Paihia to Swanson

Haruru Falls

Made a quick visit to the Haruru Falls before quitting the Bay of Islands. Next stop was Kawakawa, famous for its public toilets! Designed by a quirky Austrian-born architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, they are a riot of coloured tiles and mosaics. And it's not just the toilets, there are other murals, lamposts and street furniture in the same theme, making it charming wee place to visit. Then, as we were standing on the main street, admiring the scene, along trundles a steam train - right through the middle of the street. Gabriel the Steam Engine, recently restored, is another Kawakawa attraction.

Hundwasser Toilets, Kawakawa

Just south of Kawakawa, we toook a short detour to visit the Kawiti Glowworm Caves. Fascinating! A low key, privately owned concern, we were taken through the caves by a guide with a torch (no garish electrical installations here). He used the torch to point out the limestone formations, then switched it off to let us see the glowworms sparkling on the ceiling, just like stars. Unique to NZ and Australia, these glowworms use their light to attract prey (mosquitoes, small flies and the adult flies that the glowworm matures into), which they catch on fine threads that they dangle down. They can switch their lights on and off at will and increase or decrease the intensity, all depending on how hungry they are and how desperate to catch food.

Muriwai Gannets

From here we headed south to our B&B which was in the Waitakere Forest, north west of Auckland. For the first time, it started raining and continued to do so, quite hard, for the rest of the day. So, sadly, some of the scenery was lost to us. ~30km north of our destination, we took another short detour to Muriwai Beach to see the gannet colony there. Fortunately the rain eased off for bit, so we were able to enjoy the amazing close up views of the gannets.


Arrived at the B&B to be greeted by our exceeding hospitable hosts. It was an extremely comfortable house with panoramic views over the forests to Auckland (which we saw in the morning). Superb dinner and good company.