went through or face a hefty fine, thankfully we passed muster. 😁

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We arrived at the lakes in time to snap a fabulous sunset and engage in a friendly conversation with a fellow camper who gave us plenty of tips on places to visit on South Island. Not somewhere that enticed us to stay longer so headed across to Napier on the east coast.

Stopping off on the way at a place called Dargaville as the local museum intrigued me. What a gem for a small museum it was jam packed with loads of interesting items all donated by local townsfolk. The highlight was the history of the gum diggers from which the town has grown. They were mainly immigrants from Dalmatia (now known as Croatia) and what a hard life it would have been. The gum was dug from the ground by hand then cleaned and sorted, some of the pieces on display looked very similar to amber.

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Hello New Zealand and so began the third leg of our vacation. What would we experience, would it live up to all the positive comments we had received, well it’s early days so let’s wait and see.

We had booked an AirBnB in Auckland and arrived with the country awaiting landfall of a small cyclone! Fortunately for us it hit land near Christchurch on the South Island although the north island got some heavy rain making our first 36 hours as if we had never left Moorea or Tahiti. It seems the storm was part of what we had on our last night in Polynesia and had followed us across the Pacific.

We took a shuttle taxi service from the airport and arrived at our accommodation address in mid afternoon. The accommodation turned out to be an excellent choice being on the bus routes into the city and was well fitted out as a self contained unit in the garden of the main house. The owner Grant was full of information on things to do and even took us to the supermarket for provisions on our arrival. We couldn’t have asked for a better host- thank you Grant

Thankfully we had long dry spells between the bursts of rain so we were able to explore Auckland.

Our first full day we set off into the city to explore. We had seen a walk described in the guide book highlighting an older part of the city leading down to the waterfront. We had also decided we would try and use the hairdressers, which for me is never a big thing as a) there’s not a lot of hair to cut and b) a number one razor does nicely thank you so a holiday trim in various countries of the world is my norm. But for Steph to brave letting a stranger loose was a big deal so we had agreed to go looking but Steph may opt out if the vibes were not good.

As we headed away from the bus stop we passed an entrance to an arcade with hairdressers signposted so in we went. Two immediately inside the entrance and opposite each other, the vibes were good Steph said. With nobody else in there we got a hairdresser each and 30 minutes later we had both been trimmed, hair washed and scalp massaged. Very good service, madam pleased with the result and all for @£24 for the two of us

Leaving the precinct looking a bit more well presented, we wandered a couple of streets away to a cut through staircase between streets that led to the Art gallery. The staircase landing had been decorated with a tiled mosaic to mark NZ women suffragettes movement securing the right to vote in 1893 It appears New Zealand maybe one of the youngest countries in the world but was ahead of the time in women’s equality.

The Art gallery was fascinating, its displays covered a wide range of subjects and were an interesting mix of styles. The most traditional being portrait paintings of Maori leaders in their ceremonial outfits. The paintings were by a Scottish painter who had settled in New Zealand and lived in a Maori area at the turn of the 20th century the details he had captured were photographic like.

The most contemporary, fun and eccentric was a collaboration the gallery was holding with a Japanese contemporary artist called Yayoi Kusama. Her youth had been shaped by dreams where everything was covered in spots. This led her to surround herself by such imagery and into a world of Art! The collaboration was to create a white room with certain items of furniture and fittings and give all visitors a peel off sheet with various sized dots in many colours, the visitors were then encouraged to put the dots on any surface in the room, so achieving the artists aim of “Obliteration”. It sounds daft and at first when we wandered into the space it felt strange but within seconds the inner child had surfaced and a room full of adults was transforming the space into a riot of colour. Is it Art? The jury’s out on that but the artists ideas had been transferred to Auckland and hundreds of people without realising were becoming her hands to create her style in absence. It may not be Art but it made us smile and for a short period of time made us feel different so maybe that’s Art?

The gallery was not the largest we have been into but the pleasure from the quality of its exhibitions was second to none and is definitely a must do when in Auckland.

Our guide book walk was described as a city centre ramble showcasing hidden nooks and architectural gems so after the gallery we proceed to ramble and took in the Victorian Albert Park and merchants houses, the University clock tower and the original main synagogue. The view from this area was dominated by the city below in the lower town area which gave an outline of high rise tower blocks and new construction tower cranes all creating a jagged skyline like mountain peaks. We walked downhill amongst these giants and arrived at the waterfront and harbour.

The city was busy preparing itself for the arrival the following week of the Volvo Round the World yachts and one area of the waterfront you walked along was a hive of workers creating the hospitality village around the marina.

In fact some big catamarans and mono hulls were already in town and we were amazed by one beast of a sailing boat that went by the name of Skade. We researched online and it was two years old, in private ownership not charter, and 47m in length. A truly amazing piece of design and investment!

On another day we would revisit the harbour to catch the ferry across to the north shore and visit the suburb of Devonport. A very attractive town that has retained a large number of Victorian and Edwardian buildings with a thriving mix of shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, and even a chocolate maker that had to be sampled. The towns spectacular views of the city, des res location and a regular ferry service making it commuter heaven.

Coincidentally as we went to catch our ferry to Devonport on the adjacent wharf was none other than Cunards Queen Elizabeth last seen by us in Mo’orea a few days earlier and obviously followed us over the Pacific.

A more local day out we went to a place called Motat which was a museum of technology and transport. Fascinating day that introduced you in interactive displays to science, working examples of engines, pumps and other equipment, a mock up with actual exhibits from Edmund Hillary’s journey to the South Pole and amazing examples of aircraft. The site was adjacent Western Springs Park which at one time was Auckland’s water supply and today was a pleasure park. Amazing that 1.5 million gallons of water a day still bubbles up from below and feeds streams and ponds en route to the sea.

So thank you Auckland interesting but a city that lacked charisma.

Our final day we collected our camper van and struck North. The intention was to go to a place called Whangerai on the lower edge of the Bay of Islands and spend a couple of days. The journey up was estimated to be about a 3 hour drive and with plans to stop for shopping and explore coastlines we anticipated 5 hours.

We looked for some wild camping spots along the coast south of Whangerai whilst we did enjoy an hour at a place called Marsden Cove with houses built onto the water with direct access to the highly regarded marlin fishing grounds

we had no luck with camp sites so headed into Whangerai and found a free Freedom parking set up that was perfect for walking into town.

Our plane hit the tarmac with the rain lashing down around us, we had arrived in the rainy season!! It was 1am and we had nowhere to go until the ferries started running. So along with a few other bedraggled and weary passengers we hunkered down for a long wait.

It is interesting watching how people occupy that vacuum of time between travel connections. A few bodies catching up on lost sleep, baggage doubling as pillows or grasped securely by hands that slowly loosen their grip as relaxing sleep takes over, faces staring vacantly into space the mind a million miles away, restless souls trundling back and forth with baggage trolleys piled high. Then a hive of activity as the lights go on and the coffee shop bursts into action and like moths to a light we are all drawn towards it, coffee and croissants have never tasted so good.

We board the ferry with a warning from the captain that it is going to be a bumpy ride what an understatement! It is a long time since I have experienced anything as bad, the only way to deal with it was to fully recline the seat and take long deep breaths for the duration of the journey which thankfully was only around forty five minutes. Stepping off the ferry the rain still bouncing off the pavements low heavy cloud shrouded the mountains that dominated the island giving them a dark mysterious feel.

Charles went off in search of a car hire whilst I stayed with the bags. I watched as a woman set up an artistic display of fruit and struck up a conversation with a group of women who appeared to just be passing the time of day but whom it turned out were taxi drivers waiting for fares, they informed me that all the rain was normal for the time of year but it was expected to get better later in the week I hope.

We travelled along the one and only road that ran the thirty five mile circumference of the island flanked on one side by the lagoon and the other the densely covered mountains with evidence of the torrential rain all around, swathes of land under water and vegetation strewn across the road, so the rain continued into and throughout the night.

The following day the rain had become intermittent so we set off to explore the island stopping at various points that looked interesting. Wherever we drove the jagged tops of mountains were ever present a vivid contrast to the calm lagoon with its contrasting shades of blue.

Moorea is a small island encircled by a coral reef over which the waves of the Pacific Ocean gently roll creating a vision of pure tranquility. There is no central hub to the island, retail outlets are situated around the many hotel complexes catering for the tourist trade with local crafts and the famous black Tahitian pearls and supermarkets can be found dotted along the road of the residential areas. The local economy obviously depends on the tourist trade through either the island hotels or many cruise ships such as Cunards flagship the Queen Elizabeth and Wind Spirit an automated four masted sailing ship.

There is evidence of a few small holdings raising a few cattle and a pineapple farm cut into the dense vegetation of the mountainside which supplies a juice making factory situated along the roadside that displays a large sign inviting visitors to view the process. Like a lot of beautiful small islands the big hotels have taken over the best of the beaches building large complexes that appear to be self sufficient offering guests all the amenities they could wish for so very few tourists are seen around the island other than those transported from the cruise ships or the more adventurous escapees from the hotel resorts on their mini mokes.

Off we went to explore the island in our hire car finding our way up the one road that veered off the coast road into the mountains up to the Belvedere viewing point that gave us a great view down onto Cooks bay and Opunohu bay the latter being the actual bay in which captain Cook moored many years ago. The two bays are separated by the volcanic peak of Mt Rotui, a single peak that rises out of the lowlands of the northern half of the island.

Back down we came and as the map indicated you could come down a different route we followed the map, well it was more a dirt track than a road and better suited to off road vehicles than a Dacia car but we bumped our way around potholes and ditches until we hit tarmac with a great sigh of relief.

The rain finally gave way to sunshine on our penultimate day so we headed for the beach finding some shade we settled in with beach mats and towels thoughtfully provided by our host. What a great day warm lagoon water to cool off in watching birds come and go on the remains of a mango tree growing out of the water, a wader nonchalantly fishing off the coral, a fleeting visit by a white egret and low and behold a single ray coming right up to the waters edge.

We watched with curiosity as a man came along the beach sat on the waters edge and proceeded to sharpen a knife then noisily clean something he had in a large plastic box, next he swims out into the lagoon and deposits the fruits of his labour into the lagoon??? All is revealed later when we see a dark fin in the lagoon and people leaving the water, yes a shark was in the water, we discovered later that the man had been cutting up a grouper fish.

Not only had we come here in the rainy season but also during a cyclone so more rain than was usual at this time of year and hence the really high winds. Thankfully we had rented a nice Airbnb bungalow set in the owners beautiful garden so we could come and go as we pleased. Now rested we are ready to continue the next and final leg of  our journey four weeks in a camper van around New Zealand.

We all have dreams or aspirations and this particular dream came out of Charles childhood, as a child like now he would read anything that captured his imagination and amongst the many childhood classics he can remember reading at the age of eleven a magazine story about Thor Heyerdahl who had visited Easter Island to investigate the famous Easter island statues. The reason for Heyerdahl’s visit was to re assemble a fallen statue back upon its base proving techniques that the local oral history believed were first used around 700AD. The photos that accompanied this article showed oversized human like figures with dramatic facial features towering over Thor and his fellow workers. Charles childhood dream at that time was to one day visit and see these statues for himself. Fifty years later his dream has come true and here We are on the island learning a lot more about these enigmatic figures.

Interestingly although he was 11 when He read the article, the visit of Heyerdahl had taken place in 1956 the year of his birth, that surely was destiny in action.

In the seventeen hundreds European explorers came across this uncharted but populated island and decided as their arrival coincided with easter it should be called Easter Island choosing to overlook that the island already had a name – Rapa Nui.

After a 6 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean from mainland Chile and a warm welcome from our hosts at the airport

We had arrived and our arrival coincided with the annual festival known as Tapati. During the Tapati celebration, the town is divided in two, each part constituting an “alliance” or clan representing the ancient races of the island. Each clan chooses a queen to represent and “lead” them during the competitions and the winner will have the right to the title of “Queen of the Island” for that year. It’s not a beauty contest, but rather a peaceful confrontation between the two clans that will compete through the days and night; where each participant will be able to express their physical and artistic skills to earn points for each candidate. The queen of the clan with the most points will win the crown. skills to earn points for each candidate. The queen of the clan with the most points will win the crown.

We enjoyed an early evening drink overlooking the local main bay full of surfers, body boarders and surf canoeists whilst behind us a football match on the small stadium pitch was in progress.

Afterwards we followed the crowds to a park area with stage and stalls and we found ourselves at the front of a standing area behind the main seating and took up position centre stage. We could see a darkened stage full of people and the sound of musicians, it soon became clear the entertainment was warming up and we awaited the beginning of the show

About 10.00pm the stage lights came on and a brief introduction began. The only part in English was hello welcome and enjoy the show. The rest in local dialect was lost upon us but we soon realised that the event was a competition of 2 groups and was one of the Tapati events

The 2 groups of about 150 people in total were spread across the stage with the left side all dressed in a purple costume and the right side in yellow. They took it in turns to sing and dance to songs with each group having their own musicians sat amongst them.

The stage was a riot of colour from costumes and outfits including headdresses with waves of sound leading the different troupes into their songs. Mostly the dancers only came forward to front of stage for their own troupe but occasionally a dancer would get up to dance with the other troupe and sometimes the opposition would invite a dancer to join them.

The songs and dances were telling the groups interpretation of a given theme and it was this that the judges at a table front centre stage seemed to be noting down as they marked.

It was an amazing spectacle and the enjoyment that their energy, skill and musicianship provided was something we will never forget. We left the show just before 1.00am and the sounds followed us all the way back to our hotel 1/2 a mile away. We learnt the next day the purple team had won and the event continued until about 3.00 am! Stamina indeed

For our second day we had booked a guided tour of the statue sites across the island. Our email confirmation for the 9.30 am tour had said we would be picked up around 10.00 so we were in the middle of getting up and ready when the hotel staff were knocking on our room telling us the tour had arrived. When we got down to reception we were informed they had gone to collect other guests and would be back. Explaining to our Guide “Rodriguez” the misunderstanding he apologised and said don’t worry we go by island time meaning whenever.

The schedule for the full day tour was to visit 5 different sites including the quarry where all the statues had been carved and transported from so we set off to begin our introduction to the world of the Moai (Mo-eye) to give the statues their symbolic name

In setting the scene for our tour three things we learnt were;

Family groups formed village like settlements wherever they found sources of fresh water. Being an island of no rivers due to the porous geology they sought out natural springs and settled nearby

Chickens were a sacred animal and would only be eaten at the annual sacred day

At some time in the history of the Rapa Nui the old ways had been challenged and Statue sites demolished. This led to a dark period as our guide called it where villages would raid other settlements and slaughter each other.

Our first site was Tahai near to the main town and we learnt as the day went on it was a site that gave the most informative introduction into the ancient ways of the first Rapa Nui settlers. This was a small cove giving access to the sea for the outrigger canoes they use and good level land with a small cave like outcrop. The families had created a village settlement of stone chicken coops and defensive shelters, sacred plinths and statues and dwellings they called boat houses.

You will notice the chicken coops have no obvious door and the entrance hole when filled with a special stone would be invisible to strangers

The defensive shelters were formed by enclosing the cave outcrops to give protection from any outsiders attacking the village.

In time the village would construct a sacred area with Moai statues. Those members of the village who were respected for their wisdom and ability would often be honoured by the carving of a Moai. The purpose being to allow that persons spirit to continue to guide over years to come. This was effected by placing certain skeletal remains into a depression on the Ahu (the stone plinth platform) onto which the Moai were placed. The idea being the Moai absorbs the spirit from the remains and transmits into the village through its eyes This is also why the Moai are facing into the village even in coastal settings

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We then travelled onto Rano Raraku the site of the ancient quarry where all the Moai on the island came from. The site is one of the many volcanic cones on the island and an eruption back in the mists of time had blown off the cone forming a summit caldera and lake.

The quarry is in the outer cliff face of the volcano and is dotted with Moai in various positions standing, laying down and partially buried as well as partially carved and still attached to the cliff face. One unusual Moai still on the side of the quarry complete but not moved down the cliff face is a kneeling position Moai. The only one of its kind for reasons unknown?

The most contentious subject for years is how were these statues moved. The largest is 10m tall and estimated to weigh 80 tonnes. But oral tradition and scientific tests have shown that they were moved in an upright position and through the use of manpower and ropes they would rock the moai on their base and use that movement to give a forward momentum that made the statues literally walk across the island

Near to the quarry is one of the most impressive village sites containing 15 Moai. as well as numerous boat house remains. stone greenhouses and artistic impressions (or petroglyphs to give them their name) of sacred images. It is no coincidence it was such a major settlement as being in the shadows of Rano Raraku it was home to many of the stone carvers and quarry workers

The petroglyphs record images of importance. Below you can see a face with a protruding tongue which is a threatening sign of warning to outsiders (Hoko it is called similar to the Maori Haka), a large image of a yellow fin tuna considered valuable as a great source of protein and which based on size of image would have been about 150kg and an image representing the bird man culture which was part of the changing beliefs in the dark period.

After visiting a couple of other sites we finished our tour at Akahena beach, this is the site were the first Rapa Nui travellers landed in their outrigger canoes and began to settle this uninhabited island. The oral history says they came from an island in the Marquesas chain of Polynesian islands and had sought new lands because there home was disappearing (probably due to volcanic activity)

It was interesting to see the first settlement and my point of destination, as this is where Thor Heyerdahl visited all those years ago. Unfortunately the sunlight as wrong for a great picture but it still was an impressive vision.

Our final day was going to be a long one as our flight was set for midnight and yet we were checking out of our room for 11.00am! The hotel said leave your luggage and use the lounge areas and pool showers later on to freshen up before they took us to the airport about 10.30pm

So we decided to wander into town for a breakfast which was very nice salmon cheese bagels and waffles with fruit and then go for a walk through the north side of town visiting the cemetery as the gravestones were reported to be very unusual and walked along the coast to and beyond our first site Tahai.

The cemetery was colourful and different to what we are used to.

After waking the coastline and going to the next bay after Tahai we found a nice rocky cove with dramatic surf on the incoming tide and spotted the remains of an impromptu ceviche picnic of lime juice cooked sea urchins. All that remained were lime husks and sea urchin spiny shells

And so our brief visit to Easter Island/Rapa Nui came to an end. We packed a lot into our time and were exhausted after the grand tour but as an island it was enjoyable, entertaining and welcoming.

Thank you Thor Heyerdahl for the dream and thank you people of Rapa Nui for everything you shared and the memories you have given us

Lorana (goodbye)