Auckland: 24-27 Febuary 2011
After flying 1st class from Christchurch to Auckland, we spent a few days on solid ground getting used to the fact that every noise and truck rumbling past was not another aftershock. Auckland, a city built around 50 volcanoes reminded us very much of San Francisco.
The highlight of our visit was walking from the bay to Mt Eden (a volcano) and then on to One Tree Hill (…when the sun goes down over one tree hill…). Two weeks later this walk is most notable for introducing us to our favorite NZ beer, Monteith’s Summer Ale!
Coromandel Peninsula: 27 February- 1 March 2011
Our first stop after picking up our “Spaceship” campervan was The Coromandel Peninsula just east and over the Hauraki Golf from Auckland. We drove the coast, cursing the narrow road with a drop off into the sea as we oriented ourselves with driving on the left-hand (wrong) side of the road. We were immediately struck with the beauty of New Zealand’s coastline, and started to shake off our doubts about staying after the earthquake.
We spent two nights buzzing around the peninsula, visited a Kauri “pine” grove, went on a few short walks through dense forest and along refreshing coastlines, drank cappuccinos and French press coffee, made burritos, had picnics on the beach, and soaked up the near perfect weather complete with bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds!
Taupo & Tongariro 1-3 March 2011
We spent a few nights in Taupo boiling our bums in some pretty fancy hot springs before heading down to Tongariro National Park for some serious hiking. After one afternoon hiking in Tongariro, it started to rain and was predicted to continue for a few days. So much for hiking.
Forgotten World Highway & New Plymouth 4-6 March 2011
Driving being dryer than walking, we headed towards New Plymouth via The Forgotten World Highway. Along the way we ogled the geology, paused for the prolific tree fernage, crossed many a crystal clear river, were wooed by waterfalls, and stopped to stare back at some startled sheep. We even managed to stop off for coffee in another country --The Republic of Whangamonona—whose past presidents include a poodle and a goat. They do make a good cappuccino though.
After spending the night in our car during a pretty impressive storm, we decided to spend a few nights in a hostel for Rachel’s birthday and our own comfort. Because it was still raining, we spent Rachel’s birthday driving the Surf Highway south of New Plymouth, enjoying a picnic lunch in the car while staring at some pretty wild surf and afterwards a yummy dinner complete with sparkling wine and chocolate brulee!
The next day we attempted a hike up Mt Takanaki in Egmont National Park but after about an hour the mountain disappeared when the clouds came in and the rain began once again. We know what they mean when they say the weather here is “changeable”. Otherwise, it pretty much did not stop raining until we left New Plymouth and headed back towards Tongariro National Park where we still wanted to do some hiking!
Tongariro 6-9 March 2011
Arriving back in Tongariro and much better weather, we booked ourselves on a shuttle for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day and headed out for a hike to some alpine vegetation and what is referred to as The Silica Rapids. These are named such because of the silica that coats the rocks and makes the rapids run white!
The next day we headed out for an epic walk across the volcanic landscape that makes Tongariro National Park famous. This was a truly grand walk, climbing up to the saddle of Ngauruhoe Volcano, setting out over a windy plateau, climbing back up to Red Crater, down to three perfect turquoise lakes, back down across another plateau, and then down through the alpine, further down through sulfur spewing grassland, through a forest, and out into…a parking lot. This was definitely one of the best day hikes we’ve done…ever.
The next day we went over to the charming town of Ohakune to hike in the southern portion of Tongariro to Waitonga Falls. Our legs were a bit tired from the previous days walk but we felt strong and remembered the days that we would walk 6 hours a day back in Nepal – this was nothing.
Martinbourough 10-11 March 2011
It didn’t take much to convince Nick that our next stop should be to the wine tasting region to the East of Wellingon where we could spend a day tasting wine and trying not to fall off some bicycles. We spent a few splendid nights enjoying the perfect weather and indulging ourselves with wine and good food.
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