KEY POINTS:
When the young Dutch couple sent a message to friends saying they had decided to pack up their lives and head to New Zealand, the man described it as "D-Day".
"We have made a decision to leave," he wrote in May.
"It is such a great feeling, to
quit your job with the message you are going to New Zealand."
And with a simple knock on their white Toyota Hiace van, that great feeling disappeared.
It wasn't someone looking for help, but two masked men brandishing a gun.
The couple would soon be bound and robbed and the 27-year-old woman sexually assaulted.
It was a nightmare - not the New Zealand dream the two had formed on a holiday here two years ago.
A Dutch translator told the Weekend Herald of reading a weblog the couple wrote for friends in 2004, describing how they fell in love with the winter sunshine, the people, even the birds in the trees.
It seemed like they had found their paradise.
The blog tells of getting used to driving on the left, of seeing the haka performed, of the funny fantail chasing insects and of meeting people such as "Andy the park ranger".
Alongside pictures of them having a picnic lunch were descriptions of days on Waiheke, at Hahei beach on the Coromandel or snowboarding at Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu.
And of a night when they saw a falling star and how they hoped it would bring them luck.
They were soon planning a more lengthy visit. A website for travellers to New Zealand looking for jobs and accommodation shows that the couple, whom the Weekend Herald will not identify, registered over a year ago.
Then there was the "D-Day" message in May, marriage in August before the man left his job at a technology company and the woman gave up work as an art teacher to arrive here in September.
They are said to have wanted to spend a year in New Zealand before heading to Australia.
The translator said the blog, which included entries from their latest visit, came down soon after the attack.
This caused alarm in their hometown in the south of Holland, where their adventures were being closely followed, especially after news of a Dutch couple being kidnapped appeared in the newspapers.
The couple were well known in their community and had known each other since their school days - spent at the same school the woman returned to teach at.
A newspaper article quoting the school's reaction ran under the headline, "The flag flies at half mast".
The principal confirmed the rumours swirling around the school about the teacher and her husband, whom the students knew from his picking her up after school.
The article said the news hit like a bomb.
"After the confirmation, it suddenly went very quiet in class," said one student.
The Dutch tourists had not taken long to head to Northland on this trip, having missed it last time.
They parked in the Haruru Falls carpark just out of Paihia to freecamp - but they could have stayed safely in a nearby campsite for just $20.
The parking area is surrounded by trees - since pruned - and is a popular spot for tourists to stay the night.
That shows that the kidnappers, who would most likely have needed transport to get there, must have put some planning into the attack.
The two men, thought to be Maori, struck just as it went dark about 10pm and the couple were heading to sleep.
The attackers threatened them with the gun, possibly a shotgun.
The newlyweds were then bound and their journey began.
It is not known exactly where they were taken, as the couple were disoriented, with their eyes covered during parts of the journey.
Detective Inspector Mike Pannett, who is leading the 30-strong Operation Falls inquiry team, said the tourists were "laid down", restrained and "stood over".
They could feel the motion as they changed from sealed to metal roads and zig-zagged their way around the Mid-North.
There were sightings of the van in the nearby towns of Moerewa and Kawakawa between midnight and 1am.
At some point in this journey the two abductors forced the couple to divulge their pin numbers. And they subjected the woman to indecencies.
While it has been reported she was raped in front of her husband, detectives will say only that she was sexually assaulted.
Police say there was little communication from the kidnappers, one described as in his 40s and the older, more stocky and bossy of the two.
Police refused to speculate when the Weekend Herald asked whether they could have been father and son.
Some time after 1am the van and the newlyweds were driven to Whangarei.
One of the few clues along the way was a distinctive farm gate, with lighting on it, where the vehicle stopped for a while.
It then headed back up Northland, possibly returning to Kawakawa as late as 3am.
The journey ended in the small settlement of Towai on State Highway 1, where the Dutch visitors and their van were abandoned in a settlers' graveyard.
This also reveals a degree of planning, as the kidnappers would likely have needed a vehicle to get away. It is possible that others were involved.
Locals say the metal back road is one of many between the Moerewa and Kawakawa areas, meaning the abductors did not need to use the main roads.
The newlyweds then made their way through the dark to raise the alarm, the marks from the bindings on their hands still fresh.
The couple have since been recovering and have asked for privacy. Mr Pannett said there was no doubt about the truth of their claims.
The police hunt now centres on the sightings of the van around Moerewa and Kawakawa. Police are certain that, because of their local knowledge, the kidnappers used the backroads during the journey.
It is not known whether the couple will return to Holland or stay in New Zealand.
But they have been offered gifts worth well over $20,000 , such as resort accommodation, restaurant dinners and a ride on the Shotover jet.
But for a couple who fell in love with simple New Zealand pleasures such as watching a fantail chase insects, the gifts may not be their style.
Critical ATM machine had no security camera
A cashflow security camera could have helped track the kidnappers of the Dutch couple - but the Kawakawa ASB machine where their stolen cards were used did not have one.
The couple were forced to divulge their pin numbers to their abductors.
The kidnappers made several attempts over the night to withdraw money from the machine opposite the famous Hundertwasser toilets, which has no security camera - only a fitting that looks like where one used to be.
Police yesterday revealed that the lack of a camera was a consideration in their inquiries as to why the kidnappers used the machine.
Asked about the cameras, an ASB Bank spokeswoman said the bank did not comment on its security policies.
Detective Inspector Mike Pannett, who is leading the hunt for the kidnappers, said it "would be great" if all ATMs had security cameras.
The Weekend Herald also spoke to Joe Zingher, an American-based advocate of "reverse pin technology" who had read of the Dutch couple's kidnapping.
His technology would mean if a pin was entered backwards a message would be sent to police or a security firm immediately notifying them of a stand-over type robbery and its exact location. The money would still be withdrawn.
Of its possible introduction in New Zealand, the spokeswoman said ASB was continually reviewing its technology and security measures, and suggested further inquiries be made of the police.
