THE KIWI KRONICLES

Day 182 Saying Goodbye

2011-04-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s over. We are sitting at the airport having a hard time believing that six months have gone by. I guess the old saying that “time fly’s when you are having fun” really is true.

This has been an amazing trip, one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We are astonished that there is so much to do and see in a small country. From Cape Reinga in the north to Stewart Island in the south, it was all amazing. We had fun and loved everything about this great country but we especially enjoyed:

The quiet beauty of Doubtful and Milford Sounds.

The majestic mountain regions of Queenstown, Wanaka, Mt.Cook and Tongariro National Park.

The amount of hiking that is available here and how well groomed the trails are.

The natural ruggedness of the west coast and the Tasman Sea.

The continuous black sand beaches of the west coast, especially Whiriraki near Cape Farewell.

The mighty trees of the Kauri Forest especially during our night time vigil.

The enormous amount of stars that could be seen from Mt. John, stars we can’t see from the Northern Hemisphere.

The natural and powerful beauty of the geothermal activity on White Island and the Rotorua area.

The number of places that served fish and chips. The best was at The Drunken Sailor in Bluff (our opinion).

The lush green hills we found all over the islands.

The number of birds we had never seen before, our favorite was the Kaka.

We, okay, I was amazed at the meat pies, and the best was from Jackson’s Bakery in Havelock North.

The color changing view of the mountains from our holiday camp in Wanaka.

The gorgeous scenic drives all over the islands, Glenorchy and The Forgotten Highway being two of the many.

The incredible beauty of the Bay of Islands.

The stunning view of The Bay of Plenty from Mount Maunganui.

The scenic beauty of Golden Bay and the Abel Tasman National Park.

The list is endless as it is an astonishing country. Everything I mentioned and more is pretty special but the true strength of New Zealand is the people. We have enjoyed meeting so many people who greeted us with a smile. Who are always in a good mood and always have a friendly greeting. Who wave to us because we are in a tourist campervan. Who have stopped us on the street to see if they could be of help.

We will miss New Zealand and the people of New Zealand. They are special people in a special place.

Ta Kite Aotearoa

A final word to all who followed the blog and sent along their comments. Thank you, It was greatly appreciated. We are not sure what our next adventure will be but you are invited to join us. We will be ressurecting http://retiredonwheels.blogspot.com/ and we will be updating it weekly as we plan our next move.

Day 179, 180 & 181 Devonport

2011-03-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate in finding a perfect spot to make the change over from the van. We were able to stay on the north shore in the town of Devonshire. Specifically at an area called Narrow Neck Beach.

The ladies at the Takapuna I site found us a great self contained, one bedroom suite at the Ivanhoe Resort. It was perfect for exiting the van and preparing for the flight home. It was also veeeerrry roomy.

The last three days of our trip took slowed right down. As soon as we checked into the Ivanhoe we lost the urge to tackle anything else. I think we are finally toured out. It has been a great trip, a phenomenal trip but it has played us out. So we returned the van, started our preparation for the flight back and spent some time enjoying Devonport.

Devonport is a harbor suburb of Auckland on the north shore. It is a very nice setting and has been compared to Sausalito, California. We really liked the area and if we lived in New Zealand we would definitely consider Devonport.

Day 178 Piha, Takapuna

2011-03-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

We left Piha this morning with some regret as we really didn’t do justice to the area. It is a beautiful area with mountains, waterfalls and a magnificent beach. Even if the beach is a little dangerous. There were also many hikes we could have taken but at this stage of our trip we just were not prepared to make that sacrifice and get drenched.

We decided to go back to the north shore as we really liked the area. We ended up at the same park in Takapuna which was right on the beach. It was still early so we set up and the headed downtown for lunch and just to enjoy the area. We did have one item on the agenda that we had to take care of and that was to find the I Site to look for a place to stay. The van goes back in two days so we needed a place where we could unload and pack for the return trip. Once we were successful we just enjoyed the rest of the day. We are starting to wind down.

View of Rangitoto from Takapuna Beach

Day 175, 176 & 177 Ponsonby, Piha

2011-03-27T02:43:00.000-07:00

Today was a really pleasant day. We took our time leaving the campsite and gradually made our way over to Ponsonby. We were meeting Carli Eger for lunch and as Yogi Berra would say, it was déjà vu all over again. We first met Carli when we landed here six months ago and it was really good to see her again. We spent a delightful two hours catching up and of course telling her everything we have done on our trip.

We finally had to let her go as she is studying for mid terms. It was a real fun, relaxing afternoon.

When we left Carli we wanted to go to west Auckland for a couple of days but we had time to take a drive up Mount Eden. Mount Eden is the highest natural point on the Auckland Isthmus with a summit of 196 meters above sea level. Once you reach the top, not only can you get a good view of the surrounding area but you can see the majestic bowl-like crater. The crater is 50 meters deep as the volcano erupted several times with the last one around 15,000 years ago.

The View

The Crater

We left the mountain and turned west with the ultimate destination being Piha, a small village on the Tasman Sea. It is very secluded and was quite a drive getting there, not in length, but definitely a challenge. We got a real good look at it from a vantage point just prior to descending into the village.

The sky was starting to get quite dark so we headed for the campsite and checked in. There are a lot of hikes in this area as well as the beach. We are hoping for a nice day but the weatherman is saying no such luck. He is calling for rain.

Day 176 started out with the weatherman being right. It was raining and raining hard with a lot of fog. There was no sense doing any hiking or trying to take pictures. So we just hunkered down and did a little reading, did a little blogging and we even watched a movie. It wasn’t that bad of a day.

Day 177 was exactly the same as yesterday. It rained, a steady downpour that didn’t seem to want to let up. So we did pretty much the same as we did the day before. We did get a break in the weather or so I thought. It did stop raining late in the afternoon so I grabbed the camera and headed for the beach. It’s a shame the weather was what it was as it really was a nice beach. It was a black sand beach, as most are on the west coast with Lion Rock right in the middle of it.

Lion Rock

It was easy to tell the Kiwi’s are a lot heartier than we are as there was a lot of activity on the beach. People were swimming, there was quite a few people surfing and there were even surfing lessons going on.

Piha is considered one of the most dangerous beaches in the north island but is still one of the most popular in the summer. Many people from Auckland make the beach a part of their summer. The rip currents along this section of the coast are very unpredictable and shift with little warning. They claim many lives despite the efforts of surf live-savers. Most of the drowning occurs after lifeguards are off duty or after rock fisherman wearing heavy clothing are washed off rocks.
The dangers of the beach prompted a New Zealand reality television show which is aptly named “Piha Rescue”. It is in its third season and features the lives of the surf live savers on Piha Beach. I decided to stay out of the water, I really didn’t want to be on TV.

I was half way up the beach when it started to rain again and I was soaked by the time I got back to the camper. Still I was glad it eased for awhile and I got to see the beach.
When I was coming back from the beach I realized how isolated the village was. It is completely surrounded by mountains. I can see why people like it here.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Day 174 Tiritiri Matangi

2011-03-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

We seem to have a bit of luck as far as the weather goes. It looks like it is going to be a nice day for our trip to the island of Tiritiri Matangi. So, we got ready and headed over to Gulf Harbor to catch the ferry.

It was only a 20 minute ride on the ferry and as soon as we got past the coast we got our first view of Tiritiri Matangi.

Tiritiri Matangi

The island of Tiritiri Matangi or “Looking to the Wind” lies about 4 km off the coast of Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The 220 hectare island was farmed up to 1981 when the leases were cancelled. A reforesting program was started in 1984 and continued until 1984 with a total of over 250,000 trees being planted.

Today the island is a wildlife sanctuary that is pest free. That has allowed many birds that were once native to the island to return. The DOC has also introduced a number of rare birds that came close to extinction to prosper. New Zealand is known as the Island of birds and it was very obvious here.

We arrived at the island, listened to the welcoming and rules speech before heading up to the lighthouse and small visitor’s center.

On our way up to the lighthouse we got our only look at a couple of Brown Teal. The Brown Teal is a rather nocturnal small dabbling duck species endemic to New Zealand. The Maori name for it is Pateke. This bird is on the endangered list with as few as 1000 still surviving on the outlying islands.

Brown Teal

Just prior to getting to the lighthouse we met the guest of honor for the island. Greg is an 18 year Takahe that has been here his whole life. He was a little worse for wear as he had just been in a fight. It seems that his mate left him and he has been trying to win her back with little success. The Takahe is flightless.

We stopped at the lighthouse long enough to have a coffee and study the map of the different trails around the office. We even had a Fantail join us in the café. We decided on the direction we wanted to go but stopped at a water station and took a few pictures of two types of birds that getting a drink. The Tui and the Bellbird have both prospered with the safe haven the island provides.

Tui

Bellbird

Fantail

We started on our hike along the east coast track that gave us an elevated look at the coast. Today wasn’t only about the birds. The scenery was pretty awesome as well especially along the first part of our walk.

It was during this part of the walk that we say a number of birds with the tui and bellbird being the most prevalent. We also got a look at the Red Crowned Parakeet, more Takahes, Welcome Swallow and a Wood Pigeon.

Bellbird

Red Crowned Parakeet

Takahe

Tui

Wood Pigeon

Welcome Swallow

We did see other birds but were not able to get a good picture of them. Kathy says that the pictures weren’t blog worthy. On our way to the west side of the island we travelled through the only area that was original forest. We came across one of the island’s oldest Pohutukawa Trees, estimated to be 800- 1000 years old. You can see from the picture of the sign that it is actually two trees. It was quite interesting to look at.

We continued on our walk through the forest just enjoying the day. We listened to the birds and marveled at the terrain. However, the island isn’t that big so we shortly came to the west coast.

We followed the coast until we reached the ferry. It was waiting there and we thought it was early but it hadn’t left. They only allow one trip per day with a maximum of 150 people at a time.

So we hung around the wharf until it was time to go. We were treated to one last look of Grey as he had wandered down to the boarding area. We were told that this was the first time he had ever ventured this far from the lighthouse area. It is a 15 minute walk via the road and a 25 minute walk on the path. He must have taken a pretty good beating and wanted the safety of the people.

Greg the Takahe

It was time to leave so we said goodbye to Grey and boarded the ferry for the short ride back to the van. It was getting late in the day so we just drove back to the campsite and settled in for the night. It was a great day.

Day 172 & 173 Takapuna, Red Beach

2011-03-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

It rained pretty hard last night and was still raining this morning. However things cleared up a little later and we were able to get out and enjoy the area. We are in Takapuna right on the water. The beach right in front of us was pretty rugged as there were a lot of old lava remains. I noticed that some of the rocks actually looked like old tires lying in the sand. On exploration I discovered that this area was once a Kauri Forest until 200,000 years ago when the volcano which is now Lake Pupuke erupted. The lava flowed into the forest setting it on fire. Lava flowing around the lower part of each trunk cooled and solidified as a thick crust. The remaining lava flowed on leaving meter high cylindrical moulds of hundreds of tree trunks. The moulds have hollow centers created when the original wood slowly burned away. It was pretty interesting.

I was waiting for Kathy prior to us heading downtown and I was standing outside our camper watching the seagulls. I never realized before how vicious and territorial they can be with each other. They actually fight, it was pretty funny.

We headed out for our walk starting with the coastal area and the beach. It was nice but we had seen much nicer beaches in our travels here.

So we headed downtown to have a look. Takapuna being on the north shore has become a bedroom community with a lot of people travelling to and from Auckland via ferry. We just strolled along doing a little window shopping and a little people watching.

We returned to the park via the beach but this time from the other direction. The wind was blowing pretty good which made it perfect for surfing and parasailing. We stopped and watched for awhile before heading home. It was a good afternoon.

Day 173 which was Tuesday, March 22. We left Takapuna and headed a little further north to Red Beach. We were taking the ferry over to Tiritiri Matangi on Wednesday and Red Beach was the closest camping site to the ferry terminal. On the way we stopped at a large mall in Albany for a little shopping and to have lunch. Once we completed our shopping we headed Gulf Harbor which is where we would catch the ferry. We wanted to do a little scouting to make sure we wouldn’t be held up in the morning. The area is quite nice so we also took a bit of time to take a few pictures.

There is an island just off shore from the marina. The islands Maori name is Kotanui Island and the English name is Frenchman’s Cap. We were able to get shots of it from two different angles. We also got a shot when the tide was in. The difference was quite significant.

Frenchman’s Cap

Once we had our bearings we headed over to the campground and checked it. This campsite is the very first one we stayed in when we first got here back in October. Tomorrow we take the ferry over to Tiritiri to do a little hiking and bird watching.

Day 171 Auckland

2011-03-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

We are back where it all started, downtown Auckland.

We decided to come down to the Wharf area to check with I Site and to have a look around. We stopped in at the I Site to see about visiting a couple of the islands and if there was anything else we had to do or

We spent the first part of our day just walking around the marina. You can tell it is a sailing city as there were very few power boats in the marina, mostly sailing vessels. There were some very large and impressive lady’s of the sea.

We also spent some time along the waterfront besides the marina. We just walked around, stopped for a coffee and enjoyed the sites. We were impressed with the way they built the Hilton Hotel, it looks like and is meant to represent a ship. They did a good job.

Hilton Hotel

We also walked up to the Sky Tower area for a late lunch. There is a free fall jump at the tower which is Aucklands highest building. The free fall jump is similar to a bungy jump except that you do not bounce back up. They slow your fall right at the very end and you land quite softly. We watched them for a short period before heading back down to the van.

Once we got back to the van we decided that we were going to spent the next couple of nights at the Takakpuna Holiday Park on Takapuna Beach. The beach is on the north shore but is still part of Auckland. When we got to the camp we settled before starting to go for a walk. We had ice cream in mind. Those plans were foiled ( thankfully ) as we met our neighbors in the next site. Roy and Jan are a nice couple from the north of Wales who are here visiting their son, daughter and grandchildren. We spent the rest of the evening just chatting and enjoying the pleasant company. Well, at least until the rain chased us back to our respective campers. They have about a month left before they go home and we wish them well.

Kathy with Jan and Roy Whittington from Wales

Day 170 Orere Point, Kawakawa Bay, Manukau

2011-03-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

We left the campsite but before carrying on any further we had to go to the end of the road, to Orere Point. The road stopped at the water which was the mouth of the Firth of Thames.

We got back on the road and shortly after turning onto the main highway we started seeing a lot of cyclists. They were numbered and obviously in a race. It wasn’t that far down the road that we came to a small community called Kawakawa Bay where there was a lot of activity. We pulled over and walked over to where there were a bunch of people gathered. It turns out that the cyclists we passed were competing in a half Ironman race. A half ironman starts with a 2 kilometer swim, 90 kilometer bike ride and then a 21 kilometer run. The people gathered were watching the race and we joined them.

Kawakawa Bay was a very small community but had a terrific view of the bay of the same name.

While we were watching the race we met a gentleman by the name of Kim Cragg. Kim was very knowledgeable about the race and the goings on. He was able to answer all our questions and then I found out why that was so. Kim is a full Ironman Competitor and he had just finished a race a short time previous that was run in Taupo. A full ironman is a 3.8 kilometer swim, 180 kilometer bike ride and a 42 kilometer run. Kim completed the course in 11 hours and 41 minutes which was really good considering Kim is 52 years old. He took over 2 hours off his previous year results. Good for you Kim.

While we were there, Kim introduced us to Megan Blackett who one of New Zealand’s up and coming female ironman competitors. Kim told us to watch for her in an upcoming Olympics.

Kim Cragg & Megan Blackett

The Front Runner

I could have taken a better picture of Kim and Megan. My apologies to both of you. The second picture is the leader and I am assuming the winner of the race. We left before it was finished but a 6 minute lead with 7 kilometers left I would think would be insurmountable.

It was a fun couple of hours but we finally had to push on.

The rest of the day started with lunch in Clevedon before turning onto north road and following the coast to Omana Beach. It was then back along the Maraetai Coast Road that would take us to Whitford and then into Manukau. Manukau is a suburb of Auckland and pretty close to the airport. It was a very nice day and the drive gave us quite a few photo opportunities.

We also spotted this on our travels. You think there might have been a little alcohol involved here.

Look up, look way up.

We arrived at the holiday park, checked in and just enjoyed a quiet evening. We are not sure what we are doing tomorrow. I think a little planning is in order.

Day 169 Pokekohe, Orere Point

2011-03-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Kathy’s dentist appointment wasn’t until 1:15PM so we didn’t leave Port Waikato until noon. We just relaxed and enjoyed the morning. The trip to Pokekohe was successful, the dentist glued Kathy back together and we were having coffee in no time. As we were enjoying our break we met and chatted with a couple that lived in the area. Matt and Sheila are very nice people who were very helpful with suggestions of things to do in the area. It was Matt who told us about Great Barrier Island, which we hope to get over to, time permitting.

Matt & Sheila

We said goodbye to Matt and Sheila and headed off on a drive that Matt showed us. The first part was over ground we had covered before as we were heading towards the Coromandel. Just prior to reaching the Coromandel we turned towards Miranda and the Miranda Hot Springs. We headed in for a soak but decided against it as three buses of school kids had just arrived, it was a little crowded. So we carried on with our new destination being the Miranda Shorebird Center. There is a hide available for people to watch the birds as them come in to feed. The best time is close to high tide and we were fortunate enough to time it just about right. We stopped and hiked out to the hide and settled in to wait for the birds. We met 3 other couples at the hide which made for a lot of storytelling about each other’s travels. We spent quite a fair amount of time watching the tide come in, watching the birds and more importantly waiting for the rain to stop so we could get back to the van without getting wet.

The most amazing aspect of our visit to the hide was the number of birds. The more the tide came in the more birds arrived. They just kept coming in waves. We saw godwits, oyster catchers, dotterels, royal spoonbills, white herons, red billed gulls, pied stilt and some we couldn’t recognize.

We left the bird hide and continued along the coast of the Firth of Thames which is appropriately named the Bird Coast. It was a very pretty drive.

We had been invited to spend the night at Matt and Sheila’s farm and we thought that we would finish the drive and do just that. However, we spent so much time bird watching that we barely reached the halfway point. We were close to the Orere Point Holiday Park so we pulled in, secured a site and settled in for the night.

Day 168 Port Waikato

2011-03-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

Well, we got our wish, maybe too much. It was a bright sunny day and hot, very hot. We started the day by climbing up a set of stairs to a lookout which was right behind the campsite. This gave a good view of the estuary of the Waikato River and the sand dunes.

The Estuary

Waikato River

Port Waikato Holiday Park

Port Waikato

After lunch I wanted to check out the sand dunes but Kathy had no desire to go tramping around in hot , soft sand, so I set out on my own. What a brave fellow.

Sand dunes park form a natural breakwater for the estuary and it is quite large. I started out by walking between the sand dunes and the river, met some fishermen, saw some birds and just enjoyed my time.

Bank of the Sand Dunes

Pied Shag

The tide is out

Waikato River

I walked about three quarters of the way to the end of the spit before turning inland across the dunes to the Tasman Sea. It was not easy going as the sand was very soft and very hot.

I finally reached the beach on the Tasman Sea. It was so very refreshing to walk into the water and cool off my feet. The beach was like many we have seen on this coast. Long stretches of black sand that seem to go on forever. This beach was much cleaner as it did not have as much driftwood and debris on it.

I headed back toward town and sunset beach. It was a fairly long walk but I had the beach to myself, it was pretty nice.

I ended up at Sunset Beach, the local swimming and family beach. There were a few people enjoying the hot day. I was getting pretty tired and a still had a couple of kilometers to walk back to the campsite. So I took a few pictures but didn’t stay that long.

I got back to the campsite just in time to get the charcoal BBQ going. It turned out to be a pretty good day. My short jaunt into the sand dunes turned into a 2 ½ hour hike but I thoroughly enjoyed it. We are leaving here tomorrow but we are not sure what the day will bring. Kathy lost a crown, it seems to be going around, and has a dentist appointment in the early afternoon. It is in a town about 50 kilometers down the road, not sure where we are heading after that.

Day 166 & 167 Raglan, Port Waikato

2011-03-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

The last few days weather wise have been great, sunny and hot. So it was a little surprising that we woke up to rain. We were in need of a lazy day so we weren’t too disappointed. It gave us a reason to laze around. It did clear up enough so that I could walk downtown and have a look around.

Raglan has a population of just under 3000 residents and was initially supported by flax and timber exports. These were followed by farming and dairy which are still the mainstays of the area. However, the arts and tourism are also significant to the current economy.

Raglan is also known for its surf. Eight kilometers from Raglan is a series of surf breaks including Indicators, Whale Bay, Manu Bay and Vortex Bay. A large portion of the tourists are here to surf. Manu Bay was featured in the 1966 movie The Endless Summer. We plan to hit a couple of the beaches tomorrow. I don’t think we will be doing much surfing.

Bridge to Town

On the way to town

Downtown Raglan

Raglan

Gathering at Library & Free Wifi Location

Another view of the bridge

The Estuary

Later in the afternoon Kathy was finally able to get a good picture of a Myna Bird. They are pretty common but we have not been able to capture one on film. Okay a digital impression.

Myna Bird

OK, who took my towel

We took a walk on the beach that was right next to our campsite just in time to catch a pretty nice sunset.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

The next day (day 167) we planned to leave Raglan but not before we headed a little south and checked out some of the surfing beaches. The first one we stopped at is not considered one of the better surfing beaches but a lot of people do surf there. It more of a swimming and holidaying beach.

We had a look, took a few pictures and then headed to Manu Beach. This is more of a surfer’s beach and there were quite a few surfers present. Which was surprising as it is the end of the summer and the waves weren’t all that great today. We still enjoyed sitting up top and getting a bird’s eye view of the activities.

Manu Beach

Surfers at Manu Beach

There were a few other sights worth photographing on our morning drive.

We left the surfers and headed for the highway that would take us to Port Waikato. That meant we had to go back into Raglan so we stopped for a Mochachino before leaving town. It also gave us a chance to see Raglan with sunlight as it was pretty overcast the day before. It hadn’t changed.

We got on our way to Port Waikato and our desire was to get there via Hwy 22 which was a secondary highway. We thought it might give us a more scenic look at this area. However, we missed the turn and before we knew it we were on the main highway that took us north towards Auckland. In hindsight it was just as well as it started raining and rained the entire way. The back roads were a challenge at the best of times let alone when it was raining. The new route has us following the Waikato River for a good portion of the trip.

Waikato River

We really didn’t take any more pictures on our way to Port Waikato. I don’t know where the day went but it was quite late when we got to the holiday park and checked in. Some days just seem to evaporate. We are hoping for a nice sunny day tomorrow.

Day 165 Waitomo, Raglan

2011-03-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Today we are finishing up yesterday's plan and continued driving to Raglan. While we were getting ready to go I started chatting with the couple in the next van. When he said they were from Peterborough, Ontario I couldn’t help myself. I tried to stop it but it came out anyways. The old preverbal “ Do you know so and so” . In this case it was John and Kim Kasperski and they did know them. John (retired) and Kim are both teachers along with Vicki. What are the odds.

Colin and Vicki Wraight are vacationing here before they go to Australia for a period of time. We spent quite a bit of time chatting with them before we finally had to get ready to leave. They are nice people and we hope they have a great vacation. Who knows, we may even run into them the next time we are in Peterborough visiting Kim and John.

Colin & Vicki Wraight with Kathy

We finally got packed up and out of the holiday park but before we left the area we wanted to do a short hike that was recommended to us. It is rated as one of New Zealand’s best short walks. It was only about 5 kilometers down the road and was call the Ruakuri Bushwalk.

This walk took less than an hour and is one of the most diversified short hikes we have been on. It started with a well groomed path along side of a small river. I thought it was going to be a nice leisurely walk through the bush with the shade giving us some protection for the heat.

That didn’t last long. I forgot for a moment that we were in New Zealand but the stairs quickly reminded me. It didn’t take long, with the stairs and the heat to work up a sweat. Actually Kathy informed me that she was perspiring. Yours truly, I was sweating.

We were in a limestone gorge with a river running through it. As a result there were many caves and indentations in the rock. There were short, narrow tunnels that we had to walk through to stay on the track. There were huge natural bridges like the one we saw yesterday at Mangapohue. It was quite an experience.

When we left the bushwalk we decided we deserved a Mochachino so we stopped at the info centre which had a café. This is where the famous Waitomo Caves with the glow worms are located. We thought that we would give it one more chance to talk ourselves into taking another tour. So we had a drink, talked it over and decided not to partake. We had done a caves tour earlier and really didn’t need to see a worm that glowed. So we headed on.

We pretty much headed straight to Raglan as it was now close to 1PM. I am not sure how that day got away from us but it did. The drive to Raglan was over terrain very similar to what we had been seeing for the last day or two. Very green, very lush, very hilly.

As a result of not stopping we arrived in Raglan in time to have an early dinner which led to an early evening. We will spend some time exploring the area tomorrow.

Day 164 Kawhia, The Freedom Highway, Waitomo

2011-03-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

We woke to another hot and sunny day. I could get used to this. We wanted to explore Kawhia (pronounced caw-fee-ah) before heading down the road. We found that it is a small village of approximately 650 residents that is steeped in Maori history. The village sits in Kawhia harbor which is protected from the Tasman Sea by a buffer of forested sand dunes. The fishing in the harbor is very good and as result the area is a draw for sport fishing.

Just prior to leaving town Kathy took a picture of this bird. A short time before we stopped it had dove down and took one of the fisherman’s bait. We were told it was quite a sight watching the people try and rescue the bird. The good news is that they were successful.

There was beach just outside of town we wanted to visit. Ocean Beach is a long expanse of beach that can be driven on during low tide. It is a difficult drive so most people just walk from the provided car park. The only downside of the walk is climbing the soft sand in the dunes.

The walk completed we continued on with our journey. We were not far from the main highway that would start taking us to Raglan. We climbed one last rise, took a couple of pictures and then pulled into Waitomo.

We stopped for an ice cream and realized that there was Top Ten Holiday Park across the street. As it was late in the afternoon, it didn’t take much arm twisting on Kathy’s part to convince me to stop. Especially since it was a very hot day and we could see that the park had some very large shade trees. So we decided to check in, get one of those shady spots and just relax for the rest of the day. Another great day.

Ocean Beach is a black sand beach and between certain times when the tide is out you can take a warm bath. There is an area where the warm waters seep up to the surface and if you dig a hole it will fill with warm water.

It was at one of the bath holes that we met Karen, a young lady who let us dip our toes in her pool to try it out. It was quite warm.

Karen

We then met the rest of her family who were here on holidays from Auckland enjoying the beach and the hot pools. We spent some time chatting with them. They were very nice people and we wish them well on their holidays.

Thomas, Dad & Mom

We left the holidaying bathers and strolled down the beach. Aside from the area where the hot water came up the beach was relatively deserted. We enjoyed our time just strolling along and taking pictures.

Just prior to leaving the beach we met and chatted with a lovely couple who were also here on holidays. They are from the Upper Hutt area which is very close to Wellington. Des and Angela were two very lovely people who were celebrating Desmond’s 86^th birthday which was the next day. Happy Birthday Des.

Desmond & Angela

We left the beach and Kawhia and started our drive to Raglan. That is where we were planning to spend the night but we wanted to take the circular route. We had to get back to Highway 3 but instead of taking the most direct route we turned south onto The Freedom Highway. This was the highway we wanted to drive yesterday but time prohibited.

It was a narrow highway with many turns which made it very slow going. It did provide us with some pretty nice sights.

Our first planned stop was at the Marokopa Falls. It was a short 10 minute downhill walk to the falls. This was one of the most impressive falls we have seen while we have been here. The pictures really don’t do any justice in capturing its beauty.

Path to Marokopa Falls

Marokopa Falls

Our next stop was the Piripiri Caves. As much as I don’t like going into caves I still want to have a look at them. This is where some research would have paid off. We got there only to find out that you needed to enter the came to get any kind of view. You also needed a flashlight which we didn’t have. The end result being that we climbed 110 stairs just to take a picture of the entrance. Oh well, it was good exercise.

Stairs to the Caves

Kathy leaves the cave (lol)

Piripiri Caves

Our last stop along The Freedom Highway was the Mangapohoe Scenic Reserve and the Mangapohoe Natural Bridge. It was a loop walk along side of a river that lead to an area where water and wind over a long period had carved out a natural bridge and a small cork screw canyon. It was quite fascinating however the lighting and small spaces prevented any pictures from showing its true magnitude.

The loop trail took us past the bridge and into a farmer’s field. Here we found some very different rock formations and another deposit of oyster fossils. The fossils we see in the rock are from giant oyster beds that are 35 million years old. Sediment and shell fragments smothered the oyster beds and gradually compacted to form limestone. About 10 million years ago, movements in the earth’s crust caused the seafloor to rise up and become land. In places, wind and water have eroded the limestone and exposed the oysters.

We continued our walk through the farmer’s field doing our best to enjoy the scenery and to avoid the pitfalls. It was a daunting task.

Day 163 Rotorua, Kihikihi, Kawhia

2011-03-14T21:34:00.001-07:00

It is another beautiful day, sunny and starting to get very hot. We left Rotorua with plans to make it as far as Kawhia today. It is a small fishing village on the west coast. First, we wanted to check out a local park where you could go Zorbing. It was not that far out of Rotorua on Hwy 5.

Zorbing is a activity?, sport?, thrill ride? , all of the above? What I do know is that it was 15 seconds of rolling down a hill for $ 50.00. However the people who did it all seemed to have fun and one thing in common. They were young, the oldest being in their early twenties. There were two types of rides, a wet ride or a dry ride. A wet ride is when they put a bucket of water in the ball with you and the dry ride is when you are strapped in. We only saw people who wanted to do the wet ride.

It was with great difficulty (not) that we dragged ourselves away from watching them Zorb and headed for Kawhia. It was almost due east from Rotorua but in order for us to get there we had to zigzag across the interior. We wanted to make the trip by using as many secondary roads as we could. As a result we found ourselves travelling across some pretty nice farmland.

In the first game we saw Waipa defeat Auckland 12 goals to 11 in a 6 chukka game. It was a nail bitter to the very end. In the second game we saw the hometown Kihikihi put a beating on Cambridge. When we left at the end of the third chukka it was 6 goals to nil. In spite of the fact that we didn’t have a clue what was going on, we had a good time. The weather was hot, very hot, the ice cream was cold and it was a good way to spend the afternoon.

As a result of our spending so much time being polo connoisseurs we had to change our plans on how we were getting to Kawhia. We were going to travel a circular route along “The Freedom Highway” but instead had to take a direct route. Again, as expected, the drive was pretty nice. The landscape was very similar to what we seen this morning. As we got further west it started becoming quite hilly bordering on mountainous.

we were only a few miles from the coast we reached a summit that gave us a look at where we were going. We couldn’t actually see the town but we could see the coast and surrounding country side. It was quite a vista.

We were pretty beat by the time we got to Kawhia, the afternoon sun at the polo grounds had taken its toll. However, we are not complaining, after all the rain we are really appreciating the sun and the heat.

We decided the best thing to do was find a campsite and settle in for the night. It was a great day.

We had a first today. On our travels we came to the town of Kihikihi and as we were passing through we saw some activity at their polo grounds. Neither Kathy nor I have ever seen a game of Polo played live. So we pulled in and stayed to watch for awhile.

At about the half way point we came to the Waikato River. There was a picnic area so we stopped for lunch and a few pictures.

Waikato River

Day 162 Taupo, Orakei Korako, Rotorua

2011-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

It was another cold night but was very clear, not a cloud in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. Our first stop this morning was at Orakei Korako which was a few miles up the highway from Taupo towards Rotorua.

Orakei Korako which in the Maori language is “The Place for Adorning”, it is also called The Hidden Valley. It is a highly active geothermal area most notable for its series of fault-stepped sinter terraces.

When we arrived at the park, we were on the wrong side of the lake. We had to take a small ferry to the other side to start our walk through the park.

Prior to boarding the ferry we decided to have a coffee and a piece of carrot cake. We had a few visitors join us and apparently even the birds like the carrot cake.

Once we had finished our coffee we boarded the ferry and headed across the lake. The first site of the park is the Emerald Terrace.

The Emerald Terrace

The Emerald Terrace continues 35 meters under the lake which was formed when the Waikato River was dammed in 1961 raising the level by 49 meters. The raising of the river for hydropower flooded approximately 200 hot springs and 70 geysers. Two of the world’s largest geysers were drowned by the lake. Minginui Geyser, which was once observed erupting up to 90 meters high and Orakeikorako Geyser which gave the whole region its name.

There was a specified route through the park and we were encouraged to stay on the boardwalk. We saw many phenomenal and sometimes weird sights. There was a lot of picture taking.

After the Emerald Terrace the first stop was the Diamond Geyser. The geyser is very unpredictable as its eruptions can last for a few minutes or sometimes as long as a few hours. We were not fortunate enough to see it erupt.

Diamond Geyser

During our walk we came upon sights such as Rainbow and Cascade Terrace, The Golden Fleece Terrace and The Artist’s Palatte.

Rainbow Terrace

The Golden Fleece

The Golden Fleece with the Wairiri Geyser

The artist's Palatte

The Artist's Palatte

We saw the Elephant Rock and the Soda Fountain. The Soda Fountain after laying dormant for 17 years suddenly refilled and burst into life in 1984. Since then it has been unpredictable and can fill and empty at any time.

Elephant Rock

The Soda Fountain

We were able to get close to the mud pools and see the gas bubbles rising to the top.

The most amazing part of the park was the colors. Whether it was the greens of algae or the many colors of silica it was breathtaking.

We had the opportunity to see the Ruatapu Cave, one of only two caves in the world known to exist in a geothermal field. The cave extends 45 meters, with a vertical drop of 23 meters to a shallow pool of clear, sulfate-rich, warm acid water. The pool’s chemical composition gives it the unique ability to clean jewelery.

Ruatapu Cave

A few other spectacles seen today.

Hochstetter Cauldron

Devil's Throat

More of the Artist’s Palatte

We finally had to say goodbye to Orakei Korako. It was a pretty interesting walk around this area of ground that hasn’t changed for thousands, if not millions of years. However, we had to move on, so we jumped on the ferry and headed back across the lake to the van. Our next stop will be Rotorua.

The drive to Rotorua was quite nice. The terrain was very green and somewhat rugged with most of it being used for farming. We even saw a goat or a sheep with different horns. We are not sure what it is and I haven’t had the chance to research it yet.

We arrived in Rotorua in the late afternoon and just decided to find the holiday park and call it a day. We really enjoyed ourselves today. A good time was had by all.

Day 161 Taurangi & Taupo

2011-03-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

It was cold last night, one of the coldest we have had. The good news is that it warmed up very quickly and turned into a very nice day. It made the drive from Taurangi to Taupo very pleasant so we were in no hurry. We followed the lake for a good portion of the trip and found ourselves stopping to enjoy the view. There was also some picture taking.

Just as we arrived in Taupo we stopped at a scenic lookout. It gave another look at Lake Taupo and of course we took pictures. We ended spending more time watching the sky divers that were landing in a field close to us. They were behind a hill when they landed so we couldn’t see them hit the ground. We didn’t take any pictures, just watched them through the binoculars.

On our walk we came across a guy who had a golf hole in one business. You hit at a floating green and a hole in one paid $10,000. So, I paid my money and took my chances. Well, no $10,000, but it was a lot of fun. Kathy even took a few swings.

As we left the golf game we realized that the day had gotten away from us. It was time to find a camping spot so we headed to the Top Ten Park in Taupo and settled in. Our time in Taupo was topped off with a beautiful evening sky that Kathy took a few pictures of. It was a great end to a pleasurable and relaxing day.

We ventured into the downtown area to have lunch in one of the many patio cafes. They were all facing Lake Taupo, it was a pretty view and very relaxing. After dawdling over lunch we decided to go for a walk along the boardwalk. There was absolutely no sense of urgency in either one of us. We walked for quite awhile just enjoying the beautiful day. It was almost bordering on too hot.

Day 160 Ohakune, Tongariro National Park, Taurangi

2011-03-11T02:02:00.000-08:00

I was up bright and early to a very brisk but sunny day. There weren’t any clouds so I walked downtown to see if I could get a shot of the mountain before the clouds covered it over.

I couldn’t get as clear a shot as I wanted so when we were ready to leave Ohakune we drove up to the ski hill that was just outside of town. On the way we were able to get a really good picture of Mount Ruapehu.

When we got to the top of the mountain the results of the numerous eruptions that have occurred could clearly be seen. The history of the mountain is quite fascinating.

Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano and is one of the worlds most active. It is the highest point in the north island and includes three major peaks: Tahurangi, Te Heuheu and Paretetaitonga. There is a deep active crater between the peaks that fills with water between major eruptions. Raupehu is largely composed of andesite and began erupting at least 250,000 years ago. In recorded history, major eruptions have been about 50 years apart, in 1895, 1945 and 1995/6. Minor eruptions are frequent, with at least 60 since 1945. Some of the minor eruptions in the 1970’2 generated small ash falls and lahars that damaged ski fields.

I was here in February 1975 with a buddy ( Bruce Campbell) and we could see Ruapehu smoking in the distance as we travelled around the island. It had a minor eruption later that year.

In addition to the ski hill we could see that the eruptions have left a very barren desolate hillside.

The view from the top of the hill was pretty spectacular and we could even see Mount Taranaki in the distance.

Mount Taranaki

Town of Ohakune

We stayed on top of the mountain as long as we could but that the cold and the wind made it pretty uncomfortable. So we scooted back down to Ohakune and headed north for a short while before turning east towards Whakapapa Village and Ski field. On the way we were treated to different views of Ruapehu as well as a good but still distant look at Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro.

Ruapehu

Ngauruhoe and Tongariro

In the village there is an I Site that is run by the DOC that we wanted to visit. It reportedly has a lot more info on the volcanic history of the area. There were a couple of films and many displays that were very informative. We enjoyed our time and actually learned a little bit.

There is a walk over the Tongariro that is considered the best one day hike in the country. The view from the top is told to be unbelievable. We were considering giving a try but decided against it. The hike is 19 kilometers with a climb of around 1400 meters and was just a little bit out of our range. Okay, maybe a lot out of our range. We start to run out of steam at around the 4 hour mark and are just about done at 5 hours. The hike took anywhere from 6 – 9 hours depending on the individual. We were told that a young Canadian lad ran it in 3.5 hours.

Upon leaving the I Site we made the drive to the ski field. It was quite a climb and when we reached the top we could see that it gets much more use that the hill outside of Ohakune. It had a little village and numerous ski chalets.

Again, we could see the barren and desolate terrain, a direct result of the many eruptions from the world’s most active volcano.

We only stayed long enough to get a few pictures before heading down. The return trip gave us an excellent view of the other two mountains. The best we have seen to date.

In addition to the mountains there were some other interesting sites that were just begging to be photographed.

We left the park heading to Taurangi where we were treated to one last and probably our best look at both Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe.

Mount Ngauruhoe is Mount Doom of Lords of the Rings fame. The image was digitally altered but it is the basis for Mount Doom.

We were very close to Taurangi when we came to a look out that gave us quite a view of Lake Taupo and some of the surrounding area. We stopped for a look and pictures before continuing into Taurangi, finding a campsite and calling it a night. It was a very informative and enjoyable day.

Lake Taupo

Taurangi

Day 159 Wanganui, Wanganui River Road, Ohakune

2011-03-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

Our destination is the town of Ohakune and the gateway to the Tongariro Park. It was a nice day, cool, but quickly getting warmer and very clear. A great day for sightseeing and picture taking. Our first stop was the I Site as we wanted to inquire about the highway and the touristy things we had to see. They suggested that we detour off the main highway and take the “Wanganui River Road”. It is a secondary highway with some gravel but a much more picturesque drive. They also suggested we drive to see the memorial on the other side of the river. Along with the memorial is an elevator which goes 213 meters below ground and meets up with a tunnel that is 65 meters in length. The tunnel goes to the bridge that crosses the Wanganui River. The elevator and tunnel were built in the early 1900’s to assist in developing the east side of the river.

We left the memorial and started following the river north which had us passing by the campsite we stayed at last night. We got a view of it from across the river.

The drive today had us following the Wanganui River for 64 miles from Wanganui to Pipiriki before turning east towards Ohakune. With a length of 290 km, the Wanganui is the country's third longest river. Much of the land to either side of the river’s upper reaches is part of the Wanganui National Park, though the river itself is not part of the park.

One of the areas mentioned in the guide books was the Oyster Cliffs. Around 2.5 million years ago, this area was a gigantic sea bed. During this time the oysters seem to have grown on top of each other or on dead shells. The result can be seen buried into the walls of the cliff. It was pretty amazing.

We also were privileged during our drive to see some pretty amazing scenery that didn’t involve just the river. This made it a slow drive but fortunately the traffic was very light. It almost seemed that we had the road to ourselves.

The light traffic was a very good thing as the road left a little to be desired in certain spots. You didn’t want to be going a little too fast and meet someone coming the other way.

We reached Pipiriki in the early afternoon where the highway turned east heading to Ohakune. A short time down the road we started to climb and when we reached the top we were greeted with a fantastic vista. Not only did we get a phenomenal view of the valley, but also our first look at the three mountains. Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.

Mount Ruapehu

Tongariro on left, Ngauruhoe on right.

We stuck with our earlier decision to spend the night in Ohakune so when we arrived we found the holiday park and checked in. Once we got settled we walked downtown for a look and to pick up a few things. We learned on our short walk that Ohakune is more of a winter town and caters to and depends more on ski crowd as opposed to the summer tourist trade. We were also able to get some closer up shots of the Ruapehu.