North Island, New Zealand

Monday, December 14. Today was a day of driving, driving and more driving. Our goal was to get to the Bay of Islands in the north of the North Island as quickly as we could and then slowly work our way back down. After checking out of our apartment, we hit the road. We drove through a number of towns, some big and some small. We drove through stretches where we saw nothing but green hills, cows and sheep. The scenery was spectacular in places. We saw cows in every imaginable combination and color of brown, black and white. I think I could spend hours just looking at the different colors and patterns of all the cows. Anyway - we decided to make a side trip to go see Mount Taranaki – a huge dormant volcano 2,518 meters high that looks a lot like Japan's Mount Fuji. It is possible to climb Mount Taranaki but given the weather (the very top was covered with clouds and snow) and our time constraints, we opted just to go for a short hike in to see a waterfall called Dawson Falls. It was a nice walk and it was even nicer to be out of the car for a little while. We continued our drive, stopping at an excellent farm stand, and finally making it to a town called Hamilton, the largest inland city in New Zealand. Keith cooked up some pasta for dinner and we called it a night.

Tuesday, December 15. Today was another day of driving and driving. After checking out of our motel (as a side note, NZ seemed to have many, many motels, several of which are self-contained with a sink, microwave and cooktop, which makes Keith happy as he can do more cooking now) we hit the road once again. After about 1 ½ hours, we hit Auckland. It looked like a nice city, with large marinas. By 1:30 pm or 2:00 pm, we hit the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands actually incorporates a few different towns and a number of islands. We were staying in a quaint little town called Paihia (pronounced “pie-here”). We checked into our apartment/motel, made up some lunch, decided to explore a bit and hit the road once again (because clearly we hadn't driven enough already). We headed up to a town Kaitaia which is in an area in the very far north of the North Island. We continued a little further to the beginning of Ninety Mile Beach – a 90 mile stretch of beach that goes to the very tip of the North Island to Cape Reinga. Depending on the tides and the type of vehicle you have, it is possible to drive the whole 90 miles via the beach. The beach was impressive and Keith did manage to get our little rental car – a Mitsubishi Colt – onto the beach. We drove on the beach for a just a bit (I was convinced we were going to get stuck) before heading back to Paihia. We stopped in the town of Kerikeri on the way back to grab some groceries. Keith cooked us up some delicious steaks for dinner and we called it a night.

Wednesday, December 16. Today we were off to sail the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is made up of over 100 different islands. After breakfast, we walked down the wharf to catch our boat, a 50 foot catamaran named Carino. There were several other people on board, but not so many that the boat felt crowded. There were two crew members and our captain (a female happily) who were all very nice. We stopped in the nearby town of Russell to pick up a few more passengers and then we were off. Sailing through the islands was beautiful. The weather was cool, but with the sun out, it made all the difference. The islands were green and pristine and the water was various shades of blue. Keith helped hoist the sails and we were able to sail for a good portion of the morning. We stopped to get off at Moturua Island. To get to the Island there was the “wet option” and the “dry option.” The wet option was swimming to shore from the boat – a good option though the water was, as our capital described, “very refreshing.” The dry option was taking the little zodiac in to shore. Not surprisingly Keith opted for the wet option while I opted for the dry option. Once on shore we went for a short hike to the top of a hill – from there, there were beautiful sweeping views of the Bay. We headed back to the boat for lunch – Keith opting for the dry option this time. Lunch was sausage – not one of my favorites – fortunately they had salad and rolls. After lunch we continued our sail in hopes of finding some dolphins. We were lucky. We found a pod of three or four bottle-nosed dolphins. They were sleeping, so we weren't allowed to swim with them. They would just break the surface every few minutes for air. We were able to get pretty close to them and it was quite exciting. After spending ½ hour or so watching the dolphins, we set sail for home. On the way home we passed the house where they had filmed the New Zealand portion of The Bachelor (if my memory serves me correctly, it was the one where Jason was the bachelor) – how exciting! We decided to get off the boat in Russell. Russell used to be the old capital of New Zealand and was known as the “hell hole” – today, it's just known as “romantic Russell.” It was a very quaint town with many historic buildings. We explored the town for a bit, grabbed an ice cream and caught a 20 minute ferry back to Paihia. We strolled back to our apartment where Keith cooked us some delicious chicken for dinner and then called it a night.

Thursday, December 17. Today we were up bright and early. After checking out, we were off first, going on short hike to a beautiful lookout and then heading to Waipoua Kauri Forest. The kauri trees are to New Zealand what the redwoods are the U.S. The are HUGE. We stopped and saw Tane-mahuta, NZ's tallest kauri tree, the Four Sisters, a group of four skyscraper tall trees, and Te matua-ngahere (aka The Father of the Forest), a tree believed to be over 2,000 years old, with a trunk diameter of over 15 feet and believed to be the biggest girth of any of the kauri trees in NZ. They made you feel very small and young. They were quite impressive to say the least. It was incredible to think that these trees had been there for thousands of years. After spending an hour or so wandering around the Forest, we were back on the road for a 4-5 hour drive to the Coromandel Peninsula on the east side of the North Island. It was a nice drive, though a bit long. We arrived in Whitianga, one of main towns on the Coromandel Peninsula and found a place to spend the night. We went for a stroll on the beach, looking across the bay at several small islands – a mini Bay of Islands. We cooked some dinner and called it a night.

Friday, December 18. After checking out, we hit the road to see the sights of the Coromandel Peninsula. The first stop was a hike to Cathedral Cove – about a 45 minute hike along the coast. There were gorgeous views of the shoreline along the way and when we finally arrived, there was a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise water – who knew that NZ had such beautiful beaches. There was a huge limestone cliff with an archway leading to another beach – hence the name Cathedral Cove. It was a spectacular sight. We walked the beach for a bit and then started our hike back. Along the way we stopped at Stingray Bay, a beautiful sandy cove where Keith and I were the only ones there, and Gemstone Bay, a place that apparently has excellent snorkeling. We then put our faces in the sun for just a little bit on Hahei beach - another beautiful white sand beach. Next stop was the Hot Water Beach. Two hours on each side of low tide people flock Hot Water Beach to dig a hole in the sand where you can then relax in your own personal natural spa. If you dig in the sand deep enough, you'll eventually hit warm water. As an aside, because NZ is so volcanic, there are lots and lots of thermal spas and hot water springs. Keith and I hadn't brought our shovels, so we were just spectators. It looked like fun, but a lot of work. After Hot Water Beach we hit the road, destination Turangi. We had booked a week in Turangi through our newly acquired time share, so for seven nights we would be staying in the same spot for the price of $150. By the time we booked our timeshare, there wasn't much available in NZ, but Turangi seemed to be centrally located to many of the other places we wanted to go. It would be a good jumping off point. Driving to Turangi we saw Lake Taupo, the largest lake in NZ. It was impressive with a huge snow-covered mountain at one end. Apparently Lake Taupo was formed when a huge volcano erupted (roughly 100 times that of Krakatoa) and the volcano imploded. We arrived in Turangi, the supposed “trout fishing capital of the world.” Oh boy. There wasn't much to the town, but there was a grocery store and a Burger King, so we were happy. We checked into our one bedroom apartment. The apartment itself was quite dated, complete with a headboard made with the same carpet as the rest of the apartment. On the upside, there was free laundry, a heated pool and a couple of jacuzzi. After checking in, we grabbed some groceries, had some dinner and wine (being in NZ we average at least a bottle a night) and called it a night.

Saturday, December 19. Today we decided to go tramping about Tongariro National Park. It was a beautiful day, so after breakfast and picking up a map we were off on a short 45 minute drive to the Park. Driving to the Park we could see several huge volcanoes. My Lonely Planet describes Tongariro National Park as the following: “With its mighty, active volcanoes, Tongariro is one of NZ's most spectacular parks.” We stopped briefly at the Park's visitor center and set off on a two hour hike to Taranaki Falls. It was a pleasant jaunt – not too steep, not too rocky, not too crowded and the perfect amount of time. The sun was hot but the air was cool, so it made for good hiking weather. The waterfall was pretty and the water itself was crystal clear and very cold. After our hike, we drove further up Mount Ruapehu, the highest of the Park's volcanoes (2,797 meters) which operates as a ski resort in the winter. The volcanoes are still active, with Mount Ruapehu's most recent eruption being in 1995. Though they have an early detection system, there are various signs posted providing instructions in the event the sirens are sounded. Drive up to the ski resort, it almost looked like a different planet – barren, rocky and brown. When we reached the ski resort we were able to take two separate ski lifts to get close to the top (you can't go to the very very top because the mountain is still afterall an active volcano). It was a pretty cold riding up, but at the top the wind died down and it was quite warm – despite the fact that there was still snow on the ground! Keith and I had gone from the beach to the snow in less than 24 hours! We headed back down, getting spectacular views of Mount Ngauruhoe – one of the younger volcanoes. As an aside, both Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe were used in the Lord of the Rings films. We stopped once again the Park's visitor's center where we watched a short but very informative film on the volcanoes. We then headed back to Turangi. We stopped at the store to pick up some provisions for dinner, did some laundry (sadly getting to do laundry is somewhat exciting) and went for a soak in the jacuzzi. After dinner, we called it a night.

Sunday, December 20. Today was adventure day. After having some breakfast we were off for a two hour drive to Waitomo. Waitomo comes from the Maori word “wai” meaning “water” and “tomo” meaning “hole” or “shaft.” Over the region there are over 300 known shafts dropping abruptly into underground limstone caves systems and streams. Most impressively about these caves are the glow worms that cover the ceiling of these caves – making the ceiling look like the night sky dotted with thousands of stars. We had booked a five hour trip to go abseiling, black water rafting and rock climbing. Giddy up! We arrived in Waitomo a bit early so we checked out the Museum of Caves and watched an informative video about the glow worms which aren't really worms but rather the larvae of gnats. Apparently the larvae have luminescent organs which emit a soft greenish light. They stay in the larvae state for 6-9 months before going into the pupa stage for about 2 weeks and then emerge as an insect. Once they are an insect, they only live for a few days, just long enough to have sex and lay the eggs, so the process can start all over again. After the museum we checked into Rap, Raft n Rock – fortunately there was just us, another couple from Surrey, England, Gary and Gem, and our guide Barbara. We went for a short drive to the changing spot, where we wiggled into full wet suits, boots, harnesses and hard hats. We were ready to go. We drove for just another bit up and down a rocky road through a sheep field before hitting our cave. We spent just a few minutes on abseil training before descending down into the cave. For anyone who doesn't know abseiling is heading down into a cave just via a rope. For us, we had a 100 foot drop down into the cave. Luck would have it, I was the first one to go. It was a little nerve racking stepping off a platform with a 100 foot drop below you, but once I could feel that the rope would hold me, it was quite exhilarating – it was even more impressive once I reached the bottom and saw what I had just come down. Once you hit the bottom, there is a whole stream/river system that goes through the caves. Keith was next and due to his size, he was able to go down much quicker than I was. Gem, Gary and Barbara all made it down and we then grabbed our inner tubes and went tramping through the river. We had to turn our lights on our hats to see where we were going. The next couple of hours was spent black-water rafting, which is essentially inner-tubing in the pitch black, tramping through the water through the caves, floating in the water, which I must say was quite cold even with full wet suits on, having inner tube races, crawling through tiny crevices and sitting in the pitch black and looking up at the glow worms. Looking at the glow warms was absolutely amazing. It really was like looking at the night sky and I even found myself trying to form constellations. It was quite the experience to be tubing in the dark in a cave with nothing but glow worms dotting the ceiling. We saw eels and held wood now turned stone believed to be 3 million years old. After a couple of hours of black water rafting downstream and tramping upstream, it was time to get out of the cave. To get out of cave, we had to rock climb the 100 feet we had abseiled down. Both Keith and I made it back up with little trouble and overall the whole trip was, in a word, awesome. After changing out of our stinky wet suits and having, thankfully, some hot soup, we saw the amusing pictures that Barbara had taken of all of us. I, of course, purchased the CD with the pictures and I'll post a few of them as soon as I am able. We bit farewell to Gem and Gary – they had been also been traveling for about 4 months and we had quite a nice time with them – and hit the road for the two hour drive back to Turangi. Keith and I were exhausted by the time we got home, so after dinner we called it a night.

Monday, December 21. Today was a leisurely day compared to the day before. We decided to check out the town of Taupo, just 40 minutes away from Turangi. We got a little bit of a late start but our first stop was Huka Falls. Huka Falls, known as “Hukanui” in Maori, meaning “Great Body of Spray” is “a great torrent of water, more like a giant rapid that plunges through a narrow cleft in the rock.” (Lonely Planet). It certainly wasn't as impressive as Niagara Falls but the color was amazing – a brilliant turquoise blue. After checking out the Falls and taking some happy snaps, Keith and I were off on another two hour hike. The hike brought us along the Waikato River, fed by Lake Taupo. After about and hour, we hit some hot springs. In a small alcove off the river, there were little waterfalls with steaming hot water – so hot that it took a little bit to get into the water. Once you were in the water though, it was like being in a hot bath only where the water never gets cold. Best part was it was all free! After soaking for a bit we were off on our hike back. Once we got back, we stopped at a honey store where we tried all different kinds of mead and fruit wines. Next we wandered around Taupo – a huge town compared to Turangi. We had some lunch, Keith got a haircut and we went grocery shopping. We stopped at a wine store with supposedly the largest underground wine cellar in all of New Zealand and then headed back to Turangi. After having some delicious steaks for dinner (as an aside it seems like we're now averaging two bottles of wine a night), we called it a night.

Tuesday, December 22. Today was a packed day. After getting an early start, we were off to a town called Rotorua approximately 1hour 45 minutes away. According to my Lonely Planet, it is “the most commercialized tourist destination on the North Island.” On the way there, we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu – Thermal Wonderland where we wandered through different thermal areas. There were boiling mud pools, brightly colored mineral pools, lots and lots of stream from hot water emerging from the ground and an overpowering smell of sulphur. It was interesting to be able to see all the different things the earth produces. Oddly enough we were also in the midst of the largest man-made forest in the southern hemisphere. The highlight of Wai-O-Tapu was the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts everyday at 10:15 am and reaches a height of about 50 feet. Next we arrived in Rotoura – a large town on Lake Rotorua. Our first stop was the Funky Green Voyager, a hostel where Leslie, a woman Keith had met while on our cruise through the Bay of Islands, worked. She had helped us book a white water rafting trip. I wasn't sure whether white water rafting was the thing for me, but I decided to give it a try. It wasn't until I started looking at the brochure that a little bit of panic started setting in. We were going to raft grade 5 waters. White water rafting is graded between 2 and 5, with 5 being the most violent rapids with a high risk of injury. Oh boy. To top it off, the highlight of the trip was going to be a drop down Okere Falls – a 21 foot waterfall – the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall. Our rafting guide Scott picked us up at the hostel and we were taken to the changing area. We changed and got geared up. We met the four other people who were on our raft, a cheery group of Australians. We were off to raft the Kaituna River and, as luck would have it, Keith and I were in the very front! The next hour was spent going down rapids and waterfalls, getting plastered by water, smashing into all kinds of rocks and generally trying to hold on for dear life. It was in a word, exhilarating! I have to admit that I closed my eyes for Okere Falls, but we all managed to keep the raft upright. It wasn't until the very end where we were supposed to “surf” one of the rapids, that Keith took a tumble overboard. All and all we made it through safe and sound and we are now both proud to say we have rafting on grade 5 waters. We bought the CD with all the pictures to prove it, and I'll post some on the blog as soon as I am able. After bidding everyone farewell and getting dropped back off at the hostel, Keith and I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Whakarewarewa Forest. In 1901 some New Zealanders planted a 15 acres of Californian Redwoods as part of a project to see which kinds of trees could be successfully grown as timber trees. The Redwoods thrived and they now form the heart of the Whakarewarewa Forest. We took an hour or so hike through the Forest admiring the extremely tall trees. It was both beautiful and peaceful. Next we hit downtown Rotorua where I did just a bit of souvenir shopping. Last stop for the day was the Polynesian Spa - a perfect way to end the day. According to my Lonely Planet, “Nicknamed 'Sulphur City', [Rotorua] has the most energetic thermal activity in the country....” Similar to Hanmer Springs, the Polynesia Spa had a variety of pools ranging in temperature from 38 to 42 degrees Celsius with many of the pools overlooking a lake. We soaked for quite a while and met a nice pair of women from Massachusetts (Westboro of all places). After chatting with them for a bit and doing a little more soaking, we hit the road for our drive back to Turangi. After making some yummy tacos for dinner, we called it a night.